The stone floor underneath her was smooth and surprisingly warm to the touch; though it brought little comfort to her bare knees. Light filled the room, if it was a room, though from what source she could not tell through the thick smoke that seemed to fill the place. She did not know why the shadows had brought her here, or why they had taken what remained of her clothes, only that they had forced her to kneel and the shackles around her wrists had become tight and unmovable so as to hold her in place. Now it was hard to tell just what they were doing. One of them, a thick roiling mass of darkness with what looked like flames burning atop its head, didn't seem to be doing much of anything except hovering off to the side and issuing the occasional low groan.

The other one more than made up for its stoic companion. It danced around the room, its wispy black form leaving a trail on the floor wherever it went, and the streamers of multicolored light that sprang from its head lashed at the air as it moved, all the while squeaking and squawking in what might have been excitement. When it finally came to a stop in front of her, Rebecca dared to look up at the thing just in time to see it throw its head back and let loose a shrill, ululating cry. Then the room was filled with a blinding flash of light, and Rebecca could feel herself being torn apart.

****

"Rebecca!"

Rebecca awoke with such a jolt that she almost slipped out of her seat. As she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, reality quickly replaced the rapidly fading dream. The soft cushion of her seat bounced in time with the steady clacking of the tracks as the Pony Express made its way down the railroad toward Canterlot.

Glancing at her sole companion in the passenger car, Rebecca let out a tired groan. "What's up, Lyra, are we there yet?"

"Not quite," she replied from her spot next to Rebecca. "But, you looked like you were having a bad dream, and it's already morning so..."

"Morning?" Looking out the window, Rebecca could see in the early morning light that they had come quite a way since they had left Ponyville. The rolling fields and forests had given way to mounting crags and cliffs as the train made its way around, and up, the mountain towards their destination.

"Yeah, you've been snoring away for almost twelve hours already."

"Yeah, well, between work and Twilight, I haven't really been getting a lot of sleep lately," Rebecca mumbled.

"Sorry," said Lyra, with a sheepish grin. "I know Twilight can be a little obsessive."

"Heh, no kidding," sighed Rebecca, as she thought back to the previous day.

****

"Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"Twilight."

"But, I can help," pleaded Twilight, as she followed on Rebecca's heels towards the train station.

"I thought you said you didn't know anything about chimeras," asked Rainbow Dash, hovering in the air alongside her herd-mate.

"I'll learn!" begged Twilight.

"Hon, even if she does change her mind, are you really going to go home, pack, and come back here before the train leaves?" asked Lero from behind them.

"You seem to forget that I can teleport," countered Twilight.

As the group made it to the station, Rebecca turned to once more try to console the distraught unicorn. "Look, Twilight, I appreciate everything you guys have done for me, but we've been getting together almost every day for the last two weeks. I could use a little bit of me time, and it sounds like you could stand to have some to."

The feeling of a gentle hand upon her withers stopped Twilight before she could respond as Lero stepped forward. "Rebecca, I can understand if you want to take a break from Twilight's... therapy sessions, but are you really sure you don't want us to come with you?"

The concern was evident in Lero's voice and, for just a moment, Rebecca considered giving in. But, reminding herself of why she was going in the first place was all it took to squash that thought. "Look, Lero, if you came with me, what would you do besides sit around and worry?"

"Well, I'm afraid we're going to worry about you regardless. It's kind of what friends do," he replied.

"Yes, but, the difference being, here you can try to do something to take your mind off of it. Whereas there, you'll probably just end up sitting in a waiting room for God knows how long."

"She does have a point," Rainbow piped up at the mention of waiting rooms.

"And, besides, it's not like she'll be going alone, fingers." The group turned to see Lyra coming towards them from the ticket counter, a pair of saddlebags on her back and a couple of tickets levitated in the air beside her; one of which she passed to Rebecca.

"Lyra, you didn't have to buy me a ticket," said Rebecca, as she took the slip of paper.

"Don't worry, it's actually the state that bought it. As the guardsmare escorting you, I can put it down as a duty expense and be reimbursed for it," said Lyra, as she slipped her ticket into her bag and made her way over to her herd.

Moving in to nuzzle her herd-mate, Twilight said, "Take care of her, and yourself, Lyra."

"I'll try to keep us safe in the wilds of Canterlot," replied Lyra, with a chuckle.

"Just watch out for the snakes," said Rainbow, landing next to Twilight.

"Oh, come on, it's not that bad," said Twilight, bumping Rainbow's flank with her own.

"I know," said Rainbow apologetically, as she leaned into Lyra for a hug. "But, seriously, couldn't one of those other guards have taken her up there?"

"Well, they could have," began Lyra, with a smile. "If they didn't have to return a chariot that somepony turned down."

"Still can't believe you did that," said Rainbow, pointing an accusing hoof at Rebecca.

"Well, we weren't all born with wing-"

The shrill cry of the train whistle cut through the air, followed by the call of the conductor. "All aboard!"

"Well, sounds like they're getting ready to leave." Lero walked up to Lyra and knelt down so they were closer to eye level, before wrapping his arms around her neck and pulling her into a hug. As they broke the embrace, their lips met in a light but lingering kiss. "You take care up there okay, horny?"

"Come on, fingers, it's Canterlot. What could happen?"

****

As Rebecca sat and stared out the window, her reminiscing was abruptly interrupted as the train made its final turn around the mountain and the city of Canterlot came into view. Or, at least, the part she could see did, as the city seemed to climb higher and higher up the mountain it was built into.

"Whoa, that's Canterlot?" she asked breathlessly.

"That's Canterlot. The center of Equestria; depending on who you ask." As she spoke, Lyra leaned in close to Rebecca so that she could see out the window as well, and was pleased when her companion didn't flinch away. Both were startled, however, as the door at the back of the car was kicked open.

"Ugh, that had to be the worst nights sleep I've ever had. What about you Diamond?" came a high pitched voice, dripping with condescension.

"Hmph, tell me about it, Silver. Those beds felt like they were stuffed with rocks." Came a second voice which was, if anything, even more snide than the first.

Turning to see who had just walked in, Rebecca was surprised to see two young fillies enter the car. "Hey, Lyra, aren’t those kids from Ponyville?"

"Oh, yeah, I think they're in the same class as Apple Bloom, and her friends," replied Lyra.

"I wonder if they're traveling alone?" said Rebecca, scarcely able to believe the idea.

"Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon!" came a another, much more familiar, voice from the car the two fillies had just left. To Rebecca's surprise Cheerilee walked through the door, followed by half a dozen more children. "I told you two not to wander away from the group during this trip. You could very easily get lost."

As the two fillies were being scolded, Rebecca did a quick head count of the other children and realized that she recognized some of them; and that three in particular recognized her.

"Rebecca!" came the unanimous cry of Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo as they rushed over.

"What are you doing here?" asked Apple Bloom.

"That's supposed to be my line," replied Rebecca, as she got up from her seat and knelt down to talk to the fillies properly. "What are you kids doing on board? You're not trying to get your cutie marks as train robbers are you?"

Scootaloo's ears suddenly perked up. "Hey, that's something we haven't-"

"No," Rebecca replied, firmly.

"Okay, okay, just kidding," Scootaloo said, sheepishly.

"Yeah, we'd never try to get them form something like that," added Sweetie Belle.

"I don't know," said Lyra, with a sly grin. "After you put that hole in the roof of the schoolhouse, I wouldn't put it past you."

"A hole that I was hired to come fix, mind you," added Rebecca.

"I told you trying to be bell-ringers was a bad idea," Apple Bloom whispered to Scootaloo.

"I assure you, they're not here to do any train robbing," said Cheerilee, with a chuckle as she made her way toward the group.

"Hello, Cheerilee," greeted Lyra. "Are you the one watching over these little rabble-rousers?"

"Yes, they're with me," replied Cheerilee.

"We're on a field trip to see Canterlot castle," Scootaloo interrupted.

"Yeah, it's the longest class trip we've ever been on," added Apple Bloom.

"Class trip?" Rebecca took another look at the children. In addition to the crusaders, she counted five others. "I thought your class was quite a bit bigger than this."

"Uh, we're the only one's who's folks signed the permission slips," came a soft lispy voice from behind Cheerilee.

Craning her neck to see around Cheerilee, Rebecca spotted a beige filly with curly red hair peeking out from behind her teacher. "Well, hello there," said Rebecca, with a warm smile. "Who might you be?"

When the filly didn't move, Apple Bloom turned to her and said, "Come on Twist, it's Rebecca. We told you about her."

"But, my mom told me to be careful around her," said Twist from behind Cheerilee.

"I don't bite, honey, I promise," said Rebecca.

"Come on, Twist, she's a human just like Lero, and you talk to him just fine," added Scootaloo.

"Yeah, but, she's a lot bigger than Lero and..." Twist stopped as Rebecca stood up and took a step toward Cheerilee before rising onto her tiptoes and looking right over the mare and strait at the filly.

"You know, you look kind of familiar, kiddo," said Rebecca, giving the somewhat startled Twist a quizzical look. "Have we met someplace?"

"She helps out at Bonbon's store after school a couple of times a week," replied Lyra.

"Is that right?" asked Rebecca, taking a step back from Cheerilee. "Well, Twist, do me a favor and tell Bonbon that whoever made those peppermint sticks last week deserves a raise."

"R-really?" came Twist's reply as she poked her head out from behind Cheerilee, who took a step to the side so she was no longer between the two.

"Oh, sure does, those things were delicious," said Rebecca, once more taking a knee.

"Aww, s-shucks," said a blushing Twist, as she pawed at the floor.

Giving the little filly one last smile, Rebecca turned back to Cheerilee. "So, you say you're all on a class trip? You really think you can keep an eye on all these kids by yourself, Cheer?"

"Oh, heavens no," replied Cheerilee, looking at the foals around her. "It's not just going to be me, there'll be a local tour guide waiting for us at the station."

"How long are you planning to stay in the city?" asked Lyra.

"Oh, just for the day," replied Cheerilee. "Once we get off the train we'll make a quick stop for breakfast, then head to the castle for the day, be back on another train this evening, and arrive back in Ponyville tomorrow morning."

"Well, it sounds like you've got your day planned," said Lyra.

"Well, you have to stay on top of things on a trip like this," replied Cheerilee. "By the way, what brings you two to Canterlot?"

"Doctor appointment," Rebecca answered.

"Oh dear, I hope it's nothing serious," said Cheerilee.

"Yeah, me too," muttered Rebecca.

Before Cheerilee could ask anything else, the sound of a door opening at the front of the car caught their attention. Standing there was what could only be the conductor of the train. "Excuse me, folks, but we'll be arriving in Canterlot shortly. I'll have to ask you all to be seated," he said.

As the group found their seats, the conductor made his way to the other end of the car and through the door that Cheerilee and the children had come through. Before long, more ponies began filing into the car. "I didn't think there were this many people on board. Where were they all hiding?" asked Rebecca.

"Probably in their rooms," replied Lyra.

"Wait a minute. This train has private rooms, and you had us sleep in the passenger car?" asked Rebecca.

"Well, when you're the last ones to board that does tend to happen," said Lyra, giving Rebecca a shrug.

****

From the glimpses of the city she'd had from the train, Rebecca thought that she had a pretty good idea of what to expect of Canterlot. All those expectations flew out the window, however, upon exiting the train. While most of her view was taken up by the train station, she could still see that the city did indeed seem to climb up the mountain straight into the sky.

"Careful, you're liable to trip over somepony if you keep staring like that," said Lyra.

"Sorry," said Rebecca. "This place is just so much bigger than I thought it would be."

"It is big," commented Cheerilee, as she and the foals joined them. "And, it's very easy to get lost in so, class does everypony have their buddy?"

"Yes," came the unanimous reply as the children quickly paired off.

"Good, now where is our gui-"

Before Cheerilee could finish, one of her students, a rather chubby blue unicorn colt that Rebecca still hadn't caught the name of, cried out, "Hey look, Snails, real Canterlot guards."

"Wow, cool," replied Snails. "And look, Snips, they're coming right towards us too."

Sure enough, from down the lane, the group could see a rapidly approaching trio of unicorn guards. Two of the guards looked practically identical to Rebecca, having matching grey coats and what looked like golden armor. Their leader, however, was even more striking; possessing a brilliant white coat, royal blue mane, and armor tinged purple with golden trims. What caught her eye most, though, was his chest piece and the very familiar pink star that adorned it.

Upon seeing them, the leader called out, " You there, human!"

"Guess they're here for us," muttered Lyra.

"Yes," Rebecca called back to the guards.

Once they had closed the gap to within talking distance, the leader continued, "You are the one known as Rebecca Lancaster." It was a statement rather than a question, and the harshness with which he spoke it was matched only by the look on his face. In fact, looking at them up close, all three of the guard's faces seemed to be stuck in permanent scowls. Until that moment Rebecca had never seen a pony that she would say looked intimidating, but the ones in front of her managed to pull it off; at least as much as pastel colored ponies could.

"That's me," replied Rebecca, doing her best to stand up straight and maintain her composure; the last thing she wanted was to look weak in front of these ponies.

"A guard was supposed to accompany you." Again, he stated rather than asked.

"Yes, sir," said Lyra, stepping up to stand at attention beside Rebecca.

"Identify yourself," he commanded.

"Lyra Heartstrings, Ponyville reserve," responded Lyra. For the second time in as many minutes Rebecca was taken aback. Seeing the normally whimsical Lyra wearing the face of a soldier. "Captain Shining Armor, I was not expecting to meet you here."

"Where is your armor, guardsmare?"

"I-I..." Lyra stuttered as her eyes went wide, a sign that was not missed by the captain of the guard.

"Am I to assume that you did not bring it?" he asked.

After a moments hesitation, Lyra responded, "No, sir, I did not."

For a moment Shining Armor just stared at her with a raised eyebrow. "Regardless, this human is now in the custody of the royal guard."

"Am I under arrest?" asked Rebecca, a hint of concern working its way into her voice.

"You are being escorted to the royal palace by order of Princess Celestia," he replied, curtly. "Guardsmare Heartstrings, your service is no longer required. You are free to do as you please within the city. Lancaster, you are to proceed with us to the castle." With that Shining Armor and his guards abruptly turned to leave.

Lyra's ears drooped at what she was being told. "Um, Captain, I thought-"

"You are dismissed, guardsmare," he called, without looking back.

"Rebecca," Lyra began, the look on her face reminding Rebecca of a sad puppy. "I didn't think-"

"Lancaster, with us!" Shining Armor called.

At that moment the concern in Rebecca was quickly replaced by something else boiling up inside her. "Excuse me!" she called back, earning an immediate about-face from the captain. "Look, Captain, you are not my boss. May I have a moment to say goodbye to my friend please?"

The stunned look on Shining's face was mirrored by his guards, and several passing ponies. However, it quickly changed to an even deeper scowl than the one he had originally worn; a scowl that was now being matched by Rebecca's. They sat there for a moment, neither one flinching, before Shining Armor's horn lit up with magic that coalesced into what looked like a stopwatch. "Ninety seconds," he spoke through gritted teeth, barely loud enough for her to hear.

"Thank you," she replied, curtly. As she turned around to Lyra, whose face was still stuck on flabbergasted, Rebecca made sure that her back was to Shining Armor before letting out a long breath of relief. "Whew, I can't believe that worked."

"No kidding," replied Lyra, with a gasping chuckle. "I've never heard of anypony snapping at the captain of the royal guard."

"The royal-"

"Rebecca, listen, we don't have much time. All you need to know is that he takes his orders directly from the royal family, has every guard in the city at his beck and call, and... happens to be Twilight's brother."

"I'm sorry, did you just say-"

"Time's up, Lancaster," called Shining Armor, impatiently.

"Well, looks like that's your cue. Best not keep the captain waiting. I'll just join Cheerilee's little field trip and hopefully catch up with you at the castle. Bye!" No sooner had she blurted out her sentence than Lyra took off in the direction that Cheerilee's class had gone, leaving Rebecca grasping for words before turning to acknowledge Shining Armor.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming," she said, as she hurried over to the waiting unicorns.

Without another word, the three ponies turned and began walking. As they did so, they quickly fell into formation around Rebecca; Shining in front of her, and the other two at her sides as they began the trek towards Canterlot Castle.

****

The journey through the city was, in a word, awe inspiring. As the group made their way higher, and higher, up the into the city, the buildings became ever more grand, ostentatious, or in some cases physics-defying. As they reached the highest levels of the city, the number of buildings that seemed to ignore gravity were beginning to outnumber the ones that didn't. The more Rebecca looked at the architecture, the more she wished that her escorts would pick up the pace, for fear that one of the buildings they were passing would start obeying gravity.

As for her traveling companions, they hadn't said a word beyond the occasional 'make way' whenever a pony failed to clear a path for them quickly enough, and Rebecca was quite happy to leave them to do their job. Surprisingly, she had actually found herself glad that they were with her, as they kept the staring ponies at bay.

The ponies of Canterlot followed a similar trend to the city they lived in. When they had first started out most of the ponies around them looked like they would fit right in back in Ponyville. As they had climbed higher into the city, though, the number of them that were wearing clothes steadily increased, and as they climbed higher, the clothes got fancier. Rebecca also noticed their demeanors begin to shift steadily from friendly, to downright pompous. But, they did all have one thing in common; they were all staring.

As they walked, Rebecca could feel the eyes upon her. Many of the ponies around them didn't even try to hide it; some even pointed. Just as she was about to ask Shining if they could stop somewhere, in hopes that it would start an argument that she could focus on instead of her surroundings, a voice suddenly cut through the air that seemed to grab Shining Armor's attention.

"Shining, old boy, there you are."

Looking in the direction that the voice came from, Rebecca could see a small group of ponies heading toward them. At the front was a large white unicorn with what looked like the collar of a tuxedo around his neck; complete with purple bowtie and a red rose. His mane and tail were golden in color, and looked like they had recently been styled. He wore a confident smile and, to Rebecca's surprise, didn't seem to bat an eye upon seeing her.

As he drew closer, Shining Armor let out a barely audible groan before saying, "Prince Blueblood, is there something you need?"

"Oh, Shining, no need for the professional attitude among friends," said Blueblood, with a wave of his hoof. "Ah, I see you found Auntie's guest; my she's a bit bigger than I expected."

"Blueblood, I'm in the middle of an escort, now if there is nothing you need then please stand aside so that I can get back to it," Shining snapped.

The looks on the faces of Blueblood's entourage was priceless for Rebecca, and she wondered which of them was going to faint first. As for Blueblood himself, he looked like someone had slapped him across the face.

"How dare you speak to a prince in such a manner! And after I came all the way out here just to deliver a message from Auntie," said Blueblood, turning his nose up with an exaggerated snort.

"A message from the princess?" asked Shining Armor.

"Humph," was Blueblood's only response.

"Well, what did she say?"

"Humph."

"Blueblood."

"Humph."

"Behold, the wild ass in its natural habitat," Rebecca muttered under her breath; eliciting a stifled snort from the guard to her left.

Shining's head snapped around at the noise. "Do one of you have something to add," he said, clearly loosing his patience.

"Just wondering what the holdup here is?" said Rebecca, rather short on patience herself.

Shining Armor's eyes narrowed. "I'll-"

"I'll have you know," Blueblood interrupted, moving around Shining to face Rebecca directly, "That I was in the middle of delivering a very important message, before this lout decided to get snippy," he said, motioning to Shining with disdain.

Before Shining could continue the argument, he was stopped in his tracks as Rebecca leaned down closer to Blueblood and, in a comforting tone said, "Aww, and after you came all the way out here too. Why this must have been just dreadful for you."

Shining and his guards simply stood there, too stunned to respond. Blueblood, however, seemed more than willing to soak up the attention. "Why, yes it has been a bit of a chore," he said, fanning himself with his hoof. "It's nice to know that somepony sees the effort I go through for Auntie's sake."

"And what thanks do you get?" Rebecca continued. "Tell you what, why don't you give me the message instead, and then you can go back to doing... your princely duties?"

"Oh, very well," said Blueblood, having regained his usual air of superiority. "Auntie simply asked me to tell him that you are to be escorted to the Tea Leaf Café, instead of directly to the castle."

"Thank you, now why don't you run along, and let me deal with that mean old guard?"

"Yes, I think I'll leave you to it. It was a pleasure to meet you miss..."

"Rebecca."

"Miss Rebecca. It's nice to know that you humans know how to address royalty."

With that Blueblood and his entourage headed off back into the crowd, and Rebecca was free to drop the fake smile, just as it was starting to hurt her cheeks. "Whew, thought my face was going to crack for a minute there." As she spoke, Rebecca suddenly realized that Shining and his guards were still staring at her. "What? Sometimes when people act like children you just have to talk to them like children."

****

As far as upper-canterlot establishments went, the Tea Leaf was fairly modest. The owner, one Gentle Simmer, prided herself on providing a relaxing environment for ponies to mingle, and enjoy a taste of serenity. The scent of burning incense and the soft classical music coming from the gramophone in the corner of the main dining area, not to mention the staggering number of teas and other herbal beverages that were served, combined with a professional courteous staff to create a soothing experience that would allow practically anypony to unwind.

Needless to say more than a few stares were drawn when the front doors were pushed open and three guards escorting an alien creature walked in. As many wide eyes as she had seen since her arrival, Rebecca was pretty sure she could qualify as an optometrist, and hoped that their little trip would be over before too much longer.

"Where is she?" commanded Shining Armor, as they reached the front counter.

The pony behind the register, a tan pegasus mare, didn't seem to hear him. Her eyes were fixed upon Rebecca, who noticed that her irises were slightly different shades of green.

"Where is the princess?" said Shining, grasping the mare's chin with his magic and turning her face to him.

"U-upstairs, balcony seat," she stammered.

Without another word they were off again, making their way up the nearby stairs, past more surprised ponies, and finally out a pair of glass double doors flanked by two more unicorn guards. Their on the balcony, sitting on a cushion at a table shaded by a large umbrella, and sipping some tea was Princess Celestia.

"Well, Shining, is she everything you hoped she would be?" said Celestia, not even bothering to open her eyes.

"Humph."

"I see," said Celestia, her voice heavy with disappointment. "Regardless, I believe I can handle things from here." Celestia turned to face the group, a smile once more upon her face. "Welcome Rebecca, would you care to join me for tea?"

With that, Shining Armor and his guards were quick to depart, leaving Rebecca alone with the princess. "Gotta' admit, I wasn't expecting brunch to be waiting for me," said Rebecca, looking at the various pastries and freshly cut fruit upon the table.

"I thought you might be hungry after your trip, and this place is on the way to the castle," said Celestia, pulling a second cushion from under the table and fluffing it a few times.

Taking the hint, and unable to ignore her grumbling stomach, Rebecca took a seat across from the princess. "Thank you," she said.

"Not at all," said Celestia, as she poured a second cup of tea. "I hope your trip here wasn't too unpleasant."

"Oh, not at all. That captain of the guard really knows how to make a total stranger fell like a total stranger," said Rebecca, taking a scone.

Celestia's smile faded a bit. "I must apologize for that. When Captain Armor found out about your condition, he was rather against my decision to let you remain in Ponyville."

"I didn't realize that many people knew about me."

"Ms. Lancaster, I think you would be surprised at how many ponies know about you. Simply being in Equestria, makes you something of a celebrity. Although, your condition has been kept a secret from all but a select few."

"I take it, Captain Shining was one of them."

"Actually, no, he found out about it from his sister, Twilight Sparkle. She's been writing about you quite a bit lately."

"Oh, and what, pray tell, does she say?" asked Rebecca, wondering just how much of her 'therapy sessions' her been disclosed.

"That you've been getting on quite well in Ponyville; making friends, securing employment, and from what I understand, sleeping in my bedroom there," said Celestia, with a sly smile.

"Oh, yeah, I guess I have." Rebecca's cheeks started to redden. "I've almost got enough money saved up to start house hunting, so I shouldn't be staying there much longer."

"Don't worry," Celestia chuckled. "I'm always willing to provide for guests, wherever my accommodations may be."

"Which I am truly grateful for," said Rebecca, her tone suddenly serious. "I mean, you ponies have done so much for me, and I'm sure Lero too, it still boggles my mind sometimes."

"Lero said the same thing when he first arrived in Equestria. I am sorry that compassion seems so unfamiliar to you humans." Celestia's ears drooped at the notion.

"It's not that it's unfamiliar... I mean I don't think it is..." Rebecca let out a sigh. "Wow, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to rain on the parade like this."

"Perhaps a change of topic is in order," offered Celestia. "As I said in my letter, I believe we may be close to finding a way to reverse what was done to you."

"Right, that is kind of the reason I'm here. But, define close," said Rebecca, trying not to let her hopes get too high.

"I think it might be best if I left that to the expert," replied Celestia.

"There's an expert, who?" asked Rebecca.

"Well, if I know her, you should be meeting right about..."

Before Celestia could finish, the doors to the balcony were thrown open as two unicorn guards were hurled through the air to land at Celestia's hooves sound asleep. "You will not stand in the way of science!"

Standing in the doorway was light green unicorn mare with a curly pink mane and tail. She wore a long lab coat and thick rimmed glasses that did nothing to hide the manic look in her eyes, which Rebecca could see were focused squarely on her. "Um, hello?" she offered.

In a blur of motion the pony pulled a camera from underneath her coat with her magic and Rebecca was blinded as flash after flash of bright light bombarded her. "oh my gosh, it's one of them!" squealed the pony. "I have officially made contact!"

"Doctor, I do believe you're blinding the poor thing," said Celestia, as the pony continued to take photos.

"Oh, Princess Celestia, I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there." The young mare quickly fell into a bow and closed her eyes, only to hear the clatter of her camera hitting the floor at the loss of concentration. "No! My posterity," she cried upon opening her eyes.

When the spots cleared from her eyes, Rebecca was greeted by the sight of the new pony apparently mourning over her broken camera. "Sheesh, that's some entrance you've got there."

At the sound of Rebecca's voice the pony's head shot up to face her. "Oh my gosh, it's true; fully articulate speech," she said, as she rushed over to Rebecca's seat until she was mere inches from her face, only to be stopped as Rebecca's hand reached out to land upon her chest.

"Whoa there, that's close enough, hon," said Rebecca, doing her best to hold the, surprisingly strong, pony at bay.

All of a sudden, a golden glow enveloped the newcomer as she was lifted into the air and set down next to Celestia. "Now, now. I believe proper introductions are in order," she began. "Rebecca, I would like to introduce Doctor Babble; the pony who has been working on your case."

"Oh my, where are my manners? Dr. T. Babble, at your service. It's such a pleasure to finally meet one of you. I mean, I'd heard about you, of course, but I never thought I'd actually get the chance-"

As Babble continued to talk, Rebecca turned a raised eyebrow to Celestia. "Um, this is the expert?"

"Oh, well, I don't know if I'd say 'expert'" Babble chuckled, before noticing the concerned looks coming her way. "Ehem, what I mean to say is, that's what we're here to fix."

"Fix?" Rebeca asked, flatly.

"Dr. Babble is one of the bureau of magical research and development's brightest up and comers," said Celestia. "Since we discovered what you were, she has been working tirelessly to find a way to reverse what was done to you."

"Really? As Rebecca looked at Babble, she couldn't help but notice the way she was looking back. Her bright pink eyes shone with unbridled curiosity, and a thirst for knowledge that reminded her of another unicorn she knew. "Well, how far have you gotten?"

"Oh, so far I'm still just working in theories that I built off of the trace amounts of information and samples that I've been given. But, all that will change once I get to know you a little bit better," said Babble, with a smile.

"How do you plan to do that?" asked Rebecca.

From under her coat, Babble suddenly pulled a jumble of notepads, writing implements, and what looked like a combination medical tools and kitchen utensils. "With tests, of course!" she declared, looking very familiar, indeed.

****

The sound of rustling leaves and bird songs filled the air as the group made their way through the immaculately tended gardens. "I want to start our field trip here, in the world famous Canterlot Sculpture Garden," said Cheerilee, as she and her class came to the first of many statues. "That one represents friendship."

As she stopped to look at the statue, Apple Bloom felt the sudden impact of Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle, bump into her. The three gave each other annoyed looks before continuing on.

"Alright, my little ponies, this one represents victory," said Cheerilee, as they came to a statue of a triumphant looking mare holding a flag.

"How cool would it be to have that for a cutie mark?" asked Scootaloo.

"Cool," replied Apple Bloom, with a roll of her eyes. "If you were actually victoryful at something."

"That's not a word," exclaimed Sweetie Belle.

"What are you, a dictionary?" Scootaloo shot back.

"Girls!" called Cheerilee, beckoning them over to the next sculpture. "Now this is a really interesting statue. What do you notice about it?" she asked, gesturing to the bizarre amalgam of animal parts.

"Its got an eagle claw."

"And, a lion's paw."

"And, a snake tail."

Once the crusaders were finished, Cheerilee continued. "This creature is called a draconequus. He has the head of a pony, and a body made up of all sorts of things. What do you suppose that represents?"

"Confusion!"

"Evil!"

"Chaos!"

"It's not chaos, you dodo," said Sweetie Belle.

"Don't call me things I don't know the meaning of," Scootaloo snapped. "And, it is too chaos!"

"Is not!"

"You're both wrong!" called Apple Bloom, as the argument quickly devolved into a scuffle.

Cheerilee simply shook her head, and smiled. "Actually, in a way, you're all right."

"Huh?" came the collective response.

"This statue represents discord. Which means, a lack of harmony between ponies," said Cheerilee, eyeing the three fillies. "In fact you three have demonstrated discord so well that you're each going to write me an essay explaining it." As the other children enjoyed a laugh at the three friends expense, Cheerilee began moving off toward the next statue. Now lets go, and I don't want anymore fighting."

As they made their way further into the gardens, none of the ponies noticed the steadily growing crack in the strange looking statue. Or the deep chuckle that welled up from inside it.

Author's Note

Well, we finally made it into the second season of the show, and it only took fifteen chapters.
As always, thanks to Sausage for prereading, but feel free to point out anything we might have missed.