Sunset was worried this morning, it was Saturday, which meant it was a time to relax. After she had comforted Twilight that Sunday, the studious girl had returned to school the following day with her friends and some of the teachers offering their condolences and overall trying to be considerate of Twilight during this time.
Sunset tried not to be around her that much, but she did give the purple girl a smile and nod whenever she looked her way. All through that week, Sunset had only talked to Twilight here and there, they had exchanged cell numbers on that Sunday. Sunset doubted she’d ever text or call Twilight outright unless it was an emergency, like needing to transform into Firestorm and stop some psychos, kind of emergency.
Now, however, Sunset had received a text from Twilight, the first one since their exchange. In it was typed a simple message stating “Meet at the forest where our flames flickered. At 7:00am. ” Out of context that would’ve sounded like a cheesy setup for someone to confess their feelings. But Sunset knew its true meaning and was able to translate it thusly: “Meet me at the forest where we learned how to change back into our normal forms.”
Sunset had to make sure she wouldn’t be seen, so she woke up early that morning and took a number of buses until she was as far away from the city as she could get. Twilight had stated that the Organization might still have spies in the city, and going Firestorm and flying out of the city would attract their attention.
So, playing it smart, Sunset went to the outskirts of town, using said public transit instead of her Baby (aka her bike). Which was a good thing, since she didn’t want to leave it out in the middle of nowhere.
The fiery haired girl watched as the bus left her at the stop. It was barely sunrise, she checked her watch and noticed that she had at least ten minutes before her meeting with Twilight. Sunset looked around, making sure that there was nobody in sight. What few buildings were there were still dark and closed. Sunset nodded and concentrated on the power within the core of her being, she widened her stance and clenched her fists, pouring that power into one word.
“FIRESTORM!!!”
Sunset’s body was engulfed in yellow flames as red atomic rings formed around the flames. Within a matter of seconds the flames burst apart, revealing Sunset Shimmer in her Firestorm form. Without wasting a moment, the flame wheels formed at her ankles.
The wheels spun at a rapid pace. Sunset jumped up into the air took and off for the blue. She soared higher and higher into the air until the ground and its inhabitants became specks. After getting her bearings, Sunset shot towards the woods where Twilight would be meeting her.
The ground flew by in blurred shades of color, she may’ve liked going fast on her motorcycle, but right now, at this moment, the speed, the power, the freedom of the open skies. It was all simply exhilarating! For years Sunset had always gazed at the pegasi of Equestria, watching them flap their wings and soar through the skies, defying gravity. On many occasions she had watched Princess Celestia fly, and it was the most graceful thing she had ever seen. Now that Sunset had gained the ability of flight, she could see why pegasi loved it so much.
Don’t get her wrong, she was proud to be born a unicorn, but what sentient creature didn’t dream about flying in the heavens above on their own power. If it weren’t for the fact that she might be discovered by the Organization, Sunset would’ve flown up high where no one could see her and just go wild. But that was a joy ride for another day, right now she had to meet Twilight. Sunset increased her speed and zoomed into the distance, making a beeline right for the forest.
It didn’t take her long to find the spot, and having Twilight already standing there waiting helped too. Sunset descended to the ground, and once her feet made contact with terra firma, she shifted back into her normal form. Twilight was currently leaning up against the very boulder that Sunset was sitting on a few weeks ago when they were contemplating how to change back to their human forms. She had a look on her face, one of conviction and deep thought.
“Hey Sparky,” said Sunset.
“Hi Sunset…sorry for calling you out here so early on a Saturday.”
“It’s no big deal, I didn’t really have plans today anyway other than loaf around my apartment. So what’s up?”
Twilight stood straight up and looked to Sunset. “I don’t think Shining Armor’s dead.”
Sunset’s mind came to a screeching halt. “Wait – How – Why?”
“Listen, they didn’t recover his body, and his unit never made contact about their status. If I’m right they may just be captured and kept under lock and key!” Twilight hypothesized.
Sunset inwardly cringed seeing what this was, one of the stages of grief. “Twilight…I know it’s hard but –”
“No, Sunset Shimmer, I know he’s alive! And what’s more, I know where he went!” Twilight reached into the pocket of her skirt and pulled out a GPS device. “I’ve locked in the coordinates of where his unit was being air dropped. If we leave now, and go at top speed, we can be there in less than three and a half hours!”
Sunset raised her hands up as if to physically stop this train of thought. “Hold on Sparky, how in the heck did you even get those coordinates? That’s like Special Ops, Black Ops, Top Secret kind of mission stuff right? What did you do, hack the Pentagon or something?”
“Yes.”
“Yes what?”
“I hacked the Pentagon, and the CIA, and NORAD, and basically any military branch that had information on the matter.”
Normally, Sunset would’ve laughed off such an absurd thing, but given what she’s seen Twilight do as far as tech and computer skills, it wasn’t too much of a stretch to think that she could pull something like that off. And it didn’t help that she held a straight and serious face the whole time.
“ARE YOU NUTS?! You hacked the military! Do you know what’ll happen if they find out that you went traipsing around their computers?! Helicopters, men in combat gear carrying M4s, and rotting away in a federal prison!” Sunset exclaimed.
Twilight waved off Sunset’s concerns. “Please, the cyber security they use is a joke. Besides, the first time I did it I was six. Now I’m older, wiser, and smarter than. Plus I’ve rerouted the wireless signal through every server on the planet, so even if they did find out I was in their systems it would take them eighty years to sift through every last one to pinpoint my location. And by that time they won’t even care anymore.”
Sunset was becoming more and more astonished by Twilight’s intelligence the more she hung around her. Even though Sunset Shimmer was brilliant, Twilight seemed to be hiding just how smart she really was. If she had to guess, she was probably smart enough to be considered above genius level and yet she could still feel, she wasn’t all logic, she did have feelings and did care about others. Sunset shook her head, she was getting off topic.
“Okay, I’ll humor you. What do you plan on doing?” Sunset asked.
“I want to save my big brother, or at the very least…confirm that he’s gone…”
Sunset walked up to Twilight and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Do you really want to do that, to put yourself through that kind of pain? We’ll basically walk right into the lion’s den, to the guys who want what’s inside us! Tell me, is it worth getting captured and killed?!”
Twilight was silent for what felt like ages to Sunset, but really it was more like a couple of minutes. The younger girl, by Sunset’s real age, raised her head and looked into Sunset’s aquamarine eyes with a strong sense of determination and an iron will to match. “It is. I wanted to ask for your help, but I know it’s not my right to force you into coming with me. Your life is important Sunset, and I won’t let you risk it unnecessarily.”
Sunset growled inwardly. Do you really think your life is unimportant?!
“Screw it, I’m going too!”
“B-But I just said –”
Sunset did an about face and crossed her arms in front of her, adopting a firm and immovable stance. “Look, I’m a part of this now, like it or not! And if getting closure is what will help you…then it’s better if I come too! Besides you won’t be able to concentrate on watching your back if you’re too busy wallowing in sadness.”
Suddenly, Sunset felt something run into her back, and just as quickly, watched as two lavender arms wrapped around her from behind. She was about to let out a protesting slew of curse words, but then she felt Twilight’s head resting against her back, and her arms held onto her tight as if hanging on for dear life. She started feeling a slight tremble coming from her, Sunset glanced over her shoulder and saw that Twilight was crying a little.
“Thank you…Sunset…”
Hearing her say that stabbed at the mean girl’s heart. She had already held Twilight in her arms and let her cry, it wasn’t like she couldn’t let her do this for a little while longer. Sunset brought her own arms to rest over Twilight’s, holding onto her to reassure the saddened girl that she was there, and would be her strength through all of this.
“It’s no biggie, Sparky. So…when do we leave?”
Twilight slowly, and albeit reluctantly, separated herself from Sunset Shimmer, allowing the older girl to turn around and face her. “Right now, actually…if that’s alright with you?”
Sunset chuckled, finding it mildly adorable how Twilight adopted Fluttershy’s mannerisms. “Then let’s hit the road.”
HOURS LATER, THE MIDDLE OF THE DESERT…
Sunset had to admit, being in their Firestorm forms came with a few good perks. For one thing, fatigue wasn’t a problem, and thanks to them not having normal human bodies she didn’t feel hungry or thirsty from flying so long. If she was using magic to accomplish this, Sunset had no doubt she’d be exhausted and lying unconscious on the ground from expanding so much magical energy.
But being a walking nuclear reactor meant that she was never without power, it was practically endless. The whole trip through, Twilight had remained silent, becoming laser focused on where they were going and checking the GPS device every so often to make sure they were heading the right way.
Sunset watched as the pink-flamed Firestorm came to a halt in midair, stopping right next to her. “What’dya got Sparky?”
“Down below, this is where Shining Armor and his unit were dropped.”
After saying that, Twilight descended quickly, making Sunset play catch up with her. The two Firestorm girls eventually touched down on the surface of a desert plain. Their white eyes roved over the landscape, looking for anything out of the ordinary.
“I don’t know Sparky, if this was the place they landed shouldn’t there be some remnants, parachutes, imprints, something?”
“Not if the sand and dirt have covered it up since then, but there is another way to see if this was the spot.” Twilight bent down on one knee and placed her right hand against the sand. That same hand was wrapped in the three atomic rings, and at that moment the sands shifted, pulsating out in waves through the dunes visibly.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m using my power to get a sense of the natural minerals and ores that permeate this region. The next wave will then help me determine what’s natural and unnatural, and what is manmade and what is nature made.”
Sunset didn’t argue with Twilight, the girl had the transmutation powers, so she hoped Twilight knew what she was doing. Within a minute and a half, Twilight’s head perked up.
“Found something!”
“What?”
“Something that’s not supposed to be there, as any archeologist will tell you, nature does not make straight lines, nor does it make perfect bends and angles. There’s something manmade some odd feet below us. It’s like a maze of tunnels…but that’s all I can deduce from up here.”
Sunset shrugged. “So now what, do we look for a door?”
“We make our own door.”
Before Sunset could inquire further Twilight had already set to work. Both her hands had atomic rings spiraling around them. With a flick of her wrist the sand began to shift and swirl, a second wave had the sand cave in and part. A few more waves and the hole she created grew bigger and bigger, allowing Sunset to see all the way down.
She spotted something metal, but it was smooth and had lines that looked like interlock panels. Twilight moved her hands around again, like a symphony conductor, she manipulated the sand, sediment, and other minerals to solidify on the spot.
“Let’s go,” said Twilight.
Twilight floated up and then descended down the hole. Sunset floated up and followed right behind her. When they got to the metal tunnel looking object, Twilight used her powers yet again to create an opening for the two of them. The two Firestorm girls entered the hole and touched down on the metal floor. The light of the moon gave the interior a very horror movie-esque feel to it. Any moment Sunset expected some mutated monster or a horde of zombies to come at them from the darkness.
Twilight concentrated, making her flames burn brighter. The corridor was thin, illuminated by her pink flames, making the hallway a little less creepy. Sunset did the same, willing her flames to burn brighter, but not hotter. Soon both yellow and pink fire light lit up the hallway for a good fifty feet in both directions.
Thanks to the light, Twilight and Sunset were able to get a better look at what exactly had happened to this base. The hall looked damaged, metal was torn, circuitry wire spilled from the walls and some from the ceiling. Some of the dirt and sand got in, creating large mounds of collected sand lean up against the wall all the way to the ceiling.
“Gee…somebody really humped the bunk. What happened here?” Sunset asked.
“It looks like they trashed the interior with some explosives, there is charred residue on parts of the walls and floor. Most likely they destroyed any traces that anyone was here. But let’s see if I can’t fix that.”
Twilight placed her hand against the wall, sending a pulse wave through it. The structure was laid out before Twilight’s mind’s eye, becoming a blueprint that was detailed down to the smallest of flaws. Twilight’s eyes glowed as she concentrated her transmutation powers, the walls started to move and shift, the floor mended itself and the sand that had found its way inside had flowed back out.
To Sunset Shimmer, it was as if someone had cast a time spell, taking the facility back in time to a point where it wasn’t wrecked and dilapidated. Wires snaked back into their proper places, glass fixed itself and reattached to their former surfaces. It only took about three minutes before everything was fixed, even the hole they had entered through was gone.
The panel lights overhead lighted up the hallway, so both Sunset and Twilight dimmed their flames back to normal. Sunset could hardly believe that just a few minutes ago she was standing in a graveyard of a base, now it just looked like nobody was home. Twilight removed her hand from the wall and swayed a bit, causing Sunset to catch her partner in crime before she collapsed.
“Hey Sparky watch how much power you’re using! Did you just repair the hallway or everything in this place?!” Sunset asked.
“Everything.” Twilight answered.
“You’re crazy, fixing the whole place! You have no idea what kind of strain that would put on you!”
“It was a calculated risk, besides, it would’ve drained me more if I had to remake everything from scratch, the damage was beyond the normal means of repair, but not transmutation means.” Twilight gently stood aside from Sunset and righted herself. “C’mon, I have the blueprints of this base in my mind now, I can guide us through.”
Sunset felt uneasy about this whole thing, but followed nonetheless. It was nagging at her the whole time they were walking. Why did Twilight know so much about this place? How did she know to look underground? And why did she get the feeling that Twilight was connected to these Organization guys in a way that might be unpleasant?
Sunset shook her head, Twilight wasn’t some spy or some conniving mastermind, if she wanted to, Sunset had no doubt that Twilight could’ve ratted them both out to the Organization and be dead and done.
Twilight made a right and stopped near a door. Sunset watched curiously as the intelligent girl just stood there before the door. She could tell something was up with Twilight, even if her body didn’t show much of a sign, her flames did. They waned a little, as if burdened and losing their luster. Twilight walked towards the door and used her powers to open it.
Sunset followed her inside and looked about their new surroundings. There was medical equipment everywhere, off to the far end of the wall was a long cylindrical pod, like something she would’ve seen in a sci-fi movie. It was filled with green liquid, all ten of them were.
Off to the side Sunset spotted a monitor, it was turned off at the moment, but she had no doubts it was for keeping track of the vitals of whoever or whatever occupied them. “Sparky what are we doing in here?”
Twilight walked up to one of the pods and placed her hand gently on it, as if it were something fragile and sacred. “Sunset…I can trust you…right?”
Sunset raised an eyebrow at that. “Why would you ask me that?”
“Can I trust?”
Twilight didn’t seem interested in explaining why, just a simple yes or no was what she was looking for. Sunset sighed, despite everything they’ve been through in the past few weeks, she really didn’t see a need in asking such a question. But, for Twilight’s peace of mind she supposed, Sunset decided to answer her.
“Yes, you can Sparky.”
“……………I’m not really Shining Armor’s little sister…nor am I the daughter of Twilight Velvet and Night Light.”
“Oooookay, so who are you then?” Sunset asked cautiously.
“I was made, in a facility not unlike the one we’re standing in now. I was to be one the Organizations projects. My cells…my whole body was cultivated using randomized cells, and screened to insure that my body had no birth defects or signs of hereditary disease.”
“I was grown in a vat like this one, surrounded by a liquid that fed me all the nutrients I needed and then some to make sure that my mind as well as my body would not be weak. I grew in there until I was a full-term baby and then removed from my pod.”
Sunset waited for the punch line, believing that Twilight was just trying to play off her sadness as a joke and trying to psyche her out. But every word that Twilight spoke was heavy with pain, the kind you spend years trying to keep hidden from those you care about, words that felt like you were peeling your skin off to say. Sunset shook her head, she could take believing a lot of things, she came from a land of magical talking equines, but this – this was too much.
Twilight started walking to the computer terminal and waved her hand over it. Her transmuting powers reconnected the electrical power to this terminal and through it she reconnected the computer systems. Twilight began typing away at the keyboard, sifting through the data.
“Looks like there were intruders on the upper levels, but only one account of a disturbance at the lower levels near the Research Labs and Storage, last confirmed disturbance was in Storage, we’ll head there.”
Sunset kept watching Twilight as she walked out of the room and down the hall, but she just couldn’t take it anymore. “What do you mean you were grown here?! Are you saying you’re a clone?!”
Twilight shook her head. “No, a clone is a copy of another person. My DNA is randomized and filtered from various samples. I’m literally parentless, no father and no mother to call my biological parents, just a mishmash of DNA. So you could say I was made from nothing and in a way, I am nothing…”
Sunset’s eyes widened as her mind flashed back to that day in the locker room so long ago, when Twilight referred to herself as nothing, this is what she meant. “But…why?!”
“Myself and others were created to be part of a sleeper agent project. Children who were raised and taught by the Organization, engineered to be superiorly intelligent over others and use that to gain status and secure key positions in different areas of different countries’ economic and political structures.”
“That way, the Organization would have totally obedient agents who would do anything for them. I was taught mathematics, engineering, and biology. When they saw my level of intelligence was higher than the others, they assigned me harder subjects, quantum mechanics and physics. I learned it all, because out of all the others I was born with an Eidetic Memory.”
“In other words a photographic memory, you read something once and it stays in your head. So basically you could just ace all the tests in the school and not even bother with homework, heck, you could just go to Canterlot University right now and graduate without any problems.”
“I could, but I won’t and for a simple reason: my brother and Professor Neigh,” Twilight turned a corner and kept going down the hall. “The people in the Organization decided to have me tutored by a brilliant scientist in hopes of furthering my intellect, and to see if I could help him in the creation of the Firestorm Protocol.”
“Professor Neigh was unlike any other teacher I had, the Organization tutors were harsh and punished me severely if I got something wrong. But it was Professor Neigh who taught me how science was all about gain and power, he showed me that it could be used to make people’s lives happier and my life as well.”
“I was so happy, he was my mentor and closest thing to a father I had. Together we created the formula and Matrix for the Firestorm Protocol. Until…one day…all that changed for the better…”
TEN YEARS AGO…
Alarms blared loudly within the structure, Professor Neigh kept a young Twilight Sparkle close to him. She was all of six-years-old, and yet she had the intellect of a genius. Sometimes the good Professor would forget that she was a child and treat her as more of a respected colleague than a little girl.
She seemed to like that, in fact, she was happy when he did that. But it was seeing that bright smile that reminded him that she was a little girl, and science didn’t need to be all serious business. Often times he would give fun little experiments, blowing something up, creating chemical reactions, and sometimes hacking the system to mess with the Organization bozos.
The, at the time young, Professor started to develop feelings for this young prodigy. He had devoted himself to science and the betterment of mankind, and in so doing had made many discoveries and was hailed as the most brilliant scientist on the planet.
But with such devotion came the lack of a social life, he never took the time to meet a girl or even wonder if a girl would be interested in a guy like him. And even then he wondered, if he did procreate, what kind of father would he be to his children?
Professor Neigh believed that Twilight was as close to a daughter as he would ever get, and like any father or mentor, he wanted what was best for her. And what was best was that she leave this horrible place and live her life.
But how would she do that? How could he get her to the outside world with all these Organization soldiers roaming the halls and guarding every exit? When Professor Neigh heard the alarms he took this as a sign, he wasn’t one for believing in a higher power but today was as good a time as any to pray that there was one.
Suddenly the door to the room was being banged on, Twilight huddled behind Professor Neigh’s white lab coat, clinging to it for dear life. “It’s alright my dear, we’ll be safe in here.”
“Prafessor I’m scared…!”
“I won’t let anything happen you, I promise,” said Professor Neigh.
“But…given your build, muscle size, and lack of knowledge in combat and martial skill, the probability of you being able to protect me are –”
“Now what did I tell you about probability and predictions?” Professor Neigh interrupted. “When dealing with the human spirit and a person’s will to survive, probability and mathematical statistics are thrown out the window. So if I say I’m not going to let anything happen to you, then I mean it!”
Twilight’s sniffling and teary-eyed face broke into a smile, but it didn’t last long as a strong “BOOM” sound rumbled from behind the door. The door creaked and moaned as it started to fall forward, striking the metal floor with a metallic thud.
A soldier rushed in, pointing two handguns in the Professor’s direction, the green eyes of his helmet shown bright as he stared down the gray skinned man. Professor Neigh immediately put his hands up defensively.
“Don’t shoot, please!”
“Who are you?!” The soldier barked.
“I’m Professor Bill Neigh!”
The soldier lowered his pistols, but only a little. “‘Professor Bill Neigh’, the scientist that went missing months ago?!”
Professor Neigh shook his head in an affirmative fashion.
The soldier put one pistol away, but his sword and rifle still made him look intimidating. “Professor, I’m Captain Shining Armor of the US Special Forces, Black Light Division, we’re here to take this base down, and now that I’ve found you, I’m turning this into a rescue mission. I’m getting you out of here!”
“Okay, but listen I’m not going alone.” Professor Neigh stood back a bit and revealed Twilight. “If I go, she goes with me.”
Shining Armor looked down at the young girl, who turned away in fear upon seeing his intense helmet. The young soldier pressed a button on the side and allowed the front of the helmet to lift up and reveal his true face.
“Hey, hey, it’s alright, I’m a good guy.”
Twilight looked back at the soldier, her fear lessened upon seeing there was a person behind that mask, and one that looked nice too. Shining Armor rose up and looked to Professor Neigh.
“Tell me something, were there others?”
“Yes, a few more, if we can I want to get them out too!”
Shining Armor’s face grew grim. “I’m sorry Professor…the others…are dead.”
“W-What?!”
“These bastards slaughtered them, I had just come from a room that was…littered with the bodies of boys and girls…they were all shot.”
Professor Neigh stumbled a bit, catching himself on the nearby workbench as the gravity of the situation fell on him. He then looked down to Twilight, who looked up at him with concern in her eyes. The Professor swallowed a lump in his throat and looked to Shining Armor.
“Listen to me lad, I want you to forget about me and take her instead.”
“Not an option. I’ll get you both out.” Shining Armor insisted.
“Listen to me, they won’t kill me! They still need me for their weapons and special project! But if they killed those children because you guys infiltrated this base, then they’ll kill her too! I won’t see her life extinguished in this hole in the Earth, away from the sun and those who can give her something she truly needs!”
Professor Neigh then grabbed Shining Armor by his ammo belt that was slung across his chest and brought him closer. “Captain Shining Armor, I am begging you, take this girl from this horrible place and give her a home! A true home! Do you understand me?!”
Shining Armor looked to the Professor and then to Twilight. Seeing that young girl, and imagining her shot in cold blood like the others, forced to live in this underground facility for all her days, it was just something he couldn’t stand for. So, reluctantly, Shining Armor agreed.
“Alright, I’ll take her out of here, but I promise I’ll come back and get you!” Shining Armor swore.
“I know you will lad.”
“But…Pwafessor!” Twilight whined as tears ran down her face. “I don’t want to leave you! Please don’t leave me alone!”
Professor Neigh crouched down to be at eye level with Twilight, he then patted her head and smiled gently at her. “Young one, I need you to be a strong and brave girl for me. I need you to go with big brother Shining Armor. He’ll take you out of this awful place where you can be happy.”
“B-But I am happy! I wanna be happy here with you!” Twilight rushed forward and hugged her mentor. “Pwease, don’t go away!”
Professor Neigh felt awkward at this moment, he wanted to hug her, but felt like he hadn’t the right to do so. He wasn’t her father, but he was the closest thing to that. “I’m not going away, I’ll see you again. Maybe not tomorrow, or in a year, but one day we’ll meet again. But in the meantime, I want you to see the world that I came from.”
“The world that is so full of possibilities. And my dear…science is a wonderful thing, it’s meant to help people, not to hurt them. But do something that I was never able to do when I was out there.”
“W-What…?”
“Make some friends, my dear, make some friends.”
Twilight and Sunset were now in the Storage Room. Twilight’s powers had fully reconstructed the base, but she only remade it up to the point before it was destroyed. Case in point, the giant hole that was burned into the wall within the storage room.
“I didn’t understand why Professor Neigh asked that of me. Why would I need friends? What was the point in them? It wasn’t until I was adopted by Shining Armor’s family that learned that about what it meant to be part of a family, to have a big brother there to protect you, to have a mother and father who take care of you and love you with all their hearts.”
“And the day I met my friends at Canterlot High I knew what he meant…he wanted me to have a good life, science and discoveries are hollow victories if you don’t have people with which to enjoy them with.”
“But not just for yourself, but for them as well. I cry when one of them is sad, I’m happy when they’re happy, and when one of them is hurt I hurt too. I always thought things like that were cliché and impossible, but now, with them, and…with you, Sunset, I know it’s not impossible. I hoped one day that I could show Professor Neigh all the friends I made, even you.”
Twilight’s eyes were glistening with white, liquid light as it streaked down her face in the form of tears. Sunset couldn’t believe this. Twilight was adopted, and grown by the same Organization guys who wanted the Firestorm Protocol inside them.
Despite all this, she couldn’t help that her mind latched onto one thing from that. Twilight truly considered her a friend, someone that she had hoped to introduce to the person she looked up to and who practically raised her.
“I don’t understand…why all of this. What’s the point? You, created to help them gain power, and the Protocols, to what end?” Sunset asked.
“Money.” Twilight stated bluntly. “An arms race, one that the Organization controls, the Protocol we have was created to be a strong enough one that could neutralize the others in order to protect themselves from their creation.”
“They’ll see the world burn, so long as they live and can have the money and power, they can keep a war going for generations to line their pockets. America, Russia, China, all the superpowers, and all the different terrorist groups out there, they’ll sell it to the highest bidder, and reap the profits from the destruction it will cause.”
“Those are the kind of people we’re up against Sunset…in the end, they’re motivated by greed, not some lofty or corrupt noble purpose, just greed and a lust for power.”
Sunset smashed her fist into a metal crate, the heat coming off her fist was practically melting the crate into nothing. “I can’t believe it! Just when I think this world isn’t bad enough, there are people out there who will actually cause pain and suffering to so many just so long as they…! Get…What they want…”
Twilight wiped away her glowing tears and turned around after Sunset had gone silent. At that moment Sunset began to chuckle, it was an odd chuckle that evolved into laughter. It was almost bordering on insane laughter, but at the same time, Twilight saw some of the same liquid light tears fall from Sunset’s eyes.
I’m such a damn hypocrite! It’s too funny, I…I’m no better than the people who made Twilight and these Protocols! I wanted the Element of Magic, I wanted power, I wanted everypony and everybody in both worlds to bow to me and acknowledge my superiority, even Princess Celestia!
Sunset’s laughter was still going, but then she slumped up against a stack of crates and let herself slide down until she was sitting on the ground. She rested her arms on her knees as her left hand rubbed her head in frustration. Twilight didn’t know what to make of this, she cautiously walked over to Sunset and knelt down to her level, concern heavy in her glowing white eyes.
“Sunset…?”
“I’m no better than these monsters…and those I criticize…”
Twilight looked at Sunset with confusion. “Sunset that’s not true, you’re nothing like them!”
“I AM! I…Twilight…” Sunset released a frustrated sigh. “I can’t tell you how, because if I did, despite the things you’ve shown and told me, you wouldn’t believe me. But suffice to say that I had carefully planned out a way to rule Canterlot High…no, more than that, I figured out a way to rule the whole world with a powerful item; something as strong as or stronger than the Firestorm Protocols.”
Twilight’s eyes widened. “Sunset…I…I don’t get it…I mean, I know of what you’ve done at the school, but I didn’t know you had ambitions like that, or a means to do it.”
“I almost had the means. And all because I wanted power and the rewards that I rightfully deserved from gaining such power! CHS was and is still a means to an end, but I messed myself up, I stumbled and tripped just five feet from the finish line and now…I lost that opportunity. I don’t deserve to be around you…or to have this power! Because I’m not any better than these warmongering, greedy bastards, I was even contemplating of ways on how to get back at you!”
Sunset looked up at Twilight, the liquid light that was her tears was still streaming from her eyes. Despite the anger and narrowed gaze she was aiming at Twilight, the pink and purple Firestorm could tell that Sunset was angrier at herself.
“I hated you! I hated that you undid everything I worked to destroy within a couple of days! And then…as if that wasn’t bad enough, you were the only one who didn’t give me a death glare! The only one who would greet me with a smile when all I did was sneer and glower back! It infuriated me, and it made me feel worse for feeling that way! At my lowest I even thought about, for a microsecond, taking up Gilda and Lightning Dust on their offer…”
“Offer?” Twilight asked. “You mean what those two girls said to you, the same ones you fought on the quad a few weeks back?”
Sunset reluctantly shook her head. “They offered to…to kidnap you and…and invite me to hurt you as payback…but something snapped in me and I fought them! I still don’t understand why I did it; even though I resented you, for some reason the thought of physically hurting you…made me feel sick!”
The crimson and yellow Firestorm flinched when she felt a hand rest atop her right. She looked up and saw Twilight smiling that same smile at her, even after everything she just said. “Sunset, the fact that you feel that way means that you’re not like them. I could tell, no, I’ve felt that you were different from everyone else at school.”
“The naïve part of me even thought that you were another artificially created human like me that escaped, but that theory died out a long time ago. But you were still a mystery, and…um…” Twilight’s cheeks tinted red a bit. “I kind of thought of you as another me, a stronger, more confident, and equally brilliant version. The kind of person I want to be.”
Sunset averted her gaze. “You don’t want to be me, I’m selfish, ambitious, cruel, violent…”
“Would a selfish girl drive me in the middle of the night to find a rocket? Would an ambitious girl have offered to sacrifice herself and take on the full power of the Firestorm Protocol without knowing what would happen to her? Would a cruel girl have even bothered to come to my house and console me?!”
“Sunset, you’re none of those things, maybe once upon time, but you’ve changed – you are changing, Sunset! Slowly, but surely you are!” Twilight rushed forward and wrapped her arms around Sunset, causing the older girl to be pushed back a bit from the sudden action. “You’re still my friend, my best friend. And nothing you say or do will make me think otherwise!”
Sunset didn’t want to keep crying, it was so uncool and pathetic of her. But she couldn’t help it, she hugged Twilight back, and that strange feeling in her stomach and heart came back. She wasn’t sure about it until now, but holding Twilight back when she was crying, and now again as Twilight hugged her, Sunset couldn’t escape the truth of what heart was telling her.
“Thank you…Twilight.” Sunset raised an eyebrow and smirked. “How come you didn’t say anything about me being violent?”
Twilight blushed and pulled away, rubbing the back of her head nervously. “Well…um…you are kind of violent and exhume a tense air about you…and you have threatened others with bodily harm. But then again that penchant for violence is what helped us during the fight with Blaze…sooooo…ahem.”
Sunset chuckled and got up. “Uh-huh, let’s just quit while you’re ahead Sparky.”
“Fair enough.”
Both Firestorm girls looked at the gaping hole in the wall. The site of where Professor Neigh and Shining Armor met their end. Twilight stood up and balled her fists as she steeled her resolve. “I don’t want to disgrace their sacrifice by dying, I will protect family, and my friends.”
Sunset gently placed an arm over Twilight’s shoulder, bringing the other girl into a half hug. “Hey, you won’t be doing it alone. I don’t think I’ll be able to make up for the shitty things I did in the past, but…maybe taking down an evil organization is a step in the right direction.”
Twilight giggled, her first genuine one since they arrived. “More than a good first step.”
The older girl released Twilight from the half hug and stretched her arms out, popping a few kinks. “Well, I’m done with sad sack routine! Time to let off some steam!” Sunset glanced to Twilight and smirked deviously. “Why don’t we leave this place the way we found it?!”
Sunset blazed through the halls, firing one long beam of plasma fire down one end and watching the magnificent explosion the followed soon after. She smashed through walls, punched, chopped, and kicked down everything that got in her way, cutting loose with her augmented strength and intense flames. She wanted to see just how much her powers could level and demolishing an evil headquarters was a good way to do it.
Twilight was a little more reserved to join in, standing at a safe distance while she watched Sunset Shimmer tear the base a new one. The crimson Firestorm appeared before Twilight with a curious look on her face. “Why aren’t you wrecking stuff?!”
“Well…what’s the point? I was just going to dissolve its molecular bonds the moment we left and destabilize it when we left.”
“The point is to let off some steam! Sometimes breaking stuff is great stress relief, and considering all the heavy emotional crap we just had, I think you could use it. So c’mon, blow something up or smash something! It’s easy, watch!”
Sunset opened her right palm, atomic rings formed and gathered glowing flames. The flames burst forth in the form of a fiery plasma beam that melted through several layers of the wall and into whatever adjacent rooms were on the other side. The wall she shot exploded, sending debris flying and smoke bellowing out in all directions.
Twilight never saw the point in doing something like that, Rainbow Dash would sometimes play sports for stress relief, Applejack would focus on working her family’s orchard, and Rarity would concentrate on her clothing designs. Twilight shrugged, deciding that using this time would serve as seeing how far her offensive transmutation abilities could go without hurting anyone. The second Firestorm threw up her hands, atomic rings forming as purple particles gathered to them.
Within a fraction of a second she fired a twin beam of energy that literally punched through everything it came into contact with. Sunset watched with wide eyes as the beam continued on, it didn’t blow anything up, acting more like two runaway trains that would plow through anything that was left on the tracts.
When Twilight ended the attack she turned to Sunset, spotting the confused look on her face. “Condensed gravitons focused into a beam. It acts as more of a high powered battering ram than anything.”
“It’s a start Sparky, now really cut loose! I got dibs on that side, you get this side!”
Sunset took off and began blasting everything with fireballs and heat rays. Twilight sighed, but chuckled at the amusement in Sunset’s voice. She set to work, heading down her assigned side of the base. Twilight used her transmutation powers to manipulate the air particles and thin them out, she then waved her hands in slashing motions, throwing out crescent shaped air blades the sliced and diced through the walls, doors, and whatever else was in their path.
Twilight calculated the formula needed to create an explosion, she then snapped her fingers as if shooting targets at different spots down the halls and around the ceiling, walls, and floor. When she stopped, Twilight waved her hand for a second time and the spots she had designated erupted into micro explosions that combined into one huge one. The flames washed over her, but she felt no heat or the force of the explosion, she was a nuclear force all her own so things like this wouldn’t faze her.
Elsewhere Sunset had found a large room, something akin to a hangar. Her body erupted into flames as her yellow fire aura wrapped around her. She took a stance and spun out in place. Her spinning grew faster and faster, the flames heating up with each second.
Then, without warning, the spiraling whirlwind of flames spat out fireballs in rapid succession in every direction. Sunset had become a literal Death Blossom as she littered the area with flaming orbs of destruction. Crates, machinery, all of it was either melted, twisted up, or blown away.
Sunset then shot up into the air, ending her spinning. She brought up both hands into the air, giant atomic rings formed as fire and energy swirled around her open palms. A massive fireball formed overhead, and with a grin, Sunset descended back down to the floor and smashed the fireball into the ground first, causing it to detonate and bathe the area in fiery hot plasma.
A few minutes passed above ground, the moon continued to shine down on the gaping hole in the dunes as smoke bellowed out from it. Suddenly two streaks busted out from the sands, one was red and yellow, while the other was pink and purple. The two streaks of fire met each other over the smoking hole, both nodding to each other.
Sunset thrust out her left hand, pointing it at the hole down below. Twilight thrust out right hand, placing it behind Sunset’s left. Atomic rings formed around both their hands as flames gathered. The flames turned a combination of yellow and pink, in this moment, their energies were synchronized and Twilight and Sunset could use the others’ powers.
“One last sendoff Sparky, you ready?” Sunset asked.
Twilight nodded. “Yes!”
The power grew more and more until the two girls released a powerful column of yellow and pink plasma fire. The inferno roared as it shot down towards the entrance, suddenly, the ground rumbled and the dunes wavered. In a fraction of a second a massive explosion burst forth from deep below the ground, like a volcano erupting.
The base was destroyed, utterly annihilated. Twilight and Sunset watched the remnants burn for a few more seconds before they used their synchronized power to cease the burning flames and cover up what was unearthed.
The two of them separated, neither one forgetting what the feeling of the other’s hand felt like. Sunset suddenly felt something, her gaze darted to her right and, using her enhanced vision, saw something in the distance, a flicker of crimson fire that took the shape of a man for just a brief moment before disappearing, like a candle in the wind.
“Sunset, are you alright?” Twilight asked.
“Y-Yeah, I’m fine.” She turned her gaze back to her…friend. “Guess we’d better head back before your parents – and Celestia – have a cow.”
“Good idea, let’s go home.”
As the Firestorm girls sailed through the air, Sunset couldn’t help her thoughts straying to what she saw in the distance. More so, because for that brief instant, it almost felt like she sensed magical energy. Sunset shook her head, magic didn’t exist in this world, the closest power to that was inside her and Twilight now. And speaking of Twilight, how was she going to come to grips with what she was feeling now?
I…I like-like her…