//------------------------------// // How NOT to hold a press conference // Story: Tales of the Equestria Girls // by SirScribe //------------------------------// The reporters immediately reacted as the Secret Service agents raised their firearms. The cameramen followed their gazes to where Tangled Minds was with Sunset held in place. While they initially thought that they presented a clear danger to the two Presidents in the room, Platinum immediately recognized the girl her assistant held. Twilight's gaze fell on Sunset's panicked expression. Seeing the human weapons trained on her as well as the Tartarus escapee immediately froze the Equestrian princess. Sunset, however, was more terrified than she let on. Every nerve in her body froze as her heart started to slow down. Tangled Minds simply smiled and took in a deep breath. He wrapped his arm around Sunset's chest. "You know, they made your cell next to mine. I hope you like it." Sunset said nothing. President Platinum moved from her spot behind her podium. "Tangled? What the hell is going on?" Tangled sighed as he focused on the president. "Oh shut up, you worthless human!" Everyone in the room gasped. Tangled raised his puppet controller and waved it in the air. "Time to retire you bald ape!" Before Platinum could say anything, the American president pulled a pistol from one of the unaffected Secret Service agents and swung it at President Platinum. The metal collided with the back of her head, knocking her out upon impact as she hit the floor. Tangled smiled as he pushed Sunset into the chairs as he ran to collect his prize. Throwing the Equian President over his shoulder, Tangled waved his controlled into the air. The hypnotized agents fell out of their loopy state and, instead of attacking Tangled, began shooting towards the Canterlot girls. Reporters dove out of the way as the guns roared in the room. Because they were scattered throughout the room, the Rainbooms all managed to find some cover regarding the chaos. The remaining humans managed to escape the room, but not everyone was unmarked. Sunset fought back a gag. Several trails of blood let to the doors to the outside world. Tangled kicked open the doors leading further into the building. "Kill them all, and if anyone survives, I'll kill Platinum and the American the second I see anyone coming for me!" he shouted as he disappeared with the hypnotized president behind him. As more bullets continued to rain down on Sunset's position, she turned to see Fluttershy covering her ears as she was screaming. Rainbow Dash, who now had the real camera in her hands, huddled with Princess Twilight. The human Twilight must've escaped or was in hiding. Don't think dead, Sunset thought to herself. Anything but dead. The sound of a bullet ricocheting nearly sent Sunset into a panic attack, but the sound of a girl cursing and apologizing cured it. Human Twilight was still alive somewhere. Her eyes darted to the middle of the room where the EM Disruptor Ray laid unprotected. She wouldn't dare try to grab it now and use it. Sensing a similar idea form, Sunset turned to see Princess Twilight grab the EM Frequency Tracker from around her neck and open it. Thanks to her human counterpart, who spent the most of the previous evening trying to upgrade it, she could use it against those who used magic incorrectly instead of randomly collecting it from the air. She swung her arm from behind cover as she tried absorbing the magic hold placed on the agents. A steady stream of magic began flowing from one human to Twilight's device. As the agent began losing control, or regaining control since the magic was wearing off, another recognized the situation and acted. Taking careful aim, he fired at the device. One small bullet was all it took to destroy the device, scattering whatever little magic was collected throughout the room. Sunset gasped as she got hit with a small sample and immediately felt sick. Twilight then grabbed Rainbow's shirt and shook her maddingly. "Why. Do. Humans. Have. GUNS?!" "Hey, I wasn't there when they wanted to!" Rainbow responded. "WELL YOU SHOULD'VE!" Accompanying Fluttershy's screaming was Rarity's, who was huddled with Pinkie towards the exit. Sunset's mind went into overdrive as she sought for a way out of this mess. Her friends were in danger, and she would be damned if anything happened to any of them. The smallest part of her mind decided to weigh in. If only we could catch them at the one moment of their weakness. A blip in their routine would be the only thing keeping you from meeting Death, it said. Wouldn't want to lose everything you hold dear, including Twilight in a hailstorm of human invention. "Shut up brain I'm trying to think," Sunset muttered. She listened for any change in how the agents were firing. The roars of gunfire would vary. The roars would be deafening, but then the sound would change. The agents were reloading, and since Tangled would be just as fascinated with human technology as they were, he would depend on them to get the job done quickly. Sunset tried waving at Twilight and Rainbow. Rainbow smacked Twilight's hand and gestured toward the former Equestrian. "Pop quiz: what is the primary reaction to life-threatening distress?" she called out. "Aww Sunset, you know I hate pop quizzes!" Rainbow responded. "Ya ain't bein' graded ya idiot!" Applejack shouted. Rarity screamed. "SURVIVAL!" she responded. Sunset smiled. "Flight or Fight! Finally, something good coming out of high school science!" Twilight laughed. Without warning, she grabbed the camera in Rainbow's hands and raised it toward her like she was taking a selfie. In the reflection, one agent was reloading his magazine. In an act that screamed WRONG IDEA SPARKLE!, Twilight threw the camera toward the agent's foot. He screamed as he dropped his gun. Sunset smiled as she copied. As the agent close to her turned to the source of the commotion, Sunset rose up, grabbed a steal chair and swung it at the agent. The agent fell, and as another prepped to take a shot at Sunset, Applejack emerged from her spot and tackled another. In the span of a few seconds, the girls were fighting back against America's hijacked security force. Rainbow charged at one agent and jumped past him. In a move that made Rarity cringe, Rainbow mimicked a wrestling move as she grabbed the agent's head and fell into a classic RKO. Canned cheering was heard as Pinkie began bouncing in the air while dodging bullets. While the girls defended themselves, Sci-Twi lunged for her ray gun, which laid abandoned in the middle of the room. An agent jumped in front of her with his gun cocked. Sci-Twi braced for the bullet that would end her short-lived friendship with Canterlot's dream team, but it never came. Rarity picked up a steel chair, and against every fiber in her body, she threw it at the agent. The man knocked it away to meet the fists of Sunset Shimmer and Princess Twilight. If the hypnosis didn't leave its victims in a fragile state like these Secret Service agents were in, it would've taken a bit more to take one down. The man fell on his back knocked out cold. At this point, the men gave up using their guns to fight. They couldn't get the upper hand as the girls continued to fight the hypnosis. Sci-Twi grabbed her camera-ray gun and dashed for the door. "I'm gonna go get this guy!" she announced. Sunset, who ducked as a man tried to grab her, responded. "I'm going with you!" She flipped the man over using his own momentum. "Count me in!" Twilight shouted. "Girls?" Rainbow jumped into Applejack's arms as the farm girl threw her into three agents. "Ah'm good!" "Ditto!" Rainbow seconded. Pinkie didn't reply. She skid over to where the men were and began slapping the floor. After the third slap, the sound of a bell rang out as she raised both Rainbow's and Applejack's arms, declaring them Tag Team Champions. Rarity only sighed as a man came dangerously close to grabbing her. As Rarity ducked, her hair decided to stay in the air for half a second too long. Instead of grabbing what the agent thought was an enemy of the United States, he grabbed a wad of purple curly hair. The air in the room grew cold as rage began to fill up Rarity. The main pulled up the hair to meet the deadly glare of the young Miss Rarity. "It. Took. Me. 3 HOURS TO DO MY HAIR YOU RUFFIAN!" Rarity's hands shot forward and clamped down on the agent's neck. He let go of her hair to have her tackle him to the ground. "Onwards you three!" she chipped as she strangled the man. Sunset and Princess Twilight exchanged looks. "Umm, does she usually..." Sunset shrugged. "If she did, I'm surprised she isn't in jail most of the time," she said. "C'mon, let's get this guy," Sci-Twi called out as she burst through the doors. Sunset and Twilight shrugged to each other as they chased after the only human in their little trio of magic trouble. Tangled paced the room where he had the two presidents. Mind control, while powerful in getting the job done, was very fragile. The shock of knowing what you have done would be enough to snap someone out of the trance. If the girls were taken care of, chances were that the Secret Service would come after him. He didn't care. He had the President of the United States and the President of Equis in the same room. He had the quickest way to initiate nuclear war on Planet Earth and eradicate every human in existence. He had the ability to destroy the world and complete his mission. A mission he had taken without skipping a beat of his heart. Well, what was left of it. Our Lord will pay you in the highest respect upon completing this mission Minds. Do not fail Him, and do not fail me! His sponsor had said in Tartarus. Tangled was eager. Of course he knew what would happen to him on Earth, but if this Lord his sponsor talked about kept His word, then no amount of currency would compare to his reward. The American President was his ticket to victory. Sitting on a nearby chair, the hypnotized American President sat with his cell phone in his hands. The Football was too dangerous to carry around, however, one simple command would bring it to him. "Mr. President," Tangled Minds began. "We have a lot to discuss." The president nodded. "You see, I have lived here for a relatively short amount of time, and in that time, I learn about the many enemies you have. The countries that had refused your help, the members of your own party criticized you for failing to prevent the chaos in the Middle East, and even those who you had been allied with. The world owes you nothing, but you want everything," he whispered into his ear. President Platinum, who had been previously unconscious, began to awaken. She was wrapped up like a present and on the floor with no idea where she was. The memory of her previous encounter flooded her mind as she began to shake erratically. "Tangled, what the hell?!" Tangled stomped over to where Platinum was. "SHUT UP! Okay, you failed humanity today!" He shouted. "Tangled! Untie me this instant, or so help me I'll-" "Save your breath! Soon enough, you'll cherish every last breath of clean air!" He turned to the American President. "Mr. President, this woman has reason to believe that YOU openly attacked her and as such, declared war on the United States. I think it's time you showed her the true might of the great American Republic!" Platinum's eyes widened. "Mr. President, don't listen to him! He is controlling you somehow and plans to create World War III! You have to resist!" she pleaded. Tangled Minds raised his controller in the air. "She is trying to get off the hook and avoid war. Call in the All-Powerful Football and show her what happens when you wage war against America!" The President hesitated. His hands on the phone and hovering over the call button. Tangled knew what was going on. He had not taken full control of his mind. In a roar that rivaled dragons, he stormed over and smacked the President. "If you're not going to do it, I will!" With a few taps on the President's phone, he had the Football on delivery. "THIS IS MY WORLD NOW! YOU ALL WILL FEEL WHAT IT IS LIKE TO LIVE IN TARTARUS FOR OVER A THOUSAND YEARS!" The sound of boots running toward him drowned his victorious speech. Those were too many boots to be the Secret Service with the Football. He growled and threw the controller to the ground, no longer of any use to him, "Sunset, I think he's in here!" "Twilight, wait!" Tangled smiled. He walked over to the Mayor's desk and slid open a drawer. Brandishing a weapon, he raised it toward the door. The first person to come walking through was going to taste lead. A shadow formed in the hallway. With the safety off, he readied for the bullet that would guarantee victory. Princess Twilight jogged into view and turned into the room. She locked eyes with Tangled and the gun in his hand. With a final smirk, Tangled pulled the trigger. Sunset had entered the field of view to watch Tangled open fire. Without a second to think about it, she threw herself in between the gun and Twilight as she embraced her in a hug. The bullets impacted her back several times before the two were sent to the ground. In the chaos, President Platinum began screaming. As Tangled backed in the light of victory, Sci-Twi was the last to enter the room. With the camera in her hands, she raised it at Tangled. "NOW!" Princess Twilight called from under Sunset's body. Tangled's smile faded as he watched the camera/ray gun light up. He dropped the gun and let out a roar at the human. Before he could act, Sci-Twi fired her charged up weapon. The energy blast may've well been in slow motion as the wave impacted Tangled Mind's chest. He staggered back as the full force of the blast hit him. At first, nothing happened to the Equestrian. Until... Electricity began to surge throughout his body as he began to scream. The lights in the room began to flicker as Tangled's body began to faze. His body shook as arcs of green magic surged into the room, one of them impacting the American President. Behind him, the wall opened up and presented a portal. The portal was outlined in fire as it led into a wasteland of black and fire. Giant spires were faded in the distance as the field beyond them showed destroyed structures and entire prisons. The cave walls were littered in lights for each prisoner within. Tangled turned to see it: Tartarus. In his last bid for redemption, he let out his final words to the girls. "HAIL ARMAGE-" He never finished as the full power of the portal sucked him in and sealing. The last time anyone saw Tangled Minds, he was falling into an abyss never to be seen again.