Chapter VI: A Walk In The Woods
Twilight made her way out of the briefing room pondering what to do with her free time now that her training had been deferred. Twilight heard the sound of both Sunset and Capt. Hunter in the room behind her. She couldn't make out what they were discussing nor was she particularly invested in the content of the conversation. She had her own internal debate going on in her head.
I should take Captain's advice and go see mom and dad. The way this sounds it may be a while before I get the chance to.
Twilight made her way down the hall back to the lobby area.
But do I really want to see the mess that Canterlot is right now? I'm not sure I want to see the destruction that I was to late to stop.
The motion of Twilight entering back into the lobby caught the attention of Nights Watch, who was still at the desk. He seemed to catch the look internal debate going on in Twilight's head.
Though if I am going to be moving here I should probably get the rest of my stuff from home. I guess I should tell my family about my change of location.
The voice of Nights Watch cut through the mental block that she had unconsciously established.
"Hey Twilight!" he started. "Or should I call Lt. Sparkle, or do you go by Spellblade now?"
He chuckle slightly to himself.
"Oh!" Twilight looked up in surprise. "Sorry Nights I was kind of lost in my own head. I guess you can call me what ever you prefer."
A concerned expression crossed Nights Watch's face.
"Is everything alright?" he asked.
"No. Well, yes. There is nothing actually wrong. It's just that I have some free leave before I start my training, and I'm not sure what I should do with that time. Do I go home and see my folks? But then I would have to see all that destruction of Canterlot and I don't know if I'm ready for that, but there are some things that I need to do, and I'm just not sure what to do."
Breath Twilight! You're starting to ramble. Keep it under control.
"Hey, you don't need to panic on me. You want to take a seat and talk out the options?" Nights watch offered and gestured to a nearby chair.
Twilight sighed with a bit of relief and embarrassment. At least she wouldn't need to keep this stuck in her mind. She made her way to the offered seat and took it.
"I'm sorry for being a bother. I didn't mean to make this your problem. I'm not even sure why it's a problem for me. It shouldn't even be that big a deal," Twilight said. She wanted to just vanish inter her cloak to avoid pushing her problems on to the security head in front of her.
"It's not a bother for me at all. It sounds like a lot of your reason for not wanting to go back is about the market attack. Am I right?" Nights Watch questioned.
His pale blue eyes seemed to bore into her. Not in a threatening or malicious way, but in a softer manner. It was like he was trying to ease his way into the core of Twilight's problem, extract the truth of the issue, and sooth it. Twilight looked back into his eyes and noticed for the first time that they were slit like a cat's. She felt much more at ease under his warm gaze then she had before.
"Yes, I that sounds right," Twilight admitted. "I think I'm just hesitant to go back to a place that holds so much death."
Nights Watch nodded a little, "Sounds like a common post trauma reaction. You know it's said that revisiting a location of a prior even can give closure. Have you also given any thought to what I said about seeing that little colt?"
The face of the purple and green colt flashed through her mind. She had, but she hadn't factored it into if she should go back to Caterlot. Now that she was adding that in, the scales seemed to be tipping towards going.
"I hadn't factored that in, but that, along with the other reasons, might be what gives me the push to go. I need to move the rest of my gear from my hotel in Ponyville first, but then I think I'll get the morning train to Canterlot," Twilight said. "Thanks for talking with me. It helped I think."
Nights gave a warm smile. "Of course, some problems just take talking to another individual."
Twilight smiled back. She stood and started to walk back to the stairs that had brought her into the base only to see that the only thing on that side of the room was a solid wall. The stairs had apparently been retracted at some point now all she needed was to figure out how to lower them again. She walked up to the wall and started the search for any kind of contraption like the organ above that she could manipulate. The whole time Nights was giggling softly. About what, Twilight had a decent guess but couldn't confirm without further evidence.
She was in the middle of pressing her ear against the wall and trying to use echolocation to find what got the wall working when Sunset walked out of the command section. Sunset took in the events in front of her with quite a perplexed expression.
"Lt. Sparkle, am I correct in assuming that you are trying to get out so that you can collect the rest of your belonging from town?" Sunset asked, still looking confused at Twilight's actions.
At seeing Sunsets face, Nights Watch couldn't keep himself together and doubled over with laughter drawing Sunset Shimmer's attention.
"Sgt. Watch. I'm sure this is just a real knee-slapper for you but would you hit the release before I put you on report for behavior unbecoming?" Sunset asked, schooling her face back to the stone cold expression that she had used when she had held a gun to Twilight's head.
Nights Watch quickly sobered up and replied, "Yes Ma'am." before he hit a button labeled stair release, located on his desk.
He shot Twilight an apologetic look that, she assumed, tried to convey that it had been meant as a joke and not malicious.
Sunset maintained her cold expression and as soon as the stairs had lowered she walked up them, beckoning for Twilight to follow. Twilight complied and fell in step behind the fiery headed mare. They walked up the stairs, out of the castle, and started back down the path to Ponyville with out a word. Sunset also replaced her enchanted sunglasses once they were away from the light of the base. Twilight began to wonder what this was all about.
Finally Sunset broke the silence
"So apparently the captain wants me to accompany you to town so that we can get to know each other. I guess he is right on some level. We are going to be infiltration partners. The issue, is that I still don't fully trust you. To be fair that's not all your fault. A certain Raven is partly to blame as well, but that doesn't fully cover my distrust of you."
Twilight felt both insulted and confused.
"What have I done to make you possibly distrust me." Twilight asked incredulously
"Should I start with you being from Canterlot or you being Celesita's 'faithful student'?" Sunset asked in a rather cold manner. Her left hand twitching at the mentioning of Celestia.
"I think I would like to hear both, so whatever order you want to start with is fine by me." Twilight replied rather hotly.
"Alright," Sunset continued on in the same emotionless tone. "Canterlot first then. You come from a middle to upper class family in a town were status is everything. I could throw a stone in that town and probably hit a noble that advanced his status by getting a spot on a 'Special Assignment'. They don't care about the work they are doing or the lives they can put at risk, as long as they get to add that assignment to their repertoire. It's a bullshit mentality that pisses me off and I don't want it anywhere near my team. Every member of that team is their for to help everypony but them-self."
"This sounds a lot like a personal bias than a real reason not to trust me personally. How did you develop this stereotype anyway?" Twilight countered.
The argument didn't even phase Sunset.
"Oh, I'm fully aware of that. Does it make it less of a valid reason for me to personally not trust you? Not only that you have never wanted for anything. Everything you had was provided to you. How can do you expect me to trust someone who has never lived a hard life of any kind when our entire job is to live possibly the hardest of lives? As for how I got these ideas, I spent more time in court with Canterlot nobles then I ever desire to again."
Twilight hadn't considered that. She had never really stopped to question the difficulty of her life. She just lived it. Twilight had also never thought that Sunset would have any experience with the goings on of court. She didn't seem like the pony that would ever step foot in court little lone spend time with nobles. She seemed more the type to stick to shadows then the limelight.
Twilight huffed, "And how does me training under the Princess make me untrustworthy?"
a scowl crossed Sunset's face, though this time it didn't seem to be directed at Twilight.
"That might be a bigger reason then being from Canterlot. Under Celestia you were raised from a filly to be superior then others. Groomed for higher positions as if you were to take the crown. I need you to understand one simple thing. You are no better then any other pony. You are not destined for anything that you don't work yourself to achieve. Do you understand me?"
The entire time that Sunset had been giving her little rant, she had never looked at Twilight. Twilight also noticed that her left hand, the one next to the orange and red painted 1911 called 'Daydram', was locked in a clenched fist. The nails digging into her palm with force. Sunset's facial demeanor never changed.
Sunset went on.
Twilight wanted to counter about how she was supposed to trust if she could not be trusted herself, but she was beaten to the punch.
"I know however that this is not exactly fair on you. How can you trust me to be a partner, when you know nothing of me. I know that you are analytical and like knowledge. Am I right?"
Twilight nodded, "I've always believed that knowledge is the strongest weapon, as well as the greatest ally."
"Then I propose a deal. It will be your actions that convince me to trust you, in exchange I give you information about myself. The more you show I can trust you, the more I show you can trust me. Does that sound agreeable to you?" Sunset asked.
Twilight considered the offer. She did have a number of questions about Sunset. And from what Twilight had seen of Sunset's demeanor this might be the only way to get personal information from her.
"Ok," Twilight said. "I can work with that."
"I'm glad to hear that. If you have any questions that are eating at you now I may offer some information. You impressed me by your actions when Canterlot was attacked. Not only that you also seemed to have gained the trust of Princess Luna, Orion, and Honesty. Those are three ponies that don't give out rust easily. Don't press your luck though There are a lot of things that I keep personal. There are only two ponies alive now that know all my secrets," Sunset said.
Twilight had multiple questions. She tried to organize them in her head by importance and then sub-organize based on potential of actually getting answered. Five minutes later she finally narrowed down her list.
"Ok first, I heard Luna mentioned that you were her student. Is that true?" Twilight asked hoping that she hadn't already gone too far.
Sunset nodded. "Yes, in a mannor of speaking I am her student. Not the same relationship you an Celestia have-" her hand twitched,"-But not entirely different."
Twilight suddenly stopped walking. Now her interest was peaked and her mind ran wild with what that information meant.
A secret team with a student from both princesses. This sounds like a poorly written story not real life.
Twilight noticed that while she had stopped moving, Sunset had kept walking. Twilight doubted that Sunset hadn't noticed, her situational awareness seemed to high for that to be the case.
"And just how did you becoming her student happen?" Twilight pressed.
"That's gonna need to stay personal for now. That's a story I really don't like to share," Sunset stonewalled.
Some time passed as Twilight considered her next question.
"Why the call sign 'Wolf'? I don't see how that matches with you like the others seem to with their call signs."
To this question Sunset just shook her head and said, "Already told you back in the armory, that's personal. That hasn't changed ."
Twilight frowned but there was nothing she could do. If she tried to press to hard it would only be counter productive to her cause of getting answers. Without answers she would stay just as far in the dark as she was now. That wouldn't do at all. Twilight spent a few minutes going back over her list to decided what her next question should be.
"Princess Luna explained how all our gifts were enhanced to aid us on missions, but all she gave you was a revolver. It's a beautiful revolver, don't get me wrong. Ff I used physical weapons that would be high on my list, but it still seems like just any old revolver. What is special about it?"
Sunset sighed softly and pulled out the midnight blue revolver. She then held it out for Twilight to look at.
"I can't tell you why it is special because that is personal. But, that wasn't really the question you asked. Unlike what it may seem it is magically enhanced to aid me as the Gunslinger. It comes down to the way I fight and use magic. Let me ask you a question that I already know the answer too but humor me for the sake of making a point. Why do you use purely ethereal weapons, and why do they work so well for you when most unicorns still have to rely on conventional arms?"
Twilight thought about it for a bit. She had always just stuck to magical combat arms because hers had always been stronger then real weapons. Now that she thought about it though, she did start to realize that she rarely ever saw another unicorn use magical combat. Even when they did it was to supplement, or as a back up to, their normal weaponry.
"I guess it's just because it's so natural for me." Twilight answered not sure if that was what Sunset was getting at.
"Precisely. You are Valkyrie," Sunset stated.
A what?
"Umm, Sunset, sorry I mean, Wolf. I have no idea what a Valkyrie is." Twilight said not even trying to hide her confusion and curiosity.
This time it was Sunset's turn to stop dead in her tracks and stare at Twilight.
"You really mean to tell me that Celestia never told you?" Sunset asked with disbelief. "Hell even I knew that's what you are and she couldn't even be bothered to tell you."
"I ahh...I guess not." Twilight answered meekly accompanied with a small nervous laugh.
"Fine I guess I have to explain it to you before I get back to my original point. A Valkyrie is a rare aberration of a unicorn that only comes about every 100 years or so. They are extremely gifted in both manipulation of magical energy and shear depth of power, although they tend to favor one side or the other. I'm sure if you think back on history you can come up with at least one name that fits this bill."
Twilight considered this before exclaiming, "Starswirl the Bearded right? He's my idol!"
Sunset nodded. "That would make sense. He was a Power Valkyrie like yourself. You both have better control of magic then a normal unicorn but that is eclipsed by your shear power. I on the other hand, am a Control Valkyrie. I don't have the depth of magical reserve you do, but I can use my magic in manors that you may understand, but never replicate."
"So then I assume that Eclipse in some way compliments this?" Twilight asked starting to put the picture together.
"Exactly, now your starting to understand. Eclipse was designed for a Control style user. It allows me to fire regular ammunition, or with it's aid, I can change the very physics of the bullet. When you start training you will get to see more of the specifics." Sunset said, a smirk creeping onto her face at that last part.
Twilight wasn't sure she liked the look of that smile. It looked too much like the smile Shinning got before he pulled a prank, or the one Princess Celestia got be for she gave a particularly difficult exam.
"And the other one? Why also have another along when you have Eclipse?" Twilight asked as they resumed their walk down the forest path.
Sunset flourished the colt revolver with practiced ease before holstering it. Then with a much slower draw she withdrew the light orange, yellow, and red 1911.
"You mean Daydream here?" Sunset asked, looking at the handgun. "I have multiple reasons for holding onto her. The only one your going to get for now is that when in a SNAFU or an op goes FUBAR I like to be able to put more lead down range then Eclipse can solo. Plus, admit, were you even considering doing anything asinine when you were starring down the barrel of two .45's?"
"No I can't say that I was." Twilight admitted sheepishly.
"Good. That's the way I like my interrogations." Sunset said with a more genuine smile.
She holstered Daydream back under her black duster.
"Though I suggest not letting the enemy pull the same trick on you during an op. I would rather not have to come save you from a rookie fuck up."
Twilight nodded that she understood, "I'll do best."
For the first time since Twilight had meet the mare, Sunset actually laughed.
"Damn straight you will. In this job you don't do you're best, you die. You do your best and you possibly get to not die."
Twilight gave the flame headed mare a queer look.
"You have a bit of a morbid sense of humor, you know that right?"
"You better get used to it, It comes with the territory. And I ain't talking just about the Everfree either."
Twilight sighed and chuckled a bit herself. Even being a bit rough around the edges Twilight could see how Sunset fit so well with the Nightmares.
I may not fully understand this mare, but I could get used to her.
Sunset spoke up, "Looks like we arn't too far from Ponyville. So if you have another question I suggest that you ask it now."
Twilight looked ahead and sure enough she could see the trees thinning and a hint of civilization. Not only that but the sun was starting to peak over the eastern horizon. Twilight had already decided on her last question.
"So your role on the team is 'Gunslinger' right? What exactly does that entail?"
"Would you look at that! A practical question about the job and what we do. About time," Sunset said with a light shove, that Twilight took to mean that she was probably joking.
Probably.
Sunset continued, "A gunslinger is one part stealth one part firepower, and all parts ass kicker. I can swing from running through shadows to a fire fight in no time flat. That is why I go in with you during infiltration missions. You do most of the wet work while I cover you. If shit hits the fan, as it likes to do, I'm your covering fire till the rest of the team responds."
Twilight pondered this. "So on a spectrum it goes from me being the stealthy one, to Honesty bringing the noise, with you somewhere in the middle?"
"Spot on there Spellblade." Sunset replied. "Now we need to clam up about work as we are getting into town."
Twilight noticed that as they walked further towards the center of Ponyville, more and more ponies started to rise with the coming sun. With this in mind Twilight agreed that in the interest of OpSec it was probably best if they clammed up.
"What hotel did you leave the rest of your gear at?" Sunset asked.
Twilight directed Sunset in the direction of the tree shaped hotel that she had checked into. They both took of in its direction. They had to to keep maneuvering around all the ponies on the street in the morning hours, farmers heading to the fields, merchants going to peddle wears in the market, young fillies and colts on their way to class. All around were houses with thatched roofs, and rustic design. Small shops along the street peddled everything from sofas to quills. Stay at home wives and husbands kissed their spouses as they went to work and handed the children lunches as they left for school. It was all a rather nice mix of small town charm. Twilight felt that if given the chance this wouldn't be a bad place to live when she wasn't staying at the base quarters. It was even close to Home Castle.
"So were you planning on going back to Canterlot with your bit of leave before we continue?" Sunset asked drawing Twilight's attention back from her surroundings.
"Yep, I was going to go see my family, and there is another that I should probably visit while I'm there." Twilight answered.
They walked up the door of the hotel and Twilight ran inside and up to her room. Her duffel was still on the bed where she had left it the night before. Grabbing in she returned to the front desk and paid for the room that had ultimately been used as more of a storage locker then a hotel room.
Oh well. The room was cheap.
Twilight walked back outside to where Sunset was waiting for her.
"I checked and their is a train that leaves for Canterlot in ten minutes. If you want I can take you're duffel back to base and you can jump the train home," Sunset offered.
"I could't make you haul my stuff all the way back to Home Castle just so I can get an earlier train," Twilight replied, not wanting to act like a burden on the mare that had possibly started to trust and accept her a little.
"Really it's not a problem. I have a short cut I can take back that I normally use. I just couldn't take you down it yet," Sunset said as she started to steer Twilight to the train station.
"If you're sure then here you are." Twilight handed her bag off to Sunset.
"Have fun. Oh and remember, don't talk about the team to anyone including your brother. I would also prefer if you don't talk about me with anyone while you are there. There are a few ponies up there that I would really like to not remember me," Sunset said.
With her piece said Sunset backed into a shadow cast by the ticket booth and when Twilight blinked Sunset was gone.
Shaking her head with frustration at still not understanding how Sunset or Captain Hunter did that she walked up to the ticket counter and purchased her pass.
A few minutes later the train pulled into the station with the usual gust of steam and cacophony of a slowing train. Twilight climbed aboard. Finding an open seat in the corner of an empty car, she flopped down. Now that she was sitting and no longer caught up in the goings on, the past few hours caught up with her. The tension of her first encounter, The excitement of her commissioning, the recounting of the attack. All in all it had been a long night and she hadn't slept in close to twenty hours. With her body relaxing in the chair she started to drift off. Finally she pulled her cloak around her self. Not wanting to be bothered until she arrived at Canterlot, and not wanting to have a pickpocket to try and be wise while she was asleep Twilight made sure she was fully covered and then muttered the activation phrase 'nachtzeit' to vanish from view before finally falling asleep.
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mooooar!!!!!!!!!!
Nah, this story isn't that poorly written, I like it
Some grammar mistakes here and there, when I have time I'll come back to point them out from this and previous chapters
8750027
But self deprecating meta humor is the only acceptable meta humor
8750032
Indeed
Is that a jab at yourself?
Also...where is Pinkie? And Fluttershy? And Rarity?