While Canterlot is the center of Equestria politically and socially, Everfree City was the capital of the country of Equis. Inherited by the ancient inhabitants of early Hoofenstein, Everfree City became a powerhouse to generations of presidents. Leaders from the six districts of the island nation would converge on Everfree. From the six delegates, a seventh would become president through a series of academic, social and economic trials.
President Platinum, newly inducted President of Equis, sought to open the doors of the nation to the world. The first country to come knocking on their door, however, proved to be a pain. The United States of America began their interventions in Equis' political affairs, and despite protests by the political leaders, President Platinum continued her Open Door Policies.
As the Sun rose above Canterlot City, news vans crowded the American Embassy as well as civilians. The American President exited the embassy to be blinded by flashes from all the cameras. The president waved to the crowd before climbing into his limo.
Outside city hall, President Platinum stood with her Cabinet members. With her signature jade hair with silver streaks, President Platinum's term in office proved to be explosive with countless American interventions. Her violet eyes and ivory skin shimmered in the soft glow of the sunrise. Her eyes scanned the road in front of her, where dozens of press vans awaited for the arrival of the American President.
One of the Cabinet members, a criminal from another dimension, shifted his jacket where he kept his puppet controller. Tangled Minds sported gray hair and piercing black eyes. His ash skin was evidence of his time in Tartarus. "Madam President, is it wise to invite the American here when we can return to Everfree City?" he asked.
"Obviously Canterlot City is the neutral zone between us and the United States. I'd like this to be a quick meeting before the G20 convention. I don't wish to sit through another 5 hour lecture of how we're supposed to be America's only ally again," she said.
"Even though they are much more powerful than us?" Minds asked.
President Platinum scoffed. "Their military may be strong, but at least Equis has morals that serve for the better of mankind and not try to monopolize democracy around the world."
Tangled Minds nodded in understanding. It's too easy. I'd expect those bratty teens from last week to try to ruin this day, he thought to himself.
The limo containing the American President stopped at the steps of city hall followed by an army of Secret Service agents. The President exited the vehicle and approached Platinum.
Behind him, an army of news vans screeched to a halt. As Secret Service agents motioned the President to continue moving, he stopped to meet with his fellow president. "Madam President?"
The jade-haired woman put on a fake smile. "Mr. President, well I must say that it is an honor that you have graced this fair city with your presence," she said.
The President smiled. "Is that sarcasm I detect?"
Platinum turned her back on him. "Of course not, Mr. President. I would never approach you with sarcasm on a very important day like today. Now come, we need to have our affairs in order before we begin the day." She began walking inside with her own security detail behind her. The American President chuckled as he followed.
Secret Service agents stood at the doorway as reporters started to come in. As Secret Service agents allowed reporters inside, another vehicle, unlike any of the other news vans appeared. The reporter and camerawoman approached the steps of the building before being stopped by the agent at the door.
The reporter flashed her ID badge at the man. A quick scan, and already he was skeptical. "Wondercolts Weekly?"
Sunset Shimmer, donning a brown blouse and skirt with her hair tied up smiled. She had her hair tied back (Rainbow Dash called her out about having a ponytail on a pony. She was punched in the face). She adjusted her glasses before clearing her throat. "You've been in Equis before?"
The man shook his head. "Well, the Weekly is a student-run paper and news station that has broadcasted hundreds of stories across Canterlot City. Being a man who has had a lot of time next to a radio, I'm certain you've heard our broadcast," she said.
The agent eyed her skeptically. "Never heard of it," he said.
The camerawoman gasped. Twilight, who had to quickly become adjusted to holding a giant piece of equipment, shifted the camera. "S-sir, you must've heard our broadcast in some way."
Sunset grinned inwardly. "Sorry miss, but I haven't heard of you," the agent said.
The fiery-haired teen took his remark as a challenge. "Well, if you're not going to let us in, then I'm going to have to explain to all my listeners that we couldn't get in, AND we won't have an official broadcast on our website for our thousands of fans in the southern Equis area. I'm sure they'll understand when I leave the name of the man who wouldn't let us in." She smiled as she reached into her pocket to pull out her recorder. "What's your name again?"
The agent chuckled nervously. Got him! "So, you were saying we couldn't be let in?"
The agent stepped aside. "Just...go on in. You'll be screened upon entry so let me know if you have anything on you that you shouldn't have, otherwise it'll get awkward," he said.
Sunset smiled as she pocketed her recorder before entering the room. Once inside, she found herself in front of a metal detector. Secret Service agents stood around it while two agents stood behind it with a magnetic wand in one of their hands. Sunset gulped as she approached the machines.
As Sunset walked through the detector, Twilight had to place the camera on a tray leading into an X-ray machine. As the machine scanned, Twilight walked through the metal detector. The machine sounded its alarm, alerting the agents in the room. Twilight began to sweat as her hand went toward the EM Frequency Tracker around her neck.
The agent inspected the trinket before labeling it as a simple necklace. In the X-ray machine, the guards noticed how crude the camera was on the inside. After explaining it was a homemade camera to the guards, they let them slide. Once inside and with the camera in her hands, the two Equestrians began walking toward where the press conference was supposed to be.
Halfway down the hall, the two took a turn into a secluded area. Sunset ripped off the glasses she was wearing and pinched her nose. "Ugh, how can Rarity focus with this thing? I swear, my eyes are going to burst," she complained.
Twilight placed the camera at her feet. "This thing is heavy. Why did the other me put her ray gun thingy in here anyway?"
"It's just a part of the plan." Sunset checked her phone and groaned. "Rarity is here with Applejack and the other you, but Fluttershy is stuck in traffic with the others. I'll let them know about Agent dick head at the front."
Twilight spun around with her face red. "Su-Sunset!"
The girl in question looked up. "What?"
Against her better judgment, Twilight started chuckling. "Agent dick head."
Sunset cracked a grin as she texted the girls. After sending the text, Sunset leaned on the wall and took a deep breath. "Soo, how do you like the human world so far?"
Twilight laughed. She wiggled her hand back and forth. "It's got its ups and downs. I think the last thing we expected was cleaning up a magical problem caused by an escapee from Tartarus," she said. "That kinda ruined the museum trip."
Sunset feinted an expression of shock. "Oh? Is that so?"
"Well...yeah kinda," Twilight responded. "Props to Tangled Minds for perfect timing on the matter though."
Sunset laughed. "Well, all things considered, I think the museum trip went off pretty good. You were certainly excited afterward," she said.
"Well, that's just me. I'm just saying though, maybe we can plan something on the side to kinda make up for that mishap," Twilight remarked.
"I agree."
Silence fell between them. "Hey I have an idea. I've heard about this thing called 'Netflix and Chill'. How about that?" Twilight suggested.
Sunset's eyes widened as she slipped where she leaned. She nearly fell had she not gotten a grip on a column. "Wh-where did y-"
"Hmm?"
"Uhh, Twilight, do you know what that means?"
The Princess of Friendship shook her head. "I bet it has something to do with watching Netflix and not doing anything else, right?"
The former Equestrian shook her head violently. "Netflix and Chill means that two people watch Netflix for about 5 minutes before having sex with each other," Sunset explained.
Twilight's face burned red as realization dawned on her. "Jeez Twilight, if that's what you think about me, then I guess we could..." Sunset teased.
Twilight raised her hands up to protect herself. "NONONONONOSUNSETIDIDNTMEANTOSA-"
Sunset started laughing hysterically while Twilight squeaked in embarrassment. Rarity and Sci-Twi rounded the corner to see Twilight hiding in her hair. "Darling, what's wrong with you?"
"NOTTALKINGABOUTIT!" Twilight nearly shouted.
Rarity turned to Sunset, who gave her the 'I'll-tell-you-later' look. Applejack came running in with Rarity's old fashion notebook under her arm. She knew whatever was going on and shook her head. "Ah don't believe in letting y'all alone fer more than a minute," she remarked.
Sunset smirked as she replaced the glasses. Twilight sighed as she hoisted the camera onto her shoulder. Sci-Twi came close to inspect her wonderful machine. "Sooo, I got good news and bad news," she said.
"Darling, you should've said that earlier," Rarity said.
Sci-Twi said nothing as she adjusted her glasses. "So, the good news is that I managed to reconfigure the EMP properties in her, making her more dangerous and cancel Tangled's control over anyone he could have under his control. The bad news is that in order to do so, I've had to connect all the batteries with each other and create a steady flow of energy. It'll work, but with the modifications I made with the batteries, I'd say we only have one chance to use the gun before the batteries explode inside," she said.
"Oh? That's not too bad," Rarity said.
"And the resulting energy crisis may also fire an EMP back at us and eliminate all magic within us entirely," Sci-Twi concluded.
Silence fell on the group. Sunset's phone began to vibrate, and as she checked her messages, all eyes turned to Twilight and the fake camera. The camera now felt even heavier on her shoulders. "Umm, you know that will affect me when I go back to Equestria, okay? That will be very bad," she said.
"But Tangled Minds is a dangerous criminal in the first place. If we can't put him down, who knows what he can get accomplished in this world?" Sunset argued. "He could start World War Three, or maybe pit America at war against us, or maybe..."
"MAYBE HE WILL OUTLAW ALL CUPCAKES AND PARTIES IN EQUIS AND WE'LL ALL BE SAD AND GRAY AND NO ONE WILL COME HERE FOR VACATIONS OR BIRTHDAY PARTIES!" Pinkie shrieked as she entered the hallway.
Sci-Twi began cleaning her ears. "Uhh, he-hey Pinkie. Glad you could make it," she said.
Pinkie smiled. "Are we clear on the plan?" Sci-Twi asked.
Some of the girls gave confused looks. Sunset sighed as she played with her press badge. Sci-Twi sighed as she rubbed her temples. "As I said, it's simple: we survey the room for any possible exits, cover them, trap Tangled Minds and use the necklace to drain him of his magic. If he uses magic against us, we use the EM Disrupter..."
"Trademark Twi-Tech 2015," Sunset muttered.
Twilight smirked. "Once we drain his magic, we grab him and throw him into the portal. Simple," Sci-Twi argued.
"Ya didn't say that back at the apartment," Applejack said.
Sci-Twi blew on her bangs in frustration. One by one, the rest of the girls began filing into the hallway. As part of the plan, Fluttershy was equipped with a spare camera and press badge, separate from Vinyl's radio show. Sci-Twi turned to Sunset, who was busy on her phone. "How do you deal with them?"
Sunset raised an eyebrow. "Oh be nice. Translating a more complicated and more dangerous plan to them is like explaining magic to you," she said.
Rainbow Dash, who was the last to enter the room, laughed. "Ain't that the truth," she said.
Fluttershy smacked her arm. "Okay girls, ready?"
They all nodded in agreement. With their disguises in place, they began to file into the conference room. Fluttershy remained on the second camera while Rainbow played the 'newswoman' with Pinkie as maintenance. Sunset stood as the Wondercolts Weekly newswoman while Twilight served as the cameragirl. Sci-Twi and Applejack stood by as the maintenance as well.
As both presidents held their news conference for all the real reporters in the room, Sunset began scanning the room. The Equis flag and the American flag stood proud behind their leaders, and with them were their advisors and Cabinet members. Secret Service members weren't in sight, and if they were following protocol, they'd stay that way unless something went wrong.
That something could be Twilight firing the EM ray gun mounted on her shoulder.
As the reporters continued to follow the conference, realization dawned on Sunset. Besides the fact she remembered Twilight's confusion on the term Netflix and Chill, there was something off. Not with Twilight, but with her target. The Tartarus escapee wasn't where he was in previous newscasts with President Platinum.
A firm hand gripped her shoulder. "As I told you before, Ms. Shimmer..."
Sunset's gaze followed up to meet the rugged face of Tangled Minds. His eyes gleamed in evil and madness. "All payments are due. Time's up kid."
That's when everything went to Hell. He pulled out his puppet controller from his coat and waved it in the air. The Secret Service agents hidden in the room suddenly appeared with blank expressions on their faces. Their eyes all glowed green. They brandished their weapons and took aim.
Sunset gulped. This was more than she bargained for.