The Aegis

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter 1 - Names and Marks
Chapter 2 - Games and Theories
Chapter 3 - Town and Country
Chapter 4 - Ups and Downs
Chapter 5 - Ins and Outs
Chapter 6 - Hurry Up And Wait

Prologue

Let's get one thing straight right off the bat: you are not here because your ancestors were wimps. You have within you bloodlines that survived hundreds of thousands of generations of the worst ravages of war, famine, pestilence, and death. Your predecessors built their cities in grim defiance of nature's callous indifference to their existence, and your language and culture have been shaped by the victors of conflicts whose names are forgotten, yet their lives still influence us all.

These things happened because of one thing: power. In every sense of the word, from muscles, to will, to clout, to electricity and beyond, it is the exercise of power that allows all living things, and especially sapient ones, to survive, raise young, and thrive. Power is the key to life, and it is no surprise that wars were fought in its name, nor is it surprising that once Industrialization came along war—real wars, not the games of mind, paper, and electrons—began to go out of style for all but the most determined or psychotic of individuals.

But power is a double-edged sword, and with its salvation it also brings the seeds of damnation as well; complacency. Any entity, whether an individual, a corporation, a nation or an empire, that becomes complacent faces its own decline, and nothing brings about complacency faster than being so strong that you don't have to struggle for survival anymore. Every superpower that has fallen has done so because they were too comfortable with their own power, or too afraid to use it, and so were defeated by others who did not share their pretensions and had a firm understanding of their own capabilities.

Power thus breeds victors, but then lulls them into defeat for the next round of winners in nature's lottery to feast upon. This is the natural order of things, a cycle that only the most aware and driven beings, the most astutely guided nations with a skilled, disciplined population can escape

Why then has Equestria of all places prospered and advanced when their armed forces are at best a small police force, and at worst a joke? How could these panicky and emotionally fragile creatures remain the dominant force on their world when much fiercer and downtrodden races line their borders? Their princess? Some call her a goddess, but she would be the first to disabuse anyone of that notion, and she admits to have been defeated on occasion. The various magical artifacts liberally spread around the land? While invaluable and certainly vital to the survival of Equestria, they are not the omnipotent instant victory devices they are often portrayed to be. Thus an observer must come to the conclusion that Equestria must have another form of defense, one that is invisible to the world, yet capable of fighting off even the worst of foes.

That's where we come in. We are not part of the Equestrian government, although we work with them at the highest levels. We are not magical beings, although you could call us “sufficiently advanced”. We are most certainly not any sort of touchy-feely, meat-forsaking long-haired misanthropes looking for validation.

We are the Department of the Aegis, and we always protect our charges.

* * * *

“Eeeeee!” the young woman squee'd in delight, as the being in front of her finished speaking. “This is so awesome!”

The man behind the desk rolled his eyes and lightly clapped a hand over his face. “This is serious business, miss Heinkel.”

“Oh, yeah, I know,” Lisa Heinkel replied, with only a slight bit of embarrassment creeping into her tone and expression. “But c'mon, that was one of the coolest introductions ever!”

“Miss Heinkel,” the official repeated, his tone dropping as he removed the hand from his face and spitted Lisa with a hard look. “Are you or are you not capable of behaving in a professional manner?”

The somber tone and look finally sunk into Lisa's mind, and she blushed a bit as she calmed down and shifted in her seat to present a more serious posture. “I most certainly am, assistant director Novak,” she replied, evenly.

“Good,” Novak replied, and then slid a curious flat panel of flexible plastic across his desk. “Then if you're done geeking out, here's the contract.”

Lisa nodded, and then reached over and picked up the piece of smart paper in order to skim over the legally binding document. She had of course been given the full content of the contract in advance to study before this meeting, but it was important to make sure nothing had changed. Not to mention, ask some questions, Lisa mused, as she skimmed over the words until she found the section that had stuck in her mind. “Right here in section thirty-one, it says that we need to maintain secrecy at almost all costs,” she noted, and then looked up at the assistant director. “Yet it's kind of vague what that means.”

Novak nodded. “It's deliberately vague, for good reason,” he began. “We're dealing with a planet where quantum transition field manipulation is hard-coded into the DNA of almost every living being, where almost anything can happen. Even the best QT stabilizers can burn out when exposed to the level of raw output one can find down there, and some things don't appreciate being shot. As a result we've learned that we cannot really plan for all situations, and we must instead trust in the training, disposition, and moral fortitude of our agents in order to maintain our mission. As such you will have considerable leeway in your actions, but if you'll note the addendum to section thirty-one, all of those actions are subject to after-the-fact reviews, one by your peers, the second by your superiors, and possibly a third by the Director if serious enough. Hell, you screw up really bad and Congress will get involved.” Novak took a moment to collect his breath and thoughts, and then leaned forward a bit in his seat to lend his next words additional weight. “Basically, we're putting a lot of trust in you. So if you fuck up your ass is grass. Capiche?”

Some of the color drained from Lisa's face, but she nodded sagely. “Understood,” she stated, with finality. “But, uh, what means are not acceptable, generally?”

A bare hint of a smile graced Novak's lips, though it soon disappeared as he shifted back into a more neutral position. Maybe she'll work out after all. “Generally, we're here to protect, which means saving lives is quite important, even if that causes breaches of security. As such most verboten practices tend to be the ones that end up with innocents dead.” He paused, and then shrugged. “There may be some other cases, as well, but honestly, if you've come this far then the psyches are satisfied that you'll know what to do in the right places at the right time, so I wouldn't worry about it.”

Heinkel nodded again, and some of her earlier enthusiasm started to return. “I see,” she said, and then looked down at the contract again and used a finger to send the text scrolling rapidly. After a bit of surfing she decided that the contract was as it should be, and then placed the smart paper down so sh could return her gaze to Novak. “So, I do have to ask: why me?”

An eyebrow hitched up on the man's face, but it soon returned to its proper place. “Because you applied,” he flatly stated.

A huff left the younger woman. “Please, I may be a bit overenthusiastic at times, but even I know that recruits fresh out of the academy aren't usually given front-line missions until they've had more time on station,” Heinkel stated, as she gave the older man a hard look of her own. “If I recall correctly, I'm supposed to be part of the rapid response teams for two years before I'm even considered for such a position. So,” she added, and then leaned back in her seat a bit. “What's the rush for?”

Novak had to take a moment to readjust his mental picture of the woman in front of him. Idiots don't go through the academy, he reminded himself. Her personality is a bloody good distraction; probably why she was picked, Novak reasoned, as he gathered his thoughts. After a moment, he sighed and then nodded. “We've noted an unusual growth in the TF flux lately,” he begrudgingly replied. “It seems to be focused near the pony capital city, and when I spoke with the princess about it, she simply told me not to worry and said that it was 'an internal matter'.”

Lisa raised an eyebrow at that and frowned. “So... why the concern?” she asked. “Wouldn't she be the one to know best about that sort of thing?”

“Normally I'd agree, but we're talking about a flux the likes of which has never been recorded in the century and a half since we found this world,” Novak explained, with a grunt. “Furthermore, it's extending beyond the usual ranges that the T-field normally dies off at. We have no idea what's going on, and the one being on the planet with extensive knowledge of their local effects and who knows of our existence is being deliberately vague and uncooperative.”

The woman blinked at that. “Do you think she might be... trying something?” she asked, carefully.

To her surprise, Novak pursed his lips and sat in silence for a few moments. “I honestly don't know,” he quietly admitted, with a shake of his head. “On one hand, she's been very forthright and accommodating with us, and I genuinely believe she wants our alliance to go on, even strengthen. Yet on the other hand, she's never been this closed off to us before, and when you take into account that she's been around for over a thousand years and all that implies...” He let his voice trail off, and then let out another sigh. “I wish I knew, but I can't be sure of her intentions. Not yet.

“Which is why we're pulling in as many agents as we can,” Novak continued, his voice shifted back into his usual tone of command. He leveled a steely gaze upon Heinkel as he continued. “You're a new face to this world, and to the team, and your records at the academy show an outside-the-box method of thinking; I'm willing to bet that those two factors will let you see something us old-timers might be blind to. And even if they won't, I still need boots on the ground reporting back on what they see, and if that means I gotta take a wet behind the ears newbie, well, I've had worse.”

Heinkel saw a faint smile on Novak's face, and she could only grin in reply. “Fair enough, boss,” she said, and then reached out to grab the smart paper. “Although, wouldn't it be more accurate to say 'horseshoes' than 'boots'?” she asked, as she signed the contract with her thumbprint and DNA.

“Something like that,” Novak replied, with only a hint of amusement underneath his professional tone. “Speaking of which, got an idea for what you want to look like?”

Lisa looked up, and then smiled as she handed the paper back. “I'm thinking... green.”

Chapter 1 - Names and Marks

A bright light was the first thing she became aware of as her consciousness began to assert itself, despite the fact her eyes were closed. Too bright, she thought, and then brought up an arm to cover her eyes. Ahh, much better, she thought, with a satisfied sigh.

Something nudged her in the side, and she groaned. “Go 'way,” she mumbled, and then rolled over and away from the offending contact.

“C'mon, Heinkel, time to get up,” a masculine voice spoke, even as the prodding began again. “Today's the day, after all.”

That sentence finally got through the fog of sleep, and Lisa felt her mind kickstart itself as she started to shift into a sitting position. Her back felt uncomfortable at the movement, though, and she reached back with a hand to rub at the affected area. Yet when the limb touched her back, she felt a hard nub where once five fingers had been, and was momentarily confused. Oh, right, she thought, as memories of the recent past came back. “I miss my hands,” Lisa mumbled, as she slowly shook her head to clear the cobwebs.

The voice who had awakened her laughed. “It's been three weeks since you got out of the tank, Heinkel,” the man said. “You'd think you'd be used to it by now.”

Lisa opened her eyes at that, and the large, golden-irised orbs focused on Daniel Vaughan, the man in charge of her physical conditioning. “Your bedside manner still needs work, Dan,” she grumbled, as she glanced around the room.

It was a small sleeping compartment aboard the department's main station, barely large enough to hold a bed and a small, freestanding closet for storing clothes. Temp housing is the same in any station, Heinkel mused, as she shifted her gaze back to the other being in the room. He wore his usual selection of work boots and a naval work uniform that lacked any rank or specialization insigne; a common sight on board the station.

Vaughan chuckled in reply to Heinkel's observation. “So it's been said,” he admitted, with a shrug. “But it gets the new kids like you out of bed after you're all tuckered out from the neural retraining, so I'll stick with it. Speaking of which,” he added, as he took a step back and out of the room's sole entrance. “Let's get moving, the liaison will be here in little over an hour.”

Lisa grumbled, but complied, and quickly shifted her remade body until she slid off the bed and onto her legs. Back legs, now, she remembered, and then let her torso fall forward until she landed on the hooves that used to be her hands. She took a moment to steady herself, and then moved forward cautiously, carefully testing whether her body would betray. Each step of her now-quadrupedal fame increased her confidence, and Heinkel was soon outside the door and into the corridor beyond.

“Not so bad, now is it?” Vaughan asked, and then waited a moment for Heinkel to swing her gaze over and up to his face before he gave her a grin. “Did a transition myself, once, just to see what I'd be helping the new kids through. It definitely takes some getting used to, even after your CNS has been taught how to use the new getup.”

A sheepish smile slowly spread across Lisa's new muzzle. “Yeah, it's still kind of trippy,” she agreed, even as she turned and started down the hall. Vaughan closed the door to the temporary quarters and followed, and soon was walking aside her through the painted metal passage. “I mean, I know we've had this tech since the M'fon passed us the Mantle and all, but hardly anyone goes through something this extreme, so you don't really know what to expect. It's like... like your whole body fell asleep, only without the feeling of needles, and you're not numb.”

“An accurate, if paradoxical, observation ,” Vaughan added, with a chuckle. “Not much in the English language to describe it, I know, but that's a close approximation.” The two fell into a companionable silence then, albeit a short one as they came upon Heinkel's destination. “Well, I'll let you get cleaned up,” Vaughan spoke, as the pair stopped before a door marked 'Water Closet'. “Unless you'd like me to call one of the girls from Acclimation to help you?”

“No thanks, I think I've got it,” Lisa replied, and then turned her attention to the door in front of them. She then concentrated and brought up memories of part of her neural retraining, and then narrowed her eyes as she focused on the door. Okay, push with your will, think it and it will happen, she recalled, and did as she instructed herself. A pressure seemed to form in her head, but she continued concentrating, and soon a faint golden glow seemed to come from above her eyes. It was matched by a golden aura that slowly flickered into life around the door's handle, though soon it strengthened and at Lisa's urging, it pulled the door outwards. “Yes!” she exclaimed, and quickly lifted her right foreleg to pump it up and down.

“Nice,” Vaughan praised. “I'll let you get to it, then. Don't take too long if you want to hit the commissary before the meeting.”

“Understood,” Heinkel acknowledged, and then turned to trot into the washroom. “See ya soon, Dan,” she added, and then closed the door behind her. She looked around the room and took in the setup wit ha brief glance, and then turned to the mirror.

The image that stared back was only vaguely familiar, as she had only seen it for the short time after she had left the nanotank. Where once she had light brown tresses and pale skin she now saw a mane of two different tones of green, fur of yet another shade of that color, and her entire body was in the shape of an equine sapiens equis, as the main local race was classified. Specifically, a unicorn pony, Lisa reminded herself, as her large eyes tracked up on her reflection to look at the horn she had used to gain entrance to the washroom. Amazing that they have this ability from their births, she thought, even as she turned to head for the special-constructed shower that would let even a being in the shape of an 'earth' pony use it. Can hardly wait until the eggheads figure out how to get this ability without going full native, the new unicorn mused. Be nice to wave a hand and have things get done. Ah, well, one thing at a time, I guess.

* * * *

After a short time and some morning ablutions, Heinkel trotted through the drab but well-maintained corridors of the Aegis space station as she headed for the commissary. She passed the occasional occupant, usually with a nod or a brief yet polite greeting, and tried not to think about how she was now completely naked. I mean, sure, it's not like it's all hanging out there like with regular human anatomy and whatnot, Lisa rationalized, as she tried not to think about how the cool air touched particular parts of her body. And besides, it's been three weeks and everyone from Dan to the director has come in and seen me in my birthday suit, right?

Yeah, but half the time you were covered up with a sheet, a niggling little voice replied from inside her. And you were behind closed doors, not walking around letting it all hang out.

It's not hanging out, it's tucked in and back and I even have a tail to cover it. Said tail twitched at this thought, and the alien motion managed to redirect Heinkel's attention. Freaking weird thing, though, having a tail. Nothing like it in normal human life, not unless you're one of those persons who goes for the whole-body modification thing. Dang thing has a mind of its own, but I guess I'll figure it out the more time I have in this body.

Adequately distracted, Lisa made it to the commissary without further worrying and soon enough the smell of cooked food made her stomach growl. A grin slipped over her muzzle and she quickly trotted over towards the beginning of the cafeteria-style food service line. There she once again concentrated on her QT fields—magic, she reminded herself. The locals call it magic, and frankly it's kinda fitting—and levitated a serving tray from a stack, and then adorned it with a plate and flatware. No need to be uncivilized, Heinkel mused, even as she concentrated on her usage of the energy fields now available to her, although not nearly as much as before as she found that the more she used the ability, the easier the act became. Thus she found it little trouble to move down the line and collect her breakfast from the various dishes, save for one minor detail. After all the people who've gone through the whole body-morph thing, after even having some of the locals come up here for months at a time, and they still have the counter at human waist height? Lisa silently grumbled, while she finished assembling her meal. I had to lift every freakin' pan up just to see what was on it; can't imagine that's fun at all for those who pick the earth pony route.

Lisa let the train of though fade away as she put the last tidbit on her plate, and then turned to walk away from the line to look for a seat. Although not even close to empty, the commissary was still rather open as the majority of the station's “day shift” wasn't up yet, and so the new unicorn quickly found a bench seat at an empty table and sat herself down in a manner that was still more human than pony. At least the table will hide anything... risqué, she mused, even as she set her tray down and then took a moment to absorb the ambiance of breakfast fare. Some might have found her choice of foodstuffs surprising, given her assignment, but Lisa had a much different opinion. Going to live with habitual vegetarians for months on end? Who wouldn't want to stock up on delicious meat? she mused. Her thoughts momentarily darkened, however, as an answer popped into her head. Okay, there are some people who wouldn't. But anyone who would willingly forsake meat for anything other than serious health reasons—and 'because there's too many calories' isn't one of them—is a species traitor and needs to be smacked upside the head with a trout. Her decision self-affirmed, Lisa once again concentrated and used her new telekinesis to lift a piece of bacon off of the pile on her plate, and then floated it into her mouth. The flavor exploded over her tastebuds once she began to chew, and she sighed. There's no way these ponies are mandatory herbivores, not with tastebuds like this.

“Lisa Heinkel?” an unfamiliar, feminine voice sounded behind her, and Lisa had to fight off an urge to use her new abilities and send a chair flying towards its owner.

“The person you want is out of service,” the unicorn ground out, without a glance back. “Please call back again after breakfast,” she concluded, and then magicked another piece of bacon into her mouth.

The amused chuckle that came from the newcomer bemused her, as did the reply. “I know predators tend to tunnel vision during meals, but surely you could spare a bit of attention for me?” The question and word choice sunk into Lisa's mind, and she finally turned around in her chair to view the person who'd approached her.

She was a pony, but seemed to be larger than the norm, or so it seemed to Lisa after spending a few weeks in her new body and amongst a few agents who'd come back from the field. The second thing the former human noted about the stranger was her coloration; her coat was a brilliant shade of pink, and her mane and tail a mix of purple, pink, and vanilla. Then Lisa finally noted the horn and wings, and her train of thought was stopped in its tracks. “Uh,” the unicorn muttered, too surprised to properly speak for the moment, although it was brief. “Princess Mi Amore Cadenza?”

The addressed pony winced at that. “I'd rather be called 'Cadance', if you would,” she replied, and then smiled at Lisa. “Would you mind if I took a seat and joined you?”

“Uh, sure,” Lisa replied, still a bit flabbergasted at the fact that the second most powerful pony in Equestria was on the station, and talking to her. “What can I do for you?” the unicorn asked, as Cadance walked to the bench opposite of her and then sat down on it in the same manner Lisa was.

“You could resume your meal,” the alacorn answered, with another smile. “I didn't mean to interrupt.”

Lisa raised an eyebrow, and she felt one of her triangular ears twitch. Wonder why it does that? she briefly mused. “So, me eating bacon isn't going to bother you?” she asked, and then lifted another piece into her mouth.

Cadance's smile never wavered as the pony opposite of her chewed on the morsel. “I've had to deal with griffon diplomats before,” she explained. “Human eating habits don't even register on me after that.”

“Ah,” Lisa said, after she had finished her mouthful. “So, uh, you come here often, then?” came the next question, even as the unicorn shifted her attention to the syrup-soaked pancakes and the flatware to cut them.

“I do,” Cadance replied. “I'm the head of Equstria's side of the Aegis, and the chief liaison to your department,” she explained, and then let her smile twist a bit into a grin as Lisa gave her a surprised glance. “I make it a point to meet all the new field agents your director sees fit to send to our planet and get a feel for them.”

Lisa nodded, as her mouth was full at the moment, and she took advantage of that to review what she had learned about Equestria, specifically Cadance and her position in the government. Mostly a ceremonial role; Celestia seems to hold most of the executive power, she recalled, even as she swallowed her bite and then lifted her glass of milk to her muzzle. Still involved in higher-level government meetings and diplomatic affairs, and when you add this role in then Celestia definitely trusts her and her counsel. Her thoughts were interrupted as she noticed Cadance staring at her. “What?”

“Oh, I'm sorry,” Cadance replied, genuinely contrite. “It's just, I was told you had only been changed for the first time a few weeks ago?” she asked, and then waited for Lisa to confirm with a nod. “Well, you've certainly adjusted well to using magic, then, because you look like a native-born pony from the way you handle your meal.”

“Hmm?” Lisa hummed, and then returned her attention to her meal. Not only had she grabbed a glass of milk in her mental grasp, but the flatware she was using to work at her pancakes was still floating about in the golden aura, as well as another piece of bacon that had been lifted off the plate. “Huh,” she murmured. Then she shrugged, and stuffed the bacon into her mouth. “Guess it helps being distracted,” she observed, after she finished the mouthful.

“It depends on the personality,” Cadance added. “I've known ponies who needed a lot of practice, and others still who are born naturals.” Her smile turned wistful at the last, and she shook her head a bit, as if remembering something, though she soon returned her attention to the present. “You seem to have very good control, despite the fact you weren't born this way.”

Lisa blushed a bit at the compliment. I wonder if it shows through my coat? “Thank you, your highness.”

“Oh please, none of that,” Cadance replied, with a wave of a hoof. “Up here I'm not Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, I'm just Cadance.”

An eyebrow raised on the unicorn's face. “Even to a 'commoner' like me?” she asked, and then took another bite of her food.

Cadance nodded. “Yes,” she replied. “I wasn't born a princess, so I've never been too comfortable with all that 'highness' stuff. I'd rather enjoy somepony—excuse me, someone's company as an equal, and leave the hierarchical mind games to the landed nobles.”

Lisa could only nod at that, as it fit what she knew of the princess, as well as her own views on the world. “Well, I can't blame you for that,” she admitted, and then returned some of her attention back to her breakfast.

“I'm glad to hear it,” Cadance replied. A companionable silence fell over the two as Lisa ate, and Cadance waited patiently for her to finish. Eventually the new unicorn did swallow her last bite, and the princess gave her another smile. “Now that you're done, how about we discuss your mission?”

“I have a mission already?” Lisa asked, as she used her new abilities to stack her dishes. “Ain't I supposed to be trained on the finer points of local culture, first?”

“Ah, I believe I misspoke,” Cadance allowed, with a sheepish grin. “I should say your assignment to my land. And as a matter of fact, yes, the first work you will do once we get to Equestria is to tail along with one of our native field agents, who will take you through Canterlot for a few days so that you may learn how to better mingle with ponies.”

“Aha,” the unicorn said, in understanding. “Sounds good. So what's first?” she asked, as she began the somewhat involved task of climbing out of her seat.

Cadance likewise abandoned her seat, but did so with much more finesse than the newly-changed Heinkel. “Well first, we need to establish a cover for you, including a name,” she explained, as she followed Lisa as the latter telekinetically carried her used dishes to the return area. “Human names aren't exactly common on Equis, especially for ponies. Furthermore, we'll have to coordinate it with whatever cutie mark you decide to wear.”

“Oh, right, that,” Lisa observed, and then glanced back at her blank flank.

Cadance raised an eyebrow at the unicorn's dejected tone. “Something the matter?” she asked.

“Just, the whole idea of being permanently marked with your ability on your backside seems dystopian to me,” Lisa explained, as she turned and focused setting the dishes down. “Like you're pigeonholed into that role forever.”

A light chuckle was the immediate reply, and Lisa turned her head to give the alacorn a bemused look. “Oh, I don't know where you humans keep getting that idea,” Cadance said, with a warm smile. “Miss Heinkel, a cutie mark only displays what a pony excels at. Whether or not they turn that into a career is entirely up to them, and frankly, there's plenty of ponies whose special talents are nearly useless in a paying job.” Cadance sighed briefly at that, and then nodded her head to the side to indicate that Lisa should follow her, and then set off towards one of the commissary's exits. She resumed talking once the unicorn caught up. “Honestly, if anything it gives us even more individuality and diversity by encouraging ponies to find what makes them unique and special, so that they can broaden the rich tapestry of our culture.”

Lisa raised an eyebrow at the alacorn. “Laying it on a bit thick there, ain't ya?” she asked.

Cadance blushed a bit at the question. “Sorry, I suppose I got carried away,” she admitted, as the two left the commissary and started to move down the station's various corridors. More and more persons were starting to wake and get about their day, and so the two ponies had to watch their way a bit more carefully. “But the fact is that cutie marks don't restrict us at all, but instead just encourage us to be even more individualistic than we'd otherwise be.”

“I guess I can see that,” Lisa allowed, with a nod of her head. “So, if it's a pony's special talent, then how are their names always so fitting to the mark or their abilities?” she asked, in a curious tone. “It seems like there's some kind of prediction going on.”

“I wish I knew,” Cadance replied, with a shake of her head. “We've tried to study it ourselves, but even our best minds can only say 'it's magic'”, she added, and then shrugged with her wings. Lisa felt a pang of jealousy at the gesture, but squashed it as the alacorn continued. “But however it happens, it happens, which means we need to figure out what sort of talent you're quite good at, and let that suggest both a name and a mark.”

“Hmm...” Lisa hummed, as the pair entered an elevator. She slipped into heavy thought, and so didn't notice which level the princess pressed the button for with her own telekinesis. “Well, what sort of talents get ponies their marks, anyway?”

“Anything, really,” Cadance replied, as the doors shut and the lift began to move. “Whatever it is you're good at, or passionate about. Athletics, academics, music, dancing, creating, destroying, whatever it is you do that really stirs your soul, that can be a cutie mark and talent.

“So I suppose the question is: what do you like to do, miss Heinkel?”

A silence fell over the two as the elevator reached its destination, and the doors opened. The two left the lift and began to make their way through more corridors, and Lisa followed behind the alacorn absentmindedly for a while. After a few moments, though, she finally cleared her throat to garner the other pony's attention. “Well, this might sound kinda dumb...” she began, cautiously.

“I assure you, there's nothing 'dumb' when it comes to individual passions,” Cadance assured her.

Lisa managed a grin at the taller pony,and then sighed. “Well... I kinda like playing musical instruments. You know, the actual ones, not the synthesizers that everyone loves to use nowadays.”

Cadance smiled as she shook her head. “That's not even remotely close to being 'dumb',” she lightly chastised. “So, which is your favorite?”

“To be honest... the lyre,” Lisa replied, with a sheepish grin. “There's something about how hard it is to play it that makes producing music with it so rewarding.”

“Ah, a challenge then?” Cadance asked, as she stopped in front of a door and turned her whole body—as opposed to just her head—to face Heinkel. The latter nodded her head, and the princess chuckled slightly. “Well, I can certainly understand that sort of motivation. And you know, I think that might give us your name.”

Lisa cocked her head to the side in confusion. “Really? How?”

“Well, we've found that making an agent's cover name alliterative to their real name helps with memorization, and you like the lyre, so it seems obvious to me,” Cadance explained, with a beatific grin. “How does 'Lyra' sound to you?”

The unicorn paused and thought over the princess' question. Then she grinned after a moment. “I think that sounds great,” she replied. Then the smile faded a bit. “But is that all I'd need?”

“Technically, yes,” Cadance answered. “However, you might want to consider another name to match your family name, as many ponies have two word names.”

A pause entered the conversation as Heinkel pondered on this, though soon enough a grin appeared on her muzzle. “I think I got it. How about 'Heartstrings'?”

Cadance chuckled again. “It sounds wonderful, and delightfully pun-like; we'll make a proper pony out of you yet, miss Heinkel,” she added, with a grin of her own.

Lisa echoed the chuckle. “Seems like it,” she agreed. “So, now that's done, what's next?”

Cadance continue to grin as she nodded her head up and towards the top of the door they had stopped in front of. Lisa looked up and then blushed as she read the sign there:

MEDICAL WING 4D-7S

Transgenetic Section

Outpatient Ward

“Now, we go get you a cutie mark,” Cadance explained, as she lit up her horn and pressed the door activation button. Once the automatic entry opened, she waved a hoof towards the room beyond. “After you.”

Lisa couldn't help but shake her head and grin as she walked forward. “Oh, you're good,” she said, as she passed the alacorn.

Cadance just grinned back. “I've had a bit of experience,” she admitted, as she followed the unicorn inside.

Chapter 2 - Games and Theories

Heinkel walked out of the outpatient facility with a slight wiggle in her hips. “Man, that feels weird,” she commented as she paused in the corridor. She shifted her back end to the side and looked at the new symbol now emblazoned on her flanks.

“Everyone who gets one always says that,” Cadance chimed in, after she had followed the unicorn out and closed the door behind her with her magic. “I would think that the procedure would be similar to what you went through to get the new body.”

Lisa shook her head in reply as she turned to face the princess and shift her body to a normal quadrupedal stance. “Nah. We're knocked out the whole time that's happening, so we're not aware of what the nanites are doing to us. This, though,” she added, and then glanced back towards her flank again. “You can feel the little buggers at work, and it's kinda creepy. And the feeling doesn't seem to go away right off the bat, either.”

Cadance chuckled as Lisa turned her head back towards her. “I suppose I may have to try it myself one day, just to see how it feels,” she mused, even as she turned and began to walk down the corridor. Lisa quickly moved to join her, and the alacorn continued to speak. “I admit I'm intensely curious. The whole notion of changing into an entirely different species with a different stance and abilities is enticing.”

“I suppose,” Lisa replied, with a brief dip of her forward body that marked a shrug on the move. “I mean, I was just never big on the idea myself.”

“Oh?” Cadance asked, with a glance to the smaller pony. “If that's so, then why go through the change, or even enter this program at all?”

A moment of silence passed between them, broken only by the muted clopping of their hooves on the carpeted deck. After a moment, Lisa sighed. “To be honest, well... you do know how adorable you ponies look to humans, right?”

Cadance let out a hearty chuckle at that. “Oh, I see now,” she said, with a grin aimed at Heinkel. “You just wanted to give hugs to all the cute ponies?”

“Noooo,” Lisa retorted, with heat in her voice. The slight blush on her face, though, showed the alacorn her question wasn't too far off the mark. “It's just...” Heinkel let her voice trail into silence, and then took a moment to think, before she let out a huff. “My father was a police officer when I was growing up, and whenever I asked why he was always gone so late, he and mom always talked about how important his job was to protect others. When I got older I really took that to heart, and when I read about you guys and saw how innocent you seemed, I asked myself 'who protects them?'

“Then I read about Aegis, and I kinda decided I wanted to be part of it so I could be a protector like my father,” Lisa added, as the two entered another lift. There was a pause as they turned around to face the doors, and for Cadance to press the control for their next destination, but soon the unicorn continued. “I guess I just never grew out of that mindset. It's been the focus of my schooling and, frankly, I just feel right being here.” She paused again, this time to lift up a foreleg and look at the hoof on it. “Well, mostly; I miss my hands.”

Another chuckle left Cadance's throat, though it was smaller than the previous one. “Every human says that,” she observed. “It's one of those things that makes me consider trying out the change sometime, if only to see what's so great about having fingers over flexible, magic-gripping hooves.”

Lisa couldn't help but chuckle back. “Trust me, you'll know the instant you get them,” she replied. Then she tilted her head to the side as a new idea ran through her mind. “Well, maybe not right away. It'll probably be a bit of trouble to learn how to use them; hooves are fairly easy for humans because we can imagine we're walking on our knuckles or something, but it takes us years as kids to learn how to get fingers down.”

“Perhaps,” Cadance allowed, as the lift slowed to a stop and the doors opened. The two ponies quickly stepped out and began to move down the empty corridor at a slight trot. “I think I will definitely have to find out for myself sometime. But let us focus on the immediate future,” she added, as she slowed her pace down a bit as the pair approached a door. “Right now we need to take the teleporter down to Canterlot and start getting you acclimatized to pony culture.”

“Teleporter?” Lisa asked. She glanced around from where she stood at the alacorn's side, and once again found herself reading a sign by the far more impressive doors:

TELEPORTER ROOM 12A-7X

AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY

All Persons Subject to Search

Cadance barely paused at the entrance long enough to use her magic to operate the door controls, and then walked in. Lisa followed right after, and then took a moment to drink in the surroundings. I never thought I'd see one of these in person, she mused, as she looked at the oddly familiar room. It was mostly plain gray wall paneling and beige carpet on the floor, save for the operator's console, the seat for said operator, and the large, circular demi-chamber set into the opposite wall. Within the half-room of the teleporter chamber were two very large flat discs of some pale material, one each mounted to the floor and ceiling. Funny how Star Trek got this right, even if the physics behind it are completely different, Lisa mused.

Her ruminating was interrupted as the man seated behind the operator's console stood and faced them. “Madam princess, nice to see you again,” he said, politely.

Cadance just shook her head. “Honestly Clarence, are you asking for another bap on the head?”

The man, Clarence, laughed. “I just love tweaking your nose, Cadance, you know that.”

Lisa watched the interplay with the normal passivity of someone waiting to enter a conversation, but soon grinned as a thought entered her head. “Clarence,” she said, as she looked to the human, and then glanced to the alacorn. “Cadence. Cadance,” she repeated, and then glanced over to the man again. “Clarence.”

Surprisingly, the others grinned at her. “We have clearance, Clarence,” Cadance said to the operator.

“Roger, Roger,” the man replied, as his grin grew wider. “What's our vector, Victor?”

Lisa's mouth dropped open at that. “You both know that old movie?” she asked, shocked.

Both Clarence and Cadance chuckled at the unicorn's surprise. “Clarence was familiar with it, and introduced me soon after he was assigned as the chief teleporter technician when he noticed the similarity of our names,” Cadance explained, with a smile. “That scene makes me laugh every time I watch it.”

“Yeah, and we never pass up a chance to tweak the newcomers,” Clarence added. “Honestly, I'm surprised you got it.”

Lisa managed a faint smirk at that. “My father really loved those old comedies from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, so we watched them a lot. I'm pretty sure it warped me,” she added, with a wink.

Another round of polite chuckles filled the room, albeit briefly. “Well, to business,” Cadance said, not unkindly but with direction in her tone. She turned to Clarence and then nodded to him. “We need to get to the castle grounds, if you would be so kind.”

“But of course, milady,” Clarence replied, with a feigned accent. He then turned to his console and picked up a headset resting on it. “Go ahead and get on the transport pad while I call down to make sure they got their receivers turned on.”

Cadance moved off to the aforementioned pad, with Lisa immediately following. “Receivers?” the unicorn asked, as she stepped up and onto the raised, plastic-like pad.

“Yes,” Cadance replied, as the pair of ponies reached the general center of the pad, and then turned around to face towards the operator's station. “I am not too clear on the exact mechanics, but from what I've pieced together translation teleports can be affected by local conditions, so the further you go the more power you need to make sure it goes off without a hitch. And get to the right place, as well. Normally, unicorns who can self-teleport can only go a quarter mile to a mile. Oh, right,” she added, with a sheepish grin. “I forgot, you use the metric system. That's from around seven to sixteen hectometers.”

Cadance paused to let that sink in, and Lisa remained silent as she hastily dug up old school memories for a definition of the sparsely-used measurement. “But we're going like, thirty-six thousand kilometers,” she said, after a moment.

“Hence the need for dedicated platforms linked to each other,” Cadance affirmed, with a nod.

Further conversation was put on hold then, as Clarence spoke up. “Alright you two, they're ready and waiting. You ready for the transport?” Both of the ponies answered affirmative, and the human nodded to them before he turned his attention back to his controls. “Good. Hope you didn't have a big breakfast, today,” he added, just as he initiated the teleport.

“Wait, what?” Lisa asked, just before reality twisted in non-Euclidean patterns. For a period of time too short to be measured, yet too long to be ignored, the former human's mind was assaulted with the unfortunate sensation of being everywhere in the universe at once. Fortunately, her viewpoint quickly collapsed to show a room similar to the one she had just been in, only with stone walls instead of metal and a pony instead of a human behind the control panel.

Not that Lisa was paying it much attention, as she had dropped to the floor and curled up into a ball of pain. Oh God, oh God, oh God, what the Hell was that?! she mentally raged, as her stomach shifted, pulled, and did all it could to expel its contents in any manner possible. Heinkel, meanwhile, desperately exerted her entire will and focus on keeping said material inside where it belonged. Think of something besides the nausea! Uh, football? Aussie, American, or European? Ugh, not distracting enough, how about what mom was asking me? The nausea shifted from pure agony down into mere pained disgust, and Lisa slowly started to take deeper breaths. Okay, that makes me want to throw up, but in a different way, so that kind of works. Why the Hell are my parents so weird?

A voice finally started to intrude on her consciousness, and Lisa realized that Cadance had been attempting to speak to her. “Lisa, please say something,” the worried alacorn said, from where her head was held just above the unicorn's own.

“'M fine,” Lisa managed to grate out, and then paused to take another, deep breath. “I just... gimme a moment.”

“Of course,” Cadance said, and then looked up to the pony teleporter operator, who had come over from the controls. “Night Shimmer, please go get a nurse.”

“Yes, your majesty,” the mare—her voice a dead giveaway to Lisa—replied, and then ran off.

Lisa frowned as she slowly uncurled from her balled position. “I said I was fine,” she reiterated, with a glance up at Cadance.

“Maybe so, but I just want to be sure,” the alacorn replied, evenly. “Most persons who go through a teleport the first time usually find it disconcerting, and when your first time is through a long-range teleport that makes even seasoned veterans sick in the stomach, well I just want to make sure you won't have a more adverse reaction.”

Heinkel grunted at that, and then began to stand as the pain continued to subside. “I'm fine, really,” she said, with strength in her voice. “It was just a gut punch I didn't expect.”

The other pony simply gave her an appraising look for a few long moments, but eventually nodded. “Alright, but if you start feeling bad again you should tell me and we'll get you checked out,” Cadance stated, the tone of her voice made it clear she would brook no argument. “We'll wait for Shimmer to come back with the nurse and let her give you a quick vitals check. If you're still good by then, we'll move on.”

* * * *

The checkup from the nurse was quick, and soon Cadance was leading Lisa through stone-lined corridors lit by strange torch-like lights that glowed in a manner which the former human found eerie. “So, I guess we're under the castle?” she asked, wanting a distraction, as well as being genuinely curious.

“Indeed,” Cadance replied, with a nod, without looking back. “We're heading for the gardens, where we'll meet your tutor for Equestrian customs. After you two get to know each other, I'll let her take you through Canterlot while I go finish my paperwork for our part of the transfer.”

Lisa took her eyes off of the chiseled walls to give the alacorn a curious look. “You guys got to deal with paperwork?” she asked.

“Unfortunately,” Cadance admitted, with a sigh. She glanced back at Heinkel, and gave the former human a wan smile. “Even in a monarchy, records must be kept and information filed.”

“More like bureaucrats wasting our time,” Lisa said, with a snort. “I've filed dozens of reports, term papers up the wazoo, and more government documents than I can count, and I've yet to see any of them have any appreciable effect on my life beyond finally letting me do what I could have done before I filled them out.”

“Maybe so, but try not to say that where the bureaucrats can hear you,” Cadance replied. “You know how they get when someone criticizes their life's work.”

“If you could call that sort of mindless drone a life,” Lisa opined. “Or categorize what they do as work.”

“To be fair,” Cadance interjected. “There's always going to be a need to keep records and hold ponies—or people, even—accountable.” She then cast a sideways glance at the smaller pony. “A being who can handle that has their uses.”

“True,” Lisa admitted, and then shook her head. “But the ones who actually do the job well and correctly are always few and far between. The vast majority of bureaucrats are just lazy, good-for-nothing slackers who sit on their asses napping half the time, and the other half making the jobs of people who actually do the real work more difficult with half-assed rules and regulations and procedures that don't actually do anything but justify some new office or position so that their cronies can also have a job sitting on their ass getting fat and micro-managing others!”

A moment of silence passed between the two mares before Cadance finally spoke up. “It sounds like this is from first-hoof experience?” she ventured. Lisa's only reply was an un-ponylike growl, and the princess sighed. “Well, I guess we'll just have to keep you from Parliament, then,” she offered, jokingly.

Lisa snorted in amusement. “Yeah, I'd be tempted to try out this thing on them,” she said, as she stopped to tap her horn with a hoof.

Cadance had paused with her, and gave a short chuckle. “I know I've felt that way sometimes,” she said, as the two resumed their walk along the corridor, which was now rising upwards to form a gentle ramp. “Still, I hope you can at least remain civil?”

Heinkel released a sigh. “Yeah, yeah,” she said, tiredly. “Just don't expect me to enjoy it.”

“Perish the thought,” Cadance replied. The two then fell silent as they reached a set of doors at the end of the ramp. “And we're here,” the princess added, and then used her magic to pull open the doors. Lisa had to screw her eyes shut against the harsh glare of the sun, but they adjusted quickly and she opened them again to greedily drink in the sight before her. Spectacular, she thought, as the worlds famous Canterlot Royal Gardens were revealed to her in person.

The doors opened up onto a small balcony that overlooked the lush, low-lying gardens, and thus Heinkel could easily gaze over the hedges that cut the garden into various miniature biomes. Some portions were square or rectangular, while others were circular or ovoid, and a few were sinuous and even a bit random. Each one, though, had a variety of plants and, in some cases, animals from different environments, some of which were surprising. “Is that block over there filled with snow?” Lisa asked, without taking her eyes off of the summertime anomaly.

Cadance chuckled, which finally prompted the unicorn to look away and over at the princess. “Amazing, isn't it?” she asked, with a friendly smile. She then began to walk towards a set of stairs leading down into the gardens and resumed speaking as Lisa caught up. “Pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies all work together to maintain various spells and conditions in the gardens so that we can keep plants and animals from around the world,” she explained, while she and Heinkel reached the soft grass that covered much of the ground and continued into the gardens proper. “The winter taiga biome is the most extreme you'll find in the gardens, but the high desert and mangrove swamp sections are also works of art in their own right.”

“Wow,” Lisa said, as she followed Cadance through the maze-like paths. “I read about this place before I came here, but seeing it like that is just... wow,” she concluded.

The alacorn had to refrain from another chuckle at that. Instead, she just smiled again and decided to change the topic a bit. “In any case, we'll be heading to the 'jade cliffs' biome to meet with your training officer,” she explained, with a brief pause in her walk to lift a hoof and point it towards a cluster of tall pines three dozen meters away.

Lisa could only nod as she followed Cadance through the pathways, as her head kept moving on a swivel to peer into the various sections as they passed. Even with our adoption of so much knowledge from the M'fon, we still can't get this level of transition field manipulation so casually, she thought. And yet here they are with it all in the open like this! Absolutely astounding.

Soon enough they entered the section filled with pines, and Lisa was impressed to see that a literal cliff (albeit a tiny one) had been put into place to provide a perch for the perennial subspecies. Such thoughts were then put to the side, however, as a pony was waiting for them as Cadance promised, and Lisa set her mind back on track. Right, time for business mode, she thought to herself, as she followed Cadance over to the pink-coated, purple-maned unicorn.

“Your majesty,” the new pony said to Cadance, as the latter led Heinkel over. The unicorn also gave a brief but respectful bow on her front legs.

“Amethyst Star,” Cadance friendlily replied, as the addressed mare stood back up. “Allow me to introduce you to your charge, Lisa Heinkel,” she added, as she waved a hoof towards where Heinkel stood at her side. “Lisa, this is Amethyst Star, chief agent in charge of cultural acclimation.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Lisa said, as she held up a foreleg towards Amethyst Star.

“Likewise,” Amethyst replied, as she shook the proffered hoof with a warm smile. “Welcome to Equestria.”

“Thank you,” Lisa responded, as the two broke the shake. “I'm happy to be here.”

“Oh, that will change,” Amethyst replied, with a smirk.

“Be nice, Star,” Cadance gently chided, although she still wore a small smile. “Miss Heinkel was fast tracked to her position, so don't push her too much.”

Heinkel felt the fur over her shoulders bristle a bit at that, and she let loose a light huff. “I may be new, but I'm not going to trip over my own feet,” she said.

Amethyst turned to give the former human a measuring look. “I would hope not, considering you have hooves now,” she replied, and then waited a beat while Lisa blushed. “It's because of verbal missteps like that my position exists,” Amethyst continued, even as she began to leisurely pace. “For reasons that only Celestia and the M'fon know, they molded our language to mimic yours closely, but even then there are some cultural differences that can reveal an outsider to all but the most oblivious of ponies.

“Hence why we're both here,” the native unicorn added, and then stopped in her pacing to face Heinkel. “While you're with me, you will learn how to speak and act like a common pony, so that you can better blend into our population. You will learn social mores so that you will not accidentally offend, and finally you will learn the common laws of our land that may be different from what you are familiar with.”

A moment of silence fell over the trio as Heinkel absorbed Amethyst's words, though it was brief as Cadance spoke up after only a few seconds. “Well, you are in good hooves with Amethyst Star,” she said to Heinkel. “So I'm going to take my leave and go take care of the paperwork I mentioned.”

“Understood, princess,” Lisa responded, and then offered a brief salute. “Thank you for your time.”

“It was no problem” Cadance replied, and then looked over to Star. “Amethyst, I'll be in my office or meeting with Celestia if you need me.”

“Understood, your majesty,” Amethyst said, in a near echo of Heinkel. “But we should be fine for the rest of the day.”

“I'm glad to hear it,” Cadance replied. “Stop by when you're done with today's lessons and I should have quarters assigned for miss Heinkel. Or rather, I should say 'Miss Heartstrings,” she added, and then gave a wink to Lisa. “It would be best if you started using your new name immediately, so from now on we'll be referring to you as such, Lyra.”

Lisa blinked at that, and then nodded. “That sounds perfectly reasonable,” she replied, somewhat hesitantly. “Once again, I thank you for your time.”

“Of course,” Cadance said, and then nodded to Amethyst Star before she turned and walked off. “Take care, you two,” she called out over her shoulder as she left the habitat.

Amethyst waited for the princess to leave before she once again turned to Heinkel. “So, Lyra Heartstrings, eh?” she asked, and then began to walk around the other unicorn.

Lisa nodded as the native pony continued her visual inspection. “Yeah. It's alliterative to my real name and it kind of fits into my hobby of playing old style string instruments.”

“Ah ah,” Amethyst said, as she stopped in front of Heinkel, and then waved a hoof in the air in front of the green pony. “Do not think that way; don't think of your birth name as your only real name. Your name is Lyra Heartstrings now,” she added, as she lowered her hoof back to the ground and then locked eyes with Lisa/Lyra. “In order to fit in here, you must internalize that name, and accept it as part of you. Otherwise you will find yourself accidentally ignoring ponies when they speak with you, and you will never feel at ease even when you acknowledge the name.”

The new pony frowned at that, and she had to mentally quash an urge to shuffle her legs. “I... guess I can see that,” she said, carefully.

Amethyst sighed at the uncomfortable tone she heard. “I know, it feels weird,” she said, and then offered a wan smile. “A lot of your people mention how it feels like it's denying yourself, and frankly, us native ponies have to do something similar when on assignment,” she added, and then gestured for the green unicorn to follow her as she started to walk off. “Equestrian agents of the Aegis often are assigned to towns and territories far from where we call home in order to help protect our identities and operational security, and assuming a new name is part of that.”

“Oh,” Lisa thought. No, that's not right, she told herself, as she noted her mind slipping the old name into her thoughts. It's 'Lyra' now, so start thinking like it. She then sighed and nodded. “I see what you mean,” she said, and then offered a faint smile of her own as she walked alongside Star. “So I'll just have to get used to it.”

“Good,” Amethyst replied, with a quick, friendly glance back. She returned her head back to a forward-facing position and then continued. “On that note, let's leave the gardens and head out into Canterlot proper so you can get accommodated to being surrounded by large crowds of ponies.”

“Sounds good,” Lisa/Lyra agreed. The two then fell into a companionable silence as they wound their way through the various garden biomes to reach the city. A small stream marked the boundary between the gardens and the parkland surrounding them, and beyond the bridge that crossed it one could see the stately buildings of one of Equestria's oldest cities waiting for them, and the many ponies walking along the streets and boulevards. As she watched, though, Lyra noticed one pony in particular running perpendicular to the garden path in a determined manner, and she furrowed her brows a bit. “Why does that one look familiar?” she asked, half to herself. “She looks like she's panicked about something.”

“That would be Princess Celestia's student, Twilight Sparkle,” Amethyst Star off-handedly replied, as the two began to walk up one side of the footbridge. “Don't worry too much about her, she's always freaking out about something.”

“Twilight Sparkle?” Lyra asked, with a hitch in her throat.

“Yes,” Amethyst replied, and then came to a stop on the top of the bridge's arch to look over at the mint unicorn. “Why do you...” she began, but then trailed off as she saw Lyra smiling and waving a hoof at the lavender unicorn as she ran past the bridge. The smile faded and the waving stopped as Twilight simply ran past without even so much as a glance, and a vague look of mild disappointment settled on Lyra's face. “What are you doing?” Amethyst finally asked.

Lyra startled at that, and then turned her head to give Star a sheepish smile. “Oh, heh, sorry,” she said, and then used her raised hoof to rub the back of her head as she blushed.

“It's fine,” Amethyst replied, with a skeptical tone of voice. “Just... what was that about?”

“Oh, uh,” Lyra said, and then glanced around. Once she saw that the immediate area was clear, she turned back to Amethyst Star. “Well, humans might be a secret here, but ponies are pretty well known on Terra and the colonies,” she began. “There's actually like a small subset of media that reports on the happenings here in Equestria, and well, Celestia's personal student is kinda famous.” She paused at that to gather her thoughts, and then continued, albeit a bit more uncomfortably as she noted Star's befuddled expression. “I mean, yanno, the princess is famous, so anyone—”

“Anypony,” Amethyst interjected. “That's one of those words you're going to have to relearn, otherwise you'll just sound weird to most ponies.”

Lyra frowned a bit as she tried to adjust to the sudden shift in the conversation. “But, isn't that kind of rude to beings who aren't ponies?” she asked.

Amethyst sighed. “Maybe a bit,” she cautiously admitted. “But ponies use it anyway in daily life, so you'll need to use it yourself. But aside from that,” she added, and then spitted her charge with a questioning look. “You were explaining that you seem to have some sort of crush on Celestia's personal student?” she asked, with a raised eyebrow.

“Ugh, no!” Lyra retorted. She took a step back and shook her head before she continued. “Nothing like that! Just... well, you do know your entire species looks adorable to us, right?” she asked of the native.

Now it was Amethyst's turn to blush a bit. “I am aware of that fact,” she slowly replied.

“Well, it means that naturally we're kind of interested in you guys. Big news in Equestria tends to be big news on human planets as well,” Lyra explained, and then shrugged. “So when Celestia gets a new student, it makes the rounds. And when Twilight became her student, well...” Lyra paused at that, and then glanced down. “I'm about the same age as her. So there I was, this young kid curious about ponies, and I see this story of this pony who's as old as I am, and she's like, some kind of awesome prodigy. It really inspired me, and so Twilight's like, kind of a hero to me.” She looked up at this, and saw that Amethyst was still wearing an incredulous expression, and then blushed again and looked off to the side. “I guess that sounds kind of dumb, doesn't it?”

A moment of silence passed between them, but it was soon broken as Amethyst Star sighed. “No, not really,” she quietly said, and then offered a wan smile to Lyra as the latter looked to her again. “Having heroes isn't a bad thing. It's just surprising when I hear somepony say Twilight Sparkle of all ponies is a role model,” she explained, and then chuckled a bit. “She's a nice pony, but a total social hermit. An utter bookworm. I doubt she'd leave the royal library if it didn't close.”

“Really?” Lyra asked, with a tilt of her head. “That bad, huh?”

“Verily,” Amethyst replied, with a nod. “I haven't spoken with her much, to be honest, but from what everypony says she's completely introverted.” She paused to shake her head. “Other than that, I've heard good things about her, but sometimes you have to worry about a pony who can't or won't make friends.”

“Huh,” Lyra mused, and then glanced off in the direction Sparkle had gone. She was not surprised to see that it was a path that lead through the parkland and right up to the Royal Palace itself, though the crowds of ponies walking to and from the building did pique her curiosity. I wonder if that's a normal amount of foot—hoof traffic, or is this another clue to the mystery that got me sent here?

“Well,” Amethyst Star interjected into Lyra's musings, and the latter turned towards the former as she continued to speak. “As interesting as this conversation is, we really should get going on your acclimation.”

“Oh, right, of course,” Lyra said, with a sheepish grin. “Well, I'm ready to go.”

“Right,” Star said, and then turned to walk off. “Follow me.”

* * * *

Some time later, the ticking of a grandfather clock filled an office in the palace with the monotonous sound of its mechanism. Cadance looked up at the large clock set against the far wall, and then stifled a sigh. I've been sitting here for the last hour and I still don't have an idea on what to do, she dejectedly thought. Aunt Celestia's doing something, and she isn't telling anypony a thing about it.

Another few clicks passed as Cadance set her head down on the side rest of a backless couch that served as the pony equivalent of a luxury office chair. The move, she knew, was similar in how humans would lean back in their own style of chair, and she did it for much the same reason; I need to think.

Her last meeting with her adoptive aunt had been somewhat of an upsetting experience for the younger alacorn. She practically blew off the concerns of director Novak, and basically had no instruction in what I'm supposed to do with his redeployment of their assets. She won't even address my concerns, either, Cadance remembered, with a frown crossing her muzzle. I may have been born a pegasus, but I'm no fool when it comes to magic; there's something strange going on with the field. The humans know this, and it's making them nervous. Hay, it's making me nervous, and yet Celestia won't even say anything about it except “it's perfectly normal.” Normal! She snorted at that thought. Normal my tail! My horn's practically itching, and even regular unicorns are starting to feel uneasy, even if they don't quite have the same attunement to know why.

And then there's the way she just shipped Twilight off to Ponyville without warning, Cadance mused, and then shifted on her couch slightly. I mean, don't get me wrong, Twilight has needed to get out of the palace for a long time now, but so suddenly? Everything went from normal to “Twilight's away on a royal mission” in only an hour? And right when all this strange activity is going on? The whole idea that Celestia would be deliberately withholding information, or worse, actively plotting something in secret behind the backs of her allies and closest advisers was disturbing.

No, Cadance thought, and then climbed out of her seat in order to walk around her desk so she could pace in front of it. Auntie can't be doing that, she thought, as she moved back and forth. She wouldn't be so crass, so underhoofed, not after everything she's done. ...Would she?

Cadance stopped moving at this, and then paused to look around her office. Her chair and desk dominated one end of the room, and the other end held a set of several small chairs set around a low table for more relaxed meetings. She regarded these for a moment, and then turned her head left to gaze out of the windows behind her chair that let in the beautiful light of the sun. She was suddenly struck by the need to take a look outside the windows, and so walked over to gaze out through the reinforced glass.

The Equstrian heartland—or at least the portion near Canterlot—was laid out before her, and Cadance sighed a bit as she felt the usual calming sensation she got at looking over the land's natural beauty. Funny how Richard always says the same about the view, but it's the towns and railroads that make him feel relaxed, she mused, as she remembered one of the rare, secret visits of unchanged humans to the palace. Her eyes traced over the nearby towns, two of which could be seen; Ponyville and Hoofington. Cadance cast her eyes on the former, and then frowned as she saw how close it lay to the Everfree Forest. That's where the Summer Sun Celebration will happen, and where Twilight is being sent, she thought, as she recalled that the unicorn was still preparing for her trip. Cadance mentally went over what assets the Aegis had in the town, and she frowned again. Only one agent, Equestrian. Mainly there just to keep an eye on the place since it's right on the Everfree. Not exactly a hefty presence, and yet Celestia won't even hear of assigning any more of our own agents, even temporarily for the festival.

And that just brings up the questions of 'why' again, Cadance went on in her mind, as she stared at the small town in the distance. Why Ponyville? Why move the Summer Sun Celebration out there when it's usually held in a major city? Why is the magic field acting up? Why is Celestia so evasive? Why is Twilight mysteriously being sent out in the middle of all of this? And why is our crown princess ignoring her own security apparatus?

Her thoughts stilled for a moment as she tried to make sense of everything. Cadance let her eyes trace over the town that seemed to be at the center of her problems, and then after a few moments, finally sighed. She won't give me any answers, she mused, and then closed her eyes. She doesn't trust me, the alacorn concluded. She doesn't trust anypony. At least, nopony that I know of. She opened her eyes then and turned around to regard her office once again. Her gaze traced along the various photos and shelves full of tomes that filled the walls until they landed on one particular picture. Her horn lit up as Cadance willed her magic into motion, and the frame she eyed floated off the wall to come to a hover in the air in front of her. It was a photograph of her right after her ascension and coronation, and in it were two ponies: herself and Celestia, both dressed in their coronation gowns.

Ugly things, Cadance briefly mused, and then frowned as she focused her eyes on the reproduction of Celestia's. What are you doing, auntie? Why are you playing this so close to the chest? Do you really not trust anyone...? Or... She blinked as a new idea entered her head. Or are you worried? Worried that this is a threat, something so dangerous you don't think anypony can handle it but you?

But, you aren't just handling it yourself, are you? Cadance realized this, and then turned her head to regard another picture, this one propped up on her desk. In it was herself, a bit older than she was at her coronation, with a small, precocious filly, both mugging it up for the camera. You've got Twilight mixed up in whatever plan you have concocted. But is she being sent to safety so she can help from the sidelines, or are you thrusting her into the middle of it all?

“It would be like her,” Cadance muttered to herself, as she turned her attention to levitating the coronation picture back to its place on the wall. She loves these little hooves-on tests. Heavens know I nearly wet myself when she just randomly brought me into a room filled with director Novak and his guards without an ounce of preamble. But this...

Cadance glanced over and through the window again, and then turned her head back to face the documents lying open on her desk. The one on top was a readiness report for the Aegis' rapid deployment teams, both human and pony, while another just under it contained a listing of Aegis assets in and around Canterlot. Her horn lit up again as she lifted the latter out from underneath the former and once again looked at Ponyville's listing:

Agent “Bonbon”

Species: Equis Sapiens Habilis (Native)

Tribe: Earth (Native)

Citizenship: Equestria (Birth)

Rank: Adept

Status: Active

Assignment: Monitor

See agent's personnel file for additional information.

Cadance traced her eyes over the last line, and then closed the folder. I've already read through agent Bonbon's file, and she's quite capable. But her career has been quiet and uneventful, save for the occasional dissuading of a monster in the Everfree. Not to mention she's only one mare. At this, the alacorn huffed a bit as she set the file down on the desk, and then looked at the readiness report again. Novak has all of his assets tied up or restricted use because of Celestia's game, and all of our assets are spread out thin to be the tripwire, so I've got nopony to send to assist in Ponyville.

Nopony, except a new unicorn who just dropped onto my back, she thought, while her eyes widened at the sudden realization. Those eyes then narrowed back down as she levitated a closed folder out from under a pile, and then opened it. And I do have authority to assign all agents on planet who don't already have orders from above. “Well, miss Heartstrings,” Cadance said, to the new agent's personnel file. “Seems you will be getting an assignment right out the gate after all.”

Author's Note

Narf.

I'm not sure whether I should have ended this chapter here or kept going, but this just felt right where to end it.

Next time, we finally see Bonbon.

Chapter 3 - Town and Country

The wind rushed through Lyra's mane and tail and whipped them about as she maintained a death grip on her sole purchase. “Are you sure this is safe?” she shouted at the only other being in the area.

“Safe as can be!” the pegasus replied. “Although it might be a bit safer if you could loosen your grip a bit so that I could actually expand my lungs and breathe!”

“Oh, sorry,” Lyra said, just barely loud enough to be heard above the slipstream. She then relaxed her forelegs from around the other pony's barrel a bit. “How's that?” she asked.

“Better,” he replied, with a brief glance to the unicorn clinging to his back. The flight goggles he wore kept Lyra from getting a good look at his eyes, but she could tell he was annoyed. “You might want to calm down a bit,” he added, as he turned his head back around. “We've still got another fifteen minutes to Ponyville, and at this rate you'll be a nervous wreck by the time we get there.”

“Oh, yeah, because riding on the back of a flying pony hundreds of meters in the air is actually relaxing,” Lyra sarcastically retorted, though she did decide to also loosen the tension in her rear legs so they were no longer crushing the stallion's waist.

The brown-maned, dark green pony shrugged his shoulders, the movement of which gave Lyra a start and caused a shot of adrenalin to rush through her system. “You'd be thinking differently if you went pegasus instead of unicorn,” he said, matter-of-factly, just loud enough to be heard. “Then you could fly yourself, and you'd see how relatively safe this really is.”

'Relatively' being the operative word, Lyra mused, and then looked around. The two former humans were only a few minutes out of Canterlot, and naturally were still quite high up as the pegasus hadn't yet felt the need to descend. Behind them Lyra could still see the white towers of Equestria's capitol clearly, albeit the distance was opening up and fine detail was starting to be lost. All around her the sky was empty save for a few birds, and below her the fields and forests of the green belt circling Canterlot and its mountain host was laid out in a beautiful pattern of emerald, with some blue and brown mixed in on occasion. Ahead she could make out the small town that was her destination and new assignment.

Ponyville, she thought, and then fought to keep from shaking her head. What a cheesy name. It's like someone named a town back home “Humantown” or “Manville”. Heh, 'Manville', Jake would find that hilarious, she mused, as she recalled her brother and his sense of humor. Such thoughts faded quickly, however, as her mind brought up memories of why she was in this situation.

* * * *

“I what?” Lyra asked, surprised.

“You have an assignment,” Cadance stated. She sat behind the desk in her office, and had a steady gaze leveled on the two shocked ponies sitting in the chairs on the other side of the furnishing. Her horn then lit up, and a matching glow wrapped itself around one of the many folders on the alacorn's desk. “I'm deploying you to Ponyville. It's a small town within sight of Canterlot, and it's been woefully untended to for years by the Department,” she explained, as she levitated the folder over to float it in front of Lyra. The befuddled agent blinked a bit, but then took the folder up in her own magic field, and at this Cadacne resumed speaking. “We have one agent in place already, but with the upcoming Summer Sun Celebration to take place there tomorrow I'm concerned she might be overwhelmed should an actual situation develop. Therefore you will be dispatched to Ponyville post haste to be an additional asset in place, at least until after the holiday. Once the celebration is over with, you'll return to Canterlot for the rest of your cultural acclimation training and a more permanent assignment.”

A moment of silence met the end of her monologue. It was ended quickly enough, though, when the third pony in the room, Amethyst Star, spoke up. “With all due respect, your majesty,” she began, carefully. “I must protest this idea. Miss Heartstrings is certainly an able mare and learns quickly, but she still needs more training.”

“Which is what she will receive after this brief, two-day assignment,” Cadance evenly replied. “I have read her file, and I feel her past interests will allow Lyra to adapt well enough for the short term. Any discrepancies or indiscretions, so long as they are not major, can be written off and forgotten by the town's population as eccentricities after she is redeployed elsewhere.”

Amethyst frowned for a moment, and then shook her head. “I am sorry, princess,” she said, slowly. “But I cannot condone this action, and I will make note of that in my records.”

“Duly noted,” Cadance replied, evenly. “I understand your reservations, Amethyst, and I take full responsibility for any issues that might arise.”

“Uhm, excuse me?” Lyra nervously spoke up, and even raised a hoof to help garner the others’ attention. Once both of the native-born ponies had turned their heads towards her, Lyra lowered her hoof and began to speak. “I realize I’m new and inexperienced and all, but why is this town suddenly a big deal?” she asked, carefully. “I mean, if Celestia herself hasn’t asked for increased security, then what makes you think there’s a problem?”

Cadance kept her features neutral and even; a result of long hours of political training. “What makes you think that Celestia hasn’t asked for more security?” she countered.

“The fact that you’re sending a new, inexperienced agent out instead of a full-sized team,” Lyra returned. “Again, I’m new and all, but I’m not an idiot; this isn’t coming from the top.” She paused, and then gave the alacorn a measured look. “What’s changed since this morning that has you willing to toss me into the wilds, as it were?”

Once again a silence fell over the room as both unicorns kept their questioning gazes on the princess. Finally, Cadance sighed. “Miss Heinkel,” she began, in a tone that told the listeners that she deliberately used the former human’s original name. “The plain facts are thus: the magic field of Equis in general, and Equestria specifically as begun to act in a strange and unusual fashion,” the alacorn explained, slowly. “I know director Novak is also not an idiot and has noted this, because he’s been rearranging assets and holding off on joint actions.” She halted, and then gave the green unicorn a look. “Or am I wrong?”

Lyra shifted uncomfortably on her hooves as she thought for a moment, and then spoke. “Yes, he’s noticed,” she confirmed. “It’s actually why I was assigned to surface duty right away: he wants more eyes on the ground to try and find out what’s happening.”

Cadance nodded. “I assumed as much,” she stated, evenly. “And I don’t blame him. By all accounts my aunt has been open and forthright with the human side of the Aegis, and likewise all my experience and records have shown the same from your people. Now Celestia is not only distant and unresponsive, but she’s starting to become obstructionist,” the alacorn explained. “Normally I have free rein to direct Equestria’s side of the Aegis as I see fit, but just last month she ordered a freeze on redeployments. Some malarkey about payroll issues,” Cadance added, and then rolled her eyes. “I love my aunt, but she’s deliberately tying my hooves and has made it impossible to react to anything but a low-level threat. Which, I don’t think I need to remind you, a massive buildup in the magic field is not low-level.”

Cadance paused to let this sink into her audience, and then sighed. “And to top it all off, when I met with her after dropping you off with Amethyst, she revealed to me that she had sent her student—and my friend—Twilight Sparkle on a very sudden trip out to Ponyville to ‘oversee preparations’,” the alacorn added, and even brought up her hooves to make the air quotes around the emphasized words. “And if you are not aware, miss Heinkel, Twilight Sparkle is an extremely powerful, talented, and learned unicorn; her unplanned assignment at this time is highly unusual and suspicious.”

Lisa/Lyra nodded, as she pondered Cadance’s words. “So we have a massive anomaly in the transition field, an extremely talented unicorn sent out on a seemingly random assignment to get her away from the seat of power, and an obstructionist monarch,” she said, and then sighed. “Yeah, that’s suspicious as Hell.”

“Indeed,” Cadance replied evenly, and then paused for a moment before she continued. “I want you to understand something, miss Heinkel,” she said, slowly. “I am no traitor to Equestria or the crown. But my aunt is not acting in the best interests of the state or its people and is potentially putting ponies in perilous positions without any explanation.

“And there’s almost nothing I can do about it,” Cadance added, and then sighed as she leaned forward and rested the elbow of her foreleg on the desk, and her forehead rested upon the hoof. “I don’t have the clout to counter Celestia’s orders, the nobility don’t like me enough to help out, and I’d have to go public just to get their support, anyway, which I’d rather not do except as a last resort,” she explained, and then looked up at Lyra. “But the least I can do is send the one free agent I have to what seems to be a focus of my aunt’s plans. Whether to foil them, or help them along if she has good reason, I don’t know, but I cannot sit here and do nothing.”

Silence fell upon the trio of ponies as Cadance’s words hung heavy in the air. Cadance herself sat up from the desk and carefully watched as both Lyra and Amethyst seemed to wrestle with their thoughts. Finally, one broke the silence. “You’re asking an awful lot of me,” Lyra observed, quietly.

“Too much, really,” Cadance agreed, with a nod. “And I am sorry for putting you in this situation. But someone needs to be in position, and as much as I’d like it to be myself and a team of your people’s marines, I can’t leave Canterlot without good reason.”

“Especially if Celestia really has flipped,” Lyra darkly mused.

Cadance nodded her head at that, but it was Amethyst Star who spoke up next. “Are we really talking about this?” she asked, a stunned look on her face. “This is Princess Celestia we’re talking about; the mare who’s led Equestria for over a thousand years! And yet you two are acting like she’s turned evil.”

“You’ve heard my reasoning, Amethyst,” Cadance replied, evenly. “She’s up to something, and while I would love to believe that it’s purely for the good of all, the fact that she’s being so damn secretive warns me that might not be the case.”

Another pause in the conversation passed. Then Amethyst looked down and shook her head, and then sighed. “I… I can’t really argue otherwise,” she admitted, sadly. Then she straightened her posture and looked back up at Cadance with steely eyes. “So send me, as well.”

Cadance blinked at that. “You’re not a field agent, Amethyst,” she pointed out.

“But I am an agent,” Amethyst Star replied, sternly. “If something foul is going to happen, I want to be there to stop it.”

Cadance frowned as she looked over the unicorn. “But you are in charge of cultural training. It’s a not-insubstantial department and your departure would be noted. A new agent like Lyra here is one thing—barely anypony knows she’s even here, let alone what she looks like—but you leaving for Ponyville will raise some ears.”

Amethyst frowned, and then sighed as she relaxed her posture slightly. “Please, your highness,” she pleaded. “My sister and her daughter live in Ponyville. I go there all the time, I know the place and its ponies, and I want to make sure it stays safe.”

“I see,” Cadance replied, and then fell silent as she contemplated the request. After a few moments, she sighed and then shook her head. “I am afraid, Star, that my aunt’s orders remain in place; I cannot reassign you at this time, not without directly countering Celestia’s orders.”

“You’re countering her orders with Lyra here, aren’t you?” Amethyst countered, angrily.

“I am not,” Cadance evenly answered, and then gestured to the aforementioned unicorn. “She is here for a first assignment, and my aunt’s orders forbid reassignment only.”

“Nice to see we’re not the only beings to constantly look for loopholes,” Lyra/Lisa muttered.

Cadance let out a rueful chuckle at that. “Indeed,” she said, and then blinked as an idea entered her head. She then turned to a somewhat pouty Amethyst Star and smiled. “Speaking of which, Star, as a rear line agent you have the prerogative to take some personal time,” she added, and her smile grew when realization dawned on the faces of the two ponies in front of her. “I think with Lyra on a temporary assignment, a brief period of down time might help you attend your duties better.”

“…I see,” Amethyst replied, and then smiled and nodded to Cadance. “I thank you for your wise counsel, your highness. I believe I will take it and put in for a few personal days, starting immediately.”

“I’ll start on the paperwork as soon as we’re done,” Cadance promised, and then looked to Lyra. “Miss Hearstrings,” she said, and then waited a moment for the unicorn to focus all on her. “As I said, I know this is a lot to ask you, so I will not make this a mandatory assignment,” Cadance carefully spoke. “But I am out of options, and you’re the only card I have left in my deck. Will you accept?”

Lyra could only stand there for a moment as she thought about the alacorn’s words, but soon enough she nodded. “I signed up to do what’s right,” she began. “Not because it was easy, but because it was hard. I accept the assignment, princess,” she stated, evenly.

Cadance sighed in relief at that. “Thank you,” she said, with a wan smile. “Now, let’s get started.”

* * * *

“Almost there!”

Lyra jostled herself out of the memory as her ride spoke up, and she blinked her eyes a few times as her brain worked to catch up with the surroundings. A glance downward showed her a series of farms, much closer than the land had been the last time she had looked, and as Lyra looked forward she saw a picturesque town sitting on the banks of a small river. “That’s Ponyville?” she asked of her ride. I’ll never get used to that name, she mused.

“Yup!” the pegasus replied, with a nod of his head. Some of his brown mane flapped into Lyra’s face as he did so, but the unicorn ignored it as the much more immediate feeling of the flyer dipping into a shallow dive distracted her. “I’ve been here a few times on my days off, real great place to unwind. FYI, the bakery has the best gorram cupcakes in the galaxy.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Lyra wryly replied, as the Pegasus shifted his wings and their flapping as they got closer and closer to the ground. The pair were heading for a road just outside of town, which Lyra had been informed was the main route from Canterlot. It’s less conspicuous to walk in than to ride in on the back of a pegasus, she remembered the reasoning given.

Soon enough her carrier landed at a trot, and then slowed to a stop. “Last stop, everypony off,” he said, with mirth in his voice as he glanced back at Lyra with a grin. “You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.”

“Ha ha,” Lyra sarcastically replied, but the smile that spread on her muzzle belied her tone. She then climbed down off of the stallion’s back, and then took a moment to breathe deep. “Wow,” was all she said, as she took in her surroundings, and her emotions started to run rampant.

“Yeah,” the pegasus offered, and Lyra looked over to see an understanding expression on his face. “It’s kinda overwhelming, ain’t it? You see all of this on the news or documentaries or training films, but to finally be out here in person is something else.”

“Yeah,” Lyra agreed, with a nod. “Geeze, I hope I don’t fuck this up,” she uttered, without thinking.

The man-turned-stallion bellowed out a belly laugh at that. “You and everyone else who went through the nanotanks,” he said, and then stretched his wings. “Anyway, I got to get back before I’m missed. You remember what to do from here?”

Lyra nodded again. “Yeah. Go into Ponyville, look for the Sweet Treats candy shop, and give the recognition code to the cream earth pony there.”

“That’s right,” the other pony said, with a nod of his own. “Agent Bonbon will get you situated until this whole thing is over with,” he said, and then turned around. “Take care,” he said, and then flapped into the air and accelerated away.

“You too!” Lyra called out to the other pony, and then watched him fly away for a moment. Maybe I should have gone pegasus, she mused. Then she shook her head. Ah, nevermind, too late now. Best get to work. With that, the mint unicorn turned to face Ponyville, and then took in another deep breath. “Right; Ponyville, prepare to meet Lyra Hearstrings,” she said, and then started towards the town in a trot.

* * * *

The journey into town was a short one, and the rolling farmland and trees edging the side of the road soon gave way to houses and shops. Where Lyra was alone when she began her walk, she now shared the path with various locals, most of whom gave her curious looks. Small towns; everyone knows everyone else, so when someone new comes in you get noticed, Lyra mused as she moved along, giving a smile and polite nod to any pony who made eye contact with her. This might make my job a bit difficult... but then again, I won't be here long and I'm sure this place gets visitors so they're probably—

A huge gasp sounded behind her, and Lyra froze her movement and thoughts as the noise intruded upon her paradigm. She didn't have time to react further, however, when something whipped around from behind and then resolved into the shape of a pink earth pony standing right in front of her. “OMYGOSH HI!” the mare said, with a maniacal grin on her muzzle that set Lyra's metaphorical hackles rising. “Two new ponies in one day this is so awesome I'm Pinkie Pie and who are you are you from Canterlot like that other pony I don't know did you two come together or I guess not because I saw her step off a chariot and you're walking into town but isn't is so great two new ponies at once I'm so excited I'm ready to burst like a party favor or a firework and would those be good at a party maybe not a welcoming party but definitely party favors and cupcakes and oooh I can hardly wait just come by the library tonight and you'll enjoy it I promise you and that other pony okay thanks buh-bye!”

Upon finishing this rather long-winded spiel the pink pony abruptly spun around in place far faster than Lyra could imagine any pony doing, and then sped off in a series of hops that looked more akin to lapine than equine locomotion. Stunned at the sudden appearance, verbal onslaught, and then disappearance, Lyra could only stand in place for a few moments as her brain desperately tried to catch up. “What the Hell just happened?” she asked herself, in shock.

“Pinkie Pie just happened,” a voice said next to her. Lyra jolted a bit in mild surprise, and then she turned her head to see a brown stallion with a dark brown mane giving her a sympathetic look. “Don’t worry, everypony gets flabbergasted when they meet her for the first time.”

“I see,” Lyra said, and then shook her head a bit to help get her mind back on track. “Thank you, I was worried I was having a seizure there for a moment.”

The stallion chuckled. “No worries. Oh, where are my manners?” he rhetorically asked, and then raised a hoof. “I’m Time Turner,” he said, with a friendly smile.

“Oh,” Lyra said, and then reached out to shake the proffered hoof. “Lyra Heartstrings,” she said, with a pleasant smile of her own.

“Ah, may I presume you’re a musician?” Turner asked, as they broke the hoofshake.

“Er, something like that,” Lyra replied, and then shrugged. “It’s more of a hobby, really.”

“Ah, I see,” Turner said, with a nod. “So, if I may be so bold to ask, what brings you to Ponyville?”

Lyra raised an eyebrow and gave a crooked grin at the pony. “Does everypony who comes to this town get interrogated, as well?” she teased.

Time Turner blinked at her words, and then blushed. “Oh, dear, I’m so sorry,” he said, sincerely. “I’m just naturally curious; I didn’t mean to offend by prying.”

“S’okay,” Lyra said, and emphasized with a wave of her hoof. “I get it, small town, everypony sees the new girl and wants to know what’s going on.”

The blush on Turner’s face deepened. “Er, was I that obvious?” he asked.

“Nah, I just know small towns ‘cuz I grew up in one,” she said, evenly. “Anyway, if you want to feed the rumor mill I guess I can tell you I’m just visiting a friend of mine for a few days,” she added, with a smirk. “Just until the Summer Sun Celebration is over.”

“Ahh,” Turner said, with a nervous nod. “Well, uh, that’s a good reason as any,” he added, and then began to back off. “I suppose I should really let you go. Sorry again for being nosy.”

“Like I said, it’s okay,” Lyra repeated. “But yeah, time for me to get going. You take care now, Turner, and I’ll see you around.”

“You as well,” Time Turner replied, and then turned and walked off at a slightly-faster-than-average pace.

Lyra watched him go, and then turned to head on her way. Geeze, if Turner and that pink one are any indication, then this entire town is crazy.

* * * *

“…And that will be ten bits!” the cream-colored, blue-with-purple-highlights-maned earth pony mare said with a smile as she hoofed a bag of mixed candies over the counter she stood at.

The red-maned, slightly-paler pony across from her smiled back and hoofed over a pile of gold-colored coins. “Here you go, Bonbon!” the mare cheerfully said.

“Thanks, Roseluck,” Bonbon replied, and then set down the bag of candies for her customer to take as she took the bits in her hoof. “I hope you’ll enjoy them,” she added, as she then turned and then hefted her chest onto a padded bar that was mounted parallel to the inside lip of the counter. Like most pony shopkeepers she used it to prop herself up so she could use both forelegs without having to strain her rear leg muscles. Thus suspended, she quickly used her free hoof to work her cash register while the other held the bits, and then quickly went about recording the transaction and placing the bits inside the cash drawer.

“Oh, I know I will!” Roseluck replied, with a grin, as Bonbon did her work. The red-maned mare then took the bag of candy in her mouth and then swung her head around to place it in her saddlebags before she turned around and spoke again. “You make the best candies in Ponyville, Bonny. I’m surprised that the Cakes haven’t run you out of town,” she joked, with a chuckle.

Bonbon chuckled back as she finished her work and then shifted off of the stand bar and then set her hooves back on the floor. “Well, I don’t make pastries after all,” she observed. “And if I did they’d probably be happy that Pinkie Pie could get some here and not eat half their stock!”

The mares shared a laugh at that. “Good point,” Roseluck admitted. Then she tilted her head. “So, looking forward to the Summer Sun Celebration?” she asked, amiably.

Bonbon simply smiled, despite the spike of consternation that ran through her. You have no idea, she morosely thought. Outwardly, though, she remained cheerful. “Oh, absolutely!” Bonbon said, with a nod. “The sales are going to be great, and it’ll be inspiring to see Princess Celestia raise the sun at dawn!”

Roseluck laughed again. “Always the salesmare,” she said, with a shake of her head. “Speaking of which, I should probably get back to the stall before Daisy or Lily sell our stock for magic beans or something,” she added, and then turned and walked towards the door to the shop. “Take care, Bonny!”

“You too!” Bonbon said, and waved a hoof goodbye as the other mare opened the door and left.

Scarcely had she done so when the door opened again, and a minty green unicorn mare stepped through and looked around the shelves of jars holding various colored and/or wrapped candies and other sugary treats. “Oh, hello,” Bonbon said, and then waited a beat as the newcomer turned her attention to the shopkeep. “Welcome to the Sweet Treats candy store! What can I do for you today?”

The mare walked up to the counter and smiled politely. “Yes, I heard you sell some special candies here?” she asked.

Bonbon nodded and stood slightly taller. “Oh yes. I make and sell all sorts of specialties. Just let me know what you want and if I don’t have it in stock, I can whip it up by the end of the day.”

“Ah,” the newcomer said, and then took a moment to think. “Well, do you have any Belgian Chocolates?”

Bonbon froze at that, but only for a moment. “No, I’m afraid the shipment hasn’t come in,” she replied, using the code words.

“I see,” the unicorn said. “Well, I’ll take some Swedish Fish, then.”

“Of course,” Bonbon replied, and then sighed. “Well, so you’re the one mentioned in the email,” she wryly observed.

The mare tilted her head and gave an inquisitive look. “You weren’t given a description?” she asked.

“No,” Bonbon replied, with a shake of her head. “I think somepony is being paranoid. All I got was that you’d be a mare and temporary for the celebration. Well, that and you’re also…” She trailed off, and then waved a hoof. “Exotic.”

“Human on the inside, you mean,” the mare observed.

Bonbon frowned. “Yes,” she flatly said, and then lightly shook herself. “Well, welcome to Ponyville, I’m agent Bonbon,” she said, and then offered a hoof.

“I’m Lyra Heartstrings,” Lyra said, as she reached out to join the hoofshake. “Well, down here I am, anyway.”

“Of course,” Bonbon noted, while they finished the hoofshake. “Well, let’s get to it, then,” she added, and then walked around the counter and headed for the door. She opened it long enough to switch the sign on the outside from “Open” to “Closed”, and then locked said door. “There, we shouldn’t be bothered,” Bonbon noted, and then headed back to the counter and the door located behind it. “Follow me,” she said, and then went through the swinging door.

Lyra did as she was bid, and walked around the counter to trail the native pony through the door. On the other side she saw a fairly standard looking kitchen, with counters and sinks along the walls and an island in the middle, all bedecked with various cooking implements, though all of it was clean and tidy at the moment. A bit rustic compared to human kitchens, she mused, as she turned to follow Bonbon towards a door on the left wall. But you don’t really expect to see microwave ovens or smart-fridges on Equis, either.

Such musings were pushed from her head as Bonbon opened the door she had been heading to and revealed a stairwell going down into a darkened room. The earth pony paused to flip a light switch, and then descended into the now-lit basement. Lyra followed immediately and saw that the small, bare-walled cobblestone-lined room was filled with barrels, boxes, and bags, all marked with various ingredient names.

Bonbon walked through the carefully organized piles of supplies and up to a set of shelves built into the wall, all filled with jars or boxes of spices, with Lyra right behind her. There the earth pony reached up with a hoof and touched one of the jars before she pulled on it a bit. A series of clicks were heard, and then a soft groaning as the shelves receded back into the wall a bit, and then slid to the side to reveal a meter-long corridor leading into a second, well-lit room.

“Well, here’s my little hidey hole,” Bonbon explained, as she walked through the small corridor and into the room. Lyra was on her heels, of course, and took a look around the area even as Bonbon waved a hoof over the scene. The walls were mostly bare and a moment’s look confirmed to Lyra that they were made of concrete, rather than the cobblestone of the regular basement. A map of Ponyville and its environs and another of Equestria as a whole both were pinned to bulletin boards mounted on the walls, with a selection of multi-colored pushpins pressed into the cork the maps left uncovered. Lyra took a look at both of them, but only saw one or two holes near Ponyville to indicate that the setup had been used in any manner at all.

After realizing that the maps held no special information, Lyra turned her attention to the table in the center of the room and saw several devices that would be decidedly out of place in the rest of Ponyville: a small combined computer/monitor stood on one side, with a pony-style input keyboard and an oversized mouse before it. Behind it and on the table was an antenna array that looked like a miniature forest made out of plastic, and below the table itself was a large box that Lyra recognized as a field-portable fusion generator, which was connected to the other high-tech devices with power cables. “Isn’t that a bit of overkill?” she couldn’t help but ask, with a wave of her hoof towards the power source.

Bonbon sighed and nodded her head as her first reply. “I think so, but when they set me up out here the idea was to not have a lot of ‘strange’ shipments of power cells coming in and out every week, even with the cover of my candy shop receiving deliveries,” she said, and then shook her head. “I decided it was better to not complain. After all, it’s better to have more power than I need than need to have more power.”

“Ah, a reasonable presumption,” Lyra agreed, with a nod, and then turned to look around the room once again before she focused back on the earth pony in front of her. “So, I’m supposed to help you with the security for the Summer Sun Celebration. I was told you’d help get me situated, which I think means you tell me what to do,” she added, with a wry grin.

Bonbon, though, did not seem amused. “That’s it? Those are your instructions? She asked, and then shook her head again. “What the hay is going on back in Canterlot that they aren’t even making full plans?”

“Well, this was all kind of last-minute,” Lyra replied, with a shrug. “Princess Cadance basically has her hooves tied up by red tape at the moment.” Thanks to Celestia, she thought, but didn’t mention. Cadance had told her to play that close to the vest out in the field at first as most ponies, even Aegis agents, regarded the ruler quite highly and would find the suggestion of her behaving oddly suspicious in and of itself. At least until I can prove my competence, or find out whether this Bonbon is professional enough to handle the truth. “So there are no reinforcements or plans coming down the pipe. Honestly, I think if it wasn’t for me just getting my assignment you probably wouldn’t even have anyone else at all.”

A look of discontentment rolled over Bonbon’s face at that. “Wait… are you telling me you’re completely new to Equis?” she asked, and then face-hoofed when Lyra nodded. “Great, the biggest event of the year, and they send me a green agent as backup.”

Lyra blinked chortled at her of words. Bonbon frowned in confusion for a moment, and then winced. “Oh shut up, you know what I mean,” she added, slightly peeved.

The former human brought her amusement under control, and then nodded. “So, we’d best get going on our own planning, then?” she suggested.

“I suppose we had better,” Bonbon replied, gruffly, and then turned to walk over to the map of Ponyville. Lyra followed along and stood next to the native pony as she brought up a hoof and began to speak. “As you can see, Ponyville itself is rather large for its population, and thus sites can be spread out a bit. Fortunately, the celebration itself will be held here, in town hall,” she explained, and then pressed the tip of her hoof on a small building icon in the middle of town. “Princess Celestia will be arriving via chariot an hour before the actual raising of the sun, which will land behind town hall. She will be ushered into the mayor’s office to prepare, as she likes to do, and then the actual event will take place. Afterwards she tends to mingle with the crowds a bit before she gets on the chariot and flies back to Canterlot.

“Of course, most of the security will be handled by the Royal Guard. All I—or we, rather—will be doing is playing backup,” Bonbon continued, and then waved a hoof over the south and west edges of the town map. “My main job is keeping most of the denizens of the Everfree Forest from poking their noses into the settled area and farms, so our focus will be to keep our eyes and ears open for any outside disturbances, rather than any riffraff or assassins in the audience itself.”

“Ah,” Lyra uttered, as she kept looking at the map to drink in the detail and commit it to memory. “So, will we actually be at the event, or will we be around this forest?” she asked, as she tapped a hoof on the green zone that marked the Everfree Forest.

“We’ll be at the event,” Bonbon replied, evenly. “I’m well ingrained into Ponyville society, so it would look odd if I or my ‘guest’ weren’t there. Plus, because I am so well ingrained, I’ve got my ear to the rumor mill, and nothing has popped up these past few days, so I think the town will be safe.”

Famous last words, Lyra mused to herself. She decided not to voice her concern, though. She’s probably right, anyway, but I’ll be extra careful just to be sure. “So, I take it the grapevine is useful for your regular work?” she asked, as she turned to look at Bonbon.

A nod met her question. “Yes. Ponies love to talk, and Ponyville has a very strong gossip community,” she explained, and then rolled her eyes. “Some of them are real busybodies, but if something is starting to poke around where it doesn’t belong it gets noticed and the rumor mill goes into overdrive.” Bonbon looked to the map at that, and Lyra followed her gaze. “I can’t just jump and go out whenever I hear something, though; that’d be suspicious looking, and sometimes a rumor is just a rumor. But I use the pushpins to keep track of rumors and sightings, and when enough cluster I go out and take care of business.”

“I see,” Lyra noted, with a nod of her own. “Looks like you have a pretty good posting here, then,” she observed, as she looked back at the earth pony.

Bonbon shrugged. “For the most part, yes,” she replied, evenly. “My cover keeps me busy and occupied, and most threats from the Everfree don’t take much convincing to make them go away. Sometimes it can be a real challenge, though, so if something does pop up during the celebration, try not to tackle it on your own.”

Lyra nodded again. “Understood,” she replied. “So I assume we’ll be working separately?” she asked, with a raise eyebrow.

“Yes and no,” Bonbon replied, as she tilted her head back a bit. “I’m not eager to let a newbie out on her own, but at the same time it would be better if we split up when necessary. Since the celebration is tonight, we have some time before we need to really crack down, so I would suggest you go out and explore Ponyville a bit, get to know the area and maybe talk to a few ponies here and there. Oh,” she added, and a smirk finally crossed her muzzle. “And make sure you got to Pinkie Pie’s welcoming party.”

Lyra blinked a few times in surprise. “How the Hell did you know about that?” she asked. “The pink one verbally blitzed me not even an hour ago.”

Bonbon chuckled. “Because Pinkie Pie does that to every new pony who comes into town,” she stated. “Both the verbal assault and the party. And trust me; you will want to go to the party.” Her smirk faded away at that. “You don’t want to see what she’ll do if you don’t come.”

A shudder ran up Lyra’s spine at that. Given how crazy she seemed, I’d bet it’s some kind of obsessive-compulsive thing. She might go a bit cuckoo if someone turns her down. “Duly noted,” she said, and then sighed. “Well, there are worse things than a party.”

“Indeed,” Bonbon agreed. “And since it’s the Summer Sun Celebration, the party is going to last all night and until the morning, so try not to tire yourself out.”

“I hear ya,” Lyra replied, with a nod.

“Good,” Bonbon said, and then took in and released a deep, calming breath. “Alright, that should do for a basic plan. Do you have any questions?”

Lyra thought for a moment, and then came to a decision. “Well, no questions as such,” she replied, and then sheepishly grinned. “But you should know one thing.”

“Oh?” Bonbon asked, with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah,” Lyra said, and then took a breath. “Although technically I’m the only agent assigned here to help, at least one other will be here on ‘personal leave’ to get around the red tape that’s binding Cadance’s hooves.”

Bonbon looked at the unicorn for a moment, and then scowled. “That would have been nice to know before we started to make plans,” she chided.

“Well, it’s kind of off the books, after all,” Lyra wanly explained. “Besides, Amethyst Star said she’s not going to be working directly with us just in case we get compromised.”

“Amethyst Star? She's coming here?” Bonbon asked, with surprise and recognition in her voice. “And it’s unofficial because she’s worried about being compromised?” she queried, and then narrowed her eyes. “Alright, human, what are you keeping from me?”

Lyra frowned at the way the earth pony addressed her. Great, I’ll bet there’s all kinds of bad behind that tone, she thought. “Nothing I haven’t been ordered to keep quiet about,” she replied.

“And yet you’re practically advertising it,” Bonbon countered, with a huff. She then fell silent and seemed to think on it a moment. “Well, that is either very stupid, or you’re trying to tell me something without violating your orders.”

“One would think you’d be generous and assume the latter,” Lyra wryly observed.

“I suppose I should,” Bonbon admitted, with a long suffering air about her. “I will concede that your people tend not to send idiots out here, so I must assume you’re trying to tell me something without telling me directly,” she thought aloud, and then began to pace. “Let me think…

“Alright, you’re the only official help because red tape of some kind is blocking redeployment orders,” Bonbon continued, with a glance to Lyra. The latter nodded, and so the earth pony resumed her outward thinking. “Cadance, though, is the head of the Equestria side of the Aegis, and she can’t be really held up like that unless either Director Novak or Princess Celestia sticks their hooves into her business. And since you’re a human who’s just been assigned here that means it’s not Novak…” Her voice trailed off as the thought hit her, and Bonbon blinked a bit as she stared at a bare wall. “No, that can’t be… But with Amethyst worried about use being turned… because we’d have to contact Celestia if there’s an issue...” She suddenly spun in place in the equine fashion—legs moving about rather than the proper spin of a biped—and gave Lyra a disbelieving look. “You think Celestia might be a problem?”

“Not just me,” Lyra replied, evenly. “Princess Cadance was the one who told me about how she’s become obstructionist, and both Cadance and Amethyst Star agreed that something should be done to cover the off chance that she has suddenly decided to work against the best interests of Equestria.”

Bonbon just stood there for several long moments, a poleaxed look on her face. Finally, she shook her head, and then gave Lyra a hard look. “I think I may need to speak with either the princess—Cadance, I mean,” she added, when Lyra opened her mouth to object. The unicorn closed it at the clarification, though, and then nodded for Bonbon to go on. “Or Amethyst Star to verify this,” the native pony concluded.

“I understand,” Lyra agreed, with a nod. “If I may offer a suggestion?” she added, and then waited for Bonbon to nod back. “I’ll go ahead and do the familiarization of Ponyville while you get in contact with Cadance via the commnet,” she said, with a wave of a hoof towards the computer in the room. “That way I can hit the ground running. And if you can’t contact Cadance for some reason, Amethyst Star will be coming in on the six o’clock train from Canterlot and you can get that confirmation from her if needed.”

Bonbon stood there for another long moment, and then nodded. “Alright, that sounds fair,” she admitted. “Go ahead and get going, then; I’ve got a call to make.”

“Aye aye, captain Bligh,” Lyra replied, with a quick, jaunty salute. She then turned and started for the passage back to the main basement. “Should I go out the front door?” she asked, as she paused to glance back.

“Take the kitchen door out back,” Bonbon replied. “I hardly keep it locked during business hours so you won’t have to relock the front door.”

“Understood,” Lyra said, and then walked out.

Bonbon waited in place and kept her peace until she heard the unicorn open and then close the door above. She then sighed and shook her head. I can’t believe Celestia would turn… but then again, she’s still a pony, and still prone to all our flaws.

Or not, another voice in her head added, and she could only grunt to herself as she walked around the table to her computer. This ‘Lyra Heartstrings’ could be lying. There’s only one way to find out.

Author's Note

Trying for shorter chapters. Let me know how it works out.

Chapter 4 - Ups and Downs

“…You’re kidding,” Bonbon stated, as she stared at the screen.

“I wish I was,” Princess Cadance replied, with a sad shake of her head. The two were conversing using a satellite relay that Bonbon’s little antenna farm could reach, even underground, and the virtual window that was the chat program displayed the feed from Cadance’s private terminal.

Just like the embedded camera in my computer is relaying my image to her, Bonbon reminded herself, as she fought to keep from showing the shock and anger that were running through her mind. The latter feeling was irrational, she knew, which is why I need to keep it under wraps, she mused. Outwardly, she sighed, and then shook her head. “I don’t understand it at all. Why would Celestia betray us?”

“I’m not exactly sure what she’s doing, Bonbon,” Cadance steadily replied. “Given what I know of my aunt, she might just be running a game whereby she’s placing the weight of the outcome on her back, while keeping us out of the way so we won’t get hurt.” Even as she explained this, a pained look came over the pink princess’ face, and she had to shake her head. “But at the same time, I don’t know that, either. That’s the biggest problem out of all of this, is that she isn’t telling anypony anything, and so we have to assume the worst and try to prepare as best we can.”

Bonbon frowned at that, but she nodded. “I understand, your highness,” she said, and then drew herself up so she sat on her cushion a bit more straightly. “I’ll do my best to find out what I can, while working to keep Equestria safe.”

“I know you will, agent,” Cadance said, with a sad smile on her muzzle, though it soon disappeared. “Just be careful. All of this started to ramp up fairly rapidly, and nopony was prepared for the idea that Celestia could do anything but the very best for her people. The system just wasn’t built for this, and so it’s pretty much blindsided the organization. Because of it I won’t be able to rescind Celestia’s orders and get our part of the Aegis moving again until something big and very public happens.

“Something like that might very well be beyond your ability to control, or even affect,” Cadance continued. She paused briefly to sigh, and then stared through the camera and into Bonbon’s eyes. “If that’s the case, your primary duty is to get clear and inform myself and/or assistant director Novak of the presence and nature of the event so we can respond appropriately.”

The earth pony felt a chill run down her spine. “Even if that should require abandoning the duties of my station?” she asked, carefully.

Somehow, Cadance looked and sounded even grimmer as she replied. “Yes, agent,” she said, slowly. “This is princess Celestia we’re talking about; she moves the sun and the moon. If the worst comes to pass and she really has… slipped…” Cadance had to pause and draw in a deep, calming breath at this. “If she really has become a threat, then all of Equestria, and even Equis itself could be at stake. If that is the case, then Ponyville may only be the least of casualties that could occur. Your duty isn’t just to your station, Bonbon, it’s to Equestria as a whole, as well. Remember that, please.”

Bonbon could only stare in disbelief for a moment, but soon recovered and nodded again. “Yes, your highness. I understand.”

“I know, agent, I know,” Cadance replied, with another sad smile. “And now, unless you have anything else to ask, I must be off; I have an appointment with a griffon diplomat and I can’t have him asking what this funny little box is doing behind a false wall panel.”

Despite herself and the situation, Bonbon managed a faint chuckle. “No, princess, thank you for your time. I know it must be rather strained given what’s going on.”

“Given your position, I’m willing to strain my schedule a bit more so I can help,” Cadance confidently replied. “But for now, we both have work to get to. Goodbye and good luck agent Bonbon.” With that the virtual screen closed as Cadance terminated her portion of the call.

Bonbon closed her program as well, and then set her terminal into sleep mode. “Definitely work to do,” she muttered. Then she blinked, and then face-hoofed. “Darn it, I forgot to ask her about Lyra!” If I’m going to be in this position I need to know more about the p—the agent I’m working with.

The earth pony sighed, and then placed her hoof back on the ground as she stood up. I guess it can’t be helped, she thought, as she turned to leave her small workroom. I need to get back to my shop; any strange happening will have a rumor spreading like wildfire in the charged climate of a festival, and ponies will be wondering why I shut down the shop on one of the biggest treat-splurging days of the year. Besides, Lyra seemed rather competent and pony-ish for a human. What’s the worst trouble she can get into before tonight?

* * * *

Lyra Heartstrings nee Lisa Heinkel, human turned pony, stood in astonishment. I was prepared for a lot of things, she thought, as her mind struggled to process the available information relayed by her senses. But I was never prepared for this!

“So, um, do you want to buy a box, miss, or not?” the little filly in front of her asked. Her tiny, green beret and uniform sash only compounded her inherent cuteness, and Lyra found herself gobsmacked at the spectacle of the unicorn filly holding a box of cookies in her orange magical aura.

This is unfair, Lyra mused. This is weapons-grade adorable! This is cuteness beyond compare! Battalions would fall at her feet—hooves—and empires would crumble to dust at the merest whimper she could issue! The odd look the young pony gave her finally broke through the former human’s mind, though, and Lyra had to shake herself a bit. “Uh, no, I’m sorry, but I don’t have any money on me right now,” she said, sadly.

“Aww,” the filly moaned, and then looked downtrodden as she levitated the box back into one of the saddlebags she wore. “Okay then. Thanks for your time,” she added, and then turned to walk off.

“Good luck, though!” Lyra replied, and the filly glanced back at her and gave a small smile and nod, before she resumed walking away, this time with a bit more spring in her step. Forget empires, entire star systems would have heart attacks. Hell, am I having one? She asked herself, and then spent a moment in mental evaluation of her internal sensations. Hmm, no, not today, but I wouldn’t want to let great-grandpa near that filly until he’s had his biannual artery cleaning.

Lyra shook her head again to clear it, and then looked around. She had wandered aimlessly after leaving the Sweet Treats candy shop, but the nature of a smaller town had worked to inevitably draw her towards the marketplace near town hall. Now as she looked around, the unicorn could only gaze in wonder and a bit of awe as she watched the various denizens of Ponyville go about in frantic activity, buying and selling in haste. The festival probably has them all worked up, Lyra reasoned, as despite the pacing most ponies wore smiles or other expression of happiness or eager anticipation. Her heart melted at the sight, and the voice of her inner fangirl squeed almost constantly. They’re all just so darn cute! If it wouldn’t ruin my cover I’d just go around hugging random ponies!

Yeah, but you can’t so you won’t, the more reasonable side of her said, and Lyra had to stifle a sigh. Right, right, her main internal voice allowed. Then she started to walk off, once again just picking a random direction. Her head was practically on a swivel as she ambled along, her gaze constantly shifting as she absorbed the sights and sounds of a farming community ready for the biggest party day of the year.

All around her were stalls manned—ponied? She wondered—by various mares and stallions, hawking their wares or haggling with buyers. Most contained food of some kind, typically a stand dedicated to one crop and one crop only, Lyra noted. Odd. Is that because of the ponies’ individual talents making them predicated towards one crop over another, or is it merely the farmers around here reaching an agreement, spoken or unspoken, that everyone picks his or her cash crop so there’s no drastic competition to undermine their prices and make them go into the red?

So busy she was with her thoughts that Lyra didn’t notice the shadow that fell over her. The ponies around her did, though, and they all quickly stepped away from the distracted unicorn just before a shape dropped from the sky and slammed into her.

Lyra yelped in pained shock as the weight shoved her to the ground, and then flopped over her. Prone on her belly, with all four legs spread out, Lyra felt a brief moment of panic. At least, until she heard the object atop her speak: “Oops, my bad.”

“Bwuh?” Lyra muttered, still in a bit of shock at the sudden, unintentional tackle.

“Are you okay?” the shape asked, as it climbed off and then walked around in front of the unicorn. Once there, Lyra could see it was a gray pegasus mare with a blonde mane and a set of golden eyes, one of which was skewed off to the side. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

Lyra shook her head a bit to help clear it. Seems like I’m doing that a lot, lately, she mused. “I said ‘bwuh’, and I stand by that statement,” she flippantly replied, even as she began to stand up. “What happened?”

“Uh, sorry,” the pegasus sheepishly replied, with an embarrassed smile on her muzzle. “I don’t always make the best landings and I kind of didn’t see you there.”

Another look at her eyes showed Lyra that this was certainly possible, and then unicorn sighed. “It’s okay, I forgive you,” she said, and then offered a friendly smile of her own. “Everypony makes mistakes.”

The addressed mare seemed to brighten considerably at that. “Oh, thank you!” she beamed. Then she held up a hoof. “You look new in town; I’m Derpy Hooves.”

Lyra blinked, and then shook the hoof while she wore a grin. “Lyra Heartstrings,” she introduced herself. “And yes, I’m visiting my friend, Bonbon, for the Summer Sun Celebration.”

“Oh, that’s awesome!” Derpy said, with a smile so broad she had to close her eyes to help express it. Then she opened them again and flapped her wings a bit. “I’d like to stay but I gotta go,” she said, as she began to hover above the ground.

“Uhm, okay?” Lyra asked, in confusion. “But didn’t you just land?”

Derpy blinked at that, and then took a few moments to think. “Oh, right!” she said, and then promptly dropped to the ground, her knees bent to absorb the impact. “I forgot, I wanted to get one of Bulk’s smoothies before I head home,” she said, as she folded her wings up against her sides. “Thanks for reminding me, Lyra.”

The unicorn smiled and did her best to hold back an amused chuckle. “You’re welcome, Derpy,” she said, friendlily.

“Hey, I know,” Derpy added, and her expression brightened even more. “How about you come with and I’ll buy you a smoothie to make up for landing on you?”

Lyra leaned her head back a bit at that. “Oh, that’s alright, it was an honest mistake,” she said. “There’s no need to get me anything.”

“I know, but I want to,” Derpy replied, and her expression turned sheepish once again. “Most ponies who visit town aren’t so understanding, so I really want to make it up to you. Please?” Her countenance grew pleading at this, and the pegasus' eyes widened and watered slightly.

You'd think that a lazy eye would lessen the effect of 'puppy eyes', Lyra mused. But no! It makes it worse! She struggled to resist, but the cute overwhelmed her defenses, and the unicorn sighed to signal her defeat. “Alright, I accept,” she said, and then smiled. “Thank you.”

“Yay!” Derpy exclaimed, even as she reared on her back legs and then clapped her front hooves together. Her eyes closed in an expression of joy as well, thought the whole display lasted only two seconds before the pegasus dropped back to all fours and then opened her eyes to once again study Lyra and a point of space somewhere off to her left. “Come on! Bulk's stand is close!” Derpy added, and then turned and started to walk away at a brisk pace.

Lyra shook her head and tried to stifle the smile that threatened to cover her muzzle. Dear God, these ponies continue to find new ways of being adorable, she mused as she started off and trotted a bit to catch up with the gray mare. If I'm not careful I'll need to get a pancreas replacement before the year is out!

She didn't have time for more thoughts as the crowd thickened a bit and Lyra had to focus on following Derpy through the throng. Fortunately Derpy was right, and the stand she led Lyra to was only a short walk away and soon the mares were standing in line behind two other ponies at a market stand. Lyra couldn't tell what made this one so special, other than the sign above it had a cartoonish drawing of wheat on the front. “So, smoothies, eh?” she asked of her companion while they waited.

“Yup! Bulk Biceps makes the best smoothies in town,” Derpy replied, even as the pony up front got his drink and then left the line, letting the remaining ponies advance. “He adds some kind of secret ingredient that really gives you a lot of pep.”

Lyra raised an eyebrow at this. “A secret ingredient?” she asked, and then grinned. “It’s not Soylent Green, is it?”

Derpy blinked at the question. “Uh, I dunno, it’s a secret so maybe,” she replied, with a wing-shrug. She then frowned as the unicorn chuckled. “What?”

“Nothing, I was just making a silly joke,” Lyra replied, and then sighed to help calm down. “But I guess it’s not funny if you don’t get the reference; sorry,” she said, a bit sheepishly.

The gray mare stood there for a moment as she thought. Then she smiled. “Ah, that’s okay,” she said, friendlily. “Was it a funny joke, at least?”

“That depends on your taste,” Lyra replied, and then snerked. “Hehe, taste,” she chortled. “Ahh, but seriously, I have a weird sense of humor, so even if you got the reference you might not find it funny.”

“Oh,” Derpy said, and then fell silent for a moment as she studied the mint unicorn. “You're kind of an odd pony, aren't you?” she asked.

Lyra chuckled. “That would be a fair assessment,” she acknowledged, with a grin.

A cough sounded from up ahead, and the two mares turned their heads to see that the ponies ahead of them in line had cleared off, having been taken care of, and now a very large, well-muscled white pegasus was looking at them with an unreadable expression. “Welcome!” the bulky stallion bellowed, as Derpy and Lyra moved up to the counter. “I'm Bulk Biceps! This is my stand! You want a shake?”

Lyra blinked at the stallion's loud and rather simplistic approach and held still as she tried to parse out how to respond. Derpy, however, walked up as if unaware of the oddity and smiled up at the larger pony. “Hiya, Bulk!” the gray mare began. “Meet my new friend,” Derpy added, and then gestured to the unicorn.

Lyra mentally threw off her fugue at that and then smiled as she finished walking up to the counter. “Hello,” she began, as she extended a hoof. “I’m LyraaaaaAAAAA!” Her voice rose into a yell of shock as Bulk Biceps reached across the counter with a foreleg to shake her hoof, but instead ended up lifting the unicorn up and down several times before he set her back down.

“Always nice to meet a friend of a friend!” Bulk opined, as he set Lyra back down. “Though you could use some more hay in the bales,” he added, while Lyra shook herself a bit to regain her wits. “What you need is a POWERSHAKE!”

“Power shake?” Lyra asked, as she blinked her vision back into focus and then looked up at the grinning stallion. He nodded at the question, which pushed the mare to continue. “And what is a power shake?”

“It’s CHOK FULL of hyper-nutrients and mega metabolizers!” Bulk replied, even as he turned and began to work. This prompted Lyra to focus on the area behind the stallion’s counter, and she noted several freestanding shelves and a worktable filled with bags, bottles, and not a few piles of different fruits and vegetables. Bulk himself worked quickly, and his hooves darted out to various ingredients before combining them into an extra-large blender. Said device then roared to life once Bulk finished assembling the confection, and within a few moments the stallion poured the off-white mixture into a disposable waxed paper cup that he then topped off with a plastic lid and a straw. “Here! Taste if before you buy it!” he said, as he handed it over to Lyra, who took it up with her hoof rather than her magic. “I'm that confident you'll LOVE it!”

Either that or you're kinda dense, Lyra thought. Ah well, best give him the benefit of the doubt, she added, and then held up the shake and then took in a long, deep sip through the straw. The mixed drink was surprisingly thick and so it took a moment to draw in a full mouthful, but once she did Lyra hummed her approval. Mmm, rich and fruity and tasty and is thatcoffeeIthinkitmightbealittlestrong—

“Uh, Lyra?” Derpy asked, carefully, as she saw the unicorn freeze and widen her eyes. Then the aforementioned pony started to move again, but only to close her eyes and resume slurping up the smoothie through a straw. She remained incommunicado, though, which prompted the pegasus mare to turn her head and look up at Bulk Biceps. “Bulk, what did you put in that smoothie?”

Biceps frowned a bit, as he, too was puzzled at Lyra’s perplexing state. “Well, she looked a bit low on energy,” he began, slowly, and then lowered his head a bit. “So I, uh, used more of my special ingredient than usual.”

“And what is that special ingredient?” Derpy pressed. “Because this is starting to scare me; I don’t want to freeze up and go mute!”

“Uhm,” Bulk temporized, while the sounds a straw sucking up the dregs of a drink were heard. “Don’t tell anypony, but I buy a batch of Pinkie Pie’s special triple-expresso white chocolate cupcakes and then grind them up when they go stale to mix the powder into a shake.”

Derpy’s eyes widened at that. “Are you nuts? Those shouldn’t be eaten by newcomers who aren’t used to Pinkie’s food!”

Bulk blinked at that. “She’s new?” he asked, confused.

“Indeed I am, good sir pony!” Lyra finally spoke, which startled both Derpy and Bulk, who turned their heads to find the unicorn giving them an unsettling grin. “Verily, the pony who stands before you is an outlander, hailing from the distant corners of your reality,” she continued, and then slammed the now-empty smoothie cup on the stand’s counter. “And this, this concoction of flavonoids and long-chain proteins and psychotropic molecules tickles my fancy in ways that no common fare has ever done afore!”

The two native ponies stared in silent confusion for a moment. “Uh, okay?” Bulk finally said, bemused.

“Okay? Okay? This is far from okay, mister Biceps,” Lyra replied, and then set her front hooves on the counter. She didn’t stop there, however, as she pulled herself up to stand on said counter, and then pushed her forward half up to lean onto Bulk Biceps shoulder. The pegasus’ expression changed into one of discomfort and fear, but he remained steady as Lyra pushed her face into his and stared into his eyes with a manic gaze. “Because of this drink I have seen them: the strings that vibrate at the edge of existence. They sing praises of your work, even as they tremble in fear and sorrow at the appearance of such temporal genius.”

A brief silence fall over the trio again, and Bulk gulped as Lyra simply stared into his eyes, as if expecting a response. Thus, he gave her one: “Uhm… okay?”

“Truly a unique individual such as yourself has never before graced the far-flung annals of history, and woe betide those who seek to counter the claim,” Lyra added. Then she blatantly sniffed the air, and then slightly narrowed her eyes at the stallion. “I smell fear upon you; do you fear me, Bulk Biceps of Ponyville?”

“Uh, a little?” Bulk replied, confusion still filling his tone. “You’re kinda scary right now.”

“Scary? Scary?” Lyra echoed, as her face twisted in surprise. “Do you not see the strings, Bulk Biceps?”

“Uh,” Bulk temporized, as his eyes flitted side to side in hopes of finding help. All he could see, though, was Derpy standing in front of his counter with a gobsmacked expression, and a small crowd of ponies who had gathered around a pony-length behind the pegasus. “Yes?” he guessed, and then offered an uneasy smile.

“LIAR!” Lyra shouted, and then shoved off of Bulk to stand up on her hind legs on top of the counter. She then pointed a foreleg down at the proprietor. “You besmirch your own name with falsehood, and for that you will be punished most heinously!”

“Punished?” Bulk asked, in surprise, and then flinched as Lyra started to fall forward again, as if to slam her hoof into his face. He tried to back away, but alas his stand was not that large to begin with, and the bodybuilder pony was outsized enough that he could only go back a single step before his retreat was blocked by his worktable. He closed his eyes and clenched as Lyra fell forward, intending to ride out the strike.

A moment passed. And then another. When a third and more rolled by without any change or impact, Bulk opened his eyes again to see that Lyra had landed on three legs on top of the counter. The fourth—the leg that had been pointed at him—was still raised, and its hoof was held only an inch from his muzzle. Lyra grinned at him, and then lightly pressed the hoof against his nose. “Boop,” she said, cutely, and then pulled the hoof back.

Bulk could only stand there in utter confusion. “Boop?” he echoed.

Lyra nodded, and then lightly tapped her hoof against his nose again. “Boop,” she repeated, and then drew back her leg. “Such is befitting punishment for good little ponies who make silly mistakes,” she added, and then promptly did a backflip off of the counter to land on the ground in front of Bulk’s stand. “And now I go, never to be seen again! Unless I want to be seen! In which case, if I see you before you see me… look out.” At this, Lyra turned and then dropped low to the ground and began to creep along on bent legs, as if to avoid being seen, though everypony around did indeed see her and the crowd in fact parted for her as she crept away at a surprisingly fast pace.

Silence fell over those who had just witnessed the scene, filled only by the soft murmur of the marketplace beyond the immediate area. Eventually, though, the crowd of spectators began to chat amongst themselves as they broke up and went back to their business. Derpy and Bulk, though, remained frozen in place for a solid minute before the former finally recovered. “Well… how much do I owe you for the shake?” she asked, though she kept her head pointed in the direction Lyra had gone.

“Tell you what, you promise to not let anypony know I did that to a newcomer and it’s on the house,” Bulk replied, though he, too, simply stared off at the direction of Lyra’s departure.

“Mix me up a blueberry-banana smoothie and it’s a deal,” Derpy replied, and then sighed as she turned her head to look at Bulk. “I’m gonna need the comfort food when I go tell Bonbon her friend from out of town is running around hopped up on sugar and caffeine.”

Author's Note

A short chapter. Was gonna write more, but my Author Sense™ told me this was a good place for a chapter break. I'm probably wrong, since I always am lately it seems, but whatever.

Chapter 5 - Ins and Outs

“What,” Bonbon flatly stated. Not questioned as one would expect, but stated as if she refused to even consider learning something she did not want to know.

Sadly, Derpy remained standing in front of the shop's main counter, an uneasy smile plastered on her muzzle. “Uh, well, Bulk is very sorry for the whole thing,” she hesitantly spoke. “He reeeallly feels bad.”

Bonbon shook her head. “And neither of you thought to go after Lyra and keep an eye on her?” she asked, incredulously.

Derpy blushed at that. “Uh, no,” she said, and then dropped her head low and looked at the floor. “She was kind of scaring us."

“What?” Bonbon asked, as she blinked a few times in surprise. “She didn't threaten you two, did she?” Dammit, I knew I should've asked Cadance about the psycho space monkey!

“Oh, no no no,” Derpy replied, as she brought her head back up and then waved a hoof in a negative motion. “She didn't threaten anypony, and even when she said something about punishing Bulk for lying, all she did was tap him on the nose so lightly it wouldn't wake a baby.”

“Punishing!” Bonbon exclaimed, half in shock, half in anger. “Who does she think she is?”

Derpy blinked at that. “Uh, isn't she your friend?” she asked, confused.

Bonbon froze at the questions, and her mind raced. Friend? Right, that's her cover story, and here I am about to blow it! “Er, right,” Bonbon said, and then shook her head. “But still, she's not supposed to be this... kooky,” she added, with a false, practiced grin. At least, I hope not.

“Oh, well, I told you, Bulk kind of got her high on sugar and caffeine so it's not her fault, really,” Derpy said, carefully. Her lazy eye managed to drift over and focus in on Bonbon, to the latter's surprise and mild discomfort. “You really shouldn’t hold that against her.”

“Er… I’ll keep that in mind, then,” Bonbon replied, uneasily. You get so used to her eyes that when she does that it gets really creepy. “Anyway, I do appreciate the head’s up; I should probably go look for her before she gets into any more trouble.”

“And I’ll help,” Derpy replied, with a sheepish smile. “It is kind of my fault, after all.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Bonbon interjected. “But thank you for helping,” she added, and then locked up her cash register before she hopped off of her support bar and walked around the counter. “You keep an eye out for her from above, and I’ll ask ponies if they’ve seen her.” And hopefully we’ll get to her before she causes another scene.

* * * *

Lyra peered intently at her target, her eyes narrowed as only they and the top of her head poked above the barrel she hid behind. “Soon, my precious,” she murmured quietly. “Soon, you shall belong to me, and then all the soldiers of Gondor won’t be able take you away.”

“Uh, miss?” a male voice asked, and Lyra snapped her head up and to the right, to where the owner of the barrel stood behind his stand less than a pony-length away. “Are you alright? Because you’re kind of starting to creep me out,” the caramel-colored, brown-maned earth stallion observed. “Mainly because you look like you’re talking that way about a filly.”

The mare’s head snapped back as she recoiled in shock. “Oh, God no!” she replied, and then shook. “That’s disgusting, don’t even joke about that!”

“Okay,” the stallion with the triple-horseshoe cutie mark said, and he drew out the second syllable in confusion. “So why are you staring at that filly scout, then?”

“The box, m—stallion, the box!” Lyra replied, and then reached up with a foreleg to wrap it around the stallion’s withers and drag him down to sit on his haunches behind the barrel, as Lyra was. The native, shocked and fearful, simply let himself be guided as Lyra pushed his head down and then set hers alongside it so they could both stare out over the top of the barrel, much as the unicorn had been doing. “See? She holds the box which I seek.”

The stallion frowned as he regarded the filly across the way. She was dressed in the typical scout beret and sash, and was doing her best to hawk her cookies. Perplexed at the juxtaposition of this normal scene with the madmare beside him, the male shifted his eyes so he could at least take in the mint unicorn through his peripheral vision. “You mean the cookies?” he asked, tentatively.

“Yes!” Lyra replied, with that curious hissing half-whisper of someone trying to place emphasis on their words without raising their voice. “What do they taste like? Are they like the ones I know back home, or are they different?” She let go of the stallion’s neck at that, and then turned her head to face him as he did likewise to face her. “Do they even have the same types and recipes here? Are there Equestrian Thin Mints? I must know!”

The stallion blinked, and then slowly started to move his head back. “Uh, okay,” he said, slightly stretching out the last syllable. “You do realize, though, that you’re still stalking a filly, right?”

Lyra frowned, and then brought up a hoof to rub her chin. “I suppose I had not looked at it that way; I was focused on the true objective,” she said, and then frowned. “Curses! I must give up this chase, then. The last thing I wish to do is harm a child, for there are special circles of Hell reserved for such monsters.”

“Well, you could always just go up and buy one like a normal pony,” the earth pony suggested, in a cautious tone, even as she slowly stood back up on all fours and took a step back.

“Sadly, I lack the bits,” Lyra replied, and then seemed to stare off into the distance. “And my next paycheck won’t be until next Thursday; stupid biweekly pay schedule, nothing more than laziness on the part of bean counters!” At this Lyra slammed one hoof into the other, and then frowned. “I find myself in the personage of Cyrus the Great staring at the riches of Croesus, and yet having no army to facilitate my conquest.”

“Uhh,” the stallion muttered, as he shifted his gaze from Lyra, to the filly scout, and back. “You... Are talking about cookies, right?”

“Hmm?” Lyra hummed back, as she blinked and turned her gaze to the earth pony. “Oh! Yes, of course, no armies,” she said, and then turned her head around to gaze over the marketplace. “But how to achieve bit acquisition? Short of hashing some algorithms, I mean... I think,” she added, after a moment, her face a study of confusion. “I'm not actually a computer per—pony, so I'm not sure how that works, but I do know bits are involved.”

“Uh-huh,” the stallion muttered, and then took another step back, and to the side so he could settle in behind his counter again. “So, uh, are you done hiding behind that barrel? Because you're kinda scaring away custo—”

“What is your name?” Lyra abruptly asked, as she peered up at the earth pony.

The addressed pony blinked at the interruption. “Uh, Caramel,” he replied, too surprised to think of anything but to answer.

“Fitting,” Lyra said, and then stood up herself. “Thank you for your time, Caramel, but I think I shall venture forth and determine whence I shall claim coinage, and thence return to acquire knowledge and delicious chocolate cookies simultaneously.”

“Sounds, uh, good?” Caramel half-opined, half-asked.

“Verily,” Lyra agreed, with a nod, and then casually walked around the barrel and trotted off.

Her path took her down the market stalls, and Caramel watched her go with a sense of relief. He sighed in tune with the feeling, and then turned around to look at the produce he had come into town to sell. “Thank goodness,” he muttered. “Nopony was going to buy some corn while she was just crouching behind the barrel like that.”

“Who?” a voice asked from behind him, and Caramel started as he realized he had turned his back to the market thoroughfare. He internally cursed at himself for the oversight, and then turned around with a polite smile and immediately recognized Bonbon, the town's dedicated confectioner, standing in front of his counter with a pleasant look on her face.

“Nopony, I think,” Caramel replied, surprisingly evenly given the somewhat disturbing nature of the last mare. “Just some stranger acting really weird.”

A sudden change washed over Bonbon's face at that, and Caramel felt his worry return as the mare gave him a searching look. “Stranger? Weird? What did they look like?” Bonbon intensely asked, even as she leaned forward and jutted her face into his personal space.

“Uh,” Caramel muttered, even as he curled his hind legs and lowered his back end to allow him to lean back from the intrusive pony. “Unicorn, green, mare,” he sputtered, unsure of how to react. “Kind of obsessed with cookies.”

Bonbon's eyes narrowed at that, and she turned her head around to rapidly scan the area. “How long ago did she leave, and which way did she go?” she asked, her tone just as stringent as before.

Caramel frowned a bit in confusion and a growing sense of frustration. It was the latter that pushed him to sound slightly cross as he asked “Why does it matter? Who's that mare to you, anyway?”

The unexpected tone caught Bonbon unawares for a moment, and she quickly snapped her head around and saw the irritated expression on Caramel's face. Ooohhh, I might be getting a bit carried away, she told herself. Bonbon then put a small, sheepish smile onto her muzzle. “Er, she's my friend,” she explained, without a single trace of hesitation or irony in her voice. “Friend,” right.

“Really?” Caramel asked, in surprise. “She’s your friend?” he added, with equal incredulity.

Bonbon frowned as the tone of his voice registered. “Yes, my best friend. Why are you so surprised?” she asked back.

“Oh, just, she seems a bit kooky,” Caramel explained, with growing befuddlement. “Kind of crazy and unpredictable. Not like you at all.”

Bonbon smiled slightly at that. “Yeah, that sounds like her,” she said, with a light chuckle that was as equally feigned as the smile. “So, which way did she go?”

Caramel just gave the mare a flat look for a moment, and then shrugged. “Last I saw her, she was heading off that way, towards the square,” he said, as he raised a hoof and gestured down the road his stand was perched on.

“I see,” Bonbon said, and then turned and started to trot away herself. “Thanks, Caramel!” she called back, and then broke into a run.

The stallion watched her go with a frown. How weird is today going to get?

* * * *

Join up with the Royal Guard and protect Equestria, Bonbon sarcastically recited in her mind as she rushed to find her wayward associate. Nopony ever suggested I might get offered a place in the Aegis, or even that it existed! Nopony warned me that I’d have to deal with crazy aliens and monsters and all the other problems! Nopony warned me about Pinkie Pie! But here I am having to—

Bonbon’s internal monologue halted along with her forward movement as she reached the town’s main square. On one corner stood the aptly named Sugarcube Corner, while along the north side stood Town Hall. Other buildings holding shops on the ground floor and apartments above lined the area, and at the center lay a fountain. The area was fairly crowded—unsurprising given the festival preparations—but most ponies’ attentions were not directed on their own efforts, but on the fountain itself.

As the other, Bonbon watched as a mint-colored unicorn sat in a most peculiar manner: on her haunches, which were resting upon the edge of the fountain. She held her body upright with ease, which let her hold a guitar in her forelegs. Bonbon’s eyes flitted to the side and saw the familiar form of Noteworthy, a blue unicorn with a talent for music and a habit of busking in the town square when jobs dried up. Now, apparently, he had been persuaded to let the newcomer try her hoof, and Lyra strummed the guitar a few times before she nodded appreciatively towards Noteworthy at how well tuned it was. The stallion smiled back at her, and Lyra replied in kind for a brief moment before she turned her head to the curious crowd. “Okay ponies, here’s a song I learned as a little filly,” she said, and then began to strum.

The tune she played was a pleasant one, and Bonbon relaxed for a moment. At least until Lyra began to sing words that had never before touched Equestrian soil.

Ob's stürmt oder schneit, ob die Sonne uns lacht,
Der Tag glühend heiß, oder eiskalt die Nacht,
Verstaubt sind die Gesichter, doch froh ist unser Sinn, ja, unser Sinn.

Es braust unser Panzer im Sturmwind dahin.
Es braust unser Panzer im Sturmwind dahin.

Bonbon flinched as she recognized the guttural language, even if she didn’t know the words. That human trainer, Steiner, spoke it! What the floppy pancakes? She mused, even as Lyra continued.

Mit donnernden Motoren, zu schnell wie der Blitz,
Dem Feinde entgegen, im Panzer geschützt.
Voraus den Kameraden, im Kampfe ganz allein, ja ganz allein.

So stoßen wir tief in die feindlichen Reih'n!
So stoßen wir tief in die feindlichen Reih'n!

The Aegis earth pony began to muscle her way forward at that, even as Lyra began to stomp her rear hoof in time with the song, and to Bonbon’s surprise a number of ponies were stomping along with her as the tune’s cadence affected the natives’ natural affinity to song.

Wenn vor uns ein feindlicher Panzer erscheint,
Wird Vollgas gegeben und ran an den Feind.
Was gilt denn unser Leben für uns'res Reiches Heer? Ja, Reiches Heer.

Für Deutschland zu sterben ist uns're höchste Ehr'.
Für Deutschland zu sterben ist uns're höchste Ehr'.

Lyra’s voice had become rather loud now, though it hadn’t lost its lyrical properties and still flowed into the ears of the listeners in a fashion that made Bonbon’s skin crawl due to the discordant nature of her emotions; she realized what a breach of security it was, yet the loveliness of Lyra’s voice made hearing the song pleasant. Almost there, she thought as she muscled her way through the last ring of ponies.

Mit Sperren und Tanks hält der Gegner uns auf,
Wir lachen darüber und fahren nicht drauf.
Und schüttelt er gar grämlich, und wütend seine Hand, ja seine Hand.

Wir suchen uns Wege, die keiner sonst fand.
Wir suchen uns Wege, die keiner sonst fand.

“Lyra!” bonbon shouted, as she finally broke into the open circle around the busking unicorns.

Lyra paused in her song and looked up, and then smiled at the earth pony. “Bonbon, hey! I’ll be with you in a moment, I’m almost done,” she said, and then began to play again.

Und läßt uns im Stich einst das treulose Glück,
Und kehren wir nicht mehr zur Heimat zurück,
Trifft uns die Todeskugel, ruft uns das Schicksal ab, ja, Schicksal ab.

Dann wird unser Panzer ein ehernes Grab!
Dann wird unser Panzer ein ehernes Grab!

At the last line Lyra strummed the guitar once more, and then lightly pressed her hoof on the strings to stop their vibrating. A moment of silence passed, but was quickly ended by warm applause that made Bonbon blinked in surprise. It’s not the most energetic applause I’ve ever heard, but it’s more than I’d expect for a song they couldn’t possibly understand! Though it admittedly did have a really catchy tune, and the way Lyra sung the words gave them a lot of energy.

Just as she thought that, ponies began to come forward to toss bits into the small basket Noteworthy brought along to collect his tips. Bonbon paused to look on in surprise as a considerable amount of the small, brass coins created a pile that easily topped the small container, and then spilled out a bit. Noteworthy broke her reverie on the issue, however, when he whistled. “Geeze, that’s a lot more than I’d normally get, even for a new song!”

Lyra blushed a bit as she levitated the guitar out of her hooves and then quickly shifted off of the fountain to stand on all fours before it. “Well, at least that’s a good thing,” she offered, with a shrug.

“I’d say,” Noteworthy replied, as he lit up his horn and his magic aura quickly took over from Lyra’s to shift his guitar back to his side. He then smiled at Lyra as he continued to speak. “Guess my fears about letting you share my spot and instrument were a bit unfounded after all.”

Another shrug met that. “Meh, just lucky I guess,” she said, and then eyed the take. “So, fifty-fifty?”

“Seventy-thirty,” Noteworthy countered.

“Please, without my song you’d probably have to spend all day here to get even half,” Lyra retorted, with an eye roll.

“But I’d still have it, and you’d still be looking for bits if it weren’t for my generosity,” Noteworthy countered, evenly.

Lyra pouted at him for a moment, but soon sighed. “Fine,” she ground out. “But remember there’s a special place in the afterlife reserved for cheapskates,” she added, as Noteworthy set his guitar down and then began to use his magic to sort out the take.

“Next to Faust, I’d imagine,” the stallion said with a grin.

“Depends on which Faust you’re talking about,” Lyra countered, with an even smarmier grin.

Noteworthy blinked. “What?” he asked.

“A-HEM,” Bonbon not-quite-coughed, as she took a step forward to make sure she was in the two unicorns’ line of sight. “So Lyra, could you perhaps explain to me why you’re busking in the square?” And why I shouldn’t call Princess Cadance to have her come punt your plot back into orbit, she didn’t say aloud, though the look she gave Lyra certainly was intended to convey it nonetheless.

Lyra, though, simply smiled at her. “For Science!” she said, and then shifted so she could stick her chest out a bit.

“For science?” Bonbon echoed, with a hard blink. “How is busking science?”

“Not busking,” Lyra said, as she glanced down and then levitated her share of the take once Noteworthy finished sorting. The mare glanced to the other unicorn and nodded to him. “Another time, Noteworthy,” she said, and then started to walk off.

“It’d be my pleasure,” the stallion replied, even as he moved to sit in front of the fountain. He then took up his guitar in his magic and began to tune it.

Bonbon glanced at the normal scene for a moment, and then turned and trotted briefly to catch up to Lyra. “Seriously, if you needed bits why didn’t you ask me when we met?” the earth pony asked in a low voice, once she had glanced around to make sure no one else was close enough to hear her.

“I didn’t know I needed them at the time,” Lyra replied, matter-of-factly, in the same quiet voice. She then levitated the small pile of bits in front of her as she walked, and then separated them out to count the denominations. “Hmm, thirty-five bits, not bad if Amethyst Star was right about the exchange rate.”

“That’s…” bonbon muttered, as she gawked at how easily Lyra multi-tasked with her magic. Then she shook her head as the last sentence registered in her mind. “Wait, there’s an exchange rate for bits into—” She broke off then, and then looked around again. Dangit, I almost said ‘human money’!

“Hmm?” Lyra asked, as she glanced over at the earth pony while simultaneously collecting the bits into a small stack. Then a light came over her face as she realized what Bonbon had left unsaid. “Oh, well, it’s not exactly an official rate of exchange since there are no formal banking agreements. But since long-term agents have to have money to live in Equestria the…agency has an informally-negotiated exchange rate setup so we can collect our pay and spend it dirtside.”

“Oh,” Bonbon absentmindedly said, as she thought about it. “I guess that makes se—” She interrupted herself again with another headshake. “Dangit, stop doing that!”

“Doing what?” Lyra asked, with another glance, as she was busy leading herself and her companion through the busy street.

“Distracting me from the matter at hoof with your ridiculous non-sequiturs,” Bonbon countered, with an irritated tone of voice. “You’re supposed to be learning the layout of the town, but instead I had Derpy come in to tell me you’d gone crazy and made a scene!”

“Oh, that,” Lyra replied, and then tossed her head as if to dismiss the idea. “It was some kind of combination caffeine and sugar rush. I think using magic burned off some of the energy though, since I feel kind of better now,” she mused. “I’m not sure how that works. My studies were mostly in practical applications of force in lethal and nonlethal situations. And also in music; we all need a hobby, after all.”

Bonbon just stared at the mare at her side for a moment. “So you didn’t come back because…?” she trailed off, clearly expecting an answer.

“Because you told me to learn the layout of the town,” Lyra replied, with a surprised look at the other pony. “What, was I going to stop working because of a chemically-induced psychotic episode? My father taught me a better work ethic than that.”

Bonbon could only stare at the unicorn as the two walked along, her mouth agape for a moment. Then Lyra halted, and Bonbon snapped back to reality and looked around as she realized she hadn’t been paying attention to where the two were going. Now she recognized the market row she had been in only a short while ago, with Caramel’s stand—and the nervous stallion himself giving Lyra a worried look—to the side, along with several others. In front of her, though, was not a stand, but a small filly in a beret and a sash done in green, wearing a set of saddlebags that looked too big for such a small pony. “Hiya!” the filly said, with the beatific smile of the young. “Did ya want cookies after all?” she asked of Lyra.

The unicorn smiled back and nodded. “Indeed!” she said, and then floated her bits up and waved the roll of coins a bit. “How much per box?” she asked.

“Five bits!” the filly cheerfully replied.

“Sweet,” Lyra said, approvingly. “What flavors do you have?”

“Uhm,” the filly said, her smile disappearing as she frowned in thought. Then she brightened and turned to look into the saddlebags she wore to check, and then began to recite names in the singsong voice of a child reading a list. “Choc’late Hay, Juniper Jam, Coc’nut Cream, Mango Madness, annnnnnn’ Thin Mints,” she said, and then turned her head around to look at Lyra again.

A smile blossomed on Lyra’s face at that. “Thin Mints?” she asked, reverently.

“Yup!” the filly replied, with a knowing grin. “Five whole boxes left!”

“Sold!” Lyra replied, and then quickly separated out the requisite value of bits with her magic. She then floated those over to set them in front of the filly, as the latter used her own magic to pull out the boxes and set them on the ground in front of Lyra.

Both ponies quickly set their magic upon their respective traded items, and the filly beamed as she set the bits into one of her bags. “Thanks a bunch, lady!” she said, happily.

“You’re welcome,” Lyra answered, and then floated the boxes up to rest on her back. She then caught Bonbon looking at her with a slightly gobsmacked expression. “Oh, sorry, did you want some? I’ve still got enough for two more.”

Bonbon blinked at that, and then shook her head. How is she so casually good at being a pony? The earth pony mare wondered. She let none of her thoughts out, though, and instead smiled politely. “Oh no, thank you. I’ve got more than enough to fill my sweet tooth at home.”

Lyra shrugged at that, which caused the boxes on her back to shift slightly. She quickly and almost absentmindedly lit up her horn and steadied them before she spoke again. “Suit yourself. So, what’s next?” she asked, as she began to amble away.

“Next?” Bonbon said, even as she easily matched pace with the unicorn. “What do you mean?”

Lyra glanced around to make sure there weren’t any ponies close enough to overhear them, and then leaned her head towards Bonbon. “Look, I understand you were concerned, but we’ve still got work to do. Since you came out here and since I did kind of lose myself for a bit we’re a bit off plan, so I wanted to know if you’ve got any changes you want to make?”

Bonbon furrowed her brows a bit as she levelled a hard look at the unicorn. “As a matter of fact, there are a few changes I’d like to make,” she said. Starting by having you sent back to whatever tree you climbed down from, she didn’t say aloud. But ‘like’ is not the same as ‘possible’, so I’ll work with you for now. “At the very least we’re going to have you keep a low profile now that you’ve gone and made everypony think you’re nuts,” the earth pony added, as she swiveled her head about to make sure no other ponies were close enough to hear them.

Lyra frowned at that. “Why?” she asked, confusedly.

A blink was Bonbon’s immediate response. “’Why?’” she echoed. “Are you kidding? Half the town must have heard of it by now; there’s no way you can fade into the woodwork anymore.”

“So what?” Lyra asked, with another shrug. “I’m only here temporarily, remember? Besides,” she added, as she grinned lopsidedly. “It’s another form of cover I can use. Who would expect the crazy extroverted visitor from out of town is somepony who actually doesn’t want ponies paying too much attention to her?”

Bonbon actually came to a stop at that in order to give Lyra her full and flummoxed attention. “You’re joking, right?” she asked, incredulously.

“Uh, no, not at all,” Lyra replied, suddenly unsure as she faced the other mare. “That was covered in my training; wasn’t it in yours?”

“No,” Bonbon heatedly said. Then she thought for a moment, and doubt entered her voice as she continued. “We were just taught how to blend in and keep from drawing attention to ourselves.”

Lyra nodded, even as she scanned the street they were on. The two ponies had left the busier core of the market area behind, and stalls and customers were sparse here, despite the houses that lined the street. “Yeah, that’s probably because you local guys tend to be the ones assigned to the fringes, small towns like Ponyville here,” she said, while taking another long look. “Or it might even be a herd thing, I don’t know. What I do know, however, is that from my… that is, from history, we know that sometimes being a loudmouthed and eccentric personality can be dismissed just as much as a no-name bland person with no major defining qualities.”

Another skeptical look was directed from the earth pony to the unicorn. “You’re kidding,’ Bonbon stated, flatly.

“No, I’m serious,” Lyra said, and then glanced around. She spotted a pony at a stall some distance away, and then grinned. “Come on, I’ll show you,” she said, and then turned and walked off.

Bonbon blinked again, and then shook her head and quickly moved to catch up with the unicorn. How is she able to keep blindsiding me this way? The candymaker/secret agent asked herself. Am I losing my touch? Has this quiet post dulled my senses so much that one ape can mess with me so much?

She was still musing on this when she and Lyra walked up to gray earth pony mare who was perusing a carrot stand ~~manned~~ ponied by another earth pony mare, this one with a yellow coat and an orange mane. Both turned their attentions to the arriving pair, and Bonbon almost grimaced openly as she saw the musical notation on the gray mare’s flank. If anypony is going to be put out by Lyra, it’s going to be Octavia!

Unaware of her partner’s consternation, Lyra stopped and gave a beaming smile. “Hiya!” she said, towards the gray pony.

“Hello,” the addressed pony said, hesitantly, and the mare behind the counter frowned a bit as she glanced around. “May I help you?”

“Yeah,” Lyra replied, with a nod. “I’m just wondering: do you know who I am?” she asked, with a tilt of her head.

Octavia frowned herself at that. “Aren’t you that ridiculous mare that made a scene in front of Bulk Biceps’ stand?” she asked back.

“Indeed!” Lyra answered, unphased by the gray mare’s mild disdain. “Do you want to know why I did, though?”

The addressed pony blinked, and then glanced over to Bonbon for a moment. The candy-maker looked as befuddled as Octavia felt, however, and so the posh mare returned her attention to Lyra. “I haven’t the foggiest,” she said, evenly.

“It’s because I’m an alien secret agent,” Lyra explained, cheerfully. “I was turned into a pony and sent here to observe and protect, but Bulk gave me too much sugar for my alien physiology to absorb properly and I flipped out. But I’m all better now.”

A silence fell over the group at that, and Bonbon could only stare at Lyra with her jaw agape, wider than she ever remembered having it before. The pony behind the stand, Golden Harvest, stared at Lyra herself with an incredulous expression.

Octavia, meanwhile, simply gave the mint-green unicorn a flat look, and then sighed. “I really need to move to another town,” she muttered, and then turned to give the shopkeeper her attention. “Harvest, why don’t you wrap up that order we were talking about; I’ll send my sister over to get it later,” she said, and then reached into a small satchel she wore around her neck and retrieved a series of coins that she then laid out on the counter. “And don’t let her dally if this crazy mare is still here; knowing Vinyl she’ll spend all day talking about conspiracy theories and other crazy things.”

This snapped the farmer pony out of her fugue, and Golden Harvest shook her head a bit before she gave Octavia the standard shopkeeper’s polite smile. “Of course, I’ll have your order ready by the time she gets here,” she replied, even a she reached up and claimed her pay.

“Excellent,” Octavia replied, and then turned partially to regard Lyra and Bonbon. “Ladies,” she said, evenly, and then turned further and trotted away.

“So,” Golden Harvest said into the growing, awkward silence that fell over her stand after the gray mare left. Lyra turned her head from watching Octavia trot to see the carrot farmer giving her a skeptical look. “Do aliens like carrots, too?” she asked, clearly doubtful of Lyra’s claims.

“Sometimes,” Lyra replied, with a shrug. “But we really should be going; all sorts of things to get up to, today,” she added, and then turned to face Bonbon, who was still staring at the unicorn. “Uh hey, Bonnie, you’re going to start attracting flies at any moment.”

This snapped the cream pony out of her funk, and she shook her head almost violently. “Uh, right, we should go,” she managed to mumbled out, and then turned and started to walk off.

“Bye, Carrot Top,” Lyra said to Golden Harvest, as she turned and followed her partner.

Golden Harvest winced. “My name’s not…!” she began, but then trailed off as she saw both of the retreating mares accelerating away in a strong trot. She then sighed and shook her head. “Even the crazy newcomer uses that stupid nickname,” she mumbled, and then went to work on her customer’s order.

* * * *

The two ponies stayed quiet as they walked, which started to make Lyra nervous after a time. Some of those nerves abated as she recognized the area of town where Bonbon’s house/shop was located, however, and so she was in good enough spirits when they entered the kitchen door. Bonbon then deliberately closed the door, locked it, and then promptly turned to face Lyra. Then she stood on her hind legs and reached out with her forelegs to grab Lyra by the shoulders, and then turned and slammed the unicorn up against the wall. “What the flying wendigo dung was that?” she asked, in a tone that was paradoxically half scream and half whisper.

Lyra flinched at the pain of being pinned and the harshness of Bonbon’s voice. “I was proving my point,” she explained, cautiously. “Because I’m the kooky outsider nothing I do or say will be taken too seriously, you saw that.”

“You nearly blew our cover!” Bonbon hissed, as her emotions started to wind down.

“No, I nearly blew my cover,” Lyra retorted, with steel in her voice and her gaze. The sudden shift in her personality caught Bonbon by surprise, and the earth pony blinked and came up short as the unicorn continued. “I only talked about myself. You are still Bonbon, small town candy-maker to them; even if they believed me when I told them I was an alien, they’d separate you from me in their minds. Especially if you went ahead and told them a story that revealed me as past acquaintance you never knew well, like from school or something. Hell, you could have told them I must’ve replaced the ‘real’ Lyra like one of those cheesy body-snatcher movies! Nothing was preventing you from making a clear break from me if you needed one, so don’t you go accusing me.”

The heated response left Bonbon speechless for a moment. Then she slowly lowered Lyra enough for the unicorn to stand on her hind legs, and at that the earth pony backed off to let the former human settle back on all four hooves even as the candy mare did likewise. “It was still ridiculously reckless,” Bonbon protested, somewhat petulantly.

“No, it wasn’t, and I showed you why it was not and still is not,” Lyra replied. She gave Bonbon a hard look before then turning her attention to brushing one foreleg off with the hoof of the other. “Now, are we going to get to work, or are you going to just sit there and be mad at me?” the unicorn pointedly asked.

Bonbon frowned at the question. “I’m not sure we even can,” she flatly replied. “You’re too impulsive and reckless; working in Ponyville requires a subtle touch, like any small town, and you don’t seem to have it in you.”

“Oh come on!” Lyra exclaimed, with a roll of her eyes. “I just explained how a temporary agent like myself can use that to our benefit.”

“Surely you can’t expect me to believe that kind of nonsense?” Bonbon retort.

“I certainly can. And don’t call me ‘Shirley’,” Lyra countered, with a smirk at the end.

Bonbon blinked, and then tilted her head as she thought for a moment. “What?” she asked, confused.

Lyra sighed. “Nevermind, it was a joke,” she said, and then shook her head. “My point is, I’m still the only backup you have at the moment, and there’s still shenanigans going on. Or have you not talked to Cadance yet?”

The earth mare grimaced slightly at that, and then sighed as the wind seemed to go out of her sails. “Actually, yes, I did,” she replied, more sedately and slightly more petulantly than before as she looked over Lyra with a frown. “She explained the situation, and about Celestia…” Bonbon’s voice trailed off as she shook her head. “It seems rather impossible, and yet I have no reason to doubt her.”

A moment of silence passed as the native pony mulled over her thoughts all over again, though it was soon interrupted as Lyra cleared her throat. “So you see how important it is that we work together, then?” the human-turned-unicorn asked, in a calm tone. She waited until Bonbon reluctantly nodded, and then continued. “So how about we stop arguing about this? What’s done is done, and since it bothers you so much I’ll try to tone down my… exuberance as much as I can.”

Bonbon frowned again. “’As much as you can’?” she echoed, warily.

A sheepish grin spread over Lyra’s muzzle at that. “Well, it’s kind of hard given how utterly adorable ponies are,” she admitted. The flat look she got in return made the unicorn shift to stand more straight, and she wiped the smile off of her face and cleared her throat. “But yes, I’ll keep the fangirling to an absolute minimum.”

Bonbon stared at the unicorn for a few moments, but soon enough shook her head. “I have a feeling I’ll regret this,” she said, and then sighed. “But we do have a job to perform, regardless of what else is going on.”

“Then let’s get to it!” Lyra replied, with a broad grin, and her tail started to wag a bit.

Bonbon noted that, and then stifled another sigh. I’m definitely going to regret this.

Author's Note

For the song Lyra sings, imagine this but with a singular, female voice:

Don't have much else to say, other than I felt the need to at least finish up this chapter. Perhaps some light-hearted stuff will help me get working on my other stories.

Chapter 6 - Hurry Up And Wait

“So why are we going again?” Lyra asked, a slight whine in her voice.

Bonbon sighed and fought to keep her eyes from rolling. “I told you, it's unwise to refuse an invite to a Pinkie Pie party,” the local agent replied, evenly, as the two were out in Ponyville's streets heading towards the town library. No other pony was close enough to hear the contents of their conversation, but Bonbon knew from training and experience that tone could carry surprisingly well. “Plus it would look incredibly suspicious if I wasn't there. And eccentric or not, as my friend you ought to be there as well to keep up appearances.”

“Okay,” Lyra replied, though she dragged the second syllable out a bit to reveal her disbelief.

Bonbon rolled her eyes at that, and then sighed. “Besides,” she added, tiredly. “It's tradition to stay up all night before Princess Celestia raises the sun in the morning, and parties are the favored method of staying active and awake throughout the night. You should have been taught this important cultural fact.”

“I was, but it doesn't make all that much sense to me,” Lyra retorted, with a huff. “It would make more sense to just wake up early and get some sleep at night.”

“Well, ponies do it this way, so adapt or go home,” Bonbon flatly stated, as they pair made the last turn and the Golden Oaks Library was spotted at the end of the street.

“Yes, mother,” Lyra sarcastically replied. She thought for a moment, and then grinned. “Though I don't know why you guys do something so pagan without going full in and just have an orgy while you're at it.”

The strangled noise that Bonbon made at that statement sounded half like an utterance, half like a gargling gasp. It was, however, overshadowed by the earth pony mare tripping over her front hooves at the unicorn's observation, whereupon the confectioner fell face-first into the dirt road. “Bleh,” Bonbon muttered, after a moment to gather her wits.

“Heh, gotcha,” Lyra said, as her grin turned into a smirk. She did however move to Bonbon's side as the latter began to stand and offered a hoof to help her up, which the earth pony took. “You should've seen the look on your face; priceless.”

“Ha, ha, ha,” Bonbon deadpanned, as she finished standing. “Do you take anything seriously?” she asked, and shot a dirty look at Lyra as they both began to walk forward again.

“Lots of things,” Lyra easily replied, with a small smile. “But a seemingly pointless tradition? Nah,” she added, with a shake of her head.

“That doesn’t seem very nice of you,” Bonbon dryly observed. “Aren’t you supposed to respect our culture?”

“Respect doesn’t mean I can’t point out some things I find funny,” Lyra replied, with a nonchalant tone. “If anything, not pointing out things I dislike would be patronizing, like saying you and your culture couldn’t handle a little bit of criticism.”

Bonbon merely harrumphed at that. “Just so long as you can take what you dish out, then,” she said, dismissively, with a toss of her head.

“But of course,” Lyra replied, friendlily. “T’would be hypocritical of me, otherwise.”

Bonbon grunted at that, but kept her peace. The two thus fell into a mutual silence as they approached the library, and the quiet only broke when Pinkie Pie popped out of the tree-building’s front door exactly on time to meet the two agents. “Bonbon hi it’s so nice to see you and you brought the new pony whom I haven’t met formally yet but I can’t wait to get to know her so what’s your name mine’s Pinkie Pie and I’m sorry I didn’t stay and meet you properly but you were the second new pony in one day and I just had to run off and get everything ready and I hope you enjoy the party because I love throwing parties and ponies say I’m a bit too excited about it but I can’t help it especially when there’s going to be another bigger party tonight that this party is part of so it’s like a compound party but without the methyl hydrazine!”

This entire run-on sentence was delivered without pause, breath, or even punctuation, and during it Pinkie had turned from addressing Bonbon to seamlessly greeting Lyra, who now stood in befuddlement as her brain attempted to play catch-up. “Are you a robot?” the unicorn asked, without really thinking.

Bonbon was amazed as the question actually made Pinkie Pie stop in her tracks for a moment, and the pink mare just stood there at a loss. Fortunately for Bonbon’s sanity, however, the moment was brief, and Pinkie’s smile returned full force. “Oh wow! Nopony’s asked me that one before! I’m gonna have to remember it,” she added, and then bounced in place once. “I’m just Pinkie Pie, though. Who are you?”

This finally prompted the former human’s brain to kick back into gear, and she smiled warmly as she proffered a hoof. “I’m Lyra Heartstrings; it’s nice to formally meet you, Pinkie.”

“Oooh! All fancy!” Pinkie Pie said, as she reached out and then shook Lyra’s hoof almost perfunctorily. “It’s nice to meet you, too, Lyra! Why don’t you and Bonnie come in and mingle and enjoy your Welcome-to-Ponyville Party!”

“Don’t mind if we do,” Lyra replied, and then followed Pinkie Pie in as the latter spun about to prance into the library.

Bonbon followed them in, and then paused just past the threshold to let her eyes adjust, and when they did she took a moment to nod appreciatively at the decorations the party planning pony has set up; tables with food and drink were spread about the main room, though they were set a decent distance away from the bookshelves and their tomes, and bunting and banners were spread about the place. “Looks like you've really gone all out today, Pinkie,” Bonbon noted.

“Of course!” Pinkie Pie replied from where she and Lyra had stopped by one of the tables covered with confections. The former had turned back to face Bonbon, while the latter was already using her magic to lift up a cupcake from the table and began to munch on it even as Pinkie continued to speak. “It's not every day that we get a Summer Sun Celebration and not one, but two ponies to move to Ponyville!”

“Hmm?” Lyra hummed, as her mouth was currently full of food, though she did snap her head around to look at Pinkie. The unicorn then took a moment to swallow, and then lightly shook her head. “Oh, I'm just visiting, Pinkie; I won't be here long.”

“Huh, really?” Pinkie asked, with a confused look on her face. She then sat back on her haunches and then brought up a hoof to rub it against her chin. “That's odd, I totally could have sworn the Pinkie Sense said we'd be getting two more residents soon.”

“What sense?” Lyra bemusedly asked, as she continued to levitate the cupcake beside her muzzle.

“Oh hey!” Bonbon suddenly said, as she quickly moved to stand next to Lyra, and then reached up a foreleg to wrap it around the unicorn's withers. “Who knows, maybe there's more ponies coming?”

Lyra turned her head to give Bonbon an even more confused look than she had given Pinkie Pie, but was preempted from saying anything as the baker gasped much like she had when she had met Lyra earlier. “I hadn't thought of that! Oooh, I'd better keep an eye out for them!” Pinkie said, and then smiled so broadly that the two who looked upon it felt a brief chill run up their spines. “Thanks for the idea, Bonnie! I'd better go and get some more supplies in case they come calling! See you girls soon!” And with that Pinkie turned and then bounced away.

Lyra watched her go, and then calmly moved to the side so that Bonbon's leg slid off her back. “Okay, what the smeg was that?” she asked of the earth pony, as the two turned to each other.

“Rule Number One of Ponyville,” Bonbon began, solemnly, as she looked into Lyra's eyes. “Never, ever, try to figure out Pinkie Pie or her ‘Pinkie Sense’. All those who've tried have only gained pain and suffering for their trouble.”

The former human frowned at the native, and then glanced over to where the aforementioned pink pony had bounced into the library's back room. Or is that a kitchen? Lyra mused, and then shrugged as she took another bite out of her baked good as she pondered what Bonbon had just said. Then she swallowed her masticated bite and returned her attention to the earth pony. “You're messing with me, right?” she asked, carefully.

“I'm as serious as that cupcake is your favorite flavor,” Bonbon evenly stated.

Lyra froze for a moment in shock, and then glanced down at the cupcake she was levitating to make sure she hadn't made a mistake. “How the Hell did you know that?” she asked of the earth pony.

“I didn't,” Bonbon said, and then jerked her head towards the door Pinkie had disappeared through. “But she did,” she added, and then leaned in towards Lyra until their muzzles were only an inch apart. “The Pink One does things like that, and the sooner you accept that without questioning it, the sooner you'll be able to sleep at night.”

The two ponies stared at each other for a few moments, until Lyra let out a small chuckle. “Okay, good one,” she said, and then took a step back, towards the table even as Bonbon moved her head back to its normal position. “You really had me going there, but honestly, it's not like marble cake with cream cheese frosting is all that hard to guess at,” she added, and then chomped down the last of her cupcake. She then took her time to chew it as she stared Bonbon down, but the cream-colored pony patiently waited without a hint of her facade cracking. “Now,” Lyra began, after finishing her mouthful, “if she had brought out my favorite ice cream flavor—”

“Ice cream!” Pinkie Pie shouted, as she sprung up from underneath the catering table. Lyra yelped in surprise as she leapt up and spun to face towards the source of the noise in one smooth motion, but then froze as she saw the party planner standing there with a cardboard tub on her back. Pinkie Pie, meanwhile, just blissfully smiled as she watched the unicorn pant a bit in shock. “I totally forgot about the ice cream until I went back to check for supplies, so thanks again, Bonnie!” she said, and then turned to shimmy the tub onto a spare corner of the table. “Hey, Lyra, do you know the charm for keeping something in a container cool for a few hours?”

The transmogrified agent merely blinked at the question. “Uh, no?” she replied, confusedly.

“Okay then, I guess I'll have to ask Amethyst Star when she gets here,” Pinkie Pie said, with a tone of complete nonchalance. She then reached up with a hoof into her mane and then pulled out and set down a stack of bowls before Lyra could even register the movement; a split-second later had a pile of spoons put next to the ice cream tub, as well. “'Til then, enjoy!” Pinkie declared, as she turned around and began to bounce towards the back room once again. “I've still got more supplies to dig up!”

Lyra and Bonbon watched Pinkie leave for a second time, and the former slowly turned her head to the latter. Bonbon merely had a calm, almost bored look on her face and said nothing, to which Lyra turned her head away from her partner and over to the cardboard tub, which was even now gaining a thin layer of ice crystals. Slowly the unicorn inched over to the table, and then sat down on her haunches so she could lift up both of her forelegs to carefully grasp the chilled container. Then she cautiously, almost fearfully began to lift the lid up, and then peered inside. This lasted for only half a second before she sharply inhaled and then violently slammed the lid back on the tub. Another second passed, and then Lyra snapped her head around to stare wide-eyed at Bonbon. “How?” she demanded of the earth pony. “This flavor isn't even common back home, and I didn't think anyone here had even conceived of it yet!”

Bonbon's calm mien finally broke as she smiled. “Because Pinkie Pie, that's how,” she said, and then lightly shook her head. “Like I said, the sooner you get over the need to explain her, the better off you'll be.”

Lyra merely stood up and inched back and away from the table. Her movement turned into a full backwards walk, which soon placed the now-quizzical earth pony between her and the table. Bonbon turned halfway to regard the unicorn, but then was briefly frozen in surprise as Lyra nearly bounded forward and then sat on the floor next to her. The native didn't even have time to consider moving before Lyra placed her forelegs over the top of Bonbon's back, and then used the earth pony as leverage to slowly pull her forward half upwards to regard the ice cream tub with eyes barely above Bonbon's spine. “She's a witch,” Lyra stated, in awe. “If I eat that I'll turn into a newt!”

A roll of the eyes and a heavy sigh were Bonbon's immediate response. “No, you won't,” she said, tiredly, and then sidled to the side, which got her out from under Lyra's forelegs. The unicorn let her go and simply settled into the standard pony sitting stance as Bonbon turned to face her. “Now, it's almost six in the evening, so one of us needs to pick up Amethyst Star at the train station.”

“How'd she know Amethyst was coming?” Lyra asked, even as she still stared at the ice cream container. “It's supposed to be a surprise.”

“Because Pinkie Pie,” Bonbon repeated, and then shook her head. “Look, you still need some time to adjust, so I'll go pick up Amethyst and bring her back here, okay?”

“Are you sure it's safe to leave me with that Pink Demon?” Lyra asked, as she finally turned her gaze to the candy-maker.

Bonbon frowned at the unicorn. “Pinkie's crazy and doesn't make sense in any known system of physics, but she'd never hurt anypony unless they were a threat. So you'll be fine so long as you don't try to throw her into a cage or something.”

“I'm not sure I could even do anything to her,” Lyra breathed, and then shook her head. “I'm scared she's going to tunnel into a lower energy state and bring the universe with her.”

Bonbon blinked at that. “What?” she asked, perplexed.

Lyra blinked back, and then sheepishly grinned. “Nevermind; it's a cosmology joke,” she explained, and then took in a deep, calming breath. “Okay, if you say she's safe enough to be around, then I'll be fine while you go get Amethyst.”

“Are you sure?” Bonbon asked, with a raised eyebrow. “Pinkie Pie can be rather intense, even for ponies used to seeing magic every day.”

A moment of pique flickered through Lyra’s mind at the earth pony’s words and dubious tone. I’m beginning to think she doesn’t really like humans, the unicorn mused, even as she sat more upright and squared her shoulders. “I’ll be fine,” she evenly stated. “I am a grown wo—mare, after all,” she added, with only a brief hitch at nearly using the wrong word.

Bonbon slightly narrowed her eyes at the slip, but then mentally shrugged and nodded to her temporary partner. “Alright, I’ll be back soon,” she said, and then turned and trotted towards the door.

Lyra watched her leave, and then took in a deep, calming breath. Okay, they warned you about Eldritch Abominations in the academy. Remember the Lovecraftian Antithesis: “Humans Are Not Small-Minded Fools Incapable of Accepting the Unusual.” Just because you ran into the fluffy, adorable version of a Shoggoth does not mean you need to lose your marbles.

With that affirmation, Lyra took another calming breath, and then stood up and began to look around the library again. This time she was less focused on the food tables and more on the setting itself, which she found quite pleasant. Ahh, a good ol’-fashioned library, with nothing but paper books. Something like this hasn’t been around on Terra since the Twentieth Century. She felt buoyed by the notion, and soon was smiling slightly as she walked over to a nearby bookcase and then began to peruse the titles. “Yesteryear”, looks like a novel. “Your Horn and You: A Guide for Developing Unicorns”, okay, that sounds… awkward. “Yogg-Saron: Not Even Once”, I don’t even want to know. “Zebras of the Marenghetti”, oh God the pun names are going to kill me. Wait a tick, she suddenly stopped her review as a thought entered her head. Are these organized alphabetically? That’s crazy. Well, except that Yogg book, but that could be up to patrons not putting books back in the right place.

The door to the outside opened again, and Lyra turned around to see two mares walk in, one of which she was familiar with. Said mare, upon gaining her bearings in the room, sighed when she spied the minty green unicorn. “Oh bother,” Octavia muttered, and she seemed to deflate a little.

The smaller white unicorn next to her, however, started to beam, and then began to walk over. Her spikey, two-toned blue mane and tail were cut just a bit longer than boyish, and she wore a pair of purple sunglasses on her face. The latter was soon wrapped in a telekinetic grip and lifted up as the mare reached Lyra, and the agent noted the other unicorn’s pale rose eyes and broad grin. “Hey, you must be that mare Carrot Top told me about,” the newcomer said in a raspy voice, and then raised up a hoof. “Name’s Vinyl Scratch.”

“Lyra Heartstrings,” Lyra replied, as she brought up her own hoof and traded bumps with the other mare. “And yeah, I kinda played that joke a bit overboard,” she said, with a sincerely sheepish grin.

Vinyl’s smile faded a bit at that, and she grimaced a bit. “Oh, so you’re not really an alien then?”

“No, just from out of town,” Lyra smoothly lied, as the two ponies set their hooves down. “I was just playing a joke on Bonbon.”

“Aw,” Vinyl muttered, even as Octavia walked over to join them. “After what Carrot said I thought you’d at least know a bit about them since you echoed the stories so well.”

“Stories?” Lyra asked, curious.

Vinyl’s face seemed to light up again, but a sigh from Octavia preempted any reply. “Oh please don’t get her on about that,” she said, in tone of tiredness that went well with her posh accent. “She’ll spend the entire holiday talking about aliens and conspiracies and the like.”

Vinyl Scratch rolled her eyes at that. “Don’t listen to Octy, she’s just jealous that her music is boring compared to mine.”

“Excuse me?” Octavia cried, even as she snapped her head around to glare at the white unicorn. “Orchestral is not boring, it’s classic!”

“Classically boring, you mean,” Scratch countered, with a smirk on her muzzle.

Lyra frowned, and then took a half step forward. “Ladies, ladies!” she said, and then waited for the arguing siblings to return their attention to her. “We all have our favorite music types, I’m sure; there’s no need to fight about it.”

The pair of arguing mares glanced to each other, and then huffed and turned their heads away. “Perhaps,” Octavia allowed, and then returned her gaze to regard Lyra, most specifically, her flank. “Though I see you too prefer proper instrumentality,” the aloof mare observed.

Lyra shrugged. “It’s a hobby,” she said, matter-of-factly. “But I really like all kinds of music.”

“Nothin’ wrong with that,” Scratch allowed, with a shrug of her own. “Even if some of it is boring,” she added, with a smirk directed at Octavia, who harrumphed in return but held her peace.

“…So you were talking about stories?” Lyra asked, cautiously, in the hopes of preventing another argument.

Vinyl smiled at that and turned her full attention to the mint-colored unicorn. “Yeah! See, there’s this radio show called Post-to-Post AM that’s on in the middle of the night, and they get ponies to come in and tell their stories of all the stuff they encounter. What Carrot Top told me you said was a lot like some of those stories.”

“Really?” Lyra asked, even as her thoughts started to run behind the friendly façade she projected. Command has to know about this, right? If so, why wasn’t I told about it?

“Yeah,” Vinyl continued, oblivious to Lyra’s thoughts. “Just last week they had this stallion on, though they used some kind of spell to mask his voice because he didn’t want to be identified,” she explained, even while Octavia rolled her eyes and walked away. The latter was ignored as Vinyl continued to speak. “He told a story about how when he was a colt he was kidnapped by diamond dogs, along with some other foals, and he was rescued by giant aliens in gray armor. He said they dropped out of the sky on wings of fire and basically beat the snot out of the diamond dogs before taking the foals to the edge of their village and then ran off just as the Royal Guard arrived.” Vinyl Scratch paused for breath, and then shook her head all the while she wore an odd little smile. “Sounds cool, doesn’t it?”

Lyra blinked a few times as she processed the story. “Uh, yeah,” she temporized, even as she thought yup, sounds like a Marine platoon. Well, except for the whole ‘leave kidnappers alive’ bit, Marines usually love to just slaughter slavers. Maybe they didn’t want to traumatize the foals?

Vinyl, meanwhile, was speaking again. “So yeah the whole ‘observe and protect’ thing Carrot Top mentioned made me think of it, and I thought that even if you were joking you’d at least be a fan of Post-to-Post and we could talk about it,” she said, and then paused to sigh. “It’s kind of hard not having anyopony who’s into that around here,” she added, and then glanced over towards Octavia, who had moved across the main room and was talking with another pony who had shown up; a brown stallion with an hourglass cutie mark.

The minty mare followed Scratch's gaze, and then turned back to the slightly glum unicorn. Adorable ponies should not have to frown! A manic part of her whispered, but Lyra soon clamped down on the emotion and then proffered a wan smile. “Well, I may not know about such stuff, but I'd be glad to hear about it.”

Vinyl Scratch turned her head back to Lyra at that, and her face lit up a bit. “Really?” she asked, with a tinge of hopefulness in her tone.

“Yup,” Lyra replied, with a nod, and a broader, more sincere smile.

“Awesome! So supposedly there's like three alien races and they're all these weird bipeds...”

* * * *

Bonbon watched the train arrive with a practiced nonchalance as she waited on the station's sole platform. Inside she was eager, if not excited to see Amethyst Star, as she had come to know the unicorn decently well over the years given their shared employer and Amethyst's regular visits to her sister. Friendship alone would make the candymaker/agent look forward to a visit, but the presence of Lyra in Ponyville and the recent chat with Princess Cadance had Bonbon looking forward to speaking with Amethyst for an entirely different set of reasons.

Nevertheless, she held herself back from the edge of the platform and apart from the few other ponies who were waiting for friends or family. At least, I presume they’re waiting for travelers, Bonbon mused, since none of them have any luggage and I can’t think why anypony would leave when Celestia herself is coming tomorrow.

The thought of Equestria’s senior princess made Bonbon’s mood darken a bit, and she had to work at keeping a frown off of her muzzle. Fortunately she didn’t have long to mull over such thoughts as a whistle sounded in the distance, and everypony on the platform turned their heads in the direction the sound had come from. Soon enough the squealing of metal-on-metal was heard as brakes were applied, while the deep hissing of slowly-released steam underscored the entire cacophony even as the noises grew in volume. Several moments of this passed before the train rolled into view, and then to a stop with the passenger cars precisely aligned with the station platform. Bonbon felt a sense of relief as the doors opened and a small flood of ponies trammeled out and amongst them was a familiar purplish unicorn.

Bonbon didn’t have to feign the friendliness she put into her wave, and it even helps my cover, she rationalized. Thus she had no compunction in making herself more visible as she rapidly shook her foreleg in the air. Amethyst saw it quickly and then made her way across the platform to the earth pony, whereupon they both shared a quick, friendly hug. “Bonbon, it’s nice to see you again!” Star friendlily said.

“You too, Amethyst,” Bonbon replied, as they parted from their brief embrace. The earth pony then turned and beckoned the unicorn with her hoof, and the two set off. “I admit I was a bit surprised to hear about your visit,” Bonbon added, her tone completely at ease. Her eyes, however, tightened just a bit, which let Amethyst know just what her friend was really speaking about.

“Well, it was kind of a last-minute thing,” Amethyst allowed, as the two exited the station and began to walk along Ponyville’s dirt roads. “We’ve had such a terrible time trying to balance the books at work. Fortunately, we got a windfall that helped us out and I could take some time off.”

“Hmm,” Bonbon hummed, even as she surreptitiously scanned the area. After a moment, the agent sighed upon noting that the small crowd had spread out to head in different directions, leaving the pair alone. “Would that windfall be a certain ape-turned-pony?” she asked, sotto voce.

Amethyst Star frowned at that, but soon banished the expression from her muzzle and replaced it with a bland mask. “You should know better than to ask that in public,” she replied to Bonbon, in an equally low volume. “But yes, Lyra’s arrival was not only timely, but she actually helped us think outside the box a bit so I could be here, as well.”

Bonbon frowned at that. “That’s her pony name; what’s her real name?”

“That is her real name, Bonbon,” Amethyst countered, and then gave her friend a brief glare. “Can you get over your dislike of our allies for now? This is bigger than any of us.”

The candymaker/agent grit her teeth at that, but then nodded. “Right, fine,” she said, and then sighed. “So what now?”

“Now, we sit back and observe,” Amethyst Star replied, and then put on a smile as the pair rounded a corner and came onto a street filled with ponies all moving towards the library. Bonbon likewise adopted a pleasant mien, even as Star continued to speak in a hushed tone. “Not much else to do, given the nature of what’s going on.”

“Yes, I got that from… Lyra, and also Cadence,” Bonbon replied.

Amethyst gave her a curious glance out of the corner of her eye, but then grunted and resumed looking forward. “She mentioned your conversation briefly before I got on the train, so I’m sure you’re up to speed on the stakes,” she said, and then let out a brief sigh. “So let’s just get through the night and try not to let anypony pick up on anything.”

Bonbon nodded her assent, and then schooled her face as she and Star reached the library door. Amethyst did likewise, and so the two appeared perfectly natural as Bonbon opened the door and they stepped inside. There they paused to look over the room and the ponies who had started to fill it in the time Bonbon had left for the train station. Then their eyes fell upon Lyra and the pony she was speaking with, and both of the newcomers froze. “Oh shhhh—” Amethyst muttered, barely catching herself in time.

“Of all the ponies…” Bonbon said, and then shook her head. “Let’s get over there and make sure there’s been no damage to the masquerade,” she added, and then started off through the growing crowd. Amethyst Star only took a moment to follow, and soon they were upon the speaking pair of unicorns.

“…So you really think that one is just a female version?” Vinyl was asking as the newcomers approached.

“Yeah,” Lyra said, with a nod and the barest hints of a hidden smile on the corners of her lips. “I mean, it’s entirely possible they’re just more sexually dimorphic than ponies.” She then glanced over and blushed a bit as she saw her fellow agents. “Uh, you know, if they’re real at all.”

“Yeah yeah,” Vinyl said, with a wave of her hoof. “This is all hypothetical depending on whether they’re real or not, you said that—oh, hello!” Vinyl said, interrupting herself as she finally noted the recent arrivals, and then turned to face them. “How’s it goin’ Bonnie, Star?”

“Well enough,” Amethyst replied for the both of them. “How’s the music career going, Scratch?”

A bit of the smile left Vinyl’s muzzle at that, but she remained upbeat. “Not as well as I’d like right now, but hey, we all gotta start somewhere, right?”

“Indeed,” Amethyst agreed. “Even the greatest tree comes from a tiny seed.”

“Unless it’s some kind of super-sized mega-plant with giant seeds,” Lyra chimed in. The three other mares all paused and then turned their heads to give her a uniform series of looks. Lyra smiled crookedly at that. “What?”

“You’re a silly pony,” Vinyl Scratch said, as she smirked and shook her head. “Anyway, you girls come to tell me I’m off my rocker again?” she added, after turning her head towards Bonbon and Amethyst Star, and her smirk turned into a frown.

“We don’t think you’re off your rocker,” Bonbon proffered, with a sheepish smile. “Just that you should really think about which you want to pursue more: your music career, or those silly conspiracy stories.”

“They’re not silly,” Vinyl replied, with a huff. Then her expression turned contemplative, and she glanced to the side. “Though… I guess you do have a point about how I spend my time.”

Both Bonbon and Amethyst blinked at that. “Oh? The latter asked, sounding surprised. “If I may ask, what brought this change on?”

“I was talking to Lyra here—you know her, right?” Vinyl said, interrupting herself long enough to get affirming nods. “Thought so, since she mentioned you all—and she was telling me how ponies back where she’s from don’t always follow their cutie marks, so they can get sidetracked and stuff.” Vinyl Scratch paused at this, and then shrugged in the equine manner. “Like how she’s barely done any music despite having a mark in lyre-playing.”

“Yeah,” Lyra agreed, with a nod and a sincere smile. “I mean it’s not so bad for me, but some ponies back home are really unhappy.”

“Yeah, so,” Vinyl said, and then returned her attention to Bonbon and Amethyst Star. “You two might have a point,” she allowed, with a huff. Then her face hardened a bit, and she let another smirk roll along her muzzle. “But! I’m still going to find the truth one day… It just might take me longer,” she said, and then shook her head. “Anyway, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve been talking for a while and I want to get some of Pinkie’s white chocolate espresso cupcakes before they’re gone.”

“Oh, of course,” Bonbon said, and then smiled warmly at Vinyl. “We’ll be seeing you later, then.”

“Groovy,” Vinyl replied, and then walked off towards one of the concession tables.

The trio of agents watched her go for a moment, but soon enough both Amethyst Star and Bonbon turned to give bewildered looks at the subtly smug unicorn in their midst. “Okay… how did you really do that?” Amethyst asked. “We’ve been trying to dissuade her for years from following the alien stories too closely.”

“Yeah, she mentioned that,” Lyra said, and then let her expression shift into bemusement. “But why? I mean, from what she said a lot of ponies are following this, why did you two focus on her?”

“Two reasons,” Bonbon began. “Firstly, she’s a mutual acquaintance, since Ponyville is small enough for most ponies to know each other, or somepony who knows somepony. Thus she’s the closest one, figuratively, to us who might actually pay attention long enough to pierce the veil.”

“And secondly,” Amethyst chimed in. “Vinyl is talented enough that she could make it big someday… If she actually focuses, that it,” she added, with a sigh. “We care enough about her that we really want her to stop obsessing and get on with making a name for herself.”

Lyra absorbed these words, and then raised an eyebrow. “And I suppose making sure a potential future celebrity isn’t going to rock the boat with ‘silly stories’ factors in there as well?” she knowingly asked.

Both Bonbon and Amethyst had the decency to blush a bit at that. “You’re a lot sharper than you act,” Bonbon muttered.

“I do try,” Lyra replied, and then let out a sigh of her own. “Anyway, to answer your question, Star, Vinyl told a few stories to me and we spoke about ‘aliens’ and whether they had cutie marks, and I got inspired to lead her away with that bit about wasting your life by not following your own, and I guess it took root.”

“Very sharp,” Amethyst Star said, after a moment to think about Lyra’s words. “Well, this seems like a good omen for tonight,” she added, with a genuine smile.

“Let us hope,” Bonbon added, somewhat grudgingly.

“Amy!” a new voice interjected, followed by the sudden appearance of a certain pink pony in the agents’ midst, which caused them all to startle. “I’m so glad you could make it!” Pinkie Pie said, as she quickly reached over and wrapped Amethyst in a crushing hug. “Derpy and Dinky will be so happy to see you!”

“Glad to see you too, Pinks,” Amethyst replied from within the pink forelegs, somewhat out of breath. Pinkie seemed to understand the unspoken message and released the unicorn, who then took a moment to breathe deep before she turned a warm smile to the party planner. “Are they here yet?”

“Not yet, but they should be here soon!” Pinkie replied, her face alight with joy. “In the meantime, could you do me an eeensy, teensy little favor,” Pinkie asked, as she held up a hoof in a pleading manner.

Amethyst sighed good-naturedly. “Lemme guess, you want me to enchant an ice cream tub to keep it from melting for a few hours, right?” she asked, with a smile.

“Uh-huh!” Pinkie replied, with a nod so fast that Lyra was surprised she didn’t get whiplash. “I found a new flavor the other day and something told me I just had to bring it here for tonight’s party and then I found out we’re getting new ponies speaking of which the other unicorn is probably on her way now so if you could do me that favor I’d be really really reaaaaaalllly happy and make you a cake in whatever flavor you want so pretty please with sugar a cherry and chocolate sprinkles on top?”

The verbiage flowed out and over the trio of ponies like a tidal wave, but where it left Lyra blinking in confusion, both Amethyst and Bonbon had had enough experience with Pinkie Pie to weather the storm, and the lavender-pink unicorn chuckled, and then gave a nod. “Alright, take me to it and I’ll see what I can do,” Amethyst replied.

“Yay!” Pinkie cheered, and then reached a foreleg around Amethyst’s withers and began to lead the unicorn away. “C’mon, it’s over here!”

Lyra and Bonbon watched them go for a moment before they turned to each other. “Well… that was something,” the latter said, cautiously.

“Yeah,” Lyra agreed, and then took in a brief, calming breath. “So, now what?”

Bonbon was temporarily put off by the echo of her own words only a few minutes in the past, and she blinked in confusion for a moment before she regained her wits. “Well, for the moment we’re just going to sit back, enjoy the party, and keep our eyes open; it’s just about all we can do until the other horseshoe drops.”

The unicorn thought about that, and then grinned. “Sounds good,” Lyra said. “Speaking of enjoying myself, if you’re really sure that ice cream won’t turn me into a newt, then I’m going to get some; want any?”

“Er, no, thank you,” Bonbon replied, and then watched her partner move off. You know, this is almost normal, she mused, as she glanced around the library’s main room, which was still filling up with ponies as more arrived. Maybe tonight won’t be so bad after all.

Author's Note

Here's something. It's probably crap, but I need to get writing again and I can either finally finish this chapter and move on with this and other stories, or I can sit here for another freakin' month hemming and hawing.

So enjoy, or not. Because I know someone will hate it. It's the Internet and all, so I'm over it, I'm writing for me now.

Next chapter will probably involve a time-skip. I've established the characters of this version of Lyra and Bonbon and supporting cast well enough, and we all know how the party goes, so a quick recap and a jump to when stuff gets real ought to move things along.

Because There's No Quit in a TR, Soldier.
:rainbowdetermined2:

Unrelated to the story, but enjoy some Terran swagger:

Fear the space rednecks.