The Temple of the Sun in Tenochtitlan, a huge stone pyramid built by the Earth Pony inhabitants of the valley in ancient times, stood tall after thousands of years since it had been built out of rock and clay, almost as imposing as it had looked in its days of glory.

Rising high above the surrounding jungle and hiding underneath it, an impressive, labyrinthian structure. At its very top, a golden band shone, seemingly nothing but a decoration to the uninitiated, but for those in the know…

Equestria, Hidden Valley: Underground Chambers, Temple of the Sun

Daring Do usually worked alone.

Occasionally, she might team up with somepony or creature to achieve part of her objective, as she had done with Galahad several years ago—but, when all the cards were on the table, she was always on her own when it came right down to it.

Things were different today.

"Keep them busy!" Daring shouted, ducking under two burly ponies that tried to tackle her out of the air. The golden ring she had looped around her neck glistened in the torchlight, reflecting the chaos taking place all around them.

The pair crashed into each other with plenty of force, but wherever Ahuitzotl had found these guys, they were sturdier than the average pony. Even though the impact must have been painful, they were up again soon, and ready to fight.

That didn't stop Gilda from tackling both of them with an audible "Oof!" and leonine roar.

Daring had to admit, even though she still preferred to work alone, Twilight's plan had come through, the others worked well enough as a team for what was reportedly just a few days of knowing each other, and it made things a bit easier for her overall to concentrate on the artifacts when she was not being directly attacked by minions or villains. Even the youngest griffon there, Gabby, was doing her part keeping the feline minions Ahuitzotl had accumulated occupied.

Rainbow Dash, her annoying, insistent, kinda-okay, self-proclaimed fan, was flying loops around the room and avoiding obstacles like a complete pro, managing to keep the other minions guessing. Daring had assumed she was some sort of athlete, given how well she clearly took care of herself, but the flying was beyond her expectations.

Galahad, the old, charming bird, was predictably competent, if a bit less fatal in this fight, and as far as "Battle Princess" Twilight, not-Luna, and the weird griffon Alejandra went…

Daring grimaced.

Well, Twilight had promised to try and make sure nocreature died.

Twilight and Alejandra were less about jumping straight into the fight, and more about choosing an opponent and demolishing them in different ways; Twilight by using potent force-based spells that would break noses and bones at worst, and Alejandra was like watching Gilda try to imitate Galahad: the basics were there, but she was clearly not an assassin like the latter, or much of a brawler like the former.

She moved like she was just getting used to her body. It would have been amusing in its awkwardness if it she hadn't witnessed the griffon almost kill Caballeron the previous day without any remorse.

Not-Luna, however, was a close-fighter as any she had seen before, and worse, she clearly had no idea how strong Luna's body actually was. Or possibly even worse, she knew, but didn't care.

It was like watching a living version of a classical demigod hero in battle, although she looked very self-aware. She had landed between two ponies and a swipe of her foreleg had sent one spinning in place to collapse on the floor, completely still—she hoped he was just unconscious, mindless minion or not—and after bucking the other pony into a wall, she had charged straight at Daring's number one enemy.

Still, Daring had a job to do, so while Ahuitzotl panicked at the sight of a legendary alicorn charging him, she was already at the temple's center pedestal, where the other Rings of Scorchero rested. She slowly started picking them up, but by the third one it became a lot heavier than anticipated.

Clenching her teeth, closing her eyes, and pulling up, she struggled with the weight until it suddenly became a little easier to lift. Opening her eyes she saw a smirking Rainbow Dash picking up the other side. "Need a hoof?"

Daring chuckled. "Sure, why not?"

Together, the pair of pegasus lifted the heavy golden ring and threw it onto the floor, then got started on the next.

"So," Rainbow gasped, flapping her wings hard to lift the next ring. "Why… do we have to do this? It's not like these guys will be a threat to anypony soon!"

As if to punctuate her question, Ahuitzotl flew—upside down—across the room, through a pillar, through the wall behind it, and with a scream that faded as he fell far down under the temple and cut off with the sound of a splash of water.

"So it can never be used again!" Daring hissed between clenched teeth as they tipped the golden ring above the pole and let it fall, then began working on the next. "I'm fairly certain I mentioned this before!"

"I was... kinda busy... handling Twilight's... panic attack," Rainbow Dash managed to gasp out between pushes.

Thinking back on how distraught the princess had been when she had realized her complete lack of empathy for the injured Caballeron, Daring had to admit that it was forgivable for her fan to have forgotten her words in order to concentrate on the surprisingly bellicose princess.

As ostracized as Daring could make herself be from the general pony society, it had been shocking to see the changes in Twilight. The last she'd heard, Twilight had been crowned Princess of Friendship and didn't have a violent bone in her body, which was at odd contrast with the steely-eyed mare she had encountered in her home.

Daring considered herself a very worldly mare. She dealt with dangerous villains, remorseless mercenaries and assassins… she had traveled beyond the reach of any other pony in this day and age—anypony that didn't have horns and wings, that is—met mythical creatures, defeated or befriended some—if not all—of the above at one point or another, and discovered more ancient temples than anypony alive (again, excluding beings possessing both, wings and horns who probably had lived in said ancient temples at some point or another).

In a way she was not entirely comfortable about, she understood the lack of pity for ponies like Caballeron, who would have gladly left them to die of their wounds if the roles had been inverted. But at the same time, did she want a princess that couldn't think of other ways of extracting information other than taking advantage of the fear and pain of a pony?

It was one thing to see a common pony or griffon do that… or even Daring herself… but a princess represented much more than a random individual, and they would always be held to higher standards. One of the reasons for her own change of mind to help Twilight had definitely been the fact that the princess herself held those standards firmly, and understood what they represented.

That, and if she was honest, she was very curious about all the implications behind the princess' quest. A blood witch? Somepony else's mind in Princess Luna's body? A griffon bodyguard that did not behave like a griffon and carried strange weapons? There was too much going on. Whispers of magical items and different worlds, strange technology… no, she was not letting this adventure pass her by, deadlines be damned.

Besides. It definitely was new-novel material. Twilight Velvet would forgive her being tardy again, she was sure.

The last ring finally left the pedestal and was tossed to the ground, where it broke under its own weight. Immediately the whole temple started shaking. "Alright!" Daring shouted, "it's time, everypony! Go! Go! Go!"

"Nooo!" Ahuitzotl cried, having climbed up from wherever he had ended. His fur was soaked and he had little piranhas still nibbling at him as he gaped at the empty pedestal. "Daring Do! How dare you!"

He reared up, his fists shaking in the air, ready to attack when a blast of purple energy sent him flying through the wall again. They could all her his screams as he splashed into the water again.

They all followed the origin of the spell to Twilight, who shrugged. "He was getting annoying," she said. "Come on!"

The group flew their way out of the temple just in time. Seconds after they had crossed the gated entrance, the center of the structure collapsed completely, slamming into pieces and triggering the destruction of the rest of the temple.

The group kept flying until they reached a small hill devoid of jungle to watch the aftermath of their actions.

"Heh. Now I know how Sunset and the others feel when they finish a mission like this one." Twilight hoof-bumped Alejandra's claw. "Better yet, no paperwork."

With a grunt, Daring smashed the last ring on the floor and smiled at the others. "I have to admit, working as a team did make things go smoother this time around."

"Oh, yeah! Uh-huh!" Rainbow jumped and spun in the air, making Gabby giggle. "We. Are. The. Best!"

The others laughed and Daring's eyes met Galahad's. Yeah. It felt good to work with others sometimes, and it brought back some nice memories. She sighed and shook her head, bringing herself back to reality. "As cool as that was, now we need to start working on finding your ancient sword."

Twilight and the others calmed down and turned to face her.

Daring started pacing. "We'll need to find a way into the Lost City of Maretlantis."

"But I thought that Maretlantis was a myth?" Twilight spoke up immediately. Yep. She was stil a nerd. "Not to mention, it was lost at sea thousands of years ago. Even if we found where it was supposed to be off of the coast of Fleece, finding whatever remains of it underwater might be impossible!"

"And that," Daring said, "is where we will come to our first hurdle. Tell me, Princess Twilight, what do you know of the places outside the borders of Equestria?"

"Fleece?" Alejandra blurted out. "Really? Like Greece? But Fleece? Is it populated by sheep?"

Ignoring her fellow XCOM soldier, Twilight frowned. "I'm familiar with geography and history, but I haven't travelled much outside of this continent, in this world, at least."

'There it is again. The implications of that… I need them to tell me the whole story. Soon.' Daring Do arched an eyebrow, forcing herself to concentrate on the issue at hoof. "Okay. Well then, there are things you will find out that most ponies don't. But for now, we need to rest and prepare."

She flapped her wings, taking off and starting to make her way back home. "Make sure you have all of your Equipment ready, and bring whatever else you think you'll need… I need to check with my contacts before we can move, but we'll meet again in Riverbed Town in a day."

She heard them acknowledge her words, but her mind was already on the list of things she needed to do next. Who to write, who to contact, where to meet, what notes to take… yeah. This could be really interesting after all. "Just you wait, Twilight Velvet, you'll love the next book as well."

Equestria, Canterlot, Twilight's Tower

"Ah just can't believe you'd do this without us, Twilight," Applejack said, shaking her head. "Ah know y'all know how to fight, but we're your friends."

Twilight grimaced. "I know."

"Darling, just understand… we simply don't want you to get hurt," Rarity said.

"I know."

"And we're super-duper ready to help whenever you want!" Pinkie Pie added.

"I know."

"We're… worried," Fluttershy whispered, not looking up.

"I know."

The change in tone made the room quieter. She wished it hadn't been that obvious, but sitting here listening to all of them air out their worries, observations, and complaints on her decision to leave them behind was stressing at best. There were times when she really would have preferred to stay a scientist/soldier in another world.

Having to explain herself to her friends for their very valid worries was one of those times, especially given that, what had happened during said expedition, actually validated all of their points.

Alejandra, Galahad and the others—including Tala—had bowed out of this meeting, the lucky griffs and breezie. 'Lucky bastards.' The message was clear: this was most definitely not something XCOM or anyone else outside of her best friends needed to be a part of.

Rainbow Dash had remained quiet the whole time, which was probably for the best, given their friends' anxieties. Still, she looked up at Twilight when the tone of frustration made its way into her words. Her eyes said everything. Twilight needed to own up to her decision, and Rainbow Dash wasn't going to go about explaining it to the others for her. She wasn't too happy about it herself.

"Listen girls, I don't think you'll like what I'm about to say, but please hear me out."

The others exchanged uneasy glances, but none spoke.

Twilight took a deep, calming breath and let it out slowly, gathering her thoughts. "I just…" She trailed off. Even if she had spoken about it with Rainbow Dash, saying this to her best friends hurt a little. "I don't think you girls understand what's going on on Earth… not fully. Even if you have seen some stuff, seeing something is very different than living through it.

"I know that I have your support, and I know that I can't ask for more understanding and patient friends, and believe me, I know that it's hard for you to put up with how I've changed. But the fact is, you don't know, and I don't want you to know what it is like." She she placed both fore-hooves on the table, frowning as she studiously kept her eyes focused on them. "Kill or be killed is not the way things are here in Equestria. We haven't been pushed to that limit and I hope we never are, but that's the reality outside of it. And knowing that living through that can change you, is not the same as being changed by it.

"When I went with Rainbow Dash and the others in search of clues, I didn't want you to see what I was prepared to do." She licked her lips. "What I am prepared to do. I know I haven't spent as much time with any of you as I should have, and I am very sorry for that, but I'm scared. I'm scared of what I may have become." She gulped, not looking up. "I'm scared of what I can do, and what would happen if you saw that. I'm scared of making the kinds of decisions that would keep me alive in another world over here… in front of you, and losing you."

She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. "I can't… I just can't imagine bringing you into my reality. I want to protect you of that… I want Applejack to think of her family and farm, not of whether that sound was a grenade or not. I want Fluttershy to take care of her animals, not watch people be consumed by monsters. I want Rarity to design clothes because she loves that, not because she's someone's slave."

The others were quiet, sensing that she wasn't finished. "I took Dash with me because…" she took a moment to brace herself, "...because she's the one that went to the old soldiers. She's the one that talked to Shining and retired Wonderbolts. Because she's basically joining the military here when she's a full fledged Wonderbolt herself… but also because you girls are my conscience. You are what keeps me laughing, and kind, and honest, and loyal, and generous. I know." She smiled. "It's sappy, but it's true."

She sighed and leaned back, looking up at the roof and contemplating the sunlight seeping through the window at the top of the tower. "You are what I want to come back to, do you understand? To all of those nice, wholesome things that have nothing to do with blowing an enemy's head off."

She looked down at the others with a sad, little smile playing on her lips. "When I'm with you, I want you to see Twilight Sparkle, not… Doctor or Sergeant Sparkle."

"Oh, Twilight," Rarity said into the heavy silence that followed. "Of course we see you as yourself, that will never change."

"Plus, we know you're very worried about Sunny and Laetitia!" Pinkie added. "It would super sad if they couldn't be helped!"

Twilight gulped, finding her eyes straying over to Fluttershy, whose face was covered by her pink mane. The others shuffled uncomfortably as the pegasus sighed and looked up at Twilight, eyes searching.

"I don't approve of violence," the pegasus said softly. "And I don't want you to fight at all, Twilight… but I know you wouldn't if you didn't think it was necessary." She looked down, tapping her hooves together. "I understand that there's places where that is… um, unavoidable, and I wish that it wasn't." She looked up again at Twilight, a small smile adorning her mouth. "But you will always be our Twilight, when you are here with us."

The group let out a collective breath that apparently they hadn't realized they were holding.

"Ah'll be honest, sugarcube, Ah did not expect you to say that."

Fluttershy blushed. "Um… sorry. I just, uh… I-I talked a lot with Tala."

Twilight blinked. "Tala? The same Tala that roundhouse-kicked me in the head when I was human?"

Fluttershy nodded nervously. "Yes. I mean, I didn't know she had done that! But, she's been mostly calm when she's with me and Mr. Sticks in Ponyville."

"Mr. Sticks?" Twilight repeated, feeling a bit lost.

"Tala tamed a Timber Wolf!" Pinkie said excitedly. "She lets foals ride it!"

Twilight blinked. "But Timber Wolves are created of wild magic an—no." She rubbed her forehead. "No. I'm not getting into that."

"So what are your plans now, darling?" Rarity asked amidst the chuckles. "You mentioned earlier you were planning on heading out?"

Twilight nodded. "I'm heading to Fleece with Daring Do and find a very special magical item." She raised a hoof when they opened their mouths. "Yes, she's real. No, you're not going. I'm only taking Galahad, Rainbow Dash, Alejandra and Tala with me."

"The hay we're not goin'!" Applejack practically shouted, standing up and glaring across the table. "Ah get you want to protect us, Ah can respect your wishes to keep the violence of that world away from us, but this here ain't Earth!"

"I have to agree, Twilight," Rarity said, a displeased frown crossing her features. "We are far from useless."

"You're not useless, but while this is not Earth, it is going to get violent," Twilight stated.

The others frowned and slowly sat down, all but Fluttershy, who looked straight at Twilight. "Explain."

Her friend's eyes were intense, but Twilight had meditated a lot on this and had made up her mind. Still, she'd have to thank Tala for talking to Fluttershy, or that might have been a real Stare. "I'm not pulling my punches if they are needed," Twilight said. "This morning I received a report from Princess Luna… Fugue killed everyone in a city back on Earth."

The others gasped, and she let that hover in the air for a few moments. "Small cities there start in the thousands of people. She is practically unstoppable unless they used Sunset's methods to do so, and that would kill both her and Fugue..." she narrowed her eyes. "It would be, in fact, worse than simple death. In light of that, I do not have the luxury of playing nice."

Fluttershy cringed, closing her eyes and sitting back.

"I don't intend to go anywhere with violence in mind," Twilight said gently, reaching out to touch Fluttershy's hoof, "but I will need a team that will be up for that if necessary. I can't ask you to do that, Fluttershy," she said gently, then looked at the others. "I can't ask that of any of you." She sighed. "The only reason Rainbow Dash is going with me is because she knows how to keep me in line, but I can't be in the middle of a life or death situation and argue ethics at that moment. Thousands are dead, and I fully intend to stop that from happening ever again. Especially if they are dying at the hands of my friend."

"So what do you expect us to do?" Applejack asked eventually, her voice subdued. "Just sit here while you take on the world?"

Twilight shook her head. "No, I have a mission for you girls… there's a pony here in Canterlot I know can help with some research. I have left my notes for her here…" she motioned at a pile of scrolls. "But I haven't been able to get in touch with her for some time. I want you to convince her to help… please."

She waited as the others glanced dubiously at each other before Fluttershy, of all ponies, spoke up. "Okay, Twilight. I trust you," she said with conviction and just the slightest tremble in her voice. "Who do you want us to get help from?"

Twilight smiled. "Her name is Moon Dancer."

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