Uniformity

Chapters

I. Lyra in the Sky with Diamonds
II. Manehattan Marehunt
III. Forbiddance
IV. High and Low
V. What Follows
VI. The Curse of a Humble Soul
VII. Soft Paws and Cold Feelings
VIII. Deep Sea Blues
IX. Mice and Mares
X. Beneath the Layers
XI. Silence is Golden
XII. That's All She Wrote
XIII. Changing Tones
XIV. A Mile in Their Horseshoes
XV. Humilis Anima
XVI. Broadcast
XVII. Trust and Loyalty
XVIII. Trix of the Light

I. Lyra in the Sky with Diamonds

O sister, Humble Soul, sing me to where thou know'st
I long to be, with friends at home in world set low'st.
Lift thy voice and sing, farthest stars alight.
Weave strings, a melody, and sky with stars bestow'st,
To light a path 'cross distant shores of night
With flame of kinship, answer of my plight.
Please sing me home from heavens high.
Please sing for me, O sister why?
— Sapphiro (589 BH), Polaris et soror mea

As Bonbon went to bed on Hearth's Warming Eve she wondered, as she so often did, what you got if you scraped the gold off a lyre. Could be you got something that sounded exactly the same, but also seemed a lot less noble.

She lay down on her bed and gazed at the snow-covered trees outside her bedroom window. Underneath that cover lay a well-tended garden, waiting to bloom at the first signs of spring. Ponies liked to say it wasn't the cover, but what it covered, that mattered.

The big problem with liars was, you never could tell what was under the cover. They could be golden through and through, or it could be a simple paint job.

Bonbon had hoped to spend the evening with Lyra, but Lyra had to visit her own family in Canterlot. Bonbon had suggested they could go there together this year; Lyra had said, “maybe next year.” Bonbon wondered what a Hearth's Warming with Lyra and her family would be like. Lyra often visited her family and talked eagerly about them when Bonbon asked. From all this, Bonbon had formed certain images of a lively and happy family, much like the image she had of Lyra herself.

They were also a lie, much like the image of Lyra. Bonbon had known for a while now that no Sonorous and Gale lived in Canterlot. It wasn't hard to find this out if you looked in the public records, but that was also about as far as you would get. She hadn't confronted Lyra about it yet, but she had been tempted. Instead she had kept pressuring Lyra about meeting them, and Lyra kept finding excuses and ways to avoid it.

Bonbon pulled her pillow towards her and hugged it between her hooves as she gazed out the window. It had been a quiet and entirely normal Hearth's Warming Eve for her at home. Her own family were not the most exciting ponies, Bonbon had to admit as she fluffed the pillow. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy spending the evening with them—they were good solid ponies—she just wished Lyra could be there too.

Lyra, for all her lies and secrecy, always made things seem brighter somehow.

Bonbon dropped the pillow back on the bed and got up slowly, turning to gaze at the quiet village beyond her walls. The stars were out, and not a cloud or trace of mist obscured them on this night. A single tiny star shot across the darkness and vanished as she watched. Bonbon recalled that there were supposed to be many shooting stars this week, but this was the first one she had seen herself.

She stood for a time in the heavy silence of her room and empty house, looking at the reflection in the glass of her window. With a glance towards the floor, Bonbon turned and walked across the room. She picked up a scarf and cloak and wrapped herself in the cloth before unlocking the balcony door. The world outside was quiet, and not a wind stirred the air. Bonbon closed the door behind her and trotted down the stairs from her balcony to the street in front of her shop.

The streets of Ponyville lay empty, and only a few lights in some of the windows suggested that anypony was still awake, sitting inside in the warmth with their friends and family. Bonbon walked down the street in the first direction that came to mind.

With its streets and homes draped in white and lit up by the silvery moon, Ponyville looked like something out of a fantasy or bedtime story. Bonbon smiled to herself and looked at it all as she walked quietly down the street, the only sound coming from her hooves as they crunched the soft layer of fresh snow beneath her.

She stopped at one of the bridges and stood up, leaning her front hooves on the railing to gaze into the river flowing beneath and under her. The river hadn't fully frozen over yet, and if she listened quietly, she could hear the gentle lapping of water and bits of ice as it moved, always on the search for somewhere else. She could see the stars dance in the rippling surface.

A tiny star came to life and flashed across the sky, gone as suddenly as it had appeared. Bonbon looked up. It was the second one tonight. She stepped down from the railing and turned around, eyes scanning the skies. Far across the town, a shadow moved at the top of the dark library, and a bit of glass caught the moon's light for a second as the lens of a telescope was adjusted. Nothing else moved.

But something did make a sound. Bonbon's ears perked up and turned to the source of a distant tune. She listened in silence for half a minute before she caught another faint but unmistakable trace of a tone on the air. She turned around and followed, walking carefully to make no noise.

A soft, solitary melody soon emerged, played upon the familiar strings of a lyre. It led her towards the fields and forests surrounding the town and would have gone entirely unnoticed had it not been such a quiet night. The melody picked up confidence and volume, as if it had been unsure of its purpose or direction before. Bonbon approached through the deep snow.

She had barely left the fields behind and found the first line of trees around her when a light made her stop in her track. It didn't come from the forest but from behind her. Bonbon turned around and looked up, back at the night sky and the stars seen through the trunks of the forest.

A star vanished in a short-lived streak across the sky. Bonbon marveled as another followed, then a third and a fourth. Behind her, the lyre played its solemn melody, as if it was asking for somepony to join its solitude.

And the stars joined in its song.

Bonbon gazed in awe at the sky as stars lit up everywhere and vanished just as suddenly. Little lights were born in the dark and fell towards the earth as if summoned or called. With each star come and gone, the sound changed a little, as if they were singing in the thousands. Far-flung voices called out, yet were barely heard except as a whisper upon the strings.

Bonbon kept her eyes on the sky in breathless silence as she followed the sound of the lyre through the woods. She had listened to that sweet lyre so many times, there was no way she could mistake its unique sound for another. But Lyra was in Canterlot—was supposed to be in Canterlot, she corrected herself.

“Lyra?” she called out and received no answer. She raised her voice slightly as she called again. “Lyra? It's me, Bonbon.”

The melody died suddenly, and silence filled the void, startling Bonbon. She stepped around a bush and through a thicket of underbrush. She heard a gasp and spun around in shock as something burst through the copse not far from her. Bonbon blinked as the shadow of a creature leapt over a log and fled into the darkness of the forest before she could react. A wild scrambling and rustling followed from bushes and trees all around her. Birds rose up in screeches of surprise and warning.

“Lyra!”

The northern sky lit up like fire, far in the direction of Canterlot. Bonbon nearly fell backwards and gasped at the sudden flare of orange and yellow. Before she could process the sight or count the distance, a second light lit up behind her. Bonbon spun in time to see a small streak of fire a few seconds before it struck Ponyville. A loud crash and rumble rolled across the forest not a second later.

Bonbon dared not breathe as she stared in horror. All around her, silence followed. The sky returned to black, aside from the familiar stars and moon shining down upon her, as they had done for eons before. She gulped and looked around the dark forest. There was no sign of whatever creature she had surprised, or of Lyra and her melody. Bonbon bit her lip. Something had just hit Ponyville. Ponies could be hurt. But Lyra could be hurt too, if that creature had attacked her before running off in the confusion.

“L-Lyra!” Bonbon called, hoping she didn't attract any other monsters. She pushed through the thickets, trying to see anything in the gloom. “Lyra, please say something!”

Her hoof stepped on something soft. She looked down at a blanket folded in two and laid out on the forest floor. An empty bag had been dropped nearby. Somepony had been sitting here, but there was no sign anywhere of them now.

Had Lyra run off in the panic and confusion? Perhaps she had been frightened by the creature and the explosions, or didn't want Bonbon to know she had been here. Lyra could be a little excitable sometimes. But what was she doing out here in the first place?

Bonbon picked up the blanket and quickly stuffed it in the bag. She took another look around before hurrying back towards Ponyville, where all the windows were now alight.

* * *

Bonbon galloped down the road, trying to hold on to the emergency kit she had grabbed from her shop in a haste. Ponies could have been hurt, she kept thinking. Her hooves echoed loudly against the stones of the bridge as she steered towards the center of activity in town.

Based upon what she could pick up as she ran, something had plowed right through the roof of the Town Hall before ending its crash in Carousel Boutique, which was now smoking lightly but otherwise looking like it had avoided the worst destruction.

This was not the impression one got from Rarity, its proprietor. The elegantly frazzled unicorn, still dressed in her silken nightgown, was being fanned by some of the gathered ponies while acting as if her entire world had been smashed to pieces. It was not entirely clear what had crashed, because the crowd gathering around the site was in an uproar when Bonbon arrived.

The general mood seemed to suggest that the entire sky had fallen and hit everypony over their heads, perhaps knocking them out of their senses. Bonbon was getting quite ready to grab somepony and shake them until they stopped yelling and told her something instead. She was saved from the contemplation of random acts of violence by a brief flash of purple.

“Listen up, everypony, and please calm down.”

There was some general murmur and complaining as everypony turned to Twilight Sparkle. The young princess landed on the front steps of the boutique next to the frazzled white unicorn and barely got a chance to fold her wings before several questions and demands were thrown at her, making the calm very short-lived.

Twilight raised a hoof to try and calm the crowd. “Calm down, everypony. There is no cause for panic or concern. The chance that anything more will happen tonight is virtually zero. You can all return to your homes and rest easy. We will organize repairs in the morning, and if you have any questions, I am sure there will be time for that in the morning as well.”

More shouting ensued, but Twilight cut it off. “Honestly, everypony, haven't you all signed up for the science letter I started? Or the study groups? The bi-monthly symposium?” There was some embarrassed shuffling and sidelong glances in response. Twilight groaned and dragged a hoof down her face. “If you had, then you would know that the Ursid meteor shower is an annual event around the winter solstice, or Hearth's Warming. This year was very dramatic and extremely fascinating. It will be studied closely, but I am certain further observations will reveal nothing for you to worry about.”

Twilight paused to help Rarity up before turning back to the crowd. “I can assure you that Princess Luna is well aware of tonight's events as well, and I remain in close contact with her on the matter. If she has anything more to offer, I am sure she will make it known in good time. That is all.” She wrapped a wing around her friend and turned. “Return to your homes and families, everypony. There is nothing to worry about.”

The crowd slowly dispersed, though unhappily, as it became clear that Twilight was not going to answer any more questions, and nothing more dramatic was looking to happen. Twilight followed her shocked friend into the damaged boutique and closed the door behind them.

Bonbon grabbed the nearest familiar pony on her way to leave. “Minuette,” she said as she caught up with the pony. “Have you seen Lyra anywhere?”

Minuette smiled, though her eyes suggested that she had been sleeping only moments ago and would be happy to do so again quite soon. “Oh, good evening, Bonbon. Isn't Lyra still in Canterlot?”

“Apparently not,” Bonbon remarked sullenly. “If you see her, tell her I've got a pegasus to pluck with her about that.”

“Aww, don't be so hard on her,” Minuette said with a bit of a pout. It was the standard response; everypony loved Lyra. “She's always such a nice pony. I'd swear she hasn't got a single mean bone in her body. Never done a wrong in her life, I bet.”

Bonbon knew all that. It made it harder that she could never hate Lyra either. Whatever the truth of her life, whatever it was she was trying to hide and why, Lyra made Bonbon happy, and Bonbon just couldn't explain it. “Just tell her I need to talk to her, okay?”

“Will do.” Minuette gave her a playful wink. “Somepony's gotta warn her you're coming, right?”

Bonbon didn't comment on that. She looked around at the largely empty streets. “Hey, what do you think this was all about, anyhow?”

Minuette shrugged. “I was asleep, didn't catch it. You know, it's funny,” she continued on a sudden train of thought. “I had this beautiful dream where the sky was full of shooting stars, just before that awful crash woke me from it. Shame too, 'cause I think the stars were singing to me, and it was all so pretty.” She gave a shrug and turned around with a wave back at Bonbon. “It was good to see you, Bonbon. Happy Hearth's Warming.”

“Happy Hearth's Warming,” Bonbon echoed in a monotone as she watched Minuette trot across the street and disappear. Only a few ponies were still trotting on their way home, leaving the streets once again empty as Bonbon processed Minuette's dream.

She glanced back towards the forest and wondered where Lyra had disappeared to. If she was trying to hide that she had been there, then she wouldn't be showing up in town until she was supposed to return from Canterlot anyway. That meant she could be anywhere out there, hiding and waiting in the cold. Bonbon looked at the bag she had found in the forest and now regretted taking the blanket with her.

“Silly filly,” she sighed and trotted back home.

* * *

A young robin who was wintering in a tree outside her window woke her in the morning with its song. Bonbon stared blearily at the clouds outside and turned over, pulling the blanket up to her ears and drifting back to sleep.

She had left her doors unlocked, in case Lyra decided to come in from the cold during the night. She had even left a blanket and pillow on the couch, and a thermos of hot tea on the table. It hadn't been touched as she came down the stairs an hour later, but this didn't surprise her.

It was Lyra's own bloody fault if she got to spend Hearth's Warming alone in the cold, dark forest. What in Equestria was she out there for anyway? And not just any night, but on Hearth's Warming when ponies were supposed to come together by the fire, not sit out in the monster-infested woods by their lonesome.

Bonbon shook her head and trudged into her kitchen. She yawned and rubbed her eyes as she set water to boil and rummaged through her pantry for some leftover apple pie. She had just poured the water into the cup and left the tea to steep on the table when there came a scrambling noise from under her kitchen window.

She stood up, resting her hooves on the kitchen table and opened the window to look outside. A young filly’s face met her with a mischievous grin and guilty eyes. “Heya, Miss Bonbon. What's up?”

“Good morning, Scootaloo,” Bonbon said blankly at the filly outside her window. “I'm sorry, I'm closed today, but have a nice Hearth's Warming.” She made to close the window, but an orange and purple head swiftly got in the way.

“Oh gosh, you don't say. Hey, did you hear about last night?”

Bonbon sighed and pushed her cup of tea safely aside as the filly crawled through her window, entirely uninvited. “What about last night?”

“The whole town dreamed the same thing,” Scootaloo began as she plopped herself down from the kitchen table. “Well, the ones that weren't already up, anyway. They say—” she pointed questioningly at Bonbon's cold apple pie “—that all of Equestria dreamed the same thing at the same time.”

Bonbon gave her a dash over the hoof and quickly rescued the poor apple pie. “All of Equestria?” She would have dismissed such a tall tale if she hadn't been there last night and seen the shower of stars … and then heard Minuette's tale to hoof. “Did you see it?”

Scootaloo rubbed her hoof. “Yeah, it was real pretty and cool. There were like stars everywhere. Everypony is talking about it.”

“Sounds like Princess Luna got a little carried away,” Bonbon mused as she removed the tea infuser from her cup and set about cleaning it. “Probably wanted to give us a show to remember.”

Scootaloo jumped up with her front hooves on the table, dangling slightly above the floor, to look on as Bonbon worked. “Nah,” said the filly with more conviction than one should expect. Bonbon raised an eyebrow at her, and Scootaloo quickly added, “I don't think so, at least. I think it was some kind of magic, like, something really big! My friend Sweetie Belle says it was a diamond that crashed into Rarity's shop.”

“Well, ain't that lucky for her,” Bonbon grunted. “Bet the mayor wishes it had been stuck in the Town Hall instead.” She shook the infuser and hung it back on its hook on the wall. “Maybe it would cover the damages.”

Scootaloo laughed and let go of the table. “I think Twilight Sparkle took it, though. It was probably magical too.” She was silent as she followed Bonbon into the living room. “Did you see it? I hear you were outside last night when it happened.”

Bonbon set her breakfast down on the table and glanced at the filly. “You sure are digging your nose into this stuff, aren't you?”

Scootaloo grinned mischievously and entirely avoided answering the question. “What did you see?”

“Nothing more than everypony else,” Bonbon lied and sat down.

The filly frowned a bit and watched Bonbon. “So, um, can I still buy some candy?”

Bonbon sighed and got up. Maybe it would get rid of the filly. “Sure, kid. What do you want?”

“Surprise me.” She grinned and sat down expectantly.

The filly was acting strange, Bonbon mused as she shook her head and trotted off towards her small shop. “If you eat my pie while I don't look, I'll dip you in syrup and roll you in sugar,” she warned through the door. “You'll be sticking to everything for a year after I'm done, I swear.”

“I won't touch it,” Scootaloo's voice came from the other room.

Bonbon grabbed an already-filled bag of assorted candies from a shelf behind the counter and turned back with a satisfied smirk on her face. If the kid thought she could distract Bonbon, she would be sadly mistaken. Bonbon walked quietly back and stepped into the living room.

“I'll pretend I didn't see you there, if you tell me everything you know,” Bonbon said, surprising the young filly.

Scootaloo jumped and spun around, trying to hide the open drawer behind herself. The filly blushed as she realized that she had been caught red-hoofed in the act. “I-I don't know anything, I swear!”

“Well then, perhaps you can tell me why you were snooping outside my window,” Bonbon said and dropped the bag of candy on the table. “And why you're snooping through my drawers.”

“Look,” Scootaloo began, shuffling her hooves. “I'm just asking around about stuff from last night. I thought maybe I could get my cutie mark for investigating and stuff.”

Bonbon wasn't sure she was telling everything, but they were making progress. She approached the filly. “I see, and what did you expect to find in that drawer, if I may ask?”

“Well …” Scootaloo looked away from Bonbon and rubbed her shoulder. “They think … that is, there's talk that they think maybe more diamonds fell than just that one, and that maybe it's important and stuff. And I heard you were out there in the woods last night, so I thought maybe you had found something.” She looked up with big eyes to add, “I wasn't going to steal anything! Honest!”

“You were just going to tell them that I had a diamond, am I right?” Bonbon was impressed; the kid wasn't without talent. Perhaps Bonbon should get her to stick her nose in Lyra's business instead.

Scootaloo nodded and looked down at her hooves. “Y-yes, Ma'am.”

Bonbon smiled. “Well, let me save you the bother, because if I ever found a diamond, I sure as hay wouldn't keep it around where it wouldn't do me any good,” she said solemnly. “Now run off with you.”

“Y-you won't tell anypony about this, right?”

“Nah. This'll be between you and me. You can take the candy too.”

Scootaloo grinned and edged her way around Bonbon. She grabbed the bag on the table and set into a gallop, sprinting for the kitchen and the window. “Thanks, Miss!”

Bonbon shook her head and looked down at her breakfast. The tea was getting lukewarm, but there was something she had to do first of all. With a huff, she trotted back into her shop and grabbed an empty bag, quickly filling it and replacing the one now gone.

It paid to be prepared for kids doing their worst to distract you from what they were doing behind your back. Bonbon took pride in being prepared.

* * *

The train station was filled with ponies waiting for friends and relatives returning home to Ponyville. Scootaloo had not been kidding when she said the whole town was talking about last night either. Bonbon heard several mentions of the dreams and star shower as she pushed her way through to the front. Apparently everypony really had been dreaming the same thing.

Bonbon watched the train in the distance as she listened to the idle chatter of her fellow ponies. It seemed the rest of the town knew no more than what Scootaloo had shared, and perhaps even less than that. The filly had done a pretty good job of snooping up rumors and sorting out facts.

After a minute, as the conversations dragged on and the train was getting closer, she tuned out the discussions around her and focused on the more pressing concern: what if Lyra wasn't on the train from Canterlot like she was supposed to be?

Bonbon sat down and studied her hoof uncertainly as she waited for the train to crawl its way along the tracks. She gnawed at the hoof and glanced at the clock on the building behind her. It was a minute late, which wasn't even enough to complain about.

Finally, the train pulled into station and gave off a puff of steam as it came to a complete stop. Bonbon stood up and watched the doors as they opened. Ponies began to file out onto the already crowded platform, and Bonbon had to stretch her neck to see who was coming out.

A light cyan mane caught her eye, and a heavy weight rolled off her heart at the sight. “Lyra!” Bonbon pushed her way through the masses towards the unicorn stepping off the train.

Lyra perked up and turned around, smiling brightly, though the shadows under her eyes suggested she hadn't slept very much this night. Bonbon didn't have to guess what the reason for that was. “Oh, hi there, Bonbon! Didn't expect to meet you here this early. Crazy night, huh? Meteors and dreams, just wow, am I right?”

“Right. We need to talk,” Bonbon said and followed the unicorn as they trotted through the crowd and down the steps from the platform.

Lyra was wearing a new sweater, with a large musical note embroidered on the front in gold. “Sure. You had a nice Hearth's Warming? The family all doing well?” She paused only for a second to drop her used ticket in a trash bin before moving on.

Bonbon stopped and quickly picked up the ticket Lyra had dropped, before catching up with her again. “Oh yes, lovely evening all around,” she said and glanced at the ticket. Hoofington to Ponyville it said, bright and bold. Bonbon gave a quiet huff at the proof before her. “And you?”

Lyra didn't notice about the ticket, being busy smiling and waving at everypony as they left the station. “Oh, I had a very lovely evening too,” she replied while waving at Derpy flying overhead. The cross-eyed mare waved back before returning to her flight.

Bonbon nodded and stuffed the ticket in her bag. When she pulled her muzzle back out and looked at Lyra, she was surprised to find that the other mare hadn't continued chatting. Lyra loved to chat and could sometimes go on for a while if not stopped. The silence was unusual. “You're usually more talkative,” Bonbon said and gave her a crooked glance.

“Am I?” Lyra laughed lightly and gave her a reassuring smile. “I'm sorry, I hope I'm not disappointing you. My train left so early, and everypony was so chatty about last night that I simply couldn't get any sleep. I really just want to get home and get a few hours of shuteye in my very own bed. You understand, right?”

“Yes, I imagine you didn't have much time on that train to sleep,” Bonbon said pointedly.

Lyra nodded, oblivious to the hidden meaning, and smiled at Golden Harvest and Dinky on their way to somewhere else. The two brightened up at the sight of Lyra, and both waved back happily.

Bonbon watched the smile suspiciously. Lyra was working to act her usual self today. It was not as effortless and natural as Bonbon was used to seeing. She was pretty sure something was upsetting Lyra, even if you had to know her well and look closely to see it.

“You didn't really go to Canterlot,” Bonbon said, stating the fact. She had decided to plow ahead and finally stop the charade. “In fact, I don't think you have a family in Canterlot.”

“What are you talking about? That's absurd.” Lyra stopped and turned around with a confused chuckle. “Of course I do. You know I always visit my family for Hearth's Warming. Of course I was there.”

“I checked, there are no Sonorous and Gale living in Canterlot. If you have family there, then their names are not what you claim.” Bonbon took a step closer to the unicorn and reached out to place a hoof on her shoulder. “Look, Lyra, I don't care who your family are. You don't have to make up stories about them for me to think you're special.”

Lyra's smile flickered for a tiny second, reflecting a hint of doubt before returning with a raised eyebrow. “What's gotten into you today? Look, Canterlot is a big city, and not everypony has their name and address in the public records, you know. Ponies in the big city like their privacy sometimes. You simply missed them for the forest,” she said and made a wide gesture with one hoof.

Bonbon wasn't convinced. Determined to end the lies, she went on. “Alright, but—” she searched her bag and held up the discarded ticket “—you got on the train in Hoofington, not Canterlot. Hoofington, which is conveniently located between here and Canterlot and within trotting distance of here. I know you were here last night, Lyra. I called out to you, and you ran off. You must have hurried off to Hoofington after that and taken the train there; that's why you're so tired. You can't have had more than an hour or two of sleep.”

Lyra shook her head with a mild smile. “Come on, Bonbon, that's just silly. I got on in Hoofington—” she said and continued on her way towards her home “—because I had to make a stop to visit my aunt and uncle there. My uncle couldn't make it to Canterlot this year because of a bad knee, so I promised my dad I'd stop by and wish them a good season and give them their presents.”

Entirely plausible, completely reasonable, it was almost like she had explanations and excuses prepared. Bonbon almost admired her ability to lie her way out of every corner. “Then where's your ticket from Canterlot to Hoofington?”

“Threw that out in Hoofington,” Lyra said without a skip in her beat. Bonbon had to admit, that one had been too easy.

“Alright, fine!” Bonbon felt like throwing her hooves in the air in frustration, or maybe sitting down and crying. “I heard you play your lyre out in the woods last night. I know you were there, and I want to know why! You know I invited you to celebrate the season with us, and then you do this to me?”

Lyra gave Bonbon a sorry smile. “I don't know what to say, but you must have been dreaming. I'm sorry, Bonbon, I really am, but I'm terribly tired and just want to get home. It sounds like you could use a bit of sleep too.”

“I was not dreaming,” Bonbon insisted.

“Then you were mistaken.” Lyra sighed. It was not a reaction Bonbon was used to hearing from Lyra. Lyra did not often sigh. “I'm not the only musician, or even the only lyrist here in Ponyville. It could have been anypony. It could have been just a random traveler.”

“I know your sound, Lyra. I don't know if there's some fancy word for it, but your lyre has its own sound. There's no way I could have mistaken it.”

“You were mistaken, Bonbon. I'm sorry, but you were,” Lyra said, and the finality in her voice threw Bonbon off. “I really have to go. Sorry to be such a bore right now, and sorry that I couldn't be here last night. I'll see you later,” she added with a little smile before trotting off.

Bonbon sat down on the side of the road and stared at the departing mare.

* * *

Work on repair of Town Hall and Carousel Boutique had been going on all day, with a noticeable absence of Twilight organizing the effort. The mayor had picked up the slack and was even doing a fairly decent job for once. Bonbon could only imagine that the poor mayor was trying to make herself look useful and present herself as an important part of the city now that Ponyville had its very own princess running the show.

Bonbon twirled her tail around her hoof and stared blankly at the ponies working on Town Hall across the street. The bench she was resting on provided her a great view of the work, but the focus of her attention for the last twenty minutes was a random poster stuck on a random wall.

It read in bold letters, “Have you seen this pony? Because ~~s~~he is awesome!” The 's' in 'she' had been repeatedly struck out or rewritten, and the original picture plastered or drawn over so many times by seemingly everypony in town that it now looked like a crazy circus pony who had crashed through a paint and costume store on a rocket sled.

For all Bonbon knew, the poster was hiding fewer faces than Lyra. Bonbon even had a pretty good idea of who had originally graced the poster with her face.

What the hay was she supposed to do? Her nightstand back home was stacked with cheesy romance novels and bricks with titles like “Romance 101”, “The Science of Romantic Love,” and “Egghead's Guide to Relationships,” many of them enthusiastically provided by Twilight before she became a pretty princess who didn't have to make the slightest effort to have love and affection thrown at her.

And then there were the fancy-looking books by smarmy pricks giving advice on everything from how to smile to the correct and timely application of mustang musk, not to mention how to battle dragons, rescue mares, and the proper technique for kissing frogs and—just in case—other lizards, reptiles and swamp monsters. Bonbon's 'favorite' of these was the catastrophically and singularly useless “A Young Pony's Guide to Dating.”

Bonbon had read them all, in the vain hope that somewhere in one of them was The Secret. She had dug through heaps of horse apples and nonsense to pick out the few bits of solid and sensible advice. She had done everything she imagined she was supposed to do. She had known Lyra for a few years now, since Lyra came to Ponyville from the-sun-only-knew-where. She had been smitten by the unicorn and done her best to befriend her and get to know her.

And then nothing worked as it was bloody well supposed to.

They had spent hours on the bench in the park, just talking. Lyra probably knew more about Bonbon than Bonbon did, while blankly refusing to let Bonbon know a single real thing about herself. Lyra listened and gave nothing but vapor and lies back. Bonbon had invited Lyra on dates, given her flowers and candy, declared her love in letters and to her face, in poem and in song on more than one occasion. Lyra bashfully rejected it all, like she really wanted to but couldn't.

Bonbon had begged her. She had tried every trick in the books, and Lyra rejected it all. And it wasn't even a real rejection.

Why did Bonbon have to love somepony like that? She could probably find a hundred other mares, but they weren't the one pony she wanted in her life.

“Hey Bonbon, wanna help me with—” Bonbon turned her head an inch to give Junebug a cold stare of indifference at the interruption. The smile on the other pony's face wilted away under the gaze. “N-never, uh, never mind,” she said, ears drooping. “I-I can see you're busy.” Junebug spun around and galloped off.

Bonbon returned to staring at the multi-faced poster.

A whisper and minor commotion broke her out of her stupor again. Bonbon looked up and followed everypony's gaze to find Twilight strolling down the street towards the Town Hall, a little dragon runt riding on her back. Bonbon sat up a bit at the arrival.

Twilight walked up to the front of the hall and let Spike crawl off her back, smiling at the dragon as he scampered off on his own business. The alicorn princess returned her attention to the scattered ponies, a smile still in place. “Greetings, everypony,” she began. “First, let me say that you are all doing a great job on Town Hall, and I know my friend Rarity is very thankful for all your generous help with her boutique. On behalf of her, myself, and Ponyville: thank you all for your hard work!”

Her face took on a slightly more serious expression. “I am here to tell you that last night, one or more objects fell during the annual meteor shower, as you are all aware by now. We have the one which fell here in Ponyville, and we are keeping it so far for study. If you know of any other fallen objects, or come across one, leave it where you found it and come to me or my assistant, Spike. Do not pick up or keep any objects that you think may have fallen from the sky last night.”

Twilight brightened back up. “If you have any questions, I am available now, but I must tell you that I cannot give much more information on last night's events.”

Many voices broke out at once, many voicing the same concern. Twilight raised a hoof for silence and shook her head gently. “I can only advise general caution, as we do not know what else may have fallen. We are not aware of any threat, but we are doing our best to investigate this event and learn more. Any help or information would be appreciated.”

Ponies all around were eager to ask or generally whine. Bonbon watched the princess try to pick out questions from the masses. She was just about to answer another when a swooshing of air and wings above the crowd brought everypony's attention up.

Bonbon groaned quietly from her spot on the bench, a safe distance from the whole debacle. Up on the porch of the Town Hall, a pegasus dressed up in full Wonderbolt uniform landed and turned with a graceful and proud flick of her rainbow-colored mane to Twilight.

Rainbow Dash smiled and kissed Twilight—in a way that was obviously and intentionally visible to the audience, Bonbon noted. A few words were shared between the two that Bonbon could not hear, and then a blushing and mildly stuttering Twilight turned back to the crowd. “I, uh, I'm terribly sorry to have to cut this short, but royal duty calls. If you have any information or concerns, please see my assistant at the library.”

Twilight turned around and spread her wings to take off. Rainbow Dash followed, posing for a second in front of the crowd before flying off with Twilight.

Bonbon huffed and turned around, staring at something else, somewhere … elsewhere. That pegasus was insufferable! First she sailed right through the academy to become a bloody Wonderbolt, like it was nothing all that special. Next thing anypony knew, she had trotted right up to the newly crowned princess during a public speech, given her flowers out of nowhere and bold as day asked her out on a date. Just like that. And of course the wildly blushing and utterly surprised alicorn had stuttered out a yes. Just like in the stupid fairy tales and books on Bonbon's nightstand.

Just like that, and the smooth bastard had landed herself a pretty princess.

How the bloody hay did she make everything look so easy? It bloody well wasn't fair. Bonbon had tried the same trick on Lyra, and what did she get for her effort? Bonbon huffed again and climbed off the bench. She had seen quite enough for one day.

* * *

It did not take long for things to return to normal, relatively speaking. Ponyville was used to its fair share of odd events, and when nothing more seemed to happen, most ponies soon forgot it all in the humdrum of their daily lives. To most ponies it was enough that Twilight was probably dealing with it anyway, so that they didn't have to.

Days went by in this way. What didn't return to normal was Lyra, who seemed to hide away in her small rented room above a jewelry store and spent less time playing her lyre in the park than Bonbon was used to. Bonbon dropped by when she had the time, but it never seemed to be at a time when Lyra had the time.

It was still dark as Bonbon began another day, closing the door behind her as she left her shop. Today was Dinky's birthday, and Bonbon had agreed to help Golden Harvest and Written Script with the early morning surprise party. She was a little early, but it paid to be in good time.

The snow lay thick across Ponyville, and the fields and farms outside the village were all white. Bonbon crossed a bridge and trotted at a brisk pace down the road. She turned off the road and cut across the fields towards the carrot farm in the distance. At a small frozen stream, she paused for a moment to check that it was safe before stepping over on the other side.

She looked up and caught a movement among the trees and shadows of the forest. She stopped and watched somepony wandering in the shade, searching the ground. The light of the moon caught the wanderer's face for a moment, long enough for Bonbon to recognize the distinctive black and white stripes of the zebra.

Bonbon never had much to do with the strange shaman living in the Everfree Forest. She came to Ponyville once a month for some shopping, but rarely seemed to have a craving for candy. Bonbon had asked her once or twice about new herbs for her herbal drops; the zebra knew a lot about herbs. Bonbon wasn't entirely unschooled in that field herself, since she picked or grew many of her own herbs, but she couldn't match an expert like Zecora.

An idea drifted silently through the depths of her mind. Bonbon gnawed her lip and looked down at her hooves for a moment, then turned and hurried across the field towards the forest to catch up with the wandering zebra.

“Excuse me?” she called out.

Zecora turned around, surprised to be approached like this. She smiled politely, but didn't seem to recognize Bonbon. “And who do we have here? I am at a disadvantage, I fear.”

“I apologize,” Bonbon began as she came to a halt at the outskirts of the forest. “My name is Bonbon. Could I bother you with a question, Miss?”

“Ask away, and what wisdom I have I shall impart,” she said with a tilt of her head. “But be quick about it before I must depart.”

“Right,” Bonbon said. “I've got this friend who I want to tell me the truth. I've tried everything, but she's impossible.” Bonbon grimaced at what she was asking and looked to the side. “Is there a way, maybe some kind of plant, to make her speak the truth? I wouldn't do this normally,” she hastened to add, “but I think she might be hurting herself with her lies and need help.”

Zecora leaned closer and stretched her head to catch Bonbon's eyes. Bonbon frowned at the piercing blue gaze but tried to stand her ground. After a long and uncomfortable silence, the zebra leaned back. “Many a remedy there are for a lying tongue. In the winter, pick a single grain when the frost is young. Wash the seed in water from a river frozen still, a liar will soon find it a bitter pill.”

Bonbon took careful note of the instructions and nodded. “Sounds easy. Thanks.”

“But beware!” Zecora said with sudden volume, surprising Bonbon. “By forcing truth, her trust you forswear! Getting the truth, and getting your heart's desire, these are two opposite notes of a lyre.” The zebra winked and turned around.

Bonbon watched her wander off into the forest. How could she … Bonbon blinked and called out, “Wait! Please, you know something, don't you? About the other night? About the meteor shower and the lyrist who was out here that night?”

The zebra stopped in the distance and turned her head. “Much I hear and much I have seen, many a face with mask and mien, but for every star at night there was a story and a time, and for that which you seek I have no ken nor rhyme. For you, my wisdom is all I can provide: follow your heart, and trust her melody as your guide.”

Bonbon stared blankly as the zebra turned around once more. “What the hay is that supposed to mean?” She called out and jumped ahead to catch up. “Hey! Wait up,” she called, but the zebra was gone.

Bonbon stomped the ground and looked up. The sun was just peeking above the horizon. “Bloody hay, I'm late!” She spun around and galloped back towards the farm.

* * *

Bonbon settled down on the bench next to Lyra. The lyrist was strumming the instrument in her hooves ponderously, a notebook and pen by her side. She was wearing a criss-crossed scarf along with the boots Bonbon had given her the day before she left for Hearth's Warming. It took a few seconds before Lyra looked up and realized that somepony else was on the bench beside her.

Lyra jumped slightly as she noticed Bonbon. “Oh, hi there Bonbon.” She gave a little grin. “You walk so quietly, I didn't even hear you. How are you? Everything going well? Love the boots!” She waved a hoof happily.

“Oh, you know, the usual. I can't complain … all that much.” Bonbon smiled and dropped a few bits in the little tin can on the ground. “Penny for your thoughts, Lyra? I've barely seen you all week.”

“Yeah,” Lyra said and looked down at her lyre as she plucked the strings idly. “I picked up some material while I was in Canterlot, for some research, and it's kept me busy.” She finished and brightened up significantly as she looked up at Bonbon. “I'm busy busy busy, like a bee, but don't worry, I'm not going to forget my best friend.”

Friend, yes. Bonbon considered the word choice and looked down, but said nothing.

Lyra had fired her old smile and cheer back up. “Hey, I've been thinking, and you know, if you want, maybe next time I visit my parents you could come with.”

Bonbon smiled. “I'd love that,” she said, though wondering whether she should dare to hope there was even the slightest chance Lyra was going to keep this promise. She did notice the sneaky ‘maybe’.

“Great!” Lyra resumed her strumming more freely. “Excellent! Hey, you don't have any sweets with you, do you? I have a wicked craving for something sweet right now.”

Bonbon looked back at her saddlebag and the sweets she had brought with her. One of them would end all these lies at last. She picked up the bag and stared at the light green candy on top.

“You alright?” Lyra asked behind her over the tune of her lyre.

One sweet, just one, and she would have the truth at last. Bonbon closed her eyes and sighed, before scooping the green sweet out and offering the rest of the bag to her minty friend. “Yeah, knock yourself out.”

* * *

The bell above the door chimed. Bonbon pulled her head out from under the counter and looked up to find Scootaloo grinning back at her. “Oh, it's you again, is it?” she said with a playful gleam in her eye and stood up fully. Bonbon blinked as a little green head poked out from behind the filly's mane. “And your … turtle, too.”

“Tortoise, actually,” the filly said proudly and jumped up with her front hooves on the edge of the counter. The tortoise remained hanging in the air, kept up by a whirring propeller attached to its shell. “His name is Tank, and he's the coolest pet in Ponyville! I'm petsitting him for Rainbow Dash. Well, I get help, but I'm head petsitter!” She puffed up her chest and lifted her chin.

“Busy posing and prancing about with her pretty princess, eh?” Bonbon said while rearranging some stuff on her shelves.

Scootaloo laughed while utterly failing to notice the thick layer of sarcasm. “Yeah, she's the most awesome pony in all of Equestria! I want to be just like her someday.”

Bonbon pulled down a glass of sweets to inspect it. “Oh? Pretty princess and all?”

To her credit, Scootaloo did a good job of playing it cool. “Yeah, except for that, maybe,” she said. The maybe at the end was added a little more quietly.

Bonbon rolled her eyes in secret. Kids needed heroes, though, and Rainbow Dash was the biggest bloody hero around. If she taught the kid to be confident and headstrong, then that was a win in Bonbon's book. There was such a thing as becoming too much like Rainbow Dash, though. “Right. You want a handsome prince,” she teased.

The young pegasus blushed slightly and scoffed. “Yeah right.” She coughed and quickly moved on. “So anyway, I need something for Rainbow Dash. Like a gift, you know.”

Bonbon looked between the filly and the tortoise. Scootaloo was petsitting and needed a gift for Rainbow Dash. It was too late for Hearth's Warming, and Bonbon was quite sure it wasn't the Wonderbolt's birthday until summer or something. It didn't take a genius to add those twos together. “I see. So where's she going, and what will it be, kid?”

Scootaloo frowned. “I didn't say she was going anywhere.”

Bonbon tilted her head. “She's trying to keep it a secret?” Scootaloo's mounting panic confirmed the hunch, but that didn't explain why. “Rainbow Dash trying to keep something secret? She's always showing off and telling everypony about everything she does.”

The poor filly looked down at her hooves. “I wasn't supposed to tell anypony that she's leaving.”

Bonbon smiled and ruffled her mane. “Don't feel bad, kid. I've got years of experience dealing with liars. Well, liar.” She pulled the pegasus up on the counter. “Come on, let's get her a gift then.”

“Are you coming with me?” Scootaloo asked uncertainly.

“You bet!” Bonbon grinned. “I wouldn't miss a chance to watch Rainbow Dash when she doesn't want me to. That's gotta be a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”

* * *

“Lyra?!”

Lyra spun around and shrank back at the same time as she saw Bonbon and Scootaloo step onto the platform of the station. “O-oh, h-hi Bonbon,” she said and held up a smile in front of her like a shield. “I-I thought you were at—I mean, um,…” She sat down heavily on her haunches, the smile threatening to crack and falter.

Bonbon looked between the unicorn and the two large saddlebags and rolled-up tent strapped across her back. She looked up at the train schedule. Scootaloo sat down and followed her gaze with a curious look. After a moment of calmly reading, Bonbon looked back at Lyra. “Manehattan, Lyra?”

Lyra looked at the schedule. “Oh …” She stood up again, slowly recovering. “Yeah, I got some friends there. I, uh, sent you a note about it. I see it didn't reach you. I'm so sorry, Bonbon,” she said and smiled in apology. It was a blatant lie, but it seemed to boost Lyra's confidence.

Bonbon looked at the saddlebags Lyra was wearing. She estimated that they could easily contain almost everything the unicorn owned, except the furniture. “You're planning on staying there a while, I gather,” she said and trotted resolutely towards the unicorn.

Lyra scraped the ground with a hoof and bit her lip. “It won't be too long. Don't—Hey, what are you—”

Bonbon snatched at one of the saddlebags and pulled it open before Lyra could stop her. It contained mostly clothes. The rest of the content included rope, a blanket, and things that were not much use in the city but would be essential for survival in the wild. Bonbon glanced at the tent. “You'll be camping too, I see.” She let go of the bag and gave Lyra a hard glare, daring her to say another lie. “Lyra?”

Lyra let the smile drop and looked at Bonbon sadly. “I've got to leave, Bonbon. I wish I could stay, I really do, but I've got no choice.”

“Why?” Bonbon tried to look Lyra in the eyes. “Where are you going? What's happened?”

“I really can't say,” Lyra said. “I'm sorry, Bonbon.”

Bonbon shook her head. “When did you expect to come back, then?” The hint of pain on Lyra's face made her add, “Or did you expect to come back at all?”

“What? No no, I'll return,” Lyra said and perked up. Bonbon didn't believe her, and she didn't believe that Lyra believed it either. “I just don't know how long it'll be. I know I haven't been the … the kind of friend you wanted me to be,” she said and looked down, her face conflicted. “But it's only 'cause I always knew I'd have to leave one day. Maybe—”

Bonbon looked at Lyra standing before her, then stepped forward and wrapped a leg around the other mare in a tight hug before she could continue that sentence. “Lyra,” she said as the unicorn returned the hug a little uncertainly. “I'm not going to wait for you. Ever.”

She could feel the surprise in Lyra. “Bonbon—” she began.

“I'm going with you,” Bonbon interrupted and let go of Lyra. “Whether you want it or not.”

Lyra tensed visibly and tried to laugh, but her eyes betrayed the shock and mounting panic. “Bonbon, that's silly. You can't just run off like that.”

“Seems to me like I can,” Bonbon said. “It's what you're doing, isn't it?”

“But …” Bonbon could see Lyra trying to find something to say that would fix things, that would change Bonbon's mind somehow. “Please, Bonbon, I have to go alone.”

A voice broke in, “Got a problem here?”

“Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo jumped up from where she had been waiting while the two argued. She galloped past Lyra and Bonbon to tackle the other pegasus in a hug.

“Hey there, squirt!” Rainbow Dash grinned and ruffled the filly's mane. “What's up?”

Bonbon turned around and looked at the Wonderbolt. Unusually, she was wearing a plain cloak and hood, hiding her distinctive mane. She was also wearing saddlebags and a rolled-up tent. Bonbon looked back at where Lyra was sitting with a sheepish look on her face and added another two and two together. “You're running off with her?” Bonbon demanded.

“I hired her,” Lyra said quietly, which actually sounded like the truth. “As a guide.”

Rainbow Dash let go of Scootaloo and trotted up to Lyra and Bonbon. “Wanna fill me in here?”

Bonbon looked at Lyra. Lyra looked at Bonbon, her eyes pleading, but Bonbon stood her ground. She was coming along, even if she had to run behind the train all the way to Manehattan. Lyra broke the gaze and looked at Rainbow Dash, forcing a very weak smile. “I … I thought it was best if we were three.”

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Your call. As long as we get going on time.” She turned and looked along the tracks into the distance, then at the empty platform except for themselves.

“Scootaloo?” Bonbon turned to the young filly, who was still standing in baffled and mildly terrified silence behind Rainbow Dash. “Here are my keys,” she said and threw the filly a set of keys. “And a few bits for your trouble. I want you to hurry back to my shop before the train gets here. Get the dark blue saddlebags with the number eight on them from the closet just inside the back door. There is a note attached to them. Hang that note on the front door when you leave, then lock the house after you.” She glanced at the clock. “You've got five minutes max. You can take all the candy you like, too.”

Scootaloo caught the keys and bits, a momentary confusion replaced by a grin and salute. “Got it! I'll be back in two minutes flat,” she said with a glance towards Rainbow Dash.

The filly jumped up on her scooter and set off. Her wings buzzed as she raced down the platform, leaving a cloud of dust behind. Bonbon nodded in satisfaction and returned her attention to the other two. None of them said anything as they waited.

After what could very well have been two minutes to the second, a sweating and huffing Scootaloo rounded the corner with two heavy saddlebags and a large bag of candy. “Geez, lady, what did you put in these bags?” she huffed as she dropped said bags on the ground.

“Everything a pony might need on an unexpected journey into the wild,” Bonbon said proudly and strapped the bags across her back with a bit of help from Lyra. “I'm always prepared.”

“What, you’ve got saddlebags lying around prepackaged and stuff?” Rainbow asked incredulously.

“I'm always prepared,” Bonbon repeated with pride. “I have several specialized saddlebags strategically located around the house and with friends, ideally located for fast retrieval based on what emergency they are meant for. They are all carefully stocked with the most essential items for any situation.”

“Bonbon is a major geek with this stuff,” Lyra whispered to Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash snickered and whispered back, “Egghead.”

Bonbon said nothing and looked down the tracks for the train. It amazed her how many ponies didn't make sure they were prepared, even after living in Ponyville for years. How many monster attacks and magical catastrophes did they have to suffer before they saw the value in spending a bit of time preparing for such situations? Well, they wouldn't be the ones laughing in the end.

The train rolled slowly into station and stopped with a puff of smoke. The doors opened, and a couple of ponies got off. Bonbon followed behind Lyra as they boarded the train and found an empty car.

Rainbow Dash turned in the door and gave Scootaloo another ruffling. “Take good care of Tank for me, kid. And don't forget to practice every day! I want my mind blown when I get back, got it?”

The filly grinned and wrapped her hooves around her hero. Tank sneaked an affectionate little nuzzle in the confusion. “You got it, Rainbow Dash! I'll write you every day too!”

“I bet you will,” Rainbow Dash grinned and let go, a mild blush to her cheeks. “But seriously, leave some room for Twi in those letters. I want to see you move your wings, not swing a pen, when I get back.”

Scootaloo chuckled and looked up at Rainbow Dash. “It's a deal!”

Rainbow Dash smiled and drew back her hood, standing up tall for a moment before boarding the train. She sat down across from Bonbon as the train set into motion and smiled through the window at the waving filly. Bonbon watched as the platform drifted away behind them, the town growing smaller and smaller along with it.

Lyra avoided her gaze as she looked back. Bonbon settled back on her seat and kept her gaze on the unicorn. Even if it took her to the end of the world and back, Bonbon was going to find out what that lyre hid under all its gold.

II. Manehattan Marehunt

A heavy fog billowed down from the city of Cloudsdale and drowned the train in a sea of uniform grayness. The train chugged along its way through the hills south of Canterlot, sure on its course even in the worst of fogs, and where other ponies might find such weather a dreary and depressing sight, it always seemed to receive the opposite reaction from Lyra.

Bonbon never did understand Lyra's love of foggy and overcast weather. Rain was something else—Lyra didn't care for rain—but give her dense fog and heavy gray clouds all night, and Lyra would be one happy mare. She always came out on foggy nights when the sky was clouded. Bonbon often joined her on such nights, not because she liked the weather in any way, but because she never seemed to get any other chance to spend an evening with Lyra.

Even now, even with Bonbon's insistence on coming along, it seemed as if Lyra found the fog outside invigorating and uplifting. Whatever loomed on Lyra's mind took a backseat to the joy of the fog.

Bonbon looked away from the window with an expression of deadpan indifference. She looked at Lyra on the opposite seat. The unicorn was studying a small stack of notebooks bound in a plain black cover, her lyre sitting unused by her side between herself and Rainbow Dash. Her eyes scanned the pages as she flipped back and forth between different books. She was quite absorbed in thought, but a genuine little smile had crept upon her lips since the fog rolled in. Her eyes still betrayed a hint of concern and deep thought, although Bonbon had no idea what the source of this concern was or what the thoughts surrounded.

Bonbon turned her head an inch and looked at Rainbow Dash instead. The pegasus was reclining on the seat next to Lyra—at least she knew how to sit like a proper pony—one hoof propping up the book she was reading. Her eyes were scanning the page lazily. The brightly painted cover didn't leave much doubt as to what sort of book she was reading.

Bonbon read the title anyway: “Daring Do and the Golden Cage.” Bonbon couldn't say she was familiar with the book, or even the series. She turned back and tried to sneak a look at Lyra's notes instead. She stretched her neck a bit and caught a few words as Lyra turned a page. “Who is Humble Soul?”

Lyra looked up and inconspicuously lifted the book so that Bonbon couldn't catch any more of its writing. “Have you heard of Sapphiro?” she asked and closed the book carefully. Seeing Bonbon's blank look, Lyra sat up straight and spoke in recitation,

“Verdant green like summer's grass, it seems I am

already dead, or little short of dying.”

Bonbon rested her head on her hoof and watched Lyra. “Sounds familiar somehow, but I can't put my hoof on it. What is it?”

Lyra smiled and picked up her lyre, plucking a pair of strings idly. “Maybe you've heard one of the hundred or so other translations out there? The words have very little in common; you could read two of them side by side and never realize that they are translations of the same poem.”

“Sounds silly,” Bonbon remarked dryly. “So what, Sapphiro was a poet then?”

“Only one of the greatest lyricists of the pre-classical era,” Lyra said with faked nonchalance. “Her contemporaries compared her to a princess. Did you know Sapphire Shores chose her stage name in honor of her? Sapphiro means 'From Sapphire', referring to the Sapphire Seas where she lived most of her life. Sapphire Shores even recorded her own version of that famous poem and included it on her first album.”

Bonbon lit up in recognition. “I remember that song! 'A prince to me,' right? That's what those lines you spoke reminded me of.”

Lyra gave her a grin while glancing down at the lyre as she played the first slow chords of Sapphire Shore's song. “Took you way too long to get that one, Bonbon. I'm disappointed.”

Bonbon coughed to chase off the blush. “I love that song,” she muttered, conscious of her failure to make the connection. “So what's this all got to do with this Humble pony, anyway?”

Lyra played the song to its conclusion in silence before speaking again. “Few of Sapphiro's poems survive, and only in fragments. It's a shame that so much has been lost to time. One of the things I found in Canterlot was a fragment attributed to her, although what I have is only a translation by a later poet and not the original. The fragment begins with 'O sister, Humble Soul,' and it's a reference to a much older song and legend about a young princess in the earliest days of the world.”

“Humble Soul doesn't sound much like the name of a princess to me,” Bonbon remarked.

“No? You don't want to hear my speculation on the alternate, proper translation of her name.” Lyra chuckled at the apparent joke that only she knew.

Bonbon grinned and perked up. “Now I definitely do.”

Lyra dismissed the topic with a wave of her hoof, like she was actually tossing it over her shoulder. “The legend of Humble and her sister is a tragic tale of how one of the greatest kingdoms of the ancient world fell and crumbled to nothing, all because of the jealousy and evil festering within the heart of a single pony.” Lyra plucked her lyre, producing a long, dark tone. “It is the tale of a curse, of deeds and doers long lost to memory and bereft the hope of redemption.”

Bonbon stuck out her tongue at her for being a tease about the name. “Then tell me her story. You can't tease me like that and then leave me with nothing, Lyra.”

“A storyteller is like a lover,” Lyra said enigmatically and gave her instrument a brush with her hoof, causing every string to resonate in a low tone to wash away the previous mood. She looked up at Bonbon with a bright smile. “A great storyteller never rushes to the finish line or gives you everything all at once, no matter how hard you beg for it.”

“That's just mean,” Bonbon grumbled and folded her hooves under her head.

“But it makes the climax all the more sweet when it finally comes, don't you think?” Lyra teased.

Rainbow Dash looked up from her book. “You sure you're still talking about stories, Lyra?”

“Everything is a story, Dash.” Lyra winked at her and looked up, smiling at something with a hint of longing in her eyes. “Life and love, everypony has their stories and ponies with whom they share the telling. Some are sweeping legends shared between all of ponykind, others are intimate and personal, told between two ponies with a unique and special bond.”

Bonbon watched quietly as Lyra and Dash got philosophical on the other seat. Or at least Lyra did, while Dash was mostly joking. I wonder what stories you have to share, Bonbon thought, and who else gets to share in their telling.

* * *

“Can I offer you anything to eat or drink, ladies?” The young attendant stopped her small cart in the aisle next to their seats and looked at the three with a smile.

They all looked up at the selection on offer. “I would like a pair of those white clover and pea salad sandwiches there,” Bonbon said. “And a bottle of water, please.”

“Your salad looks enticing.” Lyra licked her lips as she studied the meals. “Is that pine nut and carrot? I'll have one of those,” she said without waiting for an answer.

“So what's the plan?” Bonbon asked Lyra while Rainbow Dash ordered. “Where are we headed?” It had been a few hours since they left Ponyville. Bonbon hoped Lyra would open up a little about the journey now that she had had a bit of time to accept Bonbon's presence.

Lyra quietly accepted her salad and mixed it a bit before saying, “We're going into the mountains, north of Manehattan.” She turned to look at Rainbow Dash.

The Wonderbolt took a bite of a sandwich and nodded. “Yeah, that's the part we know, or at least the part that I know. The train stops in Manehattan, and from there we're just gonna head into the mountains. I know the way, mostly.”

“Mostly?”

“Yeah, well, mountains look a lot different from above, you know?” She looked up and fluttered a wing a bit before returning to her sandwich. “Or you would, if you had wings.”

Bonbon gave the two secretive mares a look full of questions. “And what are we looking for exactly?”

Rainbow Dash chewed quietly for a moment and swallowed. “Well, something big crashed deep within the mountains that night with the meteor shower. Twilight thinks it was one meteor which broke up in the atmosphere or something, and the main part crashed there. We already searched the site of the crash, but Lyra wants to have a look around anyway. That's all I can say.”

“We being the Wonderbolts, I take it?” Bonbon asked. Rainbow said nothing. “So this is like an official mission for the crown or something, and you can't tell me anything because it's top secret or what?”

“Nah, this is totally just Lyra's idea,” Rainbow said. “I don't even have a clue what she expects. I'm just here to get her there, and wherever she says we have to go after that.”

Lyra cast a glance at the window and quietly gathered her books, instrument and the rest of her salad. “I'm going to find my cabin and get some rest,” she said and yawned as she got up, smiling before turning to leave. “Goodnight, you two. Please don't disturb me.”

Rainbow Dash just nodded and returned to her book as she finished her sandwich. Bonbon watched Lyra open the door to the night car and disappear down the narrow hall between each of the small rooms. She got up and moved to follow. “Lyra?”

“She told you not to disturb her.” Rainbow cut in, a wing placing itself in Bonbon's way. “Let the pony have some peace to herself.”

Bonbon's brow furrowed as she stopped and looked at the pegasus. This was not the behavior of a guide, it was more like what she would expect from a bodyguard. But who was Lyra to have a Wonderbolt act as her personal bodyguard on a strange journey into the mountains?

Bonbon sat down again slowly. “Why are you really following her?” she asked.

“She paid me,” Rainbow Dash said.

Bonbon huffed at the unhelpful response. It stank of a standard response. “How much? What's the rate for hiring a Wonderbolt for random journeys into the wild these days? Must be expensive.”

“She hired me as a private pony, not as a Wonderbolt. You can't just hire the Wonderbolts,” Rainbow said and closed her book, apparently unable to focus on reading with Bonbon questioning her. “And she paid me well, if you must know. I'm not gonna tell you how much.”

Bonbon wondered how Lyra could afford anything like this. She lived in a small rented apartment and earned her keep by playing music in the park. Sure, everypony loved Lyra and gave generously, and she didn't really have any great expenses … Bonbon frowned as she did the mental math and concluded that Lyra could have possibly scraped together a minor fortune over the years.

Didn't seem very honest to beg for money if you had a fortune under your mattress.

“And what about the Wonderbolts? Don't you have to work or train with them or something?”

“Nah. I'm on vacation.”

Was that a lie? Bonbon narrowed her eyes and was met by a deadpan expression on the other seat. If it was a lie, Rainbow was proving a fairly good liar. Did Rainbow play poker? She seemed like the kind of mare who did, and probably won a lot. Not that she needed anything more to win at, or her ego might explode. “What did she pay you? I'll pay you more,” Bonbon blurted out in frustration.

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes. “Are you trying to bribe me?”

“Oh, so she didn't hire you as a private pony, then?” Bonbon grinned, knowing it was a bit of a wild shot, but maybe she could get the pegasus to slip up. “I'm ‘bribing’ a private pony, that's practically not even bribery at all.”

Rainbow frowned and folded her hooves. “Whatever. You couldn't afford it, even if my loyalty was for sale, which it’s not. So forget it.”

Bloody famed loyalty. Bonbon leaned back and sulked.

“You know, I'm no poet or whatever,” Rainbow said and looked up again. “But you want my opinion? You're doing this the wrong way. Look, I know I can tell Twi anything because I trust her completely. I know I can always count on my friends because I trust 'em to be there for me and respect me no matter what. If you want somepony to tell you stuff, then you gotta earn their trust first, and with some ponies you have to give 'em a lot of space and patience. Like my friend Fluttershy. It took me a long time to figure out how to talk to her and get her to open up, you know? Think about that.”

Bonbon looked down, ears flat against her head at Rainbow's words. She wasn't proud of the things she had considered or done lately in her desperation to get through to Lyra. It was even worse hearing it from Rainbow Dash, of all ponies.

She sighed and got up. “Thanks.”

Bonbon opened the door to the sleeping car, feeling Rainbow's gaze on her neck as she closed it behind her and trotted down the hall. Lyra's cabin was on her right. Bonbon paused outside the door and glanced back. She shook her head and continued down the hall to her own cabin.

* * *

A heavy thump and a scrabbling noise woke up Bonbon in the night. She turned slightly in her bed and opened her eyes. It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness as she looked around the small room. The train rumbled along steadily. The door was closed, and nothing caught her eyes. Only a couple of stars peeked out from behind the clouds outside as low mountains and deep forests raced by.

Bonbon lay still and listened, her eyes searching the corners of the room. Maybe it was just a dream. She closed her eyes again and breathed a sigh. Just a dream.

Her eyes fluttered open again and turned to the window above her. Something scrambled quietly outside, and a shadow appeared in the window. Bonbon held her breath and lay completely still as she watched the silhouette of a pony in the darkness, lit up only by the few glittery stars.

The pony crawled carefully along the side of the train. Bonbon was sure it was a mare, but a cloak she was wearing and the darkness around her concealed her features. The pony stopped and peered through the window and down at the latch which kept it closed. Purple eyes scanned the darkness inside, and Bonbon caught a hint of a light blue coat under the hood. The mare turned away suddenly and continued along the train, disappearing from the window.

Bonbon lay for a few seconds longer, feeling her heart beating before slipping out of her bed. She turned to the window and quietly pushed it open. A rush of wind and a cold drizzle hit her face as she peered outside into the darkness along the train. She spotted the pony climbing further down the train just before she disappeared onto the roof.

Could it have been Rainbow Dash? Bonbon frowned. She couldn't be sure in that darkness, but the eyes and coat did seem to match. But why would Rainbow Dash creep along the train in the middle of the night like this? It made no sense.

Bonbon opened the door and peeked out into the hall. Everything was quiet, and there was no sign of anypony else. She stepped outside and trotted up to Lyra's door. She gave it a quiet knock. “Lyra?” There was no response. Bonbon knocked again and tried the door. It was locked.

She turned and looked down the hall to Rainbow's door. She trotted the short distance and knocked. When she got no response, Bonbon tried the door. It opened to reveal an empty room. “Rainbow Dash?” she called quietly as she stepped into the small space.

The bedsheets were ruffled, suggesting that it had been slept in recently at least. Bonbon looked down at a book resting on the pillow. It was very different from the Daring Do books, being bound in dark blue fabric and embroidered on the front with the royal seal of Princess Twilight.

Bonbon reached out for it. Her hoof touched the cover and flipped it open. It snapped shut, and a sudden sharp pain shot through her hoof and shoulder, like a nail shot through the core of the bone with shattering force. Bonbon yelped and stumbled away from the book in shock. Her body shook violently and she fell to her haunches, cradling her aching hoof. She feared the worst as she glanced down at it, but was relieved to find only a slight burn of the hoof where it had touched the cover.

She looked up at the book and slowly got back on her legs, still shaking from the shock. So the book was protected by some kind of magic. What kind of book was protected that fiercely?

“Excuse me?”

Bonbon turned around and tried to face Rainbow Dash with a cool expression. The pegasus looked back at her from the door, eyes waiting for a bloody good explanation. “Lyra's door was locked,” she said and realized how stupid that must have sounded in the situation.

“I can't imagine why she'd do that,” Rainbow remarked coldly before pointing an accusing hoof at Bonbon, poking her in the chest as she spoke. “You think you can just stick your nose in everypony's business, huh? Is that it?”

Bonbon noted that Rainbow was not wearing her cloak. She was also perfectly dry and smelled faintly of soap. Bonbon sighed and felt her cheeks flush at the realization that she had almost been ready to accuse the pegasus of shady business based solely on the color of somepony's eyes and coat. In the darkness of night no less.

“I'm really sorry,” she said. “I saw somepony crawl on the outside of the train. I went to tell Lyra, but she didn't respond, so I came here to look for you instead. I think somepony was spying on somepony or looking for something in one of the rooms.”

Rainbow Dash seemed to calm down a bit at the explanation, her focus deflected and directed at something more important. She walked past Bonbon and checked the window. “Did you see what they looked like? Any idea what they were looking for?”

“I only saw one pony, and she was wearing a cloak. She had purple eyes and, I think, a blue coat. She looked through my window before disappearing up on the roof,” Bonbon recounted.

Rainbow opened the window and squeezed through with amazing agility, taking flight and disappearing in one smooth motion. Bonbon watched the window, wondering what she should do. Half a minute later, Rainbow returned and shook herself of the rain as she crawled back inside and shut the window. “No pony out there now. Must have dropped off the train or gone inside.”

Bonbon looked up and down the hall outside, but it remained empty. “I'll wake Lyra and tell her,” she said and stepped outside.

“Let her sleep,” Rainbow said with a firmness in her voice and followed her, closing her door behind them. “I'll find the attendant and let her know. You just go back to sleep and keep your door and window locked.”

Bonbon didn't like taking orders like that, especially from the Wonderbolt, but she had already made a fool of herself enough tonight. She nodded and trotted back to her room. She pulled the curtains on the window and lay down on the bed.

Perhaps she had been too mistrusting of Lyra and Rainbow Dash. Maybe it wasn't so odd that Lyra was reluctant to tell her anything. Perhaps Lyra had good reasons to be reluctant to speak of her family and her quest, and Bonbon had certainly not earned much trust of late with her heavy-hoofed handling of it.

Bonbon sighed and turned over, staring up into the ceiling.

* * *

The train pulled into station in the grand city of Manehattan at noon the next day. Bonbon checked her saddlebags to make sure she had everything before joining Lyra and Rainbow Dash as they waited for the doors to open. She idly rubbed her hoof, which was still sore from the electrical shock the book had given her.

“If you don't mind me asking,” she began, deciding to ask Rainbow Dash about it. “That book on your bed last night, what was that?”

Rainbow looked at her with a bored expression. No doubt she was looking forward to getting out of the train and stretching her wings. “That? It's one of a pair,” she said and turned back with a slight flick of her tail. “Anything written in one appears in the other too. Twilight's got the other one so we can keep in touch.”

“Oh.” Bonbon felt a little disappointed, but she wasn't sure what she had expected. Those two had to have some interesting things to say to each other if the book was protected like that.

Nothing more had happened that night, although Bonbon's sleep had been sparse regardless. She had slept late to compensate. When she finally got up, the train was almost in Manehattan. Bonbon looked forward to getting off the train and out into the sprawling city.

Bonbon had only been to Manehattan once before. When she was young and fresh out of school, she and some of her friends had gone for a filly's night out in the big city to celebrate. That was years ago, and certain parts of that experience seemed very hazy to her memory. Many things back then did.

The train stopped, and a minute later the doors opened. A pair of hardened faces met them from under the trademark gold and blue-crested helmets of the royal guard. One of them, a dark-coated unicorn, spoke as the doors opened. “Greetings. Please step out of the train one at a time and present your tickets to my colleague here.” He indicated the stoic pegasus by his side. “You will be subject to a search spell,” the first guard continued. “Do not worry, your privacy is guaranteed, and the spell is harmless.”

A lone stallion waiting with them on the train stepped off and presented his ticket to the pegasus. While it was checked, the unicorn cast his spell, surrounding the passenger in a faint glow of white. After a second, the pegasus proclaimed, “You may proceed, sir.” The stallion nodded his thanks and continued on his way.

“What are we being searched for, if I may ask?” Lyra inquired as Bonbon stepped off next and presented her ticket.

“We have cause to believe that a fugitive boarded this train near Hollow Shades,” the unicorn said as the magical light of the spell surrounded Bonbon. “She had in her possession a potentially dangerous object and may attempt to smuggle it out via innocent passengers like yourselves.”

“You may pass,” the pegasus said to Bonbon, who stepped past the two and turned around to wait. Several guards were present on the platform, two at each exit inspecting passengers as they got off, and others watching the train and passengers for any signs of anypony trying to slip out unnoticed.

“Do not be alarmed,” the unicorn continued as Rainbow Dash followed. “We are here for your protection and safety. Please remove your hood, Ma'am.”

Rainbow Dash looked around the crowded station. “I'd like to keep it on in public, sir.”

The pegasus guard made a gesture with a wing at a pair of nearby colleagues. They looked over and, seeing the sign, trotted towards them. “Present your ticket,” the unicorn said as he performed his spell. “Then follow the two guards behind me.”

Rainbow Dash hoofed the pegasus her ticket and accepted it back before following the two guards. Bonbon watched them enter a small office. They were probably used to all sorts of celebrities requesting privacy from the public eye and had procedures in place for exactly those cases.

Lyra stepped off the train and gave the pegasus her ticket. “There you go, sir,” she added with a smile.

The pegasus nodded at the ticket and gave it back to Lyra as they waited for his partner to finish the spell. The light surrounded Lyra and immediately glimmered a faint red. The pegasus made another quick gesture with a wing, and several guards turned their attention towards Lyra, who was looking up in surprise.

“Remain calm, Ma'am,” the unicorn said. “Please take off your saddlebags, set them on the ground, and step back into the train.”

Bonbon watched as Lyra, looking confused and scared, carefully slipped off her saddlebags and stepped backwards into the train. Another unicorn, a white mare, approached the bags and opened them from a distance with her magic. When they were deemed safe to approach, she carefully proceeded to search through the contents, discreetly but thoroughly.

After searching through the contents twice, she looked up and shook her head. The first unicorn looked at Lyra. “Please step out of the train again, Ma'am.”

Lyra obediently stepped out, her face troubled and eyes fearful. Bonbon wanted to do something, but there was nothing she could do except wait. It had to be some kind of mistake.

The second unicorn carefully lifted the saddlebags off to the side, and the first one cast his spell a second time. The light surrounded Lyra and flickered red once more.

There was some confusion in the shared looks of the gathered guards, but procedures were likely clear in cases of doubt. Two pegasi approached Lyra. “Ma'am, please follow peacefully.”

Lyra was shaking, her eyes flitting between the guards surrounding her. “But …” she stammered. “I haven't done anything.”

“For your own safety, Ma'am, you must follow,” one of the guards said.

Lyra stood frozen in place as the two pegasi carefully grasped her by the front legs.

Bonbon looked around as Rainbow Dash returned from the office. The pegasus took in the scene and frowned. “What the hay is going on?” she demanded and trotted towards the guards.

Three nearby guards quickly stepped in front of her to stop her advance. “Step back, Ma'am. Do not involve yourself, or we will be forced to arrest you.”

Rainbow Dash stopped and looked around. She frowned and pointed a hoof at Lyra. “That mare is with me. I take personal responsibility for her,” she said.

There was some whispering between the two guards who had followed Dash into the office and the rest. The muffled chatter spread among the guards.

Bonbon looked around nervously. The train seemed to have been emptied by now, and several ponies were gathered in crowds to watch what was going on. But what was going on here? What were they searching for, and what did the red light mean? Whatever it was, it was obviously not in Lyra's bags, and she wasn't wearing anything else this morning. Perhaps they thought she had swallowed it, whatever it was.

A distant movement caught Bonbon's eyes. She turned and saw somepony moving along the rails behind the train, running low along the tracks to avoid attention. Bonbon gasped and called out, pointing at the figure. “Hey! She's getting away!”

The guards turned to look. Orders were barked, and several guards raced off in pursuit of the fleeing pony. Everypony on the platform watched. The fugitive turned around when she realized she was being hunted. She reared up on her hind legs for a second and spun back around, yelling something. Her words were drowned out by a violent explosion of lights, rocking the station and throwing back the pursuing guards.

Almost every guard present charged off to assist in the wild pursuit, barking orders and calling for assistance. In the chaos, the guards who remained looked at each other and then at the three ponies. Two of them stepped toward Rainbow Dash and Bonbon. “By order of Her Royal Highness, Princess Twilight Sparkle, you are all placed in custody until further notice. Please follow peacefully.”

“This is ridiculous,” Dash grumbled but made no move to resist as they were led away from the train.

Bonbon looked around at Lyra who was still looking terrified as she was led by the two guards. “Don't worry, Lyra, I'm sure it'll work out,” she said, trying to comfort the unicorn as much as herself.

* * *

“Are you feeling better?” Bonbon gave Lyra a supportive glance as they left the barracks about an hour later. Thankfully it had not taken longer than that for the guards to send and receive word from Ponyville that the three of them were to be released. A few apologies later, and they were trotting down the steps to the streets of the city.

Lyra gave a nod and looked up and down the busy lane. Ponies rushed about, paying the three mares no special attention. “Yeah, I'm just a bit shocked,” she said. “But it's over now, right?”

“I sure hope so.” Bonbon looked around as they walked, trying to spot someplace to sit down and have a rest. “What say we all get a drink? I think we could need it.”

“I want to leave the city early.” Lyra followed her gaze. “But I guess we could have one drink to calm the nerves first. What about that place over there?” She pointed a hoof at a small establishment on the corner of two large streets meeting in a small but busy square.

Bonbon and Rainbow Dash both nodded at the choice. They headed across the street and found an empty table for three just inside, with a view of the street outside. Bonbon noticed a lot more guards moving about the streets as they sat down. They were apparently still out searching for the fugitive, if their searching glances were any hint. Bonbon still wondered what that whole ordeal was about.

“Hey, Bonbon, look at this,” Lyra said and indicated the menu. “They've got something called a Café Bombón,” she grinned. “Neat, huh?”

Bonbon sat down and tilted her head at the menu in front of her. “Well well well, a coffee named after me? Almost, anyway,” She smiled up at Lyra, “Good choice. I'll have that and one of their chocolate chip muffins.” She returned to look out the window as the others ordered and paid their drinks. “So what happened back there at the station anyway?” she asked over her shoulder.

“No idea,” Lyra said quietly. “But I don't really want to think about it, if that's alright.”

Rainbow Dash looked up at Lyra but said nothing.

“That mare they're hunting,” Bonbon continued, switching the topic away from Lyra as the waiter arrived with their drinks and set them down on the table. “She must be the one who was crawling around outside my window on the train.”

Rainbow Dash just nodded, and silence followed. Bonbon stirred her glass, mixing the layers of milk and coffee. She took a sip and looked out the window at the street, watching the crowds of ponies wander about. Several guards were visible among them, scouting the crowds and buildings for signs of something.

“So what's the plan now?” Lyra spoke up after a long silence, looking at Dash for an answer.

Dash sank and let go of the straw she was drinking through, setting her drink down. “We head out when we're done here, the earlier the better,” she began explaining. “We just head north and follow the coast until we reach the mountains. No real trick to it. After we reach the mountains we're gonna have to wing it from there, since I don't know the exact paths on the ground.”

There was some commotion outside. Bonbon took a bite of her muffin and turned in her seat to look out at the streets.

“It should take us a day or two by hoof,” Dash continued but looked up at the window as she spoke. “That is, if we make good time. We should probably be prepared to need longer. It's not the best time of year to go wandering in the mountains, but … at least you've got … me … with you, uh,” she said, distracted by the sudden activity outside.

Ponies out on the streets were all stopping to turn and look. The three mares inside moved up to the window to better see, craning their necks to see where everypony else was looking. Something was definitely going on up on the rooftops on the other side of the street. Several guards were charging across the rooftop, chasing after a cloaked mare. Others were circling around in the air, trying to swoop down to cut her off.

The mare spun around and launched a volley of magic flares at her pursuers, causing them all to hold back as fireworks exploded everywhere. No sooner had she launched her attack than she was galloping off again, jumping from one building to the next.

Lines of magic wove through the air and sought to ensnare the fugitive. She dropped swiftly on her side and rolled down the slanting roof, causing the magical web to catch nothing but roof tiles where she had been. She stumbled back on her hooves, shot a powerful flare of magic behind her, and jumped over a pegasus trying to grab her, using him as a springboard to reach the roof of a bank.

The guard grabbed her cloak in the jump, causing it to tear and the pony to tumble through the air, landing hard on the edge of the roof, inches from plummeting to the street far below. She scrambled to get up, shaking her pale silvery mane out of her face as she looked back, dull violet eyes scanning the advancing guards with a wild look of desperation, looking for a hole or place to strike.

“Isn't that, what's-her-name?” Bonbon muttered.

“Trixie,” Lyra said.

Bonbon realized that Rainbow had stormed out the door, but kept her eyes on the action.

Up on the roof of the bank, Trixie backed away, threatening any guards who got too close. However, she was soon finding herself cornered, blocked off and surrounded. Trixie stopped at the edge of the tall building and looked back over her shoulder. It was way too far to jump, and a fall from that height would certainly end her attempted flight in the hospital.

She yelled something, but Bonbon couldn't make out the words from this far off. It probably involved a lot of boasting, but the intended message seemed to be clear enough: Trixie was a desperate mare and not afraid to hurt them if they came any closer.

The guards advanced cautiously but steadily, calling out for her to surrender herself, or so Bonbon imagined based on their inaudible shouts. Trixie took a step forward, towards the approaching guards, as if to give herself up. Her head turned, then her body as well as she launched herself around in a sudden gallop and a leap from the roof.

Lyra gasped, and Bonbon held a hoof to her mouth. Trixie sailed through the air on a doomed course, having chosen the jump over surrender. Her trajectory turned downwards, far from the safety of the other roof, and the ground came rushing to meet the poor, desperate unicorn.

A prismatic flash shot across the street straight for the falling mare as Rainbow Dash cut through the air like a bullet to catch her. At the same time, Trixie's horn blazed and her hooves struck a shimmering bridge of light. Trixie caught herself on the magical surface in time to duck a guard and leap towards the other roof. She managed two steps on the bridge before she was tackled by Rainbow Dash, both of them tumbling off the bridge which flickered and dissolved as suddenly as it had appeared.

Trixie let out a scream, the distant sound of it reaching even Lyra and Bonbon, and in the chaos she lost her grip on something. It gleamed for a second like a diamond in the daylight before plummeting to the ground. It struck the hard rocks and shattered into a thousand pieces.

A hush filled the city, and the light of the sun dimmed to nothing in the span of a breath. Night turned its single great eye on the city and breathed down upon the world, like a snake prepared to swallow its prey whole. Bonbon reeled back from the sudden vertigo of the looming abyss and found Lyra's hooves clasped tightly over her eyes to shut out the night.

Bonbon could hear yelling and wild, galloping hooves, and even through Lyra's hooves she could see the daylight seeping back in. Lyra let go of her and dropped back down on her hooves. “Come on! We need to find Rainbow Dash!”

Lyra's voice snapped Bonbon back to reality. She didn't have time to regain her bearings before Lyra was out the door. Bonbon hurried off on her trail, galloping out into the streets. She jumped aside as three ponies barreled down the street and dodged another one coming from the other direction. Everywhere, the scene was the same; ponies were running around in total chaos, gripped by what Bonbon could only describe as sudden insanity.

Bonbon pushed her way through the crowd, roughly shoving aside any ponies who got too close. She cursed with each shove, swearing that this was not the time to run off into the chaos. But Lyra was already doing just that, dodging and weaving her way through the crowds up ahead. She was moving straight for the bank and the spot where Trixie had jumped off the roof.

Even the guards were running wild, having thrown every sense of order and regulation to the wind and charged off in whatever direction had presented itself first, it seemed. Many were yelling nonsense, crying out and raving at no pony and everypony.

What kind of madness was this?

Bonbon shoved aside a young colt, apologizing greatly and cursing all the while as she galloped to catch up with Lyra. Up ahead, Rainbow Dash had just pulled herself up from the street, a large burnt mark across her face, no doubt caused by Trixie's explosives. The pegasus looked around angrily, searching the mad crowds for signs of the showpony.

Lyra and Bonbon had barely caught up with her when her head snapped and eyes locked on a light silvery tail disappearing down an alley. “Oh no you don't!” she growled and jumped up, setting off faster than Bonbon could blink.

“Come on!” Lyra urged and picked up the pace, galloping off on the trail of the Wonderbolt.

Bonbon stomped the ground and charged off after both of them.

* * *

Ponies turned and stopped to stare as Lyra and Bonbon galloped down the streets and alleys in pursuit of Rainbow Dash. The chaos from the square was following them, spreading out through the city. Here and there, a pony came barreling down a street in blind madness, crashing through stalls and toppling wagons in their wake. The strange madness did not seem to have affected the rest of the city, but other ponies yelled or tried to catch the rampant ones, causing only more chaos and confusion.

Discord could not have been more proud if he had been there.

Lyra evaded an out-of-control wagon and skidded on the cobblestone as she tried to avoid the oranges now filling the street. Bonbon was right behind her, jumping over a barrel of oranges which had survived the crash. “This is madness, Lyra!” she shouted above the clamor of merchant ponies complaining and yelling at them and everypony else.

“I can see that!” Lyra yelled back and turned sharply down another street, following where a confused mare was pointing for her. Rainbow Dash had long since disappeared, leaving the two in the dust, but at least there was likely not a single pony in the streets who hadn't seen her and Trixie and which way they had gone.

Other signs of her and Trixie's passing were evident too. Bonbon swore at the mess but kept close to Lyra as she burst through the doors of a bookstore. The whole place had been ravaged by unexplained fireworks, and several surviving books were still magically fluttering about in confusion. Two ponies were frantically trying to get them under control as Lyra and Bonbon galloped through and out the back door into a small, walled-off garden.

Lyra stopped long enough to look around. Bonbon stopped beside her, catching her breath. “There's no way we can catch up with her,” she said. Bonbon chose not to mention that there was no way Trixie could outrun Rainbow Dash either, but clearly no pony had informed Trixie of that.

“We might get lucky,” Lyra said and hurried over to the wall. “Help me up here.”

Bonbon gave her a hoof to get up on the wall. Lyra climbed up with surprising agility and turned to pull Bonbon up with her. Bonbon scrambled over the wall with much less grace and landed heavily on the other side in time to find Lyra already galloping down the small back alley. Bonbon stomped her hoof and set off again.

They ran for probably five minutes through tiny back alleys and gardens with no sign of Rainbow Dash or Trixie. The chaos of earlier had waned and gone, or perhaps it never reached this part of the city, leaving the two stranded. “She could be anywhere by now,” Bonbon said as they slowed down to a trot. “If we head back to the bar, I'm sure she'll find us there.”

Lyra looked around, as if she didn't want to admit defeat but had little choice. “Let's … let's try this way,” she said and turned. “Maybe—” she stopped suddenly and pointed. “There!”

Bonbon too had seen the streak of azure and silvery tail at the end of the alley. She didn't get a chance to open her mouth before Lyra was off in hot pursuit once more. “What a day,” she murmured and rushed off behind her.

Lyra sprinted down the alley and skidded at the end. She rounded the corner barely short of top speed and was hit from behind by a blur of rainbow. The two crashed together and rolled across the ground. Dash was instantly back on her legs. “Did you see her?” she demanded. Seeing that there was only one way Trixie could have gone, she didn't wait for an answer, rushing down the street to catch up with the seconds she had lost.

Bonbon helped Lyra back on her legs. Lyra gave a nod in gratitude and hurried after Dash. They rounded another corner and found themselves in a dead end. Dash was spinning around herself, trying to spot Trixie, but there was no sign of the mare anywhere.

“Where did she go?” Dash bucked a wall before spinning around to see Lyra and Bonbon. “Did you see her? Did she run back that way?”

Bonbon shook her head. Like the others, she clearly saw Trixie run down this alley, and she would swear before a judge that the unicorn had not escaped the same way. Lyra and Dash could have missed her in their crash, but Bonbon was sure that she would have seen her.

Dash let out her frustration with a loud groan and punched the wall. She looked around the dead end. “There's nothing here!” she cried. “How the hay could she escape?”

Bonbon looked around at the walls around the alley. They were too tall to climb. There were two emergency exit doors, but they seemed to only open from the inside.

“Could she have teleported?” Lyra offered.

“What, Trixie? Teleport?” Rainbow scoffed, although it was a very unconvinced sound. “The day that loudmouth scrounged up any kind of talent would be the day I—” She wisely decided to not continue the sentence. “I mean, please don't tell me she did!”

“She did pull off some pretty impressive magic in that fall,” Lyra said quietly. “That bridge, I didn't know she could do that. Did you know she could do that?” She looked between them.

Trixie had also given Rainbow Dash a run for her money, Bonbon added silently. Either she was secretly a champion sprinter, in which case she ought to demand a refund on her cutie mark, or magic was to blame.

Rainbow Dash dragged a hoof down her burnt face and groaned in pain and frustration. “A competent Trixie? Just what I needed.”

“Well, she's gone,” Bonbon said. “We should get you to a hospital with that burn. I checked a map while we were at the barracks; I'm not sure where exactly we are right now,” she looked around for some sort of landmark, “but there's a hospital near the market where we came through.”

“It's nothing,” Dash said and turned around, looking like a blue thundercloud as she moved past the two. “Let's just get out of here. We're already way behind schedule because of this and that whole mess at the station.”

“What about all the chaos back there?” Bonbon continued.

“The guards will handle that,” Dash said with a dismissive wave of her hoof. “Come on. I'm not wasting any more time in this city.”

“You'll waste enough time to let me clean that wound, at least,” Bonbon said firmly, prepared to stand her ground on the matter.

Lyra nodded in Bonbon's support. “You really should get it cleaned. There won't be any help but our own out in the mountains, remember?”

Dash let out a sigh and turned around, shoulders sagging. “Yeah, you're right.” Bonbon pulled out the injury kit from her saddlebags, but Rainbow waved her off. “Save that for the mountains. Just point me to that hospital you mentioned, and lets get it over with.”

III. Forbiddance

A drift of snow blew across the landscape in a steady sheet of white, seeming to migrate south from the mountains. Bonbon looked down and behind her at the snowflakes dancing in her wake. At times like these she thanked her naturally thick coat for keeping her warm. Not all ponies were as lucky; Lyra had a very light coat, even in winter. Perhaps, as Bonbon mused, this was why the unicorn was so fond of socks and sweaters.

Bonbon looked at Lyra and raised an eyebrow.

Lyra finished wrapping her scarf around herself and returned Bonbon's look with a bright smile. “What?” She waved a hoof draped in a long tube of soft white fur. “You don't like my new hoof warmers?” Lyra had bought them while they were waiting for Dash at the hospital. Lyra always came away from her visits elsewhere with some new piece of clothing or two in her possession.

“No, they're very nice,” Bonbon admitted. “And they suit you. I'm just wondering if that's real polar bear fur. Get enough of it, and you could dress up as one. What did it cost?”

Lyra chuckled. “I believe it's goat, actually. I got them cheap too, 'cause one of them got a little tear during all the chaos back in the market. Lucky, huh?”

“Sure.” Bonbon looked at where Rainbow Dash was flying ahead of them, slightly obscured by the whiteout. Their supposed guide had been very sullen since the whole incident with Trixie. “What's up with her?”

“Not a clue.” Lyra gave a little shrug. “Maybe she's just grumpy because she got beat by a unicorn?”

Bonbon glanced at Lyra. “I wouldn't think of it as a fair competition. Trixie clearly had some kind of magic advantage or trick, or she wouldn't have had a chance.”

“You think Rainbow sees it that way?” Lyra smiled.

Bonbon let out a huff and gazed up at the mountains rising through the clouds. “I remember Trixie. She had that awful amulet that one time,” she said in a quiet tone as they walked through the snow. “Back in the square she dropped something, and it shattered. It blocked out the sun for a moment.” She looked at Lyra, but the unicorn was silent.

“And whatever it was, it drove everypony crazy. Everypony except you, me and Dash,” she continued, carefully circling around the topic. “When it happened, you covered my eyes so I couldn't see. And Dash must have been blinded by Trixie's fireworks.” She left out the obvious question; it was clear that Lyra had known or realized what would happen when the thing shattered. Why else cover Bonbon's eyes for her?

Lyra chose not to reply, and Bonbon didn't push it. She just wanted Lyra to know that she had noticed, and that she was there if Lyra ever wanted to talk about it.

The ocean appeared on their right, stretching out towards the eastern horizon. Bonbon watched the dark blue waves as they crashed upon the tall cliffs in clouds of white foam and sprays of water. The sun was drifting across the sky behind a curtain of white.

* * *

The white only got whiter as they entered the mountains. The cold, however, lost some of its teeth as they left the sea behind. Lyra stomped her hooves to get rid of the layer of snow collecting under her soles. Bonbon stopped and looked around at her friend. “I will never understand why you didn't pack snowshoes for this trip.”

“The thought never occurred to me,” Lyra said with more cheer than the constant annoyance of accumulating snow under your hooves should warrant. This was Lyra-weather, however. The evening sun was nowhere to be seen behind the dense white cover of clouds and walls of snow. “How did you know to bring yours anyway? You didn't know we were going into the mountains.”

“I saw you were camping in the wild, based on the things in your saddlebags,” Bonbon explained. “And it's the middle of winter. You can't pack a set of winter survival bags without including snowshoes. Granted, I would have liked my mountain bag instead of my generic winter survival bag, if only somepony had told me we were going into the mountains.”

Lyra breathed out a long stream of white mist and dragged her hooves through the snow. “You didn't have to come.” She stopped and looked around. “You still don't have to come.”

“Why do you want to leave me, Lyra?” Bonbon looked into Lyra's golden eyes. “We've been friends for years, and you know how I feel. Even if you tell me that you don't love me, even if you tell me there is another, I will still be your friend, and I will still follow you no matter how far.”

Lyra looked down and rubbed her leg. “I don't know what to tell you.”

She was spared having to say anything more as Rainbow Dash broke in. “If you two aren't going to move your hooves, then we may as well set up camp here for the night,” the pegasus said as she came flying back towards them. “There's a good spot about a minute from here if you hurry up.” She turned back around without another word.

Bonbon sighed as the pegasus disappeared again. “You don't have to tell me anything,” she said and turned to follow Rainbow Dash. “But I wish you would.”

* * *

Rainbow Dash had already cleared the campsite and was setting up her tent when they caught up with her. Lyra and Bonbon set to work putting up their own tents in silence while Dash scouted the area for useful material.

“The wood in this place is useless,” Dash said as she returned with a stack of branches and some stones for a fireplace. She dropped it all on the spot and brushed herself with a hoof. “Lyra?”

“Leave that to me,” Lyra said as she secured her tent and piled a minor wall of snow up along the sides.

Rainbow Dash gave a nod and arranged the wood in a neat stack surrounded by stones. While Bonbon brushed the last bit of snow away from the ground around the fire with her tail, Dash unpacked a tin can, a pan and a small bag. Bonbon looked at the bag. “What's that?”

“Certified Wonderbolt pancake mix with spices.” Dash grinned. “You just add water and bake 'em. Or just eat the mix raw if you're hungry enough. The Wonderbolts always stock a few bags each when they head into the wild.”

Bonbon made a note to research this when she got back home. She could stock a small supply of these things in her basement if they were any good. “What flavor is that one?”

Rainbow Dash glanced at the bag. “Red pepper. I've got some beans to go with 'em.”

Lyra returned from her tent and considered the wood. She leaned down and closed her eyes, and a light surrounded her horn. Waves of heat and steam rose from the wood. A minute later, a thin column of smoke began to rise from the branches, and a small flame caught the wood. Lyra let out a little breath and sat down, levitating her lyre over by her side.

“Showoff,” Bonbon teased.

“Any unicorn can do that,” Lyra said without much pride. “Nothing much to basic heating spells. The mandatory curriculum for all unicorns in school starts with telekinetic control and light spells, and heating spells come last. Anything beyond that is extra credit.”

Dash scooped up a bit of snow in the pan and placed it over the fire as she settled down. As the snow melted and began to boil, she poured in a bit of the flour from the bag and swirled it around. A thick dough quickly formed and began to cook. “Now we just need somepony to tell a real campfire story,” she said and grinned, rubbing her hooves together as she looked at the two.

They both turned to look across the fire at Lyra. “I would like to hear more about this Humble princess,” Bonbon said quickly before anypony could suggest something else.

Lyra settled back in a comfortable position. “I suppose I do owe you that story,” she said and gazed up into the white depths of the sky. “It's not exactly a scary story, but it is very tragic.”

“Aww, but then it's not a real campfire story,” Dash complained as she tended the pan.

“At least give it a chance,” Bonbon said.

“I suppose,” the pegasus muttered as she opened the tin can and looked at the beans like they might be more scary than what she was about to hear.

Lyra picked up her instrument and checked the strings before she began her story. “In a time long before the founding of Equestria, before Starswirl and Sapphiro and all the other great minds whose names we learn in school, there ruled a queen in a distant land around a great mountain in the sky. Her name was Ashen Glow, and terrible was her grief for the old king who had gone out to hunt one day and never returned.

“Day and night the queen watched from the highest tower of the castle, hoping to see her king return, but never did he show himself. The castle, once the grandest citadel in all the known lands around the mountain, became known as the Widow's Fortress after its grieving queen.

“Ashen had two daughters, Melodious Night and her twin sister Humble Soul. Melodious was beloved and praised by her subjects for her bravery and wisdom, as well as the beautiful creations of song and art that she gifted to her kingdom. She ventured out every night in search of knowledge or signs of their lost father. Sometimes she was gone for days and weeks, but when she returned it was with news and lore from distant regions.

“When the castle was in danger, when evil lurked in the woods and hills around it, Melodious led the hunters herself in defense of her subjects. So beloved was she, that her return from hunts or distant lands was met by cheers from the castle's walls.”

Rainbow Dash flipped the pancake high in the air and caught it on a plate before preparing another pan of dough. “Let me guess, no pony liked or appreciated the other sister and she became resentful and vowed some kind of revenge. Haven't we heard this tale before?”

Lyra chuckled as she watched Rainbow Dash deftly handle the food. “Oh my, no. I would be very surprised if there is any relation here to our beloved Princess Celestia and her wonderful sister of the night.”

“But it does sound similar,” Bonbon noted. “You have to admit that.”

“Many tragedies are repeated when we fail to learn from history and experience, or when that history and experience is lost to us,” Lyra mused as she sat up with her instrument in her hooves. “But if you would allow me to continue …”

“Sorry,” Bonbon said as she watched the last pancake simmering in the pan. The waiting was making her hungry, and simple though they were, these pancakes were starting to look exceedingly delicious.

“As I was saying,” Lyra continued as she plucked the strings. “Melodious was welcomed with fanfares and cheers, her court and banquet was always lively and she the center of attention at every event. With the king missing and the queen sick with grief, the kingdom looked to Melodious for guidance and protection, and Melodious was indeed a fair and honest regent.

“While Melodious was in the public's eye, her sister rarely left the peace and privacy of the castle or made a presence of herself at the banquets and courts. Very modest and perhaps a little shy, or merely content to work in peace, Humble nevertheless made great strides of her own in the musical and magical arts. And just like her sister, Humble was praised for her gifts and contributions to the kingdom's glory.

“Humble no doubt seemed happy this way, leaving most of the attention to her more outgoing sister so that she herself could work in peace.” Lyra paused her storytelling again as she accepted one of the pancakes.

Bonbon took one as well and watched as Dash poured the contents of the tin can into the pan for a quick heating. The beans quickly began to simmer in their sauce under the heat of the flames. “So what then?” She prodded Lyra to continue while they waited.

“One day,” Lyra began again, “Melodious set out for the edge of the world, and for the Sea of Night surrounding it. She convinced her sister to go with her on this journey. Melodious hoped to cross the Sea of Night in order to ask for knowledge of their missing father from the wisest of all beings, the world serpent, the great celestial snake which coils itself around the roots of the world, whose one great eye watches the world at night.

“Back in those days, in the lands around the great mountain, the tribes living there still told the tales of Naga and Roc, the two great serpents of night and day,” Lyra explained as Dash scooped her a good helping of beans to go with her pancake. “They are sometimes told even today, but not as often and mostly as a myth or in the lore of the dragons.

“Roc, the great feathered fire-serpent, nested on top of the great mountain in the sky. When it rose and traveled across the world from one end to the other, its scales and feathers of flaming colors brought forth the day and banished the darkness of night.

“The Sea of Night which surrounds the world was home to Naga, the world serpent which grasps the world in its tail and holds it in place. When Roc returned to its nest in the mountains, Naga turned its single great eye upon the world. We know this as the moon, and legend has it that there once were two of them, long before even the tale of Humble and her sister.

“Naga and Roc did not see eye to eye, as it were. Sometime in the unimaginable past it is said that they fought each other, and in the heat of the battle, Roc tore out one of Naga's eyes. Thus the world ended up with only one moon. From Naga's blood was born the first of the dragons. But Roc was not spared Naga's bite, and from its wounds and blood were born the phoenixes. The dragons and the phoenixes have been mortal enemies ever since.”

Rainbow Dash looked up from her plate and licked off a bit of sauce from her lips. “Huh. So what about Princess Celestia and Princess Luna?”

“That is a much later story,” Lyra said. “And one which is largely if not entirely irrelevant to the tale of Melodious and Humble.” Seeing the disappointed looks on their faces, Lyra smiled and added, “Alright, but I won't go into any details. Back in the early days, day and night was not in balance but left to the whims of Roc and Naga. When Discord began sowing his seeds of chaos, he did not limit himself to ponies but also caused strife between Naga and Roc. With the two celestial serpents in open conflict, night and day and all life with it was thrown into chaos.

“It is said that the two sisters ventured on a dangerous journey to the mountain at the edge of the world, and perhaps even beyond, and there they gained the favor or perhaps made a pact with the two great serpents. With this new favor in hoof, they defeated Discord and brought harmony and order to night and day, as well as the world. Of course, there is a lot of disagreement about this story.

“But let us return to Melodious and her quest to brave the Sea of Night. Melodious knew that she needed a guide in this world to lead her back across the Sea of Night, like a lighthouse or a guiding star showing her way back home. Without that she would be forever lost in the endless Night. This is why she asked for her sister to come with her.”

“I think I see where that is going,” Bonbon said and bit her lip.

Lyra smiled. “For many days and nights, the two sisters traveled through the wild and desolate lands at the edge of the world, fighting the monsters who lived at the edge. At last they arrived at the edge and looked out over the vast stretches of Night. There Humble was supposed to wait, to play and sing the song that would guide her sister safely back from among the stars.

“As Sapphiro's lost poem suggests with its final line, Humble never played the song. As Melodious ventured into the eternal darkness around the world, Humble settled down and wrapped herself in clothes to wait on the cold and lonesome shore. Humble waited there for days, never playing the melody that would bring her sister back to her.

“After days of starving and freezing, Humble made her way back home and arrived at the castle in a terrible state. She cried and told of how she had played herself to tears and sung until her voice was lost, playing for days in vain for her sister to return, but Melodious never did. Humble was received as a hero for her loyalty and bravery, and she soon took the place of her sister in the hearts of her subjects.

“Not long after Humble's return, the old queen passed away, struck by sickness from the loss of both her king and beloved daughter. She left the crown and throne to Humble. Lies and deceit had won Humble the kingdom and the hearts of her subjects, while her trusting sister was lost forever in the darkness among the stars.”

“Whoa …” Rainbow Dash said after a long silence. “That's way cold. I hope that traitorous snake got what she deserved!”

“She did,” Lyra said quietly and played her strings in a solemn tune. “But not before she threw the world into war and caused a grave mistrust between all the tribes. And in the end, she took many innocents down with her.” Lyra stood up and picked up her lyre. “I'm sorry to cut this a little short, but I tire. Please don't disturb me before morning.” She gave a brief smile before turning to her tent. “Sleep well, you two.”

Bonbon watched her disappear into the tent and close it tight. It was a very private tent, she thought, the sort of tent a pony who valued privacy would choose. She sat for a minute or two staring at the tent before shaking herself free.

She turned to look at Rainbow Dash. The pegasus didn't seem to give Lyra any second thoughts. Instead she settled down with her suspiciously well-protected journal to read. Bonbon shook her head again and got up, gathering her things before retiring to her tent for the night.

* * *

My love,

Scootaloo told me about Bonbon's decision to follow you and Lyra on your journey. I hope you are all doing well out there in the mountains.

I apologize for the guards in Manehattan, but they had to check everypony just in case. We are still investigating what exactly went wrong at the station and in the square later, and it will be a day or two at least before all the chaos has been cleared up, but I can give you some good news already.

A dock pony spotted Trixie hiding in a lifeboat on board a ship and called the guards. They approached her without any further incidents, and she followed quietly. She is currently being held in Manehattan for questioning. Unfortunately I am told that she claims no knowledge of anything and appears highly confused and distressed. She claims that the last thing she remembers is spending the night in Hollow Shades where she was scheduled to perform in the morning, until she woke up on that ship in Manehattan. She appears to be speaking the truth, but we do not yet know if her memories will return.

And since I know you're going to ask, I don't think she knows anything about Lightning Dust either. I'm sorry. I also fear that what she carried with her on that train has been lost forever. The few pieces we have recovered from the street are now entirely without any magic.

Please stay safe, and do what you feel you must. I'll be here, waiting for your return.

♥ Your Princess,
Twilight Sparkle.

I almost had her, Twi. I was this close!

I swear to you, Trixie was right there in front of me, but then she was gone! I chased her into a blind alley, and there's no way she could have escaped it, not unless she sprouted wings or something.

You know I hate losing.

I wish you wouldn't be so hard on yourself. You know it wasn't your fault. No one blames you.

And you know you have to work for your prize, too. You can't get every victory without a fight.

♥ Twi

I didn't have to fight for you—Rainbow Dash chuckled as she wrote her last entry for the night—And you're still my biggest prize. You know that. I love you, Twi. But you know that too.

You keep saying that, but we both know better.

I love you too, Dash. Please stay safe, and don't do anything foalish … oh, who am I kidding, I wouldn't want you any other way.

♥ Twi

* * *

Large rocks and jagged crystals jutted out of the ground along the rock-strewn and snow-covered path through the mountain. The weather was clear, but the wind had teeth and was howling for something to sink them into. Bonbon too found the idea of a second breakfast enticing; the oat crackers she had brought with her were good but not what she craved. Up ahead, a line of trees grew at odd angles on the side of the path. They seemed to have their trunks stripped of bark.

Bonbon looked at the trees as they passed through the tiny, sparse forest. “I think those are sugar trees,” she remarked from behind the scarf wrapped around her muzzle. “You can eat the bark, and in the spring you can get sweet sap from the trunk. Too bad others have already stripped the bark on these.”

“That … would be me,” someone said behind her.

Bonbon turned to see … no one. She looked at Dash, but the pegasus looked equally puzzled.

“But I'm still hungry,” the gruff voice said right behind them.

They spun around together and saw … no one. Rainbow Dash frowned, and Bonbon looked around in confusion. Her eyes fell on Lyra who was struggling to hold back the tears of laughter. As Bonbon turned to see her, Lyra couldn't hold it anymore and burst out laughing. “You should have seen your faces!”

Bonbon was reminded of a time when Lyra had surprised her back in Ponyville. Bonbon had been sure she heard her friend behind her, but when she turned around there was no pony there. She had turned around again and found Lyra grinning at her from a bench a bit away. Bonbon was sure it was some kind of magic trick, but as with so many other things, Lyra had never divulged its secret.

Now she just rolled her eyes at the unicorn. “You're just an overgrown foal, aren't you?.”

Rainbow Dash grinned at the prank and gave Lyra a poke. “I'll get you back for that one, Lyra.”

Lyra giggled and caught her breath. “Oh my, so where were we?”

Rainbow Dash shook her head and turned to look around at the trees. After a moment she pointed at one. “There are some over there with bark on.” Without another word, she flew up to one of the trees and grabbed a small piece of bark in her teeth to rip it off. “Hey, this ain't bark, it's crystal sugar,” she said and bit off a small piece before throwing the rest to Bonbon.

Bonbon caught the bark and inspected it. “Rock candy bark,” she said and took a bite. “They aren't called the Crystal Mountains, or sugar trees, for nothing. It's too bad they can't grow outside the mountains, or I'd get myself a small plantation and make a fortune.”

“You could move here instead,” Lyra suggested as she accepted a bite of the candy bark. “Live in the mountains and grow sugar trees. Sounds like a sweet deal,” she grinned.

Bonbon rolled her eyes at the pun. “It's way too cold and far away for me,” Bonbon said and stuffed the rest of the bark in her bag. “Also, I hear that the sugar farmers are a grumpy bunch who don't want anypony encroaching on their business up here.”

“With all that sugar? You'd think their moods would be a match for Pinkie.”

“Boggles the mind how they aren't.”

* * *

The path grew steeper as it wound its way slowly up the mountains. It was a difficult path, and the journey was slow, but the candy had made Bonbon's mood a little lighter despite the driving snow and biting wind. None of them said anything as they traveled through crags and valleys. Behind the warmth of her scarf, Bonbon hummed a quiet melody to herself.

The ground sloped upwards, and the path snaked its way up towards a crack between two small peaks. Bonbon stopped and looked up at the midday sun on the other side of the crest. She shook herself a bit and continued on again, whistling a tune under her scarf.

A snowball hit her square in the back of the head and nearly made her fall over forwards. Bonbon yelped and turned around, feeling the snow slide down the back of her neck where it left a cold, wet trail. “What was that for?” she asked as Lyra trotted up next to her.

“I got your attention, didn't I? You got a little distant there and didn't hear me,” Lyra said with a smile and turned around to face Bonbon. Her smile vanished, replaced by a serious look. “I just wanted to say, don't make that tune.”

“What tune?” Bonbon asked, confused by the serious tone of Lyra's strange request.

“The one you were just whistling,” Lyra said. “Don't ever whistle or hum that tune. Please,” she added in a more friendly manner.

Bonbon's brow furrowed as she tried to remember what she had been whistling. She hadn't really been paying attention to the tune, and apparently she hadn't been paying attention to other things either. “That was the one I heard out in the forest on Hearth's Warming,” she said and once again felt the urge to squeeze the truth out of Lyra somehow. “Why can't I whistle that tune?”

“Sorry, just please don't,” Lyra said and turned to continue towards the crest.

“Hey. It's probably a good idea if you're quiet, anyway,” Rainbow Dash interjected before Bonbon could think or say anything in response to Lyra. Bonbon jumped a bit and looked up at the sudden appearance of the pegasus. “We're entering avalanche zone,” Rainbow Dash added before turning around to lead the way once more.

Bonbon shook her head and followed quietly behind, watching Lyra walk ahead of her.

* * *

“And speaking of avalanches,” Rainbow Dash groaned and rubbed her face with a hoof.

Lyra and Bonbon looked down into the valley below at the massive wall of snow, rocks and crystals which had collapsed on the path and thoroughly blocked the way forward. “Can we get over it somehow?” Bonbon asked as she tried to decide how difficult or safe such an attempt would be.

“Can't see we have much choice,” Dash said in irritation. “I can carry one of you, but the other will have to hoof it or wait here until I get back.”

“I don't think it's wise to split up like that, not in a place like this,” Bonbon said. She also didn't like the thought that the two other ponies might decide to take it as an opportunity to get her off their trail and force her to return home, but she didn't voice that thought.

Lyra gazed up at the sky and around at the mountains. “I agree,” she said. “And I think we should find a way around. There has to be some other way through the mountains.”

Rainbow Dash didn't look convinced. “I don't know. If we're going off the trail to climb the rocks, then we may as well climb it here.”

“I don't think we need to climb,” Lyra said and looked back the way they came. “There was a narrow trail about five minutes behind us. I say we see where it leads us before we consider any climbing.”

“I'm with Lyra,” Bonbon said. “The snow and terrain here can't be trusted.”

“Right,” Rainbow Dash conceded. “We'll check out that other path, but if it doesn't seem to lead in the right direction, I say we turn around. We don't want to spend all day going in the wrong direction.” She turned around and headed back down the way they came.

Bonbon followed, and Lyra took up the rear again.

* * *

The trail Lyra had spotted was barely more than a crack where one pony at a time could squeeze through. It widened a little after the first bend, allowing a comfortable walk in a line, but snow and rocks had long since turned it into little more than a vague path. Here and there were little signs that it had once been a regular path, with traces of wooden beams from an ancient boardwalk.

After half an hour of walking the narrow and winding path, the three ponies arrived at a small valley. Large rocks and the ruined walls of some old village jutted out at random from under the snow, creating a landscape like broken teeth. Bonbon stopped to look around, while Lyra and Dash walked further in to search among the ruins. “You think ponies used to live here?” Bonbon asked, but no one answered.

“The path ahead is blocked,” Rainbow Dash concluded, pointing a hoof at where another path deeper into the mountains had long ago collapsed in a rock slide. “Looks like we're back at square one,” the pegasus said and turned around to leave.

Lyra didn't follow. The unicorn trotted around the broken remains of a wall and stopped, lifting a piece of old wood with her magic. “I think I know what this place is. Or was,” she said and gestured them over with a hoof.

Bonbon and Rainbow Dash moved up beside her and looked at the sign she was holding up. The wood had decayed and most of the letters were long gone or difficult to read. “ h M adr f Mi ng C p n ” the remaining letters said, if Bonbon strained a bit to make them out.

“I don't get it,” Dash said. “Does it matter? We can't get through here anyway, so let's not waste any more time.”

“The last two words must be 'Mining Company',” Bonbon said, ignoring the impatient pegasus. “And there's probably a 'The' in front. Don't know about the rest.”

Lyra let the sign drop back down. “I think it once said Micadrift,” she said and turned around to look across the ruins while Bonbon lifted the sign again to check that it matched. “I've heard of the Micadrift mine,” Lyra continued. “It was mentioned in one of the books when I was looking up the history of King Sombra and the Crystal Empire.”

“You studied the Crystal Empire?” Bonbon asked. “I'm honestly not surprised.”

“You shouldn't be.” Lyra smiled. “My talent isn't just about music, it's about the old legends and stories that were traditionally told in songs and verses and passed down through generations of minstrels. After the Empire reappeared, I did some research on its history. Up until then I had only heard vague rumors about it. But I don't know much about Micadrift itself. What I do know is that it was abandoned a few hundred years ago because of some corrupting influence, which some ponies blamed on the lingering magic of King Sombra. It was never reopened and mostly forgotten.”

Lyra pulled out a map from her saddlebags and unfolded it in the air. “The mines of Micadrift were connected with those of the Glass Bore mine, which were located deeper within the mountains.” She circled a rough area with her hoof not too far from a black circle marked around what Bonbon assumed to be their destination. “Somewhere in this area, I believe.”

“So that means …” Rainbow Dash said, a little more interested now.

“It means there should be a way under the mountain which leads roughly to where we need to go,” Lyra said and looked around as she folded the map back up. “And there should be an entrance to the mine somewhere around here, if it's not collapsed too.”

“That sounds like a bit of a gamble to me,” Bonbon said. “And I'm not so sure how much I like the idea of an abandoned mine which may have been cursed by King Sombra long ago. Sounds like something to be left well alone, if you ask me.”

“Don't be such a chicken,” Rainbow Dash said before turning her focus back to Lyra. “You really think there's a way through the mines?”

“I am fairly sure,” Lyra said and smiled sheepishly. “Everything is a bit of a gamble now, but I think this is our best option. I must also admit that I'm a little bit curious about what story these mines have to tell after all these years.”

“Sweet!” Dash grinned and rubbed her hooves together. “What are we waiting for? Let's find that entrance.”

Bonbon shook her head and sighed. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

* * *

Bonbon glanced longingly at the tiny square of sunlight quickly disappearing behind them. The tunnel was cold and dark, lit up only by a soft light from Lyra's horn. Sand and rocks littered the floor, and drops of water gathered on the roof, occasionally falling with a soft plop. There was a smell of earth and mold, and Bonbon wondered if there was any risk of collapse. The walls looked solid, but you never knew, and Bonbon was no miner.

The tunnel came to an end in a T. Lyra stopped in the intersection to consider the two directions. “This is north,” she said, pointing down the tunnel on her right before glancing down the other one.

“Yeah,” was all Dash said before turning right, flying down the tunnel with Bonbon behind her.

Lyra stood there for a moment, looking down the other tunnel, then she turned and hurried after Bonbon and Dash. “If we just keep north and take the paths that lead up, we should be able to find the exit near Glass Bore,” she explained.

Bonbon hoped that Lyra was right.

The tunnels descended quickly into the earth deep beneath the mountain. The sound of their hooves against the stone and sand cast back hollow echoes from the darkness deep below. Bonbon found the sound unnerving and frequently looked back over her shoulder at the pitch black darkness behind them. As Lyra's light moved, the darkness crept closer to catch up and fill the void.

Broken tools and abandoned carts littered the darkness. These tunnels had once been busy with the life of ponies trotting about and working to carve out the tunnels beneath the mountain. The workers were long gone, but Bonbon couldn't shake off the feeling that the shadows still walked these halls and watched them as they wandered the darkness. Even Dash was looking around as if she felt something too.

“What do you think drove off all the miners?” Bonbon asked, keeping her voice low. Something about the echoes of her voice sent shivers down her neck.

“It's hard to say,” Lyra said and studied the walls as the light from her horn drove away the black curtains. The wooden beams and planks all along the tunnels were old and showing signs of decades of rot. Many were broken. “I honestly never studied it very much. The miners left after refusing to work in the mine. The Glass Bore mine remained in operation for a few years after Micadrift closed, but very few miners were willing to work there, and eventually it just couldn't keep up profits.”

Bonbon shook herself to drive off the shivers. It helped a bit to talk, despite the echoes. “Do you think whatever drove them out is still down here?”

“I don't know. I don't even know if there ever was anything that drove them out.” Lyra looked back over her shoulder at the tunnel behind her, prompting Bonbon to do the same. Rainbow Dash too was staying vigilant. “But if there was, it would have to be pretty old by now. Hundreds of years at least.”

The tunnel slowly opened into a narrow set of natural caverns. Cold water seeped down through cracks in the roof, collecting in thin rivers winding their way through the rock. Many paths led on, some big, others too small to travel. Dim crystals embedded in the rock caught Lyra's light and cast back dull reflections that only seemed to make the darkness more depressing.

Rainbow Dash pointed ahead at a set of rough tunnels. “Let's keep north,” she said.

“Didn't they have any signs down here?” Bonbon commented as she kept up. She didn't want to fall behind in this place. “Maybe one telling us 'this way to the surface.' ”

“That would be hoofy, wouldn't it?” Lyra smiled, trying to lighten the mood in more ways than with her magic. It failed to work its intended effect, and they all fell quiet again as they walked through the caverns.

A chill wind seemed to follow them through the darkness, and strange scratches and figures danced on the walls, glittering in Lyra's light. The unicorn watched the strange etchings with growing fascination. As they walked, she ran her hooves over the rough surface of stone, almost forgetting the darkness around them.

“What is it?” Bonbon inquired as she glanced around at the walls, her eyes never quite leaving the shadows. They were growing darker now, there was no doubt about it. Bonbon got a strong feeling that they were not welcome in the dark. She tried to pass it off as only her imagination.

“Someone's scratched these markings,” Lyra said absently. “But the water has eroded most of it. I'm not quite sure what they once depicted or who made them.”

They walked more slowly with Lyra pausing frequently to study the markings. Their slow progress and the fact that the tunnels only kept leading down deeper into the mountain rather than up towards the surface made Bonbon even more uneasy and eager to get out.

“I think we should hurry up and get out,” she said. “Something doesn't want us down here.”

“Yeah?” Rainbow Dash raised her hooves at the shadows. “Well, I ain't afraid of it! If it doesn't like us, why doesn't it come out and fight us, huh?” She punched the air to punctuate her dare. “Yeah, that's right. Come out here and show us what you've got!”

The light dimmed and flickered, as if the darkness was lashing out at the luminous dome, trying to envelop it and squeeze all life from its source.

“Let's maybe not tempt the ancient evil sleeping beneath the mountain?” Bonbon gave a pointed look at Rainbow Dash. “And maybe we'll actually get out of here alive?”

Rainbow Dash huffed and turned around. Lyra hesitated by the wall but followed reluctantly when Bonbon pulled at her leg. “Can you turn the lights up?” Bonbon asked. “I don't think it likes the light, and I'd really like to keep it at a distance, whatever it is.”

Lyra shook her head. “Sorry, this is as bright as I can make it if I want to keep it up too.”

“Then we better stay close together,” Bonbon said.

The caves stopped descending and became wider. The walls and floor were filled with tiny crystals, but none of the light from Lyra's spell seemed to reach across the distance towards them, leaving them dull and gray without any luster.

Water ran in streams through the stone and fell or seeped into hidden depths below. Bonbon was not sure if it was the sound of water, or something slithering in the dark that she could hear if she listened closely. Perhaps it was the darkness itself, seeping through cracks and coiling around them like a snake trying to squeeze the light out of them.

Aside from the water and the constant feeling of something watching and waiting, the caves felt deathly still. Bonbon had no idea how long they had been wandering through the mine or what time it was, but it had to be late, and she was beginning to feel tired. She tried to ignore it. She also tried to ignore the realization that it was looking more and more likely that they would have to set up camp down here in the dark.

Perhaps that was why the darkness seemed to be waiting. If they all went to sleep, they would be easy targets once the light faded. Bonbon didn't want to think about it, but her mind betrayed her and was already working away on the problem.

“I think we have to set up camp for the night.” It was Lyra who broached the subject at last. She too was looking a bit tired around the eyes. “I suspect we're still far from the surface.”

The words gave Bonbon a sinking feeling, even if she had known they would come. Her stomach punctuated the decision with a low growl. She hadn't had anything substantial to eat since morning, and sugar could only keep you going so long. “I guess we have little choice. Let's at least find someplace where we can see if anything tries to sneak up on us.”

“There's a sort of platform over there,” Rainbow said and pointed.

They followed Lyra as she inspected the wide platform of rock. It was reasonably large and flat, not to mention dry, and it had a clear view of the surrounding cave. “We'll set up camp here, then,” said Lyra and dropped her saddlebags and tent on the ground. “We need to take turns keeping watch.”

“And we need a fire,” Bonbon added. “At least while you're sleeping, Lyra.”

“There's not much wood down here to burn,” Rainbow Dash said and picked up a lonely bit of wood that had long ago belonged to some kind of tool.

“And it has to be dry, because I can't dry it or light it without dropping the light spell,” Lyra added. “I'm not so talented that I can do more than one spell at the same time.”

“I have a bit of dry firewood in my bags to get us started,” Bonbon said as she pondered the material available to them. “It won't last long, but it can maybe help dry what else we find. There may be a few more abandoned tools around, and I saw some moss too. If we can find enough other material, it should be able to see us through the night. Lyra should take the first or the last watch.”

“I'll take the first,” Rainbow Dash jumped in.

“Then I'll go last,” Lyra agreed.

Bonbon slipped out of her saddlebags and searched through one of the small pockets on the side. She pulled out a small silver bell. “Here,” she said and held it out for Rainbow Dash. “Hold this with your teeth while you're keeping watch. If you fall asleep, it'll fall and make a noise.”

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow at the little bell. “You prepared for that?”

“Yes, and a good thing too,” Bonbon huffed.

“You're an egghead, you know that?” Rainbow Dash snickered and took the bell in her teeth. “Not that I would ever fall asleep on the job. But I'll keep it around for you two.”

“Don't lie, Rainbow Dash. We all know that you like to take a nap now and then,” Lyra grinned. “So better keep that thing close.”

“Yeah yeah.” Rainbow rolled her eyes and began clearing for a fire.

* * *

Hey Twi. You know about some old mine called Micadrift or something? An avalanche blocked the path, and Lyra thinks this mine is connected to another one near the crash site. We're sort of camping down here.

Love you. Dash.

I know that Lyra is correct. Micadrift and Glass Bore were connected through a network of natural caverns deep beneath the mountains. My book says that both mines were closed almost two hundred years ago when all the workers became anxious of each other and the mine. After they all refused to work, the mine was abandoned and never reopened.

There was talk of a haunting, but that's just pony tales. It is likely that it was some of Sombra's tainted magic left over from the time of his reign. The miners reported things sneaking around in the dark, and many complained about nightmares and strange visions.

Sombra was very fond of trickery and illusions, so watch out for that. I'll have to investigate the history some more, because my sources are currently limited, but I'll ask Luna if she can watch over your dreams tonight.

Stay safe, my love.

♥ Your princess,
Twilight Sparkle.

* * *

The door to Lyra's apartment looked tiny and flat at the end of the short hallway, as if painted on. Bonbon looked around at the empty walls as she neared the door. It seemed to stretch itself out, like a dull gray slinky expanding with each step and push forward of her hoof.

Bonbon reached out. Her hoof touched the cold door handle and turned it with a low click. The door creaked with age as it opened to an apartment of white sheets and dust covering the sparse furniture. Bonbon wound her slow way through the maze of white dusty blocks, past the kitchen towards the bedroom.

“Lyra?” she called.

The door opened, and Bonbon was in the bedroom. It was small, with one slanted wall looming in front of her and a single large window through which the moon shone. The window was opened a crack, and the light from outside illuminated the sheets and their sleeping inhabitant in a pale silvery glow.

Bonbon approached the bed. “Lyra?”

She reached out to touch the body under the sheets.

A claw grabbed her hoof and Lyra turned around. Serpentine eyes fixed on Bonbon from a pale white face shrouded in untidy hair and long shadows. Bonbon screamed and struggled in the grip as snakes coiled under the bed and sheets. Sleek bodies wrapped around her and pulled her down into the grasp of the creature in the bed.

The walls crumbled away to sand and blew away on a phantom wind. The darkness surrounded her, twisting and crawling like worms and snakes, writhing around her and squeezing her in its vice grip. Somewhere in the dark, Lyra opened a mouth full of teeth and venom. The shadows slithered through the cracks of Bonbon’s mind, pushing and squeezing through her head. She cried out and grit her teeth.

“Lyra … please,” she whispered in labored breaths.

A hard and unrelenting light shone through the darkness, and a voice cut through the slithering noise. “This creature is not a friend of yours. It is but a nightmare preying upon your fears.”

The dark snake turned its gaze and hissed. It uncoiled itself from Bonbon with surprising swiftness and launched itself at the light. Dark malevolence and venomous fury gleamed in its eyes.

Bonbon gasped for air and turned on her side. “Princess Luna?”

The princess' horn flared with rays of silver light, and the creature let out a screech as black smoke and green vapors arose from its shadowy body. “Begone, foul creature of the dark!” Luna's voice echoed loudly, and her eyes narrowed at the coiling darkness around her. “Slither on back to thy nest and plague this dreamer no more with thy vile tongue!”

“Dream?” Bonbon asked. She felt a sudden confusion as she stumbled back on her hooves, feeling her whole body tremble beneath her.

The creature did not retreat or obey the order to leave. It struck at the princess again while its body surrounded her sphere of light. Luna stepped back and lowered her horn defensively at the incoming head. “We command thee to leave this dream!” she bellowed as she sidestepped and pierced the darkness with her horn.

A scream rose from the creature, and Luna turned to Bonbon for a brief moment. “You must wake up, Bonbon! Whatever its nature is I cannot tell, but it is seeking to lure you deeper into sleep and keep you in the dream. You must awake!”

“How?” Bonbon cried, trying the only thing she could think of: biting her own leg. It didn't work.

Luna didn't seem to hear her as she defended herself against the encroaching darkness and another strike. “Reveal thy nature, snake!” the princess commanded in a resounding voice. “We are the Princess of the Night! We command thee to show thyself!”

Bonbon backed away from the battle and looked around frantically. If she couldn't wake herself up, her only hope was that Rainbow Dash would realize what was happening and wake her, or that Lyra would wake up first.

Lyra! Bonbon spun back around. “What about Lyra? Is Lyra okay?”

“I have not found her dream.” The light from Luna's horn expanded slightly, trying to force the presence away from her. “She is either awake or not dreaming.” She grit her teeth and narrowed her eyes further at her opponent. It looked as if she was merely keeping it occupied to give Bonbon time. Bonbon wasn't sure if it was because she couldn't force it out, or if she was afraid what would happen if she did. The princess seemed as if she was as much in the dark about it as Bonbon herself.

Then it really was up to Bonbon to find a way to break the dream. Bonbon edged along the broken walls and edges of the dream, trying not to draw the attention of the nightmare snake. “Come on, Bonbon,” she thought. “It's my dream, my mind. I can wake up if I damn well please!

“Right?”

She sighed when the dream showed no signs of relenting to her will. As she was looking around for any bright ideas, something caught her ear. It was a tiny cry for help. She turned and galloped towards the sound, ignoring the writhing darkness. She almost stumbled over a large writhing mass of entangled darkness. Muffled cries came from within. Bonbon snapped at the shadows, biting to free whatever it had ensnared.

“You have another pony trapped in your dream!” Luna announced behind her. A lance or searing light cut through the darkness and dissolved again, leaving a trail of black smoke and green mist. The slithering mass released its stranglehold for a second and pulled away from the light. “Quickly!”

Bonbon saw her chance and tore at the darkness. A head emerged and with it a hoof and a wing. Rainbow Dash gasped for air as she fought to free the rest of herself from her bonds. Anger and determination was painted on her face.

“Rainbow Dash?” Bonbon frowned at the pegasus. “What are you doing in my dream? You're supposed to stay awake!”

“Not now!” Rainbow hissed, apparently not having heard what Bonbon was actually saying. “I've got a snake to skin! No over-sized reptile messes with Rainbow Dash!” She tore herself free and took flight, wobbling a bit as her leg lagged behind, before racing straight for the central mass coiling around the princess.

“You were supposed to stay awake so you could wake us up!” Bonbon lost herself as she shouted at the pegasus. “Wake up, you overblown pigeon! Wake up so I can beat some sense into that empty skull of yours!”

Rainbow Dash either didn't hear her or pretended not to as she dove right down through the darkness and smoke surrounding the princess. “You leave the princess alone!” she screamed at the top of her lungs as she struck ineffectually at the monster, passing right through its body and emerging again in a massive cloud of smoke.

A loud chime cut through the noise of Rainbow Dash's battle cries. Bonbon blinked, and her ears stood up in attention. The darkness hissed and whirled around as it dissolved in smoke and was torn apart.

Thank Celestia I always think ahead, Bonbon thought in the second before the dream ended.

* * *

“Beware!” the princess' words echoed loudly in her mind as she sat up with a start.

A tiny red flame lingered in the remains of the neglected campfire, its feeble light the only protection from the looming walls of darkness around them. She could feel the raw anger around her now, like a wall of fire and tendrils of flame without any light. It was close now, and it wanted them gone!

Bonbon ignored the flame and scrambled straight for Lyra. The sudden movement caused the flame to flicker dangerously. Bonbon paid it no mind as she shook Lyra hard. “Lyra! Your light!”

Deep shadows crept across the unicorn's sleeping face, like tendrils pouring through her mind. Lyra's eyes moved under her lids for a second as the fire finally gave up and died. Bonbon shook Lyra frantically as the darkness poured in around them like water from a broken dam. “Lyra! Light!”

Lyra stirred and blinked awake with a groggy look of confusion. Behind them Rainbow Dash was stirring as well. Bonbon glanced over her back, staring into the darkness. She could feel the rage flowing over them like waves of heat washing through the tunnels of the abandoned mine. If it had a voice, it would hiss the words “Get out!”

And then she saw it: Just a glimpse of a figure, a flicker of deeper darkness within the dark as it moved to attack. It looked familiar, but she didn't have time to place it. “Lyra!” She shook the unicorn again.

Lyra opened her eyes fully and stared into the face of the darkness. Shock made her scramble backwards. Her horn flashed in defense, and a sudden light filled the cave.

The creature hit Lyra in the pounce and tumbled across the floor. It shrieked in panic at the light and was gone down the tunnel before any of the ponies could react. Bonbon's mind was still unsure what she had seen. Why had it looked familiar, or was it just the product of a tired mind? She didn't have time to think about it now.

“Lyra? Are you okay?”

Lyra stumbled back up, her blanket hanging haphazardly from her ear and over her back. She shook it off and looked around in fright. “What's going on?”

“Something attacked us!” Rainbow Dash growled, getting up and crouching down by the extinguished fire, eyes watchful and wings ready to launch her into an attack at anything that should dare to show itself now.

“We have to get out, right now!” Bonbon said firmly. “Grab everything and let's make a run for it. I don't think we've seen the last of that thing.” Even as she was speaking, the darkness was closing in once again, angrily trying to squeeze the light out.

“I say we find it and teach it a lesson!” Rainbow Dash stomped the ground.

Bonbon looked pleadingly at Lyra. The unicorn's eyes were wide with fear as she looked around. “N-no, Rainbow, I think we need to leave,” she said. “I think it's best to leave quickly.”

“Then come on!” Bonbon grabbed her blanket and stuffed it roughly into her bag. She could fold it up properly once they were safely outside.

Lyra grabbed hers as well. Even Rainbow Dash, despite her bravado, seemed to decide that it was best to follow. It took only a moment to grab everything. Lyra slung her bags over her shoulders and pointed down a large tunnel. “This way,” she said and set into a gallop. Rainbow Dash and Bonbon set off behind her.

Never in her life had Bonbon run like this. The path wound around sharply, and the ground was uneven and in some places slippery from ages of dripping water. Both she and Lyra frequently stumbled and were caught and helped back up by Rainbow Dash. Every time, Bonbon caught a glimpse of something just out of sight behind them, hunting them but kept at bay by the light.

It was getting bolder with each passing minute, and Bonbon worried that they wouldn't find the exit before it overcame its fear of the light. They ran through tunnels and caves, always trying to follow the ones that led north. Bonbon wasn't sure how long they had been running, perhaps an hour, perhaps a little more, but the tunnels seemed to be leading back up now to her great relief.

She was beginning to lose her breath and felt her legs giving up from the hurried and uneven running when a faint breeze of cold air brushed past her. The cool air felt refreshing against her face and in her lungs. “I can feel fresh air!” she stuttered and found the energy to push herself a little harder.

“I think I can see the moon!” Rainbow Dash called a little ahead of them.

Bonbon barely registered anything around her as she pushed herself as hard as she could, storming down the ancient tunnel with Rainbow Dash in front. They burst out into the fresh air and light of the moon. Bonbon came to a halt in the snow, panting heavily from the last frantic sprint.

“W-we made it!” she gasped and turned around.

“Where's Lyra?” Rainbow Dash spun around herself in a circle, trying to spot the unicorn.

Bonbon looked back at the ancient mine entrance, half buried behind snow and rocks. “She was right there with me not a moment ago!” she said in horror. “Lyra!”

“We have to save her!” Rainbow Dash was already racing back down the tunnel before she had finished the first two words.

Bonbon galloped after the pegasus, feeling her lungs on fire and her heart stampeding along with her, more out of fright for Lyra than because of the running. “Lyra!” she called out, her voice echoing down through the mine.

“Help!” Lyra's voice echoed back from a small side tunnel as they raced past it.

“She's down there!” Rainbow spun around on a bit and raced wildly down the passage after Lyra.

Without the light of Lyra or the moon behind them, the tunnel soon became pitch black. “Rainbow!” Bonbon called out as she stopped, unable to see a hoof in front of her, much less where she was running. “Lyra!”

“I'm here,” Rainbow said and felt her way to Bonbon in the dark.

Bonbon shivered. She could feel the hostile presence nearby. The creature could be anywhere, and so could Lyra. She reached around for her saddlebags, but the blanket stuffed randomly inside made it hard to get anything out without pulling it all out on the floor. Bonbon cursed her lack of proper care. “Typical!”

“Bonbon! Rainbow Dash!” Lyra's voice called again, this time from behind them. “Where are you?”

Didn't they just come that way? Bonbon had no time to question it. She felt Rainbow Dash rush right past her and race back the way they came. She struggled to turn in the dark and follow. They arrived back in the main passage, the moon's light just barely enough to see by.

“We were here a second ago!” Rainbow complained. “Lyra! Where the hay are you?”

The moonlight dimmed as a shadow crept through the tunnel towards them. Rainbow Dash spun around to face whatever was coming down the tunnel.

“I'm not afraid of you!” she growled and held up her hooves. “Come out and fight me!”

Bonbon crouched down behind Rainbow Dash, ears low, wishing she was as brave as the pegasus right now. She looked up into the darkness and a pair of pinpoint eyes. If the thing had taken Lyra, then she would stay and fight. She would not turn tail and run!

“Bonbon! Dash!”

Bonbon spun around at Lyra's voice.

“Bonbon! Dash!”

“She's outside!” Bonbon cried and rushed around, all thought of standing and fighting forgotten.

Rainbow Dash was right behind her, as was the darkness. Rainbow Dash rushed past her as they once again burst out into the light and the open sky. A loud rumble shook the mountain behind them as they turned around in time to see rocks and snow collapse over the entrance.

Bonbon's breath slowly calmed down as the clouds of snow settled. She looked around the ruins where they had emerged. “Lyra?” she called.

“Where is she?” Rainbow Dash looked around as well. “You heard her too! Lyra?”

Bonbon looked back at the blocked mine with a sinking feeling in her gut. She had heard Lyra's voice loud and clear. But … had she actually been right about where it came from?

Lyra knew that trick … the one where she made her voice sound like it came from somewhere else. Bonbon remembered the pranking.

But this didn't seem like the time for pranks. Had Lyra deliberately misled them?

Bonbon's eyes turned down at the snow around them. They settled on a few tracks that had not been covered by the snow slide. The tracks looked like they had been smudged out and covered in a haste.

“I don't think she's still in the mine,” Bonbon said to Rainbow Dash who was digging frantically at the blocked passage.

“What?” Rainbow Dash stopped long enough to look up at the tracks in the snow when Bonbon pointed them out. Her eyes followed them towards the ruined village, and her brow furrowed for a moment. Then she dropped the stone she had dug out of the snow and stood up. “Let's set up camp, then.”

Bonbon looked at Rainbow Dash in disbelief. “What?”

“Let's get some shuteye while it's still dark,” the pegasus said. “We'll find her in the morning.”

Was this still a dream, or had something replaced her two traveling companions? Bonbon looked back down at the obscured tracks as Rainbow Dash headed out in search of a place to set up camp.

IV. High and Low

A long, rumbling snore echoed through the old and desolate ruins of the mining village. The sound tapered off into a contented whinny before repeating itself. Bonbon found the sound immensely annoying to listen to. Not because it kept her awake, since other concerns were already doing that. Frankly she wasn’t sure why it annoyed her so. Maybe it was how it made it abundantly clear that Rainbow Dash was sleeping without a single care in the world in the other tent, even while Lyra could be anywhere, even in danger.

The first light of the morning sun was still about an hour away by Bonbon’s reckoning. She had duly put up her tent and gone inside when Rainbow Dash declared that they would wait until morning to look for Lyra. She had been lying in the darkness, waiting until she felt sure that the pegasus in the other tent was sleeping soundly. It was not hard to tell, but Bonbon waited a little longer just to make sure it wasn’t a trick.

“I don’t envy your nights with her, Twilight Sparkle,” she thought as she opened her tent and looked out into the dark. Her eyes quickly found the collapsed mine entrance and the obscured trail leaving off into the mountains. Waiting in her tent had given Bonbon time to think back, and she thought she had formed a pretty good idea of what had happened.

At some point, as they were fleeing for their lives down in the mines and shortly before they made it out, Lyra had decided to fall behind despite that thing being right on their tails. When they went back inside for her, Lyra had tricked them and led them down a side passage. While they were trying to find their way in the wrong tunnel, Lyra had hurried past them and fled into the mountains, hastily obscuring her trail behind her.

Lyra hadn’t actually done a very good job of it, because there was still a clearly visible trail of quickly smudged-out snow. Bonbon wasn’t sure what had caused the snow- and rock slide to block the entrance, but she guessed that the monster had caused it to keep them out of the mine. It was too perfectly timed to be a coincidence, at any rate.

Whatever it was, Rainbow Dash had looked at the trail and calmly decided that clearly it was perfectly normal, and that Lyra would show up in the morning.

Bonbon could string the events together in quite some detail. What she couldn’t even begin to understand was the why of it. Had something possessed them both? Had the nightmare creature down there in the mines done something to their minds?

Bonbon crawled out of the tent and listened to make sure that Rainbow Dash was still sleeping. Upon hearing the low rumble from the other tent, Bonbon turned with determination towards the trail. The world seemed quiet and at rest as she set out along the path. It wound its way through the ruins, at first in an almost straight line, but soon seeking every shelter and cover available. Here and there, Lyra had stopped to hide behind a crumbling wall or walked across what stones she could find to throw off anyone who might try to follow the trail.

At some points she almost succeeded in losing Bonbon, but some searching around eventually led her back on the trail. It continued down into a valley through a narrow ravine. On the other side, as the mountains opened up before Bonbon, more effort appeared to have been spent on erasing the tracks. Lyra had probably assumed that she had better time at this point.

The roaring of water from a waterfall rumbled in the distance, falling into a wide but shallow river. Bonbon frowned as she paused and looked around. The snow here was not as thick, and there were large stretches of almost bare rocks. The track was quickly lost among the large stones and boulders strewn across the landscape. Lyra could have gone anywhere.

Bonbon sat down and considered the landscape. The wide stream of water flowed through the valley from the waterfall, seeking lower land. The cover of snow was the least along the river due to the running and splashing of water. If one wanted to leave no tracks, that was the best place to walk. Bonbon stood up and followed the river with her eyes. After a second to decide, she set off along the flow of water, keeping her eye on the surroundings for any signs of more tracks.

It did not take long before the stream poured into a narrow lake. Bonbon stopped and looked across the still surface of crystal clear water, following the shoreline around to the end and back again. On the way back her eyes fell upon something in the water near some crags; a reflection of familiar mint and cyan glimmered in the water behind the rocks.

Bonbon walked carefully across the water of the stream. The water was freezing cold and made her wince, but there was no other way across. Once on the other side, she shook off the water as best she could and quietly moved closer. She was sure that she could see Lyra reflected in the water now. Bonbon paused as her ears caught a quiet sniff, and in the watery mirror, Lyra lifted a hoof to her eyes. Was she crying?

The rocks came closer, and Bonbon lost sight of Lyra and the water as she carefully navigated around them. She could clearly hear Lyra crying softly now. “Lyra?” she said quietly, her voice tinged by concern as she stepped around a rock and into the open.

What met her was not Lyra, or even equine. The creature let out a shriek and spun around in fright to face her, standing among Lyra’s scattered bags and clothes. Bonbon had never seen a thing like this before. It rose up on its hind legs, tall and gangly with claws, ready to attack or run away. Its face and limbs were hairless and pale under the hoodie and other assorted clothes it had stolen.

Bonbon screamed. The creature moved with surprising swiftness. There was a brilliant golden light, a cracking of stone, and something hard hit her in the back of the head. Bonbon sank down with a groan and collapsed on the cold rocks as the world went dark.

* * *

The early sunlight reflected in the water and hurt her eyes as she blinked awake to a pounding ache in her head. Bonbon groaned and lifted a hoof to her eyes to shield them from the searing light of day. Something very cold dabbed against the back of her head, causing another stab of pain before easing it a little.

Bonbon winced and lifted her head a little to look up. Large dots danced across her vision from the light but soon began to fade. The shape of Lyra came into focus, sitting next to her. The unicorn looked joyless as she picked up a piece of bandage from the emergency kit next to her and cut a decent length of it.

“Lyra? In Celestia’s name—” Bonbon complained and tried to move.

Lyra said nothing as she gave Bonbon a stern push to stay still. Bonbon grudgingly obliged, allowing Lyra to wrap the bandage tightly around her head. Bonbon sighed and waited until Lyra was done before speaking again. “Thanks, I guess.” She reached a hoof out to touch the bandage and winced a little at the touch. “I don’t suppose you’ll tell me what in Equestria just happened? You just … ran off, and now this?” Her brow furrowed. Her memory was a bit hazy on what exactly ‘this’ was, except that it had given her a headache.

Lyra stood up and packed the emergency kit back into her bag. She lifted the bags with her magic and strapped them across her shoulders without any apparent hurry. Without a word, Lyra turned around and began to walk back in the direction of the camp.

“Lyra?” Bonbon stumbled back on her legs and turned to watch the other mare trot off like Bonbon barely even existed. Lyra had never acted like this in the years that Bonbon had known her. There was a reason why everypony back in Ponyville loved Lyra and never found any fault with her, and it was because Lyra was always eager to please everypony.

“Just tell me what happened!” Bonbon cried as she stumbled after Lyra. “Lyra?”

Lyra showed no sign of wishing to speak. She walked with a noticeable drag of her hooves, no doubt due to the same lack of sleep that Bonbon had suffered lately, and the look on her face was one of sadness more than it was anger. Bonbon took this as a tiny glimmer of fortune; somehow her mind could better deal with a sad Lyra than an angry Lyra.

Bonbon caught up with Lyra and followed behind her as they trudged across the stones and snow towards the ruins of the village. Bonbon was lost and confused more than anything, but she was also angry. She wanted to grab Lyra and shake her, but she wisely restrained herself.

The memory of the strange creature surfaced as her mind slowly recovered from the blow. She had surprised the thing while it was stealing through Lyra’s things, and then … something had hit her in the back of the head. She could have sworn she had seen Lyra in the water a moment before she came upon the creature. Had Lyra knocked her out? Bonbon frowned as she watched the one she had always considered a friend.

“Lyra, did you hit me over the head with that rock?” Bonbon asked and received no answer. Lyra looked down a little but remained silent. Bonbon pushed on regardless. “What was that … creature? Where did it go? Did you see it too? Did it run away?”

Lyra looked back at her for a second. Her eyes were heavy with the lack of sleep and recent tears. She looked at Bonbon’s hooves more than at Bonbon herself before she turned back and continued walking.

Bonbon watched her walk for a few seconds, then rubbed her face with a hoof and sighed. She trudged along again, following some distance behind Lyra. “What must I do to get you to just speak to me?” she whispered to herself in a tired voice.

Rainbow Dash was still asleep when they returned. Lyra walked up to Rainbow’s tent and poked her head inside for a moment. A groggy pegasus emerged a moment later and looked up at Lyra. “Oh, hey. What’s up?” she said, as if seeing Lyra was entirely expected.

Bonbon sat down against a broken wall for support and watched as the two talked in hushed voices for a moment. Lyra then disappeared into Dash’s tent and closed it behind her. The pegasus turned to look at Bonbon. It was not a kind look.

Rainbow Dash got up and flew up to Bonbon. “What did you do?” she demanded angrily.

“I went looking for her, to make sure she was safe,” Bonbon hit back. “Like friends are supposed to do! Something called, oh I don’t know, maybe loyalty? Or just plain old caring!”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes flared at the attack on her pride. “Oh yeah? And it didn’t occur to you that she wanted to be left alone, maybe?” She poked a hoof at Bonbon’s chest along with the words. “When Lyra needs to be alone, then you better leave her alone. Got it? Or did you forget?”

“Forget what?” Bonbon pushed the hoof out of her way and stared at Dash furiously. “I haven’t been told a thing on this whole bloody trip, for your information!”

“Maybe that’s because you’re not wanted here,” Rainbow said coldly, and the words stabbed at Bonbon’s heart. “I suggest you go home! Lyra didn’t ask you to come on this trip, and she doesn’t need you to follow her around all the time.”

“I’m not leaving!” Bonbon stomped her hoof in the ground.

“Then you gotta follow the one rule on this trip. Lyra needs time to herself, and we give her whatever room she needs. We don’t bother her or ask any questions about it. Get it, or beat it!”

Bonbon fumed as she watched Rainbow Dash turn around and fly off.

“We leave in two hours,” the pegasus called back over her shoulder as she settled down outside her tent. “And Lyra’s asleep, so you better be quiet.”

* * *

Quiet voices woke her from her sleep. Bonbon opened her heavy eyes and stared at the inside of her tent. She felt anything but rested. She had been reluctant to go to sleep, but eventually dared to hope that her two traveling companions wouldn’t just leave her stranded in the wild. Lyra would have done so already if that was the case.

She turned an ear to the conversation outside the tent.

“I’m just saying, if you want her to leave, it’s gotta be now before we get even further into the mountains.” This was Rainbow Dash speaking.

“I can’t tell her to go.” Lyra sounded like she had been crying again.

“Sure you can! Just tell her straight that she’s not wanted on this journey, that you don’t need her and don’t want her either.”

“I can’t hurt her like that,” Lyra said feebly.

Rainbow Dash groaned. “Lyra, I’m telling you this as a friend; you’re too damned nice all the time. You gotta be tough sometimes. I get that you don’t want to hurt a friend, but if you had told her no from the start, everypony would have had a lot less hurt. See what I mean?”

“I’m sorry, I … I just can’t do that to her.”

“Then let me do it for you. Say the word, and I’ll tell her to leave you alone. I’ll get Twilight to send somepony to help her get back safely.”

There was a long silence before Lyra said, “I just need some time.”

Bonbon listened as hooves, which she guessed belonged to Lyra, trotted off slowly. Bonbon lay in her tent, staring at her hooves in the faint light. She had clearly upset Lyra greatly, but Bonbon had been upset and frightened too by Lyra’s disappearance. Was she just supposed to ignore that and pretend all was good?

She was pulled out of her thoughts by a rapping on the side of her tent. “Hey, get up! We’re packing up camp,” Rainbow Dash’s voice came from the other side.

Bonbon sighed and got up slowly.

* * *

The journey forward progressed only slowly. All of them were exhausted, and the terrain was difficult. Lyra still refused to speak with Bonbon and only spoke little to Rainbow Dash in order to point the way as she studied the map.

Bonbon’s head hurt from the blow, but her earlier anger had given way to depression. Lyra too seemed sad, and Bonbon only wished that she knew why or what to do to make it better.

According to the map, they were at least getting close. Bonbon had no idea what to expect. Something had crashed in the mountains, and the Wonderbolts had already been there before, so what was there for Lyra to find? Bonbon wasn’t sure even Lyra knew.

She and Lyra skidded down the icy edges of a long ridge as Rainbow Dash drifted ahead, ready to catch them if they slipped. Large sheets of snow came loose beneath their hooves and carried them several yards down the slope. Bonbon shook herself of snow and looked around. The other two were already moving on. Bonbon looked back up the slope of ice and snow they had braved before following.

The group rounded a mound of rocks and came to a halt before an open plain of snow and ice, a great plateau of unspoiled white and blue. Rainbow Dash pointed at a mountain ridge poking out of the snow across the plain, perhaps twenty minutes away from where they stood. “I recognize this place. The crater is on the other side of that summit.”

The first thought that struck Bonbon as she gazed across the plain towards the rocks jutting out of the snow was how eerie the landscape seemed here. The wind sighed as it drifted across the plains, dragging billowing sheets of white with it along the ground. Everything was barren and harsh. Even the white seemed an unfriendly color here.

Rainbow Dash set off across the plateau, followed by Lyra dragging her hooves through the thick layer of snow. Bonbon took up the rear again with a heavy sigh.

“Are these mountains always so deserted?” Bonbon asked to break the silence. They hadn’t seen many living things so far—Bonbon had assumed it was because most things slept or went south in the winter—but this place was even more lifeless. The lack of any life made her nervous, as if it was a warning or a hint to stay away.

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Don’t know,” she admitted, but didn’t look too worried. “Didn’t see a lot the last time we were here, either.”

Lyra said nothing.

The land sloped upwards, and the snow gave way to rough stone and sharp rocks. Seeing the ease with which Rainbow Dash soared towards the summit, Bonbon felt just a tiny bit jealous of the pegasus. It would certainly have made this whole trip a whole lot easier if they all had wings. Or a hot air balloon.

“Why didn’t you rent a hot air balloon for this journey?” she asked in a tone of mild complaining. She didn’t expect much of an answer. “It would have been a lot easier.”

“Yeah, but Lyra needed privacy,” Rainbow Dash explained. “No privacy in a balloon, so we decided to hoof it instead. Doesn’t bother me.”

Bonbon rolled her eyes at that obvious statement. She watched Rainbow Dash move ahead and reach the peak. The pegasus held a hoof up to shield her eyes from the sun as she scouted the land beyond, then quickly descended behind a rock and gestured back at them to be quiet.

Lyra reached the summit first, followed by Bonbon. The sun was sharp up here in the open, reflecting off the ice and snow in all directions. Bonbon lifted a hoof and narrowed her eyes. The light did little for her headache, not to mention her vision. As her eyes adjusted, Bonbon spied a large tent among the ice and snow. The figures of three griffons were visible outside; two were sitting by the entrance, while a third was standing a bit away, gazing towards a distant mountain.

The two by the tent were engaged in some kind of board game. One of them was large and slender with bright red feathers and a dark brown coat, the other was big and heavy with a sandy golden coat and white feathers. They were both wearing light armor.

The third was smaller than them both and had ashen feathers and a black coat. He walked calmly across the plain with an almost regal bearing. His armor seemed more elegant and richly designed than the other two, without being gaudy.

Bonbon turned her head a little to take in the wide crater not far from the tent. There was little to see aside from blasted stone and shattered ice scattered far and wide. She turned to her two companions and whispered. “Are they dangerous?” Bonbon had little experience with griffons, but they had always seemed a bit threatening or unfriendly to her.

“No idea,” Rainbow Dash half mimed back as she scanned the area, possibly looking for other griffons hiding among the snow and ice. Bonbon couldn’t see any, and Rainbow Dash didn’t seem to spot any either.

Lyra moved forwards a little and narrowed her eyes. After a moment she stood up and began climbing down towards the camp and the three griffons. Rainbow Dash shrugged and got up to follow. Bonbon was a little slower, but eventually began the journey down the rocky slope behind her friends.

The red-headed griffon perked up and turned to look as the three ponies descended the rocks towards the camp. She gave her companion a nudge, and he too looked up from the game. Bonbon was relieved to find that they remained sitting, watching with a relaxed attitude. The third griffon turned and walked a bit before looking up for a moment. Seeing the three, he sauntered back towards the camp. None of them looked remotely like they expected or planned for trouble.

The third griffon walked slowly to meet Lyra and Rainbow Dash. “Good day,” the griffon said. Bonbon was surprised by the voice; she had at first assumed the griffon to be male. “My name is Abigail, and these two are my partners Ethel the Red and Maurice of Mice.” She gestured at the red and golden griffons in turn. They each nodded in greeting at their mention.

“Tell me, what brings us together on this day?” Abigail continued. She spoke in a collected and formal, yet not unfriendly manner. Now that Bonbon was closer, she could see that her coat had subtle gray stripes, and her eyes were a dark and piercing red with heavy dark circles underneath. She did look a bit masculine.

Lyra held out a hoof in greeting. “Abigail da Pena?” Lyra glanced up at a large gray feather dangling in the wind from the end of the small spear on top of the tent.

Abigail grasped the hoof and gave it a single light shake. “You have an eye for detail. Most who know me are not friends, but they also are not ponies. Would you say that makes you a friend?”

“I would. My name is Lyra Heartstrings,” Lyra said with more enthusiasm than she had shown all day. “I have read many of your works on the creatures and legends of the east, Miss Pena. May I just say that it is some of the most lucid writing I have had the pleasure of reading?”

The griffon gave a mirthful chuckle and turned a little towards her two companions. “Please, call me Abigail. Miss Pena is for my enemies, of which I have more than enough as it is. The writing is the work of my good griffon, Maurice, over there. I merely provide him with the material and hastily scrawled notes.”

The large sandy griffon by the tent tipped an imaginary hat at them.

“I have precious little time for the art of writing myself,” Abigail added.

“It’s true,” Maurice said with a glint in his eyes. “Abbie’s abbreviated scrawl is anything but lucid. I don’t think she’s written a single whole word in her life.”

“Recognizing the talents of others and letting them do what they do best is a valuable skill in and of itself,” Abigail defended herself.

“She means it’s a valuable way to save herself from honest work,” Ethel said with a wink.

Abigail chose to ignore the last remark. “Regardless, I understand my own scrawl, and so does my scribe. I cannot see how that is not a beneficial arrangement.”

Lyra was quiet for a few seconds. Bonbon had to admit that the large griffon did not look the writing type at a first glance. “Oh,” Lyra said and blinked. “Yes, very efficient.”

“So,” Abigail said and turned back to Lyra and the other two. “I did not expect more ponies to come this way. I find myself curious as to your purpose in this place.”

“More ponies?” Rainbow Dash perked up suddenly. “You’ve met other ponies here?”

“Not as such.” The griffon gestured towards the crater. “But there is this crater, you may have noticed. My two friends and I have been out hunting for some time, until we came upon this place. The crater in itself would be interesting, more so had it not been empty, but what drew us in particular was the unusual atmosphere around it. Alas, the snow tells us that ponies have already been here and no doubt taken anything worth taking.”

“Ah,” Rainbow said and scratched the back of her neck.

Abigail looked at the pegasus with eyes that seemed to see more than was being let on. “Since the creature we were hunting has now run off and no doubt lost itself in the mountains, we were just going to spend the night here and return home at the break of dawn. We would welcome your company if you intend to do the same,” she kept her eyes on Lyra and Rainbow Dash, something in her words suggesting that more than their company was her hope.

“We would be happy to stay,” Lyra piped up eagerly. “I have much that I would love to discuss with you.”

Rainbow Dash looked off into the distance absently. “Yeah, I think that’s a good idea. I’ve … got a few things to ask you as well.”

“Most excellent,” Abigail said and turned towards the tent. “Allow me to invite you to join us for lunch, then. I do believe it is about time for that.”

* * *

Bonbon had never dined with griffons before, and she suspected the griffons who lived in Equestria were somehow different in their customs from the ones who made their living outside Equestria. Most of the food they were offered appeared to be fish or other dried meat, which the three ponies politely declined. This did not leave them wanting, however. Dried fruit, cheese, spiced bread and wine proved both delicious and plentiful. It was an almost royal fare for a meeting in the wild of the frozen north.

They didn’t speak much. Lyra still avoided Bonbon’s gaze and kept silent. Both she and Rainbow Dash seemed to be saving what they wished to say for later. Ethel and Maurice were the most talkative, but primarily spoke with each other in a language that Bonbon could not understand. Abigail watched them all with quiet interest as she nibbled at the fare.

Abigail rose first and was joined by Lyra and Rainbow Dash as they went to explore the crater and talk in private. Bonbon got the feeling from their silence during the meal that she should stay behind and leave them to discuss private matters with the griffon. She wondered what those private matters were, but after this morning she thought it best to not rock the boat any further.

Bonbon poured herself another glass of wine as she watched her two friends walk around the crater, talking secrets with their griffon hostess. She took a sip of the glass and noticed the two remaining griffons looking at her.

Ethel picked up a deck of cards and carefully sorted out about a dozen of them, which she put back in the small leather bag, leaving her with a reduced deck. “Care to join us in a game or two? Abbie can talk for hours once she gets going, so your friends may be occupied for a while.”

“I don’t really know a lot of games,” Bonbon admitted.

“Don’t worry, it’s not a difficult one.” Ethel shuffled the cards a few times and set them down in front of Maurice, who picked them up and dealt three cards to each of them. Meanwhile, Ethel explained. “Ace, seven, king, jack and queen are assigned points in that order, with ace being highest. The number cards below seven have no point value and are ranked by their number in descending order.”

Bonbon picked up her three cards as Maurice turned the bottom card of the deck face up and placed the rest of the deck beside it. The upturned card was the jack of hearts.

“The upturned card is the trump suit, so in this case hearts are the trump,” Ethel continued as the two griffons picked up their cards. “Since we dealt, you get to start. You begin by playing one of your cards, which will be the lead suit of the set. Then Maurice and I play a card each. If a trump suit has been played, the highest of these wins the set. If a trump suit has not been played, the highest of the lead suit wins the set instead.”

Bonbon nodded and picked out a king of diamonds in her teeth, placing it on the table while making sure not to show her remaining cards. Ethel followed with a four of diamonds, and Maurice closed the set with a six of spades.

“No hearts were played, and yours is the highest of the lead trump. You win the set,” Ethel declared. “That means you put these three cards aside. At the end, we count up each player’s pile for points, highest wins the game. Pick a card from the deck. Your turn again.”

Bonbon picked up a new card, and the two griffons followed suit. The game continued at a casual pace, though Bonbon wasn’t doing so well. The cards she won for her pile did not seem all that valuable and would probably not count for much in the end. It did not surprise her, but she was at least getting the rules quickly enough, and even if she didn’t win it was still a nice distraction from the day’s events.

Bonbon sipped her wine and gazed towards the crater and her two friends as the two griffons were making their next move in the game. Lyra was leaving to make her way down into the crater. Abigail and Rainbow Dash remained behind, watching her briefly before turning to each other.

Rainbow Dash gestured towards the distance and spoke something, a question. Bonbon tried to follow the silent discussion but couldn’t do much except guess wildly. Abigail shook her head in apology and continued slowly around the crater with Rainbow Dash beside her. Bonbon wondered once again what they were discussing.

“Your turn,” Maurice said and filled his glass again.

Bonbon put down a seven of hearts, hoping to win by trump. “How come Lyra knew Abigail?” she asked. “I mean, what does Abigail do?”

Maurice put down an ace of hearts with a smug grin. “Abbie? Abbie is a filthy rich snob who can afford to do whatever she likes and have others do the boring stuff for her. Born that way, rich family and all. So she hunts a few beasts for fun and games and collects any old garbage she can find or have someone dig out of the ground for her.”

Ethel bit off a curse and sacrificed a jack of spades on the pile. “When she’s not playing at politics. She’s got more influence among the high and mighty griffons than any of them are comfortable with. They all despise her because of it, but what can you do?”

“Especially when they’re all scared featherless of her,” Maurice added.

Bonbon watched the cards disappear into Maurice’s growing pile. “Bloody hay,” she muttered at her bad luck. “Why are they scared of her?”

Ethel scratched the underside of her beak. “They can’t do anything about her, that’s why. It makes them nervous. So they try to work around her. Abbie doesn’t involve herself in things very often, but when she does no one likes it because she tends to get what she wants.”

“Yeah, no one ever likes it when others get what they want,” Maurice chuckled.

Bonbon was starting to feel the gentle heat of the wine against the cold of their surroundings. “Why do you work for her? Does she scare you too?”

The two griffons looked at each other and grinned. “Because it’s the greatest damn job in the world,” Ethel said and picked up her pile to count it. Bonbon didn’t even think it worthwhile to count her own. “We get to hunt a few beasts and otherwise kick back like this. It’s a sweet life. Constant vacation, fresh air, great food, and getting paid for it too.”

Maurice nodded but cast a glance towards the trio in the distance. “Even if she is doggone crazy.”

“Something about dangerous ladies, eh, big boy?” Ethel teased and jabbed Maurice in the side.

“Oh, puh-lease, she’s way too small for a griffon of proper tastes like me,” the large griffon laughed. “Give me a queen with some gravity, and a real tail with a real tuft at the end, not that long fluffy thing she’s waving about.” He dangled the end of Ethel’s tail in one claw. “Like this. You just need some real muscle along that scrawny flank of yours.”

Ethel gave him a dash with her tail. “I favor having it in my head. And that’s not your tail, and you know it, tom! Ain’t gonna happen.”

“Don’t you call me a tom, lady,” Maurice protested with a look of hurt. “I’m not some scraggly old cat.”

Bonbon snickered at the two griffons and poured herself another glass of wine. She wasn’t going to just sit and wait for her friends to be done with their secrets and lies, not if she could have her own fun. Even if it meant getting herself slightly drunk. “So what’s the story behind your names? I suppose you’re Ethel the Red ’cause you’re actually red, but Maurice of Mice? What’s up with that?”

“Actually, her real name is Ethelred,” Maurice grinned and received a sharp elbow in the wing. “Hah, but she doesn’t like that, and everyone has always been calling her Ethel the Red anyway.”

“At least I’m not Maurice, Heart of Mice.” Ethel winked at Bonbon. “Other griffons have been famous for their courage, the hearts of lions, but Maurice here has the heart of a little mouse in that oversized chest of his.”

“Nothing but slander,” Maurice said and puffed up his feathered chest to twice its size. “I’ll have you know it’s because I hail from the Great Golden City of Mais, famous for its succulent corn and pure, smooth whiskey.”

Ethel slugged back the rest of her wine. “And its mice.”

“Yes, well, those come with the corn.” He considered something for a moment. “Some of them come for the whiskey, too.”

Ethel put down her glass with a smile at Bonbon. “He’s also scared featherless of mice, you see. Show him one and he’ll squeal like a baby bird for its mamma.”

Maurice huffed and crossed his front legs over his inflated chest. “I do not squeal, missy! And you haven’t seen some of the mice back home. They’ve grown strong on corn and vicious on whiskey.”

Ethel burst out laughing, unable to contain it any longer. Bonbon smiled and dipped a piece of bread in her wine as the conversation continued.

* * *

It was taking Bonbon a lot longer than normal to set up her tent. It didn’t help that she stumbled and fell on top of it more than once. “Bloody world should stay shtill,” she mumbled and rubbed the side of her head before getting back at it.

The griffons had retreated to their own tent, except for Maurice who sat outside, enjoying the sky as he worked on a piece of skin. Bonbon didn’t like thinking about where the skin had come from, even if she supposed hunting was what many griffons did, and hunting meant … well, it wasn’t exactly like tying up a calf at a rodeo and letting it go again afterwards. Nor was it like shaving a sheep or a goat for its fur.

Rainbow Dash was resting in the entrance of her tent, writing in her book, while Lyra had retreated to the privacy of her own tent for the night. Apparently they hadn’t found much here, and Lyra had been mulling all day in silence over what to do in the morning. Bonbon didn’t know what decision, if any, she had reached.

Bonbon also worried what else Lyra was mulling over. She still seemed upset about that morning. Bonbon sighed as she crawled awkwardly into the depths of her tent and toppled over on her back, staring up at the roof of the tent.

What had she done to make Lyra so upset? Had she scared away that strange creature? Was that what had made Lyra sad? And what had knocked Bonbon out, or was it just an accident? A loose piece of rock from above?

Bonbon closed her eyes and rolled over heavily on her side, trying to sleep it off.

* * *

Hey Rainbow Dash.

I’m sorry I haven’t written before. I promised I’d write a lot and keep you up on everything, but I’ve been busy studying real hard. Princess Luna gave me some stuff she says I should read, but it’s, like, a lot! It’s, like, five whole books. I don’t think I’ve read that much in my entire life before. Twilight says it’s nothing, but she’s like a total egghead who probably reads this kinda thing in her sleep. Do you think she reads books in her dreams?

Anyway, the princess is really strict, way more strict than Cheerilee ever was. I don’t know if I can live up to her expectations. What if I can’t? I don’t want to disappoint her, not after all she’s done for me.

Your biggest fan,
Scootaloo

Yo Scoots, don’t sweat it about writing me, kid. You just make sure you do what the princess tells you first, and you keep at it no matter how tough it gets! I know you can do it, ’cause no little sis of mine is a quitter, got it? So you can’t be a quitter. That’s rock solid logic, just ask Twi.

I know reading isn’t much for you and me, but this is the Princess of the Night we’re talking about! She doesn’t do this for just anypony or any reason, she’s got plans for you, kid. If you blow that chance you’re gonna regret it for the rest of your life. But you’re not gonna blow it.

Sometimes you gotta take a lot of the bad before you can get the good, but it’ll be so much worth it, trust me. I had to read a lot of really boring stuff too for the Wonderbolts, but I did it with style, and so will you. You’re gonna prove yourself to her ten times over.

Just remember that I’m really, really proud of you, and I’ll keep rooting for you all the way!

— Dash

P.S. Twilight doesn’t have time to dream about reading, not with me in her dreams, heh. Stay cool, Scoots!

You’re the best big sis a pony could ever have! I swear I won’t disappoint.

Oh, and she’s invited me to Canterlot this weekend for three whole days. I get to stay at the castle and spend time with the Princess of the Night for real! I can’t wait to go.

Scoots.

That’s awesome, Scoots. I’m really happy for you. Just don’t think it’ll be a vacation for you. She’s probably going to expect a lot from you while you’re there. You always gotta be on and ready to show her what you’ve got.

Anyway, I gotta dash. Please give Twilight a hug from me if she’s there.

* * *

Bonbon rolled around again and stared at nothing in the darkness of the tent. The heavy veil of alcohol had receded a little, and outside the night had cloaked the world in black. Bonbon couldn’t sleep. It should be easy enough given how little she had slept the previous night and how much wine she had consumed, but the thoughts churning in her head just wouldn’t give her rest.

She brought a hoof around to feel the wound from the rock that had hit her. She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath before turning around to crawl out of her tent. There was only one way she was going to find rest tonight, and she desperately needed it if she was going to be of any use in the morning.

The camp was quiet except for Rainbow’s subdued snoring from the other tent. Bonbon ignored the sound and trotted a bit unsteadily through the snow to Lyra’s tent. She paused to listen, and a faint breathing from within quickly suggested that Lyra was sleeping.

“Lyra?” Bonbon felt bad about waking Lyra, but she had too much on her heart and mind tonight.

A brief snort was heard, followed by a gasp and a bit of movement inside the tent.

“Don’t worry, I’m staying out here,” Bonbon quickly reassured Lyra, trying to gather her thoughts as she thought about what to say. “I promise you I’ll give you whatever space you need, Lyra. I just wish you had told me something.”

There was a tense silence from the tent. Bonbon sighed. “I’m sorry, Lyra. I’m sorry I followed you to that lake, but I didn’t know what else to do. You made me so frightened and confused when you disappeared like that. I’m sorry if I scared that creature away too. I don’t rightly know what it was, but it sure did scare me, probably as much as I scared it.”

Lyra remained silent. Bonbon sat down in the snow and looked at her hooves. She hoped the unicorn was at least listening. Perhaps she just needed time. “Did you see it? It didn’t look like something belonging in the mountains. I bet it must freeze up here. Did you give it your clothes? Has it been following us all the way here?“

Bonbon shook her head. “Doesn’t matter, I guess. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

She sat for a while without saying anything. After a long silence, she looked up again. “I’m sorry. I just wish you would talk to me, Lyra. About anything, really. I wish you would tell me … something, at least.”

The cold was starting to creep under her coat as she sat in the snow outside Lyra’s tent. Bonbon looked down sadly. “I’m sorry. I just had to tell you,” she said and got up, shaking the snow off her tail before turning around to head back to her tent.

She trotted past Rainbow Dash’s tent and looked up. Bonbon yelped and nearly jumped out of her skin as a shadow seemed to come alive and stand out under the shade of a large rock.

“Oh, don’t mind me,” Abigail said quietly.

Bonbon held a hoof to her frantic heart and took a few long breaths. “How long have you been sitting there?” The griffon had not moved. It was as if she simply faded out of the darkness and came into existence in that very moment. Bonbon was half sure that if she blinked, the griffon would be gone again just as suddenly.

“A while now,” the griffon said without elaborating. “I like the quiet of the night to think for myself. By all means, do not let me keep you awake,” she said in a flat voice that suggested she was well aware that just about any pony—and probably any griffon too—would find her presence unnerving and as a result would have trouble finding rest.

Bonbon watched the griffon out of the corner of her eyes as she headed for her tent. She reluctantly stuck her head inside and paused. Slowly she turned around. Even now it took her a moment to spot the griffon in the shadows. “You’re a hunter of some kind? Do you know a lot of creatures then?”

Abigail turned her head to look at Bonbon. The dull red of her eyes only made the image more unnerving. Bonbon was starting to have an inkling of what was so scary about her. “Certainly. I have hunted many creatures and know them all quite well. I cannot claim to know everything under the sun and moon, but I’ve seen my share.”

“Well,” Bonbon began uncertainly as she approached the griffon. “I saw a creature this morning, just before dawn. I didn’t get a very good look, but it was about the size of a pony, only thinner, and it stood on its hind legs. It didn’t have any fur, but I don’t know if maybe it had small scales or something like that. I guess it did remind me vaguely of something snakelike.”

Abigail lifted a claw to her beak in thought. “It’s hard to say without a better description,” she said after a moment. “The only things without fur you’re likely to see in the mountains are dragons and their kin, because they keep themselves warm from the inside. Anything else would die very soon from the cold. What you describe could well be a young dragon, perhaps a baby.”

Bonbon considered the image of Spike, the young dragon assistant of Twilight Sparkle. There was perhaps a slight resemblance in their general form, but she was quite sure that what she had seen was not a dragon. “I know a baby dragon. I don’t think this was a dragon,” she said. “Could it be something from outside the mountains?”

“In the winter? That would be rare,” the griffon said. “And I would still lean towards a dragon. Unless you’re suggesting something out of old fables, or a bipedal pig.”

“I don’t think that’s likely,” Bonbon admitted and stifled a yawn. “Even if it was sort of pink or brownish.”

“I don’t think so either,” the griffon smiled. “Keep in mind that there are many kinds of dragons with wildly different characteristics. Knowing one won’t tell you much about others. I am afraid this is the best I can help you unless you think of anything more.”

Bonbon considered that for a moment before nodding. It did not really satisfy as an explanation, but it was probably the best she could get. “Alright. Well, thank you anyway. Goodnight,” she said and trotted back to her tent.

“Goodnight,” Abigail echoed behind her.

Bonbon stopped at her tent and looked back. The griffon was nowhere to be found. She stood for a minute looking around before crawling inside her tent. She collapsed with a tired sigh and rolled into her blankets.

* * *

The soft sound of the fine silver plate settling on the polished oaken table echoed in the perfect stillness of the grand royal throne room. Bonbon carefully adjusted the plate and the rich white doily under the small stack of fine chocolate. She looked at the rest of the table to make sure everything looked perfect and gave herself a mental nod, making sure her actual posture remained impeccable as befitting a servant in the royal court.

Slow hoof steps drifted down the hall, dampened by the thick white carpet in the middle which only royal hooves were allowed to touch. Bonbon turned around and bowed deep as the foreign princess walked past without sparing her a single glance.

Princess Amber Heart, the young ruler of one of the outlying kingdoms, sauntered up the steps of the throne where the prince lay, resting upon his soft pillows. She snaked herself around him as he looked up with a smile. “Ah, so I wasn’t dreaming,” he said and turned his head to breathe in the perfumed scent dancing around him.

“Not in the slightest, fair prince,” the princess whispered. Her voice carried through the stillness of the court to reach Bonbon, who remained bowed further down the hall.

“Ah, but how may I truly know if this is a dream—” the prince asked and reached out an eager hoof to brush along her flank. The princess pulled away gracefully, denying him the touch with a teasing smile. “—when I can not touch thee, fairest of all mares?”

“Thou hast decided?” she asked, the faintest hint of impatience in her voice. “Fair I may be, but alas, even I can not wait forever for an answer from thee.”

The eyes of the prince showed a lingering doubt, even as they followed the entrancing dance of the mare before him with desire. “But the pegasi of the Silver Gate have always been our allies and friends,” he said, but the certainty of his words were no longer there.

“My warnings are dire but true, my prince,” the princess spoke. “Thou hast seen the evidence. Thou must act first and act fast. If thou dost act now, thou shalt win more than just the Gate,” she said and turned around. She waved her tail gracefully as she walked slowly down the stairs. “Act today, and mine hoof—and more—shall be thine … tonight. Stall thy decision, and I shall find another, to my regret.”

The prince’s eyes lingered on her swaying hips and tail. “I shall summon my armies within the hour,” he said, eyes never leaving her. “We ride out in the morning.”

The princess didn’t look back, and only Bonbon saw the dark smile she gave herself. “A wise choice, my prince. I shall see thee in thy quarters tonight, to discuss our … most sacred union.” She walked past Bonbon. “Servant! Follow.”

Bonbon bowed deeper before getting into line behind the princess, walking just outside the forbidden carpet. They left the throne room and turned down a corridor towards the visiting royalty’s suite. The princess led the way up the wide marble stairs.

Bonbon barely noticed the shadow falling into line behind them as they entered the winding hallway. “Fair princess,” a voice like a rusty dagger spoke behind them.

The princess turned around with a cold look of indifference. “Yes, your Eminence?”

Bonbon swiftly bowed her head to the ground as the Grand Vizier strode past her, his legs stiff with age but his eyes as keen as a sword. “I heard the joyous news,” he said with a steely gaze. “Congratulations are in order.”

“Indeed. I thank thee,” the princess said blankly.

The vizier considered her with barely veiled criticism. “Tell me if thou wilt, fair princess, in thine own words, art thou a humble soul?”

The princess’ brow furrowed and her eyes grew hard as she took a small step back. “I would not presume to call myself such a thing, your Eminence,” she said in a measured voice.

“A humble answer,” the vizier said with the joyless smile of a fox. His steely eyes flashed dangerously as they pinned the princess to the spot, and his horn blazed with the words he spoke. “But I know thee for what thou art, foulest creature! A snake to all, both friend and foe! A traitor of all things good and pure. Henceforth as a snake thou shalt be seen, and all thy line with thee, trusted and welcomed by none! Friendship and kinship hast thou forsaken, so friendship and kinship shall be denied thee, but for the love of a serpent’s heart!”

The princess stood stunned as the vizier vanished in a flash and roll of thunder. “T-thou darest to threaten me? I-I’ll have thee thrown in the deepest dungeon, old fool! The prince listens to me!” she cried out to the empty hallway. Bonbon dared not move or say a word. Finally the princess strode off in a fury, apparently forgetting all about Bonbon in her distress at the words of the vizier.

Bonbon closed her eyes tight.

* * *

She woke late in the morning to the sharp sunlight through the opening of her tent. Bonbon groaned and turned around. Sounds from outside suggested that the griffons were packing up their tent and preparing to move on. Bonbon remembered that they were supposed to leave too and grudgingly got up and rubbed her eyes.

Bonbon crawled out of her tent and blinked at the sunlight. Rainbow Dash was discussing something with Ethel, while Maurice was packing up the tent. There was no sign of Abigail at the moment. Lyra, however, was standing a bit off to the side, gazing sadly into the crater. She looked up when she noticed Bonbon was awake.

Bonbon’s heart took a leap up as Lyra came towards her. She looked sad, but perhaps Bonbon’s talk during the night had at least broken the silence. Bonbon looked at Lyra with equal measures of hope and sadness. “Lyra?”

Lyra looked away for a moment before facing Bonbon. “I’m sorry, Bonbon.”

“I’m sorry too,” Bonbon said and reached out a hoof to lay on Lyra’s shoulder. “I just hope we can talk.”

Lyra sighed. It felt pained. “Bonbon, I want you to go home. I’m … I’m not asking you,” she said and looked away. “I’m telling you to go home.”

Bonbon felt her breath escape her as her heart sank. She dropped her hoof. “Lyra, I—”

“I don’t want to hurt you, Bonbon, and I don’t want you to hate me.” She kept her eyes on her hooves as she spoke. “I just … I don’t know how not to hurt you or not make you hate me. I just don’t know how to … talk to you.” She looked up at Bonbon. She had tears in her eyes. “I need you to leave. I … I can’t have you here. It will only hurt you more and make you hate me more if you stay.”

“Lyra …” Bonbon struggled to regain herself. “I won’t leave you, Lyra. I love you, and … and I don’t care what’s going on or why you think I’d hate you. I would never hate you.” She stomped her hoof and tried not to cry. “I’m coming with you, Lyra. No matter how far, no matter what you say. I told you that!”

Lyra was crying openly. “Bonbon, don’t make me force you. Don’t make me ask them to carry you away. Please, just … just leave and go home. The griffons know a path you can take, and they have agreed to show you out of the mountains.”

Bonbon found no words as she stared at Lyra, only a sinking feeling of hopelessness filling her heart. “Lyra …”

“I’m sorry, Bonbon. Just … it’s better this way. I’m sorry.” She closed her eyes and turned around to leave. As the love of her life slowly walked away from her, Bonbon watched and felt more alone in the world than she ever had before, standing there in the cold snow among nothing but endless ice and rocks.

V. What Follows

Heya Twi,

We’re sending Bonbon on her way back to Ponyville. It took some convincing, but I think Lyra did the right thing there. We met a group of griffons at the crash site, friendly bunch, and one of them is showing her a safe way back through the mountains. I think she’ll need some cheering up once she gets back, so maybe you should tell Pinkie to prepare something for her.

The crash site was as we left it. I don’t know if Lyra got anything from it or the griffons, but she wanted to see it and I get the impression that’s what was important to her anyway. She’s decided to continue east across the sea when we get to the nearest griffon port, which is a few days journey north-east from here according to the griffons we met. Lyra hasn’t said anything more, but I trust her direction. It looks like it’ll be a long journey as expected.

The griffons couldn’t tell me much. Lighting Dust probably didn’t return this way after Manehattan, and the griffons haven’t been here that long, but I had to ask. Still, we’re going to be traveling through griffon territory as we head east, so I’m bound to meet others who may have seen or heard something from further south. I don’t care what it takes. I just hope I’m right.

I’m going to miss you, Twi. You don’t think you could take a few nights off from being a princess and teleport up here for me? I’ve got a tent with room enough for two, you know, if we squeeze together real tight. You know how chilly it gets up here in the mountains.

Love you and miss you.
Dash

Sorry, dear. You know I would love to go with you, but I barely have time for my own bed. There are more things to do than ever and just never enough time. It’s a good thing that Luna and I can manage most of our discussions in my dreams, it has saved me a lot of time. All that time going to waste just sleeping, finally I can use it for something productive.

But if you’re that lonely, I could always send you a plushy to keep you warm and snug. I saw they had one designed like me in the window of a shop in Fillydelphia the other day when I was visiting there. They had it in several sizes, the biggest one was almost full size.

How does that sound?

♥ Your Princess,
Twilight Sparkle, who misses you very much too.

A plushy? Are you kidding me? I’m way too cool to be sleeping with plushies. My last plushy was when I was, like, two years old.

You’re just jealous of all the little fillies who get to cuddle me at night. Are you sure I can’t tempt you? I already bought the biggest one they had. It’s very soft and cuddly.

♥ Twi

Ooooookay, this is officially weird now. You better hope none of the papers find that book and read that line out of context. Anyway, I think Lyra is done packing, so I better go grab my bag and get going. Don’t go ~~crazy~~ crazier than you already are without me. I know it’s hard to live without my awesomeness to keep you grounded, but you’ll just have to stay strong.

The book is quite safe. I devised the protection spells myself.

I did see they had a Wonderbolts line of plushies too, now that you remind me. I bet I could find a matching doll of you, my dear.

In fact, I think I shall!

♥ Twi

* * *

The light of the sun slithered across the mountains like a massive serpent of flames, coating the cruel and jagged peaks in a thin veneer of gold. It was met with a wall of gray clouds, choking the light like smoke burning with red and orange flames. Bonbon watched Lyra and Dash in the distance, and she watched in particular how Rainbow’s hoof rested on Lyra’s back as they wandered through the snow together.

Ethel and Maurice trailed along with them for the first part of the journey, loaded with their tent and bags. The two griffons intended to head in a different direction soon and leave the two alone. After that it would be just Lyra and Rainbow Dash … alone together in the mountains.

Soon they were only dots against the white blanket of the mountains. Bonbon kept watching the two dots in the middle, growing closer together as the distance between them and Bonbon increased until they were practically a single dot. Or so it seemed.

A very ugly thought entered her mind. Bonbon studied it closely, letting it sink like a growing weight in her chest and slowly fill her up with its bitterness.

She had at one time been a fan of Rainbow Dash, not all that long ago if she was honest. A member of the official fanclub and everything. She still had an autographed picture of the pegasus in a drawer back home—it used to be on the wall. Then the pegasus had won the princess’ heart without barely even making an effort, while Bonbon was doing everything to win Lyra’s heart and got nothing. It hadn’t seemed fair, but she could hardly blame the pegasus for her success, even if Bonbon wished she would get just a little piece of that luck herself.

But now Rainbow Dash was walking off with Lyra like they had known each other for years. Bonbon had known Lyra for years. Bonbon had been there all that time. Bonbon had cared, and Bonbon had been loyal. Where had Rainbow Dash been? What had she done?

Would Twilight believe Bonbon if she lied and told her that she had seen the two making out in their tent at night? What would Twilight do if she thought Rainbow Dash was really cheating on her? Perhaps she would banish the pegasus from Equestria forever, or throw her in a dungeon, or turn her to stone and use her as a lawn ornament for birds to … sit on. The growing bundle of spite in Bonbon’s chest liked that last idea.

If Bonbon could get her hooves on that book and find out how to get it open … the things she could write to the princess, who would think it was from Rainbow Dash herself. Bonbon rubbed her hoof absently, vaguely remembering the pain and the shock from trying to open the book.

But the princess might take her anger out on Lyra instead. That would not do. Bonbon’s eyes drifted to the jagged teeth of the mountains, no longer covered in gold, just snow and heavy dark clouds. They seemed to mimic Bonbons thoughts. Accidents could happen in the mountains, and ponies could get lost … or die. The thought felt like the clouds above her, and it filled her mind and weighed down on her heart. She could get rid of Rainbow Dash. She only had to sneak up on the pegasus in her sleep and—

“All packed and set to go? It’s looking like we may have some bad weather if we stay.”

Bonbon turned her head as Abigail broke her out of her thoughts. She looked down at the saddlebags still waiting for her nearby. The dark thoughts retreated slowly and left a hollow feeling in her chest. Only a second ago she had contemplated murder out of jealousy and bitterness, but the revelation didn’t shock her as she thought it would—or should.

Bonbon looked across the ice and snow to where the four dots had now disappeared entirely, lost behind a peak. She didn’t really feel anything right now. After a moment she turned around and strapped on her saddlebags without a word.

Abigail turned and walked ahead, leading the way. The griffon looked back over her shoulder as they walked, giving the crater a long and careful look. “I think it is good that we leave now. Something weighs on this place today,” the griffon remarked. “Something dark and heavy. It makes me wary. It is not a good omen.”

Bonbon nodded vaguely, lost in her own brooding thoughts.

* * *

They walked for half an hour in silence across the plains of snow and ice. A sense of sadness and a feeling of being lost slowly replaced the earlier anger Bonbon had felt weighing upon her. What was she going to do now? After all this time with Lyra in her life, albeit only as a friend, was this going to be the last she would see of the unicorn? What would she do when she got back home? What was there for Bonbon in a Ponyville without Lyra?

“We are going around the mountain here,” Abigail spoke up without looking around and pointed at the peak to their left. The cloud cover was not as thick here. “It’s a longer path, but it’s easier terrain. I’m also interested to see what I can find this way, since we’re here.”

Bonbon nodded again. She didn’t much care which path they took. It all mattered the same to her.

“I want to see if I can pick up any traces of the creature we were tracking before we came upon the crater and you three,” the griffon continued chatting. “There’s little point in hunting it now, but if I can pick up some kind of trail, I may have something to go on for our next hunt.”

Bonbon looked up, her eyes heavy. She gazed around at the endless ice and snow among jagged rocks and unforgiving stone. “What were you hunting?” she asked in a dull tone. “Why do you hunt?” The thought of hunting was strange to her. She didn’t know of any ponies who hunted other creatures, except maybe monsters from the Everfree to keep them away from Ponyville and other nearby villages.

“Most of the time we hunt to eat, but fishing is much more popular. The vast majority of the meat we consume is fish. I have never had the patience for fishing myself, although I find it a wonderful food with a million uses.”

“You strike me as a very patient griffon,” Bonbon interjected, trying not to imagine eating a fish. Wonderful was not the first word she would choose to describe the idea.

“Most certainly, in my own way. But fishing requires a very special kind of patience that I simply do not possess. It is a kind of patience which is not too different from the patience you need to write, and as you have seen, I happily employ Maurice for that. The hunting I do is a different kind of hunting. I rarely hunt for food. And since you asked, the creature we were hunting for out here was a yeti.”

“A yeti? I remember a story about a yeti and a pony who went on a grand adventure together beyond the northern mountains. My mom used to read it for me when I was a filly. I didn’t know they were real.”

“They aren’t, or so I believe. Many of my colleagues believe otherwise. They believe such a creature exists and lives in these mountains. It is described as tall and covered in white fur, which you may be excused for thinking could easily describe a polar bear standing on its hind legs. Am I right? Perhaps someone once saw such a sight—which is not a sight soon forgotten—and got a little carried away when they got back home and told about it, possibly over a drink or many.”

“I can picture that,” Bonbon said and looked around for any polar bears. On one hoof it would be a majestic sight. On the other, you might be lucky to be able to tell the tale later.

“It is also possible that we’re talking about a feral minotaur who has made these mountains his home. I believe and hope to prove that either of these explanations is the case.”

“You think you can do that?” Bonbon looked at the griffon. “How do you prove that it was just a polar bear?”

“You ask a good question, and the answer is that you never truly can, but if you look long and hard enough without finding anything but polar bears, then the chance that you’ve missed the yeti grows quite small. But that is why I hope it’s a minotaur. If I can show them a feral minotaur who fits the description, that should satisfy most of the scientific community. Of course, the biggest believers will never be satisfied unless I give them an actual yeti.”

“What if you find it really is a yeti?”

“Then I shall certainly be surprised, but also famous, and I am not adverse to that in the least.”

“Unless it’s someone else who proves that it’s a real yeti.”

“Yes, that would certainly not look good on me, but so far no one has and not many are trying. It’s a cold and unfriendly place out here, not somewhere most griffons—or ponies—would wish to spend their days, not even for the sake of fame.”

Bonbon could only agree with that. It made her wonder what a creature which looked like it was even less suited to survive in these mountains than a pony or a griffon was doing here, and seemingly without having prepared at all, if it needed to go through Lyra’s bags for clothes. She turned her head back the way they had come, following their track with her eyes. “Abigail?”

“Yes?” The griffon followed Bonbon’s gaze to find nothing but snow and ice.

“Do you think you could follow the trail of the creature I saw? The one I mentioned when we talked last night?” she asked and looked back at the griffon. “If I show you where I saw it?”

“I should think so, yes. Where did you see it?”

Bonbon thought for a moment, trying to remember the name of the mines. “We went through the Micadrift mine and came out of the Glass Bore mine. That’s where I … followed Lyra and saw the creature by a lake. If you can show me back to the mine, I think I can find it again.”

Abigail stopped and looked around. “It’ll be a detour, and the terrain is not very friendly between here and the mine. Are you sure it’s worth it? It was probably just a young dragon.”

Bonbon nodded. “I’m sure.”

“Alright, then.” Abigail turned around. “The Glass Bore Mine, you say? It’s been quite some time since I passed that way, but I should be able to find it.”

Bonbon turned and followed. Lyra hadn’t told her she couldn’t go back to the mine and look around. Bonbon wasn’t even sure why she wanted to do it, but something about the creature and the whole situation wouldn’t leave her thoughts.

* * *

Heavy gray clouds gathered once more over the mountains as they descended along narrow and treacherous paths back towards the mine entrance. Bonbon had to assume that Abigail knew the way, because this was certainly not the way they had left the mine. At times, the griffon had to carry her past particularly difficult passages, but at least they were making steady progress.

Abigail paused and rubbed her eye at a tickling snowflake. She looked up at the clouds through the falling snow and gave a little grunt which Bonbon wasn’t sure how to interpret.

They continued in silence, although with frequent glances towards the sky. After a while, Bonbon decided to break the silence again. “Do you know much about these mines?”

“Sadly, no.” Abigail took another glance at the sky. Snow was coming down harder now, and the wind was picking up. “Technically they are on Equestrian soil. The original mining company went out of business ages ago, and rights to the mines passed from business to business after that. They are currently owned by a private collector in Canterlot; can’t remember her name. A colleague of mine tried a few years ago to obtain permission to explore the mines, but the answer was a definite no.”

“Do you need permission?” Bonbon asked curiously.

“Technically, yes. It’s private property. Of course, I doubt anypony pays much attention unless someone were to start up business there again or do anything else to draw attention to it, such as publishing your findings. I doubt you need to worry about a lawsuit simply for passing through.”

“That’s something, at least,” Bonbon muttered.

They scrambled down a rough incline, and Abigail helped her down from a short cliff onto a wider path. Bonbon turned and saw the ruined mining village in the distance, clouded in white. This was the path they had taken when they left for the crater. She looked down at the hoof prints they had left behind, still barely visible under a fresh layer of snow. There were two sets of four hooves, belonging to herself and Lyra. Rainbow Dash rarely walked, even while following her earth-bound traveling companions.

Bonbon looked around and paused suddenly. They were not the only tracks. A third set of prints came from the mine, much more recently after they had left. They weren’t even pony or griffon, that much was clear even to Bonbon’s unskilled eyes.

Abigail had noticed them too and had stopped to follow them with her eyes. “These are strange tracks,” she concluded and echoed Bonbon’s thoughts exactly. The griffon turned and followed the tracks for a while in the direction away from the mine. “Perhaps you did see something unusual after all. They don’t look quite like any dragon I know, but details are hard to make out.”

“I told you,” Bonbon said firmly. She didn’t like the implication that Abigail hadn’t believed her. She wasn’t sure if this was the same creature, however. Only one thing was certain, it had followed them at least as far as from the mine.

Her thoughts drifted back to the thing that had chased them out of that mine in the first place. But the exit had been blocked by snow. Bonbon really hoped that would have been enough to keep it inside. And it had been terrified of the light, had it not?

Bonbon’s gaze turned inadvertently to the heavy gray clouds, completely blocking out the midday sun and covering the mountains here in something close to darkness. So it could have been the monster from the mine following them after they left, and not the one she had seen by the lake.

“This thing walks like no creature I have ever known,” Abigail said in a serious tone as she looked around at the tracks around them. “No sane creature, at least. I would probably say it seems confused out of its mind. It can’t seem to decide whether to walk on two or four legs, for one, and just look at these tracks …” She gestured around them.

Bonbon tried to see what the griffon wanted her to see. There were a lot of tracks, and the snow had been disturbed in several places. It did look confused. Confused was a good word for what these tracks were. They seemed to go around in circles, and here and there the creature had clearly run or scrambled back the way it had come or tried to climb up cliffs or under rocks.

It looked frightened out of its mind, Bonbon clarified to herself. Frightened was a better word.

Abigail looked around thoughtfully and once again echoed her thoughts. “I’d almost say it seems like it’s afraid of its own shadow. It’s not wounded, though—no signs of blood that I can see at least—and I can’t see any other tracks except yours; if it was itself followed or hunted, it must have been by something with wings.” She continued along the track. “This is most interesting.”

* * *

They had continued for maybe twenty minutes without getting very far. Following the confused trail took a lot of time. Bonbon looked up as something small and hard hit her back. The clouds were getting darker, the wind harder, and the snow was turning to hail now. A storm had been gathering here for a while but had reached a critical point and was now growing very fast.

Abigail too was staring up at the sky. She had been glancing up frequently for the last while, as if something was worrying her. “I think we need to find cover,” she said at last, turning her attention away from the tracks and back towards the massive storm clouds moving towards them.

It almost looked like the storm was following the same trail they were. Bonbon shivered, feeling the cold seep under her skin. “Is something wrong?” she asked but couldn’t help feeling that she somehow knew the answer already.

“I don’t think this is a natural storm.” There was a heavy silence, broken only by the deep rumble of the skies. “And I don’t think we want to be caught in the open when it passes over us.”

“Not natural? You mean—”

“It’s a magical storm. Someone’s summoning and giving it strength, and it’s been building for quite a while now. But that’s not what worries me.” A flash of white shot through the dark clouds coming towards them, and a thousand tiny dots of lightning followed in its wake, lighting up the black cloud and the air beneath it for a second, almost like stars.

“Quick!” Abigail grabbed Bonbon and pulled her away from the storm.

They rushed along the rough path, following the trail of hooves and strange circling tracks. Bonbon was confused, but the storm was moving fast, and getting caught in a storm—magical or otherwise—was generally not a good idea. “What’s wrong?” she called over the wind.

“Lightning bugs!” the griffon called back and looked around. She spotted a large mound of snow and rushed towards it. “Quick, help me dig a hole for cover.” The griffon quickly began digging a hole in the mound of packed snow.

A hissing and rumbling noise could be heard from within the approaching storm. Bonbon looked back at the dots and streaks of lightning flashing behind them now, forming a near-solid wall of dangerously blinking lights. The wind pulled at her mane, blowing it wildly behind her.

“Lightning bugs?” she called, searching her saddlebags for the small portable hoof shovels she knew she had somewhere. She found them and strapped them on quickly before digging into the dense pile of snow at speed. The shovels were small and not very sturdy, but they were better than digging with bare hooves.

“There’s a reason unicorns don’t manage your weather!” the griffon yelled back and left the digging to Bonbon as she searched her own saddlebags. “Magical weather like this tends to cause lightning bugs!”

The hissing and howling of the storm was growing stronger fast, nearly drowning out Abigail’s voice as she shouted. Bonbon didn’t dare to look back, digging as fast as she could. She wasn’t sure she would make it. The hole wasn’t very deep.

Behind her, Abigail pulled something out of her bag. “Damn it! No time. Get in the hole, now!”

Bonbon gasped as she was pushed inside the hole she had dug, the griffon right behind her. A sheet of white cloth billowed around them and settled over the entrance, shutting out the last vestiges of light outside. Bonbon squeezed herself as far into the darkness and cold of the hole as she could to make room for the griffon.

The howling and hissing hit their shelter like a wall of solid noise and shook the ground around them. Bonbon closed her eyes tight and prayed that she would live as the snow around her crumbled.

* * *

The storm raged above them, crackling with energy. Bonbon tried to hold her breath, finding it hard to breathe in the small confined space of the hole she had dug. She wondered how much longer she could stay here before she ran out of air. She tried not to think about how much snow now covered her. Had this really been a better idea than staying outside and weathering the storm? She imagined getting stung and shocked by a few hundred or thousand lightning bugs and decided that it would be certain death. But so was being buried alive under a mountain of snow and ice.

The noise of the storm passed overhead and began to fade. Bonbon listened breathlessly as the howling disappeared, slowly leaving behind a heavy silence. She waited a minute until all she could hear was the heavy beat of her heart and a low, distant rumble.

Her eyes searched the darkness around her. Carefully, afraid to disturb the snow and collapse the tunnel over herself, Bonbon turned around and dug at the snow, trying to find Abigail or the outside world. There was just barely enough room to move.

A gray light peeked through the snow as Bonbon’s hoof poked through into the open. She took a deep breath of the fresh air as she widened the hole and scrambled out of the shelter. The storm had passed and moved on. Its howling could still be heard in the distance, and Bonbon could see the dark clouds and flashes, but here the weather was calm and bits of sunlight poked through the scattered clouds.

“Abigail?” Bonbon called and coughed as she crawled the last bit out of the hole. Bits of white cloth stuck out of the snow around her. Bonbon scrambled off the mound and began digging around the opening. Her hooves moved quickly as she shoved away snow and pulled at the cloth to get it free.

Dark feathers poked through the white, a wing held up against the roof of snow. Bonbon dug into the pile and got ahold of the griffon, pulling her out of the snow. Bonbon slumped down beside her and checked her pulse. The griffon was alive but currently unconscious. Her feathers and coat had been singed badly—the hole hadn’t been quite big enough for them both after all, and Abigail had been stuck in the entrance when the lightning bugs passed over. How much worse it would have been if they had been out in the open when the swarm passed through. Bonbon winced and looked up.

The storm was still raging, but now it was ahead of them in the distance. It really did seem like it was following the same path to the crater that they had followed yesterday, the same path the creature—whatever it was—had followed. Abigail had said it was magical, but Lyra would never summon a storm, would she? Bonbon couldn’t even imagine that Lyra was capable of such magic, but who knew what Lyra was really capable of?

Bonbon sighed and stood up carefully. She looked up and around, trying to think. Something had followed them towards the crater, something which seemed frightened and confused. If it was the thing from the mine, then it didn’t like bright light. A storm would block out most of the sun. It certainly had been cloudy today, not just with the storm.

Something was following her friends, and Bonbon couldn’t imagine it had good intentions. And a storm of lightning bugs was not far behind, probably summoned by the same creature. A magical storm infested with enough lightning bugs to possibly fry a dragon.

Her thoughts drifted back to that morning at the crater, and the thoughts and emotions filling her mind and heart at the time. The ugliness made her cringe now. Those were not her own thoughts or feelings. Bonbon shook her head. No, she would never think such ugly thoughts, but she hadn’t been thinking straight all day.

Why had she left her friends? Why had she left Lyra? Because Lyra had told her to leave. Because she had threatened to force her to leave. Bonbon shouldn’t have left, but she did, and now Lyra needed help. Bonbon didn’t care what she said or thought. Bonbon was going to stick by her and help her no matter what she said! That was what she had promised back in Ponyville, was it not? To the end of the world if she had to, whether Lyra liked it or not.

She turned and looked down to find Abigail sitting up unsteadily. Bonbon held out a hoof to help the griffon up. “Do you think you can walk on your own?” she asked.

“Not very fast, and not immediately.” Her voice was hoarse. She dug around in the snow for her bags and found a small bottle. She opened it and took a long drink. “Why the hurry? The storm has passed and isn’t likely to turn back around.”

Bonbon frowned at the distant storm. “I need to catch up with my friends.”

“Your friends made it clear that you should turn around.”

“What they want and what they need are two different things. I’m not going to get turned away, especially when they’re in danger.” Bonbon gave the griffon a look, daring her to object.

Abigail raised her claws. “Well said, and by all means, don’t let me stop or delay you. I’ll follow in my own time. I’d only slow you down anyway.” She didn’t look terribly worried.

Bonbon looked around. “Are you sure that’s wise?”

“Frankly,” the griffon said and stuffed the bottle back among the other things in her bag, “I think the safest place to be right now is behind you. And I can survive better on my own, as well. It’s easier when you only have yourself to worry about, sometimes.”

Bonbon adjusted her own saddle bags a little and looked towards the storm on the horizon again. “I can’t waste any more time. Thank you for your aid.”

Abigail nodded and stood up to watch as Bonbon adjusted her weight a bit and pulled herself up. With a deep breath of determination, she turned and began trudging through the heavy snow left behind by the storm. She would find her friends and prove to them that she was worthy of their trust!

* * *

The crater loomed before her, like a dark maw in the ice and rock. As best as she could tell through the dense cloud cover, night was not far away, and a gloomy feeling hung over the place now. Bonbon wasn’t sure what it was, but she was sure that she didn’t want to stay long. Memories of ugly thoughts that were not her own surfaced. She let her bags slip off her back for a moment and allowed herself just a brief rest.

She couldn’t afford more than a moment if she wanted any chance of catching up with her friends in time. She hoped they hadn’t managed to make it too far ahead today. With the storm behind them, perhaps they had decided to take shelter somewhere.

Bonbon searched through her saddlebags. She dug out a bottle of water, some crackers and the piece of sugar she had saved from the sugar trees. She ate a few crackers quickly and downed half of the water along with a bite of the sugar. She could chew on the sugar on the way, it would give her a boost of energy which she sorely needed.

Five minutes later, Bonbon strapped her bags back on and took a deep breath. That was all the time she could spare. She turned and headed down the path in the mountains which she knew her friends had taken, and where the storm now loomed.

* * *

The storm had stopped moving. Bonbon, shaking with exhaustion and aching with the freezing wind, looked up at the prismatic flash darting across the sky underneath the dense black clouds. Dots and flashes of lightning trailed around the Wonderbolt as she attempted to tame the storm. Even from this distance, where she was barely a tiny blue dot, watching Rainbow Dash in her element was impressive. Bonbon only hoped the pegasus could handle this storm all on her own.

Remembering her purpose, Bonbon tried to ignore her body calling for rest and instead pushed on. The wind had sharp teeth and tore at her coat, but no wall of lightning bugs faced her, instead they were drawn off to chase the pegasus in the distance.

Something much worse than the storm made her pick up pace despite the pain. Bonbon wasn’t sure what it was, only that the chill on her spine could not be caused by the wind and snow alone. Something was wrong, terrifyingly wrong.

A cry of pain and a call for help from somewhere to her left made Bonbon’s ears stand to attention. She spun around and galloped over the icy ridges, stumbling into the open to find Lyra on the ground further ahead. Something loomed above her, black and strangely familiar in a way that was impossible for Bonbon to define.

The creature lashed out at Lyra, who was struggling on the ground to get away, and wrapped its limbs around her neck. Bonbon cried out and stuck her head in her saddlebag. She came back out holding a flare as the creature turned its attention to her and hissed. Bonbon stopped and struck the end of the flare hard against a nearby rock. It lit up with a sharp red flame, burning brightly in the darkness around them.

Bonbon growled incomprehensibly as she charged at the creature, the red light of the flare in her mouth reflected in her eyes. As if by some magic of good timing, the storm began to break up. The clouds fell apart and dissolved to let through the pale light of the moon.

The creature threw itself at Bonbon in defiance, for a moment lost between fury and fear of the light. Bonbon charged on and slammed into the creature, holding the flare in front of her and feeling it burn the creature. The creature howled, and fear seemed to win at last. It threw Bonbon aside before swiftly disappearing among the rocks.

Bonbon ignored it as she turned towards Lyra. She stopped and dropped the flare, which hit the snow and hissed as it kept burning in a small but growing puddle. The silvery moonlight filtered through the clouds and fell upon a shivering figure in the snow, bleeding from a wound in its shoulder. Lyra’s bags lay scattered all over the ground around it.

It was the same creature she had seen down by the lake. It was tall and almost hairless, light brown and definitely neither pony nor dragon. It was also lying naked and wounded in the freezing snow.

Bonbon’s mind stopped thinking, ignoring all the many currently unimportant questions without ready answers. She acted by instinct as she quickly rushed to the creature’s side. She dragged it off to shelter from the wind, then swiftly ran back and grabbed some of Lyra’s clothes off the ground. She wrapped the creature as best she could in the clothes to keep it warm before searching her own bags for the first aid kit to treat its wound.

She worked in a daze, treating the wound and bringing more clothes to cover the shivering and unconscious creature. It was practically covered completely now. The flare kept burning brightly behind her as she worked, quietly wondering in the back of her head if Rainbow Dash was okay. Surely the pegasus would see the burning flare if she was. Bonbon certainly couldn’t go looking for the pegasus now. She could only hope she wasn’t in need of help too.

Bonbon stood up and looked around. There wasn’t much to burn in these parts; she would have to make do with what little she had. Any fire was better than none now. She gathered what she could and used the flare to get it burning. Soon a small fire lit up the surrounding darkness.

Confused and afraid, Bonbon huddled up next to the fire and the bundle of shivering clothes. Answers would have to wait; right now she had to stay alert and wait.

* * *

Bonbon woke with a start and jumped up. She hadn’t intended to fall asleep, but exhaustion must have won out over worry. The bundle of clothes was still untouched beside her and shivering a little less than it had at first. A quiet breath from within suggested that what was snuggled up inside was currently asleep.

The fire was burning on its last fuel, but still cast a flickering light across the ice and snow. Bonbon scanned the surroundings, sure that something had woken her up, and the last thing she wanted was for the monster to attack them again while she was asleep.

Something was coming towards her, but it wasn’t the monster. It was swaying slightly and holding a hoof up to clutch its chest and shoulder. Bonbon rushed over, but Rainbow Dash waved her off and continued on her own. “Is Lyra okay?” she demanded.

“She’s sleeping,” Bonbon said quickly. Did Rainbow Dash know? About … whatever it was Lyra was? Bonbon decided the least said the better, still unsure what to even think herself. “She’s fine. Something attacked her, but I chased it off. I think it was the thing from the mine.”

Rainbow Dash noticed the bundle by the fire and seemed to relax. She turned to look at Bonbon for the first time. She looked like she had flown straight through a thundercloud, which was likely not far off, but she didn’t look seriously hurt. “The mine?” She held back a swear and frowned. “Where’s Abigail? Weren’t you two supposed to leave?” The question did not contain as much anger as it might have, had the situation been different, but it still had a sharp edge.

“She got caught in the storm and told me that she would catch up.”

“Bloody lightning bugs,” Rainbow Dash muttered and grimaced at some of her own burns. She picked up a hoof full of snow and pressed it against her side, giving a sigh at the cooling effect.

“Anyway, I saw that something was following you from the mine and decided to head back and warn you. It looks like I showed up just in time.”

Rainbow Dash glanced at the bundle again, then around at the mountains. She sighed. “Yeah, thanks. I guess I owe you one.” She looked at Bonbon awkwardly. “It’s still up to Lyra whether you can stay, though. I will have to tell you to leave if she says to, even if you did save our flanks.”

“I’m not leaving her again,” Bonbon said firmly. “And I intend to tell her that myself when she wakes up. You’ll have to drag me off and lock me up to keep me away!”

Rainbow Dash looked at her long and hard, making it clear that she would do just that if it came to it. Bonbon hoped it wouldn’t. Rainbow Dash broke the gaze and turned around. “I’m going to sleep. Thanks again.”

Bonbon watched her as she began setting up her tent. “Rainbow Dash, I have to ask … You and Lyra, you aren’t …?”

Rainbow Dash gave her a quizzical look. “What?” She glanced at Lyra, then back at Bonbon. Her eyes lit up in understanding. “Hay no! I’d never cheat on Twilight. Ever!” She turned around. “And not just ’cause she would totally turn me into an orange and then peel me very slowly if she found out.”

“I’ll trust you,” Bonbon said after a moment and settled down with a sigh next to the bundle. She looked into the fire longingly.

Rainbow Dash kept watching her for a while. “Hey,” she said after some time. “If it helps, I really think Lyra likes you too. I just don’t think she’s ready. Give her time, and don’t be so damn pushy. You’re really, really pushy, you know that?”

Bonbon didn’t reply. She kept staring into the fire as the pegasus crawled into her tent and rolled up, obviously trying to conceal her groans of pain. As silence fell over the camp, Bonbon’s mind finally turned its attention to what was currently sleeping under a pile of clothes beside her, and all the many questions without answers.

* * *

Bonbon opened her eyes. It felt like she had barely closed them, but the sun was now peeking above the horizon, so it must have been longer. Rainbow Dash was still sleeping in her tent nearby. Bonbon hadn’t bothered setting up her own tent, simply wrapping herself in a blanket as she kept watch next to the bundle of clothes. The fire had long since burned out, but at least the monster had not returned again. Bonbon wondered where it was hiding and whether it would be troubling them again. She only had one more flare and nothing more to burn.

She turned and looked at the bundle of clothes. There was no movement or sound coming from it, but Bonbon knew something was still wrapped up within. The question was what she would find if she pulled away the layers. Bonbon was almost afraid to find out, afraid to confirm what she already knew but didn’t quite know how to accept.

So that was what Lyra hid under all her gold and lies. It didn’t answer many questions at all, only provided a wealth of other questions. Bonbon stared at the horizon before nudging the bundle with a hoof. “Lyra?”

The bundle gave a frightened whine and tensed at her touch, more tense than it already was. Bonbon imagined if she tensed any more she would probably turn into a rock.

Bonbon sighed. “Lyra, you can stop hiding what you are from me. I saw what happened tonight. I think I deserve to hear the truth. It’s the moonlight that does it, isn’t it?” Lyra never came out at night except when it was overcast and foggy. Bonbon couldn’t be sure, but it made more sense than anything else she could think of.

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Lyra whispered. Her voice was desperate, begging Bonbon to believe her. “I-I don’t know what you thought you s-saw. You must have been dreaming.”

“Lyra, if you say one more lie, I won’t be held responsible for what I’ll do! Perhaps I’ll tie you up and show everypony the truth.” She grabbed the clothes and pulled them off. Lyra—looking just like Bonbon remembered her, with four hooves and a minty coat—huddled up like a foal, avoiding Bonbon’s eyes. “Does Rainbow Dash know?”

“K-know wh—”

“Lyra!”

Lyra sobbed and shook her head without looking at Bonbon. “P-please don’t hurt me,” she cried.

Bonbon reached out a hoof to rub her shoulder, but Lyra immediately pulled away from it. She lowered the hoof slowly. “Why in Equestria would I hurt you? I saved you from that monster, and I treated your wounds and gave you clothes to keep you warm.” She reached out again, managing to place a hoof on the shivering pony’s back. “I’ve known you for years, Lyra. How many times must I say that you can tell me anything?”

“P-please don’t tell her,” Lyra sniffed.

“Rainbow Dash?”

A quiet nod and a sob.

“Okay, I promise. I won’t tell anypony anything,” Bonbon said. “But then you have to tell me everything. No more secrets, do you hear me?”

“Y-you promise you won’t hurt m-me?” Lyra looked up at her through tearful eyes.

“Pinkie Swear! With cupcakes in the eyes and all that nonsense.” Bonbon stood up slowly to not frighten the wreck of a pony and pointed at a hill not far away. “Come on, let’s find a place where we can talk in private.” She held out a hoof to help Lyra up. The unicorn watched it like she still expected it to turn into a snake and bite her, then took it gingerly and stood up.

Bonbon picked up a hoodie from the pile and wrapped it around Lyra’s shoulders. “There.” She tried to smile to cheer Lyra up a little, but it didn’t seem to have any effect. She placed a hoof around Lyra’s back, and together they walked slowly towards the hill as the sun rose above the mountains, painting the white caps in gold and orange. “Come on, Lyra. It’ll help to get it off your chest, believe me.”

VI. The Curse of a Humble Soul

Nothing was said for a very long time. Lyra sat next to Bonbon on the hill a little way away from the camp, hugging herself and avoiding looking at anypony or anything. She looked tense, ready to spring. Occasionally a tiny whisper of a sound escaped her lips, but when Bonbon turned to look at her, she was still sitting there looking at the snow. Bonbon remembered Rainbow Dash’s admonition to not be too pushy with Lyra and waited patiently for Lyra herself to speak up.

Minutes passed. The sun rose steadily higher. Down by the burnt-out campfire, Rainbow Dash had awoken and—seeing the two of them sitting up on the hill—gone about preparing herself breakfast and packing up their scattered items. Bonbon watched idly as the pegasus went through the messy clothes, shaking her head once in a while at the wet and cold garments before wrapping them up neatly in a pile. Bonbon was amused to find the famous daredevil so meticulous with such a mundane task. Perhaps Twilight had actually had a positive influence on her after all. Was such a thing even possible? But if a princess couldn’t work miracles, who could?

After a while, Bonbon gave up and looked at Lyra. It didn’t look like the unicorn was going to pull herself together enough to get the conversation started, so Bonbon decided to give it a nudge. “So, you turn into some kind of creature at night.” She watched Lyra trying to look even smaller than she already did, staring even harder at the distance as if that was where she really wanted to be right now. Bonbon continued. “That’s what I saw on Hearth’s Warming out in the woods, and it was why you had to trick us in the mines so you could escape without being seen.”

Lyra nodded almost imperceptibly, still not looking anywhere at Bonbon.

Bonbon nodded as well. They were making some progress now. “Does anypony know?”

Lyra shook her head very slowly and hugged herself a little tighter.

“How long?” Bonbon tried with a question that couldn’t be answered with a simple nod or shake of the head, hoping to gently spur Lyra to talk a little. “How long has this been happening to you?” she elaborated in case it hadn’t been clear.

“Always.” Lyra’s voice was very small, as if she was afraid anyone but herself would overhear it. “As long as I can remember.” She seemed to wake up a little, now that the words were out in the open. “I was born this way.”

Bonbon thought for a moment. She had so many questions, all of them pushing for a chance to be asked, but she had to try to take them one at a time for the sake of her own sanity, not to mention Lyra’s nerves. The poor pony didn’t look like she could handle more than one at a time and might panic at a moment’s notice if pushed too hard. She was almost shaking too much to speak. “And your parents, are they like this too?”

Lyra looked down, her eyes tearing up. She lifted a hoof to rub a tear away and sniffed. “I don’t know anything about my parents.” She fell silent again, staring at her hooves, but something seemed to be on Lyra’s mind and wanting to get out. Bonbon waited for her to continue.

“My first memory is of a mane stylist from Canterlot called Golden Braid. Much later I went back to find her, and some others, to hear what they all remembered. I was just a foal, so most of this isn’t my own memory. Anyway, Golden found me outside the back of her salon one morning, just a helpless foal sleeping in the street. She brought me inside and took care of me while she tried to find out where I belonged. When she hadn’t found or heard anything that evening when she closed up shop, she took me home with her.

“She fed me, wrapped me in a blanket and put me to bed. I’ve had to tell myself later that she was probably very kind to me, because—” Lyra shivered and closed her eyes at some memory. “That night I woke up crying, as foals do, right? Only, when Golden came to see what was causing me to cry, what she found was not a pony. To this day she still thinks some horrible monster took that poor foal away in the night. My first memory—and it’s all I remember from that night—is this frantic mare screaming terrible curses at me while beating me with a broom.”

Bonbon stared in horror and sympathy at her friend. “How did you live like that? What happened next? Did she call the guards?”

Lyra poked the snow with a hoof. “Apparently the ‘monster’ kept ‘screeching’ and then vanished in a flash of golden light. That’s what she told me later, anyway. She galloped out of the house to tell a passing guard, but by then both foal and monster were gone.”

“But … wait, what? You just … disappeared?” Bonbon stared at Lyra’s hoof drawing circles in the snow. This was all a lot to take in, but it had to make sense somehow.

“Magic is the only way I have been able to explain that,” Lyra agreed. “Unicorn foals can have these things called surges when their magic begins to develop. They are often chaotic and powerful releases of magic. All I remember is the screaming and beating, and I guess as a foal that’s as good a time as any to have a surge and disappear, right? When you’re frightened out of your mind and ponies are screaming at you. It’s not a spell I have ever actually mastered, but Twilight teleports all the time. It’s apparently not all that hard, if you believe her. Anyway, somehow I always ended up back in the streets.”

Bonbon stretched her back a little and rolled her shoulders to work out the tenseness building in her neck. The last thing she wanted was a headache from all of this. “You can do magic in that form? Without a horn?”

Lyra watched her out of the corner of an eye, then nodded and returned to hugging herself. “I use my hands to control the magic instead; it’s not all that different. In fact it’s a little easier to control with hands, because I can actually perform the tiny movements I imagine in my head—it’s a bit like playing strings, actually—but the horn makes it more potent than with hands. It’s hard to explain to a non-unicorn, you know?”

She looked up and waved a hoof thoughtfully in the air while speaking, now with a faint but sudden enthusiasm. “Everything has a natural resonance, a tone if you like. Magic is about resonating with something and then, um, moving along with it, changing it along with you. Maybe it’s my affinity for music, but I think of it like plucking strings, only the strings are often much larger and it’s more like a dance with strings.” She looked at Bonbon while making a dancing motion with her hooves and upper body, looking to see if Bonbon got what she was talking about.

Bonbon just nodded blankly, and Lyra continued, staring ahead while talking. “Strings resonate too, and once you have the right string you can change how it resonates, make it sound different.” Her hoof lifted up to touch her horn absently. “A unicorn’s horn actually physically resonates with what you manipulate. It feels a little funny, like sort of a quiet humming in your head and spine, but it’s not unpleasant with most magic. Some magic can be very pleasant and relaxing, actually.” She blushed a little and lowered her hoof again. “Um, but that’s the big difference with hands, you see? Hands don’t resonate quite like a horn does, so the magic is weaker, but I have better control because I can … pluck the resonance very precisely.”

Bonbon smiled. She had never had the slightest clue how unicorns did their magic, and she didn’t honestly expect it was something she ever could understand. Not really, at least, but it was certainly interesting to hear Lyra describe it. She held out a hoof to stop Lyra. “Lyra? I think you’re getting a little sidetracked.”

“Oh …” Lyra’s ears flattened and she looked down again, hugging herself once more. Bonbon was almost sad to see the brief enthusiasm killed. No doubt Lyra found it more enjoyable to talk about magic and music than her childhood memories. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, you don’t need to be sorry,” Bonbon assured her and settled her hoof back down. “It was very interesting.”

Lyra’s eyes examined her hoof with an absent gaze as she rubbed it idly, then nodded. “Anyway, I spent a lot of my childhood between homes. Ponies would find me in the streets, bring me home or to an orphanage, and when they saw my real face at night they would freak out and so would I. And when I was scared I would disappear again in a surge of wild magic.

“It confused and frightened a lot of ponies. The papers at the time had all these stories about a foal-snatching monster, which didn’t help. Ponies freaked out even worse when they saw me at night because of the stories and rumors floating around. But it soon died down, because I very quickly learned to hide myself during the night and not draw attention. Have you ever walked around Canterlot? Thankfully it’s a very large city where it’s easy to hide and easy to be forgotten.

“You can imagine why I never wanted to show anypony my real face ever again.” She looked away from Bonbon, a painful look on her face. “I never want anypony to know of me as anything but a fellow pony.” She looked tense again, ready to cry or maybe even lash out at Bonbon. “I never wanted you to know!”

“You had to know it would happen, Lyra,” Bonbon said carefully. Something told her that the idea of making Bonbon ‘disappear’ had crossed Lyra’s mind at least once. She doubted Lyra would act on it, but Bonbon had felt similar dark hostility towards Rainbow Dash the previous morning and knew how it felt. Bonbon was a threat to Lyra’s carefully protected life, a threat to her happiness and security. “It’s better to get it out than keep it inside you forever,” Bonbon added.

Lyra said nothing. Bonbon could see her thinking. She waited, letting Lyra have a few minutes of silence to calm back down. After a while, Bonbon took the chance and said, “You mentioned your ‘real face’?” Bonbon kept her voice soft.

Lyra nodded stiffly, still barely moving and keeping her voice only slightly above hearing. “I am not a pony. I’m … What I am, it’s called a human. The moonlight shows what I really am. Still waters show the opposite face, so at night it shows a pony and at day a human. Running water and mirrors don’t work that way. I have no idea why.”

Bonbon recalled seeing Lyra as a pony in the waters of the lake the other night just before she ran into … Lyra as a human. She was sure she had seen Lyra in mirrors many times and never noticed anything like that. “Are there many like you?” Bonbon was confused, but also drawn to find out more. “I have never heard of humans before.”

“I don’t know. No pony has heard of humans, maybe not even Celestia and Luna. There are some scattered pieces of lore if you know what to look for, but we are all but forgotten now.” Lyra looked up a bit to stare at the distant sky. “I have been looking all my life, but for all I know I am the only human left.” She shook her head as if to herself. “To tell the truth it’s a great mystery. Am I getting ahead of myself?”

Bonbon smiled and reached out to rub Lyra’s back, hoping the gesture would calm her down rather than make her more tense. “Take your time.”

Lyra nodded and did seem to calm a little. “When I got a little older, I was taken in by an elderly stallion. Arcane Script was his name, and he taught ancient languages at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. His wife and daughter left him many years before, and I think we filled a hole in each other’s life. He is as much a father to me as anypony could be, but he is very old now.

“Living with Arcane was the best thing that ever happened to me. He was old, easily distracted and forgetful. He also never bothered me, which made it easy for me to hide my true self. He taught me to read and write, as well as magic and all the other stuff you learn in school. I quickly discovered my love of ancient songs and stories, and I began pouring myself into studying all the pre-Equestrian ballads and epic legends I could to find some trace of who and what I was.”

Lyra paused to pull on the hoodie Bonbon had slung around her back when they came up here. She stuck her head out of the neck and pulled the hood back as she adjusted the sleeves.

Bonbon watched her, glad to see a little life and movement from her friend. “Did you ever find out anything about them from all your studies?”

Lyra looked up and saw Rainbow Dash coming towards them. “Yes, but it was not easy. All the stories and songs now are about ponies, even when they are really about … you know,” she said carefully as the pegasus approached them.

“Hey,” Rainbow Dash said. “Not to disturb you gals, but I’ve packed up everything, and if we want to reach the sea we gotta get going soon. Is Bonbon coming?” She gave Lyra a careful look which said she should not be afraid to speak her mind.

Lyra nodded and stood up slowly. “Yes, I … think we’ve come to an understanding,” she said and looked at Bonbon briefly, though she avoided her eyes. She looked back at Rainbow Dash and added with a forced smile, “You’re right, we should be going. We’ve run out of wood, and the creature that attacked us might still be after us. The sooner we find some civilization, the better.”

Rainbow Dash nodded and turned around. Lyra followed more slowly, with Bonbon close behind.

* * *

Dear Rainbow Dash,

Just a quick note to tell you that Trixie escaped from jail a few hours ago. The guards don’t know if she is still within Manehattan, and they are still trying to work out what happened. I ordered them not to pursue her unless she causes another disturbance. Truthfully, I do not believe she was guilty of anything except being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and I expect she’ll be staying low for a while. She genuinely didn’t seem to remember what happened, and I feel like it’s hard enough as it is for her to get back on her hooves with what she did in Ponyville.

♥ Your Princess,
Twilight Sparkle.

Hey Twi,

You’ve always been way too forgiving of Trixie, if you ask me. But I guess you’re right. That’s why you’re the princess. I just can’t believe she escaped me. And after everything else. Does Spitfire know about this whole thing? Silly me, of course she does. I bet the whole Academy knows how Trixie beat me.

Anyway, Bonbon’s back and apparently saved Lyra last night. They’re talking right now, all private-like, so I don’t know if she’ll stay. I’ll let you know if we decide to send her back … again.

I should go get them moving. I love you, Twi.

Dash

Spitfire is keeping things quiet, and so am I. Don’t worry, dear. We both understand how difficult this is for you, and you know we’re both supportive. You do what you need to do, and I know you’ll come through in the end. Since when does Rainbow Dash ever lose, right? And no matter what happens, you know I’ll always love you.

♥ Twi

P.S. Remember, it’s Scootaloo’s big day tomorrow. Princess Luna invited her to Canterlot, so be sure to think of her. I’m almost as excited as she is, but unfortunately I have my own duties keeping me busy this weekend.

* * *

Bonbon was exhausted, not just physically—she hadn’t had much sleep and had been trotting all of the previous day, and much of the night too—but mentally as well. Dealing with the night’s revelation and Lyra’s story was tiring her more than she wanted to let on. She was glad to have a break from the conversation to just think as she walked. She could have done without the walking, but Lyra and Rainbow Dash were right, they needed to find civilization as soon as possible.

The landscape had nothing to offer but endless snow, ice, and rocks. It was a wasteland of sharp edges and slippery surfaces, and it was getting more difficult to traverse as they turned towards the north-east. The wind got colder too, and Bonbon had been forced to put on another scarf. Lyra had her hoodie, of course.

According to Rainbow Dash, the griffons had directed them to a village on the shore somewhere north-east of the crater. From there they would cross the sea by ship. Bonbon wondered where they were going and why, but she had enough to do just walking and trying not to think about everything at once. The howling wind made conversation difficult in any case, and Lyra prefered to talk very quietly about the whole thing, which was even more impossible here.

They had decided to walk all day without stop. As evening approached, the wind calmed and the sky cleared. Lyra insisted they set up camp early, and Bonbon could not deny that she was happy for the suggestion. Rainbow Dash looked like she would have liked to continue, but dutifully followed Lyra’s command. Bonbon once again wondered how much exactly Lyra had paid her, but filed it off for later, along with so many other questions.

They continued for ten minutes along a frozen river before settling down on the thick ice where the river cut its way between two walls of rock. It was dark down among the rocks, a good place to hide from both wind and wandering eyes in the night. Bonbon set up her tent along with the others.

“I’ll take first watch,” Rainbow Dash said as she dug around in her bags for a can of beans and some crackers. “You two get some rest soon. I’ll wake you up sometime in the night.” The last part was directed at Bonbon.

Bonbon searched her own bag and came back up holding the small bell and the last of her flares. “Here. They both saved our tails once before.”

Rainbow Dash took them and examined the flare, turning it around in her hooves. “Right.”

“If that thing comes back tonight,” Bonbon added as she sat down, “I want you to shove that flare as far down its throat as you can for me.”

Rainbow Dash gave her a toothy grin. “What, the throat? Come on, you think I don’t have a better place to shove something like this?” She turned around and picked up the can of beans. “Who’s up for beans?”

Lyra stuck out her tongue and sat down. She hadn’t said anything all day since they set out again, but no words were needed along with that particular expression.

Rainbow Dash shrugged and opened the can. “No fire, no cooking, ladies. Get used to the wild, ’cause we’ll be seeing a lot of it.”

* * *

Pebbles stood in the door whining, his tail between his legs and ears flat against his head. Bonbon stepped past the dog as she left their humble cottage in the hills and fields. The world outside was yellow and brown, with nothing to offer the eye but dry summer grasses and thirsty shrubs for miles. She looked up at the castle on the hill. Rays of dull yellow light sifted through the ashen clouds to bake the proud stones. The pale sun gleamed in the armor of the guards lining the walls. Bonbon could not see their faces.

Waves of heat and sounds of crackling carried across the plains. Bonbon turned to follow the empty stares of the guards on the distant walls. The wind drove the smoke like a solid wall of white before it, heralding a world of red and orange in its wake. The ground was fire and flame, unstoppable and hungry for anything in its path.

Pebbles pawed at her and whined up at her, eyes big, brown and wet with worry. Bonbon eyed the wide barren circle around the cottage, meticulously cleared of all grass and shrubs. She patted the dog on the head and turned, hurrying around to the back of the house. She pulled the door to the cellar open and ushered the dog down into the gloom, following right behind.

Bonbon shut the door behind them. Darkness filled the world for a moment, then a flame lit it back up and illuminated the stone cellar. Bonbon held up the torch and turned, walking down the steps into the underground shelter.

A heavy knocking echoed down through the cellar from the door. Bonbon blinked and turned around, holding up the torch in the dark. For a moment she hesitated, then she hurried back up the stairs and pushed the door open to the outside.

Bonbon had seen the princess only from afar, a few times when she delivered her products at the castle. The princess had always been surrounded by her personal guard when Bonbon had seen her. Now the young princess was outside her door, but not for long. Before Bonbon could open her mouth, the princess had glanced back over her shoulder once, then hurried right past Bonbon and into the cellar. “They are coming!” she announced behind Bonbon. “Thou shalt be honored to hide us and offer us protection, peasant.”

The door creaked shut and Bonbon turned around in a daze. She stood at the top of the stairs, staring down into the cellar where the princess was looking around, scrutinizing the place.

A ringing in the air made both of them turn around at the same time.

* * *

Bonbon blinked awake and opened her eyes to stare at the inside of her tent. She lay for a few moments before turning around and sitting up just as Rainbow Dash poked her head inside.

“Oh, good, you’re awake,” the pegasus said. She looked groggy as she stepped back from the entrance of the tent. “It’s your turn to watch. This pony needs her sleep!”

Bonbon yawned and crawled out from under her blankets, not that she had any desire to. “Did you fall asleep? I heard a bell ringing.”

“You think I can’t stay awake? Because I could stay awake all night if I had to,” Rainbow Dash said with a snap of her tail to accentuate the part about all night. She was clearly grumpy from lack of sleep and having to sit around for hours alone in the dark. “For your information I was … practicing … juggling. Yes, juggling.”

“With the bell?” Bonbon raised an eyebrow.

“Yes!” Rainbow Dash disappeared into her tent, poking her head out briefly to say, “Goodnight.” And with that she was gone. It didn’t take long before the low noise of her snores and contented whinnies told Bonbon that she was soundly asleep.

Bonbon shook her head and sat down, wrapping herself in her blanket as she picked up the bell and stared into the night. She almost jumped with fright at a sound behind her and turned around to look at Lyra’s tent. An eye looked out at her from the tiny opening in the tent.

“Um, do you … think it’s okay if I come out?” Lyra’s voice sounded from within the tent, almost a whisper. “Only, if you don’t want to see me like this, I don’t blame you.” The eye looked down.

Bonbon wasn’t sure what she should expect. Seeing Lyra like that had been a bit of a shock, and only the chaos of the situation had stopped her from freaking out, most likely. Here in the calm of the night, she honestly wasn’t sure how she would take it. But she had wanted the truth from Lyra for years. It was why she had followed her all the way out here.

Bonbon nodded faintly. “Come on out if you like,” she said and moved aside a little to make room for Lyra.

There was a long pause and silence, except for Rainbow’s steady snore. Lyra hesitated for almost a minute—Bonbon found herself counting the seconds—then she carefully opened the tent fully and crept out into the light of the moon. She was dressed in thick clothes and a hood, but there was no way she could hide that she was not a pony at the moment. She stood there rigidly, like an animal caught in a light.

Bonbon stared at her. She would have been ashamed of her manners if she had been able to think about anything except what she was looking at. Lyra was certainly tall, standing fully upright on her hind legs. Bonbon could see now that she still had her mane, sort of, and it was the same color at least. Bonbon leaned to the side and looked behind Lyra. “Where’s your tail?” were her first words. All the creatures Bonbon could think of off the top of her head had some kind of tail. Maybe Lyra’s was just very small and hidden under the clothes.

Lyra sat down uncertainly beside Bonbon. “I … don’t have a tail,” she said. “Only when I’m a pony,” she added and went quiet for a moment before continuing, “And please don’t talk too loudly. I don’t want Rainbow Dash to hear us talking.”

Bonbon nodded vaguely, still studying the creature sitting next to her. The creature who was Lyra. “She won’t hear anything as long as she’s snoring like that,” she said absently. Lyra was fiddling with the string of her hoodie. Bonbon studied her hands curiously. Twilight’s assistant Spike had claws, and griffons did too, but these were more like those of a minotaur. Bonbon remembered attending a show by a minotaur named Iron Will once, but they weren’t very common in Equestria. Most ponies considered them monsters. What would they think of Lyra, then?

“I woke up to the bell,” Lyra said. “I sleep very lightly. I thought you would like some company. Do you … mind my company?”

There was nothing minotaur about her face though, Bonbon thought as she continued her scrutiny of Lyra. It was flat, hardly any muzzle at all. Her eyes were smaller, but still the same bright amber that Bonbon fell in love with years ago. Something always sparkled within them, even when she wasn’t smiling. “I’m glad you’re here,” she said without really thinking about it.

Lyra looked at her, searching the depths of her eyes. “Do you … really mean that?” She sniffed as a tear ran down her cheek.

“I admit it’s strange,” Bonbon said and looked down at Lyra’s legs. They were long and slender and ended not in hooves, but … feet, she supposed. Again a bit like Spike, only not really any claws to speak of. No scales at all either, just pale skin. “And I don’t know what to think or feel, but …” She looked up again, catching Lyra’s eyes. “I’m glad that I finally feel like I’m starting to know you, the real you. Even if I never imagined anything like this.”

“I’m sorry,” Lyra said and looked at her hands. “For all the lies.”

They sat in silence for a while. Finally Bonbon broke it. “I guess I can see now why you lied.”

“I never wanted it to be like this. I never wanted anypony to know anything.” Lyra almost cut her off. “I have always told lies. I just want ponies to like me and be happy, so I keep the truth to myself because it makes people angry and scared. It’s never been a problem. When I tell ponies about my family in Canterlot they listen and smile, and then we talk about something else or go our separate ways. It’s always been fine. No one ever wondered if it was the truth, no one ever asked to meet them, or I would just give them an excuse and they’d forget it.”

“Except me,” Bonbon muttered.

Lyra looked at her for a second, then back at her hands with a sort of hopeless frustration. “I always knew how to deal with other ponies. I just talked to them and made them smile and we’d be friends, as long as they didn’t know the truth. I just made up something nice instead and everypony was happy that way. But you … I never knew how to deal with you. At first I figured you’d just lose interest or give up, but you never did.” Her voice became a little higher. “You kept pushing, and I just couldn’t get myself to tell you off.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know.” Lyra sighed and rested her face in her hands. “I was afraid that you’d be angry at me, or sad. I never want to make another pony sad or angry. Rainbow Dash is right, I am too nice for my own good, but I just can’t tell off other ponies. I’m not tough like you or Rainbow Dash.”

Bonbon turned her gaze away from Lyra at last, staring instead at the snow and ice around them. Beside her, Lyra went quiet. After a while, the words slowly escaped Bonbon, “Lyra, did you ever love me?” She wasn’t sure why she asked it now. Did it matter? “When I confessed to you, what … how did you feel?”

Lyra rolled the string of her hoodie between her fingers and looked down. “I’m not even a pony, Bonbon,” she said. “I don’t even know any of my own kind. I don’t think that I could ever find love.”

Could Bonbon? Now that she had seen what Lyra really was, what did she even feel? She had loved Lyra the pony, but she was just an illusion.

Lyra looked up a little, but not really at Bonbon. “I was sad to leave you. I didn’t want to,” she said. “But I should have done it earlier, before it became so difficult. I’ve always liked you, and you’ve always been my best friend, even if I could never tell you the truth before. I may not have been able to love you, but I’ve always liked you.”

Bonbon wasn’t sure what to do or say. She picked up the little bell and held it between her hooves, staring at her distorted reflection in it.

* * *

Morning came without any sign of the thing that had attacked them the previous night. They set out shortly after dawn in order to make as much progress as possible before nightfall. Bonbon was beginning to wish that she was in better shape, but possibly this sort of non-stop trotting through ice and snow would wear out just about anypony.

Not Rainbow Dash, though. The pegasus was up front, leading the way with enthusiasm. This left Bonbon and Lyra trailing behind, but neither of them said much for most of the day. Bonbon wasn’t sure where to even begin. Perhaps she was afraid. If she asked, what would she learn? She had wanted the truth for so long, but now she didn’t even know what to do with it or whether she would have been better off ignorant.

She looked up at the sky and sighed. The wind was getting harder and the cold worse, but the sky was clear at least. If it stayed clear, that meant they might have to set up camp early again if they couldn’t reach the village before nightfall. That would mean less walking, which was good, but also another night in the wild with something possibly still following them. Bonbon glanced back over her shoulder but saw nothing.

The day progressed slowly. It was probably around dinner time when they skidded down a slope and found themselves on a road. Not far from there, a rough stone bridge crossed a gorge. Bonbon could hear the rumble and roar of a waterfall and smell the unmistakable scent of the sea in the air. The knowledge that they were on the right track and now close to sea raised her spirit, despite her aching legs.

“Alright!” Rainbow Dash cheered and grinned at them. “Come on, slowpokes. Let’s race to the sea!”

They watched as she raced ahead. Bonbon shook her head before following next to Lyra, both of them dragging their hooves slightly.

Crossing the bridge, they both paused to look over the edge at the water falling through the narrow crack in the rocks. Bonbon stared at the glittering sides of the rock and down into the deep crevice where the water disappeared into the sea.

“So,” she began, breaking the silence at last, “what have you learned about humans? You said you searched for stories about them.”

Rainbow Dash was far ahead. Lyra watched her before turning back to Bonbon as they walked. “Ever since I learned to read,” she said. She seemed reluctant to speak. “The story I told you about Humble and her sister—”

“You never told me how that ended,” Bonbon said with a nod as she recalled the story.

“I’m not even sure why I told you the beginning, actually,” Lyra said and looked down. “I was going to make certain changes to the story, but there’s no point now. Humble and her sister Melodious were human princesses. Their mother, the queen, ruled the only human empire at the time and kept peaceful relations with the pony kingdoms surrounding them.”

“I had a dream about her,” Bonbon muttered. The sea was visible now as they rounded a cliff and came out onto a wide path running along the mountainside overlooking the ocean. Large floes of ice crashed with the waves against the cliffs below.

“What?” Lyra looked at her as if she didn’t believe what Bonbon had just said. “About who?”

Bonbon looked out to sea where Rainbow Dash was a small but happy dot frolicking above the waves under the open sky. Pegasi, she thought. Never satisfied with the ground. “Humble, except she was a pony,” she explained. “She was trying to seduce some prince. Then the prince’s vizier cursed her or something. I woke up after that.”

Lyra stared at her, the sea totally forgotten.

“I’m sure my mind just made it up because I remembered your story,” Bonbon said as they continued along the path. She thought for a moment before adding, “Did all humans turn into ponies during the day?”

“No,” Lyra managed. “Your dream is surprisingly prescient, you know that? Are you sure you don’t know the story already?” She gave Bonbon a suspicious look.

Bonbon felt a sudden tension in Lyra and slowed down. Had she said something wrong or pushed too far? She didn’t want to ruin things again. “Absolutely sure. I swear. Lyra, what’s wrong?”

Lyra watched her, then looked ahead tensely. “No, humans did not turn into ponies in those days,” she continued as they walked. “Not without magic, anyway. When Humble returned without her sister, she wasted no time blaming the ponies for the disappearance of her sister, and her father. She blamed the ponies for her mother’s ill health, and for withholding the wonders of the great mountain from the other races.”

“The mountain?” Bonbon’s brow furrowed as she thought back. “That was where the Roc nested, according to the myth you told me.”

“Yes. The mountain was home to the bringer of light and therefore the most sacred place of all. Its lower slopes were home to the pegasus tribes because they were the only ones who could reach it without magic, and they protected it. Gates existed on the ground, but these were zealously guarded by the ponies. Humble wanted to claim these gates and the mountain from the ponies, so she spread lies about them.”

Bonbon shook her head. “Very humble.”

“Humble led her people to believe that the ponies were evil and up to no good, but the humans didn’t have anywhere near the numbers or strength to take on all the ponies directly. So Humble devised another plan. Using ancient knowledge, she brewed a magic potion which would turn her into a pony. Using this potion, she moved among ponies and spread lies and hatred, turning pony against pony. She got into all the pony courts disguised as a foreign pony princess and seduced their rulers, convincing them that the pegasi of the mountain and the empires holding the gates were scheming against the low-land empires.”

“So that’s what I dreamt about,” Bonbon said idly while listening to Lyra’s tale.

“As difficult as that is to believe, yes.” Lyra gave her another careful look. She didn’t seem happy about Bonbon’s dream, like she thought Bonbon knew more than she led on and was trying to trick Lyra. Bonbon made a note to be careful with any mentions of that in the future.

“Humble was doing quite well at causing strife,” Lyra continued, “until the vizier in one of the empires recognized her for what she was and what she had done. The details are a bit scarce here, but the vizier cursed Humble and all of her family. Since humans didn’t trust ponies, and ponies didn’t trust humans, all thanks to Humble, the vizier gave her the cursed form of both races so that she herself would never be trusted or welcomed anywhere she went. And her family with her.”

Bonbon stared at the sea as she thought it all over. “So you’re related to Humble?”

“It’s the only explanation that makes sense, isn’t it?” Lyra said with a little nod. “Humble ran away, and I’m sad to say I have no idea what became of her or her family. Her poison had already caused strife and mistrust. War broke out between the ponies, and between humans. The humans were outnumbered and leaderless. Their empire crumbled, and for all I can tell they … are no more, or at least ponies haven’t known about them for thousands of years.

“Humble disappeared from all records, her family was hunted and driven into the wild or who knows where, her empire crumbled, and her race and name became nothing but a curse uttered by ponies, then eventually forgotten entirely.

“Humble Soul, her very name became a curse,” Lyra said with an absent gaze at the sky. “Humble Soul is a translation, remember? Sometimes it is rendered as Modest Soul instead, or other similar names. In the old tongue it was Humilis Anima. Over time, as her name was spat and used as profanity, it became shortened. Human. I suppose technically that only refers to her and her cursed descendants, those who were burdened with both forms, but I don’t know what they were called before the curse.”

Bonbon was about to say something when Lyra continued suddenly. “Humilis Anima … Humble Soul. It’s a poor translation, see? Far too nice. Humilis typically meant something low or mean, something negative, and anima means soul or something living. Humilis Anima … Low Life.” She looked down with a frown. “That’s what humans became. Lowlife. All because of one human’s evil.”

She cut off Bonbon again before she could speak. “I can see the city now. If we make haste, we can get there before the sun sets.” She pointed across the water to a collection of buildings in the distance, sitting high upon the rocks on the other side of a wide bay. Without another word, Lyra picked up pace and trotted on down the road.

Rainbow Dash was still ahead of them, flying low above the water in the same direction. Bonbon looked back at the path behind them before letting out a sigh and picking up pace. It would be good to see a proper bed, at least for a single night.

VII. Soft Paws and Cold Feelings

The old wooden buildings creaked and groaned in the wind coming in from the sea, and leafless trees shook their withered limbs in the cold. Bonbon looked up at a looming tower of stone as they passed under its shadow. Jagged icicles hung from its snow-covered roof like gleaming fangs. A low, uneven fence of wooden planks ran along the side of the streets. Somehow, Bonbon thought, they too looked like rows of teeth in the maw of some slumbering beast.

North of the city she could make out the dark, conic shapes of firs; the beginnings of a forest. If Ponyville was a dreamscape of bedtime wonder in the winter, this village was surely the setting of ghost stories and nightmares. If it wasn’t for the gently rising smoke from some of the chimneys, she would have thought the place was abandoned, a ghost town. It made her glad that the sun had not entirely set.

“Hey, come on, this place looks okay,” Rainbow Dash called from up ahead.

Bonbon turned away from the buildings around her to look at where Rainbow Dash was waiting for them. She followed Lyra as they caught up and turned to look at the building in front of them. It was a fairly large single-story building of stone and wood. An orange light flickered in the windows, and some quiet activity was going on inside. Bonbon looked up at the sign above the door and read the letters. Rimeherst Inn and Community Hall.

When Bonbon looked back down, Rainbow Dash had already flown up to open the door. Bonbon followed and stopped inside the door, where they were met by the eyes of several griffons. The griffons were all gathered around a bar and looked like they had been in the middle of some deep and important conversation when the three ponies had burst in. There were no ponies, Bonbon noted as she looked around the room.

A bluish griffon with an impressive beak turned to give them the full attention of his disapproving glare. “What do you want, ponies?” The way he spoke the last word made it clear that he did not much like it, or them.

“Rooms for the night, of course,” Rainbow Dash said with a cool stare back at the griffon. “This is an inn, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” the griffon said and took a step towards them, locking eyes with Rainbow Dash. “And this here inn is for griffons only,” he said and pointed a claw at himself. “So get lost!”

“You tell ‘em, Geoffrey,” one of the other griffons hanging around at the bar chimed in. “We don’t want no ponies in here!”

Bonbon groaned. This wasn’t going to end well.

Predictably enough, Rainbow Dash didn’t take the suggestion. “Oh yeah? And where are we supposed to go instead? Maybe you can tell me that, huh?”

The other griffons in the room had risen to gather behind their friend, looking down at the three ponies with unapproving faces. The first griffon, whose name appeared to be Geoffrey, pointed at the door behind them. “Not my problem. Go roll yourselves in a haystack, or whatever it is you ponies like to do.”

Lyra placed a hoof on Rainbow Dash’s shoulder and gave her a pleading look. Rainbow Dash scowled at the griffons before turning around with a huff and an angry flick of her tail. “Fine, whatever!”

“That’s right, run along and hide. And don’t show your faces in here again,” Geoffrey said just before slamming the door shut behind them. A cold breeze blew through the street, carrying with it the distant howling of wolves.

“How rude,” Bonbon said and shook her head as she trotted away from the house.

“I wonder what made them so mad,” Lyra said quietly. “We were only looking for a place to stay.”

“Who cares?” Rainbow Dash said and continued down the street at a brisk pace. “Let’s split up and find someplace else.” She stopped and pointed down a road. “I’ll take this way.”

Bonbon and Lyra watched her fly off, then continued in the other direction together. It was getting late, and they would have to find something soon. They followed the road as it bent. There were small houses on both sides here. Everything was quiet, except for the wind and the creaking of wood. Whatever this village was full of, it wasn’t life, despite the griffons who inhabited it.

Lyra nudged Bonbon and pointed at a house. Bonbon turned in time to see the face of a young colt in a window the second before his eyes widened and his face disappeared. So ponies did live here too, she thought and followed Lyra. They had clearly come to the same idea.

Lyra knocked gently on the door of the house and waited. A moment passed, then a mare with dark rings around her eyes peeked out through the door at them. “Yes?” Her eyes moved slowly between them.

“Sorry to disturb you, Ma’am,” Lyra said, and something in her smile and manners seemed to make the other mare relax a little. “We’re just passing through and looking for someplace to stay for the night, but the inn appears to be closed to us.”

“Oh,” the mare said and opened the door a little more to look out at the road behind them. “You didn’t … upset them, did you?”

Lyra looked at Bonbon, then back at the mare. “We left without a fuss when they told us to go.”

“That’s good,” she said and stepped out to point at a corner down the road. “Turn right by that big house, then left by the tree. Can’t miss it. You’ll see a sign what says bed and breakfast.” She turned back to look at them. “And if you see any of them griffons about, just keep your heads low and stay out of their way.”

“Thank you, but why are the griffons so hostile?” Bonbon asked.

“You shouldn’t linger out here on the street. Get yourselves inside for the night,” the mare said and made to close the door. “Good fortune,” she added before the door closed on them.

Bonbon and Lyra shared a look before turning around to leave. They rounded the corner at the big house and came out on what looked like the main street. They quickly caught sight of the trademark colors of Rainbow Dash. The pegasus was talking with a griffon and gesturing with her hooves. The griffon seemed to share her annoyance.

“We’d better stop her,” Bonbon said as she and Lyra hurried off towards the two.

“—and I just want to know what’s going on!” Rainbow Dash persisted.

“And I said I want you off these streets!” The griffon repeated. He was wearing an old uniform with a badge, both of them heavily worn but still recognizable as items of authority. “If I don’t see you moving right now, I’m going to arrest you for causing a disturbance, Ma’am!”

“Wh—” Rainbow Dash’s protest was cut short as a golden light surrounded her muzzle and closed it shut. “Mmmph!” Rainbow Dash protested at the magical muzzling.

“We’re terribly sorry,” Lyra said and bowed, while Bonbon grabbed a protesting Rainbow Dash and directed her around to leave. “We’ll get inside right away, sir.”

“You make sure that you do,” the griffon said, his eyes fixed upon them as they hurried off.

They reached a large fir tree in the middle of the street and turned left. Bonbon caught a glimpse of the griffon drifting slowly in the same direction, probably to make sure they kept their word. She let go of Rainbow Dash and slowed down slightly, but not too much.

Rainbow Dash sputtered as her muzzle was freed again. “What the hay is wrong with this place?” she complained and looked back over her shoulder.

“Let’s just focus on getting inside for now,” Bonbon said and yanked her back around. “Lyra and I think we’ve found a place to stay.” She had just finished saying that when she saw the sign. It was a simple two-story house connected with a small barn. The sign had fallen off and was now leaning against the wall.

“Yeah yeah.” Rainbow Dash sighed and glanced around as Lyra knocked on the door.

It was a while before hoofsteps could be heard from the other side. The door opened, and a dark gray earth pony looked out at them with vividly green eyes. A pair of glasses rested upon the tip of his snout, and the stump of a pencil was stuck behind one of his ears. He appeared to be waiting for them to speak up first.

Lyra smiled and did just that. “Good evening, sir. The sign says you have rooms for rent?”

The stallion nodded silently and turned around, leaving the door open for them as he trotted back inside. They wiped their hooves on the doormat, and Bonbon closed the door behind them as they followed. The stallion turned and lifted a hoof as a sign for them to wait there, then disappeared through a door.

Bonbon sat down in the small livingroom and took in her surroundings as they waited. It was a pleasant enough home, a little rustic but with a touch of warm colors to contrast the harsh cold outside. There were paintings on the wall and flowers in the windows. Papers and books littered the table, along with a pair of coffee cups and a bottle of liquor.

A minute later they heard hoofsteps again, and a dark purple unicorn stepped into the room and smiled at them. “Forgive my husband,” she said, her steel blue eyes watching them in turn. “Sadly, he cannot speak. I understand you were looking for rooms?”

“Yes. Just for a night or two,” Lyra said and returned the smile.

“Just passing through town, then?” She looked between them again. “Well, my name is Silver Moon. You already met Chartreuse, my husband. I’ll be happy to offer you breakfast in the morning if you want that with your stay.”

“I think we would like that,” Lyra said, and Bonbon and Dash both nodded eagerly. “My name is Lyra, and this here is Bonbon and Rainbow Dash,” she quickly introduced them.

Silver nodded and gave them each a firm hoof shake. “Pleasure to meet you. Now, we only have one room, but it has two beds, and there’s room to spare in the barn. We’ve made some room there for travelers, and there’s plenty of fresh hay to keep you warm. It’s quite comfortable, even in the winter. The room is fifteen bits a night, and you can get a spot in the barn for three. Breakfast is five bits a head.”

They looked around at each other. “Lyra should take the room,” Rainbow Dash said after a moment. “You and I can sleep in the barn,” she added with a look towards Bonbon.

“I don’t mind sharing the room with Bonbon,” Lyra said with a hint of uncertainty. “We may as well use both beds since we’re paying for them anyway,” she added.

Bonbon thought it sounded like an excuse and wondered what other reason Lyra could have to share the room with her, but she couldn’t say she hadn’t been looking forward to a proper bed after what felt like far too long sleeping in the wild. She decided it was probably nothing. “If you don’t mind it, then that’s okay with me too.”

“Oh sure, just leave me out in the cold,” Rainbow Dash teased.

Bonbon turned and smirked at the pegasus. “I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt you to try it for once.”

“Hah! I’ve slept under the open sky in rain and snow many times. I’m not some pampered prissy pony, you know,” Rainbow Dash said and puffed herself up. “And besides, I lived in Applejack’s barn for a few months after I came to Ponyville.”

“Really?” This information made Bonbon curious. They followed Silver to see the guest room and barn, and Lyra dealt with the business of payment while Bonbon waited outside in the hall with Rainbow Dash. “Why were you sleeping in Applejack’s barn?”

“Why not? I didn’t have the cloud manor back then, and I was still working my way up on the weather team, so AJ let me bunk in her barn for a time. She was pretty cool about it.” Rainbow Dash let out a breath and polished her hoof on her chest. “Of course, I was also trying to get her on a date, so it was the perfect place to live.”

Bonbon grinned with a growing appetite for details. “Oh? I take it that didn’t work out so well?”

“What are you, the paparazzi?” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Yeah, it didn’t work at all. Turns out she doesn’t swing that way, but she took it pretty easy, and we’re still friends, so it’s cool.”

“Even if you didn’t win?” Bonbon said with slightly veiled glee.

“How didn’t I win? I ended up with Twi instead,” Rainbow Dash jabbed her with a grin. “I like AJ and all, but we both know it wouldn’t have worked, even if we had given it a shot. I was just playing around back then and having a go at whoever seemed like fun. I figured I’d know when I hit the right one, and I did. I knew it was completely different with Twi.”

You never had a go at me. The thought came unbidden, and Bonbon quickly shoved it back into the deep dark where it belonged. She was long past that phase of her life. She definitely didn’t regret never having a chance with that stuffed-up bag of feathers. “You make it sound like she’s just some kind of trophy to you. Would you have asked her out before she became a princess?”

“No,” Rainbow Dash said, showing no sign of shame or hesitation. “But I would have if she had never become a princess. I wanted Twi long before all that, and I took my time until I knew the moment was right. With Twi I always knew it was serious, and I didn’t want to screw it up. I’m proud of her no matter what she does, and I’m proud that she loves me back.”

“You know you’re too bloody full of yourself, right?” The words lacked the anger she wanted to give them, but she was just too tired, and what was the point anyway?

“Heck yeah!” Rainbow Dash grinned as Lyra returned from the room following Silver. “I’m the only one who could possibly contain all my awesomeness!”

* * *

Bonbon sat down on the bed in the room she now shared with Lyra. It wasn’t a very big room, just enough for two ponies, but it was a vast improvement over sleeping among the snow and jagged rocks of the mountain, with nothing but a tent and a blanket to keep the wind out.

A small window in the gable let in the last light of day from outside. Bonbon looked at Lyra as she locked the door and pushed her saddlebags into a corner. “Does it hurt?” Bonbon asked as Lyra sat down and folded up her hoodie. “When you change, I mean.”

Lyra stuffed the hoodie into one room of the bag and opened up another. “A little,” she said and paused with her hooves on the bags. “It’s a bit like a prick of needles, but only for a second. It happens so quickly; I barely notice anymore. I used to think it was a little bit pleasant when I was a filly, in a strange way. Like, um, have you ever picked at a scab?”

Bonbon nodded vaguely.

“Something like that,” Lyra said and resumed her work.

Bonbon nodded again and lay down on her bed, still watching Lyra go through her bag. Outside, the Princess of the Night brought forth the moon. The change was immediate, and it took Bonbon a second to realize that it had happened right before her eyes. Lyra barely paused in her search of the bags to adjust her balance. It was so smooth, there was hardly any transition, only a brief shimmer of silvery moonlight in the air around her.

Lyra pulled out her notebooks and got up before sitting down on her bed.

Bonbon continued to watch her, fighting her eyelids to keep from falling asleep. She studied Lyra’s new look quietly as the human went through her notebooks on the other side of the room. It was not exactly a comely look, Bonbon decided in the privacy of her tired mind. It lacked that certain roundness and volume of body that ponies had, not to mention the soft sheen of a coat. The lack of a tail was almost the worst.

Perhaps Lyra would be quite attractive in the eyes of another human. At least Bonbon always thought she was beautiful as a pony, so it would make sense.

Appearance shouldn’t matter, but whoever first said that probably didn’t have humans in mind when they said it. And it did matter too, didn’t it? Even with ponies, it wasn’t entirely unimportant how somepony looked, even if it wasn’t everything or even the most important thing.

Bonbon yawned and blinked, and before she knew it her eyes had closed.

* * *

Hey Twi,

We found the town we were told about, but the griffons here are a bunch of pony-hating jerkfaces. They remind me way too much of Gilda. I didn’t need that memory. I bet she would love this place. We rented a room with some ponies, so at least we don’t have to worry about the griffons tonight. I’ll be looking for a ship first thing in the morning to get us out of here.

I’m sleeping in the barn, because the other two totally hogged the only room these ponies had. At least they seem to be getting on pretty well now, and sleeping in a barn brings back some good old memories. The only thing that’d make it better would be having you here.

Love you.
Dash

My Love,

I would love to throw aside my royal duties and “rough it” in the hay with you, but I’m sure it wouldn’t be very appropriate. Not to mention in a stranger’s home. Rarity has been teaching me all about how a princess is supposed to behave, or more often how she’s not supposed to behave, and I’m afraid it doesn’t allow for much fun. I may just have to forget those lessons once in awhile, but don’t tell anypony, especially Rarity.

Scootaloo went off to Canterlot earlier today, as planned. I’ve never seen the young filly so excited, or nervous for that matter. I kept the book here with me so she wouldn’t get distracted writing to you, but I’m sure she’ll have lots of things to write you about when she gets home. Perhaps even some big news.

♥ Your Princess,
Twilight Sparkle.

You’re such a tease, Twi.

Come on, what’s Luna got planned for her? I won’t tell her that you spilled the beans!

Please?

You know I love to see you squirm and beg, but I’m afraid I really can’t tell you, because I don’t actually know. You know Princess Luna. She likes to keep things dramatic and secretive, perhaps a little too much sometimes, but that’s just her way.

I must run. Always remember that I love you.

♥ Twi

* * *

The cellar was dark, but the air was hot and dry. Outside, the fire circled the cottage on all sides. Pebbles was backed into a corner and growling, but not at the fire. His big wet eyes were fixed upon the princess, who was standing still while listening carefully to the noise outside.

“Command thy mongrel breed to silence, peasant,” the princess demanded.

Bonbon walked in a wide arc around the princess and sat down next to her dog, trying to reassure it in a quiet voice that everything was going to be alright.

An hour or more passed in tense silence, neither of them moving or saying a word. The fire slowly died outside, deprived of anything to fuel its continued spread. Half an hour later, the princess finally turned and looked straight at Bonbon. “We require thine unquestioned service, peasant,” she said. “Step forward that we may obtain thy solemnly sworn loyalty to us!”

Bonbon stepped forward uncertainly, her legs shaking slightly.

The princess raised her head higher and looked down at Bonbon before speaking. “We, thy sovereign princess, call thee to our service and defense in our hour of need. Hereby thy life is given to us, and thou willst surrender it at our need or want. Serve us with honor and distinction, and thou shalt be rewarded in this or the next life. Betray us, and eternal misery shalt be thy lot instead. Thou art allowed to speak now, before our words are sealed.”

Pebbles whined behind her. Bonbon wanted to heed its warning, but she knew what happened to those who denied the royalty their demands. The princess was watching her, looking down at her with cold and uncompromising eyes. Bonbon kept her head low and said nothing.

“We are pleased with thy reverence,” the princess said with a satisfied look. “And we hereby decree that thou art bound to us in service and defense, until we release thee or death claims thy soul. So let it be.” Her horn glowed as she lowered her head to place its tip above Bonbon’s right shoulder, without quite touching her.

The princess lifted her head again. “It is done. We will travel under the veil of night. Thou art not to look upon us after this day. Therefore, we require thine eyes, and thy mutt shalt serve as thy guide going forth. Lift thy face to us that we may remove thy sight.”

Tears filled her eyes as she fought against herself and lifted her face to look up and past the princess. The princess’ horn glowed, and the light washed away everything else. Bonbon stared into the blinding light and felt a warmth around her eyes before all went dark. She heard a gentle clink, as of two large glass marbles.

“We are pleased with thy show of obedience once again,” the voice of the princess spoke in the darkness before her. “We shall keep thy beautiful blue eyes safe, and shouldst thou continue to serve us well we may one day return them to thee as your just reward.” Bonbon could hear her turn around. “Now, we require rest before our journey.”

Silence fell over the cellar, save for the low whine of Pebbles as the dog nuzzled Bonbon’s shoulder. Bonbon sat down in the darkness and cried softly while leaning against her dog.

* * *

Bonbon opened her eyes, expecting to see nothing. Instead, what she saw was the face of Lyra, her golden eyes watching Bonbon suspiciously from the other side of the darkened room. The piercing stare made Bonbon feel uncomfortable. “Lyra?”

“You were dreaming about her again.” Lyra’s statement sounded like an accusation. “I heard you talking in your sleep.”

Bonbon’s eyes were slowly adjusting to the faint light of the moon outside, which was filtering through the clouds and window to light up Lyra’s face. Bonbon searched the depths of Lyra’s eyes through the space of the room, wondering what to say. “I don’t know why I dream these things,” she said at last, after a long silence. “I really don’t,” she added after another pause.

Lyra propped herself up on an elbow, eyes still watching Bonbon. “How many of these dreams have you had?” It sounded more and more like an interrogation.

Bonbon sighed and rolled over a bit until she was looking at the ceiling instead of Lyra. “Three now,” she said quietly and closed her eyes.

“Tell me about them,” Lyra blurted out.

Bonbon frowned and opened her eyes again. “Not if you’re going to be this way about it,” she said and turned to match Lyra’s stare. “I’m not trying to keep anything from you. Since, you know, that would make me a massive hypocrite.”

They stared at each other for a few seconds. Lyra broke the gaze first and looked away. She remained silent, no trace of joy on her face. “I don’t know what to think, Bonbon,” she said after a while. “I’ve looked all my life for other humans, or for any clues about what happened to them. How could you suddenly have dreams about things that even I don’t know about? You didn’t even know about humans until just the other day.”

“Assuming they are true,” Bonbon said quickly. “Maybe my mind is just making stuff up. It wouldn’t be the first time. They’re dreams, after all. That’s what dreams are, just made-up stuff.”

“The one you told me about wasn’t just made up.” Lyra looked back at Bonbon. “You knew about the vizier cursing Humble before I had told you about it.”

Bonbon turned back to stare at the ceiling as she thought about it. “I guess so, but that doesn’t mean it’s all true.” She hugged herself slightly under the blanket as she stared ahead of her. “It only started after we got to that crater,” she said as an idle thought. “In fact it was during the night we spent there with the griffons when I had the first dream. I didn’t much like that crater. Something felt odd about the place. If it has anything to do with these dreams, then I’m not sure I like them either, and I sure don’t trust them.”

Lyra was silent again. Bonbon looked over at where the human was thinking. After a minute, Bonbon sighed and closed her eyes, hoping she could go back to sleep.

“I’m sorry.” Lyra’s voice woke her from her attempt at sleep. “Will you tell me about the other two dreams?”

Bonbon opened her eyes and looked at Lyra. After a moment she sighed and rubbed her face. “If you promise to go to sleep afterwards and not bother me again until morning.”

Lyra nodded and sat up in bed. “I promise.”

* * *

Bonbon ran a hoof through her untamed mane and yawned like a snake about to swallow an elephant, or something equally jaw-breaking, trying not to stumble on the stairs in the process. She arrived less than elegantly in the living room and looked up. “Good morning,” she said in the aftermath of the yawn, as she spotted the stallion of the house resting on the couch.

Chartreuse looked up from his newspaper and nodded at her.

“Breakfast?” she inquired and sniffed at the air to take in the aroma wafting about the room. “Sorry, my head hasn’t left the bed yet,” she added in order not to seem completely without manners to her host.

The stallion smiled knowingly and tilted his head towards a door on the other side of the room before looking back down at his paper.

“Thanks.” Bonbon took a glance at the paper as she passed him by. It was a simple paper, no doubt a local print. The headline on the page read, Reward doubled for Gerome kidnappers. A picture of a grinning young griffon boy accompanied the headline. All he needed were freckles, Bonbon thought, and the picture would be perfect. She wondered briefly if griffons even could have freckles.

Bonbon paused in the door to look at the picture before turning around and poking her head into the kitchen from which the delightful aroma of breakfast was coming. Silver was in the kitchen, deftly working pans and plates. Bonbon stepped inside and smiled as she watched the unicorn work in silence.

Silver turned around, holding a pan in her mouth. She jumped slightly as she noticed Bonbon, but kept her grip on the pan and made a brief curtsy. Without losing much momentum, she scooped a portion of egg onto a plate using her magic and returned the pan to the stove. Only then did she turn to Bonbon properly. “Good morning, Ma’am. Slept well?”

“Good morning,” Bonbon replied. She looked at the scrambled eggs, potatoes, and mushrooms arranged upon the plate. It was very different from what she usually had for breakfast, yet it certainly made her mouth water. “That looks delicious.”

“Why thank you.” Silver’s smile widened at Bonbon’s compliment. “We’ve been renting out the room and the barn for a while now, and it’s not all that often we actually have guests staying.”

Bonbon sat down at the table. “This is a lot of work for breakfast, isn’t it? I usually don’t have the energy in the morning for anything so elaborate.”

“Oh, I don’t mind the work,” the mare responded and picked up the plate with her magic, placing it on the table in front of Bonbon along with a basket of warm bread and a glass. When she was done, she sat down herself and relaxed. “Cooking has always been one of my joys.”

Bonbon smiled and scooped up some egg and mushrooms on a piece of bread. She took a bite and nodded in appreciation. “Well, it certainly is good.”

“Glad to hear it.” Silver smiled and got up to continue her work after her short break.

Bonbon continued eating in silence while collecting her thoughts. After a few more bites, she looked up again. “By the way, what’s happened to make the griffons so hostile around here? Things were a bit rushed last night, and no one seemed very eager to talk about it.”

Silver set the pan aside on the stove and sighed. “Some of them have never liked ponies very much, to tell you the truth, Ma’am,” she said and looked down. “But now the Lord’s son has gone missing, and they’re all saying it was ponies who done it in the darkest of night or some nonsense like that. Not that they know it, but they’ll say it anyway. The griffons look at everypony like they know they’re guilty, and if you say or do anything wrong, they’ll say it’s proof too.”

“That’s just typical,” Bonbon said and stared at her piece of bread. “Who is this Lord?”

“One of the old merchant families. His father founded the town, and all the griffons respect him.” Silver frowned and furrowed her brow. “It’s a powder keg just waiting for a spark right now.”

The door creaked, and the room became several shades more colorful as Rainbow Dash shambled towards the table like a zombie pony on the prowl. She plopped down on her haunches at the table. “Whoa,” she said as her eyes took in the plate Silver set down in front of her. “Nice spread,” she added before digging in.

Bonbon rolled her eyes at the complete lack of manners. How did she ever end up with a bloody princess of all things? Silver just smiled and seemed happy at the compliment. She picked up another plate and headed into the living room.

“I’m going to hit the docks first thing after breakfast—” Rainbow Dash said without looking up from her plate. Bonbon wondered if she even managed to chew the food first. “—and get us the first ship out of here.”

“As long as you don’t rile up any griffons,” Bonbon said. “They’re just looking for an excuse to escalate things, I hear. Some high lord’s son went missing, and they’re blaming ponies for it.”

“Yeah yeah.” Rainbow Dash sighed and finished off her plate. “I’ll try not to ruffle their sensitive feathers, alright. Anyway, you and Lyra should make sure we have all the supplies we need. Go shopping, see what you can scrounge up in this place.” She got up and stretched her wings and legs before turning to leave.

Bonbon took another bite and chewed it carefully as she thought.

* * *

“So this journey we’re on?” Bonbon did her best not to look at any griffons as she and Lyra left the house and headed down the street. She got the impression that the courtesy was anything but returned, as eyes everywhere followed them like hawks.

Lyra glanced around nervously, clearly uncomfortable about saying too much on the topic in public, especially when they were being watched so closely. “I’ve been looking all my life and done everything I could from home. I knew if I couldn’t find what I was looking for in Equestria, I’d one day have to decide where to go from there.”

Bonbon realized she had picked a poor time, but there wasn’t much else to talk about at present. “You mean you’re looking for where hu—where they used to live?” Bonbon reminded herself to choose her words carefully out here in the open.

“Yes,” Lyra said quietly.

“You think there are any left still living there?”

Lyra was silent as she stopped outside a door and looked up at a sign. She looked down and turned to Bonbon. “If I’m completely honest? I don’t expect much,” she said. “I mean, at least one of my parents must have been … but I think they were as alone as me. I just have to keep looking, and maybe there are signs of what really happened. There are so many holes in my knowledge, I just can’t stop or give up now.”

Bonbon nodded. She could actually begin to understand that now, the reasons why Lyra had left. “And whatever happened on Hearth’s Warming has something to do with it too, right?”

Lyra nodded and glanced around. “Yes, but let’s not talk about that here.”

“I’m sorry.” Bonbon bit her lip as they entered the small pony-owned store. It looked like it was one of the only few in town. As Lyra looked at the shelves, Bonbon thought of their other companion. “So why did you bring Rainbow with you? Wouldn’t it have been easier for you to go alone?”

Lyra paused and looked down. “Yes. I would have prefered to go alone, but—” She turned to look at Bonbon. “I don’t have wings. Rainbow is the most loyal pegasus I could think of, so I had to hope I could trust her not to look or follow me if I made her swear not to.”

“You need someone with wings?” Bonbon furrowed her brow at Lyra. “Why?”

“To reach the mountain,” Lyra said quietly and added almost in a whisper, “I don’t know if the gates still work, or if I could even use them. I couldn’t take the chance of making it all the way there only to have to turn around.”

“Oh,” Bonbon said and blinked. She turned back to the shelves. “By the way, how much exactly did you pay her? You know, I’ve been really curious about that.”

Lyra turned back around as well. “A song.”

“A … what?” Bonbon’s mind went blank as she tried to process Lyra’s answer.

“At first I offered to pay her the bits I had saved up, but she didn’t want any payment. Then she changed her mind and asked if I could write her a song as a gift for Twilight. That’s all she wanted,” Lyra said and smiled. “I thought it was really sweet, so I agreed.”

“She didn’t … what?” Bonbon was still trying to get her mind to work again. “She didn’t want any money or anything at all to follow you blindly into the wild without knowing how long it’d take, where you were going, or even why?”

“She actually seemed eager to go when I asked her,” Lyra said.

Bonbon just stared at her. There wasn’t enough emphasis she could put on the word “what” right now to make it worthwhile.

Lyra smiled. “To somepony like her? With a special somepony like that? And friends like Rarity? I’m sure the prospect of adventure and a song to show her feelings to the one she loves are worth more than any money I or anypony could give her. I think it’s beautiful, and I got to compose a love song for a princess. How many can claim such an honor?”

“Yes, but you don’t find it the least bit suspicious that she follows you for a song?” Bonbon rubbed her head. “I mean, I know money probably doesn’t mean much to her, and that she likes adventure, but we’re talking following somepony without a clue why, where or for how long. That doesn’t add up at all.”

“Maybe I just have a very likeable personality?” Lyra said and smiled.

Bonbon gave Lyra a deadpan expression of disbelief, but it completely faltered in the face of Lyra’s bright, golden eyes and warm, sunny smile. “I …” Bonbon rolled her eyes and turned away. “I still say it’s bloody suspicious.”

Lyra said nothing, but returned instead to the shelves and their shopping. Bonbon watched her, mind racing. And deep down a voice told her, I followed you blindly for even less than a song. What was more suspicious, that Rainbow Dash only wanted a song, or that Lyra could draw such loyal followers in the first place? Would the entire town of Ponyville follow her blindly if she pouted at them and asked nicely? Maybe if she played them a tune? Bonbon wasn’t sure she would even be surprised anymore.

* * *

“Anything else we need?” Lyra looked at Bonbon as they left the store.

Bonbon considered their journey and the purchases they had made. If they were going to be sailing, the ship would have most of what they needed, and there would be an opportunity to shop again when they reached the other side of the sea. Still, Bonbon didn’t like being unprepared, so she made sure to go through everything she thought they might need, to make sure she hadn’t missed something. It paid to make certain.

A shout brought her out of her thoughts and back into the world around her. Bonbon turned and looked towards the sea where more shouting was sounding and increasing by the second. “That doesn’t sound good,” she said, her mouth suddenly dry.

Griffons and ponies were all running or flying off towards the sound of the spectacle. Lyra looked at Bonbon, then galloped off as well. Bonbon secured her bags before following through the streets after Lyra and everypony else.

There were only two ships docked in the harbor when Bonbon and Lyra came upon the scene. One looked like it was in the process of being repaired and would not be sailing anytime soon. The other was a reasonably sized ship with two masts and a lot of griffons on and around it. More were arriving and gathering around the docks, shouting and looking to each other for support.

In the middle of it all, an angry and bloodied griffon was being held back by a couple of others. Bonbon recognized the bluish feathers and large beak of Geoffrey, the griffon they had met the night before at the inn. Another pair of griffons were holding down an equally enraged Rainbow Dash, while others still were trying to keep the masses from leaping at the pegasus. It was impossible to hear anything among the shouting and chaos of wings and claws.

“Bloody typical!” Bonbon growled as she came to a halt at a safe distance from the enraged mob of griffons. All the ponies were holding back nervously, some of them wisely turning to leave before they became targets themselves.

Bonbon tried to see past the wall of feathers, but it was nearly impossible get a good look. It would be a lynching if it was left to the mob. They had to do something.

A griffon pushed his way through the mob, shouting and glaring to get through. Bonbon recognized the guard who had told them to get off the streets when they arrived. He shoved his way through the mob and turned to give a wordless glare at everyone to back off. To Bonbon’s relief, the mob moved back a little, and the clamor dimmed a bit.

The guard turned back around and grabbed Rainbow Dash, slapping a pair of irons on her wings and hind legs. With the help of the two griffons already holding the pegasus down, he began hauling her off. The crowd parted, though unhappily, with every gaze fixed upon Rainbow Dash.

“I think we need to get inside,” Lyra whispered to Bonbon. “Right now.”

Bonbon looked around and saw that everypony else had come to the same decision. In a moment, the mob would find itself looking for somepony else to vent their frustration at. It would be a bad idea to be in their line of sight when that happened.

Bonbon nodded, and together they turned and ran. As they bolted down the streets, they could hear the angry shouting pick up again behind them. With no pony around, the mob had now turned to arguing with itself.

* * *

Silver closed the door behind them and turned around, looking nervous. “What happened? The shouting sounded like everyone was getting ready to tear each other apart out there.”

Bonbon tried to catch her breath as they found themselves inside the living room. The shouting outside had subsided, but Bonbon was sure it would still be a bad idea to go outside right away. Things needed time to cool off. “Our friend was trying to find a ship for us,” she said as Chartreuse joined them from upstairs. “She got in a fight with a griffon somehow,” she added.

“Oh, that’s just terrible. She’s alright, isn’t she?” Silver looked out the window.

“One of the guards took her away,” Lyra said. “So we don’t really know.”

“Better that than she was left to the mob, at least,” Bonbon added.

“One of the guards?” Silver looked back at them. “There’s only the constable. He’s a decent enough griffon, one of the more level-headed ones at least, but he doesn’t like anyone causing trouble, especially with tensions as high as they are. He’ll have taken your friend to the guardhouse, I’m sure. That’s okay. She’ll be safe there for now.”

Bonbon sighed and rubbed her face. “Well, what now, then?”

“If you were looking for a ship, then I don’t think you’ll find one that’ll take you on here in town,” Silver said and looked down. “Most of the ships that come here are sailed by griffons.”

“Certainly they won’t do it now,” Bonbon groaned and looked at Lyra for any helpful ideas, but the unicorn looked just as blank. They both looked up as Chartreuse knocked lightly on the table to get their attention.

The stallion took the pencil behind his ear and scribbled a short note on a piece of paper which he held out to Silver. She picked it up and read it. “Oh yes, that might just be an idea,” she said and turned back to Lyra and Bonbon. “There was a ship here a week ago before it moved on. I think it went to Winterside, a small settlement north of here, and intended to stay there a few days. It could still be there if you hurry, and the ponies who sailed it seemed like decent folk.”

Bonbon and Lyra shared a look before nodding at Silver and her husband. “That sounds like a good plan,” Lyra said. “At least, given the situation and our other options.”

“Yeah, I don’t think we want to stay around here any longer,” Bonbon said. “I get the feeling we aren’t very welcome outside this room.”

Chartreuse looked around the room before trotting over to a small cabinet. He came back with a map which he unfolded on the table. Lyra and Bonbon looked at the map as he pointed at Rimeherst and then drew a line north to a small bay and tapped the pencil there.

Bonbon made a mental note of the route before nodding. “Then we just need to get Rainbow out of jail,” she sighed. “You said this constable was a decent griffon? Let’s hope you’re right.”

* * *

A small band of griffons were gathered outside the guardhouse, a small stone tower with stairs to a door near the top. The constable, apparently the only guard in the small community, was standing on the stairs, trying to talk the angered group into going back to business. The effort was met with little luck.

“The pony is possessed of a foul demon from Tartarus!” one old griffon cried out with a murderous hiss and grabbed the shoulder of a familiar bluish griffon. Said griffon was nursing a sore face and looking in no mood to speak himself. “Geoffrey here said he recognized the evil in her eyes when she tried to tempt him with her venomous tongue!”

“Yeah!” another griffon shouted. “She must be the one who took Gerome!”

The old griffon continued unabated in his accusations. “She’s a servant of the zebra! A wretched pony witch! Geoffrey knows what he saw!”

The constable looked like he would like to grab them all and give them the boot, quite literally. “You are all wasting my time, and your own, with this madness!” he said with much restraint. “The sooner you go back to your work, the sooner I can have an honest talk with those involved.”

“What’s there to talk about?” the old griffon shouted. “We demand justice!”

One griffon in the back noticed Lyra and Bonbon out of the corner of his eyes and turned around, pointing an accusing claw. “Those two! They came here with the rainbow-colored bitch! They’re all in league with the witch!”

Every griffon turned to stare at the two ponies as if they were oozing a vile poison into the air. The old griffon made a warding motion with his claws and backed away. “They too have the evil in their eyes! Can’t you see it?” he howled. “They have come to doom us all!”

“You’re all barking mad!” Bonbon yelled against her better judgement.

“Silence, demon!” the old griffon shouted back and advanced like a wolf upon a herd of sheep. “You will not put your foul spells upon this peaceful town!”

Lyra was hiding behind Bonbon, who was standing her ground. Bonbon looked the old griffon in the eyes as he advanced upon them. “The only foul thing here are your baseless accusations, and your breath,” she said. “And we’re not leaving without our friend.” She knew she shouldn’t stoke the flames, but something within her refused to turn tail and leave.

The old griffon, backed by the gang, opened his beak to speak and pointed a claw at Bonbon, eyes gleaming with malice. His voice was interrupted by the constable.

“Enough!” The lone guard landed and pushed himself in between them and the griffons. He turned to Lyra and Bonbon. “You two! I want you and your friend out of this town within the hour.” He turned to stare at the gathered griffons. “And you! Go back to your work this instant. If any pony or griffon causes another disturbance, I will arrest every single one and have them dig their own dungeon once I run out of cells!”

“You’re just letting them go?” one griffon yelled in the back.

The constable turned to glare at the offending griffon. “If you have a problem with my handling of the situation, I suggest you make a formal complaint with the good Lord. Now leave, before I arrest the lot of you on the spot!”

The griffons left together, casting hateful glances back towards the two ponies. Bonbon returned the glares with one of her own as the constable turned back to them. “Bloody day to be a guard,” he grumbled. “I hope you see why we can’t have you here, as much as I wish we could be more welcoming.” He gestured vaguely towards the tower. “Your friend picked a bad time to get in a fight. Normally I’d just lock her up for a night to cool off, but I don’t know what’s gotten into everyone. It’s all I can do to keep the peace here.”

“Thank you,” Lyra said, cutting off Bonbon before she could speak. “We were just leaving anyway. We don’t want any trouble.”

“That’s good to hear,” the constable said and turned back around, leading them up the stairs to the small tower. “Because that’s what everyone else seems to want right now. I’ll get your friend. There’s a settlement of ponies north of here. I suggest you get her there and find somepony who can look at her wounds, ‘cause she took a pretty solid beating in that fight.”

* * *

They gathered their things and said their farewells quickly to Silver and Chartreuse. Rainbow Dash said nothing the whole time, perhaps humbled by the fight. Her mane and coat was a bloodied mess, one eye was swollen shut, and Lyra and Bonbon had to support her to keep her from stumbling as they left the house.

The streets were almost empty as they left, but a mix of worried eyes from ponies and hateful glares from griffons followed them from windows and towers. Bonbon had to hope their leaving could only calm things down in the small town. She wished there was more they could do, but clearly their very presence was a source of trouble, and the best thing they could do for the town was to not be there.

They walked for half an hour through the forest north of town, making only slow progress due to Rainbow’s wounds. The trees gathered closely around them, shutting out most of the light from the sun. Bonbon kept her eyes on the trees and shadows, feeling an unease at the stillness and cold even in the daylight. She decided that she did not want to spend the night in these woods.

Bonbon looked at Rainbow Dash, who was dragging her hooves through the snow, leaving a long trail behind them. The pegasus was keeping up through sheer stubbornness, but they would have to stop pretty soon this way.

Bonbon sighed and stopped. “Lyra, can you carry my bags too?” Lyra looked at her for a moment before nodding and lifting the bags off of Bonbon, strapping them across her own back with some effort and a bit of adjustment. Bonbon turned to Rainbow Dash and knelt down. “Come on, you. I’ll carry you the rest of the way.”

Rainbow Dash stopped and looked at her with a blank face and a raised eyebrow. “I can walk,” she said in a low voice and rubbed her aching ribs.

“Yeah yeah.” Bonbon rolled her eyes. “Get up.”

Rainbow Dash hesitated. “Fine,” she said after another moment and climbed up on Bonbon’s back. She grimaced and breathed in through clenched teeth as her ribs were pressed against Bonbon’s back. “Yeah, because this is so much better.”

“Stop whining.” Bonbon stood back up carefully and began walking slowly. Rainbow Dash proved to be surprisingly heavy for a pegasus. “Geez, take it easy on the weights, girl. You’ll end up looking like that huge fella with the tiny wings back in Ponyville.”

“Jealous much?” Rainbow Dash grinned and flexed her pecs despite the soreness. “You could use a workout yourself. Lifting the candy to your mouth is not enough, you know.”

“I could drop you off right here,” Bonbon said, grumbling.

Rainbow Dash snickered but said nothing more as they made their way through the snow.

* * *

Bonbon tried not to collapse as she knelt down with as much grace as possible to let Rainbow Dash crawl off her back. It wasn’t very late yet, and they hadn’t made it very far, all things considered, but none of them looked like they were up for any more walking today. Bonbon lay down fully and breathed out a sigh of relief at having nothing weighing her down.

Rainbow Dash slipped off her own saddlebags carefully and stood around while Lyra set up tents and prepared a fire.

Bonbon stood up slowly again, against her every wish. “I’d better have a look at you, now that we’re setting up camp,” she said to Rainbow Dash and dug around for her medical kit. “I can’t do much, but it’s better than nothing.”

“Yeah,” the pegasus grimaced. “I think one of my ribs is broken, and I can’t open my left eye.” She looked at her wings. “Lost a bunch of feathers too, it seems. Heh, but it’s nothing compared to the beating I gave that cheating bastard. He’ll think twice before messing with another pony.” She winced as Bonbon began cleaning her most obvious wounds.

“What the hay happened anyway?” Bonbon gave the pegasus a stern look. “I told you to be careful with the griffons, didn’t I?”

“Hey, it wasn’t my fault! It was the only ship around, and they totally refused to sail with ponies,” she said. “When I asked how much they wanted, the captain freaked out and started screaming at me. I guess I told him what I thought of that, and then he punched me in the face. What the hay kind of reaction is that anyway? I tell you, griffons are nuts!”

She spread her wings carefully to give Bonbon room to work and continued. “So I figured if it was a fight he wanted, fair enough. I never backed down from any fight before, sure won’t start now. I was totally winning too, but then his buddies joined in. They were totally playing rotten.” She puffed herself up proudly. “I’d have schooled the lot of them if others hadn’t shown up and stopped it, though. Maybe that’d have taught them some manners.”

“You’re impossible.” Bonbon rolled her eyes.

“Impossible to beat, maybe,” Rainbow Dash grinned.

* * *

The early morning sun shone through the fabric of Bonbon’s tent. She rolled over and pulled the blanket over her face, groaning at the rudeness of the light. Despite her best efforts to fall back to sleep, her mind decided to betray her and slowly cleared from the night’s veil. She tried to ignore it, but she knew it was of little use.

No dreams had come to her during the night. She was thankful for that bit of peace, at least. It was a short-lived one.

A cry broke her blissful awakening. Bonbon sat up with a start and scrambled through the tangles of her blanket. She got no further before something heavy crashed into her. Bonbon screamed as claws tore through her tent and snatched at her in the chaos.

Bonbon fought against the claws pulling at her. She could hear the cries and struggles of her friends nearby, sounding above the flutter and chaos of wings and claws. Light flooded in as she was torn from her tent and thrown into the snow. She had no time to reorient herself before she was pulled back up, dangling by the neck in a pair of strong claws.

Bonbon gasped for breath and kicked out at her attacker to no avail. Nearby, four griffons were still struggling with Lyra and Rainbow Dash. The one trying to strangle Lyra was finding itself struggling in turn against her magical chokehold.

Three others were fighting a kicking Rainbow Dash, trying to hold her down. The surprise and Rainbow’s existing wounds had given them the advantage from the start, and it was looking like the fight would be over quickly.

“You’ll pay for your crimes, pony!” one of them hissed. Bonbon vaguely recognized the old griffon who had been outside the guardhouse. “We’ll send your evil souls back to Tartarus!”

Bonbon’s vision darkened, and she felt her mind slipping as she tried to kick and tear at the claw holding her, but it refused to budge.

“Say your final farewells!” The voice of a griffon spoke somewhere in the darkness.

So this is it, Bonbon thought quietly. She wasn’t sure what to feel except for regret that it seemed like such a sorry way to go.

A sudden cold cut through her skin and bones, like a flash of frozen lightning. She fell and hit the ground, and a rush of air filled her lungs again. Bonbon gasped and rolled around, frantically trying to get back on her trembling legs. She could hear screams and screeches all around her.

She stumbled and fell, looking up from the snow to see a blurry vision of griffons fighting shapes of snow. Snow with teeth and claws like razor icicles. Snow which moved with purpose and killer instinct.

Bonbon blinked the darkness away and stared at the scene of griffons scrambling for their lives in the snow, trying to get airborne. A burst of white exploded behind her, and a feline cloud of snow sailed through the air above her to cut off a griffon with a snarl of teeth.

“The Witch!” the griffons screeched. “The Witch!”

A circle of white feline shapes gathered around the terrified griffons. Their forms were like the puffiest, fluffiest newfallen snow, but their teeth and claws were gleaming blades of ice, and their eyes shone with intelligent murder. One half of Bonbon’s mind wanted to reach out and hug them like a foal would a teddy, the other and thankfully dominant half told her to not move a muscle.

The last griffon got himself in the air and wobbled after his comrades as they fled back towards the south, wounded in both body and pride. Bonbon watched them for a second before her eyes lowered to fix upon the feline ring of death which was quickly and efficiently gathering around the three of them. Bonbon gulped and hoped they didn’t choose to take a pony snack now that their griffon prey had escaped.

Rainbow Dash was first to stand up, eyeing the snowy cats carefully. Pale yellow eyes watched her back, unblinking and unmoving. Rainbow Dash looked uncertainly at Lyra and Bonbon. “Are they …?”

Lyra stood up slowly, rubbing her neck where the griffon had been choking her moments ago. “Snow leopards,” she said.

“You think?” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Uh, but what are they doing?”

All three of them watched the leopards staring back at them. “Uh, thanks for saving us?” Lyra attempted with an uncertain smile to one of the leopards. “I hope,” she added.

One side of the ring advanced slowly towards them but made no move to attack. Bonbon watched them carefully. “I … think they want us to get moving,” she offered.

“Uh, okay …” Rainbow Dash didn’t look too sure but slowly began gathering her scattered things, while never taking her eyes off the leopards circling patiently around them.

Lyra and Bonbon began gathering their things as well. Bonbon quietly sighed at her ruined tent, but it could have been worse. She folded it up roughly along with her bags and strapped the whole thing on before turning to her two friends.

The leopards circled them lazily as they began walking. They made no move faster than a lazy trot, but there was no doubt about who was choosing the path. Bonbon only hoped it wasn’t from the griffon’s claw to the leopard’s den.

* * *

A small settlement appeared through the wall of white and blowing snow. It was much smaller than the town they had come from, and many of the buildings looked more like large tents, but it somehow looked more peaceful to Bonbon than the town had been. She could make out a few ponies trotting around among the tents. Perhaps it was that some of them were talking or waving to each other that made it seem like such a nice place in comparison.

The leopards continued to herd them forward, but not directly towards the small settlement. Instead they were led towards the west of the city where a lonely tent peeked out from among the snow and ice. As they got closer, Bonbon could make out the decorative patterns and feathers adorning the tent. There were strange masks and—to Bonbon’s worry—skulls lining the side. A large fireplace was lit outside the opening, the fire licking the bottom of a metal pot. Wooden logs covered in soft white skin were placed around it for seating.

“Who do you think lives in a place like that?” Bonbon asked, giving Lyra a questioning look.

“A zebra?” Lyra said.

Bonbon was about to laugh at the absurdness of the suggestion when Lyra nodded her head towards the tent. Bonbon turned back and blinked twice. A zebra had indeed just appeared from inside the tent, carrying a small stack of wooden bowls in her teeth. She looked quite young, much younger than Zecora and probably only just an adult. She wore much less gold too, in fact Bonbon could only see a single pair of rings circling her neck.

She sat the bowls down on one of the wooden logs and turned to greet them with a warm smile and bright blue eyes. Bonbon watched to her great relief as the leopards scattered and went off to lie down or wander away from the tent. “Welcome, welcome, relax and do not not wend, come sit and be leopards’ friend,” the zebra said cheerfully and shook their hooves in turn.

She was shaking Lyra’s hoof when her smile turned to confusion. “Wait,” she said and let go of Lyra’s hoof. She looked down, and her lips moved as she went over something in her head. After a moment her smile returned and she looked back up. “Ah, it did, It did rhyme!” she said with a grin and quickly moved right on. “Care to join me for mealtime?”

They looked at each other, and then Bonbon and Rainbow Dash both looked at Lyra. The unicorn looked at Bonbon, then at Rainbow Dash. “Uh,” she said and looked finally back at the zebra, smiling. “We would certainly be honored, Miss …?”

“Makucha, but Laini comes first,” she said and gestured widely at the seats around the fire. “Laini Makucha, and never reversed. Soft Paws does it mean, you see?” She made a nod towards her cutie mark, which did look vaguely like a cat’s paw to Bonbon, in the same abstract style as Zecora’s. “But call me only Maku, you three.”

They sat down together at the fire. Bonbon peeked into the bubbling pot and breathed in the scent of soup. A large, round bread was resting on a flat stone next to the fire. It was a strange and unusual breakfast, but it was exactly what Bonbon felt like just now.

“Um, Miss Maku …?” Lyra began, searching for how to phrase one of no doubt many questions.

Rainbow Dash was quicker. “A zebra in the north, huh? What’s up with that?” She took a bowl of soup as it was passed around.

“For a student of the world there is always a place,” the zebra responded while working. “And my skills the ponies here embrace.” She paused, and her lips moved as she sought for how to continue. “Many miles from home I have trekked, to find my way and help protect. Life in every form must a zebra learn to grow, even a newborn village in the snow.” She smiled and seemed pleased with her words.

“And the leopards?” Bonbon asked.

Maku smiled playfully. “Was it fate or was it destiny? Did I find them, or they find me? They are friends and spirits in kind, even if us … strange you may find,” she said uncertainly but quickly smiled again. “That one I think I saved quite well, my dear pony friends of pastel.”

Lyra returned the smile. “Did you send them to help us? We certainly are thankful for that.”

“You are alone and followed with evil intent,” the zebra said in a mysterious and dramatic voice, her smile turning more serious. The moment was somewhat ruined when she dropped the bowl she was holding into the soup. She blushed and fumbled to save the bowl while trying to finish her sentence. “Friends you needed, so help I sent. Moto kiboko!” she cursed as she got hot soup on her hoof.

Rainbow Dash snickered a little, which caused the zebra to blush even more at her outburst. Bonbon gave the pegasus a glare, while Lyra helped their host to fish out the bowl with her magic. “We appreciate your help,” Lyra said as she levitated the bowl out of the pot and shook it gently. “But are you saying the griffons will be back? I feel so bad about just leaving the poor ponies there with those angry griffons.”

Maku took the bowl with a shake of her head. “The griffons’ anger soon will heal,” she said and sat down. “But something else is on your heel.” She gazed into her bowl, as if reading her omen in the swirling vegetables of the soup. Her lips moved silently before she spoke her lines. “One I see who would stay in seclusion, its heart is filled with anger and confusion. Emotions they spread like fire, causing little trails of ire.”

“Can you tell us what it is?” Bonbon asked. She thought back to the thing which had followed them, the creature that had attacked them in the mines and again during the storm. She was pretty sure by now that it was the same thing, at least.

“Powerful it is and resists intrusion, a shroud it wears of shade and illusion. And …” She closed her eyes. Bonbon watched them move slightly beneath the eyelids as if searching the dark. “Yes, something else does stalk, with the eyes and mind of a hawk. A creature most sly, its motivations I can not pry. Which is the greater threat? On that I would not bet.” She opened her eyes again and looked at them apologetically.

They sat in silence for a while, chewing on the information they had been given. “Thank you, Miss Maku,” Lyra said after a while. “You have been a tremendous help to us. How can we repay you for this kindness?”

Maku shook her head and waved a hoof dismissively. “Dear ponies, think nothing of it. I care not for any profit.” She turned to give Rainbow Dash an examining look. “To your bruises I shall quickly tend, if you can wait for supper’s end.”

Rainbow Dash nodded, lost in her soup and personal thoughts.

Maku returned her look to Lyra and Bonbon. “If there is aught you need and I may aid, ask me please, be not afraid.”

“We were looking for a ship to take us across the sea,” Lyra said.

“Ah, then you are in luck, for a ship is at the dock, but it will not stay long for you to tag along. I shall show you there, after tending to this mare,” she said and gave Rainbow Dash a soft pat on the back.

“That sounds great,” Lyra and Bonbon spoke as one and smiled at each other.

* * *

“Mind if I ask why you rhyme when you speak?” Bonbon asked as they strolled down the only road in town towards the sea. Ponies smiled and waved at them, making Bonbon feel almost like at home and nothing like the previous day. “I knew another zebra back home, and she rhymed too. It must be some kind of tradition?.”

Maku smiled and looked at Bonbon brightly. “What is this zebra’s name? Perhaps I know of her fame?”

“Zecora. Do you know her?”

“Everfree Forest does she roam? Her hut for a while I did call home,” Maku said and looked back at the path before them. “A stop on my journey here, to the northern frontier. Beat me over the head many times, when I failed to speak in careful rhymes.”

Rainbow Dash snickered. “Sounds like Zecora alright.” The pegasus rubbed her head, but not due to any recent wounds or bruises, which had all been skillfully treated and bandaged by Maku. “She always threatens me with that bamboo stick every time I drop by. Just because I thrashed her place once. It wasn’t even my fault.”

“Ah yes, but to answer your question,” Maku continued with a pause to find the right word, “the rhyme is to promote self-examination. It teaches to be aware, and to do things with care.”

Bonbon nodded, satisfied with the answer. She could see the ship clearly now. It was fairly large, a merchant’s vessel if she were to guess. A pale, icy blue earth pony with a short mane was overseeing the loading of the ship from the dock. “Ahoy,” she said warmly and turned with a tip of a wide-brimmed hat as they approached.

“Got room for two less than five, Mrs. Dive?” the zebra said. “These ponies three seek a ride across the sea.”

Mrs. Dive gave them a quick look and a curt nod. “Aye, I reckon’ we can take you three on,” she said and shook their hooves in turn. “My name’s Snow Dive, first mate, and that up there in the riggin’ is the captain, Barrel Wave,” she added with a hoof pointing upwards.

They looked up at a rather rotund pegasus working on the rigging. Noticing something going on below him, he turned and brightened up with a quick wave down at them.

“You’ll get used to him,” Snow Dive said without explanation and led them aboard. “We’ve got a few cabins astern. We can sort out payment based on how much work you girls can do during the voyage. We’re setting sail sometime before midnight, and should reach the city of Mais within a week depending on how well we can keep the weather. Seems fair? Any questions?”

They looked at Lyra, who smiled. “That sounds perfect.”

“Then welcome aboard,” Snow Dive said and turned back around. “I’ve still got a lot of work to do, but make yourselves at home. If you need anything, just ask one of the crew.” With that she trotted back down the gangway to resume overseeing the work.

Lyra turned to Maku with a smile. “We can’t thank you enough for all your help,” she said and hugged the zebra. “I don’t know where we would be without you.”

Dead, Bonbon thought to her own surprise. We’d be dead.

Maku seemed surprised at the hug, but quickly returned it. “It is only what any good equine would do. Being friendly is no strange voodoo. Ahaha, that was a good one!” she laughed heartily at her rhyming work.

They all looked at her expectantly. Rainbow Dash grinned and raised a hoof.

The zebra’s ears drooped, and she quickly added, “My rhyming is pareil non! Oh, look! I should run!” she grinned and ducked the swing of Rainbow’s hoof. She waved back as she hurried off the ship, leaving the three alone among the working crew.

They stood there on the deck of the ship, watching the departing zebra for a while. Lyra looked up between her two friends. “It was a pretty good pun,” she said and ducked a hoof.

VIII. Deep Sea Blues

Sailing, Bonbon had decided, was like being flipped upside down on your back after a long night of drinking, and finding yourself slowly sliding and rolling like a heavy barrel on ice across the sky, while the world below drained away into some terrible abyss. Everything was upside down and rolling around, in other words, not to mention so terribly, immensely vast and uniform.

She groaned and opened her eyes a crack to stare into the ink-black waters below. The moon shone across the surface and reflected her face, which had turned a color not very far from Lyra’s minty green. Perhaps even a little greener. Her stomach felt as empty as the sea was vast. Surely there was nothing left in it to feed the sea. Bonbon breathed deeply and closed her eyes again, dangling over the railing with her mouth open, gasping like some kind of fish floundering out of water.

It hadn’t occurred to her that she had never sailed before, not until she had found her hooves on a ship as it left the safe and comfortable confines of the harbor and turned to the wide open sea before it. She had been swimming before, mostly as a filly in Ponyville, but never in any water where she couldn’t see the whole of the shore all around and within reach, or the bottom just a short distance beneath her four hooves. Here she could see neither shore nor bottom, and all she had between herself and the watery void was a rickety piece of wood which seemed to creak and groan in response to every breeze. The pegasi made sure it was slightly above a breeze most of the time, too.

Why hadn’t they just kept walking north and east? Bonbon wasn’t very clear on the geography of the world outside Equestria, but surely if they walked far enough north, if there wasn’t actually land there, then the sea would at least be frozen and they could simply cross it on hoof. Or so Bonbon imagined. At least that would give her something solid underneath. Never mind the freezing cold.

Bonbon opened her heavy eyes again and stared tiredly at her reflection below. Perhaps she had finally gotten rid of everything she was going to get rid of, at least. The face in the water stared back at her, minty green and then suddenly pale. Bonbon blinked, and it was gone. For just a moment she could have sworn her reflection changed, that a different face looked up at her from the water. She leaned a little closer, careful to keep ahold of the railing.

For some time the water drifted by beneath her as it always had, the bow of the ship gently cutting through the inky surface. Her vaguely greenish face looked up at her as it had the whole time. Bonbon leaned back slightly and tried to relax. And then she saw it. It appeared for just a moment, staring up at her with empty eyes from a pale white face with a small gray beak before disappearing beneath the ship just as fast.

Bonbon stumbled back and felt something on her shoulder. She screamed and spun around, coming face to face with a stunned pegasus.

“Whoa, mighty sorry there, Ma’am,” the portly captain said and lowered his hoof to the deck. “Didn’t mean to scare ya. Doing alright there?”

“I—” Bonbon choked back her words and looked at the water. It was as vast and empty as it had been all along. “I thought I saw …” She shuddered. “Something, or someone. It looked dead.”

Barrel Wave peeked over the side of the ship and furrowed his brow. Then he spun around, yelling at a sunny-coated unicorn currently sweeping the deck on the other side of the ship. “Hey! Fish Eyes, yeah you, get a count of everypony.”

The pony saluted and started looking around, her lips moving soundlessly as she trotted off.

“I don’t think … It didn’t look like a pony. It had a beak,” Bonbon said and felt queasy again. She looked down at the floor and tried to keep it down.

Barrel patted her on the back and smiled. “First time at sea?”

Bonbon nodded. “It’s pretty obvious, huh?”

“You could say that. We had a little wager on who of ya would be hanging over the railing, and I’m afraid most of us bet on you.” He nodded and leaned casually against the railing. Bonbon eyed it nervously, wondering if the creaking was something to be worried about. “Nothing personal. You’ll get used to it soon enough, just give it a day or two, trust me. And if you stay at sea long enough or stare into the water too much, you’re gonna start seeing some crazy stuff what ain’t there, believe me. Sea ponies ain’t the strangest of it by a long shot. Heck, sometimes they are even real.”

“I think this was more like a sea griffon, if anything,” Bonbon muttered as she tried to keep her stomach at ease. “You see a lot of those?”

“No, but if you’re a griffon who’s been at sea too long? Sure, I wager every fish turns into a slender griffon lady to the right eyes.” Barrel laughed, making the railing creak and groan even worse under his moving weight. Bonbon winced and watched it carefully. “Must be a dilemma if you’re a griffon. Should they eat it or make love to it?”

“That’s disgusting,” Bonbon groaned.

Barrel chuckled. “Right you are. I hear some critters do both. First they make love, then the lass eats the poor fella. Bites his head clean off, she does.”

“I think that’s spiders you’re thinking of, captain,” the deck sweeper from earlier commented as she sidled up to them.

“Right. Creepy little buggers.” He turned to look at the sweeper. “So?”

She gave a swift salute. “Everypony’s accounted for, sir.”

“Splendid. Quick work, too.” Barrel said and turned back to Bonbon. “The sea has many stories, Ma’am. You’ll hear aplenty on this journey alone, mark my word.” He turned again to the sweeper. “Why don’t you tell our guest a tall tale of the sea while you’re here, Fish Eyes?”

The pony whose name was Fish Eyes, and whose cutie mark depicted a bright green slushie, scratched behind her ear with the tip of her broom. “A tale, Captain?”

“Aye! One of your best, Fishie my lass, about things seen at sea what ain’t there,” Barrel said and leaned back even further on the railing, with his elbows on either side in a position that could not be good for a pony’s back.

Fish Eyes grinned and swung her sweeper around to draw the attention of the rest of the crew. “Hey, mates! The captain wants a tall tale of the sea and things what ain’t there! Do we know such a tall tale for the captain and our guest?”

“Wave’s wife!” Somepony cheered, and everypony else chimed in with cheers and whistles at the suggestion. “Wave’s wife!” they all laughed.

Barrel lowered his wide-brimmed hat over his face and blushed. “Aye, should’ve known. This’ll be a week on the couch for me.”

Fish Eyes chimed in on the cheering and beat the end of her sweeper against the wood of the deck, creating a quick rhythm as she began to sing and tap her hooves. Other voices quickly joined in from all around the ship.

Hey mates! Where went the wife of Wave?
Hey! Hey!
A bottle of cider she went to save!
Hi ho!
One minute there, next overboard!
O'er the railing she soar'd!

Hey mates! What of Wave's wife became?
Hey! Hey!
A barrel of tin found the drifting dame!
Hi ho!
The empty barrel she straddled,
And with hooves she paddled!

Hey mates! How fared she in'at boat?
Hey! Hey!
Many days she drifted, no drink, no oat!
Hi ho!
All her own inna tinnie boat,
Wave's bonnie wife she row'd!

But mates! Surely this ain't the end?
Hey! Hey!
Nay friend, and her hope you had to commend!
Hi ho!
For on day ten she saw ahead,
And towards it she sped!

What, mates? What? What did Wave's wife see?
Hey! Hey!
A ship! A ship, and on its bow stood he!
Hi ho!
Her heart it leapt, and so she went,
To kiss her saving gent!

Yay, mates! Huzzah for Wave's fair lass!
Hey! Hey!
Fair she be, but not so much he, alas!
Hi ho!
For both ship and he was bogus,
Just a rock and walrus!

Yar har!
We went to save Wave's gentle wee frau,
But found her with a mental sea cow!
Ya ha ha har!
We found her with a mental sea cow,
When we went to save his gentle wee frau!

One more time, mates!
From the top!

“You have a wife?” Bonbon asked as the song picked up another round around them. Barrel nodded towards the wheel. Bonbon looked up and spotted Snow Dive, leaning her front legs calmly on top of the wheel as she steered the ship and glared at Barrel across the deck. Her pale coat was no good at hiding the blush on her cheeks.

“Poor you,” Bonbon said and patted the stallion on the shoulder with a grin.

Barrel pushed his hat away from his face and grinned at Snow Dive. “She’s a good sport. You have to be in this business, where your own crew compare you to a walrus in song and dance.”

“I can imagine both of you have heard that one many times.” Bonbon glanced over the railing at the sea beneath them, but it showed nothing but dark blue and white foam.

“More times than I can count,” Barrel said and got off the railing. “But I wouldn’t worry too much about seeing things in the water. As long as it’s not a pony who went overboard, it was probably just a fish or a trick of your imagination. Happens all the time out here, trust me.”

Bonbon nodded and leaned on the railing for support. “Perhaps I should just find my bed,” she said and took a deep breath. She had been fairly steady for the last few minutes, but she still felt like the whole world was swirling around and gliding across the surface of the sky. If only she could fall asleep, maybe it would go away.

Barrel nodded and turned to return to his post at the wheel. “‘Pleasant dreams, Ma’am.”

Bonbon stumbled across the deck, walking carefully as she ducked through the door and climbed down the narrow—and creaking—stairs below deck. She found her way through the faint light to her and Lyra’s small cabin near the back of the ship. She knocked three times and then two, as she and Lyra had agreed. “Lyra?”

It took a while before the door was opened. Bonbon slipped through as Lyra returned immediately to her bed. Bonbon closed the door behind her and leaned against the swaying wall as she stared at the hammock that was hers for the voyage. “Great,” she groaned. “More swaying and swinging around, as if the ship didn’t do enough of that already.”

Lyra muttered something as she curled up in her own hammock and pulled the blanket over her head. Bonbon considered for a moment if she should just go to sleep on the floor, but shook it off and climbed in unsteadily, trying not to swing all the way around and land on the floor. After a minute she managed to get in and settle down. “Bloody ships,” she sighed and closed her eyes.

* * *

Her breathing was labored through the piece of cloth she had wrapped around her muzzle to keep from choking on the ashes and dust which danced in clouds around her and clung to her coat and mane. Her hooves dragged through the scorched ground, leaving a trail which she imagined was quickly covered by ashes blown across the hills. She could feel it against her face, even in the total darkness of her blindness.

Pebbles whined in a low tone ahead, pulling on the line wrapped around her front leg. Bonbon followed blindly, trusting her faithful dog. She would be lost and dead without it, out here in the wild, left to the mercy of the princess. She had no idea where they were, or how far the fire had razed the land. She could hear the faint trotting of the princess a distance away. It sounded strange, but Bonbon couldn’t explain what it was about the sound.

Despite her best efforts with the cloth, the ash and dust slipped through a little at a time, filling her nose and mouth and making her cough and thirst for water. The world felt heavy and threatening, like a shadow loomed over them the whole way. She couldn’t see it, but she could feel it weighing down upon her. Bonbon licked her ashen lips and closed her unseeing eyes.

Then the darkness shifted and jerked violently.

Bonbon opened her eyes and stepped through the door to the small café in Ponyville. She smiled at the waitress offering her a complimentary treat of flowers and a menu as she sat down at the table she had reserved. She nibbled at the fresh flowers and opened the menu to have a look at the selection.

“They’ve got fresh cider from Sweet Apple Acres. It’s even better than usual, if you ask me.”

Bonbon lowered the menu and looked across the table at the filly sitting on the other chair wearing a bright smile beneath a pair of black shades. She was dressed smartly in a black suit with silver buttons and tie. “Cool look,” Bonbon said and put the menu down.

“Thanks,” Scootaloo grinned and folded her hooves on the table in front of her, eyes presumably on Bonbon behind the dark glasses. A silver hoofwatch gleamed under the sleeve of her suit.

The waitress returned—Bonbon didn’t remember making an order yet—and sat a tall frosted glass of cider in front of Bonbon, along with a plate of sauteed spring greens and carrot steak in sesame sauce. Bonbon’s mouth watered at the sight and scent of the dish. The waitress set a glass of water next to Scootaloo, who smiled brightly at her. The waitress left, and Bonbon looked around the café for any signs of Lyra. It wasn’t very polite to begin eating before her date arrived.

“Waiting for Lyra?” Scootaloo set her glass down after taking a sip.

Bonbon nodded and smiled at the filly. She couldn’t help but let her eyes linger on the watch around her hoof. “I’m sure she’ll be here soon.”

“Lyra would never let anypony down,” Scootaloo said, in that way everypony in ponyville talked about Lyra. And then she glanced at her watch for a brief but meaningful second.

Bonbon glanced back at the door, then out the window at the road outside. A few ponies trotted by. She didn’t recognize them. “More than you think,” she said quietly.

“Oh?” Scootaloo smiled and looked up from her watch. “Has she been letting you down before?”

Bonbon said nothing and looked down at her plate of food. She picked up the glass and took a sip. It wasn’t too impolite, and Lyra was the one who was late in the first place.

“You can trust me,” Scootaloo assured her. She took off her glasses and looked straight at Bonbon. Her bright purple eyes met Bonbon’s across the table. The café was empty except for the two of them. “Something’s following you, Bonbon. It’s in your dreams, and it doesn’t want to let go,” she said carefully.

Bonbon stared at the filly as she picked up her glasses and got off her chair. For a second, Bonbon thought she caught a glimpse of something on the filly’s flank. Scootaloo turned back to Bonbon in the doorway. “What do you know about Lyra?” There was a pause, and in the space of that pause the filly had gone, and the café was empty.

Bonbon sipped her drink as she glanced out the window again. It was dark now—it hadn’t been dark a moment ago—and lights were on in every window. Bonbon’s food had grown cold and sad on its plate. She looked down at the plate.

* * *

“I had the strangest dream,” Bonbon said idly as she played her card and looked up at Lyra. She had managed to get an old deck of cards from one of the crew, and it had been an easy matter to convince Lyra to play a few games.

“About the princess?” Lyra looked through her cards. She had been quick to pick up the rules of the game as Bonbon explained them.

“About Scootaloo.” Bonbon was feeling a little better this day, but she wasn’t eager to test how well she felt by being too active, or spending too much time outside with a view of the wide open sea and the endless sky.

“She’s a sweet kid, right?” Lyra said and dealt a queen of hearts.

Bonbon nodded and sacrificed a card to Lyra, pushing the set aside for the unicorn. “No question there. Smarter than most ponies realize, too,” she said and smiled. “Perhaps a little too smart, bordering on the sly. I bet she gets up to all sorts of trouble.”

Lyra picked up a card and considered it for a long time.

Bonbon gazed out the little round window of the room at the blue waves stretching out endlessly into the misty horizon. Her eyes lowered and fell upon Lyra’s instrument lying in the hammock behind the unicorn, gently swaying back and forth with the waves. “I see now why you didn’t celebrate Hearth’s Warming with me,” she said, cards forgotten. “But so much else about that night and since is still a mystery. Do you want to talk about some of that?”

Lyra looked up, but her eyes seemed to look past Bonbon’s shoulder.

“Just start from the beginning,” Bonbon suggested and picked up a card. “Take your time.”

Lyra was silent for a while, then she reached behind her with her magic and pulled a notebook out of her saddlebags. Bonbon dealt her hoof while Lyra flipped through each page slowly. “A couple of months before that night, I found the pieces of an ancient melody among a collection of unsorted texts in the back of the Canterlot archives. It was in a poor condition, and some pieces were unclear or missing. It took me a lot of work to piece together an outline, and I had to make some qualified guesses to fill in the holes.” She tipped the notebook to show Bonbon the writing, flipping through page after page of messy scrawls slowly transforming into something coherent and tidy. The musical notation was no less unreadable to Bonbon in either state.

“What had me excited was the title,” Lyra explained and pointed at the top of the page she was on. “The original records were very damaged, but I could mostly make it out.”

“Polaris et soror mea,” Bonbon read aloud, uncertain if she got the pronunciation right.

“Close enough.” Lyra flipped through some more pages. “It means ‘my pole star and sister,’ and it’s also the title of the poem I told you about—” She showed Bonbon a page with a few lines of a poem “—the one by Sapphiro which I had found earlier in the same archives. What I have of the poem is a fragment, and it’s based on the older legend which was passed down in song. When I found the notes, I believed I had stumbled upon such an early song.”

Lyra put the notebook down beside her and picked her cards back up. “I always like to play the lyre when I’m feeling lonely, and Hearth’s Warming Eve makes me feel especially lonely. I had just finished working out the song a few days earlier, so I played it, out there in the woods.” She put down a card, and Bonbon took the set.

“Imagine my wonder when the sky came to life with shooting stars, as if they answered my melody,” Lyra continued. “To be honest, I was getting a little frightened even before you called out and surprised me. I wasn’t sure what was happening, or whether to stop or keep playing. And then you showed up, and the sky exploded in fire, and all I could think of was to run as fast as I could.” She looked down a bit in shame.

“I ran all the way to Hoofington, where I got a ticket to Ponyville in the morning. I guess you figured all that out already.” She sighed and shuffled her cards. “On the train I heard pretty much everything about what had happened, about the dreams and something falling from the sky in Ponyville. I couldn’t have slept anyway, with the worry that you or somepony else might have been hurt, but the chatter certainly didn’t help the matter.

“I quickly concluded that I hadn’t found just any melody, and that it was prudent to not play it again until I knew everything about its magic and history. That’s why I told you not to hum it back there in the mountains, see? I think—” Lyra fiddled a bit with her cards. “I think it may even be the very same song Humble was supposed to play to lead her sister back from the stars.”

Bonbon furrowed her brow and looked up from the cards. “It was a diamond that crashed into Ponyville, not an ancient human princess. At least … that’s what it was according to the official story. Twilight took it, didn’t she? Did anypony else ever get to see it?”

Lyra shrugged. “Rarity, perhaps. Rainbow Dash, probably, and the other princesses. Princess Luna in particular, would be my guess. I talked to Twilight some days later, asking her about it. Rainbow Dash was there too, but she was looking like a gloomy storm cloud. Twilight told me she thought it was a single star which had exploded in the atmosphere and broken up into two or more pieces. The largest piece fell in the mountains north of Manehattan, and the Wonderbolts had already investigated the crash site. That’s all she would tell me. I tried to press her for more, but she just told me there was nothing for me to worry about.

“That’s when I decided it was time for me to leave, that I wasn’t going to find the answers I needed in Equestria. I knew I had to see the crater for myself, and that the journey would eventually lead me east beyond the sea. I made my preparations, convinced Rainbow Dash to tag along as my guide, and you know the rest of the story.”

Bonbon glanced out at the clear blue sky outside. “You think your song actually called Humble’s sister back from the stars, then?”

“Who knows what it did?” Lyra said and followed her gaze. “I didn’t play for very long, and my source was very damaged; I may not have reconstructed the song exactly right. And even then, who knows what things lurk out there among the stars?”

“That’s a scary thought.” Bonbon shivered and tried not to imagine the vast and empty sea of night and all the dark and terrible secrets it could hold.

Lyra nodded, her face a mask of seriousness. “That’s why I didn’t play it again. Even if it really was Melodious, it’s been thousands and thousands of years for her. I’m not honestly sure what could possibly remain of a mortal mind after wandering the emptiness between stars for so long.”

Bonbon thought back to the square in Manehattan. Trixie had clearly been acting desperate. Something she had been carrying was dropped in the fall and shattered into a thousand pieces. The sun had darkened for a second, and madness had gripped everypony who saw it. “A shattered mind,” she said idly and stared at the horizon.

Something gleamed on the horizon, a brief flash of white, like sunlight reflected in glass. Bonbon stared at the point for a moment before turning back to Lyra. “What happened at the train station, with you and the guards?”

“Maybe their spell actually detected what I was,” Lyra said. She looked uncomfortable at the memory and the thought of what it might mean. “But they probably just thought I had swallowed something, or that the spell was broken.”

Bonbon nodded and looked at her cards.

* * *

Hey Dash!

I just got back home from Canterlot …

Wow, you know, I don’t think Princess Luna ever sleeps. I wouldn’t be surprised if she told me she hasn’t slept since she came back from the moon. I’d believe her. I’d go all batty if I didn’t sleep for that long. Maybe that’s what happened to her guards, you think? Sorry, bad joke.

I arrived at Canterlot station and was met by two ponies from the castle, Bluejay and Star Sapphire. They were twins, completely identical except that Bluejay was a pegasus and Star was a unicorn. I didn’t know that was possible. But they seemed really nice. We talked a lot as they showed me to the castle and gave me a tour.

I got to stay at my very own room in the castle, which was bigger than our entire house back in Ponyville. The bed was probably bigger than my room back home. I even had my own servant who got me anything I wanted. I told her I wanted a cutie mark. I guess she couldn’t get me that.

Bluejay is one of the princess’ personal guards, and Star told me that she was one of Luna’s hoofmaids. They weren’t dusk ponies though. I guess the princess needs some guards during the day too. Star told me that Luna would meet me later, and we went out to some really fancy restaurant. We talked on the way, and I noticed that Star was talking sort of strange sometimes.

I asked if they were identical twins, and they said yes. They looked pretty identical too, but that’s when I remembered reading about that in one of the books Luna gave me to study. Identical twins are always the same pony race and gender, they can’t be a pegasus and a unicorn. That’s a different kind of twin. I didn’t say anything, but I knew something was totally fishy. I watched them closely, and I noticed that Star had bright blue eyes. I knew I recognized those eyes.

Hah. I told her I’d seen through her disguise. I think she was really impressed, even if I think she made it a little bit easy. She kept her disguise, though, as we went to the restaurant. She likes to go out without being recognized, and she didn’t want the press getting word of her plans yet.

We had dinner at the restaurant, and I told her about everything I had learned. Bluejay stayed, I guess she really was one of Luna’s guard, but she didn’t say anything. It was a bit late when we left, and I watched Luna raise the moon and bring out the stars. It was so cool!

We went to a part of town where many dusk ponies live. There was a sort of party in the streets. There was food and music, and dusk ponies dancing and fighting, but not for real. They were kicking and trying to trip each other with lots of fancy moves, but they never hit. Luna called it “kaponyra” or something, I didn’t really catch the spelling. The dusk ponies invented it. It’s like a game, but with dancing and fighting and music.

We watched and sang along to the rhythm, and I met a young dusk pony there. His name was Vesper, and he showed me some of the moves. I was like totally awesome at it! I wish you could have seen me. I rocked that street so hard, they’re probably going to rename it after me now! I totally didn’t notice how late it got before we left. If mom and dad knew how long I was out at night, they’d have a fit.

I slept in late, and Luna was still up when I woke. She had a lot of important stuff to do, paperwork and meetings and stuff, so I had some hours free to explore the city on my own. It was pretty rainy and gray outside. I looked around a bit anyway, but that’s not really that interesting. The rest of the day, Luna showed me some of her work and introduced me to some other ponies. I’ll just skip over all that, though.

Anyway, we ran into Vesper again that night, with some of his friends. They were having a race through the streets. It was pretty cool. They were scaling walls and jumping across roofs and balconies, sliding down stairs and swinging on bridges. I didn’t bring my scooter from Ponyville. I bet I could have shown them some really sweet moves with it. So I just improvised instead.

We ran for hours. Luna kept up with us from the sky. I guess she didn’t want to join in. Heh, I guess I got a little carried away, trying to show up Vesper. He had some impressive moves, but I wasn’t going to let him win like that. I think I impressed them all, even without my scooter.

They had a party later. I don’t know how late it was, or how many ponies I talked to, or how exactly I got back to the castle. I think Luna flew me there, or maybe that was just a dream. It felt like a dream. We were so high, I think I could see all the way to Ponyville easy. I’ve never been that high, but I wasn’t really afraid, of course.

Oh yeah, by the way, you know, not that it’s important or anything, but I got my cutie mark …

See? Cool as ice, no rush. Heh. I totally didn’t jump around like Twilight or anything uncool like that, and if she tells you otherwise then she’s a lying cheat! I actually didn’t even notice it until I woke up this morning and looked myself in the mirror. I guess I was too distracted all night. I made a drawing of it below for you.

That was pretty sweet. But, you know … I think I can do better.

Ready?

Luna was pretty impressed with me today, like I could blame her. I’m pretty awesome. Awesome enough that she’s decided to make me her personal protege and agent-in-training of her own specially selected guard. I’m going to train to protect the princess and Equestria from all sorts of hidden threats. How cool is that?

Can you say Best Weekend Ever? Best. Weekend. Ever!

Your little sis,
Scootaloo.

Dammit, Scoots! I’m so proud of you!

Heh, good job staying cool, kid. I totally read the last part first, though. That’s some really sweet work, and a heck of a cool cutie mark! You’re going to go far with the princess!

Your big sis,
Rainbow Dash.

* * *

“P-pebbles?” Bonbon mumbled and turned around in the dark. She opened her eyes to the faint light of the stars outside and the gentle rolling of the ship. A scratching of wood nearby made her tense and look around. Lyra was awake and looking at the door to the small cabin. Something scratched again, like claws searching for a big enough crack in the wooden door to get it open.

Bonbon’s heart beat loudly in her chest as she glanced at Lyra. The human lying wide awake in the other hammock lifted a finger to her lips and shook her head slightly, as if any greater movement might alert the thing outside.

Bonbon lay under her sheets, stiff as a nail as she stared at the door and listened to the scratching noise. Gathering her courage, she leaned over a little, careful not to fall out of her hammock as she tried to peek under the door. A shadow moved in the light from the small window out in the hall, but Bonbon couldn’t make out its shape.

Ponies didn’t have claws, though, and all the crew were ponies.

The scratching stopped, and the door creaked, the lock straining against the force pulling at it. Bonbon’s heart was pounding in her throat. She held her breath.

A hoof step and a creak of the stairs sounded further away. The door stopped moving, and a rush was heard as something disappeared down the hall. Calm hoof steps walked down the hall a moment later, a door opened and closed, and everything returned to silence except for the gentle sound of waves and the wind.

Bonbon let out the breath she had been holding and looked at Lyra. The human shrugged her shoulders under the blankets. Bonbon looked back at the door for a minute. “I’ll take first watch,” she whispered, and Lyra nodded before pulling her blanket over her head.

Nothing more was heard that night.

* * *

Nothing more was heard over the next few days and nights, either, but Bonbon felt increasingly like something dark and gloomy hung over the ship. Even if the weather was perfect the whole way, courtesy of the pegasi crew, who were exceedingly happy to have Rainbow Dash on their team. Work on the ship itself was occasionally hard, but there was enough of it, and it kept Bonbon’s mind and hooves busy, for which she was thankful.

Her dreams were increasingly dark and without any obvious meaning or actual content, just an oppressive meandering in the dark and desolate ashes without company. Last night she had woken up thinking she heard crying, deep and mournful in the dark. Lyra had still been asleep, and usually Lyra seemed to wake at even the slightest sound. Just a dream, then.

Bonbon sighed and shook the thoughts away as she picked up another rope and set about rolling it up into a neat coil so that nopony would stumble or get tangled in it. There was a lot of rope on the ship, and it all had to be kept neat and tidy. A loose rope anywhere was frowned upon, and for good reasons. Bonbon still remembered many of the rope lessons from her time as a filly scout. It was something you had to know if you wanted to be prepared for survival in the wild—or unexpected trips across the sea, as it turned out.

She looked up at where Rainbow Dash was hovering in the sky, holding a hoof up to her eyes to shield against the sun as she scouted the horizon behind them. Bonbon couldn’t see her expression, but she appeared to be looking very closely for something. Another pegasus flew up to her. A few words were exchanged, and the other pegasus held out a small telescope.

Rainbow Dash picked up the telescope and held it up to her eye, peering at the distance as she adjusted the lens carefully.

“What’s going on?”

Bonbon looked around to see Lyra standing next to her, looking up at the two pegasi. “No idea. Maybe they’ve spotted an island of walruses.”

“Walruses?” Lyra looked at Bonbon with a quirked eyebrow.

“Nevermind,” Bonbon muttered. “Just a silly joke. I guess they haven’t been singing it for you.”

Lyra shrugged and cupped her hooves around her mouth. “Hey! Rainbow Dash!”

Rainbow Dash looked down to see who was calling, then hoofed the telescope back to the other pegasus before soaring down to land on the deck of the ship. “Yeah? What’s up?”

“What were you looking at up there?” Lyra pointed up at the sky behind the ship.

“Oh, that.” Rainbow Dash looked at the horizon with a flick of her mane. “There’s some other ship that’s been following us for a few days now. It’s pretty far away, though. The others think it’s just some other ship headed the same way.”

“You don’t think so?” Bonbon looked at the pegasus to see what she thought.

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Dunno. It’s not doing anything, but I’m keeping an eye on it. Anyway, I’ve got some clouds to kick into submission, if you’ll excuse me.” She set off in a rush of air, leaving Bonbon’s mane as a wind-blown mess.

Bonbon sighed and did her best to get her hair back under control with her hooves. “What do you think?” she asked Lyra.

Lyra watched the horizon. “Not sure. She’s keeping an eye on it, though. I guess that’s all there is to do,” she said and shrugged before returning to her work.

* * *

The best thing about the sea, Bonbon decided, were the sunsets. The dark oranges and deep yellows filled the sky behind them, reflected across untold miles of dark sea without obstruction, turning the rippling surface to red-hot glass. The world seemed to stand in silent reflection as the sun neared the surface of the water, and for just a moment it seemed like a second sun rose up to meet it, two spheres melting together in the ancient sea before disappearing together.

Bonbon looked down from the the two solar spheres mating at the edge of the world to see Lyra disappearing below deck, headed for their shared cabin while some light of day still remained. It was a shame that Lyra always missed the last moments of the sunset, which Bonbon felt were the most soulful and romantic part of the entire celestial dance.

With a sigh, Bonbon looked back up at the fading sun. A shadow moved at the corner of her vision. She looked back down and spotted one of the crew. He looked over his shoulder for a second before disappearing down the stairs after Lyra. Bonbon frowned. Something about that look made her suspicious. Abandoning the sunset, she got up and followed.

The interior of the ship was dark. Bonbon hadn’t brought a light—she usually didn’t, as it was only a short trip to their cabin. She looked around, but there was no sign of Lyra or anypony else. Most of the crew were above, watching the sunset or working. She could hear a bit of early singing from some of those above. They sure liked to sing.

Bonbon knocked quietly on the door to their cabin, but got no response. She pushed the door open and found the room empty. Bonbon bit her lip and looked around. Lyra would have gone straight here, so why wasn’t she there? More importantly, where had she gone instead? Bonbon walked quietly through the ship, through the common room with the long table, currently empty, and through the bunks where a few of the ponies working night shift were still sleeping.

She was about to call out for Lyra when she heard the door to the storage deck close with a long, soft creak. Bonbon stopped for a second to listen, then hurried towards the stairs leading further down into the belly of the ship. The crew didn’t often go down there, she had noticed. There wasn’t much to go down there for, she imagined.

Bonbon had to walk carefully and steady herself against the wall as she descended the stairs, as the ship rocked gently on the waves. The storage filled the whole of the bottom of the ship and was stacked full of crates, barrels, and bags safely tied to keep them in place. It was a gloomy and cramped space. It reminded Bonbon of the narrow tunnels down in the mines. She wished she had brought a light.

Almost as if in answer, a faint golden light sprung up among the crates further ahead. “This one?” Lyra’s voice asked somewhere ahead.

“Yes, careful when you …” another voice replied and trailed off slowly. Bonbon assumed it was the stallion who had followed her down here.

A scraping sound was heard, then a crash. A scream tore through the storage, and the light went out. Bonbon’s heart took a leap. She raced down the narrow space between crates to the sound of screams and crashing wood. Something flew out of the darkness. Bonbon had no time to evade. She cried out and fell over as they collided, a heavy body landing on top of her.

“Get off me!” she growled and shoved the terrified stallion off. They both stumbled back on their legs, and Bonbon limped around the corner to find Lyra struggling on the floor with a small griffon. The griffon was screeching in fury, its eyes gleaming with mindless murder in the faint light of Lyra’s horn. There was something otherworldly and subtly wrong about that beaked face.

Lyra growled and struck the griffon in the eye with an elbow. She rolled around, pushing the griffon down hard and lifted a bottle of wine in her magic. The bottle hit the griffon in the side of the head and shattered, spraying everything with wine and shards of glass. Lyra dropped the remains of the bottle as the griffon collapsed, unconscious or worse. A shadow seemed to lift from the room, and the light from Lyra’s horn grew a little sharper. She swayed slightly, then stood up and stared at the scene before her.

Bonbon stared too, but not for long. “Lyra!” she called, trying to get Lyra’s attention. The unicorn was shaking as she turned to stare at Bonbon. “Run, back to the room and lock the door. I’ll tell them you ran to get away from the griffon,” Bonbon urged her quickly.

Lyra looked down at her wine-covered self in stunned horror and confusion, then quickly galloped off towards the stairs. Bonbon let out a breath, then approached the battered griffon, keeping at a cautious distance. He was young, with a gray beak and white face. He was bleeding from where the bottle had hit him, and didn’t look like he was going to get up soon. He hadn’t looked like he had any right to be up and moving a moment ago, either. Bonbon cautiously reached out to check his neck, searching until she found a pulse.

It didn’t take long before she heard hooves on the stairs and ponies rushing through the cramped storage space. Bonbon turned around and stepped out to see who was coming. Rainbow Dash was one of the first, to no one’s surprise. “Just a griffon,” Bonbon said and stepped aside to make room for them. “He attacked Lyra, but she knocked him out and ran off.”

“Is she okay?” Rainbow Dash asked with a worried look at Bonbon as the others gathered around the fallen griffon.

“Probably just shocked,” she said and trotted away. “You keep an eye on that griffon. I’ll go talk to Lyra,” she added before hurrying off towards her and Lyra’s cabin.

* * *

“She’s fine,” Bonbon said as she came back out and closed the door quietly behind her. “She wasn’t hurt, just shocked and frightened. She asked to be alone for a while.”

“What a relief,” Snow Dive said and seemed to relax. “We get stowaways from time to time, and when we find out, we usually just put ‘em to work and leave it at that. We’ve never had anypony attacked like this before.”

“What I want to know—” Bonbon leveled her gaze at the stallion behind Snow Dive “—is why you were down there with Lyra in the first place.”

“It’s not a crime, is it? I needed help getting one of the heavy boxes of wine from the top shelf,” he said and looked up to meet Bonbon’s eyes. “Your friend is a unicorn, so I figured she could get it down easy. I had no idea a bloody griffon was waiting to attack us in the dark.”

“And instead of helping her, you turned tail and ran,” Bonbon hit back. She didn’t trust him. Sure, he might have told Lyra he needed a bit of help down in the storage, but what else did he have in mind? Stallions like that couldn’t be trusted. “That was very noble of you.”

“We can’t all be heroes, lady. At least I got help.” He glared at her, though he clearly wasn’t proud of the running.

“No more fightin’!” Snow Dive pushed herself in between them. “We’re all on this ship together, so you darned well better get along! The captain is keepin’ the griffon above, perhaps we should see if he’s woken up yet.” She turned and stomped her way up the stairs. “And maybe the fresh night air will cool your heads too.”

Bonbon shot the stallion another look before following. Several ponies, including Rainbow Dash and the captain, were watching the griffon, who had been tied up to the main mast. One pony was tending his wound. He didn’t seem to have woken up yet.

Rainbow Dash looked up and noticed Bonbon, as Snow Dive went to talk to Barrel. Bonbon walked up to the Wonderbolt and looked more closely at the griffon, now that she wasn’t in a hurry. “He’s not very old,” she concluded.

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash agreed. “Just a damn kid.”

“I think he’s the missing kid from the village,” Bonbon said and stared at the white face and gray beak slumped in front of the mast, wrapped in bandages. “That’d be my best bet, anyway.”

“Ugh, just what we needed.” Rainbow Dash groaned. “What I want to know is why he jumped out at Lyra like that!”

“Maybe she surprised him,” Bonbon said, but she didn’t believe it. She had seen the look in his eyes for a brief second before Lyra knocked him out. It wasn’t a look of surprise or fear, but of pure malice and murderous envy.

Snow Dive returned, carrying a mug of water. She paused to give the griffon a look before throwing the cold water in his face. “Wake up, boy!”

The griffon blinked and struggled against the bonds. His eyes widened and darted around as he quickly came to. “Who—” he stammered. “W-who are you?” He struggled, panicked, head turning every which way. “W-where is this! Dad! Help!”

Bonbon stared at the frightened and confused griffon tied up before them. There was none of the malice left in his eyes, only wide-eyed terror and bewilderment.

* * *

Hey Twi.

We’ve got ourselves a stowaway, some griffon kid who may have been missing from that village we had to leave in a hurry. He was hiding down in the storage and attacked Lyra when she went down there. She’s alright, though, but the griffon claims to remember nothing. He’s completely out of it. No idea where he is or what’s going on. We’ve explained it all to him several times, but it doesn’t seem to stick very well yet.

I remember you said something about Trixie being like that too, when you caught her, so I thought you’d want to know.

I can’t freakin’ wait to get away from all this. I wish I could just take off on my own. It’d be so much faster. So much easier. I could’ve been half across the next continent in this time.

Love you.
Dash.

I love you too, my dear.

Did this griffon have anything on him when you found him? Or maybe somewhere nearby?

♥ Your princess,
Twilight Sparkle.

I dunno. He didn’t have anything on him, but I’ll search the storage and let you know if I find anything.

Please be careful, and don’t touch anything.

♥ Twi

I know the procedure. Don’t need to tell me, Twi.

…

Heh, “tell me Twi”. Get it?

You’re incorrigible, Rainbow Dash.

Is that like incomparable? Because I’m totally that.

Yes, dear.

* * *

Bonbon was tired of water. In every direction, water. Even though it had only been a week, it felt like she had seen enough water to last her a lifetime. The pegasi seemed to take a cruel delight in making it rain on the seventh day of the journey. The increased wind did mean they got moving a little faster, which Bonbon assumed meant they would get to see land slightly sooner, for which she guessed she should be thankful, or something. At least she could stay below deck and look out at the rain. And the sea. Water below, water above, bloody water everywhere.

The griffon had been untied when it seemed he had no clue where he was or what had happened, and more importantly that he wasn’t any kind of danger. Everypony kept an eye on him anyway, though, and he kept to himself and said nothing. Bonbon couldn’t blame him. She couldn’t blame Lyra for staying well away from him either.

Everypony was watching everypony, looking suspiciously at everyone around them. A gloom had shrouded the ship, and Bonbon worried that if they didn’t reach land soon, it would turn into a repeat of the village they had fled from.

One night left before they would see land, if the navigators were correct. One night!

Bonbon looked out at the sunset through the pouring wall of rain and sighed.

One night left to endure.

IX. Mice and Mares

“They seem to be gaining on us now.”

“So it seems. Can you see anything else?”

Rainbow Dash picked up the telescope and held it up to one eye, sighting until she found the ship in the distance. It was visible with the naked eye now. “Looks like griffons,” she concluded.

“Unsurprising in these waters,” the captain said and leaned over the railing.

“You think they’ll attack?”

Barrel turned to look at the water, relaxing as he thought. “Nah. They’re not moving like they want to pick a fight. Seems to me they’re just keeping an eye on us.”

Rainbow Dash frowned. “I’ll fly over there and ask them!”

“Don’t bother,” Barrel interrupted her. He stood back up and turned to walk back to the wheel. “Let’s focus on getting where we need to go and let them do the same. No one needs to get in anyone’s feathers out here.”

Rainbow Dash huffed and followed. Bonbon looked away from the two pegasi to where Lyra was standing at the front of the ship, staring ahead. Bonbon stood up, feeling heavy and tired as she slowly trotted across the deck to join Lyra. “Hey.”

Lyra looked around briefly at Bonbon before returning to stare at the horizon. A hazy strip of land was faintly visible there, waiting for them. “Hey,” she said in a flat voice without any joy.

Bonbon settled in next to Lyra, leaning in to her a bit. “What’s the matter?”

“There’s no way we’ll get there before the sun sets,” she said, which seemed likely to be true. “It’ll be dark when we reach the city.”

“And you’ll be …” Bonbon trailed off, looking back at the ship and the crew going about their business.

“Trapped?” Lyra finished for her. “Yeah. There’s no way I’ll get off this ship without being seen once we land at the docks. There’ll be ponies everywhere, and they’ll expect me to get off along with you and Rainbow.”

Bonbon watched their Wonderbolt friend still arguing with the captain about the other ship. Her mind went to work on the challenge. “Good thing you brought a pegasus with you, then,” Bonbon concluded and looked back at Lyra. She was almost proud of the unicorn’s foresight, even if this was not the situation Lyra had prepared for exactly. “How fast would you bet she could get you to shore?”

Lyra turned to look at Rainbow Dash and gave a small chuckle. “That’s much better my idea. Here I was thinking of swimming the rest of the way. I bet that would be cold, wet and hard to explain,” she said, a little blush of embarrassment on her cheeks. “Hey, Rainbow Dash!”

Rainbow Dash was halfway over the side of the ship, having clearly decided to pay the other ship a visit despite the captain’s advice, when Lyra’s call stopped her. She turned around with an exasperated look. “What?”

Lyra waved her over, and Rainbow Dash grudgingly turned around. “What?” she repeated in a lower voice as she crossed the length of the ship and landed in front of them.

“How fast can you make it to shore from here?” Lyra pointed a hoof at the distant city.

Dash glanced that way, looking unimpressed at the apparent challenge. “Is that a dare? Twenty minutes, tops.”

“Alright. Same question, but now with me on your back?”

“With—Uh, what?” Rainbow Dash looked between Lyra and the distant shore and scratched her head. “You want me to carry you there … now?”

“Why not? I need to get there a little early, I … have some things to do.” Lyra looked past Rainbow at where the sun was descending towards the horizon. “Think you can get me there before it gets dark?”

Dash looked at the setting sun and huffed. “Easy peasy! I could make it back here again, too. Long as you think you can hold on, that is.”

Bonbon gave Lyra a smile. “I’ll stay here and pack your things for you.”

“Thank you. I’ll see you there.” Lyra returned the smile and turned back to Dash. “Well?”

“Right now right now?” Rainbow Dash asked and glanced around the deck. Seeing Lyra’s look she shrugged and knelt down so that Lyra could climb on her back. “Whatever. Just hold on tight. I don’t want to have to fish you out of the water.”

Lyra climbed up on Rainbow’s back, making herself comfortable between her wings and holding on tightly with her hooves around Rainbow’s neck. “All set,” she said and glanced back at Bonbon. “Adiós! I’ll see you there.”

Bonbon waved as Rainbow Dash set off, swiftly accelerating towards the city on the horizon. She shook her head and watched the two disappear across the deep blue waves for a while.

“Is she missing her own wedding or something?”

Bonbon startled a bit at the voice and turned to watch Snow Dive standing next to her. “Something like that,” Bonbon said and tried to smile. “Just needed to get there a little faster.”

“Hrm.” Snow Dive shook her head and turned around. Bonbon watched her go. She made a note to thank the crew properly for having them on board, but she got the feeling that what would help even more was for them to leave the ship.

A foul mood appeared to follow them around wherever they went. Bonbon was glad that it seemed to be merely brooding at the moment. Perhaps it was the crew’s natural cheerfulness which resisted, she thought idly, before turning back to stare at the horizon.

They should have brought Pinkie Pie along with them, then. Bonbon smiled a bit.

* * *

Rainbow Dash returned an hour later, as the sun was just starting to turn the sky to red. She landed next to where Bonbon was sitting, watching the sunset and the other ship, which had steadily caught up with them and was now drifting along not far behind them.

“You didn’t drop her off in the sea, did you?” Bonbon teased.

Rainbow Dash flicked her mane proudly and stretched her neck, watching the other ship suspiciously. “What do you take me for? Some second-rate flier? I’m the best. Of course she’s fine. Told me she’d meet us at the dock again tomorrow before she ran off.”

Bonbon just nodded. A few more hours and she would have solid ground beneath her hooves herself. She was almost tempted to ask the pegasus to fly her there right now, but she didn’t think it would be polite to either Dash or the crew. And then there was all their stuff to carry. She settled herself instead on enjoying her last sunset at sea to the fullest.

* * *

The ship berthed at the harbor just before midnight. Bonbon glanced out the window as the ship came to a rest at the docks, and saw the other ship drifting in not far behind. In the darkness of night it and its crew were but shadows in the flickering lights of lanterns, working the ropes and readying for landing. Bonbon shook herself away from the window and returned to packing her and Lyra’s things.

Bonbon turned around and picked up Lyra’s instrument. It was a bit heavier than she expected. Perhaps, she thought with a sad smile, there was more gold in it than she had given it credit for. She sat down and ran a hoof over each string in turn. The sound came out a little flat and discordant in her untrained grasp. Bonbon sighed and set it down next to Lyra’s bags.

Her eyes lingered on one of Lyra’s notebooks. Hesitating, she reached out to pick it up. She flipped through several pages of musical notes, telling herself that she wasn’t really going to read anything. She skipped over a few pages which looked more like a diary, before stopping at a random page.

A dried flower graced the middle of the page, glued carefully to the paper. Bonbon recognized it as a simple pansy, light blue like the ones Bonbon had once given Lyra in one of her attempts to woo the unicorn. Bonbon lowered her gaze to the words scribbled below.

“Why don’t I just go? Why do I stay, when I know there’s nothing for me here? I’ve done what research I can in the Ponyville library long ago. That’s what I came here for, wasn’t it? Why do I stay, then? Every day that I remain here only makes it harder. I can’t stay for her. I could never really be with her. I would only hurt her. I don’t want to hurt anypony.”

A few idle hearts graced the page, drawn by a mind lost in thought. “I’m fooling myself with hope that love or friendship was ever meant for me, the real me, the whole of me, and not just the face of me. I should never have stayed here this long.”

Bonbon lifted the book to avoid her tears dripping on the paper. She sniffed and rubbed her eyes. “You dumb, foolish mare!” she whispered.

There was a knock on the door, and Rainbow’s voice brought her back to the world around her. “Hey, you ready? We’re about to leave the ship now.”

Bonbon stuffed the notebook back in the saddlebag and stood up, wiping her eyes. “Yeah. I’ll be right up. Just give me a second.”

“Alright,” Dash said on the other side of the door before disappearing, her hooves echoing on the steps. Bonbon stretched herself and shook off the sadness before picking up the bags and turning to leave the ship. It would be good to finally have solid ground beneath her hooves again.

* * *

Bonbon stepped off the ship and almost felt like she had been reunited with a long-lost friend. She had to compose herself for a moment lest she succumb to the urge to get down and kiss the ground. “I’m never setting hoof on a ship again,” she said.

“Going to be hard to get home, then,” Rainbow Dash grinned as she came up next to Bonbon, jabbing her shoulder with a hoof.

“Spoilsport,” Bonbon grumbled and hefted her bags up as she looked around the docks. Most of the crew was getting off to join the quiet bustle of the docks. Even at this late hour, several ponies and griffons were at work or standing around. “So what now?”

Rainbow Dash shrugged and turned to look up at the city, sitting upon the hills and cliffs above the docks. “I guess we find a place to sleep for the night and meet Lyra in the morning as planned. As long as the griffons here aren’t jerks like in that other place.”

“Careful now. You don’t want to tempt fate,” Bonbon chuckled.

“Yeah yeah. Let’s just find the captain and say—”

“You!”

They both turned towards the group of griffons walking down the pier from where the other ship had docked, led by a now familiar bluish and large-beaked griffon. “Oh Fate,” Bonbon sighed. Others were turning to watch what was going on too.

“Great. What do you want now?” Rainbow Dash gave the griffons a look like they were the least interesting people in the whole world right now.

“What do you think I want?” The griffon came to a halt in front of them, the other griffons gathering beside him. “You think—”

“Geoffrey!” The griffon was tackled mid-speech by the young stowaway, leaping off the ship and rushing at him at the sight of someone familiar.

“Gerome?” There was a moment of surprise and confusion among the griffons at the appearance of the missing boy. Geoffrey looked at the boy hugging him tightly, then back at the ponies. “So, you thought you could get away with kidnapping my cousin? You have some nerve!”

“We didn’t—” Rainbow Dash protested.

“They tied me up!” The boy broke her off.

“Because you attacked us!” Bonbon glared at the boy. Ponies and griffons were gathering around them, turning into something more and more like a mob. Things could quickly take a turn for the worse, and Bonbon found herself right in the middle of it. Why couldn’t people ever just be reasonable?

“That’s what you say!” the boy countered, glaring back at Bonbon. “You knocked me out and tied me up, and I don’t even know how I got on that ship!”

Geoffrey lifted the boy’s head and pulled at the bandage to look at the wound to his head where Lyra had hit him with the bottle. “You’re going to pay for this,” he said and pointed a claw at them. “Every bloody pony who laid a hoof on this kid! Your foul witchery won’t save you this time!”

“We didn’t kidnap him! He attacked us!” Rainbow growled as she got in the face of the griffon. “Get it through that thick skull already!”

“You pay for your words, pony!” The griffon growled back.

Bonbon groaned and applied her hoof to her face. She turned to look as a new voice picked up from the crowd behind her.

“Are we having a fight on the docks this early?” A large, sandy-coated griffon strolled through the crowd of ponies and stopped beside Bonbon. Maurice winked down at Bonbon and looked back at the other griffons. “It’s hardly past midnight yet. The best bars only just opened.”

“You’re taking their side, Mice?” Geoffrey spat.

“Maybe I am, maybe I’m just thirsty and would rather we all drink than fight,” Maurice said. “So why don’t we all go have a glass and talk about it like decent griffons and ponies?”

Geoffrey puffed himself up and stepped in front of the boy. “I know you and your friends, but you don’t scare me!” His friends joined him in looking confident as well. “We’ve got your boss on our side.”

Maurice lit up in a delighted grin. “Abbie? She’s with you? Well, why don’t you tell her to get her feathered ass out here, then? Tell her Maurice owes her a drink or two.”

A few uncertain looks were shared by the griffons. Geoffrey frowned and turned to one of them. “Tell her to get out here. And take the kid back to the ship with you,” he said and gave the boy a pat on the head before turning back to the ponies and Maurice. “They kidnapped my cousin and beat him up. I don’t care who you are or what you say; I’m going to make them pay!”

Maurice smiled and looked at Bonbon and Rainbow Dash. “These two little ponies? I find that hard to believe. Come on, Geoff. You know how kids are at that age, always running away from home to go on adventures, sneaking aboard ships and getting themselves in trouble. How many ships did you sneak aboard as a kid because you wanted to be a sailor just like your uncle?”

Geoffrey was fuming, glaring at them all. “My cousin would never lie to me!”

Maurice held back a laugh, very poorly. “Right, right, of course.”

The griffon who had run back to the ship returned, alone. She looked uncomfortable as she whispered something to Geoffrey. The confidence of the griffons seems to falter, the air slowly seeping out of them.

“Tell you what,” Maurice began. “Why don’t you run off or come with us for a drink, and when I see Abbie next, I’ll be sure not to tell her that you tried to involve her in your personal little squabbles with my friends.”

The griffons seemed to grow steadily smaller as they looked at Geoffrey for support.

“You know what she thinks of griffons who go around claiming to be her friends to other griffons,” Maurice added. “No one likes griffons like that very much.”

Geoffrey was smoldering, but it was clear that he wasn’t going to make anything of it at this point. He gave a huff and pointed at Rainbow Dash and Bonbon. “Don’t think I’ll forget you two,” he said before spinning around, stalking angrily back towards his ship with the rest of his friends behind him.

Rainbow Dash laughed. “Yeah, why don’t you just remember how many times we made you run off with your tail between your legs before you try again?”

“It’s a bad time to push your luck,” Maurice said and nudged the pegasus. “You look like you need a place to stay, and maybe a friend or two as well in this place. So how about I offer you that drink, maybe?”

Bonbon gave Dash a slap to the back of the head for extra emphasis. “We would be honored,” she said to Maurice.

* * *

“Whoa!”

“What happened here?”

Bonbon looked around as they walked down one of the streets of the city with Maurice. Every window had either been barred with wood or replaced recently. She looked down, nearly stumbling on the loose cobblestones where the whole street had been torn up in a long, jagged scar all through town. Pieces of shattered glass could still be seen glinting everywhere among the cracks, though the majority had been swept up.

Maurice looked around at the destruction. “If you believe everyone around town, some crazy pegasus flew through the city fast enough to blast every window and tear up the street,” he said like he wasn’t sure how much of it was embellished over a few drinks. “Then she landed—or more like she crashed—in the market and started raiding the place for food before taking flight again, leaving everyone in the dust so to speak. I didn’t see it, mind you. I only just got back here two days ago, and it was like this. I live several blocks from the path of destruction, and even one of my windows got blown.”

“Sounds like a tall tale,” Bonbon said.

“You’re telling me? I didn’t believe a word of it, but here we are.” Maurice looked around. After a second he pointed to a wall and trotted towards it. “They’ve got a big reward on her head, too.”

They stopped to look at the poster on the wall. It depicted a turquoise pegasus mare standing in the wreckage of a marketplace, hoarding cobs of corn. Her brilliantly orange mane was a wind-blown mess, and her wild, manic eyes were staring straight into the camera of whoever had managed to snap the picture. The tattered remains of a blue flight suit clung to her body.

Underneath the picture, in large letters, the poster read, “Wanted! For wanton destruction of property, endangering lives, theft. Reward 5.000 bits, dead or alive.”

“Unbelievable,” Bonbon shook her head and turned to follow Maurice.

“My exact reaction,” the griffon said, his tail swishing lazily along the ground as he sauntered along the street. “No point chasing after her, though. Not if you ask me, anyway. Wherever she was going in such a rush, she’s gotta be far away by now.”

Bonbon nodded. The night was cool and refreshing, and the feeling of solid ground under her hooves still managed to make her smile. She looked around and paused when she realized that Rainbow Dash hadn’t said a word for a while. The pegasus was no longer following along with them. Bonbon stopped and turned to look for her. “Rainbow Dash?”

The pegasus was still standing by the poster, staring at the picture. Bonbon watched her for a few seconds before calling out again. “Rainbow Dash? Are you coming?” Bonbon smiled at a sudden impulse to add, “You couldn’t catch her anyway.”

Rainbow Dash startled, as if someone had stuck her with a needle, and turned to give Bonbon a withering glare. She reached out and grabbed the poster in her teeth, pulling it off the wall, then turned and drifted gloomily past Bonbon and Maurice.

Bonbon watched her, confused at the change in mood. “Sorry? I was only teasing,” she called out and glanced at Maurice. The griffon just shrugged and continued on his way.

* * *

“So where’s your other friend?” Maurice opened a door and stepped into a small guest room. “Last we met there were three of you.”

Bonbon followed inside and dropped her saddlebags on the bed, both her own and Lyra’s. “She had some things to do,” she said and looked out the window at the dark city outside. Lyra could be anywhere out there. Bonbon hoped she was okay, wherever she was staying for the night.

Maurice gave a nod and looked around the room as if to satisfy himself that everything was as it should be, then walked back out. “Your friend must have been tired,” he said. Rainbow Dash had gone straight into the other guest room and closed the door without a word.

“Sorry. I honestly don’t know what’s wrong with that pony.” Bonbon sighed. “But we’re very thankful for your hospitality. Or at least I am.”

“Think nothing of it,” Maurice said and shook his head. He looked down the hall and hummed a bit. “It’s a bit late, but my offer of a drink still stands.”

Bonbon stretched her back and looked between the bed and the window. After a moment she shrugged and walked out, closing the door behind her. “I don’t mind a drink or two.”

The griffon livened back up a bit and turned, leading the way out. Bonbon followed through the small manor. “You think Abigail was on the other ship, or were they just bluffing?”

“If they were bluffing, they were bigger idiots than I gave them credit for.” Maurice huffed. “Abbie doesn’t care to get involved in petty squabbles like that, and she’s good at slipping away when she doesn’t wish to hang around any longer.”

They headed down the street to a small tavern. Maurice showed her in, and Bonbon followed him to the bar. “Why would she come here?”

Maurice shrugged. “Probably just a stop on the way. Bet she’s headed back home, but you’re better off asking her yourself,” he said and smiled. “Two glasses and a bottle of whiskey for me and my pony friend,” he said and held up two claws at the griffon behind the bar. “You haven’t been to Mais before you’ve tried our whiskey, my friend.”

* * *

Twi, Lightning Dust passed through Mais. Trashed and raided the whole place too. They’ve got a bounty on her head, but hay if I know where she is by now. Must have been … How long did it take her to cross the sea? If she flew at that speed all the way … bet it wouldn’t be long. She’s going to burn herself up. There’s no way she could have kept that up … right?

— Dash

It’s impossible to say much with any certainty, my love. Based on some assumptions about her speed and assuming also that she made no stops, she could have reached Mais the same day, and I do not believe she could have continued like that for more than an hour after at most. That’s being generous with assumptions, even. But the fact that she stopped may be a sign that she took rests along the way. We can only hope that she did.

Luna is reluctant to say much. I don’t think she’s feeling confident about what she knows yet. But Scootaloo says that Luna has been unable to find any of Lightning Dust’s dreams. Either she doesn’t dream, hasn’t slept all this time, or … I’m sorry, dear, we can only hope, but I want you to be prepared in case of the worst.

But there’s more, and I think this is what has Luna so reluctant to speak. Scootaloo mentioned that Luna has had the same problem with Lyra. Assuming that Lyra does dream—very few ponies don’t dream at all, even if they don’t remember it—, and that she’s not a changeling of some sort, it’s possible that she is possessed by something which doesn’t dream, or whose dreams are not those of a pony. If so, this could be the same for Lightning Dust.

Given recent events, I think there is reason to keep a close eye on Lyra. She may hold the key to all these questions.

Please be careful.

♥ Your Princess,
Twilight Sparkle.

That’s what I’ve been saying all this time, Twi. But I’m not breaking my promise to Lyra, and I’m not giving up on Lightning Dust either! ~~You know, I don’t care~~ … forget it.

We’re in Mais now. Smells of corn everywhere. Lyra’s off somewhere out there in the city, was in a hurry to get here and said she’d meet us at the docks in the morning. We’re staying with one of the griffons we met at the crater. I think I just heard Bonbon stumble down the hall to her room a few minutes ago. Probably drunk off her hooves. ~~Wish I had a bottle too—~~ I didn’t write that, Twilight, and you didn’t read it. I don’t do that crap! It’s not me.

I don’t know why I’m writing this stuff to you, but I can’t sleep, and I miss you. I keep staring at the picture of Lightning Dust and thinking. She looks awful, Twi … like all Tartarus is chasing her or something. It’s all —

Dash?

Are you there? What’s happening?

* * *

Bonbon twisted and turned, feeling hot and sweaty. The darkness flowed like water. Waves of thick black currents rushed over and around her. It lifted her up high and back down, raging and frothing like a silent beast.

Running and panting, stumbling blind and panicked. Her legs were scraped and bloody from falling and galloping through bushes and over sharp rocks. The sound of the darkness chasing her, galloping hooves and shouts. Something whistled past her ear and shattered against something ahead. She fell and cried out. Pebbles howled for her and pulled on the leash. Bonbon stumbled back on her hooves, frantic and pained. “Princess!”

“Run, you fool! This way!”

Bonbon stumbled after the sound in a panic. The darkness tore at her like sharpened branches, obsidian claws in the night grasping at her. They snapped and broke like brittle bones as she pushed through, head down and crying. “Why are they after us?”

“We did not permit thee to speak! Run! Stay behind, protect u—” Something whistled through the air, and a cry of pain cut through the darkness ahead. Bonbon heard the princess fall and scramble among the underbrush ahead.

“Princess!” Bonbon stopped and fell down low to the ground. “Princess!”

“Stay away! Don’t touch us!”

Bonbon ignored the words, fumbling in the dark for the princess.

“Away!” The voice of the princess was frantic now. A leg kicked out at Bonbon and hit the side of her face. “No! We need no help, get up there and fight! We command thee! Stay a—Ah!” The princess cried out again.

Bonbon reached out towards the voice. She had to get them away from here, get them to safety. The darkness writhed and screamed. Bonbon clasped her ears in pain and cried, curling up on the ground as the world shook with sudden rage and fear.

The world trembled like a snake in the throes of death, whipping the black sea into a frothing mass of white fury. Bonbon cried in agony as a cold light shone through the darkness. A figure, tall and terrible leaped across the waves, landing above Bonbon, horn ablaze.

Princess Luna’s mane billowed in the wind and waves, her teeth gritted and face snarling. Her legs buckled under the weight of the darkness above her, standing under the crushing of a wave hitting the shore. “Be … gone! Away with thee!” she howled at the dark, and her eyes shone like twin moons.

The darkness howled back, thick with rage and despair. Princess Luna shook as from a blow and fell down on one knee above Bonbon. Her horn flared brighter, meeting the black wall above with unwavering force.

A quake shook the world, tearing the ground apart beneath them. Bonbon screamed and opened her eyes wide as the world around her shattered and howled in a thousand shrieking voices.

A tiny ball of fur landed on her face and clawed at her muzzle. Bonbon blinked and sat up in bed with a start, her drunken vision blurred and he heart pounding. The Tartarean shrieking wouldn’t stop assaulting her ears and frayed nerves. Another furry body landed on her blanket, tiny black eyes of madness and maw of yellowed teeth screaming and hissing at her.

Three more landed on her.

Bonbon screamed and swatted the mice away. Hundreds more flooded the room, pushing and clawing against each other for space. Bonbon pushed herself up against the wall, kicking at the swarms of rabid mice quickly flooding her bed and floor.

The screaming and shrieking never ceased, nearly drowning out cries of alarm and shouting from outside. Bonbon kicked wildly about her and jumped off the bed, trying to fight her way to the door, but there were too many, biting and clawing at her. She fell and closed her eyes, waving frantically about her as she was covered in enraged mice.

Somewhere above her, glass shattered and fell upon the floor of mice. “Bonbon!” She heard a voice call out. Strong hooves grabbed her and pulled her into the air and out into the night.

* * *

“Mice! Mice everywhere! Biting … scratching everywhere!” Bonbon wept and shivered, still feeling them all over her and crawling around in her mane and tail. She cracked an eye open and stared down at the town below, the streets and homes overflowing with rivers of enraged rodents, a perfect picture of complete and utter mayhem. “Holy bloody hay! What did they put in that whiskey?”

“This sort of crap always happens whenever you don’t happen to have Fluttershy around to deal with it,” Rainbow Dash’s voice grumbled above her. Bonbon turned her head to look at the pegasus holding her, circling high above the city where the rodents couldn’t reach them. “She’d have this place under control in a snap, believe me.”

“I knew I should have gone to live with my brother up in Grifland. No doggone mice up there.” Maurice drifted up beside them, shivering as he eyed his home and the sea of rodents below with visible apprehension. “I knew Mais had a lot of them, but this is crazy!”

“Lyra!” Bonbon cried in sudden horror. The other two looked at her. “She’s down there somewhere,” she said and turned her head, staring at the madness below as if she might spot a minty unicorn among the masses of mice. Then she remembered that Lyra would not be a unicorn for a few hours yet. “Bloody damn!”

“Any idea where she might be?” Rainbow Dash looked around the city.

“I … I don’t know!” Bonbon’s heart was starting to race again. Lyra could be anywhere, and worse, she was stuck as a human. Should she tell Rainbow Dash? She had no hope of rescuing Lyra from the mice without wings herself. She had promised Lyra that she would keep her secret. If they went to find her, there was no way Dash wouldn’t find out.

Bonbon frowned at herself and at the whole mess around her. “Let’s try the docks!” There was no way she was leaving Lyra alone down there, no matter what promises she had made. “Maurice, you try looking on the other side of town.”

“Right,” the griffon said and looked around before taking off.

Rainbow Dash nodded and spun around, racing towards the docks. “How the hay are we going to find her among all this chaos?” she called over the wind and shrieking of mice.

“Look out for any golden light,” Bonbon said, wracking her brain for anything else that might help. “Lyra!” she called out, hoping it would help rather than scare Lyra away even more.

“Good idea!” Rainbow Dash said and dove down closer to the streets, scouting left and right while calling out for Lyra.

Where were all these mice coming from? Bonbon shivered at the memory of waking up covered in angry, screeching mice. If that didn’t end up haunting her forever, she would be greatly thankful. More importantly, what could have enraged them so? Thick streams of rodent bodies scrambled and clawed for purchase against each other in the streets. The image of ponies galloping around wildly in the Manehattan streets flashed through her mind, replaced by the hordes of thousands upon thousands of mice running amok and wreaking havoc below her. But the ponies in Manehattan hadn’t been stricken by rage like this.

“Bonbon!” Rainbow Dash shook her out of her thoughts and pointed to a flash of golden light.

Bonbon looked up to see a second flicker of light. “Go!”

“Right!” Rainbow Dash picked up pace, racing over rooftops before diving down between buildings, zig-zagging through tiny back alleys.

Another flicker of light came from an alley ahead, and a strange, haunting melody sprung up from a street behind them. The mice below seemed to pause for a moment, looking up and trying to turn towards the sound echoing among the old buildings.

Rainbow Dash ignored the sound, racing around the corner and came to a stop. Bonbon looked around the alley for any signs of Lyra. A shadow flicked across the walls as something ran through the light of a lantern. Bonbon turned and caught a glimpse of Lyra turning to look at them. A moment of horror flashed across Lyra’s face before she darted through the door to a nearby shop.

“What the hay?” Rainbow Dash blinked.

“Just follow her!”

“On it!” Rainbow Dash zipped down the street and turned on the spot, racing through the doorway into the shop. She stopped and looked around among the dusty shelves. There was no sign of Lyra anywhere.

“The basement!” Bonbon said and pointed to a flight of stairs behind the counter.

Rainbow Dash nodded and landed, letting go of Bonbon before running down the stairs into the dark cellar below the shop. Bonbon followed and stopped at the bottom of the stairs, looking around the small room.

Rainbow Dash trotted up to a large stone grating lying on the floor next to a wide hole in the wall, just large enough for somepony to crawl through. “You think she’s …?” She turned to look at Bonbon. “Uh, in there?”

Bonbon walked up beside her and knelt down to look into the deep hole. All she could see was darkness, though mercifully free of any mice. A shiver ran down her spine. She looked around the room, but there was nowhere else Lyra could have gone as far as she could see.

Bonbon took a deep breath before crawling into the hole and the darkness ahead. Why could she never have prepared for something like this?

X. Beneath the Layers

It was almost like one of her dreams. Almost, except for the much too real sensation of stone on all sides. Bonbon pulled herself forward through the narrow space, scraping her belly and flanks against the rough, uneven floor and walls. Her heart beat like a rabbit’s backed into a corner by a pack of dogs, not from exertion but from the clammy hoof of Death grasping her shoulder in the dark, imminent and heavy.

Her chest rose and fell in a frantic rhythm as she saw her fate play out. Her body was going to get stuck in the narrow space. She’d use up all the air and choke, desperate for breath. That’s how she’d die, hopelessly stuck in a hole without air somewhere far from home. There was no room to turn around, no room to move or breathe.

“You alright?” Rainbow’s voice came from behind her, and despite everything, hearing another pony’s voice made Bonbon feel a little more at ease.

“No,” she admitted, all pretense of calm gone. “I’m not alright. I … I’m freaking out.”

“Hey,” Rainbow said. Her voice was calm, revealing no signs of the anxiety Bonbon was feeling. “I’m right behind you. Just keep steady. You’ll be fine.”

Bonbon nodded, though she knew the pegasus couldn’t see her. She took a deep breath and pulled herself a little further, feeling ahead of her in the dark with her front legs. How had Lyra escaped this way so swiftly? Perhaps it was easier for a human to squeeze through this sort of space, although Bonbon wasn’t quite sure how it would be easier.

Her hoof struck emptiness ahead. She paused and felt around until she had a sense of the opening ahead of her. She pulled herself a little closer and leaned over the edge, stretching until her hooves touched solid ground below. She nearly shook with relief as she breathed out a sigh. “I think I’ve found the end,” she said as she inched herself forward.

“Cool,” Rainbow said behind her.

Bonbon slipped out of the narrow space and found herself standing upright in what had to be another room, though she couldn’t see a hoof in front of her eyes and even less any walls or other features. They really should have brought some light with them. How convenient it was for unicorns to have a built-in flash light. She took a deep breath to shake off the last fear and began feeling out the room.

“Gee, they couldn’t install some light down here?” Rainbow’s hoofsteps sounded against the stone floor as she slipped out of the hole behind Bonbon. “It’s darker down here than Luna’s backside.”

“I think it’s a ruin of some sort,” Bonbon concluded as she felt along a rough stone wall. Having been slowed down enough to think through their situation, a nagging thought began to surface. What was she doing? Chasing Lyra with Rainbow in tow? Of course Lyra was going to run away from them. Just as importantly, Lyra had light and they didn’t.

How had Bonbon ever gotten herself into a situation like this so ill prepared? “Right,” she thought. “Many manic mice menacing the majority of Mais at midnight.” Still, it wasn’t like her to do this sort of thing. She paused and closed her eyes to think; not that closing them made any noticeable difference.

“There are some stairs here,” Rainbow said somewhere in the dark. “What do you think this place is anyway? Pirate tunnels?”

Just like Rainbow Dash to think of pirates as the first option. “Or access to the sewers,” Bonbon said and wrinkled her nose. She made up her mind. “Whatever it is, I’m going down there to get Lyra. You stay here,” she said, searching around for where Rainbow had said the stairs were.

“No way I’m just sitting around. Not gonna happen.”

“Then go help them with the mice outside.” Bonbon found her way in the dark and turned around at the top of the stairs. “Lyra needs space, remember? So I’m going alone to speak with her.”

It took a long silence before Rainbow Dash grumbled back. “Fine. I’m staying here,” she said and sat down on her haunches by the wall. Bonbon imagined her sitting there sulking with her hooves crossed over her chest.

“Good.” Bonbon turned back to the stairs, moving carefully to find each step in the dark. “I’ll be back when I’ve talked to her.”

A small grunt was her only response.

* * *

She had walked for possibly five minutes in the dark, down stairs and tunnels. She was completely blind here, leaving her to depend entirely on her other senses. At least she was certain she would be able to find her way back when needed, because she had taken care to follow the wall on her right wherever it took her; all she had to do was to turn around and follow the wall on her left and it would eventually lead her back to the room where Dash was waiting.

She had to admit to herself that she would have liked the company more than anything, short of some light. She had to constantly calm herself down and take deep breaths, lest she panic. She didn’t want to call out, because every time she did, her imagination conjured all the things that could be hiding down here, and many more things that probably couldn’t. But if she would have any hope of finding Lyra, then she had no choice.

“Lyra?” she called again, her voice just loud enough to be heard nearby. “It’s just me, Bonbon. No pony else.”

The stones were rough and cold against her hoof, and it was clear that this place had not seen use for a long time but had simply been left to ruin. The air was musty and got colder as she descended deeper into the place. She wondered if maybe Lyra hadn’t run very far after all, and whether to turn around and try some other way. How big was this place anyway?

She began counting the steps under her breath in between her calls for Lyra, the faint sound of her voice helping on her nerves. “It’s alright,” she whispered to herself. “That’s it … just keep walking, don’t think, just walk and breathe. Don’t think.”

It had probably been almost fifteen minutes by now, the best she could guess. This had been a stupid idea. Bonbon stopped and leaned against the wall, closing her eyes, though it still made no difference. She could turn around and find Dash, get out of here and back into the light and the fresh air. Lyra would be fine. Probably.

Unless Lyra was lost, but she at least had light. Bonbon beat her head lightly against the stone wall. She was such a blundering fool. She stopped and rubbed her mildly sore head with a sigh before continuing on. “Five more minutes, then I go back,” she whispered.

A few steps later her hoof hit empty air. She stopped, feeling around until she found a flight of stairs. Bonbon paused and turned around in the dark. It hadn’t been five minutes, but there wasn’t much point in going even further down. She really wanted to see some light again.

“Lyra?” she called quietly down the stairs, listening to the faint echo coming back. After a few seconds of silence and no response, she placed her left hoof against the wall and began walking back the way she had come, following the same wall the other way.

A tiny sound made her ear stand up and her hooves came to a sudden stop. She stood completely still and held her breath, her ears turned back in the direction of the stairs. She waited several seconds before she picked up another quiet sound.

Bonbon turned around slowly and walked back to the stairs, feeling carefully with her hooves before she began the descent. It took her a minute to reach the bottom of the stairs. She stopped and listened again over the fast-paced beating of her heart.

Something sniffed nearby. Bonbon walked quietly towards the sound, feeling ahead of her. “Lyra?” she whispered. Lyra—if it was her—let out a sob. “Are you crying? It’s me, Bonbon.”

The sound stopped, except for a low and fearful breathing. “L-leave me alone,” a voice whispered. It was weak from crying, but it sounded like Lyra.

“It’s just me.” Bonbon could hear the breathing right in front of her now. She fumbled and found a wall. Lyra inched away from her in the dark. “No one else is going to see you like this, I promise,” Bonbon said to reassure the human. “I didn’t tell Rainbow Dash anything, and I don’t think she connected you with what she saw.”

Bonbon knelt down on the floor and reached out for Lyra. The human shied away from her, pressing herself up against the wall. Bonbon let her hoof drop, wondering what had upset Lyra so. “What’s wrong, Lyra?”

Lyra didn’t say anything, merely sobbing helplessly in the corner. Bonbon was at a complete loss. She sat for a few seconds, trying to think of something to say. “Lyra, I …” she said softly, but didn’t know how to continue.

When words didn’t seem to come, Bonbon did the only other thing she could think of. She inched herself closer and reached out again, this time placing a hoof on Lyra’s shoulder. The touch caused her to tense. Bonbon blinked. “You’re freezing cold!” she said in shock and moved closer, not caring whether Lyra protested or not as she wrapped the cold, naked human in her hooves and held her tightly. “What happened to your sweater?”

Lyra still said nothing and remained stiff with fright in Bonbon’s embrace. Bonbon held her tighter and stroked her back. The skin was soft and smooth, nothing like Bonbon had expected. Lyra began sobbing again. Bonbon had no idea what else to do. She had never seen Lyra this distraught, or this cold. Bonbon nuzzled her and tried to rub some warmth into her. It didn’t seem to work, but she kept trying anyway.

Bonbon wasn’t sure how long she had been holding Lyra close, but she wasn’t going to let go. The human had begun to relax, but remained as cold as ever. Bonbon’s mind had been trying to figure out what it was that was nagging her. It struck her suddenly that Bonbon was probably shivering more than Lyra. In fact, Lyra wasn’t shivering at all.

Something was obviously terribly wrong. Was Lyra sick? How could she be this cold and not shiver? “Lyra?” Bonbon waited a few seconds, but Lyra remained silent. “Do you think you could make some light for us?”

Lyra froze up again and began shaking her head strongly. “Nnno, no!” she cried. “No, no … Nnno!”

Bonbon held her closer, trying to calm her back down. “Alright, no light. No light.” Lyra seemed to calm a little again and sniffed. She buried her head in Bonbon’s chest and cried. Bonbon sighed and looked up, as if answers might come floating down from the ceiling towards her. “I’m here for you. Please just tell me what’s wrong.”

A soft golden light crept into the room behind her. Bonbon blinked, her eyes aching at the sudden change from complete dark to soft illumination. “Oh … thanks,” she said and smiled.

“Bonbon?” Lyra’s voice sounded behind her. “What are you doing down here?”

Bonbon turned around and blinked at the source of the voice. A minty unicorn stood at the base of the stairs, a soft golden light shining from the tip of her horn. “… Lyra?” Bonbon’s mind tried to grapple with the sight before her, but came out blank.

She turned and stared into the shadows in front of her. The air and darkness of the room seemed to come alive to flee the light. A shriek made its way up through Bonbon’s throat but died at her lips as something struck her in the chest and the world returned to sudden black. She felt herself thrown through the air and heard Lyra cry out. She never caught the words before everything went out in a flash.

* * *

She was in a forest, lying on a thick layer of dry pine needles, staring up into the endless sky. There didn’t seem to be anything but trees and pine needles in sight for miles. She turned slowly and stood up, brushing herself free of needles before looking up at the cloudy sky. After a moment of looking around, she began walking in the direction she was facing. There didn’t seem to be any way to choose a better direction, so it probably didn’t matter.

A young filly leaned against a tree up ahead, watching Bonbon as she approached. “Hey,” Scootaloo said and began walking along with Bonbon. “Have you seen Rainbow Dash?”

Bonbon looked around at the endless trees and the cloudy sky again. There was no sign of anything remotely like a rainbow’s colors anywhere. Just grey, green and brown all around. “Are you waiting for her?”

“Kinda.”

“Know where we are?”

The filly shrugged. “You’re dreaming, so I doubt it matters.”

Bonbon stopped and looked at the filly, then at the forest again. So none of this was real? She wasn’t used to dreams like this, where she knew it was a dream.

“What do you remember before the dream?” the filly asked.

It was hard to remember. “I was sleeping,” she said as she began walking again. Scootaloo picked up pace, trotting along beside her. The forest showed no signs of changing. “I had a nightmare and woke up covered in mice. Lots of mice. Angry mice. Don’t know what made them so angry, but they were flooding the whole city. Rainbow Dash got me out of there.”

Scootaloo said nothing as she listened, her hooves kicking at the cover of the forest floor.

“Then we went to find Lyra, but she ran away into some tunnels beneath the city. It was dark and I didn’t have any light. I found Lyra hiding in a corner.” Bonbon stopped and tensed at the memory. “Except it wasn’t her.”

Scootaloo looked up at her. “Perhaps it was. Have you thought about that?”

Bonbon shook her head. “I think she found me there, and I don’t know what it was I had been hugging, but something happened and then I don’t remember anything else.”

“When you have two of the same pony, and they’re not twins,” the filly said and sat down on the mat of pine needles, “how can you really tell which is the real one?”

Bonbon huffed and stopped. “Lyra is not a changeling.”

“Changelings can’t feel love.”

“What?” Bonbon looked down at the filly sitting before her, taken aback by the strange shift in topic. But then, it was a dream, and dreams never cared much about making sense.

“The one who follows you loves you terribly much, I think.”

Bonbon wasn’t sure what to say about that. She felt the ground begin to shake beneath her, and all around her the trees fell away silently as the world disappeared.

* * *

“Hey! Can you hear me? Yo, earth to earth pony!”

Something shook her hard. Bonbon groaned and turned her head away from the light burning mercilessly above her. “What happened?”

“Hay if I know!” Rainbow Dash’s voice was angry as she stepped off Bonbon. The light grew a little less bright as she did, and Bonbon slowly opened her eyes to look around. “I heard a scream, and I swear all the darkness came alive for a second. I rushed after the sound and found both of you sprawled out on the floor.”

Bonbon sat up and looked at the pegasus. Rainbow was holding a torch in one wing, lighting up the previously dark room. Now that Bonbon could see properly, the room looked like the ruins of some ancient castle, bare except for a broken table of stone and a rusty chain in the ceiling which could have once held up a chandelier. “Where’s Lyra?”

Rainbow Dash pointed her other wing, and Bonbon turned to look. Lyra was sitting against the far wall of the room, staring gloomily back at Bonbon.

“How long has it been?” Bonbon asked and stood up.

“I dunno. An hour, maybe, since you left me sitting there?” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Could be less. It felt like ages.”

Bonbon had no idea what time it was when they had been woken up by the mice, but it had still been in the middle of the night. There had to be at least an hour or two left before sunrise. She looked back at the minty unicorn wearing the same sweater Bonbon remembered she had worn earlier that day on the ship. “I’m going to talk to her,” she said to Rainbow.

“Whatever. I’m going to check the other rooms and make sure nothing’s hiding.” Rainbow turned around and headed down one of the tunnels. “Call if you need me.”

Bonbon waited until the pegasus disappeared into another room with the torch, leaving only Lyra’s light behind. She turned and walked up to sit down next to Lyra. “I haven’t told her anything,” she said. Bonbon wondered how much easier it would be if Rainbow knew, but she didn’t think it was the right time to suggest it to Lyra.

“But she saw me.” Lyra kept her eyes on the doorway where Rainbow Dash had gone to investigate on her own. “And you betrayed me. You led her to me.”

“I was trying to save you.” Bonbon wrinkled her nose and brow in a look of annoyance at the unicorn. “What else was I supposed to do? The whole bloody city was flooded with mice, and maybe you haven’t noticed, but I still haven’t sprouted wings, you know. It was only a brief glimpse anyway. I doubt she made much of it.”

Lyra wrapped her front legs around herself in a hug and glowered at the faint glimmer of torchlight from the other room. “That’s how it begins, Bonbon,” she said. “It’s the curse. You might think I could trust you, but the more ponies who know, the greater the chance of a slip. First you find out, then before I know it Rainbow Dash finds out too. Then somehow somepony else catches wind of it, and suddenly it’s out of control.”

Bonbon mulled that over in silence. She looked at the pony next to her. “How come you’re not a human now? It must still be night outside.”

“We’re too deep,” Lyra muttered into her sweater. “Once I get deep enough into the ground, the moon’s power stops affecting me. It was the same back in the mine.” She seemed to anticipate Bonbon’s thought and added, “It’s not enough to simply stay indoors at night, though. Something about the moon reaches through walls, but not deep enough to reach me down here.”

“I see.” Bonbon stared at her hooves and shivered. “Did you see what happened earlier?”

“I thought I heard voices, so I followed and found you sitting in the corner. It was too dark to see, and I think something hit me. I must have passed out. Rainbow Dash woke me up.”

Bonbon was silent for a while. “There was another human. I swear it must have been,” she said. “I could have sworn she had your voice too, but … she didn’t really say much, I suppose. Maybe I was mistaken about the voice. She was freezing cold, though, and she just kept crying.”

“Are … are you sure?” Lyra looked up with wide eyes at Bonbon.

“Absolutely. I may not have been able to see her, but there’s no way I could have mistaken it. I swear it was a human girl.”

Lyra turned and stared at the ruins around them. She said nothing, and Bonbon decided not to say anything more either. She wished she could get some sleep.

* * *

Bonbon had a headache, and her eyes were itchy and red as they began the journey back through the ruins towards the surface. She wasn’t sure what time it was, but it had been enough hours that the sun had to be up by now. Lyra had refused to move until now, and Rainbow Dash had refused to leave them down here, even though she obviously begrudged sitting around in the dark while who knew what was going on up above.

Both Bonbon and Rainbow had eventually managed to get an hour or two of uneasy sleep, but it might as well have been nothing. If Lyra had dozed off briefly while they were sleeping, Bonbon couldn’t tell and didn’t ask.

All three made their way through the dark, tired and in no mood to talk. Lyra lit the way, now that Rainbow’s torch had burned out. The magical light cast long shadows where she turned her head, and their hooves echoed in the corridors and crumbling rooms. Bonbon wasn’t sure what this place was, but all the rooms and halls were empty, except for a few broken doors and pieces of furniture. She hadn’t seen or heard any signs of life since the unknown human, and she had no idea where it had gone.

In her tired state and eager to get back out, Bonbon had forgotten about the wall she had followed. Now she wasn’t sure which wall it was, or even if she had been this way before. She told herself it wouldn’t matter; as long as they kept going up, they’d get out somewhere eventually. And they had light this time.

They had been walking for probably half an hour, though. “Are we lost?” she asked, breaking the silence for the first time. She thought she sounded almost like she didn’t care at this point. She really was awfully tired.

“Just have to find the next stairs up,” Rainbow muttered and pushed an ancient door open, poking her head inside the room beyond to look. “It’s not like that should be so hard.”

Lyra continued down the hall. Bonbon followed and looked around as they entered a small rotunda with paths leading off in different directions. The largest of the passages had stairs leading up, but it had long since collapsed and filled up with debris.

Rainbow Dash groaned. “Great.” She turned and flew around the room to check out each of the other passages. “That room we came in through must be around here somewhere.”

“It may have been on one of the lower levels,” Bonbon said and sat down.

“Well, there’s gotta be another way out.” Rainbow came back from a short venture down one of the passages and looked around, trying to decide.

Lyra dusted off some stones with her tail by the collapsed stairs and tilted her head. Bonbon watched her push a bit of rock and dirt aside with a hoof.

“You’re trying to dig your way out now?” Rainbow rubbed her temples in frustration. “Come on, one of these passages—”

“Just give me a moment,” Lyra mumbled.

Rainbow Dash sighed and turned back to the available options. “Sure. Whatever.”

Lyra pushed aside a larger rock and stopped, looking at something. Bonbon was about to get up and walk up to see what she was looking at when the light from Lyra’s horn vanished, plunging the room back into complete darkness without warning.

“Hey! What the—” Rainbow said somewhere in the dark.

“Lyra?” Bonbon called and reached out, feeling blindly ahead of her. “What happened?”

There was a sound of frantic digging and shuffling of stones from the stairs. What sounded like a minor rockslide followed, and then the light returned. “Sorry,” Lyra said by the stairs, holding her dirtied sweater wrapped around something. “Let’s go.”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow at the unicorn and pointed at the bundle wrapped in the sweater. “What’s that?”

“Just a rock,” Lyra snapped back. “What way?”

Rainbow apparently assumed this was one of those things she wasn’t supposed to ask about and simply shrugged. “This way, I guess,” she said and pointed down one of the corridors at random.

Bonbon followed in the back as they moved on. Lyra walked in the middle, holding her bundle while Dash led the way. Bonbon supposed she would have to press Lyra about it later, when they were alone and maybe had managed to get some proper sleep. They were all a bit stressed and tired right now, and it seemed to affect all their moods.

They’d walked for a few minutes when Rainbow Dash held up a hoof for them to stand still. She hovered in the air and turned around as if trying to hear something. After a moment she pointed down a passage to the left. “There’s fresh air coming from here,” she said and headed down the passage. “That means it must be a way out.”

Lyra and Bonbon followed, eager to get out into fresh air and the light of day at last.

“Hah!” Rainbow exclaimed up ahead and circled into the air, disappearing up into the ceiling of the room ahead. “It’s a tower!”

Bonbon stepped into the room and looked up, staring into the clear blue sky above the broken remains of a tower. She couldn’t help but smile and breathe in the cool air.

“Come on,” Rainbow Dash called and swooped down to grab Lyra first, lifting her off the ground and soaring up through the tower. “We’re out of here!”

* * *

“I thought you had up and vanished on me there. Where have you been all this time?”

They were back at Maurice’s place. Lyra and Rainbow Dash were going through their rooms and the mess the mice had left behind, trying to salvage what could be salvaged of their things. Outside, the streets still teemed with mice, but the worst chaos and confusion had passed, and most of the mice were being rounded up or chased back underground. The incident had left the whole city in a mess, however, and no one looked very happy.

“We ended up in some kind of ruined tunnels beneath the city,” Bonbon explained. “There weren’t any mice there, and we got a bit lost before we found our way out again.” She decided not to go into detail and simply left it at that.

“Oh,” the griffon said as he surveyed his ruined home. “Sounds like the old castle dungeons. It’s a bit of an attraction, especially since it served as inspiration for a Daring Do novel.” He picked up some books and dusted them off before putting them back on their shelves. “It was picked clean ages ago, of course. There’s nothing left down there now, but every so often some kids sneak off and get lost in the tunnels, and then we have ourselves a grand old adventure trying to find them.

“Lots of buildings in the city are built on top of those ruins,” he continued. “It’s usually teeming with mice and rats down there, but I guess they all left it for the surface tonight. Never seen anything like it.” He stepped into the kitchen and sighed at the sight. “Or anything like this. So you’re not planning on staying?”

Bonbon shook her head and helped gathering up the ruined food. “We all agreed that it would be best if we got going as soon as possible, after we’ve gathered our things and had a few hours of sleep.”

“Can’t blame you,” Maurice said. “It’s going to be a lot of work and no fun before the city looks itself again.”

Bonbon took a glance out the window at the city outside and the groups of griffons already hard at work trying to clean it up. “Do you think there are any stores where we can restock?”

“Probably. The mice didn’t ruin everything,” he said and inspected a bottle that seemed to have survived its fall from one of the shelves. “And I bet all the merchants will be eager to sell you anything they can, ruined or not, to recuperate some of their losses. If you’re smart, and quick on your hooves, you can probably get some decent stuff for nearly free.”

Bonbon nodded. “Good. If tonight has taught me anything, it’s that we are terribly ill prepared.”

* * *

Hey Twi.

We’re all fine. Sorry I had to disappear on you like that. I’m way too tired right now to write, so I’ll tell you more later, but we kinda had ourselves a grand flood of rabid mice, whole city went up in chaos. Then we spent the night in some sun-forsaken ruins after looking for Lyra.

Anyway, we’re all getting a few hours of shuteye before heading out into the wild. Bonbon’s out there trying to buy up the whole damn city. Says we need to be prepared for anything out there. She can carry it all herself, though. Not my problem.

Say hi to Scoots and our friends for me.

Love you,
Dash

P. S. I saw this really strange creature here. I figure you or Fluttershy would know what it was. I’ll try to draw it some other time. Gotta catch some Zs first.

XI. Silence is Golden

They passed a small wooden windmill an hour from the city. Its frame was old and unadorned, and its sails stood like silent sentinels against the wind. Simple and worn down as it was, it was still a welcome break from the monotony of the endless corn fields where last year’s stalks were left to wither until spring came back around. If only it was summer and the fields were golden and green, at least then they might lighten the spirit. Bonbon turned her head, watching the mill long after it had disappeared from sight, as if she could still picture it through the tall rows of corns.

Rainbow Dash returned from scouting and fell into place alongside Lyra and Bonbon. She spat out a stick of licorice she had been chewing since they left the city and licked her teeth as she looked up at the dull gray cloud cover.

“Is it going to rain?” Lyra’s voice was muted, and she had to repeat her question a little louder before Rainbow Dash realised that she had spoken.

“Yeah,” the pegasus said and smacked her lips. “That’s a quality cover we’re looking at, too. It’s working up to a real nice shower.”

Bonbon gave Lyra a sideways glance. “Pegasi,” it said. She turned her eyes back at the clouds. “I don’t see anything nice about them at all.”

Rainbow Dash huffed at their obvious ignorance. “Don’t you dare diss a good drizzle. There are weather ponies back in Cloudsdale—true masters of the craft—who could make a drizzle that’d dazzle and blow your lowly ground pony minds.” The Wonderbolt grinned and turned around, flying backwards in front of them. “See, you’ve gotta get the drops as small and the downfall as steady as possible. Then you want to get rid of any wind, too, and the temperature’s gotta be just right. Nothing worse than a warm drizzle, take it from me, but it can’t get too cold either. There’s this golden zone, and a true rain pony knows just how to hit that sweet, sweet spot.”

“Is that what passes for a refreshing shower to you cloud rutters?” Bonbon stuck out her tongue at the pegasus.

“Hay yeah!” Rainbow chuckled. “You should try it.”

“I’d prefer an hour long bubble bath, thank you very much.” Bonbon sighed at the thought of just such a bath after all this wandering through snow and ice, across oceans, and down cold, muddy roads that seemed to have no end and nothing to see but corn.

Rainbow rolled her eyes and turned back around. “Soaking in a tub for hours? No thanks. A flight through a well-crafted rain storm on the other hoof, that’s the real deal! That’s where it doesn’t get any better.”

“I’d like a warm shower,” Lyra said with a longing look at the ground in front of her hooves. “A real warm and steamy shower.”

A drop of cold water landed on Bonbon’s muzzle. She looked up at the sky about to break and sighed. “Can we talk about something else? Like where to find some cover.”

“Nothing around here,” Rainbow Dash said with obvious pleasure at being the bringer of bad news. “Besides, we didn’t exactly get an early start on this journey, so we’ve got to put in a good march to make up for it, especially if we wish to find a village or something before nightfall.”

Bonbon grumbled a reply and dug out the thin cloak she had brought with her. At least she had been able to prepare pretty well for most mundane circumstances back in the city. It had made her saddlebags a bit heavy, but it was worth it. She had even managed to get her hooves on a quality set of bags with lots of pockets and straps for strategic and easy access to all her most critical items.

“I want to stick to the wild,” Lyra said and brushed the first few drops of rain off her face. “We need to avoid any more settlements and any more attention.”

“I thought—But …” Rainbow Dash turned around again. “Isn’t it better if we stick to the road and pass through any villages for as long as we can? That way we can restock supplies and ask for information along the way. Once we leave griffon territory we may not see any more civilization.”

Lyra was silent for several seconds. The sky broke, and cold water fell in curtains of gray that seemed to drown the world in silence. Lyra looked up at Dash and brushed her soaked mane out of her eyes. “We can do that if we come across any settlements during the day, but I want to leave well before nightfall and not stay longer than it takes to pass through. We’ll camp in the wild the rest of the way.”

Rainbow Dash considered that for a moment. “That’s cool, I suppose. What’s the plan, anyway? Where are we going from here?”

“We’ll just continue east for now,” Lyra said. “That’s the plan.”

“Huh.” Rainbow Dash scratched the back of her neck as she turned back to the road ahead. “Any idea what we’re looking for or something? I mean, east is cool, but it’s not much to go on. None of our maps are any help once we leave the griffon lands.”

“I have some idea,” Lyra muttered and left it at that, her mood reflecting the gray rain pouring down her face.

Rainbow Dash looked over her shoulder at the unicorn, then shrugged. She picked up pace a bit, flying up ahead again. She was soon just a vague silhouette seen through the dense shower of rain, even though it wasn’t actually very far she had gone.

Lyra turned and looked at Bonbon through the pouring rain. Her mane clung to her face and neck. “I want you to stay where I can see and hear you from now on,” she said.

The statement came out of nowhere and took Bonbon by surprise. She wiped some rain from her eyes and looked at Lyra. “What the hay are you talking about, Lyra?”

Lyra kept her eyes on the pegasus flying up ahead. “I want to trust you, Bonbon, I really do, but I can’t afford to trust anypony. You’re the only one who knows, and I need to make sure it stays that way. I’ve made too many mistakes and listened to my heart too many times when I knew I should have locked it up and shut it out. I don’t want you out of my sight, do you understand?”

Bonbon glared at Lyra. “What, so I’m your prisoner now?”

Lyra stopped and turned, glaring back. “You wanted to get close to me and get to know me. Well, you got your wish! I never should have let you. I knew I’d only hurt you.” More than rain was streaming down her face as she said it. “This is what you’ve got, and there’s no turning back or regretting it now, Bonbon. You want to know what the alternative is? Because I’ve thought about that too. I’ve thought about what I’d have to do if you turned around now.” She kept her eyes fixed on Bonbon, her jaw tense.

Bonbon opened her mouth to speak and felt a cold touch run down her spine. The words that came out surprised her. “You scare me, Lyra.”

“What do you think you do?” Lyra hit back, her voice breaking. “You terrify me, Bonbon. And you make me terrified of myself too! All the time I worry about what you’ll do, or what you’ll let slip to someone, or what kind of monster you will force me to become to keep you silent. I tell you to leave me alone, you follow anyway. You have my life in your hooves, Bonbon. If others find out the truth, I’m done for. I need to make sure my secrets are safe with you, and I can’t do that if you run off or leave me.”

“I’m not leaving you,” Bonbon said as the rain washed down her face and into her eyes. “I thought I made that clear back in Ponyville.”

Lyra watched her sadly until Bonbon turned and continued walking. Lyra waited a moment longer before trudging through the rain behind Bonbon.

* * *

Bonbon threw another hoof-full of dry corn stalks on the fire and sat down, trying to dry herself out in the growing heat. Lyra dried out another piece of old wood by magic and fed it to the flames. Even if everything was wet from the rain, they wouldn’t have to worry about running out of material to burn out here, and the old abandoned barn where they had decided to set up camp provided cover from both wind and rain, at least for tonight.

Bonbon looked up and turned her head to look over her shoulder. Rainbow Dash was lounging on the roof of the barn behind them, writing in her book and paying the two of them no mind.

Lyra picked up her instrument and looked at the strings in the flickering light. She closed her eyes and lowered her head while her magic plucked at the strings.

Bonbon listened for a time in silence to the lyre and the soft crackling of the fire. Her thoughts drifted back to Lyra’s journal and the words she had read back on the ship. “Lyra, why did you come to Ponyville in the first place?”

“When I left Canterlot,” Lyra said but kept her eyes closed, “it was because I wanted to search the rest of Equestria for signs of my kind, including my parents. Ponyville is almost dead in the center of Equestria, and it has good connections and a library. It’s not an old library or an old town, but a lot of old books and manuscripts were actually moved to the Ponyville library from other, much older archives around Equestria, even before Twilight took it over.”

“But that’s not why you stayed in Ponyville, is it?” Bonbon kept watching the unicorn on the other side of the fire, trying to catch any signs of what she may be thinking from her expression.

Lyra said nothing, looking down at the ground.

Bonbon decided to leave it be. “And you never found anyone else? Of your kind, I mean.”

Lyra shook her head. “All I found were these pieces of legends and songs that I’ve told you about. It was something, though. Certainly more than I could have hoped for, in hindsight.”

Bonbon poked the fire idly with a piece of dry wood. She threw it on the fire and looked back up at Lyra. “But you found something down in those ruins, didn’t you? At the fallen stairs.”

Lyra looked up at the roof where Rainbow Dash was still lounging with her book.

“What did you find?” Bonbon pressed a bit further.

Lyra looked back down at Bonbon, a little hesitant. She pulled her saddlebags over and got up, walking around the fire to sit close to Bonbon. She opened her bag and unwrapped the bundle of cloth, holding it out of sight of Rainbow Dash on the roof.

Bonbon looked down at the small skull. “Is that …?”

Lyra quickly wrapped it up again, but kept looking down into the bag. “A child. It’s too small to be an adult. It was buried under the collapsed stairs. Someone had made a sort of grave there and scratched a message on one of the stones in a foreign language.”

“Do you know what it said?” Bonbon looked down as Lyra took out one of her notebooks and opened it to a small passage that she must have written from memory when they got back from the ruins. Bonbon couldn’t read it.

“I’m not sure. It may be in a dialect of Neaponitan, and I think maybe it says Day’s Glory or something like that here.”

“A name?”

“Maybe,” Lyra shrugged and left the book open in her lap as she looked down into the saddlebag with the skull wrapped in clothes. “I took the skull and covered the rest of the bones. I don’t think they should be found by others.”

Bonbon nodded, and a thought occurred to her. “Makes you wonder about the fate of other such remains. If they’re lying around, then some of them must have been found.”

Lyra hesitated as she considered Bonbon’s words. “I don’t think there are many of us left, and certainly not in Equestria or even here. I think …” She trailed off, staring into the fire. “I think my father came to Equestria from far away, and maybe he had a brief affair with a mare from Canterlot. Maybe he’s still wandering Equestria, maybe he’s moved on. He probably doesn’t know that he fathered a child. Mom later gave birth, only to find that her child was a monster. So she probably left me in a panic. That’s how I imagine it might have happened, anyway.

“I don’t think there are a lot of humans out there,” she continued, speaking into the fire. “And I don’t think there are any in Equestria other than me. Maybe there have never been any in Equestria, except the odd wanderer from far away, and maybe a few like me who grow up in hiding and eventually move on. It’s why I knew I had to go beyond Equestria.”

Lyra looked down at the bag she was holding. “I don’t think Equestria was ever meant to be my home. I don’t know where I’ll end up, or what I’ll do there, but I don’t think it is my fate to return to where I began. Maybe this is the fate of all my kind. Maybe there is a home waiting for me out there, a place where we all eventually find our way.”

Bonbon watched her hug the bag as the clouds turned darker with the gradual onset of night. “What fate does that leave me?” she wondered quietly to herself.

* * *

Heya Sis.

Twilight’s on a strict “NO worrying” order from her friends, which involves a lot of spa time and long, boring talks with Rarity, so I’m writing for her instead. She kinda freaked out a little bit and tried to teleport all the way there when you vanished, but I guess it was a bit too far, or maybe she just overdid it or something. She’s fine though, but she’s not allowed to stress or worry herself over anything for the next few days.

Oh, and Ponyville is now slightly south from where it used to be, but you’d hardly even notice.

Anyway, you’ve totally got me to write to instead, so how about that?

Your little sis,
Scootaloo

Hey Scoots.

Tell Twi that I told her to listen to her friends and stay put, alright? And that I love her, even when she’s a silly worryhead. And if you could show her that drawing I made below, that’d be cool … Actually, nevermind, she’ll just obsess over it. Show it to Fluttershy instead.

Stay cool, kid.

Sure thing, Dash!

That’s one weird critter. Any idea what it was?

I haven’t the faintest clue, Scoots. It wasn’t all that big, though, and I think it was wearing a sweater. Actually, the sweater … Weird. Nevermind, I guess it was kinda dark and I didn’t get a good look. Just show it to Fluttershy. I’m sure she’ll know about it.

How are things going for you? I haven’t heard much from you since your trip to Canterlot.

You could say I’ve been kept busy. Luna is really strict and demanding. It’s tough, and there’s so much I need to learn. I began my first combat training with the royal guards the other day. They don’t pull any punches either. I’m still sore all over from being thrown around like a bag of oats for hours, but I guess they wanted to hammer home the point that this isn’t a career for most ponies, and anypony who can’t stand up and take a beating might as well just pack up after the first session and find something better to do with their lives.

I’m not doing that, though. Not in a million years. I’m really proud that Luna has chosen me, and that she believes in me, and I know I can do this and that there’s nothing I want more than that.

It’s weird. Even though she’s really strict and barely gives me time to breathe, when she’s looking at me and when we’re talking together I know that she’s a friend, and I know that she only wants the best for me. Those moments when we’re talking, even if it’s about difficult and important stuff, those moments are so worth all the pain and hardship.

I think all of those who protect one of the princesses see her as their friend. My first loyalty is to the princess I serve, and ultimately I have to be willing to give my life to protect her, even above everypony else. That’s a really scary thing to think about doing, but I know I’d do it to protect Luna, not just because she is my princess, but because she is my friend too.

I guess this is growing up, right? When you have to deal with a lot of really difficult stuff all of a sudden. I don’t have as much time for my old friends, and I wish I could tell them more about what I do for the princess, but I give them all the time I can and tell them as much as I’m allowed to tell them, because they are still just as important to me as ever, and I know how important true friends are.

Apple Bloom got her cutie mark, like, just now. It was funny. That whole thing with Twilight freaking out and teleporting Ponyville a hundred yards to the south? Well, there was a train coming in, and suddenly Ponyville moves south and there’s this big gap in the trail ahead of the train. Bad stuff about to go down. So we all rush to fix that or stop the train or whatever. Chaos all around.

Big Macintosh sprained his back from carrying the heavy beams in such a hurry. But AB, she knew just how to lay those beams and get everypony working, and before we knew, a hundred yards of rails had been laid and the train raced right through without barely slowing down. It was like it just came to her in that very moment, and when it was all over and she caught her breath, she looked back to see her cutie mark was there. I thought for sure she’d be jumping around like crazy, but she just looked so relieved and sat down, like she’d been the one carrying all those beams and finally got to drop them off.

Sweetie’s taking it really well and joking a lot about it. I know she’s a bit jealous and trying to hide it, though, but I can also tell that she’s happy for both of us. And I bet that she’ll get hers soon. It’s funny how we tried so hard to find our cutie marks, and in the end we got them while not trying at all, just having fun or doing what had to be done. Almost makes you think someone is messing with us.

Anyway, I’ve gotta gallop. I’ve got a dream with a princess to catch.

Scoots out.

Hey Scoots.

I’ll have to show you properly just how damn proud I am of you when I get back, because these letters really don’t work at all for that stuff. But believe me when I say, that I am so damn proud of you, kid!

Tell AB she did great too, and that I’m proud of her too!

* * *

The fields of corn slowly gave way to scattered groups of trees as the journey continued the next day. A proper night of sleep—even if it was in a tent she now shared with Lyra, who insisted upon not letting Bonbon out of sight, even during the night—and the welcome change in scenery had left Bonbon in a much better mood than the day before.

They stopped at a small lake to drink and snack on the dense growth of honeysuckle nearby. Bonbon chewed the sweet flowers and fibrous leaves and looked up as Lyra joined her. “I haven’t had honeysuckle in forever,” she commented as she looked for the most appetizing flowers among the thicket.

Lyra let her eyes drift over the plant silently.

Bonbon caught a glance over her shoulder to see Rainbow Dash drinking at the lake. “Why don’t you just tell Rainbow Dash everything?” She looked back at the flowers. “That way she won’t accidentally find out or do something that’ll reveal it to others. If you need to keep her close anyway, is it not safer to let her in on the secret?”

Lyra followed Bonbon’s gaze, then back at the flowers. She sank the flowers she had been chewing and considered Bonbon’s words. “Or it just means she freaks out and tells everypony what a monster I am.”

“You really think she’d do that?” Bonbon raised an eyebrow and looked up at Lyra.

Lyra looked down. “Maybe not, but I can’t risk it. I don’t know if the curse is going to turn everypony against me. Maybe it tries to make it so that ponies find out.”

Bonbon looked back at Rainbow Dash. The pegasus looked up, water dripping from her muzzle as she noticed that she was being looked at. Rainbow rolled her eyes and turned around, walking further away to a tree leaning over the lake, its green leaves inviting her over. Bonbon looked back at Lyra. “You know, I get the impression she knows more than she lets on. Frankly, I bet she already knows the truth and just isn’t saying anything out of respect for you.”

Lyra tensed and glanced at Rainbow eating from the low branches of the tree. “You … you really think she knows?”

“I think so,” Bonbon confirmed. “But there’s only one way to know.” She sighed and nudged Lyra. “Look, what if she writes something in that book of hers? Not intentionally, but … you know, maybe she mentions something, and Twilight is pretty smart. If you ask me, you’ve got her here, she’s shown loyalty to you so far, and she probably already knows or suspects at least something. It would be more dangerous to not let her in on the secret so that she better knows what not to say or do. Have her swear not to speak a word about it to anypony outside the three of us. A pact, just us three.”

Lyra looked down for a long time. “I don’t know.”

“Think about it,” Bonbon said and returned to chewing honeysuckle.

* * *

Rainbow Dash looked around and slowed down a bit. “Oh, hey Bonbon,” she said as Bonbon caught up with her and trotted along beside her. “What’s up?”

Bonbon could almost feel Lyra’s eyes on her neck, watching her for any signs of treachery. It really would be easier if Rainbow knew. Or admitted that she already knew. “Just strolling. Such a nice day today. Barely any cornfields in sight.” She looked around at the trees around them and smiled.

“Uhuh,” Rainbow said.

“You know more than you’re telling, don’t you?” Bonbon watched Rainbow’s reaction closely. There was none.

Rainbow merely shrugged. “Sure. I know that Apple Bloom got her cutie mark yesterday because Twilight decided to move Ponyville a hundred yards south. Cool, huh?”

Bonbon blinked and almost stopped. “What?” She shook her head. “That’s … well, good. Her two friends will be all over themselves to get theirs too, then. I almost feel sorry for the ponies back home who have to deal with them.”

“Oh no,” Rainbow Dash grinned. “Scootaloo already got hers a week ago.”

Bonbon stared at the path ahead. It took her slightly longer than before to shake off the surprise. “Okay, fine, but that’s not what I meant!”

“Yeah, I know.” Rainbow looked at her indifferently.

Bonbon sighed and rolled her eyes. “Look, why are you here? I know what Lyra paid you, and I don’t believe for a second that you’d be here for a song.”

“It was a damn good song, and Twilight loved it.” Rainbow Dash grinned, a slight glint in her eyes. “I got way more than a song out of that deal, believe me.”

“But it’s not why you’re here.” Bonbon fixed her with a look. “You would have gone for free. You almost did, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, and my reasons are my own.” Rainbow looked back. “Look, you and Lyra have your little secret talks back there. Don’t think I haven’t noticed. But I don’t care, it’s cool. It’s not my business, and I’m not sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong. What Lyra is and why she’s here, that’s none of my business, and my reasons are none of yours either. Got it?”

Bonbon glowered, then blinked. “Wait. ‘What Lyra is?’” She grinned. “You know!”

Rainbow Dash frowned and picked up speed, outpacing Bonbon to end the discussion. Bonbon watched and didn’t pursue the pegasus.

* * *

There was stone on all sides, surrounding her. The air was earthy and tense with fear, but mostly not her own. Bonbon dropped down in the dark and sat perfectly still, listening with bated breath to the hooves galloping past above. She kept holding her breath, afraid that they’d hear and turn around. Pebbles lay his big, doggy head on her shoulder. She could feel his worry, but he knew as well as her not to make a sound.

Minutes passed, and then the silence was broken by the sudden breath of the pony who wasn’t a pony by her side. Bonbon could hear her frightened gasps in the dark, frantic and on the verge of panic. Bonbon had been forced to knock her out when she started screaming. They would have heard them and killed them if she hadn’t done that. She had no other choice.

It had all gone so fast. She hadn’t had time to realize that it wasn’t a pony she was dragging off into the old animal den. She didn’t need eyes to know that, but she hadn’t given it a second of thought at the time. At the time, she had only one thought in mind, and that was to get the princess to safety.

Bonbon could feel the princess’ attention fixed upon her, fearfully wondering what Bonbon was going to do to her now that she knew. Bonbon turned around slowly and felt her way towards her. The princess scrambled backwards and hit the wall of the den. “Don’t hurt us! Please!” she cried.

Bonbon looked up at where she imagined the princess’ eyes were and hoped that the look on her face would get the princess to hold still. She found the princess’ leg and the arrow stuck just below the knee. The princess shivered with fear and cried feebly as Bonbon grabbed the arrow in her teeth. She let out a shriek as Bonbon pulled the arrow out and pressed a hoof hard against the wound to staunch the bleeding.

Blood was pouring out from under Bonbon’s hoof, warm and thick and smelling of metal. Bonbon wracked her mind for where to get something to wrap the wound with to stop the blood. Maybe it would stop by itself if she just kept pressing against the wound long enough.

The princess fumbled with something, and Bonbon heard the sound of cloth tearing. “Our … shirt,” the princess said and pressed something soft against Bonbon’s hoof. “P-please?”

Bonbon picked up the cloth in her teeth and carefully wrapped it around the wounded leg. It was very fine yet strong cloth, nothing like anything Bonbon could have ever afforded. They probably didn’t even make it except for royalty to wear. She pulled it as tight as she could to stop the bleeding and sat back to give the princess a bit of room again.

The princess sniffed and pulled her legs away. Bonbon got the impression that her eyes had been watching Bonbon the whole time, afraid of what the pony might do if she looked away. “W-we still have magic, whilst t-thou remain a lowly pony. Do not get any treacherous ideas!”

Bonbon lowered her head, staring with blind eyes at the floor.

A long silence followed. The princess seemed confused by the gesture. “Why dost thou bow to us still?” she asked in a voice that was, for the first time, almost soft. “Thou art allowed to answer my questions.”

“Because I am but a simple earth pony, and you are still a princess,” she said. “I am no more than common dirt compared to you, and my place is at your hooves, or under them. Please forgive me for touching your Highness. I did not mean to befoul you.”

“But we are not a pony.” The princess fell silent before adding, almost in a whisper, “And we have brought nothing but evil and ill will against your kind.”

“You are still a princess, much higher and wiser than me, and I have sworn my life to you.” Bonbon looked down even further, averting her already blind eyes from the princess. “That is all that matters. It is not for me to question my place or my princess, whose word is divine. Please forgive me for befouling your Highness.”

Another long silence ensued before the princess spoke. “Thou art forgiven, for thy touch could not befoul us more than we have done ourselves. What is thy name, peasant?”

Bonbon shifted uncomfortably. “I am but a common pony, your Highness.”

The voice of the princess took on a commanding tone once more. “And we ask to know thy common name, pony.”

Bonbon hesitated. “It is Bonbon, your Highness.”

The princess stood up unsteadily in the dark cave. “Thou hast shown us faith and loyalty beyond our expectation, Miss Bonbon.” She hesitated before adding, “Our name is Humble Soul.”

* * *

How are you, my love?

I hear Scootaloo told you about what happened. It’s like Discord’s turned the world upside down of late. I’m the princess around here, but it’s my friends telling me what to do and when to do it.

I am so relieved to hear that you are alright. I’m sorry that I can’t write much, but this unexpected vacation left me far behind on my schedules.

Please just be careful.

♥ Your Princess,
Twilight Sparkle.

Hey Twi.

You’re doing great. Did you see the drawing I made last night? I told Scootaloo to show it to Fluttershy too. I thought maybe either of you would know what it was.

Love you too, Twi.

I see. No, I haven’t seen your drawing.

I am apparently going to have a very long and very serious talk with Scootaloo about treating books with respect and care. That little rascal tore out the page! I can’t believe she’d do such a monstrous thing. I’m going to find her and make sure she understands the gravity of her actions!

♥ Twi

Twilight? Remember to breathe! Seriously, give the kid a break. She probably just gave the page to Fluttershy to show her the drawing. It’s just a diary anyway.

Just a diary? This is not just a diary! This is the personal account of our love and your epic and unprecedented journey. In these pages we share some of our deepest and most intimate thoughts as we are away from each other! It could well become a classic text for future generations, providing a unique, first-hoof account of a historic event and a look into the minds of two young lovers on opposite sides of the world!

I am going to have such a talking to you when you get back home, Rainbow Dash! I’m making a note of this right now! Don’t think I won’t remember this.

Mm, yeah! You know I love it when you talk tough to me, Twi.

Now go see Fluttershy. I want to hear what she thinks of that drawing.

* * *

Bonbon opened her eyes and lay in the darkness of the tent, listening to the wind in the leaves and branches outside. Lyra was breathing softly next to her, still asleep. Bonbon sat up quietly and pushed her blanket aside. She sat for a minute before opening the tent flap and crawling out into the cool night air. She paused in the opening of the tent and looked around.

Everything was quiet except for the wind rustling in the shadow of the trees where they had camped for the night. The low, massive trunks of the trees made Bonbon think of old, kindly guardians. There was something comforting about the grove, like it had stood here since the dawn of time and would remain here until the end of times too.

She looked up at one of the trees, its whole trunk and crown leaning over the glade below. Rainbow Dash had forgone the tent and simply settled down in the branches of that tree, snoring softly in the darkness before dawn with her hooves dangling on both sides of the branch.

Bonbon crawled the last bit out of the tent and looked around. For a moment her eyes met another pair looking back at her, two gleaming points in the darkness of a tree on the edge of her vision. They backed away a little, but didn’t disappear. Bonbon held her breath, afraid to scare the watcher away as she took a step closer.

“Bonbon?”

The eyes vanished with but a faint rustle of leaves at the unexpected voice. Bonbon breathed out and turned around. “You scared it away,” she said and sat down.

Lyra peeked out through the opening but remained within the shadows of the tent. “What?”

“I had another dream,” Bonbon said. “And I think I know who our mystery follower is now. I think it was her down in the ruins too, the human I told you about?”

Lyra looked suddenly awake with interest. She glanced quickly at Rainbow Dash to make sure the pegasus was sleeping. “Who? What are you talking about, Bonbon?”

Bonbon looked around at the glade again, but whatever had been there before had fled and wasn’t likely to return tonight. The fact left a strange stab of sadness in her chest. “My dreams are all events and memories that could only really belong to one person. Lately I’ve been dreaming of the princess and the pony she forced to be her servant, but the first dream was about Humble in the royal court of some pony prince. There was a servant there too, but it felt like a different servant. The only constant in my dreams is the human princess.”

Lyra sat in the shadows of the tent, watching Bonbon. “You’re—”

“I’m saying I think … No, I’m certain of this, Lyra. The thing that has followed us since the mines back in the mountains, it has to be Humble, or whatever sad shadow remains of her anyway, and somehow I’ve been dreaming her memories since. I knew there was something strangely familiar about what we saw down in the mines. It’s because it was a human. It reminded me of you, or rather of the glimpse I had caught in the forest on Hearth’s Warming Eve.

“Maybe it was her who drove the miners away all the way back then. She must have been hiding down there in the darkness and cold all alone that whole time, until we stumbled through and awoke something in her. I think she’s confused and angry, and those emotions are seeping out and causing conflict wherever she goes.”

“Like with the griffons back in the village,” Lyra said, and Bonbon could see the pieces falling into place in her head too.

Bonbon nodded. “That’s what the zebra warned us about. I think Humble caused that storm with the lightning bugs too. She had just left the eternal darkness of the mines and was terrified of the light. Maybe her anger made that thing go out of control too.”

“Why would she attack me, though?”

“Maybe she doesn’t know what she’s doing. She just lashes out at everything. I don’t know, Lyra.” Bonbon looked down for a moment. “I don’t think there’s much rational thought left, she’s just a wreck of a girl wrapped in a thick layer of fear and anger and confusion which has taken on a life of its own. I had a dream back in Mais. She was shot by ponies who were out hunting them, and her servant tried to help her. Perhaps the memory of that fear, the fear of being revealed, was too traumatic. She started screaming, and all that emotion she wraps herself in just exploded and made all the rats and mice down there go nuts.”

Bonbon nodded as she continued her thought. “All that was left, beneath all the layers of anger and confusion was the frightened and ruined girl, too weak to do anything but cry when I found her there. That’s what I think.”

Lyra rubbed the back of her head and looked around. “What do you think she wants?”

“I don’t know.” Bonbon looked up at the shadowy canopy of the massive trees, beyond which the sun was slowly rising. “I don’t think she knows either.”

* * *

The air kept getting warmer as they continued their travels the next day, walking at a steady pace through forests and fields. They were making good progress and putting several miles behind them, passing through many small villages and farmsteads on the way, mostly at Rainbow’s urging. The pegasus seemed intent on showing everypony they met the wanted poster and asking about the flame-maned pony in the picture.

Bonbon restocked their supplies as they went, while Lyra merely passed through. They never spent much more time in any place than it took to walk through it.

Evening approached, and they were nearing the edge of the lands settled by the griffons when they left their last village for the day behind and headed off the road and into the wild. Bonbon looked around as Rainbow Dash caught up with them, stuffing the crumpled wanted poster back into the pocket of her saddlebag.

“So?” Bonbon prodded at the tight-lipped pony.

“She was here,” Rainbow said. “Didn’t pass through, though. One of the griffons told me she saw her fall out of the sky and crash about ten miles from here. Couldn’t find her afterwards, though, just the place where she crashed. She must have continued on hoof from there.” Rainbow Dash looked ahead, a distant look in her eyes. “Sounded like a bad fall.”

Bonbon looked at Rainbow Dash, trying to read her face. “Was she a friend?”

Rainbow Dash looked away and scowled as she set off, flying ahead without a word. Bonbon shook her head and looked back at Lyra and the sun behind them.

* * *

Bonbon picked up another piece of wood and turned back towards the camp. She paused and looked at her two traveling companions sitting around the unlit fire. Lyra was plucking the strings of her instrument, the tones dancing in the air around them. Rainbow Dash was poking through her bags, looking bored. If not for Lyra, the pegasus would have no doubt been happy to continue for several hours before setting camp for the night.

If not for all these secrets, things would be so much easier for all three of them.

Bonbon walked back to join the others. She dropped the wood on the fire unceremoniously and sat down on her haunches, looking between the two.

Rainbow Dash pulled her head out of the bag and noticed Bonbon looking at her. She raised an eyebrow. “What?”

Lyra looked up from her instrument, but kept playing quietly.

“I’m bloody tired of this charade,” Bonbon said and looked hard at both of them. Lyra tensed. “I’m not the one who should be talking, and I won’t, but I sure as hay want to hear some talking.” She turned back to focus her gaze on Rainbow Dash. “Why are you here? And don’t you dare run away or ignore me! We’re in this together, all three of us. If we can’t trust each other, how the hay are we supposed to get anywhere like this?”

She looked back at Lyra before either of them could respond. “And you! You’re going to tell Rainbow Dash everything!” She looked at both of them. “We’ll make a pact. No pony is to speak a word about anything to anypony outside the three of us.”

“Look,” Rainbow cut in, “Lyra’s business is not my business, and my business is none of yours. I’m not trying to be a jerk to you, okay? I just really don’t wanna talk about it. Trust me, it’s not important anyway.”

“It bloody well is!” Bonbon snapped back. “Maybe you’re spying on us! Huh?” she gave Lyra a glance. “How are we to know that you’re not here to find out everything about Lyra and tell your pretty princess back in Ponyville about it? How much have you told her already? A song! A bloody song was all you got out of this, and you would have gone for free. That sounds like you’ve got a bloody good reason to want to hang around Lyra. Maybe Lyra should be concerned?”

“Gee, take a breath!” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and sulked. “Fine. I’ll tell you the whole damned story, but this is between the three of us and nopony else, you got that?”

“My lips are sealed,” Bonbon said and folded her hooves, eyes fixed upon the pegasus, waiting for her to spill the beans.

“Lyra?” Rainbow Dash looked at the unicorn across the still unlit fire.

Lyra looked at Bonbon. When that yielded nothing, she sighed and looked down. “You have my word, Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow Dash stared at the wood piled in front of her. After a moment she sighed too. “I haven’t been a full member of the Wonderbolts all that long. When that thing, whatever it was, fell from the sky on Hearth’s Warming Eve, Twilight was put in charge of investigating it. She knew that something had crashed into the mountains as well, and she believed it was the main thing of something that broke up. She ordered the Wonderbolts to find whatever it was and bring it back for study.

“Spitfire chose me to lead that team. It was just a small team, just three ponies and myself, but it was my first time as team leader of an official mission for the Wonderbolts. Lightning Dust was on the team. I guess you wouldn’t know much about her. She and I were teamed up for a while at the training camp, and she became a full member a few months after me. She got off to a really bad start, kind of an idiot, but she recovered and I think she learned her lesson. I guess we did become good friends after that.”

Rainbow Dash poked at the flames slowly spreading through the wood as Lyra lit the fire. “Anyway, Twilight warned us that we were to be extremely careful and not touch whatever we found. We knew pretty well how to handle it, so we didn’t expect that we’d have much trouble. I told everypony I wanted them to do it by the book anyway, just in case.

“When we found the place, there was a snowstorm. It wasn’t anything huge, and we didn’t really have much trouble with it, but it made it impossible to see each other if we didn’t stay close. That’s not usually a problem at all, because we just use our voices to keep formation, but I told everypony to stay together and proceed with caution.

“Lightning Dust signaled that she had found something. I called back for her to stay put until the rest of us could get to her. She didn’t reply, and when we arrived at her location she wasn’t there. I didn’t know if she had moved on despite my orders, or if something had happened. I had the rest of the team stay together as we searched for her.

“Something happened, and I don’t know what it was. All I remember is a sudden sharp flash of light and a scream. I think it was Lightning Dust. I must have passed out for a second, because the next thing I remember is hitting the ground. I jumped back into the air and found the other two, and then the next moment we see Lightning Dust speeding off, out of there. I ordered the team to pursue, and all three of us took off after her.

“We’re all fast fliers, and Lightning Dust is no exception, but I’ve never had a hard time keeping up with her in a race. She’s fast, but nowhere near as fast as me when the gloves come off. Only other Wonderbolt to give me a run for my money before is Fleetfoot, and she’s been the fastest for a long time. Fleetfoot is our top racer, she has loads of experience racing, but Lightning Dust?” Rainbow Dash looked away. “She beat me. Lightning Dust beat me! I don’t know how the hell she did it, but it sure as hay wasn’t natural. She just … looked back, with this totally blank look in her eyes, and the next moment she was gone.

“I tried to follow, but she was already lost. We searched the crater but found nothing. I ordered the team to search the surroundings once the storm had cleared, just in case Lightning Dust hadn’t gone far or had turned around. We stayed a full day, just in case, searching and finding nothing. Eventually we had to return and report that we had lost one of our members and that the mission had been a total failure.

“My bloody first time in charge. Naturally they had to investigate whether I had acted irresponsibly or something. Spitfire kept it very hush, but I was officially discharged while the whole thing happened. They soon cleared me of any charges, deciding that I had acted as I was expected to.” She stomped a hoof in the ground and grit her teeth. “But it was my first time in charge, my first serious mission, and I lost a team member, I lost a friend, and even if they say I did the right thing, that it wasn’t my fault, I know what it looks like. First mission a complete disaster. It’s not the sort of thing that makes others have confidence in you.”

There was a long silence as Rainbow Dash stared into the fire, shoulders hanging. “I lost Lightning Dust, and that’s the worst. I knew if there was anything I could do to find her and get her back, I’d do it. I’d do it even if it cost me my reputation and my place in the Wonderbolts. But I had no idea where she had gone, so there was nothing I could do. Not one damn thing.”

She looked up, the remains of tears in her eyes. “Not until Lyra began asking about the crash. It didn’t take a genius to tell that she knew something, and when she asked me to be her guide and show her the crater, I knew she might be headed in the same direction as Lightning Dust.

“So that’s why I’m here,” she finished. “Because I’m going to get Lightning Dust back. I trust Lyra, and she’s always been a great pony to me and all my friends, so I didn’t poke my nose in her business. I just follow, because I bet she knows where she’s going, somehow, and I bet wherever it is it’s the same place Lightning Dust is going.

“Spitfire allowed me to do this, although I’m not sure if they’ll let me stay with the Wonderbolts when all this is over. If it wasn’t for Twilight, I don’t know if they’d have let me go at all. Twilight gave me the book to keep in touch with her about what happened along the way, and just to, you know, stay in touch.

“So that’s my story. My big disgrace and shame,” she said and hung her head.

Bonbon looked up and tried to find what to say. “I’m sorry,” she said, knowing there wasn’t much else to say. “Losing a friend is hard. I hope we can find her and bring her back safely.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash said and rubbed her eyes.

Bonbon looked at Lyra. The unicorn fidgeted nervously with her sweater. “Lyra,” Bonbon said. “It’ll be better this way, trust me.”

“Look,” Rainbow Dash said and looked up. “I’ve already figured it out, and I seriously don’t mind. The hiding away at night and stuff? It didn’t take a genius, Lyra, but you’re still a great pony to me. If you don’t want to tell me about it, I’m cool. I’ll pretend you don’t turn into a wolf every night, and I won’t say a word to anypony. It’s cool,” she said with complete earnestness.

Bonbon blinked and looked at the pegasus.

“What?” Rainbow Dash looked at them. “Come on. It’s obvious, right? I really don’t care one bit what you look like at night, or whether you howl at the moon. It’s cool. Really.”

Bonbon blinked again and looked at Lyra. The unicorn was staring too, gears turning in her head. Bonbon blinked a third time as a smile crept over Lyra’s face. Lyra did her best to hold back the chuckle, and poorly, as Rainbow’s words finally clicked for her.

Rainbow Dash watched in bewilderment as Lyra and Bonbon laughed. “What?”

“I’m—” Lyra took a deep breath and wiped her eyes. “I’m not a marewolf, Rainbow Dash. I don’t turn into a wolf at night to howl at the moon and hunt chickens.”

“You don’t?” Rainbow Dash was looking truly lost now.

“I don’t,” Lyra said and took a deep breath. Her smile turned serious again as she looked at Bonbon. Bonbon nodded, and Lyra sighed. “I … I guess it is better if you know. But you must swear that you’re not going to tell anypony, not even Twilight.”

Rainbow Dash stared at them. After several seconds she blinked a few times. “Uh … well … Alright, you’ve lost me, but I swear I won’t say a word. I wasn’t going to anyway, you know.”

Lyra looked up at the sun hanging low in the sky and sank nervously. “I … I hope I’m not making a great mistake,” she said, her voice now feeble. “I guess I need to start from the start with the whole story,” she said and pulled her lyre close, hugging it as she prepared to tell everything.

XII. That's All She Wrote

“Whoa whoa whoa,” Rainbow Dash made a cutting motion with her hooves and stood up to face Lyra. “So let me just get this one straight,” she said as the other two looked up to hear what she was about to say. “You’re saying you’re related to that vile little traitor?”

“Yes,” Lyra said in a quiet voice as she watched Rainbow Dash carefully across the fire. “I am distantly related to Humble Soul. But I don’t know how, or even whether it is a direct line.”

“Right,” Rainbow Dash continued, waving off the details. “And she was cursed to be a pony because of what she did to her sister and to everypony else? Starting a war between the pony tribes and all that?”

“During the day she would be a pony,” Lyra corrected. “So that no one would trust her. The ponies wouldn’t trust her during the night, and her own people would drive her away during the day. She wouldn’t truly be welcome anywhere because of the strife she herself had sown.”

“Uh huh. Right,” Rainbow Dash said with a harsh look in her eyes as she gestured to the landscape around them. “And now she’s following us because she’s oh so sad and sorry for what she did or something?”

“Rainbow!” Bonbon glared at the pegasus standing on the other side of the flames. “She’s been alone and hunted for thousands of years. You—”

“Yeah? Well, boo hoo! Let her do that for a thousand million more!” Rainbow Dash dug her hooves into the ground and spread her wings, the fire reflected in her eyes as she turned to face Bonbon. “She left her sister to the same fate, you know, or am I the only one who remembers that little detail? I say she got exactly what she deserves! Let her bawl her eyes out all she wants; if I ever see her, I’ll give her something else to cry about!”

Bonbon jumped to her hooves, a stab of anger in her heart. “You will leave her alone, Rainbow Dash! You hear? She doesn’t deserve your hate!”

“You’re defending her?” Rainbow Dash snarled at Bonbon and took a step forward. “You’re defending a monster who left her sister to an eternity of cold and loneliness!”

“I would give her a chance, at least!” Bonbon yelled. “I suppose you also think Lyra deserves your hate, then?” Bonbon hit back, feeling the anger burn in her chest as she faced the pegasus. Memories of the fragile human spirit crying in her hooves drifted to the surface. Her own reaction surprised her, but she pushed it aside as she stared down Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to respond but quickly closed it again, her brow furrowed and jaw tensed in an expression of restrained anger and thought. She turned her head to look at Lyra, who was watching them with guarded resignation. Rainbow Dash looked back at Bonbon, the fire still in her eyes but now controlled. “No,” she said through gritted teeth. “This has nothing to do with Lyra. This is about a traitorous little snake hiding among us.”

Bonbon kept her eyes locked with Rainbow’s, trying to force out some sort of confession from the pegasus. Was that doubt she detected in that brief moment of hesitation? Did Rainbow Dash really question whether Lyra deserved to be hated and ostracised by everypony for what her distant ancestor had done?

Rainbow turned around and sat down, ignoring Bonbon except for the occasional suspicious glance. “I think Humble got less than she deserved, and I bet there was a reason her family was given the curse too. They must have done something to deserve it, right?”

Bonbon narrowed her eyes, but Lyra reached out to steady her before looking at Rainbow Dash. “I don’t know,” she said. “Nothing of what I’ve found says anything about that.”

“Whatever it was,” Bonbon said, “it was thousands of years ago. Lyra had nothing to do with it.”

“I know that,” Rainbow said coldly.

The only sound came from the crackling of the fire and the wind in the trees as they all sat there in the light of the flames, looking at each other. Bonbon breathed out a low huff of air and looked up as the sun disappeared below the horizon, giving way to the moon. She looked back down at Lyra, who was sitting uncomfortably under the attention her change in appearance was getting.

Rainbow Dash was looking at Lyra too, giving the creature before her a good look. “Look,” she said after a pause to take in the change, “I don’t mind that you are … this thing.”

“A human,” Bonbon reminded her.

“Right.” Rainbow Dash glared at her for interrupting. “It’s not like I didn’t already suspect it, like I said. Though I guess I expected something really cool, with lots of fur and huge fangs and claws. What’s the point of an ancient curse like this if you don’t get to turn into something fearsome and cool, like a wolf? Just saying.”

Bonbon rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Just remember that you can’t say anything about any of this to anyone,” she said and fixed Rainbow with a cold glare. “Not even Twilight.”

“Yeah, um,” Rainbow said and raised a hoof to scratch the back of her neck. “Not even—”

“No,” Lyra cut her off, suddenly alive again. “Not ever! No exceptions!”

“Gee, let me finish, alright?” Rainbow Dash sulked and lowered her hoof again. “I mean, I won’t tell her anything about you, I swear, but I don’t see why I can’t tell her about that thing that fell and the song and, you know, the whole story about all that. I’m sure I could tell her all that without saying anything about you, and it would really help her with her investigation. Maybe it would even get her off your tail.”

“And how long would it take her to piece everything together?” Lyra glared at Rainbow Dash. “You can not tell her anything!” She stopped herself and sighed before adding in a somewhat calmer tone, “Please? This is very important to me, and you already promised.”

“She’s not going to like it if she finds out I’m keeping this from her,” Rainbow Dash said and looked down, her ears flat against her head. “And, uh, I kinda already made a drawing of what I saw in Mais. I told Scootaloo to show it to Fluttershy. That’s at least three ponies who’s probably seen it, or will soon enough.”

Lyra slumped over, staring into the fire with sudden horror.

“Was it … a good drawing?” Bonbon asked, clinging to a bit of hope that maybe it just looked vaguely like nothing at all.

Rainbow Dash bit her lip and rubbed her shoulder nervously. “Uh, maybe?” She looked up and frowned. “I’m not that bad at drawing, you know.”

“Show me,” Lyra whispered, her voice hoarse.

Rainbow dug out the book from her saddlebag and opened it on the page where she had drawn the creature she had seen that night in the alleys of Mais. Bonbon stared at the page. It wasn’t exactly a work of art, but in its own crude way it managed to capture the essential shape of a human rather well. If anypony back home had seen at human before, they would probably recognize it in this picture.

“I’m doomed,” Lyra sobbed and reached out for the book.

Rainbow Dash pulled it back and closed it shut. “What are you doing?”

“Reading it, of course!” Lyra said and stood up. “I want to know everything you’ve told them! And I don’t want you writing anything else without me reading it, either.”

“I haven’t told them anything other than that drawing, and I already promised I wouldn’t,” Rainbow Dash said and held on to the book. “I’m not letting you, or anypony else, read this book.”

Lyra stared at Rainbow Dash, who returned the stare with equal fervor. Bonbon quickly got in between them, standing painfully close to the flames. “No more fighting!” she said and glared at both of them, but mostly at Rainbow Dash, while ignoring the heat blasting her flank.

Lyra looked past Bonbon at the pegasus on the other side. “What are you hiding?”

“I’m not hiding anything from you,” Rainbow said. “But there’s no way I’m letting you read my personal letters to Twilight.”

Lyra fumed for a few long seconds before turning around, stomping her feet as she walked away from the fire. Bonbon sighed and stepped away from the blasting heat. Why couldn’t they just get along and trust each other? At least for now—

“Hey!” Rainbow Dash yelled as the book tore itself from her grip, nearly pulling her into the fire with it, and flew straight into Lyra’s glowing hand before anypony could react.

“Lyra, wait!” Bonbon yelled and spun around, but too late.

Lyra opened the book with a grim look of determination in her eyes. There was a bright flash and a hiss of electricity as the book snapped back shut with a clap like thunder. Lyra fell back with a soundless scream and collapsed in a spasming heap of limbs on the ground.

Rainbow Dash flew up and snatched the book before it even hit the ground. “Don’t you dare touch my book again!” she said and turned, looking like an angry storm cloud as she flew off with the book.

Lyra twitched slightly, but didn’t move. Bonbon hurried up to her and shook her, but the shock had knocked her right out. Bonbon sighed and glanced back at where Rainbow Dash had disappeared into the shadows of the trees.

* * *

My love,

I went to see Fluttershy about your drawing. She told me that Scootaloo was over for tea earlier but never mentioned anything about a drawing. Scootaloo says she lost it and don’t remember what it looked like or how, where or when she lost it. She seemed very strange when we talked about it, and I know for a fact that she has an excellent memory. I’m going to have to talk to Luna about her student’s behavior.

Could you please draw it for me again? I’m keeping this book away from Scootaloo until I get an explanation from her, and it had better be a good one.

♥ Your Princess,
Twilight Sparkle.

Never mind about that drawing, it was probably nothing. Scoots has a lot on her mind, too. She probably just left it somewhere and forgot about the thing.

I suppose you’re right, but I’m still going to have a talk with Luna anyway. Perhaps she is putting a little too much pressure on Scootaloo. I know she means well, but she is still a bit old-fashioned in her ways and can be very demanding.

Are you okay, my dear? You’re not usually so terse in your letters.

♥ Twi

It’s nothing. Just had a small argument with the others, but don’t worry about it.

I love you too, Twi.

You know you can always talk to me about anything. If there are any issues between you, please talk to me. Maybe I can help, or just listen if you need me to.

♥ Twi

I know, Twi. But right now I don’t think I should write anything, or I might write some things I shouldn’t say. Just don’t worry, okay?

I understand completely, and I don’t want you to say anything you will regret later, even if it’s just between you and me. That never helps anypony. Just promise me you’ll tell me about it once you’ve had some time to calm yourself down.

♥ Twi

* * *

Bonbon was tired, but she didn’t feel like sleeping. If not for the cool night air, her eyes would have betrayed her and closed long ago without her noticing. Behind her in their shared tent, Lyra turned around in her sleep, dreaming uneasily. Bonbon had no idea where Rainbow Dash had gone off to, but her saddlebags were still sitting by the last remains of the fire, only without the contested book. Bonbon watched the bags sadly and hugged herself to ward against the cold.

She hadn’t meant for it to go like this. It was meant to bring them closer together and help them do what they came here to do as a group, as friends do. Wasn’t that how things were supposed to work? All that talk about the magic of friendship, of loyalty and honesty and all that? Sticking together, talking openly with each other about things both big and small … it was supposed to overcome every challenge.

She thought of her friends back in Ponyville. She had never had many that she would truly call friends in hindsight. There was Lyra, of course, and a few others that she talked to and sometimes helped with stuff, often enough that she had never thought it odd to call them friends before. But she had left them all without a word, except for the letter she had asked Scootaloo to pin on the door of her shop. She had barely thought about any of that until now.

Perhaps Lyra had been her only true friend in Ponyville, while the rest were just … Bonbon searched her mind for a fitting word. Colleagues, acquaintances, ponies she talked to daily, ponies she sometimes helped. She had never thought about it before, or thought that she was missing anything.

The wind played with the straps on Rainbow’s abandoned saddlebags where they sat in the dark. Bonbon watched them, her shoulders hanging. The hatred and suspicion which Rainbow Dash had shown towards Humble still made her angry and defensive, but she had come too far to let it break them apart now. She had to try and stay rational.

At least Rainbow would come back in the morning—she’d have to, if she wanted her bags—and then they could work to sort it out and hopefully put the mistrust behind them. Bonbon just had to get them both to understand. She just had to knock some sense into both their heads until they saw that Bonbon was right.

A little smile lit up Bonbon’s tired face at the thought of banging their stubborn heads together. Her heavy eyes were lost on the saddlebags and the smoldering remains of the fire. The warm glow of the embers drew her in, quelling the world and soothing her mind. Weariness filled her and turned to restful peace where she sat.

The human shape of the princess looked down at her hands, a distant shadow on the far side of the flames. Her lips moved, but her words were nothing more than ghosts on this side of the fire, carried across a vast distance between them, bereft of all but the emotion in her eyes.

Sadness and worry gave way to a stab of betrayal, and hate; the fiercely cold and crushing resentment of Winter’s heart. Hopelessness and sorrow followed. Bonbon watched her eyes go from icy malice to hollow despair and regret as she spoke her silent tale.

“… and all she ever loved in this world was you,” the ghosts whispered from across the vast flickering abyss. “And all she ever loved … was you.”

A large black bird fluttered in the darkness, drawing their eyes as it disappeared into the night among the stars. An omen, the ghosts whispered, and the princess rose to her feet, gazing up at the moon with her side turned to Bonbon.

Bonbon startled and sat up straight from her unintended nap. The fire had gone out, and behind her Lyra was gasping and crying in her tent. Bonbon stumbled to her hooves and stuck her head into the tent. “Lyra? What’s wrong?”

Lyra struggled with her blanket, horror written all over her face. “They’re going to find out everything! The whole world will know it all,” she cried. “There’s just no stopping it.”

Bonbon crawled into the tent to wrap her shaken friend in a tight hug. “Just a nightmare,” she reassured her. “You just had a nightmare, that’s all.”

“It doesn’t matter. Don’t you get it?” Lyra said with sudden harshness. “They’re going to find out, Bonbon. And they’re going to react just like Rainbow Dash, or worse.” She pushed Bonbon away from her. “I should never have listened to you! I should never have listened to my heart and stayed. Now it’s too late.”

“You’re overreacting,” Bonbon said. “Rainbow isn’t going to leave or tell anypony, and she doesn’t really hate you. You know that, Lyra. She’s not writing anything about you in—”

Lyra leaped forward and shoved Bonbon hard to the ground, hard enough to knock the air from Bonbon’s lungs. Bonbon fell backwards and held up her hooves to cover her face, staring in shock at Lyra standing above her, breathing like an angry bull.

“S-shut up!” Lyra stammered, shaking all over. “Shut up! Don’t talk to me! All you ever say are lies! Lies that make me do all the wrong things!” she cried out.

“L-Lyra …” Bonbon said, tears trickling down her cheeks to her lips, mixing with a taste of blood from the lip she had bitten in the fall.

“Shut up!” Lyra shouted and pushed her way out of the tent, past Bonbon. “Don’t ever talk to me again!”

Bonbon slumped down on the blankets, staring at the flap of the tent where Lyra had just left.

* * *

The stale, murky water reflected Bonbon’s face only barely, but well enough to show off the many streaks of tears in the fur of her cheeks. The place where she had bitten her lip was still sore and slightly swollen as well. She closed her eyes and sighed before looking back up as Rainbow Dash hefted her saddlebags and slung them over her back.

Bonbon stood up and walked up to her. “Rainbow?”

“Yeah?” Rainbow didn’t look at her. “What do you want?”

Bonbon searched for words for a moment. “Please tell me you won’t leave Lyra now, or tell anypony about her secret. I told her you wouldn’t, because … I still want to trust you, and I just want all three of us to work together as friends. Please don’t make me a liar.”

Rainbow turned and gave her a cold, indifferent look. “Why the hay would I do any of that?” she said and gave the straps on her bags a good pull. “I already promised I’d follow Lyra, and I swore not to say a word either. I’m not going to go back on any of that now, but she better be working on an apology, and it better be a damn good one.” She turned around as if the conversation was over.

Bonbon followed her, not quite done with the conversation yet. “Look, this is very difficult for Lyra. If you’d just try to reassure her.”

“How?” Rainbow spun around again. “Tell me that, Bonbon. How am I supposed to reassure her if my word isn’t good enough for her? I’m not going to let her read my private letters to Twilight, if that’s what you’re going to suggest.”

“Just … try to go a little easy with her,” Bonbon said. “Getting angry at her isn’t going to help.”

Rainbow sighed. “Look, don’t think this is easy for me either, alright? I’ve got to find a way to explain to Twilight that I’ve found the answers she’s been looking for all this time, but oh dear, you know I love you and all, but I’m afraid I can’t tell you about it. For reasons. Do you think I like that, huh?”

“No,” Bonbon muttered.

“Good.” Rainbow Dash turned around once more and headed off. “Now come on. Lyra’s already way ahead, and I for one would like to make some real progress today.”

Bonbon sighed and trudged along after the pegasus. Lyra was indeed far ahead, just a tiny dot of minty green against all the darker greens and browns of the marshy lands stretching out forever beyond the eastern edge of the map. Few ponies or griffons knew what lay beyond this point, except unexplored marshes for untold miles around.

The stale water squelched unpleasantly with each step of her hooves, bringing ancient air up to the surface. Bonbon wrinkled her nose at the smell. She already imagined she would soon look back at the icy wastes of the north, or the endless open seas, with longing.

* * *

A long, narrow scar cut through the soft and muddy ground, leaving the clear impression that something—somepony—had crashed into the ground with a great deal of speed. The worst of the scar had healed over and the rest filled with stagnant water, suggesting it was not so recently made. There were no obvious signs of the one who had made such a sudden landing here, or what had become of her.

Lyra was sitting off by herself with her back to Bonbon, well away from where they were standing, while Rainbow Dash inspected the long crater. The pegasus occasionally kicked at the marshy ground, as if she might, by chance alone, uncover something hidden in the soft mud. Bonbon watched her in silence, occasionally poking at some roots or shrubs half-heartedly. She didn’t expect to find anything, and therefore wasn’t surprised when she didn’t.

“What now?” Bonbon said at last, as she came up next to Rainbow Dash. None of them had said anything for a long time, and Bonbon got the feeling that Rainbow was keeping an eye on her the whole time. But whatever the pegasus was thinking, she kept it to herself.

Rainbow kicked a stone and watched it disappear with a plop into a pool of stale water. “Nothing, I guess,” she said with a heavy shrug of the shoulders. “She crashed here, then continued on by hoof. At least that means she’d be moving slower than before.”

“She’d still be way ahead of us by now,” Bonbon pointed out.

“Like I don’t know that.” Rainbow began moving ahead again. “At least now we don’t have to stop before sundown. We’ll keep marching until midnight, get up before dawn and continue marching. That way we may yet catch up if she was slowed down.”

Bonbon doubted it. She also doubted any of them, except Rainbow Dash herself, would be able to keep up with a schedule like that in the long term. She said nothing, however, and Rainbow quickly took the lead again, leaving Bonbon to walk with Lyra a few lengths behind her. Bonbon glanced back at the unicorn, but Lyra kept her gaze firmly on the ground beneath her hooves.

The land seemed to continue gently downhill all day. The ground became softer, cut through by streams and large pools of gurgling green water. Dead and broken trees dotted the landscape, overgrown with moss and creepers. A few birds sat around, watching the waters with grim stares like tiny gargoyles, but Bonbon saw few other signs of life.

The sounds, however, were different. The noise of insects and strange birds slowly pecking away at old wood permeated the air. Every now and then, Bonbon had to look around because she thought she heard something more—a slurping or gurgling noise of water and mud, a branch snapping, a whisper among the trees—only to see nothing but the swamp and its silent shapes of birds.

She wondered what other things lived in this swamp at the edge of the known world, forsaken by ponykind and all of civilization. She kept her eyes and ears focused, in case it included anything dangerous, and looked back at Lyra again. She wished the unicorn was in a mood to talk, because she bet Lyra had a story or two about the world out here beyond the maps. She missed listening to Lyra’s tales and songs of ancient legends. She lifted a hoof to her aching lip briefly, reminding herself that it was a better idea to wait.

With a sigh, Bonbon turned back to the task of trudging endlessly through marsh and mires in silence. After another minute of that, she looked up again. Maybe Rainbow Dash was up for talking instead, she thought. The pegasus was quite a way ahead of her, drifting in and out among the dead trees and under leaning trunks, scouting this way and that in the light mist.

Bonbon picked up her pace a bit to catch up with her. Rainbow Dash landed on a fallen tree and looked around, then took to the air again and wove through the minor forest of trees ahead. Bonbon frowned, as she was getting no closer than before, and called out. “Rainbow Dash? Could you—”

“I don’t believe it!” Rainbow said suddenly and stopped, staring ahead.

“What?” Bonbon called back and set into an awkward trot through the low water and dense undergrowth of the swamp, pulling at the small creepers tangling around her hooves.

“It’s her!” Rainbow called, taking off before Bonbon had a chance to catch up with her.

A moment later, as she pulled herself onto a relatively dry patch of land and hurried forward, Bonbon saw the other pony coming towards them, her turquoise coat and bright orange mane torn and covered by weeks or even months worth of mud and filth. Nothing remained of the uniform she had once worn. She didn’t seem to notice them, walking slowly and unsteadily on her hooves, before she was tackled to the ground by Rainbow Dash.

Bonbon slowed down and watched as Rainbow hugged her lost friend in the mud.

* * *

“Might as well just set up camp here for the night,” Rainbow Dash announced and dropped her saddlebags on a relatively dry patch. She turned around and trotted off, followed like a second shadow by Lightning Dust. “LD and I will gather some wood for the fire. You two set up camp and unpack the food.”

Bonbon watched them go. Lightning Dust hadn’t said a word except to Rainbow Dash, and she seemed to show no interest at all in Bonbon or Lyra, not even sparing them a glance. Bonbon wasn’t sure if she was entirely well, in fact. She seemed very distant, and it made Bonbon uncomfortable. From Rainbow’s description, Bonbon got the impression of Lightning Dust as a bit of a free spirit. Where had that gone? Had the thing that possessed her perhaps not quite left? Or had the experience simply changed her?

Bonbon gave a thoughtful hum and sat down to open up her own saddle bags. It was still early in the evening, but they would have to set up camp before the sun set anyway, now that Lightning Dust was around. Bonbon wondered how they would deal with that in the long run. She doubted it would be easy to convince Lyra to let yet another pony in on everything. She sighed and buried her head in the bag, like she could just hide away from it all for a while.

She sat like that for maybe a minute, too tired of it all to pull her head back out of the bag. Finally she sighed deeply and lifted her weary head. She found Lyra standing in front of her, looking at her. The unicorn was looking awful, dark rings under her eyes and dirt in her mane and coat. Bonbon edged away from her, an instinct that she hadn’t expected and which frightened her.

Lyra took a step back, her eyes filling with sorrow as she looked down. “I’m sorry,” she said.

Bonbon relaxed a bit, but said nothing.

Lyra looked back up at her. “I’m sorry. I never wanted to hurt you. I never wanted to hurt anypony or make them hate me. I’m sorry I hurt you.”

“That’s good,” Bonbon said and watched Lyra.

Lyra watched her back, shuffling in the long, awkward silence.

“It’s not good enough, Lyra,” Bonbon said when the unicorn didn’t seem to comprehend. She said it softly, but she wanted Lyra to know it was serious. “You attacked me, and you’re starting to scare me, do you understand?”

Lyra stared at her, tears glittering at the edges of her eyes.

“You need to start pulling yourself together instead,” Bonbon continued. “If you’re sorry, then show me that you can do better.” She looked down, feeling her own tears threatening to break out. “I want the old Lyra back, the one I fell in love with. I want the carefree Lyra who always smiled and made everypony fall in love with her songs and tales.”

“Bonbon …” Lyra choked on the words and sat down heavily. “There never was a Lyra like that. It was just a carefully practiced act, because … because I never wanted anypony to hate me or think of me as a monster. I wanted everypony to like me like I was just another pony, but I’m not, Bonbon. I’m not a pony, and I’m not like that. I’m …” She didn’t look at Bonbon as she said it. “I am a monster, Bonbon.”

“Shut up, Lyra.” Bonbon looked long and hard at her. “Do you hear me? Just shut up. You are not a monster.”

“Everypony else will think so,” Lyra muttered.

Bonbon didn’t take her eyes off Lyra. “I don’t believe that for a second.”

Lyra looked up at where Rainbow Dash was talking to Lightning Dust. They didn’t seem to have picked up any wood yet. Lightning Dust had a hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder as she spoke. Bonbon caught a glance from Rainbow Dash.

“They’re going to leave and go back to Equestria together,” Lyra said as she continued to stare at Rainbow Dash. “And I know she says otherwise, but I don’t think she really trusts me, Bonbon. And even if she does, other’s won’t.”

Bonbon shook her head and took a long breath. “Lyra, do you really think Rainbow Dash would just leave you here?”

“I don’t know,” Lyra admitted and looked back at Bonbon. “Would she just leave Lightning Dust now that she’s found her? She doesn’t look very well either. Would Rainbow want to drag her along with us, or send her back alone?” Lyra looked Bonbon in the eyes. “What if she does leave?”

“So what if she does?” Bonbon looked up and watched Rainbow Dash. “And what if the whole of Equestria does find out about you? What’s going to happen, do you think? Are they going to hunt you down, all the way out here?” she looked back at Lyra with a slightly raised eyebrow.

“I don’t want them to hate me, Bonbon.” Lyra rubbed her nose with her hoof and looked down. “And what if I never find what I’m looking for? What if there is nothing for me out there and this whole journey is a waste of time? Where will I go then, if the whole world knows what I am?” She closed her eyes and covered her face with her hooves. “All I want is to belong, to be just like everypony else. I never want them to look at me and see anything but a fellow pony.”

Bonbon got up to sit next to Lyra, wrapping a hoof around her shoulders.

“I never wanted you to look at me like this, either,” Lyra continued. “Or Rainbow Dash. And besides, you know that I need her. I still don’t have wings of my own, and I doubt I’ll ever grow a pair. I’m not exactly Twilight Sparkle.”

“But you are technically of royal blood,” Bonbon said. She couldn’t decide if it was the right thing to say, or why she had said it at all. Maybe it was stupid, but sometimes stupid things were just what you had to say. “Perhaps you should be a princess.”

“I’d rather not,” Lyra said. “But thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” Bonbon said and watched the sky. Her stomach broke the silence and announced that it was displeased at all this waiting. All this marching through the wilderness all day was taking its toll on her good figure, she decided, as she let go of Lyra and stood up. “Let’s get something to eat.”

* * *

Bonbon turned around and opened her eyes to the darkness around her. It was still in the middle of the night, and only the faint light of the moon filtered through the fabric of the tent and lit up the world inside.

She sat up a bit and looked at where Lyra was crawling past her, trying not to wake her up.

“Lyra?”

Lyra stopped and looked around. “Sorry. I can’t sleep,” she said.

“Is something wrong?” Bonbon rubbed her eyes and sat up a little more.

“I just need some air.” Lyra turned and looked down as she opened the tent to the night outside. “And some time to think about everything,” she added before slipping out and closing the tent behind her, leaving Bonbon alone inside.

Bonbon looked down in thought before resting her head back down and staring at the side of the tent. She wasn’t sure if it was a dream when she heard the soft tones of the lyre playing outside, a slow but happy tune that Lyra had often played for Bonbon in the park, back in Ponyville. Bonbon rolled up and smiled as she let the tones lull her further into sleep, a glimmer of hope kindled in her mind.

The breezy melody of the lyre stopped abruptly, giving off a discordant twang. Bonbon frowned and turned uneasily in her sleep.

* * *

The sun shone brightly as she crawled out of the tent in the morning, stretching her tired body and aching muscles. She yawned and rubbed her eyes as she got on her hooves and took in the campsite. “Good morning,” she said to the lone pegasus by the unlit fire.

Lightning Dust turned her far-away gaze from the marshes around them to Bonbon. “Good morning,” she echoed back blankly.

Bonbon sat down at the cold campfire and watched the landscape around them. “Is Rainbow Dash still asleep?” she asked when she noticed no sign of the pegasus. She wouldn’t mind, as it gave her a chance to talk to this mysteriously silent pony and pry a bit into her secrets.

“She went to find some clean water a while ago,” Lightning Dust replied.

“Hah, good luck with that,” Bonbon muttered and glanced at the stale puddles of green water around them. She looked back at Lightning Dust, giving the pegasus a closer look. She had cleaned up a bit since being found, and she looked surprisingly neat now, some scars but surprisingly no wounds. Hardly the image of a pony who had been lost in the swamps for weeks. “What happened to you? Why did you come all the way out here like this?”

“I don’t know,” Lightning Dust replied, a mildly apologetic look in her eyes as she shrugged. “I don’t remember.”

Bonbon wasn’t surprised at the noncommittal answer, but she would be surprised if it was entirely honest. Something about the way the pegasus spoke told her she was being careful, but about what exactly, Bonbon didn’t know. “You’re a Wonderbolt, right?” Bonbon tried, hoping something unrelated would spur her to talk more freely. “Must have been pretty cool,” she added with a smile.

“Yeah,” Lightning Dust said and gave a grin, a careful grin. “I can’t wait to return home to Equestria and get back with the team.”

Bonbon felt a twinge of fearful suspicion in her heart. “So you’re planning on going home, then? It’s a long way on your own.”

Lightning Dust was about to respond when a shadow drifted in over their heads. She and Bonbon both looked up to see a small, puffy cloud settle nearby.

“She won’t be alone. I’m taking her back with me,” Rainbow Dash said as she jumped off the cloud and gave it a kick to release the rain within. She quickly began filling her bottles with the water pouring out of the cloud. Bonbon mentally groaned; pegasi had it so easy sometimes.

“Just like that?” Bonbon stood up and turned to look at Rainbow Dash. “You promised you’d follow Lyra, and now you’re just going to leave her?”

Rainbow Dash dropped down to the ground and began packing everything back up. “What else? It’s not like we could take Lightning Dust with us anyway, and I can’t let her go back alone. You two should be fine on your own anyway.” She turned her head and gave Bonbon a look.

“And what do you intend to do once you get back?” Bonbon frowned as she watched Rainbow Dash packing her bags.

“Dunno.” Rainbow Dash stuffed the water bottles into the bags last and closed them up tightly. “I’ll decide that when I get there.” She stopped and turned around, looking at Bonbon. “But you know what? Twilight’s going to find out everything anyway.” She picked up her bags and strapped them on tightly. “Come on, LD. Let’s get you back home.”

Lightning Dust stood up and took to the air along with Rainbow Dash, offering Bonbon only a brief look.

Rainbow Dash turned around and stopped in midair. “I’m sorry, Lyra. It’s just that I’ve gotta do this,” she said to the space behind Bonbon. “I would have stayed if I could.”

Bonbon turned around and looked at Lyra sitting in the opening of their tent, staring coldly at Rainbow Dash. The unicorn said nothing.

Rainbow Dash frowned. “You could at least say you’re sorry too, you know,” she said and fell silent. She sighed. “Goodbye, then. I hope you find what you’re looking for.”

Bonbon watched her turn her back on them and fly off to catch up with Lightning Dust. “You made a liar out of me after all, Rainbow Dash,” she said and looked down at the ground.

“We’re better off without her anyway,” Lyra said in a voice so cold that Bonbon had to look up and make sure that it really had been Lyra saying it. With that said, Lyra turned around and disappeared back into the tent, leaving Bonbon to stare.

* * *

Hey Twi.

I just wanted to tell you that I found Lightning Dust, and I’m taking her back to Equestria with me. I’m coming back home, Twi. I can’t wait to see you and all our friends again.

I really hate to leave Lyra alone with Bonbon, though. I don’t know if I trust her anymore. I used to think she loved Lyra, but I think something’s changed, and it worries me. Can you ask if Luna would keep a close eye on her dreams?

I love you, Twi.
Rainbow Dash

If you’re worried about them, shouldn’t you stay with Lyra yourself? I love you too, and you know I miss you terribly, but I can wait for you as long as you need me to.

♥ Twi

Lightning Dust can’t make the journey on her own, Twi. She’s too weak right now and needs my help. I don’t want to let Lyra down, but I have no choice. Besides, I kinda had a bit of an argument with her, and LD suggested it was better if we parted ways now before it got worse between us. I think she’s right, we would just end up in each others’ manes if I stayed.

Don’t worry, then. I have a meeting tonight with Luna anyway. I’ll see what she can do.

♥ Twi

* * *

Lyra remained quiet for the rest of the day, as they packed up and continued the journey east through the swamps. Bonbon wasn’t sure if she should talk to Lyra or leave her be. The change in mood since the night before was disturbing to Bonbon, and she wondered what had caused it. She decided to stay quiet as she trudged through the marsh several paces behind Lyra.

It was strange not having Rainbow Dash along anymore. Bonbon kept looking up, expecting to see the colorful mare coming towards them from one of her short scouting ventures up ahead. Instead she only saw Lyra and the endless, empty marshes. She had never thought she would have to say it—even if it was only to herself, and especially after the last couple of days—but she was already missing having Rainbow Dash there with them.

She thought about how envious she had been of Rainbow’s good fortune. And here she was now, trudging through swamps in the vain hope that things might change, while Rainbow Dash still had everything and Bonbon still had nothing but her stubborn hope.

Bonbon sighed and stared at the soggy ground ahead of her. It wasn’t Rainbow’s fault that it was this way, though. It wasn’t Lyra’s either. It was just awful bad luck, and somehow that was all Bonbon could seem to attract.

They hadn’t talked all day, and the sun was already setting when they saw a green light up ahead in the early gloom of dusk. Bonbon stopped, her legs already too heavy to carry her much further anyway, and looked up at the strange glow. “What’s that?” she said in a whisper.

Lyra had stopped as well. “I have no idea,” she said and began walking slowly towards it.

Bonbon hesitated, debating whether to grab Lyra and pull her away from the glow, but ended up following behind instead. The ground was more dry here than in most of the swamp they had walked through so far, and the trees and plants looked more alive and green.

Lyra pushed through the thicket and stopped.

Bonbon came up beside her and looked into a small circle of trees, their crowns glowing with a soft and soothing green in the growing darkness. “It’s … beautiful,” Bonbon said and felt her heart lighten at the sight.

A bright smile formed on Lyra’s lips, in stark contrast to her icy silence all day, as she looked at Bonbon. “Let’s camp here for the night,” she said, her eyes sparkling green like living emeralds in the light of the trees.

They walked into the green glow under the boughs of the trees. Bonbon walked as if in a wonderful dream, looking up at the marvelous branches and leaves above her until they reached the middle of the small circle. The air was much warmer in here too, compared to the dreary, wet cold around them, like stepping into a miniature tropical jungle in the middle of the swamp. Bonbon dropped off her saddlebags and stood there, basking in the light and warmth.

Lyra slipped out of her bags as well and stood beside Bonbon. She watched the trees for a time without speaking.

Bonbon turned around and decided this was the time to break the silence as she looked at Lyra. “Do you wish to talk?” she said and moved a little closer to Lyra. “You’ve been silent all day.”

“What is there to talk about?” Lyra said, like she had resigned herself to her fate and didn’t much care. Bonbon found the reaction strange, after how much Lyra had worried.

“You were right,” Bonbon said and looked down. “Rainbow Dash just left us, and … and maybe you were right that they’re all going to find out, too. And who can say how they’ll all react. I’m sorry, Lyra.” She felt a weight around her heart starting to give and closed her eyes. “I’m sorry that I followed you and … Everything I’ve done just made it all worse for you. I should have just stayed home and forgotten about you.”

Lyra was silent, but when she spoke again it was in a quiet voice. “I’m glad you didn’t, Bonbon.”

Bonbon opened her eyes and looked at Lyra, staring into her eyes. “You … are?”

“I don’t know what’s going to happen anymore,” Lyra said. “But … I can’t do anything about it now anyway. It’s over, and all I can do is continue on. I’m …” She looked down at Bonbon’s hooves. “I’m just glad you’re here with me. Somehow … that’s all that’s important.”

Bonbon stared at Lyra in the warm, green glow of the mystical trees.

Lyra turned a bit in the light and looked at Bonbon, causing her eyes to reflect the glow around them again, the gold turning a vivid green as she smiled softly.

“All the times I’ve tried to show you how I feel, all the times I’ve told you how much I love you,” Bonbon said as she leaned forwards, their faces inches apart. “All those times, all I ever wanted … was this.”

“I know,” Lyra whispered and reached out to place her hoof around Bonbon’s back just before their lips met. Bonbon returned the gesture and pulled them closer together. In the warm, dreamlike silence of the grove, surrounded by the soft glow of the trees, the kiss was everything Bonbon had ever imagined, and more.

Bonbon was first to break the kiss, more out of a necessity to breathe than any desire to do so, and stared into Lyra’s deep, sparkling eyes. “I love you, Lyra.”

Lyra smiled, and Bonbon leaned in to kiss her again. Lyra broke the kiss this time and leaned her head next to Bonbon’s ear, whispering softly, “You’re so sweet …”

Bonbon smiled as Lyra nuzzled her cheek and kissed her neck. If this was a dream, she thought, she didn’t want to ever wake up again. She nuzzled Lyra back and sighed at the bright green glow and the soft touches of Lyra’s muzzle behind her.

And in the silent bliss of the grove, the thought never occurred to her that, while the moon had long since risen and night covered the world in the soft blanket of shadows, the mare in her embrace was in fact still a mare.

And as she closed her eyes and gave herself over to this mare of her fantasies, Bonbon never felt the two sharp points piercing the back of her neck, or the venom slowly seeping into her veins and clouding her mind.

“I love you …” she whispered, the only thought left replaying in her mind.

“… forever.”

XIII. Changing Tones

My dear Rainbow,

I wish I could say I knew what was going on around here, but nothing seems to make any sense lately. I had a meeting with Luna earlier tonight to talk about Scootaloo’s behaviour, among other things. It would be an understatement to say that what Luna had to tell me was a surprise. Apparently Scootaloo’s dreams revealed that she was suppressing the whole visit to Fluttershy out of fear. When we went to see Fluttershy, she fled through a back window before we got a chance to speak to her.

It would seem I owe Scootaloo an apology. I can only assume that Fluttershy made her tear out the drawing and never speak of it again. You know how persuasive she can get sometimes, when she really wants to be, though I cannot begin to imagine why she would do something like that to Scootaloo. She’s normally too afraid to get tough with anyone, even Angel who actually deserves it sometimes.

Alas, both the drawing and Fluttershy are now missing. I just came back from our search of the Whitetail Woods, it’s late, and I don’t think we have much hope of finding Fluttershy if she doesn’t want to be found. She knows those woods better than anypony, and all the critters sure aren’t helping the situation any. She’s pretty much fortified herself in the forest behind bastions of burly bears and brawny badgers.

My best guess right now is that whatever drove Lightning Dust and Trixie mad must have found Fluttershy as well, though at this point I don’t know what to believe. She seemed just fine days ago, and now this? Luna will try to find her dreams and have a talk with her. I just hope Luna doesn’t frighten her; the princess can be a little intimidating sometimes.

Luna also put Scootaloo in charge of watching over Bonbon’s dreams, in case your suspicions prove true. Hopefully some sense will be made of all of this mess soon. Until then, please take care.

♥ Your Princess,
Twilight Sparkle.

* * *

Bonbon watched the fireflies dancing among the leaves and boughs of the trees, a wide grin plastered across her face. She probably looked goofy as she lay there, but that didn’t matter, and she didn’t care. What mattered was that she was lying here under the leaves and the stars with the one mare that she loved, cuddled up next to each other on the soft layer of moss.

Nothing else mattered.

Not a thing.

The air was warm and pleasant, scented by sweet exotic flowers. It reminded her of the candy she used to make back in Ponyville. Lyra always loved the candy she brought with her to their meetings in the park. It was a shame she didn’t have anything to offer Lyra now.

Her smile faded a little at the thought, but only for a moment before Lyra’s bright smiling face appeared in her field of vision, lying halfway across Bonbon’s chest. “Heya,” Lyra said, her half-lidded eyes gleaming with playful delight.

How could Bonbon worry about something as silly and unimportant as candy when she had the sweetest thing in the world right here? “Hey,” Bonbon replied to the playful mare with the eyes of molten gold, her brief worry evaporating into thin air.

Lyra looked expectantly at her, her smile wide and showing her teeth. “Is that all you wish to say? Isn’t there something else you’d like to add?”

Bonbon rubbed her nose against Lyra’s and smiled. “You already know that I love you,” she said.

Lyra giggled as a shiver ran through her body. “And you know I love to hear you say it.” She gave Bonbon a predatory grin and crawled all the way on top of her. “Tell me how much. I want to hear all about how much you love me.”

“With all my heart,” Bonbon said without hesitating. Lyra’s reaction was adorable, the way she seemed to drink it all in, and her giggles sounded like music, almost like strings … “Would you play me a song, Lyra?” she surprised herself by asking, the thought appearing out of the blue. “Like the songs you used to play for me in the park.”

The smile Lyra was wearing froze, and for a second her eyes seemed to gaze right through Bonbon. “Why … don’t you sing me a song instead?” she said after a moment’s hesitation, her smile unfreezing and eyes refocusing in an instant.

Bonbon smiled. Why hadn’t she thought of that? The thought that she wasn’t exactly known for her excellent singing voice, and that she’d much rather listen to Lyra playing the lyre was quickly pushed deep into the back of her mind. Lyra’s idea was much better, like all of Lyra’s ideas. And how could she deny the mare of her heart?

With an unexpected pluck of strings, the gentle tones of the lyre swam through the air and made Bonbon sigh. The smile on Lyra’s face vanished as her head snapped towards the source of the sweet music. Bonbon turned her head to watch Lyra sitting comfortably against a nearby tree, eyes closed and a smile on her face as she strummed the instrument in her hooves.

“What are you doing?” Lyra hissed and stood up with her front hooves on Bonbon’s shoulders.

Bonbon smiled blissfully at the melody, swaying her head back and forth in sync with the rhythm, lost to everything but how much she loved that sound and the sweet, beautiful mare who was its source. Positively nothing could ruin such sweetness.

“Thought you could have her all to yourself while the rest of us starve our flanks off, did you?” Lyra said and caressed the golden body of the instrument. Bonbon stared at her, mesmerized by the gentle strokes of her hoof against the frame of the lyre.

“Find your own pony!” Lyra cried and rolled off of Bonbon, getting swiftly back on her hooves. “This one’s mine!”

Bonbon hummed along with the melody. “I love this melody, Lyra,” she whispered. “Is it a new one? It’s very lovely.”

“Mother wants us to share,” Lyra said and flashed Bonbon a golden smile. Bonbon sat up and nearly swooned. “You knew that. You also knew we’re all starving. You know what mother does to those of her children who become greedy, don’t you?”

“I’ll starve you!” Lyra shouted and charged at Lyra, a fire in her eyes.

The music stopped abruptly as Lyra rolled across the glade with Lyra on top, exchanging blows. Bonbon blinked and a frown crossed her face, replacing the bliss that had filled her a moment before. “Don’t fight over me, Lyra.”

“Don’t worry about them,” Lyra said as she snuck up behind Bonbon and stole a kiss on her cheek. Bonbon relaxed and turned her head to return the kiss. “Did you like the song?”

“Mhmm,” Bonbon hummed as the memory of the song replayed in her mind. “I loved it.”

“And what else do you love?” Lyra whispered in her other ear as she snuck up beside her and stole a kiss on her other cheek.

Bonbon turned her head and smiled at Lyra. “Lyra, you know that I love you,” she said and returned the kiss, oblivious to the repeated sounds of hooves hitting a face not so far away. “More than anything.”

“That’s good,” Lyra whispered and turned Bonbon’s head with a gentle hoof. “Because we have all night ahead of us. All night for you to love us all.”

“Bonbon!” Somepony called out to her in the distance, far away beyond the green glade and further still beyond the marshes.

Lyra stepped up behind her and sat down, hind hooves on either side of her and front hooves gently stroking her back and shoulders. “Just relax and let us take away all your worries.”

Lyra picked up the lyre and strummed it gently as she turned and trotted around Bonbon. “We’re all ears, you know,” she whispered as she sat down in front of Bonbon, playing the instrument with her hooves.

“What the hay is—” the voice called out somewhere, still far away. “Bonbon! Can you hear me?”

Lyra walked up to her and wiped the green blood off her face before she sat down beside Bonbon, smiling. “We’ll listen to your every word,” she said and caressed Bonbon’s cheek. “We’re here for you, and only you.”

“Ew! It’s all pink and lovey-dovey in here … Bonbon!”

“All for you,” Lyra said as she snuck up behind Bonbon and offered her a flower, carrying the sweet scent of candy. She gently placed it in Bonbon’s mane and nuzzled her cheek.

Bonbon smiled as she looked up into the many eyes of Lyra, the scent of flowers in her nose and the soft sound of the lyre in her ears. Once more she repeated the mantra, “I love you, Lyra.” She sighed as hooves caressed and massaged her tired body. “I’m so glad I can finally share it with you. I thought I’d never get to see this day.”

“That’s it,” Lyra said and kissed her. “Give us all your love.”

“Just close your eyes and let us take care of you,” Lyra whispered in her ear.

“We’ll take good care of you,” Lyra said as she picked the strings, melting Bonbon’s heart with the soft tones. “Just close your eyes and forget everything else.”

Bonbon did. She closed her eyes and smiled as she gave herself over to Lyra’s caring hooves and soothing melodies. Somewhere in the pink mists of her mind an orange and purple filly called out to her but was soon drowned out. She wasn’t important, after all.

Bonbon sighed again, feeling utterly drained but content.

* * *

She had slept, but she couldn’t tell for how long. When she woke, it was not to the light of day or the refreshed feeling of a restful night; it was to darkness and exhaustion so deep she couldn’t even get herself to worry that she might in fact have turned to stone in her sleep. Her petrified stare gazed blankly at the cover of leaves above her, now bereft of the soft green glow.

Even remembering was too much effort. She would have gladly lain here until the sun burned out and the last of the stars flickered and gave up the spark of life, but Lyra had different plans for her. Bonbon lowered her eyes an inch as Lyra’s bright face appeared in her field of vision.

Lyra studied Bonbon curiously for a time. “She’s fine,” she declared before poking Bonbon in the ribs and giving her a grin. “Get up, sweetie! We’re going for a little walk today.”

Bonbon groaned and tried to bend her legs and roll over. Lyra watched her impassively as she struggled to her legs, taking several minutes before she was finally up and standing. She had never felt so utterly drained in all her life. She tried to lift her head as well, but soon gave up all hope of keeping it from falling limply back down. She sighed and closed her eyes.

Her saddlebags—which felt to her like they had gained a few rocks overnight—were dropped on her back, nearly making her legs bend at the knees. “Giddy up girl,” Lyra said and wrapped a hoof around Bonbon’s shoulders to lead her forwards. “Just walk straight ahead, one hoof in front of the other—that’s right—that’s all you gotta worry about.”

“Thank you, Lyra,” Bonbon whispered and managed a feeble smile, though it was mostly directed at the ground under her hooves as she pulled herself forward one shaking step at a time.

“My, she’s a real live one,” Lyra laughed beside Bonbon, and behind her Lyra laughed along with her.

Bonbon thought Lyra sounded like a whole crowd and smiled, glad that Lyra had found her old happy self again. The thought made it a little easier to walk, as she dragged her hooves over the soft, mossy ground with Lyra as her guide. She didn’t look where they were going, too tired to lift her head and walk at the same time, and she didn’t think she would see much except darkness anyway.

The trees grew steadily denser, rising up on both sides of them to form a long, winding passage roofed over by leaves and branches. Not a ray of light seemed to pierce the veil to reach them here as they wandered in the dark tunnels, led only by the cold green light from Lyra’s horn. Bonbon had no sense of time, she just kept walking even though she would have long ago stopped and collapsed if Lyra didn’t constantly urge her to keep walking.

The roots of the trees stuck out of the ground and tangled together, like a web for her hooves to get caught in. She stubbed her hooves and stumbled, trying to balance on the roots with her tired legs shaking underneath the weight of her body and bags. Lyra pulled her back up and led her on, never saying a word except to spur her on. One time, Bonbon looked behind her and saw Lyra following her, and Lyra following her, and Lyra following her …

She laughed; it seemed absurd, somehow, but she couldn’t tell why that was. The laugh sounded hollow, and after a while of sadly gazing at the trees, thinking she saw something among the trunks far behind them, she turned back again and resigned herself to walking.

Rocks jutted out among the old roots now, as if the earth itself had sent its soldiers to fight the wooden intruders. A stream of water ran through the middle of the path they walked, trickling in and out among roots and rocks. The gurgle and splashing of water against stone and roots made her thirsty and reminded her that her lips were dry. She reached out her tongue and lowered her head to lap up a few mouthfuls of clear water. It tasted of stone and old bark.

The air felt heavy and seemed to press against her ears, much like it did the few times she had been in Canterlot, far above the clouds. But there were still trees growing everywhere, and if she listened she could hear the pitter-patter of a gentle rain falling on the canopy above them. She made a face to try and get her ears to pop, but no amount of strange faces helped.

She laughed again. The sound echoed among the trees and stones and only came back to mock her. She stopped making the faces and hung her head, ears drooping and tail dragging along in the water behind her.

Lyra stopped and placed a hoof on her back for her to stop as well. Bonbon sighed as she stopped and stared at a puddle in front of her. Still so thirsty, she leaned down to dip her muzzle in the water. It tasted like stones and mossy wood too.

A murmur echoed through the darkness around her as Lyra turned around. Bonbon had no energy to care about it and drink at the same time, so she drank and left Lyra to murmur with herself. The water was cold and felt like a rock in her empty stomach, but it was good to drink.

A strange bubbling, crackling sound made her ears perk up and her head turn around to see. Her ears fell flat against her head once more, and her eyes widened as a bolt of black lightning streaked past her and struck Lyra in the chest, throwing the unicorn across the path and into a tree with a resounding crack of thunder. Bonbon’s mouth fell open, and her knees nearly collapsed under her as she stumbled towards the smoking body of her marefriend.

“Lyra!”

She collapsed by Lyra’s side, feebly shaking the blackened and lifeless form. “Lyra!” she cried again, tears making their way down her cheeks as she turned and stared in horror behind her.

Black sparks ran among the dense trees and under their boughs, transforming the wood from green and brown to a mirror-sheen obsidian. It changed the air from clear to a billowing cloud of darkness, filling Bonbon with a fear she had never felt before. It ran through her veins like water running off a glacier and froze her body in place.

Something crept out of the darkness at the end of the path behind them, its eyes burning with a green and purple fire. Bonbon stared in open-mouthed shock as Lyra threw herself with a hiss at the figure and straight into the heart of darkness. The figure reared up on two legs, spinning around, and the darkness swallowed them both, leaving only silence.

“Ly—” Bonbon croaked helplessly as Lyra backed away from the cloud of fear, her ears laid back flat against her head and teeth bared like an animal.

The darkness parted again, and the figure stepped back out, flexing its hands and baring its teeth, dripping with green in the burning light of its eyes. Bonbon found her voice as Lyra threw herself at the figure again, a figure Bonbon had seen in her dreams and once cradled in her own hooves.

“Humble! No!” she cried and scrambled to get up, fighting against her flailing legs.

The human paid her no heed, lost in her blind rage. She grabbed Lyra and fell backwards with the force of the incoming unicorn, bringing her legs up to kick her in the gut and send the pony flying backwards into the darkness, disappearing with a wail of despair.

Bonbon scrambled to her legs and fell to her knees, crying as she tried to stop the massacre and save Lyra, but her body barely responded to her will. Again and again, Lyra threw herself at the human. Humble responded with silent rage and deadly black lightning as she dodged and clawed at Lyra. Repeatedly, Bonbon watched Lyra swallowed by the blackness, never to return, or thrown against the trees with shattering claps of thunder.

The ground shook, and the obsidian trunks began to crack and splinter as she got to her legs. She stood and stared as Lyra circled the human. She couldn’t take it, watching and crying, utterly helpless to do anything. It was a nightmare. It just had to be! “P-please …” she cried and reached out towards them. She nearly fell again and quickly brought her hoof back down to support herself.

Lyra barreled into Humble and sent them both crashing to the ground. As Lyra snapped at her, Humble grabbed the unicorn’s horn, and her hands crackled with lightning. Lyra screamed, and kept screaming in a high and agonizing pitch which cut through the forest and Bonbon’s bones like a spear.

Bonbon could still hear the screams boring through her head long after she had spun around and stumbled away from it all, running as fast as her feeble legs could support her. She scrambled to throw off the heavy saddlebags slung over her shoulders, finally dropping them behind her as she fought her way desperately through the pitch-black tunnels of trees and rocks.

She had to get away, as fast and as far as she could go.

Branches tore at her flanks, and roots and rocks stubbed her hooves and scratched her legs, but she paid it all no heed. She had no sense of how long or how far she had gone when, crawling through bushes, she found an old hollow log hidden away among the trees. Utterly exhausted and terrified, she crawled into the narrow tube and collapsed, rolling into a tight ball to cry herself into oblivion.

* * *

Thousands of wings fluttered in the vast canopies above her, circling like a wind-less hurricane. Bonbon pushed herself deeper into the hollow log, feeling the old wood grind against her body and fill her nose with the stench of mold. She pressed herself as hard against it as she could, as if she could become one with the wood itself. She couldn’t see the swarms, and that was good, she tried to tell herself. If she could see them, so could they, and she didn’t want them to see her. She wanted nothing but to become a tree, to be forgotten and left alone in the vast forest.

Cold drops of water seeped through cracks in the wood, running down the inside to soak her body as her tears soaked her face. Trees too could cry, she thought and hugged herself, since no one else would hug her.

She heard small hooves tapping against the roots in the distance, short bursts of movement followed by tense silence, then another burst. She had no idea how long it had been going on, or how close they were. It didn’t matter. Maybe sooner or later they would find her, or her bones.

The human skull Lyra had found in the ruins gazed back at her in the dark. She reached out to touch it. Where had it come from? All her own stuff was lost when she dropped her bags during her flight, and Lyra’s … Her hoof hovered over the dead face for a moment before dropping to the ground beside it. Its empty eyes stared at her apologetically, possessing no more answers than herself.

“Bonbon?” a voice whispered outside.

Bonbon stared at her hoof next to the skull.

“Bonbon,” the voice persisted, and a small purple-haired filly peeked into the hollow log, eyes searching the dark until they found Bonbon lying there. “Oh, good,” she sighed and slipped all the way inside, looking back over her shoulder to make sure she wasn’t spotted. “I thought I’d never find you.”

Small pieces of wood stuck to Bonbon’s face as she lifted it from the ground and looked at the filly. “Scootaloo?” she tried to say, though it took her a moment to find her voice. “What are you doing here?”

Scootaloo turned around and grabbed Bonbon’s head, holding it so she couldn’t look away as the filly fixed her with a gaze. “Bonbon! Your mind’s been poisoned. You have to fight it!”

“She killed Lyra,” Bonbon said, giving voice to the only thing on her mind. “Again and again.”

Scootaloo shook her. “Lyra is a changeling, Bonbon. You can’t trust her! You can’t trust anything you see or hear while the poison is in your blood. Are you even listening to me?”

“I saw her kill Lyra,” Bonbon repeated.

“I guess not.” Scootaloo groaned and looked over her shoulder. “Feathers!” she exclaimed and let go of Bonbon before darting out of the hollow, disappearing behind a nearby large rock. Her little tail still stuck out from behind it.

Bonbon slumped back to the ground and stared blankly at the skull in front of her face. Scootaloo pulled her tail behind the rock and out of sight a second before Lyra trotted into view in the forest outside. She turned and lowered her head to look at Bonbon, a grin on her face.

“Gotcha!” Lyra grinned and raised her head again to look around. “Thought I heard talking a moment ago.”

“Lyra!” Bonbon hurried out from hiding and stumbled to her legs in a frantic scramble towards the unicorn, throwing her hooves around her neck a moment before her legs collapsed. She buried her head in Lyra’s mane and cried, holding the mare tightly.

“Thought I wouldn’t find you here, did you?” Lyra said and chuckled, brushing Bonbon’s mane. “Silly pony. You can’t hide from me.”

“Thought you were dead,” Bonbon sniffled.

“Shh, my dear,” Lyra hushed her. “There is no need for you to concern yourself anymore. Tell me who you were talking to before I found you.”

“Scootaloo,” Bonbon whispered. “I think you scared her. She’s hiding behind the rock over there,” she said and turned her head to look at the rock where the filly had hid herself.

Lyra smiled. “Good girl.” She gently but insistently released herself from Bonbon’s grip and trotted up to the rock. “You can come out now, little spy. I have sensed you creeping around for quite some time.” Her horn lit up, and the light encased the rock. It crumbled into dust, revealing nothing but the dark forest beyond. Lyra frowned. “A rank coward, skulking through dreams.”

She turned around to face Bonbon again, smiling as she reached out a hoof to lift her chin. “She is but a foal. Disregard anything she tells you.”

Bonbon looked up into the eyes of Lyra and nodded. She was so much taller than Bonbon, so much more majestic and beautiful. Bonbon smiled, lost in those golden eyes she thought she had lost forever. “Just a foal,” she repeated and felt the chuckles bubbling up from deep within her chest. She couldn’t stop herself, she just wanted to laugh, so happy she was.

“Hmm,” Lyra hummed and caressed her cheek. “You are very lovely.”

“I am but a simple earth pony,” Bonbon said, the words flowing from some distant memory and out of her mouth, “while you are as a princess to me.”

Lyra’s smile lit up the darkness, fangs gleaming like needle-thin diamonds. She leaned forward and whispered in Bonbon’s ear, “I’ll show you that I am much more than that,” she said and kissed her cheek. “And to you I am certainly everything.”

“Yes,” Bonbon whispered. “You are everything to me.”

“Then sleep,” Lyra said and gently guided her to lay down on the soft forest floor. “Sleep now, and when you wake again, come find me.”

“Aren’t you going to stay here with me?” Bonbon asked even as her eyes closed, as if by Lyra’s command.

Lyra nuzzled her gently. “No, my dear. But when you wake again, you will come find me. Just follow your heart, and it will lead you to me.”

“I love you, Lyra,” Bonbon whispered before sleep erased the world around her. She smiled as she felt one last caress of a hoof against her cheek and a whisper in her ear.

“Come find me …”

* * *

My dear Rainbow, please write back the moment you read this!

Bonbon has been taken by changelings, and Luna still can’t find any of Lyra or Lightning Dust’s dreams. We have to assume that Lyra has secretly been a changeling for some time, and that the one who claims to be Lightning Dust is deceiving you as I write this. Do not listen to her!

I am terribly worried for you. Please respond, and please be careful whatever you do. I am going to meet you in a dream as soon as I am able. We are doing everything we can from here.

♥ Your princess,
Twilight Sparkle.

* * *

“Don’t listen …”

Her head felt heavy and her mind hazy as she blinked awake and sat up, bumping her head against the roof of the hollow she had been squeezing herself into. Bonbon groaned and rubbed her sore head, then sat for a moment to clear her mind before letting it all out with a sigh. She rubbed her eyes and muzzle, then crawled out of the old log to take in her surroundings.

Aside from a few faintly glowing flowers, all was dark. It was a shame she had dropped her bags, with all her carefully packaged stuff. She took a moment to mourn their loss before slowly making her way out into a bit of open forest. She looked around, taking in the winding paths through the dense trees and glowing bushes. They all led away in directions she could only begin to guess at without a compass or the stars to guide her. She gazed up briefly to confirm that the canopy completely blocked sight of the sky. Once again, pegasi had it so easy.

The silent dripping of water from the leaves of the trees was the only sound she heard. She waited another minute in perfect silence, turning her head from side to side to look down each path, stretching her tired legs and neck as she considered her options. Sleeping on a bare floor of half-rotten wood was no luxury, and her entire body still felt exhausted.

Last night—if indeed it had been last night and not several nights ago—felt like a hazy dream. Bonbon wasn’t sure what had been actual dream, and what had been real. She hoped desperately that certain things had been a dream, at least, and decided to cling to that hope. Some of the cloud seemed to have cleared from her mind, and she tried to wrack her memory for what might have happened, or where she or her friends might have ended up.

“You can’t trust her.”

A young voice echoed in her mind, giving her warning. She tried to remember. “That must have been a dream,” she whispered to herself. “Scootaloo is all the way back in Ponyville, so she obviously couldn’t have been talking to me here.”

“Follow your heart … come find me.”

Bonbon nodded absently at the thought, or was it a memory? “Why wouldn’t I trust Lyra?” she argued still with herself. “I love Lyra. I would follow her to the end of the world.”

She turned back to the paths ahead of her. “Follow my heart …” she muttered as her eyes shifted from one to the other. Her eyes lingered on a narrow path disappearing into darkness and took a step towards it. It felt right, somehow.

“Your mind’s been poisoned, you can’t trust anything.”

Bonbon hesitated, a hoof hovering over the path ahead. She turned her head and looked back down another passage. “Wait a moment. I never trusted Lyra,” she muttered and narrowed her eyes, her brow furrowing. “So why would I trust her now? I love her, but I surely never trusted her.”

Nothing but silence surrounded her, and her hoof still hung undecided in the air while her gaze lingered on the path behind her.

“But I always did trust my heart!” she said and set her hoof down, striding down the path ahead.

* * *

A trickling stream of foul-smelling water wound its way along the path she was walking. Bonbon walked slowly next to it, occasionally stepping over where it crossed the path, careful not to slip and step in the water. She let out a snort and looked around at the slime-stained roots gleaming in the faint light of the glowing flowers and bushes nestled among the trees.

Something darted past her in the dark, disappearing with a flutter of wings into the gloomy treetops. It was not the first time, but it never failed to get a startled jump from her.

From time to time she could hear things flying through the winding paths of the forest in the distance, hundreds of wings echoing through the stale air, but she never saw them. When the echoes of wings didn’t reach her, it was eerily quiet, only her own hoofsteps tapping quietly against the roots and stones. Sometimes she got the feeling that something was watching her, and now and then she thought she saw eyes quickly disappear in the darkness behind her when she turned to look.

She picked up her pace as much as she dared to not slip on the sleek and twisting roots. She was sure it had been at least an hour or more already, and her surroundings had not changed in all that time. The paths wound their way endlessly in and out, leading her deeper into this maze of flittering shapes and slimy trees. Yet her heart kept telling her she had to carry on, even though her legs were aching and her mind felt dull.

Her stomach growled, but she dared not eat any of the plants here, or drink the water. She could only hope that she would soon find a place with fresh grass or leaves, anything that didn’t glow or look covered in slime.

The path she was walking along came to a stop, the trickle of water dropping over the edge of a small cliff into a lake below. Bonbon stopped and looked out over the small glade at the foot of the cliff. Looking down, a narrow ledge led down the side of the cliff into the glade where the water gathered before overflowing down another path. Bonbon looked behind her briefly before carefully edging her way down the ledge.

She was halfway down the slope when her hoof slipped on the edge. Bonbon let out a cry as she fell on her face and rolled over the edge and into the pond of green water. She waved her hooves frantically and sputtered as her head came back up to the surface.

“Ugh!” She spat out a mouthful of water and struggled up to the edge of the pond, slowly dragging herself back onto the ground. She spat out some more and stuck out her tongue, trying and failing to get the rotten taste out of her mouth.

Water sprayed across the forest floor as she stood up and shook herself. Bonbon looked herself over and let out a sigh at the sight. Her mane and tail were in ruins, her coat was scratched and beaten, and now she smelled like a compost heap full of rotten apples. And her saddlebags, with her bottles of clean water, were lost and probably ruined too.

Bonbon stomped her hoof to let out the frustration, then turned to look down the overflown path. Looking at it, it didn’t tell her anything, so Bonbon decided to abandon the trail of water and continue the other way down a third path. She couldn’t say she was sad to leave the stream of water behind.

She had walked for a few minutes when the path began to widen. The trees seemed to have been planted in evenly spaced rows, slightly offset to create strange angular corridors on both sides of the main path. The forest floor was flat and dry here, giving off a faint glow from fallen needles which drove the darkness and shadows upwards into the crowns, gathering there like a ceiling of gloom.

Bonbon’s mouth felt dry as she turned her head every which way, walking low as if something might swoop out of the darkness above at any moment. She walked down a flight of wide steps layered with flat stones and came out into a large grove. Here the trees gleamed with a thousand flickering points of light in their crowns, though they provided almost no illumination.

A sense of majesty and wonder filled her as she stepped out into the grove and craned her neck to look up and around. She couldn’t see the ceiling or the sky, nor the far wall of trees. The silence seemed to stall the air in her lungs as her mouth hung open at the sight.

She slowly crossed the space of the grove, turning around herself to take in as much of it as she could as she neared the center. Bonbon picked up a hoof full of glowing needles from the ground and tried to hold them up high, to light up more of the space around her, but it only barely lit up a small circle around herself.

She lowered her hoof again and stepped on a piece of rock, which sent it rattling across the ground. Bonbon stopped and turned as another sound followed shortly after. She looked down as a small rock rolled up in front of her and stopped. Bonbon blinked at the rock and looked at where it had come from.

As she turned, something dropped out of the air and landed behind her. Bonbon spun around and stumbled backwards with a shriek as the black pony-like creature grinned at her, revealing a pair of sharp fangs. Its insectile wings buzzed as it advanced upon her, its solid blue eyes twinkling with malice. Bonbon had heard of the changelings who invaded the royal wedding; now she wished she had never seen one of the bug monsters for real. As she backed away, her haunches collided with something else, and a pair of black hooves wrapped around her.

“Gotcha!”

Bonbon screamed and bucked at the one holding her, feeling her hind hooves connect with the gut of the monster. It let go of her and rolled across the ground with a groan of pain. She didn’t wait to see if it got back up, but spun around and galloped towards the trees as fast as she could.

Two more changelings dropped down in front of her, and as she desperately tried to avoid them, a third and fourth dropped out of the shadows and grabbed her before she could pick up speed again. “Let me go!” she yelled and tried to wrestle herself free of their grip.

Wings fluttered in the dark all around her. Bonbon could hear them swarm in around her, and she could already tell that there were a hundred of them if not more, just from the sound of their wings. The whole grove shivered with the buzzing wings and hooves as they landed all around her. She struggled and kicked off the changelings holding her, spinning around herself in a panic to keep all the changelings around her in sight.

They were everywhere around her, slowly circling in and grinning, their eyes and fangs gleaming in the darkness. Bonbon realized that the only escape was through the wall of changelings. Even if she managed to push her way through a few, she would be quickly overwhelmed. They could easily have done so already, she knew, but they seemed to want to prolong their fun.

Bonbon gritted her teeth and charged at the horde in front of her. “I won’t play along, you bug-eyed little monsters!” she shouted as she shoved a changeling aside with her shoulder. The changelings chittered in amusement as she muscled aside another and fell face-first into the ground when a leg tripped her.

There was a sound like a whip cracking, and all the changelings stopped to look around. Bonbon quickly scrambled to her legs and tried to slip through the distracted horde. Darkness descended over the dimly lit grove, a cloying miasma of blackness seeping in to fill the cavernous glade.

Bonbon gasped and threw herself to the ground as a black-scaled head the size of a large cart burst out of the trees and through the ranks of changelings. It came to a stop in the grove, its serpentine jaws closing around two changelings. Bonbon watched as they disappeared completely into the maw.

The black snake whipped around, throwing a group of changelings aside with its tail. A green fire filled the eyes of the monster, escaping in trails of purple smoke as it lunged and snatched a changeling out of the air, throwing it into a tree with tremendous force.

The changelings forgot all about Bonbon as they swarmed the monstrous snake, trying to pierce its shadowy scales with their fangs. Bonbon scrambled towards the wall of trees surrounding the carnage, feeling her way with her hooves as she watched the snake whip its tail and snatch changelings out of the air to swallow whole.

It reminded her of something. Her mind drifted back to the dream she had back in the mines, and the dark snake. “Humble,” she whispered the name, and wondered if this too was a dream. It seemed all too real, but she had never seen anything like it in her waking life.

The snake reared up its head, spun around and slammed its body back down, crushing several changelings beneath its weight. It rose up to strike once more, but froze as a flash of bright light ran through the crowns of the trees hanging over the grove. The whole glade lit up brighter than day, the canopy glowing a pure white like a miniature sun.

Bonbon shut her eyes and covered her ears as the snake let out a shriek that shook the forest around them. The shriek slowly transformed into a vulnerable wail of pain and agony. Bonbon cracked her eyes open and shielded them with a hoof. Through the sea of white light, she saw the swarms of changelings surround a fragile human shape crouched on the ground, grabbing her head with her hands and wailing in the searing light.

“No!” Bonbon stumbled to her legs, closing her eyes again, and let out a shout. She galloped towards them but tripped over her own legs and fell to the ground again. The light dimmed around her and focused on the crying shape of Humble, held down against the ground by the changelings. Bonbon watched in horror as the human was left helpless.

A slow tapping off hooves behind her made Bonbon turn around and open her eyes. She stared at a pair of black legs riddled with holes, then craned her neck and looked up into the smirking face of a gaunt changeling, as tall or even taller than Princess Celestia herself.

By her side, two guards were holding another changeling in heavy chains. She might have stood almost as tall as the other, had she been able to stand at all. Bruises and broken pieces of black carapace covered her tortured body. She seemed only half conscious.

The standing queen—Bonbon could not imagine she was anything less to these monsters—looked past Bonbon at the captured human. “Wrap her up and put her in my personal collection,” she ordered. “Do not let her out of the light at any time, or I will take personal pleasure in making sure you never displease me again.”

The changelings all saluted and began wrapping the crying human inside a sticky, green cocoon embedded with bright gems. Bonbon watched in horror how the light filled the cocoon, bathing the pained creature inside in a constant, blinding light. “You’re hurting her!” she cried and scrambled to her legs to face the queen.

Before she could get up, one of the guards kicked her back down hard and lifted a hoof to warn her about trying again. Bonbon groaned and stayed down.

The queen continued to watch the human getting dragged away, ignoring Bonbon entirely until the cocoon was well out of the glade and all the other changelings had followed. At last she turned her head down and smirked. “A very fine dowry you brought me, my dear,” she said. “You have my thanks for it.”

Her horn glowed with a deep emerald hue as a book floated out from behind her. Bonbon stared at Rainbow Dash’s journal. There was no mistaking the royal seal on the front.

“Perhaps you would like to offer me a little more?”

XIV. A Mile in Their Horseshoes

The book levitated in front of Bonbon. She looked from Rainbow’s journal to the changeling queen watching her expectantly. “Where is she?” Bonbon said, trying to fill her voice with enough steel to face the queen. “I want to know what you’ve done to my friends.”

“You’ll see her soon enough,” the queen said and dropped the book with a loud thump in front of Bonbon. “Open the book, and I may see fit to make your reunion happen sooner.” The queen’s form shifted, and in her place Rainbow Dash looked down at Bonbon, hovering before her with the impatient look so characteristic of the pegasus.

Bonbon looked down at the book lying at her hooves. The memory of the shock it had given her on the train to Manehattan caused a slight ache in her hoof. She picked up the book and held it in her hooves, but she didn’t open it. She glared back up at the fake Rainbow Dash. “I can’t open it. It’s protected by magic.”

The queen leaned her head down to look Bonbon in the eyes. “Is that the truth?” she asked, her words dripping venom. Her form shifted back to her own, and her horn glowed.

A trace of venom in Bonbon’s veins flared to life and made her body tense. Her lips moved of their own accord to speak the words, “Y-yes. Rainbow Dash never told me how to open the book, or anypony else that I know of.” Bonbon closed her mouth and bit down hard, trying to keep herself from saying anything more.

“I see,” the queen said, disappointed. “Give the book to my daughter,” she commanded.

Bonbon fought the compulsion, but the magic was too strong. She got on her knees and crawled towards the chained and beaten changeling beside the queen. The broken changeling opened her bright green eyes and gazed past Bonbon without reacting to her presence. Bonbon waited a fruitless moment before simply laying the book in the changeling’s chained hooves.

“So be it,” the queen said in a growl of annoyance. She turned to the guards holding the chains. “Take my wretch of a daughter from my sight and make her open the book the hard way. I don’t care how many shocks it takes for her to break it. I will know its contents.”

The guards saluted and dragged away the bound changeling, yanking hard at her chains to get her to crawl and stumble along. Bonbon watched them leave, anger and determination to fight welling up inside her. “How can you do this?” she spat at the queen. “How can you treat your own daughter this way? If you hold Rainbow Dash prisoner, why don’t you just ask her to open the book anyway?”

The queen raised a hoof and struck Bonbon with such force that her legs collapsed beneath her. “And deprive my daughter of her lesson? You dare?” she said and walked around Bonbon, inspecting the prone pony with cool contempt. “My daughter refuses to take my lessons, but sooner or later, and with the right tools, everyone breaks. Even Chrysalis.”

Bonbon pressed a hoof against her cheek and tried not to show tears; the warm wetness of blood stained her hoof, and a loud ringing filled her ears. She remembered the name Chrysalis vaguely. It had been in the newspapers back when the changelings invaded Canterlot. That seemed like very long ago now to her. “Who are you?” she whispered and wished it didn’t sound so much like a whimper. “Is all this because she failed to win Equestria?”

The queen hummed a soft tune somewhere behind Bonbon. For a time she said nothing. “I am Queen Lacewing of the Changelings,” she said and walked back around Bonbon. “I have reigned over these lands for well over two millennia, after my own mother passed away. I have always kept our nation alive in her spirit. Her last wishes have always guided me.

“You are a pony, my dear.” The queen bent down to smile at Bonbon, her horn glowing. Bonbon held up a hoof to shield her eyes from the brief flash of green. When her eyes recovered, she was looking herself in the eyes. “You wouldn’t understand our ways. This is our land, where our roots have been since times so ancient you can’t even fathom,” the false Bonbon said. “It may leave us hungry, but it has always served to make us strong and independent.”

She raised her head and turned on one leg, dancing gaily around Bonbon. Flowers levitated around her and settled in her hair while she shrunk to the size of a filly. “My daughter is a rebellious filly with ideas too big for her simple head,” she said as she danced and pranced around the glade, looking like a childhood memory of Bonbon. “She is not even worthy of the love I give her in such abundance. She needs to learn if she wishes to one day become a true queen after me, like I once learned from my mother.”

“What do you hope to do with the book?” Bonbon struggled back on her knees and tried to stay fierce. “Do you think you can fool Twilight Sparkle?”

The queen laughed as she turned her tail on Bonbon, giving it a flick and trotting a short distance away. “Chrysalis would leap at that chance, but I only intend to read it. Nothing more.”

“Why?” Bonbon wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but if she could keep the queen amused enough to keep talking, perhaps a chance would present itself.

“Why?” The queen turned and tilted her head at Bonbon. Bonbon wasn’t sure when she had changed to look like Twilight, though she was still a filly. The change was so smooth. “Aren’t you curious what a pretty little princess like me and my lover are sharing in that book? All the juicy details? The state secrets only meant for me, a princess of Equestria, and my loyal consort?” she said in Twilight’s young voice.

“Not really,” Bonbon muttered. Not any more, at least.

Lacewing shook her head. Her mane billowed and spread out like the night sky, changing as she grew tall and dark. “Verily, we doth have our eyes planted all over thy dreams,” she said in the thick archaic voice of Luna and idly trotted around the large glade, beautiful like the night. Bonbon followed her with one eye as she tried to spot any escape. “Thou thinkest we have not figured out what’s happened and told Twilight Sparkle by now? Think again.” She waved a hoof, and Luna was gone, replaced again by the queen of changelings. “I don’t need to open the book to know that its only use to me is information.

“And,” she continued as she turned around. Bonbon quickly covered her attempt at finding an escape by turning her full attention on the queen again. “I expect they will come for Rainbow Dash in force, as sure as rain falls, and that is something none of us want.”

“You’re afraid of a war with Equestria?” Bonbon guessed.

“Don’t tell me you are surprised.” Lacewing stopped in the middle of the clearing. “I have not reigned for two thousand years and kept my subjects safe by provoking the ire of the Sun and Moon. That is why I must look at my daughter’s actions with such gravity. With great power comes great weakness, is what I always say.”

“What?” Bonbon stood up slowly. The side of her head hurt, and her legs were barely able to keep her standing. “That makes no sense.”

“Think about it, my little pony,” she said kindly, standing in the clearing, radiant as the sun, looking at Bonbon with the benevolent smile of Celestia. “My sister Luna and I are certainly powerful, but that very power draws constant threats against us. Because of our great power and status, we are never safe.” She gestured around her, and she was once more the queen of changelings. “Here, no one cares about us. We do not matter, we are no great threat. A few ponies who go missing in the swamp or disappear from outlying farms are no reason to risk an army. We are not strong, our land is not rich, and we starve, but we are much safer than if we drew attention to ourselves or went for the seat of power.

“Better Celestia and Luna remain on their thrones like sitting ducks than us.” In a blink she was Celestia again. “Or swans.” She lay down in the soft grass, spreading her pure white wings like a swan swimming on the sea of green. “Pretty little swans.”

She rose out of the sea and once again became a changeling, striding towards Bonbon. “The worst we ever have to deal with are a few frogs and the occasional young, foolish changeling with silly ideas of a better life for us all. The worst would be for my children to become fat and greedy instead of lean and wise from scarcity.”

Bonbon weighed the value of arguing and found it too small to even consider. She did not want to anger the queen. “So if having us here is a danger, are you going to let us go?”

Lacewing lifted a hoof to her chin as she considered Bonbon. She set off smoothly and soared around the glade, her mane and tail becoming rainbows as she shot Bonbon a teasing grin. “You’re not so slow after all. I intend to return Rainbow Dash safely, as a sign of good will. After all, if you show a little bit of good will, your enemy may decide to let you have a little bit in return as well.”

“What about Lyra and Humble?” Bonbon glowered at the everchanging queen. She couldn’t tell if the queen was mocking her or just teasing.

“What do you care?” Lacewing landed and walked up to Bonbon, wrapping a hoof around her back. There was a green glow, and when it faded, Lyra was standing next to her instead of Rainbow Dash. “Did I ever return your advances?” she said in the mockingly honeyed voice of Lyra. “Did I even care about your feelings? And who is this Humble to you? Some ancient stranger. A nopony and a monster, that’s what she is, my dear.”

“I’m not falling for that,” Bonbon said and gave the changeling a piercing glare.

She just smiled brightly at Bonbon. “Tell you what, if you help me find any other remaining humans, I may just reward you. Give a little, get a little.”

Bonbon narrowed her eyes as she tried to read the intentions of the fake mare leaning on her. “What do you know about humans, and why are you after them?”

“I know more than anyone alive about humans,” the queen whispered to Bonbon. She let go of Bonbon’s shoulder and stepped back, becoming an old gray stallion, ancient and wise. “It was my very own mother in the guise of a prince’s vizier who cursed Humble thousands of years ago, after Humble tricked the secret of taking a pony’s form from her. When Humble and some of her family survived after all, my mother swore to hunt her down. But she never did find the little worm, and so I swore to keep my mother’s search for the traitor alive. And today, you have brought not just the traitor herself, but a distant relative right into my waiting hooves.”

The queen leaned even closer, her grin so bright it was almost blinding. “And I know that her sister is out there as well. She took us by surprise and escaped our net while we were unprepared, but perhaps you would help me find her and retrieve her in return for your life and your freedom to leave safely with Rainbow Dash.”

“You’re talking about Lightning Dust.” Bonbon’s voice was barely heard as she stared at the queen. “Humble’s sister?”

The queen changed back into Lyra, but for just a second Bonbon caught a glimpse of Lightning Dust’s face in the transformation. “You’re quick, yes. So what will it be?” The queen caressed Bonbon’s cheek. “I think you will find that I can give you much more than the other Lyra ever could, but if you choose to leave, I will not stop you. Provided you do this one thing for me, that is. Follow Rainbow Dash, bring Lightning Dust to me.”

Bonbon pushed the hoof away and took a step back, fixing the changeling with her best steel glare. “You could never be Lyra! And I will never leave her or Humble to you!”

Lacewing shrugged and returned to her own form. “Think about it. You have two days to decide before I will be forced to let Rainbow Dash go, with or without you.” She lifted her head and called out, “Guards!”

Bonbon’s gaze flicked to the strange forest around her. In a last desperate moment, she spun around and galloped as fast as her shaking legs could take her for the trees. If she could only get far enough into the gloom, maybe she could hide and—

Her legs stopped moving beneath her, sending her face into the ground. Bonbon landed on the rough moss and stared up at the figure of the queen looming above her, four guards not far behind.

“Wrap her up and put her somewhere she can think things over,” Lacewing ordered to the guards behind her before leaning down to whisper to Bonbon. “I can spare your life and make your dreams come true, or I can make your last moments a nightmare you will never wake from again.” For a flicker of a moment, the queen looked like a nightmarish cross between Bonbon and a changeling. “I can always use more children, after all.”

She stood back up and turned around to leave as the guards surrounded Bonbon.

* * *

A viscous green liquid surrounded her, sloshing slowly around her body as she moved. It filled her lungs and stomach, making her feel like she had been puffed full and heavy like a water balloon. When she opened her mouth to breathe or scream, nothing happened; she was neither breathing nor drowning. Bonbon struggled against her prison, but the thick liquid slowed even her most forceful kicks into nothing more than a feeble poke at the green walls of the cocoon.

She tried to scream again, but it only made the nauseating liquid churn in her lungs and fill her with panic. Her limbs grew heavy from kicking, until she could no longer move them if her life depended on it. Bonbon hung, suspended in the liquid, and stared blankly ahead, out of the green-tinted shell of the prison. Panic slowly gave way to clearer thoughts.

The sensation of smooth liquid filling her eyes as she looked around made her want to cry and wipe it off in disgust. She steeled herself, wishing she could breathe, and looked again. She was surrounded by tall trees in a glowing garden, suspended from a branch in one tree. Bonbon gulped as the glow of the light reflected in several cocoons all around her, like the one she was trapped inside. She reluctantly pushed herself up against the inside of her prison, mashing her face against the translucent wall to get a better look.

Each cocoon had a darker shape within, many curled up in foetal balls. Bonbon sank the foul liquid in her mouth and slowly counted, ten … twenty, maybe as many as thirty. How many of them were ponies? How long had they been here? Bonbon tried to make out the shapes, but the cocoons and strange glowing trees turned the whole world into a smudged-out green.

Bonbon turned her head and looked at one of the cocoons nearest to her, staring at the thing dangling from a nearby branch. She kept staring, when something within the other cocoon turned in its churning sludge of green and a pair of equine eyes opened to stare right back at her, full of horror. Bonbon opened her mouth in a silent gasp as their eyes locked on each other, begging for a release that neither could give. Bonbon imagined that her own eyes looked just as pitiful and terrified to the other pony.

They kept eye contact, too afraid to be left alone. Bonbon rested her head against the inside of the shell and wondered who the pony across the void was, and who was missing them even now. She wondered who was missing her, if anypony back home even thought about her.

Untold hours went by, and Bonbon never broke her gaze with the other pony. The world outside slowly grew darker at the edges, but the lights in the trees remained undimmed. “I miss my friends,” she thought, as if her fellow prisoner could hear her thoughts. “I miss Lyra, and Rainbow Dash. I miss both of them the most. And Humble too, even though …” She trailed off in her thoughts. “I hope they are in a better place than me. Who do you miss?”

The eyes shifted a little but never broke contact. Bonbon could tell that the other pony was speaking to her, too, and it made her feel somehow better. “I’m sure your friends and family are thinking of you,” she thought and attempted a sigh. “I’m sure they all miss you.”

Bonbon’s eyes drooped. She watched her new friend through the green wall and listened to the slow gurgling and churning of the liquid around her. Slowly, her eyes closed, and the world of green gave way to expansive skies full of stars. Bonbon smiled as she watched the millions of tiny dots glittering above in the heavens.

She wasn’t sure if she was still dreaming when a whisper broke through the perfect silence. Bonbon opened her eyes and blinked at the green glow and the slow sloshing of the cocoon. Her eyes scanned the outside world and the rows of cocoons dangling in the trees, but there was no one there. The pony in the other cocoon had closed her eyes and was sleeping, Bonbon supposed.

“Can you hear me?”

Bonbon’s ear twitched. The voice sounded strange, muted yet echoing through the thick liquid. She tried to turn around, but moving was almost impossible. Her reaction must have answered the question, because the voice continued.

“I’m going to be quick. Just nod for yes or shake your head for no. Do you understand?” The voice paused to give her time to answer.

Bonbon nodded slowly, stuck in an awkward position. She furrowed her brow as she listened for the voice, her eyes searching the outside for any signs of who was speaking. There was something distantly familiar about the voice, like she had met the person before.

“Good. I might be able to help you get out of here and save your friends,” the voice whispered. “You will have to trust me, but believe me, you do not have another choice unless you want to abandon your friends to become changeling toys. Will you trust me?”

She tried to place the voice, but the distorting effect of the liquid in her ears and all around her made it impossible to make out who it reminded her of. Still, she could either trust the voice, or hope for another miracle. And miracles rarely came in pairs, so she just had to believe that this was her miracle and not a trick. She nodded slowly and sank the lump of goo in her throat.

“I’m going to give you a poison, and you’re going to meet someone,” the voice said. Bonbon’s eyes widened. “You may not think you can trust her, but give her a chance and hear her out. She is the only one who can help you. Believe me.”

Bonbon squirmed in the cocoon. “Poison?” she thought desperately. That didn’t sound like help at all. She shook her head, unable to protest in any other way.

“Don’t worry,” the voice said. “And good luck. We may not meet again.”

Bonbon tensed and closed her eyes. A minute or more passed before a sharp taste filled her throat like fire. Bonbon gasped and struggled, but the poison was all around her and inside her, spreading through the liquid she was suspended in. The fire flowed down into her stomach and out through her veins, fighting its way to her brain. Bonbon cried out in silence as the world washed away around her.

A shadow moved outside the cocoon, moving on to the other cocoon, the one with the other pony she had talked to. Bonbon stared through the expanding haze of poison, trying to make out the shadow. It looked like neither a pony or a changeling. It was holding something in a claw as it spoke to the other cocoon.

Bonbon made a last effort to struggle her way out of the cocoon, biting at the wall with her teeth, but she was already too weak, and the cocoon remained strong. She reached out a hoof to the pony in the other cocoon, trying to get one last glimpse of her eyes.

The green light swam like swamp water in her vision as she passed out.

* * *

A butterfly landed on her nose and tickled her awake. Bonbon sneezed and sat up slowly in the middle of a warm summer glade. The world around her was alive and vivid with plants, thousands of flowers and creepers in warm colors. Massive trees crowded the landscape, bent and winding, large enough for a pony to walk easily along their roots and branches like bridges and pathways under the blue sky. Insects hummed among every leaf and every flower, displaying wings and bodies of spectacular designs.

Bonbon watched the world in foal-like wonder and joy. She held up a hoof for a small colorful fly to land on as she rose to her hooves. The fly brushed its wings and head with its leg before flying off again in search of nectar. Bonbon set her hoof down carefully and looked around in search of anypony else in this strange, wondrous garden.

A honeyed scent led her to a patch of wild plants with long white flowers. Bonbon nibbled at the leaves and sighed as the sweet taste filled her mouth and melted away her thoughts. She gobbled down as much as she could chew, moaning in delight and licking her lips.

Maybe this was some kind of paradise, she thought.

With a great force of will she left the rest of the flowers and turned around, licking her chops and wondering if maybe she should have just one more taste. She looked up and froze, the remains of the last flower dropping from her mouth.

A tall and majestic changeling watched her from the edge of the glade. Thoughts of flight flashed through Bonbon’s mind even as her legs took it upon themselves and set off in a gallop for the nearest patch of trees to hide behind.

She had turned to run away from the changeling, but somehow she now found herself running straight towards her. Bonbon dug her hooves into the soft earth and skidded to a halt, gasping in fright at the towering figure in front of her. “H-how …”

“Do not fear me,” the changeling spoke. Her voice was weak, and her eyes looked haunted.

Bonbon stared at the changeling. She remembered the queen, and the cocoon, and the broken changeling in chains. “Chrysalis?” she said, her lips forming the question by reflex.

“Queen Chrysalis, to you,” the changeling replied. Bonbon noticed that her body was shaking, and she had to struggle to stand, but there were no signs of the wounds she had been suffering earlier.

“Sorry. Where are we?” Bonbon stood back up slowly and kept her distance from the changeling. “How did I get here?”

“It is a mindscape, a garden crafted from my thoughts, a refuge for my mind where I am safe to rest within myself,” Chrysalis said as she took an unsteady step into the glade past Bonbon. She spoke with the tone of a queen to a subject, commanding and without wavering, even as her body shook with the effort. “It is something like a dream, if that helps you. You are here because I have need of you, and you of me.”

Bonbon watched Chrysalis walk, trying to make sense of the situation and her place within it. She watched as Chrysalis stumbled to one knee. Without thinking, Bonbon moved over to help her up and support her.

Chrysalis sneered and threw her aside. “Do not presume to humiliate me, pony. I do not need your help to walk,” she said and forced herself back on her legs. “I am a queen of changelings, I am stronger than your pitiful mind can comprehend.”

“I was only—” Bonbon tried to speak, rubbing her flank where she had hit the ground.

“Follow and listen,” Chrysalis snapped as she continued stubbornly on her own, “and spare me any of your false pity or concern.”

Bonbon stood up and watched Chrysalis for a moment, then she sighed and followed behind the changeling. “I’m listening,” she said, deciding to play along.

“Good,” Chrysalis said as she stepped onto the massive root of a tree and began walking along the gnarled path into the treetops. “What my useful servant gave you was a rare and precious poison which makes your true thoughts invisible to the queen and the hive, and gives me assurance to speak with you in secrecy. It is a substance reviled and forbidden among changelings, on pain of very painful and slow death at the hooves of the queen, if she finds out.”

“I didn’t think I ever needed any more proof that you are all horrible monsters,” Bonbon muttered as she watched her steps on the wide but uneven root.

“I heard that,” Chrysalis glared back at Bonbon. “Your ignorance is not surprising. There is only room for one queen among changelings. It is the expectation of every young queen that she must kill her mother to take her place, thereby proving her worth as queen. My mother proudly murdered her mother after decades of careful plotting and two failed coups before that. The poison I use is foul play because it makes it too easy, tradition would say. A queen who is found guilty of using it has only proven that she is not truly worthy.”

Chrysalis paused to collect her strength before making a short jump to another branch. She stumbled slightly in the landing, but brushed it off as if it was nothing. “I have no patience for such nonsense. My mother is full of it, and she would not hesitate to lose her only daughter in the name of tradition. But a true queen would take any advantage she can get, at any cost.”

Bonbon took a moment to consider her jump before making it, landing safely behind Chrysalis. “Who was it that gave me the poison?”

“That is none of your concern,” Chrysalis snapped. “Suffice it to say that I can not trust other changelings while my mother is alive. Even the ones I manage to poison are still loyal to her and may betray me. That is why I need you and your rainbow-colored friend to help me stage a coup and kill my mother, since I am unable to face her myself.

“In return, I will let you and your friends go on your way, and no changeling in this land will hinder your passage.” Chrysalis stopped at the top of a wooden arch and turned carefully. “You are not going to leave this land without the blessing of its queen—you would not get very far, trust me—so I suggest you take my offer while you can.”

Bonbon stopped and looked at Chrysalis, trying to read her insectile eyes. “All my friends? What about the two humans, Lyra and Humble?”

Chrysalis huffed and looked up at the canopy. “My mother is obsessed with my grandmother’s pointless vendettas against the humans. They are a dead race, unimportant. There is nothing left but a few stragglers, and I have better things to do than hunt them down or care what they do. Our hive has been starving in this infested hay hole for longer than Celestia and Luna have ruled the heavens, all because of cowardly queens too caught up in tradition.

“It is high time for change,” she said. “It is time we lived like lords and ladies, not dirty beggars.”

“So if I help you overthrow your mother, I will also be to blame for another invasion of Equestria in the future?” Bonbon scowled at the changeling.

Chrysalis turned and looked at Bonbon. “Would you rather leave your two friends here, or see what my mother plans to do with your body if you refuse her? No, I thought not,” she said before Bonbon could answer. “If you say otherwise, you are a liar.”

She began walking again. “You have no other choice. Now follow. Your friend should arrive shortly, then we can get down to business.” She scowled at the path. “And rest.”

* * *

“No way, no how!” Rainbow Dash circled around Bonbon, pointing her hoof. Bonbon glanced at where Chrysalis was resting herself on a pillow of silk in a small gazebo some distance away. Rainbow looked at Bonbon. “That’s Chrysalis! She’s the wretched, evil … thing that invaded Canterlot and wrecked the royal wedding! I say we show her what we think of her!” she said and set off in a rush for the changeling.

Bonbon snatched at her tail. “Get down!” she groaned as she dug her hooves into the rough bark of the branch and pulled the pegasus out of the air.

“Oh come on!” Rainbow complained as she sat down and folded her hooves over her chest. “I am so tired of this. I want to smack that bug in her face and pull our tails the hay out of here!”

“And how do you suggest we do that?” Bonbon shot back at her. “I’m stuck in a cocoon back in the real world, and I bet you are too. And what of our friends? Are you just going to leave them?”

Rainbow Dash pouted her lips and scowled. “I say we take the queen’s offer. Then, when she lets us go, we rush back in and pull Lyra out of there right under their noses.”

“Lyra and Humble,” Bonbon snapped.

“Seriously?” Rainbow Dash huffed. “You want to save her?”

Bonbon took a step forward and stuck her face in Rainbow Dash’s. “We are not leaving without both!” she snarled and bared her teeth, her eyes boring into Rainbow’s skull. “And we’re helping Chrysalis too!”

Rainbow Dash pulled back, a look of shock on her face. “What the hay is wrong with you?” she said after recovering enough to collect herself. “She’s a—”

“What the hay is wrong with you?” Bonbon poked Rainbow hard in the chest. “Humble has done horrible things, and Chrysalis is an unrepentant monster, but no one deserves to be tortured! Look at her!” Bonbon pointed at Chrysalis. A slack-jawed Rainbow Dash blinked and followed her hoof. “She can barely stand on her own legs, even in her dreams. Her mother is making her open your stupid book by force, just to teach her some awful lesson. Do you have any idea how much that thing hurts?”

Bonbon directed Rainbow’s face back at her. “You can not begin to imagine what Humble has been through, or how much pain and sorrow she is in right now. Are you really so callous that you would leave another to torture and eternal suffering? Would you rather shun and punish them forever than trying to make them see their mistakes? If so, you are no better than Chrysalis or her mother, and that is a fact! And I have my doubts about Chrysalis; at least she cares for her subjects and their suffering.” Bonbon narrowed her eyes at the stunned pegasus. “You are worse than Chrysalis! And you are not worthy of Celestia’s favor, or friends like Fluttershy, who understand the value of kindness and mercy!”

Rainbow Dash stared at Bonbon, her mouth open. A faint whimpering noise escaped her, but failed to form any words. Rainbow Dash frowned and averted her eyes, trying to hide sudden tears while looking fierce. “… Celestia I hate you.”

“Good! You should feel bad about yourself,” Bonbon said. “Now shut your yap and get your tail in gear. We’re helping!” She turned her tail and stomped off towards Chrysalis, not even caring if Rainbow Dash followed or not.

Chrysalis opened an eye as Bonbon’s hooves sounded on the wooden steps carved into the living branch leading up to the gazebo. She lifted her head and regarded Bonbon with contempt. “Are you done pitying me?”

“No,” Bonbon said as she walked across the wooden floor of the gazebo and stood in front of Chrysalis. “We accept.”

Chrysalis looked past Bonbon as Rainbow Dash slinked up behind her, eyes looking at the floor and ears drooping. Chrysalis looked back at Bonbon. “Fine. It’s not like I have any other useful tools I can turn to. I guess we’re stuck with each other, then.”

“What about your other ally? The one who gave us the poison?” Bonbon asked.

“I need to keep him in reserve in case you fail. One of the great shames of living out here in the middle of nowhere is a lack of ready servants. That’s how my mother keeps herself safe from her daughter. With only changelings and a few precious ponies who are barely enough to feed the tribe, it’s nearly impossible for me to scheme against her.

“Well, here’s the plan,” Chrysalis said as she adjusted herself on the pillow for more comfort. “I need you to get close to my mother and poison her. My other servant has left a hidden cache of potent poison for you near a small pond in the woods. All you have to do is make my mother inhale the poison. I will give you directions and instruct you on how to get around the hive.”

“Ugh,” Rainbow Dash groaned behind Bonbon.

Bonbon wasn’t sure she liked the idea of killing either. “Do we have to … Can’t we just give her enough that she’ll be too weak to fight you and us?”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “Worthless. And what then? I couldn’t lift a hoof against her in this state, no matter how weak she is,” she said. “And as long as there is any life left in her, the hive will remain loyal to her and would overwhelm us all. My only hope is to kill her and take the crown before anyone is the wiser. So I suggest you develop a taste for killing if you want to live. Be thankful I gave you poison instead of a hatchet.

“If it helps your weakling conscience, know that she expects nothing less of me. But enough,” the changeling frowned and waved a hoof at the questions. “I can’t let you out of your cocoons. You would be discovered instantly and captured, probably tortured and killed.”

“Then how are we going to get close to the queen?” Bonbon raised an eyebrow.

Chrysalis grinned. “The poison inside you does more than mask your thoughts to the Queen. All changelings belong to the hive, and their minds are connected. You might say the poison masks that connection and creates another between those poisoned. It allows me to speak with you here in my personal mindspace, but there are other things I can do, and I happen to have a pair of useful changelings infected with the poison.”

“Where is this going?” Rainbow Dash said in a voice that matched Bonbon’s unease. “No wait, I don’t think I care to hear it.”

“You will switch minds. No one will suspect two changelings here, especially with the poison masking your real thoughts. Meanwhile, the two changelings, who are unaware of this and might otherwise betray me despite the poison, will be safely away inside your heads … inside cocoons where they can’t speak a word.” Chrysalis’ grin widened, displaying a gleaming pair of fangs. “It is the perfect plan, assuming you two can learn to act like changelings before the sun rises. If you can’t … well, I hope you don’t find out.”

“Uh …” Rainbow Dash looked at Bonbon and backed away slightly.

Bonbon felt sick to her stomach as she listened to the plan. “This is … a lot. How do we know we can trust you?”

“Why would you ever think you could?” Chrysalis smiled sweetly. “But you have no choice, after all. I’m nice that I’m even asking you. But we do want to help each other, so I’m sure you will see the logic in this arrangement. You need a queen’s favor to escape with your lives and your friends; I need you to save my hive from my mother.”

She chuckled. “Perhaps you should see it as the experience of a lifetime. Few ponies can say they know what it’s like being a changeling … and most of those don’t get that experience in such a favorable way.”

Bonbon and Rainbow Dash looked at each other. “I can’t believe we’re doing this,” Rainbow said. “But I guess you’re right. We don’t really have a choice,” she muttered and scuffed at the ground with a hoof.

Chrysalis smiled. “There’s a good little pony.”

* * *

Bonbon opened her eyes and immediately dropped as the world disappeared beneath her hooves. The ground came flying up towards her in a dizzying swirl of green and brown. She cried out and waved her hooves frantically, closing her eyes shut as air rushed past her body.

Her fast descent was abruptly halted. Bonbon was hoisted back into the air with a jerking motion which made her nearly lose the contents of her stomach. A pair of hooves wrapped around her body, and a labored buzzing hummed in her ear. Bonbon opened her eyes slowly and breathed in as she looked at the green world now so very close. One second later and she would have crashed into the ground at full speed.

“Ah!” Her rescuer cried out and swayed violently. The buzzing became erratic, and before Bonbon could cry out herself, she was falling once more.

She landed hard against the forest floor, and something landed heavily on top of her. “Ow …” she moaned and tried to stretch her legs, hoping none of them had been broken. She blew something out of her eyes and sighed, looking up at the trees around them.

The forest looked odd, like everything had more edges than it should. Bonbon furrowed her brow and gazed further up, through the leaves and branches. “What’s wrong with the sky?” she asked herself aloud. The patches of green sky and rays of yellow sunlight was immediately forgotten as she heard the voice. “What’s wrong with my voice?”

“Ugh, stupid wings,” someone said behind her, and the one who had caught her crawled off her back, standing on unsteady legs. “Wait, what the … Oh hay no!”

Bonbon lifted a hoof to her mouth and stopped, staring at the hoof in front of her face. “Oh …” she said, her voice breaking and eyes widening. “Oh Celestia …”

“I think I’m going to be sick …” the other voice announced.

Bonbon sat up and stared at her black hoof, three prominent holes piercing the chitinous limb. She looked down at her body, taking in the dark carapace and transparent wings. In a trance, she reached up a hoof to feel her face, running the hoof along the edges of the sharp horn in her forehead. “We’re … we’re really changelings,” she said and breathed in deep to stop herself from screaming.

“This … ugh, this is disgusting,” the changeling who Bonbon assumed was really Rainbow Dash said as she spat out a mouthful of something green and sticky. “Ugh … oh damn, not again …” she groaned before sticking her head in a bush.

“W-what are we going to do?” Bonbon said and stared as Rainbow emptied her stomach in the bush.

Rainbow Dash groaned and spat before pulling her head back out and wiping her mouth with a hoof. “Damn it,” she moaned. “This was your horrible idea. I say we get the job done and get the hay out before I start to develop a taste for bugs and rotten fruit. Sweet Celestia, that taste! What did this one eat? No … no, don’t tell me!”

Bonbon frowned and poked her new wings with a hoof. She carefully spread them out and tried to give them a few flaps. “I guess we really have no choice,” she sighed and wrinkled her nose at the strange feeling and use of unfamiliar muscles. “How do you use these things?”

“Don’t look at me,” Rainbow said and spat again, sticking her tongue out and grimacing. “These wings are hopeless,” she said and flapped them a bit. “They’re way too light, and I’m not used to … buzzing.” She flapped the wings with a frown.

“I’m sure you’ll get used to them.”

“Celestia I hope not!”

Bonbon stood up. She had no doubt that Rainbow would find it much more natural than Bonbon ever would, once she got used to it.

Rainbow Dash kicked the ground and looked around. “So uh … I guess we need to find that poison and get on with it, right?”

“I … guess,” Bonbon said and stared at the path ahead. “Chrysalis said we should head south from here, I think.” She lifted a hoof to the new horn in her head again and winced. “And this is another thing I wish I knew how to use.”

“Friggin’ magic, yeah,” Rainbow groaned and began stalking down the road. “Come on.”

“Says the pony who’s dating the Princess of Magic herself,” Bonbon teased.

Rainbow looked down and sulked. “Twilight doesn’t count,” she said and went silent.

Bonbon shook her head and followed, aware that everything around her looked and felt different. She could have believed that she was still dreaming, if it wasn’t for her gut. She realized that she was starving too, but she wasn’t sure any of the plants here would satisfy her, or what changelings even ate other than love. She didn’t want to think too much about it either.

Rainbow Dash flapped her wings and lifted off the ground tentatively, turning around herself in mid air to study the way her new wings buzzed. Bonbon frowned at how quickly she seemed to take to it, even quicker than Bonbon had expected, and despite Rainbow’s supposed reservations. Bonbon tried a few times herself, but it didn’t make her any wiser on how to fly. She was going to have to keep trying if she wanted to avoid attention from other changelings.

As they passed through winding passages, following the instructions Chrysalis had given them before the dream ended, more and more changelings buzzed past them in the tree tops. Bonbon could feel their presence even when she couldn’t see them, and occasional greetings and fragments of thoughts flashed through her mind. It was a disorienting sensation, like being at a party full of high-society ghosts gossipping in her ears. She was relieved that none of them stopped or gave them any attention. It seemed Chrysalis had been right that their disguise would not raise suspicion, as long as they did not do anything to draw attention.

“I think I see it,” Rainbow Dash said and pushed some low-hanging branches aside for Bonbon.

Bonbon ducked under the branches and drifted unsteadily around a tree. She looked around until she saw the small pond nestled among the trees and surrounded by green plants. “Looks like it,” she said and approached the edge of the water, landing with some difficulty and stopping herself before she tumbled forwards into the lake. “Alright, that went pretty well.”

Rainbow Dash landed next to her with something approaching practiced ease and looked around along the little pond. “I’m gonna take this side,” she said and pointed to the right.

“Alright,” Bonbon said as Rainbow Dash took wing again and began poking around in the reeds and among the stones at the edge of the pond. Bonbon turned and trotted the other way around. Her eyes looked upwards, trying to make out the horn in her forehead. She sighed and focused her attention on some scrub by the side of the pond. Maybe if she just imagined really hard …

Green light flickered at the top of her vision, throwing small sparks on her nose. Bonbon wriggled her muzzle and concentrated. How was it Lyra had described doing magic? Bonbon tried to recall. “Like a dance … with strings,” she muttered. “Everything has a resonance, I just have to resonate with it and then …” Bonbon wet her dry lips and tilted her head, watching the dark green plants and sniffing the air. “How do plants resonate with me?”

A faint humming sounded in her head, different from the faint hum of changeling voices, traveling through her horn and down her spine. She closed her eyes and shivered, trying not to let her focus slip as she kept the image of the plants in her mind. She could feel the strain on her horn and was almost ready to drop it when she felt the leaves, like a tingle in her forehead. Surprised, Bonbon squeaked, and the glow of magic vanished in a burst of green along with the sensation of the plants.

“Got it!” Rainbow Dash called from the other side of the pond as Bonbon recovered. Bonbon turned and looked as Rainbow Dash held up a small bag from behind a rock. Rainbow opened the bag and poked her face in.

“Rainbow, what are you—Don’t stick your nose in the bag of poison!” Bonbon said with a sense of urgency as she watched Rainbow Dash with her head in the bag. “We’re supposed to just make the queen breathe it, remember?”

“Oh, uh,” Rainbow pulled her face back out and grinned, rubbing the back of her head. “Good call. Anyway, uh …” she said and pulled out something. “There’s a map in here too.”

Bonbon spread her wings and carefully crossed the pond, landing with some effort next to Rainbow Dash. She turned around and tilted her head to look at the crude map outlining the paths and spots of interest in the forest. “How thoughtful.”

A long, sharp note of alarm made them both jump. Bonbon spun around, looking all around her, until she realized that the alarm had been inside her head. In the distance, swarms of changelings burst out of the canopy and flocked towards the south. A thousand distant voices chimed along with the alarm, calling the hive to action.

“Oh buck,” Rainbow Dash grimaced and rubbed her head. “It’s in my head. You hear it too?”

Bonbon nodded.

“Think we should follow?”

Bonbon gnawed on her lip, then dug into the mud by the edge of the pond. “I don’t think we want to find out what they do to changelings who don’t heed a call like that. Sounded big.” She drew a thick line of mud like a lightning bolt across Rainbow’s flank, like a rough cutie mark, then repeated the procedure on herself. “Now I can recognize you,” she said. “I swear, all these bugs look the same.”

“Good thinking,” Rainbow Dash said and took off. “Let’s go!”

* * *

Cries of “Fire Bellies” and “The Leapers” echoed in their heads from every direction as they finally caught up with the back of the swarms headed south. Bonbon wobbled in the air and huffed for breath, buzzing her wings to stay aloft. She had to admit to herself that she was definitely not in good shape for flying, and the constant clamor of calls made her head feel like it might burst like an overripe melon.

Rainbow Dash urged her on, but Bonbon wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep this up. “You don’t think they mean dragons?” she gasped in between struggling for breath as Rainbow paused beside her.

“Dunno. Who cares?” Rainbow shrugged. “Big, clumsy lizards don’t frighten me.”

“Say that again when they roast your flank,” Bonbon muttered. The buzzing swarm of black in front of her made it hard to see anything going on ahead. Bonbon pulled up a bit, trying to get a better look. Flashes of orange lit up the forest somewhere ahead. Bonbon could hear the cries and clamor of fighting now.

Rainbow Dash hung in the air above her. “Dragons are big,” she said and picked up her pace. “I don’t see anything that big ahead. Unless they’re just babies, like Spike.”

The billowing swarm of bodies ahead took a dive, soaring down through the clouds towards the battle. Bonbon tried to keep up with Rainbow Dash as they descended with the swarm.

“You two! Hey!” a voice called out.

Bonbon turned her head as another changeling came in from the side, glaring at them. “Uh, yes?” she said in quick response.

“Didn’t you get your orders?” the changeling barked. “You’re to take the left flank and cut off the enemy from the east.”

“Uh, sorry,” Bonbon tried to hide her panting and the wobbling of her flight.

“Must have missed it, sir!” Rainbow chirped in the proper military fashion of a soldier responding to her superior.

“Yes,” Bonbon agreed with a quick nod. “What exactly are we up against?”

The changeling gave Bonbon a narrow look. “Are you deaf? The fire-bellied water leapers are attacking from the south again. How did you not—” An explosion behind them ended any further scrutiny. The changeling swiveled around on the spot and cursed. “Get to it!” he barked before racing off again.

Rainbow pulled Bonbon around and took off towards the left of the swarm. “Damn,” she said simply, her brow furrowed and eyes narrowed at the scene ahead.

“Sorry,” Bonbon muttered. “I can’t make head or tail of all this noise in my head.”

“Me neither,” Rainbow grumbled. “Just means we gotta come up with a plan, and I’ve got the perfect one. Okay, just listen—” Another explosion interrupted her for a moment. She and Bonbon glanced down through the swarm where the explosion had been. The swamps and forests were charred and torn up by the frantic fighting, changelings swarming in and out among each other in wild chaos to evade long gouts of roaring flame. And yet, no two changelings ever seemed to get in the way of each other.

Giant creatures leaped across the shallow water and muddy ground on leathery black wings, occasionally taking to the air in great leaps, soaring among the swarms of changelings before landing again. They looked to Bonbon like massive frogs without legs, moving by their bat-like wings alone while swinging long tails with deadly stingers at the changelings. When they opened their jaws and croaked, long tongues of flame licked the air and any changelings unfortunate enough to be caught in the way.

“Cool!” Rainbow Dash said beside Bonbon, whose reaction was stunned silence. “Okay, so here’s the plan,” she continued without pause. “We’re going to go down there and kick those ugly things back to where they came from and show everyone how awesome and kick-tail we are. Everyone will be so impressed that the queen will make us her personal guard or something, and bam! We’re in.” She looked at Bonbon with a wide grin.

Bonbon gave her friend a skeptical look. “Yes, that’s a great plan,” she said with a deadpan expression to cover the thick, dripping layer of sarcasm. “Except, I can barely stay in the air.”

“Pfft!” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “You just gotta believe it,” she said and spun around, darting down towards the action. “Just follow my lead and make sure you kick tail!”

Bonbon dodged wildly through the swarming mass of changelings, trying not to bump into any as she raced to keep Rainbow Dash within sight. She received several looks from changelings she nearly collided with, but she didn’t have time to pay them any attention. It was impossible for her to make sense of the voices in her head, and she had no time to stop and try to get a better sense of what they were telling her.

A long gout of flame erupted to her left. Bonbon gasped and swerved to the right, colliding with another changeling in flight. The changeling hissed at her and pushed her off. Bonbon barely managed to catch herself before she hit the ground. She spun around, trying to catch a glimpse of where Rainbow Dash had gone, and came face to face with a giant frog. Bonbon opened her mouth to scream as she stumbled back.

The monster opened its mouth, its throat burning like the sun. Bonbon stumbled and buzzed her wings desperately to get out of the way when something fell from the sky and landed on the back of the frog. The monster shut its mouth and swallowed …

“Uh oh,” Bonbon muttered as she saw the eyes of the frog bulge outwards and its body swelling.

“Haha! Take that, you—” the changeling standing atop the ailing frog cheered. Her cheer was cut off when she noticed what was going on. “Oh,” she said and leaped into the air, buzzing wildly.

The bright explosion threw Bonbon off her hooves and through a swarm of changelings, all of which dove uncontrollably out of the way around her. She collided with another swarm of changelings holding back a bunch of frogs, and tumbled into the mud and brackish water behind them. Shaking and sputtering, she crawled out of the muck and wiped the mud out of her eyes.

The sight before her was utter chaos. Changelings were strewn everywhere from the explosion and collisions, and the frogs were quickly rampaging across the wasteland, unhindered. Rainbow Dash was picking herself out of a tree, along with several other changelings she had brought down with her in the crash.

Bonbon ducked and rolled over in the mud as a frog leaped at her and swung its deadly tail. She brought her legs up and kicked the beast in the side of its face. The frog croaked and let out a burst of wild flames, charring several changelings who had charged back in to aid. Bonbon gulped and looked around.

It didn’t take her long to spot Rainbow Dash. She was bucking and wrestling with frogs, while the changelings around her cursed and dodged every wild blow and lick of flames. It was hopeless, the entire teamwork of the changelings ruined by just two who did not follow the mental cues being broadcast.

“What the buck are you doing?” two changelings shouted at her as the frogs rampaged all around them, driving the changelings back. Bonbon backed away, unsteady on her muddy wings, feeling her cheeks flush with shame. She had no answer.

“Idiots!” several changelings cried, and others chimed in.

“Fall back! Retreat!” the voices roared in her mind, and the hive responded. As the frogs swarmed behind them, Bonbon was shoved and driven into retreat with the rest of the hive. Rainbow Dash was lost somewhere in the crowd.

* * *

“So much for your brilliant plan,” Bonbon grumbled and nearly gagged at the sight as she leaned in to look down the great cauldron full of live cockroaches, crawling and struggling for purchase against each other. “Bloody hay!”

“Hey, it’s not my fault that changelings can’t hold their own in a fight,” Rainbow Dash sulked as she shoved a large glass of swarming butterflies aside with a groan. “What the hay is up with this anyway? Why can’t they just stick with eating love, not … ugh, bugs!”

“I think this is fruit,” Bonbon said, breathing through her mouth. It didn’t help much. “Rotten, maggot-infested fruit,” she added. “I don’t think they can get enough love out here. Or maybe they need other food to live too.”

“Well, maybe if they learned to eat hay and cupcakes instead, they wouldn’t be so awful in a fight,” Rainbow Dash said. “I can’t believe we’re stuck here, making this … yuck! I swear I’m going to starve to death if I don’t get out of here soon.”

“Less chatter, more cooking!” one of the other changelings called from the other side of the ‘kitchen’, which was more like a garden with tables and winding trails where changelings milled about with plates of bugs. Several changelings glared at them before returning to work.

“Let’s just be glad this is the worst they did to us after that fiasco,” Bonbon whispered and began stirring the sickening gruel of rotten fruit. “At least they didn’t start questioning us.”

“Not yet,” Rainbow Dash said and grimaced as she emptied a glass full of flies into a bowl of honey. “How are we going to get close to the queen now?” she whispered.

Bonbon glanced around them at the changelings milling about. “She has to eat too, right?” she said. “If we can find out which of the food is for her, we can poison it.”

“How?” Rainbow Dash took a peek around as well but quickly looked back at her work when one of the changelings looked up at them. “They probably make her food somewhere else. There are probably guards.”

“One moment, let me think,” Bonbon said. She looked down and shook a pair of beetles off her hoof. Her eyes lingered on a plate of the small creepy crawlies wriggling their legs in futility against the sticky sugar. “I’ll just have to ask someone. You wait here, I’ll be back in a moment,” she said and concentrated.

“What?” Rainbow Dash looked at her. “Ask them? Oh sure, that’ll work.”

Bonbon ignored her. Her horn gave off a faint glow as she recalled her earlier success and tried to replicate it. A moment later she felt the wood of the plate and lifted it slowly from the table. The plate levitated off the table and floated in the air, a bit wobbly but not too bad. Bonbon grinned and turned around. “Don’t worry, I’ve got this. Just hoof me the poison.”

Rainbow Dash slipped the small bundle out of her tail and hoofed it to Bonbon when no one was watching. She watched Bonbon walk off with the plate floating unsteadily beside her. “Showoff,” she grumbled and turned, narrowing her eyes at a beetle scuttling across the table. “Come on. Lift, you stupid bug! Levitate, dammit!” she muttered. The beetle continued its escape, happily ignoring her commands. “Stupid magic!”

Bonbon chuckled, sensing Rainbow’s frustration even at a distance. The chuckle nearly made her lose her focus on the plate, but she managed to catch herself in time and steady her grip. She walked confidently across the kitchen space, quickly picking out a changeling who looked busy. The key would be to look like this was all according to her orders. “Where does the queen want her beetles?” she asked the other changeling, hoping it would work.

“What?” the changeling looked at her briefly, then returned to fumbling with his work. He looked stressed, which fit Bonbon perfectly.

“The queen,” Bonbon repeated. “Where do I put her food?”

“Through the gate,” the changeling said, distracted, and pointed a hoof off quickly towards a gate covered in blooming creepers. “Over there.”

“Thanks,” Bonbon said and trotted off towards the gate. “That was easy,” she thought. Now all she had to do was walk in there and sprinkle the queen’s food with the poison without any guards noticing, then get back to Rainbow Dash and wait.

“Wait a minute …”

Bonbon felt herself freeze. “Just keep walking,” she thought, hoping it would work. “Pretend you didn’t hear,” she added to herself.

“Hey!” the other changeling called again. “The queen doesn’t get anything from us.”

Bonbon cursed under her breath and turned around, facing the changeling as he caught up with her. “Are you sure? I was told—”

“Of course I’m sure.” The changeling said and gave her a closer look. “The queen never gets her food from this section.”

“Oh, my mistake,” Bonbon said and turned around slowly. She was about to slink back to Rainbow Dash when something exploded in a great flash of green fire and nearly threw her backwards. Bonbon startled and dropped her plate. “Ah!”

The whole kitchen was aflame with green fire and alive with changelings panicking and trying to put it out. In the middle of it all, Rainbow Dash was thrashing the place and yelling, trying to put out the magic flames from her horn with her hooves. This only seemed to make it worse.

Everyone’s attention was on the fiery spectacle, and in an instant the changeling who had stopped her had forgotten all about Bonbon and the queen’s food. Bonbon glanced around and saw her chance. She turned quickly and slipped through the gate after a trio of changelings and a pair of guards came rushing out in the other direction.

The other section was lavishly decorated and overgrown with hedges full of flowers, insects humming among the leaves. Bonbon quickly scanned the tables, hurrying up to the plates of treats prepared for the queen. She glanced down at the small pouch of poison in her hoof. “There’s not nearly enough for all of that food,” she muttered, struck by sudden uncertainty. If the queen didn’t eat the food she poisoned, it would all be wasted.

Through the gate she could hear the shouts and chaos of all the changelings trying to put out the magical fire. “Good job, Rainbow,” she whispered and gnawed on her lip. “Okay, okay, I can do this,” she said and took a deep breath as she surveyed the plates.

“Eeny meeny miny …” Bonbon pointed at each plate in turn. “Moe!” she said and stopped at a plate of what looked like honey-roasted ants. “Please let her eat this,” she said as she emptied the poison over the plate and shuffled the ants until the powder was absorbed and invisible in the honey glaze. “Yum yum. Let’s hope she can’t taste the difference.” Bonbon had no idea what the poison tasted like, and no desire to test it first. “Sweet Luna, I hope this works!”

Job done to the best of her ability, Bonbon rushed back out, an awful taste in her mouth. “I’m a would-be murderer,” she thought, finding the air hard to breathe at the thought. She was so lost in that thought that she didn’t notice until she collided with a pair of changelings rushing towards the fire with buckets of water. The contents of the buckets splashed on the ground, wasted.

Bonbon blinked and sighed as she lifted a dripping hoof. “Sorry.”

* * *

“So these are the two fools who have caused us so much trouble?” The queen looked down at Bonbon and Rainbow Dash from her throne of thorns as servants milled about the royal glade. She had changed to wearing armor of black metal and dark emerald green.

Rainbow Dash was still smoking lightly from her magical mishap, her short mane and tail reduced to stubs. She grumbled something under her breath which Bonbon couldn’t hear.

“Yes, My Queen,” one of the other changelings said, bowing before the queen. “They lost us half the southern region to the frogs and burned down half the kitchen. We are still struggling to hold back the invaders because of them.”

The queen leaned forward and gazed long and hard at them. Her face revealed nothing of her thoughts, and the faint but constant buzzing of voices in Bonbon’s head had nothing to offer either, at least not as far as Bonbon could tell, but she had proven several times today that what she could tell from these voices was not much in the first place.

“What would you have us do with them, Your Highness?” another changeling asked.

The queen tapped the thorny throne, her thoughtful gaze fixed upon them. “What do you have to say for yourselves?” she said finally, turning her gaze on Bonbon.

Bonbon looked around at the changelings all around them. Perhaps her new perspective was telling her now what she had only heard of before, but it was clear that they were all exhausted and starving. How much love did they get out here in the swamps? She looked back at the queen waiting for their answer. “We are tired and hungry, Your Highness,” she said, voicing what she hoped and thought was a common feeling among the hive. “We can’t fight or work well when we haven’t fed.”

“Others manage what you claim you can’t,” the queen said and looked at Rainbow Dash. “Are you so worthless?” Rainbow Dash bristled at the insult but bit her tongue to stay silent. The queen stood up, towering over them in her armor. “Or are you saboteurs and betrayers?” she hissed and looked at her guards as if they too were keeping things from her. “Has my useless daughter finally fallen to the lowest pits of dishonor and turned to a weakling’s poison? Answer!” The queen’s voice thundered through the glade.

Bonbon trembled and bowed even lower, scraping her chin against the ground. “No! We would never betray you, My Queen!” she said, begging for some miracle change of heart from the queen. “We are ever loyal to you,” she added.

The queen gazed down at them, turning her head to glare at Rainbow Dash. “Is that so?”

Bonbon wished she could give Rainbow a sharp poke in the side, but there were too many eyes on them. She could only hope Rainbow didn’t do or say anything stupid.

Rainbow Dash looked up an inch, after a tense silence, and finally nodded. “We would never betray you, Your Highness,” she echoed.

“I see,” the queen said. She watched them for a long time in silence. “If your words are true, then you are merely pathetic and useless. Either way, you would poison and weaken the hive with your existence. The swarm can not tolerate incompetence, no more than it can treachery.”

“We’ll prove our worth!” Rainbow Dash blurted out, looking up at the queen.

“Guards,” the queen said before Rainbow Dash could continue. “Tie their wings down with stones and let them face the frogs on their own. If they survive and drive back the enemy from our southern lands, they have proven they worth. Bring my daughter, I would have her watch.”

“We’ll buck those frogs back to where they came!” Rainbow Dash said, filling her voice with all her bluster, but Bonbon detected a hint of a shiver in it still. “You’ll see.”

“So I will,” the queen said and watched as the guards grabbed them and tied their wings down hard. “Or perhaps I will see you become frog food. Either way, I shall enjoy it.”

* * *

The cliff overlooked the vast landscape below. A river wound through the green swamps and forests like a gray snake slithering through tall grass, and everywhere the bright red and green of the frogs dotted the landscape. Bonbon gazed down from the edge of the cliff at their doom. There was no way they could fight all those frogs, just the two of them. It was a suicide mission, and the queen knew it. Everyone knew it.

Behind them, the guards carried their queen atop her throne. Chrysalis knelt beside her on the cold ground, beaten and broken. Servants and guards swarmed around them, bringing plates of snacks for the ‘festivities’. Bonbon prayed that one of the plates contained the poison. She wasn’t sure if it would save them, but she couldn’t see any other hope now.

The queen lifted a hoof. “Let them walk down and face their fate,” she ordered her guard. “If they refuse, throw them off the cliff.”

The guards pushed and prodded them towards the narrow path winding down the tall cliffside. Bonbon took a few steps down the path and glanced back at where the changelings were watching them. The queen smirked as she offered a plate of snacks to her daughter. Bonbon couldn’t see what the plate contained. Chrysalis trembled as she took the offer, her jaw shaking as she opened her mouth and chewed. Bonbon imagined she could see the fear in her eyes. Did Chrysalis know that one of the plates was poisoned? Did the queen?

“When we get out of reach,” Rainbow Dash whispered behind her, “we’ll slip off the stones on our wings and take flight. We’ll flee and hide.”

“They’ll shoot us down the moment they see us fly,” Bonbon said. The hopelessness felt like a stone in her gut. “There’s no way we could escape that many changelings.”

“There’s no way we can fight that many frogs either,” Rainbow Dash said. It was a rare admission coming from the Wonderbolt, and it spoke to the truth of their doom. “If we can’t fly, then we’ll hide and sneak past the frogs instead. Find somewhere safe.”

“We’re walking in plain sight,” Bonbon remarked. “There’s no way the frogs haven’t already seen us up here on the cliff. They’d have to be half blind to not spot us long before we reach the bottom.”

“Well, maybe they are,” Rainbow Dash said, frustration filling her voice. “Maybe they are blind. Dammit, Bonbon. Just … dammit! Stop thinking so much and just believe for a moment! I swear, we’ll get out of this somehow!”

Bonbon said nothing. She kept her eyes downcast on the world of green and red below as she walked, one small step at a time. She could see the frogs moving already, swarming towards the cliff like a hungry wave ready to swallow them up.

She gazed up. Above them, already far away, the queen stood at the edge of the cliff in her regal armor, Chrysalis by her side looking worse than ever. The queen smirked as she looked down at them from on high.

“Look out!” Rainbow Dash shoved her aside and rushed past, slamming into an oncoming frog. Bonbon blinked as the frog tumbled off the side of the cliff, leaving a long trail of fire behind. She had only looked away for a second, and the frogs were already upon them.

Rainbow Dash spun around and bucked another frog in the face as it charged up the cliff at them. “If we stay here on the cliff,” she called between kicks, “they can only get at us one or two at a time.”

“Except they have wings,” Bonbon pointed out as frogs appeared from the side, flapping their great leathery wings.

“Stop doing that!” Rainbow Dash shouted, her eye twitching. “Just … shut up and fight!”

“I don’t think they can fly very well, though,” Bonbon muttered, too low for Rainbow Dash to hear. “They just kinda jump, like chickens,” she added before a frog landed behind her. Bonbon yelped and kicked out, feeling her hooves connect with the soft, wet skin of the beast.

Another slammed into her from above. Bonbon cried and stumbled, balancing on the edge as the frog turned. “Help!” she cried as she felt her hooves slip on the cliffs.

Rainbow Dash spun around and leaped into the air to avoid a gout of flame, which fried two frogs behind her instead. “Bon!” she called and reached out to grab Bonbon’s hoof.

Bonbon reached for Rainbow’s hoof, but too late. Her hooves lost their grip on the edge, and she hit her shoulder on the rocks as she tumbled off the side of the cliff, the green world below rushing up towards her. “Rainbow!”

Rainbow Dash kicked a frog and used the force of the kick to set off from the cliff, diving after Bonbon like a bullet. She caught Bonbon around the waist and pulled her up, gritting her teeth and groaning from the strain as she unfolded her heavy wings. She pulled herself and Bonbon slowly into a wild and uncontrolled glide, soaring like a skipping stone above the treetops. “I … can’t …” she groaned through her teeth, unable to beat her wings with the stones and Bonbon weighing her down.

Bonbon closed her eyes as they crashed through the canopy, breaking branches with their bodies before landing in a pool of green water. Bonbon gasped as she struggled through the surface, flailing her legs hard to keep from sinking. The stones pulled her under, but she refused to give up. Changeling hooves were not made for swimming, she realized as the water flowed through the holes without offering much resistance.

Beside her, Rainbow Dash broke the surface with a wild gasp and flailed at the water. “Gah! Bonbon!” she managed to cry before disappearing below the water again.

Bonbon grabbed Rainbow Dash and felt her hind hooves sink into the bottom of the lake. Breathing in quickly, she set off from the bottom towards the edge of the water, pulling Rainbow Dash with her. The water felt like hooves pulling at her, heavy and resisting. She moved as if in slow motion, fighting her way through the pond with Rainbow Dash.

She could hear the croaks of frogs swarming and crashing through the woods all around. She caught sight of the first one breaking out of the trees as she reached the shore and let go of her coughing friend. Bonbon nearly collapsed but forced herself to stay upright as the frog came charging at them. She spun out of the way and kicked it in the side, sending it flying into a tree, before she collapsed to her knees.

“Rainbow Dash!” she called and coughed up water. “We have to get away!”

Rainbow Dash stumbled to her legs. “Run,” she said and spat out a lungful of green water. “If … if you can.”

Bonbon crawled towards her before pulling herself to her legs unsteadily. “What about—”

“I’m right behind you,” she growled. “Run!”

Bonbon looked over her shoulder as frogs burst through the bushes and into view. She spun around and stumbled as fast as her legs could carry her through the forest, away from the frogs. She didn’t look back to see if Rainbow Dash was following. She didn’t think she was.

Her legs regained their strength as she ran, barreling through the forest. She could hear the frogs behind her and see the flashes of flame. She dared not look back. She had no idea where she was or which direction she was running in when she broke free of the trees and stumbled out into the open swampland, the winding shore of the river in sight. Frogs were all around her, hundreds, if not more. Bonbon stopped and stared, her heart like a stone.

More frogs came charging out of the forest behind her. Bonbon spun around and jumped back, bringing her hooves down on the first who came at her, jumping off its head to land on the back of another. The frog spun around, swinging its tail at her. Bonbon lost her balance, tumbling off the frog and landing in the mud.

She rolled over and kicked out at the frog but found nothing but air. More swarmed in around her. Far off and high above the valley of green, Bonbon could see the queen, standing tall atop the cliff. Bonbon kicked and flailed her legs, trying to scramble to her hooves.

The queen raised a hoof to her face and seemed to shrink a head or two where she stood. Bonbon struggled to push the frogs off of her, rolling out of the way of a lick of flame. The smell of her tail burning filled her lungs and made her cough.

In a brief glimpse as she jumped to her legs, Bonbon saw the queen bent over, lying on her knees. She spun around and bucked a frog only to be pummeled from the side by another, tumbling into the dirt with the frog atop her. She felt the terrible weight push down on her, burying her face in the deep mud. Her lungs burned like a furnace, screaming for air, but she could not move.

The world darkened, and the sound of frogs dimmed to a faint and distant echo. Bonbon struggled, pushing against the frog with all her strength, but it wouldn’t budge. Her limbs collapsed, and her body lay limp in the mud beneath the beast. She sighed, and gave up the last breath she had along with her last sliver of hope.

Above her, the frogs cheered, she thought. It was already worlds away. The weight on her body dissolved, and she felt light as a feather. For a moment she felt an ease of spirit she had never felt before, then something kicked her in the side, hard.

Bonbon gasped as her head burst back out of the muddy grave and held her hooves up to her face to protect herself. Something struck her again and nearly knocked the precious air from her lungs again. She cried out and rolled into a ball.

Through the mud and pain, she caught a glimpse. For one brief second she saw the queen stumble and fall, tumbling off the cliff like a stone. A swarm of changelings dove off after her, and all around Bonbon the frogs went wild, trampling past her in a frenzy for the cliffs and the falling queen of their enemy.

Bonbon held her head protectively with her hooves, rolling around wildly in the mud as the frogs trampled over her. She let out a cry as something hard hit her in the back of the head, and the world went black again.

* * *

Bonbon vaguely recalled being dragged across the muddy ground. Sharp claws scratched against her chitinous shoulders as her hindquarters trailed behind in the mud and bumped against stones. She remembered being laid down in the grass, and then she remembered nothing.

Something poked her. A hoof, like a small foal nudging at her side. “Bonbon,” a voice whispered. Her mind slowly returned from the dark. It took her a good while to connect the voice to her fleeting memories.

“Rainbow Dash?” she said, her voice so dry it barely made a sound. She turned around slowly and looked at the changeling collapsed by her side. Even now, the faint remains of a lightning bolt drawn in mud graced the bug’s flank. “I thought you were …”

“I thought you …” Rainbow Dash coughed. She looked awful, burn marks and scratches covering her body. “Actually, I really thought I was gone too. I’m not sure I can stand,” she said. “My leg hurts like … argh, like that.” Her face twisted in pain.

Bonbon struggled to sit up, wincing at her own scrapes. A quick check revealed nothing worse, however. She ached as she stood up and looked around. “Did you see who brought us here?” she asked as Rainbow Dash rubbed her aching leg. “Do you know where here is?”

“No,” Rainbow Dash said to both questions. “I don’t remember a thing after, nngh … after those damn frogs knocked me out. I thought I was dead for sure.”

They were at the edge of a forest. Nearby, mounds like large, grassy eggs half-buried in the ground dotted the marshes. “If we can get atop one of those,” she said and pointed, “we might be able to see something.”

“I don’t like the look of those things,” Rainbow Dash said and gave them a suspicious glance. “They’re way too … round to be natural.”

“Maybe, but they’re the tallest things I can see around here. Can you fly?” Bonbon turned back to Rainbow Dash.

“Dunno,” she said and stretched her wings experimentally. “I … think so,” she added.

Bonbon reached out and took hold of Rainbow Dash, helping her to stand. Rainbow winced but managed to stand steadily on three legs. Bonbon brushed her off slightly, then turned back to the hills and spread her wings.

Her body complained as her wings buzzed, but Bonbon ignored it, gritting her teeth as she followed Rainbow Dash towards the largest of the mounds. She landed on the soft, grassy knoll and turned around, scouting the land around them.

“We’re not that far from the cliff,” Rainbow Dash said and pointed. Bonbon looked. Right enough, just off in the distance she could see the tall cliff where they had been thrown to the frogs. “And I don’t see any frogs,” Rainbow Dash added.

“Let’s hope they aren’t just hiding,” Bonbon said and breathed in deep, readying herself for the journey. It might not be far, but her entire body complained about the thought. She told herself it wouldn’t be long before it was over and she would see Lyra again. “I hope,” she added to herself before taking wing again.

* * *

Bodies littered the cliff and lands below and above. As many changelings as frogs, by Bonbon’s rough estimate. She wondered what had happened after she passed out. It looked like the changelings had managed to drive off the frogs, because there was no sign of any frogs left, and a few faint voices buzzed in the back of her head. But at what cost had they won?

She landed atop the cliff and looked around. Rainbow Dash landed heavily beside her and glanced down from atop the cliff. She narrowed her eyes. “I think there are changelings still moving down there,” she said. “I can sorta hear them.”

Bonbon leaned over to have a better look. After a while she noticed too. Several black dots were moving around among the dead. “I think they’re searching.”

“For us?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Or their queen,” Bonbon said.

Rainbow Dash turned around and limped on three legs across the ground. “What now? I don’t think I want to be found.”

Bonbon followed, offering Rainbow a hoof as they walked. “We still need to save Lyra and Humble. Let’s …” She thought for a while, going through the plans in her mind. “We need to find Chrysalis. If she’s still alive.”

“Great,” Rainbow Dash groaned and spread her wings again. “Let’s get it over with, then.”

Bonbon followed, trying to remember the path back. They had not walked far when the distant buzzing of voices returned, filling the back of their minds. Bonbon tried to focus on what they were saying, but it was still hard to make out anything. “How do they ever talk or think like this?” she wondered aloud.

“Dunno,” Rainbow muttered beside her.

As they broke through a patch of trees, they found themselves along a small path. A group of changelings jumped and turned to face them. Rainbow Dash cursed, but Bonbon tried to stay calm. “What happened?” she asked.

The changelings exchanged glances. One of them looked at Bonbon. “The queen wishes to see you both,” he declared.

Bonbon looked at Rainbow Dash. “Which Queen?”

The changelings looked at each other again, like Bonbon had just asked a really stupid question. Possibly the most stupid question for a changeling to ask, she realized. “Queen Chrysalis, of course.”

* * *

The throne sat in the large glade once more, and on top, resting on several silk pillows, Chrysalis observed them both. She looked as weak as before, but a triumphant light shone in her eyes. “I see you survived, after all. How fortunate … It would be terribly hard to thank you properly if you had died.”

“What happened?” Bonbon repeated her question.

“We got lucky,” Chrysalis said. “Mother ate your poisoned food. Hook, line, and sinker as you might say. Fortunate that she always had a weakness for ants.”

“I thought she had seen through me,” Bonbon said, ears drooping and tail hanging limp between her legs. The thought that she had just become a murderer kept gnawing at the back of her mind. “And I was afraid you would eat it instead of her.”

“The old fool thought it was safe after I ate it and didn’t become sick,” Chrysalis replied, smiling. “But you see, I made sure not to swallow. I spat it out in the chaos after she fell off the cliff. You did well, or got very lucky. Either way, doesn’t make a difference to me.”

“So … she’s really …” Bonbon sat down.

“Of course,” Chrysalis smiled brightly. “Even if she survived the fall, and the poison, the frogs take no prisoners. I will forever treasure the look on her face when she realized the food had been poisoned after all, and the moment of panic in her eyes when she tumbled off the cliff and caught my eyes. A sweeter sight I cannot imagine.”

“You owe us something!” Rainbow Dash spoke up, taking a three-legged step forward to glare at the new queen. “You said you’d let us and our friends go.”

“Of course, I did say that,” Chrysalis smiled sweetly. “I am a queen of my word, and you have done me a greater service than anyone, greater even than you know.” She looked up at the guards behind them. “Bring the two humans here. Let it be known to the hive that these two and their human friends are free to leave our lands as they please, without harm.” She looked back down at Bonbon and Rainbow Dash and smiled as the guards bowed and hurried off to carry out the order. “As promised, you are free, and your two friends with you.”

Bonbon sighed with relief and lifted a chitinous hoof. “When does this wear off?”

Chrysalis tilted her head, a little smile on her face. “Hmm?”

“You know what! When do we get our bodies back?” Rainbow said, more impatient.

“Oh,” Chrysalis said with a light chuckle. “You don’t like your new bodies?”

“You’re not … giving us our bodies back …” Bonbon mimed, her throat contracting, squeezing the voice from her lips.

Rainbow Dash glared at the queen. “Oh, she will! Or I’ll make her!”

“Ah-ah,” Chrysalis lifted her hoof, indicating the guards lining the glade. “Be glad that I’m letting you and your friends go as agreed.” She smiled at Rainbow Dash’s deathly glare. “And I shall take good care of your bodies. I finally have the perfect way into Equestria. After all, who will they believe? The changeling in your body, or the changeling who merely looks like you?”

Chrysalis laughed as the guards returned, dropping Lyra and Humble in the middle of the glade. Both were unconscious and covered in sickly green liquid. Bonbon thought they looked terribly small and fragile, like children.

“You truly have my thanks,” Chrysalis said. “From the bottom of my heart. I hope you enjoy your exile. Oh, and don’t worry … No one is going to miss you.”

XV. Humilis Anima

Bonbon placed a hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder, hoping it would remind her not to do anything rash and stupid. She was feeling sick deep down in her stomach at the thought of being stuck in this alien body, but more than anything right now she just wanted to be away from here. Bonbon looked at the two humans on the ground behind her, then returned her eyes to the new queen of the changelings. “We had some things with us. Three pairs of saddlebags. Where are they now?”

Chrysalis lifted a hoof and licked her wounds lazily, like a cat licking the milk off its paw. “Oh, that. Fine,” she said and waved at one of her guards to go fetch the bags. “Let them have their measly possessions, but be quick about it. I tire, and would like to be at my best for my impending gloating.”

Rainbow Dash glared at the guards as they buzzed close by her to fetch their possessions. Bonbon tightened her grip on Rainbow’s shoulder and turned her away from the guards. “Rainbow, please,” she said in a hushed voice. “We need to get out of here. You have to help me carry Lyra and Humble.”

“We can’t just leave now,” Rainbow hissed back, but Bonbon knew she had no more idea than Bonbon about what they’d do if they stayed here. Bonbon caught Rainbow’s gaze and held it, begging her wordlessly for help. Rainbow Dash sighed and lowered her head, ears laid back in defeat. “Fine.”

Bonbon turned around and trotted up next to Humble. “You take Lyra,” she said as she knelt down beside the girl and nudged her shoulder. “Humble?” Bonbon nudged her again, but the girl neither moved nor made a sound. Veins of blue stood out beneath her cold white skin. Bonbon glanced at Lyra’s pinkish brown skin and realized how terribly sick Humble looked in comparison. Bonbon didn’t know much—or anything, if she was to be honest—about human physiology and health, but surely something wasn’t right with this girl. There was no way being this cold and pale was a good sign.

She leaned in closer and pressed her ear against Humble’s chest. Bonbon saw the chest rising gently and heard the slow beat of the heart, and as her face touched Humble’s skin, a sense she had never experienced before seized her attention. Bonbon stumbled back and stared at Humble in shock, the faint scent of emotions still lingering in her nose and the sound of her heart still beating in her ears. She looked around to find Rainbow Dash standing next to Lyra, staring back at her with the same look of surprise and confusion.

They were both torn out of their current thoughts as the guards dropped their saddlebags on the ground beside them. Bonbon looked at the cold stares of the changelings before they turned around and resumed their posts near the queen. When they were gone, she looked down and poked open the bag in front of her. All of Lyra’s things seemed to be there, and the second bag had her own things. It had been pulled out and thrown back in haphazardly, but it was all there from what she could tell.

From the look on Rainbow’s face as she poked through her bag, Bonbon guessed something of hers wasn’t there, and she had a good idea what it was without even looking.

“My book,” Rainbow Dash said and looked up at Chrysalis. “Give my book back!”

Chrysalis raised her eyes from her hoof and gave Rainbow Dash a blank look. “No,” she said as her eyes lingered upon Rainbow Dash. “I suffered to get that book open, so now it’s mine. And before you get any ideas …” The guards around the room bared their fangs at Rainbow Dash and Bonbon. Chrysalis rolled over languidly on her pillows. “Get out of my sight before I have a change of heart about you and your friends.”

Bonbon grabbed Rainbow’s tail and pulled her back before she could think of doing anything they would both regret. “Don’t,” she said, her voice begging. “Come on.”

Rainbow Dash growled and turned around, strapping on her saddlebags and grumbling as she pulled Lyra up and got the human slung over her back with a bit of effort. Bonbon had more trouble getting both her and Lyra’s bags and Humble to sit comfortably on her back, but with a bit of help from Rainbow she managed. She was thankful that Humble didn’t weigh much more than an earth pony filly might, even if she was somewhat bigger.

Rainbow Dash threw a threatening glare back in the direction of Chrysalis and her changelings as they left. Bonbon didn’t look back; she kept her eyes down and head forward until they had long since left the queen behind and were walking through the forest on their own. Only when she had stopped hearing the faint humming of other changelings around them did she turn her head to look at Rainbow Dash walking beside her, glumly kicking a small pebble in front of her.

Even though unconscious, Bonbon could pick up the scent of subdued emotions from Humble riding on her back, though they were too faint for her to identify. From Rainbow’s expression, she guessed she was getting a taste of Lyra’s emotions as well. She didn’t know if she wanted to know how it would feel once the humans woke up. For that matter, she wasn’t sure how they would react once they woke up. “Rainbow?”

“What?” Rainbow gave her a look that left no doubt that she wasn’t in the mood for much talking. Or much of anything.

“What are we going to do?” Bonbon said as they trudged up a hill. “I don’t think they will trust us when they wake up and see us like this. What are we going to tell them?”

Rainbow Dash fell silent and stared at the ground ahead of them. Bonbon could almost hear the gears turning and grinding in her head as the question sank in. After a bit she stopped and turned to look at Bonbon, worry now visible on her face. “Did you figure out how to change your shape yet?” she asked hopefully. “If they don’t know the truth, they won’t worry, right? We’ll … keep it secret between us until we can figure out how to get our bodies back.”

Bonbon looked down at her black body and transparent wings. “I don’t know if I can change shape,” she admitted. “I guess I could try …” She bit her lip and closed her eyes, trying to feel the magic like she had done before. This was different than levitating an object, however, and she wasn’t really sure how to apply the same method to this new task. A sudden fright at the thought of all the things she could accidentally do to herself if the magic didn’t work made her stop what she was doing. “I-I don’t know if we should try this. It’s too dangerous.”

“What else can we do?” Rainbow Dash sounded desperate. She glanced up at the early redness of dawn. Somewhere, in a land now far away, Celestia was preparing to raise the sun and begin the day. “I don’t think we have a lot of time before they wake up.”

Bonbon shifted the weight on her back a bit as the sun rose and banished the darkness of night from the world. She watched as Lyra’s shape changed smoothly from human to pony on Rainbow’s back. Bonbon’s brow furrowed, and she turned to look at Humble. The human on her back hadn’t changed a bit with the coming of daylight.

“Why is she still like that?” Rainbow said and reached out a hoof, gently poking Humble. “Shouldn’t she have turned into a pony too?”

Humble stirred, and Bonbon felt the faint scent of emotions change and grow stronger. She bit her lip and looked at Rainbow Dash. Lyra was still unconscious. “I don’t know, but I think she’s waking up.”

Rainbow Dash scraped the ground, her eyes shifting over their surroundings like she was looking for a way out of there. “Ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh!”

“Luna can help us, right?” Bonbon blurted out. “She’ll find us in our dreams and we can warn her about what’s happened. She’ll know what to do, won’t she?”

There was a deep silence as Rainbow Dash stopped scraping and hung her head, ears drooping. “I dunno, Bonbon. Don’t think so. Twilight … she, uh, talked about how Luna couldn’t find Lyra’s dreams. Twilight thought maybe it was all because Lyra was a changeling. I, uh, don’t think Luna can find our dreams in these bodies. I mean, maybe, I dunno how her magic stuff works or whatever, but maybe she’ll find the two changelings instead and think they’re us,” she rambled.

“We just have to hope,” Bonbon said and glanced around. Humble was stirring and whimpering softly on her back as the sun settled on its usual slow course across the sky.

“Well, we gotta do something!” Rainbow Dash panicked. A green light surrounded her horn as she began to sweat, eyes frantic. “Gotta change! Come on!” Lyra began to stir on her back as well, groaning and blinking her eyes.

Bonbon noticed the scent of bleary confusion in the air, thick and shimmery, and a cold ran down her spine. “Rainbow, stop!” she cried out, worried what her uncontrolled and improvised magic could do to her. To all of them.

“Gotta—”

Bonbon didn’t hear the rest, if indeed there were any further words to be heard. She could feel as Humble awoke, and instantly all her senses were flooded by a sudden overpowering terror which did not belong to her. She reared up on her hind legs and whinnied in fright as Humble’s arms wrapped around her neck and dark magic flooded her vision.

Humble cried, and the ground shifted as jagged spears of jet black crystals sprung out from the soil around them. Bonbon fell to her knees and closed her eyes, hooves over her head and shivering all over as she begged for her life. She felt the weight on her back lessen as Humble scrambled away from her.

The crystals closed in around her like a cage, closing out the last rays of light with an ominous cracking noise. Then all fell silent around her, except for Humble’s terrified breathing in the dark behind her.

Bonbon curled up tightly in the dark, too afraid to look.

* * *

When she finally did look, all she could see was solid black. Humble’s breathing had quieted, but in the near total silence Bonbon could still make out the barest of breaths from behind her, but the scent of fear and sorrow was tangible even at a distance. There was something else hiding beneath the layers of emotion, a sweetness—love, Bonbon realized, hiding along with the sense of loss and regret. The scent of love was so different from the other emotions to her, Bonbon couldn’t have mistaken it.

Bonbon lay there in silence, listening to the faint whisper of Humble’s fearful breath while taking in the different emotions swimming in the air. Slowly she reached out with a hoof to explore the darkness around her. Her hoof brushed against the cold, hard crystal inches away from her. She lifted her head and looked around, and even though she could see nothing but darkness, she could almost feel the crystal closing in around them, solid and smooth, offering no way out … and no way in.

Humble had raised a wall of impenetrable black crystal around them, shutting the world and its light out. Here in this dark and lonely hollow, the human had holed herself up to be alone and safe from the world. All of this was strangely clear to Bonbon, as if the emotions she could smell let her guess at more than her eyes would tell her.

Bonbon thought she knew why Humble had taken her with her into this place of isolation and sorrow, when she could so easily have left her on the other side of the walls, as she had left Rainbow Dash and Lyra out with the rest of the world.

Bonbon sat up slowly and turned to face the human princess in the dark. She didn’t need her eyes to know which way it was. The scent of fear grew as she moved, and Bonbon could well imagine the girl hugging herself tightly in the dark corner as she stared at Bonbon with unblinking eyes. Bonbon had no doubt that Humble could see her perfectly well, even in this absolute darkness; she had lived for thousands of years in such dark and lonely places.

“I won’t hurt you,” Bonbon said. Her voice echoed and came back in a million faint whispers from the crystal around her. She reached out a hoof towards Humble, very slowly, but the girl merely pressed herself harder against the crystal. She went silent again as she listened to the silence, then said, “You’re afraid you will hurt me, aren’t you?”

Humble said nothing, but the subtle emotional changes from fear to sorrow told Bonbon everything and more. “You know I’m not really a changeling, don’t you?” she said and lowered her hoof back to the ground. She thought she heard the faint sound of a sniffling nod. “You can tell that it’s really my soul in here,” she said and touched her heart.

Bonbon searched for what to say, thinking of why she was here, why Humble was here. “You loved her, didn’t you?” she said before correcting herself. “You still love her. You’d follow her to the end of the world and beyond if only you could.”

The fear gave way, and her sorrow grew stronger and more painful at the memory of the unnamed pony, the one whose place Bonbon had taken in the dreams. Bonbon dared to move closer until her hoof touched Humble’s arm. The girl was sobbing and didn’t react to the touch. Bonbon moved up beside her and wrapped her hooves around her.

Humble pressed her face against Bonbon’s chitinous chest and cried. Bonbon held her close and brushed a hoof through her tangled hair. The girl was covered in dirt, and her body was hard as bone and nearly freezing to the touch. Bonbon wished she could give her warmth somehow, but even if she hadn’t been stuck in a changeling’s cold, hard shell, she doubted it would do anything.

“What was her name?” Bonbon whispered as she held the shivering princess in her hooves. She seemed little more than a filly: small, alone, and frightened. It was hard to reconcile this view with the princess of her dreams, but millenia of a cursed and lonely existence could reduce even the proudest soul to a small and shivering wreck, Bonbon told herself.

“B-Bonbon,” the girl whispered, and once more Bonbon realized how eerily similar it sounded to Lyra’s. No wonder she had mistaken the girl for Lyra down in the dark and crumbling ruins beneath Mais.

The scent of love was growing, becoming thick enough for her to taste. With it came an instinctive urge in Bonbon to sink her metaphorical teeth in the girl and suck every drop of it from her heart. The thought horrified Bonbon as she held the girl tightly and tried to banish the urge and ignore her mouth watering. “Oh, Humble …” she hugged the girl a little closer. “I am not her. You have to know I could never be her.”

To Bonbon’s relief, the sorrow returned and buried the love beneath it like a mountain of ice. Humble stopped crying and just lay there in Bonbon’s hooves, staring at the darkness. A long time went by in silence before Humble released herself from Bonbon’s hug and stood up.

“Fairway Canter,” she whispered as she turned away in the dark, walking to face the walls of black crystal. The proud princess returned to take the place of the little girl, wrapping around her like layers of clothes to hide her weakness. “How we hated and cursed our traitorous heart for loving thee. Fairway … a common mare. Baseborn, lowly pony.”

“What happened?” Bonbon felt the conflict of emotions in Humble. She still couldn’t see a hoof in front of her, but she could almost sense the human standing with her arms folded, alone and small but stubbornly proud in the dark, her back to Bonbon.

“Thou must understand! We gave thine eyes back and told thee to leave us be,” Humble whispered in the dark. “We couldn’t bear to love thee, or for thee to love us back. Worst of all for thee to love us,” she said mournfully. Bonbon could almost taste the tears rolling down her cheeks as she spoke.

Bonbon stood up but didn’t approach her. “Why?”

“Why?” Humble’s voice grew louder, angry. “Because we were nothing for thee! A monster, cursed to wander alone. And thou wert a pony, and … and a loyal friend. Thou …” Humble turned and walked further into the darkness, away from Bonbon “… deserveth more than a cursed and worthless human like us, not even a proper princess anymore. No kingdom, no future, nothing to give thee but despair. We would have given thee a kingdom and riches, a future as our consort, ruling by our side. We loved thee, so we gave thee freedom, the only gift we had left to give.”

Humble stood in the darkness, still and regal as a statue, one with the dark crystal. The little girl crying in Bonbon’s hooves was there one instant, grown tall and proud the next. “We could never love a pony anyway.”

A heavy silence settled over the hollow before Bonbon said, again, “Why?”

Humble didn’t reply. She stood with her back to Bonbon, like a queen shunning a lowly servant. Bonbon could sense the cold resentment growing to crush every other emotion. Yet, it wasn’t directed at her. Bonbon searched through her recent memories, of her dreams and everything Lyra had told her, and she searched the cold emotions dancing at the tip of her tongue.

“Your sister—” The air in the hollow became freezing in an instant and the walls seemed to grow closer. The resentment flooded her senses. Bonbon took a step back, but Humble remained frozen to her spot in the dark, the cold nearly blowing off her like a snowstorm. Bonbon sank a lump in her throat and licked her lips, unsure whether to continue or to leave the matter alone. She turned her head away, ears flat, and turned slowly.

Something tickled her senses. She looked back and stared at the dark where she knew Humble was standing, doing her worst to appear furious and unapproachable. Bonbon furrowed her brow and turned back. There was another emotion hidden beneath the cold wind of resentment. Love, Bonbon thought. There was no mistaking that emotion. As much as Humble seemed to try, it took a lot to hide the scent of love from a changeling.

“You loved your sister too, didn’t you?” Humble seemed to withdraw further into herself, surrounding herself in an exterior as cold and hard as the crystal. She didn’t want to speak to Bonbon of this. Not this. “Why did you betray her like you did? How could you do something so terrible to the sister you loved? Was it so she wouldn’t love you back, too?”

“Our sister never loved us,” Humble hissed.

“What do you mean?” Bonbon approached carefully, wary of pushing her luck with the princess.

“She never cared for us,” Humble said. “For us, her people! All she ever loved were you. You and father!” Humble’s voice echoed through the crystal like a serpent’s venomous hiss. The hollow shook, and Bonbon stumbled back in fright as crystals shot out of the ground like a wall of spikes between her and Humble.

When the rumbling stopped and the echoes died down, Bonbon was alone, the smooth crystal standing between her and the princess like a solid wall. She called out Humble’s name, begging her to come back, but her calls went unanswered. Bonbon slumped down with her back against the crystal, staring at the impenetrable walls of darkness around her.

* * *

Bonbon wasn’t sure how long it had been. She had slept for a time, but no dreams had filled her rest. The hollow was still cold, dark and empty. Somewhere in there, behind solid walls of crystal, Humble had imprisoned herself in crushing solitude. It might have been a day already, Bonbon thought, and horror was already taking root in her heart.

What if Humble left her here? The princess had lived for hundreds of years in that old mine, alone in the dark and cold. Bonbon couldn’t survive even a fraction of that time in here. She had a little dry food and bottled water in her saddlebags, but it wouldn’t last long, and she had already checked the small space several times to make sure there were no cracks in the crystal.

There was nothing she could do but wait and hope in the dark; hope that Humble came back, or that Rainbow Dash or Lyra or somepony else would find a way through to break her free.

Bonbon curled up in the corner and stared at the pitch-black abyss surrounding her. She wasn’t sure why she cried all of a sudden, but she didn’t hold back the tears. She felt so alone and helpless.

She closed her eyes again to shut out the darkness, and for the second time she slept. She hadn’t realized how tired she was, but her stay with the changelings had been one long exhausting ordeal, and this was the first time she had really had a chance to rest.

A fresh spray of the salty sea hit her face, and she wiped her eyes to look at the barren shore stretching as far as her sight could take her. Pebbles licked her hoof and and looked up at her with the soulful eyes that only a dog could possess. She scratched the loyal animal behind an ear and stood up, marveling as she looked around.

She could see again. She had eyes again. The great darkness had lifted, but … then she remembered. The changelings, the black crystals, Humble … and all of what she saw now was but a dream.

Humble was already a distant figure as she walked along the empty shore, cold waves washing over her bare and blistered feet in the moonlight. Her head hung low, and her silken dress was torn and stained with dirt and blood.

Bonbon scowled and marched through the sand towards her, followed by her side by Pebbles. She liked the dog, even though she knew it was only the flimsy memory of a broken girl. “Humble!” she called out.

“Leave us be!” the princess commanded, her voice having all the force and will of a queen’s, though her appearance was only that of a young girl, lost and beaten.

“No,” Bonbon said and came up beside her. “My place is right here!”

“Thy place is to do as we command, peasant!” Humble strode on, picking up her pace and righting her back to look more regal. “Go! Leave us!”

“No,” Bonbon repeated and stepped in front of Humble, fixing her eyes on her. “I am not her, and if you think I will just bow my head and leave like her, you better start rethinking! My place is here,” she said and stomped her hoof in the sand right in front of the princess. “Whether you like it or not!”

Humble returned the glare, her eyes like steel as they met Bonbon’s in a war of wills. “We have given thee thine eyes and thy freedom to go.” She pointed at the endless stretch of beach behind them. “We command thee to go! We will not hesitate to hold thee in contempt of thy princess.”

“No!” Bonbon said. “That’s what you wanted her to say, isn’t it? Secretly you begged her to tell you no, didn’t you?” She was nearly shouting. “But she could never say no to you, to her princess, even when you hurt her or told her to leave, could she? Well, I’m not her, and I’m telling you no!”

“We can take thy freedom as easily as we are giving it now,” Humble cried. Bonbon knew it was true. If she turned and left in the dream, she would wake to find the walls of black crystal had opened to her. She was sure of this, but doing so she would be leaving Humble behind. She looked at the girl in front of her. Her eyes were gleaming with the beginnings of tears, and Bonbon thought, the poor thing never dared to love anyone.

“You can’t take what I’m giving you freely,” Bonbon said and moved closer to the human, reaching out to touch her. Her eyes turned soft. “I’m not going to leave you. I’m here for you, Humble. Whatever you need me for, I’m here.”

Humble’s steely eyes and face broke into tears of anguish as she spun away from Bonbon. Before Bonbon could react, Humble was running, stumbling in the sand. Pebbles let out a bark as Humble tripped and fell face first in the sand, sobbing.

Bonbon rushed towards her and stumbled into a smoky cloud of darkness. She fell and sat up again with a sudden start as the dream ended. She was blind and alone in the darkness again. Quenching a sudden urge to sob, she looked around. No light or breeze of freedom reached her from any cracks in the walls.

Bonbon buried her face in her hooves and tried not to cry.

* * *

The slowly seeping taste of sorrow made her open her eyes again. She looked around in the dark until she sensed the source of it. “Humble?” she whispered and sat up. The hollow was silent, but she could tell that the girl was there in the dark with her once more.

Bonbon crawled forward carefully, feeling ahead of her. She found Humble curled up in a corner, unresisting and shivering as Bonbon rushed to wrap her hooves around the girl. “I’m here,” Bonbon whispered to her. “I’m here for you. Don’t leave me here again,” she begged, feeling suddenly weak.

“O-our sister,” Humble whispered so quietly that Bonbon nearly couldn’t hear the words. “Our sister was never there for us, for her people or for … for m-me.”

Bonbon held the girl tightly, but she was almost afraid to break her. So small and frail she seemed again. Sometimes she could be like a mountain of ice, cold and hard, other times she was like the thin ice on a lake in early winter, so fine a touch would break it. Always her skin felt so terribly cold. Bonbon rubbed her back gently, though she knew the warmth would make no difference. “We’ll find her again for you. I promise.”

“I-I just wanted her to care,” the girl cried. “F-for anything other than our father and her—her beloved ponies.” Humble could barely speak through the sobs. Everything came out all at once. “S-she was always off dallying with ponies or looking for father. S-she never cared for her people or her—her sister, who—who just wanted her t-there.”

The feelings of jealousy, betrayal and resentment bubbled through the grief as Bonbon held her close. “All she ever loved was you. Ponies,” she spat the word. “I vowed to destroy all that she loved so she would have to love us instead. Her p-people, not m-me. I knew she would hate me forever. I just wanted her to care for us.”

She wiped her face with a hand. “I never meant to leave her lost in the endless night forever. J-just until … they were gone. S-so she couldn’t love them anymore.”

“So you stole the secret of the changelings from their queen and sowed hate and mistrust between all the pony tribes,” Bonbon whispered. “But the changeling queen betrayed you in return and put this curse on you and your descendants. And then you fell in love with a pony you thought was nothing to you. But how could you ever let yourself love a pony after what you had done? So you sent her away, and now she is never coming back.”

Humble had stopped crying. Bonbon lifted her head in the dark and nuzzled her. “She’s never coming back, Humble. You let her go, and she’s never ever coming back.” A hollow feeling filled her senses as she spoke. “But your sister is out there now,” she whispered. “She’s looking for you, Humble. We’re going to find her together and end your torment. I promise.”

* * *

“Stay away from me!”

Bonbon winced and her ears flattened as the first thing that hit her when the crystal sank into the earth again was a blinding light and Lyra’s hysterical shriek. As her eyes slowly recovered from the shock of sudden light, she realized that the blinding light was nothing more than the moonlight, but after however long she had been holed up in solid darkness, even that little was a strain on her eyes.

“I was just looking for an early snack over h—” Rainbow’s voice was more of an extended groan.

“You can snack on somepony else!” Lyra cut her off. “Let me go!”

Rainbow Dash’s hoof audibly connected with her face, and she groaned even louder than before. “Seriously, Lyra! For Celestia’s sake, sleep!”

Lyra was undeterred. “You’d like that wouldn’t you, changeling!”

Bonbon could see them now. Lyra was tied up against a tree, no doubt to prevent her from doing something stupid. Rainbow Dash was standing nearby, next to her saddlebags. She rolled her eyes and dug her head into the bag for something. A snack, perhaps. Bonbon wasn’t honestly sure how good any of what they had brought tasted to a changeling, or whether it was worth anything for satisfying the hunger.

Lyra struggled against her bonds. She was looking a right mess, Bonbon realized. “Let me go!”

Rainbow raised her head and her eyes nearly rolled back in her head as she looked up at the sky. “Luna save me, please!” She spun around to face Lyra but stopped halfway through the spin when she spotted Bonbon. Her eyes widened, and in a flash she had crossed the distance and wrapped herself around Bonbon’s neck. “Bonbon! You’re here!”

“Wha—” Bonbon blinked and barely managed to stay on her legs.

“You’ve gotta save me!” Rainbow Dash wailed. “Convince her that we’re not changelings! She’s been completely out of her mind ever since she woke.”

Bonbon blinked. “How long is that?”

“Huh?” Rainbow Dash paused for a moment. “Uh, all day I guess?”

“And you had to tie her up all that time?” Bonbon cocked her head as she released herself from Rainbow’s hug.

“She tried to bloody murder me,” Rainbow Dash said and shot a glare at Lyra. “And don’t get me started on all these emotional horse apples she’s radiating at me. I’m starving, Bonbon! And nothing I eat makes a rotten difference!”

Bonbon realized she wasn’t nearly as starved as she imagined she should be. Apparently it had been a day since they left the changelings, but it had certainly been even longer since she last ate. Had she unknowingly sated herself on Humble’s love, or had the mere presence of love been enough to take the worst edge off her hunger? She shook the thought off for now and trotted towards Lyra.

Lyra tried to shy away from her which, given the bonds, proved a pointless endeavor. “Stay away from me,” she said, eyes shifting between Bonbon and Rainbow Dash. “I’m not buying anything you say, insect!”

She stopped a small distance from Lyra and looked down for a few moments as she sorted her thoughts. “You remember the boots I gave you the day before Hearth’s Warming?”

“That one already tried that trick on me,” Lyra spat out. “What have you done with the real Rainbow and Bonbon? What did you do to make them tell you what you’re about to say, huh?”

Bonbon continued, ignoring Lyra’s questions. “You wore them that day, about a week after you came back from your trip to ‘Canterlot’, when I met you on the bench. Remember that? You told me that next time you visited your parents, maybe I could come with you.”

Lyra huffed and looked away.

“You hadn’t really been to Canterlot, of course. I surprised you out in the forest on Hearth’s Warming Eve, and you ran all the way to Hoofington where you took the train back to Ponyville so it looked like you had been in Canterlot. I knew because I saw the ticket.”

Lyra looked like she was trying not to cry. She rubbed her nose against her shoulder, unable to use her hand while she was tied up, and stubbornly looked away without a word.

“I offered you some candy, like I always did when we used to meet in the park. You always loved the candy I made,” Bonbon said and felt a few tears of her own. She tried to get a look of Lyra’s eyes. “I never told you, but I had made a special piece of candy and brought it with me that day. I never gave it to you,” she said.

A faint twitch of her head told Bonbon that Lyra’s curiosity was won. “Why?” she muttered as if she didn’t really care. Bonbon thought she did and just didn’t want to show it.

“It had a truth serum in it,” Bonbon said and felt a moment of shame for admitting what she had almost done, back then. “Zecora told me how to make it. I was tired of all your lies and just wanted you to tell me the truth. But I picked it out of the bag before giving the rest of the candy to you. I just didn’t have it in me to force the truth out of you like that. I knew it would destroy any hope of trust between us.”

Lyra frowned in silence for a time, then said, “None of that proves anything. She could easily have told you all that. You could have just made up that story for all I know.”

“You’re right,” Bonbon said and looked up at the sky, longing for simpler times when the only thing she had to worry about was what her best friend was keeping from her. “I can’t prove I’m really Bonbon, can I? No more than you could ever prove to everypony that you were not a foal-stealing monster at night. But I trusted you, even after learning the truth, and you’ll have to trust me now too.”

She looked around for a moment, searching until her eyes fell on a large piece of rock. She stood up and trotted over to pick it up. It was good and heavy, with sharp edges; a good rock for smashing bugs, she thought with a wince. She turned and brought it back to Lyra, dropping it next to the bound human. “I’ll tell you what,” she said. “I’m going to untie you now if you promise not to hurt us. Then me and Rainbow are going to get some sleep before the sun gets up. I’ll trust you,” she said and began to untie Lyra’s bonds.

Lyra stared at her as Bonbon pulled the ropes off of her and threw them on top of Rainbow’s saddlebags. She lifted a hand uncertainly to rub her wrists, never looking away from Bonbon.

Bonbon looked at her sadly. “Try to get some rest too, Lyra.” She glanced around and spotted Humble hugging herself in the deep shadow of a tree. She made sure Lyra followed her gaze to see the other human, then looked up at the moon. “I hope Princess Luna will find our dreams and help us,” she said before turning around to pick up her saddlebags and unpack her blankets.

Rainbow Dash rushed up beside her, glancing nervously towards Lyra. “Are you nuts? She’ll smash our heads in the moment we look away!”

“No she won’t,” Bonbon said and threw her blanket across the ground. “I trust Lyra completely. Now go to bed, if we want any hope of Luna finding our dreams, we should not waste the night.” She lay down and rolled up in the blanket with her back to Lyra. With a sigh she closed her eyes. She had already slept twice, but she still felt exhausted and found herself wishing the night could be longer.

She could sense Rainbow Dash standing next to her for a long time before the changeling grumbled something and pulled her own blankets up next to Bonbon’s and lay down.

The night was warm and filled with the sounds of crickets chirping. Bonbon drifted off to sleep while listening to the sounds of the night around her. Just before her mind drifted completely through the veil of sleep, she thought she heard Humble’s sad voice behind her.

“I believe her.”

Bonbon smiled, and then she slept.

* * *

She woke in the morning, remembering no dreams during the night. Worried that she had not been contacted by Luna, Bonbon sat up and looked around the hastily made camp. She was happy to see Lyra asleep nearby, hugging the stone like a drowning mare clinging to a life-buoy. Rainbow Dash was making strange insect noises in her sleep next to Bonbon, but of Humble there was no sign.

Careful not to wake the others, Bonbon stood up and stretched her limbs before going through their bags to take stock of what they had left. It had been too long since she felt even half prepared for what may come, despite her best efforts. She sighed to herself as she laid out the food and other necessities in neat rows. For so long she had prided herself on preparedness, but this journey had been one surprise after another, ruining any plans she could have laid.

And now she didn’t even know what to do next. Unless the princess had been in Rainbow Dash’s dreams, it didn’t look good for their hopes of contacting Equestria. And who would believe them if they went back looking like this? Could they even make it back in time? She glanced up at the west horizon while idly nibbling at a cracker. It tasted awful to her in this new body, but she forced herself to swallow each bite with a wince.

Behind her, Rainbow Dash groaned and sat up, rubbing her eyes. She paused and stared blearily through one of the holes in her hoof. “Oh,” she muttered. “So, not a dream?”

The sound woke Lyra, who sat up and looked around startled. She relaxed a bit when she saw there were only the two of them, but kept her eyes narrowed on them regardless.

“Did you have any dreams?” Bonbon perked up hopefully.

Rainbow Dash stood up and stretched her wings and legs before trotting up next to Bonbon. “No,” she said and stared at the crackers like they were the most disappointing thing she had ever seen. She glanced up at Lyra, who quickly grabbed the stone and glared back.

Bonbon’s head drooped, and her ears flattened against her head. “Then you were right,” she said. “Luna can’t reach our dreams, or she would have done so, right?”

Rainbow Dash stuck her tongue out at Lyra and sat down next to Bonbon. “I guess so.” She picked up a cracker and stared at it. “Or maybe she’s just busy.”

“You think so?” Bonbon gave her a sideways glance. She wasn’t sure she dared to hope.

Rainbow Dash shrugged and chewed the cracker, scrunching her muzzle at the taste.

Bonbon looked up at Lyra. “Come on, Lyra. Won’t you at least join us?”

Lyra stared between Bonbon and Rainbow Dash for a few moments longer before slowly approaching and sitting down, never taking her eyes off them and keeping a safe distance from both. “This could all be some kind of trick,” she said and eyed Bonbon carefully.

It hurt Bonbon to see Lyra like this and to sense her worry and fear. “Pretend it’s not for a moment. What do you think we should do? I promised I would follow you even to the end of the world and beyond if I had to, Lyra, and I will.”

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to say something. Bonbon was certain she would suggest they make haste to catch up with the changelings or to warn Equestria. She was surprised when Rainbow closed her mouth again and scowled at some thought.

Lyra looked at them for several minutes before she slowly said, “I couldn’t exactly return home before, and now … well, you can’t either, can you? No pony would believe a word you say. I don’t know if I should believe a word you say.”

But you do, don’t you? Bonbon thought as she watched Lyra’s eyes. Deep down you do.

“Why can’t Luna reach our dreams?” Lyra asked and looked at Rainbow Dash.

“Don’t look at me.” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Twilight said Luna couldn’t find your dreams. Guess it’s ‘cause you’re not really a pony, and now she can’t find ours either. Dumb magic makes no sense.”

Lyra took a cracker uncertainly, eyeing Rainbow Dash. “So can she find the changelings you claim took your bodies?”

Rainbow Dash gave another shrug and stood up, lifting off the ground and circling around the camp impatiently. “Do I look like a pretty princess to you? Ask Luna, or Twilight. Oh wait, we can’t! I forgot!”

Silence settled, broken only by Rainbow’s buzzing wings as she drifted like a glum bee through the air. Bonbon broke it as she looked around. “Did you talk with Humble last night, Lyra? Do you know where she went? She seems to know a lot of magic, maybe she can help us.”

“She disappeared just before dawn,” Lyra said. “I didn’t see where she went, but she’s probably hiding from the sun somewhere dark.”

Bonbon stood up and trotted around. “Poor thing,” she whispered. “So we don’t have a choice but to continue on, do we? We can’t return to Equestria, we can’t get our bodies back, and we can’t warn the princesses unless they find some way to contact us. I promised I’d help Humble find her sister, and long before that I promised I’d follow you no matter what.”

“I can’t abandon Lightning Dust now,” Rainbow Dash said and pointed towards the east. “I swore I’d bring her back, and no changelings are going to keep me from my friend!”

Lyra looked conflicted. Bonbon could imagine her worry. “Lyra,” she said and tried to catch Lyra’s gaze. “If you want the real Bonbon and Rainbow Dash back, you have to trust us.”

Lyra looked up at her. Her eyes grew hard and cold. “If you’re lying, …” she said, leaving the threat hanging as she got up and began packing her things.

* * *

“What are these things?”

It was midday, but the sun barely shone through the thick clouds. They had walked without break through marshy forests and fields, beyond the corpse-littered plains where the frogs and changelings had battled. Rainbow Dash led the way, scouting for any signs of danger.

Bonbon glanced at the oddly rounded mounds dotting the landscape. They were like the one she and Rainbow had scaled to better see the land around them after the battle. They had walked past many more all throughout the day, and more were visible through the haze ahead.

“I don’t know,” Bonbon admitted. “Hills, I guess.”

“I’ve never seen hills that perfectly round,” Lyra continued. She appeared to be fascinated by the things, though Bonbon herself felt mildly apprehensive in their shadow.

“There must be hundreds of them,” Rainbow Dash called from above. “Maybe a thousand.”

“Let’s just stay down here and leave them alone,” Bonbon said as she eyed the mounds. Birds flew around the green domes, singing among the shrubs and trees growing on their crests. Flocks split up and moved between mounds, chirping and playing. “I don’t like them.”

“I think they’re kinda neat,” Lyra said. She seemed much more cheerful than she had been that morning. “Right? How can you not think they’re cool?”

Bonbon chalked her cheer up to the misty weather and cloudy skies; it was perfect Lyra weather, something that never failed to bring Lyra’s spirits back, even now it seemed. Bonbon envied her for that; her own spirits remained low. “I can’t put my hoof on it,” she admitted. “Something just tickles me wrong.”

“Pfft.” Lyra rolled her eyes. “You’re not convincing me you’re not really a changeling that way. See? That’s the kind of grumpy thing a changeling would think. And what about the food? You wrinkle your nose at all the food.” Lyra fixed a suspicious glare back at her. “Even the grass and fresh leaves! No true pony would ever wrinkle their nose at fresh grass!”

“I’m trapped in this body, Lyra. It’s given me their taste along with everything else,” she grumbled. “Don’t think I’m happy about it. When you see me start eating bugs and liking it, you can start doubting my true pony … ness.”

“Don’t worry. I’m still watching you,” Lyra said and looked back at the mounds around them.

Bonbon sighed and returned to staring ahead as she trudged through the wet grass. She could sense Lyra’s enthusiasm like a strange scent next to her, but part of her didn’t want to poke her metaphorical nose in Lyra’s emotions. She tried her best to block them out, but the love was the hardest. It was subdued, just a subtle hint beneath other emotions, but Bonbon knew it was there. It would be so easy to read Lyra’s heart like an open book if she tried … and then just sneak a little taste. Lyra wouldn’t even know, and it wouldn’t hurt her if it was just a little, would it?

Bonbon shut her eyes and bit her lip hard. The temptation grew as the day went on and her hunger continued. The food she ate at least seemed to prevent starvation, but it left her feeling tired and unfulfilled. Perhaps it was to blame for her lack of enthusiasm for anything too, Bonbon idly thought to herself.

She would have to talk with Lyra about it, when the time was right. She hung her head and kept walking, dragging her hooves through the grass.

* * *

The moon hung huge and white above the rounded domes dotting the land, and the night sung with the tones of Lyra’s soft strings. Bonbon watched the human pluck the strings in the darkness under a crooked tree, her eyes downcast. Earlier that day, Lyra had been smiling, now she had descended into quiet melancholy and longing.

Lyra followed Rainbow and Bonbon, yet Bonbon knew she still didn’t fully trust the two. Occasionally, Lyra would look with sadness at the west horizon whence they came, as if quietly wondering if she had left her two friends behind with the changelings. The pain of that thought was all too visible. Bonbon didn’t need any changeling senses to see it plain and clear.

Bonbon found her eyes drifting towards the west as well, towards Equestria, or at the sky with the moon. What had she left behind, abandoned? Her body, for one. She looked up at the night sky and wondered if the princess could really hear the wishes made on the stars.

“I wish we could tell you what’s coming,” Bonbon said quietly to the stars. “I wish you could hear of the changelings who stole our bodies. I wish you could do something to help us.”

She felt silly. The stars made no sign that they had heard, and she doubted the princess had either. She’d be flooded with constant wishes if it worked, Bonbon decided as she stood up. She walked around the small fire Rainbow Dash had made and stood at the edge of the camp, staring into the dark marshes around them.

Insects hummed in the dark, mixing their voices with Lyra’s music. Bonbon listened to them as she walked slowly away from the camp, tilting her head up to keep her eyes on the crest of one of the nearby mounds. They had walked all day and seen no end to the things yet. Something about them still didn’t seem right to Bonbon.

The mound rose out of the swamp as she approached slowly, watching the mossy surface with its wild bushes and shrubs sticking out at odd angles from the mound. The whole thing loomed over Bonbon as she stopped in its shadow, craning her neck to see.

Stars glimmered at the edge between the sky and mound. Bonbon lowered her gaze and stepped closer, reaching out a hoof to touch the nearly vertical wall of grass and moss and shrubs. Her hoof settled on a patch of moss. Bonbon stared at the giant thing, feeling too tired to really care why she was standing here. It was just a mound of dirt, oddly shaped, but so were a lot of things.

Bonbon shook her head and set her hoof back down, turning to leave. She stumbled and struggled to right herself. “What the—” she muttered before she realized what had caused her to nearly fall. Blinking, Bonbon turned and scrambled backwards as she stared at the mound.

Dust and dirt rolled down the sides of the mound, and the ground shook gently as the thing shivered and moved, slowly rising from the ground.

Bonbon gaped, walking backwards as she gazed upwards at the rising mountain and the giant head slowly extending towards her.

XVI. Broadcast

Bonbon stood with her legs rooted to the spot as she stared into the yawning chasm of the maw about to swallow her. She opened her mouth to scream, when something hit her in the side and sent her tumbling across the marshy ground. She landed hard on her shoulder and opened her eyes in time to see the great draconic jaws snap shut, inches from Humble’s shocked face; and inches from where Bonbon’s own face had been only seconds before. Bonbon hadn’t seen where Humble had come from, but she was too shaken herself to wonder about the question. Humble took a few shaky steps away from her close brush with the creature’s pony-sized teeth and positioned herself directly between it and Bonbon.

The monster shook its moss-covered body, causing minor landslides of dirt to tumble down its shell and gather in heaps beside it. Rainbow Dash and Lyra rushed over to help Bonbon back on her legs, both of them staring up at the moving mountain as it shook its head and turned its draconic eyes upon all four of them. Its yellow gaze settled upon Lyra and slowly narrowed as its mouth opened again.

Rainbow Dash pushed herself in front of Lyra and glared at the creature. “Don’t even think about it, buddy!” she yelled at the monster. “Stay away from my friends, or—”

The creature let out a huff of air through its nostrils, blowing Rainbow Dash off her hooves and straight into a large puddle behind them. It cracked a toothy grin as she landed on her haunches with a mighty splash of mud, then it returned its gaze to Lyra. “Would you like me to gobble these parasites who travel with you, Miss Heartstrings? It should be my great pleasure to do you this service,” it spoke in a voice both melodic and surprisingly youthful and energetic for such a creature. The force of the voice nearly threw them all back.

Lyra trembled and gulped as she looked up at the creature and gathered her nerves to speak. “T-they’re not changelings, o-or parasites,” she said in a tiny voice. “They are friends of mine and not for eating. H-how did you know my name, and what are you?” she blurted out as if she was afraid she might lose her voice if she didn’t speak it all now.

“Are you sure now?” The creature narrowed its eyes at Bonbon and Rainbow Dash in turn, looking at them closely. “They sure look like changelings to my sight.” Ignoring Lyra’s look of uncertainty, the creature shook itself again and said, “Are you quite sure I shouldn’t eat them for you? It really would be no imposition on my part.”

“Yes!” Lyra blurted out again, too shocked to control her voice. “You shouldn’t eat anyone! And you didn’t answer any of my questions either!”

“You tell it, Lyra,” Rainbow Dash said and glared at the giant creature, mud still dripping off of her from her brief dip in the puddle. “You wanna eat something, go eat the queen changeling and all her damned bugs,” she continued and pointed a muddy hoof back the way they had come. “Go eat Chrysalis if you’re so hungry!”

The monster raised its head. “Oh what a shame,” it sang, plainly ignoring Rainbow Dash. “If you really could not tell, I am a dragon turtle! It should be plain for all to see, really,” it said and posed its draconic head and massive shelled body. “But since you asked for names, I have never needed a name before. What should I call myself, hmm?” It seemed to ponder the question seriously.

Rainbow Dash wiped more mud from her face and refocused her glare at the turtle. “You want a name? How about Jerky McSnapcase!”

“Snapcase,” the turtle said in its melodic voice, letting the word roll off its tongue as if tasting each syllable. It seemed pleased with the sound of it after some consideration. “I do like it, little louse. It’s … dare I say, snappy?”

Rainbow Dash fumed and sat down, crossing her hooves over her mud-stained chest. Bonbon slowly stood back up, accepting a hand from Humble. The girl watched the turtle warily. Bonbon didn’t take her eyes off it either.

“You still haven’t told us how you know my name,” Lyra said, having found her proper voice.

The turtle shook its body and pulled its limbs free of the mud and mossy ground, like an ancient oak uprooting itself, causing all of them to stumble as the earth trembled beneath them. “I have decided to give generously of my time, in order to pass on a simple message to one of your description, named Lyra Heartstrings, and her three friends: a washed-up pegasus called Rainbow Dash, an earth pony named Bonbon, and the lowlife human princess I see here with you. Seems like only yesterday I saw her sister frolicking through these very marshes as well.”

“A message from who?” Lyra asked, placing a hoof over Rainbow’s mouth before she could protest at the insult. Humble had retreated into the shadows of a tree, only her watchful eyes gleaming in the dark as they observed the creature with mistrust. Lyra narrowed her eyes at the turtle, no less suspicious than her friends. “And how do they know about me and Humble?”

The giant turtle turned itself around slowly, directing the back of its shell at them as it trudged off through the swamp. “Why should I be bothered to tell you now? You haven’t even offered me anything to eat yet. I have been nothing but polite, and you treat me this way?”

Lyra galloped swiftly around it to keep its face in view. “Please, Mister Snapcase?” she tried, then paused. “It is Mister, right? Or are you … I’m sorry, I can’t tell.”

The turtle turned its great head around to stare blankly at Lyra. “I prefer Grand Master Snapcase, or Your Greatness, if you absolutely must address me at all. Perhaps you could try Your Grand Immenseness, or,” he raised a flipper dramatically in the air and raised his voice to proclaim, “Great Lord Snapcase the Most Supreme and Stupendously Wise Master of All He Surveys! How does that sound?”

Lyra stared at the dragon turtle. “Pantagruelian,” she deadpanned.

“Yes, I quite like it too,” Snapcase said and stretched his neck proudly. “Excelsissimus! Truly a title for the ages, I say.”

Rainbow Dash groaned and planted a hoof in the middle of her face. “As if we needed a Bigger and Boastier Trixie,” she said while buzzing around to face the turtle. “Yo, Turxie the Big and Lumbering! Spit it out! Who sent this message? Who knows about Lyra?”

Snapcase glanced back at the others and pointed a claw at Rainbow Dash. “Is she always this eloquent and witty, or is it just in my honor that she marshals the full force of her entire brain cell? Should I be honored, perchance?”

Lyra gritted her teeth. “I don’t know, are you always this evasive and grandiloquent? Or are you going to finally tell us this message and who sent it?”

“Oh fine, if I absolutely must,” Snapcase said and sighed the most refined sigh a giant turtle ever had. “The message I would relay to you was sent by one named Fluttershy, on behalf of a Princess Luna. Utterly unimportant little ponies. I am sure you have no interest in this measly message, yes?”

“Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash repeated, looking incredulous.

“That’s what I said,” Snapcase said. “Do try to pay attention when I debase myself to speak to you, gnat.”

“How do you know Fluttershy?” Bonbon asked, opening her mouth for the first time. Her heart had only slowly begun to beat at its normal pace again after nearly seeing the insides of the turtle’s stomach.

“I don’t,” Snapcase said. “But every bird and insect has been humming, chirping, and buzzing this message in my ear for the past while. Most dreadfully and annoying, I’m sure you can understand. Obviously they cannot seem to tell you themselves, which is such a shame and not to mention just typical. I’ve decided it’s not worth my while trying to sleep with all this noise around me.”

“Then what is she saying?” Rainbow Dash darted back in front of the turtle’s great face, impatiently waiting to hear the message from her friend.

Snapcase cleared his throat. “She who is named Fluttershy tells us that Princess Luna has ‘asked her very kindly and politely, in a very diplomatic fashion,’ to make contact with you and inform Princess Luna back with everything the animals report to have seen or heard regarding you and your journey. In other words, if you will allow me to paraphrase, your little pony princess has ordered this friend of yours to rat on you. The animals tell her quite a few things of interest, I’m sure, and their messages travel fast across the land.”

Lyra’s ears fell as she lowered her head. “Then Fluttershy must already know everything,” she said. “And if she’s been telling Luna what she’s heard, then all the princesses will know about me too. If they didn’t already know everything.”

“Oh, but there’s more,” Snapcase sang, seemingly enjoying himself as the bringer of this news. “Your friend Fluttershy tells you she already knew about what Lyra is—she’s using careful words, mind you, as she may not be the only one out there who can understand what all the little critters are yelling at each other. A wise decision. She knew because she met someone like you once, long ago. She found him grievously wounded in the forest and took care of him until he was well enough to leave. She swore she would never reveal his secret to anyone.

“Then I’m hearing there’s this pony called Scootaloo. When she showed Fluttershy the drawing Rainbow Dash had sent to … bear with me a moment, all these names are so unfamiliar to me … Princess Twilight, Fluttershy panicked and had Scootaloo tear out the drawing and swear never to mention it ever again. When Twilight and Luna came to see her about that later on, Fluttershy again panicked and fled into the forest. My, what drama.”

“So that’s what happened,” Rainbow Dash muttered.

“You knew about that?” Lyra asked.

“Twilight wrote about it.” Rainbow shrugged. “She said Fluttershy had scared the filly half witless and made her repress everything about the drawing out of fear. Then when Twilight and Luna went to talk to Fluttershy she fled into the wild and put an army of burly critters between herself and everypony else. Luna was supposed to be looking for her dreams, but then all this mess went down, and I didn’t get to hear what happened with that.”

“I guess we know now,” Bonbon said and looked up at the turtle. “What else? What does Luna want then, if she knows everything now?”

“What, didn’t you listen? You bugs really need to work on your hearing.” Snapcase brushed one of his flippers against his mossy shell and looked up. “She swore not to tell anyone, ever.”

“But—”

“She hasn’t told your princess what her animals have seen,” Snapcase said and looked himself over. “At least, not that part. She just wanted you to know that she’s ‘totally fighting the power’ for you, utterly pointless as I’m sure it is.”

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes and flew back in front of the turtle once more, constantly trying to keep up with its moving head. “What do you mean, pointless?”

“This Princess Luna,” Snapcase said and waved a flipper around in the air, almost hitting Rainbow Dash several times. “She sounds like such a nice pony, if you know what I mean? Snooping through your dreams and sending spies to watch your every move, using your own friends to rat you out. A pony like that … I’m sure she won’t limit herself to little Fluttershy’s animals to sate her hunger for information.”

Rainbow Dash frowned and opened her mouth to respond.

“Oh but I’m sure she only does it because she cares for your safety and well-being,” Snapcase interrupted her. “I’m sure she only has your best interests at heart. After all, so many awful things could happen to a pony out here beyond the civilized world. Parasitic love bugs leading poor Miss Heartstrings astray, it’s just awful, awful I say.”

Rainbow Dash looked glum but clenched her jaw shut.

“Can you send a message back to Fluttershy for us?” Bonbon cut in before things could devolve into arguing. “We really need to get word back to Princess Luna about what’s happened.”

“It would be no effort at all,” Snapcase said and yawned. “But it’s such a waste of my talents, and I haven’t even eaten yet. Surely you would not ask me to pass on meaningless drivel on an empty stomach.”

“Please?” Bonbon said and looked up at the turtle’s dragon head with her best begging eyes. “It’s really important, and you’re the only one we can turn to for help.”

“Hmm, yes, I suppose I really am your only hope.” Snapcase gave her a brilliantly crooked smile.

“We’ll tell you where you can find loads of changelings to eat!” Rainbow Dash cut in.

“You already did, parasite,” Snapcase said and pointed back west. “You told me to go eat their queen. And in case it escaped your notice, I’ve been resting here for a long, long time. I already knew everything about the changelings to the east, oh yes. The little nuisances make quite the noise when they buzz around, chasing flaming frogs across the marshes.”

“Come on!” Rainbow Dash threw her hooves in the air. “Just send the freakin’ message!”

Snapcase grinned his sharp teeth and leaned forward until his snout nearly poked Rainbow Dash in the chest. Rainbow quickly backed away. “You want direct mail or broadcast, little pestilence?” the turtle asked.

“What’s the difference?” Bonbon asked.

“Secrecy versus speed, mostly,” Snapcase explained and turned to look at Bonbon. “If you don’t want anyone listening in on what you’re telling your friend, then the animals will have to physically travel from here to there, and it’s a long way even for a fast bird. If you don’t care about that, then the birds can just sing it loudly to the winds and let all the other birds for miles around pick it up and pass it on in the same manner. That way they don’t have to actually fly from here to there, and the message travels nearly at the speed of sound.”

“There’s no time,” Rainbow said quickly. “We need speed!”

Bonbon smiled. It was typical Rainbow Dash thinking and impatience … but she didn’t disagree.

“Very well,” Snapcase said. “What insignificant bit of news must I waste my time relaying to these simpleminded critters, then?”

“Tell her that Queen Chrysalis of the changelings had her mother, Queen Lacewing, killed and took over the hive in her place,” Bonbon said. “Tell her that Chrysalis trapped Rainbow Dash and me—that’s Bonbon—in the bodies of two of her changelings and stole our bodies for her own sinister schemes. The changelings who have taken over our bodies are on their way to Equestria now.”

Snapcase chuckled. “What a delightful yarn. Is that all?”

“Just get on with the sending already.” Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves, tapping the air with her hoof.

“Very well, if you insist.” Snapcase rolled his eyes and turned his gaze towards the birds circling the sky above them. Bonbon watched in strange wonder as the dragon turtle whistled their message loud and clear like a bird. It seemed to take a lot of whistling to convey their message in the language of the birds, she mused.

* * *

“What do you mean you’re not going that way!” Rainbow Dash buzzed her wings angrily as she orbited around the dragon turtle’s massive head. “You could totally take on the changelings back there. What about all these other hills? Are they all dragon turtles like you? There’s a freakin’ army of tanks right here. You could wake them up and crush the changelings just like that!” She snapped her tail to punctuate.

“I mean exactly what I tell you, pest,” Snapcase said as he moved. “I am a dragon turtle, and as a dragon turtle I shall make my way east towards the great sea of stars. I didn’t decide to wake up just so I could waste my time on you and your unimportant little worries, no matter what your overblown ego might think I should do. I have places to be, things to see. All my brothers and sisters here will eventually wake, and one by one we shall make our way east towards the sea of night.”

“My overblown ego?” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “You’re one to talk, Mister ‘I’m so big’!”

“You’re headed the same way as us?” Lyra interrupted. “Perhaps we could keep you company?”

“What?” Rainbow Dash zipped around to stare at Lyra. “He’s a freakin’ turtle! We’re already traveling way too slow, we don’t need no stupid turtle to slow us down even more!”

A huge flipper swatted Rainbow Dash on the rump, sending her flying across the sky with a drawn-out wail before sprawling face first in a pool of mud. “Oh my, I’m so very sorry,” Snapcase said innocently. “I was just stretching the ache from my limbs, you see. You get so terribly stiff in the limbs being as slow as me.”

Lyra glanced at the sputtering and fuming changeling lying in the muddy puddle. “You can help us keep in touch with Equestria,” she said to the turtle. “And we’re going the same way in any case, right? We would be … very thankful for your company.”

Snapcase shrugged in his shell. “I’m not going to stop you, if that’s what you think.”

Bonbon watched the conversation from back at the camp, stirring idly in the can of stew hanging over the fire while keeping her attention on the turtle. She didn’t think he looked all that bothered by the prospect of them tagging along, if she was totally honest, despite what he liked to pretend. She thought of what a lonely life such a creature must live, only waking to wander alone towards a distant and endless sea. What was out there among the stars worth such a journey?

“Do you know of …” Lyra began, looking down at her hands uncertainly. “Have you ever seen the great mountain at the edge of the sea of night?” she continued. “Where once humans like me lived in the hundreds and thousands.”

“Yes, I know of it, and I knew the humans when they were at their height, but I have not seen it for myself,” Snapcase said. “Not yet. I will pass it on my way to the sea.”

Lyra nodded and fell silent with thought for the moment.

Bonbon turned her attention to the shadows of the trees surrounding their camp. Rainbow Dash stomped past her, the mud nearly baking solid from her anger as she looked for water to clean herself with. Bonbon ignored her, instead scanning the trees until her eyes found the hidden shadow of Humble huddling under their boughs, sitting out of reach of the moon’s silver light.

Bonbon poured a bowl of stew and stood up, walking gently up to Humble. “Here,” she said and levitated the steaming bowl towards the girl. She was getting fairly steady at her levitation.

Humble looked up at her and reached out slowly. Her hands closed around the bowl and pulled it close to her, but she never looked away from Bonbon. Her eyes were deep and polished black, like two orbs of black diamonds. Bonbon was sure she saw no evil behind them, only a beautiful soul weighed by guilt and loneliness.

Bonbon sat down in front of her. “I want to thank you for protecting me, for throwing yourself in front of the turtle like that,” she said and looked down at her hooves. “It was a very noble thing to do. I don’t think Snapcase was really going to eat me, but none of us knew that at the time.”

Humble looked at Bonbon’s hooves as she cradled the warm bowl of stew in her hands.

“And back when the changelings took me, you tried to protect me too,” Bonbon continued. “Twice. I’m … honored that you would risk yourself to keep me safe.”

Humble set the bowl down beside her and leaned forward carefully. She looked into Bonbon’s eyes for a moment before leaning her head to the side to leave a soft kiss on Bonbon’s cheek. Humble lowered her gaze as she pulled away again, but she neither blushed nor hesitated.

“I …” Bonbon lifted a hoof to her cheek and sighed. “Thank you, Humble, but …”

Humble threw a brief jealous glance at Lyra in the distance, and her shoulders sagged as she closed her eyes in a painful look.

“I’m sorry,” Bonbon whispered.

“Thou lovest her, truly?” Humble opened her eyes but kept them downcast.

“I …” Bonbon looked away. It was hard for her to look at Humble, to resist the taste and temptation of her love. “It’s not so easy anymore. She’s—”

“A human,” Humble finished the sentence for her and nodded. “She is.”

“And I am a changeling,” Bonbon grimaced, feeling a tightness in her throat at the thought that it might be for the rest of her life.

“A pony,” Humble whispered, shaking her head. “Thou art, at heart, yet a pony.”

Bonbon looked at Humble for a long time. “When we left the changelings, just before you woke and panicked,” she searched for words as she spoke, “the sun was rising, but you didn’t change like Lyra. You didn’t become a pony in the morning. Why is that?”

Humble shivered and crawled deeper into the shadows at the mention of the sun, as if its light could reach her even within her own mind. “We … do not know,” she whispered and hid her face with her hands as if to hide and protect herself.

“Why do you shy away from the light?” Bonbon moved a little closer. “Does it hurt you?”

Humble nodded feebly.

“Is there anything I can do?” Bonbon moved closer and reached out a hoof to her. She was surprised when Humble reached out in return and wrapped her arms around Bonbon. She put a hoof around the girl’s shoulders and held her gently. She was as cold and pale as ever, but the warmth of her heart spread through Bonbon’s chest and tempted her with its sweetness. She felt herself tremble, trying to resist the temptation and block out the growing feelings of love.

Humble turned her head slightly and held on tightly, displaying no intention of letting go of her. Bonbon’s shaking doubled and she felt her own heart pounding along with Humbles. She closed her eyes and held the girl more closely to herself. Her horn glowed almost by itself, and she felt love fill her body as she gave in to the temptation, not even realizing what she was doing before it was happening. And then she couldn’t stop. Bonbon sighed and held the unresisting girl in her hooves, relishing the unfamiliar but intoxicating rush of love.

A whimper escaped Humble suddenly, and the girl stirred a little against Bonbon’s grip. The reaction didn’t register to Bonbon as the taste of love filled her and pushed her over the edge. She had never tasted anything so sweet as this. Humble tensed in her grip, but soon went limp. Bonbon kept feeding, unable to hold herself back.

Only when the love began to fade did Bonbon realize what she was doing. She drew away and looked at Humble while her mind processed what had happened. Humble stared back at her with glassy eyes and a blank look, as if asleep and dreaming with her eyes open.

Bonbon closed her eyes and laid the girl down gently on the mossy floor beneath the trees. “I’m so sorry,” she said and sat down, watching Humble. “I didn’t mean to …” She trailed off as the love coursing through her veins filled her with new senses and fueled a different line of thoughts. Bonbon felt amazing. Was it really so bad if she fed on Humble now and then? Why should she be sorry? The girl loved her and knew what she had been doing. It had been a gift, a show of mercy and self-sacrifice, Bonbon told herself and relaxed.

She leaned down and nuzzled the girl. “Thank you,” she whispered.

* * *

Rainbow Dash groaned and pushed herself against the back of the giant turtle’s shell with all her strength. “Come on, move it! Could this possibly go any slower?”

Snapcase turned his head to look back at her, smiling. “I could walk backwards for a while, if you’d like? Have you ever seen a dragon turtle moon walk?”

“Ha ha!” Rainbow Dash glowered at the turtle. “Very funny.”

“Why, thank you. I am quite the dancer, if I do say so myself,” Snapcase said and swayed his massive shell and stubby tail in a jolly fashion as he waddled through the swamp.

Bonbon held on tight to the shell as it rocked back and forth and looked up at Rainbow Dash flying behind them. “Why don’t you join us here?” she said and patted the top of the turtle’s shell. “Just lean back and enjoy the ride. It’s a beautiful weather for doing nothing at all.” It was no lie; the sun baked the world from a bright blue sky and made the air shimmer with heat. The pace might be slow, but the turtle’s massive shell was soft from ages of moss and grasses.

Rainbow Dash landed beside her and sat down to sulk, keeping her distance to Lyra, who was sunning herself nearby. “Maybe ‘cause I’m starving and tired all the time,” she admitted, rubbing her sunken eyes. She leaned back on her haunches and sucked in her stomach, pointing at the hollow waistline. “Just look here! I’m becoming nothing but skin and bones. Or … shell and bones, or whatever changelings have.”

“All the more reason not to be buzzing around and using up all your energy,” Bonbon said and looked at her starving eyes with sympathy.

Rainbow Dash slumped over. “I just want my own body back. I don’t wanna be stuck like this forever, Bonbon,” she said, ears drooping.

“We won’t be.” Bonbon hoped it was true.

“Well, just look at you,” Rainbow Dash continued and swung a hoof to point vaguely in her direction. “You’re freakin’ fine!”

Bonbon felt a stab of shame. She had been doing better than Rainbow Dash, especially with Humble giving freely of her love. Even the ambient scent of love she felt coming from Lyra but tried her best to ignore felt reinvigorating. But Rainbow Dash had no pony like that to leech off of, all she had were stale crackers and swamp grass. “I wish there was something I could do. I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash.”

“So’m I,” Rainbow Dash said quietly and stared at her hooves, poking idly at the moss beneath her. “I wish Twilight was here,” she said and looked away to hide the tears.

Bonbon moved closer and gave her shoulder a friendly rub to comfort her. “It’ll be okay,” she said. “We’ll find a way out of this together.”

“Thanks,” Rainbow said morosely and sniffed, then drew a long breath.

“Have you been working on your magic?” Bonbon asked to change the subject. She had become fairly accustomed to using telekinesis by now, although that was as far as she had gotten, but Rainbow Dash didn’t seem to have wrapped her mind around even that yet.

Rainbow Dash grimaced and reached up to poke her horn. “No,” she said. “Why should I bother anyway? It’s not like I ever needed it before, and I’ll just lose it again when I get back in my own body.”

“We may need to disguise our nature before long,” Bonbon said. Admittedly, she hadn’t made any progress on it herself. All the things she imagined could go wrong in the process scared her witless. “We need to get used to our new abilities if we’re going to make it.”

“I guess …” Rainbow Dash frowned.

“Maybe Lyra could help you learn magic,” Bonbon said and looked at the unicorn baking in the sun nearby. Her breathing suggested that she had fallen asleep in the midday heat. “She knows plenty of spells.”

“I uh …” Rainbow Dash scratched behind her ear uncertainly. “I, you know … I kinda feel awkward around her, Bonbon. I can’t stop sensing her emotions and, um …” She looked up at Bonbon. “I don’t really like intruding on her feelings like that, okay?”

“I know,” Bonbon said. She felt much the same, but she had managed to not pry too much into Lyra’s emotions, despite the temptation. The looks Rainbow occasionally gave her told her that some of those emotions were directed at Bonbon, which just made it all the more awkward. “I take it Humble isn’t any better?”

“Well, yeah,” Rainbow Dash said and rolled her eyes. She gestured around them at the sunlit landscape. “Besides, she’s not here half the time.”

“Then you’ll just have to suck it up and talk to Lyra,” Bonbon said. “Just block out the emotions and focus on learning your magic. It’ll be fine.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes once more. “Easy for you to say.” She rubbed her face before standing up. “Yeah, alright, I’ll do it.” She turned and approached Lyra, reaching out to wake the unicorn from her slumber.

Lyra woke with a start at her touch, to find Rainbow’s black face staring down at her. She choked out a shriek and scrambled away from Rainbow Dash, nearly rolling off the shell. “Ah!”

Rainbow Dash jumped forward and caught her before she tumbled off their ride, pulling her back to safety. “Whoa there, just waking you up, girl.”

Lyra frowned and steadied her breath. “Well excuse me if your face is like a nightmare I don’t exactly feel thrilled waking up to. No offense.”

“Yeah yeah, I get it. I’m sorry.” Rainbow Dash backed away a little. “Look, I need you to help me learn to use my magic, alright?” She poked her horn. “Stupid thing isn’t exactly sparkling.”

Lyra took a moment to calm herself completely before sitting down again. “Alright, I’ll help you. But seriously, don’t ever do that again, or I might blast your face off next time.”

Bonbon leaned back and left them to it as she enjoyed the sun and peace. Their ride might be slow, but she doubted there were a lot of things out there that would be foolish enough to attack something as large and heavily armored as a dragon turtle. For now at least she didn’t have to do anything but relax and enjoy the peace.

* * *

“Ah! Watch it!” Bonbon jumped aside in the nick of time and hastily beat out the green flames engulfing the tip of her tail.

“Heh.” Rainbow Dash waved the smoke and bits of flame from her horn. “Whoops, again.”

Bonbon groaned and looked at her singed tail. “Couldn’t you go practice somewhere not so close to me? Like, way over there?” she said and pointed at the marshes in the distance.

“No. I need to conserve my strength, remember?” Rainbow Dash frowned at her horn as a few sparks of green lit up the growing dusk. “ ‘sides, I think I’m getting the hang of this ‘zapping things’ spell. It’s way cooler than just lifting stuff anyway.”

“Except you were supposed to levitate things,” Lyra said and lowered the shimmering shield in front of her. She sat down and pinched her muzzle with her hooves. “I swear, Scootaloo would get a cutie mark in magic before you figure it out.”

“Scoots already has a cutie mark,” Rainbow Dash said and stuck her tongue out at Lyra. “And you’re just jealous ‘cause my magic is obviously way too awesome to be controlled. Yeah, that’s why!”

“At least knock it off for tonight,” Bonbon cut back in.

“Fine!” Rainbow Dash said and crossed her hooves.

“Ahoy, yes you up there,” Snapcase sang at them. “A little bird is telling me there’s another message from far and away, just for you.”

Rainbow Dash scrambled over to the edge of the shell and poked her head out to look down at the dragon head bobbing along below. “Alright, Fluttershy! What does she say? Can they help us get our bodies back?”

Bonbon and Lyra sat up to listen as well.

Snapcase took a moment to listen to the bird chirping its message. “Well, wouldn’t you know it,” he chuckled. “It says they’ve caught your two wayward bodysnatchers.”

They looked at each other. “Really?” Bonbon asked.

“Yeah, spit it out already,” Rainbow Dash poked the shell impatiently.

“As you desire, O ye of little patience,” Snapcase said with deliberate slowness. “It says that someone warned the griffons of the changeling plot already, and the griffons then caught the two supposed changelings as they were on their way towards the sea. The griffons informed Equestria of the threat, and Princess Luna is now on her way to interrogate the two where they are being kept by the griffons.”

“What?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, and all three looked at each other again.

“Who warned the griffons, then?” Bonbon asked. “How could they have been informed of this?”

“That’s all the message says,” Snapcase said and offered a shrug in answer.

“Well, that’s … good, right?” Rainbow Dash said. “They’ve got our bodies safe and locked away. Now Luna just needs to find a way to help us get them back.”

Bonbon nodded. “I guess it’s a relief to know they won’t be causing any trouble, too.”

* * *

The skull seemed to glow in the pale light of the moon, fixing its grin at her.

Bonbon sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She wasn’t sure what time it was, or when Humble had caught up with them again. She looked at the girl holding the skull, cradling it in her hands as she stared at its hollow eyes and bony cheeks. Bonbon recalled the ruins where Lyra had found it, unceremoniously buried under the rubble of collapsed stairs.

Humble kept looking into the eyes of the long-dead human as Bonbon approached and sat down next to her. Humble seemed paler than usual, if such a thing was even possible, and her eyes still had a blank and distant look. She seemed sad and quiet tonight, as if something was weighing on her heart. Bonbon watched as Humble closed her eyes and lowered her head. A faint glow of dark magic surrounded her hands and spread to the skull. An eerie light filled the eye sockets, and wispy strands of magic snaked along the contours of the bone.

Bonbon stifled a gasp as the glow became flesh and skin, and soft hair grew in dark red curls from the scalp of the head. The disembodied head floated an inch above Humble’s open hands, surrounded by the glow of magic. Bonbon stared at the recreated face of a young girl, severed from the neck, eyes closed in death. The sight made her want to turn away.

Humble opened her eyes to look at the dead girl, and the sadness that filled her eyes turned to tears. She glanced at Bonbon and noticed her expression of horror. “Forgive us,” she murmured and blinked the tears away, sniffling. She closed her fingers around the head, and the glow of magic faded. The skin and hair vanished even faster than it had appeared, leaving only the bare skull once more.

Bonbon took a moment to collect herself and swallow the unpleasant taste. “Your magic …” Bonbon searched for words. This was so far outside her area of experience. “It is very dark and … it unsettles me sometimes.”

“We earned our knowledge from the darkness of night and desolation,” Humble said and covered the empty eye sockets as if closing the girl’s eyelids for the last time. She rested the skull in her lap and hugged herself against some imaginary cold. “Darkness and cold and death were the only friends we knew since the curse bereaved us of all we loved.”

“Do you still know how to change yourself into a pony?” Bonbon moved a little closer once more, now that the head was just a skull. “I know I have the power to take many forms, and I imagine it should be second nature to a changeling, but I’m afraid of even trying. I’m afraid I will mess it up and turn myself into something awful.”

Humble turned her head and looked at Bonbon’s hooves. She seemed to avoid Bonbon’s eyes tonight. “We can make ourselves one with the shadows and darkness, but the shadow will be a shadow always regardless of its shape or form,” she said. “The secret of the changelings no longer works for we who are cursed, for it was turned against us.”

“Oh,” Bonbon said, ears lowering in disappointment.

“We may still offer thee our knowledge of such magic, if this is thy desire,” she said. “It is a simple matter to explain, but very difficult magic for a pony to master; yet it comes naturally to any changeling.”

“What if I make a mistake and blow myself up … or worse?”

“Thou needst not fear. We will watch and keep thee safe from harm,” Humble said, though her voice was flat and her gaze lowered at the ground.

Bonbon smiled and stood up on the gently swaying back of the turtle. She took a deep breath to calm herself. “Then I’m ready. What must I do?”

Humble pulled herself to her feet and raised her hands in front of her. She closed her eyes to concentrate. “Thou must first imagine thy new form, one thou desirest to take in place of thy present image,” she explained. “A form thou knowest well would come to thee more naturally and effortlessly than others. An intimate connection is the strongest of all.”

“Alright,” Bonbon said and closed her eyes as well, trying to form a mental image of her old familiar self. That was the only form she ever wished to take, and it should obviously be the one she was most familiar with too, she reasoned.

“With this done, thou must now form a connection with thy chosen image,” Humble explained. “Same way as thou wouldst do with an object thou seekest to levitate. Just like that, but with thy mental image in its stead.”

“Uh …” Bonbon focused, trying to apply the method she had worked out based on Lyra’s explanation. “Okay, I think …”

“Once thou hast established a clear connection,” Humble continued, “thou must bring it out with thee as thou performest a switch of focus to thine own physical body. That switch will be the tricky part, for it must be done while merging the other connection.”

Bonbon furrowed her brow as she concentrated on the mental image of her real body, slowly feeling the connection take hold. Once satisfied that she had it in mind, she prepared herself for the switch. As swiftly as she could, she tried to switch her focus and connection, as if to quickly levitate herself. “Gah!” A sudden force swept her off her hooves and landed her on her rump.

“Thou didst well,” Humble said and helped her up.

“Really?” Bonbon looked herself over, finding no difference in her appearance. “Nothing changed at all.” At least that meant no horrible mutations, she reassured herself.

“Thou didst almost lift thine own weight with telekinesis, if only for a second,” Humble explained. “That is no minor feat for the untrained, and it means thou didst the switch well. Thou merely forgot to bring the image of thy new form out with thee in the switch. The merging of connections is difficult, as we said.”

Bonbon rubbed her head and sighed. “Well, I shouldn’t expect to get it on the first try anyway, should I?”

Humble shook her head and sat down.

“Alright, then …” Bonbon sighed. “Guess I’ll keep on trying.”

* * *

“Wowee!”

Bonbon sat up and blinked at Lyra. “What?”

Lyra pointed at a mound ahead. “That’s the first one of the turtle mounds we’ve seen all day,” she announced. “Must be the last of them. See? I can’t see any more anywhere,” she said and looked around at the sprawling marshes surrounding them.

“Oh,” Bonbon said and looked around too. Lyra was right, the sleeping turtles had vanished behind them, except for this last one. As far as her eyes could see, there was nothing but flat and featureless marshland in any direction. “Good,” she said. “I’ve had more than enough of them … no offense, Snapcase.”

“None taken, whatsoever,” the turtle said as he slogged through the pools of stale water and reeds, leaving a minor ravine in his wake where his shell dug through the marshes. “Of course you have seen enough of us; you’ve seen me.”

“Yes, of course.” Bonbon rolled her eyes and lay back down.

“I think it’s a shame,” Lyra said. “They were certainly better sights than this endless flat boredom.”

“I think it’s nice,” Bonbon said. “It’s like the great open sea, except green and without the sickening movement of a ship beneath your hooves.”

“What’s the difference between this rocking—” Lyra gestured at the swaying shell beneath them “—and the rocking of a ship, exactly?”

“Hmph! Am I to be compared to a mere wooden vessel now?” Snapcase said. “My movement is certainly more refined and graceful than any ship.”

“A ship is … different,” Bonbon said. “I can’t explain it. I guess because there’s still solid ground beneath us? The sea … it lacks solidity, stability. You know, earthiness.”

“Earth ponies,” Lyra huffed and leaned back to watch the last of the mounds slowly drifting away behind them. “How big is this swamp anyway?”

“Big,” Snapcase said.

“Oh, that’s super helpful,” Lyra groaned.

Bonbon resumed watching the late afternoon sky. Far above them a flock of birds, no more than white dots from this distance, drifted beneath the blue ceiling. Birds had been following them pretty much constantly since the first message, presumably to pass on any other messages that might come from the west … and to keep a close watch on them. Bonbon turned her head back in the direction of home and narrowed her eyes. A lone white dot was coming towards them, moving on swift wings. Bonbon sat up and stretched her back. “I think a bird is coming this way.”

“Lots of birds come this way,” Snapcase said without even looking up.

Rainbow Dash groaned as she got up and joined Lyra and Bonbon. She rubbed her tired eyes and blinked them at the sky for a while. “Yeah, that’s a bird alright,” she said as the dot grew bigger. “A big one. Think it’s got a message?”

“If it does, it must not want others to hear it,” Bonbon said.

“Or it’s just a really poor singer,” Lyra said and snickered. Bonbon rolled her eyes.

“Whoa, scratch that, it’s a huge bird,” Rainbow Dash said suddenly.

Bonbon had to agree as the bird slowly descended. Even from afar, it looked big enough to carry off a full grown pony if it felt like it. “Uh, it’s not dangerous, you think?”

“What, to a dragon turtle?” Rainbow Dash scoffed. “Jerky here is way bigger.”

“For once I agree with the maggot,” the turtle rumbled.

“Although I bet he’d never catch a live bird, even a big one like that,” Rainbow Dash added with a satisfied smirk. “You have to be quick to catch birds, you know.”

“It’s coming down towards us,” Lyra said and stood up, watching the great white bird soaring down towards them. They all stepped aside as it got closer. A few moments later the bird landed heavily on top of the shell, the wind from its huge wings nearly knocking them off the turtle. It let out a screech and folded its wings.

Lyra was first to approach it, cautiously moving forwards and reaching out a hoof to touch its pure white neck. “It’s got something around its neck here, see?” she said and looked back at Bonbon and Rainbow Dash.

“It’s a bag,” Bonbon said and moved closer to have a look for herself. “Open it up, already. Let’s see what’s in it.”

Lyra reached out slowly while watching the bird’s sharp hook of a beak. Her hooves found the bag and carefully undid the string keeping it closed. She had to stand on the tips of her hooves to look into it. “It has, um, necklaces in it,” she said and reached into the bag to pull them out. “Four medallions,” she said and dropped back down, showing them four silver pendants, each in the shape of a crescent moon.

“Must be from Princess Luna,” Rainbow Dash said and reached out to take one, turning it over in her hooves. “I bet they’re magical or something. Hah! I knew the princess would have some way of helping us!” she said and cheered.

“Why are there four?” Bonbon said and hesitated. “Do you think she knows about …”

Lyra bit her lip as she looked at the three medallions left in her hooves. “What do you think she wants us to do with them?”

“Well, duh!” Rainbow Dash said and slipped the necklace around her neck. “You wear ‘em, of course. That’s what they’re for, obviously.”

“And what then?” Lyra said and looked like she wanted to rid herself of them immediately. “What will they do? You don’t think they let her spy on us, do you?” She glanced at the sky as if half expecting to find Luna’s face staring back at her from the deep blue.

“I don’t know,” Bonbon said and took the pendants before Lyra could throw them away. She put one around her neck, feeling the weight settle against her chest. “But there’s only one way to find out.”

Lyra watched them both for several minutes as nothing happened. “So? Feel any different?”

“No,” Bonbon said and turned the medallion in her hoof. “Maybe we need to wait for nightfall.”

“What about the bird?” Rainbow Dash cut in.

They looked at each other. “Do we have anything we need to send back?” Bonbon asked and received only blank stares. She watched as Lyra closed the bag around its neck again and stepped back. The bird spread its wings again and took air, nearly knocking Bonbon flat against the shell of the turtle. A few minutes later it was a white dot against the sky once more.

* * *

Bonbon landed on her rump once again and let out of a frustrated groan. “I felt so close this time,” she said and rubbed the base of her horn. “So close.”

“Don’t feel bad,” Lyra said between munches of a dry cracker. It was all they had left of food, aside from what they could gather in the marshes. “It’s like trying to do two spells at once. I’ve never been able to do that. Most unicorns never learn to do more than one spell at a time.”

“It should be easy for a changeling, though, shouldn’t it?” Bonbon took a long breath and shook her head. All this trying and failing repeatedly was definitely tiring her out. “It’s the one thing they all use their magic for. It’s like a pony knowing how to walk and trot or something.”

Lyra shrugged and munched down another cracker.

Bonbon turned around and gazed into the darkness behind them. “Have you seen Humble tonight? It’s getting kinda late, and I haven’t seen head nor tail of her since last night.”

“Nope,” Lyra said behind her. “Haven’t been looking for her either.”

Bonbon stared for a while longer, then sighed and sat down. She raised a hoof to her neck and looked down at the small silver necklace glinting in the moonlight. Bonbon followed the light, gazing up at the moon as she held the necklace.

Lyra watched her and the necklace. She had convinced Bonbon to hide the other two necklaces in Bonbon’s bags. Lyra was not yet prepared to wear one herself. Bonbon couldn’t fault her for not trusting them yet, but they wouldn’t find out what their purpose was if they stuffed them away in their bags. And maybe it was already too late. The princess had sent them four necklaces, one for each of them … including Humble. She had to have found out. It was the only explanation Bonbon could think of.

“Bonbon.” Lyra’s voice broke her out of her thoughts. “The necklace!”

Bonbon blinked at Lyra, then looked down at the necklace. “Oh,” she said and let go of it. The polished silver was glowing with a bright white light, the intensity growing quickly.

On the other side of the turtle’s shell, Rainbow Dash sat up blearily and looked at her own glowing necklace. “Huh? What the—”

A sudden streak of light flashed between the two necklaces, and a glimmer of moonlight coalesced into four shining figures atop the shell. Lyra gasped and quickly scrambled to hide herself under her blankets as she saw the four shapes taking form.

Bonbon stood up and stared as four shimmering ponies took shape before her eyes, the tallest of them unmistakably the Princess of the Night herself. They were all wearing identical crescent necklaces. As the light faded from them, it gathered at the tip of Luna’s horn. The dark alicorn opened her eyes and let the spell fade. Bonbon blinked as she recognized Scootaloo standing beside Luna, grown taller and prouder than Bonbon had ever known the filly. With them were both Twilight and Fluttershy.

Luna surveyed the top of the turtle’s shell before turning her piercing gaze upon Rainbow Dash and Bonbon. “It would appear that we are a few short for this meeting,” she said and leveled her gaze at Bonbon.

Bonbon bent her knee and bowed her head at Luna, feeling herself quiver under the princess’ icy stare.

Luna looked between them all. “It is high time for us to have a frank discussion.”

XVII. Trust and Loyalty

“Oooh!” Scootaloo interrupted them all as she leaned over and gazed down at the giant dragon turtle, wearing the broadest grin across her face. Snapcase turned his head around and winked a reptilian eye at the young pony. Scootaloo gasped and flapped her wings in excited glee. “This is so cool!” she proclaimed.

“Twi?” Rainbow Dash gasped as she realized who was standing there. “Twi!” she repeated as she rushed to tackle-hug her princess.

“Ah!” Twilight startled, and her form shimmered briefly as Rainbow Dash fell on her face at her hooves instead of falling around her neck. “Oh my. I’m so sorry.” Twilight looked down at the changeling at her hooves. Bonbon wished she could read the alicorn’s face, but it was hard to tell all the emotions apart in that one instant.

“Whu—” Rainbow Dash blinked and looked up at Twilight’s shimmering form.

“I’m really sorry,” Twilight said again and reached down to help Rainbow back up before she remembered herself. She pulled her hoof away again with a sheepish chuckle. “Right. These forms are only mirages. This was the most expedient way for Princess Luna to bring us all together to talk.”

Rainbow Dash got back on her legs and looked mournfully at her illusory marefriend. “Oh,” she said, her ears flat against her head.

Twilight reached out a hoof, pretending to touch her. “It’s … it’s okay, dear.”

Luna coughed to get their attention again. “Where is Miss Heartstrings?” she said and leveled her gaze once more at Bonbon. Her hard eyes arrested Bonbon’s gaze, fixing it in place as she looked for any signs of trickery or lies. “Speak!”

Bonbon gulped and opened her mouth, stammering hard as she spoke. “S-she’s not h—”

“Silence!” Luna stomped her hoof with a crack of thunder, her voice shaking everypony present. With a dismissive throw of her head, she turned her back on them, briefly leveling her gaze at the blankets where Lyra was hiding. “Since thou insist upon lying to our face, this meeting is over! We shall return you to your bodies immediately, whereupon you shall stand judgment under Equestrian law. We shall deal with the humans ourselves!”

Fluttershy gasped at Luna’s pronouncement, as the princess’ horn began to glow. Rainbow Dash blinked and stared at Fluttershy. “You told her? I thought you swore never to tell anypony! How could you?”

“I didn’t!” Fluttershy cried and tried to hide herself behind her hooves and mane, quivering from nose to tail. “She must have found out somehow. I n-never told her! I swear I didn’t!”

“And be assured that we have not forgotten thy wilful deceit and criminal behaviour in this matter,” Luna said and leveled a cold glare at the shivering pegasus. “Not only didst thou obstruct our investigation and destroy important evidence, thou endeavored to cause our personal guard and student grave mental distress. Understand this, Miss Fluttershy: an attack upon our guard is an attack upon us personally.”

Twilight looked heartbroken as Fluttershy shrank back from the princess, sobbing inconsolably. Scootaloo was biting her lip, trying her best to maintain her professional composure. Bonbon’s eyes widened and her ears flattened at the realization of what was happening. She scrambled forward and grabbed at Luna’s shimmering silver hoof. “Your Highness, p-please. I beg you, don’t do this!”

Twilight took a few steps forward, a conflict of emotions showing on her face as she faced the dark alicorn. “Luna, you’re being too harsh now. At least give them a chance.”

Scootaloo touched Luna’s shoulder and looked up at her.

Luna met her student’s eyes, then pulled her hoof away from Bonbon and halted her spell, letting it linger at the tip of her horn. She took a step forward, past Twilight and Bonbon, and spoke to the bundle of blankets hiding Lyra. “Come out, Miss Heartstrings, and face us. Be assured that we have already seen the truth of thy being. Hiding will not help thee.”

Lyra’s voice was muffled, quavering from beneath the blankets. “Please, Your Highness, I don’t want to come out. N-not like this,” she begged. “I’ll talk, I swear.”

“Denied!” Luna said. “We demand to see thy face and eyes.”

“I-I’m not a monster,” Lyra cried and lowered the blankets. She looked almost in great pain as she sat there, naked and exposed to all their stares. Twilight and Scootaloo gasped at the sight of her. “P-please don’t hate me! I’m not a monster, I swear!”

“That remains to be seen,” Luna said under her breath and narrowed her eyes. She didn’t seem the least bit surprised at what she saw. “If thou art not a monster as thou sayeth, thou hast nothing to fear from us. Look at us!”

Lyra lifted her head and tried to look at Luna, whose piercing eyes fixed hers, as if staring into her soul. Lyra squirmed under the lengthy gaze, unable to break the eye contact. Finally, after what seemed like an age of tense scrutiny, Luna relaxed her stance, though her face remained impassive. “And where is your fourth companion now?” She turned to look at Bonbon and Rainbow Dash in turn as she waited for an answer.

“She’s … We don’t know, Your Highness,” Bonbon whispered, her head bowed. “We haven’t seen her recently.”

Luna narrowed her eyes for a moment, then turned and walked among them as she directed her eyes at the stars in thought. “Miss Heartstrings must return to Equestria along with Miss Bonbon and Rainbow Dash. There you will be held in custody until it can be determined with certainty that you pose no threat. Return willingly and in a timely fashion, and it will be counted as a mark in your favor,” she declared. “We shall be as lenient as the matter allows us.”

“But what about—” Rainbow Dash broke in but was interrupted before she could continue.

Luna raised a hoof to still her. “We shall locate Corporal Lightning Dust, thy wayward team mate, and free her from the clutches of this evil that possesses her. Do not concern thyself with this. As commander-in-chief of Equestria’s armed forces, we relieve thee of thy duty and command thee at once to return.”

Rainbow Dash deflated on the spot, staring at the softly swaying ground.

Luna turned to Twilight, changing tone as she talked to the young princess. “Twilight Sparkle, I will require your assistance in hunting down the entity known as Humble Soul and her sister. They are both extremely dangerous individuals and must be approached with the utmost caution. We condemn Humble to the depths of Tartarus, indefinitely, for the safety and protection of Equestria and the world. Her sister shall be judged upon her capture.”

Twilight bowed her head. “You know you can count on me, Princess Luna.”

“No!” Bonbon found her voice and threw herself at the hooves of Luna and Twilight once more, begging at the two princesses. “Please, you can’t do this! Humble has already suffered, and she doesn’t mean any harm. She doesn’t deserve this!”

Luna looked down at Bonbon’s tearful eyes. “Accept this, Miss Bonbon; you cannot trust this foul apparition of a human. Her influence over thy mind and emotions is all too clear. She is ancient and powerful, touched by incurable madness and dark, corrupting magics. She can not be allowed to roam free.”

Bonbon sank down on her haunches, shoulders sagging. “Y-you can’t. I-I know there’s some good in her, if we just give her a chance.”

Luna turned away from Bonbon to regard Lyra, who was hugging herself and the blankets. “It will be as we command. Art thou going to come willingly, or must we make good on our threats? We possess the real bodies of thy companions, and we can return their minds to their rightful place at any time, shouldst thou choose not to cooperate.”

Lyra lowered her head and wiped her face against the blanket, her shoulders shaking. “I … I will return,” she whispered.

“Good,” Luna said and relaxed. “Then it is—”

“No way!” Rainbow Dash jumped in front of Luna and lowered herself between the princess and Lyra, meeting Luna’s piercing gaze with her own. “I’m not abandoning Lightning Dust! And I’m not leaving Lyra and Bonbon either. They’ve done nothing wrong!” She turned her head and looked pleadingly at Twilight. “Please, Twilight, you have to trust me! Luna is wrong about Lyra and … and about Humble too! She’s not evil, she’s just a really broken girl who needs our help.”

Twilight looked uncomfortable as she looked between Rainbow Dash and Luna.

Rainbow Dash turned to Scootaloo, who stood uncertainly by Luna’s side. “Kid …”

“Lieutenant Rainbow Dash,” Luna interrupted. Everyone stopped and looked at her. “As a Wonderbolt, thou art sworn to defend Equestria and all of its ponies. Thou art sworn to obey thy commanders at all times. We admire thy loyalty to thy friends, but thou hast a loyalty to Equestria as well. Do not forget this.”

“Yeah, I haven’t forgotten. But my friends will always come first,” Rainbow Dash said and stomped her hoof. “Sorry, princess, but I cannot do as you say.”

“And should Equestria fall, would thy friends be safe then?” Luna said. “Consider carefully.”

Fluttershy broke in, walking up between Luna and Rainbow Dash. She looked up at Luna like a beaten puppy. “There has to be another way, Princess,” she said quietly but seemed to be picking up courage as she went. “Remember how lonely you were. It was friendship and forgiveness, not Tartarus or the moon that saved you from your darkest self. I trust Rainbow Dash. I know she would never, ever betray her friends, or Equestria.”

Luna opened her mouth to speak but halted when Scootaloo looked up at her. Luna gave a nod, and Scootaloo bowed her head before looking up at them all. “Luna is right,” she said. “No pony knows dark magic and corruption like she does. If she says Humble is evil and dangerous, and that she’s using some dark dream magic on Miss Bonbon, then I have to believe her.”

Rainbow Dash gave her a hurt look. “You’re not gonna question her at all?”

Scootaloo did her best to meet Rainbow’s eyes. “I have to do what I know is right, Rainbow Dash. Luna is only trying to protect and help you because she sees the danger you are in. You’ve always been like an awesome big sister to me, and that’s why I don’t want to see you get hurt. I trust Luna, and I beg you to trust her too.” She stepped back next to Luna and bowed her head.

Rainbow Dash stared at her, unable to speak. Luna held up a hoof to stall any more comments and turned to look at Twilight. “And you, Twilight Sparkle?”

Twilight opened her mouth, then closed it, before finally opening it again to say, “Rainbow Dash is one of my dearest friends, and the pony who I love with all my heart.”

“And, what does your heart tell you?” Luna inquired.

Twilight turned and looked Rainbow Dash in the eyes for a long time. “I trust Rainbow Dash,” she said with certainty and looked at Luna. “If … she says she can help this … creature and her sister, then I believe her. I would not be where I am, and neither would you, if I did not believe in the power of friendship to overcome the darkness in our hearts, no matter how ancient or corrupt.”

Luna looked between them all, then turned away, looking out over the swamps and marshes from atop the dragon turtle. “What would you have us do? Let you all go on your way, knowing what evil you are dealing with and the danger you face? Even knowing what danger your wish might pose to everypony under my care and protection?”

“Yes,” Bonbon said. “Please, you have to trust us, Princess.”

“I see. It would seem that only my faithful student supports me,” Luna said, her back to all of them as she gazed towards the east. She didn’t seem to expect a response. There was a long silence before the princess turned around again. “So be it. I … have listened to your plea, and shall grant you this trust and let you continue on your way,” she declared.

Bonbon felt her heart leap. Was she hearing correctly?

Luna held up a hoof to stall any celebrations. “I hope for your sake that my trust is not misplaced,” she said and leveled her gaze at Lyra. “I demand all of you must wear these necklaces at all times, unless you wish to lose my trust. That includes Lyra and, if she should return, Humble as well. Twilight Sparkle and Scootaloo shall keep a watchful eye on you through the amulets, and report everything to me.”

Twilight and Scootaloo both bowed their heads at the order.

“You must find Lightning Dust, and you must determine the threat of Humble Soul and her sister. Be warned that if I should detect any signs that the humans are manipulating you, I will not hesitate to return you to your bodies immediately and call a hunt. I give you this one chance. I shall keep your bodies safe until I am certain this matter is dealt with. Is that all clear?” Luna looked directly at Bonbon and Rainbow Dash.

“Yes, sir!” Rainbow Dash said and saluted.

“Thank you, Princess,” Bonbon said and bowed, a sliver of relief in her voice.

Princess Luna nodded once and looked east. “Heed my advice and prepare well for the journey ahead. Pack all the food and water you can carry, while you can. You will see for yourself what evil the humans have wrought upon the world, and perhaps you shall change your minds before this is over. You will not be safe.”

“P-princess,” Lyra stammered. “Can you tell us what you know about the humans?”

Luna lowered her head and frowned. “It was little enough until you caught my attention,” she admitted and turned her head east once more with a distant gaze. “But I have seen what they left behind, and your journey has brought me many answers to many ancient questions. My sister and I assumed the last of them had disappeared thousands of years ago, before even our time. We were wrong.”

They all looked at each other uncertainly. Rainbow Dash stepped forward and looked at Luna. “What’s out there, beyond the swamps?”

“A land as cursed and tainted as the ones who once lived there. Pray that you do not have to venture far into that place to catch your quarry.” She looked up at the moon. “Our time here grows short, and we must leave soon. Make your farewells for now,” she said and walked to the edge of their ride, standing there like a dark silhouette against the sky.

Rainbow Dash immediately rushed over to talk to Twilight and Scootaloo. Bonbon watched them for a time, feeling a stab in her heart. She turned to find Fluttershy talking to Lyra. Bonbon walked up next to Lyra. “Are you okay?”

Fluttershy looked away. “I … I can leave if you don’t want me here,” she whispered.

Lyra shook her head from within the bundle of blankets. “I’m o-okay,” she stammered. “I want to hear about that other human you met,” she said to Fluttershy.

“Oh, um, I guess I could tell you,” Fluttershy said and sat down to begin the telling.

Bonbon looked up at where Luna was standing alone at the front of the turtle’s shell, staring into the distance. She left Lyra and Fluttershy alone and walked up next to the princess. “Princess Luna?”

“Yes, Miss Bonbon?” Luna kept her eyes on the east horizon.

“I know you don’t really trust us,” she said and looked up at the silent alicorn. “But thank you for giving us this chance anyway. It means so much to me.”

Luna gave a terse nod in response, not meeting Bonbon’s eyes.

“But, if you don’t mind, why don’t you trust us?” Bonbon tried to catch her eyes.

“I have seen her corrupted touch all over your dreams, and the dark obsession with which she clings to you.” Luna turned to meet her eyes. “And I have seen the results of her deeds, long ago. I cannot ignore either. I know you wish to believe there is some good in her that can be saved, but you can never trust her.”

“Forgive me, Princess, but how is that any different from you?”

Luna looked away again. “It is not. My sister banished me because it was the only way, since she could never bring herself to kill me. No matter how much she wanted to hope that I could be saved, she could never take that chance. What she did was right, and I know that she would have let Twilight Sparkle and her friends banish me a second time too, but as my luck would have it the Elements had different plans.” She glanced up at the moon. “Still …”

“What is it, Princess?” Bonbon took a step closer.

“I do question my sister’s wisdom, letting me return to the throne and trusting me even after what I became. I would not have, in her place, and I worry what other beings of evil and darkness her forgiveness may release upon the world.”

Bonbon blinked at the princess, staring at her in disbelief at what she thought she had just heard the alicorn say. “You … you’re saying she should banish you again, even though you’re no longer Nightmare Moon?”

Luna turned her head and looked down at Bonbon. “Yes, or even better, she ought to part me with my head and rid the world of my threat once and for all. Is that so surprising?”

“You’d just let her do that?” Bonbon couldn’t believe what Luna was saying. She wrinkled her nose and added, “That’s incredibly morbid, by the way.”

“Ha! What gave you that ludicrous idea?” Luna laughed darkly. “I’d fight with everything I had to never again be denied my freedom, or my life. But I’d know she was doing the right thing, the safe thing, for the good of Equestria. Knowing what is right, and having the courage to do what is right are very different challenges. I am a selfish coward, Miss Bonbon, like anyone else.”

“I … I don’t understand,” Bonbon said.

Luna reached out a hoof and touched her shoulder. “I am no longer Nightmare Moon, because I choose not to be like that. I could become that dark mare once again, right now, if I wished it. The Elements opened my eyes and calmed my hate and jealousy, showing me a different path, but they did not change who I am or what I did. I try hard to earn the trust and forgiveness that my sister has shown me in her foolish kindness, but I know better than any the dark and terrible power I possess. I have looked very, very deep into the darkness of my heart. Were I in my sister’s horseshoes, and were I truly wise, I would never again trust me.”

“That’s a very bleak outlook,” Bonbon said.

“The world needs its kind and forgiving fools, like my sister, too. I know that much now.” Luna lowered her head. “She sees the light in everything, while I see the dark and the shadows lurking in those same things. Sometimes I wonder if ponies have forgotten about the darkness in my absence and become too trusting and soft.”

“But isn’t there light and beauty and hope in the darkness too?” Bonbon protested.

“Of course,” Luna said with a hint of pride. “But unlike the sun which blocks out all the dark and makes you forget its presence, the moon and the stars serve to guide you through the dark and remind you to be ever watchful.” She looked Bonbon directly in the eyes. “There are some things you must always be wary of. Do not let your hope blind you to the truth of Humble.”

Luna turned around, leaving Bonbon standing there. “It is time for us to leave now. I hope for all our sakes that I am not proven correct in my fears. Watch yourselves, and prepare!” Her horn began to glow, and the four mirages began to fade away in the night.

Bonbon nearly jumped as Snapcase whispered close her ear. She hadn’t even noticed the giant turtle’s head sneaking up on her. “Do you think she noticed me?”

It took Bonbon several seconds to process the question. Then she burst out laughing. “I’m sure she was practically swooning.”

“Hmm …” the dragon turtle hummed as he returned to his slow and steady trudge through the swamps. “What a fascinating creature.”

* * *

Lyra reached out to take the necklace from Bonbon’s outstretched hoof. Her hand trembled as her fingertips lingered a hair’s breadth from the silver medallion. Seeing her hesitation, Bonbon scooched closer and reached around Lyra’s back, using her magic to help clasp the delicate chain around her neck. The moonlight glinted in the silver as Bonbon leaned back and let the necklace fall on Lyra’s chest.

Lyra said nothing. Her shoulders sagged as if the thin necklace was a prisoner’s chain.

“Are you alright?” Bonbon asked and immediately felt stupid for doing so. It was plain that Lyra was miserable. Bonbon quickly added, “Luna has given us all a rare chance, even though she didn’t have to do anything for us. If Luna herself is willing to do that, then there’s still hope, Lyra.”

“She’s just manipulating you,” Lyra muttered and pulled a blanket around herself. “She’s got your bodies as ransom to make sure you do exactly what she wants. She won’t ever trust me or see me as anything but a monster. She just wants you to get Humble and her sister in the net too.”

“You don’t know that’s true,” Bonbon said. “She just doesn’t know you or Humble yet.”

Lyra let out a long sigh. “I saw it in her eyes, the way she looked at me. The way all of them looked at me. It’s all the same.”

“What about Fluttershy? Don’t tell me she thinks of you as a monster.” Bonbon reached out to Lyra.

“Are you sure?” Lyra turned away. “She looks at all kinds of monsters the same way … the same way she looks at me. How can you tell the difference?” She didn’t give Bonbon a chance to respond before saying, “And now she’s in trouble because of me. And so are you and Rainbow Dash. It doesn’t matter how she looks at me.”

“Lyra …” Bonbon tried to lay a hoof on Lyra’s shoulder, but the human simply turned away.

Lyra sniffed and pulled out her lyre, gracing the strings with the tips of her fingers. Bonbon watched her in silence, unsure what to say. “Please leave me alone, Bonbon. I need to be alone for a bit.”

“If you need me, I’m always here for you.” Bonbon stood up and walked away from Lyra, looking back at the human hunched over her instrument.

“She’s kinda right, you know,” Rainbow Dash said as Bonbon sat down nearby.

“About what? Fluttershy?”

Rainbow Dash huffed. “No. Fluttershy could look at all the tentacled horrors in the deepest pits of Tartarus and just see a kennel full of lost puppies. When she actually thinks something is a monster, she doesn’t look at it at all, you know. I meant about Luna using us.”

Bonbon raised her shoulders in a half-shrug and looked along the curving shell of the turtle. “What choice do we have? At least she’s given us a chance.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash said and scratched her belly, giving the sky a longing gaze. “She’s got us by the tail end, alright.”

“The food still not working for you?” Bonbon gave the pegasus a concerned look. Rainbow Dash shook her head and grimaced as her stomach growled. Bonbon wished there was something she could do. She wasn’t sure how long a changeling could go without love, but Rainbow was already looking a little thin, even for a changeling. With no answers on the horizon, she turned back to stare into the night while listening to Lyra’s tune.

She snuck another glance at Rainbow. “By the way, I just wanted to say … Thanks for believing in me, and for believing in Humble.” Rainbow Dash looked up at her. Bonbon smiled. “I know what you thought of her at first, and you could have just saved yourself, but you didn’t.”

Rainbow Dash huffed. “I’d never leave you and Lyra hanging,” she said. Her ears fell, and she turned her gaze away from Bonbon. “Besides, you kinda yelled at me.”

Bonbon smiled.

“And you were right,” Rainbow Dash quickly added. “I was being a total jerk, I guess.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Bonbon said and laid a hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder.

“Yeah yeah,” Rainbow said and rolled her eyes. “Just don’t … don’t tell anypony. I still need to think of my reputation, you know.”

“Of course.” Bonbon chuckled and looked back into the night around them. Slowly her smile faded, replaced by worry. “I wonder where she’s at. I hope she isn’t afraid to return.”

Rainbow Dash looked around at the darkness. “If she wants to find her sister, she’ll be going the same way we are anyway.” They sat together as the night grew deeper and Lyra’s music began to quiet. Nothing but the wind stirred in the shadows around them.

* * *

Mountains were creeping up on their left, draped in the white capes of the north. To the south and east the land fell gradually into hills of glorious green cut through by deep ravines and winding streams of fresh blue. After the endless dreary wasteland of the marshes and swamps, they had all been thrilled by the change in landscape and got off their ride to run free. Rainbow Dash had flown ahead to scout out the land, recalling Luna’s warnings, while Lyra and Bonbon galloped through the grass ahead of the dragon turtle, the sun baking their backs.

It warmed Bonbon’s heart as well to see Lyra running free, her mood lifted by the sun and grass despite her worries. Even though it was temporary and the worries would return, a sort of inherent joy of life still resided within Lyra and wouldn’t let go even now. If Bonbon had ever worried that Lyra’s eternal cheer and good nature was merely a facade adopted to fit in among ponies, she had since come to learn different. Unfortunately, Bonbon wasn’t sure Lyra was as convinced of this as Bonbon was. The truth was, if anypony saw Lyra as a monster, it was probably Lyra herself more than anypony else.

Bonbon leapt over a small stream and slowly came to a stop in the soft grass. She turned her head upwards. She could see the tiny black dot of Rainbow Dash far, far above them, circling the endless sky. It barely occurred to Bonbon that she could actually join her up there, if she wanted. She didn’t; she had become quite used to the emotions emanating from Lyra and Humble, to the point that she almost didn’t pay them any attention now, and she had a decent feel for her new magic, but flight still felt unfamiliar and weird. Magic and emotions she could deal with, as long as she had the solid ground beneath her hooves.

Lyra called to her from atop a hill, breaking her out of her contemplations. Bonbon looked up at the waving unicorn before setting into a gallop once more. “What’s up?” she asked as she reached the top and came to a slow halt beside Lyra. “Is something wrong?”

“There’s something out there,” Lyra said and pointed towards the east horizon. Her tone was uncertain.

Bonbon looked in the direction Lyra was pointing and squinted her eyes. Green hills and sparse forests dominated her view. She let her eyes wander over the hills and among the trees for a minute or two. “What am I looking for?”

“I don’t know,” Lyra said, her eyes drifting the horizon as well. “It comes and goes,” she continued, then turned Bonbon’s head a little towards the south. “There! All the way on the other side of that narrow stretch of forest right ahead.”

Bonbon blinked and squinted again, trying to stop her eyes from swimming. She found the stretch of trees Lyra was pointing at and let her gaze drift further still, to the green and yellow fields beyond. The land seemed to wave and flicker, like heat and flames without smoke. “What the …” Bonbon sat down and rubbed her eyes, blinking a few times before looking again.

“It’s like the fields are aflame,” Lyra said beside her. “But it’s not like an actual forest fire, ‘cause I don’t see any smoke, and it wasn’t there a moment ago.”

The strange flickering light snaked its way across the hills in the distance. Bonbon watched it move, and the untouched land of green grass behind it. “It doesn’t even burn the grass.”

“And there it goes again,” Lyra said as the lights vanished. “See?”

Bonbon scratched her head and looked around. She turned her gaze up to look for Rainbow Dash and found the tiny black dot hovering above. Waving wildly, she didn’t seem to draw any attention from the flier. “I think she’s seen it too,” Bonbon said as she gave up.

Lyra charged her horn and sent a small dart of magical energy into the sky. Bonbon shielded her eyes with a hoof as she followed the streak of light until it faded together with the rest of the bright blue sky. A moment later, the dark spot jerked suddenly. Lyra gave a startled eep and jumped back as a green flash struck the ground at her hooves, leaving a scorched mark on the ground. Bonbon chuckled. “She’s been practicing. At least now her magic lightning bolts don’t explode in her face.”

They watched as Rainbow Dash descended. “Damn, I missed. So I guess you’ve seen it too, huh?” she said as she planted her hooves in the grass and folded her wings.

“Could you see what it was?” Lyra asked, ignoring the scorch mark.

Rainbow Dash shook her head and turned around, staring out at the rolling hills and forests. “There’s something weird going on out there,” she said, her voice betraying a tinge of unease. “And I don’t mean weird as in funny or Pinkie Pie, I mean it’s giving me the heebie-jeebies.”

“From what Luna said, it sounded like the lands beyond the marshes aren’t a nice place,” Bonbon said. “I guess she may have been right, even though it’s been real nice so far.”

“Ya think?” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and pointed a hoof at the sky. “You should see it from up there. Whole horizon is blazing with freaky magic.”

“What should we do?” Lyra looked at them both.

Bonbon watched the horizon. “We do as Luna suggested: prepare for a long ride into the unknown, while we have the chance. Food, water, everything we might need. There’s plenty of fresh food and water here. If we pack it well we could have enough for weeks of travel.”

“Preparing. That’s your answer to everything,” Rainbow Dash teased.

“Yes, yes it is!” Bonbon said proudly. She poked Rainbow Dash in the chest with a hoof. “And you know why? Because no pony else ever thinks to do it!” She turned around and trotted down the hill. “Come on. We have food to gather.”

* * *

They were following a wide river upstream as the sun was setting behind them. Snapcase was trudging along some distance away, keeping a leisurely pace as always. Bonbon half suspected the massive dragon turtle could move much faster than he let on; perhaps he simply enjoyed strolling along in no rush while soaking up the occasional look of frustration from Rainbow Dash.

For the moment, Rainbow Dash was not complaining. Starvation and a day of flying high had left her dragging her hooves through the cool, refreshing water of the river. The small waves and currents splashed against her legs. Bonbon stopped to dip her hooves as well and took a drink while she rested. The water eased the mild ache from having galloped all day. She mused about how, only weeks ago, she would barely have been able to do the Running of the Leaves.

Lyra called from up ahead, interrupting her break. Bonbon stepped out of the water and trotted to catch up to her. She stopped and looked up, seeing the waterfall ahead of them. Trees grew all around the lake at the base of the fall, creating a verdant circle of green and blue.

“I say we set up camp over there,” Lyra said. Bonbon nodded and waited for Rainbow Dash to catch up—a rare experience—before following Lyra.

Streams of water trickled among ancient stone steps overgrown with moss, winding their way up the side of the cliffs among trees and crumbling walls. Above them, great cascades of water fell from an open cave mouth, splashing down the cliffside to feed the lake. Bonbon hovered above a collapsed arch of stone and gazed down into the valley far below. She could see Snapcase floating on the surface of the lake, chewing on the rich crystal deposits at the foot of the waterfall.

Lyra walked with measured steps among the ruins, careful where she put each hoof on the wet and treacherous steps. Rainbow Dash was ahead of them both once more, inspecting the cave mouth higher up the cliff. Lyra stopped within what must have been a room once, but now was overgrown with grass and shaded by trees. “These ruins look really old,” she commented as she dropped her bags in the middle of the open space.

Bonbon landed in the soft grass and looked around at the walls disintegrated by age and weather. “Some of these look like they were sculpted out of the cliff itself by magic. Probably the work of unicorns. They built all those grand cities and castles on cliffs and mountains in the old days.”

“The ones who went on to help found Equestria were known for that style, but other tribes of unicorns have used different styles.” Lyra opened her packs and began rummaging around.

Bonbon studied the walls for a little longer before joining Lyra to help set up their camp. “You don’t think this is from the time before Equestria was founded?”

“I think this might be older, or at least a different tribe,” Lyra said. “The founding tribes of Equestria came from the very distant north, where they lived before the Windigo turned that land into an unlivable waste of ice and snow. The humans came from the east long before even that, and they shared their land with all three types of ponies. Most likely these ruins were made by some of these early pony tribes who survived the war with the humans. The ones who didn’t move north but stayed here.”

“Or by the humans themselves.”

Lyra looked up at Bonbon, then around at the ruins. “I don’t think we’ve come that far east yet.” She didn’t sound entirely convinced. “We’d be able to see the floating mountain from the legends, at the very least, if this was the former land of the humans.”

“Hey, you two!” They looked up to find Rainbow Dash waving at them from the cave mouth. “Get your flanks up here! I think I’ve found something,” she yelled down at them before disappearing into the mouth of the cave.

Bonbon looked at Lyra and shrugged, then wrapped her legs around Lyra’s body and lifted off. The extra weight made her flight even slower and more clumsy than it already was, but thankfully she didn’t have to carry Lyra very far. The faint sound of Rainbow’s hoofsteps echoed out at them as she landed just inside the cave and let go of Lyra.

The cave was damp and misty, and the floor littered with rocks and cracks where the water flowed through before falling off the edge and into the lake below. Bonbon followed Lyra deeper into the mist, looking around for a sign of Rainbow Dash. They found her hovering within a large cavern where the water pooled together from above. Hoof-painted images and carvings decorated the stone of the cave, badly faded by time and mist.

Bonbon paused and looked around at the walls and vague images. Most of them she could not make head nor tail of. Rainbow Dash pointed a hoof at a place on the wall and turned her head to look at them. “This here thing …”

“A human.” Lyra stepped up beside Rainbow Dash, who moved away to give her more room. Lyra looked at the faded human figure on the wall, then at the lines and drawings around it. “But it’s upside down … no, wait, it’s … falling, don’t you think?”

“What’s that mean?” Rainbow scratched her head.

Bonbon left Lyra to study the drawings and went around the cave herself. She stopped at the edge of a small pool of still water. Her face stared back at her with its empty blue insect eyes. Bonbon shivered at the visual reminder of her change. Carvings in the floor lining the edge of the pool had faded like everything else with age. Bonbon leaned down to get a better look. “I … think this is writing,” she said. “Someone’s written something around this pool.”

Lyra and Rainbow Dash joined her around the pool, gazing down at the markings circling the clear water. Lyra’s human face looked back up at the minty unicorn and her friends within the still pond. Lyra knelt down, the better to study the letters. “This is badly worn,” she said. “But I think I can make out some of it.”

“So? What’s it say?” Rainbow Dash leaned over impatiently to hear.

“True faces turned from view …” Lyra read slowly, concentrating as she parsed each word into meaningful sentences, filling in the blanks where she could. “Revealed in water’s blue. If forked tongue will lie, tell it snakes can fly.”

Bonbon furrowed her brow as she tried to make sense of the rhyming message. Rainbow Dash scratched her head. “So … what’s it mean?”

Lyra looked around the cave, then back at the pool, finally back at the cave mouth where the waterfall fell into the valley below. “It means … they threw them off the cliff. Anypony suspected of being human, they brought up here and made them look in this pool.”

“No matter their form, still water shows the other face,” Bonbon recalled. “At day the water shows a human, and at night a pony. Just like it’s showing your human face right now, even though we see you as a pony. So if the water showed that they were human, they would be told to ‘fly’?”

Lyra gave a small nod and walked up to the edge of the cliff, cautiously gazing down at the hazy waters and cliffs below. Bonbon and Rainbow Dash followed and stood beside her, gazing down. “It’s a long drop,” Bonbon said and sank a lump in her throat. “I wonder how many ended their lives at the end of that plunge.”

* * *

Clouds drifted across the face of the moon, darkening the lake below Bonbon. Somewhere, a fish snapped at the surface, the brief pop echoing in the stillness of the night. Bonbon shivered despite the blanket she had wrapped herself in and glanced at the shadows lurking around her. Finding nothing, her eyes soon drifted back to the lake. Imaginary bones seemed to shine up at her from the deep, their voices rattling in her ear, too faint to hear but for a soft murmur.

Bonbon pulled the blanket tighter around herself and forcefully turned her attention away from the edge. The only ghost here, she assured herself, was the faintly glowing image of Scootaloo by the fire. Rainbow Dash sat opposite the filly by the warming flames, staring listlessly at a bowl of stew as she said something Bonbon didn’t catch. Bonbon turned her ears to what they were saying, deciding it was better than staring at the cold lake with its whispering bones.

Scootaloo looked at the flames licking the wood. “No, of course not. Sometimes she reacts too harshly, like last night. It’s not easy for her to be forgiving like her sister.” She looked back up at Rainbow Dash. “But that’s why she tries so hard to listen, and why she needs friends she can trust, and who trusts her.”

Rainbow Dash gulped down her stew as if it was a chore to be done as quickly as possible. She wiped her muzzle with a hoof as Scootaloo continued.

“You’re the one who taught me about loyalty, about giving yourself one hundred percent. All my friends and family know there are things that I can’t tell even them now, and that I may have to put the princess before them. I think they understand, and I hope they are proud of me, even if it’s kinda hard to think about.”

“Hey, you know I’ll always be proud of you, kid!” Rainbow Dash reached across to muss up the filly’s mane. It didn’t quite work, since Scootaloo was but a reflection of moonlight, but the gesture brought a smile out of her anyway. “I just …” Rainbow withdrew her hoof. “I just hope she’ll never betray your trust.”

Scootaloo smiled and sidled closer to Rainbow Dash. “Luna knows that, sometimes, she needs protection from herself most of all. She is her own greatest fear and most dangerous foe. That’s why she chose every one of her personal guards herself and trains us the way she does. We become her closest friends.” Scootaloo looked up at the moon peeking through the clouds. Rain was starting to fall, but the heavy drops didn’t touch the filly. “I trust her like she trusts me, because I know she tries harder than anypony else I know to be a good leader and protector of her ponies.”

“I guess I can see that,” Rainbow Dash said as she instinctively tried to fluff her feathered wings against the rain and cold wind. The result was a brief buzz instead, and a frustrated grunt as it only served to spray the rain all over. “I really miss my old wings and coat.”

“Can’t you just turn into your old self?” Scootaloo studied her curiously. “I mean, at least you could look like yourself, but I bet it would help with the cold too.”

Rainbow Dash grumbled and glanced up as her horn sputtered a few flickers of green flame. “Haven’t exactly figured out this magic mojo yet,” she said and poked her horn.

“Oh.” Scootaloo tilted her head and tapped her cheek. “I bet Twilight could teach you. She knows more about magic than anypony, except maybe Celestia and Luna, and she taught Sweetie Belle her first magic too. If she could teach Sweetie Belle, you should be no challenge.” She grinned. “Even if you are a bug-ugly insect monster.”

“That wasn’t very nice ...” Rainbow Dash grinned and poked the ghostly filly in the chest “… to Sweetie.”

Scootaloo winced and looked down at her hooves. “You’re right … my big, stupid mouth. I shouldn’t be saying stuff like that.” She beat her wings a few times. Bonbon remembered all the times the filly had been in her shop, muttering about chicken jokes. Scootaloo lifted her gaze back up at Rainbow Dash. “She wasn’t actually that slow to learn magic, and Twilight says she’s got amazing finesse. Like, way better than most. Her magic’s just not very strong.”

“She still lookin’ for her cutie mark?” Rainbow Dash poked the fire a bit before throwing another piece of wood into the flames.

“Oh, right, I haven’t told you yet?” Scootaloo shot up straight with a grin. “Oh mare, you’re never gonna guess what it is.”

Rainbow Dash looked at the filly and raised an eyebrow. “It’s totally gonna be something to do with singing. We’ve all known for years what hers was gonna be. You and AB on the other hoof …”

Scootaloo snickered, covering it with a pair of hooves. “Yeah, she’s on her first tour right now, actually. Left just the other day.”

Rainbow Dash nodded and rubbed her hooves together for warmth, sporting a satisfied grin. “Told ya so.”

“With DJ PON-3.”

“Really?” Rainbow’s ears perked up, and she stopped rubbing her hooves. “Hey, that’s—”

“As her new Sound Technician.” Scootaloo’s grin threatened to split her head in two.

“Bluh?” Rainbow Dash’s words all got stuck in her mouth at the same time.

Scootaloo could barely keep herself upright. “Yeah,” she laughed and pointed at Rainbow’s face. “Yeah, that’s what all our faces looked like too.” She laughed for a couple more minutes before composing herself at last. “Her cutie mark’s a microphone and a wire forming a heart. She’s crazy awesome at all that magitech stuff.”

Rainbow Dash stroked the back of what would have been her mane in her old form as she took in the news. “Wow, uh … how did that happen?”

“Remember our first talent show back in school?” Rainbow Dash winched and covered her ears at the memory. Scootaloo chuckled. “Yeah, well, Sweetie Belle was the one who rigged up all the lights and sound and fog machine and stuff. It was totally awesome. Of course … well, everything else was pretty crap, so no one ever noticed that all the tech worked like a charm.”

“You don’t say.”

“I guess nopony ever thought of it. Anyway, DJ PON-3 was in town recently for a gig, and Rarity had backstage passes for herself and Sweetie Belle. Just as the show was about to start, the whole sound system broke down for some reason. Vinyl was having a breakdown of her own, I hear. I have no clue what Sweetie did, but she got right in there among all the cables and stuff with her horn alit. A few moments later, the sound blasted out again and Sweetie emerged with the biggest grin—and her cutie mark.”

“Wicked.” Rainbow Dash stretched herself and shook off the rain before laying down on her side by the fire. “So what now for the Cutie Mark Crusaders?”

Scootaloo looked at the rain. “I don’t know. It’s still kinda weird, with me in Canterlot almost all the time and Sweetie out on tours, but I guess we’ll always be friends.” She smiled. “And we’ll always find something else to get together for.”

Bonbon lay her head on her hooves and looked out from under the tent where she had taken cover from the rain. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo continued their conversation as the rain fell around them in the ruins of the ancient city. The wind cried softly among the stones and rocks. Blowing over the waters below, it seemed to pick up the voices of the dead and carry them up to where she lay. Bonbon shut her eyes and pulled the blanket over her head.

Somewhere in the ruins, Lyra picked up her lyre and joined its tunes to their song.

XVIII. Trix of the Light

Author's Note

Discord Proudly Presents
Dispersity
A Brief Recaper Through Events You've Surely Forgotten Because the Author has been a Great Big Lazy Bum for the Past Two Years

Meet our hapless heroine, Bonbon “Not-a-Secret-Agent” von Sweetie Drops, and her friend, Lyra McLiarson. Bonbon knows—because her middle name is surely not Clueless—that Lyra is never straight with her, and that her stories are all lies and excuses to not get kissy-wissy with Bonbon in the haystacks. Bonbon cannot imagine how Lyra could resist her many winning qualities.

On Hearth's Warming Eve, during a meteor shower, Bonbon goes for a walk and hears a melody she swears is Lyra playing the ~~harp~~ ~~lyre~~ four-stringer, but Lyra said she would be in Canterlot with her family. Bonbon calls out and spooks the player, who flees just as a meteor crashes into Carousel Boutique. Pretty Princess Twilight Sparkle arrives to shoo everypony away and secure the area from curious eyes.

Bonbon learns that everypony had the same dream that night, right before the crash, and Princess Twilight and Princess Luna are investigating what fell from the skies.

Some time later, Bonbon discovers that Lyra is leaving town with famous beefcake and royal love toy Rainbow Crash (*Property of HRH Twilight Sparkle*). Lyra claims she hired Rainbow to be her guide, but Bonbon knows better! Not one to accept a “get lost” to her face, Bonbon swears to stalk them to the ends of the earth if she has to.

They take the train to Manehattan where they run into notorious ursa murderer and artifact abuser, Trixie la Grande et Puissante, on the run from the long hoof of the law. After destroying a powerful artifact of unknown provenance and causing magical mayhem in the city, Trixie leaves Rainbow in the dust and escapes without a trace.

Ignoring the dangerous fugitive, Bonbon, Lyra, and Rainbow venture into the cold and dangerous mountains north of Manehattan. What are they going there for? Bonbon has no clue.

Because obviously none of them have seen the movie, they decide to take a shortcut through the mines of ~~Moria~~ sorry, Micadrift, where to absolutely no one's surprise ever they are chased out by something dark and spooky.

Lyra gives them the slip in all the confusion and disappears into the night. Bonbon goes after her despite Rainbow's warnings not to. Bonbon spots Lyra by a lake but is attacked by a strange creature who knocks her out cold. In the morning, Lyra won't speak with her.

They later make it to the place where the major part of the meteor crashed after it broke up in the atmosphere. The site has already been searched by the Wonderbolts, but Lyra wanted to look around anyway, because reasons. They meet three griffons there: Abigail, Maurice of Mice, and Ethel the Red who are out hunting mythical beasts for gold and glory.

In the morning Lyra tells Bonbon to beat it back to Ponyville. Lyra and Rainbow go on alone as Abigail escorts Bonbon back through the mountains. There, Bonbon discovers that the thing from the mine is following them and brewing up a nasty storm. She chases back after them, just in time to save Lyra …

… and discover that Lyra is not a pony at all.

Lyra finally reveals all: that she is a human, and the light of the moon reveals her true form. She tells the story of Humble Soul, a human princess once upon a long time ago, who betrayed her sweet sister, Melodious, and started a war between pony tribes using magic stolen from the changelings. The changeling queen, disguised as an old vizier, cursed Humble and all her relatives so they would never again be trusted by either ponies or humans.

Lyra, Bonbon, and Rainbow continue their journey east. In a small village, they anger the local griffons and have to flee further north. There they meet a zebra, because sure, why not. The zebra warns them that something is following them, then sends them off with a ship across the sea.

In the griffon city of Mais, across the sea, they find a wanted poster for one of Rainbow's fellow Blunderbolts, Lightning Dust. This seems to upset her much. Later that night, all the mice and rats of Mais go crazy and flood the city. Bonbon and Rainbow flee into the underground ruins of the city, trying to find Lyra. Instead, Bonbon finds another human in the dark whom she attempts to comfort thinking it is Lyra.

Lyra also finds the old skull of another human in the ruins.

They leave Mais the next day. Bonbon becomes convinced that the human in the ruins, and the thing following them, is Humble Soul, the human princess who has lived all this time in the dark and cold loneliness beneath the mountains.

After some persuading, Rainbow tells them why she's really there: to find her friend Lightning Dust, who might have gotten possessed by the spirit of Humble's sister, Melodious, while investigating the crash site in the mountains. Rainbow has sworn to find her and free her from her otherworldly possession.

Unexpectedly, they run into Lightning Dust, who convinces Rainbow to head back home with her. What they don't know is that she's really a changeling, plotting to suck out all their love. That night, Lyra is kidnapped and replaced by another changeling, who leads Bonbon into a trap.

Turns out the daughter of the changeling queen who long ago cursed the humans is now queen herself, and she has sworn to hunt the last humans. She uses Bonbon as bait to capture Humble. Her daughter, Chrysalis, offers to help Bonbon and Rainbow. Using a magical poison, she switches their bodies with two changelings and send them to assassinate her mother, the queen.

After a lot of bumbling around, Bonbon and Rainbow manage to kill the queen. Newly crowned, Queen Chrysalis returns Lyra and Humble to them but refuses to return them to their own bodies as she now believes she has the perfect way to infiltrate Equestria.

Without any other choice, they continue their journey. Bonbon and Rainbow try to get used to their new bodies, with varying levels of success, as Lyra struggles with whether to believe them. Humble tags along during the nights.

They soon meet the giant dragon turtle Snapcase, who has a message to them from Fluttershy back in Equestria. With his help communicating with the animals, they receive a gift of magic necklaces from Princess Luna, which allows the princesses to speak with them.

Luna tells them that she has captured the changelings who had stolen their bodies and tried to infiltrate Equestria. Apparently someone warned Equestria about the changelings, though none of them know who it could have been.

Luna threatens to return them to their rightful bodies and thus bring them back to Equestria while she hunts down the three humans, who she considers a likely threat to Equestria. After some persuasion, Luna agrees to give them a chance after all.

Relieved, they continue their journey into the unknown lands of the far east. Luna has warned them that this land is cursed, and in the distance they see spooky phantom flames burning across the lands. They set camp in an old ruin by a lake. There, in a cave overlooking the lake, they find ancient paintings of ponies throwing humans off the cliffs to fall to their watery graves below.

We now return to our tale, as Bonbon is about to lay her head down and fall asleep in the old ruins …

XVIII. Trix of the Light

“!ylf nac ti ynop lleT”

Bonbon was aware that she was dreaming. Also falling, in slow-motion … upwards.

The gloomy cliff grew larger above her, haloed by black skies threatening to break and shower her in cold rain. Hazy figures danced and flickered with frenetic movements in the mouth of the cave, shouting and droning words she could barely hear much less comprehend. Their long shadow legs seemed to reach out of the cave's mouth to catch her as she fell back towards them.

Time came to a halt for the briefest of moments as their cold hands made contact with her skin, their eyes gleaming down at her like pools of black.

“Tell pony it can fly!”

The last word boomed across the sky as lightning flashed and time lurched forward with a screech and a scream.

Bonbon fell, thrown off the cliff without wings or hope of swooping salvation. Her limbs flailed wildly in the air as her scream trailed her all the way down. Her flank hit the water, breaking the surface with a smack that rang in the night. A mere second later every nerve in her left side took over screaming for her as water flooded her lungs.

With one side paralyzed, Bonbon fought desperately to move her remaining two limbs as the faint flickering light of the surface grew farther and farther away. The darkness at the bottom of the lake closed in around her, opening up to swallow her like a great sea monster even as she struggled to pull herself free. She felt hands grab her tail and limbs, clammy fingers crawling around her back and shoulders as they pulled her down.

She could only stare at the disappearing light, mouth gaping for air that would never reach her. The hands kept pulling her down for what seemed like hours of slow, inescapable descent. The surface had long since vanished beyond sight, leaving her drowning in total darkness, yet still she sank ever deeper.

Bonbon slowly resigned herself to her fate, endlessly slipping deeper into dark despair. Maybe in a thousand years, she thought, some archaeologist would pull her mummified remains from the bottom of the lake, mouth still gaping for air that could no longer offer any hope of revival, like a fish on land frozen in that final, gasping moment.

A pair of arms wrapped around her body with a possessiveness she had not expected from the things in the dark, and she felt her movement once again straining against the hands pulling her down. Ever so slowly their grips slipped off her body and legs. She could feel their rage behind her as she began to rise up through the darkness once more.

“We have thee,” a voice whispered softly in her ear, and Bonbon could feel another's body close to hers, its heart beating along with hers.

“Humble?” she thought.

“Shh,” the princess hushed, and the darkness that wrapped around them like a blanket was neither cold nor empty but left her feeling safe, at home in its embrace. “Thou art safe. We won't let anything happen to thee.”

The water, the pain, the grasping hands and the loneliness floated away and left only her and Humble. Bonbon could feel the tension in the girl's chest, and when she looked up to find her eyes, she knew that something was wrong. “Humble?”

“Shh,” the princess insisted, pressing her face close to Bonbon's, her small nose pressing against Bonbon's muzzle as she closed her eyes. “They won't take thee,” she whispered. There was a promise in her voice, and a farewell, as the princess kissed her.

Murky tendrils encroached on them, slowly breaking apart their sanctuary and their kiss. Bonbon tried to hold on to Humble, but already felt the girl slipping from her hooves. “No!” She tightened her grip, but whatever was pulling her away was far too strong.

Humble's eyes never left Bonbon's, looking into hers as she slowly slipped away. “Let go,” she urged. “We're sending thee where they won't find thee again.”

Bonbon grabbed Humble's arm tightly.

“Let go,” Humble whispered, pleading.

Bonbon's hooves slipped on the girl's soft skin. There was a moment when the tip of Humble's fingers and Bonbon's hoof were the only contact between them, meeting mid-way between their eyes. Then momentum caught up, and Bonbon felt herself thrown back as the darkness closed in around her like a protective shell that shot through the water like a bullet.

Gradually she slowed down. Bonbon slumped back in her dark cocoon, letting the waves outside gently roll her back and forth. The sickness from the boat returned wave by wave, hour by hour, but the thought of Humble and the others was all that could fill her mind.

Helpless to do anything, she curled up and closed her eyes to the dark. Maybe they had escaped and would come find her. Comforted by that thought, Bonbon waited …

* * *

She returned to awareness at the feeling of stones poking her in the ribs and water lapping at her hooves. She lifted her head and looked around the barren stretch of beach where the sea had washed her ashore. Snow and ice covered the sand and rocks beyond the reach of the water, and not far away she could make out the outlines of trees and houses. In the background, the mountains rose towards the sky like rows of broken teeth.

Bonbon rose on her shaky hooves, trying to get a better sense of where she was. There were no lights or signs of life among the houses she could see, but it was still her best hope of finding help. She shivered and decided to keep warm by moving, trotting as quickly as she could manage towards the nearest houses.

She recognized the village before she made it past the first broken fencepost. This was where they had stopped before taking ship across the sea, where Rainbow Dash had enraged the local griffons and forced them to flee town. Bonbon hoped tempers had cooled since then.

Not a face or light met her in the windows of the village as she wandered through the streets. Not a sound but the wind in the trees and the crunch of her hooves in the snow. She called out, but the loneliness of her voice in this forsaken place frightened her almost as much as the silence. She shivered and continued silently through the village.

She passed by the inn where they had first met the griffons, but the tables inside were empty and the windows dark. She tried the door, but it did not open for her. Leaving the empty inn, Bonbon continued down the street, eyes and ears open for any signs of life, when she thought she saw a light coming from the west.

Bonbon cautiously followed, approaching the docks where the masts of ships poked above the rooftops of nearby houses. She followed the walls of the houses closely, sneaking through gardens and peeking around corners, but the streets and homes remained empty wherever she looked.

She poked her head around the last corner and gazed along the docks where ships lay like giants washed up by the waves, waiting for someone to push them back out. Bonbon's eyes wandered from ship to ship, lingering on the shadows as if they might take form and become someone—anyone, pony or griffon. But nothing stirred on the docks, and whatever light she thought she had seen was gone if it had ever been anything more than her imagination in the first place.

Puzzled, she stepped out from behind the house and walked down the last stretch of road until she reached the piers and ships. The sea was oddly still, and the only sound was the low, rhythmic clapping of ropes against the wooden masts in the wind. Bonbon turned her head to both sides, gazing along the docks and shore, but saw nothing.

She turned back towards the village when a voice whispered in her ear, “You should not have come back.” Bonbon spun around and fell back on her haunches as a large griffon shoved her. Others swiftly gathered behind him. She could not tell where he or every other griffon had come from. They closed in around her as she scrambled backwards, holding up torches that cast long shadows among them.

Bonbon managed to get back on her hooves as she backed away, looking for any way to escape.

“You're not getting away this time,” the big griffon screeched and tried to grab her. She jumped back and spun around, trying to throw them off as she slipped around a griffon and galloped down the street the way she came. She didn't look behind her, but she could hear them follow right on her heels.

Trying to find some way she could throw them off or lose them, she turned a corner. The sound of griffons behind her faded until it was just the sound of the wind and her hooves against the street. She slowed down and looked around, trying to steady her heart. The town was silent once more, but she did not trust the silence. She had to get out of there as quickly as possible before its mood shifted once more.

She hurried down another street, trotting at a fast pace while she scanned her surroundings for signs of griffons or angry shadows. She had not gone more than a few blocks before she heard the sound of wings and running. Looking over her shoulder, she turned to run again.

“There she is!” A griffon hovering above the houses shouted and pointed a claw. All around, Bonbon heard the griffons moving towards her and saw their torches flicker in the night among the houses. Her heart was stuck in her throat as she tried to outrun them, feeling the lick of their torches on her heels and the wind of their wings on her back.

“Over here!” she heard a voice and instinctively skidded around a corner as she followed its direction, knowing not why, except that she had no better option than to trust it.

“This way!” Again she turned, feeling the mob slowly fall behind her as she ran as fast as her legs would carry her through the streets, following the voice. Once or twice she thought she saw a shadow flitting down a street in front of her, but it was gone before she could focus or catch up with it, and she was never sure she had seen it at all.

“Keep running, don't stop,” she heard as she scrambled to get her hind legs with her over a low fence and left the streets and the houses behind her. Fighting her way through the snow, she did not stop, not even as the village began to fade behind her and the snow grew deeper in front of her.

She was alone once more, trudging through snow reaching midway up her flanks. Around her nothing but snow and lonely mountains. Exhausted, she slowed down and finally came to a stop, staring out over the white wastes.

Nothing but empty.

* * *

Bonbon had no idea how long she had been trudging through the snow, where she was, or even what direction she was going. Above her the clouds revealed as little of her whereabouts or destination as the white crests and hills around her. Without the sun or stars, or some landmark to guide her way, she was well and truly lost. Nevertheless she kept on going.

She almost did not see the figure coming towards her in the distance. For a time her mind simply filed it away as her own reflection in the ice and snow, but after a few minutes it became clear to her that somepony—or something—was walking towards her.

Unsure whether to run, hide, or approach them for help, she continued walking uncertainly, her eyes following the approaching apparition as it took shape. When it got closer, black and white stripes became clear against the surrounding snow. Bonbon stopped entirely and stared.

The zebra turned her head and looked at Bonbon as she passed her. “Beware what follows, beware,” she warned in her young, foreign voice but did not slow down. “For in this game thou art the hare, whose hunter, sharp and debonair, lurks and schemes and plays unfair, beware.” She turned her head back around and continued walking past Bonbon through the densely falling snow.

Bonbon stared at the back of the zebra, then quickly scrambled back on her hooves to follow. “What do you mean?” she asked, trying to shake off the cold in her bones. Memories were coming back as she walked. “I know about Humble. That's what you were warning us about, wasn't it? Before we set sail for the griffon lands, you warned us that something was following us. That was her, wasn't it?”

The zebra raised her head and uttered a strange, ululating drone deep in her throat which echoed over the empty plains of snow and ice.

“I don't understand,” Bonbon said, trying to keep up. She was feeling frustration grow with each step and each cryptic warning.

To her surprise, the zebra stopped and turned, looking at directly into her eyes. “What nightmare, with might and flair, doth scare the bright hare?” She laid the carved head of her walking stick on Bonbon's shoulder and intoned once more her warning, “What follows is not a swallow, beware.”

Bonbon looked at the staff, carved with the images of an eagle holding a tiny hare in its claws like a cage. She looked back up at the zebra, trying to process the warning. As she was trying to find her words, the wind picked up around her, and the zebra grew taller and darker. Bonbon took a step back and fell on her haunches, staring up at the frightful figure before her.

The visage of Princess Luna filled the dream. “Your dreams are growing more dark and labyrinthine with each passing night,” she said, frowning. “Soon, even I may not be able to reach you in your deepest sleep. Should that happen, I may have no choice but to bring you back.”

“Princess, I …” Bonbon tried to speak, but Luna cut her off.

“You must go. Tarry not, for time is short,” she said and raised the zebra's wooden staff, bringing it down upon the icy ground with a crack that echoed in the vast emptiness between distant mountains. Bonbon scrambled to her legs as the ground shook and began to crack apart.

“Princess!” she cried out as the ice beneath her hooves fell apart, leaving her scrambling on a tiny piece of ice in a stormy ocean. She lost her footing and fell, sliding into the darkness of the waves.

Once more water surrounded her on all sides, pulling her down into the cold and the dark … until she woke.

* * *

“I can't wait to be out of here.”

Rainbow Dash was already piling their stuff haphazardly on top of the giant turtle before Bonbon had even recovered her breath from waking up. The nightmare—and the feeling of drowning—had seemed all too real, and it seemed she had not been the only one haunted in her sleep.

“Are you alright?” Bonbon asked as she helped Lyra gather their things before Rainbow Dash threw them all together in one big pile. The sun had barely begun to rise, but none of them felt like staying in this place any longer, much less going back to sleep.

Lyra just nodded a little and put away her lyre. “I'll just be glad once we're moving again. I don't know what's going to happen, but I don't like to sit still thinking about it.”

“It'll all work out somehow,” Bonbon assured her, hoping she would end up believing it herself.

“Alright, time to go. Giddy up!” Rainbow Dash called, waving them all aboard the turtle.

They all settled down among their saddlebags and hoarded food for the journey as Snapcase began to move, trundling down the ancient path leading to the ruins and off towards the horizon. Off in the distance, the fields were flickering in the early sunlight. The phantom fires still baffled and worried Bonbon, so she turned around to watch the lands they left behind instead.

“Whatcha thinking about?” Rainbow settled down next to her, listlessly chewing on some grass. Like the rest of their food, it seemed to do little to provide her with energy in her new form. Without love to feed upon, it seemed Rainbow was destined to slowly waste away.

“The dream I had,” she said, gazing at the distant horizon beyond which lay the sea, and beyond that, her home. “Do you remember the zebra we met?”

“Yeah, uh …” Rainbow Dash furrowed her brow as she tried to remember the zebra's name. No doubt it felt as long ago and far away to her as it did to Bonbon. “Maku or something, right?”

Bonbon nodded. “She appeared to me in my dream. I think she was trying to warn me about something.”

“Yeah? 'bout what?”

Bonbon hesitated, thinking back on the dream and the zebra's cryptic verses. “She said something was following us, I think. Do you think she means Humble? I hope Luna's involvement hasn't scared her away. She was in my dream too,” she said, thinking of Humble and wondering where she was now.

“I think it was just stupid old ghosts messing with us,” Rainbow said and lay back on the gently rocking shell. She looked tired, if that was even the right word. Exhausted. “We already know about Humble. Why would she need to warn us again?”

“I don't know,” Bonbon muttered and resumed staring at the horizon in silence as no one said anything more. About an hour or two passed by without a break in the silence. Bonbon watched the sea of grass move around them while Rainbow Dash was snoring in the sun, all four legs in the air and wings spread out across the turtle's back.

Bonbon was just about to curl up and take a nap herself when she thought she saw something move far behind them. She struggled to sit up and shield her eyes against the sun as she tried to catch sight of what she thought she had seen. A few minutes went by without anything, then she thought she saw it again, a movement in the tall grass but too far away to make out.

“What is it?” Lyra said, coming up behind her for a look.

“I'm not certain. I think I saw something moving in the grass, but it could just be an animal or something.”

Lyra squinted. “I don't see anything.”

“It was only for a second. Maybe it'll come back.”

Lyra nodded and lay down. “Whatever it is, if it tries anything, Snapcase will gobble it up,” she said and yawned. “I'm going to follow Rainbow's example.”

“Yeah,” Bonbon muttered. She kept watching the horizon, fighting to keep her eyes from closing. Finally, when nothing more seemed to be moving, she lay down with a sigh and gave herself over to the sleep.

* * *

“Beware what follows …”

The zebra's voice still echoed distantly in her ears as she woke later in the day. She couldn't remember dreaming this time, but something about the warning still bothered her. She put it out of mind for the time being, as she got up and walked to the front of their ride to gaze out over the lands ahead of them.

The sun was still high in the sky, shining down on fields of green grass swaying in the breeze and scattered groups of trees. It was an almost perfectly idyllic scene, and reminded her of home, of the fields and forests around Ponyville. If not for Luna's warning and the ghostly flames they had seen from afar, she might actually have stopped worrying. Instead, it made her pause and listen.

“The rest of you get the feeling like something is wrong about this picture?” Rainbow Dash asked as she circled the turtle, looking out over the picturesque scenes around them. “Like, um … I can't put my hoof on it.”

“There are no birds,” Lyra said. “We haven't seen or heard a single animal all day, unless you count whatever Bonbon saw this morning.”

“Huh.” Rainbow Dash paused to listen. “She's right.”

An involuntary shiver crept down Bonbon's spine. Suddenly, the idyllic picture made her feel strangely apprehensive. Instead of calm and inviting, it just seemed eerie. As if the shadow of death clung to the hills and trees. “And here I thought maybe Luna was just pulling our tails,” she said, trying to lighten to mood.

“Yeah, I don't think we're that lucky,” Rainbow Dash said and went back to sleep.

* * *

Days went by without a change.

The lack of nourishment had left Rainbow sick with weakness, and she spent nearly every minute sleeping and groaning, though at least part of it had to be excruciating boredom. The endless sunlit fields were like a changeling glamor, a veil hiding the truth: a dead land wasted away by some ancient malignancy.

Everything was silent and dead as far as the eyes could see in all directions. No animals, not even an insect in sight. Once, Lyra had gotten off their ride to taste the grass, only to spit it out. It tasted like ash, she insisted. Bonbon had not been tempted to confirm it, but she had no reason to doubt Lyra.

Occasionally they would see the strange fires blazing in the distance. There was no smoke, no heat or sound from the flames. It passed over the land like ghosts, leaving no trace but a memory of grass once verdant and fresh.

Twilight visited Rainbow Dash every day through Luna's amulet, but her love did not seem to transfer through the spell along with her image, so Rainbow had been unable to sustain herself that way. Twilight promised she and Luna would look at a way to make the connection stronger so her love could travel the distance, but it had been days without any word of progress.

Perhaps it was the land around them, or the fact that she had not heard from Humble since that night at the ruins, but Bonbon's hopes were dwindling fast. Something was wrong. She could feel it in her heart, yet there was nothing she could do. She could not turn around, or she would risk Luna's anger and a quick return trip back to her body in Equestria, which would leave both Lyra and Humble out here on their own.

Lyra sat down next to her. There was a shimmer in the air as Twilight appeared, interrupting whatever Lyra had been about to say. The princess looked almost as haggard as the rest of them, even though she wasn't really there or had to endure anything worse than a ceremony or two.

Lyra scuttled off into the background. Bonbon gave her a brief, sad glance then stood up and did her best to bow to the princess. “Princess?” She glanced at Rainbow's frail appearance, barely more than a ghost now. “Any progress on the spell?”

Twilight followed her eyes with a heavy heart. “A little. Cadance might …” she said but immediately looked crestfallen and trailed off. “Who am I kidding. I've come to tell her that I'm bringing her home, her pride and quest be damned. I can't let her continue. She'll die if she doesn't feed soon.”

Bonbon nodded, understanding though she didn't like it any more than Twilight did. Looking at Rainbow, however, there didn't seem to be much that could be done.

“I just don't know how to tell her,” Twilight said and scuffed the shell of the giant turtle with an ethereal hoof. “I know how much finding Lightning Dust means to her.”

“There's no easy way, Princess.” Bonbon took a step towards Twilight and looked up at her. “Just say it plain and simple, then put down your hoof.”

“Funny, that's what Applejack told me,” Twilight muttered, then took a long breath. “Okay.” She turned around and walked up to Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow? Are you awake?”

Rainbow raised her head and blinked for a few seconds, then seemed to lighten up slightly at the sight of Twilight. “Twi! Have you figured out the spell?”

Twilight knelt down and did her best to meet Rainbow's hopeful eyes. “No. And I …” She reached out, even though she couldn't actually touch her. “I won't be able to.”

“What do you mean?” Rainbow pulled herself up a little. “You're Twilight Sparkle, most … most awesome magician ever! You're the Element of Magic.”

“Rainbow, I'm sorry. I can't help you, and you can't go on any longer. I have to take you back home, or you'll die out here and I'll never see you again.”

“No,” Rainbow begged, crawling up to Twilight. “That won't happen! I swear …” She looked around as if trying in desperation to find some kind of solution. “What … about Cadance? She's the Princess of Love. She can figure out how to do it.”

“I talked to her, and she …” Twilight trailed off.

“Yes?” Rainbow said, urging her to go on.

“She was going to look if she could find something, but I haven't heard anything in days. I'm sorry, but we can't keep waiting. We've already waited too long.”

“Please, Twilight!” Rainbow tried to take her hoof, which failed, but Rainbow didn't seem to register this. “I believe in you, Twilight. I know you can do it, just … just give me one more day. I bet Cadance will call any minute, and you'll figure it out.”

Bonbon gave Twilight a look, trying to tell her to put her hoof down, but Twilight didn't notice. She looked down, fighting with two sides of herself warring over what to do.

“One day,” Rainbow begged her again. “One day.”

Twilight looked up at her for a long time, then seemed to relent. “One day,” she said firmly.

“Yes!” Rainbow tried to hug Twilight, apparently already forgetting that she wasn't really there, and fell on her face instead.

Twilight moved back a little and sighed. “I hope I'm doing the right thing.”

“Hey!” Lyra's shout interrupted Bonbon just as she was weighing whether to say something. “I think I see something up ahead,” she called again and waved for them to come over.

Bonbon and Twilight both left Rainbow, who was curling up into a sleeping position again, and joined Lyra at the front. Lyra pointed towards an outcropping of rocks not far ahead, where a small figure was visible against the glare of the sun and phantom flames.

“What the hay is that,” Bonbon muttered and squinted at the sight. “And what's it doing?”

“I haven't the foggiest,” Lyra said.

Bonbon sat down and stared at the little growing spot dancing around in the light and flames like some kind of zebra shaman trying to summon the spirits of ancient flame and fire. As they got closer, the figure became clearer and her voice carried across the plains.

“Neigh! None will lead but Trixie, for she alone is worthy to lead! Trixie rules all! Trixie shines the way, and all shall follow, for where she goes is where all must go! So do not lead the way but follow. Trixie the Great and Powerful shall lead you! Do not question Trixie! She rules all!”

“You've got to be kidding,” Bonbon said, staring at the insane unicorn prancing and dancing among the flames like a demented commander of ghostly hosts. “How did she even get here?”

Twilight squinted. “I'm not sure. She escaped shortly after she was caught in Manehatten. That's the last I heard of her, but at the time she seemed to have regained her own mind if not her memory of what happened.”

“Then she's clearly lost it again,” Lyra said.

“It would seem so,” Twilight said. “I'm sorry I can't illuminate this mystery for you. I honestly believed she was back to normal and wandering Equestria with her show.”

“This actually seems pretty normal for Trixie, if you ask me,” Bonbon said dryly.

Trixie spun around at their approach and was about to spout something at them when she realized they were not at eye height. She paused and craned her neck to gaze up at the giant dragon turtle. She quickly recovered and held up a commanding hoof. “Halt! Halt before Trixie the Great and Powerful! Trixie doth command you to halt!”

Snapcase continued leisurely on, pretending not even to be aware of Trixie's existence.

Trixie fumed and her horn lit up. A large glimmering hoof formed in the air in front of the turtle. “None ignores Trixie!” she said, and the hoof gave the bemused turtle a boop on the nose. “Trixie said: Halt!”

Snapcase's eyes went crossed, and the giant turtle nearly tipped over as its momentum was arrested suddenly.

“What the!” Rainbow Dash cried out as the sudden stop launched her off the back of the turtle, landing her in the grass at the hooves of Trixie.

Trixie looked down at the changeling before here and, seemingly unsurprised, held out a hoof as if expecting it to be kissed.

Everypony else were staring.

“Did she just stop a giant dragon turtle in its tracks by booping it on the nose?” Lyra leaned over and whispered to Bonbon.

“That, or I'm still dreaming,” Bonbon replied. “Please let me be dreaming.”

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was pulling her face out of the dirt and blinking awake at the outstretched hoof before her. She followed the leg all the way to Trixie's imperious, expectant eyes. “Nope. Nuh uh,” she said and batted the hoof away as she pulled herself up on unsteady hooves. “I'm not even going to acknowledge that.”

Trixie huffed. “Excuse me?”

Rainbow glared up at the turtle. “Why's it stopped?” She looked at Twilight. “Why are we stopped?” She flew up and poked the turtle between the eyes. “Very funny, turtle, but the joke's gotten older than Granny Smith. Stop messing with me and move it.”

“Rainbow …” Bonbon tried to get her attention.

Trixie rolled her eyes and pointed up at Lyra and Bonbon. “You two, get down from Trixie's ride and build her a harness and saddle. Trixie the Great and Powerful must travel in style, and this gift of a turtle shall suffice.”

“What the hay is she rambling about?” Bonbon whispered to Lyra.

“I think … she wants a harness and saddle for Snapcase so she can ride it,” Lyra whispered back.

“Be careful,” Twilight warned. “I sense something is not right with her. She may be possessed by powerful spirits. I must return to Canterlot to continue looking for a way to help Rainbow Dash. I'm afraid there's nothing else I can do right now.” She glanced one last time towards Trixie, then vanished in a glimmer of moonlight.

“Joy,” Bonbon muttered.

“Do not make Trixie repeat herself,” Trixie shouted at them.

Lyra looked at Bonbon. “What now?”

“Our ride isn't going anywhere, it seems,” she said. “We have no idea how long this wasted land goes on. We need him to carry all our stuff or we might all starve a week from now. And I'm not eager to anger whatever spirits possess this madmare. I guess we have no choice but to do as she says, for now.”

“Great,” Lyra said, watching Rainbow Dash curl up and sulk on top of the turtle's great head. She fell almost instantly back to sleep. “No help from her either.”

* * *

Building a saddle for a dragon turtle was no quick task. Making such a saddle to the exacting demands of a megalomaniac unicorn thinking herself the princess of an ancient empire, with no materials available except grass and some wood … Bonbon would not have thought it possible until Lyra reminded her how the impossible was the very thing magic was for.

They worked long into the night, Lyra showing her how to use her new magic to shape and weave the grasses into ropes and fabrics for the saddle. It was about the only thing the ghost grass seemed fit for, since none of them were inclined to eat it. Lyra's hands proved even more adept at this sort of magic than her horn, and as darkness fell, they made good progress despite growing weariness.

They saw little sign of Trixie or Rainbow Dash. Trixie occasionally showed up just when they thought they could take a break, only to bark orders and wander off again, talking to ghosts neither of them could see.

Rainbow Dash had slipped off to somewhere quiet no doubt, being little help in either case, being both starved and yet to make any great advances with her magic. Frankly, Bonbon thought, she would likely have been more of a hindrance than a help in this.

Sometime during the night, Bonbon found herself nodding off, staring into the dark while her magic kept weaving as if it had a mind of its own. She thought she saw shadows moving in the darkness behind them, but chalked it up to her eyes being tired.

She woke up, having no idea how long she'd been sitting there, asleep, when someone sat down next to her and picked up her work in a soft glow. She rubbed her tired eyes and turned her head. “Humble?”

“Shh,” the girl hushed. “Sleep. We will finish thy work for thee.”

“Where have you been?” Bonbon looked at her in the darkness. Luna's amulet was glowing faintly around her neck. She must have found it herself.

“Thinking,” she said as her fingers worked, much faster and with far more skill than Bonbon's or even Lyra's weaving.

Bonbon looked at Lyra sleeping beside her, then leaned over and gave Humble a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you,” she said. “For all you're helping.”

Humble paused briefly in her work to look down at her hands. “Thou art welcome,” she said in the smallest voice.

“Do you know what's up with Trixie?” Bonbon looked around and saw Trixie off in the distance, the light from her magic illuminating her face as she shouted at invisible ghosts in the dark.

Humble followed her gaze. “She has become a vessel for the ghosts of this land. Something must have left a hollow space inside her, and they all moved in to fill it.” She stopped working for a moment. “She has become the land and its curse. She has become their need and hunger embodied. Beware of her, for they give her great power, perhaps greater even than our own.”

Bonbon stared at Trixie doing her mad dance for a time. She barely even noticed as she lay down, her head in Humble's lap, and fell asleep, content at the feeling of love surrounding her, suffusing her.

* * *

She woke up in the morning as the sun warmed her face to find Humble gone but the saddle complete and strapped on the back of the giant turtle. It was, without a doubt, the most regal and luxurious saddle ever made from grass and wood. Trixie was already inspecting it, trying her best to find something, any small detail to complain about.

Bonbon sat up and stretched her limbs, looking around for Lyra and Rainbow Dash. The latter was already up and, much to Bonbon's surprise, scouting the horizon far above them. How she had found the energy to fly around, Bonbon couldn't imagine. Just the night before she had barely had enough energy to stand on her hooves for more than a few minutes at a time.

Lyra was more subdued, rummaging through her saddlebags for breakfast.

“Good morning, Lyra,” Bonbon said.

Lyra muttered something that half sounded like “Good morning” but didn't look at Bonbon as she handed her some grass and crackers.

Bonbon ignored the somewhat cold reaction and sat down to chew her less than exciting breakfast. “Looks like Trixie is satisfied,” she said between bites.

“Mhm,” Lyra hummed.

Bonbon decided to leave her to her silence. Just one of those mornings. Maybe the weather would change to gray and Lyra's mood would improve.

They set out again around noon, Lyra and Bonbon trudging along on the ground as Trixie rode a most displeased dragon turtle. Rainbow Dash was flying along with them high above, showing no sign of exhaustion. Bonbon puzzled at her sudden recovery as they walked, but she had little desire to attempt flying up there herself to ask about it.

* * *

It was three days of sullen silence and endless trudging through deceptively green fields when the great mountain appeared at last on the horizon, seemingly growing out of the clouds themselves.

Everyone stopped to take in the sight.

Bonbon glanced at Lyra, who was staring as if she had never truly expected to see these jagged mountains of her tales and dreams.

Rainbow Dash slowly descended and settled next to them. “Whoa,” she said. “That's big. I thought the Canterlot mountain was tall.”

Bonbon looked at her. There was no sign of any weariness in her eyes, and while she was still unhealthily thin, Bonbon could have sworn she looked less thin than she had for days. “Say, Rainbow Dash,” she said, “You seem full of energy today.”

“Uhuh,” Rainbow said, at first not really hearing.

“Want to tell me how come? Last night you could barely stand, and Twilight was almost ready to take you back home by force, yet now …”

“Huh?” Rainbow finally realized she was being spoken to. “Oh, uh, yeah, funny that, huh?” She put on a deflecting grin. “I guess I must have just, you know, adjusted to the food or something.”

“Uh huh,” Bonbon said.

“Yeah. All those changelings back there seemed to do fine, and they were starving half the time too. So I figure, you know, changelings probably become used to eating regular food after a while. They must, right?”

Bonbon squinted at her. She almost felt like being back in Ponyville, listening to Lyra's lies and annoyingly plausible excuses. Always they seemed real reasonable explanations, if you didn't look at them too closely. “I guess you're right,” she grudgingly conceded.

“Sure sure,” Rainbow said, once again not really listening.

“What are you all just standing around for?” Trixie yelled from atop her mount, standing in her regal saddle. “Get moving. That mountain ain't getting any closer on its own!”

Snapcase scowled and started moving, slowly picking up speed. They all followed, trudging through the grass with a little more speed, having at last their target in sight.

The last step of their journey was before them.