Author's Notes:

As mentioned in previous chapters, the views and opinions expressed by the characters here are fictional and do not necessarily reflect those of the author. (ie conspiracy theories, historical references, etc; a mixture of real and fictional)

Chapter 100

“So Danny boy,” I said, sitting at the end of the table between Daniels and Ingram. “You never answered my question.”

He paused, holding a cup of coffee halfway to his mouth. “What question?”

“How did you find Sunny?”

“Oh,” he said with a pause, “that.”

A couple hours had passed, and we’d spent a large portion of that time at the table, conversing with the agents. Rarity had, in the meantime, presented a bottle of wine that she’d found in the cupboard, but Daniels was quick to raise a hand to decline, stating that he was trying to quit using alcohol, so the bottle was stashed away in support of the agent's wishes.

Now, Fluttershy and Rarity were bustling around the counter, preparing supper. Sunset helped them for a bit, but another guest had arrived in the meantime, so the red-head joined her to watch TV instead.

“OOH! This is a super-duper fantastic movie!” Pinkie squealed from the couch, startling both agents out of their seats.

Not twenty minutes after the party-girl’s arrival, Ingram had already pointed out several of Pinkie’s manic tendencies and the fact that she mostly likely suffered from ADHD, which he adamantly insisted that she should be on several medications for.

“Well,” Daniels began, “the investigation to find Sunset turned out to be a runaround as expected, since they naturally tracked down that other girl first,” —he shook his head and chuckled— “boy did she ever get a surprise visit! But anyway, she didn’t know anything about it, obviously. They questioned her, had her do a polygraph —you know, the whole nine yards— but eventually they had no choice but to accept the fact that she wasn’t involved and was therefore a dead end.” Daniels took a moment to stare at the tabletop, then he looked at me again. “That poor girl; she thought she’d had her identity stolen. She was totally freaking out, thinking that we were gonna put her in prison or something until we told her that whoever was impersonating her had actually exposed a theft within the tech department, and that she —or whoever this person was— was something of a hero in our eyes.”

I nodded and glanced at Ingram, who listened intently. “So then what?” I asked, returning my attention to Daniels.

“Well, they put me in charge of the investigation, since she was my applicant, plus I seemed to ‘figure out’ more of the details of the case before everyone else,” —he leaned closer to speak softly— “because I already knew what went on…and believe me, I was pretty much freaking out for a few weeks there, thinking I was gonna get caught for helping someone break into headquarters.” He returned his voice to a normal volume. “So anyway, being that it was my department, I took the reins and began to search for my mystery applicant on my own.”

I was listening closely, rubbing my chin with my knuckles. “So…obviously you found a lead?”

He nodded, sipping his coffee. “Yes I did, but I’ll get to that.” He set the cup down and chewed his lip briefly. Then he drew a breath to continue. “So…over the next couple weeks, between worrying I was gonna get caught for what I did and trying to find a real lead on my own, I became obsessed with who she really was: where did she come from? How was she so slick? How did she find out about my ex-wife’s theft? Who was this girl she was looking for, and why did Agent Cody take her?” He glanced at Fluttershy and then took a deep breath as he rotated the coffee mug on the tabletop with his fingertips; then he looked at me again. “That’s when my lead popped up, like a gift from god,” he said, raising his hands in worship.

I raised a brow.

Daniels smirked and lowered his arms again. “It was about three weeks later —October 22nd, actually. Heh! That date is burned into my memory now because of this— but anyway, Agent Shadow brings to my attention a car crossing the border in Niagara Falls, and the name on the passport of the person crossing is none other than Sunset Shimmer.”

I gave a quiet chuckle and let my head tip back, closing my eyes. “Ahh, shit. That’s the way we came home.” I looked at Daniels again. “Fuck, I didn’t even think about you guys watching us by then; to be honest, the CIA was so far out of my mind by that point, what with all the crap we’d been through after leaving DC.”

“Yeah…well anyway, we were on it,” Daniels continued, “and naturally, we assumed it was her fleeing the country or something, so we called her home number to see if that’s what had happened, and lo and behold, she was still at home!” He swatted the tabletop to emphasise his point. “And of course, she started freaking out again when we told her what’d happened, thinking her passport had been stolen, and THAT’S when we looked a little closer at the passport that crossed the border and noticed that it was a Canadian one, which was…well, baffling, to say the least.”

“I can imagine,” I replied.

“Right?” Daniels shrugged. “I mean, that couldn’t have been our applicant’s passport; you have to be an American citizen to apply to the CIA, but on the other hand, how could there be a passport for someone who, by the looks of things, was the exact same person as our applicant, but comes from a different country?” He rubbed his forehead as he continued. “And I mean…she is literally identical, which makes sense now with how well the facial scan worked,” —he turned to face the couch, pointing at the red and yellow head of hair showing over the backrest— “and obviously, the brunette hair was just temporary; that’s what threw me off at the time. I mean, I just thought she looked a lot like the other girl, but as it turns out, she’s an exact double—same hair, same sass, same everything.

“And when we questioned her parents about a possible twin sibling, they denied it, and checking the birth records actually confirmed it, so…” He shrugged and shook his head. “Somehow, we had discovered a person who was a perfect copy of another person, and one of the few things we could figure was that she might have been some kind of clone, but we couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t have been considered American in that case, like the other one—among other things.”

I placed a hand over my forehead and ran it down my face, stopping at my prickly chin as I wondered if it was my place to tell him the truth. “I know the answer,” I sighed, “but that might be something you need to hear from Sunny, IF she wants to tell you. It’s uh…something of a paradox, as they say.”

Daniels nodded. “I already know.”

I cocked a brow, not expecting this reply. “Oh?”

He nodded. “Agent Shadow and I spent a great deal of time at Miss Shimmer’s apartment this morning—HA! You should have seen her face when she opened the door and saw me standing there.” He chuckled as he ran a finger around the rim of the mug before hooking it through the handle to lift it to his mouth. After taking a sip, he swallowed and then smacked his lips. “But yeah, we had a lengthy discussion about everything, and she told me about the rescue and all that; very interesting story to say the least-“

Ingram raised his hand to cut in. ”Pardon the interruption, but…where did she come from?” he asked. “How can she be a twin of someone she’s not related to?”

“Well,” Daniels chewed the inside of his cheek and shifted his eyes upward, considering how he should explain it. “She’s…not exactly from here.”

Ingram shrugged. “What do you mean, here? As in Canada?”

“No,” Daniels shook his head. “I mean, like…Earth.”

Ingram paused for a quick moment. “Hm,” he replied, glancing up to the ceiling.

Daniels noticed Ingram’s thoughts heading skyward, and he shook his head quickly. “No-no, she’s not from space; more like, she’s from a different realm.”

This time, Ingram frowned. Beings from other worlds he’d heard of, but beings from another plane of existence? That was completely different. “I’m sorry, Mr. Daniels, but are you saying…she’s from a different dimension?”

Daniels nodded. “Yup. She’s been here for about twelve years now. Apparently, her realm is kind of —but not really— parallel to ours, and there’s another ‘version’ of many people from here, living there. And apparently, she somehow found a way to cross over into this world, so now both Sunset Shimmers are living here on Earth.”

Ingram, after a pause, shook his head as a wondrous smile formed on his face. “Remarkable.”

“Trust me, gentlemen,” I interjected, “you are in the company of some pretty unusual ladies here.” I turned to Daniels again. “So…you’ve gone off topic here; how exactly did you find out where Sunny lives?”

“Oh, right.” Daniels sat up straight. “Well, when she crossed the border, they recorded the plate number on that old car she was driving, and we were able to track it across the country —you know, traffic cameras and all that— and we were able to trace her back here, to Canterlot.”

I nodded. “Hm. Nice.”

“They wanted someone to come here, of course,” Daniels continued, “and…I requested that I go, since it was my department’s case—and to keep her and myself from getting into trouble, like if someone else found her and figured out what happened at headquarters. They gave me the green light, but they wouldn’t let me come alone; I had to bring an actual field agent with me, so naturally, my first choice was Special Agent Shadow.”

I glanced at the front door, where the intimidating woman was standing guard just beyond. “Why her?” I asked, looking back at Daniels.

“Because she’s the best. Much better than Cody ever was.”

“Can we trust her?”

Daniels locked eyes with me. “Oh yes. Absolutely,” he nodded. “You see, when she started at the agency, I’d only been there for a few months. After she applied, the investigation that followed turned up a criminal record, which made her a no-go as a recruit. It was a fuck-up though, which I managed to figure out, luckily. If it hadn’t been for me, she wouldn’t have gotten in. It was her dream to join, and when she found out that I was the one who made it happen for her, we became close colleagues and good friends. There’s nothing she wouldn’t do for me, including this: what we’re doing right now.”

“So she’s basically covering for you.” I glanced at Ingram, who gave an approving shrug.

“Trust me,” Daniels reassured, “she’s on our side, which is a good thing. We definitely want her on our side.”

“Fair enou-” I started to reply, but was stopped when I heard a deep rumbling from out front.

Ingram and Daniels heard it as well, and they turned to face the front door.

“What’s that?” Daniels asked curiously.

“It would seem that the last of our dinner guests have arrived,” Rarity replied, glancing at the front door just as the rumble cut away to silence.

We listened for a bit. The sound of AJ’s truck doors closing were heard first, followed by the sound of muffled voices. A pause followed, then we heard more voices going back and forth, sounding slightly irritated.

Then Rarity’s pocket buzzed. “Ooh!” She squealed and then took her phone out to read it. “Oh dear...” She turned to Daniels, cringing. “I don’t suppose you could instruct your partner to let our friends in?”

“Oh, shoot. Sorry.” He put his fingertips to his earpiece. “Agent Shadow? They’re fine. Let them in.”

A moment later, the door opened and the Stetson-wearing blonde stepped inside, carrying a small basket of apples.

“Howdy, ya’ll!”

“Applejack, darling!” Rarity replied.

“Rarity. How’s it goin?” AJ nodded back. “Hey, Fluttershy, I got ya some-“

Another voice drowned out the farm girl’s, followed by a screechy laugh as the smaller-statured Rainbow Dash stepped inside behind AJ. “Hahaha! Holy shit! S’up ladies and gent?” she shouted, closing the door behind her and then peeling her jacket off. After tossing it onto the pile of other coats next to the shoe mat, Dash furrowed her brows and pointed with her thumb at the front door. “So…what’s the deal?”

“What is what deal, darling?”

Rainbow Dash raised a brow and shrugged. “Why is Dolph Lundgren’s sister hanging out by the front door?”

Daniels turned to the blue-skinned girl, looking slightly put-off. He cleared his throat first, then spoke. “That is Special Agent Shadow; CIA.”

Dash, having not noticed the unfamiliar men sitting at the far end of the table yet, locked a pair of wide, cerise eyes on Daniels. “Huh?” She paused briefly, then gave her head a shake. “Whoa whoa whoa, you’re saying we got a CIA superspy as a bouncer tonight? AWESOME!”

A slight sneer came across Daniels’ face. “Uh, no…actually, she’s standing guard.”

Applejack cocked her head when she heard this. “What, like…fer pertection?”

Daniels nodded.

After a short pause, AJ smirked and shook her head. “Heh. Listen sugarcube, we don’t need pertection ‘round here.”

“Well, it’s…” He paused and rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s really more for me, so…yeah. But…she is kind of looking out for everyone else just by being out there, I guess.”

“OK, aaaaand you would be?” Dash asked, raising a brow.

“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity scolded. “Don’t be rude! Agent Daniels and Mr. Ingram here are our guests for dinner tonight, so please do be respectful.”

Dash’s eyes lit up suddenly as she looked at Daniels again. “Whoa, Agent?”

Daniels smiled and brought his arms up, presenting himself.

“Wait, you’re from the CIA too?” Dash exclaimed, slapping her hands over her cheeks excitedly. “We…are so…COOL!”

By then, Sunset had left the couch once she’d realised what was going on; she made her way to the table and stood by Daniels to introduce him and Ingram to Rainbow Dash.

Applejack, in the meantime, had turned her to attention to Fluttershy. “I brought ya some fresh apples there, Fluttershy. I heard you was gettin low, so I grabbed a few from the late harvest fer ya. Nice and sweet, just like you.”

“Oh!” Fluttershy giggled and turned from the counter, eyeing up the basket of flawless, shiny apples on the table. “Th-thank you, Applejack! I was out, actually; I’m sure glad I didn’t go and buy some.”

AJ adjusted her hat and nodded with a chuckle.

“Um,” Fluttershy glanced back at the counter, and then looked at AJ again. “S-so, how was your week?”

“Ohh,” Applejack shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Long, that’s all I can say. All this business a’ not sleepin sure messes with yer internal clock.”

“It’s quite an adjustment, to be sure,” Rarity replied. “Not to worry, darling; you get used to it faster than you think.”

Close to an hour passed. Conversations between different people took place; whether it was Ingram and Daniels chatting while I listened, watching Fluttershy and Rarity move about the counter, or Sunset talking to Applejack and Rainbow Dash about the farm girl’s recent transformation, or Pinkie hitting on Daniels by sitting right next to him, letting her breasts sit on the table, intentionally pressing them against his elbow as she gazed at him with lidded eyes. The house was alive with conversation as new acquaintances were made, and new allegiances formed.

Eventually, dinner was ready and placed along the counter; hot roasting pans and pots were laid out using bare white and yellow hands, arranging everything in an enticing display, starting with empty plates for us to grab and fill as we made our way down the line.

“So what we got here, sugarcube?” Applejack asked, picking up a plate.

“Oh, um…I made a pot roast with onion, garlic and lots of thyme,” —Fluttershy paused and giggled, covering her mouth— “because for us, there’s no such thing as too much thyme, right?”

“Heh-heh!” AJ chuckled, holding the plate in front of her chest with both hands. “Oh shit yeah, you got that right! Good one, Fluttershy.”

The shy girl tittered once more, then gestured to the spread again. “Um, anyway, there’s that, and there’s baked potatoes, peas and carrots, and a nice caesar salad that Rarity made.”

“Dang. This all looks so good! And it smells amazin,” Applejack said, practically drooling as she began filling her plate. “Ya know, it’s mighty weird that I don’t get hungry no more, but I still love havin a good bite ta eat.”

“Mm-hm,” Fluttershy nodded and smiled. “I’m glad we can still do stuff like this.”

Applejack headed around the table and set her plate down, then hitched her jeans up as she watched the line-up slowly moving along the counter, chatting happily as they each filled their own plates. The farm girl placed her hand on the back of the chair to pull it out, but something crossed her mind, prompting her to glance toward the front door.

After a moment of thought, a look of resolve came across her face and she snatched her plate from the table and headed for the door.

Rarity noticed the blonde leaving the table, and she turned to see her heading outside. “Oh Applejack, darling,” she called, stopping the farm girl in her tracks. “Where are you going?”

AJ paused briefly, then she gave a quick nod. “I’ll be right back.”

*****

Special Agent Shadow stood outside by the front door. It was late afternoon, and the sky had turned a dull grayish purple by then, indicating that the sun would be gone within the hour, and with it, any semblance of warmth that may have hung in that brisk, November air.

A chill scurried up her legs and back as the thought of nightfall came to her, boosted by the soft breeze that crept by just then, slipping through the trees at a hushed pace. She was grateful for those trees, however; out in the open, the environment would have been much more harsh—the wind would have been ferocious and unforgiving.

No matter. Either way, she would have no issues braving these surroundings to fulfill her duties. Years of training had conditioned her body to be able to withstand such punishment; what she was doing now was nothing more than a regular day on the job, though she did wish she was wearing something warmer than that plain black suit, and she admittedly found herself hoping that Daniels would be coming out soon to say it was time to go.

That was the only way she would leave her post, however. She was a superspy. One of the best in the world. A relentless machine, loyal to the final breath.

Still, even with all her training, she found her mind wandering as she stood out there in front of that young, quiet girl’s house. Wandering, but not about her job, not Daniels, or the search for his red-headed friend; she was thinking about that young-looking man sitting at the table in there, whose appearance was as normal and harmless as can be.

Was that really him? Was that truly the individual who singlehandedly reshaped the-

The front door opened suddenly, prompting Agent Shadow to straighten her stance to maintain an unwavering appearance.

Applejack stepped outside, holding a steaming plate of food in one hand. “Howdy. Agent Shadow is it?”

The agent remained silent and did not move.

AJ watched her for a moment, then pulled the front door shut and ventured a few steps into the driveway, picking a carrot from her plate and popping it into her mouth. “Listen,” she said with a cheekful of food, “why don’t ya come on inside and fix yerself a plate?”

No response.

After a short wait, Applejack swallowed the mouthful and then used her tongue to clear some stray bits of carrot from the inside of her lip as she watched the stubborn agent stand at attention. Finally, she let out a sigh and spoke. “Alright look, I know yer just doin yer job —and I think that’s great— but trust me, us ladies can take care a’ ourselves just fine, so there ain’t no sense in you standin out here in the cold.”

As the farm girl spoke, she had unwittingly tilted her plate, and a tin-foil wrapped potato dropped to the ground and rolled under the front of her old Ford.

“Ah, dang it!” AJ cursed, catching only a glimpse of the shimmering ball before it disappeared under the truck. “Of all the…” Dropping to one knee, Applejack grumbled quietly to herself as she set the plate on the snow-dusted ground and grasped the front bumper with her other hand.

Groaning like the rusty old heap that it was, the truck was hoisted into the air by the farm girl, who then bowed her head to search for the lost potato.

Seeing this, Agent Shadow’s breathing stopped, followed by a single brow rising above her shades.

“So like I was sayin,” AJ grunted as she peered under the truck. “If there was someone or somethin that came here ta start a fight that WE couldn’t handle, trust me; you hangin ‘round out here like a fart in a phone booth ain’t gonna make a lick a’ difference, so why don’t ya come on in and help yerself ta some grub? We’d be more than happy ta have ya. Ah, there ya are!” She saw the potato finally, and she reached under the truck with her free hand and plucked it from the ground, studying it for a few seconds before pursing her lips to blow the dirt from it. “Heh, good thing it still had the foil on it, eh?” she chuckled, holding it up to show Agent Shadow.

Letting the truck down slowly, Applejack plopped the potato back onto her plate, then glanced under the truck again as the tires gently came to rest on the ground. “So...whaddaya say?” she asked, picking her plate up and standing to face the agent.

Shadow gave a short pause, then she straightened her shoulders and brought her chin up, folding her hands in front of herself, resolving to remain at her post.

Applejack hung her head and shook it when the saw the response, chuckling at the tall woman’s tenacity. She sighed next, then looked up at Agent Shadow as she stepped closer, walking with a confident swagger until the two of them stood toe-to-toe. With her plate in one hand, Applejack reached up and tipped her hat back with her thumb to look into the taller woman’s face. It wasn’t very often that AJ had to look up at someone, but it never stopped her from getting into anyone’s face before, and it wasn’t about to stop her this time either.

With a smug grin and a cocked brow, Applejack glared directly into Agent Shadow’s eyes through those dark shades, wearing the spy’s nerves down with each passing second until finally, she spoke once more.

“Don’t make me drag ya inside... sugarcube.”

Agent Shadow’s eyes darted around behind those shades for a moment until finally, she gave in and closed them, letting her head drop forward a bit. In this line of work, part of being the best was knowing when one was outgunned, and in this particular instance, that was definitely the case. She sighed and reached up slowly to remove the shades, revealing a pair of surprisingly beautiful eyes, framed by long, black lashes with bright blue irises as centerpieces, laced with the slightest hint of green.

“Fine,” she replied quietly, yielding at last to the farm girl’s invitation.

“Well alright!” Applejack nodded triumphantly. “Now we’re cookin with the toaster down!” she chuckled happily, gesturing toward the front door as Agent Shadow turned to head inside.

*****

Inside, Agent Shadow filled a plate —much to Daniels’ surprise— and leaned against the counter to eat. All of us were seated around the table, so there was no room left for her to sit; in fact, Rarity was already sitting on Fluttershy’s lap to make sure there was ample room for everyone as it was. There just wasn’t enough room for that one extra person.

Noticing this, Applejack was about to stand and offer her seat, but since I was almost done, I picked my plate up and told AJ to stay put, then I offered my seat to the plum-skinned spy. She accepted the gesture and sat, towering above everyone else around her.

She soon wondered if taking the spot was such a good idea, however. Being stuck between Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie turned out to be a trying prospect: one question after another was dumped on the spy, one from Dash first, then Pinkie, then Dash again, and so on and so forth, to which she replied with short, one word answers between bites.

“So have you ever jumped a Lamborghini from one rooftop to another? That would be totally awesome!”

“No.”

“Have you ever snuck in and thwarted the supervillain in his own lair before he had a chance to fire his super-duper city destroying space gun that he’s got hidden up in orbit because the UN wouldn’t give him his million bucks!?”

“No.”

“Have you ever gotten into one of those huge fights in…like, say, a warehouse or something, and you had to take on like three-hundred guys by yourself and you totally kicked all their worthless butts?”

“No.”

“Have you ever jammed a big pipe through someone’s belly and said: ‘let off some steam, Bennett!’”

“Yes.”

“DO YOU OR DO YOU NOT OWN A CAR THAT FIRES MISSILES FROM BEHIND THE HEADLIGHTS!?”

“No.”

“Wait, you’ve actually said ‘let off some steam, Bennett!?”

“Yes.”

“HAHA! That…is so…AWES-“

“GUYS!” Sunset finally barked, her voice accompanied by the loud clang of her fork hitting the rim of her plate. “Seriously, leave the deadly spy alone and let her eat!”

Disgruntled, Dash and Pinkie rolled their eyes and grumbled quietly, pushing food around their plates with their forks. After a few moments, Pinkie’s eyes darted around the table to see if she was being watched, then she leaned closer to Agent Shadow.

“Are you a fan of Schwarzenegger movies?” she whispered.

“Yes,” Shadow replied, giving the party girl a smirk.

Pinkie’s eyes lit up and she gasped excitedly, followed by a wide grin and a *SQUEE*

Once everyone was finished eating, most of us dispersed; some of us went to the couch and were searching YouTube for entertainment, and some hung around the counter to clean up while Ingram, Daniels, Shadow and Sunset remained seated at the end of the table, deep in conversation.

“So Mr. Ingram,” Daniels was saying as he folded his hands on the table. “I understand you are a former federal agent?”

Ingram nodded. “That’s right.”

“In the field, or…?”

Sighing, Ingram looked down at the table, frowning as he thought. “A little bit, but I mostly worked in the office. Mission control, tech specialist, shrink…whatever they needed.”

Daniels gave an impressed little hum. “You have technical experience?”

“Oh yes,” Ingram gave a stately nod. “I have several engineering degrees from numerous institutions around the country.”

“And I’m guessing after what just happened, you’re out of a job, right?” Daniels pried.

Ingram watched Daniels for a moment, knowing where he was headed with this line of questioning. Then he licked his bottom lip and nodded, letting his eyes travel to the ceiling as he answered. “Yes, I suppose so. To be honest, I hadn’t really thought about it since I wasn’t even sure how today was going to end.”

Daniels and Agent Shadow glanced at each other. Her tall hair swayed when she gave a little nod of approval, which prompted Daniels to return his attention to Ingram. “Well, we do happen to have an opening in the tech department at the moment; they still haven’t filled the position that came up when my wife was…‘let go.’” Daniels smirked at Sunset when he said this, to which she replied with a shrug and a smirk.

Ingram, in the meantime, raised a brow. “Are you offering me a job, Agent Daniels?”

Daniels nodded. “I am. And if your resume is as impressive as you say it is, then you’d be a shoe-in.” He paused to raise a hand. “Now, you will have to go through all the motions, like applying online and all that, but I can pretty much make sure you get the job. To be honest, it sounds like you would anyway, what with your level of education and experience.”

Ingram cocked his head. “Hang on now, I know how your agency’s hiring policy works. Your boys may have a slight issue with investigating me since ‘Us’ basically deleted me from society when they brought me on.”

Daniels folded his arms and looked upwards, rolling his jaw back and forth. “Hmm. Well, given your age, there must be a physical paper trail somewhere,” he said, looking at Ingram again. “Don’t worry, my department is staffed with very good people; we’ll get your affairs sorted out and the job will be yours…if you want it, that is.”

Ingram paused for a moment to glance to his left in Sunset’s direction. Fluttershy was directly behind her, looking back at him, having overheard the entire conversation.

Sunset, thinking he was looking to her for an opinion, spoke up. “I think you should do it. To be honest, a guy like you would be far more productive there than hanging around Canterlot, doing nothing.”

Ingram returned his focus to Sunset. “But…what about you guys?”

Sunset smiled and shook her head. “We’ll be fine. I understand that you’d probably miss us —especially Flutters— but I think you’d be much happier at the CIA. Trust me; I was there. It’s a fucking cool place.” She reached up and gave his shoulder gentle bump with her forearm. “Besides, you’d be a much better ally to us with all the extra pull you’d have there.”

Sighing, Ingram looked past the red-head again to see Fluttershy’s expression.

At first she was blank, appearing reluctant to let him go, but after a momentary pause she drew a breath and then smiled, followed by an encouraging nod.

Ingram smiled back, fighting down the sharpness he felt in his chest, brought on by the thought of having the shy sweetheart absent from his life again. He swallowed and reminded himself that she was safe at home all because of him, and now she had the comfort of knowing that he was alive and well.

At last, Ingram faced Daniels again, then he reached across the table to offer his hand for a shake.

Elated, Daniels put on a wide smile and took Ingram’s hand, giving it a vigorous shake. “Excellent! You won’t regret this, Mr. Ingram. I can promise you that.”

“Likewise.” Ingram released Daniels’ hand and held it out to the plum-skinned woman. “Agent Shadow.”

Shadow took the handshake, but didn’t smile; instead, she simply gave a respectful nod. “Call me Tempest. If we’re gonna be working together, you might as well get used to it.”

“Very well,” Ingram nodded as Sunset began to rub her hands together with delight.

“This is so great, you guys,” the red-head declared. “Now, with the things that Ingram knows about ‘Us’, you guys can expose them for all the crimes they’ve committed and we can put them on the run!”

The three of them looked at her, confused.

“Oh come on!” Sunset shrugged, looking at Ingram. “You must have seen some of the things they were up to while you were in there,” she insisted as she turned to look across the table at Daniels and Tempest. “Do you guys have any idea of some of the shit they’ve caused?”

“Like what?” Daniels asked, looking somewhat skeptical.

“Uh…try, I don’t know, 9/11?”

Daniels and Tempest put their hands up. Clearly they wanted no part of the conversation.

“Whoa, now! That’s a BIG claim to be making,” Daniels replied quickly. “What would give you such an idea? Why would they even do such a thing?”

Sunset shrugged one shoulder. “Money.” She glanced at Ingram, who raised a brow and rubbed his chin.

“Honestly…I wouldn’t put it past them,” he replied.

“Well yeah,” Sunset pressed, “I mean, think about it: ‘Us’ is ran by the world’s richest and most elite; all they want is more power and more money. With 9/11, they got both.”

Daniels began to look interested. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “OK…I’m listening.”

“Well…” Sunset chewed her lip for a moment. “I mean, as far as power goes, 9/11 prompted a whole slew of new laws and securities, all of which were in favor of ‘Us’, like having more cameras in urban areas and tapping phone lines and so on; it essentially enabled them to have way more control of the surveillance over the population.

“But mostly…it was about money.” She shifted in her seat as she decided where to start explaining. “OK, so…” —she brought her hands together— “you’ve got Olivier, currently the majority shareholder of General Electric, which owns MSNBC. They used the media to spread the false notion that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction to get everyone to support an invasion. GE also happens to be one of the world’s largest manufacturers of weapons guidance systems, which they sold plenty of during the war in Iraq, making our Mr. Olivier plenty of cash.”

“Hm,” Ingram shook his head. “So…essentially, he used the media to ‘sell’ the idea of an invasion to the masses, thereby guaranteeing his own business in the weapons sector.”

“Exactly,” Sunset gave him a gentle elbow. “Damn, you’re smart! Has anyone ever told you that?”

“Yes. Several times.”

“So anyway,” Sunset continued, chuckling. “We all know now that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but what they did have was oil, and lots of it.” She raised a finger. “This is where Mr. Sombra comes in; when those oil fields were finally re-surveyed and put back into use, who do you think gained control of them?”

“Wait, I know this,” Tempest said, rubbing her forehead for a moment before looking at Sunset again. “Wasn’t it…Globetrotter, or something like that?”

Sunset nodded, smirking. “Yup. And Mr. Sombra is the mother-fucking CEO,” she said as she cocked her head. “And guess who handles all of their finances?”

The other three shrugged and shook their heads.

“The HGBC, or: Horseshoe Global Banking Corporation, founded by none other than Madam Chrysalis; lifetime treasurer and head bitch.” Sunset chuckled, then shook her head as she looked around at the other three. “So, yeah…9/11 worked out pretty well for ‘Us,’ wouldn’t you say?”

“Hm.” Daniels chewed the corner of his mouth. “What about Bin Laden?”

“Patsy.”

The agent paused. “And Al Qaeda?”

“Patsies.”

Ingram put a hand up. “I…OK, I don’t understand. How could you possibly know all this?”

“Yeah,” Daniels agreed, “I mean, it makes sense, in theory, but I don’t-“

“I was right about your wife, wasn’t I?” Sunset countered, with a smug grin and raised brow.

Daniels sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck. Then he shook his head. “Yeah, I guess.”

Sunset cocked her head. “In fact, that chair you’re sitting on: that’s the exact chair that Cody planted the bug under—the bug your wife stole.”

Surprised by the revelation, Daniels glanced downward at his seat, and then he returned his eyes to the red-head.

“So between me and Ingram, we have enough info to potentially take the owners of ‘Us’ down,” Sunset continued. “There are people in your organisation as well, who’ve been working with ‘Us’ over the years; feeding them intel and loaning out man-power and tech.”

Daniels frowned at the implication, shaking his head. “What? In the CIA?”

Sunset nodded. “Yup. And Cody was one of them,” she said, folding her hands on the table. “Most of them are older; guys who’ve been with the agency longer.”

“Hang on,” Shadow warned with a finger raised. “We need to be damn sure before we start throwing accusations like that at the higher-ups.”

“Don’t worry, I know who they are. I’ve seen them with my own eyes—well…kind of,” Sunset reassured. “And when we have them, we’ll squeeze ‘em hard and get them to tell us where to find Chrysalis and the others. Then we’ll either catch ‘em, or at the very least, make it so they can never set foot in North America again.”

Daniels cleared his throat and shook his head. “OK...this is pretty ambitious, you know that, right?”

Sunset nodded and rolled her eyes. “Of course. I’m just thinking out loud, really. I’m not saying you guys should run in there, guns a blazin; we’ll have to make sure we have our ducks in a row before we make our move.”

Ingram adjusted his glasses as he listened. “It is feasible,” he agreed, “but like you said, Miss Shimmer, we need to take our time and be prepared. Let me get in there and establish myself first, then we’ll move on from there. Agreed?”

Sunset nodded. “Yeah, totally.”

Ingram looked at Daniels next, who paused and then gave a nod. “Agreed.”

Agent Shadow followed suit when looked upon by Ingram. “Agreed.”

Thrilled by the allegiance they’d formed, Sunset pounded the table with her fist. “Yes! Fuck I can’t wait to see that bitch Chrysalis go down! This, what we just started here: this is gonna be a good thing.”

Daniels smirked and then folded his arms, looking down at the table. Ingram nodded, then pushed his glasses up after they’d slid partway down his nose.

A moment passed in silence, the four of them unsure of where to take the conversation next.

It was Tempest, eyeing Sunset up, who finally broke the silence. “What was it like?”

Sunset looked back to her, confused. “What was what like?”

Tempest turned her head and nodded toward the couch, where I was seated. “Being trained by him…first hand. What was it like?”

“Oh,” Sunset’s brows rose, and she stole a quick glance at the couch as well before answering. “Uh…fuck, amazing? I don’t know…there’s not much else I can come up with to describe it, really. Golds is…something else.”

Agent Shadow nodded, her eyes filling with wonderment—which Sunset found surprising, given how stoic and cold she’d been since they’d met that morning.

Daniels looked confused by Tempest’s apparent admiration, and he turned to glance at the couch before bringing his attention back to the table. “I don’t understand…what’s so great about that guy, anyway?”

Ingram raised a brow.

Noticing this, Tempest cocked her head toward the spectacled man. “Daniels isn’t a field agent,” she explained, to which Daniels looked at her, bemused.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked.

“Well...not to sound Blunt,” Shadow replied to Daniels, “but guys who aren’t trained for field work: they just don’t get it. And you’re not, so I’m sorry to say: you don’t get it.”

“Ahh,” Ingram nodded after seeing the exchange, then he folded his hands on the table, facing an inquisitive Daniels. “Agent Daniels; you do realise that the majority of training that people like Cody or Agent Shadow here receive was developed from the techniques that Mr. Arrow brought to your organisation well over sixty years ago, right?”

Furrowing his brows, Daniels glanced at Agent Shadow. Then turned to look toward the couch a second time. “Sixty years?” he repeated, looking back at Ingram. “That doesn’t make sense. He barely looks twenty-five.”

Ingram shook his head. “Golden Arrow is not at all what he seems, Agent Daniels. Rather, he is a-“

“HAHAHA! What the hell?” A sudden shriek of amusement from Rainbow Dash obliterated the conversation, and the four of them turned to see what was causing all the fuss. “Why is there an orange on the ceiling!?”

Ingram let out a quiet chuckle as Dash turned and called Applejack over to join her under the spot where the fruit was. “AJ! Gimme a boost!”

Applejack stood from the couch and made her way to Dash’s position, tipping her hat back as she looked up at the trapped fruit. “Heh! What in tarnation is that doin up there?”

“I dunno,” Dash shrugged as she raised one foot. “Come on, lift me up there so I can get it down.”

“Alright,” AJ replied as she bent slightly and laced her fingers together to make a step for the rainbow-haired girl to stand on.

Rainbow Dash did just that, placing her hand on Applejack’s shoulder as she climbed up to grab the orange. Wrapping her fingers around it, she carefully slid the soggy fruit over the knife’s handle and then tossed it over the table, where it landed in the sink with a metallic thud.

“HA! Two points!” Dash cheered, pumping a fist into the air as she held onto the knife handle to steady herself. “OK, lemme just get this…” she muttered, turning her attention to the knife. With a firm grip, she pulled downward on the handle while pushing her other hand against the ceiling for leverage, but the blade was wedged in place tighter than it looked, and it wouldn’t budge. The playful smile disappeared from Dash’s face, and she looked up at the knife, contemplating her next move.

“Hmm,” she hummed, gripping the handle with both hands and yanking hard. Her foot left the support of Applejack’s hands and she dangled in the air, eliciting a hearty laugh from the farm girl as she flailed her feet around like she was pedalling a bicycle.

“Heh-heh! Now, just be careful, Rainbow; ya don’t wanna fall-“

“Nah, I got this!” Dash grunted.

Raising her hands, AJ put a slightly more concerned expression on. “Just watch that ankle, alright? If ya land on it the wrong wa-“

“I’M FINE!” Dash barked, irritated that her injury had been mentioned in front of the guests.

Unfortunately, the juice from the orange had made the knife handle slick. Without warning, Rainbow Dash’s hands slipped free and she plummeted to the floor, causing a loud thump when her derrière impacted the hard, unforgiving wood.

“OOH, HO-HO!” she winced, gripping her butt as she rolled onto her side. “God, that’s hard on the asshole!”

At the table, Sunset snorted and shook her head; she looked down at the tabletop while AJ bent down to check on her friend.

Agents Daniels and Shadow turned back to face the red-head, both of them struggling to hide their smirks.

“Your friends certainly are…colourful,” Ingram chuckled, “in more ways than one, I might add.”

Sunset chuckled in reply. “Yeah…and this isn’t even all of them.”

“Oh?” Ingram raised a brow.

“Yeah. There’s one more, but she couldn’t make it tonight; she’s away at school. Kind of a bookworm, that one, and a major techie. You two would prob-“

Sunset stopped suddenly, her eyes widening.

“What is it?” Daniels asked, noticing the pause.

The red-head glanced back and forth between the three agents, a smirk growing on her face. “Hey…you guys wanna go meet her?”

Ingram straightened up a bit. “What, right now?”

Sunset nodded. “Yeah…I mean, if you’re up to it. It’s a couple hours drive from here, but I guarantee you guys will love her.”

*****

“Just wait here a minute, K?”

The three agents nodded silently, watching as Sunset turned and quietly rapped on the door before them—one of many doors that lined the long hallway that they’d found themselves in. After knocking, Sunset waited a few seconds, then opened the door and poked her head into the unlit room.

“Twi? You in here?”

No response.

Sunset stepped inside, searching the room while her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness. On the floor, she spied a little round doggy bed with a curled-up pile of snoring fur lying within.

“Pst! Spike!” Sunset called, looking down at the aged canine.

The purple ball jolted slightly, followed by a loud, muffled snort. “Huh? The fuck is that?” came a scratchy voice, groggy after being pulled from such a deep sleep.

“It’s me,” Sunset whispered loudly, watching as Spike uncoiled himself and looked up at her, eyes cloudy with cataracts, his muzzle whitened with age.

“S-…Sunset?” he groaned, squinting his eyes as he struggled to see her clearly against the hallway light, beaming in from behind her silhouette.

“Yeah, it’s me.”

The old dog’s eyes widened when he recognised her voice—and her scent. “Hey!...” He reined his excitement in quickly and stopped himself, then lowered is eyelids partway and gave her a sly —no, make that creepy— grin. “You uh…back so soon, eh? You sure do smell nice, like you could use a little action, am I right?”

Sunset let out an uneasy sigh. Spike was correct indeed; Golden Arrow’s presence throughout the dinner had in fact left a lasting effect on her panties. “Uh...yeah, maybe, but…I’m actually here to see Twi. Is she here?”

“Maybe,” Spike replied in a sultry tone, rolling onto his back. “You sure you’re not here to give old Spikey a belly rub?”

The red-head cringed, unsure of how to respond.

“It’s OK, Sunset, don’t be scared,” he continued in a low voice, followed by a sloppy lick of his chops. “If the red rocket comes out, it won’t hurt you; quite the opposite, actually.”

“Ugh...” Sunset pinched the bridge of her nose. “Damn it, Spike! You used to be cool. What happened to you?”

Spike looked rather put-off by her words, and after a pause, he scowled and looked away. “I’m still cool…you guys just aren’t into me anymore cuz I got old.”

“WHAT?” Sunset recoiled, enraged. “We were nev-“ she stopped herself quickly, putting her hands out and closing her eyes, sighing. “Just…nevermind. Is Twi here or not?”

“Yeah, she’s in her room,” Spike muttered, rolling onto his side again.

“Thanks,” Sunset replied begrudgingly as she started towards Twilight’s room, but then she remembered the agents outside. “Oh, and Spike?”

“Yeah?”

“We have some guests—and they’re strangers, so you might manna keep it down, OK?”

“Pfft…whatever,” Spike grumbled as he nuzzled his face into the side of the bed, closing his eyes. “Bitches be trippin.”

Sunset let out a sigh and shook her head. “Fuck.” She headed back to the door and waved the agents inside. They made their way single-file through the dark room, heading toward the closed door on the far side.

“Watch your step, guys,” Sunset instructed, “there’s a doggy bed right in fr-“

Sunset stopped suddenly when she heard the unmistakable sound of flatulence escaping from behind her—and she knew immediately where it came from.

The agents had stopped by then as well, pausing cautiously when they heard the sound.

Sunset held her breath, waiting and hoping that the fart wouldn’t be a potent one.

Luck was not on her side.

“Aaugh!” Agent shadow, who was closest to the bed, cupped her hand over her nose and mouth. “God, that is fucking-“ She glanced down at the little dog, holding her breath. “That smells like…burnt broccoli!”

Gritting her teeth, Sunset turned and gave Spike a sharp glare. His face was barely discernible in the dark, but she was still able to make out that his eyes were closed, and that there was a devious smile curling the corner of his mouth.

“Asshole,” the red-head whispered to herself as she brought her eyes up meet Ingram’s. “Come on; this way. Hurry.”

As they resumed their trip across the room, Daniels was evidently next in line to sample the gaseous weaponry. “Oh jesus!” he gagged, nudging Ingram’s back. “Go! Go!”

In her room, Twilight Sparkle sat at her desk, reading a book with a pair of headphones on, filling the room with the faint and tinny sound of music. She didn’t notice the door opening slowly, nor did she hear her red-headed friend enter, followed by three other figures who stood behind her in the shadows.

“Twi,” Sunset said, leaning forward to tap the lavender-skinned nerd on the shoulder just as she reached into the bag of peanut M&Ms that sat next to her book.

Twilight looked up from her book, caught off-guard by the extra presences in her room. Her eyes widened when she saw Sunset standing there, and she quickly slid her earphones down around the back of her neck. “Sunset! What are you doing back here?” she asked, rotating sideways in her chair to face her visitor.

“Well,” Sunset began, “We had some unexpected-“

CLICK!

Just then, the metal stand that was positioned beside Twilight’s desk groaned and rocked violently as a two-by-four swung through the air with a loud whoosh, whipping over her desk towards the side of her head.

Before anyone even had a chance to react, Twilight calmly leaned away to let the wood pass by her ear, causing that curly lock of hair that hung down the side of her face to flutter in its wake.

The three agents jumped back, completely unprepared for this.

“Whoa! What the shit?!” Daniels exclaimed as Tempest stepped in front of him for protection.

Sunset just stood still with her arms folded, shaking her head as a smirk found its home on her lips. “You OK, Twi?”

“Of course,” Twilight replied, scowling. Then she popped the handful of M&Ms into her mouth and pointed at the agents. “Who’re these guys?”