Ponies Protecting Ponies: The Return of Chaos

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter Two: Worst Night Ever
Chapter Three: Confusion, Evil, and Chaos
Chapter Four: For Old Times' Sake
Chapter Five: Same as it Never Was
Chapter One: At the Gala

Prologue

Canterlot's Ponies Protecting Ponies headquarters buzzed with energy, as it did every day. Agents, commanders, and scientists hustled about, classified documents drifting in their wake. It housed many different rooms for everything from training to mission briefing to interrogation, each busy with their own business. One room in particular held a meeting taking place between the organization's director and six individuals not of the Canterlot branch, but Ponyville's.

Director Rad Dent stood on a platform raised slightly higher than the six agents in front of him. His stoic muzzle was pressed into a document. His eyes squinted as he tried to make sense of the data on its surface. The six seated ponies waited patiently for him to finish reading.

Dent grunted. "...Can't even pronounce that one... An assortment of digging tools, dragon temperament, an ursa-grade tranquilizer," he rattled off. "And a... what is this... 'swamp bubble gun'?"

A tan stallion by the name of Doctor Hooves stuck out a hoof to the grey pegasus on his left. She went by Derpy Doo, and she reluctantly placed her own hoof against the doctor's. Hooves' general aloofness was not out of place for his character, but it was a little unwelcome during matters of serious importance. Dent often had trouble connecting with the stallion, as Hooves always gave the impression that the strange world he alone saw was more interesting than anything anyone else had to offer. Nonetheless, his technical and mechanical prowess proved to be a vital part to the organization on multiple occasions. Derpy, on the other hoof, cared almost too much about ponies other than herself. Even now, she could have made an attempt to scold Hooves, but she always treated his childlike nature with tenderness, a habit she could not break even in the face of a high-ranking officer.

Rad Dent rubbed his temple. Ever since the six agents before him played major parts in the defeat and reformation of Nightmare Moon, the biggest threat to Equestria in a thousand years, they consistently tried his patience. Troubles of the like that other branches see once a decade, this group somehow encountered on a weekly basis, and their methods for handling the situations rarely came cheap.

"Anypony want to explain to me just how you can rack up a bill like this?" Dent asked the Ponyville agents while waving the document wildly.

A creme-colored mare sitting center of the group stood up. Bon Bon was the acting chief handler of the Ponyville branch. The other five answered to her directly. As such, she was the foremost expert on why so much of the organization's budget leaked to a small and otherwise unassuming village. Despite Dent's obvious frustration, Bon Bon answered with her usual confidence and no-nonsense attitude.

Bon Bon said, "The protection of Princess Celestia's student Twilight Sparkle has proven to be far more eventful than initially expected." She did not move a muscle as she spoke. "The region's unnaturally dangerous flora and fauna, in conjunction with assignments from Princess Celestia herself, have necessitated–"

"Alright, alright, alright," said Dent, flapping his front hoof to silence the pink-and-blue-maned mare.

Bon Bon took her seat again. It didn't sound like her story altered a single word from the last time Dent brought up their spending, or the time before that.

Dent said, "Sparkle gets into sticky situations, and you're just going to tell me that it's got the Princess's blessings behind it." Dent sighed and eased back into his chair.

Most of the issues the Ponyville branch dealt with involved protecting a single unicorn named Twilight Sparkle. A single unicorn who happened to be Princess Celestia's prized student, and, if records were to be believed, a mare with an astounding destiny ahead of her. But the hope of the future didn't change the budget of the present.

Dent continued, "Even so, these expenses are quite high, and that's coming from both the PPP director and the Canterlot chief handler."

A mint-green unicorn snorted. "Yeah, and if there's one thing Canterlot ponies know how to do, it's spend a lot of bits."

Dent glared. Agent Lyra Heartstrings never quite found herself on his good side. She was as arrogant as she was facetious, and even now, her joking grin taunted him. Dent expected more tact from a mare with her record, but thought better of bringing it up at the time. Instead, he answered, "Speak when spoken to, Agent Heartstrings."

Lyra folded her front legs, but said nothing more. Her snarky expression didn't waver.

A mare with a flowing orange mane cleared her throat. "Rad, please, I think if you look at the budget in conjunction with all of the endeavors of Twilight Sparkle, you'll find a reasonable–"

"Carrot, really, I understand." Dent's demeanor with Carrot Top was far softer than with Lyra. Carrot once led the Ponyville branch herself, but later gave the position to Bon Bon. She was a kind mare who showed more attention to her agents than their missions. In other words, Bon Bon's complete opposite. Dent and Carrot interacted more often when she was in the chief handler position. Much more.

Dent spoke softly and said to Carrot, "It's not like the organization has gone broke as a result. But now the six of you want tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala of all things?"

The six ponies seated before Dent said nothing. Five leaned forward with anticipation. Hooves found a particularly interesting mark on the facility's wall to observe.

"Well..." a pink mare said slowly, "Twilight Sparkle and her friends are all going to the Gala, and with invitations from Celestia no less."

"Princess Celestia, Agent Star," Dent said to her.

Agent Amethyst Star was the greenest member on the team. She was released for duty less than a year prior, but has since showed the resolve of a seasoned veteran. Even so, the action she'd seen hadn't damaged her natural hopefulness and naiveté (or foolishness, as others may call it). Dent was simply glad that Amethyst didn't take on many of Lyra's characteristics, especially considering that cantankerous green unicorn trained her.

Dent observed Amethyst and continued, "I know you and Agent Heartstrings are the primary agents on Sparkle's guard assignment, but I assure you, the Gala already has plenty of security."

"But you could always use more!" Amethyst Star retorted. She then flinched and chose to look down at her hooves. Perhaps she heard the desperation in her voice.

Bon Bon saw Amethyst's self-inflicted disappointment, and spoke up on her behalf. "I think what Agent Star is trying to say," she began, "is that an event of this scale could use all the hooves it can get."

"Especially with the terrorist threats!" chimed Hooves, still staring at the wall. Every head in the room turned to look at him. Neither his wide eyes nor his wide smile faltered.

"...That's classified information." Dent informed him. He stared Hooves down but couldn't establish eye contact. "How did you–?"

"I read things I'm not supposed to," Hooves said simply.

"And besides," Bon Bon said, turning back to Dent, "information within the company really shouldn't be limited in such a regard."

"It's a safety precaution," Dent assured her with a wave of his hoof. Bon Bon didn't look satisfied with his answer, but Dent felt the matter too simple to dwell on. "We don't want that kind of information leaking out."

"And that's been working so well so far," said Lyra with a roll of her eyes.

Dent shot Lyra another glare. Then he sighed and resumed rubbing his temple. These six put him on the spot with this request. He'd lost count of the strings pulled in their favor. At the same time, their words rang true.

The ponies sat in silence as Dent thought to himself. He open and closed his mouth a few times before finally uttering, "We can afford tickets and transportation for three, maybe four of you."

"YES!"

Six heads turned to stare at the pink unicorn standing on both her back hooves, a front one raised triumphantly in the air. Amethyst opened her eyes, and, upon seeing she had the room's attention, slowly lowered herself back into her seat, her cheeks increasingly more crimson as she went.

Chapter Two: Worst Night Ever

Carrot picked up another drink, enjoying herself far too much to only have one. "Lyra, you said it yourself: Amethyst isn't the best choice for a honeypot here, and you're our only remaining unicorn on the team."

came Amethyst's bitter voice.

was Lyra's dignified response.

declared Derpy. Carrot could only imagine the pegasus locking one of her eyes onto the figure, and hopefully sporting the same stupid grin she was.

Carrot grinned wide and swayed with the music. "'Here?'" she asked, offering to finish Lyra's sentence for her. She took a big gulp of her drink. "Lyra, as this mission's chief handler, I order you to romance that stallion and determine his threat level."

Amethyst's snort was audible over the comm link.

<...I hate all of you,> said Lyra.

"Mwah." Carrot blew a kiss into the air. "Don't worry, I'll be listening and ready to give you advice if you need it."

said Lyra.

"Perfectly healthy enjoyment, actually," said Carrot through another sip.

"Ahem."

Carrot coughed and almost lost some of her drink. She gave her chest a good thump before turning to address the stallion standing behind her. Before she could say, 'Yes?' her chest needed another good thump.

"Golden?" asked the light-grey unicorn. He was wearing a dapper tuxedo, and his violet mane was combed perfectly. His face wore a look of recognition as he licked his lips to speak again. "Golden Harvest? I thought I saw you earlier, and... Well... I guess I wanted to see if that blown kiss was aimed at me."

Carrot swallowed before allowing his name to pass her lips.

"...Written Script?"

The stallion smiled.

said Lyra from another world entirely.

"It's been a while," said Written Script, his emerald eyes lost in reminiscence.

"Yes," replied Carrot with a weak voice and a small smile. She nodded and fought back a tear. "A very long while."

Carrot's ear tickled, but she paid it no mind.

Doctor Hooves has been welcomed on the team with open hooves. He's added some much-needed levity to the group. The interactions between him and Iron Ore are nothing short of adorable. They're practically inseparable! Carrot has already given him a few assignments to help him get acquainted with the new lab, and he's really taken to it. You'd almost think he'd been here this whole time. A few of his experiments have meandered the edge of unauthorized, but Carrot has been surprisingly supportive. And here I am keeping a written journal as my one source of rebellion under her. Still, it's refreshing to not have to obey every single order.

Derpy has been acting rather strange lately. I think she's still getting used to being away from Cloudsdale, not to mention dealing with an underground base. I'm sure that's discomforting for a pegasus. I think Iron Ore has noticed her behavior as well. I overheard him joking with Hooves that Derpy has been eyeing him, but Hooves didn't look bothered one way or the other. Perhaps he's simply married to science. It would explain a lot. Even so, there is a strict probation on relationships in this company, especially within the company. You never know what kind of trouble that can cause.

Carrot casually rubbed at one of her ears, as though addressing an itch. Lyra's annoying voice ceased.

"What–" Carrot coughed. "What brings you here?" she asked.

Written Script smiled. "Really, Golden? Small talk?" he replied. Before Carrot could answer, he continued, "Remember that play I was working on? It turned out to, well, not exactly be a big hit, but it got noticed by the right ponies. One script later and actors were reading my lines on Bridleway!"

"Oh, Written, I'm so happy for you!" Carrot gushed. Her hind legs quivered. "I can only imagine how much that must mean to you!"

"Second best thing that's ever happened to me," Written said with a smile. He gave a small wave to the castle around them. "One of the producers comes to these things every year, and managed to get me a ticket." He flexed his eyebrows. "See what the big leagues are like."

Carrot giggled. "Is it everything you ever dreamed of?" she asked.

"Almost." Written Script offered a hoof. "I don't suppose you would care for a dance? You've been swaying to the music all night."

"Been watching me sway, have you?" asked Carrot coyly.

Written smiled but did not reply. Carrot took his hoof and joined him on the dance floor.

Iron Ore hasn't been himself these last few days. He's been distant. Sour, even. Playful quips between him and his brother have turned into hurtful bickering. He doesn't listen to Carrot's orders anymore, nor does he report his time out of headquarters. He even snapped at Derpy in the breakroom, and she's been nothing but kind to him. Carrot's a mess. I don't think she knows how to deal with this kind of subordination. She's never had to be tough in her tenure here; everypony always got along just fine. This may be her first true test as a leader. I'd like to say that I have complete faith in her, but truth is, I'm actually really worried.

Derpy swiveled an eye onto Lyra below her and shook her head. "I'm... not exactly romantic," she answered. She gave her wings a few good flaps. "Besides, I wouldn't know how to 'sell' being a unicorn, you know what I mean?"

answered Amethyst. She adopted a ditsy voice. <'Tell me my horn's pretty.'>

continued Lyra.

Derpy lowered her eyelids. "Dinky is adopted," she said. "I know I've told you this. Like, eight times."

asked Lyra. Derpy could see her dumbfounded expression.

asked Amethyst.

shouted Lyra. Derpy watched as she stomped toward her target.

Before either Amethyst or Derpy could argue, Lyra swiped at her ear, and Derpy knew she was silenced. Still, Lyra couldn't stop her from watching the ensuing chaos.

"Miss Doo, is that you?"

Derpy dropped a few inches before collecting herself. She looked down to see a familiar face she'd been blocking from her past.

"Um... yes." She lowered herself to ground-level to speak with the skinny stallion. He looked at her through a wide pair of lenses.

"I say, what were you looking for all the way up there?" he asked her. "Surely you didn't bring your child? Such a young filly would easily get lost in this mess!"

"Oh, no, I..." Derpy swallowed. "I heard the Wonderbolts would be here. I've been in Ponyville for so long now, and it would be nice to speak to an old piece of home."

"Yes, yes, quite," said the stallion gruffly. He coughed before saying, "How is Dinky, may I ask?"

"She's doing fine, thank you." Derpy glared at him with one eye. The other was trained on Lyra, but it was harder to keep her in sight from ground level. She tried to keep her eye movements slow to keep from being distracting. "She actually just began practicing magic recently."

"Magic? Already?" said the stallion. "Why, don't you think it's a bit early? Her doing magic at all is rather... concerning."

"I think she's at a fine age for it," Derpy said, gritting her teeth.

The stallion sighed.

"Miss Doo... May I call you Ditzy?"

"No," said Derpy curtly.

"Now, now, no need for hostility, my dear," said the stallion. He cleaned his glasses on his lapel, shrinking his eyes considerably. "I know we left on the wrong hoof, but I did everything I could when you came to me for help."

Derpy sighed. "I know. And I suppose I can never repay you for that."

"I still don't think taking the child home was the wisest of decisions."

Derpy's other eye rocked back forward and locked onto the stallion. He almost dropped his glasses in shock.

"What you have to think of my daughter is no longer relevant," she said, seething. "Now, if you don't mind..." Derpy stomped past the stallion, flaring a wing in his face as she passed. As soon as she was past the bouncer, she spread both wings and rocketed away.

"Wait!" the stallion called after her, "How in Equestria did you get VIP tickets?!"

"Lyra? Derpy? Carrot? Hello?"

Amethyst pressed her comm link into her ear, wondering if it was malfunctioning. Watching Twilight and Celestia greet guests was dreadfully dull, the voices of her comrades her only source of entertainment. One by one, however, those voices stopped coming. Amethyst was alone.

She sighed and looked onward to Twilight Sparkle. She didn't look to be enjoying her night any more than Amethyst. Amethyst recalled all the trouble Twilight went through with her tickets for the event, and couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Overpowering that, however, was some indignation that now neither were enjoying themselves. Her only continuing mission was to keep Twilight protected on Celestia's behalf, but Celestia was right there. Surely Carrot could have relocated her by now? Perhaps somewhere with food or dancing?

And not one pony had complimented her saddleskirt.

Amethyst snorted and gave her ear a tap. "This is Agent Star," she said under her breath. "Can anyone read me?"

answered a voice.

"I'm sorry, I just–" Something triggered within Amethyst's memory. "Melody... Weren't you the one who recruited Lyra?"

answered Agent Melody.

"Replacement?" said Amethyst, half insulted and half inquisitive. "What are you talking about?"

asked Agent Melody.

The next few noises Amethyst heard were the sounds of a struggle.

"Agent Melody?" Amethyst's heart raced; another voice silenced, and she couldn't help but fear the worst. "Hello?" She switched channels again. "Carrot, what's going on?"

A deep rumbling came from the ballroom. Amethyst saw Twilight turn in shock, then race toward the noise. Celestia hesitated before following her.

"Carrot, I've lost visual on Twilight!" said Amethyst, desperation in her voice. "I need to know if I should relocate!"

No response.

"Carrot, please!" Amethyst's heart beat faster. "Derpy, Lyra, somepony, please answer me!" After a few bated breaths amid a growing cacophony, Amethyst cycled through a few more channels. "This is Agent Star! Please respond! Somepony, please respond!" Her emotions welled to the surface. "SOMEPONY TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON!" she cracked.

Stay cool, Lyra said to herself. Stay cool, and he'll be putty in your hooves. No sweat. Just get the information, and get out.

As Lyra neared her target, her death march turned into a sashay, and her scowl into a smoldering smile. If the mare could have an evil twin, she would look exactly like this.

Only a few paces away from target, the stallion turned and locked eyes with her. Lyra's innermost muscles tensed with anticipation, but her pace never lost its rhythm.

"I have to say, I'm not used to seeing eyes such as yours, Mister...?"

"Havoc," replied the stallion with a bow. He gazed at her with one eye of green and the other one crimson. "That's quite a compliment coming from a unicorn whose own eyes reflect perfection."

Do not vomit!

"And right now they're reflecting you," Lyra said with a purr.

I'm taking, like, eight showers after this.

"Indeed," said the stallion with a placid smile.

Lyra fluttered her eyelids an appropriate amount of times. "So what is it you do that brings you to the VIP section, Mister Havoc?"

"I do a number of different things," Havoc replied casually. He motioned for a drink tray to come near, and he and Lyra both took up a tiny glass with their magic. "I help recruit ponies into better professions, speak at a few events, but mostly I find my interests in things more historical in nature."

"History?" Lyra repeated, feigning delighted interest. "What is it you find so appealing about that which distracts from the here and now?"

"While here and now is quite enjoyable," Havoc said with smirk and a twirl of his glass, "knowing what came before can help us better prepare for what's yet to come. In a way, studying history is like predicting the future."

"I never thought of it that way," said Lyra, making sure her tone made the stallion sound like smartest pony in the universe. "That must open up all sorts of ideas for you."

"Oh yes," replied Havoc, taking a sip of his drink. He eyed Lyra over the glass. "Among other things."

Lyra pretended to fail to stifle a giggle, but succeeded in hiding a retching sound from her gullet.

I want to punch that smug mug SO BAD.

"Tell me, Mister Havoc." Lyra took a few swaying steps forward. "What kind of future do you see?"

"I hope, soon..." Havoc took a few paces closer himself. "I can show you exactly what kind of future to expect, Agent Heartstrings."

Lyra closed her eyes and leaned in close. Then, like a snap, pulled her neck back and asked, "Wait, what did you just call–?"

A loud boom echoed from the ballroom, and Lyra looked to it instinctively. After a brief silence, the rumbling of a stampede with screams from pony and animal alike followed suit.

"My cue," said Havoc. Lyra turned back around. Havoc gave a small bow before saying, "Adieu, my dear."

"Oh no you–" Lyra's horn lit in a golden glow. "You're coming with–!"

Lyra's aura floated around Havoc and fluctuated, never quite matching his form. He winked and disappeared while Lyra's glow continued to envelop thin air.

"...Me?"

The shouts from the ballroom drew closer. Lyra's growl turned into a scream as she whacked at her ear to turn her comms back on.

"WHAT IS GOING ON?!" roared Lyra.

sobbed Amethyst.

"Star, suck it up and meet me in the ballroom!" Lyra commanded. She looked around. "I don't see Doo here, but hopefully Top hasn't left her post!"

Iron Ore didn't come back from his mission today. He was supposed to inspect the castle ruins in Everfree to find a missing Canterlot agent. He may have been playing hooky again, but Carrot and I went looking for him anyway. We found... We found what was left. We don't know what could do this to a pony in such a short amount of time, but...

No one is taking it well. Derpy left for Canterlot without saying anything more to anyone. Carrot is an absolute wreck. Ponyville has never lost an agent before. I've been trying to keep up the paperwork in her stead. I'm in a desperate need to grieve as well, but... somepony has to keep the lights on.

Doctor Hooves is taking it the worst. Despite how much they've been arguing lately, it's clear he still has a deep, undying love for his brother. He's been cycling through fits of hysteria and utter contempt. It's a miracle the lab is even still standing, let alone the stone walls around us. I don't know if he'll ever be okay.

We always knew this job would have its devastating moments. I don't think any of us expected this.

Amethyst wiped away the last of her tears, her cheeks burning with the shame of having them in the first place. Lyra heard her voice broken, but she didn't need to see it in her face as well. Catching one last breath, Amethyst rounded the corner between the VIP section and the ballroom. Lyra popped into view, spotted Amethyst, and jerked her head down the hall. She was fast, but Amethyst managed to catch up.

"What happened?" asked Amethyst.

"Didn't I ask you that?" replied Lyra. She grit her teeth. "I take it nothing interesting happened while Celestia was around.

"No, I was bored to tears."

Lyra looked like she wanted to say something, but decided against it. The ballroom was mostly quiet now, save for a few stragglers speaking to reporters and cleaning up mud. In a far corner stood Carrot Top tending to the wounds of an unfamiliar, seated stallion. Lyra's grit teeth turned into an intense scowl.

"THERE you are!" Lyra snarled upon her approach. The stallion looked at her in shock.

"Friends of yours, Golden?" the stallion asked Carrot Top. "I'm sorry, I don't think we've met. I'm Written Script" He extended a hoof to the two unicorns.

"Oh!" said Carrot, her hooves still on the Written's forehead. "Yes! These are my... my coworkers." She pointed to Amethyst and uttered, "Her name isssss Sparkle...r. Sparkler. And the green one is–"

"Lyra Heartstrings," barked Lyra. She never stopped glaring at Carrot Top. Written Script lowered his hoof, and Lyra threw a foreleg out in exasperation. "Where have you been?!" Lyra demanded. "We've been trying to get a hold of you!"

Carrot drew back. "I've–"

"I'm afraid that's my fault," said Written Script. "Golden Harvest and I haven't seen each other in a long time, and after a few drinks–"

"And you've been drinking?!" asked Lyra incredulously. Carrot took a step backward and looked down. "You know what, I don't even care." Lyra stamped her hoof back to the ground, causing Carrot and her companion to flinch. "That 'suspicious stallion' definitely has something to do with this, and–"

"Okay, I think things are getting a little heated," said Written, interjecting. He moved his front hooves slowly. "The night has been a little rough, and I think we all need to just–"

"Guys."

"DON'T YOU TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" shouted Lyra, her eyes wide and livid. "YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW ME! DO YOU KNOW WHAT I HAVE TO DO TO KEEP PONIES LIKE YOU–"

"Guys!"

"Don't you dare yell at him!" said Carrot Top, finding her voice again. "This is the nicest stallion a mare could ever meet, not that you'd know anything about–"

"GUYS!"

"WHAT, Star?!" Lyra spun to look at Amethyst with an expression meant for Carrot Top. Amethyst would have apologized on instinct if there were not more pressing matters. She motioned to her ear and watched as Lyra realized that she was hearing the same thing; it had just been drowned out by her own voice.

Derpy was shouting.

Lyra whacked Carrot Top upside the head. Written stood to protest, as did Carrot, but then her expression changed from anger to grave concern. "I hear you, Doo, yes. Don't worry, we're coming!"

"Now hold on a minute!" said Written. His disbelieving eyes darted between them "We're not going anywhere until Golden gets an apology for such uncivil behavior!"

"Don't need it." Carrot kissed Written Script's cheek and raced for the gardens. "Keep up, you two!"

Lyra and Amethyst did not hesitate to follow. Amethyst took one glance back at Carrot's companion, who was holding his cheek and didn't look intent on removing his hoof anytime soon. Questions about Carrot's past would have to wait for another time.

Doo finally came back from Canterlot. It's been months, and, get this: she adopted a child. A unicorn filly, to be exact. If this is her way of coping with Iron Ore's death, then it's not one I can agree with. I suppose I don't have any control over her personal matters. It's my understanding though that a contact of hers in Canterlot also tried to talk her out of it. Clearly that didn't go anywhere. She assures me that she used a fake name on all the papers, so at least she was still thinking like an agent.

Hooves might be getting worse. His euphoric moments are getting longer, but they feel like a shallow mask that's being used to hide the pain. That, or he's legitimately going mad. If this keeps up any longer, I may have to take him in to see a psychiatrist. Grief is normal. This... For this long? This isn't. Trouble is, his only emergency contacts are his brother and the agency. So, unless Carrot decides to come into the office for a change, my hooves are tied.

To be honest, I'm not even sure I can continue taking orders from Carrot. How is this being a leader?

As Amethyst, Lyra, and Carrot Top ran into the castle gardens, Derpy's floating form came into view.

she called. A waving foreleg could be seen.

"Oh, fun, the cult-y kind of terrorists," Lyra muttered.

"No time for jokes, Heartstrings!" shouted Carrot over the wind. "Doo, can you get in there and break it up?"

Lyra muttered something about someone having time for stallions, but only Amethyst heard.

said Derpy,

"Roger that," said Carrot. She swiped at her ear in stride. "This is Agent Top, calling across all channels. Does anyone copy? We need backup in the sculpture garden!"

Amethyst was afraid to tell her of this part: no one from the Canterlot branch had been replying to her either.

Carrot snarled. "I guess it's up to us. You two be on standby for any cancellation spells."

Amethyst and Lyra both nodded. As they neared the garden, they heard deep, rhythmic chanting coming from beyond a few hedge walls.

shouted Derpy.

The mares bobbed and weaved around sculptures of various sizes and depictions before one of the tallest came into view, almost a dozen ponies kneeling before it. Each one was blasting it with their own brand of magic.

"Za na tu Discord," Amethyst heard chanted from the nearest cultist. "Omavue trenai coca triste..."

"Attack!" shouted Carrot Top.

"Scatter!" shrieked one of the chanters.

The unicorns who could teleport did so. Derpy dove at one who transformed into a puddle before seeping into the ground. Lyra went to grab another with her magic before it vanished.

"Amethyst, check your magic!" Lyra called. "One of these guys did this inside; it's like some kind of... phantom image!"

Amethyst threw her own magical grab at a few figures, but struggled to get a grip on any of them.

"Smoke and mirrors!" shouted Amethyst.

"Not a good way to do your makeup, Star!" shouted Carrot Top. She kicked a figure and it turned to dust.

"It's just an illusion!" Amethyst clarified.

An unfamiliar voice joined the commotion. "Well, well, well, it looks like my distraction could have used an extra few seconds."

"You!"

Amethyst turned to see Lyra bolting for a unicorn with two distinctly-colored eyes. He vanished into thin air, and two identical stallions appeared on either side of Lyra.

"I know, I left you too soon, Agent Heartstrings," said the duplicate stallions. Lyra lashed out at two more whiffs of air. The voice continued, "Any longer and I think the two of us may have had some real fun, hm?"

"Shut up!" shouted Lyra, looking for another image to bash. "How do you know my name?!"

The stallion's laughter echoed as Lyra ran circles in the field.

Amethyst looked up into the sky. "Derpy!" she called. "He's trying to distract us! Focus your attention somewhere else!"

Derpy spun her head around. "He has doubles all over!" she replied.

"He can't be far!" said Amethyst. "Chances are good he's still close enough to do magic on this statue!"

Derpy looked a little closer to their position before both of her eyes locked onto something. She dove straight down into the hedge maze. Not a second later, the images taunting Lyra disappeared, and the laughter was replaced by the sounds of a scuffle culminating in a loud crack. A moment later, Derpy flapped over the hedge wall, dragging a body with her. She dropped it before her companions, where the stallion writhed in pain. A deep crevice spanned the length of his horn, and a few pitiful sparks drifted from it.

Lyra whistled low. "Remind me to never get on your bad side, Doo."

Carrot Top is stepping down from the Chief Handler position, effective immediately. It seems I'm not the only one who doesn't think she has what it takes to do this job. She's named me her successor, while she retakes the role of a standard agent. I suppose it's fitting, given the fact that I've basically been doing the job in her stead these past few months. Now it just comes with a title and a little more authority. And... responsibility. The next agent to go down is on me. I wouldn't be as worried if that blasted Summer Sun Celebration wasn't on the horizon, and Hooves' progress has slowed considerably since the passing of his brother.

No matter what, I can't forget that these ponies, as broken as they currently are, are all I have. This town... I would give anything for my home. It's why I joined in the first place. There is so much here worth protecting, and I am not going to betray that. No matter what.

"Bon Bon?"

Bon Bon sighed and looked up from her memories. "Yes, Doctor? What is it?"

"Director Dent is on the monitor," Hooves said, peeking through Bon Bon's office door. "The others came across something major in Canterlot. He'd like you to come up immediately."

Bon Bon sighed again and put her old journal back in its drawer, this time locking it.

"Tell him I'll be on the next train."

"No. Absolutely not."

Carrot Top stood in front of Rad Dent, a disgruntled look on her face.

"None of your Canterlot agents showed up," Carrot replied. She shifted her weight. "My agents caught him, therefore they get to interrogate him."

"He was caught in Canterlot, and it will be Canterlot agents in that room with him!" said Dent. He puffed his chest to make sure the light hit his medals at the right angle. "You're out of your jurisdiction!"

"And you're out of agents!" Carrot retorted. "Unless any have returned from animal roundup? Hm?"

Dent's eyebrows furrowed. "Chasing the cultists you failed to catch," he grunted. His composure relaxed. "Though I suppose they may be a while yet." Dent sighed and shook his head. "Fine. Go on ahead."

Carrot gave a sweet smile. "I'll use some former Canterlot agents, if that makes you feel any better." She turned to the ponies standing behind her. "Lyra, Amethyst, you're up. Use magic to restrain him if he can still do anything with that broken horn. I don't think I need to explain which one of you is the bad cop or the good cop."

Lyra smirked and gave a half salute as she and Amethyst entered a secluded room. Light blinked on inside, revealing the pair with a stallion cuffed down to a table. Derpy sat watching through a window with one eye. The other eye followed Carrot and Dent as they took their own seats next to her.

Dent coughed. "So, Carrot, I uh... I heard you ran into an old flame at the Gala."

"Not now, Dent," Carrot replied with no patience in her voice.

Inside the room, Lyra closed the door and walked up to the table Havoc was chained to. Amethyst stood watching with casual interest. In an instant, Lyra swung one of her front hooves square into Havoc's jaw. Amethyst blinked, but otherwise didn't move.

Havoc spat and chuckled as he brought his gaze back forward. "Flawless technique," he said. He looked up at Lyra. "Minotauran, I believe? Eastern Isles?"

"Southern," Lyra grunted. She picked up a clipboard and paced while reading it.

"You'll have to excuse my partner," said Amethyst with a smile. "I think she's a little upset you left her before finishing your conversation." Lyra stopped and shot Amethyst a glare before she resumed her pace. "That was quite the distraction your followers pulled."

"Please." Havoc waved a dismissive hoof. "It doesn't take a degree in chaos theory to have known that Twilight Sparkle and her friends would have ruined the Gala on their own." He gave a mischievous smile. "Though a simple spell to make animals afraid of the animal-whisperer certainly helped matters."

"So... 'Havoc,'" said Lyra, still in pace. "Kind of a hokey alias to give yourself."

Havoc smirked. "To each their own, Agent Heartstrings."

Lyra winced, but didn't lose her composure otherwise. "Says here you're wanted for a lot of things," Lyra stated as her eyes traced the clipboard. "Top among them being treason against the throne, persuading ponies into a fanatical following, vocalizing radical ideals, and desecration of artifacts of historical and cultural significance."

Havoc grinned and leaned forward. "The last three I told you at the Gala. The first... well." He leaned back again. "A matter of interpretation, really."

"Uh-huh." Lyra flipped through the pages of her clipboard. Amethyst stepped forward.

"I have to say, I'm impressed by your magic," said Amethyst. Her eyes gazed up to his horn. "Or what it used to be, anyway. Tell me, is there a specific mage you follow to learn that sort of thing?"

Havoc chuckled. "Good magic so seldom goes noticed. It's my own design, so I'm afraid you won't learn it from anyone other than myself and my followers, and, whoops," he gestured vaguely around the room. "You only have me. And you broke me." He pouted mockingly as he pointed at his horn.

"I'm not sure I can believe you," said Amethyst, taking a side step. "It takes a special kind of talent to create new spells, and I don't see you as a special kind of individual."

Havoc's eyes narrowed. "You wound me, Agent. My magic is based mostly on memory. A pony need only see me once before I can implant myself in their head, creating a real-time memory of myself. And, wouldn't you know..." Havoc sneered. "Every PPP agent in Canterlot got my picture on their datasticks. It didn't take much at all to keep so many of you busy."

Amethyst took a few steps back. "Impressive," she said on a soft breath.

Lyra retook her place at the front. "Alright, so you've got a few party tricks," she said, giving her hoof a small wave. "Big deal. What do you want with that statue in the garden? I mean, if you were trying to destroy it, it was already pretty ugly."

Havoc's muscles tightened. Lyra smirked.

"That is no mere statue," snarled Havoc.

Lyra gave an obtuse roll of her eyes over her thick smile. "Then why don't you enlighten me?" she asked.

Havoc opened his mouth to speak before giving a soft chuckle. "I don't see what good that would do. You don't have the best track record with believing in fairy tales, Agent Heartstrings."

Lyra's eyes narrowed. She placed both hooves on the table and leaned into Havoc. The detained stallion didn't budge.

"You're going to tell me how you know me," said Lyra, her breath heavy on her lips. "And then you're going to tell me what in the heck you were doing to that statue."

Havoc's lips curled, but he said nothing. Lyra gave the table a deafening smack; Havoc sat unfazed. Lyra then paced near the one-way mirror as Amethyst stepped forward again.

"You know, I like a good story," Amethyst said. She leaned gently against the table. "Maybe you could try my ears on for size."

Havoc considered the pink unicorn. "It's one of the older myths, you see," he said to Amethyst. "I doubt anypony under a thousand years old even remembers it."

"So you admit it's a myth," said Lyra from over her shoulder.

Havoc sneered. "Hardly." He waved a hoof and continued, "Ponies have legends that go back for millennia. Some are just stories, some are true, and some just needs a little... push." He smiled at the mares knowingly. "I think the two of you know a little about that."

Lyra and Amethyst looked at one another.

"'The Elements of Harmony,'" recited Havoc as he leaned back, his eyes gazing at a distant memory. "I remember reading that one a lot as a colt. The idea that somewhere, out there, were magical gemstones that kept ponies safe. Just as that pathetic princess would have you believe."

"What do you have against Celestia?" asked Amethyst, eyebrows lowering.

"Princess Celestia, Star," replied Lyra.

Havoc's wicked grin reached his ears. His eyes pierced into Amethyst's. "Does she do that often, Agent Star?"

Lyra raised an eyebrow as Amethyst replied. "Well, yeah. What of it?"

Havoc gave a short laugh devoid of humor. "It's just so... and you think I'm in a cult?" He laughed again.

Lyra stamped the ground and shoved her clipboard in Havoc's face. Amethyst took a few steps back from the table.

"'The Cult of Chaos,'" Lyra read, pointing at the clipboard. "Says it right here, freak. You are a direct threat to the harmony of this nation!"

Havoc's face shifted dramatically. The laughter stopped, his smile dropped, and his eyelids hung low. "Let me tell you what harmony is," he said. He eased forward in his seat. Lyra stood rigid, but Amethyst leaned forward just a bit, her eyes wide.

"Harmony," Havoc continued, "is a fat whopping lie. Harmony is a complete and constant struggle against the natural order of life. Anything can possibly happen in any given moment. It might rain. It might snow. The dam could break. The house might catch fire. A pony could disappear into nothing." He smiled mischievously. "A loved one could keel over and never get up." Amethyst winced, and Lyra's eyes narrowed. "Harmony is an unwinnable fight to stop the things that cannot be stopped.

"You see, the idea of harmony is completely relative. What's normal to the spider is chaos to the fly. A single pony and the laws she’s written over the course of a thousand years provide your entire concept of harmony. Except, oh wait, there was another, wasn't there? And what happened to her? The moment she disagreed with her sister's actions–" Havoc banged his two front hooves on the table, causing both mares to flinch. "Banished to the moon for one thousand years."

"You don't know anything about what happened with Luna!" shouted Amethyst.

Havoc looked between her and Lyra expectantly. "Really?" he asked Lyra. "Just going to let that one slide?"

"What are you talking about?" Lyra demanded.

Havoc chuckled. "It's just interesting is all. Look, I'm going to tell you everything you need to know, right now." Amethyst took a few more steps back and hit the wall. Lyra stepped forward threateningly. "Was I trying to bring chaos? Yes, of course. The whole point was to bring back that Spirit. Why? Because this world has gone on for too long blindly accepting a single pony's idea of harmony and what it takes to maintain it. Celestia doesn't–"

"Princess Celestia."

Havoc's eyes gleamed. He pointed at Lyra slowly.

"Say that again."

Lyra winced. "Excuse me?"

"Go on," said Havoc, giving her a wave. "Say what you just said."

"P... Princess Celestia?"

"Mm." Havoc leaned forward and rested his chin on his hooves. "Tell me, how does that feel? Does it feel good to always make sure the full title is said correctly? Even when correcting somepony else?"

"Lyra..." Amethyst took a cautious step forward and raised a hoof toward her counterpart with hesitation. "What is he... what is he saying?"

"Oh, I'll tell you," Havoc said, his face drooping to mock concern. A banging came from the one-way mirror, but Amethyst and Lyra were fixated on the stallion before them. "You have to say it, Lyra Heartstrings. It's what happens to all the agents who dare speak up against the princess. It's what happens to all the ponies who learn the truth."

"You should be very proud of your agents, Bon Bon," said Celestia, her stride small so her companion could keep up. "They performed admirably in capturing one of Equestria's most wanted."

Bon Bon gave a content smile. "Those ponies do continue to amaze me in what they can accomplish. It's good that you got Twilight and her friends out of there on such short notice. I'm just glad–"

Banging and shouting reached their ears. After a quick glance at one another, both ponies raced through Canterlot's PPP headquarters to find a handful of ponies outside one of the interrogation rooms.

"What is happening?" demanded Celestia. "I had orders for no one to speak to the prisoner!"

Derpy was covering her eyes with her hooves while Carrot Top held her, her own eyes staring aghast at the window in front of them.

Rad Dent ceased banging on the window to turn to Celestia and say, "He's shouting lies, ma'am! That blasted unicorn is saying–"

The interrogation room burst open. There Lyra stood, her chest heaving and her limbs shaking. Bon Bon peeked around Celestia.

"Heartstrings?" Bon Bon asked, "What in blazes has gotten into you?"

Lyra's eyes were not on Bon Bon. "You!" she seethed. She took heavy steps toward Celestia as her eyes narrowed. "What did you do to me?!"

Amethyst came out of the room after Lyra, sweating and eyes wide. "Lyra," she uttered, "please, calm down!"

"I WILL NOT BE CALM!" Lyra shrieked. She whipped around and glared daggers straight through Amethyst's heart. Amethyst took several paces back, her jaw dropped, and tears formed in her eyes.

Lyra snapped back at Celestia. "YOU BRAINWASHED ME! YOU'VE BEEN BRAINWASHING ALL OF US, HAVEN'T YOU?!"

Celestia's wings flinched. "Miss Heartstrings, whatever that stallion told you–"

"I CAN'T STOP!"

Lyra shook even harder, and her front legs gave out. She fell forward and stared at the floor. Amethyst took a few cautious steps forward, as did Bon Bon. Neither Carrot nor Derpy moved, but Carrot was watching. Rad Dent's face was indiscernible.

"I can't stop..." sobbed Lyra.

Celestia took a regal step forward. "Miss Heartstrings..."

"I tried, you know?" Lyra's body continued to shake. "He made me try, and I couldn't do it, C... Cel... Princess. He made me try." Lyra slowly stood back up on all four hooves. The trembling lessened. She looked back into Celestia's face, new resolve in her eyes. "So what did I do, huh?" she asked. Celestia didn't move. "What, was I a terrorist too? Did I try to overthrow you and make myself princess? Or maybe I just forgot to bow once and you didn't like it?"

Bon Bon took a heavy step forward. "Heartstrings, you are way out of line!" she said.

Lyra's gaze rounded onto her. "I bet she got you too," said Lyra, more sad than angry. "I bet she got all of you." Lyra made a wide motion around the room. "Except for Star," she sobbed. "Star hasn't been in the agency long enough to do anything wrong. But what do I know? Maybe Star's been here the whole time and had her entire memory wiped!"

"Lyra, that's enough!" said Carrot. She held Derpy closer, who was now sobbing herself. Amethyst sank to the floor and stared at it. Lyra gave Carrot a glare before turning back to Celestia, who stood resigned.

"It's all just a big waste of time," said Lyra. "You've got us running around protecting this... this... Twilight Sparkle, and for what? So that when she gets in real danger, she'll just get blown into smithereens? You really think we can protect her forever?" Lyra shuddered. "We've had to deal with timberwolves... hydras... even great big BLOODY DRAGONS!" Lyra coughed and rubbed her nose. No one spoke. "And... and for what?" Lyra's voice cracked as she looked for any answers from the stoic princess. "We're risking our lives just to keep a favorite toy from getting broken?"

"Lyra..."

Lyra turned around to see the tearful, pleading eyes of Amethyst and shook her head. "No, Star," said Lyra. "My first protégé... before I trained you... I coddled her. I gave her a leg up through all of her training and praised each simple task as though she were a child. And she never knew. Just like Princess Celestia here is doing with Twilight. Then, on her very first mission, she..." Lyra gulped. Then her eyes widened. She turned back to Celestia.

"...I don't remember..." Lyra's eyes were pinpricks. Celestica was rigid. Lyra stuttered, "That's... you... she..."

"...I think that's enough, Agent Heartstrings," said Celestia, finally breaking her silence.

Lyra's eyebrows furrowed as she stood herself up taller. "You're right, Princess." Lyra turned to the pony behind the alicorn. "I'm glad you're here, Bon Bon. You're exactly the pony I need to see right now."

Bon Bon stared at her, confused. She took a hesitant step forward as Lyra approached her.

"Bon Bon... I quit."

Jump to top

Chapter Three: Confusion, Evil, and Chaos

"No doubt about it. There is an extremely powerful magic poking through."

Doctor Hooves sighed and placed a few instruments back into a saddlebag. Amethyst watched him as he worked. She took a quick glance back to the castle, her imagination getting the best of her.

"Can you watch this, Miss Star?"

"Huh?" Amethyst turned back around to Hooves.

Hooves coughed. "I don't mean to distract you, I just..." He cleared his throat again. "I need you to watch the statue. I can't do it while checking my notes."

Amethyst looked up at the strange sculpture. Only a few months passed since The Cult of Chaos performed their ritual on it. Sometime after, a gardener noted a crack on its surface. A repair ticket was submitted, but once it reached Celestia's ears, she called Doctor Hooves to have him look at it. Most of Ponyville's PPP office was already in Canterlot anyway.

"I don't think a statue is going to go anywhere," Amethyst teased.

"I know, I know," said Hooves as he rummaged through his notes. "I just don't trust them. I always feel like they're going to sneak up on me while my back is turned."

Amethyst smiled and shook her head, but her expression dropped as her thoughts turned back to the others in the castle.

Lyra's final hearing was scheduled for that day. Many ponies had quit or retired from the agency before, but her case was... unique. Bon Bon was summoned to testify as her Ponyville handler, with Carrot Top and Derpy as character witnesses. It was felt that Amethyst was too close to the situation, and besides: someone had to stay behind to keep an eye on Hooves and the Ponyville office. And she couldn't let Hooves come to Canterlot alone, of course.

"You are concerned."

"What's that?" Amethyst brought her attention back around again.

Hooves was spreading his notes across the grass and drawing lines between a few of them.

"About Lyra," he clarified. He hesitated briefly before drawing another line. "She's the oldest ally you have in this agency. You're afraid of losing her."

Amethyst gave a somber smile. "It's not quite that simple," she said.

In truth, it went so much deeper than that. While usually aching for conversations, this wasn't one she was ready to have. Granted, conversations with Hooves are typically patience-testing, but she had a greater resolve for it than Lyra at least. Not that Hooves was otherwise bothersome at this moment; today's work brought a seldom level-headedness to the stallion that came as a breath of fresh air after an anxiety-inducing train ride.

Hooves hummed as he placed a stethoscope on the strange sculpture. As he did so, Amethyst took the time to really absorb its features. The strange limbs, the manic expression... she couldn't help but wonder why Celestia would let such an ugly thing be placed among other dazzling artistic creations.

"Did the cult put some kind of spell on it?" Amethyst asked, taking a few steps closer.

Hooves shook his head. "I don't think so. The magic I'm detecting isn't surface-level. It's coming from the statue's core."

"Wait, are you saying it already had magic?" asked Amethyst. "Then what was the point?"

Before Hooves could answer, the crack on the statue widened. So did Hooves' eyes. His ears perked, causing the stethoscope around his neck to bounce.

"Ooh-hoo!" he cheered. "Now that is interesting!"

"What is it?" Amethyst took another step forward. "What happened?"

"Inform you next of kin, Miss Star!" said Hooves through a very wide grin. "There is a very probable chance that we are all going to die."

Celestia signed and dated the twenty-third scroll of the evening while her attendant held onto forty more. She sighed as she lifted another with her magic and began to read.

The throne room doors burst open as Doctor Hooves and Amethyst Star ran into the scene.

"Princess!" shouted Hooves excitedly, "You are not going to like what I say at all!"

Celestia sighed again and motioned to her attendant. "Go," she said to him, "These are private matters. I will address the rest in due time."

The servant bowed as he took his leave.

"The threat this magic possesses is astronomical!" said Hooves, slowing to a stop in front of Celestia. "The very fabric of our own reality–"

Golden magic formed around Hooves' mouth. Celestia watched as her servant closed the throne room doors behind him. After they clicked shut, Celestia stopped the glow of her horn.

"My apologies, Doctor," said Celestia. "I do not wish to start a panic outside present company."

"So we have a reason to panic, then?" asked Amethyst. Celestia looked at her with curiosity. The agent had been more... questioning since the events of the Gala.

"That depends on what Doctor Hooves has to say," answered Celestia politely.

"You were right to call me," said Hooves as he rummaged through his bags. He drew out the notes from before, and started sticking them to the wall. The gibberish written on them didn't look to be readable to anyone other than himself. "While the Cult's numbers still could not replicate the alicorn magic that sealed him," said Hooves, "they did a very good job at reverse engineering a centuries-old spell."

"Wait, what?" said Amethyst, looking between Celestia and Hooves. "You mean there's something alive in that statue?"

Celestia nodded. "A very powerful spirit with a penchant for chaos." She ruffled her wings. "Most of Equestria's more unusual flora and fauna can be linked back to him. Luna and I managed to seal him away using his own magic against him." She looked over to a stained glass window with the statue's visage upon it. "I almost lost my sister that day," she finished softly.

"How is Luna?" Hooves asked.

Celestia gave him an indecipherable expression.

"She is well, thanks to you, Doctor," answered Celestia. "Still adjusting to her new home and how much has changed, but well."

Hooves smiled a genuine smile. "I'm glad to hear it."

"Can we contain it?" asked Amethyst, looking to Hooves. "This spirit. Can we stop it from escaping?"

"Nope!" said Hooves jovially. Amethyst took a step back and Celestia's wings flared. Hooves balled up one of his notes and rolled it along the ground. "It's a snowball moving down the mountain, at this point. It's only going to get bigger and bigger until–"

Hooves stared at the paper ball. Amethyst and Celestia did as well. When the rest of the sentence never came, they looked back to Hooves, his gaze unfocused.

"What about replacing the spell?" asked Celestia. "I haven't forgotten it. Luna and I can–"

Hooves shook his head. "It took both your sister and yourself to seal him at the peak of your power, and Luna is still recovering. All we can do now is refrain from yelling. We might start an avalanche!"

Celestia shifted her weight with unease. "Doctor–"

The throne room doors banged open. Lyra Heartstrings bolted inside, her jaw clenched.

"You're having my mind wiped again?!" she demanded of Celestia. "Is that just your magic cure-all or something?!"

Before Celestia could answer, Bon Bon, Carrot Top, and Derpy Doo raced into the room as well.

"I knew you'd come here!" shouted Bon Bon. "You don't know when to quit, do you?"

"I quit at the Gala!" Lyra shot back, nostrils flaring.

"Sorry about this," Carrot said to Celestia. "She broke from her restraints after the sentencing."

"Oh, and a fat load of help you all were!" said Lyra to the ponies behind her.

"We did everything we could!" said Derpy through tears. "We never wanted this! Please, believe us!"

"Miss Heartstrings, now is not the time for–"

"Not all of us have the time of an immortal alicorn, Princess," Lyra sneered. She opened her mouth to continue her rant, but found her mouth full of paper.

"Please go over my notes," said Hooves as he shoved another page into Lyra's muzzle. He smiled. "We really are in grave danger!"

Lyra spat the drenched wads out of her mouth. "Hooves, I swear on my mother's grave, I am going to–!"

A deep, rumbling laughter cut off Lyra's threat. Celestia looked out to her sculpture garden to see the crack in the statue spreading further across its surface.

Celestia shot her head back to Hooves. "Doctor, what about your device?" she asked. "The one that saved my sister? Could we use it?"

Hooves stroked his chin. "Why, yes, I suppose that would do the trick quite easily. With some calibrations, of course." He laughed. "You'd think after spending so many years working on it I would have thought of it sooner!"

"What, that dumb Elements of Harmony thing?" asked Lyra. Amethyst coughed. "I thought we were done with that hunk of junk!"

"You are," said Bon Bon. "We're not." She sighed and shook her head. "I'm sorry, Lyra. I am. But you need to come back with us. Show some backbone and accept the council's decision!"

"Forget that!" snapped Lyra. "Don't act like you don't want this!"

Bon Bon stood tall, but her voice was weak. "I don't," she managed.

Ignoring the argument before her, Celestia rose from her throne and motioned for Hooves to follow. She showed him to a large bejeweled door, and opened it with her horn. Inside stood his device and a chest containing the six accessories Amethyst made to complete it.

"I'll get right to work!" said Hooves. He picked up the device with one foreleg, then tried to wrap his other around the case of accessories. Hooves struggling to walk, Celestia used her magic to lift the device and trinkets.

"Allow me," Celestia said. Hooves smiled in gratitude and followed her back to the throne room.

The voices inside only grew more heated.

"What was I supposed to do?!" shouted Amethyst through tears. "I took this job so I could help ponies! Because I wanted to make a difference!"

"You abandoned me!" shouted Lyra back. "You wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for me, and you made me walk out of that room alone!"

"Don't take it out on Star!" said Bon Bon. "We all stayed because we felt that in spite of it all, we're still doing some good in the world!"

"Well, la-de-da!" said Lyra with a large, exaggerated roll of her eyes.

Celestia sighed and tried to shove the voices from her mind. She placed Hooves' components on the ground and looked back out her window. "Work quickly, Doctor," she said to the stallion. "I fear we haven't much time!"

"I just need to make a quick adjustment!" said Hooves as he withdrew a screwdriver from a pouch. As one hoof worked on the device itself, another reached for one of the gemstone pendants. "All we need to do is set these up around–"

Hooves stopped moving. He blinked. He took another look at the red gemstone necklace and brought it in front of his face.

"...Does this taste funny to you?" he asked.

"...I beg your pardon?"

"Doctor," said Carrot, a careful distance away from the cruel words flying in the room, "Did you just ask the princess to taste a necklace?"

Lyra snorted. "Doc, assuming you ever had it in the first place, I would have asked if you lost your mind."

"Oh! Not taste," Hooves muttered. He squinted at the gemstone, then rubbed it against his ear. He continued to mutter under his breath. "...infrequent hertz compounded with something more static in nature, cross-referenced with..."

Derpy took a careful step forward. "...Doctor?"

"Ah! Yes. Yes. Oh, that is interesting."

Hooves looked to be unaware of his surroundings. Celestia gave him a small nudge with her wing.

"Hm?" Hooves looked up into Celestia's face. "Oh! Right." He stood up and spoke louder, but continued to squint at the crystal.

Hooves explained, "It would appear as though these gemstones lost their natural frequency after their initial usage in purging Nightmare Moon from Princess Luna. The strength of the magic penetrating through them combined with the natural, internal magic of those used alongside positioning during the process–"

"Hey, Doc," said Lyra, her eyelids low, "You want to use simpler terms, by chance?"

"Ah, yes, how do I put this..." Hooves scratched his chin. "When Celestia used her magic on the device, the gemstones here became — well, not fused, technically — er, linked to the host magic that you, Miss Heartstrings, applied to them, and won't be able to channel any new magic without them."

Celestia blinked. "But that would mean–"

The castle shook and rocked a few of the ponies to their knees. A blinding light poured through the windows facing the gardens.

Hooves turned to Celestia and smiled. "Princess, how soon would Twilight and her friends be able to arrive?"

Six ponies waited in a seldom-used room in one of Canterlot Castle's towers. Bon Bon was wearing scuffs into the tile with her pacing. Lyra glowered in a corner. Feathers littered the floor around Derpy as she preened another from her wing. Carrot stood watch at the room's only window, and Amethyst faked being asleep. Only the sounds of Doctor Hooves fiddling with his device filled the room.

All six ponies turned their heads to the door as it opened. Celestia took careful steps inside and closed the door behind her.

"Well?" asked Lyra with a snort. "What did you tell them this time? Are we ready to go or not?"

Celestia looked around the room to try to find a spot where a pair of eyes weren't looking back at her.

"There have been... complications," Celestia admitted.

Lyra groaned, and Bon Bon shot her a chiding look. "What happened?" Bon Bon asked Celestia.

"I'm afraid..." Celestia puffed up her chest and sighed. "I'm afraid the vault was not protected against Discord's magic. He's taken the Elements and hidden them."

"Problematic," muttered Hooves as he applied careful pressure to one side of the device.

"That's too kind a word, Doc," said Lyra. She stood to her hooves and glared at Celestia. "And Twilight and her friends?"

"I..." Celestia sighed again. "Twilight and her friends volunteered to retrieve them. I need some of you to follow her immediately. I didn't see how I could convince her otherwise without–"

"I'm Princess Celestia!" Lyra mocked. The others looked at her in horror. "I'm assigning you to keep Twilight Sparkle safe! By the way, I'm totally going to send her into grave danger though!"

"Heartstrings!" Bon Bon hissed.

"Really, Lyra, you're not helping anything!" said Derpy.

"Oh, but I disagree."

Black smoke curled around the ceiling as the temperature in the room dropped. The window and door vanished with an annoying honking sound, and the smoke curled and thickened into the form of a creature made of far too many other creatures.

"Discord!" Celestia snarled.

"Hello!" said Hooves with a vigorous wave. Discord gave him a polite wave back.

"Now I really don't have long here," said Discord, tapping his wrist. Two long wooden arms with clocks on their surface sprouted and rotated wildly. "I'm rather anxious to get back to my new toys before they break without me!"

"What do you want from us?!" shouted Lyra. She and Celestia looked to be the only ponies unafraid to speak.

"Why to thank you, dear Lyra," said Discord with a devilish grin. "You especially. My, my, when you kick a hornets' nest, you really make sure to go for three, don't you?" Lyra batted buzzing hoofballs away from her ears. "You see, all this arguing and commotion really helps to recharge the ol' disharmony batteries!"

Discord stretched and the walls started to melt.

He continued, "Not that this world was really lacking chaos without me. I mean, just look at this hole you've dug yourselves into!" Each pony suddenly found themselves neck-deep in mud as shovels clanged around them. "That Twilight Sparkle actually thinks a bunch of necklaces can defeat me! Oh, and one of them representing honesty?" Discord winked at Celestia. "Classic."

After some struggle, Derpy managed to loose herself from the dirt and took flight. She zipped to help Amethyst, but collided with something in midair. The same thing happened when she tried to help Carrot instead. A passing shadow caused her to look up and see Discord holding a jar lid.

"Now here's a fine specimen," said Discord with a chuckle. "Your life is already plenty chaotic, isn't it?"

"Leave her alone!" shouted Lyra. Her magic around the shovel digging her out picked up in pace. "I'll have you know both of those eyes work just fine, and–!"

"Oh, please." Discord dropped Derpy's jar, and the mud it landed on shattered, freeing the others.

With some strain, Celestia's horn erupted and the room reset itself. A golden bubble appeared around Discord as a few beads of sweat dripped down Celestia's neck.

"You are not leaving this room!" said Celestia. The others took a few steps back. "I can't stop you, no, but I can keep my student safe!"

Discord poked his prison in various places. "I suppose that's true," he sighed. "There's not really much else you can do to stop me. At least, not without your sister."

Discord snapped a talon-like hand. A pony of deep blue with horn and wings to match appeared in the echo of the sound.

"Wha– What's happening?" Princess Luna spun around the room. "Sister? D... Discord?!"

Discord sneered and waved from within his bubble.

"No!" Celestia shouted, struggling to maintain focus. "Discord, what are you–"

"You there, the brown one," said Discord, pointing a talon at Hooves. "You made extra special care to make sure that device of yours doesn't kill anything, right?"

Hooves nodded excitedly.

"Splendid!" Discord pulled an old-fashioned alarm clock from one of his scales. "Oh, Nightmare Moon," he cooed. The clock ticked down. "Time to wake up."

Tick.

Tick.

Tock.

"Ungh!" Luna doubled over in pain. Celestia's jaw dropped as the others gasped and raced toward the moon princess.

"No!" cried Celestia, a tear rolling down her cheek. "Discord, what have you done?!"

"Given you options, Celestia," said Discord matter-of-factly. "You can either expend all of your energy on me to keep some unicorn runt safe, or you can release me and try to save your sister for a third time." Discord tapped his chin. "My, my, I certainly hope that doesn't get old."

"You're a monster," Celestia whispered.

"Monsters only come from fairy tales... sister."

"Keep her down!"

Celestia turned in horror to see Luna's visage changing. Her coat varied between a light blue and a deep navy, and her pupils shrunk to slits and back again. She was struggling against the five ponies piled on top of her, two of them using their own magic to subdue her.

"Don't worry, Princess!" called Hooves from a corner, waving a screwdriver in the air. His device sat between his outstretched legs. "We can still save her with this, just like before!"

"Oh, yes," Discord mused. "That thing." He snapped his fingers again. Shrapnel rocketed in every direction. Celestia raised a wing in reflex, inadvertently dousing her horn and freeing the Spirit of Chaos. Dropping her wing again, Celestia saw two magic domes protecting her sister and subduers; Amethyst and Lyra had impressive instincts. Hooves was — miraculously — unscathed, but his eyes were fixed on the circular scorch mark in front of him.

"I..." Hooves' breathing was rapid. "I... I can fix it!" He bolted around the room collecting what scrap he could. Quick screwdriver work lead to something recognizable in incredible speed.

"Oh, I know you can."

Hooves floated away from his broken device as his legs flailed. Discord levitated him high until only a few inches separated their eyes. Then Discord leaned back and smiled.

"Toodles!"

In a "Pop!" Doctor Hooves vanished.

"NO!"

Discord froze the room, each pony within it mid-lunge. "Oh, hold your horses," he said, stifling a chuckle. "Your precious Doctor is still alive. In fact–" He brought Lyra into the air next. "I think I'll send his least patient coworker to keep him company."

Sweat rolled into Lyra's eye, but she couldn't blink.

"Don't worry," Discord whispered to his statuesque prisoner, "I'm going to show you something I think you'll really enjoy."

Another "Pop!" and Lyra was gone too.

"Now, if you'll excuse me." An apple zapped next to Discord and he took a bite from it. "I can hear the orchard calling me. Here–" He tossed the apple and it dropped to the ground. It rolled and came to stop next to Hooves' ad-hoc fixed device while frozen ponies watched helplessly. "I hear these can keep the Doctor away."

With one last guffaw, Discord vanished.

"No, I'll show you something!"

Lyra swung her two front hooves wildly while her hind legs kept their balance. She hopped to change position several times, each providing a new vantage, but Discord was nowhere in sight. Her heartbeat slowed as she took in familiar surroundings.

"Not this place again," Lyra mumbled.

She fell back on all fours and walked to the control area of Ponyville's Ponies Protecting Ponies headquarters. The secure facility was used to keep watch over the town of Ponyville, and sat strategically placed several stories below the bathrooms of Town Hall. Despite it being a second home over the last few months, Lyra had never been inside it alone before. It was like sharing a cave with a giant sleeping so soundly, one might assume it long since lost the ability to wake.

Lyra sighed and ruffled her mane. She took a few moments to go over the events of the last few minutes, but her mind had a hard time presenting them as anything other than a bad dream. She raised a hoof to her ear, hesitated, then let it drop.

"What's the point?"

A clattering of metal sprang Lyra back onto two hooves, her front ones poised for attack.

"Is that you, Miss Heartstrings?" came a voice from the lab.

Lyra rolled her eyes. "Great. The one pony I wouldn't want answering comms anyway." She sighed before answering, "Yeah, Hooves, it's me."

"Fantastic! Could you come here for a moment?" Hooves asked. "I could use a helping hoof!"

Lyra groaned and made a slow trek into the lab. It was a mess, even by usual standards. Paper littered the floor, and about every contraption ever housed in the room was piled in the middle. A few dashes and screens were cracked, showing broken images, static, or nothing at all. A red light rotated around the room.

"Help me dismantle some of these," said Hooves as he piled two more devices onto the stash. "We need to get another device operational!"

Lyra shook her head. "Hooves, there's no point," she said. "The last one took you years to complete. You don't have the time or resources to just make another."

"That's not–" Hooves squinted in strain. Lyra raised an eyebrow as she waited for the rest of his sentence. "Eighty-six percent true," he finished.

"Doc, even if I understood what that's supposed to mean, I really don't care." Lyra turned and walked to the elevators out of the facility.

"Wait!" Hooves called. He galloped after her. "Where are you going?"

"I quit, remember?" Lyra reminded. She pushed the elevator button to rise. Hooves watched her ascend with wide eyes. "I'm not even supposed to be here."

"Princess Celestia, do something!"

Discord's freeze spell broke as soon as he vanished from Canterlot, but Celestia still hadn't moved. Her eyes darted around the room as she thought. Finally finding her resolve, she spoke to the four remaining ponies in the room, each of them struggling to keep Luna pinned to the floor.

"I'm taking Luna into the dream realm," Celestia said. "It may be the only place I can still reach her." Before the ponies could ask any questions, Celestia knelt down in front of her sister. "We'll be vulnerable during this. I need you four to watch over and protect us to the best of your ability."

Luna continued to struggle under the combined weight of Ponyville's agents. One of her wings snapped open and sent Bon Bon flying into a wall. Before she could lash out at anyone else, Celestia's horn hummed into a deep golden glow, and both princesses' eyes drifted shut.

The room took a collective sigh of relief.

"Are you okay, Bon Bon?" asked Derpy.

Bon Bon let out a sharp exhale as she stood to her hooves. "I'll be fine," she said, cracking her back. No sooner was she on all four hooves did she growl, "I swear, if I ever get my hooves on Heartstrings again–"

"Don't blame Lyra for all of this!" said Amethyst, taking a step forward. "We did everything we could to stop all this from happening! If Derpy hadn't seen Havoc in the garden–"

"Wait," began Carrot. She straightened her hair and looked at Derpy. "Why were you in the garden?" she asked. "I thought I gave you orders to watch the VIP room?"

"I... needed some air," said Derpy meekly. She shook her head aggressively. "And besides, you weren't giving any orders at all! As soon as that stallion showed up, you wouldn't respond to any of us!"

"What stallion?" demanded Bon Bon, rounding on Carrot Top.

Carrot flinched. "I... ran into... a friend."

Bon Bon snarled. "Carrot, you know the rules about fraternization!"

"I wasn't fraternizing!" said Carrot, her voice rising. "What was I supposed to do, tell him to shoo because I was at work?!"

"You probably could have thought of something if you hadn't been drinking," said Amethyst under her breath.

"And you were drinking?!"

"I only had two!"

Lyra opened the front doors out of Town Hall and her jaw dropped. The world around her was a mishmash of colored checkerboard tiles and hills where they had no right being. Several chunks of earth floated above the ground. Chocolate rain fell from cotton candy clouds. Pies drifted by like a pastry fog.

"Am I sure my brain hasn't been scrambled yet?" Lyra asked no one in particular.

Screams diverted her attention. Lyra turned to see ponies trying their best to escape a stampede of augmented animals.

"In here!" Lyra called almost on instinct. She waved the ponies over and barred the door behind them. Two of the bigger ponies helped her hold the door shut against the banging and scratching of various creatures.

"What's going on?" asked one of the ponies.

"Is this forever now?" inquired a filly.

Every eye in the room focused on Lyra.

"Well, don't look at me!" said Lyra, indignant. "I didn't do any of this!"

"I saw it!" said a stallion. Attention turned onto him. "A tall animal made up of all sorts of bits! He was actually laughing when the weather first started changing!"

What would Discord want with Ponyville? Lyra asked herself.

"...And not one of you would answer me!" finished Amethyst through heavy sobs.

Derpy sat with her hooves crossed, and Carrot was failing to look stoic in light of all the claims against her.

Bon Bon rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I expected so much more out of all of you," she said coolly.

The others looked at her, then away in a huff.

Bon Bon turned to Derpy first. "You've been in this agency for a long time now. You should be perfectly capable of keeping your emotions in check and doing your job."

After a beat, both of Derpy's eyes drooped to the floor.

"Star," said Bon Bon, rounding on her next target, "You're not still so green that you can't make an executive decision in a given situation. Even though Carrot wasn't sending out orders, there really was no reason for you to stay put with Sparkle literally under Celestia's wing."

Amethyst only moved to wipe her muzzle.

"And Carrot–"

"I don't regret a thing."

Three wide pairs of eyes shot onto Carrot Top. She stood defiant.

"Excuse me?" said Bon Bon, her nostrils flaring.

"You heard me," said Carrot, meeting Bon Bon's gaze. "Given the option, I would have done everything the same way. You have no idea what Written Script means to me, or what he and I experienced that night."

Bon Bon took a step forward and opened her mouth, but Carrot Top cut her off.

"You have a stick so far up you that you wouldn't even begin to understand what real love is like."

Bon Bon froze in her tracks. Derpy and Amethyst shot glances between them.

"You... dare..."

A creme-colored hoof almost stamped straight through the floor. Carrot Top didn't flinch. Derpy and Amethyst backed into the nearest wall.

"Forty-two, forty-three, forty-four..."

Lyra looked around Town Hall. Most of Ponyville now stood inside of it, the citizens finding their way there for shelter from the chaos storm outside. Not everyone was accounted for; they could only hope that others managed to find safety elsewhere.

Lyra turned at the sound of a few exclamations from ponies who rudely had their personal space impeded upon. Doctor Hooves burst his way forward in the crowd.

"There you are!" he said upon seeing Lyra.

Lyra groaned. "I told you, Hooves, I'm not going to help you 'save the day,' or whatever hokey plan you have dreamed up for all of this."

Hooves opened his mouth, but closed it again when the whole building shook around them.

"What's going on?!" asked one voice.

"Look!"

Lyra and several others turned their attention to the windows. They watched the ground rotate and change places with the sky.

"He's turning the world upside-down!"

Ponies screamed and started running. Where they were running to was anyone's guess.

"QUIET!"

The ponies inside ceased running and looked to the source of the noise. Lyra Heartstrings stood with her hoof on the door.

"Just... stay calm, okay?" It wasn't certain if Lyra was speaking to the crowd or to herself. "I'm going to have a look outside. I'll let you know if I find anything. Or anypony." Hooves galloped up to her. "No," Lyra said simply. Hooves' ears flattened. "Stay here, Hooves. Watch a kid or something." Lyra pointed to somewhere behind Hooves. "I think that one likes you," she said.

Hooves followed her gaze and saw a young filly looking up at him with wide eyes. "Well that's–" He turned back to Lyra. "Do you not know who that is?"

"Don't know, don't care," said Lyra as she stepped out onto the patio. "They all look the same to me anyway."

The door shut behind her, and Hooves took dainty steps toward the filly.

"Hello," he said to her. "I haven't seen you in quite some time. You're Dinky, aren't you?"

Lyra took two steps outside before falling to her knees in shock. The ground hovered above her, and the sky sprawled out endlessly below. Or was she the one who wasn't right? She crawled to the edge of the patio and stuck a hoof over the side. The butterflies in her stomach said she would fall forever with a single step. She looked back up above her to see the flag at the top of Town Hall's spire flapping gently across a grounded boarding house.

"Okay, Lyra," she said, steeling herself, "You can do this. Just don't look down. Er... up."

Lyra rocked herself back onto her hind legs and coiled her muscles. Right before she took her jump, the ground gave way beneath her.

"Gah!"

"Oh, calm down, Heartstrings," said an familiar, unwelcome voice.

Lyra looked around to see herself floating alongside the Spirit of Chaos. She groaned.

"What are you doing now, Discord?" asked Lyra. "Don't you have better ponies to bother?"

"You mean Twilight and her friends?" answered Discord. He snapped his fingers and the sun set immediately. He snapped his fingers again and Lyra fell to checkered ground in a crumpled heap.

Discord stretched himself into a large throne, and from behind him, Discord took a seat.

"I think you'll be happy to know that Twilight and her friends are no longer a problem," he said nonchalantly. Lyra picked herself back up again. She gave Discord a horrified look. "Oh no!" said Discord, "They're quite alright. But your friend's little device will never work again, I assure you."

"Hooves is no friend," Lyra muttered as she dusted herself off. "'Co-worker' is about the best term for it."

"Does he know that?" asked Discord, placing his chin on his wrist.

"What's it matter?"

Discord laughed and slithered down to Lyra's position. "See, I knew I liked you, Heartstrings! Walk with me." Discord's head spun around as his legs gyrated in reverse. Lyra rolled her eyes and, not seeing what else to do, followed him.

"You see, Lyra... May I call you Lyra?"

Lyra shrugged.

"You see, Limestone, you and I share something in common that's incredibly rare to find in somepony under a thousand years old." Discord rotated the rest of his body back around forward. "A — now how should I put this — disdain for a certain pony princess."

"Celestia," said Lyra with a nod.

"Look at you, not using her title anymore!" said Discord with glee. "That must have taken a lot of conditioning!"

Lyra cocked an eyebrow. "Have you been speaking with that Havoc character or something?"

Discord scoffed. "Please, that fanatic? I mean, don't get me wrong, he certainly put quite a dent in that curse placed on me, and he did a lot to break up that little band of yours." Discord picked a star out of the night sky and bowled it at a collection of trees. Most fell over, but two stood. He scowled and they too fell to the side. "He's a bit pretentious though, if you ask me."

"Even if I hadn't, I'd agree with you," said Lyra. They were nearing the edge of town now.

"See! Look how easily you and I can get along!" Discord pointed and his paw stretched across the horizon. "See that speck of a cloud waaaaaay over there?" he asked. Then, with a giggle, "I made Rainbow Dash think that tiny thing is all of Cloudsdale!"

Lyra blinked as Discord looked at her with an expectant expression. "Why are you showing me all this?" she asked.

"Ugh, fine, we'll cut to the chase." Discord snapped his fingers. Lyra vanished and reappeared in front of Discord's throne, where the spirit now sat.

"I sent you to Ponyville with a simple test," Discord explained over folded fingers. "Spend an absurd amount of alone time with your 'co-worker' to try and 'do the right thing' to stop me and save your despised Celestia's Equestria, or:" Discord snapped his fingers and quill and parchment appeared in front of Lyra. "Become my first ally in a new, chaotic world."

Lyra looked down at the parchment. The words on its surface kept re-arranging themselves. She looked back up. "You're giving me a choice?" she asked.

Discord threw his arms open wide. "What's more chaotic than free will?" he asked. "You've already learned you won't be getting that with Celestia on the throne."

"I..." Lyra licked her lips. "I'll need to think on it."

Discord frowned. "You're really not making this very fun for me."

"Just think of the anticipation as its own kind of chaos," said Lyra with a smirk.

Discord hummed unamused. "Twilight and her friends will be showing up in town any minute," he said as he raised a claw. "You have until then. At that point, I'll have new playthings."

He snapped his fingers.

Lyra found herself back on the Town Hall patio. She sighed and opened the door back inside.

"Miss Heartstrings! Miss Heartstrings!"

Lyra gave a loud groan and debated taking a running jump off the edge, but Hooves pulled her inside.

"You'll never guess!" the stallion said as excitedly as any could.

"What, you made a new device?" Lyra asked both annoyed and genuinely curious. "There's no way you could get to the lab all the way up here."

"Far better than that, Miss Heartstrings! I'm–"

"You're acting just like a school-filly chasing after some misplaced crush!"

"Misplaced?! I am an adult, and I think I can tell the difference!"

Bon Bon and Carrot Top's battle raged as Amethyst and Derpy looked on helplessly. The two princesses slept quietly not far away. Luna stirred.

"This is exactly why the agency has these rules in the first place!" Bon Bon roared. "To stop heads full of cotton from losing sight of what's important!"

"Love is important!" Carrot Top shot back. "It fills you with the most wonderful feeling in the world, and–"

"It fills you with COTTON!" Bon Bon reiterated. She stamped the ground. "You want to know what real love is?! It has nothing to do with romance, or stallions, or running away into the sunset, or any of that garbage!" Carrot Top withdrew a hoof in disgust. "Love is doing what's right, even when it's hard! It's stepping up when others step out! It's looking out for someone when no one else will!"

"You're both wrong!"

Carrot and Bon Bon shot stabbing glares at Derpy Hooves, who met their gaze with her own. Amethyst quietly sidled away from her counterpart.

"You want to know what love really is?" asked Derpy rhetorically as she took a few steps forward. "Love is terrifying. It's looking at someone and knowing you could lose them at any moment. That you might have to face a day when they can't help you make good memories anymore. And knowing that you would give anything — anything — to give them the chance to continue to make good memories. Even if it means you can no longer be a part of them."

"Doo–"

"Neither of you are a mother," Derpy continued, her wings flaring. "Neither of you know what I feel when I look into Dinky's eyes. So full of hope, and promise, and love. Real, unconditional, love. And neither of you know what I had to go through when we lost her father."

Every pony blinked.

"Her... father?"

"Mommy has a picture of him in our house," Dinky explained. "She showed me once." She waved a hoof at Hooves' head. "'Cept my daddy has a horn."

"That's right," said Hooves, a tear in his eye. "Your daddy was a unicorn."

"I don't follow," said Lyra, shaking her head. "Dinky is adopted. Derpy's told me about nine times now, by her count."

Hooves shook his head and smiled. "Don't you see? It's been right here in front of us this whole time! Dinky is Derpy's biological daughter! She and Iron Ore!"

Lyra opened her mouth to protest, but Hooves leapt away onto a table.

"Hey, everypony!" Hooves called. Every head turned to look at him. "I have a niece! I'm an uncle!"

"I just got engaged!" called a voice from the back.

"I'm pregnant!" said the local baker. "With twins!"

The room was silent for a beat. It was then flooded with cheers and congratulations on all fronts. Lyra opened her mouth to say something cynical, but thought better of it. The ponies in that room needed something to celebrate.

No, better than that.

They needed hope.

They needed a future.

"That's... a lot of memories waiting to be made," Lyra said to herself.

"Why didn't you tell us?" asked Carrot Top.

"I..." Derpy licked her lips. "Things got complicated. While I was in Canterlot, that is. Princess Celestia and the attending doctor are the only ones who knew. They both–"

A cry of pain cut Derpy off.

"Celestia's waking up!" Amethyst called.

Celestia groaned and stirred before snapping alert. "No! Stop her!"

Luna arched backward and shrieked. Amethyst lit her horn to try and keep her down, but Luna fought back hard. Celestia added her own magic while the others piled onto her wings.

"It was no use!" Celestia informed them. "I can't reach my sister! That monster is corrupting every memory she has of me!"

Jump to top

Chapter Four: For Old Times' Sake

"Are you sure about this?" Lyra asked Hooves. The other ponies in Town Hall weren't paying them any mind. "About Dinky being your niece?"

"I can feel it in my bones, Miss Heartstrings," said Hooves. He looked back to Dinky, who returned a wide-eyed gaze. "I feel... I feel alive. As though every waking moment these past few years was a bad dream I couldn't wake from."

Before Lyra could reply, a large grandfather clock made of gumdrops appeared in the room. A few ponies yelled.

"Of course, I could still be dreaming."

"Time is running out, Heartstrings." The words echoed in Lyra's head. "Twilight and her friends are almost here. So what's it going to be?"

Lyra's gaze turned from the clock and out into the room. Ponies of various shapes and sizes were holding one another close. The newly engaged in the back, the growing baker family... Dinky was holding fast onto Hooves' hind leg.

"...No," said Lyra at last with a shake of her head. "There may be no room in Celestia's Equestria for me, but there certainly isn't room in yours for any of them."

"Really?" asked the voice. "You think Celestia taking away free will makes a better world for them?"

"You showed me Rainbow Dash thinking a tiny cloud was her hometown," Lyra replied. She tilted her head. "If you ask me, either one of you would just play head games with me. Who's to say it wouldn't be better for them?"

"Suit yourself," said the voice as the clock rolled up into nothingness. "Looks like you and your friend there got a lot more boring anyway." The words echoed and faded from Lyra's mind.

"Come along, Heartstrings," said Hooves. He gently removed Dinky from his leg and gave her a nuzzle before racing for the front door.

"Doc?" Lyra took one look at the confused filly before following Hooves. "Where are you going?"

"I have an idea," Hooves said to her as he ripped the door open. "And I may need your help."

"I don't know if you've noticed, Doc," said Lyra as she followed him outside, "But I've never exactly been a big fan of your ideas."

"Miss Heartstrings." Hooves turned and placed a hoof on Lyra's shoulder. He looked deep into her eyes. "Lyra. I have no way to prove it to you, but I'm thinking more clearly now than I have in quite some time. I'm really going to need you to trust me."

Lyra looked back into the stallion's eyes. Something within them was sharper. More focused.

She saw purpose.

Beyond the open Town Hall doors, the world grew increasingly more chaotic; the roads were soap, buildings were cardboard, and buffalo in tutus tapped across the fields.

Lyra smirked. "What exactly have I got to lose?"

"Now, mind you, gravitational effect should still be in place, assuming Discord didn't alter any of the structures at a more molecular level."

"'Should?'"

Hooves stood at the edge of Town Hall's upside-down patio. A normal pony would see the sky below and think they would fall forever.

Doctor Hooves was not a normal pony.

"Right." The stallion took several paces back and nodded his head to an unheard beat. Lyra watched him, her head tilted. "Three!" Hooves shouted, breaking into a full gallop toward the patio's edge.

"What happened to one and two?!" screamed Lyra.

Hooves launched himself from the structure and into open air. Lyra didn't want to watch, but she also couldn't look away. Before her eyes, the stallion rotated in the air and landed soundly on a sideways chunk of earth. He did the same thing onto a building still attached to the ground.

"Move quickly, Lyra!" he called as he made his way down shingles and onto terra firma. "Every centimeter the masses move away from one another exponentially decreases the strength of the pull!"

"If a crazy pony is the only one who understands the world, does that make me the crazy one?" Lyra took a few paces back, her eyes locked onto the patio's edge. "Yes. I am the crazy one." She broke into a sprint, mimicking Hooves' trajectory. "THIS IS CERTIFIABLY INSAAAAA–"

Lyra flew through the air, her legs flailing. She never stopped screaming, even as her body adjusted to the random shift in momentum. Her landing was lighter than expected.

"One more!" Hooves called.

Lyra took a deep breath and repeated the process. When she landed again, her legs shook beneath her.

"Fantastic!" said Hooves with a pat on her back. "Though I do take some offence to your comments. They tried to have me committed, you know."

"After a stunt like that, would you blame them?" Lyra wheezed.

Hooves chuckled. "No, I suppose not. Come along, now! We need to get to the library!"

"The... what?" Lyra looked up to see Hooves already in full gallop. She groaned and hobbled into a sprint of her own. "Why the library?" asked Lyra once caught up. She could see the giant oak in the distance, somehow untouched by the world around them. "Is it safe? Does its magic mean Discord can't touch it?"

"No idea," Hooves admitted. "Beside the point. What we really need is–"

They both skidded to a halt as a gigantic boulder came crashing through one of the tree's windows.

"Get down!" Lyra hissed. She shoved Hooves into a bush and followed him into it.

"Lyra, what are you–"

"Shh!"

Lyra pulled back one of the bush's branches to see that the boulder was surrounded by familiar, yet unfamiliar-looking ponies.

"Is that... Twilight and her friends?" asked Hooves.

"I... think so?" said Lyra. She squinted. "Something's off about them though."

Hooves rubbed his chin and leaned forward for a better look. "Indeed."

They watched as Discord greeted and mocked the ponies. Twilight yelled at him a bit before barking orders at her friends.

"They're wearing the crystals!" said Hooves in a soft tone. "If only we still had the device."

"Don't start," said Lyra, giving Hooves a sidelong glance. "You know darn well we couldn't have just recreated that thing in the lab."

Hooves shook his head. "I know, you're right, but– Wait, there's somepony missing."

"Rainbow Dash," said Lyra, taking another peek. "She's sitting on a cloud on the outskirts of town. Discord made her think it was Cloudsdale or something."

"Really?" said Hooves, inquisitive. "Was she grey like the others?"

Lyra shrugged. "She was too far away to get a really good–"

A blinding flash interrupted Lyra. She and Hooves squinted against it to see six figures rising into the air before Discord.

"Fascinating," said Hooves as he raised a hoof over his eyes. He glanced over at Lyra at gave her horn a prod.

"Hey!" said Lyra defensively. She rubbed her horn. "What gives?"

"You're not even touching them this time," said Hooves, his attention back on the spectacle before them. "Fascinating."

"You say that one more time and I'm going to–"

As suddenly as it started, the light show ended, and all six figures dropped back onto the ground. It wasn't long before they were all bickering.

"I don't think we're going to be able to get any help from Twilight or her friends," said Lyra dejectedly.

"Oh, we're not here for them," said Hooves. He jabbed a hoof outside the bush. "We're here for him."

Lyra followed Hooves' gaze just in time to see a baby dragon trip over a pony's tail.

"That thing?!" Lyra asked.

Lyra and Hooves slipped into the back of the library without detection.

"What do we need the dragon for?" Lyra asked.

"I've seen the drake before," Hooves explained. He carefully stepped over some rubble. "His magic is directly linked to Princess Celestia. With any luck, we can use him to communicate with our friends still in Canterlot!" Hooves rubbed his chin. "Assuming they are still in Canterlot, of course. At the very least, we can get the princess's attention."

Lyra sighed and shuffled a discarded book away. "What are we even supposed to say to her?" she asked. "Even after letting her know Discord is here in Ponyville, your device is still broken."

"Yes... And even fixed I'm not sure it would work," admitted Hooves.

Lyra spun around. "Wait, what? Why not?"

Hooves kicked a piece of door frame aside and sighed. "The lack of color in the coats and manes of Twilight and her friends show a deep magical suppression, the likes of which I've never seen before." Hooves picked up one of the library's books, and several pages fell loose. He watched the wind take them. "Even with the device, the very essence of their being needs to be surface-level in order for the crystals to resonate properly."

"Well, can't we find a way to, I don't know..." Lyra rubbed her temple. "Reach in and pull it up? Or something?"

Hooves shook his head. "It's less physical and more mental, really. We'd have to reach deep into each pony's emotions through something personal and resounding, like–" Hooves smiled. "Like a good memory." He grabbed Lyra by the cheeks and spun her. "Memory! That's it!"

"What?" Lyra slurred through pressed lips. She loosed herself from Hooves' hold and shook her head. "What are you talking about?"

Hooves dug through a desk and pulled out a quill and parchment. "If memories can restore my own sense of the world, surely it can get through to Twilight and her friends! We're going to need Celestia's help for that!"

"Doc, no offense," said Lyra over hurried scribbles, "But your memories make you worse. Every time somepony mentions your brother, you get extra sulky, or–"

Hooves waved Lyra's sentence away. "It's different now," he said, underlining a few key words. "Dinky being here shows me that he's not completely gone. No one is. The good memories never left. I only let them remind me of the bad ones."

Before Lyra could answer, a scratchy voice called out to them.

"Uh, this really isn't a good time," said Spike the dragon. He motioned at the mess around them. "The library's, uh... closed."

Hooves raced over and held a newly penned scroll in front of Spike. "Don't worry, I'm a doctor," he said. "Now open wide and say 'ah'."

Spike raised an eyebrow but did as told. Hooves then gave him a sharp jab in the belly. Spike coughed emerald flames, incinerating Hooves' scroll.

"There!" said Hooves, dusting his foreleg. "With any luck, we should be getting a response back from the princess in–"

"You two."

"Er..."

The two ponies and Spike turned to see Discord looming over them. Spike yelped and ran upstairs.

"I don't know what you're both planning, but I know it isn't good," said Discord as he raised a curled claw.

Lyra instinctively latched onto Hooves, and in an instant, their surroundings changed. Lyra looked behind herself to see Discord throwing books about in the library.

"We gotta move, Hooves!"

Lyra and Hooves bolted back toward Town Hall.

"I will find you, Heartstrings," said a voice in Lyra's head.

"We've got to get back inside!" shouted Lyra over the wind in her ears.

"We can't jump from here!" answered Hooves. "There's far too much earth beneath us for us to properly break gravitational pull, and–"

"Hide in one of the houses then?" Lyra offered.

Hooves shook his head. "Not enough magical warding!"

They came to a stop underneath Town Hall floating above them, much higher than before. Lyra looked at it with hope leaving her eyes. "Well... I definitely can't teleport that far."

While Lyra was looking up, Hooves was looking down.

"Lyra, PPP headquarters is exactly sixty meters beneath us."

"What's that got to do with– Hooves, I can't see anything!"

Two giant eyes grew onto the building next to them. "Hello, ponies!" came Discord's voice.

Hooves latched onto Lyra. "I trust you! I've done this before! Just do it!"

A giant claw and paw closed in on them, but only caught thin air.

"What do we do now?!" yelled Amethyst, the aura around her horn flickering with strain. She and the others continued their struggle to keep Luna from breaking free.

"I... I don't know!" Celestia shouted back, her own horn dimming as well. "I need time to think!"

"We don't have time!" said Bon Bon from atop one of Luna's wings. "We already have one monster out there doing who-knows-what! We don't need a second!"

"Oh, I'm a monster, am I?!" snarled Luna from beneath the dog pile.

Celestia moved to speak, but she stopped at the sight of a scroll forming before her eyes.

"Is that one of Twilight's letters?" asked Derpy, grunting from between Luna's wings.

"No," replied Celestia. "It's from Doctor Hooves! He and Lyra are in Ponyville!"

"They're okay!" Carrot Top cheered, grappling the wing opposite from Bon Bon.

Celestia let out a small grunt of pain as her horn wavered in intensity. "Not quite," she said. "Discord is in Ponyville as well. It seems he's somehow blocked something within Twilight and her friends that Hooves needs to use his device."

The others were struggling too hard against Luna's attempts to break free to let out more than small noises of concern and despair.

"What else is there?" asked Bon Bon, shifting the weight of her hooves. "Hooves wouldn't send a letter just to say hello."

Amethyst looked at the ceiling. "Well..."

"No, she's right," said Celestia as her eyes rolled down the letter. "It seems Doctor Hooves thinks that memories can save Twilight from Discord's torment. He also needs us to bring what's left of the device as soon as we can."

"No offense to Hooves," began Amethyst. She snarled and her magic grew bright again. "But we can't go anywhere while we're trying to keep Luna restrained!"

"Would Hooves' solution work for us?" asked Carrot.

Celestia gave the smallest shake of her head. "No," she answered. "As I said before, Luna's memories of me have been corrupted. Every good deed she sees as a veil covering an ulterior motive."

"I wonder where she got that idea," muttered Amethyst. Celestia gave her a sidelong glance.

"What about your memories?"

Celestia looked to the lone pegasus in the room.

"What do you mean?" Celestia asked Derpy.

"Luna's memories have been corrupted, right?" asked Derpy. "Well, if you really do love her, surely there's a way you can show her? Show her things from your own perspective?"

"My sister has only ever lusted for power!" shouted Luna with a muffled voice. "She'll say whatever lie she can to maintain the throne!"

Celestia did not speak for several moments. When she did, it was a whisper. "The archives."

"The what?"

Celestia dropped her magic and turned to the door. "I need to get to–!"

A handful of screams stopped Celestia in her tracks. She turned, horrified at her lapse in judgment. She dropped her magic back onto Luna just as she got to her hooves. Luna fell back down to her knees, and the others dropped with her. A spasm from her wing sent Bon Bon flying for a second time.

"I'm getting too irritated for this," said Bon Bon as she gave her back a good crack.

"Miss Doo, restrain Luna's other wing!" ordered Celestia. Derpy slid down Luna's massive wing until her weight settled at the end. Celestia then turned to Bon Bon. "I need you to do a very important task in my stead."

Bon Bon gave her neck a good pop. "Of course, Princess," she answered.

Celestia raised a hoof and knocked a gemstone loose from her brooch. "Miss Star, I'm going to let go, but only for a brief moment. Can you maintain her?"

"I..." Amethyst swallowed. "I'll try."

Celestia nodded. Her horn dimmed, then lit again as she aimed it at the crystal. There were some startled shrieks in the room, but Celestia's magic was back on top of Luna as soon as it left.

"Take the gem," Celestia ordered Bon Bon. As she did so, Celestia continued, "You will need it to access the archives. They are in the deepest part of the castle. Look for a vial marked C-000-001. Go!"

Bon Bon bolted without any further hesitation. Luna struggled as Celestia and the others redoubled their efforts.

"And please, Miss Bon," Celestia said to herself, "Please do not pry where eyes are not meant to."

Bon Bon galloped through an eerily empty castle. She had only visited a few times, but most of the stairwells were designed to be found with ease. Rich tapestries and polished floors soon gave way to torchlight and hard stone as she dove deeper into the castle.

"The archives can't be far," Bon Bon whispered to herself.

"No, you're getting pretty close."

Bon Bon skidded to a halt and looked around. "Who's there?" she called.

"Over this way," said a voice through an open door. "I'd be happy to show you the way, but, well..."

"But what?" Bon Bon trotted over to the door and stepped inside. It was a single room, bisected by heavy iron bars. Inside, a scrawny body laid sprawled across a floor littered with loose hay.

"Not exactly how I pictured a reunion," said the stallion.

"Havoc," Bon Bon hissed.

Havoc twirled his hoof through the air in vain mockery of a bow. "The one and only," he stated.

"And I'm grateful for it," snarled Bon Bon. She took a few heavy steps closer. "Let me guess: you're going to ask me to help you escape, and in return you help me find the archives?"

Havoc sighed and tapped his padlocked horn. "Well, it's not like I have any other options. Even without this restraint, my horn is still on the mend. Your pegasus friend saw to that."

"Good for her," said Bon Bon, her nostrils flaring.

"Mm." Havoc rolled a hoof through the hay. "How is that daughter of hers, by the way?"

Bon Bon didn't immediately answer. "I don't have time for this." She turned to leave.

"About forty more paces the way you were going, then a left, and then the second door on the right," Havoc said with haste. "It will be labeled. You can't get in without alicorn magic, of course."

"I imagine that's why Celestia gave me this," said Bon Bon as she withdrew a glowing gem.

Havoc blinked in the light and rolled onto his stomach. The pathetic pony grew a wicked grin as both of his differently-colored eyes latched onto the gemstone. "Oh, now that makes things interesting," he said.

"What do you care?" asked Bon Bon. A voice in the back of her head was screaming at her to get moving again, but another one had a curiosity not yet sated.

"Are you not at all wondering why I know where the archives are?" Havoc asked with a raised eyebrow. He caressed an iron bar as he spoke. "I used to work down here, you know. Far away from where any damage to the castle could possibly destroy the princess's special memories. Of course, back then you didn't need alicorn magic to use them. Celestia was far more trusting then." He laughed. "Then I happened."

"Fascinating," muttered Bon Bon. She snorted and turned back to the door.

"C-587-433," said Havoc simply.

Bon Bon turned around again. "Excuse me?"

"You're curious, aren't you?" asked Havoc, showing every tooth in his mouth. "C-587-433. That vial will have your answers."

Bon Bon blinked.

"I haven't forgotten," said Havoc with a tap on his skull. "I have excellent memory."

Bon Bon gave him one last glare before departing. She wasn't sure whether or not she imagined his laughter on the way out.

Despite her reservations, Bon Bon followed Havoc's directions to the letter and found the archives exactly where he said they would be. She placed Celestia's magic-infused gemstone into a circular slot acting as a lock, and the heavy archive door opened. Bon Bon withdrew the gemstone and tucked it back into her mane. Beyond the door stood several lines and stories of racks filled with glass vials, each containing a strange purple liquid. Noting a numeric plate on one of the nearest shelves, Bon Bon raced down the aisles until the numbering looked familiar.

"If I'm reading this right," Bon Bon said under her breath, "C-000-001 should be right–" She looked straight up. At the very top of the rack sat a vial labeled with several round digits. "Of course," she sighed. A quick look around showed her a nearby ladder. She eased it onto the rack and began her climb.

"Couldn't just write things down like the rest of us, huh?" asked Bon Bon. Her ascent was slow and steady. "Even a collection of datasticks would have been better than this!"

A small voice reminded her that the journal she kept, by agency standards, should have been burned ages ago, but she brushed the thought aside.

Halfway up, another number caught her attention, though she knew it had no right doing so. She stared at it for a moment before shaking her head.

"I don't even remember if it was 433 or 443," Bon Bon said to herself.

The statement didn't get her to keep climbing the ladder. She continued to stare at the vial. Almost against her will, she slowly stuck out a hoof and brought it closer to her. The liquid inside sloshed against the glass; it looked as though the magic-imbued gemstone was attracting it.

Bon Bon withdrew the crystal and stared at it in turn.

You need alicorn magic to use them.

Bon Bon hesitated, then dropped the crystal into the glass vial. The liquid swirled and shifted to a pale white. She drew the glass closer to her eyes.

"I must be completely out of my mind," said Bon Bon. Hesitating once more, she slowly drew the vial to her lips and swallowed.

Princess Celestia sighed as she gave yet another document her signature. Paperwork was always droll, but it really started to pile up more recently. Her servant trembled under the weight of all the forms.

"You are welcome to set them aside, Pen," said Celestia to her obscured assistant. "You may be here for a while."

"I'm fine!" Pen lied with a wide grin. "Don't you worry about me!"

Celestia smiled.

The throne room doors burst open as a unicorn stallion raced inside. Two guards rushed in after him, but stopped at the sight of Celestia's outstretched hoof. The stallion did not slow until he was only a yard from the first step up to Celestia.

"Was another archive dropped?" asked Celestia of the stallion. "I'm far too busy to make more duplicates today. If you like, we can schedule another session–"

"You witch," the stallion snarled.

Celestia's eyes narrowed. "That tone is rather... unbecoming of you, Chronicler."

"The only thing unbecoming here is that lone chair in a room meant for two!"

Celestia sat herself up taller but did not break eye contact with the stallion. One of his irises was green and the other scarlet, but both stared daggers.

"Pen, you may take your leave," said Celestia to her assistant. "The guards will escort you."

"Yes, majesty," said Pen as she hurried off with a back full of paper. "See? Good thing I didn't drop them after all!"

The stallion scoffed as the doors closed behind him. He was now alone with Celestia. "Quite the obedience you instill in your subjects, majesty."

Celestia leaned forward and studied the stallion. "You've broken our agreement," she stated.

"My sister is dead!" the stallion shot back, his nostrils flaring. "You may think my work is too important for 'distraction,' but I still deserve the truth!"

Celestia sighed and spoke with a somber voice. "What happened to your sister is regrettable, and while I admit that I may seem cold and heartless, you'll find that protocol–"

"Means acting like it never happened?" finished the stallion, venom on his tongue.

Celestia rose from her seat. Her tone was losing its empathy. "Every PPP agent knows what it takes to protect the good of Equestria! Your sister knew that–"

"My sister knew that you're a betrayer!" shouted the stallion. Veins popped in his neck. His voice lowered. "That's what she found in that wretched forest. Truth."

"Chronicler–"

"Memories don't have to come from a pony, Celestia," said the stallion. He paced as he spoke. "Powerful ones can latch onto locations and objects. And that's what she found in the stones of that castle before the loathsome creatures of Everfree found her. Did you really think I was the only pony in Equestria with memory magic?"

Celestia's eyes narrowed further, but she said nothing.

"And you know what's strange?" asked the stallion without a hint of humor. "The only pony to hear her final words doesn't even remember them. Are you in the business of erasing minds now, Celestia? Is that how you intend to keep Lyra Heartstrings from snooping around? From learning about how you betrayed Luna? From learning about the Spirit in all of your nightmares?"

Celestia's eyebrows lowered. "I do what I do to keep Equestria safe."

"No," whispered the stallion, barely over a hiss. "You do what you do to keep yourself safe. And I will no longer be accomplice to this selfish madness. The ponies of Equestria deserve better. Better than you."

Celestia closed her eyes as her face adopted a pained look. The room stood silent for several seconds.

"I am sorry."

The room erupted in a brilliant golden light.

When it cleared, Celestia sat at her throne, reading an official-looking scroll. A stallion with two eyes of different hues shook his head and picked himself up off the floor.

"Are you well, Chronicler?" asked Celestia from over her scroll.

"Yes, I..." The stallion rubbed his temple. "I think I just lost my train of thought is all."

Celestia hummed. "Well, if it comes back to you, please don't hesitate to find me. Your work is too valuable to be ignored. If there is nothing else, however, I do have some important work to return to."

"Of course, Princess," replied the stallion with a bow.

A slip of paper fell from the stallion's collar. He blinked twice before picking it up and unfolding it with his magic.

"What's that?" asked Celestia with a degree more curiosity than usual.

"A... reminder," answered the stallion. Beads of sweat dripped from his brow. "Our next session is to make memory number C-587-433, correct?"

"If memory serves," said Celestia. She tilted her head at the stallion. "Are you sure you're feeling well?" she asked again.

"Just a small fever, I think," said the stallion as he stuffed the note back into his collar. He turned to leave at a quick pace.

"Chronicler?"

The stallion turned to the sound of his title. "Yes?"

"I must remind you of our agreement."

"'Under no circumstance should the memories of Princess Celestia be viewed by any unauthorized pony,'" the stallion recited. "I... I haven't forgotten."

The stallion gave one last bow before leaving the throne room. Celestia watched him leave with unease.

Bon Bon groaned and rubbed her head. Something dripped uncomfortably onto her chest, and she flicked her foreleg in reflex. She was lying on her back, a few broken glass shards littered around her.

"Did that just–" She shook her head. Visions of Havoc threatening Celestia in her throne room swam through her mind. She shook her head again. "The vial!"

Bon Bon looked up to see a few vials missing from the archive rack, but C-000-001 still stood on the highest shelf.

The walls rumbled.

"I've wasted too much time!" Bon Bon rocketed up the ladder and carefully removed C-000-001 from its resting place. Her descent was quick yet cautious, and as soon as she was on level ground again, Bon Bon bolted out the door.

"Have a good trip?" asked a voice as she passed a lonesome dungeon cell.

The rest of the castle a blur behind her, Bon Bon threw her weight into the door for the room that, she hoped, still held her agents and princesses.

Everyone was still inside, but now Celestia had her four legs pinning down Luna's.

"You must fight it, sister!"

"The only thing to be fought here is you!"

Derpy spun an eye onto the open door. "Did you find it?" she asked.

"As quick as I could," Bon Bon lied. She stepped briskly toward the princesses.

"Place the gem into the vial!" ordered Celestia.

"I... I lost it!" Bon Bon lied again.

Celestia moaned in pain as she stretched her neck and shot a magic bolt into the vial in Bon Bon's hooves. Luna clasped her wings together, throwing Celestia and the other ponies aside. She stood on four hooves at long last, her height now almost equal to Celestia's.

"Enough of this!" Luna roared, her eyes narrow and fierce. "I refuse to be a captive any longer! I will–!"

Luna's voice was blocked by a vial shoved straight into her gullet. Derpy solidified her attack by wrapping around Luna's head, her stomach resting on the base of the vial. Luna thrashed to try and dislodge her while Derpy stretched and rotated her wings for balance.

"Shh... Shh..." Derpy's coos were barely audible over Luna's muffled roars of fury. The pegasus stroked Luna's throat with one of her hind legs. "Shh... Shh..."

Without warning, Luna's eyes shot open and glowed a bright white light. She stood statuesque. Derpy gently fluttered to the ground and gave a sigh of relief.

"Nice work, Doo," muttered Bon Bon in awe.

"How..." Amethyst turned to Derpy. "How did you do that?"

"You should have seen Dinky when she was teething," Derpy answered without a hint of humor.

The ponies gathered around Luna's still form and stared with bated breath.

"What do we do now, Princess?" asked Carrot Top.

"We wait," said Celestia simply. "And if this doesn't work–"

A strong gust knocked everyone back away from Luna again. They rocked back to the far wall as Luna stumbled from her own weight.

"No!" Luna cried. "No more!" Amethyst stood up and lit her horn, but Celestia put out a leg to stop her. "I will not... be controlled... any longer!"

Heat and cold both burst throughout the room. The door splintered, and the window shattered. When the ponies inside could finally catch a breath, they looked toward the center of it all.

"Sister!"

Celestia leaped to Luna, her wings wide. The others stepped carefully around on either side, their wits about them.

Two alicorn princesses stood hugging in the middle of the room: Celestia, and one more unfamiliar. She looked like Luna, if the younger of the two's mane erupted into an ethereal form, and stood a fair few inches taller.

"It is good to see you've fully returned, my sister," said Celestia.

"And it is good to know that you never truly left," said Luna.

Lyra groaned as though she would only ever have the chance to groan one last time and really wanted to make the most of it. When her lungs ached from the effort (and a few other things), she sat up slowly and rubbed her head.

"Are you alright, Doc?" Lyra called into the darkness. "I'm alive, but man..." She flexed her back. "I forgot just how tall headquarters is."

"Yes," came Hooves' voice, strained. "Quite-tall. Quite-tall-indeed."

"Doc?" Lyra lit her horn and looked around. Headquarters was ominous without any power keeping the lights on. "Where are you?"

"Other-side-other-SIDE!"

Lyra's heart skipped a beat as she whirled around. "Doc, are you–?" Her front hooves shot to her mouth as she took in the sight. One of Hooves' hind legs bent at an angle no pony ever walked with.

"Just-a-broken-femur!" Hooves said, not at all reassuring. "Just-a-femur-and-maybe-the-tibia. Or-the-fibula." He gave a hard grunt. "Who-can-really-tell-them-apart-anyway?" Hooves burst into uncomfortable giggles.

"You're going into shock," Lyra said, more to herself than to Hooves. She stood up slow and tried to shake off her aches and pains. "Let me get you a blanket." She took off as quick as she could.

"Not-cold, Missssss Heartstrings!" said Hooves, shivering. "Just-in– really-intense-pain!"

Lyra returned with a small wool blanket and a corked bottle. She set the bottle next to him and stretched the blanket over top.

"How many of these should I take?" asked Hooves as he fumbled with the bottle.

"The bottle says two, so with that–" Lyra motioned at Hooves' malformed leg. "I'd say about eight."

Hooves performed questionable math as he poured pills into his mouth.

Lyra disappeared and reappeared with gauze and a few splints. "Now, I only ever received basic field medication training, so this is only a temporary fix. Do you understand?"

Hooves nodded.

"I need you to say it."

"Say what?"

"That it's okay for me to perform on you."

"WHY?!" roared Hooves, his pupils shrinking.

"Because I need audible permission to avoid a lawsuit," Lyra answered simply.

"YES! YES!" Hooves banged a foreleg against the ground. "FOR THE LOVE OF CELESTIA, YOU MAY PERFORM ON MY LEG!"

"Okay," said Lyra as her horn lit up. The same yellow glow appeared around Hooves' broken leg. "I'm sorry, Doc."

"For what?!" Hooves asked, erratic.

"For not counting to three."

"What?"

The only thing louder than the crunching of bones was the shrieks of the stallion attached to them.

The ground rushed beneath them as the two pony princesses raced toward the town of Ponyville. They heard several cries for help among patchwork crop fields and ravenous bunny rabbits, but they did not stop.

Derpy flew in front of them, her two golden eyes swiveling wherever they could. Bon Bon and Carrot Top rode on Celestia's back, though neither looked pleased with their travelling partner. Amethyst rode with Luna, a scrap of a contraption between her legs.

"How fares your progress, gemcutter?" asked Luna.

"'Progress' is a generous term," answered Amethyst. She turned Hooves' screwdriver and some unknown part came loose. Amethyst caught it in her magic before it was lost in the slipstream behind them. She sighed and placed it with the other loose components. "I only ever watched Hooves work on this thing from a distance. Looking back, it feels foolish that the rest of us never tried to pick it up."

"You are too heavy with your blame," said Luna. "The day's proceedings could not have been predicted, even by an excelled prophet."

Amethyst shook her head. "I'm not so sure about that. The way that Havoc guy played us? Played us all? It's like he knew where every piece of rubble would fall after the explosion."

"Chaos often feels random and unpredictable," said Luna, "But in truth it still follows the same rules as everything else."

Amethyst snorted and gave the device another tweak. "Then how do you explain Discord?"

"Discord, whether or not you choose to believe," said Luna, "is an expert on rules. That is how he knows where exactly to break them."

Amethyst blinked and said nothing. She sealed one of the device's severed wires with her magic.

"Princess Luna, may I ask you something?" asked Amethyst.

She could only see the back of her head, but Amethyst thought she could see Luna smiling.

"You may," Luna answered.

"What did you see?" Amethyst asked. She waved the screwdriver in the air. "Back in the room, when your eyes were glowing. What helped you, you know... win?"

Luna did not respond at once.

"I saw myself," she answered. "Through my sister's eyes, eons ago. I saw her concern for me during Discord's attack. I saw her relief to have me when she was injured. I saw her desperation to never lose me."

Luna gave her wings a vigorous few flaps before continuing.

"I think more than anything, I saw a thousand years of pain, grief, and mourning." Amethyst turned herself slightly. Luna continued, "Despite what some may think, my sister is a deeply flawed pony. Just like all ponies. A thousand years do not sand every edge, Amethyst Star."

Amethyst turned back to Hooves' device and stared at it. Well, more so she stared through it.

"I have a question for you as well."

"Oh!" Amethyst turned back to Luna. "Okay... yeah. I suppose that's fair."

"Are you willing to love someone in spite of their flaws?" Luna asked. "Are you willing to love them because of them?"

"I..."

"We're nearing Ponyville!" called Derpy from ahead. "It looks a lot different, but we're definitely in the right place!"

"Brace yourself, Amethyst Star," said Luna. "The descent is seldom easy!"

"C'mon, Hooves! You need to get up!"

"I'm... fine. You... get up."

Lyra groaned and stopped pushing at Hooves' side. He wasn't screaming anymore, thankfully, but the medication and energy spent were taking their toll. Lyra could feel her own strength waning as her horn struggled to keep headquarters illuminated.

"I wouldn't want to move either," said Lyra, eyeing Hooves' splinted leg, "But, as far as we know, Celestia and your device will be here any minute. We need you to fix it!"

"Calibrations," mumbled Hooves. "Percussive maintenance is the preferable option..."

"Percussive...?" Lyra shook her head. She rolled Hooves over top his blanket and drug him to the elevators. She clicked the button to go up, but nothing happened. "Ugh, of course," she moaned. She looked down at Hooves, then back up to the exit.

"Brace yourself, Hooves," said Lyra as her horn lit with what might it had left. "We're going back up, and we might not make it all the way."

"Maybe Amethyst can teleport us," Hooves mumbled. "She's better at it."

"I'm ignoring you, Hooves."

Hooves gave an unstable salute. "Roger that, Ly-Ly."

Lyra shook her head, concentrated, and squeezed her eyes shut. Both ponies vanished.

Celestia, Luna, and Derpy made touchdown not too far from Ponyville's library. Derpy's eyes spun everywhere.

"I don't see Lyra or Doctor!" she cried. The others dismounted from the princesses' backs.

"Maybe they're inside the library?" offered Carrot Top.

Celestia looked and her eyes shrunk. "Oh no..." Her wings burst her a few yards closer as she took in the damage to the tree's front door and window.

"Doctor? Miss Heartstrings?" Celestia called. She stepped into a messy, yet silent collection of books. "...Twilight?"

A groaning came from upstairs. Celestia squeezed herself up the stairwell as quick as she could.

"Twilight?"

"Spike," a miserable voice grumbled. "We got your *hic* messages..."

Celestia looked around at the cluttered bedroom floor. A few scrolls were open, but more laid sealed.

"They were meant to be used in a memory spell," Celestia said, more to herself than Spike. "A green unicorn was here to see you, yes?"

Spike groaned.

"Spike, please, think quickly!" urged Celestia.

"Yes, okay?!" Spike rolled over and clutched his stomach. "Her and a rude brown stallion. They made me send a letter and–" Spike held back a burp. "Are... are you... are you here to defeat Discord?"

Celestia turned back to the stairwell. "I'm certainly going to try," she said.

"Anything?" asked Bon Bon, her hoof in her ear.

"It's no use," said Carrot Top as she stopped fiddling with her own comm link. "Discord's magic must be messing with our transmissions."

"Ugh, great," said Bon Bon as she turned hers off. "I guess we'll just have to wait here until Doo gets back."

The two mares walked back to where the others were resting. They managed to find a secluded spot on the outskirts of town, far away enough from Discord's gaze but still close enough to leap in when the time was right.

"How's it coming, Star?" asked Bon Bon.

Amethyst threw her hooves into the air. "Will everypony quit asking me?!" she yelped. "I barely have any idea what I'm doing, and the constant questions are not helping!"

Bon Bon raised her two front hooves in defensive. "Sorry I asked," she said dryly. She set her hooves back down and walked over to Luna, who was lying on her stomach and watching Amethyst patiently.

Celestia walked back to the site from the library and the others watched her approach.

"They are not in the library," Celestia informed them. "I am not sure Miss Heartstrings received any of the scrolls to use for a memory spell."

Bon Bon pounded a stone into powder. "Well, what are we supposed to do now?!"

"Look!"

Four heads turned to follow Carrot Top's outstretched hoof. Not far in the distance walked three familiar figures.

"She found them!" said Carrot excitedly as the others stood up. "Derpy found them!"

"...Why are they moving so slow?" Amethyst asked.

Celestia spread her wings and took flight. The others watched as she landed next to the distant figures. They paused for a brief conversation before Celestia flew back, Hooves resting between her wings.

"He is injured," explained Celestia. Lyra and Derpy were not far behind her. She lowered Hooves to the ground as Derpy draped his blanket over him. He shuddered, but his eyes stayed closed.

Amethyst stepped forward to take a closer look. Her back hoof stroked the side of Hooves' device, causing part of its plating to spring off and shoot into a faraway bush. Discord's distant laugh echoed across the fields.

Amethyst swallowed and stared at Hooves' comatose body. "He's going to wake up... right?"

Jump to top

Chapter Five: Same as it Never Was

"You can't just poke him! He's probably got internal bleeding!"

"But we need him awake!"

"That doesn't mean you can just–"

"Doctor Hooves."

Hooves blinked a pair of eyelids that felt ten times heavier than normal. He looked around at the ponies hovering over him. "Oh, hey," he said with a weak smile. His gaze rolled onto a newer face. "Luna got bigger," he said with a small giggle.

"Help me prop him up."

Two muzzles on Hooves' back brought him to a seated position. His head felt magnetized to the ground. He tried to take in his surroundings, but two ethereal manes and the distant hodgepodge of colors where his hometown once stood made him feel nauseous.

"What are we–"

Hooves yelped with pain and grabbed his hind leg. The tightly-wound gauze he felt reminded him of what had transpired.

"This is becoming sub-optimal extremely quickly," Hooves muttered through clenched teeth.

Carrot Top sighed and smiled. "Glad to see you awake, Doctor."

"Have I missed much?" Hooves asked, his eyes shut tight.

"Not too much," replied Bon Bon. "Doo is back on recon — begrudgingly — while the rest of us–" Bon Bon looked around and took a deep breath. "While the rest of us figure out what to do next."

"And let me guess," said Hooves with a heavy grunt. He gently released his leg. "You could use my help in coming up with something?"

Bon Bon looked at Hooves with curiosity. "Well, we do have... something. Star?"

Amethyst stood up and walked toward Hooves sheepishly. She presented his broken device. "I made what repairs I could," she said. "There's no way this thing is operational though."

Hooves took the device from her and studied it. "All things considered, you didn't do a half-bad job," he admitted. "Though you did cross the amplifier with the throughput. That would definitely cause an explosion."

"Then I'm glad we didn't use it," said Amethyst through a grimace.

"Screwdriver?"

Amethyst floated the tool into Hooves' outstretched foreleg. He pried part of the paneling loose, but as soon as he leveled the screwdriver, he dropped it with a yelp of pain and grabbed his leg again.

"Problematic," Hooves uttered angrily.

"Can't you do anything?" asked Carrot Top, turning to Luna and Celestia.

Celestia shook her head. "Bones that severe need time to mend. He needs to go to a hospital."

"I think that's Ponyville General tap-dancing on the horizon," said Lyra. Only Amethyst turned to see if she was joking or not.

"Yes, and the pain-killers are further complicating matters," said Hooves as he stared at one of his forelegs. "Unless extra limbs are a part of the healing process."

"How many did you take?!" demanded Carrot Top, her eyes and nostrils wide.

"I lost count at 'too many,'" replied Hooves.

Bon Bon groaned. "Can you at least do something?" she asked. "I hate to press on you when you're injured, Doctor, but we are running out of–"

"We're out of time!"

Bon Bon slapped her face. "Of course."

Derpy bolted onto the scene as fast as her wings could carry her. "Twilight and her friends are coming back into town!"

Hooves turned to the pegasus. "Were they grey?" he asked her.

Derpy's eyebrows scrunched. "Um... No? Are they supposed to be?"

"No more questions," said Bon Bon with a step forward. "If we don't stop them soon, Discord will tear them to shreds!"

Celestia and Luna looked to one another and nodded. "Then we are out of options. Miss Bon, Miss Top, please help Doctor Hooves onto my back. Miss Star, ride with Luna and try to help Hooves finish his repairs." She turned to Derpy last. "Make sure he doesn't fall off."

The ponies moved without hesitation. Bon Bon and Carrot Top carefully raised Hooves onto Celestia's back while Derpy helped from overhead.

"Hey, Derpy," said Hooves with a small smile. "I found Dinky. She's okay. She's in the Town Hall with the others."

Derpy smiled. "You have no idea how much that is off my mind, Doctor," she said.

Celestia spread her wings.

"Wait!" said Hooves. "I have to tell you, I–"

"It can wait, Hooves!" shouted Bon Bon. She trotted around to Celestia's front. "Package secure." Celestia nodded. With Luna and Amethyst in tow, the winged ponies took flight straight toward Ponyville.

"What about me?" Lyra asked. Bon Bon and Carrot Top turned to her. "What should I be doing in all of this?"

"Didn't you quit?" asked Bon Bon without humor.

Lyra did not answer.

"...Form a perimeter around Hooves and the others. We can't let anything distract him."

Lyra snorted and smiled before giving what may have been the first honest salute of her career.

"How much longer, Doctor?!"

"Give him some space! He's trying to concentrate!"

Hooves looked up and smiled. "Thank you, Amethyst. I see you've learned a thing or two about the stress on my shoulders."

Amethyst smiled and shrugged.

From their vantage, the ponies could see deep into Discord's makeshift checkerboard valleys, a dismal throne seated at the center. The Spirit of Chaos laughed and guffawed at every random creation spawned from his snapping fingers.

Celestia shifted her weight restlessly. "We are risking Twilight Sparkle and her friends' lives by doing this," she said. "We should be stopping her from even getting so close!"

"Twilight and her friends are the only way this thing will work now," said Hooves as he squashed a part into place.

"She wouldn't even be in this mess if it weren't for you anyway."

Celestia turned in shock to Amethyst. "I beg your pardon?"

Amethyst turned and met Celestia's gaze. "You're the one who inflated her ego by saying that only she could defeat Discord. And she actually thinks she can do it because she already defeated one monster." Amethyst turned to Luna. "Uh, no offense."

Luna nodded.

"You are beginning to sound like Miss Heartstrings, Miss Star," said Celestia coolly.

Amethyst shrugged. "I suppose she was going to rub off on me at some point." She looked at Celestia again. "Doesn't mean I'm right." She looked back out. "Doesn't mean I'm wrong."

Derpy spoke up. "Maybe we could wait to play the blame game until after this is all over?" she called from above.

Hooves nodded but did not look up from his work. "Yes, please, some quiet would be nice."

Luna peered over to an assortment of trombones sticking up from the ground like trees, playing whatever sour notes appeased them.

"Tranquility is hard to come by here," Luna said.

Something smacked into Celestia's head.

"What is the meaning of–?"

A flurry of flying pigs rained down onto the ponies. Derpy yelped and dove to the ground. One of the pigs morphed into a giant sewing needle and flew straight at Celestia's head. Before she could react, a golden glow ripped it from her sight.

"Get off your fat flanks and do something!" called Lyra Heartstrings, her horn bright and dangerous.

The others looked out to see her, Bon Bon, and Carrot Top in combat with a variety of different entities. Everything from malformed rodents to mobile playing cards were descending on their position.

"Go," Celestia said to Luna. The moon princess nodded and raced into the fray as Celestia raised a magical barrier around herself and the ponies near her.

"This should dissuade most attacks," said Celestia over her shoulder.

Amethyst nodded as she handed Hooves another piece. He reached out for it, then shuddered before his leg fell limp. Sweat dripped down his body, and he strained for breath.

"I... I can't..."

"Yes you can!" Derpy flew in behind Hooves and gently kept him upright. "You have to! I know you can do it!"

"Sky's... fading..."

"It just changed to night," said Amethyst. "Again."

Hooves shook his head. He blinked a few times and stared at the device. "...I've been putting half of these parts in backwards," he said.

"...WHAT?!"

Another piece sprang loose and landed near a quickly approaching Twilight Sparkle. Discord hadn't yet noticed them, but he wouldn't be ignorant for much longer.

"...What are we supposed to do now?!"

Hooves chuckled. "I'd say pray, but–" He jerked his head behind him. "Our local deity is right there, and she wants me to fix it."

Amethyst and Derpy looked at one another in horror.

"This looks like it goes into this, right?"

"No, of course not, see the red tape?"

Hooves struggled to stay conscious as Derpy and Amethyst scrambled to try to put his device back together on their own. It was almost amusing watching the two of them work together.

A shame they were all about to lose everything they hold dear.

Hooves gave his head a good smack. "Okay, back up. Let me have another go at this thing."

Amethyst looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Are you sure? You said yourself that you were building it wrong!"

"We quite literally have nothing to lose," said Hooves. He pulled the device close and picked up his screwdriver.

"We are running out of time!" Celestia said to them over her shoulder. Distant shouting was audible, and a few flashes of magic energy shot from beyond their dome. "The others are struggling to keep the forces of chaos at bay!"

Hooves took a deep breath. Twilight Sparkle shouted something at Discord. Hooves closed his eyes. Discord taunted Twilight.

Hooves exhaled slowly as diagrams and notes took shape in his mind.

"I can do this."

Hooves' forelegs moved in a flurry of brown. Parts snapped into place and pieces clicked together. Sweat dripped down his brow, but he did not wipe. He only had a precious few seconds. Very precious few seconds.

He made them count.

Four solid bangs on the device's panels and he held the machine aloft.

"I've done it!" declared Hooves to the heavens. He looked around expectantly, waiting for the praise and excitement of his peers.

The world around him was utterly ordinary. The sky was blue, the grass was green, and all of the buildings in town were fixed in a single position.

Derpy and Amethyst looked at Hooves as his device fell apart into more pieces than before.

"Either I quintupled my device's efficiency," Hooves began slowly, "Or I have completely sobered up." He fell onto his back. "Either way: more meds, please."

Celestia read and signed forms in her throne room in silence. She had dismissed her attendants for the day, giving them time to prepare for the evening's ceremony. That's what she told them, anyway.

The throne room's doors opened softly. Celestia pondered privately about how seldom they were thrown without great force anymore. "Come in," she said.

Bon Bon approached Celestia's throne at her own pace. She didn't say anything, but withdrew a stack of papers once at the foot of the throne.

"A full report on our last mission," said Bon Bon. "As requested."

Celestia nodded.

Bon Bon continued, "You'll be interested to know that Doctor Hooves' findings on Twilight Sparkle's power surge can be found on page thirty-seven." She flipped through the document. "It includes a graph of her exponential magical growth over the past few months, current suspected potential, and projected growth over the next two years."

"Thank you, Bon Bon," said Celestia. She set aside the form she was working on and drew the report to her with her magic. She flipped through it as well. "This is quite detailed," she mused.

Bon Bon nodded. "Hooves worked on it obsessively. Sparkle utilizing his crystals at full capacity without the aid of an amplifier is–"

"Unexpected," Celestia finished.

Bon Bon nodded again.

Celestia sighed and set the report aside as well. "Thank you for delivering this to me, Bon Bon," she said. "But you didn't need to come all the way here in person."

"I was in town," Bon Bon said with a shrug. Then she withdrew another parchment. "Besides, this I wanted to give to you directly."

"What is this?" Celestia asked as she wrapped her magic around the new sheet of paper.

"My letter of resignation."

The letter stopped mid-flight as Celestia looked at Bon Bon with wide eyes. "I'm afraid I don't understand," she said. "Over the last few months, you quickly rose to be one of the most accomplished chief handlers in PPP history! Why would you leave?"

Bon Bon sighed and paced. "Over the course of our last mission, certain things... came to light," she said.

Celestia closed her eyes. Her mane kept most of her face obscured. "You drank from one of the archive potions," she said, barely over a whisper.

"Yes," said Bon Bon, her face static. "And I'm sure, knowing that, you find me ill-suited for carrying out further executive commands."

"Given the circumstances–"

"There's more," said Bon Bon, halting her pace. "For the past several years, I have refused to allow Doctor Hooves to be committed to a mental institution despite repeated — and highly professional — insistence that it was the best course of action in his interest." Bon Bon met Celestia's gaze. "I told myself that what I was doing was because I cared about his well-being, but the truth of the matter is I did it for my own sake. Because he was an important asset to my agency."

"It's my understanding that Hooves' mental stability has vastly improved," said Celestia. She tilted her head. "Surely that would mean–"

Bon Bon shook her head. "I cannot, in good conscience, continue to lead these ponies without their best interests at heart." Celestia opened her mouth to speak, but Bon Bon continued, "I also cannot continue to take orders from someone with the same fault."

Celestia narrowed her eyes and studied the mare carefully. "I see."

"Derpy Doo will act as interim handler until a replacement can be found," said Bon Bon, turning to leave. "And, unlike Lyra Heartstrings, I will accept whatever the council deems best when handling my departure." She looked over her shoulder. "I do not wish to be seen as a threat to Equestria."

As Bon Bon made her way to the exit, Celestia spoke to her one last time. "Miss Heartstrings still needs to complete her new hearing based on recent events," she said.

"Yes," said Bon Bon, slowing for a moment. "I'll be interested to see how that goes."

"Thank you for coming with me, Star."

Lyra and Amethyst walked through a field past a series of heavy stones. Amethyst watched each one as it passed, but Lyra stared ahead.

"It's the least I can do," said Amethyst. "Do you really think the sentence will stay the same?"

Lyra sighed. "Hooves gave a really good testimony. I think Bon Bon's report also resonated well. But some things just can't be ignored."

Amethyst didn't respond.

The two mares stopped in front of a curved stone, not altogether different from the rest in the field.

"I wasn't even sure I'd remember her name," said Lyra quietly. Amethyst looked at her and then at the stone itself. She took in the name and dates written upon it.

"Reminiscence."

"Has a nice ring, doesn't it?" said Lyra with a weak smile. She coughed. "Star, this was my first trainee. She's the mare I helped through the agency before I met you."

Amethyst blinked and looked at the stone again. Her mind reached back and pulled something from the Gala.

"I'm her..." Amethyst licked her lips. "I'm her replacement?"

"No, Star..." Lyra shook her head. "Rem was... a difficult memory for me. The biggest failure of my life. The biggest regret." She turned to Amethyst. "You brought me the hope that I could try again. That I could still do something worthwhile with my life."

"We faced and lived through both Nightmare Moon and Discord," said Amethyst with a chuckle. "Clearly we turned out okay."

Lyra gave a meek smile. She reached out a hoof and touched the gravestone's surface. "I don't even remember what mission I sent her on. All I can remember is the fear. The regret. I was too easy on her during training. The mission was supposed to be simple. Then something went south, and–"

Amethyst put a hoof on Lyra's back and the mare went silent. Lyra lowered both her hoof and her head to the ground.

"I don't want to forget anything else," said Lyra in a low voice, "and I'm not even sure what memories are real anymore."

"Well, I'm pretty sure my memories of you are real," said Amethyst with a pat on Lyra's back. "And even if they aren't, the feelings they give me are. You've been a great agent, Lyra." Amethyst smiled. "And a really great friend."

"Oh, shut up," said Lyra with a cracked voice. She gave Amethyst a soft jab. "I did a lot of yelling at you over the last few weeks, in case you forgot."

Amethyst smiled and said, "And yet those few moments didn't make me hesitate when you asked me to come here, did it?"

Lyra gave a raspy chuckle. "Seriously, quit it. You're going to make me–" She shuddered and fell to the ground. Amethyst sat with her and rubbed Lyra's back.

"This is my last chance to say good-bye to her," said Lyra through a sob. "To all of you. Your last memory will be me being a blubbering mess."

"Don't worry," said Amethyst, a tear in her own eye. "I'll take special care to remember all the times you were a jerk to balance it out."

Lyra gave a weak chuckle before turning and giving Amethyst a hug. Amethyst hesitated, but returned the hug in earnest.

Meanwhile, Hooves and Derpy watched them from afar. Derpy rested her forelegs on the back of Hooves' wheelchair.

"What do you think they're saying?" asked Derpy.

Hooves smiled. "Whatever it is that needs to be said," he answered.

Derpy hummed as one of her eyes scanned the fields around them; even here she couldn't turn off her need to work.

"Perhaps I'll make a similar visit once we're back home," said Hooves. He scratched the cast around his hind leg. "I don't think I ever did see where they buried Iron Ore."

"That..." Derpy swallowed. "That sounds... nice."

"Would you care to join me?"

Both of Derpy's golden eyes rotated down to meet Hooves'. He smiled at her.

"Oh, I don't know," she said, breaking their eye contact. "I don't think it would be–"

"Derpy." Hooves reached up and held one of her front hooves. "I know what he meant to you. And you know what he meant to me. But he isn't really gone." Hooves nodded at a crude drawing on his cast. "We have Dinky. We have a constant reminder of all the good he brought us."

Derpy gave a sad smile. "Yes, I suppose," she answered.

Hooves gave her hoof a pat as he turned back around in his chair. "There is one thing I still don't understand though," he said.

"What's that?"

Hooves looked back up at Derpy. "Why wouldn't you tell me I'm an uncle?"

Derpy sighed and looked back at Amethyst and Lyra. It was several moments before she answered.

"The fraternization rules," she said quickly. "I was afraid that... that if everyone knew that Iron Ore and I..." She took a deep breath. "I was afraid that I would be expelled from the agency."

Hooves studied her for several moments. "Yes, I suppose that makes sense," he said as his gaze moved forward again. "Goodness knows, leaving the agency hasn't been very good for Lyra at all."

Derpy shook her head. "No, it hasn't. And I think Bon Bon went to Celestia about quitting herself this morning."

Hooves hummed. "Yes, and I get the feeling that Carrot Top may not be far behind her."

Derpy sighed and shook her head again. "What are we going to do, Doctor?"

A brown hoof reached up and patted Derpy's cheek. "We'll find a way," Hooves assured her.

"More tea?"

Twilight nodded vigorously and Celestia poured more chamomile into her cup. The morning warmth drifted pleasantly through the sun room's windows.

"Thanks again for taking some time to spend with me, Princess," said Twilight. She blew on her cup before taking a sip.

"The pleasure is mine, Twilight," said Celestia with a smile. She refilled her own cup. "Considering recent events, I can't think of a better way to unwind than to spend time with my favorite student."

Twilight beamed and took another sip. "Actually, if you don't mind, I was hoping to ask you a bit about The Elements of Harmony."

Celestia hesitated, but her smile didn't break. "Of course, Twilight," said Celestia as she raised her own glass. "What is it you wish to know?"

Twilight set her cup onto its saucer. "Well, there's something I haven't quite been able to figure out," she admitted.

Celestia hummed and took another sip.

"The Elements don't seem to follow any sort of rule or pattern in their use," Twilight explained. Her eyes moved across an invisible set of notes. "When you and Princess Luna used them against Discord the first time, he was turned to stone. Then, when you used them against Nightmare Moon, she was trapped in the moon." Twilight counted the two stories on her two front hooves. She hesitated before moving to her back ones. "But when my friends and I used them against Nightmare Moon, she instead reverted back to Princess Luna. And against Discord he turned to stone again?" Twilight shook her head. "Repeated cases should bear similar results with only minor changes in variables, but I just can't figure out where all these different results are coming from!"

The morning heat beat across Celestia's neck. "I see," she said simply.

"I was hoping..." Twilight stirred her tea. "I was hoping you could tell me a little more about how they work. You know, in case we have to use them again."

Celestia took a long sip from her tea and set it aside. "What do you remember about using them?" she asked, her focus elsewhere.

"Against Nightmare Moon, nothing much," Twilight admitted with a shrug. "To be honest, I don't remember thinking about much at all. But with Discord..."

Magenta eyes rotated onto Twilight. "Yes?" Celestia asked.

Twilight shook her head. "I know it seems silly, but..."

"Go on," prompted Celestia.

"Well, one of the letters you sent back to me," Twilight began, "It was about the time a cockatrice turned me to stone. It was all I could think about. I wondered if Discord felt the same way I did when he was turned to stone the first time."

"I see," said Celestia. She raised her teacup and took another sip. "Perhaps The Elements saw into your mind, and perceived it as the most desirable outcome."

"Maybe," said Twilight absentmindedly. She shook her head. "I don't know. That still doesn't seem right."

No response came from Celestia as she took another sip.

"There's one other thing I wanted to ask about," said Twilight. She tilted her head. "While it's on my mind."

Celestia nodded.

"Why the ceremony yesterday?" asked Twilight. She raised her two front hooves. "I mean, don't get me wrong, my friends and I are all thrilled and honored to have been a part of it." Twilight replaced her hooves and leaned forward. "But why was there a ceremony? We didn't need to have one when we defeated Nightmare Moon, and she was just as dangerous!" Twilight leaned back again, defensively. "Not to sound ungrateful or anything."

Celestia closed her eyes and took a very deep breath. Twilight waited patiently for several minutes. Finally, Celestia set her tea aside and looked to Twilight with the most honest gaze she could muster.

Ponyville's PPP agents waited impatiently in one of the Canterlot office's more secure meeting rooms. Lyra paced, Derpy preened, Carrot fiddled with her hair, Hooves wrote hurried notes, Amethyst rubbed scuff marks off the floor, and all the while, Bon Bon watched.

"You guys don't have to be here," Lyra reminded them without looking up from her worn path. "I can tell you're all bored."

"There's a difference between bored and worried," said Carrot as she pulled at a difficult knot.

"We want to be here, no matter what," added Amethyst.

Lyra nodded but still avoided eye contact.

Bon Bon grunted. She turned to Derpy. "Any idea what you'll do on your first day as interim chief?" she asked.

Derpy shook her head. "I'm still trying to come to terms with the fact half of you guys may not be coming home." She pulled a difficult feather and massaged the skin beneath it. "I don't know how we're ever going to maintain surveillance on Twilight."

"I doubt we'll need to worry about that," said Hooves. He placed his good hind leg under his broken one, giving it more elevation. "I think it's been proven that she can fend for herself at this point."

Amethyst looked at Hooves with wide eyes. "I didn't even think about that!" she said. "The only reason I was stationed in Ponyville was to watch her..." She looked at the floor and mumbled. "I... I could get reassigned..."

Nothing was said for several moments.

"Would... would PPP even have a point in Ponyville anymore?" asked Carrot. She looked around at the others, but none met her gaze. "It's not a terribly big town, after all. If Twilight winds up handling every threat–"

"PPP will always have a purpose," stated Bon Bon. "Even if Twilight doesn't need protection anymore, she can't be everywhere at once."

Carrot sighed and resumed working on her hair.

Each head in the room shot forward as the conference room doors opened. A much taller figure than what they were built for stepped forward.

"Princess Celestia," Carrot Top muttered.

Celestia nodded at the sound of her name, and met each pony's eyes in turn. Lyra was last.

"You..." Lyra licked her lips. "You're here for me, aren't you?"

Celestia shook her head. "I'm here for all of you."

A few of the ponies stepped back.

"Please, do not be afraid," said Celestia as her muscles relaxed. "I simply wish to speak to you."

"What was that? I can't hear you over the sound of my heart attack."

"Lyra, shush," Bon Bon chided. She turned to Celestia and nodded.

Celestia nodded back and continued. "It's come to my attention that many of you are finding the idea of continuing work for this agency to be..." Celestia hesitated. "...Undesirable."

No one in the room argued.

"...With that understanding," Celestia continued, "I have made a decision that I hope will appease these transgressions, at least to some degree."

Still no responses.

The alicorn turned behind herself and spoke. "You may come in now."

"You lied to me!"

Celestia sighed and closed her eyes. "Twilight, please calm down."

"You've been lying this whole time!" ranted Twilight, her tea long forgotten. The sun room's warmth grew unpleasant. "Has anything in my life been real?! Do my friends even like me, or are they spies too?!"

Celestia's eyes furrowed. "Twilight, sit."

Forces beyond Twilight's control brought her squat onto a pillow in front of Celestia. The unicorn looked at her with wide eyes.

"I am sorry, Twilight, I just..." Celestia raised a hoof to her forehead and clenched her teeth. "I just need you to listen."

Twilight opened her mouth to protest, but stopped at the sight of a speck of water rolling down Celestia's cheek. "Okay, Princess," Twilight said softly but with little kindness. "I'll listen."

"Thank you, Twilight." Celestia raised her head back and took a deep breath. "To begin, yes, your friends are real. I never knew them before Ponyville's Summer Sun Celebration." Celestia lowered her head back down and met Twilight's eyes. "Their love for you is genuine."

Twilight blinked a few times and sighed. "That's... really comforting, actually."

"You have a grand destiny ahead of you, Twilight Sparkle," said Celestia. She tilted her head. "Even I don't know what's in store for you. What I do know is that I needed to do everything in my power to keep you safe. To let you become the pony you're someday destined to be."

"So that's what all of this was?" asked Twilight, indignant. "I'm just some... tool kept safe in its box until I'm needed for something?"

Celestia shook her head. "You are so much more than that, my student. You are smart, and brave, and–"

"Stop," said Twilight, waving her hoof. She brought it to her forehead and closed her eyes tight. "How am I supposed to believe I've ever been anything other than a pawn in something bigger?"

A soft "plink!" of water caused Twilight to open her eyes again. She looked over and saw a second drop roll from Celestia's cheek and into her tea.

"Despite what you may now think," said Celestia softly, "You are so much more to me than that. You are not just my student. You are my daughter. You are my friend. And even without a destiny ahead of you, I still would have done anything to keep you safe."

Twilight broke the eye contact between them and brought her tea forward again. She tried to take a sip, but flinched when she realized it was cold. "But why all of this then?" Twilight asked. "Why send me to Ponyville to make friends in the first place?"

"Ponies will look up to you someday," Celestia answered. She used her magic to heat Twilight's tea again. "Your strength is growing, and it won't go without notice for much longer. I needed you to understand what it's like to care for ponies different than yourself." Celestia poured her tea into a plant and refilled her cup. "I need you to know how to be a good leader."

"Like you?" asked Twilight as she took another sip of her tea.

Celestia shook her head as she raised her own cup. "No," she said. "Better than me."

"Um... hi."

Six ponies looked at one they had only ever seen from afar.

"Um... yeah..." Lyra turned away from Twilight Sparkle and back to her former co-workers. "Does anypony else think this is weird?"

There were a few nods. Bon Bon stepped up to Twilight and stuck out a hoof.

"It's nice to make your acquaintance," said Bon Bon. "Formally."

Twilight smiled sheepishly and shook Bon Bon's hoof.

"I don't think you ponies are ready yet to trust me again," explained Celestia as Bon Bon retook her seat. "And I can't say that I blame you for it. Twilight was equally concerned with she learned of this agency."

"How did she find out?" asked Lyra.

"I told her," said Celestia simply.

The PPP agents looked at one another, then back to Celestia.

"Recent events have shown me just how much trouble so much lying can lead to," Celestia continued. She moved a wing so Twilight would quit inching behind it. "A thousand years of navigating these tapestries has been... exhausting." She took a deep breath. "That is why I've come to the decision that, starting today, Ponyville's Ponies Protecting Ponies branch will be separated from the agency, acting as an independent entity with its own command hierarchy."

"What?!"

The others turned to Carrot Top.

"You can't just cut us off!" Carrot said, nostrils flaring. "You mean we'd have to keep operating without help from Canterlot? Without resources? Without–"

"Without having to answer to me," Celestia finished. "Or Dent, or anypony else from any of the facilities."

Carrot shifted her weight, but did not respond.

Derpy turned both of her eyes onto Celestia. "Why?"

Celestia said nothing, but pushed Twilight forward with her wing.

"Er..." Twilight swallowed. "Princess Celestia has asked that I help... facilitate... er... lead... the organization," she finished with a grimace.

Bon Bon shifted her gaze between Twilight and Celestia. "Are you serious?" she asked, indignant. "Twilight Sparkle has none of the training required to act as chief handler, or even an agent for that matter! You want these ponies to follow her?"

"I'm right here, you know," said Twilight gruffly.

"Your concern is valid, Miss Bon," said Celestia, stepping forward again. "But I believe you'll find she has an incredible talent for strategy and resource management, and, perhaps most importantly–" Celestia smiled at her student. "She isn't me."

"That's actually a pretty decent selling point," joked Lyra.

"She's your student," said Bon Bon to Celestia, taking a few steps forward. "She's put you on a higher pedestal than all of us. Why should anyone feel any less concerned taking orders from her?"

"Because her lies cut me just as deep," answered Twilight. Attention reverted back to her. She sighed. "Look, I know none of you have any good reason to trust me. I would be hesitant as well. But from what Celestia has told me–"

"Wait."

Lyra stepped forward, studying Twilight intently.

"Say that again."

Twilight blinked. "'From what Celestia has told me'...?"

Lyra smiled. "She's okay in my book, guys."

Derpy looked to Amethyst, who shrugged.

"Um... thank you," said Twilight as Lyra retook her seat. "From what Celestia has told me, you are some of the greatest ponies who have ever worked here. I owe my own life to you as well, and on more than one occasion." She shifted her weight. "I'm not looking to replace anypony, or change how everything works. I just hope you can keep me in the loop on things, and that I can call you guys if I ever need some help."

"Sounds like you'll need someone to keeps things going in the meantime," said Bon Bon.

"I nominate Bon Bon," said Derpy with a smile.

"What?" asked Bon Bon, turning to face Derpy. "I just quit! You're interim–"

"Yes, I'm interim chief handler," said Derpy, rising to her hooves. "And with that authority comes the ability to nominate candidates for roles, does it not?"

"But–"

Derpy shook her head. "I'm flattered, Bon. Really, I am. But you've always been the best choice for the job."

Carrot nodded her head in agreement.

"But–"

"You do have quite the resume," Twilight added. She floated six pieces of paper in front of her. "And every stated reference on your performance is absolutely glowing."

Bon Bon shook her head. "You don't understand. I didn't always make the best decisions while in office. I–"

"Learned from them."

The others looked at Doctor Hooves. He shifted his cast and rotated his wheelchair.

"I know you feel guilty about everything concerning me," said Hooves, his eyes not wavering from Bon Bon. "But I've forgiven you. And I think the fact that you've taken so much responsibility for it shows that you are a mare who can keep her agents' best interests in mind." Hooves leaned back in his chair. "Though I may recant that if you ever have me properly institutionalized."

Bon Bon sighed and looked at the ground. "I'm not talking my way out of this, am I?"

Carrot Top gave her a wink. "Afraid not."

"What about Lyra?" asked Amethyst.

Lyra raised an eyebrow at the pink unicorn. "What about me?" Lyra asked.

Amethyst didn't look at Lyra as she clarified, "Well, can she join again too?"

Lyra shook her head. "I don't know if you remember, Star, but me leaving was kind of a big ol' thing," she said. "They're having a hearing to figure out whether or not to wipe my brain, remember?"

"Well, technically..." Twilight put her collection of resumes away. "With the separation of the Ponyville branch, you're no longer within their jurisdiction." She smiled. "You're in mine."

Lyra raised another eyebrow. "Meaning?"

Twilight beamed. "A full pardon. All charges dropped in recognition of outstanding service on behalf of Equestria."

Lyra was rocked to the floor.

"This is so great, Lyra!" said Amethyst through her intense hug. "You can come work with all of us again!"

"Peachy," came Lyra's muffled voice.

Celestia smiled and took her leave as the others gathered around Lyra and Bon Bon to welcome them back, and to properly introduce themselves to Twilight.

"So I think you should know," Carrot said to Twilight quietly, "There's a little fraternization rule that I think you'll agree is quite out-of-date..."

Amid the excitement, Derpy helped Lyra back onto her hooves.

"You know," Derpy began with a smile, "if you really want to leave, I don't think any of us could stop you."

Lyra popped her back and stretched her front hooves. "I try to leave one time and yet another thousand-year-old monster starts threatening the lives of my friends," she said. She gave her back legs a good stretch as well. "Could you imagine me being gone if another one of these uglies pops up again? Nah. I'm right where I belong."

THE END

Author's Note

Story pre-reader: Flutterpriest

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Chapter One: At the Gala

Ponyville's train station stood chipper in the light of day. The Friendship Express hummed with a quiet might, waiting for its upcoming passengers to board. Off in a corner where no one could hear them, six ponies were giving one another quick farewells.

"Cabin is secure," Derpy said to her companions as she left the rear-most carriage. Her two golden eyes swung independently in all directions, taking in every view and potential threat. Though such an image perturbs most ponies, her coworkers knew her well enough to know that it meant she was keeping an eye (or two) out for them.

Bon Bon nodded and waved her hoof toward herself, signaling the others to get closer. Derpy kept one eye on their surroundings. Carrot Top gave a sly smile to the others. Amethyst looked riddled with anticipation. Doctor Hooves was fidgeting with his tongue. Lyra looked bored.

"Alright, let's run through everything again, just to be sure," Bon Bon said to them. "As discussed, with only four tickets provided by PPP Command, Hooves and I will be the two staying behind. This means that Carrot Top will be your handler while in Canterlot."

Carrot's unchanging smile told Bon Bon that the orange mare hadn't forgotten her role.

"Seeing as radio chatter will be limited," Bon Bon continued, "you will not be in direct contact with anypony other than each other. Carrot will act as a conduit to other PPP units from Canterlot, but unless something does go down, don't expect to hear much. In other words, save the meet-and-greets with other agents for a different time."

Lyra snorted. "I've been in Ponyville close to a year now," she reminded Bon Bon. "Believe me when I say that 'catching up' really isn't on the list of things I've planned for tonight."

Bon Bon shot Lyra a warning look. "Whether or not that's the case, Heartstrings, do try to stay on target tonight." Bon Bon eased the tension in her face before continuing. "Princess Celestia will be at Sparkle's side most of the night, but be sure to have one of you follow Sparkle if they are ever separated. Other than that, you, Star, and Doo–" Bon Bon pointed at each pony as she named them "–will be on the floor wherever Top sees fit. Are there any other questions?"

Four ponies shook their heads. Doctor Hooves nodded. Bon Bon looked to him, but no question came.

"Alright," said Bon Bon, "You're dismissed. Board the train before it departs. You should arrive shortly before Sparkle and company reach the castle."

Three mares turned to enter their train carriage. Carrot Top followed Bon Bon and Hooves as they made their way out of the station.

"Bon Bon," Carrot began, "Can I talk with you for a moment?"

Doctor Hooves seated himself a few paces away from the two mares to observe a blade of grass sticking through the platform's paneling. Convinced he wouldn't move, Bon Bon turned to face Carrot. "I already asked if anypony had questions, Carrot," Bon Bon said to her.

Carrot Top sighed. "I know," she said, "But this is more... between us."

Bon Bon shook her head. "Carrot, I already told you, it's fine." She pointed a hoof toward Hooves. "I can take him to his appointment on my own. And I've got a lot of paperwork to catch up on, including more billing statements for Dent. If you thought he was ornery last week, wait until he sees what expenses went into that parasprite fiasco."

Carrot Top struggled to make eye contact. "I know, but..." She gazed over in Hooves' direction again.

Hooves gently moved the grass with a hoof. Bon Bon reached out to put a hoof on Carrot Top's shoulder, an action which snapped Carrot's attention back to the mare in front of her.

"Listen," Bon Bon said, "You've been great with trying to help him. Really." Though Bon Bon usually tried to not show much emotion, this time she made sure her words sounded earnest. "I know you feel bad not being there when things got hairy, but–"

"Better late than never," Carrot finished with a smile.

"I was going to say, 'I've forgiven you,'" said Bon Bon. She removed her hoof from Carrot Top's shoulder and looked back to Hooves. "No one reacted well when we lost his brother. But I think, gradually, we've all started to finally move on."

Carrot opened her mouth to speak again, but the sound of a steam whistle cut her off.

Bon Bon pointed a hoof back toward the train. "Go," she said. "You have your assignment. End of discussion."

Carrot Top smiled before giving a weak salute. There was a time when the sarcastic nature of the motion would have irritated Bon Bon, but a lot can change over time. She returned the salute, and Carrot Top quickly made her way back to the carriage where her three partners were waiting for her.

Bon Bon walked over to Hooves and tapped him on the shoulder. "C'mon," she said to him. Hooves excitedly stood up and walked at her side. "I think the doctor will be happy to see you today."

As Amethyst looked on, Carrot Top boarded the train and took a seat next to Derpy. Carrot and Bon Bon just had a private conversation, and Amethyst couldn't help but be curious.

"Do you think everything's alright, Chief?" Amethyst asked Lyra.

Lyra's attention hadn't left the window, though her thoughts appeared to be elsewhere. "Huh?" She turned her head in Amethyst's direction, then back to the window. "Oh that. Yeah, I'm sure it's fine. Probably just something to do with Hooves' appointments."

Amethyst didn't immediately answer. She gazed out of Lyra's window, but didn't see anything of particular interest. She gave Lyra a small nudge.

"It'll be nice seeing Canterlot again, won't it?" Amethyst asked. "We haven't been back since getting stationed here."

Lyra shrugged. "I never really missed Canterlot, to be honest," she said. "Ponies always seem to be too busy to give you the time of day."

"Like we haven't been busy," joked Amethyst.

The train window lost Lyra's attention as she gave Amethyst a sly smile. "It's true," she said. "I've barely been at the house long enough to find out if Bon Bon is a terrible roommate or not."

Amethyst laughed and adjusted her seat. "You know, the housing market's gotten better," she said. "I know things were touch-and-go when we first got here, but you could probably find a new place if you wanted."

Lyra gave another shrug. "Rent's cheap," she stated. "And like I said, I'm barely there anyway."

Lyra looked back at Derpy and Carrot, deep in their own discussion.

"What about you?" Lyra asked Amethyst. "Surely you're looking to find a place that doesn't have a kid running around."

Amethyst gave Lyra a hard poke in the chest. "Hey, Dinky is adorable," she said. "And besides, having a built-in babysitter has made things a lot easier for Derpy. You think you're busy? Try being a single parent."

Lyra threw up her front hooves in mock defeat. "Okay, Star, no need to get defensive." The train rolled forward, and Lyra turned back to the window.

Just behind them and almost out of earshot, Carrot caught a name and couldn't help but bring it into her own conversation with Derpy. "How is Dinky?" she asked the pegasus.

"Huh?" Derpy looked up from her lap. "Oh, she's fine," she answered simply. When Carrot's smile told her she wasn't going to get away with so few words, she smiled and continued, "Amethyst has been a big help at the house. They practically get along like sisters. She's even started helping Dinky with magic lessons, which is great considering neither Cheerilee or myself can help much there."

"Oh?" Carrot asked, "And how's that going?"

Derpy chuckled. "Well, the first morning Dinky lodged a toothbrush in Amethyst's throat, and spent the rest of the day apologizing."

Carrot's jaw dropped and stayed there for a few seconds before she was overcome with giggles. "I would have loved to see that!" she finally managed.

Derpy smiled and shook her head. "It was scarier at the time." Her smile faded. "Otherwise... I think Dinky's been having a hard time. She's... having trouble fitting in with the other fillies and colts. Figuring out who she's supposed to be, and where she belongs." Derpy looked down and rubbed one of her forelegs. "It's... hard to see somepony so young, especially my own daughter, dealing with that sort of thing."

Carrot reached out and pulled Derpy's chin so she could see her eyes. Carrot smiled and told her, "All ponies go through that sort of thing. I take it she doesn't have her cutie mark yet?"

Derpy shook her head and opened her mouth to say something, but no words came. Carrot gave her back a soft pat.

"See? She'll grow out of it," Carrot assured. "You just have to give it some time."

Derpy smiled but didn't offer another response.

A few yards in front of them, Lyra gave a large yawn.

"I forgot how long trains take," she said to Amethyst. "Couldn't we have flown again?"

Amethyst sneered. "You could have asked Derpy for a lift," she said.

Lyra shook her head. "You know what I mean. I trust Doo with my life, but–"

"But no flying," Amethyst finished. She chuckled and looked forward. "We haven't forgotten." Lyra frowned at Amethyst, then turned back to the window. Hesitantly, Amethyst asked, "So... what's on your mind?"

"Hm?" Lyra turned an ear towards Amethyst before her eyes followed suit. "What do you mean?"

"You've been quiet, Chief," Amethyst said simply. She lowered her voice before asking, "It's not like you. Are you afraid of going back to Canterlot?"

"What? No, I–"

"I mean, you lived your whole life there–"

"Star, I–"

"And it's where we met and–"

"That's not–"

"I mean, I think it would be fun if–"

"STAR!"

Lyra put a rough hoof on Amethyst's muzzle. Noticing the volume of her voice, she looked back to see Carrot Top and Derpy staring at them. She rolled her eyes and removed her hoof from Amethyst's mouth; she needed both forelegs to cross them in disapproval.

"Sorry," Amethyst said sheepishly. "I guess... I guess I'm a little excited to be home, you know?"

Lyra didn't respond. Amethyst looked on for a few seconds, waiting for a reply, but when none came she chose to look down at her hooves.

After a few silent moments, Lyra sighed and told Amethyst, "Don't get the wrong impression, Star. It'll be nice to be home again. And you and I did make a lot of good memories in that town before going to Ponyville."

Amethyst smirked, but a hiccup broke it. Gathering herself, she joked, "Careful: talk like that and ponies will think you're going soft."

Lyra returned a sneer and gave Amethyst a sharp jab in the shoulder. Her expression softened when she finally admitted, "I'm just worried about this mission is all."

Amethyst looked around before leaning in closer to Lyra. "The terror threats, you mean?"

Lyra gave a small nod.

Amethyst shook her head. "Probably just that: a threat. Wild things are always said to happen at big events like this, and they never do."

"Yeah, because any uglies who get remotely close deal with security," Lyra said to her. "We're the security tonight, Star. I've just got a really bad feeling in my stomach on this one."

"You know what that is?" Amethyst asked.

Lyra stared at her and shook her head.

"Pre-gala jitters!" Amethyst said excitedly. She reached under their seat and pulled out a suitcase that Lyra couldn't recall her bringing on. Amethyst opened the case, and inside were four simple-yet-elegant saddleskirts in varying colors.

Lyra's jaw dropped and her eye twitched. Amethyst told her, "I made the rhinestones myself! Can you believe how long it's been since I've used magic to do what I got my cutie mark doing?!"

Lyra swallowed. "Okay, now I REALLY don't want to be here tonight."

"Doctor."

"Doctor."

Hooves walked into the office with a cheery skip, his favorite part of the appointments now fresh in memory. He entered another room with large glass windows to tinker with a few high-brow puzzle objects. As the door to the room closed behind him, Bon Bon stepped in to greet the doctor as well.

"Good evening, Sweetie Drops," said the tan stallion in a white coat.

"Hello, doctor," Bon Bon replied. She looked on at Hooves through the separating windows. She then asked, "How are we doing today?"

The psychiatrist shook his head. "As I've been saying for months now, Miss Drops, he hasn't shown much sign of improvement. He still ignores the dangers and concerns of reality in favor of whatever the whim of the moment is, and–"

"And is still a functioning adult," Bon Bon reminded. Her gaze was stern. "His work continues to be impeccable, and his mind brilliant, even in the face of–"

"Ten percent lucidity? Approximately?"

Bon Bon closed her mouth.

The psychiatrist shook his head and continued, "Positive productivity or not, Doctor Hooves continues to have questionable ability in societal integration and danger recognition. He's a threat to himself and to those who surround him."

"He couldn't hurt a fly with a leaking can of bug spray!" Bon Bon retorted. She flung a wide foreleg in her counterpart's direction. "Just look at him!"

The psychiatrist adjusted his glasses before speaking. "Remind me of his occupation, Miss Drops?"

Bon Bon's posture grew more resigned. "He's an engineer, of sorts," she said. "He works for me making new gadgets and repair work."

"Mm. And you really think none of those devices could malfunction and cause someone injury? Even a papercut?"

The question hung in the air.

When no response came, the psychiatrist continued, "Miss Drops, even though it's not my place, I still have to question the well-being of a stallion whose care is left in the hands of his employer. I think you may be too invested in the success of Doctor Hooves' work to be truly concerned with his health." The psychiatrist raised a clipboard to his eyes. "I continue my assertion that he be institutionalized, whereupon a dedicated nursing staff can help him through this long-lasting trauma."

Bon Bon grit her teeth. "You're right." She walked to the door to Hooves' room in a stride completely devoid of emotion. "It isn't your place. And you know nothing about my personal interest in his health." Before the psychiatrist could respond, Bon Bon opened the door. From the other side, Hooves looked at her expectantly. "It's time to go, Doctor," she said to him.

On the way out of the office, Bon Bon gave the psychiatrist one last steely glare. "Doctor," she said.

"Doctor," said Hooves, far more amiable than the mare before him.

"Is the line always this long? I can't even see Celestia!"

Lyra rolled her eyes. "Princess Celestia, Star. And I'm starting to wonder if you're actually excited for this or something," she said.

Carrot Top snickered. "I'm starting to wonder if Amethyst made your saddleskirt too small, Lyra."

As Lyra rounded on Carrot Top and Amethyst looked over Lyra's dress in a panic, Derpy rose a few yards into the air to get a better view of the castle. Princess Celestia's white coat and flowing mane of color waited patiently in the distance. They weren't too far from the entrance, and being outside the structure made the line feel longer than it actually was. Princess Celestia was only one pony, after all, and it was customary for each guest to be greeted by her before entering.

"It won't be long," Derpy said to the bickering mares below her. "I'd say five-to-ten minutes at this rate."

Lyra groaned. Carrot Top gave her a nudge. "Now who's anxious to get inside?" she asked.

Lyra scoffed in response. "I'm just itching not doing anything here. Shouldn't we be, I don't know, using a secret entrance or something?"

Amethyst smiled as she pulled some stray lace into place on Lyra's skirt. "It's important we be seen here," she reminded Lyra. "It'll help our cover as perfectly ordinary guests. Besides, I think it's fun to act like a civvy for a bit!"

Lyra gave her eyes another roll.

Once they finally reached her, Princess Celestia gave each of them a knowing smile with her bow. The last one to be greeted, Celestia pulled Carrot Top aside for a brief conversation.

"I will try to keep Twilight near me tonight," Celestia said to her. "Try to help in some of the larger rooms if you can, but otherwise I think you all are welcome to some of the festivities. You've more than earned it."

Carrot Top nodded and bowed a second time before taking a light trot to her waiting agents.

"What did she say?" asked Derpy.

"To keep our ears open, our eyes forward, and our noses on the grindstone," Carrot said with a sweet smile. "Comms on, girls. Amethyst, I want you to stay here in the foyer and let me know when Twilight arrives. Lyra, Derpy, you two take the VIP section, low and high. I'll be in the ballroom. You see anything suspicious, you know the drill."

"Who does he think he is?! I have half a mind to take my grappling hook and shove it up his–"

After the elevators lowered them into Ponyville's Ponies Protecting Ponies headquarters, Bon Bon angrily dropped her saddlebags and marched into her office. Doctor Hooves galloped into his lab, eager to work on the next device that would more than likely make Bon Bon's day worse.

"And the rates he charges!" Bon Bon shouted, her office door closed behind her. "You'd think at those prices he would actually be drilling into Hooves' skull!"

An explosion shook Bon Bon's door.

"Sorry!" called Hooves. "I just... I'll clean it up!"

Bon Bon gnashed her teeth before delivering a hard buck to her desk. Thankfully, the wood had long since been reinforced, and it didn't do much other than move it a few inches. Knowing she'd have to move the desk back was wearing thin the last of Bon Bon's nerves. She grumbled as she stomped to the other side of the desk, but stopped after noticing a drawer was open. Heaving a deep sigh, she placed a hoof on the drawer to close it, but hesitated. A bright blue cover was peering at her through the crack. Bon Bon instead opened the drawer further and withdrew the book from inside.

The cover was a bit more faded than she remembered. Heavier, too. Her heart beat solemnly as she looked upon it, as though it were the only picture she had of a loved one long since passed. A small part of her said to simply put it back and return to finding new insults and threats for the obnoxious head shrink, but something deeper within her placed the book on her desk. She stared at it for a few minutes before slowly turning the front cover.

Carrot hired a new scientist today. He's an earth pony, but that doesn't seem to stop his eagerness for the job. Iron Ore gave him a glowing recommendation, but considering–

Bon Bon slammed the book back shut. Scarred wounds on her heart itched at her. She took another deep breath, then opened the book a second time.

Iron Ore gave him a glowing recommendation, but considering they're brothers, I suppose it's to be expected. It's strange how, despite looking strikingly similar, one wouldn't otherwise think they'd be even remotely related. Doctor Hooves is downright scrawny for a stallion, and his energy and enthusiasm is through the roof. Iron Ore, on the other hoof, has always has a more reserved personality behind his big, strapping muscles and–

"Bon Bon!"

"WHAT?!" Bon Bon slammed her book again, blushing. Doctor Hooves' soot-covered face was peering through her door.

"FOUR part Hydrogen!" answered Hooves. "Not five. Five is bad."

"...Thank you, Doctor."

Hooves beamed before slamming Bon Bon's door back shut. She sighed and returned to her book, her mind now lost in memories she forgot were hers.

As Carrot Top entered the ballroom, she couldn't help but take in the romantic atmosphere of the evening. The soft music, the silk decorations, the gentle aroma of perfumes and colognes... Such a shame something as distracting as work kept her from it all. She gave the communications device in her ear a gentle tap.

"This is Agent Top, reporting in for the Ponyville branch," she stated on a broad communications channel.

said a velvety voice with a rich Canterlonian accent.

Carrot smiled. "They are indeed, Agent Melody. Agent Star is in the foyer, and Agents Doo and Heartstrings in the VIP section."

uttered Agent Melody.

Carrot looked up to the ballroom stage and chastised herself for not recognizing Agent Melody sooner. She was an elegant mare with a passion for music, and an ear that could pick out any sound from any assortment, be it a sour note or a voice of interest.

came Lyra's voice over comms.

replied Octavia. Carrot didn't see her lips move a hair, and her bowtie hid her throat's movement as well.

"Lyra, please get off this channel," said Carrot as kindly as possible. She spotted a punch table and walked toward it. "I'm sure you have lots of 'catching up' to do, but we have to keep radio clutter clear." Carrot's comm device barely emitted static before she continued, "And yes, that is an order."

Lyra gave one last grumble before a click cut her off. Carrot chuckled.

said Octavia.

"Oh, by all means," said Carrot. She motioned at a vendor to pour her a drink.

continued Octavia.

"Related to the terror threats?"

"Mm." Carrot gave her drink a taste and nodded in approval. "Well, give me a description, and I'll make sure we have an eye out for them."

Carrot took another sip of her drink as she listened. "Mm-hm. I see. Oh, really?" She gave her drink a swirl. "Yes, that is hard to miss. You don't say? Oh, yes, immediately. Thank you." Carrot cleared her throat before opening the Ponyville comm link.

"Alright, everypony," said Carrot as she strode away from the punch bowl. "There is a suspicious pony in our midst, and I need you all to be on alert."

asked Amethyst.

said Lyra.

"Lyra's right," said Carrot. She smiled and waved as a couple danced past her. "This pony has been wanted for a long time, and Celestia herself put his name on the list."

said Lyra, dryly.

Carrot chuckled before saying, "You should get his profile on your datasticks before long. We're looking for a unicorn stallion, grey coat, brown mane, and a cutie mark of an open book. His eyes have two different hues."

said Lyra. Then, after a beat, <...Maybe not the word I was looking for.>

Carrot smiled and continued, "According to our Canterlot contact–" Lyra coughed. "–he's likely to be intermingling with the crowd, thus avoiding any big commotions to try and subdue him."

asked Derpy.

"It's impossible to say, but that's the theory," answered Carrot Top. She watched Octavia play her cello and swayed gently to the rhythm of her band. "We need somepony to find him and get close to him. Discretely. See if they can, ah, loosen his lips a little."

asked Lyra.

Amethyst retorted.

finished Lyra.

Before Derpy could give her own angry reply, Carrot cut her off and responded with a devilish grin. "Actually," Carrot said, savoring every syllable of the word, "there's one last vital detail to that assignment."

said Lyra, her tone feigning apathy.

"Well, he was raised in Canterlot, you see," Carrot said, finishing her drink with gusto. "He kind of has a thing for unicorns."

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