//------------------------------// // ...and Sunset makes three // Story: A Tale of Two Twilights // by SirScribe //------------------------------// The country of Equis was little known to the mainlanders of the United States. The two countries had been allies ever since the beginning of the 1800s. While small and insignificant to its big brother, Equis maintained the role of Most Peaceful Nation under the leadership of President Platinum. Their power was small, but its impact on the world would one day be grand. Sitting in a high-end apartment in the capital city of Washington, a lone woman sat as she faced the rainy world in front of her. Along the walls of the well decorated apartment were pictures of the girl’s high school experience in Equis. Photos of her competing in the Friendship Games, the first year the Crystal Prep Shadowcolts won against Canterlot High shown in grace. A photo of her completing the decathlon math tournament showed her smiling proudly as she left her opponent in the dust. A natural genius! Absolutely fantastic work by the new Einstein! was spelled out in the newspaper clipping hanging next to the photo. Equis’s golden egg! said another. Science’s best child! The woman sighed. It has been a few years since she had graduated from Crystal Prep with full honors, and while her work kept her at optimum level, the challenges stopping coming. Her work was too easy at this point in her career and she wasn’t going to get anyway. Next to the woman was a single coffee table with a house phone setup. The phone rang only once before the woman picked it up. “Hello?” “It’s good to hear from you again,” a male voice rang out. “Yes, well I think you will be happy to know that my investigation proved…nothing. You sent me on another wild goose chase!” “Oh please. You enjoyed every bit of that assignment. It isn’t everyday that a 3-year leading scientist for the Department of Homeland Security gets to travel to Egypt to uncover a 3,000 year old mystery. You should be grateful that you got that assignment!” The woman tapped her fingers on her leather chair. “Well…yes, it was fascinating. The pros outweigh the cons once again.” “I am very delighted to hear you say that.” The woman stopped tapping her fingers. The voice had another assignment ready. “Got another field trip for me?” The male voice chuckled through the receiver. “Am I that obvious?” “Yes,” the woman said with a smile across her lips. “Well then, you will love this assignment. Over the past year, the FBI has uncovered evidence of strange anomalies in a small town in Equis. These anomalies, accompanied by reports of extraterrestrial beings and energy spikes have caught our eye. The Federal Government believes that there is something going on down there that can prove to be disastrous to our interests around the world. The last thing we want is our enemies thinking they have allies down there.” The woman clenched her fist around the phone. “Is that so? Sounds like science fiction to me. That, and classic paranoia.” “I thought you might say that. Coming in through your fax is my evidence. Unfortunately we do not have clearance from President Platinum to enter the country, and since you once lived there, perhaps you have better access.” The woman sighed. “Using my nationality to conduct an investigation down there is absolutely crazy. I’m not going.” All of a sudden, a machine ignited behind the woman. She looked over at her office station to see her fax machine working overtime to produce evidence for the young woman. Three pictures were printed out before the machine went silent. The woman put down the phone to retrieve the photos. Once she had them in her hand, she gasped. In one photo, a tall woman with red skin seemed to be towering over a group of girls. The woman had long and pointed ears and black eyes. She wore a red and yellow dress and had…wings? Behind her was Canterlot High with the front entrance completely destroyed. In the next photo, it looked like three creatures with horse bodies but fish tails flying over a concert. Behind the stands was a lone hill with a small setup of band equipment and a tricked out DJ booth. Above the impromptu band setup was a giant winged horse with an enlarged horn. The last photo was blurry, but the woman could guess that it involved two people. One appeared to be a dark purple character with large wings and a horn sticking from their forehead. Around what could be their eyes was a glowing mask. The other individual appeared to be orange-ish with a similar setup with wings and a horn, but they had no mask. The woman pressed the photo closer to her face. The orange character looked familiar to the woman. After a second, realization hit her like a ton of bricks. The woman spun around and return to her chair. She picked up the phone to know the male voice had returned. “Is that enough evidence for you?” The woman was still staring at the photo. “Ho-how? This is impossible!” The male voice chuckled. “Nothing is impossible. Those photos were very difficult to procure, but there is enough evidence for us to launch an official investigation, but President Platinum is keeping us out. I need you to investigate exactly what this is and how we can respond.” The woman nodded as she placed the photos down. “The usual, I presume?” “No. Unfortunately, we cannot allow ourselves to be known there in Equis. Your career is unknown to them I believe, so they will have no problem accepting you back into the country.” “No, unless I return immediately after they reject an official order to investigate. They will figure me out if I go now. I will need time to gather information and call in favors before I can return,” the woman said. “As you wish. I will contact you once things are simmering down and we can proceed from there. Agreed?” “Agreed.” “Excellent. I do hope to hear from you soon, Ms. Shimmer.” The woman, Ms. Shimmer hung up before rising out of her seat. Ms. Shimmer was wearing a black blouse top with blue denim jeans. Her hair was wild and frizzy, but she still held the image of professionalism. Ms. Shimmer dusted her pants as she walked over to her hallway closet. She opened it up and pulled out a large blue and purple book. On the front it said Crystal Prep Academy 2009. She flipped through the pages until she found the photo of her school at Canterlot High. After studying as much as she could, she sealed the book and returned to her office area. “In theory, there are seven people in the world who look exactly like you.” She said to herself. “Tonight, I have found the first. It will be a pleasure to study you, Sunset Shimmer.”