Bon Bon opened the door and trotted in, Rainbow and Pinkie Pie following close behind. “I’m gonna sue you like you wouldn’t believe!” snapped Brick Layer, holding an ice pack to his head. Bon Bon grabbed his ice pack and tossed it aside. She pulled out a chair and dropped a folder on the table, not taking her eyes off of him the entire time.

Rainbow took a seat beside her, eyes half-lidded and uninterested. Pinkie slipped into the shadows behind him, chuckling to herself. “25,000 bits. A lot of money,” began Bon Bon as she opened the folder and removed a picture of an expensive wagon. “But you did buy this a few months ago, and you supposedly weren’t paid until what, yesterday?”

“Why do you care where I get my money from?”

“I care when you get involved with terrorists!” snapped Bon Bon.

Brick Layer sighed. “Look, I didn’t know what he was going to do, okay?”

Rainbow Dash laughed. “Please, bud. I’m already tired as it is, don’t put me to sleep.”

“What?”

“Come on, I’ve heard the ‘ol ‘I didn’t know he would do that!’ more times then you’d imagine. If you’re going to lie, at least give me something creative.”

Brick Layer bit his lip. “A while ago… this Short Fuse pony came to me. He said that he’d pay me if I would let him use my buildings for… something.”

“Something?” pressed Bon Bon.

“I don’t know what, I didn’t ask. He was a high paying client, okay?”

Rainbow snorted. “Yeah, he paid you so you wouldn’t ask questions. You want to know what we found in the warehouse listed under his name?’

“A bomb factory,” finished Bon Bon, pulling another photo out of the folder. “Do you know what that means for you, Mr. Layer?”

“Boom,” whispered Rainbow Dash, throwing up her hooves for emphasis. “It means you’re going down.”

Brick Layer glanced at them. “No! I didn’t do anything!” He slammed his hoof on the table. “Wait, I get a lawyer, right? I want a lawyer!”

“You’ll need one!” giggled a voice behind him. His ear twitched as he remembered that Pinkie was in the room. “It’s funny, Mr. Layer, that you say you didn’t do anything!” she leaned in close, whispering in his ear. “You let him make bombs in your building! I know I would never let somebody make a weapon in my kitchen, you know. Those things could explode, and someone could get hurt!”

Brick Layer stuttered, glancing at Bon Bon for help. The agent kept a blank face as Pinkie continued. “And I don’t like it when people get hurt. It’s no fun!” The pink pony giggled again. “What about you, Mr. Layer? Do you know what it’s like to get… hurt?”

“Get her away from me!” shouted Brick Layer.

“Sure,” said Bon Bon standing up. “I’ll go send for Agent Rarity. I hear you two are quite acquainted.”

“What?! No!”

“Come on, Dash, let’s go get coffee. Pinkie’s got this under control.” Rainbow nodded and the two trotted to the door.

“Wait, wait! I… I saw another pony!”

Bon Bon stopped and turned around. “Elaborate.”

“I… I went to the warehouse one day, looking for Short Fuse. I saw him talking with another pony.

Bon Bon threw the file on the desk and pulled out a photo of Border Line. “Him?”

“No, no! Someone else. He was a unicorn, white coat. They called him a number, uh, Two or something-”

Bon Bon’s eyes widened. “Twenty?”

“Yeah! Yeah, Twenty!” Bon Bon grabbed her folders and sped out of the room. Rainbow glanced at Pinkie and shrugged before following.

Bon Bon threw opened the door and entered the observation room. “Sparkle. He telling the truth?”

Twilight blinked. “Well, he didn’t give any obvious tells that he was lying, and-”

“Cut to the chase, will you?”

“No, I think he’s telling the truth. And based on multiple accounts and reports, I think the probability that Twenty is a unicorn is very likely.”

Bon Bon nodded. “Alright, Lock, come on, we’ve got to brief the director.” She turned and left the room.

“Well, now what?” grunted Rainbow.

Cover Story sighed, realizing that he was now the agent in charge. “Leave Brick here, someone will take him to the holding cell. Head back up to the squad room and see how far everyone else’s come.”

Rainbow and Pinkie nodded and left the room. “Um… Excuse me, Agent Story?”

“Call me Cove.”

“Ok… Cove, when you called Agent Bon Bon, she called herself ‘Heartland.’ Do you know why?”

Cover Story drew a deep breath. “Well… You have to understand, Bon Bon’s stayed with the Canterlot Division ever since she came. All the Guardians did. But for Bon, it was different. She was a great leader, but she didn’t hold much rank. She was a lead agent, not a SAC.”

“Special Agent in Charge, right?”

“Yeah. But she could have been. She got offers from offices all over Equestria. Manehattan, Las Pegasus, Stalliongrad, Manehattan, Fillydalphia, Baltimare… Even in field offices outside of Equestria. And she turned them all down.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. She said that this was her home, with the Guardians. She didn’t want to work with anyone else. That’s why we call her Heartland, because to her, this is the most important place in Equestria.” Cover Story blinked. “Why do you ask?”

Twilight shuffled her hooves. “Uh, just… curious.”

“Hm. I better go find Wire Tap before he kills someone. You better head back to the squad room.” As Cover Story left, Twilight glanced over at Brick Layer, who was slumped over in his chair. After a moment, she left the room.

The break room’s vending machine whirred and clanked before it spat out a metal can. Wire Tap bent over and picked it up, sighing to himself. His ear twitched as another pony entered the room. “Hey, Wire,” greeted Cover Story.

Wire Tap flopped down on a couch, laying his drink on the table. “Hey, Cove. What’s up?”

Cover Story sat in a couch across from him. “How you holding up?”

The pegasus gazed at the can in his hooves. “What do you mean?”

“Come on, Cove, we've worked together since Manehattan. You know what I mean.”

Wire Tap sighed. “What do you want me to say? I… I miss them, damn it. They were my friends…”

6 Years Ago

The mint green unicorn sat on the couch, a harp in her hooves. Her voice filled the break room, blending with the notes on her harp.

“And it breaks my heart
To be so left behind, at the start
When I always thought I’d be so much further,
So far away from here

Souls, on fire
But it feels so heavy,
But it feels so heavy….”

“Damn, Harper. You alright?” chuckled Wire Tap as he entered the room.

Lyra laughed and set the harp aside. “Never better, why do you ask?”

“Well, your song selection has me concerned.” Wire Tap went over to the machine and stuck several bits into the slot.

“Hey, Wire? You ever think of… I don’t know, change?”

“Huh?” The machine whirred and clanked, spitting out a can.

“I mean… Every day, an hour after lunch, you drink the same grape soda from the same machine.”

Wire Tap froze his hoof halfway to the can. “And… is that a problem?”

“No, not at all. It’s just… have you ever thought of doing things differently? Like, trying a new soda, or changing the scenery?”

The pegasus thought for a second. “Huh… No, I guess not.” He pulled the can out and tossed it in his hoof. “I don’t know, I could use a little repetition. You never know what to expect in a job like this, after all. Why the questions?”

Lyra sighed, eyeing her harp. “You hear that Bon was offered a position as SAC in Las Pegasus?”

“So? She gets an offer every month.”

“Yeah, and she turns them all down. She loves it here, she loves working here. But for me? I don’t think I can do that.”

Wire Tap frowned and sat on the couch opposite to her. “Lyra, what’s wrong?”

The unicorn sighed and rubbed her forehead. “I was offered a position in ESS.”

“Equestrian Secret Services?”

“Yeah. And… I don’t know if I should take it. I mean, I don’t expect to stay with the RDI all my life. I just don’t know if I should tell Bon, you know?”

“Lyra, if you really wanted that job… I don’t think there would ever be any doubt.”

“Are you saying I don’t want that job?”

“Deep down, maybe not. When ponies truly want something, they go and get it. And they don’t let anything stand in their way.”

Lyra nodded. “Yeah, yeah… I guess you’re right.” She cracked a smile. “Now, about that grape soda. Is it really that good?”

“Well-” Before Wire Tap could answer, the door to the break room opened and Bon Bon stuck her head in.

“Hey, gear up. We’ve got a homicide in the Royal Gardens.”

Wire Tap sighed and finished the rest of his drink before getting off his couch. He tossed the can into the waste bin, where it made a dull clunk before leaving the room.

Now

“After all these years…”

Cover Story looked up. “Huh?”

Wire Tap held up the can. “All these years I’ve been here, this is the only thing I’ve ever drunk from that machine.”

“Nothing wrong with that, Wire.”

“I know. It’s just… I like things to be the same, Cove. You know that. I like to know I’ll work with the same people every day, that I can trust them. That I’ll have the same drink for lunch. Now I have to work with 6 ponies I’ve never met in my life? How am I supposed to trust them?”

Cover Story reached out and lay a hoof on his withers. “Hey, it could be worse.”

“How?”

“You could be alone. But you’re not. You have me, Bon, and Lock. I don’t like it either, but we have to give them a chance. This job’s taught me that there’s a chance for good to show, you just have to let it.”

Wire Tap sighed and nodded. “Yeah… You’re right. Thanks, Cove.”

Cover Story smiled and nodded. “Anytime.” He got up and was about to leave when he froze. “Wire… Is grape soda really that good?”

Wire sipped from the can. “Nope, it’s downright terrible.”

“... Right.”

Author's Note

The song that Lyra sings is called 'Soul,' by EDEN (Formerly The Eden Project).