Sunset and Jane sneaked through the streets of New Appaloosa, moving small distances and waiting patiently for patrols to move past before moving again.

Sunset took the lead, using her spell to keep track of any living beings in the area—a skill that proved useful on more than one occasion when locals looked out of their windows or were otherwise active, or if the ADVENT patrols changed their routes.

Through it all, until they were close enough to the building itself, Jane followed quietly. Once they were properly hidden close enough to the facility that her GREMLIN could do a recording of the place, they set down.

"Scanning," Jane whispered, as her GREMLIN flew up into the air and was soon out of sight.

The pair remained silent for a little while, then Jane spoke up, "So… that freaky thing you do about knowing when people or aliens are around… is that one of your alien powers?"

Sunset sighed. "Sort of? But… can you please not call me alien? Earth is my home now, for better or worse."

Jane glanced at her briefly, before returning her attention to the GREMLIN's tracking device. They were not transmitting real-time data for fear of discovery, so the hovering drone was simply following a predetermined route and recording video of everything. Still, Jane had to keep track of where it was.

"What about Twilight?"

"I'm hoping we can figure out a way to get her home… in the meantime, she's helping Dr. Tygan at the lab."

"Huh," Jane muttered. "Must be smart.'

"She is."

"So you didn't answer my question."

Sunset fought back another heavy sigh. "It's… not exactly something everyone can do." She thought for a moment, debating how much to tell Jane. "Twilight can't… or rather, she never would. It's part of a set of… forbidden techniques from my home dimension. It's basically the only one I can use reliably. Everything else is next to impossible in this dimension, or drains me so much it might as well be useless."

Jane shook her head. "All this time… I get that I'm taking it a bit personal, Sunset, but can you blame me?"

Sunset hummed. "You could have trusted me… you know all senior staff was aware of this, and we have history together, helping each other. We're friends."

"Yeah." Jane tweaked a few things on her pad. "We are, aren't we?" she chuckled. "It's funny, before we rescued the Commander I wouldn't have dreamt of questioning things like this since joining XCOM. But then again, most of the time we were micromanaged and the pressure of that kept reminding me of protocol… when Menace was activated, we… well, we're the odd ones out of the gang.

"We don't get micromanaged by the Commander, and we're the only team that gets direct threats from the Chosen… and people noticed. We got all of the faction soldiers working for us… it felt like being back in a guerilla, working off of a settlement." Jane sighed. "I guess I let myself just fall into that trap of being… too comfortable."

Sunset signaled for Jane to remain quiet, following the movements of a nearby patrol that came close to where they were. She couldn't see what they were exactly, although all three patrol members were bipeds.

After a few tense moments, one of them started moving again and the other two followed. She watched them until they were too far for her sight to follow. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

Jane grimaced. "So… how come Earth is your home now?"

Sunset pursed her lips. "I… was a brat when I was younger. I left, with no real plans after a fight with my mentor/mother figure… but instead of going to the nearest bar and getting drunk… I jumped dimensions through a portal. That's when I met Mox and he pretty much saved my life.

"The Skirmishers gave me some basic training… I had never seen a gun before I came here, and my homeworld hasn't seen a war in centuries, so… other than some battle spells that were completely useless here, I was devastatingly unprepared for anything on this side. Then I met Bradford, and the rest is history."

Jane shook her head. "What do you mean spells? Magic Missile?"

"Sort of like psychic energy, but on a different wavelength," Sunset elaborated.

"Ah."

Jane sighed and sat next to Sunset, shoulder to shoulder. "We're having a longer talk when we get back home, you know."

Sunset smiled. "Of course."

"So… have you always looked the same, or was this body of yours a random choice?"

In the early morning, the sleek, black van drove down the road towards the ADVENT Mec Development Center. A guard stepped out of the security gate, motioning for the van to slow down.

The window scrolled down, and Apple Bloom smiled at the trooper. "Good mornin', Kvlar!"

The guard smiled pleasantly, stepping back. Immediately the gates slid open, allowing Apple Bloom to drive in. She drove past the exterior loading area, and down a ramp into the underground parking.

"They never ask you questions?" Sunset asked from the back of the van, peeking from between several boxes of equipment.

"Nope! It's not unusual for me to arrive early and leave late, and Ah do it so often, this time around won't raise suspicion." Apple Bloom said, "now… are you sure this is going to work?"

"Of course not," Sunset said. "But we have to try."

Apple Bloom sighed. "And you have the site specs I gave y'all?"

"No." Sunset said. "I memorized the layout you gave us, but none of the information that ties back to you in any way or form was stored. If things go well, when you come back tomorrow morning, we'll be long gone."

Applebloom nodded. "Ah can't thank you enough…" she hesitated. "Ah'm sorry, but Ah have to ask… do you know what happened to Applejack?"

Sunset shook her head. "If I can get information to you… I promise I will."

Apple Bloom closed her eyes and nodded once more. "Ah figured… hopin' to hear from her after so long… Ah just…"

"I'm sorry."

Apple Bloom cleared her throat. "Anyway… my tears are long-dry, good luck with your mission, Sunset Shimmer."

Sunset smiled. "Thanks. You think Jane and Scootaloo will be okay?"

"Scootaloo… Ah'm not sure of what… or who she saw when she picked y'all up, but it shook her to the core. Sweetie and I knew she was in denial but… until now, she wouldn't even talk about it. Whatever or whoever it was... Ah'm glad it opened her up to face her demons." She took a deep breath. "They'll be fine. Ah'll be back home and go over things with them tonight before they head out."

Applebloom slowed down, turning around a corner and backing into her parking space. "Here we are… my parking space. Conveniently away from the cameras. Be careful."

Sunset grinned. "I will."

Nothing more was said. Apple Bloom emerged from her van and walked towards the elevator, greeting other workers on her way in. In the Van, Sunset waited until there were no more people around before sliding the side door open.

Apple Bloom's spot was right next to a wall, so she was protected from being seen by anyone on the other side. She carefully looked around, making sure no security devices were close enough to see her, then she looked up.

Just like Apple Bloom had said she would, Sunset immediately saw the red-lit black metal grates above the van. She quickly climbed up atop the van and, laying on her back, started to work in loosening it up.

Once it came off, she managed to slide into the service tunnels, which were large enough for her to crawl on all fours. It took her less than a minute to re-attach the grates, and then she was officially in.

Sunset looked around, then brought a mental image of her location, the direction the van was pointed, where the elevators that Apple Bloom had taken were located and started moving. She needed to get out of the metal tunnels, and reach a central hub two floors above.

After that… she'd have to wait until night time… and for Jane to do her part.