Jane found Dash at the bar, looking at the frame of herself and her old friends.

"Something seems to be bothering you," Jane opened with, going around the bar to pour herself a drink. She ignored Dash's snort when she chose a single malt over bourbon.

Once her drink was ready, she walked back around to sit next to the pilot. "What's going on?"

Dash didn't answer immediately, merely concentrating on the picture. "You know, now that we found my friend Fluttershy, all of them are accounted for?"

Jane didn't answer, but looked at Dash, motioning for her to continue.

"AJ died early on… she was part of a team I dropped off in Germany… I—" Dash shuddered, tightening her grip on the glass so much that Jane was afraid it would break, but slowly and visibly the pilot forced herself to release it. "I was on overwatch in the Skyranger, it was raining, I remember that… she had just made Sergeant. Heh. Just like Sunset."

Dash gulped and licked her lips. "Nakamoto was… he was a bit rash, I-don't want to hate him… but he just didn't follow orders. AJ told him to hold his position, we had scanned the area from the base, we knew there were Mechtoids around… you don't see those guys anymore, I guess that's good… anyway, we had managed to drop them off concealed.

"Coleman had spotted a couple of mutons, and AJ had climbed on top of a train… she had a perfect view. I knew her… I knew what she was thinking. She was going to ambush them, funnel them into leaving cover and shoot them down… but Nakamoto, he just… ran into this house, I don't even know why, maybe he heard something or panicked."

The ice clicked in her glass as it melted.

"He found the Mechtoid unit and… he didn't even have time to shout, one moment he was fine, the next he was running over to AJ, live plasma grenade in hand."

Rainbow Dash went quiet.

"Mind-controlled?"

Dash nodded. "He blew up my best friend." She took another drink. "Nakamura died instantly too… Coleman, who was about to ambush the mutons as ordered, found herself two versus one with only a tree to protect her. Morales panicked, he ran out of cover straight into the Mechtoid. It didn't even shoot at him, it… pummeled him into a paste. I could only hear them scream, Kelly… I wanted to go back, I could hear one channel active… it was AJ. I could hear her breathing fast and… and it sounded wet, I think it was the blood…"

Dash took a deep, ragged breath. "I don't know what happened to Rarity after she moved into the new cities. She probably married, had a kid… but she was never into the fights. Pinkie… she went over to Hope's Lake... it, uh… it wasn't one of ADVENTs favorite places. It was razed to the ground… she had-h-had an inn of sorts, she never…" Dash trailed off. "I'm sorry, I… I can't."

Jane grimaced. Dash wasn't crying but she had closed her eyes and was obviously in pain over the memories.

"A-anyway," Dash eventually continued. "It's stupid, but this kid that Sunset managed to find…"

"I heard... " Jane muttered, mood darkening. "It makes no sense."

"No, no it doesn't… but she knew me," Dash said softly. "I don't know how… she looked familiar so, I was trying to figure out who she was… I couldn't remember meeting a teenager like her and I would remember that, she stands out like a Nimbostratus on a sunny day. Maybe someone's kid? But… I feel like I at least met her at some point, if that makes sense?"

"Not really," Jane said, with a sigh as she pondered the issue. "Ever since we rescued the Commander, things around Sunset haven't been… as black and white as before. She had that conversation with the Commander while she was in the hospital and… it just seems like now the Chosen have a thing for her… calling her blood witch and such, and whoever it is that's controlling the things Dr. Vahlen created also wants to hunt her down. I feel like I'm missing something big, and I don't like it."

"I hear you…" Rainbow Dash sighed. "Twilight Sparkle… why does the name sound so familiar?"

"Hm, you're healing remarkably well," Tygan said.

"Uh, thanks," Sunset said, holding her shirt up to right under her breasts and glancing uncomfortably at the attention the Avenger's scientist was giving her.

"Do not worry, Sunset, I think I am done cleaning what was left to clean on the wound. The skin is still very damaged, however, so make sure to apply the balm I've given you for at least a couple of weeks."

"Um, thanks, doctor, but why exactly are you doing this instead of the nurse?"

Tygen smiled. "Professional curiosity, nothing more. You have displayed substantial healing speed, well beyond that of your peers here, and recent developments have opened my eyes to new possibilities in the field of healing."

"I see…"

"In any case, I see you have visitors, so I will let them speak to you and take my leave," Tygan said, straightening up. "Miss Shimmer," he nodded, and left.

"I see you are healing well," Elena said, approaching the bed where Sunset was sitting. "I heard you were injured while fighting the Viper King before you took it out."

"A most impressive feat," Mox added, nodding with a smile. "I heard that Dr. Tygan was very eager to start on his autopsy."

"Ugh, don't remind me," Sunset said, grimacing. "I completely missed a point-blank shot, it was embarrassing."

"Don't feel bad," the nurse, who had just walked in, patted her on the shoulder. "That's just XCOM."

"Yeah. Thanks."

The nurse grinned and went over to the other side of the room to check on other patients, while Sunset watched. "Where's Jane?"

"Last I heard she was looking for Rainbow Dash." Elena shrugged. "But Central has already set a time for debriefing of the last mission. Many things went wrong that shouldn't have."

"Tell me about it," Sunset groaned. She searched the infirmary, until her eyes found the person she was looking for.

Following her gaze, Mox smirked. "It seems you are well and our worry was unfounded—"

"I wasn't worried." Elena looked at both of them defiantly, daring them to disagree.

"Right." Mox cleared his throat. "In any case, we came here to see how you were feeling. I believe we have established you are in decent health and able to attend the meeting later."

Elena shrugged. "We will let you be for now, Sunset Shimmer." Her eyes narrowed. "But once things have calmed down you and I are going to have some practice in the firing range."

"Um… yes." Sunset shifted, unable to dispute the sudden training session with the Reaper.

"Good. We will see you soon," Elena said. "Although you might not see us."

"That… is creepy."

Elena said nothing, turning around and walking out of the infirmary, followed by a thoroughly amused Pratal Mox.

Sunset chuckled a little, then slid off the bed and walked over to where the nurse was checking on Laetitia. By the time she reached the Templar, she wasn't smiling.

"Any change?" Sunset took a seat on the chair next to the bed.

The nurse shook her head. "She's still unconscious… it's a miracle she survived, Corp—I mean, Sergeant."

Sunset shook her head. "What's the point of that if… this happens to one of my team? First Paula, now Laetitia…"

"I'll let you talk to her for a bit, Sergeant," the nurse said, finishing her check up and turning to leave. "Don't stress yourself too much, you are wounded as well, even if Dr. Tygan says you are fit to walk around."

"Right, thanks," Sunset muttered, waiting for her to leave, before turning to look at the comatose woman. Not too long ago, their places had been reversed.

Sunset could feel a faint psychic wave coming from Laetitia, which gave her hope. If her friend was gone, there would be no energy flux. "I… I don't know if you can hear me," she said after a moment, reaching out to hold her friend's hand. "I'm not sure what happened… I was… out of action while everything went down. I can feel you in there, Laetitia you Celestia-damned tease. I want you back, okay? What will I tell Geist if you don't wake up?"

Sunset was interrupted by a beep from her communicator. She looked down at the message and sighed, standing up.

She remained silent, simply holding Laetitia's hand. "You're the only one of my team that knows about me." She took a deep breath. "And I have so much more to tell you… come back to us soon, okay?"

She gave Laetitia's hand a squeeze and headed out. She had a meeting with the Commander.

The door slid open and Sunset stepped in, saluting. "Cor-ahem, Sergeant Shimmer reporting."

"At ease, Sergeant," Commander Chrysalis said, motioning for Sunset to join Twilight on the couch. There were others there as well; Bradford, naturally, as well as Tygan and Shen. "Please take a seat, we have much to discuss."

Sunset nodded, looking curiously at the Commander as she followed instructions. Chrysalis noticed that. "Do you want to ask something, Sergeant?"

"Um, a lot of things, ma'am," Sunset said, sitting down. "But if I may be blunt… you're a lot nicer than last time."

"Ah yes," Chrysalis leaned back. "There were many revelations during your last mission, your absence and upon your return."

"I see," Sunset said, glancing at Twilight.

"Oh, don't blame her," Chrysalis shrugged. "I learned a lot from your interactions with the Chosen, and then your discussions with Twilight here once you were back. We found out much about you while on your VIP mission. You should have seen Tygan's face when you admitted you were actually an alien." She smiled. "What I didn't know, was that you weren't just an alien… but a unicorn from another dimension, intimately related to the governing body of said dimension and an exile and traitor."

"Wait…" Shen sputtered. "A unicorn?! For real?"

Chrysalis ignored her. "It was interesting to learn as well that when the Chosen Assassin, and later the Hunter called you a 'Blood Witch', it wasn't a nickname, but an actual title… a title that, according to Princess Twilight here, would make you a criminal back in your home world."

Sunset looked down. She couldn't be angry at Twilight, as much as she wanted to. The fact was that it was true and the only reason she was here was that Sunset herself had screwed up.

"Blood magic is extremely dangerous, Sunset!" Twilight sputtered out, unable to contain herself. "It's a miracle that you're sane as it is! Didn't you know this when you learned about it? Didn't Pri—"

"I was a different… person back then," Sunset said slowly. "I stole that book because I thought it would give me power. I learned it on this side of the mirror—from scratch, without a horn and using just my personal reserves. You've seen how hard it is to even… conjure light. When I saw the kind of world I was in… it became a huge bonus, even if the spells I can use are only two of over twenty."

"At what cost, Sunset?" Twilight asked softly.

Sunset sighed, not meeting her eyes.

"Regardless, I have no doubt left about your loyalty now," Chrysalis said, her voice calm. "And… now your similarities to my old friend are also explained…" she chuckled. "I never expected you to be her… just from another dimension."

"However, there are some things that we need to deal with right now," Bradford said. "Sunset, you hid valuable information from all of us, information that, were we aware of, could have been used to help us all in this war… but also to prevent certain dangers. I'm sure you're wondering how Laetitia was injured…"

Sunset looked up. "I—wasn't that during our last mission? I assumed a shot or, or the explosion.."

"At 1803 hours today, you were thrown by an explosion caused by the Hunter," Tygan spoke up this time. "I have examined the video and the readings. The moment you crossed the mirror, a wave of energy, similar, but not exactly psychic, resonated through the field…."

A look of horrified comprehension slowly dawned on Sunset's face as the doctor continued. "...Templar Laetitia, who was closest to the mirror simply collapsed on the spot, unmoving, while the Hunter and the Assassin were observed to be thrown back as if a physical force had hit them, even at a considerable distance. This allowed Firebrand to get closer and pick up the rest of your team. Pratal Mox carried Laetitia with him up to the Skyranger."

"So you're saying that… that it was—" Sunset felt sick. "Oh Celestia… it was me… t-that did that…"

She felt Twilight's hand on her shoulder, and suddenly Bradford was kneeling across from her, hands on her shoulders. "Look at me, Sunset, it was an accident. Take a deep breath and think the situation through."

Slowly, she was able to slow down her breathing. The urge to throw up faded and she was left shaking. Dr. Tygan replaced Bradford, giving her a quick check up. "It's just faded adrenaline now," he said. "The panic attack has rescinded."

"While it's important to remember that that incident was not your fault… another issue could be, if we don't deal with it now," Chrysalis said, locking her eyes with Sunset. "Show us the Element of Magic you stole from Princess Sparkle."