Life of Lyra

Chapters

Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 1
Chapter 6
Chapter 20 - Explicit Content

Chapter 2

"You don't act like a lot of mares I know."

Shining's question caused Lyra to raise an eyebrow. They were walking alone together toward Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns—Cadance had offered to show Joyce, Pinkie Pie, and Tufts around Canterlot, since Lyra had already had one tour.

Lyra didn't expect him to catch on so quickly. "That's part of the reason for all this." She walked slowly at Shining's side—the two not in any rush. "Normally, where I'm from, people are about—three times this tall. We stood on our two, back feet, had hands, and—"

Shining Armor was intrigued as to where Lyra was going with her story. "Minotaurs?"

"Huh. Something like that. Try a minotaur but without any of the bull in it. Anyway, I was a stallion." Lyra gave the words a few seconds to settle in before she continued. "Then a lot of magic went wild and got loose. A lot of craziness happened, and now I'm a unicorn mare."

"So you were a stallion, and not a pony at all?" His gait not faltering, Shining Armor nodded a few times. "I guess that's what it is. Wait! Back when you kept making all those odd comments about Cadance and me…?"

"I bit my lip. It's not exactly something I'm enthused about, but I'm getting used to it." Sighing, Lyra actually felt a weight shift from her shoulders. "So, anything else you want to ask me?"

Tapping his chin with an armored hoof, Shining Armor nodded. "Is Joyce really your sister?"

Thinking for a moment, Lyra nodded her head enthusiastically—she could see a gag based off the classic complement in the making. "Absolutely! She's my twin. Tufts is totally our brother. My whole family is completely—"

"Don't you dare say—"

"Batty!" To top off her joke, Lyra pulled a silly face.

Which is exactly how Cherry Fizzy saw Lyra Heartstrings for the first time. He was sitting at the front counter at the School for Gifted Unicorns, working the weekend shift. He was an earth pony with a light orange/brown coat and an almost black mane and tail. Watching as a young mare and a Royal Guard stallion entered, Cherry Fizzy took note that each seemed completely oblivious to where they entered. "Can I help you?"

Lyra's head snapped around to look at Cherry Fizzy. "Hi! My name's Lyra Heartstrings. Uh, I don't know how else to say it, but Princess Celestia gave me this." She held up the token.

"Another student!" Cherry Fizzy's special talent wasn't teaching, magic, or administration. He had a pair of cherries on his flank, and grew his own cherry trees at home. That's not to say he wasn't good at his job. "This is wonderful. Can I get you to fill out this form, and this form, and I'll need any certificates of study."

Delving into her saddlebags again, Lyra produced a little bound folder. She carefully pulled out one copy of the certificate Candela (her previous teacher and almost-mother) had given her. "There's this one."

Cherry Fizzy saw several other documents in the folder. "What are those ones? Are they important to this?"

Shaking her head, Lyra nonetheless offered Cherry to see her graduation certificates from Earth. "They're—they're from another world. Candela's a pony, but she was teaching a foreign syllabus. She said it would count for most of what I needed here. History—"

"History and magic will be your weak points. She takes good notes this… Candela." Cherry quickly ran the paperwork through a duplicating machine that buzzed with magic he didn't even care to understand. It worked, he didn't have to do things by hoof. "I'm sure Princess Celestia will work with you to create a course-load that will ensure you learn everything you need and want."

Lyra watched as Cherry Fizzy stamped a slip of paper and slid it across to her. "Thank you, uh…"

"Cherry Fizzy. Welcome to Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Do you need accommodation?"

"She will require room for herself and her siblings." Shining Armor cut in before Lyra could respond. "Princess Celestia herself sent me to ensure they have everything they need."

Cutting in, and sparing an apologetic smile to Shining, Lyra corrected. "Room for my mom and me. Oh, and a fox—uh—flying fox."

"Will this fox require their own bunk?" In Cherry's estimation, the fox in question was a pet, and it would hardly be the first pet in the dorm.

Lyra shook her head. "N-No."

"Then it's fine. We have our dormitory, which costs a standard two bits a night. Normally we would have two ponies to a dorm room—they have facilities for two—but pending Princess Celestia's approval I can free up a room for you and your mother, for two bits. The charge is per student, you see." Pulling more forms out, Cherry Fizz slid the important one across the counter.

"M-Mom will be attending school here—in Canterlot—too. She's going to learn medicine." Lyra didn't know why she was explaining everything, but it soothed her nerves. Normally she would have channeled it to humor, but she wanted to make a good impression before being kicked out.

While Lyra filled out the forms, Shining pondered the little lie Lyra had told him. He thought back to the moment, and realized it had been a joke. He relaxed a little after the revelation, finding Lyra a little more interesting still. He watched as she used her magic to hold a pencil to fill in the form.

Almost halfway through filling out the form, Lyra glanced at Shining. "You missed out."

"Missed out on what?" Shining mulled over the motives of the strangest pony he had ever met.

Sighing, Lyra half-smiled. "Well, I was going to get you to prank Mom and Tufts. Telling everypony she's my sister…"

"I can still do that, you know."

Lyra's head jerked up and around. Her magic almost broke the pencil in half on the page. "You would?!"

"The secret," Shining said, "is to tell Cadance in a way she thinks she is prizing it out of you. She's like a shark when it comes to gossip, but if it's freely given she will consider it worthless."

Putting the pencil back to work, Lyra pondered her options. "I was just going to let you get really confused, but now this brings greater fruit. Who are we going to prank, and what will be the payoff?"

Despite his status of being on duty, Shining Armor giggled. "We could hint to Cadance that Joyce was turned into a bat pony and got younger that way. That she was your older sister."

"Well, that's kinda how she got like this now, you know, being my mom and all. What about if we claim it was a curse by dragons?" Chatting away, Lyra worked to fill out the forms as quick as she could, while also being as accurate as possible.

"A curse would work. Oh! Why not have bat wings be the curse? So your mom is turning into a flying fox too!" Unable to stop giggling now, Shining Armor was quite excited to get the plan into effect. "Should it be contagious?"

For a moment Lyra was going to say yes, then she realized the kind of ostracism that could cause her mother. "Nah. We want confusing sympathy, not running and hiding. Otherwise, I think it's perfect."

Lyra finished off the last form and went back over them. "This says we need to pay for the room each day. Princess Celestia said we would be getting some bits, but I don't know when that is."

"Oh, right, not from Equestria. Everypony gets a standard of eight bits a day. Being one of her personal students, however, you're going to get a lot of things for free. You're sister will get the same payment, but she won't get any extra stuff unless her school provides it. We can go and arrange your money next, if you want?" Shining tried to explain everything as straightforward as he could. From his little sister he knew what the deal was with Celestia's school.

"That's kinda neat. So if I got a job to make a few extra bits…?" Lyra walked up to Cherry Fizzy and passed him the paperwork.

"I have no idea, but there's a lot of tax involved and stuff. You'd need to talk to somepony about that." Shining felt every clank of his armor as he stood up—he still wasn't completely used to it. "We can meet up with your sister again, and head there."

Cherry, having followed the somewhat confusing conversation enough to work out Lyra and Shining's plans, checked over the papers and nodded. "This is all done. I can give you a map to the dorm, and your room number."

Lyra took the map Cherry offered and put it in her saddle bag. "What about paying—"

"You're new, and I for one am not going to tell Princess Celestia that it was my fault you didn't have anywhere to stay for your first enrolled night. Besides, you pay at the end of each week." Cherry Fizzy gave the young mare the biggest smile he could. "Welcome to Canterlot."

Leaving the school building, Lyra and Shining trotted out to the main thoroughfare. To their right was a large tower, and then the huge city center. To the left was the rise of the castle grounds.

Shining pointed to their right. "If we head to the center, Cadance or your sister will probably see us."

"Practicing?" Lyra asked.

"Yeah. I'm not the best liar, and if I'm going to pull this off I need to be in the habit of calling her your sister." Shining couldn't help but spare a few glances at Lyra as they walked together. Most unicorn mares he saw lacked any definition, but Lyra seemed—for want of a better word—fit.

"So. You used to be a stallion?" With his mind circling the fact like a hungry timber wolf, Shining Armor couldn't stop himself from asking.

Lyra steeled herself against what she thought was going to be more stupid questions. "Yeah. It was really odd, changing that is. One day I'm a guy getting my cutie mark, then literally seconds later I am a mare."

"What? Really?"

"No. It took a few months to happen." The astonishment Shining Armor had shown her got a giggle from Lyra. "Plenty of time to do stupid things, too."

Shining Armor didn't reply at first. Instead of opening his mouth and demonstrating what an unthinking idiot would say, he thought about the situation. They were walking around the big tower in the middle of the road when he finally spoke. "If you don't want to talk about it, that's cool."

Stopping dead in her tracks, Lyra tilted her head a little while she looked at Shining Armor—he was a guy, but in her estimation he had just reached nice-guy status. "Likes my jokes and smart? If I liked guys, you'd be at the top of the list."

A tumble of facts hit Shining in the head at the same time, as if they were all balanced upon his horn and had tipped: he was attracted to Lyra, he got on well with her (so far), and she wasn't into him. The last bit stung a little, but it was a lesser sting to a young stallion's ego to find out a mare didn't like any males rather than just him.

"I like mares." Shining's voice threatened to break for the first time in months.

The two unicorns, staring at each other, started to giggle. They got halfway between the big spire and the city center before Lyra said, "Just buddies?"

"Yeah." Shining Armor felt the tension ease away completely.

But Cadance and you? Lyra almost asked. She kept her mouth closed, however, because she wanted to know a little more about the pair before accidentally giving either ideas.

The huge city center was bustling with ponies. There were market stalls everywhere except the very center—which was where Shining led Lyra. Neither heard the rush of wings until Joyce and Cadance hit the ground before Lyra and Shining. Joyce turned and waved toward the opposite direction of the school, leading Pinkie Pie to gallop up with her cart bouncing along behind her.

"There you are! We've been looking all over Canterlot!" Pinkie Pie rushed up and hugged Lyra Heartstrings. "Cadance and Joyce tried to find you, but—"

"I got through my enrollment at the school. They gave me directions for the dorm rooms. Apparently we might be able to share." As Lyra said the last, she turned to look at Joyce.

Joyce hadn't spent a lot of time just flying back in Cowwarr, but there was something about Equestria that made it easier and more fun. What was more, having somepony who just loved flying as much as Cadance did, flying with her, made it ten times better. Her wings didn't feel tired in the least. "That's great. Can we move in right away?"

Lyre nodded. "Sure. We could probably put all our stuff in and then go and have some lunch. I'm sure Pinkie would like a break from pulling the wagon."

Almost in shock, Shining Armor watched as Lyra Heartstrings unhooked Pinkie Pie from the wagon and slid between the arms herself. Most unicorns he knew wouldn't think to spell an earth pony who was (apparently) happy to pull a cart. He found himself liking Lyra's odd ways.

"What're you looking at?" Cadance had slid up beside Shining, coming up from his blind spot.

"She's an odd pony." The way Shining said it betrayed obvious interest in said odd pony. "Such a shame about her sisters." It was the best Shining Armor could manage.

Hearing something interesting not said, Cadance's eyes flicked to Joyce and Lyra. "What's a shame?" She kept her voice low—only for Shining's ears.

Shining was almost at the point of breaking and spilling everything when Joyce and Pinkie destroyed the privacy of the conversation.

Pulling forward, Lyra set the cart in motion with none of the ease with which Pinkie Pie seemed to manage it. As she caught up with her friends and family, they fell into step with her. "We need to go and work out about these bits Princess Celestia was talking about."

"What was that all about, anyway? I know back in Austr—back on Earth—students and unemployed got paid until they could find things to do or finish school. Is it like that here?" Joyce happily stretched out a wing to stroke a bit of Lyra's mane into place.

The walk to Princess Celestia's School dormitories took them back past the school itself, and then a sharp left just before ascending back to the castle grounds. They talked of boring things: food, the city itself, and even what schools they were going to.

They crossed a bridge of slow-flowing water, and walked into what seemed like its own little village within the city. There were young mares and stallions sitting around in a park, talking, while on the right there were shops and several large buildings with the uniform look of close-packed accommodation. Lyra double checked her map and nodded. "This is it."

With Lyra still hooked to the cart, Shining Armor took it as his duty to see things along. He walked up to the front door of the dormitory and lifted a hoof. Three loud knocks and the door jerked open.

"Oh! Royal Guard! My name's Candy Cane and I'm the manager of this residence, what can I help you with?" Candy Cane was an earth pony who had a pair of her namesake on each pale-yellow flank. Her long, flowing mane of light fuchsia.

"I'm escorting a new student and her family. Princess Celestia herself admitted her, and asked me to personally assist in seeing she and her kin were accommodated." Shining Armor stood proud and gestured behind him to Lyra, just as she was unhitching herself from the wagon.

Candy examined Lyra from a distance, then leaned in to privately whisper to Shining. "Are you sure she's a student? I don't think I've ever seen a student of Princess Celestia's School pulling a wagon before…"

"I escorted her to Princess Celestia myself, and from there to the School." Shining Armor felt compelled to defend Lyra, it was his special talent after all.

Raising one eyebrow at the quick defense, Candy Cane looked from Shining Armor to Lyra Heartstrings. Her face blossomed into a smile. "Lower your hackles. I'm just saying most of the layabouts we have wouldn't dream of pulling a wagon when there was an earth pony around to do it. Your fillyfriend's something special."

Lyra loved the changes to her hearing that being a pony brought. As Shining and Candy started chatting, her ears twitched and turned to hear the conversation. She quickly slipped from the cart and trotted over to Shining. "That's a lot of work, but I couldn't let Pinkie Pie pull it all day." She casually reached a leg over Shining's shoulders.

Shining Armor had been about to deny his involvement with Lyra, but the leg around him stunned Shining in place. "W-W-Wait!"

"I think it's lovely when two ponies find each other like that. Your room is ready, let me find you some keys and your coltfriend can give you a hoof getting everything settled." Candy Cane missed the shocked expressions on both Shining Armor and Cadance's faces. She turned and headed inside the building.

Managing to hold back her giggles until Candy had closed the door after her, Lyra promptly fell on the ground laughing. "Your face!" She pointed a hoof at Shining.

For a brief moment a torrent of anger had clouded Cadance's thoughts, but when she saw Lyra laughing it all made sense. A giggle broke from her mouth. She wasn't as taken with the gag as Lyra seemed to be, but she could definitely see the funny side of the joke.

But the anger had been an interesting thing for Cadance to consider. Did she care if Shining had a fillyfriend? she asked herself. Well, of course she did. He was her friend, and only the best would do for Shining Armor! Despite Lyra's kooky sense of humor and apparent skill with magic, Cadance threw away the idea of Shining and Lyra ever working.

"Lyra, quit the jokes and help us carry this stuff inside." Joyce had already grabbed her sleeping roost from the cart, and was walking toward the doors Candy Cane had entered.

Still giggling, Lyra got to her hooves and was happy to see not only Shining wearing a smile, but Cadance. "Sorry, I couldn't resist that. I'll tell her we're not a couple."

Shining fell in on one side of Lyra while Cadance took the other. Pinkie Pie, however, was already at the cart and fishing out some of the heavier things. "Hey Lyra, what do you want to go in first?" Pinkie held up Lyra's heavy backpack with all her clothes in it. "This one?"

"Thanks, Pinkie." Lyra advanced on the wagon with Shining and Cadance while Pinkie followed off after Joyce. "I really am sorry. If you don't want to hear my jokes, just tell me." She looked between her two new friends.

Waving a hoof dismissively, Cadance scoffed. "You and your sister are literally the most interesting people in this whole city. Like I'd tell you to stop being interesting. Besides, you brought up a good point."

"I did?" Lyra used her magic to lift her guitar out, then balanced her amplifier on her back.

"She did?" Shining Armor used his magic to levitate another bag of clothing.

"Yup!" Cadance ruffled her wings and puffed up importantly. "As the Princess of Love it is my duty to ensure you have a cute mare walking beside you, Shining Armor!"

Lyra Heartstrings came very close to dropping her precious guitar. She looked between Shining Armor and Princess Cadance: they were perfect for each other (in Lyra's estimation).

Cadance nodded, using her wing to grab Joyce's medical case from the cart. "Now, I don't want to offend, Lyra, but I don't think you'd get on well with Shining."

Getting a case of the giggles the same time he noticed Lyra getting one, Shining saw a future ahead of himself—married to Lyra. He would be a trophy husband, of course, while Lyra fetched up with every cute mare in town. He started laughing outright.

"Hey! I'm not that bad a catch!" Lyra poked at Shining's shoulder with a hoof. "I'm sure I'd make a great wife!"

"Am I missing something here?" Finally alerted to something being wrong, Cadance looked between the two unicorns with her.

Shining looked at Lyra with a questioning expression. "Can I tell her?"

"Tell me what?" Cadance looked at Lyra, as if expecting her to reveal she has been some kind of otherworldly monster.

It wasn't as easy as it could've been for Lyra to admit—she still carried some Earth prejudice. "I prefer mares."

Cadance's eyes narrowed to pinpricks. She studied Lyra Heartstrings in an entirely new light. Connections and pony names rattled through Cadance's brain like slot-machines in Las Pegasus. Sadly, no love hearts came up. It was like this whenever a single pony put themselves before her. "Well. Did you have your eye on anypony?" When Shining Armor giggled at her, Cadance bristled a little. "What?"

"Just remembering what she said about you." Lifting his hoof up, Shining Armor booped Cadance on the nose. "We should hurry up—I'm getting hungry."

"What did—?" Cadance cut off when Shining Armor trotted off with his load. She turned to Lyra. "What did you say about me?"

"I'd boop you on your nose, like Shining did, but that might be a thing only filly and coltfriends do. So I'll just tell you: I think you're cute." At the look of shock on Cadance's face, Lyra let loose a giggle and trotted after Shining Armor.

Watching the two go with unfocused eyes, Mi Amore Cadenza lifted one hoof up to brush her nose—right where Shining booped her. She blinked in realization. "I've really gotta find him a fillyfriend."

Joyce followed Candy into one of the suites. There was two beds, a big row of empty bookshelves down the middle, a desk for each side, and an attached bathroom. First thing was first, however. "I won't need a bed."

Candy Cane raised an eyebrow at the statement. "I thought you both needed a room?" She watched as Joyce set down what unfolded to look like a wooden stand with a beam at the top of it.

Making sure her perch was steady, Joyce turned around and jumped. With a smooth motion Joyce wrapped her tail around the perch and swung just once before she was steady. She looked up at Candy Cane with a toothy grin.

"Well that's somethin' I don't see every day. Why in Equestria do you do that?" Candy Cane looked at the odd setup, and tried to work out how Joyce's tail was secured.

Before Joyce could reply, Pinkie Pie walked into the room with a big backpack atop her and a flying fox atop that.

With a screech, Tufts attacked! He barely got a flap of his wings in before he had to adjust his angle to hit the perch tail-first. "There you are! We were looking all over for you." He let out another screech and nuzzled against Joyce's side.

Candy blinked in surprise at the strange creature. "Hello there. Sorry, but we haven't been introduced…"

"Sorry. Candy, this is Tufts, he's a flying fox. Tufts, this is Candy Cane." Joyce, fighting off her urge to sleep, introduced the pair with vague gestures.

"I'm pleased to meet you, Tufts. As for the bed, I'll have my daughter remove it the next chance she gets. You're okay for her to come in and do that?" Candy had given up on the matter of how many would be in the room—she made a note to contact the school.

"Well, we were going to go out and spend the day exploring the city, but—" Cutting herself off with a yawn, Joyce had to fight not to just pull a wing around and go to sleep.

"What my darling wife is trying to say is, that will be most acceptable, although she will be asleep in here for the afternoon." Tufts nuzzled again at Joyce's side, and earned one big wing curling about him for his effort. He was not upset about this.

Candy blinked in surprise. "You're married?"

Lyra entered the room just in time to hear Candy's question. She spotted her mother almost asleep and spared her a smile. "Where are we putting our things?"

Distracted from Joyce and Tufts, Candy Cane turned to see Lyra hauling in more things, and backed up behind Pinkie Pie. "Oh! Just pop them over there. If she's going to sleep the afternoon away, it will be better if my filly gets rid of the other bed."

Setting her load down carefully, Pinkie Pie slipped to the side of the room and sat down. Lyra, Joyce, and Tufts were all everyday things for her—friends—but the sheer number of ponies in Canterlot was a little overwhelming to her. She didn't know just how odd she was behaving until a pair of cyan legs wrapped around her neck in a hug. "Lyra?"

"You looked like you could use it. What's wrong?" Lyra drew back a little so that only one of her forelegs was around her friend.

"This's really different to our farm, or even Cowwarr. There's so many ponies here." Scuffing a hoof on the floor, Pinkie Pie tilted her head down and felt her mane unfrizz a little. "It's overwhelming."

Lyra let out a sigh, leaving the others to their own devices while she comforted Pinkie. "I had things go the other way. I grew up in a big city full of people who didn't know me, then I moved to a tiny town where everyone knew me before the first day was over. I wonder what we could do to help?"

Pinkie Pie giggled a little. "It's like one of those huge math problems. There's so much I don't know and can't work out." She tilted her head to the side and a wave of excitement poured through her. Pinkie's mane twanged and returned to maximum frizz. "It is a math problem. What did Miss Candela tell us to do with those?"

"Uh, 'Do this by tomorrow or I'm failing you'?"

Booping Lyra on the nose, Pinkie Pie shook her head. "No, silly. Solve the little bits first." She pulled her notepad back out. "I have all sorts of parties I need to throw just for you, but I think there's an important one for us first. A Welcome to Canterlot party!"

"There's a lot of ponies who might want to come. Can we handle that?" Lyra was too easily carried along with Pinkie's plan.

Overhearing the conversation, and believing in anything to relieve boredom, Cadance insinuated herself into Lyra and Pinkie's conversation. "I can help with that. I'm not in charge of anything yet, but I'm still a princess. When do you want the party to be?"

Lyra was used to Pinkie Pie's slightly strange ways, but when she reached nearly two ponylengths and pulled Cadance into the hug Lyra knew there was something a little odd going on. Unicorns have magic, so why not earth ponies? she thought.

"This is going to be great! The biggest party in Equestria!" Pinkie Pie squeezed her newest friend into a hug with her oldest.

It was evening, and Lyra looked down a long scroll of tasks with only the bottom one uncrossed.

Fetch Joyce and Tufts

"… which is how I managed to get drafted into being Cadance's lackey for the day. She knows everypony, Mom." Lyra was happy to see the second bed was missing, and moved her mother's things to that side of the room with her magic while she tried to find her bass guitar.

Joyce yawned and cracked an eye open. Then she unfolded her wings so she could actually see. "Okay. But why are you waking me up?" Stretching, she arched her back and scratched at the base of one ear with a wing.

"A party, Mom. Pinkie Pie threw a Welcome to Canterlot party, and somehow we managed to invite everypony in Canterlot. Cadance knows a lot of ponies, and when everypony else found out that there was going to be a princess at the party they just had to come." Finding her guitar, Lyra picked it and her amplifier up in her magic. "Come on!"

Swinging her head, Joyce landed on the floor as Lyra started trotting out. "Tufts? Are you coming?"

In answer Tufts pulled his wings tighter around himself and made the soft sounds of a snoozing bat.

"Oh well." Joyce traced Lyra's clopping hooves all the way outside and found her daughter waiting. "So how'd this party happen again?"

"Pinkie Pie was sad that she couldn't work out how to really begin plying her special talent, and I said something that gave her the idea of throwing a party for us—a Welcome to Canterlot party—and then Cadance volunteered to help get things together for it, and I helped her, but she arranged for about half of Canterlot to come. That half invited the rest." Lyra was panting by the time she got everything out. She gestured to her guitar. "And this is because Shining Armor said I couldn't get a guitar to go so low as to rattle his hooves."

"So you're going to show off?" There was no heat to Joyce's accusation. The feeling in the air was anticipation, and for someone part bat that made her itch to fly. "So, how are we going to show off more?"

"That's a simple one. I'll play something that has a rising crescendo, and you dive down at the right moment as I hit the big note. Then I'll tame the wicked beast with music!" Lyra had her guitar out, and was already trying to tune it as she walked.

Joyce groaned. "I'm the big bad beast? You know that won't work as well as you think. What if ponies actually get scared and run?"

"Oh…" Lyra Heartstrings tapped her chin. "Well. Still do the dive—it'll be really cool. And I can introduce you to everypony."

Shrugging, Joyce figured they could work something out. As they neared the center of Canterlot, she could feel an energy in the air—happy voices raised, excitement, a lot of ponies having a great time. "I'll see you for the right moment. Don't make me wait too long."

"Don't sweat it. I'll having him bouncing in no time." Lyra broke into a canter as Joyce took to the air. She had to slow down as she broke into the crowd of ponies. Her target, of course, was the middle.

Music started playing from the middle of the huge city center. Joyce could make out some big speakers and ponies singing into microphones. She smiled and waited for her daughter to make her appearance on the impromptu stage.

"There you are! Somepony brought their speakers, and then somepony challenged another to a singing contest." Princess Cadance rushed up to Lyra and gestured to the stage that had been put together quickly. "I told them a friend was coming. What's that?" She pointed a hoof at Lyra's guitar.

"You really haven't seen a bass before? Okay, this is going to be fun. A bass guitar is the warm butter sliding over pancakes. It is a bubble bath with at least five times more bubbles than you should have. It's going to make Shining weak at the knees." Lyra walked with Cadance, and she could appreciate the singing for the untrained voices they were.

Cadance was skeptical. "So it's a guitar? What's with all the strings?" She reached a hoof out to gently touch the strings, but no noise came from them. "It's not very loud." Lyra's sudden giggles made Cadance lift an eyebrow.

As the singers finished their "battle" with a sweet duet, Lyra stepped up on the stage. A quick check revealed the audio jacks for the mics to not be the right size for her guitar. She shrugged and set the little amplifier down and angled a mic toward it.

Cadance stared as Lyra stood up on her back hooves and cradled the long-necked guitar to her with her forelegs.

"Ahem. This song's normally got lyrics to it, but a friend,"—Lyra waited for Shining's shout to die down to continue—"said I couldn't make his hooves wobble. This is called, 'My Name is Mud.'" The bass rhythm was one of Lyra's favorites, and she knew it off by heart.

Closing her eyes, Lyra mouthed the name of the song again, and started playing. Using every inch of the long neck of her six-string, fretless bass. No pick was needed for the deep rumble and strum-slap sound.

The sound that came from the big speakers could be felt more than heard. It rolled over the crowd and earned nearly a minute of stunned silence. Then they exploded into dancing. Lyra was too into the music to notice more than a crowd loving what she was doing. But she had a job to do, and started to ad-lib and bring the speed up.

Shining Armor, in all his years, had never danced. It was a family tradition to not dance. His father hadn't danced. His mother hadn't danced. His sister's not-dancing was awesome to behold. But with Lyra Heartstrings' music washing around him and causing everypony else to dance he started to move.

Much more used to dancing than Shining, Cadance moved easily to the music. Lyra hadn't lied to her, the deep notes guided her body and guided her like a dance partner would. But the music got faster, building up to a fever pitch before a huge thump hit the stage. Jerking her head toward the former source of the music, Cadance blinked. "Joyce?"

"Everypony!" Lyra pulled the mic over to be between her and Joyce, and was pleased it suffered none of the problems her guitar amp did with magic. "Put your hooves together for the first bat pony ever in Canterlot!"

To answer the cheers, Joyce spread her wings and heard a loud thumping of hooves against the ground. She realized it was pony applause. She was about to say something when all her words just fled. She froze and stared at her daughter.

Seeing the sudden worry on her mother's face, Lyra grabbed the mic again. "So what do you want next: music or a joke?"

"A joke! A joke!" Pinkie Pie had to climb up to Shining Armor's back to be seen over the crowd. "Tell a good joke!" The crowd quickly picked up Pinkie's enthusiasm.

A million jokes ran through Joyce's head, but none seemed to actually want to come out. She looked to Lyra and saw her mouth a word. "Argument?" she asked, softly. When Lyra nodded and waggled her eyes, Joyce caught on and moved closer to the microphone. "Is this the right place for an argument?"

"I told you once…" Lyra rolled her eyes at the crowd, earning a few giggles.

Joyce only knew this joke so well because her daughter had played it so… many… times. "No you haven't."

"Yes I have." Lyra had the right tone, condescending and ever suffering.

"When?" Joyce looked around, even raising a hoof and peering under it.

Lyra pointed vehemently at the floor. "Just now!"

The crowd stared at Lyra and Joyce as they continued, right until the point Lyra stopped. "Oh. I'm sorry. Is this a five minute argument, or the full half hour?" The entirety of their encounter suddenly fell into place, and a loud stomping accompanied many laughs from the crowd.

"Just the five minutes. Thanks." The laughter of the crowd buoyed Joyce onward as she and Lyra launched into another rapid-fire back and forth of "arguing."

By the time they were done with the skit (or as best they could off the top of their heads) Lyra and Joyce were practically buzzing with excitement. They each took a bow and let the next ponies up to perform.

"That was amazing! You really can play! What is that thing?" Shining Armor was intrigued at the guitar with a longer neck than any he'd seen before.

Joyce left Lyra and Shining to talk about guitars and approached Cadance and Pinkie Pie. It didn't take a critical eye to see they got along well. "That was fun!" Even as she said it, Joyce realized she sounded like the teen she looked like.

"You look like you just ate a lemon. What's wrong?" Cadance asked, flanking Pinkie Pie with her concern for Joyce.

"I don't really look it, but I'm actually almost thirty-five. The magic transformation thing that hit us seems to make everyone revert back to late teenager. I guess I just wasn't expecting to feel like a teenager too." Joyce wasn't expecting to be hugged by an alicorn, but when it happened she realized she needed it.

"I've got this from the other way. Because I'm an alicorn, everypony expects me to be some wise princess who speaks with hundreds of years of experience. The only friend I've managed to make so far is a nerdy stallion who barely notices my horn." Squeezing Joyce, Cadance realized it made her feel better just for finding somepony with a similar situation to her own. "Wait a second. How old is Lyra?"

"My daughter? Lyra's eightee—" Joyce didn't get any further.

"What?! Daughter?!" Cadance glared in the direction of Shining and Lyra. "Those— They were going to—" An angry whinny left Cadance's mouth.

"Oh no. Lyra making jokes, whatever will we do?" Looking Cadance in the eyes, Joyce raised an eyebrow.

It wasn't that Cadance's rage evaporated, it just found a channel to travel down. Her angry expression swapped to excited. "We prank her back?"

Joyce nodded and glared at her own daughter's back. "Both of them. I bet she has Shining in on it. So what do we do?"

"It can't be too big. I might be an alicorn, but Princess Celestia would still not like it if I freaked out all of Canterlot." Cadance finally and fully let go of Joyce to tap her chin. "Wait, that's it!"

Joyce's face lit up when Cadance started whispering her plan. She began to nod along with each point Cadance made.

With the party over, Lyra and Joyce began walking to their new home. The almost frenzied fun of the evening had left mother and daughter too weary to do much else than walk, but the same was not so for Pinkie Pie.

Bouncing along at her friends' side, Pinkie hadn't been drained by the afternoon of preparations or the party itself—both activities had only left her more excited. "It was so awesome! I got to make the biggest party ever! And then Cadance said I could help with her wedding one day! Do you think her and Shining are going to get married?! I think they will! They don't seem to realize how awesome they are together! Why am I shouting?! I'm so excited!" Pinkie Pie continued a stream of unfiltered consciousness until they reached the entrance to Canterlot Castle.

"Are you sure Cadance said it would be okay to stay up there?" Joyce asked. She'd heard Cadance make the offer herself, but wanted to make sure Pinkie Pie knew what was happening.

Nodding, Pinkie giggled. "Of course. She said we could play board games until late!" With that she began to pronk her way up the ramp to the castle.

"I still can't get over actually living in a magical kingdom full of unicorns and pegasi and—well—magical kingdoms." Joyce turned in a circle, gesturing with her wings at everything around them. "Robin would love this."

"She will love this, Mom. I doubt she'll turn down coming to at least visit." Sparing a smile for her mother, Lyra plodded along. They both chatted about inconsequential things until they reached the dormitory.

Joyce pushed the door open, only to find Tufts trotting along beside Candy Cane. "Hello there. Sorry we're late coming back."

Candy clucked her tongue and shook her head. "Oh don't worry about that. When there's a big party in the city, I can hardly hold anypony back from having fun. Tufts here kept me company."

"I could not leave such a lovely lady all alone." Tufts took two bounding jumps and then spread and flapped his wings once. Landing on Joyce's back, he practically curled up between her wings. "But I'll always be yours."

Lyra rolled her eyes. "Great. My dad has a better run with mares than I do."

Biting her tongue for a few moments, Candy Cane couldn't hold back her giggles, and was happy that Joyce joined in.

"Ugh!" Lyra tried not to stomp her hooves as she made her way upstairs to her bed. With her final destination for the evening in sight, she felt sleep attacking her from all sides. Barely making it into her bed, Lyra was asleep the second her head hit the pillow.

Author's Note

"No one asked a question? Typical. Well, I'll answer one question that many of you will be asking." Tufts ruffled his wings and nipped at one claw-tip. "Yes. I like mangoes."

So I do this "Ask X" thing. X can be any pony within the story. You can ask them anything and they will definitely, hopefully reply. Keep the questions appropriate to the age-rating of the stories, and they will answer the best question in the author notes of the next chapter. The more votes a comment has the more likely I will get it to the right pony to answer. Try to keep it to one question per post! They will pick one question per chapter.

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Awesome ponies who are already helping to keep me in keyboards and rum:
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Chapter 3 [[ A Lyra Perspective ]]

A gentle chiming sound grew louder and louder, eventually culminating in it bursting through my dream and shaking me awake. As a human I would have flailed around with my arms searching for the source of the noise and probably doing some damage. As a pony I had hooves.

Lacking any success in locating the source of my early morning annoyance, I actually opened my eyes. As usual, there was a cyan lump between my eyes. Blinking a few times, I focused out a bit further and lost sight of my snout. The room was a little blurry still, but the insistent chiming wasn't something I could ignore.

"Michael? What's that noise?" Mom sounded just as annoyed as I did, only she still had her wings folded around her head.

"Demon alarm clock from hell? I don't—" I was rummaging around in my noisy backpack until I found it. "The token is an alarm clock? Okay, kinda cool, kinda annoying." I poked the thing with my hoof and silenced it at last.

"What was that?" Mom asked, stretched her wings out and giving them a few flaps in the cramped room.

I was already fumbling for the few cosmetics I'd brought with me, and rolled from the bed to stand up and stretch. "Apparently this token is also an alarm clock. Sorry about waking you up."

Mom made a soft screeching sound and dropped lightly to the floor under her perch. "Sorry about the name."

My ears perked, and it took a moment to remember what she meant. Michael—Michael Robertson. I was now Lyra Heartstrings, because Michael definitely wasn't a mare's name. I liked it; it suited me. "Really, Mom, it's fine. I don't mind if you slip now and then. Dibs on the shower."

A bath would have been preferable, but I didn't want to be late for school. So a quick shower later, and some time spent brushing my mane, tail, and coat, and I was ready for my first day. I found my saddle bags, tossed my token, and a few bits from the allowance we'd gotten the previous afternoon.

I walked over to the bat perch. "Catchya Tufts." I leaned up and tilted my cheek just right to get a bat snout pressed to it.

"Don't take over the world, and don't anger any gods." Tufts, having invested me with two pieces of wisdom, folded his wings around his head again.

"Mom!" I called, poking my head back into the bathroom. "I'm heading out. I'll catchya later on."

"No worries Lyra."

I don't know why, but I was reminded of the high school I'd attended before we moved to Cowwarr (the tiny town that ended up being the center of Australia's conversion to Batstralia). Walking out of our room, I looked around and spotted some other yawning unicorns all walking toward the stairs.

"You're new. Just starting?" The feminine voice pulled my attention to one such unicorn. With two-tone blue and gray hair, on a lighter blue fur, she looked a little younger than me.

I nodded and fell in beside her. "Yeah. Finished school at a more—uh—remote place, and Princess Celestia promised me a place her—"

"You got a token directly from Princess Celestia? Like, she gave you one?" Blue (it's what I'd call her until I could find out her name) looked super excited. "I have a class with her, and she seems really nice and all, but it's always about learning. What's she like… uh…"

"Hi!" I said. "My name's Lyra Heartstrings."

"I'm Minuette. Anyway, what's Princess Celestia like—like—when she's not teaching?" Minuette asked.

"Smart, scary, smart, really nice, smart, and did I mention smart?" I waggled my eyes to Minuette until she giggled.

We reached the bottom of the stairs, and Minuette led the way to a large commons room. Against one wall Candy Cane and another mare were dispensing breakfast.

"Come on. It's usually just a few pieces of fruit for breakfast, but it's still good. It'll cost you a bit." Minuette led the way and passed over a golden coin to the creame-colored mare that wasn't Candy.

While I fished around for my own allowance, I heard Minuette thank the mare and move on. I turned with a coin in my magic. "Hi there!"

Taken aback by being addressed directly, the young mare raised her eyebrows at me. "Uh, hi! Apple and pear okay?"

"Sure! Thanks." I took my two pieces of fruit and followed Minuette for the door. "I bet my mom and dad are going to love this."

Minuette opened the door and held it for me. "What do you mean?"

I slipped outside into the bright morning and let out a little whinny of excitement I didn't know I had in me. "Oh, you'll meet them eventually. They're staying in my room."

"Is that against the rules?" Minuette asked, bouncing along at my side.

"Princess Celestia told one of her Royal Guards to come down and make sure it was okay. Candy Cane said it was all fine, and she knows all about it." I don't know why I felt a little defensive about it. Maybe I was just feeling a little odd after walking between worlds! That still sounds really impressive just in my head.

Minuette shrugged at my answer. "I guess it's all okay, then. Do you know what classes you are taking?"

"I only got here yesterday. This is all a huge rush." We rounded the corner onto the main road that led from the city center to the castle (right past the school) and entered the busy thoroughfare. "What sort of classes are there?"

"Lots and lots of magic classes. No matter what you want to do, if it's magical, there's a class for it. But we all have to take history and math. Oh! And we have to do geography and science. What do you want to study?" Minuette asked.

The road was moving slowly, something ahead causing everypony to practically crawl along at a snail's pace.

"I don't know yet. I was hoping somepony might be able to help me with that." Then I saw what had the road so slow: Princess Celestia was standing at the front gate of the school, looking around and smiling at all the ponies—but she was definitely looking for someone. "Does she wait out front every day?"

"What?" Minuette looked ahead and her eyes widened. "N-N-No. She's normally inside when— She's coming this way!"

We froze in place as Princess Celestia, wearing a warm smile, walked right up to us.

"Hello Lyra, Minuette." Celestia turned her focus to Minuette. "It's good of you to show our newest student to class." Then she turned to me. "Did you and Joyce find everything?"

I nodded. "We did! Some friends threw us a little party last night, and everything's so amazing. But, I'm really looking forward to learning all about magic!" When Princess Celestia smiled at that, it was like the whole world smiled.

"That's wonderful to hear. We should head inside, so we can get started right away." It was a not-so-subtle hint. Princess Celestia turned and walked beside us. "It's not every day we have ponies arrive from another world."

Minuette gasped and froze in place. "You're from another world? There's ponies there?"

"There wasn't at the start, but things happened and now there are a lot of bat ponies," I said. Since I kept walking with Princess Celestia, Minuette had to trot faster to catch up.

"What's a bat pony?" Minuette asked.

Princess Celestia laughed. "Part of today's topic."

"My first day of school is going to be learning about bat ponies?" We entered the school itself, and since I hadn't been told otherwise, followed along at Princess Celestia's side.

"No. We will be learning about all ponies." Princess Celestia led the way into a room where a bunch of ponies, all younger than me, were waiting at their desks.

I looked around the room. There was Minuette taking her own seat; a bright yellow filly with a cerulean mane; two cream-colored fillies, one with a pink mane and the other with a three-color red/purple/mauve mane; and the last was the youngest of all: a little purple filly that looked like she only just got her cutie mark. There was a few empty desks, but one at the front was free—and I didn't want to miss a second of what Princess Celestia taught.

Princess Celestia cleared her throat—which seemed entirely to get my attention rather than the rest of the silent room. "Good morning everypony. As you can see, we have another new student. Lyra, please come up to the front, so we can introduce everypony."

Instead of slinking to my desk, I walked to the front of the class. When Princess Celestia gestured to me with a wingtip, I realized she expected me to introduce myself. "Uh, hello! My name's Lyra Heartstrings. I used to be called Michael Robertson, and was a mostly hairless biped living in another world." I snuck a quick look to the princess, who was all smiles. Apparently I was doing things correctly. "We had magic leak in, which—"

The little purple filly (I'm going to call her Purplesmart, on account of her color and that anypony so young in an advanced class would have to be clever) raised a hoof.

"Twilight Sparkle, please wait until after Lyra is done before asking questions," Princess Celestia said. "Please, continue."

"Magic leaked into our world and started turning everyone into ponies. It was slow, but while everyone else was slowly changing, I visited some friends in Equestria and got,"—turning slightly, I made sure everypony could see my flank—"my cutie mark. That seemed to mean that I got to be an Equestrian pony, rather than a bat pony."

Every pony in the room suddenly threw their right forehooves into the air. I couldn't help but giggle.

"Before questions, let's all introduce ourselves. Twilight, why don't you start?" Princess Celestia asked.

"Hi, my name's Twilight Sparkle. When you said 'leak in' you mean Equestrian magic leaked in overlaying your world's magic, right?" Twilight's introduction was as short as her question was expansive.

"There wasn't any magic in that world before Equestrian magic leaked in," I said.

Gasps ran around the room, and now the fillies were straining to raise their hooves the highest—Twilight had hers back up again.

"Your world seems popular. Okay everypony, introduce yourselves and you have one question, then we will start class." Princess Celestia gestured to Minuette with her wing.

"Hello Lyra. My name's Minuette. When you got your cutie mark, what were you doing?"

An exasperated little sigh went through the room that Minuette's question wasn't whatever each of the sighers wanted to ask.

"It was odd. Candela—she was my teacher—said that cutie marks usually come when doing something related to it. I was standing in a field with a friend when a wave of light poured across the sky. We both got our cutie marks at that moment." I took the initiative and gestured to the pink-maned filly.

"Hi Lyra, my name's Twinkleshine," she said, tilting her head into a little nod. "When you said there was no magic, what did you use to do—well—anything?"

"Uh." Her question was a great one, the best yet as far as I was concerned. "We had a lot of machines—way more than you use here. If you want to go somewhere, we had machines like your own personal little train."

"But what about cooking?" she asked.

"Machines."

"How do you lift really heavy things?"

"Really big machines. There's no magic at all there—well, there wasn't." I shrugged and moved on, pointing to the other cream-coated filly with one of my hooves. "Hi!"

"H-Hello, my name's Moon Dancer." She seemed to think for a few moments before a shy little smile pulled at her cheeks. "What's your favorite book?"

I hadn't been ready for the question. She could have asked me about religion and war and I wouldn't have been derailed so easily. "Special Little Unicorn. My teacher used it to teach me how to read Equish. I learned that book backwards before I became a unicorn."

Moon Dancer looked at me like I'd just stomped on a puppy, but Twilight's eyes widened with surprise and excitement.

"My name's Lemon Hearts. What's a bat pony?"

"My mom and my sister are bat ponies. Mom's the only one in Equestria right now, but I think Dream Thunder might allow some others through if they're friends." I looked to Princess Celestia, and she smiled and nodded what I took to be approval. "Their fur is almost always darker shades, gray, brown, black, and dark red. They have huge wings—almost double the size of a pegasus'."

"Double their surface area or double their length?" Lemon Hearts asked.

"Double their length. The membrane attaches just above their cutie mark, and stretches out huge. We think that is because there was no magic on our world, so their wings had to grow to carry them without it." I looked back to Twilight, who still had her hoof up.

"Do bat ponies have cutie marks?" Twilight asked.

I nodded. "Mom—that's Joyce—and Robin, my sister, both have cutie marks. The strange thing is Dream Thunder. She was a filly without a cutie mark when we first met, but she got a cutie mark in Batstralia. Uh, Batstralia is what we call part of that world. Anyway, after she got her cutie mark, she turned into a bat pony from a pegasus."

Despite the earlier distaste for my book choice, Moon Dancer raised her hoof. "Would that turn any foal without a cutie mark into a bat pony?" she asked.

"I guess." I looked at Princess Celestia, and she looked just as serene and calm as she did when she stood in the street to welcome me to school. "It was probably her destiny to go to our world and become a bat pony. She certainly enjoys it."

"That is a very good point, Lyra." Princess Celestia looked around the room at the other fillies. "We have talked about these topics before—cutie mark magic—but I don't think anything challenges our notions quite as much as what happened to Dream Thunder. May I ask what her special talent is?"

"Dream magic and booping," I said.

"Booping?" Princess Celestia asked.

My hoof itched, it ached. It was the perfect opening and when else would I get the excuse to boop Princess Celestia on the snout? "Could I have somepony to demonstrate, please?" I asked, looking at the other students.

Minuette rushed out of her seat and up to where I was standing.

"Now, the way Dream does it causes some kind of attunement, but a boop is performed like this." L lifted my forehoof—that everypony was watching—and pressed it forward gently and booped Minuette on her nose. "Boop."

Beside me, Princess Celestia broke into giggles first, then the whole class followed suit. Everypony turned to somepony else and delivered boops. If nothing else had proved how adorably cute ponies were, this was going to be it.

"Lyra?" Princess Celestia asked.

"Ye—" I turned as I spoke, only to get a large white hoof pressed against my snout.

"Boop." Princess Celestia looked like nothing more than a filly herself. She had all the students come to the front to get booped before she sent us all (including me) to our seats. "Now we know a little more about bat ponies. Let's move on to earth ponies next."

Earth ponies took up the remainder of the morning. We learned not only about all the largest families of earth pony in Equestria, but also about the various traits and abilities some earth ponies possessed. The last part of the morning had us learning of common cutie marks for earth ponies.

If I was back on Earth, and some cool kid at a new school asked me if I liked classes, I would have just grunted and shrugged—showing you were smart in Australia wasn't the best idea. But in Equestria I got to be excited to learn, raise my hoof enthusiastically to ask or answer a question, and best of all it was encouraged!

I barely noticed class had finished. Princess Celestia had wished us good day and left, and I was still writing down my own thoughts on the lesson. This class would have had a name like sociology back in Australia, and would have been delivered so dry that all the attending students would have died of boredom.

"Hey book worms, you coming to lunch?" Minuette asked.

From my peripheral vision I just noticed Twilight jerking her head up from her writing as well. "Sure," I said, put my book in my saddle bags and jumped from my chair. Turning, I looked at the younger filly—she reminded me of Robin. "You coming too?"

Twilight had already bent her head back down to her book, but lifted it again when I addressed her. "Um, I still have some more notes to write down."

"That's cool, we can wait for you. Can't we, Minuette?" I looked from Twilight's surprised expression to Minuette's anxious one.

"Uh, sure!" Minuette said.

Twilight's horn almost fizzed with fury as she began writing as fast as she could. She even poked her tongue out one side of her mouth in quite possibly the most adorable expression ever. Panting when she was done, she put her pencil down and turned toward us. "Okay. All done."

We walked together, homing in on the loudest noise in the school: the lunch room. On the plus side, there was no line to get food. The downside was all the "good stuff" was apparently already gone—at least according to Minuette.

I paid over a bit and got an apple and what smelled like vegetable stew. "This looks and smells delicious. I don't know what you meant by all the good stuff being gone, Minuette." I focused on holding the tray with my magic, and walked along to a table that held the rest of our classmates.

"There they are." Princess Celestia's voice cut through the conversations and eating sounds like a hot knife through butter. "Oh please, everypony, continue eating." She walked over to our table and looked at me, then to Twilight (who was seated beside me). "Lyra is going to need some tutoring. Twilight, you know the foundations of magic well, could you help Lyra get up to speed on those?"

Twilight stared at Princess Celestia for a moment, then her head snapped around to me. There was a look of absolute innocence to Twilight's eyes. Then she turned back to Princess Celestia. "Yes, Princess Celestia."

"I knew you'd be just the pony for the job." Princess Celestia's praise seemed ambrosia to Twilight—I got warm and fuzzies just being there. "I have another tutor to help you with the more mundane Equestria classes. Now you'll both need to excuse me, I have a country to run." She winked and left the room with a sea of smiles in her wake.

"She's pretty amazing." I watched as the last of the princess' tail disappeared from sight.

"Mmhmm!" Twilight finally looked at what was on her tray and, with apparent surprise to find food there, started eating.

Floating my spoon in my magic, I started devouring the stew. It was rich and heavy, more like a dinner meal than what I'd normally have for lunch. "So, teach, what're we working on first?"

"Princess Celestia said to teach you the foundations of magic. So we'll start at the start," Twilight said.

I didn't want to argue. Princess Celestia had chosen Twilight to help me, I had to trust that a princess would know what she's doing. Both of us focused on our food, and the moment we each finished the apples we'd gotten the admission chip let out a brief buzz.

"This thing is pretty neat. It works as an alarm clock and school bell, huh?" I asked, already figuring out what the buzzing meant since every other student was standing up and filing out of the cafeteria.

Twilight just nodded to me, stood up, and almost instantly merged with the crowd of other students.

"Wait I…" With no idea what to do or where to go next, I stood up and walked to the door. Looking left and right, I saw no sign of any of my classmates. Old worries crept up on me. I was never what you'd call studious, until I was in Candela's class.

"Lyra Heartstrings?" a feminine voice asked.

My ears perked to the side, and my head quickly swung to follow. An older mare—her mane and tail gone gray—raised an eyebrow at me. "Y-Yes?"

"Come on. You're holding up class." She didn't say anything further; simply turned and started walking.

The world brightened again. I took off after the mare at a fast trot. "Sorry. I'm kinda new here—"

"And nopony thought to show you where you had to go?" She tsked a few times. "I'm your geography teacher, Inkwell. You can call me Professor Inkwell."

"Well, I was having lunch with a few classmates, and then when our tokens went off they all got up and seemed to scatter. Aren't there class schedules with where we need to be on them?" I kept up with the mare, taking careful note that her name was exactly the same as her cutie mark—not that I was any different.

"There you have the crux of the matter. You should have one of those, but being a mid-year admission you have missed out on a lot of the regular orientation. Head to admin at the end of the day and get that rectified." Inkwell turned sharply and opened the classroom door. "In you go. Find a seat and let me get started."

Inkwell seemed to be a very no-nonsense pony. No sooner was I parked behind a desk than she started. "We have a new student today, class. Lyra Heartstrings, can you tell us where you're from?"

I wondered for a moment if I should say Cowwarr or Stonecrop. When Inkwell gave me a glare, I quickly blurted my answer. "Cowwarr, ma'am."

"Never heard of it. Well, nopony's perfect. That's why there's a spell for that." Turning to a globe, Inkwell zapped it with her horn. "Well that's odd. Where's that town near?" She turned her attention back to me.

"Uh. Stonecrop?" The moment I spoke the globe spun to and stopped on what I knew to be the content of Equestria. A little red light flickered to life.

"Ah! Stonecrop I know. Let's look at the statistics for Stonecrop. A rural area known for its rocks, crystals, and rich clay, Stonecrop is close enough to the heart of Equestria not to worry about external threats, but far enough from everything as to go mostly ignored. Now, turn your books,"—as she spoke, Professor Inkwell floated a geography textbook to my desk—"to page eighty-seven."

I didn't know any of the other ponies in this class. All the other students looked to be around Twilight's age or younger—not that that bothered me. I was a beginner at some of these topics, and that meant I had to start at the beginning.

So we learned about Stonecrop, about the various "rock" farms of the area, and the rare clay that was home to that town. Then Professor Inkwell moved on to another town (Rockford) that dealt in the exact same things, and showed us why each had their place in the grand scheme of Equestria. Rocks and mud had never been so fascinating as learning that the crystal geodes that the Pies grew were some of the most magic absorbing substances in the world.

"Okay, everypony. On to your next class." Professor Inkwell smiled at around the room, but when her gaze fell upon me she clucked her tongue. "Lyra. Please wait after class." She waited for all the other students to leave and closed the door. "You get to do a math test."

I groaned out loud. Only a few weeks had passed since my final exams in Cowwarr, and I hated the idea of needing to do more testing so soon. But, that wasn't how a pony took life. I straightened up in my seat and smiled. "What about my next class?"

"Math is your next class. You have three levels you could study in, and this test will tell us where you need to be. Here." Professor Inkwell floated a sheaf of papers to me. "Answer what you can. We have all afternoon."

Oh boy, my favorite subject. I only passed year twelve math because Rose had tutored me. The questions weren't easy, and some I had no idea on. If a number's imaginary, how does that even work? On the whole, I think I completed about a third of the questions by the time my token buzzed again.

"Do you want more time to work on those, or would you rather I ask my question now?" Professor Inkwell asked.

"Question?" I put the pages in order, there wasn't anything further I understood. "I'm done, so I guess you should ask it."

"Where is Cowwarr?"

I grinned and leaned back in my chair. "A far off land, in another world. The sprawling metropolis known to the locals as Cowwarr is a mighty…" I wasn't selling it hard enough, and was spinning the lie too hard. "It's a little town in another world that Equestrian magic leaked into. It merged with Stonecrop, and they're both a little messed up but together, linking the worlds."

"I liked the first one better. Princess Celestia knows about this? This is the sort of kerfuffle she likes to be on top of." As she gathered up my papers, Professor Inkwell started flicking through them. "Better than I'd hoped, but missing a few things that's going to make your magic class tougher. You have a tutor?"

"Princess Celestia said one would be—" I was cut off by the door swinging open.

Cadance strode in and froze at the sight of Inkwell. "S-Sorry! I needed to speak to Lyra…"

Professor Inkwell shook her head. "Yer not one of my little fillies anymore, Mi Amore Cadenza."

The expansive name surprised me, and the look on Cadance's face could have gotten her in a lot of trouble—if looks could kill, that is.

"No, Miss Inkwell, which is why I can get annoyed at you for calling me that. I'm here to let Lyra know that I'll be tutoring her for any non-magical classes she needs help with." Cadance turned her head toward me and smiled.

"Thank Celestia. If she had to rely on you teaching her magic, she'd be better off using that horn of hers to spear papers." Professor Inkwell turned her full attention to my test, and after a moment later said (without looking up), "You can go now."

The moment we were outside, with the door closed behind us, Cadance whinnied. I'd never heard such an angry sound from a pony, and took a step back. "Are you alright?"

"Why can't she just call me Cadance?" Stomping along, Cadance began her rant. "I was just a little filly when I first got my cutie mark. Everypony had been saying I could pick a new name when I got it, and I wanted something fancy. Mi Amore Cadenza! Nopony had a three-word name, it was everything eight-year-old me wanted." She stopped and looked at me. "I'm not eight years old anymore. I want nothing to do with it!"

"Cadance?" I asked.

If Cadance heard me, she didn't show it. "She and Celestia both use it, and they know it annoys me. Why can't they use the name I want to use? It's—"

"Cadance!" I said loud enough to break her tirade. "They're doing it to get a rise out of you. Every time you react to it they will only do it more."

"But why?!" Smoke seemed to come from Cadance's ears, figuratively at least.

"Because they know it's the gentlest way they can remind you, an alicorn, that you're still a pony." I shrugged and turned to walk. "Seriously, just ignore it. If they use it, and don't get you to yell, you win."

Cadance snorted and kept pace at my side. "Easier said than done. I tried that already."

"What happened?"

"I lasted a week and then almost blew a hole in the wall of the castle from all the stress that built up. Magic and emotions are closely tied together, one causes the other, and vice-versa."

We reached the end of the hall and stepped out into the late afternoon sunshine. I stretched and shook myself, aware of the heavy book I had in my bag from geography. By mutual, unspoken agreement we turned left toward the castle (and the dorms).

"Have you tried meditation? Something to relax you… A massage, perhaps?" Real smooth, Lyra. Hit on the mare who just admitted to blowing a hole in the castle, you know, the one already spoken for, I thought to myself.

"A massage? Really?" When she turned her head to look at me, I could have sworn I saw surprise and interest in her eyes, but it quickly fled. "Oh! We could invite Shiny too. You've actually done massage before?"

The sudden perk of excitement the moment she mentioned Shining Armor's nickname shot me down better than any missile could. "Well, not exactly, but maybe we could all go somewhere nice together?"

Ruffling her wings, Cadance began to trot a little fancier—almost like a prance. "Maybe invite your sister along too?"

For a moment I almost corrected Cadance before I remembered my game. "Oh! Yeah! What about Saturday? Uh, we do get Saturday and Sunday off school, right?"

Cadance nodded along. "Of course. Five days on, two off. Wait!"

I was just turning to go left at the castle entrance (to go to the dorms) when Cadance shouted. "What?"

"I'm supposed to be tutoring you, and I'm not going to those cramped dorms to do it. I've got a whole suite in the castle. Bring your book." Pointing up to the castle with one wing, Cadance was probably trying to indicate a particular window.

"Alright, alright. Geez. Did anypony ever tell you that you're pushy for an alicorn?" I asked.

"No." A case of the giggles completely ruined Cadance's attempt at serious deadpan humor. "They don't need to."

With Cadance at my side the Guard didn't so much as blink at me. We trotted through the gate and around the side of the castle to a set of steps. Winding upwards, Cadance opened a door into, true to her word, a suite of rooms that looked fit for a princess.

"Holy crap. This place is huge! And look at the— Is that real gold?" I trotted toward a table that, sure enough, had a gold pattern etched into its marble surface. The rooms would be considered palatial, which did make sense given that we were in an actual palace.

"Princess Celestia insists on it. I tried to get some of my own furniture in, but the palace staff sneakily replaced it all with this." Cadance gestured around the room, taking in every fine painting, chair, table, and even the couch that looked to be made from a fabric I probably couldn't pronounce. "Now, let's start at the start: history."

I let out a groan, but it was mostly for show—what I'd learned so far of Equestrian schooling was that Candela was a devout practitioner of it. "Alright, let me get my brain in gear."

It helped that Equestrian history was more like a fantasy novel than a dry textbook.

Author's Note

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Lab

Chapter 4 [[ A Joyce Perspective ]]

"No worries Lyra," I called.

Over the next few minutes the dormitory became quiet—very quiet. I realized that it was school time, but it didn't stop a sense of peace from descending around me. Nearly every day since I moved to Cowwarr had been filled with things, but all I had to do today—heck, this week—was apply at the medical school.

I took the time to relax and reflect on how strange my life had become. I'd spent over half my life so far in medical school, and I was about to embark on more. Was learning about medicine my lot in life? Then it occurred to me—I was a middle-aged woman in a young mare's body. Physically, I'd only just begun life.

The sound of a key fitting a lock had my ears twitching and turning only because it was so still and calm. Turning around, I poked my head out of our bathroom just in time to see a young mare opening the door. "Hello there."

The young mare stepping into our rooms froze. She looked at me in surprise, then started to carefully back out again.

"Wait! I'm Lyra's mother. She's the new student who moved in." Stepping into the main room (the bedroom), I beckoned the mare with a wing to come back in, which seemed to change her surprise into shock.

"I-I-I'm just going to go." Backing out, the mare with yellowy fur and two-tone (blue and fuchsia) hair closed the door again. The peace and quiet of the dorms was further shattered by a scream from just outside my door that trailed off down the hall.

Figuring it was best to let the mare run and cool off, I turned my attention to the papers Candela had given me. There was a school equivalency (that was an emergency, she'd told me, in case they didn't trust anything else), signed letters stating the types of medicine I'd studied before, and finally a personal note from her asserting that I had healing knowledge from another world and that the school would be crazy not to take me on. The latter was worded more carefully, of course, but it amounted to a dare.

A bag of bits was added to the collection of papers, and the whole lot was slipped into one side of my saddlebags. I was humming away, wrapped in my own little world when there was a knock at the door. "Come in!"

Candy Cane opened the door wearing an apologetic smile. Just behind her I could see the mare from earlier, who Candy turned to. "Ah! Here's the demon-monster you found, dear?"

The mare behind her nodded.

Turning back to look at me, Candy winked. "Well, whatever will we do now we're infested with bat ponies? I guess now that she moved in, we'll have to make her tea."

"Sorry if I frightened the poor dear." I turned my head towards my sleeping perch and saw Tufts rousing from his nap. "A cup of tea would go down quite well. I don't suppose there might be a piece of fruit or two as well?"

"Fruit?" Tufts didn't screech, but he certainly looked awake.

I shuffled over to the perch so he could drop down to my back, which he did. "It's alright if you don't, I'm sure we can find some somewhere."

"Nonsense. I wouldn't dream of sending somepony new to the city out to fend for themselves. Let's go make some tea and see what I can did up for breakfast." Candy Cane turned to the younger mare. "Sweetie, I'm sure the morning cleaning will wait until after breakfast."

The connection between the two was obvious, given that Candy had mentioned her daughter the previous day. "I don't want to impose, but a cup of tea would be wonderful." I turned my head to face Tufts and offered him a little kiss on the snout.

When I turned back to face Candy Cane, I could see a raised eyebrow asking a question without words. "Tufts and I are— Well, it's complicated, but he's stuck with me through wilder stuff than any other man I've known, and he gets on well with my kids." It might still be a little joke, but it felt like less of one every time I told it. The fact was I had grown used to having Tufts around, and was a good influence on Lyra and Robin.

I realized then that although I knew Candy Cane and her daughter, I hadn't heard mention of a stallion in their lives.

With mindless small talk we made our way to a nondescript door on the first floor. When Sweetie opened it, she revealed the door led to a full home built into the dormitory block. Filing inside I quickly appreciated how cozy a place it was. "This is a surprise. I didn't realize you lived in the dormitory itself."

"Well, I'll be honest, Joyce, smart our guests might be, but some of them wouldn't know what to do in an emergency. They might panic and go running through the halls shouting when they see a pony they don't know." Candy Cane shot her daughter a look that I knew too well.

"Sometimes a pony will sleep in, or forget something and come back for it, but it was your—" Sweetie cut her words short, her eyes locked in a straight line that led to my wings.

"Bat wings? It makes me a bat pony, and I don't hold it against you. Even Princess Celestia had never met a pony like me before." I shifted a little to the side so she could get a better look. "Would you like to see one a bit closer?"

Sweetie walked toward me one step at a time until I spread my wing. There wasn't enough room to really stretch it—not without possibly breaking something—so I held my wing's "hand" so that I would still cup air despite it being cramped. "Oooh…" When her hoof gently touched my wing, I had to hold back a little giggle—they were a bit ticklish.

"Nothing too strange. It's just a different type of wing from normal. As you might have gathered: my name's Joyce, Joyce Robertson, but Joyce will be fine on its own." While I satisfied Sweetie's interest in my wings, Candy Cane started brewing tea.

"They're amazing! But whose sister are you? I assume you're somepony's sister, at least." Sweetie stopped touching my wing and now wore an actual smile. Joyce Robertson, bat pony envoy to Equestria. That's me.

"Actually, I'm Lyra Heartstrings' mother." As soon as I said it, shock and scandal became written all over Sweetie's face. "This is going to be a long one. Why don't I tell you over tea?"

I gave them the short version. Living in a magicless world, magic floods in, magic turns people into ponies, and come here to seek more medical training. And, of course I explained the age-changing bit.

The tea was a strong, dark leaf, and Candy Cane seemed intent on adding so much sugar that Tufts wanted to try it.

"… which led to me sitting here in Canterlot, at your table, sipping some delicious tea." Which is when I sipped the last of it from my cup. Both Candy and Sweetie used their hooves to hold their cups, but I couldn't get the hang of it—wings were the closest things to arms and hands I had.

"That's amazing! How old is Lyra?" Sweetie asked.

"Lyra was eighteen before she transformed. I was thirty-four. My youngest, Robin, is just about to turn ten. Mind you, she's advanced for her age. Candela—that's Robin and Lyra's teacher from back home—had her graduate two years at once, then started her toward the next year's work." Pride, plain and simple. My little filly was that smart, and I couldn't help but beam with delight every time I thought of it.

Sweetie was practically bouncing in her seat. "And now you need to go out and apply at the medical school?" I had the impression that she longed for adventure. Being tied up here, doing housework, was probably not helping.

"That's right. Princess Celestia even wants me to report on how my application goes next weekend, although I get the feeling that she's actually more curious about where I came from." I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't mind, of course. She is paying for my schooling, and Lyra's too." My belly gurgled—the tea only took the slightest edge off my hunger.

"Oh right, something to nibble on." Candy Cane got up and walked to her pantry. She opened it and lifted out some apples. "Will a few of these do?"

Tufts' screech of excitement caused my ears to tuck down and me to wince. "Tufts! Manners, dear."

"But I haven't eaten in months! This could be the last food I get for weeks." His eyes glued to one of the apples, Tufts squeaked in surprise when Candy tossed it to him. Catching the fruit with a wing, he brought it to his mouth and immediately started eating.

I chuckled at the proceedings. "Well, now you made a friend for life. This is Tufts. The nicest flying fox I've ever met."

Chewing away, Tufts gave me a stink-eye, and when he finished a mouthful he added, "I'm also the most desirable. Admit it."

"Absolutely. I have never met a more erudite and neat flying fox. Of course, I've never met another flying fox who could talk, or looked quite like you look." Verbal sparring was always fun. It never ceased to amaze me how witty he could be. Dammit. Was I falling for him for real?

"Are there a lot of flying foxes where you come from?" Sweetie was apparently more taken with Tufts, now, than me.

I thought about how to reply to Sweetie's loaded question. "Sort of. In Batstralia there are a lot of flying foxes, but they are much smaller, and are bats. Tufts here is a one-of-a-kind. Also, don't let him know where you keep your fruit."

"We can certainly see that." Candy Cane pointed to where Tufts was eating the apple core, and how he left nothing behind.

I tilted my head to the side. "Tufts, aren't you going to spit up the pulp?"

By way of answer he opened his mouth and showed it empty. "I leave no part of my pray undevoured!" To back up his claim, Tufts opened his wings and looked as big as he possibly could.

"Well, mighty hunter, we should probably be going. I'm sure Sweetie and Candy have work to do, and I certainly need to go and apply at the school," I said, and stretched as best I could in the confined area.

"Are you going to take Tufts with you?" Sweetie looked between Tufts and me. Just like him to have another young mare wrapped around his finger.

"He should probably stay here." I tapped my chin with a wing-finger in thought. "I wonder if anypony would be able to check in on him—to see if he needs anythin—"

Sweetie jumped up from her seat so fast that she almost knocked the table over. "I'll do it!"

"Just make sure he doesn't get in the way of your work," Candy Cane said. "Speaking of which, we should get back to it. Are you going to be back for dinner?"

I nodded. "I should be, unless something drastic happens. I'll see you then?"

We said our goodbyes and I headed out into the city. I knew roughly what section of the city the medical school was in (it certainly wasn't as prominent as Princess Celestia's school), and made my way in that direction.

It was a lovely, bright summer's day. I trotted through the streets without drawing any attention—I was wary of opening my wings given Sweetie's response to them. Trotting along, I spotted two members of the Guard (dressed in similar armor to the ones at the castle).

"Excuse me," I said as I trotted up to them.

"Good morning, miss. Is there something we can help you with?" one of the stallions asked.

"There is! My name's Joyce, and I was looking for the medical school." As luck would have it (Murphy's in this case), I felt an itch at my neck and before I could stop myself I scratched it with my wing.

A measure of silence descended around me. Many ponies were trying to stare without actually being seen to stare. I cursed at my instinct and turned the best smile I could upon the two Guards.

One of the guardsponies—a pegasus—fluffed his own wings. "Mighty fine looking wings you have there, Joyce. That was you at the party last night? My name's Sure Fire."

"That was me!" Relief made me speak a little fast and loud, and I think I might have messed up a word or two. "We—my daughter and I—arrived in the city yesterday, and a friend wanted to throw us a Welcome to Canterlot party. Lyra—my daughter—thought I should make a big entrance."

"You should have seen her, Citron, she moves like lightning. Her wings are almost twice the size of a princess'." Sure Fire seemed more excited about my flying than helping me, but the conversation had the effect of showing normalcy to the rubberneckers. "I don't suppose you'd show me them?" he asked me.

I looked left and right quickly, ostensibly to make sure I wasn't about to clock anypony, but also to see the anticipation of the ponies still watching. Satisfied that I wasn't going to be lynched for being strange, I shook myself a little. "Ready?"

"This is going to be so awesome!" Sure was practically bouncing in place.

Starting with my left wing, I stretched the limb slowly and made sure that he could see how my fingers unfolded the membrane and stretched it out. I swapped to my right and repeated the motion, then pushed both wings out to full extension. My display was cut short by a high-pitched squeal—from Sure Fire.

"That's so amazing! Look at those wings, Citron! Have you ever seen something so cool?" It seems I had a fan in Sure Fire.

Citron (or the unicorn I assumed was Citron, based on Sure Fire's calling him that repeatedly) held a hoof up to his jaw and rubbed it in thought. "They're sort of like dragon wings, but dragon wings don't stretch as much and have scales on the back."

I turned to my left and tilted my right wing up. The left I offered to Sure Fire to inspect. "Please be careful with it, I'm rather attached to them."

Sure Fire bobbed his head and reached one hoof out to my wing. I tried not to twitch at the touch to the tender membrane, but Sure didn't seem to mind the small movements I did make. "They're so soft!"

Looking more interested now, Citron touched my wing too. Though he was a little less tender than Sure, it was far from uncomfortable. "Is your daughter a—"

"Bat pony," I said, supplying his filler.

"Is she a bat pony too?" Citron had a genuine smile on his face, but drew back from my wing before Sure Fire was even done exploring one of my fingers.

"She's a unicorn, and just started at Princess Celestia's school today." I folded my left wing down, but let Sure Fire keep inspecting the right.

"No kidding? Quite the family. Did you still need help with something, or did you just want to show your wings off to a bird-brained guard?" Citron nudged Sure gently.

"S-Sorry!" Sure Fire pulled his hoof back, but kept looking at my wing longingly. "They're really pretty with all the patterns in them."

I couldn't stop a blush. This was flirting. I was flirting. Snapping my right wing closed I tried to pull away—I could always ask somepony else for directions.

"Wait." Citron's voice, when he wanted to, held enough command in it that I actually froze in place. I'm sure he would have made a great head nurse. "What did you need help with? If you don't mind me asking."

Blinking away my surprise at how I'd frozen in place at his command, I actually stuttered, "Th-The medical s-school."

"Directions?" Sure Fire asked, bumping Citron back. "We can show you there, if you'd like?" When he looked at Citron, Sure puffed his chest out a little. "Helping ponies is literally our job, and the school is within our beat."

Citron looked at me and rolled his eyes. "Of course we can help the pretty mare find her school, Sure, but you have to explain to the captain why we weren't waiting at the corner for him."

"Done!" Sure Fire stepped forward and dipped his head to me. "If I may be so bold as to escort you to your school?"

It was a silly, formal gesture, but one I could appreciate and follow along with. "Of course gentlecolt." Language still felt strange, but Candela had insisted that colt/filly (the names for young ponies) were often substituted into odd places where stallion/mare should be. The rules of syntax and grammar were similar to English, but only in the sense that they were inconsistent and often unruly. I dipped all four legs in what I hoped passed for a curtsy.

I couldn't avoid prancing. With a stallion on each side of me I felt even more literally like a young mare again. Small talk was to be had, and we talked about the weather (which Sure Fire promised was going to be fine and sunny for the next week), their work, and my history. Princess Celestia hadn't said I should keep my past to myself, so I figured why not share it?

With an abrupt halt, both stallions brought me up short facing a large building. The architecture was more blocky and squat than the rest of Canterlot's buildings, and emblazoned on a sign out the front was Canterlot School of Medicine.

"And here you are." Sure Fire gestured toward the building with a hoof, looking proud as can be. "Now, about my fee…"

"Oh no. Joyce, run!" Citron rolled his eyes and shook his head.

Before I could react, Sure Fire lifted my left forehoof up and brought it to his lips. "All the payment I need," he said, and kissed my hoof.

It was the corniest thing that had ever happened to me (and considering my daughter, that was a tall order), but it made my heart beat faster. "Th-Thank you."

"Alas, Joyce, now you've let him kiss your hoof you'll never be rid of him." Citron's horn blazed to life with a cream-yellow fire, and the same colored fire appeared around Sure Fire. "Come on, bird-brain."

I laughed as Sure Fire was hauled away by his partner.

Turning away from the spectacle, I looked again at the school. "This shouldn't be another eight years, but if it is I'm going to survive it," I said to no one, then walked inside.

The front doors opened to a large intersection of hallways, but nestled to one side was a reception area. I walked up to the counter and waited for the mare behind it to make eye contact with me. "Hi. I'm Joyce Robertson. Princess Celestia should have sent you a—"

"Oh! Hello Joyce. We did get a letter from the princess first thing this morning. Don't worry, we have you signed up and you'll be good to go when the next semester starts." With that the mare gave me a big smile and then looked back down at her papers she was filling out.

It was both better and worse than I'd imagined. "Excuse me? Hello?" When the mare lifted her head again, apparently surprised to see me still standing there, I continued, "I wasn't after a full enrollment. I'm already a qualified doctor, but all my certification is—is abroad. I needed to get certified here, and take any courses to make up differences in what knowledge I am missing."

"Fluffy Clouds," a female voice called from behind me and to my left. "What seems to be the problem with…?"

"Joyce," I said, supplying my name to the mare who walked up beside me.

"Joyce. My name's Rough Stitch. What seems to be the problem?" Rough asked. Her voice and demeanor was sympathetic, and I was sure things were about to be remedied.

Thinking I might have to spend another eight years at school and being told I had to, without any checking, were two completely different things.

Before I could say a word, Fluffy Clouds (who was apparently the receptionist) cut in. "Princess Celestia sent us a request to fit Joyce Robertson into our course. I approved her application and told her she can start with the new school year. There isn't a problem."

Rough Stitch gave Fluffy the brightest smile she possessed. "Well, what was she signing up for? Medical practitioner? Nurse?" When Fluffy could only frown at her own confusion, Rough continued. "I'm not doing anything, so I'll take care of this minor problem."

I dared to get my hopes up—something wasn't adding up here. I followed Rough Stitch as she walked away from the reception counter, and the moment we were around a corner and into a hallway she let out a long sigh.

"That mare…" Rough Stitch brought a hoof up to her forehead. She was an earth pony, with an almost pure white coat and bright red mane and tail. On her flank was a needle with thread wrapped around it loosely. "You'll have to forgive that. I'm in the process of finding somepony more useful, but as you can imagine receptionist is not everypony's calling. What are you here for, Joyce?"

Inside I cheered, and my face must have shown a little of my relief because Rough Stitch smiled too. "I'm from—well—another world. I was a doctor there, and a veterinarian," I said, and noted Rough's eyebrows went up at the claims. "I know I look young, but a heap of magic did this to me. I want to learn pony medicine."

"This is a big story, and if it weren't for your cutie mark there I might call you out on it. Sadly, though, I'm not the only pony you're going to have to convince. I assume you want to sit some exams to prove to us what you know, and what we can teach you." Rough Stitch gestured to a room ahead that turned out to be an office. "And I won't lie, some of them are going to be a hard sell. They'll want to slot you in with the first-years."

I must have groaned, because Rough gave me a sympathetic look. "I did six years of medical college back home, along with a year of internship, then another one of residency, then two more as a registrar, as well as five years of veterinary college. I didn't go into a specialty in either field, but surely I don't have to go through all of that again?"

Rough Stitch sat down behind her desk (I assumed it was her desk, since it seemed to be her office). She looked slightly aghast. "This…" She stopped, and composed herself. "We don't train our students that long. Most graduate after five years, and we move them on to a hospital to learn further on the job. You have me curious what you spent all that time learning."

"Well…" I explained the process of gaining a medical degree and the areas of study I undertook. As I described my years spent supervised in a hospital, Rough started taking notes. When I got to the end, she was silent for a few moments. "And then I attended veterinary college."

"You mentioned that earlier. Five years, if in any way similar to what you just explained, would more than qualify you to treat animals here in Equestria." Rough Stitch let out a little laugh. "I can't help but feel you should be a teacher here."

That little comment hit me like a hammer. I'd felt my lot in life led me here, but was learning more what I should be aiming at rather than helping ponies push the bounds of their own medical training. I must have ruffled my wings a little in thought because Rough was, I noticed, practically staring at them. "Sorry. Did I distract you?"

"W-W-What kind of pony are you exactly?" Rough asked. "Wait, forget that. I'm being insensitive and intrusive. Princess Celestia said you're fine to join and I trust her."

"It's alright. I've been getting this a lot. I'm a bat pony." I stood up and shimmied to the side, then spread my left wing. "There was a strange burst of magic back home, and everyone got turned into ponies like this. Except one of my daughters: Lyra. She became a unicorn."

Rough Stitch looked surprised. "You have a daughter? What age is she?"

This was going to be a thing I'd be explaining for a few years, apparently. "The transformation also affected our age. Imagine a whole country—millions of people—all suddenly looking like they're sixteen. My daughter is eighteen, although she looks the same age as I do, and I have a younger filly at nine. Robin stayed behind to finish her schooling."

I watched Rough Stitch's face run the gamut of emotions from surprised, intrigued, and finally settling on delight. "Quite the tale. You can sit down again if you like. I promise I won't prod any further in that regard. I did notice you have a red cross cutie mark, that will help your struggle a lot, you know."

"My struggle?" I asked.

Rough sighed. "I'm the head of administration and the student body. I can gladly accept you to the school and even arrange things like accommodation if you need it, but I don't oversee the teaching itself. If the head of the faculty believes you need to attend school from the beginning, you will have to attend from the beginning.

"That said, I might have a plan. You will have to do makeup tests, but if this works we can get you shunted along."

"So what's the plan?" I asked.

"Well…"

"… would like to introduce you to Joyce Robertson. She is a visiting doctor from Earth,"—Rough Stitch looked at me for confirmation, and continued when I nodded—"and after a troubling time that saw some wild magic transform her, has come to us to offer her services teaching. She has given me a short list of her training, and I'm sure some of you will be quite interested to see what she can teach not only the students, but the faculty here."

I'd been expecting a faculty of stodgy old stallions set in their ways, unwilling to look out a window to see if it is raining, what I got was about a 70-30 split of mares to stallions, and most of them looked quite interested in the notes Rough Stitch passed around.

Rough had described the important players starting from the top.

Head of Faculty - Dr. Bright Meadow: a unicorn with lime-green mane and tail on a tan coat with orange eyes. She was a surgical specialist, and had been head of the faculty for several years.

Professor Dembones: an earth pony with a white mane and off-white coat. He looked pale as a ghost, but Rough had said nopony was better at setting broken limbs than he. He oversaw ethics and general first aid.

Professor Horse: another unicorn bearing dark brown mane and tail with a light brown coat. She had piercing green eyes and if there was a magic cure for what ails you, or if what ailed you was magic, she knew all about it. Obviously, she was in charge of anything relating to magic and medicine, which was about a third of pony medicine.

The rest, Rough Stitch had said, wouldn't oppose my training at an accelerated pace at all. I tried not to focus on them, spreading a smile around the group before nodding to Rough. "Princess Celestia herself sent me here to see if we could help each other."

"You have performed surgeries? What procedures have you undertaken?" Bright Meadow asked.

And there was the problem—I had no idea what the pony words were for technical things within my field. Putting on the best smile I could, I cleared my throat. "You'll forgive my lack, but I've only learned Equish within the last year, and I haven't any of your words for medical procedures." And then I started describing the fairly common procedures I'd learned.

My residency had included a short stint in emergency, so while I had experience with a wider range of operations, I stuck to the ones I could repeat on a human, and salted the list with my veterinary experience. Being a GP, I wasn't versed in actual operations, but as I described the things I was qualified for I noticed Bright Meadow raise an eyebrow. "If I'd known I'd be coming to lend knowledge to such a prestigious school, I'd have brought some medical texts with me. Sadly, they are all in another language."

"Several of those procedures I'd be interested in discussing, but at a later date of course. It says here you attended your own land's medical college for six years, a little short for somepony trained to this extent." Dr. Bright Meadow was asking for clarification, obviously, but I had to deliver it just right.

"Correct. I attended college for six years, then spent another four in a hospital," I said, delivering the news as neatly as I could. Every eyebrow in the room shot up—Rough Stitch had been most clear that ten years to become a regular doctor was unheard of in Equestria. "Where I come from, we take medical training every bit as seriously as you do."

"Refreshing to hear. But your training is not Equestrian training." The comment came out of right field. Specifically, to my right—Professor Horse. (A common doctor name, Rough had explained before the meeting. Go figure.)

I put on my best smile and, as Rough had instructed when this topic was broached, ruffled my wings. Every eye that had been on me was now locked on my wings. They weren't paying their full attention to what I was saying anymore. "Of course, and understandable. You have many amazing techniques I'd love to study, as I'm sure I have several for you to investigate." I spared a nod toward Bright Meadow, though she didn't seem to notice it for all she kept looking at my folded wings.

There was an unspoken question pregnant in the room: what do my wings look like?

"Yes, yes. Of course," Professor Dembones said, speaking for the first time. "I don't suppose you could just lift your wing a little? That is fascinating—"

"Ahem." Bright Meadow was trying to pull not only her own, but the attention of everypony in the room back to the task at hoof. "Dr. Stitch has put forward a plan of testing, but I think it would be sufficient if you just attended our school. What better way to identify what learning we can both benefit from than to experience the best medical training in Equestria first-hoof?"

Rough Stitch had said the others would be more neutral, but it surprised me when a little grumbling came from one pony at Bright Meadow's idea.

"Five years is a long time to shelve a potential boon to pony medicine and an asset we could make better use of." The mare had light pink fur and a soft yellow mane and tail. She was an earth pony, and looked like she was prepared to argue with Bright Meadow with force if necessary. "She wouldn't be able to be admitted to regular classes until next semester anyway. Why not give her some tests and see if we have a trove of information or nothing but already trodden ground?"

It was insult and praise both, but I couldn't let it blind me—this pony was pushing the very plan Rough had come up with, and was doing it from within. I kept my big snout closed.

"Anything that detracts from our teaching obligations is completely out of the question," Bright Meadow said. "How would you propose we build these examinations and administer them?"

"Students. We have the students perform a written assessment of their previous study and ask them to submit a dissertation on what they believe to be the most important thing they've learned. We make this, as everything, a teaching method," Yellow-and-Pink said. "Until then we can simply provide,"—they took a moment to read the heading of the document they had at their hooves—"Joyce here the first semester examinations. They are theory with no practice."

I hadn't contemplated kissing a mare before, and Yellow-and-Pink was still a little detached from Joyce-as-a-pony, but I honestly could have at least hugged her.

Bright Meadow kept quiet, as did Dr. Dembones and Dr. Horse. Taking this as tacit approval, Rough Stitch gave a simple nod. "I think that covers both aspects. Welcome—"

"Of course,"—Dr. Horse cut in over Rough, apparently deciding that a little theater was in order—"should Miss Joyce fail to pass even a third of our first semester examinations, I would put forward that she learn as we all have, from the beginning."

A mumbled sound of assent circled the group indicating that I had a genuine challenge ahead of me.

"Excuse me?" I asked. All eyes in the room seemed drawn to me again—for a few moments I was positively mundane to these ponies. Now I had everypony's attention again. "If it wouldn't be too much trouble, could I ask for a week before attempting those examinations? I've only been in Canterlot for a day, and—"

"That will be fine. We can put that on hold for a week while we have the students start their special project." Rough Sketch waved a hoof in dismissal. "Now, onto internal matters. We have…"

I tuned out. The midday faculty meeting had worked, even with a hiccup in the form of three faculty members who were against me. But I had a chance to do this, and all I had to do was pass a third of the first semester examinations to do it. If Professor Horse had anything to say on them, however, I would automatically be failing 1/3 of it: I had no idea of magic medicine.

It was almost 1:00 P.M. (according to the wall clock) by the time the meeting was over. Everypony filed out of the room except Rough Stitch and Yellow-and-Pink. Rough waited for the door to close before holding her hoof up to Yellow-and-Pink.

Their hooves made a loud clop as they met in the air. "Sorry, Joyce, I couldn't give away Written being in on the ruse. Oh! Introductions! Dr. Joyce Robertson, this is Dr. Written Lore. Written is in charge of first year studies."

I'd been played, in a way, but it was the kind of played that got me what I wanted. I lifted my hoof for Written and she returned it with another solid clop. "You were in on all this, and Rough didn't tell me so I wouldn't ruin the moment and look at you before your idea."

"Got it in one. I had no idea going into it why she wanted me to do it, but the moment I read your papers I knew I couldn't let this mare down. Ten years studying medicine? Then five more of veterinary school? I couldn't put you through first year. It's all rote learning that anypony half-competent could pick up in a week with even the most rudimentary training would ace," Written Lore said.

"We were going to give you a week anyway, but if you don't think you're up to snuff, we can give you two. You have the library here, as well as the Canterlot Central Library to use." Rough Stitch had a smile that told me exactly what she enjoyed doing: teaching. "You were recommended by Princess Celestia, weren't you?"

"Y-Yeah." I wasn't sure how much to reveal. Everypony seemed to have such respect for the princess, and it seemed strange that I was going to be having tea with her every week.

Rough Stitch nodded, almost as if she knew what Princess Celestia had planned for our weekends. "Then you should ask her for a library pass. The Canterlot Royal Library is the greatest trove of knowledge in Equestria, and though librarians can request books from there to be transferred out for general hire, it would be much faster if you had access to it."

Now I just had to work out how to bring that up with the princess. I got a list of things to research, said my goodbyes, and headed out into the mid-afternoon warmth. Just outside the doors of the school I caught a ray of sunshine from between two buildings.

I must have zoned out. I know I spread my wings a little to soak up the heat, but it wasn't until I spread them wide that I heard a gasp. My eyes snapped open and I realized there were ponies all around staring at me. Identifying a few of them as pegasi, I couldn't help just running with the moment. "Do you ever get that feeling you just need to fly?"

All three pegasi on the street nodded to me—one even smiled.

Folding my back legs a little, I stretched my wings as wide as I could. "That's me right now." I pushed into a leap and flapped my wings as hard as I could.

My whole life I'd been bound to the ground. It was part of the human condition, and few had been able to claim they had flown without some kind of engine. Gliders were a cool concept, but I doubt they held anything on this.

Gravity surrendered and let me go, and I shot into the air with a wordless cheer of excitement. Flapping my wings hard shoved me higher still until I could look down upon the whole city. The castle at my left was still taller, but when I evened out and looked around I was higher than every other building.

To the north—ahead of me—actual airships were docking at what seemed to be special platforms designed just for them, and all around there was pegasi flying—doing what came naturally to them. It came naturally to me too, now.

A pegasus I'd just seen on the street—before my takeoff—hovered up beside me. "You're right. Sometimes you've just gotta fly!" He, of course, was the pegasus who'd smiled. He was all sleek lines, with light blue fur and a darker, gray-blue mane. His cutie mark was a lightning bolt slicing through wispy smoke, or clouds.

Yeah I looked at his ass—who wouldn't?

In answer, I just laughed and angled my wings into a twirling dive. I didn't need to look to know he was practically by my side—the currents of the air over my wings told me there was something else flying just beside me. We rocketed over the low roofs of Canterlot with the speed of our dive, and I came up into a loop laughing again. It was good to be alive and just show how that made me feel.

Arcing upward, we both dropped speed and eventually came to a hover. I felt like I'd just gone for a run, but to look at the stallion he was barely even worked up. The pony side of me—the young mare—was practically purring at him, while the doctor in me wanted to examine his wings and check his BMI and muscle tone. And now both those parts wanted to examine his muscle tone—down girl!

"Do you want to 'just need to fly' again tomorrow? Maybe somewhere a little more ground-based and that serves food?" he asked.

It had been nearly ten years since I'd actually been asked on a date. That damn mare inside me was now flying in circles and giggling like a loon. "That'd be nice, but I've already got someone."

My mind caught up with the words leaving my mouth a bit later than the stallion apparently did. "That's a shame. I guess I'll see you around?"

"Y-Yeah," I said. Before we could exchange names, however, he was off.

The way he flew was amazing. More efficiency than either Cadance or I'd shown (even with my expansive wings). He flew like an athlete.

"What the hell, Joyce? Your first date in almost a third of your life and you turn it down to—" I sighed. I know what my hangup was, and it was both stupid and more right than a potential date felt like.

I turned my hovering flaps into a glide, and slowly made my way back to the dormitory. Landing just outside, I was almost immediately assaulted by a red and black missile. "Tufts!"

The joy that welled up in my heart shouldn't have surprised me. I'd been through the toughest year of my life (medical school was nothing compared to raising two kids through some kind of magic apocalypse), and Tufts had been a constant throughout it. I turned my head and nuzzled him.

Screeching excitedly, Tufts made himself comfortable on my back with his head reached around my neck, so he could nuzzle my cheek in return. "Where have you been all day?"

"I told you before I left. I went to medical school to organize my training in pony medicine." I walked toward the dormitory, my head full of confusion arising from my personal situation. Thankfully my mouth seemed on autopilot.

"Well, I had to spend all day with Sweetie. She's a nice mare, but she's not you, Joyce." Tufts' words surprised me—jolted me from my confusion. There was genuine longing in his words that brought a silly smile to my lips.

"We need to talk," I said on my way to our rooms.

"I would dread those words, were I any other bat with any other mare." Tufts took to nuzzling around in my mane.

Entering our rooms, I closed the door behind me. "What's between us, really?"

"Skin. Some fur," he said.

"Ha, ha." My tone held no humor, but only barely. Dammit but I liked his sense of humor. "I mean us. What do you feel for me?"

Tufts jumped off my back and with a single flap of his wings was on Lyra's bed. "You ask me what I feel for you?" Lifting a paw to his brow, Tufts flopped to his side in artistic hurt. "My little mango, I left everything behind: the forest, the world… All so I could be with you. Apart from you, Joyce, there is nothing that would have taken me from my duties there."

There was a lot of information in his words, but very little of it contained answers. With a kick and a jump I swung my tail up and securely inverted myself from my perch. "Almost nothing you said was a reason, Tufts. Why are you here?"

I swear he smiled wider than even the bunyip back home. "Because I love you."

Tufts became a little indistinct on the bed, and it took me a moment to realize it was because I was crying. I sniffed and squeezed my eyes closed, but the tears rolled on. "Damn you." I felt one of his wings wrap around my back, though I hadn't heard him move.

"I told you: you mean as much to me as two mangoes, Joyce Robertson. Did you really need to hear those three words to understand this?" His voice was so soft, so unlike the screechy little creature he'd first been.

"Y-Yes."

"Then I will say them again. Joyce, I love you."

I wished he were bigger, large enough to snuggle against and bury my face in his fur, but I'd gone and fallen for someone under half my size. I stretched the wing opposite him and wrapped it around the both of us.

"Well?" Tufts asked.

I'd been drifting off thanks to being upside down. "'Well' what?"

"Usually, when a bat says he loves his darling, she says something in reply."

I held my breath, trying to ignore all the little voices telling me to do or say one thing or another. Settling the noise in my head, I said the words I'd practically sworn I'd not say again. "I love you too."

Author's Note

Tufts: How much god powers do you still have?

"I gave away my sacred mango tree, grown from the spear used to pierce her noodliness. I invested Dream Thunder with as much of my power as I could, and not expect her to explode, then put almost all the rest in Robin." Smiling, Tufts ruffled his wings and then stretched. "But not all. I can walk dreams still, and have Joyce in my 'spell', but I was never really a god anyway. Besides, what you'd call god powers are simple parlor tricks here.

"Watch me pull a mango out of my hat!"

"Again?" Lyra asked.

"Presto!"

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Lab

Chapter 5

Princess Celestia was no slouch when it came to investigation and documentation. She flicked through the notes before her and glanced down each page looking for patterns—there were plenty.

"Visits to the library every day. Time spent in the medical textbook section and history section." The words slipped from her lips in the otherwise deserted room. She reached for a cup of tea with her magic, barely expressing a fraction of a percent of her power upon the delicate porcelain as she floated it to her lips.

The further she read, the more Celestia was satisfied that not only Lyra Heartstrings but also Joyce Robertson were doing precisely what they said they would do in her realm. "Just like regular ponies."

The happy reports were set aside, and Princess Celestia opened a case with a royal seal on it. This box of papers was more substantial than the reports on Joyce and Lyra's goings on—this was from Commander Shard.

"The town of Stonecrop is surrounded by a shimmering wall of magic. The particular hue of the magic is not only unknown, but also is defying any ability to delve. We humbly request scholars to inspect it before we proceed." Celestia reread the words, this time not using the silly voice she always associated with Commander Shard.

Exploring and making contact was his mission, but Celestia valued Shard because he would not compromise a single pony life in haste. The rest of the report was on troop movements, the quality of their rations, reports on equipment, and a plethora of things Princess Celestia knew were packed in there for filler.

She had to use her own signature of magic to trigger one of the pages to jump into the air and flip around. New words began appearing.

Princess Celestia, the barrier of magic isn't a barrier at all, it's a threshold of sorts. Magic from Equestria is overlaid with foreign magic in ways that shouldn't be possible. I can't explore this from out here, so I'm going in after I add this note to the reports. Wish me luck.

—B

"You pompous, arrogant, clever stallion. Good luck, nephew." Sipping her tea, Princess Celestia could tell when a pony was approaching her door. Carefully levitating the paper to the fireplace, she let a little more than a fraction of a percent of her power seep into it. "Come in!" Celestia said while the paper burned in the fireplace.

Joyce opened the door and immediately bowed when she realized Princess Celestia was definitely present. "Your Majesty."

"Joyce, I said we don't use titles while having tea." Princess Celestia didn't need to arrange her features into a happy smile—it was already so. She made sure the seals on the communication boxes were secure with magic before standing up. "And majesty is a title for kings and queens. Would you like a history lesson?"

The reply and offer confused and excited Joyce. She'd been reading of Equestria's history as a side project to her studying its medicine. Princess Celestia was a central focus of almost everything to do with Equestria, going back to its foundation. "Y-Yes please."

"It's too stuffy in here. Let's retire to the garden." Walking out into the castle hallway again, Princess Celestia didn't ignore her guards so much as acknowledged their tireless devotion without making any grandiose gestures. "Please see that tea is brought to the garden, Dizzy Dive and Sun Blitz." Big gestures of thanks weren't needed when she made sure to know their names and treat them as the useful elements of security they were.

"Yes, Your Highness," both stallions said before marching the opposite way than Celestia walked.

"A long time ago, when I was a young filly, there was three great leaders of the three tribes: Commander Hurricane, Princess Platinum, and Chancellor Puddinghead—don't laugh, these are serious names." Despite her admonition, Princess Celestia loosed a few giggles before continuing. "And the ponies of each tribe thought only for themselves and their own kind…"

Joyce listened in rapt fascination as the current ruler of Equestria spoke of the origins of the country. Mythical monsters, wise advisers, and a little unicorn filly who got her cutie mark—and wings—that day. It was fantastical beyond measure, and from what Joyce had read for that filly to be Princess Celestia as a foal, it would have to have been over a thousand years ago.

Neither Celestia nor Joyce noticed the tea set brought out, teacher and student wrapped in the exciting tale of the first Hearth's Warming Eve together so that the outside world were muted. By the time Celestia finished, ending with her own ascension, the sun was bright and warm in the noonday sun. Two hours had passed.

"Equestria was formed by togetherness and friendship. It stands by the same powers. Poetic," Joyce said, only daring to say a word when Celestia had shown her story to be over. "Thank you."

"You see why I was so quick to offer you a place as one of my ponies?" With her story over, Princess Celestia began preparing the tea herself, delighting in the simple process that would always bring such joy.

"I'm trying to prove it was a good decision." It didn't take a philosophy degree for Joyce to understand why she felt so humbled: Princess Celestia could have studied the amount of medicine Joyce had at least fifty times over, and still had time free to practice.

Taking a sip from her tea, Celestia offered a cup for Joyce to sample. Only once the flavor had left her palate did Princess Celestia opt to talk again. "Your cutie mark is plain as day, you have already walked your destiny in your own world, that you would help teach our doctors what you know while you learn to help ponies is already a boon to Equestria. If you save the life of a single pony, my bits are well-spent."

"Are all leaders here—uh, this world—like this?" Joyce asked. When Celestia only answered by raising an eyebrow, Joyce continued, "I mean, you've given us so much, and we're strangers to your world. You trust us in ways that almost frighten me. I don't know if I can live up to what you're saying, but I don't know if I could live with myself if I failed. I just—"

Joyce froze when a pure white hoof with gold trim pressed under her chin. She closed her mouth at the behest of the hoof.

"Relax." Celestia took her time, had another sip of tea, and then considered talking further. "I trust you because you came to me honestly, and bringing with you promise and talent. You only asked me for a chance to find and fulfill your destiny—I have never turned a pony down, in all my years, who was that honest."

Sitting for a moment, Joyce calmed herself back down by sipping at her tea. Eventually she needed to ask a new question. "So there have been dishonest ones?"

"Yes. Dishonest ponies. It is practically anathema today, but I could name a hoofful who have caused me trouble." A twinkle entered Princess Celestia's eyes. "You don't plan to enslave and take over a city, do you?" When Joyce spluttered and shook her head, Celestia let out a relieved sigh. "That's good. I don't think I could deal with that problem again.

"I have a favor to ask of you, Joyce. It is something I don't wish you to do if you don't feel like you should." Princess Celestia's tone had become grave.

"Anythi—"

Celestia cut Joyce off with words this time. "I need information about the world you came from. I understand if you don't want to answer, for obvious reasons."

"You need to protect your ponies." Joyce hadn't intended it as a question, but Celestia nodded to her all the same. "What will you do with the information?"

"Make a decision. If I think we could have positive relations, I will send an envoy to offer that, but if you don't think peace could be established I will not hesitate to close the portal by whatever means it takes." The moment she spoke, Princess Celestia realized she had said something Joyce did not like.

"I-If you do—decide to close the portal that is—could I ask one favor?" A tense strain settled over Joyce, like someone had gripped her whole body in a giant hand.

Then Princess Celestia remembered her notes, and if she could have bopped herself on the head without looking silly, she would have. "Your daughter. Of course."

The weight crushing Joyce left. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "Then— I will help."

"I promise that if I have to close connection to your old world, I will do everything I can to ensure you are united with your daughter to your satisfaction. What I need to know is how they will react to having such a border, and how they will react to ponies."

"It really depends what's happening there. If a magical pulse wasn't turning everyone into ponies? I don't think it would have been accepted very well at all—possibly even seen as an act of aggression. The locals to the town that merged with— Stonecrop, wasn't it?" Joyce waited for Celestia to dip her head before continuing. "Right. There was even one guy who started dating the mayor of Stonecrop. I think the folks there will be fine with ponies. Elsewhere might get a little strange."

"I'd worried that might be the case. Ponies can be xenophobic—" Celestia stopped at Joyce's look of confusion. "Fear of foreign people. Ponies can be that way, but actually meeting them is usually the cure."

"What Dream did—The Knowing—put a lot of pony-like knowledge up here." Joyce tapped her head with her hoof. "So much so that when I first saw you I felt—well—obliged to listen and bow. You might encounter that if you went. I could help you by talk—"

"Joyce, you are here to learn. I have a pony I trust implicitly already there." She was tipping her hand a little, but Celestia trusted Joyce for what she seemed to be—a mare trying to take care of her fillies. "He has orders to make contact with the teacher, Candela, and to make as peaceful contact with any authorities he can."

Focusing on all the little things that could go wrong under normal circumstances, Joyce couldn't begin to think of how the changes to Australia would have affected the government and diplomatic situation. "I don't think anything else I can give you will be much use. I was just a doctor."

Princess Celestia sympathized with Joyce to a certain extent, but she couldn't fathom being clueless about any aspect of daily life in Equestria. She could, however, understand how confusing everything was for Joyce Robertson. "I understand, Joyce. Now, why don't you tell me how your first week at the medical school went?"

The change in topic came as a relief to Joyce. She reached for her tea with one wing and, as she did, noticed Princess Celestia's eyes drawn to it. "I've started researching the topics I need a crash-course in, and will be doing that next week. Dr. Rough Stitch has been amazing at helping me find all the books I need—bar a few."

Her attention caught by the words, Princess Celestia jerked her focus from Joyce's wing. "You need some rare books?"

"Not so much rare, as just—" A little pink token appeared on the grass before Joyce. "What's this?"

"A pass for access to my private library. Any academic in the city would have suggested you ask me for access, and rightly so. You are— You're a private project, Joyce Robertson. Every so often I find a pony in whom I see great potential, and I think I've found it in you and another young mare recently. Fate doesn't often give me a reason, so when I catch a glimpse of destiny like that, I find a push is in order." Taking another sip of her tea and teleporting two slices of cheesecake before them, Princess Celestia felt her eyes drawn to Joyce's wings again.

"Would you like to see them?" It might be getting a little old, but Joyce certainly couldn't stop herself from offering Princess Celestia a chance to examine her wings. Stretching her left one up and out, she turned it so the underside was facing Princess Celestia.

Delight filled Celestia. Summoning a notepad and some writing equipment, she almost completely forgot that she was examining a pony. So rarely had she something truly new to study that time passed quickly for her. An internal sense, a twinge in the back of her head, urged Princess Celestia to break her focus.

"Are you done, Your Highness?" Joyce had a mild cramp in her wing, but the excitement she witnessed in Celestia's focus on it was enough to make her tough it out. She could sense something off with the world around her—it should be early evening, but the sun was still in the sky.

Tilting her head back, Princess Celestia looked up at her sun. It was her sun, but there was more for her to do than just lower it. Energizing her horn, she felt the resistance of something too massive for any other pony to move—any other team of ponies, for that matter. Setting the sun to rest, she lifted the moon. Luna's moon.

Spellbound, Joyce watched as day flipped to night at the behest of the pony before her. What to others would be a religious experience, Joyce felt was simple awe at Princess Celestia moving stars and moons around. "That's amazing."

Princess Celestia flicked her mane a little—to cover her eye that had loosed some tears for her missing sister—before she turned to look back at Joyce. "It is a burden, but one I bear gladly. Ponies were taking harm doing this, before myself and—"

Joyce was aware that Princess Celestia might have almost said something she didn't want to. "Princess Celestia, you don't have to explain yourself to me. Why you move the sun and the moon is unimportant. They need moving, and you move them. Thank you." What else can I say to somepony who, back on Earth, would be hailed as a god? Joyce thought.

Lyra had spent the whole day wearing herself out. Her Saturday had been spent with Princess Cadance, learning outlines for things she would have to study herself, but today was magic. Lyra loved the idea of studying magic, but she had quickly learned that she had limits, and Twilight Sparkle seemed completely oblivious to those limits.

"Another one. You have to master these basic spells, which means casting them fast and precisely." Twilight Sparkle demonstrated for Lyra, the slightest twinge of her horn lighting up causing a flickering light to illuminate.

"How do you have so much magic?" Despite her protest, Lyra performed the spell as best she could. Rather than a soft, flame-like light, instead she had a miniature star-in-the-making. "Ack!" The dampening spell came to mind quickly, and despite her magical fatigue, Lyra cast it and snuffed out the light before it could do any harm.

Twilight, as the teacher in their relationship, beamed with delight. "And that's why we learn the dimming spell first!"

It was impossible for Lyra to get upset at Twilight despite her being right about almost everything. To Lyra, Twilight Sparkle seemed like a cross between Robin and Dream (Lyra's little sister and almost-adoptive little sister, respectively), but with a measure of Candela's (Lyra's former teacher) intimate knowledge of how being a pony is meant to be. "Why don't I have as much magic as you do?"

"How long have you been doing magic?" Twilight Sparkle asked.

"Err. About three months."

"I," Twilight Sparkle said, "have been doing magic for six years!"

"Hang on. So magic is like a muscle? The more you use it the more you can do?" At Twilight's nod, Lyra almost cheered. The concept was more Lyra-friendly than being told: "This is all the magic you will ever have." The idea that magic was something that could be improved meant that Lyra could improve it. "So that is why you keep pushing me to cast until I almost fall over?"

The rush of having her student realize that the teaching method had multiple layers to it pleased Twilight Sparkle. She nodded up to Lyra. "Yup. Each time you push yourself, you are making up for weeks of time lost doing—well—whatever you did before you learned magic."

"You don't want to know." Lyra said the words without thinking, but the moment they were out she realized her mistake: Twilight Sparkle's mind was like a steel trap when knowledge was involved. Lyra sighed at the excited look on Twilight's face. "Lots of school, making friends with the wrong peo—ponies. Becoming a pony was the best thing that ever happened to me."

"What did you look like?" Twilight Sparkle asked.

Lyra tried to think the best way to explain it. "Wait. You've got mythical beasts here, right?"

Twilight tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"Like, pegasi, griffons, and unicorns." Rolling her eyes, Lyra got a giggle from Twilight while she indicated her own horn. "So do you know minotaurs?"

"Y-Yes. You were a minotaur?"

"What? No. But kinda. I guess it's hard to explain. But if you imagine a minotaur but without all the bull stuff." Lyra was at a loss. "Anyway. That's kinda changed now. The whole country is turning into bat ponies, and I was like one of about four who didn't. As near as we could work it out it was because I got my cutie mark in Equestria."

Lyra sensed she had triggered something, a happy memory in Twilight. The filly's eyes widened, her smile grew, and finally her mouth opened.

Words tumbled from Twilight's mouth, and she had no idea how or desire to stop them. "I was trying to do the admission test to come to Princess Celestia's school. I had to hatch a dragon egg! So I tried everything I could—I'd even studied for just such a thing! I cast five spells for chicken farmers who can't get a chick to hatch, two used by cockatrice hunters, and one spell that was meant to work on sea serpent eggs. In the end I just tried to break the egg myself.

"Then I had a magic surge. Power, like Princess Celestia uses, rushed into me. Everything happened at once. I turned my parents into houseplants, the egg hatched, and I got my cutie mark!" Twilight practically lived the memory. She stared back through the preceding months and remembered Spike hatching, and remembered Princess Celestia calling her back down and undoing the magic Twilight'd wrought on her parents.

Feeling a huge sense of her own delight at being reminded of when she got her cutie mark, Lyra found herself smiling just as wide as Twilight did. "So you got your cutie mark then?"

"Yup!"

"And your parents were turned back?" Lyra asked.

"Yeah. It was only because of the power matrix that they stayed that way. As soon as I stopped my magic, they turned back."

"And what about the egg?"

"Spike." Twilight's tone practically melted into a gooey puddle of remembered affection. "He's only a tiny baby dragon, but Mom and Dad are helping me take care of him."

Lyra hadn't studied dragons yet, and didn't know their level of sapience. "So he's a pet?"

"What?!" Twilight Sparkle jerked back in shock. "He's a dragon, not a pet!" She even blew out a puff of air in a very equine grunt.

The ferocity of Twilight's reply took Lyra aback. "S-Sorry. Kinda new to this world, remember? We don't have dragons back home."

The explanation appeased Twilight's anger, and tickled at her curiosity. "None at all?"

"There were stories about them, but no evidence they actually existed. I think they were just made up." Lyra turned back to her task and formed another light spell, and this time it didn't threaten to set fire to the world. "It's funny, but most of the stories have to do with dragons stealing a princess, and a prince or knight having to rescue them."

"Why would a prince or knight need to rescue a princess?" Twilight asked. "I'm pretty sure any princess would be able to deal with a dragon all on her own."

Lyra had finished the spell for no more than a few seconds before she cast the (much easier) spell to snuff the light out. "Think of them more as damsels in distress. Haven't you read stories where there's somepony who needs rescuing, and only her true love can save them?"

With the topic shifting to her favorite subject, Twilight Sparkle puffed up her little chest. "I have read every single book in Mom and Dad's library!" Her claim came at a cost, mostly because she was honest. "E-Even the romance ones."

Hoping against hope that Equestrian romance novels were unlike their Earth equivalents, Lyra went on: "Well. Was there any of those where somepony needed to save somepony else from a dragon?"

Twilight nodded, almost turning her whole head into an unflattering shade of puce due to how much she blushed. "They—they kissed at the end!" She paused for a moment, then looked around to make sure there was nopony else in the study room with them. "In one, they saved the dragon from the pony. I liked that one!"

Casting the light spell again, straining against her magic reserves, Lyra snuffed it back out with a groan. "Ugh. I think I'm done, Twilight."

Narrowing her eyes, Twilight Sparkle examined Lyra—magically. The strain to Lyra's magical aura was obvious, as was the fact she had pushed herself hard. "That should do for today. But you should keep doing that every night. You'll be stronger in no time!"

Author's Note

wouldn't be easier to say lyra is adopted?

"I'm adopted?!" Lyra said.

"Oh drat, that means I left the good child behind." Joyce turned and looked off into the distance. "Excuse me, I'm going back to Cowwarr. Apparently I left my real daughter behind!"

"Does this mean Tufts isn't my dad?" Lyra's eyes widened in mock fear. She quickly sighed and slumped in on herself. "Oh well, I'm bored. Better go take a bath I suppose..."

Joyce bopped her daughter on the shoulder. "And this is why we can't say that. Neither of us could hope to keep a straight face or resist making jokes about it."

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Lab

Chapter 7 [[ A Lyra Perspective ]]

I was trotting from home to school on a lovely and warm Saturday morning, which showed how big an impact on my life Candela (my former pony teacher back in Cowwarr) had. It was a weekend, and I was going to school to study.

Turning the corner from the side-street that led to the dormitory and onto the main thoroughfare, I had no warning at all before a rush of pink wings delivered the very image of pony femininity to my side. "Good morning, teacher."

Cadance groaned and reached a wing up to rub her forehead. "What would it take for you to never call me that again?"

"If I told you that," I said, "Shining Armor would freak out. Or maybe get ideas. One or the other."

For a moment Cadance looked to be about to hold her line that she and Shining were just good friends, but I watched her wings slump. "It might actually wake him up. He barely even notices me sometimes."

"He notices, trust me on that." We started walking together to the school. "He pays a lot of attention to you, but I don't know if he realizes exactly how great you two are together. Oh! I have another friend coming today, they don't need to study, but we were going to have lunch and catch up later, and I figured it would be fine if I invited her along for the day."

Shrugging her shoulders, Cadance made a noncommittal noise. "I'm fine with it so long as she doesn't talk too—"

A gray-blue cloud of smoke appeared with a bang, which startled both of us into stopping. As the smoke cleared, Trixie Lulamoon stood triumphant and posing. "Behold! It is I! The Great and Powerful Trixie!"

Something that becoming a pony had caused, that I was not in the least upset about, was a propensity to hug. I bounced forward on autopilot and caught Trixie before she managed another word. Trixie didn't take much hugging before she hugged back. "It's great to see you again, Trixie."

"You ruined my big introduction," Trixie said.

"Do you want to do it again, then?" I leaned back as I spoke. Trixie looked like she was a little upset, but I could see the bright edge come back to her eyes at the suggestion of a do-over.

Pulling free of the hug, Trixie jumped out of sight behind a nearby building's corner. "Pretend you don't notice me."

I cleared my throat. "We are just two simple ponies out on a walk!" Overacting was key, and I knew Trixie would pick up on it.

Cadance, however, was slow on the uptake. "What are you talking ab—"

A loud double-rapport of explosions rang, and a huge cloud of smoke appeared before us. When coughing came from within, however, it was obvious something had gone wrong. While I was still panicking, Cadance spread her wings and gave two big pumps of them.

Coughing and spluttering, Trixie sat in the middle of what had been a smoke cloud a moment ago. "The G-Great and,"—she coughed some more—"Powerful Trixie is here."

I stomped my hooves on the ground in applause, then had to bump Cadance with an elbow to get her to do the same. "That was amazing, Trixie!"

"You two are both crazy," Cadance said.

Trixie and I looked each other in the eyes and nodded at the same time. "Yup!" we both said and laughed.

After Cadance groaned and walked past us a little, Trixie leaned closer. "You said you were getting tutored, but by Princess Mi Amore Cadenza?"

I nodded and started walking after Cadance with Trixie at my side the whole way. "Yeah. Cadance is pretty awesome, though her special somepony is a little dense." As I said it, I watched Trixie's eyebrow rise. "She was actually just asking me for a way to wake him up to the amazing mare who has him in her sights."

"Simple!" Trixie said. "All we need to do is put on a big show. Get him on stage to be the assistant while we pretend the act is going wrong, and then rather than one of us, he saves the princess."

Cadance's ears had been twitching, following our words, but upon hearing the plan she dropped back to walk at our side. "That's actually not a bad plan. How do we do it?"

"It will have to be next week," I said. "I have Sundays with my magic tutor, and with how much I'm improving I don't want to skip even an hour of that."

"Hold on." Trixie narrowed her eyes at me. "You mean to say you're studying Saturday and Sunday, as well as having school all week?" When I nodded, her eyes widened with shock. "You are such an egg-head!"

"You're one to talk," I said. "You beg and plead with an alien to help you get into a school."

"Trixie did not beg and plead!"

I couldn't stop myself, I giggled at her third-person (pony?) slip. "It's so cute when you do that talking-in-the-third-person thing. Working on it for your act?"

Prancing a few steps, Trixie tilted her head to the side. "The Great and Powerful Trixie doesn't have an act. She is too Great and—"

The Great and Powerful Trixie stopped when I booped her on the nose with a poke of my magic. "Come on. Let's head inside."

"The school? How—and why—would you study at the school?" Trixie seemed to dig her hooves in rather than walk the last few steps to the front door.

"How: I asked Princess Celestia. Why: this is better than bothering a dozen Royal Guard to visit Cadance in her rooms, and another dozen on the way out. Also, dorm rooms aren't built with alicorns in mind." I followed Cadance all the way to the door and held it open for Trixie.

"You just asked—" Trixie stared at me, mouth open. "You're in Princess Celestia's class?!"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes. Are you coming in?"

Trixie made a feminine, upward-inflecting grunt that almost caused me to giggle, then she trotted up the stairs and past me.

"What do you think they'll do, anyway? Rope you and drag you into a classroom to learn something on a Saturday?" I followed along until we caught up to Cadance.

All three of us turned into a classroom together. Rather than any kind of usual classroom layout, we used our horns to just push three desks so they faced each other.

Cadance grabbed out the first textbook with her magic and opened it to a bookmarked page. "Okay, recent history first. Let's start with the inflation of costs in Vanhoove—"

"Ugh!" Trixie practically howled in disgust. "You don't even have to explain this one. I was there. When the new dam was completed, the rush of new technology into the city made everypony want to buy the new things. This brought a lot of goods in but sent a lot of bits out. The result was less money in the city."

Rather than read the book, I listened to Trixie instead—taking notes. She put a more real-life spin on the event that the textbook would never be able to cover. As she described how hard it became for her and her father to afford to live there, however, she went silent.

"Trixie?" I asked.

"I—" Trixie Lulamoon halted. "The Great and Powerful Trixie doesn't wish to speak any further."

Putting my pencil down, I reached a hoof over to touch Trixie on the forehoof. At first, she jerked back a little, but I chased her limb with my own. "It's okay, Trixie. You don't need to say any more." I could see stark relief color her features. "Was there more to that question, Cadance?"

"No. Why don't we talk about this show idea?" Cadance asked.

Trixie seemed to unfold mentally again, and her face brightened. "A b-big chest with a false bottom. One of us can climb in and—"

I interrupted her by levitating a handkerchief from my saddlebags and wiping at her eyes. "Won't he be on stage?" As pink magic took hold of the cloth, I released it.

"Some magic fireworks for sound and light, a fantastic apprentice—that's you, Mike—who distracts him and the crowd from what lies within!" As she spoke, Trixie's full Trixiness returned more and more. "Maybe a joke or some slapstick, get everypony laughing, and while there is plenty of sound we swap."

"And then what?" Cadance asked. "Wait, 'Mike'?!"

Trixie looked at me, then to Cadance, then back to me again. "Isn't that your name?"

"I kinda changed it when I became a pony. And by I I mean my family. They said Mike didn't suit a cute mare. I guess I sorta agreed." Not for the first time I marveled at how relaxed it was speaking in Equish. My stilted and formal language (that Candela had taught me) was now gaining a flood of slang.

"What is your new name?" Trixie asked.

Turning in my seat to face her, I shoved out a hoof to Trixie. "Hi there. Lyra Heartstrings."

"That does have a more pony ring to it than Mike. Alright, Lyra Heartstrings, my name is Trixie Lulamoon. Joke or slapstick?"

"Hold on." Cadance looked between us before letting out an ever-suffering sigh at our excited expressions. "You two can work that out anytime. What am I supposed to do?"

"Brave assistant Lyra!" The Great and Powerful Trixie said (you could tell it was Great and Powerful because she was almost yelling it). "What do you do to your sweetheart when they aren't noticing you and you surprise them?"

It wasn't a hard guess under the circumstances. I jumped out of my desk and crouched down on the floor. "So there you are, curled up in the box and waiting your prince Charming to open it."

"Prince who? I don't think we have any prince Charmings here," Cadance said.

Trixie, ever the showmare, reached up a hoof and pressed her mane back. She walked to the theoretical chest I was bound in and mimed throwing it open.

I was so caught up in the moment that I jumped up and, in my role, kissed Trixie on the lips. For two seconds neither of us moved, then Trixie pulled back. "J-Just like that! But you. And Shining. Not Trixie. Or me. We would—"

Laughter cut into my verbal flood of things I couldn't stop saying. Cadance pointed a hoof at the both of us and was lost into gales of laughter.

"T-Trixie doesn't think it was that funny. It was just a kiss—it might have been Trixie's first kiss—but it was just a kiss! It wasn't even a bad kiss, but Trixie isn't really an expert on them yet." Trixie, like myself, apparently didn't know when to cut her losses and be quiet, though she ran out of things to say eventually.

When the laughter continued, with no sign of abating, I turned to Trixie. "It seems like Princess Mi—" I stopped as the laughter did. Cadance gave me a square look that was a dare to continue saying her full name. "Ahem. I'm glad we're more serious now. Cadance, are you willing to go through with this?"

"I was asking for that, and yes. I need to do something before he turns into this doll-like soldier who doesn't even look twice at me. I think a kiss should do it," Cadance said. "But he can't see it coming. I need him completely distracted as he rips the box open."

Smiling—trying to forget the taste of Trixie's lips still on my own—I stood upright on two legs and bowed to Cadance. "I think I can have that covered. Now, what's the next problem?" I gestured back to my book.

Study went well, and it seemed like no time before we were walking out of the school to get lunch. Trixie had mentioned she knew a great little place not far away, and it had been easy to agree. One problem was I couldn't forget kissing her. It wasn't even like she was my first, but it was still a surprise to have done it.

All through the day and afternoon I couldn't stop thinking about the kiss—it was stupid.

Author's Note

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And special thanks to the following, for careful eyes and friendly words:
Lab

Chapter 8

Joyce had been to meet Princess Celestia twice now. This was her third time, and it seemed a pattern had been established. The nice Royal Guards had directed her to the garden, where Joyce found the ruler of Equestria sitting at an entrance to the garden maze.

"Good afternoon, Joyce." Princess Celestia beamed at the young mare approaching her. "I believe a thank-you is in order."

Surprised at the greeting, Joyce found her spot—it was rather obvious, what with the tea for two that was laid out—and nodded. "Yeah. Thank you for that pass, again. I sat the examination on Thursday, hoping I'd get my results back the next day, but it doesn't seem like I will find out until Monday."

"No, Joyce. I meant thank you. I don't know how you got word to your home, but my representative was approached by a young mare claiming to be aide to the Princess of Batstralia. I believe her name is Robin Robertson."

"It was a dream." Joyce had no reason to lie. Besides, she really liked the tea Princess Celestia served. "That seems to be a thing for bat ponies. It was really hard to do it here, though, but I managed to reach Dream Thunder and my filly." Tears welled up again at the thought of their meeting. "Sorry, Prin—Celestia."

It took every ounce of Princess Celestia's acumen to not gasp in shock. Dreams were a domain belonging to another alicorn—one she must not mention. "Dreams. You are not the only thing in Equestria that can walk dreams, Joyce. Be careful."

"What's wrong?" In just three meetings with Princess Celestia, Joyce could tell when Celestia was relaxed and calm, and when she was neutral.

"I cannot say. I'm sorry for that, but this secret is one I cannot reveal. My representative had only good things to say about the combined courtesy of the townsfolk. He mentioned this Dream Thunder you spoke of, and I believe her mother is the teacher there?" Princess Celestia poured the tea into two cups, her magic shimmering gold in the early afternoon light as it prepared their drinks.

"Dream Thunder is almost like another filly of mine. Candela and I—I don't know how to explain it. We both went through a very stressful time in our lives and came out of it together." Using her wing-claws, Joyce dried the tears on her cheeks and then lifted the tea. "Princess Screech was the name Robin gave to her—to Batstralia's—leader. Is that always going to be the case? Ponies and princesses?"

Princess Celestia laughed at the question, her worry about the earlier topic easing. "I can only speak from experience, of course, but it certainly seems so. When ponies are in a need of guidance beyond their own making, an alicorn will be created. It has always been so here. Equestria needed somepony to control the sun and moon, and we—I—ascended. Ponies gathered together too close, and their hearts grew sore with friction, and Princess Cadance ascended.

"The people of Batstralia were panicked and in need, and it seems magic has found a suitable alicorn for them. I may have to skip afternoon tea with you one week—I'm sure I'll have to visit this Princess Screech."

Struggling to process the wealth of information, Joyce noticed a tick—which was highly unusual for Princess Celestia's otherwise even tone. "You said 'we'?"

Princess Celestia jerked back as if stung. The one topic she couldn't let anypony broach, and Joyce had queried her about it. "Joyce Robertson, there are not a lot of things I will keep hidden from a friend such as you have become, but this is one of them. Please do not pursue this topic. I'm sorry, but there are things at work here that make this—"

Joyce interrupted Princess Celestia. She had seen the pain in the mare's face—real pain born of loss—and had gotten up to hug Celestia. "Maybe some other time, when it's safe to speak of it."

For the first time in almost a thousand years Celestia felt the slightest easing of her heartache. She let out a gasp and hugged Joyce back, somewhat surprised by how big the mare's wings were. Minutes passed, and when Princess Celestia finally drew back from Joyce, she could see dampness on one leathery wing. "I'm sorry. It's not just a sore topic, but a dangerous one. One way or another, in six years, you will know the truth of it."

The undisguised mystical feel of the prophecy was not lost on Joyce, and again she had to remind herself that in a land where magic was so casual it was taught in classes, there was going to be problems caused by magic. "I was amazed by how many ailments simple magic medicines can completely cure."

Smiling at the explicit change in topic, Princess Celestia lifted her tea and sipped at it. "From what I understand, most are simply magical shortcuts for established procedures." She might not be a doctor, but Princess Celestia had lived long enough to see amazing changes wrought on medicine.

"The curious thing is a lot of such things, from my knowledge of Earth problems, should be able to work on other things too. For instance, the common flu-b-gone should work just as well on non-magical plagues." Sipping her own tea, Joyce also found a slice of cake on a tray and soon nibbled on it.

Princess Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Batstralia was not magical before, correct?" When Joyce nodded to her, Celestia continued. "How did you deal with such ailments?"

"We injected anyone who wanted them with flu vaccine—a ways to boost people's immune system—but that only works for something we know is coming, and it still didn't actually stop anyone from getting sick. They would just have a very short flu encounter." Closing her eyes, Joyce savored the flavor of the wonderful tea cake.

"Such a thing could be helpful to a struggling nation's economy." Princess Celestia hid her smile behind the rim of her teacup.

"Let me see. Instantly relieves flu symptoms and must be taken when each new infection happens? Princess Celestia, finding a cure to the common cold is used as a joke on Earth, because nopony—nobody—thinks it can be done." Joyce realized, in that moment, how powerful any idea given to Princess Celestia could be. She had the power to mobilize an entire country to do things. She had soldiers, armies, and more magic than existed on Earth. "You would need to test the medication in magic-free environments, from what I heard most of Earth will stay that way."

"Medicine is such a wonderful gift. I know it would be a powerful bargaining chip later, but I'm sure a few gifts will help show I am serious about a friendly alliance. How is Lyra doing at home?" Princess Celestia asked, shifting the topic again.

"She is blossoming. I thought she was doing well when we first moved to Cowwarr, but seeing her practicing magic with her tutor earlier was a whole other side to my filly." Joyce was glad of the subject change, she preferred lighter topics. "Why did you invite her, back when she was Michael, to your school?"

"I don't know. I'll be honest, Joyce. I don't know what took me to invite her. Call it an urge, call it fate, or call it a hunch. I felt that Michael belonged here, and could feel there was much she—then he—could teach us." Celestia sipped the last of her tea and began refilling her cup from the enchanted teapot that never grew cold. "There's a lot of things I will never leave to chance, but when it comes to offering somepony a future that can only be bright? I am willing to cast the dice with that as many times as I can."

"Lyra came home particularly perky last night. She was meeting with a friend over lunch. I don't suppose Cadance told you if she played matchmaker?" Joyce asked.

Princess Celestia chuckled into her tea. "You found out about her little trick?"

Joyce nodded. "It's amazing the things librarians hear, and say if you ask them nicely. I heard Lyra murmur a name in her sleep—sleep a mother tried her hardest to ignore. Does the name Trixie Lulamoon ring any bells?"

"I'll speak to Cadance. But know that her power can only enhance a love already present. If she used her magic to bring Lyra and Trixie together, there was already a seed of love between them. What about yourself?" When Celestia asked Joyce the question, she was pleased to see Joyce blush a little.

The conundrum that was Tufts still caused Joyce to feel flighty and confused. "I-I'm spoken for. I think. It's complicated, but I think it's not. He'd move the world for me. He's not—and never was—human or pony. Where I come from, there aren't any intelligent creatures but humans."

"But there's a connection there?"

Joyce nodded once more. She had a hint that she'd be doing that a lot to Princess Celestia's insightful questions. "There is. I've met others—stallions—and it's nice to be appreciated, but I can't see them as anything but a pale reflection of him."

"This is something Cadance could help you with, you know."

The words surprised Joyce with their simplicity. She felt something—definitely something—for Tufts, and she had his words and deeds telling her he felt it back. It would be all too easy to ask Cadance for a nudge. "How would it feel?"

Joyce expected a lot of things from her question, but empty regret wasn't one of them. "I'm sorry if I overstepped. I didn't—"

"No. When I was younger, there were stallions around me, but they were teachers. They weren't my peers. Once a hundred years had passed, and I was doing the work I was born for, I was beyond what any stallion would dare approach. It got significantly worse over the years." There was no moment in the past millennium that Celestia wished she had some apple brandy for her tea more that right then.

Trying to think of a solution to Celestia's problem, Joyce couldn't find an opening. "Have you tried talking to Cadance about it?"

The shock of the question jerked Celestia's head up and ripped her from her melancholy. "What?"

"She is the alicorn of love, right? You suggested I talk to her myself just moments ago. Have you tried asking her for help?" Joyce asked.

"But she's—She's only just—" Princess Celestia snapped her mouth closed before she managed to finish a sentence and say something she'd regret. She downed her tea, and a small cake, and began pouring another cup. She waited—and so did Joyce—until the second cup was almost halfway through being drunk to continue. "It's seldom that anypony would tell me something that honest. You're right, though. This is within Cadance's unique sphere of power. Much as it isn't easy to contemplate asking a mare I am trying to teach humility for help, I think it will also be a good test. Thank you again, Joyce."

"If you can, I can. This is wonderful tea." Joyce could see real relief on Princess Celestia's face at the change in topic. She'd so missed having peers to talk to. Candela had filled the role when Joyce was in Cowwarr, but it wasn't until that exact moment that sitting and chatting with Celestia felt normal. So long as she doesn't suggest international relations that could quickly become policy, but everyone had something that you had to tip-toe around.

Princess Celestia beamed at the compliment. "Thank you. Did you like the cake?"

A hunch hit Joyce. She put some things together quickly and had to ask the next leap-of-insight question. "You baked it yourself?" She knew she'd guessed correctly when Celestia's smile looked like sunrise.

"I love baking and cooking. I particularly like sneaking into the castle kitchen and making snacks for the Guards and workers. They might enjoy their job, but that doesn't mean I can't make it a little better for them. And I like cooking for others." Sipping the last of her tea, Princess Celestia found the teapot empty when she tried to pour another.

"Now I know you need to meet my youngest. Her cutie mark is in preparing food." Lifting up her own cup, Joyce drank the last of her tea and made a soft sigh. "I find out tomorrow if I will be able to skip some time at school."

"Your time here is already paying dividends, for Equestria and Batstralia. I would never have thought to offer medicine research as a gift or trade commodity. I don't want you to feel that this is your only use to me, Joyce. There is some feeling about you, a hunch, that you have something big yet to do. And I genuinely enjoy your company." Cleaning up herself, Celestia couldn't shake the feeling that Joyce had a big part to play, and that Luna was involved. It was an easy connection, given the dream magic of both.

"I'll be honest about that, Celestia. I feel overwhelmed. To have an idea—not even an idea—spun into international politics feels—It feels daunting. What if I give you bad advice?" Joyce asked.

"Joyce, I have been doing this for a little while now. We have several bordering nations that we coexist with. Griffons, dragons, and even some more esoteric sub-races of ponies all trade and travel within Equestria. If you have advice, I am very happy to hear it, but I treat it only as advice." Princess Celestia levitated another of her little cakes up. "If I make the wrong decision based off advice, it is my decision, and I will accept the blame for it."

It was both rebuke and reassurance. Joyce wanted to feel more of the latter, but she had a tiny fraction of the former that had a loud voice. She finished her piece of cake before replying. "I'll try to keep from giving bad advice, all the same."

"The difference between you, Joyce Robertson, and one of my more official Royal Advisers, is that they promise not to give bad advice. I believe you more than I believe them." Princess Celestia unfolded her legs and stretched her wings as she stood up. "So. We both resolve to speak to Cadance about our problems?"

Jolted into a new topic, Joyce could do nothing else but nod. "Both of us."

Author's Note

Tufts: when are you going to actually propose?

"Time is my ally. My sweet little mango grows closer by the day, and soon she will not even realize how close we are." Tufts licked his wing dismissively. "I'm playing by her pace. This works better than the alternatives."

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Awesome ponies who are already helping to keep me in keyboards and rum:
A.P.O.N.I.
Boulder
Canary in the Coal Mine
Daremo
Dio-Drogynous
Javarod
Lazyreader19
Nils
Sirion123

And special thanks to the following, for careful eyes and friendly words:
Lab

Chapter 9 [[ A Lyra Perspective ]]

My hooves stilled, and I pressed my right fetlock to the strings to silence my bass completely. The music had come from a world away, but with my fretless bass held to me, Primus seemed forever close.

I was sitting outside the dormitory, in the back garden. With Mum spending Sunday afternoons at the castle, and my lesson with Twilight completed earlier, I had time to practice my craft. Adjusting my hoof on the long neck, I brought my other hoof to the strings.

The next song was bopping, bouncing, and my left hoof moved effortlessly into position each time my right plucked and slapped at the strings. I only wished I had some ponies on rhythm guitar and drums to play along with it.

Opening my mouth, there was only one way the words would work for the song—English. "There's a time for lies—"

I froze my playing and singing at the sound of a gasp. I turned to see Candy Cane's daughter looking at me with a shocked expression. "What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing! I heard sounds coming from out here, and was worried somepony was playing in the stream again. Was that really coming from your guitar?"

"Yeah. I haven't seen anypony playing a bass here. Maybe I'll start a trend?" I ran my hoof down the strings, gently, causing the little amp I had to purr with the heavy bass notes. "I'm Lyra."

"My name's Sweetie Drops. Can I listen to some more? I promise I won't interrupt again."

I looked Sweetie over. She was wearing blue, rubber coverings on her forehooves. Small dusty patches marred her otherwise perfect yellowish coat. Her two-tone blue and pink mane was secured back in a hairnet, but her tail was free to show off her natural curls. She was pretty, but given my association with Cadance it was hard to call any mare beautiful.

"Sure. This isn't my song, but a good one from where I'm from," I said somewhat awkwardly.

To cover my blunder, I returned to playing Shake Hands With Beef. I refrained from lyrics—now that I had an audience—but still followed them along in my head. The plucking was the hardest part of the song, but once I had my rhythm going it all just flowed.

Music was literally my special talent. It poured out through my music, and without even meaning to I put myself into the song. I'm not even sure how it works—I didn't play the bass any different—but it just worked.

I must have played the song twice over, maybe three times, but eventually it felt right to let it end. I stilled the strings for the last time and let out a little sigh—playing like that should have drained me, but I felt stronger for it.

"That. Was. Amazing!" Sweetie Drops said. "I've never heard a guitar make any of those sounds before. How do you do it? Is it magic?"

I had no obligations for the rest of the afternoon, so I indulged. "No magic. I can't use magic." To demonstrate I eased a little power into my horn and touched the strings with it.

Both of us tucked our ears back at the screech the amplifier emitted.

"What was that?!" Sweetie Drops asked.

"What happens when magic and stuff from my world get together. It's not pretty." I let the magic in my horn flow back into me. The little glow the power created inside me felt nice—a reminder that this world was nothing like Earth. "This can only be played with your hooves. No magic at all."

I played the first line. Plucking strings with the leading and trailing edges of my hoof, stilling them and slapping the strings with my frog, and moving my left hoof just so to build the chords.

"Your cutie mark is a stringed instrument, too?" Sweetie Drops asked.

"Yeah, but I was playing this for eight years before I got my cutie mark. Though I didn't play it as a pony until after—of course." Reaching out with a hind-leg, I carefully turned the volume down on the amplifier. "Did Mom tell you the story of that?"

"Your mom's here? At the halls?"

I nodded. "Her name's Joyce. Big wings, definitely not a pegasus." While I spoke, my hooves kept moving, kept the rhythm going.

"You're that Lyra? Now it's starting to make sense. Your mom scared me half to death! She seemed so strange at first, but she's really nice. Mom was talking about when you arrived, that you were pulling a cart and everything—even though your friend was an earth pony." Sweetie looked like she would be ready to rant, then stopped. "I sometimes feel a little underappreciated."

"How'd you get your cutie mark?" I asked.

It was the one question that put a smile on anypony's face. Getting your cutie mark was the single most exciting moment in any young pony's life. Sweetie Drops practically glowed when I asked her about hers.

Sweetie Drops looked directly ahead of herself, her eyes looking through the stream and marble that was in front of her. "I was baking cookies with Mom, and we realized there was way too much sugar, butter, and cream left. But, there was no flour. While Mom was looking for a recipe to use them up, I practically jumped on the kitchen bench.

"Mom said I worked like a mare possessed, but I felt lighter than a feather. Mixing up the caramel, I don't even know where I found the chocolate for the coating, but by the time I was done I had a whole tray of bonbons, and my cutie mark."

The other part of hearing about a pony getting their cutie mark was it reminded you of how you got yours—which lifted your spirits.

"I was out in a field with a friend. We were just relaxing after—Well, it was after I visited here for the first time. Canterlot that is. Anyway. So we were just chilling in the field, talking about the day, when a bright flash of light lit up the sky. Rainbow colored waves spread out from the north, and we both got our marks right then!" I said.

I couldn't stop myself. My hooves took on a life of their own, and I was shoved into a more active song. I wove joy and excitement around each other, and worked them into my song.

Sweetie leaned down and turned the amplifier back up, and we both basked in the shared experience of gaining our cutie marks. I never saw her hoof until it was right before my mouth. Instinct told me she had something, and I opened up for her.

Rich, perfect chocolate spread throughout my palate. As my music was a raw expression of my emotions and my cutie mark, so was Sweetie Drops' bonbons. The moment the chocolate melted enough to release the fondant inside, my music exploded.

It was a moment I somehow knew I'd never forget. With the same feel as when I'd first gotten my cutie mark, I could tell that meeting Sweetie Drops was important. The rich flavor of her sweets lingered, and so long as it did I kept playing. The music just poured from me. Tunes and patterns I forgot as soon as played, but it was the moment that mattered.

Finally, both flavor and song found their concluded their assault, and my bass became silent. We both sat in silence—or what silence a busy city at the end of the day could afford—and thought about our shared moment.

I took a breath, and from one moment to the next I found my voice. "Wow."

"I'm glad I met you, Lyra," Sweetie Drops said. "But I have to finish some work."

The way her tone dropped at mention of work was a stab wound in my heart. I jumped to my hooves. "Can I help?"

It was almost sunset, but Sweetie Drops' face looked like a sunrise. The pain of her statement was erased. "Really?"

"What are friends for? I made you late, so the least I can do is get you caught up. What are we doing?"

Sweetie got to her hooves with a bounce and turned toward the dormitory. "We have the dubious honor of feeding dozens of hungry, young unicorns. At least, we need to prepare to feed them, cook their food, and serve it. Come on!"

I'd never disliked preparing food, but I'd never tried to cook for two-dozen ponies before. Everything was prepared in large batches, cooking in oversize ovens. Because of my magic, I got the duty of loading things into and out of ovens, while Sweetie Drops prepared the dishes from the trays.

I got to watch her work, and I could have sworn there was a little of her special talent going into each meal—no wonder the food was so good. Our words were mostly either instructions or laughing, sometimes both at the same time. By the time the last dessert was served, Sweetie Drops and I almost fell against each other.

Candy Cane walked in just as the first of the dessert plates started coming back. She looked around the kitchen with surprise on her face. "I didn't expect you to be done yet! Is that Joyce's little filly under that apron?" Her tone lacked any real heat with the accusation, and she was smiling.

"Yup!" I said. "I distracted Sweetie with some music, and thought I could pay her back by helping out in here. I hope it's okay?"

Sweetie Drops reached her hoof up to my head and smeared a little whipped cream into my already dirty mane. "Sorry, Mom. She followed me home—can I keep her?"

I barked on cue.

Candy seemed to be struggling not to laugh. She move into the room and started making shooing gestures. "Both of you! Out of here and clean yourselves up!"

Laughing, I rushed out of the kitchen and froze in the hall. "Last one to get clean has to help the other tomorrow!"

Sweetie looked at me, clearly trying to do the math on my statement. "You mean the loser has to help the winner in the kitchen?" When I nodded, she giggled. "You're a silly pony, Lyra."

It turns out I sucked at showering quickly. The batter we'd made shire puddings (at least it's what Sweetie called shire pudding, back on Earth they were called Yorkshire pudding) out of was just about the stickiest thing ever, and no amount of cleaning agents on their own would remove it. At least I had a brush and my magic.

I had no idea how long I actually took, but when I got out of the shower Mom and Tufts were still not home. I dried off as best I could and headed back out.

Sweetie Drops proved that I still had a lot to learn about being a pony—she was waiting for me. "You took your time."

"Hey, it takes work to look this good," I said. "So what am I doing tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?"

"Yeah. The deal was I'd help you in the kitchen, right?"

"Oh no. Not tomorrow." Sweetie Drops gestured down the hall toward the kitchen. "You agreed to my rewording. Right now. Come on."

I admit I was more curious than confused. Following Sweetie, we got to the kitchen to find Candy Cane having just finished cleaning up.

"Back for more?" Candy asked.

"Nope! We're making bonbons!" Sweetie slipped past her mother and started pulling out ingredients.

Candy Cane looked at me, then back to her daughter. "I'll leave you two to it. Make sure to clean up when you're done."

"Of course, Mom." Sweetie Drops' tone hadn't wavered, and I realized why—this was her special talent. The bonbons of her cutie mark were a literal talent.

I squeezed past Candy Cane as she left the kitchen, and took up my place as Sweetie's assistant. I'd never made bonbons before, but I had to assume it was going to be a little complicated.

"Can you do any cold spells?" Sweetie Drops asked.

The question confused me. There was a refrigerator (or at least what passed for one in Equestria, I had no idea what it used to make things cold), but Sweetie obviously knew that. "Uh. I guess. Can I try testing something and you see if it works?"

"This would normally take overnight, but if there's a unicorn who can chill something until it's hard, then we can make them all in one go. Pass me that butter."

I did as asked, and watched Sweetie combine the butter, some sugar, nuts and some kind of milk in a bowl. When she produced one little ball with her hoof, she thrust it out to me. "Cool this."

With my magic, I lifted the ball over to the sink and focused on it. The snuffing spell for flame used cold to chill the fire, and I just pictured the ball as a flame and used it. More power. More power. Done! "Like that?" I asked.

Plucking the ball from my magic, Sweetie examined it. She turned it this way and that, then bit clean through the ball, and examined the inside. "Yeah. That should do it." She tossed the other half to me.

Catching the candy in my magic, I brought it to my mouth and bit into it. The flavor was a mirror for the inside of the gooey bonbon she'd given me earlier in the night.

"So what else am I doing, besides being your personal chiller?" I asked.

"Low heat. Melt me twelve cups of chocolate chips and eight tablespoons of butter together. You need to do it in a glass bowl over a pot of warm water." Sweetie was already working on a bigger batch of the overly sweet center-stuff.

Of course, I cheated. I used my magic to warm the water before I put the pot on the stove, then put the basin in it and started adding chocolate and butter.

"You need to keep stirring that constantly," Sweetie Drops said.

"Your wish is my command!" I used magic to stir the bowl, working the slowly melting chocolate into the butter. Realization hit me that despite my morning magic training, using my magic to help Sweetie was more training.

Sweetie Drops began rolling out balls of the stuff she'd been making. "How much kick do you like in yours?"

"'Kick'?" I asked.

"Most I make just like this. But for the older fillies and colts…" Sweetie Drops reached up to a ubiquitous dark bottle from a shelf. "We add some kick." And with that, she splashed a dark gold liquid into about a fifth of the ball mix.

"Oh. Kick! Uh, I guess I like it. How strong is that stuff?"

"The rum? It's pretty killer, you don't want to drink it like this. But a little splashed into the center of these makes them taste amazing. Trust me."

It was easy to trust a mare on her bonbon making prowess, whose cutie mark was a literal bonbon. I kept working at stirring the chocolate until Sweetie set the tray of balls before me.

"All those?" I asked. When Sweetie Drops nodded, I started working the cold spell. "There you go. Oh, did you want me to dip them, too?"

"Show me," Sweetie Drops said.

Picking up a ball, I floated it to the bowl of melted chocolate. Dipping it in, I was aware that Sweetie had a big grin on her face. When I lifted out the ball, it was still clean of chocolate. "Uh…"

"Rookie mistake. You're holding the ball all around, right?" Sweetie picked up one of her own and cupped it with both hooves. "No way for the chocolate to get in and coat it."

"Huh. So what do I do?" I asked.

"I use skewers. Stick them halfway into the chilled ball, dip it in. You might be able to do something fancier with your magic." Sweetie Drops was issuing a challenge, and I'll be damned if I'd turn it down.

Changing my focus, I tried to make fingers with my magic. It took until Sweetie had about half the first lot of balls done before I managed it. Fingers led to hands, which were easy enough to make. No matter what I did, however, I couldn't make them smaller.

By the time Sweetie started dipping the rum bonbons, I just used my magic to pluck up a skewer and did things that way.

"See? I knew you'd work it out," Sweetie Drops said. "Too many unicorns would spend all day and all year trying to make their magic like a skewer, when there's a skewer sitting right there you could have picked up."

It was just about the most zen thing I'd ever heard in my life. Magic was great, but sometimes magic plus mundane was better. "What can I say, I've got the best teacher in all Equestria." When Sweetie didn't rise to the bait, I used my magic to lift a dob of chocolate and booped her nose with it.

By the time we got done making Sweetie's bonbons, and cleaned up the kitchen, I was actually yawning. Sweetie slipped four bonbons into a bag and passed them to me.

"What's this for?" I asked.

"Duh. Helping." Sweetie packed the rest into two piles—alcoholic and non-alcoholic. I watched as she twisted each up in a little piece of baking paper.

"But I lost the bet, I had to help." Not that I wanted to complain too much. My sampling so far had reinforced the fact that Sweetie Drops made the best bonbons of all time.

"Oh dear. Well, since I paid you for this work, you're going to have to help me tomorrow!"

I rolled my eyes, but there was just something good about Sweetie Drops that pushed her right into best-friend status with just one afternoon of being together. I let out a defeated sigh. "I guess it does. Oh woe is me!"

My sense of taste was overwhelmed with chocolate, rum, and nutty candy. I closed my eyes to Sweetie Drops' silly grin, and chewed at the treat. By the time I was done, and opened my eyes again, Sweetie had a self-satisfied grin. "That is the most powerful weapon to shut people up with ever. I'm not sure if one mare should be trusted with all that power."

"Oh? And what will you do about it?"

"My duty as a pony," I said. "I'll have to eat all of them."

Sweetie Drops snorted. "But, Lyra, I have the easiest way possible of sneaking away from you."

"You wouldn't da—" I was stopped short by Sweetie's lightning-fast hoof shoving another bonbon in my mouth. Flavor exploded on my tongue, and I had to concede that I had no chance of intercepting her while encumbered with the treat.

"Goodbye, Lyra."

Letting the greatest evil in pony society escape, I finished eating the bonbon and headed back to our rooms. Mum and Tufts were back, and both were hanging from their perch. "Hey," I said.

"Been out chasing mares?" Mum asked.

"Yes and no. Chasing—no. Mares—yes. Sweetie Drops found me playing outside. We chatted a bit, then I helped her with cooking dinner." As I spoke, I walked to my bookshelf and lifted out one of the primers on using my magic for manipulating things physically.

"You see that, Tufts? That is what I'm talking about," Mum said. "It's just not natural for her to ignore a pretty mare and come home to read a book." The humor in her voice was so dry I almost shed a tear for her.

"She needs more mangoes, obviously." Tufts, his tail wrapped around the perch so that he hung almost as far down as Mum's shoulders, rubbed his vulpine jaw with one wing-claw. "There's nothing else for it, I'm afraid. Her lack of battiness is terminal."

"Oh sure, make jokes. Sweetie's really cool, but we're just friends. You two are worse than Cadance." I stepped up beside my bed and flopped sideways. Rolling, I wound up on my back with the book hovering above me.

Squirming a little to get comfortable, I had the distinct impression that Mum was staring at me. "What?" I asked.

"I was just thinking how that position seems perfect for showing off literally everything a mare shouldn't." Mum's tone was more humorous than serious.

"Says the mare who always walks with her tail arched high," I said.

"I do not! I—" Mum halted mid tirade. "I do, don't I?"

"Probably all thanks to Dream's little gift. You don't even think about it, but all day you are looking at other ponies' privates, and they can see yours." I waved a hoof in the air to indicate the pervasiveness of the thing. "And now, Mom, whenever you walk around, you are going to remember this little speech and it will suddenly hit you."

"Lyra?" Mum asked.

"Yes Mom?"

"Now you're focusing on breathing in and out, and you can feel your tongue moving in your mouth."

I barked a short laugh. "That's a horrible one, but I think mine will be worse," I said.

"Tufts, did you know our daughter is evil?" Mum's tone was full of regret. "I best alert the Royal Guard."

"There's something she forgot," Tufts said. He flapped a wing, earning my attention. "You might have given that idea, but you will have it yourself."

I froze. My brain pulled up dozens of interactions and situations, flashing me images I'd rather I didn't see. "Damn it!"

Tufts' screech was suspiciously like laughter.

Turning my full focus on the book, I tried to blot out even the time spent cooking. The shaping of magic, it seemed, was an advanced topic. Despite that, I read as much of the introductory book as I could before sleep came.

I was a rock star. A pony rock star. On stage, playing my bass, I had a band with me and we jammed Primus tunes out for all we were worth.

There was a huge audience—massive. There were millions in the crowd, and they all got to see me play. Bouncing along in the front, I saw Cadance, and Shining (they were together, of course), then I saw Sweet Dreams and Sweetie Drops.

For a moment I saw Mum and Dad (in my dream I called Tufts dad, of course). People were shouting, but I didn't know if they were shouting to me or along with the music. I assumed the latter and kept playing.

Author's Note

Support me on Patreon or fuel my writing on Ko-Fi!

Join me on Discord. Warning, said chat may contain NSFW material and should be considered adult in nature.

Awesome ponies who are already helping to keep me in keyboards and rum:
A.P.O.N.I.
Boulder
Canary in the Coal Mine
Daremo
Dio-Drogynous
Javarod
Lazyreader19
Nils
Sirion123

And special thanks to the following, for careful eyes and friendly words:
Lab

Chapter 10

Looking down at the papers, Joyce tried to work out what it meant. She saw the scores per section, but there was no overall score on the paper. What surprised her was how well she'd done on magical medicine, and how badly she'd done at the topics her doctoral training should have covered. "So…?"

"You passed. Barely." Bright Meadow couldn't stop her eyes from sliding to Joyce's wings. It wasn't every day a new breed of pony came along, and she had so far gained the most time to study the amazing wing structure—that she'd fed Joyce a lot of knowledge of magical medicine hadn't (in Bright's estimation) been a problem.

A buzz of excitement rushed through Joyce. She loosed her wings a little and felt an urge to flap them and screech at the top of her lungs.

The enthusiasm that boiled from Joyce "You have a choice, still." She waited for Joyce to calm down and acknowledge her. "I am willing to mark you as having passed your first year. You could spend now until the start of next year studying and filling in the gaps, or—"

Joyce couldn't help her excitement. "Could I join the class in progress?"

"That was going to be my suggestion. I'd appreciate not being interrupted, however." Bright Meadow cleared her throat. "As I was saying, you could spend the year studying, or you could join the class in progress, and excuse yourself from classes you have already shown a good understanding of.

"I wouldn't normally make this offer, you understand, but I have to be clear about one thing—we cheated with the test. Not only did we add some questions to completely stall you, but we crafted some others so that we'd see your depth of learning, and not just breadth."

Waiting with bated breath, Joyce was actually pleasantly surprised by the revelation regarding the test paper's construction. However, she had enough of a hold on her enthusiasm now that she didn't blurt out the first thing that came to mind. Joyce nodded.

"Professor Horse was surprised at the insight you displayed with magical medicine, especially since you'd only studied it for two weeks, though I must express surprise at your answers to questions you should have known." Even now Bright Meadow couldn't get past it. Joyce had already made it apparent she knew more about physical medicine than Equestrian medicine. The apparent gaps in that had almost been grounds to fail her. "I'm excited, Joyce, and worried. I don't want to push you too hard, and yet I see a promising medical student who has a lot to add to the combined wisdom and knowledge of medicine."

"Then teach me," Joyce said. "Teach me yourself."

Dr. Bright Meadow raised one curious eyebrow.

"Ethics," Joyce said as she pointed to her results, "are something I could leave off my first year training. Take me for private tutoring. There's obviously something I'm missing with regard to physical medicine that I'm going to struggle with if I carry my assumptions about medicine. Help me learn the pony way of medicine."

"I expected you to approach any other teacher here about this except for myself. We didn't exactly hit it off, Joyce," Bright Meadow said.

Joyce loosed a sigh and nodded. "The more I explore pony society, the more I find vast similarities to human society, but I don't care. You're the best doctor here in the field of a pony's physical anatomy and its treatment."

"Professor Dembones—"

"Is an expert specifically with the skeletal structure—whom I will no doubt be spending time learning from as well—but I want to be taught by the best. It matters to me." Joyce was almost panting, and she felt particularly charged with energy.

"I'm going to make you work hard, Joyce." Bright Meadow waited for Joyce to acknowledge her before continuing. "And, if I don't think you pass a semester, you are going to work twice as hard in the break to make up for it. Your writing shows you know a style of medicine subtly different to ours, and I want you to teach that to me. I will deduce what is different, what will work, and teach you how to adapt your knowledge to Equestrian medicine." As she spoke, Bright Meadow felt more and more sure of herself—that this was the right way to do things.

Bright Meadow held out a hoof to Joyce. "If you don't think you're up to this, you can stay with the first year students and learn everything as they do."

"Not going to happen—you'll see." Joyce lifted her own forehoof and connected it with Bright Meadow's.

"Excellent. I'll contact Doctor Written Lore and have her bring you up to speed on requirements and classes. Be here for first class tomorrow, Joyce." As she lowered her hoof, Bright Meadow was unconsciously aware that she'd walked into the bait Joyce had set out. When her new student was out of earshot, Bright muttered, "Well done."

Outside, in the warm morning air, fat raindrops fell from the clouds above. Pegasi worked to wrangle the clouds into position, encourage them to drop their load, then escorted them away once they'd been used up.

The city of Canterlot didn't need its streets cleaned by rain, nor did it require it to refill reservoirs—sometimes it was just nice to have a rainy day. Joyce, as with every other citizen of Canterlot, knew it was going to rain. Posters and fliers had been spread all through the city announcing the exciting event.

A lot of businesses had closed for the day, giving ponies a chance to spend their time enjoying a good soak. Schools, on the other hoof, had remained open. Students were given their normal classes—education would not stop for mere rainy days.

Joyce couldn't help it—she pranced. The big fat droplets of rain would have easily run off her wings had she hunched them up around her torso, but she kept them loose at her sides so that her fur had runnels of water through it. Furthermore, her gait meant that any puddle she found—and Joyce was skillful at finding them—sprayed droplets back up.

"I passed!" Joyce said, shouting her joy to the sky.

"She passed!" a chorus of ponies shouted back.

The shock of the moment almost made Joyce freeze in place, but she had to keep going.

"I passed and there's no looking back, the sun's come out and my life's on track!" Now Joyce's voice was beyond just a shout—she sang.

There was no panic, no worry, not even confusion in Joyce's head. She pranced and bounced, and when she found a big puddle she pronked right into the middle of it. "I'm going to school again, learn to mend bodies again, and do it all because I love to help!"

"She loves to help!" the chorus sang.

"I've learned so much already," Joyce turned and found a colt in the middle of the road, "do you have a cough? Try munching on this berry!" She had no idea where she'd gotten the Cough Drop berry, but there it was at the right moment for the song.

"Mmmm!"

Losing herself to the music, Joyce danced and sang, and the world adjusted itself to suit the song. It was a marvel to Joyce, but one she could put her heart into and just let happen. She might be a mare of science, but this felt like magic.

And then, as quick as the song had picked her up, it let her down. She twirled shedding water from her wings as she did so, and stopped turning only when she was face-to-face with Princess Celestia. Joyce, panting a little from the exertion of singing and dancing, giggled. "I passed!"

Princess Celestia had finished her morning class and had started out of her school when she felt Destiny. Of course, she felt Destiny all the time. She'd built a society where ponies could heed the call of Destiny without a worry as to their existence. When she heard Destiny, felt it, and saw the source as Joyce Robertson, she felt positively giddy with excitement. "That is wonderful news, Joyce."

"And I talked with Doctor Bright Meadow, she's going to tutor me in pony physiology, and I—" Giggling, Joyce twirled in another circle. "I'm babbling. I was singing, but now I'm definitely babbling. I feel so good!"

Of the many ways that Destiny could work, Celestia loved seeing songs-as-reward the best. It was how the world itself rewarded ponies for doing everything right without its assistance. "Do your wings work, Joyce?"

Joyce's brain, running along its own tracks with no heed of derailment, stopped to process the input. "Wings? I—" A rush of adrenaline hit her system when Princess Celestia pumped her wings and shot into the sky. Screeching in excitement, Joyce bunched her haunches and shoved up while flapping.

The normal thermals were disrupted today, which meant Celestia had to work her wings more than usual. Becoming soaked in the rain, she stretched herself out and kept working her wings. When a dark and red shape shot up to fly at her side, Princess Celestia realized how much of a wing advantage Joyce had over most ponies.

Letting loose another screech, Joyce pumped her wings hard to keep up with Celestia. When they reached the height of the clouds (and weather pegasi) the sun was the only thing overhead.

"Princess!" Soarin zoomed over to his ruler and her flying companion. He recognized Joyce as the mare he'd flown with recently, but as he got closer he realized the only reason he'd caught up at all was the height he'd given up for speed.

Hearing another voice, Princess Celestia swung around—giving Joyce the outside line, so she had to fly faster—and let Soarin wheel around to fly at her side. "How goes the shower?"

"Excellent, Your Highness. We have used up ten percent of the clouds we requisitioned, and are on target to end the rain before the warm afternoon can dry everything out at fifteen-hundred-hours." Soarin had to fight to keep level with Celestia, but he was an experienced flier, and could handle himself in high-speed, high-altitude flying conditions.

"You should take a break, Sergeant. Go down and experience the wonder you're giving everypony," Celestia said.

Soarin had to turn his eyes away from the big wings flapping on the other side of Princess Celestia to look at the rain as it fell. Memories of times in his foalhood when he flew through rain caught his emotions up, and without a thought further to Joyce, he tilted his wings and dove toward the downpour.

"I thought you weren't shopping?" Celestia asked.

"Huh?" Joyce had to pull her eyes up—she'd been watching Soarin's dive.

Princess Celestia laughed with delight. "Stallions. I thought you were spoken for?"

"I-I'm a doctor. Studying the huma—pony form is part of my job." The statement lasted until Celestia looked pointedly at Joyce. "You were looking too."

"I was. I must watch over all my little ponies." Celestia had a great deal of trouble keeping a straight face while saying the words, but she did. "And Sergeant Soarin has exceptional physique."

"Why don't you ask him out for an evening? Or ask him in?"

"I haven't talked to Cadance yet." The words were admitting (at least a little) defeat. Celestia glided beside Joyce, the wind coming head on giving her enough lift to avoid gravity's embrace. "I don't know how to bring it up."

Joyce held silent for as long as Celestia had between her words. "Is Cadance busy right now?"

"What? We—" Celestia shook her head.

"Come on. I could do anything today, even discuss my romantic hangups with other species." Tipping her left wing in the most subtle of ways, Joyce shed some the lift from that side, and tipped toward Canterlot.

It wasn't exactly excitement that caused Celestia to dip her wing and follow Joyce. She felt a desire in her heart to not just find somepony to share a piece of her life with, but also she didn't want to show any failing to Joyce—Celestia valued their friendship and what Joyce thought of her.

Spiraling down in lazy circles through the raining sky, Joyce could feel when Celestia caught up and took position beside her just by the changes in the air currents. She held her tongue for the rest of the decent, and let Celestia lead the way to Cadance's tower.

Having grown up in a town that only had minimal weather pegasus support, Cadance was used to the rain, and didn't see the point of having a celebration just to make it rain. The worst part, in her estimation, was that Celestia had declared it a day off her royal studies, but everypony she could have hung out with didn't have the day off.

Moping on a rainy day was therefore Cadance's plan. She was therefore surprised at a knock on her door. Walking to the door, Cadance tried to think who might be visiting her on such a day. When she saw who it was, she couldn't have been more surprised.

Looking rainsoaked, Joyce and Celestia together were not just the last two she expected to answer her door to, but the last two she expected together. "Come in! Wow, you both look drenched!"

Stepping in, Celestia waited for the door to close behind her before unleashing her spell. She targeted Joyce as well as herself, and unleashed 'Dresser's Drying Dervish. In a moment her mane and fur was dry and perfectly primped, and Celestia had only to glance at Joyce to see she was likewise dry, but also surprised. "A little trick I picked up."

"Ahem." Cadance tried to regain control of her day, considering her rooms to at least be her own sovereign territory. "Why are you both here?"

Joyce shot a knowing look to Celestia. "Well, my daughter was coming here to live, and I felt it was—"

"No. I mean here-here." Cadance pointed at the floor.

Celestia mad a soft exclamation of dawning enlightenment. "I built Canterlot. I think I have a right to be—"

"Oh no, Cadance, I thought, why in Equestria would Princess Celestia and my friend Joyce be coming to me on the rainiest of days, soaked through? Maybe it's something important? Or, maybe they just want to crack jokes?" Cadance asked.

Joyce and Celestia looked at each other, and laughed.

"We are here to ask for your help," Joyce said. "Something you are the only pony qualified to do."

Cadance's jaw dropped open and she stared between two suddenly serious mares of such different origins as to almost give her a headache trying to think about what they could have in common. "W-What?"

Comedy was a defense, Celestia knew, and she felt a little bad for having used it. "Joyce's right. We both need help, and you're the pony best qualified to give it."

"Cadance, I know Tufts loves me, he tells me so often enough, but where I'm from people don't see other creatures as romantic partners. I need—I want some help to let me see him how I should." The stone weight Joyce had made of her problem felt lighter. She looked at Cadance only to see complete surprise on her face.

Celestia bit her lip for a moment, then sighed. "I just can't stop seeing everypony as my—well—as a foal. I have needs, and I need help."

"But why—?" Cadance stopped herself from asking the question. She took a deep breath, realizing that Joyce and Celestia were both being honest with her. She reached inside for the magic she held, and smiled. "I'll do what I can. I don't think I can just blast you with love magic and make everything better, but we can talk and find out what does need to be blasted—if blasting is needed."

Reaching inside, Cadance tried to feel out what her cutie mark—and her talent—told her. "I'm going to need time with each of you, separate, so I can get a feel for what the problem is. Who wants to go first?"

"I will defer to royalty." Joyce turned and gave Princess Celestia her deepest bow, and a wink. "I'm going to be studying a lot from now on, so maybe on weekends for me?"

A little voice in Cadance's head ran around in circles screaming fire at the top of her lungs as she came to terms with her new task. "I'll see you on Saturday, Joyce." And, with that, she turned all her attention to Princess Celestia.

Author's Note

Joyce: Since getting to Equestria, what would you say you've found most fun and enjoyable?

"Flying. Absolutely, without a doubt, flying. I mean, I enjoyed it back home, but here it is easier, and nopony really looks at you funny for just flying around and shouting for joy." Joyce tilted her head to the side a little. "Though they might look at you funny for having bat wings. That's a whole other story."

Support me on Patreon or fuel my writing on Ko-Fi!

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Lab

Chapter 11 [[ A Lyra Perspective ]]

"What do you mean I'm ready?" I asked.

"You've had three months of training now. You're ready." Twilight looked insufferably satisfied. "Ready to begin with intermediate spells." And with that she had my full attention.

"What's considered intermediate? Do I get to turn lead into gold? Wait, that was basic stuff." Racking my brain for ideas, I could visualize a million and one things, but most were already covered by the basic spells Twilight had taught me.

"There are four tiers of magic spell: basic, intermediate, advanced, and alicorn. Neither of us is equipped to ever cast the last ones, but we should be able to push ourselves to advanced." When Twilight Sparkle engaged teacher mode, there was no way to shut her off. Not that I wanted to stop her, she was pretty awesome as teachers went. "You can now cast all the basic spells without issue, that puts you in the top five percent of all unicorns. Very few ponies bother to learn them all, and even less go on to learn intermediate magic."

"Yay?" I asked.

My little interruption got a smile from Twilight. "So we start with intermediate magic." Twilight Sparkle disappeared with a POMF sound.

I stared in surprise, and was just about to get into a full-blown panic when I felt a poke on my hip. Spinning around, I saw Twilight standing behind me with a smug look on her face.

"That is one of the harder intermediate spells. Do you want to learn it first?" I'd learned how to notice Twilight's challenges. She would still teach me if I said no, but we would both enjoy it a lot more if I tried—even if I failed.

I nodded, but something she'd said earlier made me ask, "Wait, push ourselves? You haven't cast any of those yet? What do they even do?"

"Well—I might have cast one. Accidentally, of course. It's why I got accepted as Princess Celestia's personal student. I hatched an egg." By the look on Twilight's face—pride and love—I could tell I already knew whose egg it was. She walked around to stand in front of me. "So, intermediate spell number one—teleportation."

To be fair, I was in it up to my neck. It took two hours of study and practice to even get the magical form right—that had taken no more than about five minutes for any of the basic spells.

Of the basic types of magic (light, dark, change, motion, emotive, chaos, and harmony), teleportation was the first spell that had used two types so tightly mixed that once assembled, there was no way to tell them apart. Motion and change were the two main elements of teleportation, and while some ponies learned the simpler teleport object, Twilight was focused on teleport self.

With the form of the spell at least reliably repeatable, Twilight finally seemed ready to move on. "Targeting is next. I've seen your math scores, which means the precise way of doing this is out."

"Precise way?" I asked.

"If you can calculate the exact relation of the world to yourself, you can teleport even out of sight of your current location. You might be able to do that if you pick up math a little better, but right now we'll stick to direct-to-target teleport. So, here is how to direct your spell," Twilight said.

Opening a textbook, Twilight floated it over to me. "First you have to estimate your distance, and the angle from true-north—"

"Hold on," I said. "You said there wasn't maths doing it this way."

Twilight Sparkle had a smug look on her face. "No. I said you didn't have the math to do it the other way. There's still math."

My groan earned a giggle from Twilight, but I let her continue and had to admit that she was right—this maths was within my grasp. Soon enough I was looking around and making myself always aware of where north was, and how far things were away.

But just doing that wasn't good enough for teleportation, apparently. Twilight drilled me, first giving me coordinates and telling me to solve for a targeting solution, and eventually taking me for a walk around the block. She didn't stop until I could do the math and get it solved quickly in my head.

The tragedy was she stopped before even letting me cast the spell. "That will be enough," Twilight said.

"Wait! We aren't going to test it out?" I was so sick of numbers, but here I was begging to put my new talent to work—a practical use of mathematics. Oh how the mighty have fallen.

"The calculations need to be used to modify the spell-form. All the basic spells you have mastered either automatically targeted, or you used your horn to aim them. You can use your horn to aim a teleport, but that needs explicit line of sight—and you are capable of doing the math." Folding the book closed, Twilight floated it into her saddlebags.

Letting out the saddest sigh I could possibly manage, I tried using sad pony eyes on Twilight.

"I said no," Twilight said.

"Well, at least tell me you're coming to the school Hearth's Warming plays next Friday?" I asked.

It was Twilight's turn to look sad, although I detected something more—relief? "I can't. My family always have their Hearth's Warming eve together. What are you going to be doing for it?"

"Something silly I put together. We had some really awesome comedy groups back on Earth, and I was going to use one of their funnier sequences. I've got it all written out, and have a few friends helping me with the parts." I closed my own notebook and put it in my saddlebag. "What about lessons next—"

"No break from lessons. I want to see you perform a teleport as much as you want to do one, so if you want to come to my house next week, I can teach you there."

"You're the best, Twilight," I said.

"Good bye, Lyra."

"Bye, Twilight!"

With Twilight gone, I sat on the grass behind the dormitory alone and calm. "I need to learn more maths. I can't believe I'm even thinking of this, but I want to be—" I stopped, unsure. I lay there and looked up into the wintry afternoon sky and tried to complete the sentence. What did I want to be? A pony? Check. A unicorn? Another check. Musician? It wasn't like I couldn't play guitar, so check?

"Can I daydream too?" I knew Sweetie Drops' voice well enough by now that I didn't have to move. She definitely saw my nod, because a moment later I heard her laying down on her back beside me. "Sorry if I'm intruding."

"You're not intruding. I just can't figure out the answer to an important question," I said.

"What question?"

The soft sounds of another living being helped me ease back from the edge of crazy I'd been driving my thoughts to. "What I want to do with my life."

"Oh."

"Yeah. School is awesome and all, but I just—I want more than to follow along while somepony else leads, you know?" I sighed again. "It just feels like I'm letting the world lead."

"I do know." Sweetie Drops' tone made me turn my head to look at her. "It's not like I don't have fun working here, but it's not what I want to do with my whole life. I want—I want excitement! I want to see the world and help make it a better place!"

Sweetie's enthusiasm was contagious. "Well, what kind of job lets you do that?"

"M-Monster hunter." Sweetie Drops turned to look at me, and we were both beaming with excitement.

"You want to hunt monsters?" I asked.

Sweetie nodded. "Yup!"

"Then you need training. You need to know how to handle yourself and how to handle them. What can you do about learning?"

Sweetie Drops looked into my eyes with a little dawning realization. "I don't—I don't know. I do need training for that, don't I?"

"Come on," I said. "Let's go find out."

Rolling sideways, I shoved my hooves under me and jumped to my hooves. When Sweetie didn't immediately follow, I used my magic to lift her up and rotate her mid air so that she was right side up.

"N-Now?!" Putting her legs out, Sweetie didn't complain about my horn-handling of her—it was probably because she looked in a state of shock. "But we can't—I mean we have to—"

"I left the home I knew, all my friends, and traveled to another world just to learn magic. I bet you don't even need to go across the city to find what we want to know," I said.

"How can you do this?" Sweetie asked. "This!"

"What?"

"Just do something without thinking and planning and working out all the finer details?" Though Sweetie Drops was still complaining, she was following me.

I shrugged and turned the corner onto the main thoroughfare of the city, but instead of heading into the city I turned toward the ramp leading to Canterlot Castle. "I bet somepony here will know."

"I can't believe we're doing this," Sweetie Drops said.

Recognizing one of the guards on duty, I waved as we walked up to the entrance. "Hi Zest!"

"Hello, Miss Heartstrings. Here to visit Princess Cadance?" Zest Spiral didn't so much as twitch—he was the picture of I-can-stand-like-this-all-dayness, which was probably either required to be in the Royal Guard, or there was training for it.

"Actually I'm here with a friend today. Sweetie Drops, this is Zest Spiral. Zest, this is Sweetie. She wants to become a monster hunter." A year ago I couldn't have said this with a straight face. I wouldn't have even been able to think it with a straight face. Now, however, the words rolled off my tongue as I pointed to Sweetie with one hoof.

Zest Spiral raised an eyebrow, but otherwise didn't move. "Sounds like quite the plan. Do you have any experience or training?"

"Th-That's what I think Lyra dragged me here for. I don't really have either, but I'd really like to get training!" As she spoke, Sweetie went from panic to excitement. I could see in her eyes that something flicked from I can't possibly do this to I'm actually doing this, and there was a bunch of exclamation marks appearing behind the latter.

"The Monster Hunter Corps is a special branch of the E.U.P. Guard, which means you'd need to contact their recruitment office. Fortunately, I know exactly where that is." Zest proceeded to give us directions as promised.

I was wrong, as it turned out. The E.U.P. Guard headquarters was on the far side of Canterlot from the dormitory. It hung off the side of the mountain, as all of Canterlot did, but it accounted for nearly half of the airship docks, and had one of the few land routes out of Canterlot city.

"I can't believe we're doing this," Sweetie Drops said again. "I mean, this can't be real, can it? Can I just go up and ask?"

"Asking is usually the best way of finding out. Besides, it's a weekend. It's the perfect time to find out all this stuff." We were marching up the ramp leading to a load of blue-topped buildings that sat on their own raised platform overlooking Canterlot city.

"Welcome to E.U.P. Headquarters. Can I help you ladies with something?" a mare in armor asked.

She stood a bit taller than Sweetie and I, and she looked like the armor was made for her. She had a light blue coat and a silvery mane that reminded me of Trixie, although this mare was a pegasus.

"My friend dragged me along because I told her I wanted to be a monster hunter and help make Equestria safe." Sweetie Drops gave me an apologetic look. "Is this the—uh—right place to sign up?"

"It is! You'll have to do general sign-up, along with all the other newbies, but once that's done you get to select if you want to enter a specialty division. You're not exactly qualified for Wonderbolts—they also handle their own newbie training—but I can promise the Monster Hunting Corps is always looking for more brave ponies. If you'll follow me, I can take you to get signed up," the mare said. "Oh, and my name's Bluebelle."

"Hi Bluebelle. My name's Lyra," I said. "I thought the Royal Guard was all there was to Equestria's military. This is pretty awesome."

"And I'm Sweetie Drops."

We followed Bluebelle all the way to one of the buildings and then within. Inside, it looked just like any other office, but with ponies of course. Bluebelle walked up to one of the desks and slipped some papers off, along with a pencil. "Here's your information booklet and an application form."

I had to fight the urge to use my magic to hold the papers for Sweetie. Some unicorns would always do that, and after speaking to a few earth ponies I vowed I wouldn't go that way. "So how does this work? Back—um—home we have several different military corps. Army is for ground, air force is for flying, and navy is for ships."

"We prefer a combined force. E.U.P. stands for Earth ponies, Unicorns, and Pegasi. Unlike the Royal Guard, our requirements don't include how good you look in uniform, or your sex, though like them we accept anypony. The E.U.P. Guard is broken up into two paths, and both have some pretty good benefits.

"The Career path is for full-time Guardsponies, and will include payment that is free from all taxation. Full-time Guardsponies can also choose to follow a leadership course. The Reserves are a part-time force, some would call them militia. They are paid a small stipend—again, free from taxation—but they must report regularly for assessment and training, and may be called on for emergencies.

"Once a member of the Career E.U.P. Guard, a pony can choose from several paths—one of which is the Monster Hunters Corps. They specialize in the hunting, disabling, and capture of monsters great and small, and are an important part of the forces protecting Equestria."

"How much training is involved for Career path?" Sweetie Drops asked.

"Basic training takes eight weeks, and is very intense. It will prepare new recruits for either path, and will help filter out some that lack the drive to join the E.U.P. Guard family. Once you are done with that, as Career path, you will be introduced to the various corps within the E.U.P., and you can make your choice," Bluebelle said.

By the look on Sweetie Drops' face, this was her calling. She was reading through the booklet, her eyes scanning every word while her ears were perked for more information from Bluebelle. To be honest, it did sound good, and the Reserve seemed like a good way to earn some extra bits on top of the basic allowance.

"Are there any specific requirements for different types of ponies?" I asked.

Bluebelle raised an eyebrow at me. "Thinking of joining up too?"

The question snapped Sweetie out of her ocular devouring of the booklet. "What, you?"

"No. I just. I guess it just seems like something that could be interesting. Even if I don't make it through the basic training," I said.

"Well, we have the basic category for all ponies. If you meet the basic level of fitness, and aren't as dumb as a post, you'll get in on that. If you know the right end of your horn to point at things, or can flap your wings worth a road apple, you get certified for special duty. There's a special rank for earth ponies too, don't feel left out on that. Strength and stamina are the talents an earth pony needs to demonstrate, though we don't assign special duties for those." Bluebelle grabbed an extra set of papers and booklet from what I assumed was her desk. "Here. Think it over. We could always use another magic-slinger. Have you had any training with spells?"

"Lyra," Sweetie Drops said, "is attending Princess Celestia's school for gifted unicorns. Does that count?"

"You'd think so, but even school graduates from there have sometimes shown a—how do I put it—less than stellar ability with useful magic. Some are all flash and no bang, if you catch my drift," Bluebelle said. "The basic stance is that if you can cast at least a dozen of the useful basic spells, you can qualify to learn combat magic."

I almost coughed. "I'll look at it, then."

Would it be the thing for me? Probably not. Eight weeks, particularly if I could do them over school holidays, would be a small price to find out if it is right for me. What's the worst that could happen—I learn some cool new spells?

So I took the booklet and form because why not. We said our goodbyes to Bluebelle and made our way back toward the dormitory.

The moment we left the district of the E.U.P. Guard, Sweetie Drops rounded on me. "You didn't say you were interested in joining."

"I didn't know I was interested in joining. Besides, you got your papers and information." I shrugged and kept walking, forcing Sweetie to catch back up and walk at my side.

"You're not just doing this to show off to me, are you?"

I almost froze at that. Sweetie Drops had grown as a friend over the last few months, but I'd been putting in too much time at school to even think about chasing a mare—and especially not Trixie. Just one kiss was all it took, and now I blushed every time I saw her. I didn't want to get awkward with Sweetie.

"I'm not just doing it to show off. If I wanted to show off, I'd spend all day playing guitar just so you could see how awesome I am at it. Spells? I could cast magic all day long to try to get your attention, Sweetie Drops. Joining the military? That's a stupid idea for me." I gave a sage nod on the end of my explanation.

"Good. Because you don't need to impress me, Lyra. I already like you," Sweetie Drops said.

Great, now I have awkward feelings again. Does she mean like, or "like"? Probably the worst thing since my transformation has been the realization I can't complain about girls being girls anymore without being a hypocrite.

We walked back in relative silence. Sweetie Drops left me to my own thoughts, which were on neither the E.U.P. Guard nor the play we were putting on for Hearth's Warming. I said my goodbyes to her, and promised to come down and help with dinner later, and made my way up to the rooms I shared with Mum and Tufts—Tjinimin.

Hoo-boy. Another can of worms I kept putting off. I had a literal god for a stepfather, and I'd promised to keep his secret from my Mum, but only on the provision he tells her. What else could go wrong?

Author's Note

Support me on Patreon or fuel my writing on Ko-Fi!

Join me on Discord. Warning, said chat may contain NSFW material and should be considered adult in nature.

Awesome ponies who are already helping to keep me in keyboards and rum:
A.P.O.N.I.
Boulder
Canary in the Coal Mine
Daremo
Dio-Drogynous
Javarod
Lazyreader19
Nils
Sirion123

And special thanks to the following, for careful eyes and friendly words:
Lab

Chapter 12

"You're going on last?" Princess Celestia asked.

Lyra Heartstrings nodded, almost bouncing in place. "And you have the warnings up?" She wanted to peek around the curtains, but had more focus than that. Behind her was Pinkie, Trixie, and Cadance. It was the Friday before Hearth's Warming, and the little group intended to put on a show.

Celestia let out a sigh. "Am I going to regret letting you do this, Lyra?"

"Probably. But if I do this right, you'll be laughing too much to realize you're regretting it," Lyra said.

Cadance and Trixie both stood proud in fake old-timey Royal Guard uniforms. Big crests on their helmets and long skirts of metal were the order of the day. Cadance hefted Pinkie Pie out from the side of the set, holding her between them.

"Only one survivor, Ma'am!" Cadance said.

Wearing a toga for reasons that didn't make sense to anypony but her, Lyra began. "Ah!" she said. "Thwow her to the floor!" Her accent was as thick as she could make it, smooshing consonants together to make a fancy and almost incomprehensible pronunciation.

"What, Ma'am?" Cadance was into her role more than she would let on. She liked the look of armor on ponies, and enjoyed wearing it herself. That Shining had helped her get dressed had been icing on the cake.

Putting her all into it, Lyra gestured to the floor with a hoof. "Throw her to the floor."

"Ahh!" Pinkie Pie flopped down to her belly when she hit the floor, absorbing the impact with all four legs, but making it look like a rough landing.

Lyra cleared her throat. "Now, what's your name, earth pony?"

"Pinkie, Ma'am!"

"Pwinkie?"

"No, no. Pinkie."

Cadance was quick and careful with her casual bop on Pinkie's head. She lifted her head back up afterward and took the time to scan the crowd. As they'd arranged, they had just adults left in the crowd, and Princess Celestia still sat at the back.

Bringing a hoof up to her mouth, Lyra made a stereotypical and silly laugh. "Hoo hoo hoo. The little wascal has spiwit!"

With an excellent double-take, Cadance looked at Lyra. "She has what, Ma'am?"

Trixie stood at attention. She was a rock for most of this, and would only shine for the big punchline. It would have been horribly vain of her to find fault with playing second fiddle to an alicorn—which she was, so she did. A showmare, however, did exactly as was planned (so long as nothing went wrong), so she stood her ground stoically.

"Spiwit!" Lyra said.

"Yes. She did, Ma'am." Cadance barely held her even expression at Lyra's oral antics.

Lyra scrunched her snout up in annoyance. "No, no. Spiwit. Bwavado! A touch of dewwing-do."

Cadance brightened her expression and nodded. "I got her latest book!"

Giving the most droll and deadpan look she could at Cadance, Lyra managed to get the first laughs from the audience. The feedback was fuel for the fire they were building. Turning her full attention to Pinkie, Lyra pushed on. "So, you dare to waid us?"

The play wound on. And, by the time Pinkie Pie began protesting that she was a unicorn, most of the ponies in the audience were laughing at the absurdity of it. Lyra was a little concerned, of course, since the naughty bits were coming up. "So, your father was a woonicorn. Who was he?"

"He was a E.U.P. Guard in the Manehatten garrison." Pinkie Pie struggled not to giggle at the upcoming joke. It was rude, and silly, and was going to shock the ponies out of their comfortable space—something Pinkie greatly agreed with.

"Weally? What was his name?" Seeing Pinkie Pie so worked up, hearing the laughter from the crowd, Lyra was in her element. She took in Cadance's bored look, and Trixie's indifferent one (which was exactly what was needed), and almost flubbed her line.

"Nortius Maximus," Pinkie Pie said.

Cadance barked a laugh that was meant to be joined in—and it was by the audience, but not her fellow actors.

Holding to her straight man part, Lyra turned to Cadance. "Do we have anypony of that name in the gawwison?"

The audience's laughter froze in their throats—everypony was on the edges of their seats.

"W-Well, no, Ma'am." Cadance poured confused tone into her voice.

Lyra blinked her eyes innocently. "Well, you sound vewy sure. Have you checked?"

"No, Ma'am. I think—I think it's a joke, Ma'am. Like, Sillius Soddus,"—Cadance held herself in character as the rough guard—"or Biggus Dickus, Ma'am."

In the silence of the hall, one voice made a snorting-giggle—Trixie Lulamoon.

"What's so… funny about Biggus Dickus?" Lyra hoped against hope that she hadn't gone too far.

The second use of the made-up name earned a few giggles from the audience as the adults realized this was a naughty joke. A few heads turned to look toward Princess Celestia, though they couldn't see her easily in the darkened rear of the theater.

"Well, it's a joke name, Ma'am." Cadance wanted to giggle at the gag. Even though she'd heard it dozens of times in practice, there was something about performing to a crowd that changed things.

Scrunching her snout up again at the apparent silliness of her guards, Lyra glared at Cadance. "I have a very gweat fwiend in Canterwot called Biggus Dickus." She put a little emphasis on the name now, and got a few laughs from the audience amid many sniggering giggles.

Trixie let loose another round of chuckles when the crowd died down.

"Silence!" Lyra glared around the stage, fixing eyes on Trixie. "What is all this insolence? You will find yourself washing pots and pans vewy quickly with wotten behavior like that!"

Pinkie lifted her head up, heedless of the threat to the guard. "Can I go now, Ma'am?" She covered her head when Cadance bopped her again. "Ahh!"

"Wait 'till Biggus Dickus hears of this." Lyra lifted her chin haughtily, but snapped around to glare at Cadance broke into laughter. "Wight! Take her away!"

Cadance's eyes widened in fear. "M-Ma'am! I was only—"

"No. I want you fighting gwime and mildew within a week!" Lyra deliberately ignored Pinkie and Cadance exiting from the stage. "I will not have my fwiends widiculed by the common Guards. Anypony else feel like a little… giggle…" Sliding along the floor, Lyra drew up beside Trixie. "… when I mention my fwiend, Biggus…"

Crossing her eyes in mock fear, Trixie sucked her lips in and bit down on them, and completely failed to hide her giggles. The mirth, she noticed, was spreading through the crowd—everypony was giggling along to the gag now.

"… Dickus?" Lyra put extra emphasis on the last name, and particularly on the first part. When Trixie shook her head, Lyra turned away. "He has a wife, you know."

Full panic was write large on Trixie's face, and the crowd roared as Lyra turned back to her last remaining guard.

Lyra leaned in, having to keep her voice raised while pretending to whisper in Trixie's ear. Thankfully, the crowd got the idea and clamped down on their laughter to listen. "You know what she's called?"

Squeezing her eyes closed, Trixie shook her head. She wanted to laugh at the joke she knew was coming, and the best bit was she had to.

"She's called Incontinentia." Lyra spared a look for the crowd. Everypony, even Princess Celestia, was on the edge of their seats.

With a defeated expression on her face, Trixie Lulamoon cast a beseeching look around the crowd, but they were too busy holding in their own laughter to spare her any assistance. She trembled, flexing her forelegs in a show of knock-kneed defeat.

"Incontinentia Buttock," Lyra said, her voice quick to get the words from her mouth into everypony's ears.

The whole room exploded into laughter, not the least of which being Trixie.

"I've had enough of this wowdy webel sniggewing behavior!" Lyra's shout was barely heard by the crowd, and the few that heard her only laughed harder. "Silence! Call yourselves Guards?!" She stomped around the stage, mock kicking Trixie along to the crowd's cheering.

Just as things started to quieten down, Lyra stopped and looked directly into the middle of the crowd. "Wait 'till Biggus Dickus hears of this!"

Rolling off the side of the stage, Trixie was still laughing. The whole scene had been explained to her in advance, of course, except for the full name of Incontinentia Buttocks. It was crude, silly, and for some reason she couldn't stop giggling at it.

Lyra was panting like she'd run all day. Her eyes were wide, and she wanted to sing and dance and do everything. "So?" she asked when a white leviathan came up behind Cadance and Pinkie (neither of whom saw Celestia coming).

"You were right on both counts. The only reason I'm not officially reprimanding you is because you had the hall limited to adults. The jokes—I have not seen their like before," Princess Celestia said while still trying to hold back giggles.

Cadance cleared her throat. "She told me the jokes beforehand, and I have to agree Lyra acted responsibly in her warning." With as much pomp as she could, Cadance attempted to mimic the normal way Celestia would approach a problem.

Smiling at Cadance, Princess Celestia nodded. "Well put, and I'm glad to hear you approached somepony responsible with this, Lyra Heartstrings. My only remaining question is, when are you performing again?"

Lyra's mind raced at the possibility of performing more Monty Python comedy. It didn't quite ring as true to her as music did, but it was a very close second. "I'll make a point of writing another as soon as possible. Will this be a royal command performance?"

"I wouldn't call it a command, but I will definitely attend." Celestia winked at Lyra, turned, and left the actors to their task of cleaning up after themselves.

"There's a teeny-tiny problem. I'm leaving Canterlot next week." Pinkie Pie let out a sigh even as her friends gasped in surprise. "My cutie mark is telling me I'm needed elsewhere. There's ponies that need a special friend, Ly—"

Interrupting her friend with a hug, Lyra squeezed as much as she could—Pinkie was an earth pony after all. "It's okay, Pinkie. I understand now. Following your cutie mark is the most important thing ever."

"Not always," Pinkie Pie said, squeezing back. "Sometimes friends are just as important. I don't know why, but I think we'll see each other again."

"That a promise?" Lyra asked.

"A Pinkie Promise!" Pinkie said.

There was a feel of accomplishment as the four removed their outfits and packed everything away.

"I want a bigger role next time." Trixie used her magic to pack away the outfit she'd worn. "How does The Great and Powerful Trixie sound?"

Lyra cupped her chin with a hoof and narrowed her eyes. "Like you're doing a magic show. We could do that again if you want?"

"Speaking of which. How did your magic show go, Cadance?" Trixie asked.

With both the other mares turned to look at her, Cadance couldn't stop her spirits from soaring. "We have another date next week." Memories of her first, awkward date with Shining Armor danced in her head. "I still can't get over how nerdy he is."

"Nerdy works for you?" Lyra asked.

"Mmhmm!" Cadance nodded and ruffled her wings. "He gets so focused, so homed in on details, and no matter what is happening he can't leave a problem alone."

Leaning against Trixie, Lyra raised a hoof to not-covertly say, "I never had a chance. I don't suppose you like a music-obsessed alien who plays bass guitar?"

"I-I don't—" Trixie Lulamoon closed her mouth before she spoke further. The memory of their accidental kiss came to the fore, and though she had waved it off in the moment, she could see that it had affected Lyra. "Trixie cannot be tie herself down with a single pony. She loves the road, the crowd…"

Swooning in jest, Lyra flopped onto a nearby seat. "Oh! What hath my heart led me to this day? Cannot my love ring true just once?"

Recognizing Lyra's acting as just that, Trixie breathed a sigh of relief. "Anyway. What about that other mare I've seen you with? Miss pink and blue and cream-yellow all over."

"Sweetie Drops?" The realization of who Trixie meant confused Lyra. "We're just friends. She's planning on joining the E.U.P. Guard."

"Oh?" Cadance hadn't managed to get her armor off yet, but it was a good enough fit that she wasn't too worried about being out of it. "I didn't know you had a special somepony tucked away, Lyra. Sweetie Drops, was it?"

"Now you've doooone it!" Pinkie Pie said. "Princess of Loooove alert!"

Rather than show her feelings, particularly surrounding the tight knot in her stomach that had just formed, Lyra opted for comedy. "Help me, princess, I need to find somepony to love!"

Giggling like a schoolfilly, Cadance set her horn ablaze with blue magic and locked eyes with Lyra. "Focus on your feelings, reach for them, and embrace them." Cadance waited a moment before adding, "Now, close your eyes."

Her heart beating fast, Lyra complied and closed her eyes. When nothing happened for a moment, she opened her mouth to say something and felt something press to her nose. Snapping her eyes open again, she looked at the bottom of Cadance's hoof.

"Boop!" Cadance pulled her hoof back. "And no boops back!"

"That doesn't work! You can't say 'no boops back'!" Lyra jumped to her hooves and rushed after a suddenly retreating Cadance. "Come back here so I can boop you!"

Trixie sighed and looked up. "Are all of the Great and Powerful Trixie's friends craz—" She froze mid-sentence as a pink hoof met her snout.

"Boop!" Pinkie Pie said.

Author's Note

To Pinkie: how is the smile count coming along?

"It's going great! But this doesn't feel like the right place to be. I know I have to go to the right town—it's just a matter of finding it!" Pinkie Pie giggled.

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And special thanks to the following, for careful eyes and friendly words:
Lab

Chapter 13 [[ A Lyra Perspective ]]

The house looked unassuming. I checked the note I'd made, double-checked the address, and nodded. Walking up to the front door, I could hear laughter ringing from within—happy laughter. Balling my magic into a fist, I knocked on the door in a credible reproduction of how a human would.

I heard hooves sound on the floor within as somepony approached the door.

Shining Armor opened the door. "Oh! Hey, Lyra. Twily said you were coming over to study. Come inside."

As Shining backed up, I stepped inside. The house was warm thanks to a crackling fire, and sitting on a couch was Twilight and her parents. I put on my best smile. "Hi."

"You must be Lyra. Twily's been telling us all about you. I'm Night Light, and this is my wife, Twilight Velvet. Now, if you want to not go crazy while here, call our little filly Twily, and my wife Twilight." Night wore the biggest grin I'd seen on anypony except Pinkie (nopony could rival her).

"It's a family tradition, in case you were wondering why I'd be crazy enough to confuse literally everypony who has to be in the room with both of us," Twilight Velvet said. "Twily said you only started learning magic a little after she started at Princess Celestia's school."

"Yeah! We—my family—came through a portal-kinda-thing from another world, and we didn't have any magic there, so it was really surprising to have it now. Twilight—Twily—has been helping me catch up with class, but I think she wants to push me past what we were meant to learn," I said before I made the connection. "Hold on. Shining's here?"

"He's my big brother." Twilight Sparkle looked a little confused. "Why wouldn't he be here?"

I blinked a few times in surprise. "Well, my mind's officially blown. I didn't know you were brother and sister."

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you meet Shiny?" Night Light asked.

"Dear. If we're going to grill her for answers, we should at least let her get comfortable." Twilight Velvet turned from her husband to me. "Please, sit down and get comfortable." She gestured to the other couch in the room.

"Thanks. It's hard to get used to just being able to stand all day without getting tired, but it's still nice to sit down." I climbed onto the couch and folded my legs down to get comfortable. "I met Shining on my first day moving to Canterlot. He was up at the castle. Zest Spiral asked him to help us find our way around."

"What's our little filly going to teach today?" Night Light asked Twilight Sparkle. "Not plant transmutation, I hope?" By the way Night Light and Twilight Velvet shared a giggle, I knew there had to be a joke I was missing.

"Transmutation?" I asked.

"You wouldn't believe what Twily did when she was being tested for admission to Princess Celestia's school. She had a little magic surge, and next thing you know she turned us into houseplants!" Twilight Velvet giggled behind her hoof. "It was a unique experience, that's for sure."

Looking at Twilight Sparkle, I could see embarrassment written across her face—this might have been something she didn't want her friends to know. "You have no idea. I got turned into a unicorn as an adult, so the first time I got hit with magic it went everywhere! I created a whole invisible marching band, started dancing uncontrollably, and when I escaped I was attacked by a roll of plastic wrap."

When both Twilight Sparkle's parents stared at me with surprise, I gestured at Night Light. "From what I hear, everypony has an embarrassing surge at least once."

Night Light froze and looked back at me as though he suddenly got what he was doing to Twilight. "Oh! Ah… I might have accidentally made a telescope out of Mom's pots and pans, then teleported inside it when she screamed at me. It took the Royal Guard to get me out with a saw."

"I was skydiving. My magic went haywire, and instead of activating my parachute, I produced nearly a hundred mattresses." Twilight Velvet's description was shocking so far as I hadn't realized foals would be allowed to do such dangerous things. "It was a surprisingly soft landing until the mattresses vanished and I fell from the top of the pile to the ground. I broke my leg."

Clearing his throat, Night Light looked down at Twilight Sparkle. "We should let you two go and study. Have fun!"

Twilight Sparkle (I had to keep reminding myself to use their full names in my head. Madness abounded, as Night Light said, if I tried shortening them) jumped off the couch after a quick hug with her parents. "Come on, Lyra!"

"It was good meeting you, Lyra," Night Light said as I climbed off the couch.

Twilight Velvet nodded in agreement. "You'll have to come around some day and have dinner. Do you have any family in Canterlot?"

I nodded. "I live with my mom and step-dad."

The news seemed to brighten Twilight Velvet's night further. "Well then, next weekend you'll have to invite them over. We can have dinner and get to meet you."

Wondering what I was getting into, I couldn't think of a single thing that would cause this except pony friendliness being a little different to Australian. "Sure! I'll let them know."

"Come on. I want to see if you can do this spell!" Twilight Sparkle, I discovered, was adorable when she was impatient.

"Sorry Twilight, Night, but my teacher is demanding my attention. I gotta go!" As soon as I took a step after Twilight Sparkle, she seemed appeased that I was following her. As soon as we were out of the living room, she directed me to the back door of the house.

Outside, the air was crisp (as it always was in Canterlot) and there was just a thin scattering of snow on the ground—though the weather ponies had announced they would be dropping more overnight. Weather reports and warnings in Equestria were strange, though a lot more accurate than back on Earth. "So how do I do this?"

"I thought you might have tried researching it on your own. It's actually really simple once you have the weave-pattern right." Of course, what Twilight Sparkle thought was simple, was usually far from simple. She used her horn to flash an image of the magic weave, which was a complex form involving two completely different types of magic.

Okay magic, don't fail me now. I eased the bare minimum of power into my horn (just enough to light it) and started building my own. It wasn't easy, and took me what must have been a good ten minutes of careful study and reproduction. The reason for using the least magic possible to make the spell, of course, was that it would not be enough to actually fuel the spell.

"You need a tighter half-turn on the third quadrant. That zig-zag along the edge needs to be sharper…" Twilight started correcting my form, and I wasn't stupid enough to ignore her—she knew this stuff better than any book.

I made every correction she pointed out until Twilight was standing right in front of me and looking at my spell-weave with great intent.

"So?" I asked.

Twilight nodded. "It's perfect." There was a reason to get weaves perfect, and it had nothing to do with how permissive magic was to small errors, but everything to do with the fallibility of memory. I could cast this spell with almost half the weave slightly altered, but that meant that I had to have as few errors in my starting weave as possible and that I'd have to re-memorize the weave regularly to keep the pattern fresh. "Don't forget to memorize how much magic you use to keep track of drift."

"I know, Twilight." As she'd trained me, and as we were being trained in class, I studied the weave to commit every part of it to memory. Every line, every thickness, and every pattern as a whole. I didn't do it just once, of course—memory was about repetition.

By the time I studied the pattern for the fifth time—and found every detail to be how I remembered it—I gave Twilight a nod. "Okay. I've got it."

With a puff of her magic, Twilight Sparkle destroyed the weave I'd been projecting with my horn. I was unsurprised, this was how we'd been learning together. "Okay, build it again."

The first was a test of accuracy. I took my time and rebuilt the weave entirely from memory. Having just seen it, this served to reinforce the weave in my memory, and prove that I wasn't about to blow all my magic into a bad casting of a complex spell.

Again Twilight made corrections. I knew better than ask her how she knew the weave so well she could critique mine without a reference. Correcting my own, I raised an eyebrow at her. "Another accurate one?" I asked

"Yes."

So I made another accurate one, trying to drum into my stupid brain the changes she'd made. She only managed to correct two parts. "Now do a quick one."

I could have done better, but that was the point. Casting spells was often done fast—spur of the moment—which meant that mistakes would be made and were expected. There were a few mistakes I saw right off the bat. "Less than two percent?"

Twilight Sparkle nodded.

"Okay," I said as I dropped that weave. "How do I integrate the target into it?"

"It's the bottom right part of the weave. The values modify the twists in the threads of motive magic so that it sends the dimensions for the spell." As she spoke, Twilight brought the weave up with her own magic, and then twisted and adjusted her weave in the manner she spoke, making calculations appear beside it to show how she got her results.

So when I made my third practice weave, a mix of fast and accurately detailed—what would be the actual basis for my first casting—I ran the calculations for a two-length jump past Twilight, worked the numbers into the weave, and looked at Twilight. "How is this?"

"You could do better with the detail, but the calculations are correct. Cast it." Twilight stepped to the side to give me room.

I didn't need to focus on my target, or even worry about what was going on around me. Magic was about calculations most of the time, and if Twilight Sparkle said mine were correct, and my weave was tight enough to cast, they were and it was.

Without further thought, I relaxed the tight grip I'd had on my magic and let it flow down my horn. The weave evaporated from my vision and I felt a single atomic moment pass. Before that moment I was standing still and casting the spell. After that moment I was two ponylengths away with a chunk of my magic energy missing.

I'd done it. The spell had worked. I'd teleported! "I did it!"

"You did it. Now try again, faster." Twilight Sparkle wouldn't be happy if I'd saved the world. She would ask me to do it again faster and/or more efficiently.

But I was too excited to let Twilight's striving for excellence bring me down—after all, it made me a lot better at this stuff. The calculations were the only slow part of the spell. I built the weave again and teleported to the other side of Twilight, turned so I was facing her. "Boop!" I said, reaching out to poke Twilight in on the nose.

Twilight stared at me for a moment with wide-eyed surprise. She started reaching her own hoof up to my nose, but I was quicker with my teleport than she was with her hesitant poke. "Hey!"

I blew a raspberry, but had to move quickly when I saw Twilight charging her magic and building a weave—damn she was fast. I barely got my own spell off before she appeared where I was, but before I could cast again she'd fired another rapid teleport and was right in front of me.

"Boop!"

I actually laughed at Twilight's boop on my nose, but she was gone again before I'd even finished blinking. "Come back here!" I said.

Building a weave, I realized I could leave the actual inputting of direction until the last moment. I planned five different targets, ran the numbers for each, and when Twilight teleported near one I appeared close enough for her to gasp and teleport again.

It didn't take long for me to burn up every ounce of magic I had trying to chase her down. In the end I just flopped on my belly in the snow. "You win."

Twilight, who had picked up on my trick of pre-building a weave for modification later quickly, used her last teleport to appear right in front of me. I had the distinct pleasure of at least seeing her puffing from the magic exerted. "Are you going to come inside? I think Mom was making us some snacks."

I pushed down with my hooves, shoving myself out of the snow and back to all fours. "Just so long as I don't have to teleport there," I said.

Author's Note

To Ms. Sweetie Drops: Miss drops, for what reasons would a... Bonnie lass, such as yourself, wish to fight monsters? Any particular motivations behind that decision?

"I just want to get out and help ponies. Equestria is what it is because ponies help each other, and I want to do that as much as I can. Also, I want to be challenged." Sweetie Drops nodded succinctly.

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And special thanks to the following, for careful eyes and friendly words:
Lab

Chapter 14 [[ A Joyce Perspective ]]

It was hard to sit down in the garden—surrounded by snow—and not be excited. Despite the snow, the temperature was roughly what it always was in Canterlot, except Princess Celestia had politely asked the weather ponies for a white Hearth's Warming.

So there was snow all around Celestia and myself.

While we had tea present, we also had an expansive lunch laid out by the castle staff. Hearth's Warming day was a happy time for all Equestrians it seemed, but the news Princess Celestia had given me made me want to fly. "They're sending an envoy?" I asked.

"Officially, they will be a peaceful group of ponies from another nation coming to share friendship and harmony. Unofficially, they'll be taking back equipment for making more of that magical flu medication you suggested. Your daughter will not be present, but they are sending somepony you know—though Robin didn't say who." Celestia was in her princess role for the moment, while speaking about things of national importance.

I sighed a little. "It's still hard to believe my little filly is helping run the government. She's not even ten years old."

"Your little filly speaks far beyond her years, Joyce. She has a focus and drive I wish I saw in anypony working in the castle."

"It's a human thing, I guess. On Earth, a human isn't considered adult enough to work until at least sixteen or eighteen. Why would they trust she can do the work?" I asked.

"Because she is doing the work. Also, you remember that mental adjustment Dream Thunder created? She's Equestrian, remember?" Celestia sipped her tea while I thought on her words. "How are you and your coltfriend?"

The question made me smile. Happiness was chief among my emotions. "We're doing much better. We cuddle, and nuzzle, and kiss. When we talk I think of him more as my partner and less as my pet. I'm not completely cured of this—it's going to take more work and even more time—but the path ahead is clear." Likewise, I sipped my tea and raised one eyebrow when Celestia remained silent a moment.

When Celestia blushed, being white furred, there was a hint of red visible through most of the fur on her face. "I have a date." How anypony so large, important, and old could look like an adorable young mare facing the prospect of a date I'll never know, but Celestia managed it. "An actual date! He knows, of course, but I'm going to use a spell to make me look like an earth pony."

"I'm not going to ask, but I will next week," I said. "She's something, isn't she?"

"Cadance? I would never have thought to try asking her, but it has given me the chance to put her responsibility to the test. I was worried she was all drive but nothing to back it up. That she would stand behind her talent—and do it so well—was a pleasant confirmation that she has everything it takes to be a princess."

While Celestia spoke, I found a piece of cake with enough icing to put it on par with fruit for sugar content, and speared it with a fork held carefully in my wing-claw. The taste was magnificent, the rich flavor of the strawberry sponge lifted up by the chocolate icing.

"Of course. I would rather test my ponies—show them where their faults are—than have them tested by something that won't offer them a hoof to get back up. This world was not always this calm and kind, Joyce. I fear it won't be in the future unless some of my ponies make a stand."

"That's what your school is for, isn't it?" I hadn't seen Celestia in this mood before, but since she seemed inclined to talk, I had to assume she intended for me to know these things. Or, she just needed them off her chest.

"Among others. Every pony needs the chance to find their destiny, Joyce. For some, their destiny is protecting other ponies, but others will find themselves doing it because it protects others. I want to make sure they're all as ready as I can make them." Celestia looked from her tea to me—really looked. She had an intensity that I couldn't look away from. "When your daughter—then your son—first visited here, I saw it as a portent of something in coming. I had a choice to make, Joyce. I could have sent him home with or without an armed guard to make sure of it, but that is not the pony way."

"You took her—him—in."

"Correct. The future is dark, even to me, but there are patterns that often repeat themselves. Embracing Mike—now Lyra—and inviting him to my school was a statement to destiny. I won't close my border to those who come as friends." The intensity in Celestia's eyes only increased.

I was trapped within her gaze, unable to look away or even think off-topic. Licking my lips, I barely managed to form my reply. "W-What do you think is coming?"

"Someone is going to come to your dreams, Joyce. She will seem like a monster at first, and all I ask is you treat her as you see fit." My time with Celestia let me know when she was using an expression as a shield, but not what the hidden emotion was. "I hope she won't harm you, I really do, but I can't promise it."

"This isn't a test, is it?" I asked. My answer was a slow shaking of Celestia's head. In a way it wasn't fair. I'd come to Equestria seeking knowledge and the ability to apply my own, what I was going to get was a monster in my dreams? Celestia had called it her. "What cannot be avoided, must be endured."

"You can leave. I would not hold it against you, Joyce. Leave Canterlot and Equestria, go back to Earth, rejoin with your filly there. The fate of Equestria is—" Celestia stopped talking when she saw my hoof raise toward her.

"This is important, maybe not just to me, but Equestria. If you think I can help, I will stay and help. I won't lie, Celestia, so far the best friendships of my life have been to what humans would have called monsters." It was a heavy moment, but as soon as I spoke the words I felt it pass. It was like the sun was out again, a bright sunny day. "But if it's in a dream, I will need to some training."

"There is time for that. I do not think she will come until the end of the coming year. I wanted to give you time in case you needed to train, or leave." When Celestia lifted her cup, she found it empty.

I watched Celestia start pouring herself another cup, and ruminated on the problem she had given me. A year of time seemed like a lot, but at the same time it could be the blink of an eye. Dream Thunder was my first choice to contact, as well as whoever Robin's boss was. If there was a monster coming for pony dreams, it probably won't stop when it has all of Equestria. "I'll do whatever I can."

Five words. Well, four and a contraction. But I couldn't believe how committed to the task I felt. I realized what it was I felt, and it was the same feeling as when a patient with something potentially life threatening came to me for medical help, but times thousands—millions. Having time to prepare, however, made all the difference.

I accepted a refill from Celestia, lifted, and sipped at my tea. There was snow all around us, but this one patch of grass wasn't just free of snow, it was warm. It wasn't coincidence, not when the mare across from me controlled the sun. I wasn't going to complain, however. Used to Australia's warmth, the snow and ice of wintertime in Equestria was a shock.

Realization dawned on me that Celestia wasn't guarding her expression at all, and she looked relieved. Was this really something she—with all her power—couldn't do? "Dreaming, at least how Dream Thunder does it, is its own kind of magic. I was skeptical at first, but then she started having information about things she couldn't have gotten, and she—She made me a believer. I'll find her and ask her to teach me."

"It goes without saying, Joyce, that if you need anything from me, just ask." Celestia picked up another piece of cake with her magic—a slice of Battenberg—and nibbled it daintily. Not for the first time since being here did I marvel at something that apparently transcended the universe to co-evolve here. "How is Lyra doing?"

I chuckled at the change in topic. "Didn't you hear? She's looking at joining the army, or the A.U.P—"

"The E.U.P. Guard? The Reserves, I gather?" Celestia asked, and at my nod continued. "Well, that's certainly a good use of her school holidays. I'll make sure to write up a report for her to take along. What brought this on?"

"A girlfriend. I don't think Lyra realizes they are, yet, but every time I see Sweetie Drops, she's with Lyra. When one of them has a problem, the other is there to help. Lyra told me Sweetie was feeling held back working with her mother, and wants to be a monster hunter. I thought they were joking," I said.

"The E.U.P. Guard's Monster Hunter corps are some of the bravest of ponies. They aren't, however, monsters themselves. You can be sure they'll make sure Lyra's friend only proceeds with the career if it is within her grasp."

"Are there really monsters? We didn't see any on the way to Canterlot." I was worried about the answer. I could count the times Celestia had been played a joke on my hooves, so it wouldn't be a joke.

"There are. It's why they started the Monster Hunters—heading off problems before they grow big enough to need more attention than most ponies can give." With her magic, Celestia lifted up the last piece of cake and broke it in two.

Taking my offered half carefully, I nibbled it to death as is only right for such delicious little cakes. "You mean you, right?" I asked.

Princess Celestia nodded gravely. "There have been things in Equestria's past that have required overwhelming force to deal with. I'm doing everything I can to avoid those days."

"But you're still around as a backup, right?" I asked.

"Yes and no. Come fly with me, Joyce." Celestia spread her wings, pumped them, and shot into the sky. It took a surprising amount of flapping on my part to catch up. Leveling out, Celestia waited for me to meet her in a lazy spiral over the city. "There have been other princesses in the past, some almost as powerful as I. Such defenses not being what they once were, I wanted more stability. I think it's working."

Princess Celestia was the one pony I'd met so far that had a larger wingspan than I did. To talk, we glided around a thermal in a tight loop, her a little higher than me so our wings wouldn't tangle. "Hasn't been anything horrible since I moved here, so I'd say that's working. Why didn't you want anyone overhearing us?"

"Change is coming, Joyce. I've done—am doing—everything I can to make it good change. I feel I can confide in you because you are so far outside of the past of Equestria that telling you won't harm the future. In truth? It's probably just that we get along well and you're the only pony I know that doesn't run the risk of falling into worship of me."

What could I say? I'd made the mistake of comparing her to a goddess myself, and felt just a little guilty about Celestia admitting her problem. Buck up, Joyce, she's your friend. "Why don't we visit a coffee shop and have some cake?"

"We just had cake. Tea too."

"Was that a no?" I asked, shooting a grin Celestia's way.

Responding with a grin of her own, Celestia shook her head. "No. Definitely not." She tilted herself first, tucking her wings slightly to surrender to gravity.

My wings didn't quite work the same as a pegasus' did (or an alicorn's for that matter), but I could still wrangle them to follow Celestia in a slightly faster spiral down. It wasn't the upper-class section of town she led me to, but a little doughnut shop near the royal library.

We landed only a moment apart from one another, and I looked at the doughnut shop's sign. "Joe and Son's Doughnuts?"

"Best in Canterlot. Probably the best in Equestria, but don't tell Joe I said that." Celestia walked toward the door and used her golden magic to open it.

Everypony nearby had turned to stare, but for one of the first times since arriving in Canterlot, it wasn't me they were staring at. It was obvious that with Princess Celestia and any other creature nearby, it would always be Princess Celestia that had everyone's attention.

I might as well have been an anonymous pegasus next to Celestia. To everyone watching, I was just someone else who happened to be there. At least that is how it was until Celestia held the door open and turned to me. "Joyce, are you coming?" she asked.

Dozens of eyes turned toward me, focused on me, and half their number of mouths started moving. I moved as quickly as I could to get inside—maybe this wasn't such a wonderful plan. "Does everyone always do that?"

"This was your idea. Besides, it reinforces what I said. I value the company of those who can have a conversation without squealing in excitement." She turned around to the elderly pony behind the counter. "Good afternoon, Joe. How's your colt?"

"Gosh! Princess Celestia!" The old stallion looked wizened—ancient. He had a horn just like any unicorn, which poked out from a thinning mat of gray mane that did little to hide his soft brown coat. "Little Joe is doing just fine. Why, he'll be able to run the shop in another twenty years or so!"

"Dad, who is—" A buff and handsome unicorn wearing a chef jacket and a little white hat stepped out of the back room of the shop. He had the same coat as the old stallion, but a wash of brown mane and tail. On his flank was a cutie mark that made his otherwise drab colors stand out—a big pink doughnut. He froze at the sight of Princess Celestia. "Your Highness!"

The oddest thing was that the younger stallion didn't look shocked so much as just surprised she was here. My mind clicked into gear and I started trying to piece together a mystery I could smell every bit as clearly as the delicious doughnuts behind the counter.

And there were a lot of doughnuts. A glass-fronted counter ran along two walls of the shop, and nearly three quarters of it was full of doughnuts. Every color of the rainbow was represented, plus white too. Sprinkles, jam filling, glazed, cinnamon, and every other topping that it was possible to think of was there.

The next section down was an ice-creamery. Another rainbow, but this one rendered in milk-based produce instead. The last and smallest counter was for milkshakes, if the mixing machines in all in a row were anything to go by. I could feel my hips expanding at the idea of visiting this place each day for lunch.

"Hello, Joe. Your father said you're almost ready to take over the business?" Celestia's tone was my next clue to the mystery that had absorbed my mind before I got distracted by food. She sounded warm and inviting.

Joe Jr. rolled his eyes. "You know the rules I gave him. When he can't see over the counter anymore, he has to retire." He walked up beside what I could now work out was his father, and the pair rubbed cheeks together. "Ain't that right, Pops?"

"I'll get a box to stand on!" Joe Sr. said.

Celestia chuckled at the outburst, and just winked at Joe. "I'll take my usual, to eat in, Joe. Joyce?"

It was like Joe hadn't even noticed me. He actually jumped at the sight of my drab (compared to any other pony) self. "W-What will you have, Miss Joyce?"

Well now I was on the spot. I had a store full of possibilities, and all I could manage to think about was how Celestia not only knew both Joes, but they knew what her usual was—also, she had a usual. My eyes roamed the display but zoomed in on a target right away.

"Double-stuffed, blackberry-jelly surprise? A good choice. A word of warning, it's a sweet one." Joe Jr. said.

Sweet, by pony standards, meant it was somewhere between pure sugar and honey. My fangs ached just thinking about it. "A-And a vanilla-malt shake," I managed to add.

"You'll want a dollop of caramel in that. Add a dollop of caramel!" Joe Sr. said.

I looked around at the prices, and realized that while they weren't cheap, they also weren't expensive. A doughnut and a shake here was about two meals worth anywhere else. But if there was one thing I'd learned since moving here, it was that while pony metabolisms could process vast amounts of sugar, they had nothing on the metabolism of a fruit bat pony. "Actually, could I have two dollops of caramel?"

The old stallion's face lit up. "See! Told you! Two dollops for the pretty mare!"

He might be old, and his vision is probably not so great, but I stood a little straighter nonetheless. Reaching back toward my ubiquitous saddlebags, I started fishing around for my bits when a little glow of orange pinned the cover of my bag down.

"None of that, miss," Joe Sr. said. "Yer here with the princess, and we've never charged her or her friends."

I blushed. It wasn't right, but what could I say? There was only one thing. "Thank you." I looked at Celestia, and noticed she had her guarded face on. She was playing something close to her chest. The giveaway as to what that was came when I looked at Joe Jr. The younger stallion kept sneaking looks at Celestia, and he had to remake my shake when he let the blender overflow.

Looking back to Celestia, I could tell that while she was wearing her impeccably guarded face, she never shifted her head such that she couldn't see Joe Jr.

It was so simple. Celestia's secret crush was Joe Jr. She loves desserts, he makes desserts. The fact he was a big stallion and looked as handsome as any stallion I'd seen wouldn't hurt. He also didn't seem inclined to worship her. I was so deep in thought about the pairing that I didn't notice that Joe Jr. had set my shake and doughnut on a tray before me. "S-Sorry. I was away in my own world. Thank you."

"No problem, ma'am!" Joe Jr. froze and stared as I reached for my try with a wing.

"Joyce is a rather unique pony, isn't she?" Celestia asked, breaking the moment like a bolt of lightning through a cloudless sky.

Then it hit me right in the face. She'd brought me here specifically to gauge Joe Jr.'s reaction to me.

"Have a nice day! Yours is up next, Celestia," Joe Jr. said.

Ah ha! I got him! No pony would call Celestia Celestia unless she'd asked them. I carried my tray to a table with a knowing smirk on my face that wouldn't quit.

My first target was a sip of my drink. Pulling the straw close with one wing-claw, I closed my mouth around it and sucked. Ambrosia flowed forth. Just one little sip and I was on cloud nine. My eyes refocused from some far-off point that the sugar rush had taken me to, to see that Celestia was taking a seat across from me.

"Well?" Celestia asked.

I tilted my eyes toward the counter where Joe Jr. and Joe Sr. were talking among themselves. When Celestia nodded, I smiled broadly enough to show off fangs. "He's smitten."

"He is?" The carefully sculpted, neutral face of Princess Celestia shattered into pure glee. "How can you tell?"

Someone else was smitten too. She hadn't noticed the little mistakes Joe Jr. had made, which meant she wasn't watching what he was doing, but him. "I have my ways of knowing. You knew I'd figured it out?"

"You're not stupid, Joyce. You're also the only pony who I count as neutral enough to honestly tell me if he—"

"He's perfect for you." I watched Celestia's mouth work a few times, while I spoke, as she was about to interrupt me but failed to get something going. "Look at us? Chatting about stallions like a pair of young fillies when there's delicious treats right here."

Looking down at my own doughnut, I employed both wing claws to carefully lift it up to my mouth. It looked like it was bulging a little—as if there was far too much filling in it. Opening my mouth wide, I bit down.

My fangs were first to pierce to the center of the doughnut. Four squirts of blackberry jam shot out into my mouth and sent me to batty heaven. I must have made a happy little noise in my throat, because my ears perked at the sound of Celestia chuckling.

I tried to reply, but with my mouth full of the sweet taste of the berries I had no chance of making any articulate sound. I settled for slurping more of the jam from the doughnut.

"There's not a lot of ponies who could match my enthusiasm for cakes and pastries, Joyce, but I believe you hold a position in that group."

Pulling my fangs from the doughnut, I slurped down the jam still in my mouth and stuck my tongue out at Princess Celestia. "I'll have you know I'm the president of that club."

We both broke into silly giggles, and each started eating our treats in earnest. The rest of the doughnut—despite being mostly bereft of jam—was a wonder to behold. I glanced again at Joe Jr. and Joe Sr. Sure enough, both of them had doughnut cutie marks.

Cutie marks, it seemed, didn't just help one be good at something, it made them better than good. A pony with a cutie mark in a field could probably step right in and be as good as an expert in it, or train in that field and surpass even the greatest regularly trained pony. It was humbling for me to remember that I had a cutie mark for medicine.

I had only just started learning my trade here, but then I'd only had the mark for a few months now. Was I better at my job than I used to be?

A coffee-table book would be in order: Musings on Cutie Marks by A Former Alien Biped Eating Doughnuts. Strangely, I think it would be a best-seller here.

Celestia tensed, though it wasn't the kind to be ready for action. I watched as her benevolent/warm mask slid firmly into place, and behind me the bell rang for the door. Not having the ponies entering able to see my eyes, I rolled them a little and raised an eyebrow.

Smiling just a little wider, it was Princess Celestia who acknowledged my unasked question and the ponies coming into the shop.

Some of them walked past us and up to the counter to order, but all of them kept glancing back. Celestia, if anything, looked genuinely happy that they were curious enough to do normal things around her, but I had to wonder at how such attention would grate.

Most of the ponies who entered the shop purchased something, but there were a few with cameras sitting by the door that only focused their attention on Celestia.

"They're going to be a problem for you?" I asked.

"Not really. They mean well, and are following their destiny, but if I make their destiny too simple—well—it won't feel as accomplished." It was still Princess Celestia that carefully sliced a piece of her doughnut and nibbled delicately at it.

It was too late now, but I resolved to bring doughnuts to our next weekend tea. I cleared my throat. "These really are the finest pastries in all Equestria. What do you call them again?" I stretched my wings more than strictly needed to lift up my doughnut with my claws.

The whole room went dead silent. Ponies openly stared at me. Taking one for the team, Joyce. When I opened my mouth wide—exposing my fangs—my ears detected several gasps of surprise. I bit through the doughnut with a savage snap of my teeth. "Diff foo goof!"

Each chew and each bite was exaggerated enough to flash my fangs. Ponies were mesmerized by it. Then Princess Celestia stood, and the attention shifted back to her. She turned to look at me. "Are you coming, Joyce?" Celestia asked.

Attention shifted again. I'd been a curiosity that was sitting opposite Princess Celestia, now she was acknowledging me. I stood up and popped the last of my doughnut in my mouth and then raised a wing to wave to the two Joes. "Thank you for the food and drink, they were wonderful."

Both stallions smiled and nodded, but only one of them was looking at me. Joe Jr. couldn't seem to take his eyes off Celestia, and I was starting to grow worried I wasn't the only pony taking notice. Time to make it a show.

I stretched my wings up, exposing most of the broad membrane to the eyes of the watchers. My fingers were still curled slightly, so I guess I may have had a rather stooping forward look. A camera flash went off, then another. I turned toward them and posed.

"Anything in particular I can do, gentleponies?" I asked. I may have even fluttered my eyelashes at them and flashed some fang.

A young mare with a camera seemed to shrug off her stupor first. Her face lit up like the sun itself. "Could we get a few words for the ponies of Canterlot?" She batted eyelashes every bit a match for my own, and I didn't doubt she was capable of promising me anything for a story.

"Guard your fruit trees. Protect your baked goods. There are bats in Canterlot, and we love sweet things!" I said.

The mare, indeed all the newsponies, ate it up. This kind of thing would be a circus back on Earth, but in Equestria the press seemed just as excited about happy things as tragedies. Not that I was going to stop distracting them while Joe Jr. lost his hungry glances at Celestia.

I strode to the door, my wings loose at my sides just enough that the membrane showed, and the cameraponies ate it up. All of them turned to face me as I walked into the cooler afternoon air. And they all followed me right out the door.

With a glance around at them, I started spreading my wings wider and wider. The mare who'd asked for the statement earlier, who I recognized was a pegasus, seemed to forget to take any shots. "Do you think you could keep up?" I asked her.

The mare shook her head as her eyes traced my wingspan that was easily two and a half of her length per wing. She shook off her stupor and took a few photos.

"Perfect!" I stretched my wings into the air, looked back past the camera flashes to see Celestia sneaking out of the shop, and leapt into the air with a pump of my wings.

I knew it was the magic of Equestria that helped me spring into the air so quickly, but it still felt great to just rocket away from the ground. Pounding my wings again and again, I soon lost sight of the ponies taking pictures and met Celestia's side.

"Thank you, Joyce." Simple words, but I could see the genuine smile Celestia wore as the real reward for my pandering to the press. She looked happy and carefree in a way I'd never seen before.

Gliding beside her, I was learning how to spot the thermals that Canterlot's magic produced. "It's what friends do. He's got it bad for you."

Celestia dipped one wing and angled the other up. She spun around her center of mass and let out a whoop of pure excitement. "I know!" Two pristine hooves capped in gold trim reached up to cover Celestia's mouth, but then she giggled past them. "I'm as giddy as a filly. Did you see the way he looked at me?"

"He couldn't get enough. Definitely a keeper." I nodded sagely as if I weren't giving dating advice to someone over a thousand years older than me. "It was the doughnuts first, wasn't it?"

"Of course it was! One of my guards brought a box of them to me one night when my pastry chef was feeling poorly. I haven't the heart to ask him to bring more, not and risk breaking Gretchen's heart."

I followed Celestia's movements as she wove through the sky. From the ground we would be nothing but specks against the bright winter's sky. "Perhaps I could bring some on Sundays? I'm sure a particular baker would even slip notes in for his fillyfriend?"

"I'm not his—" Celestia stopped mid-sentence. She laughed again and did another tight roll. "I am his fillyfriend!"

Author's Note

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Lab

Chapter 15 [[ A Lyra Perspective ]]

I sat in the class with one particular weave flickering in and out of my vision. Cadance hadn't had any hope of teaching me the history of societies' acceptance of the Bit as its standard currency when I could freakin' teleport!

Princess Celestia was looking at me. I blinked and tried to look around, but everypony was looking at me. "S-Sorry, I—"

She smiled at me, a wide and forgiving smile that was what I'd gotten used to with Candela. "You seem a little distracted, Lyra. Is something the matter?" Concern was real in her voice. Mum told me how Celestia locks up her expression, but she never seems to in class.

"It's all Twilight's fault," I said.

Gasps ran around the room, not the least of which was Celestia's. I held firm to my statement.

"How is Twilight to blame for your inattentiveness?" Princess Celestia looked aside at Twilight, and when I glanced at the filly too, I saw her looking terrified.

"She taught me a new spell."

Celestia turned her head toward Twilight, her expression that of barely withheld laughter. "Twilight, is this correct?"

"I didn't mean to! You said I should tutor Lyra and she has been learning really complex spells for her ability so I thought I'd teach her something I just learned and she picked up the weave really quickly and then—"

Twilight. Breathe, Twilight." Princess Celestia had all the warmth of a mother for Twilight Sparkle, I realized. "What spell was it?"

Almost hyperventilating, Twilight seemed to switch gears and sat up straight. "Teleportation, Princess."

"Intermediate spells already? Well done to both of you. Perhaps Lyra would like to step up to the front and teach us all how to form this weave?" This was Celestia's punishment for me destabilizing Twilight. The worst part was she knew exactly what she was doing with her punishment.

"I'd have to explain how to do the maths first," I said. Celestia's look told me everything I needed to know. Stretching my magic out thin, I reached for a piece of chalk and walked to the front of the class. When I turned around, Celestia had walked to the side and made herself comfortable. Lines on the blackboard would have been more humane.

There was a light of hope, however. I could teach this in a boring and droll way, worse even than Twilight had taught it to me, or I could teach it the way school should be taught. Clearing my throat, I climbed up on the desk at the front of the class so I was towering above everypony. "There's two tricks to learning this. The first is the maths itself, the second is remembering that up is a direction."

Using my magic, I began writing the formula on the board. Everything with this spell was relative placement, which meant that your first point was always yourself. The trick was being able to slide the other point around and have the numbers come to you quickly.

"Lemon Hearts, what's the resultant vector from you to me?" I asked.

Slowly working through the math, Lemon Hearts stuck her tongue out of the corner of her mouth. Finally, she lifted her head. "Theta-X twelve degrees, Theta-Y five degrees, magnitude five point six!"

I stepped to the edge of the desk. "And now?"

When she started doing more math, I shook my head. "Lemon Hearts, look at me. Look right at me." I waited for her to look up from her notebook before I grinned. "Now that you're looking at me, what's the vector?"

None of the ponies in Celestia's class were idiots. I was the oldest, but I wasn't the smartest. Lemon Hearts worked out the trick after a few seconds—it had taken me almost an hour of playing tag with Twilight to figure it out.

"Zero degrees on both Theta, five point six magnitude!" Lemon Hearts' eyes were wide as she realized the trick. "So I just have to look?"

I nodded. "To do it quick and easy. Everypony, look at me and say your—"

Twilight Sparkle shot to her hooves and waved an accusing foreleg at me. "You cheated!"

"It worked," I said.

"But you didn't do all the hard math! You just looked in the—Wait. No you didn't!" I watched her snout screw up in concentration. "You did for a while, but then you did something different. You looked the opposite way and negated the vector!"

I'd scored some good boops with that trick. "I can do the maths, but I can use this trick and do it much faster. Which way is best?"

"Doing it the right way!" Twilight looked adorable. Her head was thrust forward, her chest puffed up, and I had the impression that it was all her subconscious trying to make her appear bigger.

I looked above and behind Twilight, to Princess Celestia, but all I got was a smile and a little shake of her head—I was on my own here. "But what if the right way isn't the best way for everypony?"

"But it's not the right way!"

I was at a loss. It seemed a simple thing to me. I opened my mouth to reply but caught the princess shaking her head.

"You mentioned cheating. Did you make a game of this?" Celestia asked.

"Y-Yes, Your—" I managed to catch myself. "Yes, Princess."

"Please demonstrate it for the class." Celestia's smile hinted that she knew roughly how our game would go.

Twilight got up from her seat and stood still. I prepared for what was coming, of course, and when she narrowed her eyes, nodded to me, and teleported—I was ready.

I released the spell weave I'd brought up, and as Twilight appeared, I blinked out and appeared to one side of her, turned ninety degrees so I was facing Twilight. I raised my hoof to boop her, but she was already teleporting away.

The gasps of the students drained away as the game was on. I built my next weave before I heard the pomf of her appearing elsewhere in the room.

"What is the aim?" Princess Celestia asked.

"To—" I said, then had to teleport away as Twilight moved in for the boop. "To boop the other on the nose," I added when I reappeared behind Celestia.

"No other movement is allowed except teleporting and booping," Twilight said and teleported away in two quick pomfs. What made me grin—and lose—was how adorably serious she sounded.

I found myself staring down my nose at the little purple hoof planted against it. "You win."

"I win!" Twilight started bouncing around and kicking her legs out at odd angles. She froze and pointed her hoof back at me. "Because my way was best!"

"That is a good point to bring up the value of rigor," Princess Celestia said. "The only way to say unequivocally that either way is right is to have you swap stances and try again."

Twilight pulled her hoof back and stared at Celestia with surprise. "But Lyra's not as fast as I am with the high-order math needed to perform fully calculated teleports swiftly. She's only as quick as she is because she… cheats." By the time she got to the last word, Twilight scrunched her snout up.

"She's still doing a lot of calculations. That ninety-degree transition while shifting her body was no mere accident. Twilight, I want you to spend the next game or two using Lyra's method, and teach Lyra the more precise mathematics. I think you'll both get a pleasant surprise," Princess Celestia said. "Now, back to your seats, and we can—"

The buzzing of our chips heralded the end of our time with Princess Celestia. I could see the annoyance on her face that her class was so short, and could feel it mirrored on my own.

"Alright, class. I want you to do some private research on the advanced spell, teleportation. See if you can't memorize the weave by next class."

In a lot of ways classes at Princess Celestia's school were much like Candela's—which helped a lot. I waited until all the others had filed out and walked up to Celestia. "Sorry about that."

"You're apologizing to the wrong pony, but it is appreciated. Twilight needs to be pushed, Lyra, but it needs to be gentle. I heard you're applying to the E.U.P. Guard?" The of the question gave nothing away. I was sure Mum could read Celestia when she was being neutral, but I had no chance.

I couldn't (and wouldn't) do anything but tell the truth. "I am. I was going to use the summer break to do the initial training, then stay on as a member of the Reserves. I have a friend joining, too, although she wants to join full time."

Celestia's smile was warm, a lite version of what she'd given Twilight earlier. "You're not doing it to be with her?"

"Maybe a little. I like Sweetie, but she hasn't really responded to anything I've said—not in that way. But it's more than that. I also want to know how to protect ponies from danger—I have a gift with magic and I don't want to waste it." The words felt right to me, I was glad to be able to say them. "I want to find my place. Music? I can play music, and I'm good at it, but I want to do more than that."

"That's a very pony position to take. Was there anything else you needed help with?" Celestia asked.

The offer was sincere. Princess Celestia would step up to bat for me if I needed her to, but only if I needed her to—Lyra-sized problems were for Lyra to deal with. "Thank you, Princess. I should go or there'll be nothing left by the time I get lunch."

"Good luck, Lyra." Princess Celestia sounded like she meant the words, but I couldn't help but feel there was more than one meaning in them.

It took until I reached the lunchroom before I realized she meant with Sweetie Drops. I know a smile spread over my lips, and I almost felt like singing. There was just something amazing about knowing that Princess Celestia was taking the time to wish you luck.

I spotted Twilight sitting on her own, and once I'd grabbed a pair of apples and a sandwich, headed over to sit with her. I sat down across from Twilight, and levitating up my sandwich, I took a small bite of it.

Twilight looked up briefly, then back down at the book that had appeared on the table sometime between when I'd arrived in the cafeteria and when I'd come to the table with my food.

"I'm sorry." I watched her while I waited for a reply. Apart from her ears betraying that she was listening to me, I got no response. "I didn't mean to make you feel bad or angry. Where I'm from, that kind of thing is pretty common. I guess it isn't here.

"So I'm sorry, really sorry." I had no idea what else to say, and lowered my head to look down at my suddenly unappetizing food.

"It's stupid," Twilight said. When I jerked my head up, she continued, "I spent so long working on that math, and then you show an easy way that doesn't need it!"

"I couldn't have worked out that easy way without you teaching me the right way. And I still had to do some calculations for that right-angled jump. I didn't mean to say your way was bad, but that my way is equally valid. This is why I'm not a teacher," I said.

Twilight looked at me a moment, then tilted her head just a little to one side. "But I am." She stuck her tongue out at me.

"One of the best," I said. "And now you have to teach me the harder stuff."

Twilight's groan made me giggle a little. "It was hard enough with simple coordinates. How am I going to teach you complex number theory and plotting on an imaginary plane instead of Cartesian plane?" She threw her forehooves in the air and blew out a sigh. That she peeked at me with a big grin on her face told me we were cool again.

"Well, you have to. Princess Celestia expects it." I tossed my mane to the side and tipped my snout up.

It was meant to be a gag, but Twilight turned the book she'd been reading so I could see what page it was on. In among all the numbers was the pony symbol for the letter I.

"What's this?" I asked.

"The start of your new math class. These are imaginary numbers. The I stands for——" Our lesson time, apparently, was now going to include lunch.

"Never, ever, again," I said. I used my magic to levitate a wooden spoon of soup up to my mouth, tasted it, and tossed the spoon to the sink to be washed later. "It needs more pepper."

Sweetie Drops let out a sigh. "You keep saying that."

"I like pepper, it boosts the flavor of—"

"No, the 'never ever' thing." Sweetie tossed the pepper grinder from her side of the kitchen—where she was chopping up carrots—to mine.

I caught the pepper easily with my magic and began grinding what I felt was enough to cause anypony's eyes to widen and remember they had a nasal cavity. "Well, I started the morning crowing about teleportation magic, so Princess Celestia made me teach the class about it, which meant I had to give a maths lesson. Then at lunch, Twilight started teaching me about imaginary numbers—"

"They don't exist?"

"Oh no. They exist. They exist all over the place. So my lunch is spent learning the basics of that, and then half my afternoon was a regular maths class. My head's full of numbers, and even geography didn't help." I put down the pepper and got a fresh spoon to stir the soup. "What did we do? We drilled on events and dates. More numbers!"

"Oh no! Who would have ever thought that attending the best school for unicorns in all Equestria would mean you have to learn?!" Sweetie lifted a hoof to her forehead and mimed fainting. "And here I am, in the lap of luxury, only having to work all day." As she spoke, she straightened and turned to glare at me.

"You're beautiful when you're sarcastic." The words had tumbled out without my consent, which was pretty bad as far as typical word-behavior went. My eyes widened, but not as much as hers.

"What did you say, Lyra Heartstrings?" Sweetie Drops asked.

Traitorous mouth! I clamped my jaws closed so hard my snout scrunched up. Turning back to the soup, I endeavored to look more busy than I was.

"Well?"

"Are you done with the carrots yet?" I asked.

"Michael Robertson?"

I stiffened at my human name from Sweetie's lips. I turned around slowly, and completely missed seeing the wooden spoon that pressed to my lips before Sweetie kissed the other side of it. I froze in shock and stared at her—so close.

"And that's all you're getting until you can admit it properly." Sweetie tossed the spoon into the sink and turned back to her carrots.

How on Earth—or Equestria—did that happen? I stared at her, really stared, trying to make sense of what I'd said, her reaction, and the craziness that had unfolded. I turned back to my soup and stirred it a little more. "This is almost done."

"Leave it on low heat. Can you lift these trays into the steamer?" Sweetie's tone was neutral, normal, as if nothing had happened.

I did as asked. "About what I said." At my words, one eyebrow on Sweetie Drops' brow rose higher and higher. "It's been hard working out who I am and what I want. I was a guy, with a girlfriend and all, but then she turned into a stallion and me into a mare.

"Life got overly complicated until we agreed that it wasn't working. She had herself—or himself—a boyfriend, and I had,"—I sighed—"no one. When I got here, I was suddenly surrounded by cute mares. Before I knew it, I had it bad for Princess Cadance, but like that was ever going anywhere with Shining around. Then I accidentally kissed Trixie, and—"

"How did you 'accidentally' kiss somepony?"

"You're going to ask me about every detail, aren't you?" I asked.

Sweetie Drops just nodded.

"We were practicing a way to let Cadance ask Shining out, with Trixie pretending to be Shining and me as Cadance, and I guess we got carried away." When I looked again, the eyebrow hadn't dropped any.

"Carried away like just now?"

"What? No!" When her eyebrow lowered, and a smile curved Sweetie's lips, I knew I'd probably said something ~~wrong~~right. "Ugh. I can't help finding all mares pretty and cute."

"And beautiful?"

The question was a trap I hadn't seen coming. I was a mare too, now, I figured it should be only fair that I can see these things coming—but no. "What? N-No…"

"So only me then? I can accept that."

My brain stopped working. Somehow I'd talked myself into admitting feelings for Sweetie, and I had to believe it was all my own fault, because if (for just a moment) I thought it was Sweetie who'd done the convincing I'd have to admit she'd out-played me at every turn.

"So what now?" I asked.

"Here's the carrots."

The normalcy of her answer jolted me back to the real world. I stopped stirring and pulled my spoon from the pot to let Sweetie drop in a big pile of carrots. "So…?"

"Are there any conventions back on your world, regarding this?" Sweetie Drops turned and dropped the bowl she'd been using in the sink to be washed later. "How do two potential special somepo—humans—get to know each other better?"

"We use the phrases boyfriend and girlfriend, or just couple for both I guess. But I don't think you want a lesson in human speak." I was rambling. Help! "And I don't actually know the convention for two girls, I just, uh, I kinda wasn't one, but you know that, and I—"

"You still think like a guy, you said. So what do guys do when they see a pretty girl?" Pulling out a large knife, Sweetie started chopping up onions into rough chunks.

Remembering my sister when she revealed her special talent (cutting up fruit), I decided then and there to never joke with a mare who was using a large knife. "They, well, ask the girl out—after making conversation first."

Sweetie chopped the onions with expert precision, reminding me that she was going to join the military. "Excellent. So we have the conversation bit sorted out, we've established that we both like each other, so now you can…?" She trailed off, gesturing to me with one hoof.

"You like me?" I asked. It was finally my turn. I expected her to react the same way I had, giddiness and confusion, but then Sweetie destroyed all my hopes and dreams by just nodding to me. Damn! Now I was the one with a racing heartbeat.

Silence reined, except for the chop, chop, chop of her knife against the board, or the slow simmering of the soup I was working on. I had to do it. This was my first real chance with anypony since Rose. "Would you like to go out somewhere tomorrow night?"

"I guess."

The answer confused me after all the buildup over it. I put my wooden spoon down and turned around, only to have a grinning Sweetie Drops facing me. I stared at her in shock, unsure exactly what she was going to do next.

"Of course I'd love to go somewhere. Anything in mind?" Sweetie's look was completely unreadable.

I looked at her for maybe ten seconds, confusion between what she was saying and what her body-language was saying causing my brain to short out. "Is that a yes? A-Are you being sarcastic? I don't—" A hoof pressed against my nose, successfully causing me to stop my traitorous mouth.

Sweetie Drops' whole demeanor changed. She looked at me with a genuine smile, and her ears perked forward attentively. "It's a yes, Lyra Heartstrings. You better pick somewhere nice, because there will be a test afterwards."

Joke. She's making a joke. My brain could handle a joke, despite her having confirmed that we were going on a date. I knew my smile would be goofy, but nothing I could think of could change that now. "I-I'll come down at five?"

"Now I'll tell you that in Equestria, it's fairly open as to who asks who." Removing her hoof from my snout, Sweetie turned back to preparing vegetables. "I just wanted to hear you ask."

"What?!"

"You're cute, Lyra Heartstrings, but you're cuter when you are off balance."

The elation and excitement of having a date planned (but not planned) warred with my confusion over women—or mares. I just wanted to raise my head and shout, but instead I stirred the soup.

With a full belly—a combination of butterflies and the excellent food we cooked for dinner—I slumped on my bed and stretched out. I got a date! I wanted to laugh, and cheer, and panic. Being efficient, I did all three at the same time.

"What's the excitement?" Tufts asked. Apparently I'd woken him from a nap. He was stretching himself as he climbed out from under my bed, stretching one wing then the other.

"You know Sweetie Drops?" I asked.

"She Who Shares Fruit With Bats? I know of her."

"I'm taking her out on a date tomorrow night!" Even stretched out and laying on my back, I bounced. "I kinda said she was beautiful, then she pushed it and got me to admit I had feelings for her. How could I not? She's gorgeous, smart, and she likes basically all the same stuff I do!"

Tufts cleared his throat and, with a bound of his vulpine legs, landed on my barrel. Looking down his muzzle at me, Tufts narrowed his eyes. "You intend to court her?"

A little startled, I stared up at Tufts and nodded.

Lifting one wing up to his chin, Tufts inspected it before using the thumb to rub his chin. "I approve, of course. Any mare who shares her fruit so willingly is a suitable pairing for one of my offspring. You have showered her with gifts?"

"I made her soup," I said. "But she helped cook that. Damn, you're right. I need to find something special to give her."

"Of course I'm right—I'm a bat. Now your best bet is with fruit. Does she like mango—? Wait! Don't answer that. Of course she likes them. What about… No. I can't imagine anyone not liking fruit. Perhaps you could get her a fruit bowl?" Tufts looked at me with all the sincerity a bat could muster, which is why it was a struggle to remember he was a god, too.

I let out a huff, but could take the joking for what it was. "You know, I think I might need to talk to someone else about this. Sweetie likes fruit—"

Tufts screeched loudly.

Tucking my ears down and squinting my eyes closed until he was done, I peeked at him when Tufts fell silent. "What was that for?"

"You said fruit."

I used my magic to rub behind one of his ears, and Tufts almost fell off my barrel he leaned into it so much. "I might have said—You know I don't have any of that with me right now?" He didn't screech this time, but one eye did crack open.

"If you did, I'd be screeching more. Besides, who else are you possibly going to ask about love?"

I was yawning. Somewhere on the castle grounds Celestia was preparing to lower the moon and raise the sun. Lifting my hoof, I gently tapped on Cadance's door. Then a few minutes later I knocked again, a bit louder. By the time I was about to knock for the third time, the door opened.

Cadance looked at me without actually looking at me. Her eyes were focused either somewhere inches from her nose, or miles away in the distance. "Do you have any idea what time it—Lyra? What are you doing here at—Is it still dark?!"

"For a bit. Look, I need your help. You're the only pony that can help me." My words earned me the door opening a bit wider, so I darted inside before she closed it behind me. "I have a date."

Blue magic burned and lit up the room. Lights came on, and I realized Cadance's sour expression had changed to something bordering on hungry wolf. "Well, well, well. Who's the lucky mare? Trixie? Please tell me you asked Trixie out!"

I took a step back only to have Cadance take two forwards to maintain her intensity. "It's not Trixie!"

Cadance lifted a pink hoof to her chin and tapped it a few times. "Not the obvious choice, and it's not me. What other mares do you know, Lyra? What are you hiding from me?" Waves of power seemed to thrum around Cadance. She felt—magically—like when you turned the gas on the stove and it just wasn't lighting. There was potential in the air.

"A friend," I said, but even to me it was unconvincing. "We've been friends a while, and I let it slip that I liked her, and she put me on the spot and forced me to ask her out." Mares seemed to have this effect on me where I couldn't stop my mouth from blurting things out. To solve the problem, I lifted a hoof and covered it.

"Eeee! This sounds amazing. I want to know everything!"

And my mouth would tell it, too. Okay, Lyra, control. Focus on what you're going to say and— "She's beautiful." No! "When I look at her, my heart flutters." Stop! "We were cooking together, and I said she was beautiful, and she used magic to make me ask her out." Huh? "Or that's what it felt like. I just want this to work." Well, I could agree with the last bit, but each thing I said seemed to make Cadance more excited, and her excitement was contagious. "Her name's Sweetie Drops."

"I don't know her…" Cadance looked shocked. She blinked a few times and then focused her gaze on me. It was unnerving to have the weight of an alicorn's thoughts completely on you—or so I thought. "So, after all this, why are you here at—" The sun outside sprang into the sky, and light streamed in through the windows. "… dawn?"

"I have school today, and the date's tonight. What do I do and where do I go and how do I stop myself from blurting out every detail you want me to divulge?" I was panting by the end of my words. Mouth, please stop this.

Cadance grinned. She spread her wings and struck a regal pose. "I am the alicorn of love, Lyra. I'm surprised you lasted this long without coming to me with all your relationship problems."

I had to shake my head to throw off the awe and dazed feeling in my head. "I didn't have any relationship problems—I still don't! Also, I remember helping you with your—"

"Now is not the time to pointing hooves. You need somewhere to take your beau on the most important of dates, and you need it all arranged before school." Cadance floated a scroll over, a quill, and ink. It was her most grand show of precision magic I'd seen, and of course it had to do with her special talent.

Spells were great. You could learn them, keep brushing up on the weaves from time to time, and they always worked as predicted. When it came to cutie marks, and what your special talent was, all bets were off. Which was why I came to Cadance. If there was one magic that was more powerful even than alicorn magic, it was an alicorn working within their special talent.

What I didn't count on was the effect momentum would have on Cadance. She started adding things to the list, and before I realized it she had the scroll filled with her plans. Her plans for me. But I'd asked for this. I'd come to Cadance and begged her help. Now my penance was to accept it. "S-So you have this, right?"

Cadance froze, the quill in her magic stopped writing, and she turned her head to me. I knew the smile that spread her mouth wide—I'd seen it in a mirror once after I was done playing guitar. "Of course. The only thing you need to tell me is how serious is this?"

How serious? How serious was it? I had no idea what to say. "Serious," my mouth said.

Closing her eyes, Cadance's bright smile grew in intensity to the point where I felt warmth spreading through me. Magic had a hold of her, and if I wasn't careful it would have me too. But it was too late. My mind turned to Sweetie Drops, and I felt a bubble of excitement.

Maybe this would work?

Author's Note

Robin: how are things on earth since your mom and sister left

[stressed and excited bat noises intensify]

(We are going to get some insight into that in the story itself, but it will take a little time to unfold. There will even—gasp—be some of the story that happens IN Thestralia!)

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Lab

Chapter 16

Joyce was more comfortable with just sitting down and talking to Tufts, though she now knew for a fact he wasn't just another bat. If anything, this helped her accept him easier. "You taught Dream Thunder."

"Dream magic was her special talent. I taught her a little, but she picked it up like a bat learns to fly." Tufts turned his head and stretched open his left wing then began licking along the underside of the membrane. "You could," he said between licks, "ask her."

Picking up a brush, Joyce set it to Tufts' neck and began working it through his fur. "She's literally in another world. I'm not asking you to teach me all the stuff you taught her, just the basics I need to not get tossed about like a toy. I seem to have a job to do here."

Tufts slowly gave up his wing-cleaning in favor of rolling to his back to fully enjoy the brushing. When the brushing stopped, he looked up at Joyce as if his world had just collapsed.

"You get more brushing when you start talking," Joyce said.

"You're a cruel mistress. Very well. I'll teach you how to dream, but it will cost you a kiss." Tufts' fuzzy little lips curled upward at their edges. "A proper one."

In Joyce's mind it was a reasonable trade, but if she let Tufts know that he'd take advantage of it. She lifted one forehoof to her chin and tapped it. "On one condition."

"Name it," Tufts said.

Before he could think of doing anything else, and before she could come up with an excuse not to, Joyce grabbed Tufts with a wing and pulled him with her as she rolled to her back. Holding him above her, she closed her eyes and leaned forward.

Though writers might extol the virtues of kisses with extreme verbiage, Joyce and Tufts just kissed. The only difference from what the kiss might otherwise be is that each of them put effort and affection into it.

Each of them lost track of time before they mutually came up for air.

Joyce's heart was thudding away in her chest. She looked up into the small face of Tufts and couldn't hold back a happy sigh.

"I like the sound of that almost as much as the kiss." Tufts, former god and spawn of magic, gazed back into Joyce's eyes as if he were spellbound. "You snared my heart tighter than that barbed wire ever could have."

Holding back a snort of laughter, Joyce rolled her eyes. "That's probably the least romantic way to put that, but I get what you mean. You're the first guy I've ever known who wasn't into me for sex."

"Whatever gave you the idea that I wasn't?" Tufts asked. "But I was waiting for you to bring it up." After a few moments of silence, Tufts continued. "Well, aren't you going to ask?"

"Do I have to?"

"I would appreciate it."

Joyce rolled her eyes again, but the smile on her lips deepened. "How would that even work?" The look on Tufts' face was enough to make Joyce giggle.

"I could tell you, or I could show you." Nuzzling against Joyce's jaw, Tufts managed to coax a happy sigh from her. "Was that a yes?"

"If you do, I don't think we could hold back. I don't think I could hold back."

Tufts drew his snout back and looked at Joyce. "Which is why I asked."

"Which," Joyce put extra emphasis on the word, "is why I am seriously thinking about it."

"Then let's not. If you take convincing, I don't think we'd enjoy it as much. Besides, I want to get more kissing done." With that, Tufts leaned in and pressed his lips to Joyce's again.

"Mum! Tufts! I—" Lyra lifted a hoof up to cover her eyes. "Put a coat hanger on the door handle or something!"

Joyce broke the kiss with a snort. "We're not doing anything—just kissing."

"At least we're not on your bed," Tufts said.

"Ugh. Don't even. Anyway, I'm going out on a date. I'll be back later." Lyra, with the biggest and smuggest smile yet, pulled the door closed as she left.

Looking up at Tufts, Joyce broke into giggles and kissed him on the nose briefly.

"She has a date." Tufts raised one vulpine eyebrow, and when Joyce nodded he smiled. "Love is in the air."

Almost trotting through the hall, Lyra Heartstrings felt like singing. When she poked her head into the kitchen, however, she only saw Candy Cane. "Where's Sweetie?"

"My little filly is in her room primping. The only excuse she would give me was that she had a date." Candy stirred the pot of vegetable stew slowly, mulling things over. She'd been waiting to see who it would be that came looking for Sweetie, and she couldn't say she was upset with it being Lyra. "What are your intentions, Lyra Heartstrings?"

"Mom! Leave Lyra alone!" Sweetie Drops walked up beside Lyra and poked her head into the kitchen. "It's just a first date."

"'Just a first date'?" Lyra asked.

Candy wasn't blind to the friendship that had emerged between the two, but she had been surprised just now to learn this was the way her daughter leaned. "Dear, you never call a date 'just an' anything. Particularly when it's a first. Now, what do you have planned?"

The attention of Sweetie and Candy were now upon Lyra. She smiled as best she could under the weight of mother and daughter. "Since we only made the date last night, and since I had to spend all day at school—I think you can see where this is going." She waited for the moment when both mares were about to open their mouths before continuing. "I have two tickets to see the Wonderbolts performance, then reserved seats at Brinjal."

"I didn't know there was a Wonderbolts show on today," Sweetie Drops said.

"Isn't Brinjal that new restaurant from that mouthy chef from near Trottingham?" Candy Cane asked.

"You're going to have to trust me that they are having a show, and it is a fancy restaurant." In her head, Lyra was in a blind panic. She suspected something about the Wonderbolts show but didn't want to voice it for fear that it was true. "So, whenever you're ready?" Just like that she held out a hoof to Sweetie.

"I can't believe you're not going to tell me what's really going on. I know the Wonderbolts don't have a show tonight. I have been trying to get to a show of theirs for weeks, but they only perform during the day. As for Brinjal, I also happen to know they are so fancy that they take bookings weeks in advance." Sweetie Drops was as sure as she'd ever been of anything.

"You're going to have to trust me," Lyra said and waggled her hoof.

Sighing dramatically, Sweetie reached out and took Lyra's hoof in her own. "Crazy unicorn."

"I might be crazy, but what does that say about you?" Giggling, Lyra led the way down the hall and out into the crisp afternoon air. When she noticed Sweetie looked concerned, Lyra tried to think of something to do. "What's wrong?"

"Are you actually just trying to be funny? We only made the date yesterday, and I know—" Sweetie Drops stopped when Lyra's magic formed into a hand with one golden finger extended and pressed to her lips.

"I cheated."

"I knew it! So what did you organize?"

Lyra sighed and waved her hoof in the air. "I asked a friend for help. She told me what she'd organized. She was going to pick me out a present to give to you, but I wanted that to be from me, not her."

"What was she going to get me?"

"The Wonderbolt show—Wait!" Lyra had to cut herself off before Sweetie did. "When I heard that's what she got you, I wasn't going to say no. But I also wanted to get you this."

Sweetie blinked her eyes at the flash of light from Lyra's magic. Floating before her a piece of paper. She took it and read it. "'Dear Sweetie. I owe you one present'? Lyra, is this for real?"

"You are really hard to shop for, and one day wasn't enough for me to find something good enough."

The sentiment was enough for Sweetie, however, to see past the ridiculousness of it. She carefully folded the paper and slipped it into her mane for safe-keeping. "I'll hold you to that."

"I promise to have something by the end of the week."

The pair trotted side by side to the Canterlot flight center stadium. As Sweetie predicted there was no crowd of ponies there for a show.

"This friend of yours, how much of a liar are they?" Giving Lyra another firm look, Sweetie sighed. "Just come clean, Lyra, where are—"

The sound of wings thrumming like the angriest swarm of bees cut Sweetie off. Four ponies clad in blue and gold flight-suits shot past them and into a loop.

A shiver ran down Sweetie Drops' spine as she lifted her head. "That's the Wonderbolts!" She didn't see Lyra's nod. "And they're putting on a show for—" Sweetie turned her head for just a moment to stare at Lyra. "Who was your friend?"

"Cadance," Lyra said.

"You mean soon-to-be-crowned-princess Cadance. Alicorn Cadance. That Cadance?!" Sweetie's tirade stopped just as the Wonderbolts zoomed by overhead again. She craned her head back to watch them dance through the air in the fading sunlight.

Lyra tilted her head up to watch the aeriel show as well, and was amazed at how fast the four ponies could move. "Sure."

"I thought you were joking about her, or you were talking about another Cadance. How did you make friends with her?" As she asked, Sweetie's head tracked the fliers above.

"When we arrived and met Princess Celestia. Cadance and Shining were so oblivious about each other it wasn't funny, so I kinda helped prod them together. It didn't take much prodding. But anyway, we just kept being good friends. She's the one who tutors me each week," Lyra said.

"So the reservation at Brinjal is real?"

"As far as I know. We just have to show up and give our names and they should let us in." Lyra shrugged her shoulders as the Wonderbolts above them did a 4-way pass maneuver that resulted in a blast of smoke forming a huge lightning bolt.

Their silence was broken by a cheer here and there, but neither Lyra nor Sweetie expected to have the Wonderbolts swing around and land beside them at the end. All four pulled off their goggles and hoods.

"Hey newbies, why don't you two answer any of their questions while Wind and I head back?" Flash reached a hoof up to slick back his silvery mane. "Come on, Wind. I hear there's a good place to drink just around the corner."

Wind Rider's eyes slid over the two mares they had been performing for. He'd been hoping the future princess would be there to watch them. "Sure," he said, "but I don't suppose either of you knew why Mi Amore Cadenza didn't come?" The last bit he directed to Lyra and Sweetie.

"I told you, Wind, this was organized by her for these two lovebirds. If you'll beg our pardon, ladies, Spitfire and Soarin might be newbies to the Wonderbolts, but as you saw they can pull a turn with the best. I'm sure they can help you out with autographs and questions." Putting a wing over Wind's withers, Flash jerked his 2IC away from the young mares. "Seriously, Wind, they're VIPs."

"You were amazing!" Sweetie Drops couldn't contain herself any longer. She practically bounced on her hooves. "I'm going to join the E.U.P. in a few months."

Spitfire used a wing to bump Soarin at her side. "Good plan. I've served two years with them, but Soarin's from civilian ranks. Doesn't mean he can't fly worth ten other pegasi."

"What was that guy's problem?" Lyra asked.

"Wind Rider? He gets a little odd when he has it for a mare, or so General Flash said. He was making eyes at Cadance. What's her deal, anyway?" Soarin looked at Lyra and Sweetie with mild appraisal. It wasn't that he didn't like mares, but he was a wing-stallion in every sense of the word.

"Cadance? She's a friend. I mentioned I was taking a cute mare out on a date, and that she really liked you guys." Lyra shrugged. "She's cute. Not hard to see why the old guy has a thing for her. But she's taken, you know?"

"She is?" Despite himself, Soarin couldn't help but feel a little disappointment in the knowledge. Then a new thought struck him. "So Wind doesn't know."

"Whatever it is you're thinking, Soarin, let's do it together. Wind Rider could do with a little wind out of his sails." Spitfire turned her attention back to Lyra and Sweetie. "I don't suppose you know the lucky stallion's name?"

"Shining Armor. He's a Royal Guard up at the castle. Big, adorkable guy and cute—if you're into that." Lyra turned her attention back to Sweetie Drops, hoping her date wasn't feeling left out. She needn't have bothered. Sweetie Drops was practically bouncing on her hooves in excitement.

"So. Do you want anything signed?" Spitfire asked.

"Oh right. We're on duty." Soarin blushed a little, not that it showed past his fur, at having completely gotten distracted.

Sweetie Drops' face fell. She turned to look at Lyra, then back to the two flying aces. "I-I haven't got anything with me…"

"Wait. I got this." Pumping her wings, Spitfire took off like a missile with the tell-tale thrum that her uniform made in flight.

Soarin had a moment to wait before Spitfire returned, carrying her gear-bag. For a moment he was confused, but then she pulled her rookie uniform from the bag. "You're not…?"

Spitfire led with a shrug at Soarin. "Why not? I don't need it anymore, and I think I might have found my number one fan. What do you say? Want my rookie uniform? Signed, of course."

Now pronking in place, Sweetie squealed in excitement. "Do I ever? This is sooooo awesome!"

"I think that's a yes," Soarin said.

Feeling that the night would be perfect if things just stopped right now—Lyra had to wonder if the rest could top it. While Spitfire signed her name onto the belly of her old uniform, she turned to Soarin. "So you guys are big stuff then? I'm not really from around here, so just kinda wondering."

"Wow, and already friends with a princess? Sounds like you're really going places. The Wonderbolts are an elite arm of the E.U.P. Guard. It's a mix of professional Guardsponies and talented fliers. Spitfire's the former, and I'm the latter. Flying is our biggest thing, but everyone gets trained to fight, though we hope we won't be needed." Soarin felt a little like he was giving a lecture the way Lyra just absorbed what he said. "You, uh, got any questions?"

Lyra snorted out a giggle. "You sound like a recruiter. It's fine, I'm already signing up as a part-timer. I'm really thankful to Princess Celestia for taking me and my mum in, and I also like helping ponies. So joining up is a win-win."

"Wish I'd thought of that when I was your age. I focused everything on flying the best I could, and only made it into the Wonderbolts by the skin of my teeth. Now I just need to show them I can hack it," Soarin said.

"You seemed to be on point." Lyra watched Sweetie fangirling over Spitfire and had a happy tingly feeling about the whole thing. "Is giving your rookie uniform to somepony a big thing?"

"Yeah and no. It's a sign of confidence that she's not going to get demoted, that's for sure. But one thing Spitfire doesn't lack is confidence. She says she's going to be captain of the Wonderbolts. The way she says it makes me believe her." Soarin felt a shiver run down his spine. "So what are you doing here, anyway?"

"In Canterlot? Princess Celestia's school. When I first came here to meet her, she promised me a spot—I wasn't even a unicorn then. Guess things just worked out right. My mum and her coltfriend came with me," Lyra said.

"You weren't a unicorn?" Soarin asked.

"Crazy right? Whole world full of people that look like a minotaur but without the bull-bits. Anyway, long story short, magic busted in and turned everyone into ponies." Lyra wondered how far that story would take her if she started embellishing it a bit.

"Huh. Well, Equestria welcomes all, you know. You should have seen the mare I talked to a few weeks ago. Hot as all get-out, and huge bat wings. I tried to get a… date…" Something tipped Soarin off that he should stop—Lyra's jaw hanging open was the biggest part of it. "Did I say something wrong?"

The initial shock wore off. Lyra lifted a hoof up to cover her eyes. "You were checking out my mum." When Soarin looked shocked, Lyra managed to contain herself to wave her hoof at him to relax. "It was part of that whole magic thing. Most people turned into bat ponies, but a few of us wound up as Equestrian ponies." Then something occurred to her. "She turned you down?"

"Yeah. She said she had somepony already."

"Somepony? Because Mum's coltfriend isn't a pony, he's a—It's hard to explain, but they're working things out. What—?" Lyra was cut off by Sweetie Drops waving something blue and cream in her face.

"I got Spitfire's rookie suit, Lyra! This is the best day ever!" Sweetie Drops pronked around Lyra Heartstrings like a schoolfilly until she had done two full loops, then she stopped and kissed Lyra on the cheek. "I'm sorry I doubted your dating skills."

"Come on, tiger. Leave the fillies alone and let's hit the shower." Spitfire had to grab Soarin with one wing and drag him away. When they were out of earshot, she relaxed a bit. "First rule of being in the military, don't have anything to do socially with anyone ranked higher than you."

"Why's that?" Soaring asked.

"Way too complicated. And those two might look like just two more mares, but you better believe they're going places. Really? Just happens to know the newest princess-to-be, and don't think I didn't overhear her talking about being in Princess Celestia's school. The thing about that place is, everypony who walks out of there is going to do something amazing. Now, come on, last one to the showers has to wash the other's tail!"

"So," Lyra said, "are we going to the restaurant now?"

"If you're asking me if getting a current Wonderbolt's rookie uniform—signed—counts as me being satisfied and ready to continue the date…" Sweetie was tucking said uniform into her mane as best she could while she spoke. "… the answer is yes."

Lyra nodded with a big grin on her face that faded a moment later. "Uh, where is this Brinjal, anyway?"

The restaurant wasn't just fancy, it was gold-cutlery-fancy. From the moment Lyra gave her name to the snooty waiter to when their dessert arrived, it had been a caricature of fancy. But the one thing Lyra couldn't fault was the food. Brinjal's chef, who Lyra had learned like shouting a lot, was simply a master of his craft.

Which is how Lyra and Sweetie wound up with a small brown puck of cake each that had a scoop of vanilla-bean ice cream beside it.

"That'll go cold unless you eat it now." Sweetie Drops was working on her own, but she kept missing her plate with the dessert fork—she couldn't break eye contact with Lyra for some reason.

"Have you ever watched a movie where it's supposed love-at-first-sight? Where the couple are sitting across the table from each other, the first time they met, and neither can stop staring into the other's eyes?" Lyra asked.

Sweetie finally found the plate and the chocolate lava cake with her fork and speared the dessert. "Mmmhmm."

"Screw those guys." Lyra used her hoof to hold her fork to spear her own cake ,and delivered some hot, liquid interior to her mouth (mostly out of deference to Sweetie). "When I fall in love with somepony, I want it to be because I know them, like them, and can see myself standing beside them."

The shock of Lyra's vehemence wore off Sweetie quickly. Her own thoughts on the matter bubbled to the surface. "But what if they really are destined to be together?"

"Then they should become friends first. Find out the other's likes and foibles. I doubt even Cadance would just whammy two ponies into love who didn't know each other, and she's the biggest matchmaker I've ever met." Spearing more of her dessert, Lyra scooped some ice cream with it. "Alright. I changed my mind."

"What?!" Sweetie suffered from acute onset conversational whiplash. "What happened?"

Gulping down her mouthful after a few moments, Lyra started gathering another on her fork. "I'm madly in love with this cake."

"You can't marry the cake, Lyra."

"And why not? Can't you see we're perfect for each other?" Too carried away in the gag, Lyra lifted her free hoof to her brow. "I want to—"

Sweetie Drops cut in, "Because I love this cake too."

A round of hoof-clopping applause swelled up from the tables around the pair, yanking them back to the real world. Their waiter tried to make his way through to set things back to a quiet, somber atmosphere, but he was stopped by a pony tapping his shoulder.

"I'll have what they're having," Fancy Pants said, jabbing a hoof toward Lyra and Sweetie. "If they can fall madly in love with a cake at first bite, perhaps I can too."

By the time the waiter got to the couple, he had ten more orders for the chocolate lava cake and vanilla ice cream. Only his impeccable training had him not sighing as he reached their table. "Is there anything else I can get you two?"

Lyra had just put the final piece of cake in her mouth and turned to the waiter. She looked at him—an earth pony with an impeccably groomed moustache and hair—and knew it was time for the worst part of the night. She'd been saving her bits, and this seemed like the moment where they were all going to go away. "I'd like the bill."

Smiling, Double Booked started to turn around when he felt a presence behind him.

"What the buck are you doing? You silly, bloody twit! Didn't you see my notes? These are Cadance's personal guests you pillock!"

Double hunched his shoulders and tried to slip away—it was something he was good at.

Staring, Lyra recognized the rough-mouthed stallion's voice from earlier as the chef.

"Sorry about that. He was told that everything on your bill is complimentary. Cadance explained everything earlier."

"It—It's alright. Really. We, uh, were just about to leave," Sweetie Drops said.

Standing straighter, the chef blew a very horse-like snort from his nose. "That little—Pick another night, I'll make sure he won't be working here then, and you can have another meal."

Watching the chef march back toward the kitchen, Lyra was caught in shock still. She shook her head and looked to Sweetie. "What was all that?"

"I have no idea, but you heard him." Sweetie stood up from her seat and stretched. She got the distinct impression that Lyra was watching her stretch. It made Sweetie smile just a little wider.

Shaking her head again, Lyra struggled to remain coherent despite strange chefs and posing fillyfriends. Fillyfriend. Lyra.exe has encountered an error and must be shut down. Struggling within her own mind, Lyra shoved all her problems aside with the pretense that she'd return to them before the night was done. "Yeah. Let's get out of here."

Sweetie Drops slipped out of the fancy restaurant with Lyra and into the cool evening mountain air. Side by side they walked down the quiet main street of Canterlot together, both of them quiet.

"Sweetie?" Lyra asked, breaking the silence.

"Yes, Lyra?"

Are we fillyfriends? Lyra didn't ask. She bit her lip for a moment, knowing a question was expected. "Did you have a nice night?"

"I don't think you really need to ask that. I for one had a ton of fun tonight." Every now and again Sweetie felt their hips or shoulders touch and brush as they walked. "Why do you ask?"

Lyra let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "I really liked it. I like you." Her eyes swelling open fully, Lyra stared ahead without daring to look at Sweetie.

When a fuzzy shoulder leaned against her, Lyra almost panicked. Then she felt a soft snout nuzzle at her cheek. After what happened with Rose, Lyra had been questioning her own desires. Cadance and Trixie didn't help, but this was different. She meant the words.

"I noticed. Lyra I—I like you too." Sweetie Drops said. The world trembled, shook, and shifted. Sweetie was floating in a field of gold before Lyra—hovering in Lyra's telekinetic power. "Put me down, Lyra."

"S-Sorry. I got carried away and I—" Lyra might have gotten a better apology out, but Sweetie's lips pressed to hers for long enough that all thought turned to cotton wool.

Pulling back from the brief kiss, Sweetie couldn't wipe the silly-happy smile from her own lips. "Now, what are you going to do for a second date that can eclipse this one"

The concept of second date was a life raft, and Lyra clung to it. "Second date? That would be your turn, right?"

Sweetie narrowed her eyes into a predatory squint, then giggled. "Alright."

Author's Note

Celestia: how would Luna react to the bat ponies?

"I haven't the faintest. They're ponies, just like the others. I would expect her to—" Celestia bit back her words. "Luna will do as Luna sees fit. If she threatens Joyce, Lyra, or any pony under my control, I will be forced to act. I hope a thousand years has mellowed her as much as it has myself."

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Lab

Chapter 17 [[ A Joyce Perspective ]]

"More?" I asked.

Tufts looked almost shell-shocked. He lifted his head only a little and managed a nod to me. He couldn't even get a word out.

I continued and repeated the stroking motion, this time earning a soft groan from Tufts. He squirmed under my touch, and every time I reached the end of the pattern he let out a plaintive little yip.

"Just like any other bat," I said. "Brush under their wings and you turn to jelly."

As he flopped a little more to his side, wing lifted high, Tufts let out a happy mix of fox and bat sounds. "You say that as if you didn't make such wonderful sounds when I brushed you."

I blushed. It'd been the most intimate we'd been. I'd been on my back and tufts had groomed me. Memories of his snout digging against the sensitive flesh where wing membrane met fur still sent a rush of excitement through me. "That was different."

"I used my snout."

I bit my lip and agreed with him—in my head. This was just brushing, after all, there was nothing sensual or personal about brushing. Except I was a big fat liar. He'd been a perfect gentleman (gentlebat?) about it, too, which made my lies even worse. "Yeah. You did."

Drawing away the brush, I leaned down pressed my snout to the soft fur on the side of his belly. He didn't smell anything like a fox or a bat should—both species I knew were infamous for their smell—but then daily showers probably helped with that.

Remembering what Tufts had done, I opened my mouth just a little and licked the fur along the flow of his body. Now that three of my senses were involved I was more aware of his muskiness. It wasn't an overwhelming scent, much like a man's after a day of work. He smelled male.

This was an order of magnitude more intimate than brushing, but the more I nuzzled and licked at his fur and wing, the more it just felt right. Laying down beside him, I cuddled closer to Tufts. He didn't say a word. "I love you, Tufts."

The words had tumbled out. Since the first time I'd said them—to Tufts—it had become easier and easier. That I could just say it—and mean it—made my hooves curl in happiness.

"I love hearing you say that, and I love you too, Joyce." As he spoke, Tufts lifted a paw up to rub at my ear. Nuzzling the join of my wing and my body might give me a happy, but rubbing my ears was a surefire way to get dopey-Joyce.

Without fight, I submitted to the petting. I closed my eyes, and for the first time I didn't try to make Tufts bigger or a pony. With my chin resting on his chest I just relaxed and let him pet me.

"Mum, don't take this the wrong way or anything, but we need separate rooms," Lyra said.

I'd been dozing and hadn't even heard her come in. We hadn't gotten that intimate yet, but given I was asleep with my head resting on Tufts' belly, I could certainly see my daughter's reasoning. "I'll talk to someone."

"Why not Princess Celestia?" Lyra asked.

Tilting my head up, I found my target and pushed forward to kiss Tufts' lips. The contact was casual, but it still made me want to giggle like a schoolfilly. "I think Princess Celestia has enough on her plate.

"I didn't get a chance to ask earlier. How did your date go?"

"It was the best!" Lyra said. "Cadance told me to go to the Canterlot Pegasus Stadium and—You should have seen Sweetie's face when she realized that the Wonderbolts were putting on a private show just for her! Don't even get me started on that restaurant. I asked around at school earlier and it's like the biggest thing in Canterlot at the moment."

Soft thuds made me look over and see Lyra dancing from hoof to hoof in excitement.

"And then—and then—she asked what I was going to do for the second date!" Lyra bounced over to where I was laying and hefted me to my hooves with her magic.

I barely got myself settled on my hooves before Lyra hugged me. Lyra—Michael—was head over heels in love and she barely realized it, but her emotions did.

"You should have seen it. I was all suave and said, 'Second date's your turn to plan.' Then she said she would! Eeeeeee!" Lyra's hooves beat a staccato rhythm on the floor. "Mum, I have a fillyfriend!"

It wasn't hard to catch Lyra up in a hug, not when my wingspan was the width of the room. I pulled her close enough and got both wings around her to squeeze her properly. "I'm proud of you, and happy for you."

Lyra squeezed me back just as tight. "Thanks, Mum. After Rose, I just—

"Lyra Heartstrings, stop right there. You and Rose were and are friends. You tried to go a little further, but you were both adult enough to know when to stop and not go too far. I'm proud of you as much for that as anything else." Sometimes a bat just had to put on the mommy-pants and tell it like it is. "I'll talk to Candy about getting another room somewhere."

"Thanks, Mum. I didn't really mean it, though. Just put a coathanger on the door if you're going to be getting a little frisky."

"We were not frisky, and it's really hard to work out when we're going to—I mean we haven't, but when we get distracted and—" I stopped myself talking by dint of snapping my jaw shut and not opening it again.

Lyra, curse her, was giggling. "Mum, calm down. I know you were only snogging a bit. Just relax." The oddity of hearing an English word among a string of Equish a little startling.

"Snogging?" I asked in English.

"The shoe fits. Besides, I haven't learned all the fun words yet. Pash, snog, canoodle…" Lyra giggled as she trailed off.

But she was right, on all counts. I needed to get my own place to live and we both needed to learn some new words. "You're terrible, you know that? Where is the nice daughter I raised?"

"Last I heard she's helping run the country. How's that even work?"

"That's something I intend to find out over school break." And I did. It was as confusing to me how a pre-teen girl could be so indispensable to a country that she couldn't even write a letter to her mother. "You'll be doing your training, or so I understand?"

"Yeah. Basic training. Princess Celestia was more than happy about it—proud even. I think she'd suggest it to others except she doesn't want to push anypony to joining up," Lyra said.

I raised an eyebrow at my daughter's astuteness. "More right than you know. If Princess Celestia made it known she'd like ponies to sign up, half the city would stampede down there. It's almost unbelievable how much ponies adore her."

"Oh right. I met Soarin. Cute stallion." Lyra looked sideways at Tufts. "Hey Tufts, did you know Mum picked you over a hunky pegasus who's a freakin' world-class flier?"

The topic had shifted so fast I was left picking up the pieces of the old one to work out where it'd gone. "Who's Soarin?"

"She was so distracted by thoughts of you, Tufts, that she doesn't remember him at all." Lyra turned to look at me with a gleam in her eyes. "Light blue fur, dark blue mane. The greenest eyes you could ever look into, wings out to—Mum?"

I remembered him. The nice stallion from when I found out I got into school. And now that I thought of him I'd met him while he was working on the rain over Hearth's Warming. "Him? I tried to set him up with—" I cut off, not wanting to talk about her behind her back. "Not my type."

Tufts picked that moment to roll to his feet and walk over to me. "And what is your type?"

"Short. Red fur. Definitely winged, but I don't like feathers." As I spoke, I watched Tufts gazing back at me. It wasn't hard to work out I was describing him. Part of me even thought it was a joke.

"Anyway. Just letting you know dinner is just about ready. I'll meet you downstairs," Lyra said and made her way back out.

When the door closed, I looked back at Tufts with what I knew was the expression of a teenager wanting to do something they shouldn't. "We have a little time," I said.

"My turn." Tufts stepped to the side. "Lay down and let me on your belly."

He wasn't going to try anything naughty, I knew, but it was fun to pretend. "Oh my! So forward. I bet you say that to all the mares." Of course, I laid down and rolled to my back.

Tufts was just in the process of climbing up on my belly again when the door opened.

"Mum! Coathanger! Ugh!" Lyra spun back around and closed the door again without actually saying why she came back.

Before I could muse on the matter, Tufts nuzzled into the exact spot where membrane met fur. I stretched my wing out to the side. I know I banged it into the wall at some point, but I didn't care.

The morning air was crisp, but I had a duty to perform. For the sake of the ruler of Equestria I must not fail in my mission.

Spotting my target far below, I aimed for a section of stone just beside the front door and slipped into a dive. As I tucked my wings down I gracefully plummeted like—well, like a horse without wings. Just a ponylength from the ground I spread my wings out and almost halted completely.

I quickly checked that my saddlebags were still attached and then opened the door.

"There she is! Joe! Get out here and serve the lovely mare!" Joe Sr. said, yelling into the kitchen area.

I gave Joe Sr. the best smile I had as I walked up to the counter. "I'm sure such a capable gentlepony such as yourself could find me what I need."

"It's alright, Joe!" The old stallion turned around from looking into the kitchen of the bakery to facing me. "What can I help you with, ma'am?"

"I'm fairly sure you know my favorite by now, Joe. I'll take one of those and one of Princess Celestia's favorites too." The truth was I had no idea what the name of the specific doughnut that Celestia ordered was, but both Joes did.

"Wait just a second. You were that mare who had an evening snack with the princess! I remember you. Can I assume you aren't eating both of these?" Joe Sr.'s eyes twinkled, and he winked at me knowingly.

I ruffled my wings and nodded conspiratorially. "You could even say I'm going to have morning tea with a very special pony." Of course, I winked for good measure.

"Any other pony and I wouldn't do this—I am running a business here—but I saw what you did for the princess the other night. We slipped her out the staff entrance while all those reporters were busy watching you," Joe Jr. said as he walked out of the kitchen part of the shop. "So these are on the house again."

He didn't sound spaced out or lost in his thoughts, but then I wasn't a white alicorn princess with feathers out to here. "Was there a message somepony might want to have delivered to—ahem—the mare I'm having brunch with?"

"She's got you there, boy." Joe Sr. ignored his son's sudden dash back into the kitchen. "Two specials coming up."

By the time the old stallion had two doughnuts bagged and boxed up for flight, Joe Jr. stepped out of the kitchen yet again, this time with a floating scroll at his side. "I, uh, hope I can trust nopony but Pr—but her will see this?"

Joe Sr. plucked the scroll from Joe Jr.'s magic and floated it over to me. "You big dummy. You saw how they were talking, how she took all that heat. I think we can trust Miss. Dark, Mysterious, and Beautiful here to be circumspect."

"I'll fly right to the—to her home and deliver it. Besides, I want to see her smile when she reads it." And I did. Watching someone almost akin to a god in power blush and giggle was just about the most humbling and amazing thing I'd seen in my life.

Something tickled at the edge of my thoughts. A few memories and some conclusions I couldn't see before almost came together, but didn't. Mentally, I shoved them aside as they weren't fitting and weren't needed for the vital day-to-day things—like taking the box of donuts from Joe Sr. "Thank you!"

I almost felt like prancing to the door, so I did. Life was going wonderfully, and there was nothing that seemed to rock the boat. Which meant that something was going to rock the boat—it's how things work. But if something was going to mess up my stride, I wouldn't have an easier time by worrying about it.

Departing from the doughnut shop, I spread my wings and pumped them to gain the air. Flying was now one of my top ten best things. My girls and Tufts held sway at the top of that list, of course, with my lifelong love of helping people and animals being right up there too, but flying had soared onto the list and didn't look like going anywhere.

Thinking of soaring reminded me of that (admittedly cute) stallion I'd met twice now. He was some kind of athlete, but still managing weather over Canterlot? Or was that a side gig? Maybe the job of managing Canterlot's weather, on such a special night, was something too important to be left to rank and file?

There wasn't a lot of ponies the Royal Guard wouldn't shoo away from Celestia's private garden, but on this day and at this time I was one of the few they'd let land. I flew high overhead and started a slow spiral down—lazy flying.

I wasn't paying particular attention to the ground until I reached an even height with the castle spires. I turned my eyes downward and saw that Princess Celestia was already waiting in the garden, and she already had a guest.

A guest who had dark coloring and bat wings.

My heart sped up and I folded my wings. Ponies (horses too) were only air-droppable once unless they had wings. As I got closer to the ground, I could see that the other bat pony was small (something my initial look hadn't picked up). At the last moment I snapped my wings out and my hooves met the ground and sank into the soil just a little.

The cutie mark on the young bat pony's flank was unmistakable: a bowl of chopped fruit with more pieces flying over it. "Robin?"

"Mum!"

I wasn't aware that bats could teleport, but the space between us was there one moment and gone the next. Wrapping my wings around Robin's withers, I hugged my littlest filly against me as tears flowed uncontrolled down my face.

My voice didn't work except to make little squeaks of relief. My heart had been aching for this, to find my filly again and hold her.

"Mum? Can you lighten up the grip?" Robin asked.

I could, but I didn't for a moment. When I finally let go I realized that she'd grown—in just a few months she'd grown so much! Though she was still my little filly.

"Robin! What brings you here?"

"I'm the representative of Batstralia, Mum. Princess Screech sent me to talk with Princess Celestia about trade negotiations. What're you doing here? The princess just said she'd have a visitor." Though Robin spoke, I barely tracked the words. I was too busy focused on her.

I jerked myself back to the conversation. "I guess you could say I'm doing a little of the same thing for Ce—Princess Celestia. She needed to know things that would help you out so she knew what to trade, and wanted to know what you might have to offer. She also needed a friend."

Robin's face lit up. "So you're taking after me?"

"C'mere," I said and pulled her into another hug. "I've missed you so much, little sky-puppy."

It was Robin's turn to hug me a little tighter. I didn't care, she could have crushed me all the way into the hospital and I would have still been ecstatic. "You remembered it."

"Of course I did. What do you think I do all day, study medicine and talk to royalty? I missed my little filly."

"Ahem." Celestia's throat clearing was as slight as her form wasn't. "If you'd like a little more time, I could go and—"

"No!" Robin and I said at the same time.

Celestia smiled at us, the expression even crinkling a little around her visible eye. "Wonderful. Let's continue negotiations inside, I have a sponge in the oven."

That was what I was actually here for. I'd figured that with Robin being here on what seemed to be business, that our little baking day would be called off. How silly of me. "Come on. We don't want to burn the cake."

Robin stared at us like we were mad, but when I walked off with Celestia she hurried to catch up. "You're baking? Don't you have servants to—?"

"That's precisely why I like doing it. Besides, there's a young stallion who is going to be made a full Royal Guard at sundown, and he needs a cake to celebrate."

"Speaking of stallions," I said. "I have a message for you, Your Highness."

Celestia's casual walk faltered before she managed to smooth it back out—she knew where I'd been before coming here. She turned her head and raised one eyebrow smoothly (though I admit I'd rarely seen more than one of her eyes at a time, so didn't know if she were raising one or both). "Oh?" She was shielding, and that meant that she didn't want to reveal something to Robin.

Whether Celestia's reluctance stemmed from political or personal reasons would be something I'd ask later (if I didn't find out in the meantime), when we were alone. My focus was broken by a warm, fuzzy body pressing to my side. I quickly stretched my wing over Robin's back and gave her another squeeze.

"They said it can wait. I did pick something up on the way through." I plucked forth the box of doughnuts. I passed the bag with Celestia's to her, and offered the second one (my one) to Robin. "This is the best thing you'll ever eat."

"Mum, it's just a doughnut. I've been eating mangoes over summer—every day." Robin rolled her eyes and took a bite of the doughnut. Her eyes widened, and I heard a muffled screech fighting with the fried treat to get out of her mouth.

"Toldya."

"This is amazing!" Robin stared down into the half a doughnut she still had left. "It's like a whole orchard of fruit exploded in my mouth! Did you make this?"

I folded the box closed and put it back in my saddlebags. "Of course not. My talents lie in putting people back together and destroying fruit. If you're going to spend some time here, I can show you where you can get some."

Robin looked down at the half a doughnut that was cupped in the membrane between two wing-fingers. "That was yours, wasn't it?"

"I can get more. Eat up," I said.

Staring at me for a few moments, Robin apparently came to the conclusion that she should just finish the doughnut. Her look of delight returned as she bit into it, and didn't leave until she gulped down the last of the treat.

Celestia took us to the kitchen entrance of the castle. The subtle movement on the edge of my awareness as we entered was something my visits to the castle had inured me to—Royal Guards.

"Princess! I was concerned you weren't returning. It would be a shame to burn this cake." A creature almost as large as Celestia stood by the stove. A huge hooked beak was the most prominent feature of Gretchen the griffon. She was a powerful-looking bird of prey at one end, and an equally amazing feline predator at the other. It was all bluster. "Joyce! And you have a guest?"

"Gretchen, allow me to introduce Robin Robertson. She is the temporary ambassador from Batstralia—and she's Joyce's little filly." Celestia's horn practically lit up the room with gold light, levitating an apron over to her that tied behind her neck. "I believe she has some talent in a kitchen."

Robin had to gulp down the last of the doughnut quickly. "I wouldn't really claim to any real talent. I'm just good with a knife and fruit."

"Maybe we could make a dessert, Gretchen?" I asked. "There's something back home called a pavlova that I think I can remember how to make. I'm sure Robin could find a use for her knife skills with that."

Gretchen's eyes lit up as if I just told her I would serve her the world on a platter. Truthfully, she'd been asking me for recipes from home each time she'd seen me since Celestia introduced us. "And you'll share the recipe with me?"

When I nodded, Gretchen let out a squawk of excitement. "What is needed?"

I closed my eyes and thought back to making pavlovas with my mum. Her voice, long gone, was strengthened in my head with the smell of baking in the kitchen. "Six eggs, caster sugar, cornflour, vinegar, vanilla, thickened cream, and fruit."

"And to make it?" Gretchen's voice came from nearly beside me. She moved like a predator when she was focused on cooking—dead silent.

"Baking tray. Round would be good. Some of that wax paper." I could have sworn she was still beside me, but when I opened my eyes she was on the other side of the room gathering things. "A warm oven, just below whatever setting you use for cakes."

"Vanilla or essence?" Gretchen asked from the huge walk-in pantry.

"Essence, sorry." I turned toward the nearest oven to find Robin already working it. "Turn it to just short of three cupcakes." I was doing translations of measurements in my head. Chicken eggs were the same as on Earth, but almost everything else was just a little off. "I need all six eggs separated into whites, a pinch of salt, and start whisking until we get some peaks in it."

Marching over to the pan Gretchen had selected, I deftly lined it with the paper and creased the paper in the bottom to form a circle. I could practically feel Gretchen's eyes watching my every movement, she was a big predator who loved nothing more than to know every recipe in the world—she hunted them like prey.

"Once you have some peaks, start adding the sugar half a hoof at a time until you have one and a half hooves in there," I said.

"A meringue?" Gretchen's eyes now took fire. She was in her element and knew what she was doing. The caster sugar went in bit by bit, not half a hoof at a time (like I'd said), and soon enough she was mixing rapidly. Mum used to use an electric mixer.

I nodded to Gretchen. "Twelve pinches of cornflour, two of vinegar, and—"

"And the vanilla. A little extra, two and a half." Her beak cocked in a smile, Gretchen winked to me. "I've made meringue before, Joyce."

"Sorry. I'm trying to remember something I last made over twenty years ago," I said. Gretchen could become a little hard to get along with in her kitchen. Though it was her kitchen, she always deferred to Princess Celestia—but only Princess Celestia.

I walked over to the oven and turned the temperature all the way back to one cupcake. Beside me, Celestia was making up some icing in a bowl. "It's Lyra's friend, isn't it?"

"Who's Lyra's friend?" Robin asked.

"Shining Armor, yes. He's graduating to a full Guardspony. We will make our vows to each other, and another young stallion will risk his life for me." As Celestia spoke, she had my full attention. I hated to think how many ponies in the various armed forces had given their lives to preserve her and what she'd built.

Robin looked perplexed. "Vows?"

"Long ago I made the tradition because I saw it as important for us to know where we stand. In short, I promise that their lives will not be endangered unnecessarily, and they promise to always be by my side. The actual wording of each vow has been different, it is a private affair and unique to every Royal Guardpony." Princess Celestia was using her magic to mix the icing for her cake.

"This meringue is done. I assume we're baking it?" Gretchen held out the mixing bowl to me.

Taking the bowl with a wing, I nodded to Gretchen. "An hour and a bit in a warm oven. Next we need to whip some cream for the top, and somepony needs to chop up some fruit."

Robin let out a victory screech and charged for the cool-room.

"Is there something I should know about bat ponies?" Gretchen asked.

"Fruit," I said. "The bats we were made after eat fruit and nectar, so basically the offer of something sweet will be our undoing. How much fruit do you have in there?"

Gretchen's eyes narrowed to points and her beak worked as if she were mentally cataloging things. She turned and practically flew toward the cool-room, but stopped when Robin was coming back out.

"I found some passion fruit, Mum!" Robin wasn't just carrying the fruit, she was juggling it. Six passion fruit, a pineapple, two mangoes, and even a small swarm of strawberries were zooming through the air in complex patterns above my daughter's head.

Looking to Gretchen, I saw a relieved look on her face—there was obviously something in there that was expensive or hard to acquire that Robin didn't remove.

I spread the meringue evenly around the wax paper and put it in the oven. "We'll need to wait a bit before we cut up the fruit or whip the cream. That needs to be in the oven for just over an hour."

"Awww…" Robin slowed down her juggling and brought each piece of fruit safely to rest on the bench. "I guess we should do some actual work."

The tone of her words spoke that while she enjoyed her work, it didn't stack up to making pavlova. I still couldn't believe that my little filly—not even in her teens—had a work ethic. "I guess I'll leave you to it."

"I would actually appreciate having you there, Joyce. Your advice has been indispensable." Princess Celestia stepped back from her cake and gave a significant nod to Gretchen. "Please?"

There was no way in Equestria I would say no to Princess Celestia asking me something I could do—not after what she'd done for me and Lyra. "Of course. Lead on." I turned to look at Gretchen. "Please take it out when it has risen and the outer wall starts to crack."

"Starts to, or just before?" Gretchen looked a touch confused.

"Starts. A good pavlova should be bursting at the seams," I said and followed Princess Celestia.

"We'll keep this short—I'm eager to taste this creation of yours." Princess Celestia led the way through some guarded doors. The two stallions on the inside of them didn't so much as blink at our passing, not with the princess herself leading us. "What does Batstralia need?"

I stole a glance back to my daughter and caught her looking at the guards we passed with a measure of suspicion. I cleared my throat. "If I'm going to be involved, I guess I'll help. Robin, Princess Celestia's guards are above reproach, and you can talk in front of them without fear they will mention a word of what goes on." Looking back as I was, I caught both the guards we'd passed smile just a little.

Robin nodded and I could see her face transform to one of focus. "R-Right. We don't need anything, but trade negotiations would be—"

"Of course. The medication was simply a gift. What do you have to offer, then?" Princess Celestia took a hard right into a room.

If the kitchen was huge and pristine, this room was opulent in every sense of the word. There were some elegant couches positioned around, cushions on the floor, and a ceiling that was a dome of glass that let the full majesty of the sun shine within. The design was themed further around the sun, with a golden floor, pictures of ponies dancing on the walls, and Princess Celestia dominating it with the radiance of her coat.

I followed Celestia to a large couch she sat in, and picked one of the smaller ones nearby which left Robin plenty of choice. As I got comfortable, I watched my daughter climb up onto another with an awed expression on her face.

I cleared my throat. "If I may?"

Robin and Princess Celestia both looked at me with surprise, though the latter nodded.

"Batstralia, or Australia, was a reasonably minor country in the world stage of Earth. They had high primary production exports but used little of their relatively large and desert nation. Equestria is a populous country that has few exports or imports. I can only assume whatever Batstralia was exporting has stopped?" I looked at Robin in time to get a slight nod. "So they are likely hurting for the technical goods imported as well."

"Actually, things are worse." Robin's mouth curled into a little frown. "Nothing we can do will convince the other nations that they can approach, and our own ships are turned around with threats of military action. Batstralia has been embargoed completely via sea."

"And being bound by sea on all sides, that leaves you completely cut off," Princess Celestia said, revealing some of her knowledge of Earth. "But you do have a land nation sharing a border with you now, and I can promise you, Robin Robertson, Equestria is positively excited to trade.

"What we need to establish is a currency base, and what each other needs. So if you'd rather play political games—"

"N-No! Please! I hate them as much as Screech does. But with things being rebuilt, politics is expected." Robin puffed out her chest and looked directly at Princess Celestia. "The recipe and equipment to make that flu medication went a long way toward securing these talks. We are the only nation on Earth that can cure influenza, among other things. What we need is technical help, too. We have a—I need to keep a straight face for this—monster problem. With magic came more creatures like Bunny."

"You didn't…?" I asked.

Robin just nodded. "Bunny the bunyip. She followed me to Canberra, scared the security guys silly. I had to shout at them to leave her alone and—I'm rambling, sorry. Her kind are the least of our problems. There are monsters that turn people into other monsters, and worse. Screech called for tribal elders from all over Batstralia to meet with her, and they all identified some of the nasties from the Dreamtime come back."

I tried to remember what else from Dreamtime might be a problem and came up blank. "You need expertise?"

"Weapons." Robin said the word without any signs of worry at the kind of reaction it might engender. "The biggest problem we have right now is that all our technology is failing. The military people have their own stuff, and that seems to be working, but remember the problem Lyra had with her guitar's amplifier? Well, imagine that amplifier was running a computer, and the sound was the voltage.

"We need ways to stop these things. We're teaching everypony we can to fight them with dreams, but some of the monsters stalk those dreams!"

"We have weapons, Robin, but there are not what I'd like our new deals to be based on." Princess Celestia cut through the conversation like a swinging sword. "I will not give you weapons to hurt, but shields to protect."

"That would actually be a big help. Okay, what would you want in return?" Robin asked.

"Joyce mentioned primary industry. Farming?" Princess Celestia asked. When Robin nodded, Celestia continued. "Grains, milk, eggs, cheese, and maybe some fish. I believe fruit will be harder to export for you now?"

Robin giggled at that. "No meat?"

"Ponies don't eat meat. You might have some buyers among the griffons, but I'd wager you'd not find many bits there. What would be a good currency? What do you use?" Princess Celestia asked.

I remembered what had happened with the gemstones the miners back in Batstralia were mining with Equestrian magic techniques. "Not gems," I said.

Princess Celestia raised her eyebrow, while Robin just nodded.

"Gems are worth a lot of money on Earth. If you could trade them, and Batstralia could trade them with the rest of the world, you'd both be rich beyond measure."

Smiling wide at the information, Princess Celestia lowered her eyebrow. "Something to think about later, then. What about metals? Steel?"

"Is that uncommon here?" Robin asked.

"If I might make a suggestion?" I asked. "What about a transitional currency? Something you both agree counts as a dollar in Batstralia and an equivalent of bits here."

"That would certainly be a good start." Robin lifted out a notepad and started jotting things down. "Though ponies will start just bartering directly once things are settled."

"Not if we keep things policed. Trade value for the currency will be a good, controllable income for both nations, and we can use it to trade for things we need directly." Princess Celestia nodded her head toward me.

They continue into discussions of the value of this currency, and how to equalize it based on the most common goods to be transported. I tuned out just a little, the conversation didn't hold much chance for me to inject a compromise.

What completely floored me about it was how adult Robin seemed. My little girl who had argued with her brother all the way from one end of Australia to the other, held all the relevant pricing information in her head and could discuss it with Celestia like she was born to it. Cutting up fruit might be her special talent, but my baby sky puppy was a genius.

"That should conclude things for now. I hope my nephew hasn't been causing too much trouble on your side?" Princess Celestia asked.

"I think it's reassuring to most ponies. He's definitely not a bat pony—not with that coat—so he's a real sign that someone is in this to help us. That he took full credit for those tablets also helped. How long will he be staying?" Robin's face spoke of some knowledge that he wouldn't be staying for long.

"Robin, you continue to astound me with your astute reading of these things. You're right—he's my trouble-shooter. He will remain in his charming role until trade begins, but then I fear we are going to need more ongoing support at both ends." Princess Celestia stood up, making the action look positively delicate.

"Screech said we'd need embassies. Do you have somewhere we could buy some land?" Robin quickly stood as well, making sure to walk alongside and giving a huge variation between the two.

Celestia gave a polite chuckle. "I could rent you some land. We don't exactly sell land in Equestria. What I can do is take payment in trade-coin."

"Robin," I said. "Princess Celestia owns all the land in Equestria. No one buys land, like she said, it is rented from the crown."

Turning her head to look up at Celestia, my little filly smiled serenely and nodded. "But she'll make an exception and sell us some land."

I almost choked. She had nothing to bargain with, and nothing to back her up except some great fruit preparation skills.

"You know, I think we might be able to come to a deal. There will be a requirement to sell it back to me when you are done with it at a fixed price. Would that suit?" Princess Celestia asked.

"The fixed price would be—?"

"How much you pay for it."

I looked between the two. Somehow my daughter had won a major concession from Celestia, but they had both come out even in the end. I realized that I needed to do more research on Equestria's foreign relations to even hope to understand why Celestia did what she did.

Both Celestia and Robin were smiling. Celestia's smile was part of her mask, but this was the first time I'd seen the hint of a mask on my daughter's face. "If you don't need me any further, I'm going to finish off that pavlova," I said and stood up.

"We'll join you in just a moment." Princess Celestia's mask was in place, I had no idea if she meant that merely because she had a little more to discuss or that she was relieved I was leaving because she needed to discuss something that I shouldn't hear.

Leaving the room left me in a long hallway of Canterlot Castle with a pair of stoic guards flanking the door I'd just left. "Which way back to the kitchen?" I asked.

"Down that way, ma'am, and take a left at the second hallway junction." Of the two, it was the pegasus who spoke. He gestured in the direction I'd like to think was the way we'd come, but my mind was not so great at navigating huge endless hallways.

My mind wandered back to mention of Celestia's vow she made to each guard. "Thank you." I turned and started walking away. As I walked, I noticed there was a row of statues in armor flanking this section of hallway. In the reflection of one I caught sight of both guards watching me walk away. It wasn't hard to realize what part of me they were looking at.

A blush crept onto my face, and I couldn't help myself from adding a little more sway than was strictly needed to walk. By the time I reached the kitchen I was almost giggling.

"It is time for the cream?" Gretchen asked the moment I entered the kitchen.

"It's still in the oven, right?" I walked over to inspect the oven and found the meringue baking away still. "It'll need to cool once it's out."

Gretchen's crest of feathers fell a little. I'd never seen her so excited to cook, but then I'd never shared a recipe with her. "Then we have time to share other recipes, yes?" Gretchen asked.

While Celestia and Robin talked for just a moment, Gretchen had wheedled out my mother's fruitcake recipe and a recipe for trifle. The latter, it turned out, was apparently a recipe that was hoarded by the ponies of Trottingham, and Gretchen gaining a variant of it was something particularly special.

The pavlova had been out of the oven for ten minutes when Celestia and Robin stepped into the room. Gretchen was working on a jelly for a trifle, while I was whipping up the cream for the pavlova.

"Joyce told me what ingredient it was I was missing from my trifle!" Gretchen said.

I could see merriment in Princess Celestia's eyes—this was apparently a topic that Gretchen had been over many times. "What was it?"

"Rum! I can't believe it was a liqueur that was missing!" Fluffing her wings in obvious excitement, Gretchen used a foreclaw to add fruit juice to make an apple jelly.

I both wanted and didn't want to ask them how the discussion had gone, though looking at Robin's smile I had some inkling it went well for her. The memory of her face locked in a smile—a mask—still caused me some shock. Your little girl is growing up, Joyce, deal with it.

Of course, inner voice, I'll just let go of my little baby girl. I'm sure she can deal with political wolves without any fear. I'm glad the inside of my head lacked a sarcasm alarm.

To my surprise, Robin rushed over to me and used a wing to hug me. "Thanks, Mum."

"Not that I'm complaining, or think we need a reason for a hug, but what's the thanks for?" I asked.

"For understanding. For being a great mum. And for knowing when to let me be me." Robin's hug only got tighter.

Trapped as I was holding a mixing bowl and a whisk, I had no hope of hugging her back. "Since we're playing that game, thank you my little sky-puppy for letting your mum have a hug despite how much you've grown."

"What? 'Sif I'll ever not want to hug!" Punctuating her words with a tighter squeeze, Robin did let go of me at last. "Is it almost time for fruit?"

"So all I needed to do to get the upper hoof in negotiations was supply a fruit bowl?" Princess Celestia asked. I could sense—perhaps—that this was more just Celestia now.

"I was surprised you didn't. Though it would have been hard negotiating with a screeching, ravenous monster," I said. "Speaking of which, it's time for you to cut up your fruit."

My little girl was back. Her face lit up, and I watched her visibly relax and then start bouncing on her hooves. A screech of excitement left her as she pronked her way to where the fruit she selected sat.

Watching Robin with a knife and with fruit was something to behold. A mango was sent flying into the air first. She brought the knife up and in a slightly curved arc there was a peeled mango. Another mango followed suit, and while that one was peeling the first became a swarm of cubes.

Gretchen rushed to get a bowl for Robin, and no sooner did it hit the bench beside my daughter than the cubes landed in it. "I've never seen anything like this," Gretchen said.

"It's her talent. Somehow she makes the fruit even more tasty by doing it too." I watched a whole pile of strawberries launch into the air and get cut into thin slices.

By the time Robin was slowing down there was just a few cubes of mango still being juggled by her wings. These landed in her mouth one after the other before she finally put the kitchen knife down on the counter top. "All done!"

"Bring it over, sweetie. Let's get this pavlova dressed." With the whipped cream done, I met Robin standing before the pavlova base. With dexterity borne of spending a lot of time using my wings as arms, I used a spatula to spread the cream over the base in a thick layer.

Robin was quick to start decorating the pavlova, but I noticed there wasn't the full contingent of fruit going onto the dessert. "And there!" She put the last piece onto the pavlova and still had a single piece of mango in the bowl. A fraction of a second later the bowl was empty.

"This," I said, "is a pavlova!"

"That's it?" Gretchen walked up and inspected the dessert we'd all had a hoof in making. "Cream and fruit on a baked meringue?"

Robin fetched the knife she'd used on the fruit and passed it to me.

"This is it. It's not overly complicated, it doesn't need to be. It's cream and sugar and fruit." As I spoke I cut through the pavlova. Into halves, then into sixths.

"Lyra's going to be so upset at missing this." Though she said it, Robin didn't hesitate to free a slice of pavlova with one wing and lift it free.

My eyes were on Celestia, however. She looked around the room as if trying to judge distance, then her horn flared to life. Her shield was down and I could see pure happiness with a mischievous glint in her expression.

A loud POMF sound heralded Lyra and Sweetie's arrival to one side in the kitchen. Lyra was still holding her guitar in her forelegs, and the last notes of her previous chord still sang out. Shock registered and she jumped to her hooves as if to defend her fillyfriend. Then Lyra's eyes locked onto Robin. "R-Robin?"

As Robin rushed past toward her sister, I managed to collect the pavlova she'd been holding and set it safely down on the counter. My two fillies crashed together in a combination between a bat pony hug and a regular pony hug.

I turned to look at Celestia and didn't hold back an ounce of the joy I felt from my face. "Thank you."

"I figured we have the dessert, why not have a little reunion party?" Princess Celestia used her magic to serve the six helpings of pavlova onto plates and passed one to me, then another to Gretchen. "Besides, you'd cut the pavlova into six pieces. I had to invite two more guests."

The crazy thing was I hadn't meant to cut it into six pieces, nor had I thought any further about why I was cutting it into 6 pieces. The problem stewed in my mind until Lyra and Robin walked back to me. "I see you've met our visitor?"

"Mum! Why didn't you tell me Robin was coming to visit?!" Lyra tried to look upset, but with a plate of pavlova floating in her magic, her whole family here, and her fillyfriend standing to the side talking with Princess Celestia, it was easy to tell she was simply overwhelmed with happiness. I couldn't blame her—I was the same.

I started scooping up a forkful of pavlova with a piece of cutlery held carefully in one wing's thumb. "Because I didn't know until I landed here? We didn't interrupt you two, did we?"

"Me and Sweetie? Nah. We were just hanging out on the grass and watching the day go by. Twilight told me she was taking the day off from our tutoring because her brother has something big happening today." Lyra, cheating (as far as I was concerned), used her magic to fork up some pavlova and start munching it.

Doing the same as Lyra, I was surprised to have Sweetie Drops march right up to me.

"I have designs on your daughter." Sweetie's expression looked serious, but while the content of her words was likely vitally important to her, I had more than a little trouble keeping my face straight. "Well?"

I gulped down the piece of pavlova I'd been chewing. "You expected me to tell you no?" I asked.

She looked a little taken aback, but the expression on Sweetie Drops' face quickly shifted back to stern. "This is serious. I'm trying to say I'm going to pursue your daughter." I guess my expression didn't engender enough seriousness for her. "You're as bad as she is!"

"Technically she's as bad as I am. Sweetie, if you think you need my blessing to pursue or have designs on Lyra, you're mistaken. The only pony whose permission you need is standing right behind you with your dessert." No sooner did I finish speaking than Sweetie spun around.

"Lyra!" Sweetie Drops looked surprised. "I was just—" She froze when Lyra dabbed her nose with a little whipped cream. "Doesn't anypony in your family take things seriously?!"

"You picked the wrong sister if you wanted serious. Hi, I'm Robin."

There was a measure of awkwardness as my little filly jumped neck-deep into waters she had no idea about. She might be super smart when it came to politics, but talking about relationships seemed new (and treacherous) waters.

It took Lyra a moment to overcome Robin's gaff. "This little screecher is my sister, Sweetie."

Spotting a life raft, Sweetie shook her head. "No, I'm Sweetie. She's Robin."

"Me Robin. You Jane?"

With silliness restored, I walked up and pulled both my fillies to me with my wings and kissed their cheeks. "Sweetie, you have whatever approval you need from me. With a gag like that, you deserve her."

I kissed Robin and Lyra on the cheeks again, then dragged the former away with me. "Come on, sky puppy. I want to learn everything you can tell me about your new job."

Buying Lyra and Sweetie some private time cost me one excited filly who decided to tell me everything about the political landscape of a post-disaster Australia.

Author's Note

Lyra (whichever is more inclined to answer): how soon do you think you'll need your own room? For privacy, of course.

"So far ahead of you there. Walking in on Mum and Tufts snogging once was once too often. Also, need somewhere to take Sweetie for when I might get the chance to snog her." Lyra had a guilty blush on her face.

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Lab

Chapter 18 [[ A Lyra Perspective ]]

The seasons turned—mostly at the behest of pegasi. Robin returned to Batstralia with documents and news of support from a new trade partnership, Joyce found a surprise in her income care of Celestia paying her for assisting in said partnership, and me… I buckled down like nopony had buckled down before.

School was much like an extension of what I'd learned on Earth, but with harder maths and magic. It was kinda hard to say no to such an awesome combination, particularly since it was Princess Celestia teaching it. She gave us topics to research, which inevitably led to each of us finding our own challenge.

Outside of school was Sweetie Drops. Days came and went, but my time with her was the high point of each. We cooked together still, but now we added exercise to our daily fun. A quick run around Canterlot, lifting weights, and testing ourselves with magic were all part of our regime.

Eventually the day dawned that summer holidays were starting, which coincided with the E.U.P. Guard's intake and boot camp.

I opened my eyes slowly and blinked them a few times to clear the night's sleep. "Ahhhh!" I jumped back from the huge, cream-colored smiling face that stared at me from about a hoofwidth away. "Sweetie! What the heck?!"

"It's sign-up day!" Sweetie started bouncing in place.

As my shock wore off, I began to fully appreciate just how excited she was, and that excitement started rubbing off on me. "How long have you been ready?"

"I woke up two hours ago!" Backing off from the bed, Sweetie Drops revealed her own duffel was packed and Sitting on her bed.

My own excitement soon had me jumping off my bed and heading for the shower at a trot. "When do we have to be there again?" I knew, but I also knew Sweetie would get even more excited over the details of our four weeks that were to come.

"I spoke to Sergeant Bluebelle again. She said we should be there at eleven, but stuff doesn't start 'till twelve. She also said that she wasn't allowed to tell us everything that would happen, but to be ready for running."

With my magic, showering was not a slow process. I had my fur and mane wet and soapy in no time. Rinsing off I used a conditioner (different for both, of course) and was ready for drying (something else that could be sped up with magic.

"Okay," I said as I walked out of the bathroom. "Let's get my stuff—"

I surveyed the duffel bag sitting on my bed from where I'd stopped. "… packed?"

"I couldn't wait! I put in all the things I thought you'd need. Your books, your favorite brush, shampoo and conditioner, and some snacks!"

Waiting for Sweetie Drops to stop dancing from hoof to hoof was going to be futile, so I instead walked over and double-checked. "I don't think I need introductory magic books, but everything else looks great."

Sweetie was still far too bouncy, and was jumping from one hoof to another. Today was certainly going to be a day.

"Should we go for our morning run?" I asked.

The blur that ran past me was definitely off-white for the most part but had blue and fuchsia highlights. I turned and gave chase.

Normally we would stick to a canter as we circled the outermost ring of Canterlot city, but today Sweetie jumped right into a gallop. Six months ago, at Hearth's Warming, I might have struggled to keep up with her for the whole run, but after the work she'd pushed me to do, I was able to push up beside her.

As the city blew by us, I found myself able to split my focus between watching ahead and watching Sweetie. The latter was simply something I enjoyed, and the former was to time teleports so that I wouldn't have to dodge things.

Bridges, shops, houses, and even plush garden passed us by. As far as we were out, there was no bridge to cross back to the center circle of Canterlot. "Ready?!" I asked.

"Go for—"

I never let Sweetie Drops finish. My teleport took us line of sight across the river and onto an outer road on the center island. Our hooves didn't miss a beat and the road pushed its way behind us.

Sweetie shifted back to our normal path, taking us down the road that led to the E.U.P. Guard headquarters. There were pennants and banners up proclaiming a recruiting day. The guards on duty spotted us galloping and they waved.

"We'll see you a bit later!" Sweetie Drops said at the top of her lungs.

By the time we got home we were both panting, but definitely not struggling for breath. A slow-down trot around the block brought us back from the edge of a mad gallop and made it so we could feel our legs again.

Sweetie slowed down at the dorm, but I kept going to the edge of the river, then right in. Cool moving water poured past me, sourced as it was from the mountain spring, and I soon felt my heart slowing down.

Splashing hooves beside me revealed that Sweetie had decided to join me. When I raised an eyebrow at her, she used a hoof to splash my face with water. "I'm not above using your good ideas," she said.

I lowered my head under the water until even my horn dipped below the surface. It was easy to remember countless bubble baths I'd had back on Earth, but that last one had been a doozy. Dealing with turning into a female pony had seemed so much harder back then.

When Sweetie's snout bumped mine under the water, I gasped and jerked out. "Hey!"

"What?" Sweetie asked.

"No fair kissing me underwater. I can't prepare for it properly." I did my best to pout. Pouting was an open invitation to Sweetie, and she knew it.

I didn't need to wait long for the kiss. We worked well enough together, and had spent enough time together, that moments of intimacy were frequent and executed flawlessly. Which is why I turned sideways while Sweetie's eyes were closed, wrapped both forelegs around her and pulled her into the river.

"Lyra!" Her tone was more exasperated than actually scared. The river had one waterfall into a hovering pond before it would then cascade over the side of the city. She stared at me for a moment before kissing me again.

The water pulled us over the cascade and we were weightless for nearly a full second before splashing into the pond. We never broke the kiss.

Around us, the water moved slowly in the floating pond, but we were too focused on each other to care. One thing led to another, and we were falling again. Sweetie's forelegs pulled me a little tighter to her, but I had this all worked out, right about—

"You need some help?"

We broke the kiss to look at the pegasus diving beside us. "Hi Soarin. I think we're good. Are you good, Sweetie?" When Sweetie nodded, I triggered my spell and teleported us up.

Line of sight was easy, you just had to specify distance. I didn't get quite enough air, so I activated the spell again and was now high above the city. The river we'd started in was below, and it was easy enough to judge the distance and put us just a little above it.

One more POMF and a loud splash had both of us laughing and getting our hooves underneath us. We both turned our heads as we heard the sound of hooves connect with the ground.

"That's just about the wildest thing I've seen for a while, which is saying something given my job." Soarin's eyes were careful to trace both of our forms as we pulled ourselves from the river. It wasn't the worst feeling in the world, but I certainly didn't reciprocate.

"It started as trust-building. Now I think she just does it to show off. Actually…" Sweetie kissed my wet cheek. "I know she does it to show off."

"Only a little. I love the feeling of closeness it gives me, or maybe that it feels like we're all alone together." I locked eyes with my soggy fillyfriend and couldn't keep a goofy-happy smile off my face.

"Right. Well, uh, I'll let the other on-duty pegasi know you're just doing a thing, they'll probably still dive to help you. The fall isn't known for being bad, but the bit right at the bottom is." Soarin waved a wing to us. "I gotta go. Big day at the E.U.P. Guards today, new recruit day."

"We know!" Sweetie Drops was back into maximum excitement mode. "We're signing up!"

Soarin blinked a few times then rolled his eyes. "Yeah, figures. You should pull that stunt again for the Guard, I'm sure they'd love to think they just killed two new recruits."

"Maybe not the guard, but if you want we could try it on your Wonderbolt friend." Never let it be said I never let a good opportunity to make a scene go to waste. "Do you think she'd freak out?"

Soarin's eyes went wide. "Spitfire? Holy crap. Don't even think of doing it to her. She'd flip out or something!"

"Spoilsport," I said. "We should probably go and dry off and get breakfast ready."

"Lyra, we don't have to get breakfast ready. Mom has all that covered now. We do need a quick rinse and dry, though." Sweetie used one of her forelegs to hook around my withers and pull me away. "Maybe we'll see you later, Soarin."

The pegasus flew away and we got all the way up to our room before Sweetie almost exploded. "I can't believe we're friends with a Wonderbolt!"

"Oh sure. Alicorns, bat ponies, and foreign dignitaries are nothing, but a stallion walks along and my filly goes gaga." I accepted my shoulder-thump from Sweetie with pride. "Dibs on shower."

I hung around after my shower to speed up Sweetie's, then we both headed downstairs for breakfast. Breakfasts at the dormitory were normally more relaxed, but today there was a cooling porridge and fruit. We collected a bowl each and an apple and found a table.

We may or may not have actually spent the time gazing into each other's eyes (something I'd caught us doing a lot lately), but we did discuss the morning's run. Times were we could have made better use of our skills, or where something interesting had been going on. We finished our breakfast and tried to make our way out.

I didn't count on Candy Cane blocking the door. "My little filly!"

Stepping to the side, I managed to give enough room for Candy to completely engulf Sweetie in a hug. It was a tender moment for them, and I thought it best that fillyfriend Lyra not interfere—I thought wrong.

I'd tried to sneak past Candy when one of her forelegs reached out and snared my neck.

"And you too! It feels like just yesterday that you swept my little Sweetie off her hooves. Now you're both going off to fight who knows what!"

I reached my legs up and hugged Candy Cane back. "You took me in and treated me like your own. Then I—then we got a bit serious. Thanks, Candy, but you know we're not really going anywhere, right? I'm going to be back here in a month or so, and Sweetie's going to be stationed in Canterlot while she trains."

"But you won't be here-here." Candy used a foreleg to lift me away from her neck. "You're going to take care of my little filly, aren't you?"

"Your little filly is strong enough to crush me like a twig!" I said.

Candy rounded on her daughter. "You're going to take care of little Lyra, aren't you?" Mother and daughter cracked up laughing at the same time, and I couldn't help but join in.

Another round of hugs was in order, and more goodbyes, then finally we grabbed our things and headed outside.

"Fancy seeing two new recruits here," Shining Armor said.

I spun to look at him and grinned. "Almost. We have to actually turn up to count, I think." Without hesitation, I approached him and lifted a hoof for a clop.

"Yeah, well, maybe I'll have to put in for a temporary assignment just to bug you two." Lifting his own, larger hoof, Shinning gave both of us a hoof-bump. "Might as well walk down there with you."

For six months now Shining wore the full armor of a Royal Guard, and it suited him. It seemed like every day he grew a little bigger and filled out a little more. He caught the eye of most mares, but there was only one that he wanted to catch—Cadance only had eyes for him, too.

"Got the day off, then?" I hefted my own duffel onto my back with magic.

"I told the captain there was two new ponies I wanted to escort to the E.U.P. Guard recruitment. He said to take the morning off." Even now, walking down the backstreets of Canterlot, Shining was drawing attention. The most amazing thing was he didn't seem to even notice it.

Sweetie, with her own duffel on her back, was looking at Shining with a different longing to the other mares (I hoped). "You just get to take the morning off for that?" Her eyes were tracing his armor.

"When one of the ponies is a member of Princess Celestia's school—and specifically her class—yeah. I do. I'm a full member of the Royal Guard now. I don't have to jump at the slightest word of any of the others. In the guard, there's four ranking officers. Three of them perform duty assignment and the the captain of the guard runs the whole thing." Shining built up into a trot that was easy to move in. I glanced at him and had to admit that for carrying all that armor, he moved like it was nothing.

Sweetie looked at me with a glare.

"What?" I asked.

"You're checking out Shining's butt again, Lyra!" Despite her tone I could see laughter in Sweetie's eyes.

Shining Armor froze, a mortified look on his face.

"Sweetie! You were checking him out just before!"

"I was looking at his armor!"

Shining facehoofed. "Can we not talk about my bu—"

"Well, I was looking at his armor too," I said.

"And his butt." Sweetie lost the fight first and started giggling.

"Nah. I like a more rounded butt." I made sure to turn my full attention on Sweetie Drops' rump—even making my jaw hang open slightly.

"Much better!" Sweetie said.

"Did Cadance put you up to this?" Shining caught up to us quickly. "Seriously. She wants me to go out on dates every other day. I think she wants me to move out of home, too."

"Dude! That's great!" I made room for him to walk between Sweetie and I. "That is great, right? I mean, Cadance is awesome."

Sweetie groaned. "Lyra, let him finish."

"Alright! Sorry, Shining."

"That's alright. I want your opinions. Are we moving too fast? Cadance and me. Sometimes I just worry that things are too good, you know?" Shining let out a distressed whinny. "I really like her, and—"

"Wait," Sweetie said. "'Like'? Shining, in case you haven't noticed there's a word a little bit heavier than that, it's kinda Cadance's thing."

"Do you think you're going too fast, Shining?" I asked.

"What? No. I just worry what she thinks and what my parents think."

"What Cadance thinks?" Sweetie asked. At Shining's nod, she let out a tiny noise. Normally that noise would be quickly followed by her yelling my name, but this time it was Shining who was gonna get it. "Shining! She is trying to get you out on dates more often! She wants it heavier!"

"Is this about your parents?" I asked. Shining's worried look was all I needed. "You think they'll be upset you've found the second prettiest mare in Equestria to walk beside you?"

"Nice save," Sweetie Drops said.

"Thanks. But the point is, you need to talk to them. Ask them what they think. I met them at Harth's Warming, they seemed pretty awesome." I used my magic to pat Shining on the shoulder. "There's another option."

"What?!" Shining's head spun around so fast I thought it might break off.

"Yes. What, Lyra?" Sweetie sounded like she was ready for a sarcasm-off, and had her A-game out.

"Well, you have the third most amazing fillyfriend in all Equestria. Why don't you ask her for help?"

"Third?" Sweetie asked.

"After you and me," I said. Sweetie Drops nodded as if this made everything just right.

"I don't know, guys. It seems like a good idea, but then I come back to not knowing if Cadance will be okay with it."

"Then let's run," Sweetie Drops said.

The ensuing gallop to the E.U.P. Guard pavilion was at a break-neck speed that Sweetie set. Shining and I were both puffing a little by the time we reached there (in Sweetie's wake), only to find Sweetie whispering to the stallion on duty.

"Private!" the E.U.P. Guard shouted. The change in Shining was immediate. He froze and stood dead straight. "You will proceed to the most pink alicorn you know and stallion up! Do you understand me?!"

"Sir! Yes, sir!"

"Dismissed!"

I couldn't stop giggling as Shining galloped back into the city in the vague direction of the castle. "That was great!"

Sweetie had a satisfied look on her face. "What are the odds that shout wears off before he finds Cadance and spills everything to her?"

"I wouldn't bet on it. Now," the stallion said as he looked between us. "Which one of you's here to sign up?"

It was hard to be in much higher spirits than we were already, but Sweetie and I managed. "We both are!" we said at the same time.

The stallion looked extremely happy. He slowly opened his mouth. "Well? What are you standing around here for?! MOVE IT! MOVE IT! Lift those hooves fillies!"

My brain barely got past the pure shock of being yelled at like that. His voice seemed about twenty times more intense when it was focused at me. Fortunately, my legs didn't have a problem with understanding him.

He kept yelling until we were running into the next bunch of Guards. I recognized a few faces from ponies who'd been on guard duty for our morning runs. They didn't yell, just pointed further along. Which is where we saw Bluebelle. She was putting out a sign that read: Recruits Here!

"Why doesn't it surprise me that you two are our first? I assume Grape Shot at the entrance gave you a good shouting at?" Bluebelle asked.

As it turned out our first hour was spent filling out paperwork and getting checked out by the Guard's physician. In short order there was a dozen of us all milling about together.

Bluebelle walked into the room and smiled at us all. "Attention!" There was not a distracted pony in the room. Everyone looked at Bluebelle. "Now that we have your sizes, please proceed through to the next room to be fitted with your training armor."

"I can't wait!"

I looked at the pegasus who'd shouted. She was a sort of light blue with darker blue or cyan mane, and she looked every bit as excited as Sweetie and I. "Hi there. I'm Lyra."

"I'm Bottle Rocket! This is so exciting!" She flapped her wings in an excited flurry of motion. "We don't want to miss out. Come on!"

"But—" Sweetie's cry was cut off as Bottle grabbed each of us with a wing and shoved us along to the front of the queue forming for armor.

"Are all pegasi this full of energy?" I asked.

"Flighty, you mean? I think this is her special gift, Lyra."

Bottle seemed completely immune to any and all comment. She shoved us forward like a battering ram. "This is Lyra and—" Bottle looked at Sweetie in confusion. "And—uh…"

"Lyra Heartstrings," Sweetie said, "Sweetie Drops, and Bottle Rocket."

No sooner had Sweetie finished than three sets of armor were floated up from the piles and set before us. It was reasonably obvious whose was whose, what with one being built with a hole in the helmet for a unicorn, one with holes for wings, and the last not having either of those.

Seeing that there was plenty of room further along to get dressed, I used my magic to levitate all three sets and manifested two big hands to push and guide Bottle away from the guardsponies passing out equipment.

"Do either of you know how to put this on?" Sweetie asked.

The moment I'd put Bottle's armor down there was a flurry of movement and she was wearing it. I had to blink a few times, trying to work out if it was some magic trick. "How'd you do that?"

"C'mon! I'll show you!"

A lesson in straps, buckles, chafing, and padding out a helmet later and I felt a pile heavier. All over. From my rump to my withers and even on top of my head. Weight. It seemed crazy until I caught my reflection in a window.

The trainee helmets didn't have the big brush on top, nor did they have the fancy horseshoes that I'd seen other guards with. But it looked amazing. I looked amazing. I turned my head to ask Sweetie how I looked only to catch sight of her in her own armor.

There was something about the helmet and the little binding around our tails that was magic. Sweetie's mane and tail were both long and flowing rather than curly. Her eyes locked with mine and I felt Cadance's style of magic happen.

"Good work, newbies. Got your armor on snug? Not shifting around when you move?" Bluebelle walked up to me and pulled my armor side to side, which had the effect of pulling me side to side as well. "Looking good there Lyra. What about you, Sweetie?"

When Bluebelle tugged at Sweetie's armor, my fillyfriend barely moved. It was a reminder of just how much stronger an earth pony was than a pegasus or unicorn. When Bluebelle turned to Bottle Rocket, she narrowed her eyes. "Bottle, what did I say about overtightening your armor around your wings?"

"C'mon, sis! I didn't overtighten it!" Bottle lifted her wings and showed Bluebelle. "See?"

"You did, Bottle. Here." Bluebelle used her wings to adjust a strap that went over Bottle's back under her armor. "There. At home I'd just give your butt a kick, but you're in the Guard now, so I need some better punishment. Why don't I get you running with Lyra and Sweetie here?"

"Oh yeah, sure. Like keeping up with a unicorn will be hard. Why don't you give me something harder, sir?" Bottle Rocket glared at her sister.

"If you can't beat me, you can show me how to clean and take care of my armor," I said.

"Sounds perfect. Alright, you three and…" Bluebelle hooked a stallion with one wing. "What's your name, newbie?"

"Lancer, sir!"

"Lancer, you get to go out in the first four." Bluebelle shifted her weight from side to side a little. "Come on you lot, let's go for a little walk." She led us outside and took off into a canter. The game was obvious—keep up with her.

I'd be an idiot if I said the run was easy. She took us out of the city and down the mountain, around it, then back up again. By the time we reached Canterlot again I had a heavy lather under my armor and it felt like a lead weight.

Sweetie Drops looked better off than me, but neither of us compared to Bluebelle. She slowed down at the gates and dropped us back to a trot. "How was that, recruits?" Her voice didn't waver, she was barely breathing hard.

"Sir! A good run, sir!" Sweetie and I blurted back.

Behind us was Bottle Rocket and Lancer. Lancer was doing better than Bottle, but not by much. Both were lathered in sweat, were panting hard, and I could see defeat in Bottle's eyes.

"And the rest of the squad?" Bluebelle asked.

"S-S-Sir—" Bottle gasped for air. "Alive, sir."

"Y-Yeah. Uh, sir." Lancer wasn't much better than Bottle.

"Alright. Let's get you something to drink. We're the first back it seems, which means we get to help prepare dinner!" Bluebelle's exclamation drew groans from Bottle and Lancer, not so from Sweetie and me.

The kitchen was huge. We weren't the only ponies working there, a stallion with a whisk for a cutie mark looked us up and down. "I see two ponies miserable to be here, and two that look like they're ready to dive on the nearest station and start work." He pointed at Lancer and Bottle. "Potatoes always need peeling—get to it. You other two, what's your deal?"

"Sir, I grew up working for my mother in a boarding house for unicorns. Cooked meals there since I could get my hooves on the bench," Sweetie Drops said.

"And you?" He turned his attention to me.

"I helped my mum cook growing up, and I've been helping her cook at the boarding house for six months," I said.

"So an old hoof at this, and someone who at least knows which way around the wooden spoon goes. You've worked together before, but tonight you're working with a few more of us. I'm Sergeant Stiff Peaks, what'm I going to call you two?"

"Sweetie Drops."

"Lyra Heartstrings."

"Well, Sweetie, Lyra, first names in the kitchen. Let's get you up to speed."

Working in the kitchen excused us from "digging practice", though Lancer and Bottle were replaced halfway through the prep work for three other ponies who apparently didn't know how to hold a shovel. They were even worse at peeling potatoes, or so it seemed.

After dinner, we did more exercise, which amounted to having heavy weights loaded onto a harness for us to pull. Everything seemed to be about manual work and doing it the hardest way possible. A shower later and we were all falling into bunks. I barely got my eyes closed when sleep grabbed me up in its pillowy embrace and hugged me all night.

Author's Note

Robin: did you have fun with your family?

"It was amazing to see my mum and sister again. I wish I didn't have to go back, but Screech needs me. She's an amazing pony, but she can't do everything herself." Robin turned her head and nipped at one of her wing claws in what might be a nervous twitch. "Anyway. I gotta go back! Bye!"

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Lab

Chapter 19 [[ A Lyra Perspective ]]

"Wake up! Wake up! Time to get out of bed and watch the sun rise! Come on, fillies!" A loud banging sound accompanied the shouting.

Lifting my head, I saw Bluebelle holding a garbage bin with one wing and banging a club against it with the other. Oh, joy, early mornings. I wonder if they'll let me have a bubble bath before breakfast?

"Good morning Lyra! Hope it's not too early for unicorns from Princess Celestia's school to be up?! Come on! Get those hooves out of bed!" As she neared my bed, I knew Bluebelle wasn't going to stop until she was shouting in my ear. I wasn't disappointed.

Climbing out of the bottom bunk, I planted my hooves on the floor and turned back to the bed. This was the one place a unicorn shined. I had the bed made again, exactly how it'd been the previous night, in two seconds.

"What do we have here?!" Bluebelle's voice was further away, bugging someone else. "Lancer?! WAKE UP RECRUIT!"

I looked across in time to see Lancer fall out of bed with Bluebelle climbing on it to keep yelling in his ear.

"That's a start, recruit! Now on your hooves!" Bluebelle did her trick of getting in everypony's face who wasn't jumping out of bed fast enough for her liking. I noticed Bottle Rocket standing straight at the end of her bunk, and figured it'd be a good idea to take my cues from her.

Once two of us had assumed that pose, the rest of the recruits fell into the same stance.

"Sweet Celestia, and here I thought I was going to have to teach you fillies how to stand! So some of you have something in your heads and the rest are at least smart enough to follow them?! You're practically soldiers already!" Bluebelle marched up and back between us, looking over each pony. "I hope you fillies like running—guess what's for breakfast?!"

Along with everypony else, I shouted, "Running?!"

"You got it, ladies." Bluebelle, who I noticed was already wearing her full armor, gestured to the heavy trunks at the ends of the bunks. "Get your gear on and meet us outside. The last two out will be spending some time in the kitchen tonight."

I looked across to Sweetie Drops—who'd been on the top bunk—and grinned widely. "We could wait until last?"

"You're joking, right? I enjoy being in the kitchen, Lyra, and it still tickles me pink when you help me, but I came here to learn to fight and protect ponies. If I never see the inside of the kitchens here again, I'll be absolutely fine with that." Sweetie turned and opened her trunk to reveal her armor from the previous day.

There was something about her, about the way she seemed to be more the vibrant and exciting mare I'd fallen hard for, that made me smile too damn much. "So you won't want help with your armor?"

"Nope. Gotta learn to do it myself." Reaching into the trunk, Sweetie lifted the armor out and set it on her back. "Though if you could point out anything I screwed up, I'll do the same for you."

First Rose and now Sweetie. It seemed like I have a thing for independent mares—err, females. Tiny bit of homesickness bit at me as I began putting my own armor on. It wasn't complicated. There were two straps for each leg, a wide strap that held my helmet on, and another that went under my belly. It wasn't much more complicated than a saddle, and when everything was done up it was comfortable to wear.

I turned to look at Sweetie and had to hold back every urge to help her. She was struggling with the straps on her upper forelegs.

"Recruit!" A soldier—an earth pony stallion with a brown coat and green mane—who had apparently come in while I was getting my armor on, stomped over to Sweetie. "You need to loosen off your girth strap and back legs before doing your foreleg straps. Like this." The stallion proceeded to unfasten his armor, then demonstrate to Sweetie how to do it back up.

It was a quiet revelation to realize there were things that I could never help Sweetie with, but that it was okay.

"You look like you're deep in thought. What's up?" Sweetie Drops asked, breaking me out of my introspective distraction.

The truth, something sappy… or both? "Just realizing all the ways I'm lucky to have a mare like you beside me." Nailed it!

"Did you spend long thinking that up?" Sweetie proceeded to check my straps.

I nodded. "At least a minute. Did it work?"

"Flattering and silly. Yeah, it worked. Let's get out of here."

It turns out that in your first week at boot camp all you do is running. You run before breakfast. You run after breakfast. You run to get somewhere to have lunch. You run back to the city after lunch. You run laps of the city. You run after dinner. You get the idea—if we're not eating, sleeping, showering, or getting yelled at, we're running.

I thought I was good at running before I started the week, but this training did something else—now I could run with half a pony's weight of armor on my back. By the time we finished that week, I could run as well with the armor on as I could with it off.

"Good morning fillies! I bet we're all super excited for our morning run, aren't we?!" Bluebelle, despite liberally applying sarcasm and irony to every rhetorical question, did just as much work as we did. She ran everywhere we ran, and when we did any other form of exercise, she did it too. The only difference was she was never out of breath and was always ready to shout at the slowest ponies in our squad.

"Sir! Yes, sir!" The shout came easily to me after a week of screaming it back to any question or command. The only exception was if you were being shown something—apparently it was just fine to ask a question to find out the right way to do something.

Bluebelle looked pleased at the sharp and crisp response from all of us already out of bed. Some were working on making their beds, others were caught with their armor half fitted, but we were all snapped to attention. "First up is two laps of the city in armor. Come on, fillies!"

It had been easy to just slip into what was expected. Learning how things were done the right way was important, because they were the right way for a reason, and that was because the right way had been tested so many times. And that thinking is exactly what Bluebelle and the other sergeants had taught us was the right way to think.

"Why're you using your hooves to tighten your armor?" Lancer asked as he walked over to us.

"Because," I said while I pulled the girth strap tight with my hooves, "what happens if I don't have any magic and need to get my armor on?"

"But you're a unicorn! You always have magic!"

"I spent the first seventeen years of my life without magic, Lancer. Even though I have it now, I'm not going to take it for granted." I made sure to win the argument by sticking my tongue out at him.

Lancer looked at Sweetie for confirmation (everypony else did that a lot given my propensity for enhanced truth). "Where would you be that you wouldn't have magic?"

"Lyra wasn't born in Equestria. She is from a far-off land of ponies that screech and devour fruit all day long." Sweetie could always deliver the truth with a deadpan that could almost rival Maud's. She looked at Lancer as if what she'd just said was completely true and obvious. "Trust me. I've met her whole family."

I leaned close to Lancer and, in a not-quiet voice, said, "And of them all, I'm the quiet one."

Sweetie walked up to me and held her leg up. We clopped our hooves and walked out of the barracks together. There was a line of recruits already forming in front of Bluebelle, so Sweetie and I fell in beside them. Looking forward without showing any apparent interest in our sergeant was the right way to stand at attention for a pony.

Some minutes passed before the last few clops of hooves signaled the final recruits leaving the barracks. "Short Wing, Razzle Dazzle, so wonderful that you could join us. Get in line." Bluebelle turned around and started moving. "Four wide. I don't care how you sort yourselves, just make it look good by the time we leave the grounds. Come on, newbies, I want to see you canter through the city!"

I pushed toward the front with Sweetie at my side. Lancer and Bottle took up the last two places. It made for a good line—two earth ponies, a pegasus, and a crazy ex-human disguised as a unicorn. When Bluebelle jumped ahead straight into a canter from a dead start, we pushed to keep pace.

There was something amazing about the sound of a dozen ponies running at a canter. It was like a wave of rolling thunder shooting across the ground. My blood was beating in my ears like a big bass drum.

The ponies of Canterlot cheered us as we ran past them. Our hooves flew over the huge paving stones of the city as we rounded to the west toward the palace. I saw Princess Celestia flanked by a squad of her guards in the distance. They were standing off to the side, but though the princess turned to look at us, those big stallions just stared straight ahead.

As we reached them, eight white hooves snapped to foreheads—a salute from the Royal Guard with Princess Celestia watching us run by.

I swear, if a pony could prance while cantering, we'd have all done it, but none of us said a word. Only the sergeant speaks when in formation, that was the right way.

The rest of the morning run felt easier than ever before. The armor was simply part of me, and running in it was a comfort rather than a burden. We circled the city once, then came back around and performed a second lap—though Celestia wasn't waiting this time.

By the time we stopped at the Guard grounds again, we were all warmed up for the day and knew the drill: helmets off and dunk our heads into some water, then dry off and head into the mess for breakfast.

We each got a big bowl of porridge that was covered in honey and a tall glass of orange juice. In the middle of each table was a big jug of water, though we had barely sat down when the hunger of daily exercise fell upon us.

It was amazing what the smell of good food did. I looked down into my bowl of porridge and hefted the spoon up in my magic—it seemed like a second later the bowl was empty, and my glass too. I used my magic to top my glass up with water and downed that almost as quickly.

When I looked across at Sweetie and saw her own bewildered expression and empty bowl, I couldn't help but chuckle. "I wonder what we're doing today?"

"Running," Sweetie Drops said. "And maybe more running."

Bottle, her own bowl empty, let out a groan. "Why are we running so much? This is the Guard! We're supposed to learn how to fight and fly really fast, and—"

"Oh? Training not hard enough already, rookie?" Bluebelle had managed to sneak up behind Bottle despite wearing armor. "Well, you're in luck. Today we separate you fillies out into unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies. You'll all be getting specialist training for your own particular strengths."

I looked around the mess hall. There was another rookie squad apart from ours, and between both squads there was three unicorns. Small class, I guess.

"First day will be testing what you know, then the rest will be teaching you what you need to know." Bluebelle used a hoof to ruffle Bottle Rocket's mane. "And there will always be running. Running, fillies, is what we do."

The groans of everypony that heard her failed to reach my lips. I couldn't stop thinking about what I'd learn. Magic, of course, but what kind of magic? That said, I did feel a little sad at losing out on my weekends with Twilight.

"Unicorns!" a voice bellowed. "Unicorns over here!"

I leaned across the table and met Sweetie halfway with a kiss. With spirits higher than ever, I grabbed my helmet up and trotted over to the big unicorn stallion who'd called. "Sir!"

"You'd be Lyra Heartstrings? Right. You're going to go through the wringer first. If we can pass you as already being proficient, you can head over to the earth ponies, so they can break you." The stallion was marking things on a clipboard. "I'm Sergeant Precise Pedagogue, you can stick to Sergeant Precise."

Pulling my helmet on with a hoof, I fastened the strap down tight. The other two—Razzle Dazzle from my squad and a mare named Sparklebright from the other—arrived and got ticked off.

"Alright. Follow me to the magic practice field." Precise turned and led the way out the door. "Razzle, you didn't list any training. What spellcasting have you done before?"

"N-None, sir!" Razzle, when I looked at him, looked a little embarrassed. "We weren't really in a town big enough for a fancy school."

"What about you, Sparklebright?"

"Sir!" Sparklebright was a tall, pale mare who looked more like she'd be into fashion than fighting. "Tried to learn basic level spellcasting, but I can only manage fire spells."

"Fire's better than nothing. Alright, Lyra?"

"Sir?" I asked.

"That is the practice field over there." Lifting a hoof, Precise pointed at a circular platform right at the edge of the main city platform. "Get there as fast as possible."

"Are you timing me, sir?" I asked. When Precise rolled his eyes, I teleported such that I was in the middle of the platform and facing them. I could easily see two shocked expressions on my fellow recruits' faces and a satisfied one on Precise's.

"Teleporting is pretty useful stuff, though I'd like to see what type you're using, and gauge how much it takes out of you to perform. Some ponies could teleport all day long, others could only do one a day." Precise held up his clipboard. "Show me the weave you used."

Weaves, weaves, weaves. Twilight had drilled me on weaves so much I was surprised I didn't accidentally cast spells in my sleep. The weave I'd used included simple aiming data—I hadn't seen a point in using anything complex—with a slight twist of a one-eighty turn at the end. I lit it up in the air before me.

Precise Pedagogue examined my weave with almost the same intensity as Twilight Sparkle would have. "That's a fine weave, though I can see a few mistakes—not enough to prevent casting. When did you last reinforce this one by rote?"

"Sir, I reinforced all my intermediate spell weaves every month, the last was a week—two weeks ago. I am using a non-standard form of the teleport spell." At my words, Precise's left eyebrow raised perceptibly. "The variations were made by—"

"Using modified spells is advanced magic. Don't tell me you're Princess Celestia's own prodigy I've heard so much about?"

"Sir, she's my mentor. Twilight Sparkle."

"Every time you open your mouth, newbie, you impress me a little more. However, actions speak louder than words. Show me a weave to teleport behind me." The moment Precise finished talking, I adjusted my weave. They looked about to open their mouth again when they paused. "You already did it?"

"Vector transposition weave, Sir." I was showing the heck off, and it felt good. This was work I'd sweated for over six months, and it was paying off. "I can do coordinates, but I'm a little slower at that."

"Well," Precise's tone dripped with sarcasm from the first word, "I'm glad we finally found something you hadn't mastered. Do a lap for me. Eight points, and I want you to teleport between each in a loop."

"Sir!" I trotted right to the edge of the platform and took a quick look over the side. The fall from Canterlot was a long one, but I'd not be testing that yet. Dividing the circle up into half, then halves again, then yet more halves, I constructed my points and started.

*POMF*

Each jump was small, and using simple line-of-sight made it the most efficient kind of teleport.

"That will be fine, newbie. Keep going until you feel yourself running low. I trust you know when that will be?" Precise raised an eyebrow at me.

"Sir! Yes, sir!" Deep down inside I wondered if I would prefer this or running. Running I could have done all day, but I wouldn't even make lunchtime with this.

Each spell drained a little more from me—at least that's how I wish it was. In truth, each spell drained a lot from me. By the time I'd done ten laps of the field I was starting to feel the strain of the effort. Five more and I was about ready to call it done.

I stopped when I felt my magic nearing empty. Tilting my head up, I judged it as not even an hour having passed.

"That it? How many laps?" Precise's tone held no condemnation.

"Sir. Fifteen, sir." I felt like I should be panting, but I wasn't hot or physically overwhelmed at all. I just felt drained.

Precise let out a whistle. "Over a hundred and twenty teleports? Nice work, but we'll have you doing more by the time we're done with you. Hit the mess and ask them for a power boost. They'll know what you need."

For a fraction of a second I considered teleporting there, but I knew how stupid that could be. As straight as could be, I trotted down from the field we'd been practicing on and made my way back to the mess.

I slipped inside—there was a pair of recruits from the other squad cleaning tables—and walked up to the counter. "Sir?"

"Let me guess. A unicorn on their second week of training looking a little like a wet and wrung out towel. I bet Precise sent you." It was Stiff Peaks, though unlike the last time I'd seen him, he was in uniform with an unusual set of marks on his shoulder.

I'd picked up on sergeant chevron, but this was two bars. Still, anyone not another recruit deserved a—"Sir! Sergeant Precise Pedagogue sent me to get a power boost, sir!"

Stiff rolled his eyes at the response I gave. "At ease, newbie. You look like two should do you. Try drinking these." He set two glass bottles of some kind of liquid on the counter. "And what did I say about what to call me in the kitchen?"

I used my magic to pick up the first bottle and pop the cap. "Sir. You're wearing a uniform. I was instructed to always treat—"

"Right. Just drink the bottle."

The drink smelled of cherries, and when I tipped it up and let it spill into my mouth, it tasted of them too. But sweeter than the actual berries, and I could taste a strong amount of salt in the drink too. As soon as the liquid touched my belly, every nerve in me screamed for more of it. The contents of the first bottle disappeared just as quick as it would pour out. "What's in that stuff?!"

"Wild run, rocket fuel, magic juice, power boost… There's as many names for it as different parts of the E.U.P. Guard. It's about eighty percent sugar by weight, two percent salt, a bit of caffeine, and the rest is cherry tea. Drink the other bottle too." He pushed the bottle closer to me.

The second bottle didn't inspire the same rush of hunger that the first did, but it definitely filled a hole I hadn't realized I'd had. I gulped it down all the way until the bottle was empty. Staring at the bottle for a moment, I shook my head. "That stuff's amazing."

"Just remember, it's a tool, not a crutch. You'd better head back out before the sergeant comes looking for you. Take it easy with your magic for a bit, let your body have some time to turn all that sugar into more potential." Stiff caught up the bottles with a hoof and turned around. "Dismissed, newbie."

There was something about Stiff Peaks' tone that sounded both more formal than any of the sergeants and at the same time relaxed. I shook off the desire to ask him and trotted back to the entrance. Outside, I struck my hooves and leapt into a canter.

By the time I reached the field Precise, Sparklebright, and Razzle were at, I felt a lot better than when I'd left it. Seems like a short run was exactly what I needed. "Sergeant Precise!" I waited for his nod toward me before stepping onto the field.

"As you can both see, Lyra has almost recovered completely. This tells me several things about her. Lyra, would you like to take a crack at what it tells me?" Precise asked.

I stood there, realizing how terrible it must be for Twilight to always be called on in class by teachers. Unlike Twilight, however, I hadn't studied ahead. "That those drinks are amazing?"

"Power boost is certainly that. What it tells me is that you have recovered much of your energy, so while you have a large reserve, you lack stamina and will respond well to specific training for it. Have you done anything similar before?"

"When I first became a unicorn, I—" I froze at the shocked look of all three ponies. "Uh, guess that wasn't explained, huh? Born and raised in another world, magic broke loose and turned everyone into ponies. Mum and I came here at Princess Celestia's invitation."

"How long have you been studying magic?"

"About eight months. Twilight has been the biggest help—I wouldn't be anywhere near where I am without her."

Precise seemed to relax a little. "Right. Of course. Princess Celestia's special student. The princess definitely has an eye for talented unicorns. All right, let me see what you can do. I want you to start with a light spell and work all the way through every single spell you know."

The weaves for basic spells was less actual work and more rote memory. Some of them I hadn't reinforced for several months, but they were so simple that I didn't need to reinforce the weave more often. One by one I worked through them as Precise called them out. I barely even realized he'd stopped.

"What intermediate spells do you know?"

I grinned and put up a blank (lacking coordinates) teleportation weave.

Precise rolled his eyes a little. "Yes, yes. I think we've seen that one already. Quite proficient. Any others?"

I only knew two other intermediate level spells. The one Twilight'd taught me after teleportation was cloudwalking. Combining the magical elements of motion and change together, it made the layer of cloud that contacted your body solid and made it resist being shoved away by your step. It was a simpler weave by far than teleportation, but no less concentration should be spared for building it. Twilight's words exactly.

I built the weave up, and being just two weeks since last reinforcing it, I managed it with very few mistakes. The weave practically begged me for enough magic to cast it.

"Cloudwalking? Useful spell that, especially if you can teleport. You have an error or two"—Precise pointed out the exact errors I knew already (though I couldn't remember exactly what was right, I knew they were wrong)—"but I'm confident that is nothing refreshing them won't fix. And this will definitely work as-is."

Letting the weave go, I only had one other thing I could show him. Twilight and I were both working on this one together. I picked up the weave about as quick as her, but since the targeting was overly precise, she was ahead of me on that. I began weaving motion and emotive energy together into a moderately complex weave. I got about halfway through building it when Precise used his own magic to halt mine. "Wha—?"

Precise released his grip on my magic—something I'd never seen before—just as quickly as he'd initiated it. "A lot of errors. I could see what you were trying—possession—but you need to work on this weave more. How long have you known this spell?"

A little whine worked its way into my voice. "W-We're working on it at the moment. I thought I had that one…"

"You study the weave how often?"

"I was working on it every night for an hour before bed."

"And you haven't had an hour before bed to do so for the last week. Understandable. Afternoons from now on will involve study, so you can work on it then." Scribbling furiously on his clipboard, Precise gave me no sign of his thoughts on the matter. "Alright. I want you working on some exercises, but not running. What methods have you used to expand your magic?"

"Basically, what I did earlier. Casting spells until I am at my limit and then stopping. Doing that every day. You should have seen how pitiful my magic reserves were before!"

"If you had to do that to reach your current level, I can well imagine how little you started with. Your capacity now is acceptable, and if you wish to return to doing that exercise at the end of each day I'd advise it. What I want you to do, however, is build stamina. Stamina comes in two ways and both are helpful. You can use less magic per spell and you can recover your magic quicker." Precise seemed to twitch as he looked over my head at Razzle and Sparklebright. "You two can start on the exercises I gave you."

"Sir!" Razzle Dazzle and Sparklebright said together, and I heard them walking away behind me.

"Sir, why all this time spent on me?" I asked.

"Because Razzle's best claim to being a unicorn is that he can make it rain bright lights, and Sparklebright is great at setting flammable things on fire." Precise gave me a significant look at that, which led me to think exactly what he thought of the pair. "The Guard needs unicorns with a spell repertoire greater than the number of hooves they possess, a brain in their head to know when to use which spell, and the reserves of magic to be able to use the right spell at the right time—every time.

"In case you haven't noticed, I've already figured out you have the first thing. The second I'll find out later, but in the meantime we can work on the last. So, this is how you're going to increase your rate of recovery…"

I welcomed the evening run. Running made me at least feel like I'd done something, instead of spending the whole day wringing my magic out like a sponge, refilling it, only to repeat the process. The key part of it, Precise had explained, was ensuring I was always at my lowest levels of magic to encourage my body to make more.

"You're quiet tonight." Sweetie Drops was running at my side, her movement matched to mine and matched to everypony else in our squad. "What's up?"

"Magic stuff. Lots of magic stuff. Remember when I overdid it that time?"

Sweetie looked shocked. "They worked you until you passed out?"

"No, but the trick to increasing my magic regeneration is to keep myself at low reserves all the time. It builds a pattern so that my body wants to—It's complicated, but it works." I didn't bother saying that if I didn't think it would work, I wouldn't have done it. But then, they wouldn't have used it if it—Ugh! Brain! Why are you doing this. Just run!

The last thing I did that night before bed was to drain my magic down almost completely. The moment I closed my eyes I was asleep.

My routine changed then. First thing in the morning I would bleed my magic off before going for my morning run. Breakfast was normal, but then I had a morning of studying new spells and reinforcing existing ones (Precise wasn't as forgiving as Twilight, which was a bit of a shock).

Lunch was a fleeting few moments of relaxation while I gulped down a double ration of food (Precise's orders), and then my afternoon was back studying magic and mathematics before dinner, an evening run, a shower and once again bleeding out my magic. Then I got to collapse into bed.

After a week of that, I started to feel the extra boost to my magic. After the first month of training, I was having to bleed off magic during the day, too. Every night I more or less passed out into bed, and every morning I woke up just before Princess Celestia raised the sun.

After breakfast on the first day of the second-last week, I was just giving Sweetie a kiss over the table when I heard Precise's hoofsteps entering the mess hall. I'd gotten used to the slightly prancing way the stallion walked, mostly because of how much he paced when teaching.

"Recruit Lyra Heartstrings?!" Precise asked, his voice showing no hint that he would expect to not have me in front of him in five seconds.

I grabbed my helmet with my hoof and raced over to stand before him. "Sir!"

His eyes betraying a little humor, Precise gestured to a mare at his side. "Recruit, for the next week you'll be spending mornings training with Sergeant Broad Strokes. I still expect you to maintain your magic drain."

"Follow me, recruit." Broad turned and marched outside the mess hall.

There was no option but to follow. The bright light of morning hit me square in the face as I left the mess.

"Normally we have more unicorns signing up. I know there were two others, and I also know that they weren't found fit for specialty training." Broad's voice was rich and deep. She had the most vividly red fur I'd seen yet, and a bright pink mane to go with it. All of that was restrained under the standard E.U.P. Guard armor—armor that looked fit to burst. "Which makes you super lucky."

Broad gestured to the nearest field—the one we were walking to. "You get to help me give a demonstration of why fighting an opponent with magic is a bad idea. Precise told me you don't have much in the tank, but I think you'll have enough to give the recruits a challenge. So far all they've had to deal with is training dummies and each other."

Her pause made me think it was time to ask questions. "Sir, it will be sparring?"

"Exactly. The reason I pulled you out first was to give you an idea what you will be fighting against." Broad Strokes stepped onto the grass of the practice field. "So show me what you've got."

Broad just stood there with no attempt to come at me. Well, the easiest way to completely shut down any creature that relied on the ground for movement was levitation. I grabbed her around her middle with my magic and lifted.

Even with my magic depleted like it was, I should have been able to lift her from the ground, but Broad felt like a literal ton of bricks—perhaps two tons.

"Telekinesis isn't going to work unless you're a lot stronger than most unicorns, although it will work on some of us. An earth pony has an innate tie to the ground and the solidness of stone. Meditation and training increase this to the point where if an earth pony doesn't want to move, it'd take Princess Celestia to move them." Broad's tone completely lacked any boasting, she was stating a fact. "And you'll find us slippery, too."

"Huh?" I asked.

"Try actually targeting me with a spell. Something weak, don't put much oomph behind it."

Simple meant basic, and there wasn't much more basic than turning something green. I put a whisper of magic behind the weave and sent it at Broad. It seemed to work right up until the moment when the spell should have connected. Magic seemed to drain out of the spell as if it had never been. Staring in shock was all I could think to do.

It was as if magic soaked into Broad and out of my weave.

"Figure it out?" Broad asked.

Then it hit me. The reason was exactly what she'd already said. "You earthed out my magic. It drained through you into the ground."

"Precise owes me dinner. You got it. Ways to fight an earth pony simply should be obvious—don't cast at them directly, and don't try to pick them up. Put items in their way, hit them with something heavy, or just get off the ground." Widening her stance a little, Broad Strokes raised an eyebrow. "My class is coming out now, want to show me what you're going to try?"

Ideas came to me quickly, but my brain locked on their last suggestion. Aiming a vector straight up, I performed a teleport and was already working on two new weaves. Making a pile of water and boiling it was foal's play, and a quick cloudwalking later and I stood nearly four ponylengths above the field.

"Nice work, now get down here."

I just stepped off the side of my little cloud and dropped. A year ago, if I'd tried that, I'd have broken legs and been a pretty miserable biped for a few months. Ponies seemed built for such things and Equestria was a lot more forgiving than Earth.

"Welcome to the next step in your training. I have a special guest dummy here today—say hello to Lyra." Chuckles and a few Hi Lyras came from the crowd at Broad's introduction. "Normally we'd have the unicorns of the squad spar against the earth ponies one week, then the pegasi the next. Lyra's as solid a recruit as I've seen for a while, but she can't take you all on." Broad leaned over to me. "Can you take them all on?"

"Sir! That wouldn't be fair, sir!" Comedy I could handle, and Broad had given me an intro if I've ever heard one. "For a start, there's under a fifty of them!"

"You know, I think she's right. Luckily, Sergeant Precise did a number on her before she got here, and I just made her burn all her magic on a teleport. I figure you lot should be able to take her one at a time. Form a line!"

Lancer, of course, shoved his way to be first in line. My mind raced as to how I would deal with him. I couldn't afford to teleport for ALL of them—my magic wasn't regenerating fast enough for that. So I'd have to test every single one of them to work out if I need to use a teleport or can just knock them down another way.

"You're up, Lancer," Broad said.

"You're going to teleport away again?" Lancer asked as he stepped up to the platform. "Because that's totally cheating."

While he spoke I cast the smallest spell I could—I made his hoof glow. Seeing the golden light around his left-rear hoof, I couldn't keep myself from grinning. "Lancer, how much training did you do on grounding magic through your body?"

Behind him, several other ponies noticed his hoof glowing and pointed it out to yet others.

"What do you—"

I didn't let Lancer finish. Using the simplest trick for any unicorn, I picked Lancer up by his glowing hoof and held him in the air.

"… Mean?! Hey! Put me down!" Lancer's hooves reached futilely for the ground.

"Would anypony care to explain why Lancer messed up?" Broad asked the queued up ponies.

The next mare in light raised her hoof.

"Go ahead, Dawdle."

"He focused on grounding out magic hitting the front part of him, sir!"

Okay, I hadn't actually thought about that. The reason I'd grabbed his back leg was so he wouldn't immediately see the glow—not that I was going to admit that. Interesting bit of knowledge, however.

"Exactly. While a physical attack can be blocked and checked by your forequarters, you cannot assume magic won't come at you from any random direction." Broad gestured to Lancer. "Lyra, could you put him down now?"

I lowered Lancer back down to the ground, and the moment one of his forehooves touched down my magic slipped off him. He'd grounded all of himself.

"Next?" I asked while trying to think of how to handle Dawdle.

"You're up next, Dawdle. Learn from what you've seen—Lyra is a clever unicorn which makes her formidable despite her reduced level of energy. Energy, I will point out, she is recovering by the second." Broad turned and winked to me.

As Dawdle proved that she didn't live up to her name and started to run, my mind connected a few dots. It wasn't just touching dirt that made an earth pony able to ground things—Lancer had still had some dirt on his hooves even in the air—so all I had to do was break her contact with the ground.

Shoving my magic down and along, I waited for Dawdle to get about three ponylengths from me before I ripped the soil and grass up, lifting Dawdle into the air with it. Her connection with the ground broken, I let go of the dirt and grabbed her by one back leg instead.

Two down and my magic was regenerating still—I had more in the tank than when I started on the newbies. "You want down?"

"That's cheating!" Dawdle's shout worried me. I didn't know if there were rules about these skirmishes. Did I do something wrong by ripping up the grass?

"Put Dawdle down please, Lyra. There is no cheating in sparring except we do ask you to avoid breaking Canterlot itself." Broad nodded to me, at which I lowered Dawdle back to the ground I'd ripped out from under her. "Next! And remember to be quick on your hooves."

The next one I just straight up picked from her hooves (it turned out she sucked at grounding).

The one after that I had to teleport, and she was quick enough on her hooves that I couldn't grab the ground out from under her. I hovered on a cloud of steam I'd made while I created a wind spell that, with enough force, eventually made her back down from the platform.

Then I had to face my toughest opponent—Sweetie Drops.

"I give!" I said as she stepped up onto the platform.

"You can't give up before I even reach you!" Sweetie stomped forward, but no matter how menacing or fear-inducing her approach, I wouldn't cast against her. Finally, she stopped just in front of me and lifted her hoof. "Boop."

"She let her win!"

Waving us over, Broad had a wry grin on her face. "Alright, alright. Bluebelle warned me about you two. Sweetie Drops, I'll find you a Guard to spar with later. Next!"

By the time lunch rolled around I was sweating. It wasn't just the mental effort of remembering and building weaves again and again, but I also had to come up with more and more ways to disable the earth ponies, and sometimes that meant I had to run.

I sat opposite Sweetie while we had lunch, and found myself gulping down more than usual as I tried not to give her a chance to ask me something, though she eventually did.

"Why didn't you fight me?"

I gestured at my mouth (packed with as much salad sandwich as I could get in it), and shot Sweetie my best apologetic smile. This method worked to keep her question at bay until I ran out of sandwiches.

Under the glare of Sweetie I eventually caved in. "I just can't."

"Why?"

"Duh," I said. "Because I love you."

Sweetie looked concerned for about ten seconds, then her face broke into a big grin and she leaned across the table. "I can live with that, Lyra Heartstrings." And then she kissed me. "But don't you ever not talk to me again."

It was, in our own way, the first real argument we'd been in. "Sorry. I just couldn't work out what to say. In the end I figured you deserved the truth. I could never hurt you—not intentionally like that."

"Silly. I'm an earth pony. You couldn't hurt me without putting a lot more effort into it." She looked into my eyes with the same kind of devotion as I felt for her—it was both terrifying and amazing. "One more kiss, and let's go get back into it."

How could I say no?

Precise, when I approached him, nodded to the same classroom-like building where he'd been working with me on all my spells. When we were both inside and alone, his neutral expression spread into a grin. "You made me five bits with that display this morning. Great work.

"So far we've just been working on building up your capacity for magic, and focusing on ensuring you can cast any one of your spells at a moment's notice. That's the first step. Your inventiveness on the practice field was impressive, but a lot of those tricks have already made it into combat unicorn doctrine."

He stood silent, waiting.

"But there's some more I don't know?" I asked.

"I'm glad that you understand where this is going. Now, there are four main methods for dealing with an earth pony: deprive them of their contact with the ground, use your magic on things other than the earth pony, remove yourself from their reach, and direct interaction. Now…"

I wish this were all one sided, but while Precise Pedagogue taught me many ways of dealing with a foe that draws their power from the ground, Broad Strokes taught the earth ponies how to deal with unicorns.

Each day their resistance was better, their movements more erratic and swift, and then I had to start sparring groups of them at once. Sometimes I won, sometimes they did.

The week wound up with me given the chance to have all my magic and have a skirmish between the earth ponies. I was swapped from side to side so everypony got a chance to work with a unicorn for once. That was fun.

When the weekended, and the new one started, I found myself greeted on Monday morning by Bluebelle. I remembered that the last week of training would be me with the pegasi.

Drained as usual, I found myself on the practice field facing a line of pegasi without any warm-up from Bluebelle. "Today you get tested against flying opponents. I will caution everypony here to only use practice-level abilities. You can start whenever you wish."

Bottle Rocket was first in line, and she jumped into the air with a pump of her wings.

Not wanting to know what she had planned, I grabbed her back legs with my magic and pulled. My telekinesis gripped her just fine, but she was strong, and I strained to hold on and pull her down. The moment I pulled her all the way to the ground, Bluebelle blew a whistle.

"That one's Lyra's. Quite a grip you have with your magic. I'd suggest against relying on that." Bluebelle turned to the queue of pegasi. "Come on. Next!"

The next pegasus, I didn't recognize them, flew right at me with his hooves stretched forward. I could practically trace a line from his legs right to my face.

I threw a shield up to deflect him, and felt a hard concussion against the construct as he connected. Pegasi weren't as solid physically as an earth pony, but they had speed and their wings made up the bulk of their strength—it seemed.

I spent the whole day trying to grab and shove them off course, pouring energy into my telekinesis and shields more than anything, and even burning a few teleports when particularly tough fliers evaded my other methods.

Despite my inexperience with this new foe, I only got beaten twice.

The first was by a mare who literally plowed through my shield so fast I could barely get my teleport off. She circled under the practice field we were on and came at me just as fast again on my blindside. That fight had taught me to always keep looking around.

The second defeat had involved the pegasus zooming up to the clouds and coming back with one. I'd stared in shock for a few seconds before a lightning bolt lanced out and hit me before I had a chance to raise my shield. And from that I'd learned to just keep my shield up all the time.

My afternoons were again spent learning ways to disable flying enemies, most of which I was instructed not to use in sparring because they would permanently harm the flier.

Saturday came before I knew it, and after just a few months of hard training I felt like a completely different mare.

Waking up, we were led on our morning run as usual, but after breakfast there was no sparring. All three sergeants led us to one of the big classrooms and we all sat down—in our armor—and waited.

I was more than a little surprised when Stiff Peaks walked into the room and right up to the front. He turned and looked around the room. "I see a lot of promise here. Earth ponies. Unicorns. Pegasi. The Guard."

My brain started to catch up. Why everypony had shown respect to him, and why my instinct had driven me to defer to him. He was the commander of the training regiment!

"I've watched Sergeant Broad Strokes, Sergeant Precise Pedagogue, and Sergeant Bluebelle build you from diligent citizens to hard as rocks privates of the E.U.P. Guard. It was like watching you all bloom. But, now you each have to make your decision. Sergeant Bluebelle will take sign-ups for the full-time guard, and Sergeant Precise Pedagogue will take sign-ups for the reserves. No matter your choices, I'm proud of all of you."

I stood up in silence. Sweetie Drops was beside, but she too was quiet. Together we walked to the front of the room and stood between the two desks where the sergeants were signing ponies up.

My discipline broke first. "What will this mean? Will you ship out and—?"

"Privates." Stiff Peaks' voice snapped me out of my panicked rush of questions. "If I may?"

"S-Sir," I said.

"Sergeant Bluebelle explained your situation to me. The way this works now is full-time soldiers choose what track they wish to pursue, and they will begin specialist training in that field. That will take up to another six months depending on what specialty they take. Then there will be a mandatory year of duties at various outposts around Equestria.

"The others will go back to their lives. Every three months there is a mandatory two-week training and evaluation camp. You will be expected to maintain your fitness and skills, and should the need arise you may be called to serve Equestria. Any questions?"

"Visiting…" I tried to finish the question, but my throat was choked. This was her thing as finishing off school was my thing.

"… Is encouraged. We're not about splitting ponies up from their loved ones. The E.U.P. Guard is a family, and you're both part of it now." Stiff looked between us with a warm smile. "As part of signing on full-time, you have a week before extended training starts to settle your civilian matters."

I was sorely tempted to just sign up. To go and tell Princess Celestia I was joining up and wouldn't need her school anymore. The idea was so pervasive that when Sweetie walked toward the full-time sign-up table, I almost followed her. There was something inside that called to me, however, demanded that I learn all I can from Celestia.

Destiny might be wonderful sometimes, but other times it can be a bitch. "You'd better not split us apart for too long," I muttered under my breath to the cosmos. I walked to the reserves table.

Author's Note

Just a heads-up. This story is being shifted into M + Sex territory. This will not mean it is suddenly a clopfic. What this means is that particular scenes that I'd hoped I could squeeze out into a companion story are far too important to the plot to do so, and they happen to occur in the bedroom. I will mark such chapters in advance.

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Lab

Chapter 21

Wearing her armor just felt comfortable to Lyra. Being forced to wear it every day for a month and a half left it etched into muscle memory so much that she decided to wear it on the walk home. Beside her was Sweetie, and there was no place Lyra would rather have her.

Wearing armor for the same reason as Lyra, Sweetie had other feelings in common. She kept looking at her fillyfriend, and each glance made her want to smile more—so she did. Despite their trotting in lock-step, Sweetie Drops wanted to prance.

"Lyra!" Minuette waved her hoof. "Lyra! Looking good!"

Spotting her classmate, Lyra led the Sweetie over and introduced them. "Sweetie, this is—"

"I know Minuette, Lyra. She lives in the dorm, remember?" Rolling her eyes, Sweetie held out a hoof to bump with Minuette. "How were your holidays?"

"We got homework! I couldn't believe it. We were meant to have two months off, but we got this huge project to work on together and—Who am I kidding, it was great fun. We really missed having our silly ooman around, though." Minuette poked at Lyra's armored chest. "I take it you got out of the homework by doing all this?"

"I hope so. What was it about?" Lyra eyed a market stall with the most delicious apples she'd ever seen on it.

"We studied cutie marks and explored everypony's special talents. It was kinda fun, but I think your bestie got into it way more than anypony else." Minuette looked between Lyra and Sweetie. "Not counting your special somepony as your best friend. I meant Twilight."

Lyra looked at Sweetie, and caught Sweetie looking back. They both gave a happy sigh.

Minuette rolled her eyes. "Wow, you two have it worse than ever. So what happened at soldier school?"

"Running," Sweetie Drops said. "Lots of running."

"We ran soooo much." Lyra turned to the pony at the stall. "How much for three apples?"

"Just got done with your training—?" Nodding in the direction of the E.U.P. Guard training grounds, Braeburn shook his head. "Y'ain't payin' for a few apples. Here ya go."

"You'd just give a mare a bunch of apples for being in the Guard?" Lyra wasn't saying no—her magic collected the offered fruit—but she wanted to know what the stallion's game was.

"Ya know what? Even if you weren't the prettiest thing Ah'd seen all day. Enjoy 'em, my cuz grows the best apples in all Equestria, and if'n she knew I'd not given some to hungry ponies, she'd string me up by me ears." With a wink, Braeburn looked between the three mares. "Besides, Ah think my luck is pickin' up."

"Why's that?"

"Well, not just one but three pretty mares wandered past my stall."

Lyra had a moment where it seemed natural to hear the compliment, but then her human—male—side reared its out of date head. She took a deep breath and shoved aside her problems. This was Equestria, Lyra thought, There's no problem with being gay, straight, or whatever here. And if ponies have no problem with me, I can't have a problem with ponies. "Thanks!"

Finding her friend and fillyfriend chatting away, Lyra slipped up beside them quietly and passed each an apple. When both thanked her, Lyra let out a sigh. "You both know about the before time, and I try to get past all that angst and craziness, but sometimes it just comes up and smacks me in the head."

"What's wrong?" Sweetie asked and bit her apple.

"The stallion called me pretty." Even to Lyra it sounded silly. "I know it's stupid, and I—"

"It's not stupid, Lyra. There's something you've got to understand," Minuette turned to make sure her flank was between Lyra and the apple vendor, "people are entitled to their opinions so long as they don't hurt you."

"Nah. It's not even that. Back where I came from it was—well it wasn't exactly accepted that ponies (people) have same-sex relationships. I don't have a problem with it, but my brain sometimes still thinks male thoughts, and it just—" Lyra was in full verbal diarrhea mode when Sweetie kissed her on the cheek. The affection of her fillyfriend completely cut through the neurotic thoughts and poured happy-sunshine on her mind. "Thanks."

"You looked like you needed a distraction." Sweetie kissed Lyra's cheek again, then trailed her mouth up to Lyra's ear. "And maybe I could show you how much of a mare you are later?"

Minuette couldn't help but smile at how quickly Sweetie defused Lyra's freakout. "You two are so adorable together. Have you picked a date?"

"A date for what?" Lyra asked.

Sweetie kissed Lyra's cheek again. "She's asking if we're going to get married."

Lyra Heartstrings has encountered an error and needs to shut down. She stood still for a few moments, staring at nothing—hearing nothing. When a little voice in the back of Lyra's head kicked her mind to get it started again, it hit a single word and stopped—married.

"Lyra?" Sweetie asked.

Sighing dramatically, Minuette proved how well Lyra had rubbed off on her. "We broke her. Such a shame. She was doing well at Celestia's school, and I guess she did well at soldier school if she got a set of armor out of it. To lose such a promising unicorn in the peak of her—"

"Marriage?!" Lyra had progressed to talking, but that word (or its base form) still dominated her thoughts.

"Well? I guess this isn't the best way to ask, but will you?" Sweetie asked.

"I—" Shaking her head to free it of words and voices, Lyra Heartstrings turned to Sweetie and looked at her directly. "I'm supposed to ask that."

Sweetie smirked. "Because you're the guy?"

"Y—" Words were still a problem, particularly when Lyra insisted on falling for a smart mare who could talk rings around her. "You're too good at that."

"So?" Sweetie asked.

"Yes, so?" Minuette asked.

"So what?" Princess Cadance asked as she walked up to her friends. "Sorry if I interrupted."

"Shhh! Sweetie just asked Lyra to marry her." Minuette tried to cover Cadance's mouth to keep her from interrupting further. She wasn't prepared for Cadance's near explosion, or the alicorn's wings shooting out and up. It took her mind another second to realize this was the Princess of Love she was trying to hold back.

"If—" Lyra said with a pregnant pause after it, "—I said I'd think about it, that wouldn't be good enough." She closed her eyes and searched her heart. Rose had been a big part of her life during an intense part of her life, but Lyra's time with Rose held nothing on how she felt about Sweetie.

"Say something!" Cadance covered her snout after she yelled the words. "Sorry," she added, much quieter.

"So joining the Guard together was a date?" Lyra stepped forward, her armor barely whispering around her as her legs moved with confidence she in no way felt. "Sweetie Drops…"

Cadance couldn't believe it was luck that it was her privilege to witness this moment. Her magic boiled inside her like hot lava. When Lyra leaned forward and kissed Sweetie, she almost lost control of herself.

"…Yes."

Launching herself into the air, the pressure of her magic drove Cadance almost to song. When she realized the ponies below her were still talking, she tucked her wings in and teleported (the first time she'd managed the spell) back down to the ground. "What did they say?"

Finally turning on Cadance, Lyra stomped over to her with a glare on her face. She could see her expression had a sobering effect on Cadance, but it didn't stop Lyra from pointing her hoof at the alicorn. A smile cracked Lyra's face as she shouted, "This is all your fault!"

Cadance, Minuette, Sweetie, and Lyra all broke into a fit of giggles, and not a one of them could stop for nearly five minutes. Every time somepony calmed down enough to get a word out, they would inevitably lose it again and return to giggling.

At last free of the laughter, Cadance put a wing over Minuette's back. "Come on, we need to plan their wedding."

"Wait!" Sweetie stomped a hoof and blew a loud, horse-like snort. "We can't have the wedding until after my training is done, and that starts in a few days. Then I have duties to—"

"Ahem." Cadance flicked out her wings and gestured to her forehead. "Alicorn says—"

"Huh?" Sweetie looked from Cadance to Lyra. "What does she mean?"

"She means, Sweetie, that as princess of love she can have words about how a particular mare is disposed within the E.U.P. Guard." Lyra kissed her fiancee. Just thinking that word made Lyra kiss Sweetie a second time. "But it'll take a year or more before you are done with that."

"You said you start in a few days?" Minuette asked. "Why don't you just have the wedding before then?"

"No." Sweetie Drops shook her head and pointed from Minuette to a wide-grinning Cadance. "Definitely no. That's too rushed and you both know it! Cadance, if you could nudge somepony to give me a little time at the end of my training—" she looked at Lyra and raised an eyebrow. When Sweetie got a nod back, she grinned, "—then we'll have it."

"That is sooooo done. I'll talk to, uh, somepony about it later. Celestia will know who." Cadance managed to reign in her excitement no longer. "Eeeee! I get to plan a wedding!" She turned to Minuette. "We have to plan a wedding!" Before anypony could get a word out, Cadance grabbed Minuette and flew off.

"Uh," Lyra said as she watched the abduction in progress, "Should we tell somepony about that?"

"Pfft. You think she won't tell everypony she meets already?" Sweetie kissed Lyra, properly and on the lips. The two froze in mutual appreciation of a quiet moment until Lyra broke it with a giggle. "What?" Sweetie asked.

"We better tell our mums before they hear it from Cadance." Lyra nuzzled Sweetie's cheek. "Hold on and don't ground yourself."

When the last two of the mares teleported out of sight, Braeburn sighed. "It's one of them strange days. Ah well." He straightened his hat and turned to a pony walking toward the stall. "Howdy there, ma'am! Would ya like t' buy some apples?"

"Mom? Tufts?" Lyra knocked on the door and froze when a stallion answered it. What shocked her more was the sight of the bat wings on the stallion's back. "S-Sorry, I think I have the—" Shock turned to near-panic as the stallion stepped out and stretched a huge wing to grab Lyra.

"Our little pup is home from training!" Tufts squeezed Lyra. "Joyce will be happy to see you!"

"Wait. Back off for a second." Lyra looked at Tufts, narrowing her eyes. "Tufts?"

"Your mom's pet?" Sweetie asked.

"Her mate, not her pet." Tufts tucked his wing back to his side.

Lyra looked at her batty stepfather. "You told her? You finally told her when I couldn't see the look on her face?!"

"It required a delicate touch. Several delicate touches." Tufts stepped back from the door. "Please, come inside."

"I don't get it. You were a batfox, I thought?" Sweetie pointed an armored hoof at Tufts. "I mean, yeah you talked, but that wasn't so strange for animals. What's going on?"

Stepping forward to the threshold, Lyra looked back at Sweetie. "This is big. Since you're going to be part of the family, you should probably know about all of us. Come on inside—love." Lyra put emphasis on the last word and felt a shiver go down her spine at saying it and meaning it.

"This sounds heavy. How heavy?" Sweetie asked as she followed Lyra inside.

"Well, you know how I'm friends with Cadance, and Celestia is my teacher?" Lyra asked.

"Yeah."

Lyra shrugged. "Kinda like that. Maybe a little bigger." By the time they closed the front door and walked through to the kitchen, Tufts had already started cutting up fruit. "Okay, so he's the closest thing I've had to a dad. Tufts saved—Tjinimin saved everypony where we come from."

"Wow. Okay, that's pretty awesome." Smiling at Tufts, Sweetie tilted her head to the side. "So why all the hiding as a batfox? Why not lead wit—" She froze. "Your mom didn't know."

"She does now. We talked." Tufts, being a gentlebat, would not speak of what they did between the talking. "It wasn't easy for either of us. Joyce was having trouble keeping the idea in her head long enough to understand it and I was fighting the urge to just keep telling her. It was like when I started speaking back on Earth."

"So," Lyra said, "Staying bat pony, then?"

"Maybe. For the moment it is easier to do chores like this. Nothing beats being a bat or even a batfox for lounging around. You should try it." Flashing his fangs in a grin, Tufts used his wing to grab the broom he'd been using.

"We better get going and find our mums. We have big news—You should probably hear it too, Dad." Giddiness suddenly filled Lyra. She looked to Sweetie and started bouncing on her hooves. "I can't say it!"

"I asked Lyra to marry me," Far from immune to excitement—particularly with Lyra bouncing beside her—Sweetie wore the biggest, happiest grin ever.

Watching Lyra bounce up and down excitedly while wearing almost her full compliment of armor, Tufts felt joy wash through him. Though he hadn't ever expected to have a connection with other creatures as intense as his one with his family, he nonetheless let all that excitement bubble out of him in a screech of joy. "This is fantastic news! When will you be having pups?"

Both mares froze in shock at the question, but Sweetie managed to recover first. "W-We're both mares. Besides, ponies don't have pups."

Snorting in disdain, Tufts reached a wing out to pull both mare's into a hug. "Not with that attitude. I can fix that, you know?"

"Our attitudes?" Sweetie Drops asked as she was pulled into a hug.

"No, both the other things." Tufts waggled both eyebrows just before squeezing both mares too close that they'd see. "I'm proud of you both."

Lyra was nopony's idiot. She could take a few guesses as to why Tufts had changed himself to this particular shape—not that she particularly minded. He'd been a better father, even as a bat, than the man her mother had introduced her to once—the one that helped make her. A stray thought came into her head. "You've had more to do with making me who I am than any other male."

Even as terribly worded as Lyra's statement was, it meant a lot to Tufts to hear it. But he knew he had to let his pup fly. "Go on. Go tell your mothers what you've done. I'll begin preparing for a party." He released the two mares and couldn't stop smiling. When both finished bouncing out the door, he let out a screech of excitement.

Sweetie Drops' ears twitched forward again after she heard the batty exclamation of excitement from within the house they'd just left. "Your dad is pretty cool. Who next?" Leaning closer despite the clank of their armor meeting, Sweetie kissed Lyra's cheek.

"Your mum's on the way to the castle." Lyra couldn't stop from prancing again, her hooves flashing on the stone as she walked at Sweetie's side. Everything was too perfect. "Your training is going to keep you away a while."

Glancing at her fiancee (and enjoying using the word in her head), Sweetie raised an eyebrow. "Cold hooves already?"

"Pfft, never. Just wondering what comes after it. You'll be a qualified monster hunter—and don't think for a second you'll fail. What will you do once you are fully into that?"

Sweetie's thoughts refocused on the question. What her life meant to her? "I want to protect ponies, Lyra. I want to make sure that everypony is safe, especially you. I won't be gone all the time, but I'll be on duty for two months out of every three."

"You know I'm going to blow your socks off every time you come back, right?" Lyra kissed Sweetie's cheek.

"I don't wear socks, Lyra."

"You know what I mean. I guess we'll have to play it as it comes, and if it doesn't work—" Lyra shrugged, "—then I'll have to join up full time so we can be together more."

Author's Note

Joyce: Are you gonna have baby with Tuffs?

"I-I hadn't actually considered that, I guess—kind of a theme with my children—but I don't think I'd have a problem having another filly with a stallion I love." Joyce looked both excited and introspective.

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Lab

Chapter 22 [[ A Joyce Perspective ]]

With an evening of celebration and wishing Lyra and Sweetie well behind me, I was cuddled up in bed beside Tufts—Tjinimin. Every night, just before I closed my eyes, I felt another jolt of surprise that we'd come together as we had. I loved the bat silly, and from what I could see he had it just as bad.

When I closed my eyes and felt sleep start to pour over me like liquid honey, I expected the usual dream to wrap me up. Tufts and I had dreamt together ever since we'd started sharing our bed, but tonight was different.

The moment the dream started I felt growing worry. There was something out there—old and hostile—and I couldn't find it. I called out, cried the names of those I loved until something tickled at my mind. "Nightmare—" I took a sharp breath in the dream, "—Moon."

"Yes."

I wanted to scream. It was like being a little girl again and watching—being part of—a scary movie. But though that little girl wanted to screech like a bat and run, I stood my ground. I had family to protect. "You're Princess Celestia's sis—"

"DO NOT SAY THAT NAME!"

The voice shoved me completely out of the dream and sleep. I woke with a start and realized this was it. This was what Celestia had asked me to do. Afraid to close my eyes again, I took a deep breath. Come on, Joyce, put on your big-girl-pants. The logical side of me wanted to complain that I hadn't worn pants in almost a year, but I closed my eyes again and, after a few minutes of almost-panic, managed to sleep.

"You came back?"

Coming from all around me, the voice was feminine, but strong. So strong. I squared my shoulders and nodded. "I made a promise to help you."

All the darkness of the world pulled together into a solid mass. A silvery light beamed down from above as I watched a pony form from the dark matter of my dream. "To help me? To whom did you make such a terrible promise to?" The words were honeyed now—more terrifying by far than before.

Nightmare Moon, at least in my dream, was darkness personified (ponified?). Her body was the kind of blue/black of a raven's feathers, and her eyes looked huge with slit pupils. Atop her head was a helmet, and her mane and tail looked like they were made of the night sky itself. I couldn't help but have two thoughts about her—she was both magnificent and just a little camp.

Honesty, Joyce. You have to be honest or she'll see right through you. "You told me not to say her name. She wanted somepony to be on your side."

"My side? My side is darkness. I want everypony to know how terrible I am, and how rotten my sister was to me. Every pony in Equestria is to blame for what I've become, and now it's time for you all to be punished." Nightmare Moon looked at me for a moment and then raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Even in my dream I was a bat pony (thought Tufts had insisted on parrot hippogriffs even in some of our fantastical nights), and stretching my wings I showed Nightmare Moon the extent of my differences. "I am not a pony born in Equestria. I'm from another world."

Nightmare Moon walked around me. I couldn't help but feel as though she was judging me, mostly because she obviously was, but if being a doctor had taught me anything it was that shame is useless.

I stood proud and stretched my wings a little wider.

"You are a proud pony. A bat pony." Nightmare moon walked around to stand in front of me. "If I were to make night eternal, I believe you'd be one of the few who could see that as a good thing. So tell me, bat pony who's on my side, what news do you bring me?"

I shrugged. "I'm not exactly a princess—" A funny thought just hit me. "What should I call you?"

"My name is Nightmare Moon. You will not use any other name for me, nor titles." She leaned forward and flashed fangs that were horribly white on her dark blue/black body.

"Nightmare Moon," I said with a smile, "If I mention what I do with my days, you'll get angry again."

Those slit eyes narrowed down to thin lines. "Her?"

"Her." I tucked my wings in at my side and noticed Nightmare Moon watching how I folded them. I paused and turned slightly to the side to show her again. "The world I come from is suffering from a deluge of magic. She is trying to establish trade with them, and I'm advising her on it."

"Ugh. Change of topic, please."

I shrugged my shoulders. "I'm studying to be a doctor. A pony doctor that is. Back home, I'm already qualified." I pondered sitting down, but Nightmare Moon was still examining my wing. "What about you?"

Nightmare Moon looked surprised, something I could well appreciate was a unique thing for her if she were Celestia's sister. "What about me?"

"What do you do? What do you like? What don't you like—except her?" I closed my wing only when she'd fully released it. "Well?"

The darkness that was Nightmare Moon seemed to leech out of her and spread around my dream. A chill of could flowed through me so that I was loosening my wings to wrap them a little tighter.

"I am revenge. Nothing more. I exist to make my sister pay for what she did to me."

The dream ended, and I was alone in the room with Tufts. One of his wings was spread over me, and without hesitation I nuzzled closer and felt his warmth. The rest of my night was uninterrupted by my new friend.

It was nearly six months before I dreamt of her again.

The mango tree I shared with Tufts was gone. Instead it was a dark and cold night. I knew before I heard her who it was. "Nightmare Moon."

"This is not easy, you know."

I scoffed at the understatement. "It's hard enough using this to communicate with my daughter when she pokes her head into this world. From what I researched, you're stuck in the moon. How are you today?"

Silence reigned. The darkness coiled itself up and tightened—formed into a pony. "You actually want to know how I feel? I'm furious!" Nightmare Moon began pacing. "But it won't be long until I can finally have my revenge!"

"Revenge against Princess Celestia?" I realized too late that I shouldn't have said her name.

The night pulled around me and Nightmare Moon stared into my eyes. "DON'T SAY THAT NAME!" It hurt to hear her so loud, but I wasn't shoved out of the dream. "Don't ever say it."

"I work for her," I said. "I literally use her name dozens of times a day when I'm in the castle. If you keep threatening me, I'll just leave."

"Wait!"

I waited.

"For a thousand years I've lived with only the memories of my sister's slowly evolving apathy." As Nightmare Moon spoke, I sat down and listened. She must have spent nearly an hour in silence. "Well?"

"Well what?" I asked.

Nightmare Moon let out a sigh. "You're supposed to be on my side. Surely you know the story from my sister's point of view. Aren't you going to denounce me?"

"Actually, there's no information on you. Prin—She doesn't even mention you." I studied the night sky in Nightmare Moon's mane.

She sat there and just looked at me. "But you told her about our first dream?"

I shook my head in answer. "I already said, I'm on your side. Telling her what happened would go against that. I told my husband, but nopony else."

"You surprise me. Very well, let me tell you of what happened." As Nightmare Moon spoke, the dream around us changed into a palatial room covered in soft cushions and shrouded in dark silk. Platters of food surrounded us, and I definitely wasn't going to ignore the cozy confines she'd built. "A long time ago there were two princesses—"

Nightmare Moon spread her wings and the darkness of her mane and tail shot toward me. "Don't fight, I must protect you for this to work. You are useless if you fall to my curse."

Her magic would have scared me, but I trusted her words and tried to relax. What Nightmare Moon did was build a shell—a wall—inside me. "What curse?"

"I was angry and lashed out."

"You're still angry." I couldn't keep a chuckle from my voice.

Nightmare Moon laughed aloud and nodded. "Well put. I cursed every pony and their descendants. They would not know the name of Princess Luna. My curse would scour my former name from the minds of all. You may not be affected, as you are from another world, but I'd rather not risk it."

Princess Luna. The name I'd never read. It made sense that Celestia's sister was named for the sun's opposite in Equestria. "The curse, that's why you're not in any book? Or were you, and it just—"

"My sister hid away the books. Ask her why." Nightmare Moon's presence—her magic—tingled inside me. It was alive and powerful. "But now you are safe from it, so I will tell you the story of the princess nopony loved.

"Nine hundred and ninety-five years ago Equestria had been formed for just a hundred years. Peace had been hard work to wrest from the chaos around us, but we'd done it with the tools our mentors had given us. When at last the sun and the moon themselves had become erratic, and ponies struggled to maintain them, we took over."

The story was fantastic in the most literal sense. If I'd told anyone this back on Earth, I might have been locked up and given a lot of things to keep me relaxed. Heck, I'd have locked myself up. But this was real—there was no reason for her to lie about things so far, and from what I'd read in my own studies, this was how it happened, though my studies had left out Princess Luna.

"My sister ruled the day. Everypony loved her, spent the time under her sun working, playing, and telling her how much they enjoyed doing both. The night was my time. There were many things that called the night time their home, both physical and magical. In the real world I battled monsters and protected villages such that they could persist unmolested, and in the ponies' dreams I fought off frightful things that sought to bend them and render them unto a crop of wheat.

"What I did wasn't visible to them. They easily forgot that I fought and struggled every night to save them from the nightmares and monsters. When those same ponies I saved time and again decided on a new holiday to honor my sister, Princess Luna broke." Nightmare Moon blew out a snort. "It wasn't right! I did all the work to protect them! THEY SHOULD HAVE MADE A CELEBRATION FOR ME!"

The force of Nightmare Moon's voice was enough to scatter cushions and turn over trays of food. I used one wing to rescue some nearby cushions and another to save the nearest tray of food. "They should have," I said.

Terrible wrath gave way to a smile—a genuine, soft smile—on Nightmare Moon's face. She looked me in my eyes and nodded. "Ask my sister for the rest, and feel free to talk freely about my visits. I want her to know I'm coming for her."

Like an oversize bubble bursting, Nightmare Moon popped out of my dream. One moment she was there, the next she was not. Then, just as I started to sample one of the mangoes on the tray I'd saved, a large bat pony stallion approached.

The dream was still as powerful as it was when Nightmare Moon had been in it—it still carried magic that told me it was almost-real. Tufts' hoofsteps stopped and he settled down at my side. "She came again."

"She's still angry. I can't blame her for that—she's stewed on her anger for almost a thousand years." Deftly slicing the mango's cheeks free, I scored a cross pattern into each and passed one to Tufts. "I need to hear the other half of this. She said I could discuss it with Celestia, but I'm hesitant to say anything but to ask for her side." I started work on my own half of the mango.

When Tufts' wing stretched over my back, I felt warmth spread through me. He leaned against me, and I him. "You have her magic about you."

"There was—" I nibbled a little more mango from the skin, "—a curse. I believe I'll ask Celestia about that, too. She protected me against it."

"Maybe, but there's more to this. She protected you far more than just from a curse." Tufts' smile as he nuzzled my cheek surprised me not at all. "I don't mind you having more protection."

"I don't think even Celestia could have protected me against it. I'm trying to be her friend, and I think we've at least established a level of trust she's not known before, but I need to talk to her more."

Weekend tea—now that I was visiting Celestia for both days of every weekend—was long and drawn out, though we talked business. I was prepared to ask Celestia my question about Princess Luna when the Royal Guards announced an official visitor.

I waited while Celestia got up and left to deal with them—I might be a friend to her, and an advisor, but some topics Princess Celestia needed to handle without a bat tagging along. I lifted my teacup to my lips and took a sip of the wonderful brew. There wasn't much more relaxing than sipping tea with Celestia in her sun room.

All that was why I wasn't prepared for the loud screech from the open door. I spun my head around and blinked in surprise at the bat pony mare in the doorway. She ran toward me as fast as her hooves could carry her, and I barely managed to put down the cup before the mare caught me up in a hug.

My brain took another second before it supplied the identity of the mare. "Dream Thunder?!"

"Joyce! It's so good to see you!" Dream hugged tighter, and I returned the squeeze as good as she gave. "I wish it were some other reason I am here."

"Huh? What's wrong?" Worry hit me. Robin? Was my daughter in trouble? "What's wrong?"

"Something slipped through the barrier with the last trade shipment. I couldn't feel anything, but seconds after I'd realigned the whole area with Equestria—that's something I learned how to do—a group of hunters rushed up and—It's a Yara-ma-yha-who." The way she said it implied that it wasn't just a terrible thing, but it had become somewhat common knowledge to people back in Australia—Batstralia.

Celestia was standing in the doorway still. She looked upset, but also curious. At least, she looks that way to me. She had her mask on—Princess Celestia of Equestria gave nothing away unless you'd spent a lot of time with her.

"What's that?" I asked.

Dream stared at me in shock, then looked back to Princess Celestia. "Your Highness, could you come over here and I'll show you both?"

Walking forward, Celestia looked at me with the slightest of raised eyebrows. I nodded back. "How will you—"

Dream Thunder stretched one huge wing toward me and one toward Celestia. The moment they both touched I felt the Dreaming overcome me. But it was different. I felt Dream Thunder as a source of intense power here, Celestia too, but there was something within me that caused my being to react and flare brightly. It didn't take a genius (like either of my daughters) to realize what it was—Nightmare Moon's magic.

Filled with Nightmare Moon's power and protected, I waited for Dream Thunder to explain herself.

"This is what a Yara-ma-yha-who does." Dream's words spilled power into the shared dream, and a pony appeared before us, sitting relaxed and looking a little dazed. Then the monster appeared. It looked like a red-coated foal with a huge head and long tentacles instead of wings.

The Yara-ma-yha-who crept up behind the pony and its tentacles shot out and grabbed the pony. Celestia gasped as the little monster grabbed and pulled itself up onto the pony's back. Peeling back its lips, the monster revealed not a single tooth in its mouth before it closed its mouth around the pony's throat.

"It's attack is magical. It will drain the blood of a pony over a period of days. The pony will seem more and more dazed, but will always return to where the Yara-ma-yha-who first caught them. By the end of a week, if it completes its meal…"

By now the pony looked as drained as Dream had implied. They seemed to shrink by moments, their fur taking on a more and more reddish tint.

The Yara-ma-yha-who opened its mouth huge and, somewhat like a snake, pulled the pony inside and swallowed them. It was horrifying to watch the pony smile as the monster ate them, but I had to assume this was a show. Please let it be a show.

"It takes seconds. Once they've swallowed the pony—" Dream shuddered visibly as the Yara-ma-yha-who vomited up its prey, "—they regurgitate them in a moment as another of their kind."

"You have to deal with these back in Batstralia?" I couldn't take my eyes off the monster as it regurgitated the changed pony's teeth. I felt my stomach lurch before I had to do something. The power of Nightmare Moon poured through to my hooves as I jumped forward and brought them down on each of the Yara-ma-yha-who. The moment my black-shrouded hooves struck, the dream monsters were destroyed. "S-Sorry. I couldn't help but—"

Dream Thunder stepped up to my side. "It's okay. We deal with them when we find them, but there's a lot of cunning in the—" Dream looked aside at Celestia, "—damn things. I brought the hunters with me, but we obviously need permission and—please—assistance in hunting this down."

"I'll have a squad of Monster Hunters ready to join your hunters. They'll be ready to move before the end of the day, and they'll have a letter from me to ensure they get the assistance needed." Celesta was staring not at the remains of the monsters—there wasn't any—but rather my hooves.

I lifted my head to look at Celestia just as Dream Thunder ended the magic that brought us into her Dreaming. I shook my head to clear the cobwebs of what my brain told me had been actual sleep. Dream waited for Celestia while she summoned scroll and quill.

"Joyce, could you take this to the Guard headquarters across the city—I'd like a fast reaction, and you're the fastest flier here." Celestia's smile as she floated the scroll to me told me she trusted me implicitly, too.

I took the scroll and tucked it into my saddle bag as I walked toward the door. This was a duty, and part of my job—technically. Celestia paid me well for my advice, but carrying this message was something just as important as my regular duties to her.

"Run and fly, ma'am," the Royal Guard at the door told me, then lifted his voice. "Royal Courier coming through! Make way!"

I'd never heard the shout before, but I struck my hooves on the stone floor and galloped down the hallway as the shout was relayed along by the throats of the Royal Guard. As soon as I left the castle, I spread my wings and leapt into the air with every ounce of vigor I possessed.

One pump. Two pumps. My wings were built for cupping huge quantities of air in low magic worlds to pull me into the sky. In Equestria, with magic excited to see something with wings fly, I shot forward and was airborne.

This was not the day for fanciful gliding. I kept pumping my wings ensuring each shove shot me forward and kept my altitude just enough to get me over buildings. The rumors I'd heard around the castle of somepony in Cloudsdale (a city built in clouds that I was determined to visit next holidays from school) had performed what they called a sonic rainboom urged me to fly faster and faster, but those same rumors (some told by a pair of Wonderbolts themselves) claimed nopony else had done one in centuries. I liked to think I came close as I reached the other side of the city—the E.U.P. Guard.

I'd heard rumors from Lyra about ponies silly enough to try flying over the Guard complex, so I quickly back-winged at the front gate and felt every inch of my membranes strain to slow me before I hit the ground. "Message from Princess Celestia!" I drew the scroll from my bag and showed the seal on it to the guardponies on duty.

"Bottle Rocket!" The guardpony waited for a moment for a third guard to come rushing out of the guardhouse. "Escort this courier directly to Lieutenant Peaks."

"Sir!" The pegasus that was obviously named Bottle Rocket turned to look at me. "Please follow me, ma'am!" When I ruffled my wings to get them fully settled at my sides, her eyes almost popped out of her head. Bottle froze in place staring at my wings.

I leaned forward and lifted one hoof up to the side of my face. "This is the part where you show me where to go."

"R-R-Right! Uh, yeah! Let's go." Bottle turned and headed back into the grounds of the Guard training headquarters, though I could see she kept turning when she could to look back at me. "Uh, you don't mind if I ask you something?"

The mare seemed so new to her job that I had to wonder if she'd been in Lyra's class. "So long as it doesn't slow us down, go ahead."

"Well, in basic training, there was a mare who said her mother was a bat pony. You're the only one I've ever seen, so I kinda figured you might know Lyra?"

Bingo. One of Lyra's friends, or at least somepony she'd known. "I'm Lyra's mum. Where we come from, there's only bat ponies."

"Really? That sounds amazing. Where is that?"

"Is this the right way?" I asked as we had veered off toward what looked like an empty field on the edge of Canterlot.

"Oh! Right! Sorry. Lieutenant Stiff Peaks will be in the mess hall at the moment." Bottle Rocket led the way to where we found a lot of ponies eating lunch and talking loudly. Leading the way through the crowd to the kitchen, Bottle brightened when she spotted someone. "There's the lieutenant."

In the direction she gestured was an earth pony stallion who was wearing chef whites. "That's the commander here? He looks like a cook."

"He is." Bottle lifted her voice. "Lieutenant! Messenger from Princess Celestia!"

"Not the Royal Guard we're used to seeing. Ma'am?" Stiff Peaks had a very deep voice that sounded like he'd used it a lot. He talked easily over the noise of the kitchen. He held out a hoof toward me.

"You're the commander of the Guard here?" I asked and, at his nod, passed him the scroll.

Stiff unrolled the scroll and seemed to quickly read it. His face didn't betray his feelings at all, or at least I wasn't used to seeing his face do such. At last, though, he finally raised an eyebrow and looked at me. "Private Bottle Rocket, find Sergeant Broad Strokes and tell her to be in my office as soon as possible, then head back to your post. Miss Joyce, please come with me."

By the time he escorted me to his office, the other pony he'd requested was waiting. "Sergeant Strokes, this is Joyce. She's brought rather troubling word from Princess Celestia. A creature has invaded Equestria that, if left unchecked, will not just harm ponies but turn them into more of itself. The nation has supplied a squad of their own hunters to track it down, but have requested an escort."

"You want a squad of my best monster hunters?" Broad Strokes asked.

Now it made sense. I'd heard from Sweetie Drops all about the Monster Hunters division of the E.U.P. Guard, and of course they'd be the perfect ponies for the job.

"A full squad. Make sure that newbie you got—Private Sweetie Drops—is with them. They're going to have one part-timer tacked on as well." As Stiff Peaks spoke, I had a shocked moment as I realized what he was about to say next. "Lyra Heartstrings has intimate knowledge of the foreigners and will act as liaison. Private Drops has too, but to a much lesser extent.

"The princess explained everything, ma'am. Your daughter and her fiancee will mostly be there to keep both groups working together."

I hadn't even realized Stiff Peaks was addressing me. "She signed up for duty—they both did. I have to let my filly take her own path." As I spoke, Stiff was writing on a scroll.

Passing the scroll to Broad Strokes, Stiff Peaks began working on another. "Those're your orders, Sergeant, you'll have the lead on this one. Make sure to bring all your ponies home."

"Yes sir!" Broad Strokes left the room with his scroll.

"Joyce, could you take this one back to Princess Celestia? Also, I understand you'll have the best chance of finding Lyra before the day's out. If you could find and escort her to the castle, that'd be a major help." He finished writing in a second scroll and stamped it with some wax that melted against the surface of the scroll all on its own.

I took the scroll when he held it out. "She'll be with her friends. I'll find her easily enough."

I left the Guard and took to the sky again. Circling around the city itself, I narrowed my eyes against the glare of the white marble everywhere and looked for anypony who knew Lyra. As I wheeled around, I spotted one of her friends from school.

A short dive and conversation later and I knew Lyra was already at the castle, but was with Princess Cadance. Rather than fly right into the castle grounds, I landed at the gate and explained who I needed to see and in what order.

"Hey, Mum, what's up?" Lyra answered Cadance's door wearing the most amazing dress I'd ever seen. It was pure white and had ruffles upon ruffles and a train that was supported by blue magic behind her.

"Something serious." I hated saying the words. Lyra looked so free spirited, and when she heard what I said it all fled. "Something nasty has gotten through from Australia. They sent a squad to held deal with it, but Princess Celestia wants you to assist a squad of Monster Hunters to help them."

Author's Note

Tufts: Are you going to invite Pinkie Pie to the Party?

"I would, but she has gone on her own big journey. There is a calling each creature must face in their life, and she is seeking out hers." Rolling his shoulders, Tufts snagged a bunch of grapes from a nearby beck with one wing-thumb. "Besides, I believe Cadance has things well under control."

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Lab

Chapter 23 [[ A Lyra Perspective ]]

I stared at Mum for a few moments before my training in analysis and trouble kicked in. "Where do I need to go? The Guard?" There was a lot of ways I could have gotten out of the amazing dress in a rush, but of the all none was as fast or as free of tearing cloth as a teleport.

Translate dimensions to the left, leave matter behind, plug the modification into the weave, and teleport. Pomf! I loved the sound every time I heard it.

"Sorry, Cadance, looks like work calls." I caught the dress with my magic before it could fall to the floor, and waited for Cadance to grab it with hers.

"Don't worry about it. I know how it can be." Cadance collected the dress and carried it over to a ponequin. "Just promise me you'll keep everypony safe."

I almost jumped as Mum put a wing over my shoulder. "I'll certainly try to." Turning to Mum, I asked, "Is this urgent or do I have time to get my armor?"

Mum, however, looked at me with a twinkle in her eyes. "My little girl in a wedding dress!" She stretched her wings out and gave them a flap of excitement. "Sorry, I just needed to shout that. Princess Celestia is waiting, as is Dream Thunder."

I followed Mum to the castle itself after waving goodbye to Cadance. The Royal Guard parted for us, but it wasn't until one shouted for everyone to make way for the royal courier that I realized Mum was doing a little more today than just chatting with the princess.

In the throne room—a place I rarely saw Celestia—the princess was standing at the base of the dais and looking our way. Beside her was Dream, and despite the somber moment I couldn't help but run forward and meet her halfway in a hug. "It's so good to see you again, Dream! You've gotten so big!"

"Me? Princess Celestia told me you joined the military?!" Dream hugged me with her forelegs and her wings and squeezed me tight. "I wish I was here with better news."

"Lyra Heartstrings, you are being recalled to active duty for the duration of this hunt. You will assist a squad of Monster Hunters in escorting Dream Thunder and her hunters in the capture of the Yara-ma-yha-who." Princess Celestia sounded serious, which I knew she hated being. She gestured to Dream with a wing. "I understand you know Dream Thunder?"

"When you live through your lives being turned upside down and share all the problems of becoming a different creature, under the same roof, you either become sisters or you go crazy," Mum said.

The sound of stomping hooves from the entrance drew everyone's attention. When I turned and looked, I saw Sergeant Broad Strokes from my training, and she looked grim. "Your Highness! I have a squad of Monster Hunters ready to move as soon as you wish. I understand we are to reconnoiter along with some allies?"

"They are waiting just outside the city. Dream Thunder said they can track the creature, but it will be harder if you wait." Princess Celestia gestured to Dream. "So you have my leave to take care of this problem. Good hunting, Sergeant Broad Strokes, Private Lyra Heartstrings, Ambassador Dream Thunder."

I snapped a salute as sharp and perfect as any I'd done during training and trotted at Sergeant Strokes' side. Once outside I saw the squad she'd brought. Six ponies—two earth ponies, three pegasi, and a unicorn—stood looking sharp in their armor, but it was one in particular I had eyes for.

"Private Lyra Heartstrings will be joining us for this mission. She's an expert on our allies and their strengths and weaknesses. She trained beside several of you, you know she'll have your back." Sergeant Strokes gestured to the gate. "Lift those hooves and start a march. Heartstrings, how long will it take you to get your uniform?"

My mind was already running the calculations to teleport to some clear air above the dormitory. "Sir, if you have to ask it will take twice as long."

"See to it. Short Wing, fly high above us to help Heartstrings find us again. Ambassador Thunder? Would you show us where your hunters are?"

I didn't need to hear more—I had my orders. Building the pattern of my first teleport, I poured power into it and with another Pomf was outside the castle grounds and—precariously—was just starting to fall. A second faster teleport and I was at ground level, while a spell to make the ground more like rubber turned any downward motion into a bounce that I used to push me into motion.

My hooves barely seemed to touch the ground as I sent myself rocketing up to the single room I lived in. I used my magic to lift my armor from the hefty ponequin in the corner. Well oiled and polished, I buckled up straps and cinched it down around me until I was sure it was on perfect. Then I double checked it. Finally satisfied I had my protective gear on, I pulled my helmet on and threw the door open to head out.

"What's going on?" Candy Cane's eyes were narrowed as she looked at me from the doorway. "Lyra Heartstrings, you don't just throw on your armor and run off without giving me a kiss on the cheek and saying you'll be back soon."

I used magic to lift my helmet off and walked forward to kiss Candy on the cheek. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Want me to tell Sweetie anything?"

"She's going along on this? Tell her I expect her to bring you home." Candy Cane smiled and kissed my cheek. "And you take care of her, okay?"

When Candy stepped back from the door, I let out an excited whinny and charged down the hall and outside. Sighting upwards, I used my usual teleport to send myself skyward and cast a quick cloudwalking so I could stop on a cloud and not keep falling.

In the months since basic training I'd kept up my exercises and built my recovery up incrementally. Looking down on the city, I spotted the group of bat ponies waiting on the road outside town, judged my distance and teleported again.

With another Pomf! I settled on the ground just in front of all the bat ponies. Now, it was time to mess with them. "G'day!" I said in fluent English.

It seemed to take a few seconds for them to register that I had just literally appeared and then a bit more before they realized I spoke in English and not either Equish or Batstralian. My smile grew and I shoved out a hoof. "Lyra Heartstrings, formerly Michael Robertson of Victoria." Again I spoke in English.

"You're the pony Dream keeps talking of? You're a soldier?!" Their reply was in Batstralian—which after the rush of magic in Australia became the default language.

"You've met Lyra Heartstrings?" Sergeant Broad Strokes and her squad were remarkably quiet as they'd proved. She was standing right behind me. "She'll be our liaison for this mission."

"I'm a little iffy on Equish. What'd she say?" the bat pony who was apparently the spokesperson of their group asked in Batstralian. "She said your name, and something about friends?"

"She was just saying I'm going to be the one doing most of the talking back and forth," I said.

"That's not all she said, Lyra." Dream Thunder stepped out from beside the group of Guards that were behind Sergeant Broad Strokes. "She said Lyra's your liaison for this. The Sergeant filled me in on your training, Lyra."

If that wasn't the most loaded statement ever, I don't know what is. "Okay, so we're about half and half with languages. I don't have a spell for this, so that path's out." It was so easy to slip into Equish again, which meant this was going to be a test. Why wasn't this Twilight's job?

"It'd probably be best if you focus on Far Dreamer, he's our best tracker and will be leading us most of the way. I can help translate as well." Dream Thunder pointed to the bat pony who'd first spoken. "Far Dreamer, This is Lyra Heartstrings."

"Yeah, she already introduced herself. Come on, we split off from the trail not far from here. These things are a pain to track, though it was a lot easier here than back home." Far stretched her wing out and down to point the way back down the mountain.

"Where exactly? Was there a train track?" My mind raced trying to remember the immediate geography. Nearby Canterlot was one of the bigger non-city towns in Equestria—Ponyville. The thought of something doing what Dream said in a town like that sent a chill up my spine.

"Passed some tracks on our way up. It seemed to head east of the switchback. Populated?"

I nodded and turned to Sergeant Broad Strokes. "They said they followed its trail until the monster headed east near the switchback that leads up here. Sir, that's Ponyville."

Sergeant Broad Strokes puffed out her chest and blew a snort. "Squad! Prepare for a good run!" When I started to move toward the squad (to fall in line), Broad shook her head. "Up here with me, Private. If I need to yell something at our friends, I need you to yell it in something they'll understand. Forward—Trot!"

I fell in beside Sergeant Broad Strokes, and we stepped forward into the military regulation trot. It was the simplest and easiest movement style for a pony. Any pony in Equestria could trot all day every day, but the training the Guard had given us all demanded more than that.

"Canter up!"

There was only eight of us, but the sound of thirty-two hooves built into a constant drumbeat that would rival any concert.

We turned with the switchback and started our descent along the mountainside, and then Sergeant Broad Strokes raised her voice again. "Gallop!"

The gait we all pushed into was only one cadence more than a canter, but the extra push it required meant we all stretched out, and when our hooves came down together it was like thunder.

Overhead the bat ponies—with Dream Thunder and Far Dreamer leading the way, swooped down. I'd only ever seen Mum fly solo like this, but seeing so many of them together in a tight group was no less impressive.

The only downside to a gallop was it pushed a pony. Most could only keep up a gallop for an hour at most and they'd need a break to re-hydrate and spare their muscles. Our basic training had made us gallop on and off almost all day from dawn to dusk, for a week.

We met the bat ponies at the bottom of the switchback and it was already obvious they were itching to move on. Three of them were missing, however.

"Squad halt!"

We drew up and dropped from gallop to trot, and then slowed to a stop. Each drop of pace was measured to one pony-length so that we were all stopped in a fairly short distance given the speed we'd been moving.

"With me, Lyra. Ask them what's going on." Sergeant Broad Strokes stepped toward the bat ponies.

"We're waiting for our scouts to return." Dream Thunder seemed nervous, but given what we were hunting I couldn't actually blame her. "We always scout by threes. If they find something, one will return with the information while the other two keep an eye on it." She spoke perfect Equish, unsurprising given she'd been a pegasus just two years ago, though now she had an accent that I could pick up.

"Will your scouts be able to find us if we move?" Sergeant Broad Strokes asked.

Dream Thunder nodded. "Even if they don't know where we are, I'll tell them in a Dream."

"I'm going to take you at face value, ma'am," Sergeant Broad Strokes said and turned to the squad. "Get ready! We're continuing on to Ponyville!"

"Did you see them run down that goat-path? Holy shit I'm glad I've got my wings." The words came from one of the bat ponies present, but I tried to hide that I'd heard them. Another voice added, "Yeah, bloody crazy. Give me the sky any day." It was all spoken in Batstralia.

For a moment I had to reflect upon how short a time it was since everything in Australia had gone pear shaped, and how their attitude was now that flying was the best way to get around. "Up on the table. Arms out, knees together…" I couldn't help myself.

"What was that, Lyra?"

The sergeant's question pulled me back to the present. "Nothing, sir. Just remembering what it was like before—Just remembering." I walked over to her side and felt the moment we were all in position and ready. As soon as Sergeant Broad Strokes commanded us, we broke into a trot, then canter, and finally into another gallop.

"Short Wing? I want you in the air and just ahead of us. Don't leave our sight. If you see anything, drop back." How the sergeant had any air in her lungs to spare to barking orders was a mystery, but it was something that seemed to be a superpower.

The same pegasus from earlier shot into the sky and pumped her wings to get ahead of us. Even knowing how hard it was to pull a pegasus out of the air, I had to admire her ability to adjust from galloping to flying—all in armor—so quickly.

We traced the railway line through to the town, but with the tops of houses barely in sight over the horizon, a single bat pony was pumping their wings hard on their way toward us.

"Halt!"

We drew up in regulation order as the bat pony landed with the three that had been pacing with us and Dream Thunder. It was Far Dreamer.

"Big town ahead. We thought it best to pull back rather than go in without an escort." Far Dreamer looked at Dream Thunder with a significant raise of one eyebrow, and in return Dream Thunder nodded. "We followed its trail to the edge of town. This isn't good."

I translated things for the sergeant, then had to translate back to Batstralia. "What happens when they reach a community?" The words were horrid to get out—I'm sure we could both imagine what would happen if they were allowed the run of town.

"They'll pick a mark with as little dream presence as possible who lives alone. Usually the pony won't be missed until—" Far Dreamer's eyes hardened and she flashed her fangs and screeched. "Until more than about a quarter of the town is converted or being converted. We have to stop this fast, and searching a town that big doesn't happen fast."

Sergeant Broad Strokes made me repeat my translation twice for her. Each time I explained it, she looked a little more queasy—which was about how I felt. "If we storm in there, it'll cause a panic. How do we find this thing without searching every house?"

"I can do it." Dream Thunder had an unhappy look on her face. "But I have to wait for night time." She turned to Far Dreaming and told him, "I'll build a Dreaming here tonight. You have to catch it before dawn."

Remembering what had happened back in Australia when she'd pulled us all into a dream once, I tried to explain to Sergeant Broad Strokes what would happen. "Dream Thunder said she's going to make a Dreaming happen. It's going to be weird. You'll fall asleep and wake right back up, but it won't be the real world."

"But we can find it like that? Then we wake up and hunt it down?" Sergeant Broad Strokes asked.

"No." Dream Thunder clenched her teeth around the world. "Not just a dream, Dreaming. It makes—It's like another world, but on top of this one. What you dream is real there, it's where these things are most dangerous, but also easiest to find."

"So we'll fight it there?" our sergeant asked.

"No, we'll fight it there." Dream indicated the other bat ponies. "The Dreaming isn't easily navigated, and a monster like the Yara-ma-yha-who cannot be fought there except by the strongest Dreamers. I wouldn't pull everyone in if I didn't think I needed to. I want you—any of you who can move around—to keep everypony clear of the fighting."

Sergeant Broad Strokes looked like she was ready to bite through steel. She turned from Dream Thunder and walked back to our squad (I kept by her side, of course). "Okay, listen up. Dream Thunder has said our chances of finding this thing before it—before it kills a pony isn't good. She's going to work some kind of magic, and they'll find it tonight."

"Sir?" Sweetie Drops asked. "Aren't we going to fight it with them?"

The sergeant had to wave down the others of our squad with a hoof to calm them. "She said the best we could do, if we could do anything at all, is to keep ponies away from the fight."

"Sergeant?" I asked. "It's a bit more than just not being able to fight it. The Dreaming she'll use is like another world—a dream world. On the plus side, language won't be a problem, but trying to keep ourselves focused will."

"You've been in this before? Please, continue." Sergeant Broad Strokes turned to stand beside the rest of the squad so I could talk to all of them.

"It'll be confusing. Without Dream focusing on us, the Dreaming will be formless and a little wild. The longest I was in it, she was working with an actual god to keep us all ourselves." I wanted to scream and teleport back to Canterlot and get Tufts to come and fix the problem, but I couldn't do that if what he said was true. Dream Thunder was as much his child as I was—maybe a little more when it comes to magic.

"Imagine—" I screwed my eyes closed to focus on how to explain it, "—and that's the problem. It will be a dream—a literal waking dream. If your mind wanders just a little, whatever you dream up will be real there. If you're lucky, whatever you dream will be helpful, but if it's a nightmare or something like—"

"Like the Yara-ma-yha-who?" somepony asked.

"Yeah. Something like that. Don't dream of that, by the way. We only want to fight one, though I don't think you could make another just with one thought of it." Okay, now I had questions for Dream Thunder. "Actually, I'll ask her about that before I go assuming it."

"Good plan. I don't want any surprises in this. I want to know what that thing is capable of and what we can do to support our allies in stopping it with zero casualties."Sergeant Broad Strokes gave me a nod and then turned to the rest. "We'll have another briefing later to get all the intel Private Lyra obtains. In the meantime, I want you to treat this like a regular mission and set up a camp. I want a defensive perimeter. You've all been briefed on what this critter looks like—don't take any chances with it."

"Sir!" Everypony said back as sharp and clear as they could.

"Lyra, try to find out everything you can about what will happen. Like I said, no surprises." Sergeant Broad Strokes gestured with her head toward where the bat ponies were setting up their own camp to the side of our own site.

"No surprises, got it." I snapped off a salute and made my way over to the bat ponies' camp. "Hi!" I said in Batstralia. "Can I talk about what's going to happen tonight? Sergeant wants to know how things will happen so there's no surprises."

"Yeah yeah, hold your horses." One of the bat ponies put down the machete they'd been sharpening to walk over to me. "M'name's Filthy Dreams. Just call me Phil, please, and don't ask about the rest of it."

"It's dirty!" another bat called from somewhere.

"It's okay, Phil. So what is going to happen?" I asked.

"Dream Thunder'll put up the Dream, which'll probably take everything she's got here, and spread it over the whole town. I'll be honest, Yara-ma-yha-who are big bastards in Dreamtime, and they turn super aggressive to anything that interrupts their feeding. It'll be about—if Dream can do her thing right and not let it take over—about ten feet tall and look like some kind of dragon-thing. Teeth, claws, the works. We'll be using Dreamtime magic to keep it from hurting us, but if your lot can keep civvies back it'd be great. Dream Thunder said you've been in the Dreamtime before?"

"Yeah. Back when this was all starting. She got some help putting a Dreaming together for the whole of Cowwarr to talk about what was going on," I said. "Got a little strange toward the end, Mum'd brought home a pet bunyip and it kinda wanted to eat me."

"Your mum had a pet—fucking—bunyip? Shit, I gotta hear about that sometime. So, it'll be kinda like what you're thinkin', but about ten times more intense. She's not going to just scrape the surface here, this will be full Dreamtime. If you can imagine it, it can happen. Focus on happy stuff and happy stuff happens." Phil wobbled his wing in the air. "Don't think about unhappy shit. At best it becomes a nightmare for just you, at worst it becomes something we gotta clean up."

"Could you not pull everyone into it?" I asked.

"No promises on getting the little bastard, then. Normally they'll jump at a chance to get into the Dreamtime and go to town, but this little mongrel has been slippery before—it's why we're here after all." Phil spat on the ground. "I'll talk to Dream Thunder about raising the Dreamtime around us first, then spreading it to town, so your lot get some experience with it. If it doesn't work, I'll get her to shove anyone who can't hack it out to guard the camps."

"I'll let our sergeant know. Thanks." I hadn't realized how much swearing was apart of Aussie culture before, or how much it wasn't part of pony culture. Just another quirk I'd lost I guess.

Phil wasn't done, though. "Hey, you really are from Cowwarr though? Like, really?"

"Yeah," I said.

"What was it like before it became so big?"

"I have no clue how big it's gotten, but it was a nice little town, even when Stonecrop merged with it. We were all neighbors trying to help each other, that kind of thing. Spending an evening at the local pub to have a meal we didn't have to cook ourselves." Much as I liked that feeling of camaraderie, I'd learned to appreciate the pony way a lot more. "But like I said, I don't know what it's like now, but it used to be a quiet little town in the middle of nowhere. It was kinda why Mum brought us there."

"'Us'?"

"Yeah. My sister and me. Robin Robert—"

"You're Robin Robertson's sister?!" Phil looked completely shocked. "No one could believe a young miss like that 'ad so much going on upstairs. You half as smart as her?"

"I wish. Apparently the brains skip the first-born in the family. She got the lot." Despite my downplaying, I was so proud to hear how well my little spud of a sister was doing. "Mum's a doctor, sister's some big-wig brains, and I'm just lucky to not get my head cracked when another pony decides to take a shot at me."

"Ain't that the truth? Well, guess you better go talk to your boss. For what it's worth, I hope this all goes well. These things are a pain when they're stupid and weak, but this one's neither."

Lifting up my hoof, I gave Phil a good clop on his before turning. "Thanks, Phil."

"No problems."

I sure hoped there'd be no problems. Problems, with this nasty, meant ponies got hurt. Walking over to our camp, I saw Sweetie Drops pitching a tent (in the literal sense) along with another earth pony I didn't know. When she spotted me, I couldn't keep from smiling. "Hey," I said.

"Hey yourself." Sweetie made sure she was close to the path I was walking, and as we got close she swung her flank around to bump mine with a light clang of our armor hitting.

"Careful where you're walking," I said and turned to face Sweetie.

"Hey. Calm down, she didn't—" The other pony, I noticed from the corner of my eye, froze mid sentence when Sweetie kissed me. "You mean this is the Lyra you're always talking about, Bon Bon?"

I raised one eyebrow as we broke the kiss. "Bon Bon?"

"Nickname. Everypony gets one in the Guard." Sweetie kissed my nose then turned to the other mare. "Yeah, Bucks, this is my Lyra."

A thrill ran from the tip of my horn all the way to the end of my dock. Her Lyra. I shivered again just thinking it. "Well, hopefully your Lyra soon. I thought you were still in your initial training for the 'Hunters?"

"Ha! Bon Bon's from three classes after mine and yet here she is. Not just great at her job, but a total sergeant's pet. Damn she's good in a fight, though. She's been apprenticed to our squad for two hunts now." Buck's praise didn't surprise me—I remembered how well Sweetie had grounded my magic when I'd tried to use it on her in practice.

"I just got done talking with the bats. Hopefully you guys won't be doing any fighting in this one," I said.

"Really? Why's that?" Sweetie asked.

"Because if we wind up fighting, it's all gone pear shaped." I stole another nuzzle of Sweetie's cheek before I let out a sigh. "Which I'd better report to the sergeant."

Sweetie leaned in and pressed her snout to my ear. "I'll be graduated to full Monster Hunter in a month. Think you can have everything ready by then?"

If I could have melted on the spot, I would have. As it was I barely managed a nod before whispering, "Cadance was fitting me for my wedding dress today." That was still something I wasn't sure on. Growing up, dresses had been a girl thing—not my thing—but now I was a girl and that made them my thing. It was sometimes hard to be a pony with a monkey brain.

My words, despite my confused thoughts, had a remarkable effect on Sweetie. Her legs wobbled a little, and her face looked like she was about to explode into smile-fireworks. Just being this close to her made me want to smile more.

"You—You're amazing, Lyra Heartstrings. One month." Sweetie kissed me again, a long and lingering kiss that Bucks left us to enjoy. Words couldn't convey everything I wanted at that moment. If there wasn't a squad of Guard around us, I'd have done such inappropriate things to Sweetie as to make both of us blush for a year.

When the kiss finally broke, I contemplated doing the inappropriate things anyway, but it was Sweetie's little nuzzle at the end that finally pulled me from the haze of joy. "I love you so much, Sweetie."

"I love you too, Lyra. One month and we will be married. If the thought of that makes you half as giddy as it makes me, I'm surprised we're both standing," Sweetie said, gazing into my eyes.

Whatever she saw in me, I had no idea, but it made me happy to know she was as crazy as I was. "It's the armor. Without that, I'm sure I'd float away."

Sweetie laughed, and there was nothing so beautiful in the world—either world—as her at that moment. Armor, dirt, and all. "Go tell Sergeant Broad Strokes what you found out."

"Yes, Lyra." The sergeant's tone was more bright than it should have been if she'd discovered a private shirking. "Tell the sergeant what you found out, and don't forget to kiss your fillyfriend once more."

"Sir!" I was full of shout and straight as a die. "Yes, sir!" Following an order had never been so wonderful. The kiss almost managed to blot out the fact that our commanding officer had meant it as a joke. At least I thought she meant it as a joke. If it was ironic somehow, I could always claim I was distracted by Sweetie.

Breaking the kiss, I fell in love with Sweetie's lop-sided smile and hungry eyes. I hated having to turn around and face the sergeant. "Sir?"

"What's the deal, private?"

"Dream Thunder will be raising the Dreaming a bit early and just around us so we can get used to it, then she'll extend it to cover the town. Our job—those of us able to do anything useful in the Dreaming—will be to keep civilians out of the action.

"The big-bad is going to be huge, full of claws and fangs, and will be pissed off when the Dreaming happens. When it sees us, it'll see targets. The bats will be the only ones that can hurt it, so we need to give them space.

"Anypony who can't handle the first Dreaming, they'll kick out to defend us in the real world." I felt a little deflated by the telling of all the details. I left out the banter, of course, the talk of family and the sleepy town I fled to Equestria from.

"Good work, private. This is exactly why you're along. Prepare yourselves for a fight regardless. If the bats don't pull this off, it's the Guard who will fight their beastie." Sergeant Broad Strokes stomped a hoof and turned.

I snapped a salute until she was out of range, figuring she was going to brief the others.

"Is it really that bad? This yara-whatever?" Bucks asked.

"They said a regular one is much less trouble—being stupid and typically weak—but this one is neither of those things. Sweetie, can you check my armor for me?" When I turned to look at my future wife, she gave a curt nod and advanced on me.

We passed the time until nightfall in an uneasy bout of routine preparations. Armor was checked, weapons were honed with stone and magic to within an inch of their lives, and we all worried for the night ahead.

When Celestia finally pulled the sun below the horizon and pushed the moon into the sky, I looked up at the pony head emblazoned on the silvery ball and whispered a little prayer to whoever made it. I wasn't religious, but I figured somepony pretty important might be watching, and I'd be stupid not to turn down any help.

Author's Note

Sweetie Drops: did you enjoy your first assignment as monster hunter?

"My first one? It was soooo boring, but exciting at the same time. I was a trainee, and we got to deal with a stray jackalope that had strayed too close to Neighagra Falls. It was harassing a few farms up there, but we relocated it back to the forest it came from." Sweetie Drops looked undeniably excited at the question. "Why?"

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Lab

Chapter 24 [[ A Lyra Perspective ]]

"Are you ready?" Dream Thunder asked us.

I was glad she spoke Equish (her native tongue after all) so I didn't have to translate Sergeant Broad Strokes when she replied with a grim. "Certainly."

Her power hit us where we stood, and I found myself in a waking dream. Remembering last time, I focused on myself and Dream. She looked solid—far more solid than I felt. "This is the Dreaming?"

"Well, you can talk. That's a start. Some of your friends aren't doing so well. This is the Dreaming, or Dreamtime, but unlike last time we don't have any training wheels. If you forget who you are in here, you will fall apart. Like her." Dream Thunder lifted out a wing and pointed behind me.

Bottle Rocket flickered, her form shifting from the young pegasus she should be to an older pony with their feathers all missing from their wings, then to a foal that can't fly yet. She didn't seem to be enjoying the situation. Others were undergoing similar things, and one of the stallions had somehow gotten himself covered in snakes.

Dream Thunder stretched her wings out and gave a loud shriek. "They won't be able to help. I sent them back to the real world."

"This is a disconcerting place. What exactly is it?" Sergeant Broad Strokes asked.

"This—" Dream said as she turned in a circle, "—is the Dreaming! This is the place dreams exist when they're outside the safe confines of your head. It's possibility and chance with only one thing that can control it—you."

There was four of us. Sergeant Broad Strokes, Sweetie Drops, an earth pony named Brace, and me. That the others were all earth ponies didn't surprise me—they always seemed more grounded. What did worry me was their ability to be here was less based around their ability to imagine themselves and more about them just knowing themselves.

Okay, Lyra, time to be a little gentle about this. "Maybe you should give us something to test our, uh, faculties?" I managed not to say, Because I think some of you are faking it.

"Good thinking. A lot of bat ponies can simply keep themselves together in the Dreaming, but few can act. I want you to walk over to that bucket over there and pull out a mango." Dream Thunder gestured behind her, though there wasn't a bucket where she pointed.

How real would a bucket be if I focused on one? Could I make it exist for all of us? Probably not, if Dream thought the way I did. I walked past her, focusing on an old red plastic bucket that was full of mangoes. When I was halfway to the spot she'd pointed out, I could kinda see an outline of it. By the time I reached it, a bucket stood there. Inside, however, was just one mango.

Using my magic, I made a hand and lifted out the mango. "This one good enough?" I asked.

"I can't see a bucket," Sergeant Broad Strokes said, but she started walking forward anyway. By the time she reached me, I'd watched her eyes widen and then a satisfied smirk spread over her mouth. "Clever. I got one too."

Sweetie locked her eyes on me and walked over. Not for a second did she even look at the bucket, but when she lifted her hoof into view, she held a mango. "This is just like picturing spells draining. If I think about it enough, it happens."

Brace walked over and put their hoof through the bucket. They lifted their head up and sighed. "Yeah, yeah. I don't got this. Sorry, sergeant."

"This won't reflect badly on you, Brace. Dream Thunder, can you send him out?" Sergeant Broad Strokes gestured to Brace, and it didn't even seem like Dream did anything and Brace was gone. "Alright. What do you need us to do?"

"I'll try to shove ponies out of the Dreaming as I find them, but that's the problem—I need to spend almost all my focus on having this cover the whole town. The others will be fighting the Yara-ma-yha-who, which leaves you three to help me stop it from hurting anypony." Dream ruffled her wings a little as six figures appeared behind her.

The bat ponies all appeared much larger than they did in real life. Their wings ended in claws at each fingertip and their mouths—when they smiled at us—were full of fangs. One bat in particular had grime and muck slowly sloughing off her body and it didn't take me much detective work to realize Filthy Dreams' name had nothing to do with sex.

"We're ready to hunt, Dream, when you are." Phil looked even more imposing as she spoke—fangs seemed to appear and poke out of her mouth from all angles.

A tree seemed to coalesce out of the Dreaming around us, and I saw all the bat ponies grow restless at the sight of it. Dream Thunder, however, jumped up and pumped her wings until she reached the lower branches of what was definitely a mango tree.

When Dream spread her wings, they seemed to grow bigger and bigger, then they stretched out and I had the impression that she wrapped the town in them. "HUNT!"

Six voices rose into a screech of excitement, and the bat ponies took to their wings and rushed into the town that'd been dragged into the Dreaming. They spread out and were gone from sight among the houses.

"I—I kept most of them out of the dreaming, Lyra. Find the rest before it finds them," Dream Thunder said, her voice strained.

"You heard her, Privates, let's move out together. If we find that thing, we fall back as we're told and scream all the time we do it so the bats know where we are. By the numbers. Clear the street!" That said, Sergeant Broad Strokes led us both forward at a canter.

The buildings of Ponyville were all there, but a little odd. Sometimes it looked like bits of them were broken, or windows shattered, but then they'd twist back into shape. Some houses even seemed to flicker, giving insight into what was happening. Renovations and repaired damage.

It was the houses' memories of their own being.

"Hello? What's going on? I'm not sure this should be—Oh! Guardponies!"

We approached the gray pegasus who hailed us. She looked a little bewildered, but what had my full attention was her eyes—one pointed up, the other was rolling down and to the left.

"Excuse me, ma'am," Sergeant Broad Strokes said, "Please allow us to escort you to the edge of town and out of this military exercise." As our sergeant spoke, armor sprouted on the mare and soon covered her in what would otherwise be the shiny heavy-plate the Royal Guard wore.

"Oh goodness! Did I do something wrong?" she asked.

I focused my attention back to Dream Thunder, trying to be gentle as I told her, 'We have a pony here, can you—' The gray mare disappeared. 'You're the best.'

One after another we found stray citizens of the town and I called to Dream, but it wasn't until we'd swept all the way to the other side of Ponyville that we heard the fight.

There was loud snarling and angry hissing, accompanied by the most angry bat screeches I'd ever heard. If we kept up our current path, we'd plow right into where the fight was! "Sergeant, we're—"

"You can both head back." Sergeant Broad Strokes' tone was clear, she wasn't going to stop. "But I'm going to find out if they need help."

I looked over at Sweetie, but she looked about as stupid as I felt in the matter. We chased our seargeant into the open and just around a corner. We were just in time to duck as a huge red demon swung a tree through the air where our heads were.

The thing had a swollen belly and its skin hung loose in great folds, but its long arms had clawed hands, and its eyes burned with intelligence. That's when I noticed the pony huddled between its legs.

Small—looking like a foal—they held their hooves over their face and shook in fear. Their bright red coat didn't look natural among ponies, but matched the demon's skin perfectly.

For just a heartbeat a slathering, feral monster landed beside me, then Phil charged back in. 'If you can hear this, and Dream thinks you can, we need to move the Yara-ma-yha-who away from their victim. If you can get them away, we can kill it.'

The words rushed into my head with the force of a freight train. I shook under the force of them, but knew them for truth. "They're going to distract it. We need to get the foal away so they can fight it properly."

"Sounds good to me." Sergeant Broad Strokes didn't slow as she led us down another side street and curved us around to come toward the monster from behind. "Tell them we're ready to strike."

'We're ready,' I thought frantically at Phil.

The roar from the demon was enough of a signal. The very world around us shook as it stomped after the bats. We rounded the cornet to see it had barely moved, but it had its back to us.

Magic might not work how I'd like it to in the Dreaming, but I could certainly imagine all three of us wearing long, thick, and stripy socks that muffled the sound of our charge.

Neither the sergeant nor Sweetie questioned the socks, which was just as well as we reached the colt without the monster turning on us. The bat ponies were relentless and seemed driven to fury. Phil took blow after blow from the heavy claws of the Yara-ma-yha-who, but all it managed to do each time was sluice off a mass of the gunk that covered her.

As soon as I grabbed the foal with my magic, the little red colt screamed. "What are you doing?! I deserve this! This is what I need! You can't take me away now! I should—"

Sweetie conked the foal on the head as we wheeled aside and headed down another side street. The socks didn't matter now, I could feel the demon reacting to our taking its meal.

'We've got the foal it was feeding on!' No sooner had I thought the words at whoever would listen than we crashed out of the dream and into a wall. Normally, a pony (even a stacked Guardpony) wouldn't leave much of an impact on a wall, but three ponies in full armor running at a gallop tend to go through obstacles rather than into them.

That is how we managed to meet the gray pegasus again as she stared at us while rubbing her eyes with her wings. "That dream was real?!" Her wings shot up in surprise. "Who's your friend?"

Our friend was snarling and furious. He tried to bite and stomp at me while I held him in the air with my magic. A pegasus himself, I tried to ignore the angry things he was shouting, and wound up using a barrier spell to seal him up and keep him from upsetting the pegasus mare.

"Sorry, ma'am. Just, uh, passing through I guess. Sergeant?" I asked.

Sergeant Broad Strokes had been leading our charge, and had subsequently taken the brunt of the charge through the wall of the nice pegasus' home. "We'll arrange for repairs. Sorry, ma'am, but this was important Guard business by order of Princess Celestia."

A small muted-pink unicorn filly stepped down the stairs from the first floor and rubbed at one eye with a hoof. "Mommy? What's happened? Why's there a hole in the wall? Who are those ponies?"

"Put the kettle on, Dinky, we have visitors. There's nothing a hot cup of tea or coffee can't fix." The poise of the gray pegasus was impossible. She'd been wrestled out of a crazy dream, had three armored ponies crash through her house, and had just calmly asked her daughter to make us a hot drink.

"Sorry, ma'am, but we really can't stay. Our friends are still fighting the monster that took up residence here." Sergeant Broad Strokes turned to look at me. "You still have them?"

Levitating the bubble up, I showed her the red pegasus colt inside who looked at least twice as furious with his predicament as before. "I can let the sound through if you—?"

"That will not be necessary, Private. Clearly he's under some kind of enchantment from the—" Sergeant Broad Strokes cut short her words when noticed the gray pegasus was still watching us with her filly beside her. "We'll have somepony come around first thing in the morning to see about repairing this."

"You know what that means, Dinky?"

"What, Momma?"

"We have to bake muffins! If there's going to be somepony visiting, they'll surely be hungry. Let's make some up now to be sure we get the mix right."

We retreated from the house out the front door and headed to the edge of town where the rest of our camp was. Of all the bat ponies, only Dream Thunder was present. Just as we reached them, the bat ponies stepped out of literal thin air.

Phil was first, then the others, came back to the real world and revealed burns and cuts all over them, but on the whole they looked more excited than hurt. "We got the bastard," Phil said in Batstralian. "Great work getting that one out. He'll be mad as a hatter for a while."

I translated for the sergeant and breathed a sigh of relief. "How'd the fight go?" I asked Phil.

"Rough. It had a strong sense of self, and it knew a lot of tricks. Pain in the ass, honestly, but we've nailed bigger and nastier things. That was pretty good work in there. Never seen a unicorn do their thing like that in the Dreamtime." Phil Stretched out his wings to show one of them had a slash in the membrane. "Don't mind that, it'll heal in no time with a few dreams."

By the time I'd translated that for Sergeant Broad Strokes, Dream Thunder was rousing from her trance. She looked like she'd worked the hardest of all of us. "Nice work, everypony. Those Yara-ma-yha-who are something we could definitely live without, but no matter how many we wipe out, they come back. Good work getting the innocents out—" she turned to the other bat ponies, "—and great work keeping it distracted while they did."

"It was tough keeping that dreaming stuff in place?" Sergeant Broad Strokes asked.

"Here? Really hard. And I had to keep it contained while letting the actual ponies slip out. But it's done, and now I can have a rest." Stretching her wings, Dream Thunder grinned half-heartedly.

I glanced at the sergeant and used my hoof to tap one of the two emergency energy drinks I had on me, and got a nod from her. "Dream, try one of these if you want to be able to stay awake. Should work wonders on your energy levels."

"After all that? Sure. What's in it?" Dream Thunder took the little bottle from me and popped the end open.

As she guzzled the drink down, I described it. "Sugar and caffeine mostly, some salt and flavoring for good measure. Pretty much liquid energy to ponies." When she didn't stop, I reached out with my magic to take the empty bottle. That's when I remembered I was supposed to be holding somepony in a sphere. "Crap."

"Where'd you take it you idiots?! It was scared and needed looking after!" All eyes turned to the red colt—all except Sergeant Broad Strokes.

I started to reach out for him, but Dream Thunder stepped past me and passed me the empty bottle. "Let me show you what happened and you can make up your own mind. What's your name?"

"I—" All the confidence seemed to drain from him and he looked like he started to tremble. Dream moved faster than all of us, and had her wing around him. "I can't remember." His voice sounded surprised. "What happened?"

"It found you a few days ago. Everything before that will be hazy to you. You can't remember your name, so it was probably only a day from finishing you off." Dream sat down and used her wing to guide the colt to sit beside her. "You understand what I'm saying?"

"It was really hurting me?"

Dream nodded to him. "In another day or two the last of you would have been gone, and all that would have been left was another of it."

When he leaned closer to Dream, I decided it was probably for the best that I'd screwed up. When I turned from the pair, it was to see Sergeant Broad Strokes right in my face. "S-Sorry, sir."

"You've softened up a little, Lyra. I'd suggest working on your focus in your spare time—I'm sure you could ask one of your teachers for help with that," Sergeant Broad Strokes said. "Don't sweat it, Lyra, you helped get the job done."

"So what happens now?"

"Now we escort our friends back to Canterlot, we ensure the colt gets the attention he needs to recover, and then we find somewhere to share a drink. We helped find and stop a monster before it killed a pony—that's a successful mission, Lyra."

Sweetie, Sergeant Broad Strokes, and I slept while the bats and other four members of the Guard kept watch. I remember drifting off to sleep to the sound of Dream Thunder's voice reassuring the colt.

When dawn broke, the sun prized my eyelids open and spike bright light into my eyes at a time that was honestly too soon after the previous night's activities. I yawned, sat up, looked around at the cozy camp around us, and realized that the bats were all looking just about dead on their hooves.

"Lyra," Sergeant Broad Strokes' voice startled me out of what remained of my morning stupor, "I want you to head into town with Private Sweetie Drops and see what you can find out about who Little Red is, and help patch up any homes that might have been damaged. You are to remain here until relief arrives. If that takes more than a day, I want you to contact the mayor about finding somewhere to spend a few nights. Until this is over, you're on active duty still."

"Sir!" Sweetie and I both said at the same time.

We both donned our armor after checking over each piece. The rest of the Guard were in the process of cracking open an energy shot each, and passing a spare to each of the bat ponies. While they all prepared to head to the train station to take a shorter ride back to Canterlot, we headed toward the town for a different purpose.

"We should probably see that mare first. I could probably do something about covering her wall for the short term." I rolled my muscles and stretched as we trotted—the truth was I wanted a good run, but we had a duty to perform first.

Sweetie, however, surprised me by kissing my cheek. "We're going to get married." She kissed me again, and I kissed her back.

"You should see my dress. I didn't—You know my hangups about it, but seeing you again makes me want to wear it, Bon Bon."

Sweetie waved a hoof at me. "Oh no, Lyra Heartstrings, you are not going to use my Guard nickname as a term of endearment. That's not—"

I leaned over and nibbled her nearest ear and whispered the cute name to her again, "Bon Bon."

"None of that. We're on duty, remember?" We approached the front door of the gray pegasus' home while Sweetie reminded me, and I had a moment to reflect on her kisses being fine. Favoritism.

Sweetie lifted her hoof and carefully knocked, not wanting to put another hole in the mare's home.

When the door opened, the tiny unicorn from the previous night looked up at us and started bouncing with excitement. "Mommy! Mommy! The Guardponies are back! Will they be making more holes?"

The unflappable pegasus opened the door further and smiled. Her eyes were still odd, one looking up and left, the other down and right, but she seemed perfectly capable of seeing us. "Oh! You're going to be helping with the new ventilation system?"

Of all the things I'd expected, an amazingly put together pun was not one of them. I smiled, I snorted, and I even giggled. "Lyra Heartstrings, E.U.P. Guard," I said, and thrust forward one hoof.

"Derpy Hooves, Resident." The name surprised me in the sheer poninicity of it. She clopped a hoof against mine only a moment before the filly did.

"Dinky Hooves, Filly!"

I snapped a sharp salute to Dinky. "A pleasure to meet you both. My completely platonic and not at all my fiancee partner here is Private Bon Bon. We are indeed here to see what we can do about your wall, and wanted to ask a few questions."

Derpy's wings shot up and she looked between us. "You're engaged?! We need more muffins!" She flapped her wings in a display of delight that would leave any bat pony jealous, then stepped back and gestured us inside. "Like I said last night, I made a bunch of muffins for you. Where's the other nice mare?"

"Sergeant Broad Strokes—" it hit me how firmly her full name and title were embedded in my head, whenever I thought of her, her full rank and name always leapt to the fore, "—is escorting the rest of our squad back to Canterlot. She told us to make what reparations we can and find out who the missing colt was."

"Missing colt?" Derpy looked at me intently, or at least she looked to my right shoulder and left ear-tip intently. "The only pony missing is Short Fuse, but he wasn't a foal. Is he alright? Did you find him?"

Sweetie came to the rescue. "Yeah. We found a male pony, though he has amnesia. Our squad escorted the pony to Canterlot, where he'll be seen safely back to health." She'd been careful to avoid mentioning him looking like a colt.

"Phew! That's good to hear. You'll want to tell Mayor Mare. He kept to himself mostly, but we had a pegasus meeting for the upcoming winter snowfall event, and he didn't make it. Here, try these." Derpy used her wing to hold a basket out to us that was stacked high with still-steaming muffins.

"Thanks." I took one with my magic and bit into it. Instantly, I was transported to a different town—one named Bliss. The muffin was still warm and fluffy, and reminded me of all the delicious things you could have for breakfast but never did because an apple or porridge was better for you.

When I finally came down from my muffin-high, I noticed that beside me, Sweetie was still enjoying hers. "These are amazing, Derpy. Are you a baker?" I asked.

"I used to be. It's not really my talent, but just a job I was good at. I do a lot of little jobs like that, at the moment I spend all my time taking care of a little filly." Derpy leaned down and kissed Dinky between the ears. The sight of mother and daughter in that moment made the part of me that wanted to wear a dress for our wedding swell. "Do you do anything apart from demolition?"

This time I was more free to bark a laugh at her gag. "When I'm not charging through houses and eating everypony's muffins, I'm still at school in Canterlot. I go to Princess Celestia's school."

Dinky stared up at me with awe in her eyes. "Y-You go to Princess Celestia's school? Are you in any of her classes?"

"I am! She's really nice, and she has a way of teaching that just leaves your mind buzzing for more." There was something about the filly that sparked the idea of seeing if I could get her into Celestia's school too. She was too young now, but in a few more years she might have what it takes.

I didn't even know how much it cost to send a foal to Celestia's school, though by the slight worry that creased the corners of Derpy's mouth, I'd say it was normally beyond common ponies. Well, I'd just have to talk to Princess Celestia about it.

"These muffins are so good! Do you think you could share the recipe?" Sweetie asked.

Derpy ruffled her wings in obvious excitement. "Only if you share a recipe with me, too!"

Seemingly on the verge of entering full cooking mode, Sweetie deflated a little and let out a sigh. "We'd probably best go see the mayor first. Will you be home later today, Derpy?"

"Oh, right. Uh, I'll probably have to get something to fill the hole in the wall, then I have to go to work at the post office. Dinky will be at school all day." Derpy kept turning to look at the hole in the wall. "So, uh, maybe later tonight?"

"Building and repairs aren't normally my thing, but I bet I could do something to at least seal your house up. I mean, a force-field would be most unicorns' go-to spell for filling a hole, but I don't want to be a literal battery charging your house until the hole is mended, so I need to work with other stuff." As I spoke, I walked toward the hole and examined the damage we'd caused when we hit it. "Did you have any thoughts as to what you might want? Maybe a nice big tree growing here? I could do a tree easily enough."

Dinky was the first to join me, munching on a muffin as she looked at the hole through the amazing filter that only children had. "A castle! A hoooooge castle! I can be Princess Dinky!"

I looked back at Derpy, who looked a mixture of terrified and excited. "Well, you have a back yard here. What about if I build you a little castle, and use the stone to form the back wall of your house?" Now mother and daughter just looked excited—though the former also looked relieved.

"Bon Bon?" I looked over at Sweetie and caught the gleam in her eyes for my use of her nickname. "How far down's some stone?"

Sweetie looked surprised at my question, then the light came on and she walked over to the hole. I could almost feel the hardness of stone and earth about her as she used her talents. Seeing the way she worked a more subtle magic than anything a unicorn would do, I wondered if there was a research paper I could write on that.

Then it hit me how much of a nerd my time in Princess Celestia's classes had made me, but the idea of increasing awareness and knowledge was something that appealed to me.

"About three mareters down." When I raised my eyebrow at her precise estimation, Sweetie stuck her tongue out at me. "It was something I was good at guessing, and I've been practicing."

What had surprised me more than her guesstimate was her use of the pony version of metric. Most ponies just used pony-lengths and hooves as distance measurements, but industry had come up with its own measurements, and like everything in Equestria it was eerily similar to what I'd dealt with back on Earth.

So, rather than having to wing it and use my magic to dig around for some stone, I tried targeting a rock-growth spell three mareters down, as she'd said. My spell fizzled, but when I recast it at four mareters, it hit pay dirt—or pay rock.

"Stand back. I need to get this just right." I walked through the hole and stood outside, and grew the rock upward. When the soil started to bulge, I had to work another spell to displace that, and soon enough the stone underlying the town reached the surface in this one little spot. "Okay, now to do the tricky bit."

Sculpting stone was more Twinkeshine's thing, but I knew enough of the spells involved to begin building a cool little castle out of it. While I worked to raise the parapets and wall of the little structure, I also melded it to the back wall of Derpy's house.

Dinky had apparently rushed outside through the back door and stood beside me as the two-mareter tall castle took its final shape. The most draining part about doing the work had been the precision—I didn't want to raise the stone and upset the footings of the houses around us, so it had needed a careful hoof to bring it all together.

When I was done, I'd used far more of my reserves than I should have (at least than Twinkleshine would have), but I'd built a credible castle in the back yard immediately behind Derpy and Dinky's house, that also happened to cover the hole in the wall. "Now the tricky bit. You want to come inside and see that, Dinky?"

"Can I watch?!" Dinky's head swung between looking at the castle and looking at me repeatedly.

"Of course you can. Did you start school this year?" I headed to the back door with Dinky at my side, mostly so she could lead the way.

Dinky pronked a few times in obvious excitement. "I did! It's a little scary with all the big foals there, but there's some nice ponies, and Miss Cheerilee is really, really nice!"

We walked inside together to find Sweetie and Derpy completely ignoring the hole and chatting together about recipes together. I turned to the hole and considered my options. "What do you think, foremare Dinky? An arched fake fireplace with a mantle on it?" As I spoke, I turned to look at Derpy to see if she'd heard—she had, her eyes flicked to me and she nodded just a little.

"That'd be great! What would it look like?" Looking up at me, Dinky sounded ecstatic.

The easiest way was to show her. I built up a weak forcefield and shaped it into what I was planning, with a convenient height mantle, and stolen wood from the sides used to pack in at the top. "How's this?"

Peering at it critically, Dinky shook her head. "It's too high, even for Momma. What about a bookshelf instead? Mom always says we need another one for all the important things I'll get from school."

Derpy and Sweetie's conversation had gone quiet and both were watching us. I made a point of holding my hoof up to my chin and rubbing it—while sneaking another look at Derpy. "Well, I—" When Derpy started nodding, I changed tack with my reply. "I think that'll be perfect. Okay, do you know how to make magic sparks?"

"I do!"

"Okay, when I say so, I want you to make the biggest sparks you can. Okay?" My magic was already leeching back up quickly after the first expenditure, but this would mean there wouldn't need to be any repairs here, and if that used about half my magic reserves, well, they'd come back.

The filly nodded a lot.

Dispelling the fireplace, I focused on a design for a fancy stone bookcase and started building it. Growing the stone out from the castle was the easy bit, keeping it from doing its own thing wasn't. It was coming along well with the stone-shaping spell using the same amount of magic to operate as before, but more finesse this time.

When I was almost done and the stone was still growing, I shouted, "Now!"

Dinky lived up to her promise. Sparks sprayed from her horn and showered over the floor, wall, us, and the bookcase—the latter was the important bit. I pushed more magic behind the sparks, imbuing them with enough magical burn to stain and scorch the stone with their colors as it finished growing.

When it was done, Dinky stopped her sparking and stared up at the bookshelf. "Gosh!"

Derpy rushed over and picked up her filly in her wings and hugged her close while staring at the bookshelf. "Look, Dinky! Look what you made!"

I didn't begrudge lumping the praise on her daughter, not one bit. After everything that'd happened to me back on Earth, living as a pony agreed with me in ways that made me feel better about myself. Still, I wore a big grin on my face even after we left, found the mayor of the town, and talked to her about what had happened.

Everypony in town was just as nice as Derpy and Dinky. It almost felt like they were welcoming us, and I guess the uniforms helped with that. The mayor called a town meeting for the evening, and we had to explain what had happened and how Short Fuse was going to be okay.

Author's Note

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Lab

Chapter 25 [[ A Joyce Perspective ]]

When Dream Thunder and the Guard Sergeant walked into the throne room, my heart shot into my throat. Where was Lyra? Where was Sweetie? Were they okay? What had happened? Both ponies looked weary, though Dream looked the worst.

I was standing on the platform beside Celestia's throne, and it took every ounce of my willpower to stay where I was and not charge down to beg the pair for information. When I spotted Dream's smile, however, I almost broke into tears of relief.

"Joyce, are you alright?" Princess Celestia asked with concern in her voice.

I didn't trust myself to respond, so I just nodded to her. It was the worst thing ever, and I wished I wasn't standing at her side that my presence tarnished her.

Princess Celestia cleared her throat and raised her voice. "First, please, how are my Guards?"

"Your Highness, it is my honor to report no casualties at all, among either contingent. One civilian was harmed by the creature, but now that it's been neutralized he's expected to recover. There was some minor structural damage to a private residence, and I've left two Guardsponies in Ponyville to organize repairs." The sergeant's words lifted my spirits even further, though I still didn't trust myself to speak. The weight she'd put on some of the words led me to believe I knew which two ponies she'd left there.

"Very good. Which two Guardponies were left in Ponyville?" If I weren't a spoken-for mare, I'd have kissed Princess Celestia for asking everything I wanted answers to.

"Privates Lyra Heartstrings and Sweetie Drops. Both were able to not only negotiate their way within the dream magic used by our allies, but they were the only two capable of standing upright in the morning."

"Ambassador Dream Thunder, may I have your report?" Princess Celestia's tone was more balanced for Dream, and for good reason—Dream Thunder wasn't a subject of Celestia's.

"Y-You'll forgive me, Your Highness. With your—" To my shock, Dream Thunder began to fall sideways. She got halfway to the floor before brilliant gold magic cradled her.

The sergeant was first to respond after that. She used her hoof to check Dream's vitals and breathed out a sigh. "Your Highness, our guest has passed out. I believe a full day spent sleeping would be best for her, her companions, and the rest of my squad."

"See to your squad, Sergeant, and do make sure the privates remaining in Ponyville are relieved at the Guard's earliest convenience." Princess Celestia turned to look at one of her Royal Guard. "Ensure our guests have quarters on the palace grounds, and have a physician and their choice of foods made available."

Two Royal Guard stallions snapped their heavily-shod hooves to the floor and moved toward Dream Thunder.

"Excuse me, Your Highness?" I asked. "I'm not a fully trained physician—yet—but I could assist our visitors with their needs, and I already know their dietary requirements."

"A good suggestion, thank you Joyce, but I'll have a trained physician made available to them as well. I wouldn't want it said that Equestria didn't provide every care we could." I knew Celestia's decision had no bearing on my abilities, but rather that she could say A fully trained physician was provided, but it still stung my pride a little.

This was about more than a little thing like my pride. I dipped my head to Celestia and began descending the stairs, but spread my wings and glided down beside Dream and the Royal Guard who was carefully lifting her with his magic. "Please, lead on."

Outside in the entry hall, the six bat ponies that had come with Dream looked almost as wiped out as she did. The Royal Guard present had brought drinks for them, but I was glad to see none of the energy drinks the Guard sometimes favored to perk themselves back up. Now was not the time for these ponies to be awake.

"Dream?!" one of the bat ponies asked, and as one they all jumped to their hooves as if ready to throw down for her.

Mentally shifting gear to speak Batstralian, I again worried for my fillies. "She passed out. We're taking you somewhere you can rest for the day so you can recover." All six heads snapped from Dream Thunder's floating form to me. "I'm Joyce Rob—"

"Joyce Robertson!" I hadn't expected to be known to the bat ponies, but it might help them trust me to get them rested. "Lead on."

As the Royal Guard led us to what seemed to be a barracks, I noticed several minor wounds on the bat ponies, and at least one more serious. "Put Dream on this bed here. She needs some real rest. Do you know if she had any of the Guard's pick-me-ups?"

"No clue, ma'am. Did you need any more assistance?"

I leaned in to sniff at Dream's breath. Sure enough, the overly-sweet sugar-smell of one of their drinks hit me. "You all drank one, didn't you?" I asked in Batstralian, and got a series of wobbly nods. Switching back to Equish, I thanked the Royal Guard, "No, that's all, thank you. Sorry, I didn't catch your name?"

"Long Shift, ma'am. Sergeant Long Shift. There'll be two of us at the door to ensure you have anything you need. The doctor should be here shortly." Long Shift walked for the door and left us in the dim barracks.

There was only one choice to make, and I quickly decided mum would be the best angle to take with six exhausted bats. "Pick a bed each. I'll be around to see each of you before the doctor gets here. You'd better be asleep by then."

Dream, when I checked over her, had no wounds and barely showed any sign of stress other than being exhausted. I headed to the first bat pony, who wasn't asleep yet. I glared at her with the most effective scowl I'd ever deployed at Lyra. "You're the one with the gash to your wing?"

"Phil, and yes." She spread out the wing on the wounded side and I took a quick look at it.

"This looks like it should heal well enough. When the doctor arrives, I'll have them use some wound cream on it—antiseptic and anesthetic in one—and that should make sure it heals quickly. No Dreaming today, that's an order." I used my own thumb to fold their wing back up.

Phil turned her head toward me. "It'll heal faster if—"

"It'll heal fastest if you sleep and I put some magic healing goop on your wing. Don't argue." For a moment I wondered if she'd try to argue, but she only smiled and set her head on its side to get comfortable.

"Magic healin' goop? Really?"

I rolled my eyes. "Do I really need to remind you you're in the magical pony land? Yes. Magic healing goop. If you don't get some rest, I'll use my non-magic two-by-four."

Evidence that Phil wasn't the only one awake came from several of the others in the form of chuckles.

"That goes for all of you. I know these aren't exactly perches, but there's only one of those in Equestria, and I'm not that friendly with you." I moved to the next bed and found the stallion on it asleep. Gently, I teased out his wings one by one to inspect them—neither had anything bigger than pinprick holes.

I was on the fourth bat—also asleep—when Dr. Bright Meadow walked into the room with a large bag floating beside her. "I've been doing minor triage. The one on your left has a gash in her right wing membrane, but other than that they're all suffering from fatigue. The mare on your right passed out after giving her report to Princess Celestia. From what they've said, they all had at least one dose of the Guard's concoction."

"When I heard there was seven exhausted bat ponies, I had worried you might be among their number, Joyce. I brought plenty of scar-me-not, don't fear." Bright Meadow wasted no time and moved to Phil to treat her wing.

"Close. My daughter is still out on the mission with her fiancee, but Dream Thunder over there is family, just not by birth." Moving to the second last of Dream's escort, I began with their wings then moved on to their fur. When I saw an angry red gash in the mare's shoulder—just under her wing—I called Bright Meadow over, "This one has a more serious wound. Six centimareter wound in her shoulder, it looks deep."

Dr. Bright Meadow rushed over and used her magic to inspect the mare's shoulder. Just as she started to press back the edges of the wound, the bat pony jerked awake and turned with her fangs bared.

"What are you doing?!" the bat pony asked in Batstralian.

I moved around to get the mare's attention off the doctor. "She's a doctor. You had a wound in—"

"Get off me!"

"Guards!" I put myself between Bright Meadow and the mare. "Guards! You need to restrain our patient!"

Long Shift was first in the door. His magic wrapped around the mare's wings and torso a moment after she lashed out at me.

A line of fire ignited across my chest, and I felt something burn hotter still. Magic. Whatever it was tried to work into my head, but an inky-black cage of armor reinforced itself around me. The strike, the wound, and her capture had happened in barely a heartbeat.

All the bats were jerking from the beds. Some looked at Long Shift angrily, while Dream and Phil looked at the injured mare and the cut on my front.

Dream Thunder looked spooked. "It's the Yara-ma-yha-who's venom! Restrain Joyce before she goes mad with anger. I'll try to raise the Dream—"

Shifting to Batstralian, I shouted, "Stop!" I stomped my hoof and glared around. "You will stay in your beds." Back to Equish, "Thank you, Long Shift, please hold her steady." Before Dream or any of the others could speak another word, I shoved some of that darkness around me at the crazed bat pony.

Her head snapped around and I was eye-to-eye with her. When her snarl died and she stared back in shock, I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Magical poison," Bright Meadow said. "Nasty stuff, too. I'm not sure what you did, Joyce, or what protection you have, but it's something to be thankful for. Long Shift was it? Please hold her on the bed so I can dress this wound."

I pulled back the darkness that Nightmare Moon had wrapped me in, and all the while the mare watched me. She was calm now, for which I was thankful. "Are you okay?" I asked in Batstralian.

"What did you do? I was so hot and angry—The Yara-ma-yha-who slashed at me, but I couldn't tell anypony…" Turning her head a little more, she watched Dr. Bright Meadow smear the magic goop into her wound and begin sewing it closed. "I—I'm sorry. I didn't—"

"She understands. She's a doctor. What's your name?" I asked in Batstralian.

"Megan—Sharp Fang." Sharp Fang opened her mouth to reveal her built-in cutlery again, but this time she held still and didn't try to bite me. "Or oreus easonsh."

I smiled, only showing off my modest—by comparison—fangs in return. "Quite impressive. I take it you were using that when it—the Yara thing—did this?"

"Yara-ma-yha-who. Yes. How did you stop its poison? It was like ice-water."

"I—" Stopping, I remembered Princess Celestia's warning about the curse. "From a very powerful pony. How would you normally deal with that?"

"D-Dreamtime. They'd take me into the Dreamtime and burn it out of me. I liked your way better. Just call me Megan if you don't mind." Megan winced as Bright Meadow tied off the suture. "You're really that Joyce, aren't you?"

"If you mean Robin Robertson's mother, yes—Lyra Heartstrings too." I looked over the top of Megan and to Long Shift. "You can let her go now," I said in Equish.

The magic field around Megan faded quickly. With the movement to lean around and inspect her wound, Megan did just that. "That's some neat stitching, doc."

"She's thanking you for the clean stitching," I said in Equish for Dr. Bright Meadow.

"I think I'll let you inspect the last one before I head over."

With the last bat pony inspected—and no extra bad wounds found—I made my way to Dream Thunder while the doctor did her work. "That poison's nasty stuff, huh?" I asked in Equish, to ensure none of the other bats tried to listen in rather than sleep.

Yawning, Dream sprawled on the bed and stretched her wings. "Yeah. If there's not enough Dreamers around, it can turn bad. It attracts the Yara-ma-yha-who like nothing else. What did you do to calm her down?"

"Equestrian dream magic." My words, despite being said right on the heels of Dream's, didn't seem to catch her before she was asleep. I carefully tucked her wings in and then pulled a cover up and over her.

Dr. Bright Meadow was waiting for me as soon as I turned away from Dream. "Your turn, Joyce. Let me have a look at that scratch."

I stood still while Bright Meadow ummed and ahhed over the wound. In the end she just smeared some scar-me-not over it and stepped back. "It would be pointless to dress that further. It's so shallow that there's barely a line there at all. That magic of yours seems to do more than clean out bad poison."

Curious, I tipped my head down and looked at the wound. The skin was barely broken. "She'd been lucky to even poison me, I think. Her name is Sharp Fang for a reason, and it doesn't have to do with her wing claws."

"I couldn't help but notice that only one of them speaks Equish." The tone Bright Meadow used was heavy with curiosity.

"She was born in Equestria. When the magic hit our world, she was in it and became affected by the same changes. Near as I can figure out, it had to do with her not having her cutie mark. The others have never been to Equestria before—there's no reason they'd know Equish." With nothing else to do, I headed to the door to accompany Bright Meadow back outside.

Celestia's sunlight was something I'd come to put up with. I squinted as my eyes adjusted back to the daylight. Long Shift stood on one side of the door while a dark gray pegasus stallion—equally stalliony—stood on the other. "They're all sleeping. I don't want to hear that any of them have woken up until nightfall."

Both Royal Guard just nodded at my assessment. Long Shift looked to Dr. Bright Meadow. "Will they all recover? Poison is nasty business."

"Thanks to Equestria's foremost expert on bat ponies, I'm sure they will." Bright Meadow winked at me and made her way toward the exit of the palace grounds.

"Joyce," Princess Celestia's voice startled all three of us—the Guards snapped to attention and I found myself spinning around to face her. "I'd like the ponies of Ponyville to encounter bat ponies in a more relaxed setting than fighting a monster. Would you mind accompanying my Guard there?"

It hadn't sunk in just how much I followed her lead until I realized she had to order me to go and find Lyra. Maybe all this staying awake during the day stuff was having an effect on me that I wasn't noticing normally? "Thank you, I don't need to be ordered twice."

Celestia caught my smile and answered it with a knowing one of her own.

After what seemed like a whirlwind of activity, the Royal Guard had two of their pegasi hooked to a chariot with two unicorns and an earth pony riding within it. Being as I didn't need to be carried—and delivered a disdainful look to one of the pegasi who made a comment about carrying four ponies—I had spread my wings for the easy glide down the mountain.

Like always, it was good to stretch my wings. I knew my presence with the Guardponies was mostly an excuse, but it was still nice to be out flying with somepony—thought I'd have rathered it be Tufts.

Warm feelings bubbled through me at the mere thought of his name. I knew I'd fallen for him harder than any man—male—in my life, but it didn't feel wrong. It was hard to think how Tufts could be even more right, in fact.

"We'll land first. You come down beside us, okay?"

I turned my head and nodded to the pegasus. Turning my wings just the slightest bit arrested my descent and brought me into a lazy circle in the air. I was losing altitude because I wasn't flapping my wings, but I had plenty to lose before I'd have a problem with the ground.

The two harnessed pegasi, I realized, had to beat their wings alternately to be able to fly as close as they were. There was a definite finesse to how they kept not only perfectly safe but also an even ride for those in the chariot.

As soon as the Guardponies landed, I aimed for the ground beside them and tucked the outer edges of my wings in. Fruit normally didn't put up much of a chase, but that didn't mean my wings weren't up to the odd bit of aerobatics. Just before hitting the ground in what would have been a painful manner, I snapped out my wings to their full width and stalled my fall and forward movement.

My hooves settled on the ground amidst what was a very quiet town center. There was plenty of ponies about, but they were all now staring at me. "Hi!"

For a moment I was a little concerned about all the attention, then an older mare waved her green hoof at me. "Well howdy there. New in town?" She wore a smile that hinted she knew full well how silly her question was. "M' name's Granny Smith."

"I'm Joyce. I dropped in to see if my daughter was doing okay. I don't suppose you've seen her: unicorn, light-green, Guard…"

"Oh! You mean the Guard Mayor Mare has been showin' around town all mornin'? Ah think they're over by Sugarcube Corner, Joyce." She had a thick country accent, and seemed nice enough. She was also pointing with one shaking hoof.

"Thank you!" I turned and looked back at the Guardponies. "I think I'll be okay."

"Ma'am, we're here to make contact with the two Guardponies and debrief them."

"Oh! Right. Uh, I guess we head to Sugarcube Corner, then." I was still unsure of myself, thanks probably to all the events of the past two days. Figuring that if they couldn't keep up they'd follow me, I started walking in the direction the nice mare had pointed.

The buildings of Ponyville were completely different from Canterlot. The capital of Equestria was made of shining golds and fancy marble with only very few wooden additions (and most of those were decorative). Ponyville was a lot more quaint with what looked like thatched roofs and timber structures standing one or two stories tall.

The particular establishment I advanced on looked exactly like its name implied. If the building had been in the story of Hansel and Gretel, as the witch's house, I wouldn't have been surprised. A sign above the door had a beautiful cupcake on it, and the entire structure looked like it was made of chocolate, candy, or ice cream. I didn't know whether to knock on the door or bite it.

Lifting my hoof, the door opened before I could knock. "Mum?"

"Lyra!" Excitement built far faster than I thought it would. I distinctly remember the feel of my back leg muscles tensing, then I sprang and grabbed Lyra in a hug with my wings and forelegs. "You're okay." I'd never wanted to have two words confirmed as much as I had then.

"Hi, Joyce," Sweetie Drops said. "Kinda didn't expect you—Well, we kinda didn't expect any of this."

My wing, I judged, was just long enough, so I reached out and grabbed Sweetie's armored shoulder and pulled her closer—though I suspect she didn't put up much fight. "I'm just glad you're both safe."

Something seemed odd about the pair—they seemed a little cagey. When Lyra whispered something to Sweetie, and then Sweetie nodded back, I knew I had to ask. "What's going on?"

"We want to move the wedding up," Lyra said.

"Next month," Sweetie said.

I carefully let go of both of them and backed up a step. "You said you were going to wait until the end of the year, remember?"

When they both looked at each other—Lyra into Sweetie's eyes, and vice versa—I realized why they'd pushed things up. Madly in love didn't even begin to describe how far down the rabbit hole they were. The cincher was that they both seemed to forget the conversation we were having.

I waited a full minute before clearing my throat. When they turned back to face me, I could see each blushing. "Once your duty is done here, I'm taking you home to talk to Candy and Cadance."

Behind me, one of the Royal Guard cleared his throat.

"Right," I said, "First you have to talk to these gentlecolts. Duty and all that."

"Who? Oh!" Sweetie Drops quickly walked past me. "Sorry, Joyce, we have to deal with this."

"See you in a bit, Mum!" Lyra too trotted off to see the Royal Guard, which left me with not a lot to do.

Right then, however, my choice was made for me—my tummy rumbled. "Guess it's about lunchtime." I walked into the shop and looked around.

Sugarcube Corner seemed to be a bakery. Cupcakes were everywhere, but to one side I saw a cabinet filled with all manner of dessert cakes. As a bat pony that had a sweet tooth metaphorically larger than I am, I gravitated toward it.

"Hello there, dearie. Is there anything I get for you?" The mare behind the counter looked about the same age I should be—if it weren't for the crazy magic that'd made me into a bat pony also making me look as old as my eldest daughter. She had the most intense blue coat and what looked like a swirl of frosting for a mane and tail in pink and darker pink.

I decided that, given my filly was alright, it was time to go all-in. "What's the sweetest pastry you have?"

"Oh my goodness! Is it a special occasion?"

"Well, you saw the two mares who just left?" I asked, and got a nod. "Well, one of those is my daughter, and she's getting married next month!"

I hadn't expected the mare to vault the cabinet with one jump, squealing in excitement, before pulling me into a hug, but it happened. "Congratulations!" I admit I may have gotten a little excited and started bouncing around, but it was a dam of emotion I think I needed to break.

When we both managed to settle down, and Cup Cake (we'd exchanged names during the lost minutes of shouting with excitement) served me what she promised was the sweetest thing I'd ever taste in my life, we both found ourselves still chatting.

"What's it like?" Cup asked. "Having foals, I mean. Carrot and I haven't had much chance to get to that sort of thing, what with trying to run the bakery together."

"The best and most scary thing in my life. Lyra, my eldest, is a reservist in the E.U.P. and this was her first mission as a translator for the Monster Hunters."

Cup lifted her namesake with a hoof and brought the steaming tea to her lips before answering. "You mean that hoo-hah last night? I thought everypony was just having a bad dream. Goodness, what were they dealing with?"

"That's the worst bit, I have no real idea what it was or what it could do other than it wasn't nice." Using my wing I took a sip from my own cup of tea. It wasn't as good as what Celestia served, but the fact I could tell good from bad tea was the best example that I'd been drinking tea with her far too much. "My other filly's working back home, or so they tell me."

"Oh? What's she do?"

"Robin works with the government. She's barely twelve, and she writes government policies that are, from what I've heard, masterpieces. When I think of her, all I see is my little filly with a cutie mark in cutting fruit." I hadn't realized how true that was. Robin as the little human girl I'd raised took effort to remember. "She's my little filly."

"Carrot?!" Cup Cake said. I was a little startled until a tall stallion that I could put two and two together and guess was named Carrot Cake, given his cutie mark, poked his head into the front room. "Darling, what do you think about a foal?"

Looking like he was pinned under the biggest spotlight ever, Carrot nonetheless smiled. "You know what I think, honey bun? We could maybe manage with one foal, but we really need somepony to work here—at least for the first few months."

Cup let out an audible sigh. It took every ounce of my self-control to not tell her right then and there that I'd help.

"Who's your friend, sweetums?" Carrot walked over and the couple kissed—just a little peck on the cheek each.

"Great cinnamon sticks, how could I forget? This is Joyce. Joyce, my husband, Carrot Cake." Cup got lost looking up at Carrot for a moment before she giggled like a filly. "Joyce was just telling me about her little girls. She's a bat pony."

"I guessed that last bit, sugarplum. What do you do, Joyce?"

"Well, I'm studying to become a doctor, and I sometimes give Princess Celestia advice on my former home." I twitched one of my wings significantly.

"A d-doctor?" Cup Cake stared at me for a moment before shaking her head. "And you advise Princess Celestia?!"

Note to self, leave the last bit out of casual conversation next time. "Well, only here and there. It's only until she has things more under control." But the truth was she already knew most of what I would be advising her on, and everything else was so new even I didn't know it.

Carrot smiled, looking like being overwhelmed was a constant experience for him. "Goodness me! Well, it sounds exciting. I don't suppose you know somepony who's good at baking who might want to work in Ponyville?"

"Funny you should ask, but Sweetie Drops, my daughter's fiancee, was a cook in a boarding house, but I think she's happy in her job at the Guard." I tried to run through a list of everypony I knew, and couldn't come up with a single other name of a pony who was an amazing cook. "Have you tried advertising?"

"Oh dear no. I don't think we could do that. We want somepony we know." Thankfully, she seemed to have lost the shock that revealing my side job caused. Ponies, it seemed, could ignore anything if they put their minds to it. "Well, unless you know somepony. If you can't trust one of Princess Celestia's advisors, who can you trust?"

The door opened again. Lyra and Sweetie walked in, and I was struck anew by just how right they looked together—wearing matching armor probably helped, of course, but even though there was two layers of heavy plate between them, their shoulders and hips were brushing together.

"Speaking of. You've met my daughter and soon-to-be-daughter, Lyra and Sweetie?" I asked.

"Oh yes. They were here buying some treats earlier, and asked if we'd be able to do some short-order catering for a wedding." Cup cake looked between the girls and myself. "If you don't mind me saying, Joyce, but did she take after her father?"

I looked Lyra in the eyes and saw the mischief dancing there. "It's a long story, one that ends happily." Walking up to Lyra and Sweetie, I pulled them both into a hug with my wings.

Both the girls used their forelegs to hug me back, which made me even more aware of the fact they were wearing armor. Lyra asked, "You're going to be doing this a lot, aren't you Mum?"

"Every chance I can. Did you get everything squared away with the Royal Guards?" I asked.

"We're to report back to Princess Celestia and then Sergeant Broad Strokes. Were you done here?" Sweetie, I could see, was fighting an urge to kiss Lyra again.

I let go of them mostly to see if I was right—I was. "I guess that means I have to head back as well. I'll ask around Canterlot for you, if you like?" I asked Cup and Carrot.

"Well now," Carrot Cake said, "You don't have to go out of your way, ma'am, but it'd be appreciated."

Saying our goodbyes to the Cakes, they managed to foist upon us a bag of treats for the ride home. The rest of the day passed in a blur, with Lyra and Sweetie reporting to Celestia, and myself taking leave to go home a little early.

With my darling laying beside me—in his smaller form—I welcomed the night and closed my eyes. Nightmare Moon's presence wasn't the surprising thing, rather, Megan the bat pony standing before me was.

"Oh dear," I said.

"What did you do?" Nightmare Moon's voice was like liquid ice. She sounded as angry as ever.

"I saved her life with the magic you gave me. It saved my life to, which is why, Your Highness…" I dipped a knee as I'd learned was appropriate with Celestia (but that Celestia really disliked). "Thank you."

"Is this like the Dreamtime? Wait, you gave her the power that saved my butt? Hey, thanks." In the Dreaming, Megan's teeth were a little more pronounced than in the real world. She had a presence about her that was oddly solid, too. "So what's the go 'ere?"

Nightmare Moon seemed more curious than furious, for which I was thankful.

"This," I said while gesturing, "Is Nightmare Moon. A royal in exile, and my friend." I turned to gesture at Megan. "This is Megan, also known as Sharp Fang. She and her fellow hunters tracked down a monster that likes to invade dreams."

"Really? You stalked it in a dream?" Nightmare Moon's anger seemed completely overridden by curiosity. She seemed positively normal.

"Dream Thunder raised the Dreamtime around a whole town. That damn Yara-ma-yha-who had gone to ground to devour somepony, and we wouldn't have found it in time in the real world. So into the Dreamtime, take on our battle forms, and lure it out."

"Could you show me what this creature looked like?" Her tone intensely curious, Nightmare Moon seemed to be examining Megan. For a moment I wondered if this was a bad idea and should try getting her uninvolved quickly.

Megan shrugged her wings and rolled her shoulders. "Dreaming things into a dream isn't really my thing, ya know. You could say I'm more in it for the fight than the think." She gave a hint of a smile, and then turned into a monster herself.

Teeth growing, her mouth salivating, the reason for Megan's nickname became more and more apparent by the second. I couldn't remember where I'd seen a jaw so long before, but I vaguely remembered some black and white footage of something akin to it. When she opened her mouth, however, I remembered—no mammal but a thylacine could open its jaw that wide, but unlike the thylacine, her teeth were more akin to a shark's.

"Quite impressive. Like Joyce, you're not from this world, are you?"

"What gave it away?" Megan smiled and spread her wings—they looked to be about twice the wingspan I have.

Throwing back her head, Nightmare Moon howled with laughter. "Joyce, I am pleased you used my gift this way. Your kind are not just more interesting than the ponies that worshiped my sister's sun, but you have a delightful sense of humor. You have my permission to induct further bat ponies into my service."

"Service? Now hold on. I'm a hunter. Chasin' down nasties for Dream Thunder is kinda what I do."

"You already have a master? This Dream Thunder?" Nightmare Moon looked at me. "Who is this Dream Thunder?"

Biting my lip, I wondered how much to say. The truth. I was trying to be her friend, and had to trust her as one. "Practically my daughter. Her mother and I were quite close, and raised our daughters together for a time. Please, don't try to—"

"Your kind are beholden to others, who are beholden to others, who are—I understand, but when I call, you will both come to me, do you understand? I will ask for nothing but your loyalty in my most dire of circumstances."

The words seemed to burn like fire in my head. I tried to deny their power, but knew that they were absolute truth to me. Megan, whether because she was touched by less of Nightmare Moon's magic than I was, or something else, broke from the attempted control.

Nightmare Moon had barely a moment to react before Megan's fangs clamped down on empty air where Nightmare Moon's neck had been. "Yes!" She lowered her head and a lance of cobalt magic lanced out and speared into Megan. "You just needed more of my power. A matter I can remedy."

When Nightmare Moon stopped blasting Megan with magic, Megan jerked backward and shook her head. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because soon I will have use of you. Use my magic as you see fit—as weapon or shield—but in return you will serve me for one night, and one night only." Nightmare Moon walked toward Megan with confidence in her stride. "Begone, now, Joyce and I have words to speak."

"You idiot." My mouth was working ahead of my brain. "You could have asked her for help, offered to give her more magic first. Your power possibly saved her life, but you had to pull that little stunt." My temper was rising as I spoke, and soon enough my brain decided that I needed this.

"Stu—"

"Shut up!" My shout astonished both of us. "You are going too far. All you have to do is ask. I'm trying to be your friend so hard, but you're not making this easy!"

"Friend?" For a moment Nightmare Moon's voice held none of the bristling confidence that normally underpinned it.

"Yes! Friend! Call it insane, but I like you. You might have done something bad in the past, but I think you deserve another chance."

With a flash of lightning, Nightmare Moon was gone, but the wind of a rising storm brought me her voice once more. "Tell Megan she is released from my duty."

Jerking awake, I felt a strong wing wrap around me and hug me tight. "A rough night, my flappy little darling?" Tufts' voice lacked the high pitch his smaller form would have possessed, and was instead deep and rumbly.

"Yes and no. It was rough, but I think I got through to her." With a nuzzle to Tufts' cheek, I gently started sliding across the bed. "But I need to go talk to somepony about it."

"To be without your company will mean I'll be pining for you. You know that, right?" Tufts let me slip out of the grip of his wing, but when I looked back at him, I wished he hadn't.

It would have been too easy to ignore Megan and curl back up with Tufts. "I have to fix my friend's mistake for her." I had to look away lest I fall for Tufts' temptations. Then I paused. "But hold that thought. I'll be back soon."

Tufts' deep laughter followed me through the house until I closed the front door and spread my wings. The rush of air as I launched skyward felt—as always—amazing. It was like diving into a cool lake on a hot day.

The flight to the castle wasn't a long one unless I dallied, and I didn't. Swooping in to land at the front gate, the Royal Guardpony there simply smiled and nodded to me. Inside the grounds of the castle, only one building had its lights on—the barracks where the bats were.

Trotting to the barracks, I got another nod from the Royal Guardponies on duty there, and knocked on the door.

Dream Thunder, having opened the door, quickly closed it in my face—then opened it again. "Now's probably not a good time for you—"

"Let me in, I need to explain what happened to Megan."

"Oh. Okay." Dream stepped back from the door and let me enter. The room was brightly lit, and populated by six angry batponies screeching in Batstralian. As I stepped in, all six of them turned to face me.

"Let me explain first," I said.

"Fuckin' better be fuckin' good."

"Screw you. I don't give a shit if you're Robin's mum. What was that shit you pulled?"

The demands and swearing got worse as they all started talking at once. I tried to let it wash over me, but in the end I knew I had to get this done. "Shut. The fuck. UP!" All six stopped talking and looked at me. "Right. Firstly, I didn't mean to do that to you, Megan, I'm sorry you got dragged into it. Second, she said you're free of the obligation." As I spoke the words, a shiver of magic left me. Megan's eyes widened, and I saw a smile spread over her lips. "Thirdly, you can't tell anypony here about her."

"Why the fuck not?" Phil asked.

"Because there's a magic curse that will attack any native pony that hears about her, is why. We're immune because we weren't born here, but those guards outside, if they could understand you, they'd be the ones fucked." I started turning. "So do whatever you want. Nightmare Moon won't do anything, and now neither will I."

"Wait. Joyce." Megan's voice was one of only two that would have stopped me leaving. "She's really pissed, isn't she?"

"Nightmare Moon? Yeah. I'm still trying to get to the bottom of it, but imagine a pony with as much magic as Celestia getting a little unhinged and you've got her. I'm just trying to be a friend for her. She put her magic in me to keep me from getting hurt." I shivered when I felt a wing drape over my back.

Megan was right beside me. "A little more communication next time, okay? And tell her thanks for the magic."

I turned to look at Megan, and realized there was something different about her—something a little more wild. "You're okay with it?"

"Well, I'd rather she have said sorry herself, but she's not the only pony who has a problem with anger, ya know? Whatever she did to me, I'll figure it out and I'll be fucked if I won't use it to help others." Megan's words made me think a little, and I realized why the Yara-ma-yha-who had tried to poison her, she was fertile ground for an anger-inducing poison.

She actually meant it. I shook my head. "It's so different dealing with Aussies again. I'll try to keep her out of your way."

Author's Note

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Lab

Chapter 26

Lyra Heartstrings was completely and utterly spellbound. Sweetie Drops stood before her in a beautiful white dress that matched her own, and just the sight of her made Lyra's entire world go wibbly-wobbly. Words were hard, though thankfully she had a few moments before she needed to say anything but a breathless, "Wow."

"Wow yourself." Sweetie Drops, likewise, was stunned at how good Lyra Heartstrings looked in a wedding dress. A little more practical than her fiancee, however, Sweetie managed a glance at the rest of the wedding party.

Candy Cane stood in the front row in the great hall of Canterlot Castle. Only once before could she remember being this excited and nervous in such quantities. She gazed up at the dais—at her little filly—and a gasp of happiness left her.

Joyce Robertson and Tufts "Tjinimin", too, were standing on the dais. Unlike Lyra and Sweetie, Joyce wore a dusky pink dress that contrasted with her fur, but satisfied her principals that a white dress would be inappropriate for her. Across from Joyce stood her stallion—Tufts.

Tufts was doing his absolute best to disguise the fact he wasn't a pony at all. He had the hooves, the body, and wings to look like a perfect match for Joyce, but he was bat to the bone. Surprise at being asked—with one month until the date—to marry Joyce, Tufts hadn’t hesitated in accepting.

Standing at the end of the hall with the two couples before her, Princess Cadance couldn't keep a huge smile off her face—nor did she want to. "Ladies and Gentlecolts, we are gathered here today to witness the union of two couples." There wasn't much else that could have made Cadance happier than being able to marry her friends together.

"The first is Lyra Heartstrings and Sweetie Drops. Both are decorated members of the E.U.P. Guard, though each comes from vastly different backgrounds. Yet they have found each other, and through each other have discovered the closest bond any two ponies can share—Love." It was hard not to break into song, but Cadance knew that she'd have to make some concessions for the day.

"The second is Joyce Robertson and Tufts." Cadance hadn't known Tufts for long, but she suspected he had a lot of things he wasn't telling her—though Joyce had assured her that she knew all his secrets. It was almost like having a sore on the roof of her mouth, but the rush of love each felt for the other was clear. "Each are from a more unique origin, hailing from another land before finding life and love in Canterlot. Their devotion to each other is unquestionable, which is why I will be joining them here today."

"Lyra, Sweetie, please step forward."

Teleporting, Lyra knew, would be right out, but it would have satisfied her need to work off nervous energy. Instead of using her magic, she walked beside Sweetie to stand before and to each side of Cadance. "I, Lyra Hearstring—"

"You wait until after I've asked, Lyra," Cadance said, and earthed a chuckle from the gathered ponies. "Lyra, I believe you have prepared your vows?"

Derailed and even more nervous, Lyra nodded. "Do I read them now?"

Sweetie couldn't stop a giggle. "Yes, Lyra."

"I, Lyra Heartstrings, formerly Michael Robertson, swear to protect and honor you, Sweetie Drops, until you can't stand the sight of me anymore."

Expecting something of the like, Sweetie managed to only grin at her fillyfriend's gag.

"Sweetie Drops, you have prepared your own vows?" Cadance asked.

"Lyra," Sweetie Drops began, looking into her love's eyes, "I'm gonna marry you forever and ever."

Confusion quickly changed to giggles, then laughter, and finally Lyra almost fell over at the vow. "Sweetie, you're the best."

"Yeah, I know. That's why you're marrying me." Sweetie leaned forward and pecked Lyra on the cheek.

"Are you two quite done? There's an order to things. We're supposed to have this big speech and things before you kiss." Rebuking or not, Cadance was still on the verge of singing for joy. She sighed. "Well, I guess we should move things along. This is the first wedding I've held in my official capacity. First I must ask, can anypony here today think of a reason why Lyra and Sweetie should not be joined together?"

Starting to lift her hoof, Lyra caught the stare from Sweetie and gave her a grin while lowering it again. "Just kidding."

"Then, as a princess of Equestria, I pronounce you mare—" Cadance used her magic to slip a ring on Lyra's horn, "—and mare." A necklace was placed around Sweetie's neck. She held up a hoof and leaned toward Sweetie, though kept her voice raised so everypony could hear. "Psst. This is the bit where you're meant to kiss."

Sweetie was not about to waste an opportunity, not at this particular moment. Using the indomitable strength earth ponies were known for, she reached out and pulled Lyra against her, and when their lips touched she let out a happy sigh.

The moment was the culmination of several years of adapting and literally becoming a pony. Lyra had "put up with" many odd things, but embracing her wife was something she could throw herself into without a hint of second thoughts. Closing her eyes, she used a foreleg to hold Sweetie while they kissed.

Joyce was almost at the point of stretching out her wings and flapping in excitement. Her little girl was married, and she was about to be as well. It hadn't been as sudden a decision as everypony had thought. Her heart had been captured by Tufts, and it had only taken her getting her mind on board too to know she wanted to be with him for all her days.

The men of Joyce's past were nothing but pale shadows of the love Tufts showed her, and his continued support of both her daughters was icing on the cake. She cleared her throat and looked at Cadance.

Almost bouncing with excitement, Cadance turned her full attention to Joyce and Tufts. There was still something odd about Tufts that she didn't understand, but their love for one another was indisputable. "Joyce, Tufts, please step forward."

Tufts strode forward at Joyce's side. He could feel the potential in Princess Cadance, and though it worried him that she'd see through what little protections cloaked his origin, the former bat god was grateful that she was still smiling so brightly. "Your Highness," he said, and dipped his head.

Knowing protocol from her time working for Princess Celestia, Joyce dipped her head and repeated the honorific.

"I don't want to hear that from either of you ever again, alright?" Cadance waited for Joyce and Tufts to nod back. "Tufts, I believe you've prepared vows?"

Nodding, Tufts turned to look at Joyce, and the rest of the room fell away. Nothing mattered at that point in time other than his beloved. "Joyce, since the day I first laid eyes upon you I have known that we would be together." He swapped to Batstralian, which is why he could say everything he wanted to. "I gave up godhood for you. I handed my power away and count it well spent, just to remain at your side. I would give it all away again in a heartbeat—I would even give up a mango just to know you love me back."

"A mango? Really?" Joyce asked in Batstralian.

"But of course. Two? Now that would be a stretch."

Cadance looked between them and cleared her throat. "Was that both of you?"

"No. Just Tufts." Joyce looked at Tufts and didn't see a pony so much as a person. He was a little bat, a literal flying fox, and also this pony—but he was more. "Tjinimin, Tufts, I love you, not what power you have or had. Being with you makes my heart soar, and seeing the way you care for my girls has made them our girls. You saved millions of people, but I could forget that in a heartbeat if you'd be my mango."

Tufts' lips curled so much that he showed off his fangs. He didn't—couldn't—wait for Cadance to finish the ceremony. Stepping forward, Tufts reached a wing around Joyce's shoulder and neck and pulled her in for a kiss.

"IfanyponyobjectsnogreatInowpronounceyoustallionandmareyoumaynowkiss!" Cadance belted out the words in a rush, not pausing for breath or punctuation when actions were speaking louder than she could ever hope to. Panting a little, she felt a prod on her shoulder and turned to see Lyra's golden magic fading as the mare herself stepped up close.

"Cadance, you better believe I'm going to be your bridesmaid when you finally talk Shining into standing up here," Lyra said.

A flock of butterflies filled Cadance's chest and she almost floated away with the force of their wings fluttering. Her eyes strayed to the crowd where Shining Armor sat. "Maybe I'll have to ask him. I was trying to leave it up to Shiny, but he's the kind of stallion that needs a prod now and then—I think."

"He's in good company." Lyra noticed that Shining was the only member of his family in attendance, despite her having invited Twilight and their parents. "So now what?"

"Dancing," Sweetie Drops said. "Lots of dancing, and then snuggling. Then maybe more snuggling."

Lyra's ears perked up and she turned to Sweetie. Every nerve in her body urged Lyra to kiss Sweetie, so she did. There was a thrill to it that she wanted to check a second time, so she kissed her again. And again. And again.

Stepping to the front of the dais, Cadance spread her wings to draw the attention of everypony to herself. "If everypony would like to retreat to the dining hall, lunch will be served shortly."

"Wait." Joyce stepped up to stand beside Cadance. "There's something important that must be done first." Lifting a wing, she waggled her bouquet of flowers.

Joining her mother, Lyra turned around while holding up her own flowers with her magic. "You know, Mum, I never thought I'd be doing this."

"Lyra—Michael—I never thought either of us would be doing this. It doesn't mean I'm not the happiest bat in Equestria right now." Hefting the bouquet to get a feel for its weight, Joyce started to make ready to throw. "On the count of three. One. Two—"

"Three!" Lyra wasn't just a giddily-happy mare tossing her wedding flowers over her shoulder—she was a trained soldier. The flowers sailed toward the target she'd already chosen, and despite every attempt by other ponies to catch them, the bundle seemed to jink and jive around in the air until another trained soldier caught them by reflex.

Staring down at the flowers he held in his pink magic, Shining slowly lifted his head and looked at Cadance. His heart raced, then sped up more as he looked into her shocked eyes. Fire kindled, and a smile spread across his lips.

Cadance lost all sense of where she was while she looked back into Shining's eyes. Recognition—her heart knowing that he was the only partner she could ever accept—struck a hammer-blow. The butterflies turned into a tsunami, and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza Cadance felt a glimmer of hope that Shining would ask her.

Ponies filed out of the hall around Shining—he barely even noticed that Lyra, Sweetie, Joyce, and Tufts were among them. When everypony was out, he watched Cadance walk toward him. "Cady?"

"Yes Shining Armor?" Each hoofstep brought Cadance closer to Shining—closer to the stallion she'd already resigned herself to loving for the rest of her life.

"We need to hurry if we want to get good seats."

"Shiny? Don't ever change." Cadance walked up to Shining and kissed him while nopony watched. The strength of her emotions threatened to overwhelm her, but it was Shining who broke the kiss first.

"Cady, could you hold this for me?" It hadn't taken much for Shining to work out the right thing to do. In the abandoned hall he passed Cadance the wedding bouquet and lowered to one knee. "Princess Mi Amore Cadenza—Cadance—will you marry me?"

Biting her lip, Cadance had to hold back from pouncing on Shining right away. "As if I was ever going to say no. Stand up before somepony sees you." She pulled him to her side with a wing and nuzzled Shining's cheek. "We'll have to talk to Princess Celestia. Royal weddings are not something that can be held in just a year. There's rank to consider, as well as auspicious events."

"But you will?"

Cadance looked into Shining's eyes and saw the same love she felt for him reflected back at her. She didn't need her special talent to know he was the one. "Yes." She didn't expect Shining to faint, however.

Lyra Heartstrings had never felt quite as high on life as she did sitting with Sweetie Drops at the reception. Half the city might have turned up for the party, but she only had eyes for one of them. Her attention was yanked away by a stallion standing beside the table who was looking at her expectantly. "Uh, sorry?"

"Lyra, he asked if you'd like some cider." Sweetie Drops was only marginally less distracted from reality as Lyra was, but that was mostly because of her more grounded nature. She therefore saw two bat ponies and a pegasus making their way through the crowd toward them.

Of course Sweetie recognized both bat ponies, and to make their arrival a little more special, she distracted Lyra with a kiss on the cheek so that when Robin Robertson, Candela, and Dream Thunder reached their table, Lyra hadn't even noticed them.

"I'm glad you got married first, sis," Robin said. "But that kinda puts more pressure on Dream and me now."

"Dream and you? How do you think this makes me feel?" Finding it impossible not to grin from one side of her face to the other, Candela was completely shocked to find Lyra appearing—teleporting—to right before her. "Congratulations, Lyra."

"Candela!" Lyra hugged Candela tight. "We sent invitations, but we didn't get an RSVP from you!"

Dream Thunder joined her mother in hugging Lyra. "Couldn't miss this. Even Princess Screech gave Robin the week off to come."

"She did! Though it was more like an order, and I kinda have a job to do here too. It's good to see you, Lyra." Robin dove into the hug as well.

"Hey, Spud, what's with the tears? I'm the mare signing her life away." Lyra turned her head just enough to wink behind her at Sweetie. "What's that cliché thing? You're not losing a sister, you're gaining one?"

Sweetie Drops could have resisted Lyra's teleport spell had she any intention to do so (or warning), but she was feeling too bubbly and happy to resist her darling's magic. A foreleg, a feathered wing, and two bat wings pulled her into a hug that she quickly engaged in returning. "Wait 'till I tell Mom that she has two more mouths to feed."

Candela was ready to find and hug somepony else now. She gave Lyra and Sweetie one more squeeze. "Excuse me, I have a sister I need to congratulate." She winked and walked over toward the other bridal table. "Joyce Robertson, I—"

"Joyce Mango," Joyce said with a flicker of a glance toward Tufts. "I figured it was a better tie to our new life."

"And I too. Tufts Mango, at your service." Tufts bowed his head and stretched out a wing to Candela, only to have her rush over and hug him.

"Tufts! Equestria's been good to you!" Candela gave Tufts a squeeze before swapping to Joyce. "And to you, Joyce!"

Joyce caught Candela in a hug after she was done with Tufts.

"It's good to see you again, Joyce. So much has been happening back home—" As soon as Candela said it, she blushed and shook her head. "It is my home now. Batstralia is an amazing place, and it made room for Dream and myself."

"We were just mares in the wrong worlds, weren't we?" Joyce asked with a grin. "Have you found yourself a stallion?"

"No such luck on that, though I did bring two with me, but you'll find out about that later I'm sure. I'm just so happy for you all I could explode." Surrendering her grip on Joyce, Candela looked around the room in time to see Cadance and Celestia both walk in. She froze in place. "I still can't believe you're friends with—" She cut herself off when she realized Joyce had already run forward—with Lyra at her side—to attend upon the princesses.

Lyra could barely contain herself. She rushed to Celestia and hugged her, then swapped targets to Cadance. "Thank you both so much. This was perfect!"

"It was my pleasure to let you have the ballroom for a day—as well as two suites." Celestia, in one of the precious few moments in nearly a thousand years, could truly stand behind the smile on her face completely. Her delight in hosting a double wedding for two of her personal friends was not to be overshadowed by the excitement of having Cadance come into her own and flex her magical and royal powers.

"I almost ruined it! I can't believe I stumbled on the words so much, and then I got overwhelmed by Joyce and Tufts—" Cadance made a high-pitched squealing sound, "I'm just so happy for all of you!"

Reaching the royal pair a little behind her daughter, Joyce bowed to both Celestia and Cadance. "Princesses Celestia and Cadance, thank you for—"

"Joyce, this isn't a state formal occasion," Celestia said.

Rolling her eyes in mock annoyance, Joyce glared at Celestia. "Can't you let me be a little formal on my wedding day?"

"She's got you there, Celestia. It's her wedding, so she gets to make the rules," Cadance said.

"Oh, alright." Standing a little straighter, Celestia struck a pose with one forehoof slightly raised. "Proceed."

"Much better. Princesses Celestia and Cadance, thank you for the use of your home and for your time on this auspicious day. My husband, my daughter, her wife, and myself are all extremely thankful on this occasion for the opportunities you have given us." Joyce bowed her head, grinning a batty grin.

"You've been practicing, haven't you?" Cadance asked. "Because if I didn't know better, I'd say you just thanked us for all this and made it explicit you didn't intend to pay in any way."

"Now you see why I hired her?" Celestia reached out quickly with a wing and pulled Joyce to her for a hug. There weren't a lot of ponies she felt comfortable hugging, but Joyce was among that number. "Smart, loving, and funny."

Meanwhile, Tufts had slipped over to Sweetie and touched her shoulder before she walked over to the princesses. "If Joyce asks, I've gone to the little bat's room." The sense of Celestia in the room was more than a little worrying to him—not that he thought she would do something bad, but that she would ask him questions. Tufts didn't wait for acknowledgment before he departed in a direction as physically opposite to Celestia's as possible.

Slipping out of the room weakened the oppression Celestia's aura had caused Tufts, and he took a deep breath and calmed down. "It's not that I'm hiding. I just don't want her to worry about me on top of everything this world already has going on."

"Tufts." Cadance opened the door behind Tufts, almost making him jump out of his skin. He did let off a surprised screech at the sight of her. "What's wrong?"

"I-I'm just looking for the bathroom!" Knowing full well why he was nervous didn't help him not be nervous. The fact was he'd never been nervous before in his life.

"You're avoiding Princess Celestia. Why?" All the pieces had connected for Cadance when she'd seen him leave the room so soon after Celestia had entered.

This was everything Tufts didn't want—questions. The mythology that had made up his initial sense of self had been strong on one point, if he were ever asked a question directly, he would answer it directly. It was one of the few glowing traits his legends possessed. "That's a short question with a long answer. Please, though I would wish the company of my wife on this night, I will spend a little time to explain it.

"I was created neither pony nor human. Magic rushed into Australia seeking patterns. There was a legend of a bat, Tjinimin, and it had been believed for so long and by so many that it had weight for magic to fill."

"You were created by magic itself?" Cadance couldn't believe what she was hearing—only she actually could. "How much magic?"

Tufts slumped and tucked his ears back in defeat. "I will answer those too if you promise not to ask more questions." He waited a moment but got no indication. "Well?"

"This is something to do with actually being asked questions." Cadance stopped herself before she made even that a question. "Very well, but I'll have one last question for you at the end—a short one you can answer easily."

Tufts sighed in defeat. "I was created by magic, but I like to think I've grown beyond that. I only had moments to make the toughest decision of my life—I had to choose what patterns magic would follow. I took the pony shape from your world and combined it with bats."

"You created them. You made the bat ponies." Cadance shook her head. "Joyce—?"

"Joyce knows, and I won't hold that question against you, since you had my beloved's best interest at heart. It wasn't easy for her to take in. Luckily for me, there was more magic than I thought initially and it picked another form from myth—the Rainbow Serpent." Curling his lip in a grin, Tufts blew a raspberry, "—to him. Or her. I didn't really work that out. Anyway, they took over Batstralia and I gave most of my magic to Dream Thunder. I'm surprised she's keeping it as well contained as she is.

"Princess Celestia is—I don't know if I should worry, but I do know I don't want to worry her. I am not here to take over or demand my just dues." Tufts rolled his shoulders and brought one claw up to scratch behind his ear. "I just want to love the mare I married and be there for her."

Cadance looked as close as she could, and though she couldn't see more beyond her specialty in love allowed, it was enough for her. "My last question I'll ask, Tufts. Will you ever cause a problem for Equestria?" She spoke with a soft smile on her lips.

"Not if I can help it. I like it here. Just another bat pony trying to live and love."

"Well, it might not be my first action as a princess, but I can make it a promise to you, Tufts Mango. So long as you keep from being a force in Equestria, I'll keep your secret from Celestia—unless I'm asked directly." Cadance winked at Tufts. "Don't think I didn't figure that out."

"You're far smarter than I was led to believe. It suits you, Your Highness." Tufts didn't exactly like the idea of having another pony (and one so powerful) know so much about him, but it was the best he could hope for.

"Thanks, I think. Come on. I'll see if Celestia is still there, and if she is I'll try to lead her outside so you and Joyce can make your exit." Seeing no issue with helping love along, Cadance turned for the door back to the reception.

When she opened the door and looked in, she noticed Celestia looking around. "She's looking for me. Give me five minutes and then come in." She didn't wait for Tufts to acknowledge her. Striding into the room, Cadance lifted a wingtip to get Celestia's attention. "I was just having a little chat with Tufts. Poor pony has an attack of nerves. Perhaps it has something to do with meeting the royalty of a foreign nation?"

Celestia hadn't been ruler of Equestria for a thousand years without having a nose for intrigue, and the odor of it reeked from Cadance. Yet, she nodded. "Of course he does. We should definitely leave them to finish the celebration of their big day." She had to admire Cadance, from Celestia's point of view, a Princess Cadance willing to take on a thousand year old princess in a game of intrigue was much better than the naive filly who got upset whenever her nickname was used. "Lead on."

"Shining asked me." Cadance did her best to hold back the bubbling fountain of excitement that threatened to make her explode in a shower of bliss.

The statement could have meant several things, but Celestia had a good idea that the way Cadance was bouncing with each step she took—almost prancing—that it meant Shining Armor had asked Cadance to marry him. "It's about time. We can't rush this."

Unable to stop her bounciness, Cadance just went with the feeling. She figured she could use the wedding itself as an excuse as to why she looked so excited. "I know that. If we cannot announce it yet, but I'd like to tell my friends at the very least."

Deciding to not leave Cadance without any outlet, Celestia picked the easiest option—ponies she could rely on to keep things quiet. "Lyra and her family are fine, but keep this quiet. Just announcing a royal wedding of this magnitude will result in an event." At the end of the hall she opened the door. "And thank you for coming to me first."

"Don't ruin this moment for me. I finally realized you were right about a lot of this stuff. Don't assume that means I will always play by your rules, though." Stepping through the door into the hallway that led to Celestia's sitting room, Cadance assumed she already knew she was due for a big talk—though she vowed to keep Tufts Mango's secret.

"Good. It's about time I have somepony who will tell me when I'm being an idiot." When Celestia watched Cadance's steps falter at her statement, she laughed—internally.

Author's Note

Nightmare Moon, bat ponies are all kinds of fun, yeah?

"They intrigue me. They are ponies, yet not ponies devoted to my sister. I fear I may have left a bad impression on that one Joyce healed with my magic. I will be seeing that one in her dreams to tell her myself that I shan't threaten her further." Nightmare Moon let out a sigh. "I will be coming home soon, and when I do, I'd like to see many more like Joyce—free of my sister's ways."

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Lab

Chapter 27 [[ A Joyce Perspective ]]

Princess Celestia had specifically asked me to be present in court today. My school had been notified, apparently, because my efforts to tell them that I wouldn't be in were met with acknowledgment only, not queries—something the receptionist at the Canterlot's school of medicine would normally not let slide.

That's why I was flying up to the castle today instead of attending classes leading up to graduation. The air (as it was every day) was crisp and flowed wonderfully over my wings. I could never keep from doing a loop or two, nor a roll, when I had such a wonderful day greeting me.

I flew low over the guardhouse at the front gate to let them see it was me, and almost crashed into the ground in surprise at seeing over a dozen batponies standing before the doors leading into the castle.

How was I meant to handle this? Curiosity was eating me up inside, but I was Princess Celestia's assistant here. Adjusting my stance, I caught my legs under me and walked past the group toward the gates.

"Oh, uh, miss? We aren't invited in yet!" The voice spoke clear Batstralian and my rotating ears told me it came from the group.

I paused, turned, and looked at the speaker. He was a bat pony, of course, and looked like a handsome example thereof. But he sure as heck was no Tufts. Smiling, I bobbed my head. "You'll excuse me," I said in Batstralian, "My princess has requested my time."

He stared at me in obvious confusion.

I used the time to turn back to the doors and march right up. "Good morning, Lieutenant Shining Armor. How goes the day?" Shining was practically glowing. He had a grin a mile wide, and that was because he knew I knew. Two days had passed since my wedding, and without an ounce of warning he and Cadance had told Lyra, Sweetie, Tufts and I.

"Another great day in the Royal Guard, Joyce! Although we have significantly more bats than normal today. Know anything about it?" His eyes barely flicked to the waiting throng, but I knew exactly who he meant.

Sure Fire opened the door for me, and I nodded to him. "Thank you, Sure Fire. All I know, Shining, is that they're bats from Batstralia. I guess my answers await me within." I walked inside and ignored the look from Sure Fire. Stallions would be stallions.

"Joyce! Oh, thank Celestia you're here on time. The princess has been holding things up as much as she can, but it won't do to keep them waiting too long." Raven Inkwell almost looked disheveled, which for Raven Inkwell meant her glasses were slightly askew and her pencil was worn down to almost a nub.

Being told by Princess Celestia's personal assistant that you need to get a move-on typically meant you needed to. I picked up my hooves and trotted through the entry hall to the main doors leading into the throne room—the guards didn't so much as say a word before opening the doors with their magic.

Celestia was standing on ground level with a large, white stallion before her. He looked like Royal Guard material, but he didn't have the bearing that wearing armor would bring (something I'd seen not only in Shining Armor, but also Lyra and Sweetie).

"Joyce!" Princess Celestia had worn the slightest of frowns, but now it broke into a smile. "I'm so glad you made it. Joyce, this is my nephew, Prince Blue Blood. Blue, this is Joyce Mango. She's been advising me on the history of Batstralia and teaching Gretchen how to make the most amazing things."

"Aunt Celestia has slipped a few surprises into our communiques. I had started to wonder if she'd sent a second agent. It's a pleasure to meet somepony also devoted to resolving this situation to everypony's benefit." He held out his hoof toward me. I thought he meant to clop hooves, but when I stepped forward and held out my own hoof he cradled it and kissed the leading edge.

Well, he was a charmer, but if what I suspected about Blue was right, that was literally part of his job. Lowering my hoof carefully, I managed to nod to him. "My daughter mentioned something about you, Prince B—"

"Please, just Blue is fine. Auntie, as I saw saying, the Batstralian ambassador is a canny pony, and will attempt to ensure good value on all trades, but is fair at the same time. I have given you my list of technology we'd do well to acquire, and what we have they'd want." Blue Blood waited for Princess Celestia to nod. "How will we receive them?"

Princess Celestia looked directly at me. "Joyce? How would you suggest I meet a group of Batstralians who are here to secure trade and long-term peace?"

"Down here. You're already taller than them. Humans—bat ponies—are not used to other people who are consistently taller than them." I pointed up to Celestia's lone throne. "They can see your seat of power, and finally—they will take better to an ally coming to them as an equal."

"I concur. Airs and righteousness will earn you no points with these ponies, Auntie."

Princess Celestia seemed to think on her options before putting on her most radiant smile. "I'll have one of you on each side of me, please. Joyce, they saw you on the way in?" When I nodded, she turned to Blue Blood. "And you, Nephew, are well known to them. It would be good for them to see you both by my side."

I barely got in position before the sound of a spear-butt slamming on the floor echoed through the throne room. "Announcing Short Wing, Knight of Batstralia, and her ladyship, Duchess Robin Robertson."

Duchess?! Despite my shock, I watched my daughter and an older bat pony walk into the room, though in truth the "older" pony still looked no older than myself.

"Forgive any misunderstanding on my part," Princess Celestia said, "I have an incomplete understanding of your country's social system. Duchess Robin, congratulations on your title. Sir Short Wing, it is likewise a pleasure to meet you."

"Princess Celestia," Robin said as she dipped her foreleg just a little, "Prince Blue Blood…" My daughter turned to look at me with a huge grin on her snout. "Mum."

"Am I to understand this is the Joyce Robertson?" Sir Short Wing asked.

"Doctor Joyce Mango," Princess Celestia said. "I believe she's waiting for confirmation of her results for preliminary accreditation with our medical professionals. You have her to thank for the trade in medications already."

"Trade! Ha! You practically gave us those, which is partly why I'm here. Princess Screech has decided that with the rest of our world cutting us off from trade, we'd do best trading with the only nation we now share a land border with. We have each other, there's no sense in seeking out other trade partners when we are both so close." Short Wing seemed nothing if not enthusiastic. He'd given away a few facts here about what the state of Batstralia was with regard to international politics, but he'd also given a huge incentive for why we should become closer anyway.

"Close indeed. Our borders reside within both our nations—quite a startling discovery for both our nations." Princess Celestia had her mane flicked over her right eye, shielding Blue Blood from her vision. I could see that she was calm and relaxed, but I could also see she had a political mask in place. "Is there anything your nation needs in the short term?"

"We are stable for now. Our hunters are keeping pests to a minimum, though I believe I still have some requests for spears. I'm not quite sure what the advantage is to Equestrian spears, but our hunters want them. Particularly one Filthy Dreams."

Princess Celestia raised an eyebrow toward her Royal Guard.

"Your Highness. I believe Private Lyra Heartstrings gave a demonstration of what an enchanted spear can do." I recognized the speaker as Citron, a unicorn I'd met before.

"I won't simply hand you such weapons, but I will consider the trade of knowledge about them as being on the table—though it won't be cheap. I'd rather trade for goods and technology to help your people in other ways." Princess Celestia turned her head toward me. "Joyce, what other advantages do you think we could make available to our new allies?"

This was expected, and something Princess Celestia had had me planning for. "Agriculture is probably first and foremost. Good as a bat pony is at tending to fruit trees, earth ponies are better. Skilled labor in the field of agriculture will increase your yield from crops significantly. Weather is another aspect that could be handled with skilled labor trade. Pegasi skilled in weather manipulation could ensure much better farming and also protection against natural disasters."

"You mean to say your pegasi can manipulate the weather?!" Short Wing looked shocked. He turned to Princess Celestia. "Is this true?"

"It is. I believe you're going to want somewhere to arrange—What were they called again, Joyce?"

"Work Visas," I said.

Princess Celestia beamed in delight. "Yes. Work Visas. Paperwork and processing. In short, you need somewhere to process the orderly travel of ponies to and from our shared border, as well as a clearing house for goods that will be transported there and back. You may have noticed we already have a rail system in place, though one that's not quite close enough to Stonecrop to fulfill our needs."

In a flash of gold magic a rolled up map appeared. Princess Celestia's horn was aglow with the magic that moved the sun and moon, though at the moment it just unrolled the map.

"I was rather thinking here would be a good spot. We could run a rail line along the road from this station to Stonecrop and have goods be changed over there." Princess Celestia was gesturing to the spot where I remember the little rail platform we'd waited on was located.

"That would be most suitable. I don't believe it would be possible to actually join our rail networks—particularly since our country doesn't have a standardized rail network—but some stevedores could readily move goods from there. We'll have considerably more work reestablishing our own rail link to Cowwarr."

That's when I realized something—he was speaking Equish. Perfect Equish. While he and Princess Celestia spoke further, I maintained my facing on him, but scanned around the room for something shiny to—Ah ha! His cutie mark was a book! Was his special talent languages?

The conversation twisted through the intricate details of establishing a building near Ponyville that the Batstralians could use for managing trade and business, then passed on to products that could be traded.

Princess Celestia turned her head just slightly. "Joyce, you mentioned something once about technology and magic?"

"I think Short Wing would know more about it. I remember before I left that stuff there kinda stopped working—like my daughter's bass guitar amplifier. She ended up bypassing the circuits that had a problem with magic. You'd have to speak to her about it." The topic wasn't one I was well versed in, but I gave everything I knew.

"A very good point. I believe my class could do with a research assignment." Princess Celestia gave me a nod. "Perhaps if we could have some samples of otherwise useless equipment that will misbehave around magic, we could do some of your testing for you?"

"Your Highness, that would assist greatly, particularly if you could find some fixes for our own equipment. I won't lie, it's taking the combined effort of some of our very best dreamers to keep what services we have running. If your class could stabilize our technology to run even in a high-magic area, I'm sure sharing it would be a real possibility." He didn't just sound interested, Short Wing sounded excited. If I didn't know better, I'd have thought a giant mango had appeared behind me.

For a moment I wondered why he'd put inflection on "class", but it quickly hit me he probably doesn't know Princess Celestia teaches. "You'll excuse me for interrupting," I said, "But I think I can clear something up. Princess Celestia not only has a school named after her, but she teaches there. When she says class, she means students who are studying what is akin to post-graduate classes."

"You teach a class on top of your duties as a leader? Very commendable." Short Wing sounded duly impressed. His eyes flicked toward Blue Blood. "It's regrettable our Princess Screech is so caught up in her duties. She's an amazing pony, and I doubt any of us could conceive of any other leader now. It's—It's instinctive."

"Princess Screech impressed me with her drive. Our one meeting was quite an eye-opening experience. You do well to trust her." Princess Celestia's voice held a weight that was undeniable. Her voice was one that came from a thousand years of judging people and having her expectations borne out. If she said Princess Screech had impressed her, she meant it—there was no mask at that moment.

The meeting was adjourned for lunch, an event that would see Sir Short Wings return to his team to regroup and discuss things, while Celestia escorted Blue Blood and myself out into the maze garden.

The sun was bright overhead, but I'd long-since grown used to being a daytime bat. I walked along just behind Celestia, and it was a much lighter atmosphere—she didn't feel like the princess anymore. I knew the ritual—we'd had lunch here often enough that it was a ritual—and settled down before saying a word.

"That went to go well," Blue Blood said. "You'll have to forgive me, Joyce, but I had to keep up my act in there. They know me as a rather canny aristocrat, and it wouldn't have done to appear out of character." His tone was much warmer now—relaxed.

"Nephew, you do enjoy your little intrigues." Celestia used her magic to summon and pour tea into three cups. "Joyce has been indispensable in all this. I hated to pull her away from her study—and her new husband—but this was regrettably a little important. What were your thoughts, Joyce?"

"Firstly? He seemed hungry for anything and everything we could offer. Given what he said, the world has probably quarantined Batstralia. Nothing in, nothing out. My former nation was one of plenty, but relied on international trade." It was the first time I truly called Australia my former nation. Given the turn in my life, Equestria was my home now—it had almost everything I wanted.

With one wing-thumb, I carefully hooked a cup and lifted it to my lips to sip. A strong, dark brew with earthy tones. Having tea with Celestia had made me a bit of a tea snob, and I now spent far too much on it for home. "Secondly, he spoke Equish well."

Blue Blood added six sugar cubes to his tea. "You were right, Auntie, she doesn't miss anything. Short Wing's special talent, in fact. It was quite the surprise to be able to speak to a diplomat in any tongue. I tested him on Equish, Old Ponish, and even that horrible siren language you made me learn. It wasn't a case of him hearing enough, he could even use words I hadn't spoken yet."

"Anything else?" Celestia asked while failing to hide her smile behind her teacup.

I nodded. "He seemed a little surprised you'd met Princess Screech. I take it that wasn't announced?"

"Not announced and not talked about—on either side. Poor thing had been dumped squarely into the life of a princess with no training and no preparation. Her first question, when she realized I wasn't going to invade or take advantage of her, was to ask how to do what she's already doing." Carefully cutting the tea cake on the tray that she'd teleported out, Celestia lifted one slice up to her mouth. "Surprisingly, she was royalty before all this—a newly crowned prince."

Blue Blood's head shot up as if he were stung. It was the first time I'd noticed him show any reaction to a single word spoken before him.

I hadn't exactly kept track of the goings-on of the royal family when I'd been on Earth, but the story of how one of the young princesses had gone missing and been saved by the unimportant son some hundreds of people down the royal line had been in all the papers for a while. The first person to be made a prince in quite some time—but it had been an empty title. "So she's in charge?"

"It seems the desire to follow and look up to alicorns was implanted into the hearts and minds of the ponies of Batstralia, and found fertile soil. It would seem she's universally loved by the people. She mentioned there had been an existing government, but what with all the magic some members went missing, some—some met unfortunate ends, while most were happy to get on with the work of running the country with Princess Screech at the helm," Blue Blood said. "Honestly, it was almost like being at home."

Celestia stopped sipping her tea and raised an eyebrow. "Surely it couldn't have been that bad?" She paused for a moment before laughing along with Blue Blood.

Not knowing exactly what they were talking about—I'd only helped Celestia with foreign affairs—I retreated into the safest act of sipping tea and eating cake while they laughed.

There were times when I wondered if I was actually being helpful. My college psych class had called it impostor syndrome. Just knowing a bias was a bias didn't make me exempt from it.

"Now I'll have to arrange their equipment to be brought in. If Lyra's adjustments don't work, I'm sure one of my class will find a way around their problem." And then Celestia does that, and shows me that a casual idea of mine becomes national policy, again. "He seemed to imply that it would be a requirement, in fact. I think it will be rewarding for the girls to try to solve it."

"Try?" I asked.

"You're right, Joyce. I fully expect them to have whatever it is working in no time. I'll have to move some of them on soon. They need to get out into the world and live it."

This was something new. I wasn't aware of the process she used for moving her students on. "Lyra has made mention of moving to Ponyville. She wants to build something for Sweetie when she leaves the Guard."

"She's planning on leaving?" Celestia asked, her tone having slipped completely away from Princess Celestia now.

"From what I understand, she wants to spend a few more years protecting Equestria before she settles down. Lyra's just making sure she has something to settle down to." I sipped my tea and let my free wing droop and flatten out a little to soak up the warmth of the sun. "They were both quite impressed by how quiet and friendly Ponyville was."

There was something about Blue Blood's silence that made me aware he was listening to every word. It was almost as if nothing missed his notice, which was probably why he was the first sent in by Princess Celestia.

"I don't think any of them have more than another year in class. I can practically feel their buzz—their excitement to be out in the real world. Except Twilight." Celestia looked down into her teacup and let out a sigh. "I've tried everything. I've given her every avenue of exploration. She soaks up knowledge and expertise like a sponge, but that's just it—she doesn't seem ready or willing to stand on her own four hooves."

Having heard my fair share of Twilight Did X stories from Celestia, I was sure that she felt every bit of her role as personal tutor. I thought on the problem a moment.

"Have you tried talking to her mother and father?" I asked.

"However much I'm paying you, Joyce Mango, it's surely not enough. Talking to her parents should have been my first thought." Sipping away the last of the tea in her cup, Celestia let out a happy little neigh. "A fresh perspective on things is always a good idea, especially when you become so focused on needing to solve every problem yourself, as I have."

"Auntie! I'm away for a few years and you're already smiling so much more than when I last saw you." Blue Blood had a self-mocking tone thick in his voice. "If I didn't know better, I'd think my presence wasn't the most wonderful thing any mare could have."

I was a little lost, and must have looked it by the giggles both Celestia and Blue Blood made. "What?"

"My nephew's persona when he's home is that he's the most boorish and insufferably narcissistic pony in all Equestria. Mares swoon at his hooves, and he just steps over them—complaining that they're in his way," Celestia said. "You should see what he does when one continues to pursue him."

"In all honesty," Blue Blood said, "I'm just trying to catch up on that niece of yours, Auntie. There isn't a stallion alive in this city—and quite a few mares—who wouldn't swoon at a kind word from Cadance. How's your—" He cut off in the face of a big grin on Celestia's face. "She didn't?!"

"She has secrets now, Nephew. Real secrets. I have tried to worm it out of her, but she's not budging. She's actually taking it seriously now." Excitement rode on every word Celestia said. "You should have seen her at Joyce's wedding. She was covering for somepony she didn't want me to interrupt. I let her have her victory."

"Is he really your nephew?" I asked.

Celestia looked like she might laugh, but then sobered. "Forgive me for being so rude, Joyce. Prince Blue Blood is my nephew by dint of me raising him. He is a nephew of my family in every manner but the blood in his veins—though that is no less noble for its source. He is the last of the line of Platinum."

I gasped in surprise and almost spilled my tea. "Princess Platinum? One of the founders of—?"

"That Platinum, indeed. I keep meticulous track of such things. When his parents got a little carried away with their favorite pastime—"

"Who watches volcanoes?" Blue Blood asked out of nowhere. "I mean, honestly! Even if fire and flames were both their special talents, how could they be so—"

"Nephew, let's not speak ill of them. They passed doing what they loved." Celestia gave Blue Blood a firm look that caused him to close his mouth on the words he might have said.

Blue Blood snorted and rolled his eyes. "And now keeping Princess Platinum's line going is all up to me. Fat lot of good I am for that."

"I'd say you haven't found the right girl yet, but you aren't exactly looking." Celestia's banter sounded like a well-worn path for the two. "I still don't understand why you didn't press your suit on Cadance."

Waving a hoof dismissively, Blue Blood shook his head. "Cadance is a—a filly. I couldn't have done that. Besides, I have heard she and that Shining Armor chap have been seeing more of each—Why are you laughing?"

I couldn't help it. Hearing him talk about Shining and Cadance as just going on little dates was too much. Apparently Celestia thought so too.

"Because, Nephew, they are—privately—betrothed." The laughter underpinning Celestia's words kept me giggling more.

"Then why did you ask about her specifically?!"

"To tease you, Nephew, to tease you. Only mostly. You may consider asking her for advice. Love is her domain, after all. Perhaps she can find a mare with a mind and figure to match your own?"

"Auntie, what can she possibly do for me?"

"She helped both Joyce and myself with our personal hangups." I don't think Celestia could have said anything else that would have stopped Blue Blood quite so dead in his tracks.

When Blue Blood looked at me, as if this were some elaborate joke, I nodded to him just once. "You're not going to let me live this down, are you? I have to talk to her, don't I, Auntie?"

Celestia beamed. "I'm glad you see things my way."

I'd spent a year helping Princess Celestia get her job done, and I'd seen her talk ponies in circles to get them to do what was not just what she wanted, but was right. This was the first time I'd seen someone recognize they'd been outplayed. It was refreshing, but scary at the same time.

"Joyce, I think we have everything under control for now. Your input, as always, has been more valuable than words can express." Words might not, though Celestia would try. What she had started to do was boost my payment. I wasn't on subsistence living wage anymore—not even close. It was almost embarrassing to have to collect it, though thankfully collecting a wage was voluntary. "If you would like to leave us, you have my blessing."

That was important when you worked for an absolute monarch. Her blessing could see cities built and destroyed. "Thank you, Your Highness. If you need me again, don't hesitate to send somepony, or use my button." Celestia, I don't think, would flex her power if somepony really wanted to leave, but I didn't want to ever test that, and from what I understood she didn't want to test me testing that. It was at once very confusing and crystal clear.

With a bow I turned and headed back inside to find Robin.

The Royal Guard of Canterlot shared nods and smiles with me as I walked through the long corridors. The entry hall was only populated with Guardponies (and myself). When I reached the supplicant hall, however, all the Guardponies were in business mode and had their stern expressions on for the visiting bat ponies who were present. My daughter was not among them.

"Joyce Robertson?"

I could have ignored them and kept walking. If I didn't want to talk to these ponies, the Royal Guard would step in—reluctantly—and ensure I didn't have to.

Turning to the speaker I invested them with a good, disinterested look. "Yes?"

"How serious is—"

"Wait." I didn't want to call in the Guardponies, but if this was all they wanted to talk about I would. "I will not discuss the princess' business without her present. I will only give you my personal opinion of Princess Celestia." They waited on my words, each pair of slit eyes focused on me. "Princess Celestia has earned my trust over the relatively short time I've known her. You would do very well to ask her these questions."

I turned and looked at Shining Armor who was marching toward me. When he snapped his hooves down sharply as he stopped I raised an eyebrow.

"Joyce Mango! You will accompany me!" Shining had his business face on.

It was somewhat of a surprise, but I fell in behind him and let him lead the way outside and toward Cadance's tower. He didn't stop and didn't speak until we were inside and he used his magic to close the door. "What's this all about?"

"You," the sharp voice Shining had used in the hall was gone now, "looked like you could use an exit."

"Do you have a sign normally?" I asked.

"Tap your left-rear hoof twice while standing still. Raven came up with that one. Do that and somepony will suddenly need to escort you somewhere." Shining Armor made his way back over to the door. "How's married life?"

He didn't need to say another thing. My mood surged into the sky like a bat pony pumping their wings. I could feel my smile stretching my face, and I actually giggled. "I never thought I'd find anypony, but there he was. Has Princess Celestia given you a date you can announce it yet?"

Opening the door, Shining let out a sigh. "She said we can announce it after her thousandth Summer Sun Celebration. That's still over a year away." He almost deflated. His armor looked heavy and his body somehow weaker.

"Shining Armor?" I waited for him to turn around and look at me. "You're going to marry Cadance."

The effect my words had on him were practically instant, though I watched him stand taller, puff his chest out, and look twice the stallion he'd been. "I am!"

Following him out the door, I felt like I'd repaid him for saving me. "Have you…?"

Shining's head shook, and I saw a blush grow on his cheeks even as he faced away from me. "Sh-Should I talk to her about it?"

"Do you want to?" I asked. When he nodded, I added, "Then talk to her. Let her know how you feel. She might feel the same way."

"What? A mare would feel—" He'd spun around so fast I had to giggle.

"Shining Armor, mares can want the touch of their favored stallion every bit as much as that stallion wants it." I had to smile at needing to tell him that. It was obvious he loved Cadance greatly. Was she his first love? I'd have to ask Lyra. "Perhaps take her to dinner? Make a night of it?"

"A night?"

"Shining, I'm telling you to put Cadance into the mood. Show her how smooth her—" I cut my words short as a pair of Guardponies walked past. "Show her how smooth you can be."

"You've seen me outside of this armor, right? I'm a big klutz."

"And she still loves you more than anything. Trust me, Shining. Dinner, perhaps a massage, and you would be surprised where things might go." For a moment I considered the situation a little from another view. "You do know what can arise from—"

"I know about the birds, the bees, and the flowers in the trees, Joyce."

In truth I didn't know what Equestrian schools taught of such things. Lyra had been well versed on the repercussions of interpersonal fun. I hoped Candela had imparted that wisdom on Robin. That my little girl was getting to that age without me hurt. "I've got to go, Shining. Don't forget."

Spreading my wings, I only waited for him to give me enough room to take off before pumping them hard and jumping into the air. The joy of flight and the happiness of helping (and being helped by) Shining were all overshadowed by the sudden melancholy of missing Robin. I was barely above the walls of the castle before I aimed myself toward the house I shared with Tufts and began a quick, swooping flight home.

I moved—my wings and legs—on autopilot as I touched down in our front yard and rushed inside. Tufts wings wrapped around me before he even asked a question and the emotion hit with full force. Fear, worry, loss, and more burst upon me and I started to cry.

"Mum?" Robin's voice startled me. I jerked out of Tufts' embrace and stared at her. "Mum!"

She was too big—too grown up. I gasped and rushed to her to wrap her in my wings and hug her tight. "My little sky puppy. You're growing up so fast."

"One of Princess Celestia's guards told me she was going to dismiss you for the afternoon. I figured you'd come here. What's wrong? You're crying."

"I went looking for you in the castle after the princess dismissed me. I thought you'd gotten caught up in a meeting. What's all this duchess stuff?" My mind was racing in circles, chased by the thoughts I'd been working through all morning.

"It was Screech's idea. She said that if she's going to be a princess and rule Batstralia, she needs nobles to stand around and look like they know what they're doing. I think she was just a bit lonely. So she started handing out titles." Robin tilted her head back and to the side. "You changed your last name to Mango?"

"My fault." Tufts reminded me that he was there by dint of walking up beside me and rubbing my flank, side, and shoulder with his body—pressing close into me. "In all fairness, I'm her mango too."

"I still can't believe you two got married. I mean, Mum knows about everything, right?"

"I know, don't I—Tjinimin Mango?" I put weight on the words and watched Tufts' eyes widen for a fraction before his near-side wing wrapped over my back and pulled me snugly against him—a position I was quite happy to be in. "It took some work on both our part. My mind was a little set in its ways."

"But less so now." Tufts nibbled along my jawline with the small teeth between his front fangs. The scrape of the sharper teeth on my skin made the tips of my wings curl a little.

"Much less so," I said.

"So." Robin made her way to the couch and jumped up on it. "When're Lyra and me getting a little brother or sister?"

It wasn't that I hadn't thought of the consequences of pony canoodling—I'd just talked to Shining about it—but I hadn't thought for a second about it applying to Tufts and myself. In my head I ran through the symptoms of a pregnant mare. I had a few, but they were also symptoms of stress.

"Littlest mango, do not beset us with heavy thoughts." Tufts' wing squeezed me a little more as he spoke, though I noticed he did so over my shoulders. "If a new life comes of our union, it will be the happiest day of this old bat's life. Well, one of the happiest."

I nuzzled him back every bit as much as he nuzzled me. "If it happens, it happens. We are not so poor as we can't support a foal." The idea thrilled me. The previous men in my life hadn't exactly warmed my heart as warmed my bed, but Tufts was much more to me than they'd ever been.

Feeling a little like a wrung-out washcloth, I stood quietly beside him, cheek pressed to his neck, while he and Robin chatted about things of less consequence.

Was I pregnant? Would Tufts know? Would Cadance or Celestia? They may not intimidate me quite as much anymore, but I still worked and loved ponies that had magical power far beyond what I did. But that brought another powerful pony to mind, and her gift to me.

Had Nightmare Moon's gift lifted me somewhere closer to the ranks of those around me? I couldn't count on it, but she had given me a little something. It was food for thought.

Author's Note

Lyra: If you wanted foals would you ask your old human girlfriend turned stallion to be the sperm donor?

"I—" Lyra stared, stunned to silence. Her mouth worked a few times, as if she were going to say something, but no words came out. At last she breathed a sigh and shook her head. "Rose is not part of my life. She—he—has his own life now, and I don't think either of us were meant to be. As for Sweetie and me, I don't know. Maybe? I mean, if there was a spell it'd be easiest. Maybe we could adopt?"

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Lab

Chapter 28 [[ A Lyra Perspective ]]

I'd totally noticed it, but I wasn't sure if Mum had yet. Her mood flipped on a dime sometimes, and when she was happy she shined. I'd looked at Tufts a few times, and either he hadn't noticed or he'd be a great poker player.

Having a foal still terrified me. Not Mum having one, that was kinda awesome, but me having one. "Are you sure?" I asked Sweetie.

"I sent a letter to the Cakes. They said you can do some part-time work for them if you want, but they're seeking a full-time worker. I don't want us to live under our parents hooves, but I also don't want to be far away. Ponyville is a good place for both those things." Sweetie, pressed to my side, used her hoof to turn the page in her book. "Next week's mission is going to be a big one. We're going to deal with the bugbears."

Bugbears, I knew from my history classes, were a problem for Equestria's north-east. Most were unthinking brutes—beasts with not much between their ears—but some of them learned enough to be dangerous. "What this time?"

"Another smart one. It's gathered up a bunch of other smart ones, and they're herding the rest of them toward Trottingham." Sweetie flicked the page over in her book.

There was one big problem I saw with her description. "Trottingham is on an island."

She snorted and ran her hoof along my foreleg a little. "That's the problem. They're pretending they're beavers, or something. All I heard was that bugbears have been cutting down trees upstream of Trottingham, riding them down, and are trying to fill the bay with logs so all the bugbears can get across."

Just her touch, in a meaningful but silly way, made me far too giddy-happy for words—trying to focus on what she had just said was right out.

"Am I distracting you?" she asked.

I'd promised to always tell this mare the absolute truth. I nodded.

"Good. You need some distracting from time to time, Lyra. When are you going looking at houses?"

Focusing was hard, but I did it because not focusing would mean giving up and kissing her, and though I really wanted to do that, I needed to tell Sweetie what was going on first. "T-Tomorrow. Heading down to Ponyville to talk with Mayor Mare. With two part-time jobs, we're going to want a pre-built house."

"You're not going to build me a palace with your magic?" Her tone was as cute and seductive as Sweetie could manage—it made me groan at the thought of all the things that voice could lead to.

Would I? Could I? I mean, I could. It would take a few weeks of repeated magic work, and I'd have to be careful not to ruin the bedrock for miles around, but—

"Lyra Heartstrings, don't you dare build me a castle. I was joking, and I know you were just thinking about how to do it."

"I was not," I lied.

Then sweetie let out a sigh and kissed me. It really should stop having this effect on me sometime, though I kinda hoped it wouldn't, but the kiss had me melting into a puddle of happy Lyra and turning my head to deepen the touch.

I know I was completely done-for. I let my eyes flutter closed and relaxed. Sweetie liked to be a bit more affirmative with our kisses, and I loved every moment of them—just like I loved this one. She was forceful sometimes, though right now she was more tender in her advance as her tongue just seemed to worm its way into my mouth.

When she pulled her lips back suddenly, I was left gasping and snapped my eyes open. "Bon Bon…"

"You're still calling me that? I thought you'd given up?" Sweetie licked her lips, which gave me the idea to do the same. I could taste her.

"Nope." I leaned aside from her and lit my horn with magic. Slowly, carefully, I began to stroke and play phantom fingers over her cutie mark. Most of the time I used my telekinesis as a blob, but some things I knew felt better as hands.

"I've never seen a unicorn do anything like"—Sweetie Drops gasped and shivered from crest to croup—"like that. Is that from…?"

"From Earth. This is a hand." I held up my magic to show her. "And you know the best thing about having a unicorn like me as your wife?"

"What's tha—?"

I interrupted her by moving the hand to her neck and manifesting another, then carefully starting to run my "fingers" through her mane and coat. Her eyes drooped, her ears folded down sideways, and I watched Sweetie shudder in place as I began to massage her. "This."

Beginning at her neck, I worked up to her ears. One stroke, two, and I knew Sweetie would be putty in my hooves for the rest of the evening, but I didn't want her to pass out on me. I brought my golden hands back to her neck and took up the massage again. "Still with me?"

A soft, happy groan was all my wife managed.

"You know the best thing about giving a massage as a unicorn? I can kiss you while I work." The hands traveled down her withers slowly while I nipped and nuzzled at her neck. "You know I'm going to do a lot more exploring when I get to the back, right?"

Sweetie stretched out her neck and turned her head sideways on the pillow. "Looking forward to it."

By the time I reached her rump, she was almost asleep from the massage. I licked and nuzzled at her cutie mark while my hands reached below her tail. All I did was stroke the fur of her rump, and Sweetie instinctively lifted her hindquarters.

"Don't mind if I do," I said.

Morning broke while we were still tangled in bedding. There was absolutely nowhere I'd rather be, yet there was something we'd both need to do. I nuzzled at the belly immediately before my snout, and got a hoof to the side of my head for my trouble. "Hey!"

"Sorry. Still getting used to waking up with somepony doing something like that." Sweetie sneezed and looked down at me. "I didn't say stop."

"Do you promise not to kick me again?"

"If you kiss my belly? Yes, I guess so."

Slowly, trying not to tip her off, I took a deeper and deeper breath, pressed my lips to Sweetie's belly, and blew the biggest, loudest raspberry I could.

"Hey! Stop that!" Sweetie's laughter did nothing to dissuade me from taking another quick breath and blowing a second. "You're such a goof, Lyra."

I didn't stop and I wouldn't stop until she hugged me, kissed me, and pushed me off the bed. Stretching my legs out by running on the spot, I pondered doing this every day for the rest of my life—and really liked the idea. "Armor or no armor?"

"It's not a proper run if we don't have a bit of weight on our backs. Get your armor on and let's get moving."

Using my magic, I levitated my own armor onto my back and set about myself with hoof and mouth to tighten the straps up. Despite magic being part of every aspect of my life, putting my armor on was still a by-the-book process—even if the book didn't actually specify I couldn't use magic.

Even so, Sweetie beat me to it. While I put my armor on every morning for my run, she wore hers and adjusted it all day. "Show off," I said.

"Newbie." Sweetie stuck her tongue out at me. If I were close enough, I would have kissed her. "Lets make it a double run. You're going to be on the train sitting on your butt, and I'll be listening to briefings. Come on."

There was an ulterior motive to my wanting to run without armor—my wife had a rump that was too good to be contained all the time, and I'd wanted to see it in action. Such is life. Leaving the little house we shared, I let Sweetie lead the way onto the outer-ring-road of Canterlot.

It was always good to let my body work. It's odd, now I think about it, but I hadn't been this into exercise back on Earth. What changed? What didn't change, is probably a better question.

Smoothly, we moved from a warm-up trot to a canter. Our hooves flashed on the stone of the street as the wind flicked over us. The sun was in the sky and life itself beat through our bodies like a drum timed to the crash of our hooves on the road.

By the time we were halfway around the city, I pulled us up to a gallop. The world itself became a blur or patterns around us, with the only two things that were in focus being Sweetie and myself.

Somepony was pulling a huge cart of fresh fruit down the road ahead of us. I judged the distance, ran the simplest set of numbers I could, and grabbed Sweetie with my magic. If she'd fought the grip in the slightest I wouldn't have been able to teleport us, but this trick was old hat for her and I.

With a resonant POMF we disappeared and appeared on the other side of the cart, the surprised pony pulling it just half a length behind us. We didn't even break stride.

We only slowed our pace when we approached the E.U.P. Guard fields. Second only to the palace itself for real estate taken up, it was a huge part of Canterlot and was also a second home to us. No matter what was happening, even reservists could trot up to the gate and into the welcoming hug of the E.U.P. Guard.

"Corporal Sweetie Drops, Private Lyra Heartstrings." Hearing my name with the awarded title always made me feel a little more proud of what I'd done. It wasn't a huge thing, but when a gate guard (who all seemed to know everypony on the roster by sight) used it, it felt good. "Finally signing onto active duty, private?"

"Just dropping my wife off to work." I took the moment to kiss Sweetie on the cheek, though I really wanted to kiss her in a more fulfilling manner. Curse my need to blow raspberries on her belly—if I'd just kissed her tummy like she'd asked, we might have had a more exciting morning.

Sweetie pranced a little, something I'd seen her do practically every time I'd referred to either of us by marriage titles. It was damn near the cutest thing I'd ever seen in my life and it made me so blissfully happy to see her still doing it. "Lyra's too busy learning everything there is to know about magic. I expect, when I return, that she'll be Princess Celestia's new personal student."

I snorted and rolled my eyes. "Joke's on you if I become a princess by the time you come back."

"If I come back and you're an alicorn, I'll be the first member of your Royal Guard." Sweetie turned straight on and kissed me—properly. She made me melt. The touch of her lips to mine almost had me wishing I had human feet again so I could curl my toes up.

While using my teleport/drop method of travel was interesting, I didn't exactly want to drop in on the town like a superhero from a comic. The train was more than cozy enough for a ride down the mountain in, and it had the advantage of letting me ponywatch.

There was a pair of young pegasi mares, both with the same gray-blue coat, but one sported greenish hair, while the other had a sort of sky-blue and white thing going on.

Another bench had an old earth pony mare that looked like she was a hundred years old, half asleep with a green coat and bleached white hair.

An earth pony stallion with a light brown coat and dark brown hair sat—similar to the old mare—alone to one side. He didn't look as excited as the pegasi, kinda like this was old hat to him.

Finally there was a shadowy figure sitting all off on his own. With one wing around his head, the bat pony seemed to be shying away from the bright sun outside. I couldn't blame him, it had taken Mum forever to get used to being awake during the day.

Deciding to do a good deed, I walked casually up and sat on the bench beside the bat pony. The golden glow of my horn didn't add much to the morning's brightness, but as soon as my dimming spell took effect, he jumped.

"That a bit better?" I asked.

He was staring at my horn—fixated. Right, not all bat ponies are going to be quite so up with unicorn magic. "T-T-Thankyou."

"My mum's a bat pony, so I know how hard it is to adjust to daytimes again. I'm Lyra." I pushed out my hoof toward him and got a hesitant clop in return. "Heading back to Cowwarr/Stonecrop?"

His eyes widened even more, but he shook his head. "H-Helping to organize the chancery. I have to wait for workers from Canterlot and b-back home."

"Mum said that Cowwarr got a bit of a facelift since I last saw it. Is the pub there still doing average food really cheap?" I remembered the first meal we'd had in town and shudered. That was something I wouldn't forget.

Staring at me for a moment, he seemed to stiffen and then blink his eyes rapidly. "You speak Batstralian?!"

I didn't have to turn around to know our conversation got some curious looks, but that could have happened just from ponies hearing a different language. "Born and raised in Australia," I said in English. "Kinda cool everything's going forward so friendly, but after living this long with ponies I can understand why."

"When did you move here? Equestria, I mean. Oh! My name's Susan. You can call me Cookie if you like." He blushed up a storm.

This was an interesting split between me and Batstralia. They'd come to terms with all this gender flipping stuff as a society, having to put up with all of their society rules and crap. I'd broken my ties to one world as a male, and walked into another as a female.

Well, time to put him at ease. "Well, you could call me Mike, but I haven't used that name in years, and at my wedding a princess called me Lyra Heartstrings, so that made it kinda official."

"You got married here?" Curiosity lit up his face and made him look a lot prettier—but still not actually attractive to me in any way.

"Found the mare of my dreams. It wasn't love at first sight, but we didn't exactly waste time." I could see Ponyville getting nearer out the window. "What about you? Got a special somepony waiting for you?"

"No. Things got all kinds of messed up when the change happened, and after it things were twice as messed up. Is this stop Ponyville?" Cookie asked.

"Yeah. This is my stop. If you ever want to come into Ponyville and chill, just—Well, I'm arranging a house today, so I don't know exactly where yet," I said and stood up as the train slowed, "But just ask around and I'm sure somepony will know where I live."

The train wasn't due to wait long. I'd just stepped off it when it let out a groan and, one by one, the cars jolted and were pulled forward. It was leaving my sight when I realized he couldn't speak Equish. How would he be able to ask around for me?

I'd figure something out. Oh well, time to meet—"Mayor Mare!"

It was perhaps the luckiest of things that she was standing on the platform right then, trying to haul a large package that'd been dropped off. It stood taller than she did, and looked to be just about as heavy as she was.

"Would you like some help?" I asked.

"Oh! Miss Heartstrings! How good of you to offer, but I've got this." Mayor Mare seemed to glare at the big box, shift her back a little, then she kicked it. I stared as the box actually flipped and dropped, then landed square across her back. "There. Now, I hear there's congratulations in order?"

Well she knew the way to make me bubbly and happy again. I nodded, smiling clear from one side of my snout to the other. "Yeah! It was amazing. She was beautiful—still is. I'd say it was the happiest day of my life, but since then every day I've woken up beside Sweetie has been the new best day of my life. Today is not an exception."

"Some ponies say it can be hard to recognize true love, but I've seen—and officiated over—many ponies, and you have the look and sound of a mare head over hocks in love, and I have just the place for you." Pointing toward the center of town with a hoof, Mayor Mare started walking in the indicated direction. "But first I'll need to drop this new filing cabinet off."

When a pony turns down your help, and you're in a hurry, you find yourself trying to work out ways to speed things up. Mayor Mare seemed intent to gossip about the other ponies of town while I ran calculations in my head of how best to teleport both of us and the cabinet to the town hall as efficiently as possible.

A direct teleport of all three masses would be easy, but I'd been taught (and had disciplined myself) that waste is the biggest enemy of all. The only time to use more energy than strictly required was when safety or overkill were a high concern. So while she told me about the new pegasus twins moving into town, and talked about how she thought Octavia should find herself a nice earth pony stallion, I calculated a two-pony teleport and a teleport-pull of the filing cabinet such that the least amount of magic would be used.

My plan called for projecting the cabinet not directly to me, but into a parabolic arc. I quickly scrubbed that idea on the grounds that firing a filing cannon at myself wasn't the best use of my magic. What I needed was some kind of trampoline to bounce the—

"You wouldn't mind helping me get it through the door, dear?" Mayor Mare asked, cutting my ruminations on ballistic trajectories short.

"Sure. Let me get a grip on it." My telekinetic grip wasn't as strong as what someponies had, but that doesn't mean I didn't have enough oomph to grab and lift the cabinet. Slowly lifting, I got it clear of Miss Mare's back. "Okay, I got it. Show me where you need it put."

"Just in here. If you could put it in my office beside the other ones."

The trick with heavy loads was to not put all the strain on yourself. Gripping the cabinet resulted in my golden glow enveloping it, but what nopony could see was the lines of force I extended out to support the weight evenly across the floor. Moving it was more a case of having my magic walk it into the right place.

Mayor Mare slipped into her office and pointed out where she wanted the desk. I walked it all the way into place and then slowly lowered it. When it finally touched the ground I held on still just in case. "This is where you need it?"

"Thank you, yes."

I let my magic relax and fizz out on its own. The feel of my body already kicking itself into gear to replace the spent energy never failed to make me feel slightly hungry. High metabolism came with being a unicorn who used their magic, but being a physically active unicorn on top of that meant that my calorie intake could be quite a bit higher than a normal pony's without putting any weight on me. "About a house?"

"Well, you know Ponyville is one of the fastest growing towns in all Equestria right now. Actual houses are at a premium…" Mayor Mare still wore a smile, and remembering her comment earlier reassured me there would be a but coming. "But for a member of the Guard, and a student of Princess Celestia's school to boot—I found just the place.

"Although it's a bit of a sad story. The couple who lived there were quite apt adventurers. Alas we got a report that they—ah—shan't be coming back." Mayor Mare looked a little subdued at that.

It certainly wasn't the house's fault that the occupants had died. Besides, a house is a house. "Can you tell me a little more about it?"

Mayor Mare led the way back outside. "It's a four bedroom—you said you wanted plenty of space—with two bathrooms and a generous living room. The kitchen lacks modern appliances, but I'm sure you can arrange that. The rental price is marginally lower because of that."

I listened to everything as we made our way through town. I'd left my armor at home mostly because I didn't want to give the wrong impression. Wearing it while exercising was one thing, and drummed into us in the Guard training, but if I wore it all the time it'd feel like I was pretending to be somepony I wasn't.

"… and this is it."

The house looked like it needed a little work. The garden was mostly neat, but it seemed the kind of care that a neighbor who was worried about having an overgrown wilderness beside their nice garden would do.

The building too needed some care. A new coat of paint would do it wonders, and one of the windows on the upper floor was broken. In short, it was a fixer-upper. "It needs some work."

"I could have the first six months of rent suspended on the provision you bring it up to code."

I liked that. "How is it inside? Can I go in?"

"Go right ahead. Like I said, the fittings are a little out of date, but you'll benefit from updating them with each year you live here."

Using my magic to open the front door, I pushed it open and walked in. The entry hall was bare of furniture, and when I walked to the living room I realized the house had been emptied. "No furnishings at all?"

"Relatives of the couple who owned it previously collected all the things, along with their little daughter. Poor thing." As she walked past me, Mayor Mare seemed a little too fast to get to the back of the house.

I smelled a rat—or at least an effort to unload a house that nopony else would move into—and gave chase. When I reached the kitchen, it was right on Mayor Mare's hooves.

The kitchen was much like the rest of the house, but I noticed a lack of dust that set off a warning flag in my head. "A wood-burning stove? You weren't joking." I walked over to said stove and ran my hoof along the handle—there was no dust. "I'll have to get all this replaced. It's going to cost a small fortune."

"I-I'll be honest, Miss Heartstrings. I thought it was better equipped than this. I'll contact Princess Celestia's inspectors and have them come out to revalue it. If you bring this up to modern standards, it should be a lot more than just the few bits a year I'm allowed to adjust a property."

"Would I be able to take a look upstairs?" I asked.

"Go ahead. Three of the bedrooms and a bathroom are up there. The master bedroom and an en suite are down on the ground floor."

When Mayor Mare started to follow me, I paused. "I don't suppose you could check the fittings in the bathroom on this floor? That's what I'm most worried about now."

Leaving her to her investigation, I made my way to the top of the stairs and looked at the clean part of the floor—it stopped at the bathroom, which had one bedroom before it.

My mind raced. If a squatter was living here, why would they use the upstairs bedroom and not the master? Opening the bedroom door I saw a normally furnished bedroom that I could assume would belong to a foal. It was empty right now, but I had my suspicions on what was happening.

Suspicions that would have to wait. I closed the door and walked through to the bathroom. The bedroom had been neat and tidy, but the bathroom was a bit of a mess. The plumbing looked ancient, reinforcing the fact that this place would need a lot of work—probably even enough work that it would be easier to build something new.

But this was something interesting. The evidence pointed to either a very untidy pony or a foal living here alone. If it was the former, I'd be duty bound to report it to Mayor Mare—since she obviously didn't know about them. If the latter… I'd taken an oath—it might not be as private or personal as the Royal Guard one was, but I'd sworn to do the right thing by ponies and Equestria.

Plus, you know, I'm actually a nice pony. A foal living on their own wasn't right. While it didn't quite fit, thinking of them as my little sister (what with my little sister being some kind of freakin' genius), I felt protective.

I gave the bedroom door a hard stare as I walked past it before taking the stairs back down. Mayor Mare practically leapt out at me—but not really. I just didn't hear her walking about. "I'd like to spend the night here. Maybe a few. Get a feel for it."

"Oh. Well, I guess that shouldn't be a problem. Do you need something to sleep on? I'm sure Quills and Sofas would have something temporary you could set up." She perked up again. "I'll arrange for the inspectors to come down tomorrow, if you'd like?"

It might be inconvenient, but I could deal with that then. "Absolutely! That'd be wonderful. I might stretch my legs on a walk around town now. Old habits die hard, you know."

The look of confusion on Mayor Mare's face told me she didn't know what I was talking about. With a promise I'd visit Quills and Sofas, I left through the back door. The rear garden was worse than the front one. I was just about to leave when an idea hit me.

Firstly, I'd need to get a look at what I have to work with. The weeds came up to my belly, which didn't bode well for any flowers that might be trying to live. Well, I wasn't going to pull them out with my teeth, so I began tugging on stems with my telekinetic grip.

I lost track of time, but my belly rumbled to let me know the sun was high in the sky. I had about half the garden cleared, and it was obvious from the parts I'd done that none of the actual plants had survived. Weeding would result in some of the most tenacious grass ever and that was the best I could hope for.

Working part-time in Ponyville would have to wait until I had the house updated and repaired, and that all might have to wait until I found out who was living here. Using a tap at the back door, I washed up my hooves and took a long guzzle of water before stepping out of the back garden.

A skinny lane led between the backs of each house. Beautiful gardens resided in some of the yards, while others were more plain. I could definitely see which houses had earth ponies and which didn't.

The lane let out onto a street, which I followed to the main thoroughfare, and that led me to Sugarcube Corner. The building was gorgeous, its colors bright and joyful, and through the windows I could see excited ponies within.

I opened the door with my magic and slipped inside. What surprised me was who stood behind the counter. Pinkie Pie. Turning my head away from her, lest she recognize me in the background of the crowd, I focused everything I had on a fetching spell, targeting two items in a chest back home in Canterlot.

A more complete and utter waste of magic I couldn't think of, but this was the right thing to do. Settling the fake glasses and moustache on my face, and putting the silly hat on, I joined the line of ponies slowly advancing toward the register.

"Welcome to Sugarcube Corner! What can I get for—" Pinkie Pie had clearly been using her spiel all day, or maybe for several days, because she almost finished it before recognizing me.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but do you have a cure for the equine flu?" I asked.

Now, Pinkie already looked happy, but now her face almost seemed to explode in excitement. She shook in place, and I could see the effort it took for her not to jump across the counter and hug me. "E-Equine flu?"

"Yes!" I tossed off my hat and reached across to boop Pinkie on the nose. "I'm feeling a little hoarse!"

I liked to think I was a tough unicorn, and that I could stand hoof-to-hoof with just about any regular earth pony, but Pinkie Pie was over the counter and knocking me backwards so fast I wouldn't have gotten a single spell off to save myself. "Lyra!" And the pounce turned into a pounce-hug. "What are you doing here?!"

"Well, I heard one of my best friends got a job here, and thought I'd take the day off to come and see her." As I spoke, Pinkie's eyes widened more and more until they were the size of saucers.

"No!"

I just grinned at her. "Well, I might be moving here. What—"

"Pinkie? What's the matter? There's a lot of shouting and—Oh! Miss Lyra!" Cup Cake was standing over us. "What an unexpected surprise. Do you two know each other?"

Opening my mouth to reply, I was beaten to the punch by Pinkie.

"Only the best of friends since school! Back then Lyra was called Mike, and he was already suuuuper friendly, but then he became a pony and it became a hundred, thousand, million, googol times more fun! She was best friends with me and all my sisters, and also with Princess Cadance, and she knows all the bat ponies ever!" Pinkie Pie's flood of words were all kinda correct, though I don't think I know all the bat ponies ever. "Wait. How do you know Lyra?"

Cup Cake looked a little worried. "Well, when we were having trouble finding somepony to work here, we asked Lyra if she could help out. Err, I hope it's not a problem that we filled the position, but you did say you'd be fine st—"

"It's not a problem, Cup." I didn't want her so upset about it, and it really wasn't a problem. "I still have my main job in Canterlot, and it looks like I'm going to need some time to work on the house I've got an eye on."

"So you're really moving here? This'll be great! I'll have to throw you a Welcome to Ponyville party!" Pinkie, with strength even Sweetie would have envied, lifted me up effortlessly and started dancing. My hooves felt possessed as I inexplicably joined in her dance.

It was a type of magic I hadn't directly experienced like this before. Princess Celestia had called it the Magic of Harmony, and it swirled around ponies fulfilling their destiny—dragging others in and rewarding all for celebrating the togetherness that such brought. It was heady, and proof that Pinkie was definitely the right mare for this job.

When our impromptu dance party ended, I was aware that other ponies had been pulled into it with us. "It's great to know we'll have some old friends here with us."

I could almost see Pinkie processing what I'd said. "'Us'?" she asked.

"Us. Sweetie Drops and I. We're married now." My words had frozen Pinkie. I could either leave her like that or keep talking to distract her. "I tried to send you an invitation, but I had no idea where to send it. In the end, I sent it to your parents' farm, but I guess you didn't ge—"

"You got married?!" Pinkie hugged me tight enough to squeeze me out of my skin. "I can't believe you got married! That's amazing! How much cake was there?"

It took no more words than that to shove all the memories of one of the happiest days of my life to the fore. "There was a lot. Princess Celestia let us use the castle, since it was a double wedding, so we had her kitchen making—"

"Double wedding?!"

"Mum and Tufts got married at the same time. It was a last minute thing." I waited a moment for another shout, but none came. Perhaps I'd gone one revelation too many for Pinkie Pie? "It's kinda weird thinking of him as my dad, but he's been the closest thing to what I think a dad should be. Pinkie?"

Pinkie took a deep, calming breath and closed her eyes. "There is going to be a big party, Lyra. I cannot be held responsible for the size of the cake or the number of ponies invited." She was so calm and quiet that it actually did worry me what she was going to do. "You see, I figured it all out. I'm a party planner, and the best in Equestria. Your party, Lyra, will be the best Equestria has ever seen."

I couldn't help myself. Pinkie Pie being so serious about something was just about the most cute thing I'd seen all year. I lifted my hoof up and booped her. "I hope so, because you know this means we'll be living in the same town and can visit each other whenever we want, right?"

Her mane seemed to fluff out to twice its normal size before Pinkie giggled. "We sure will! Oh, I better get back to work."

I backed away, then realized I'd missed my place in the line. With the line now much shorter, I didn't overly care and walked to the back. This time, the smell of bakery treats was invading my head, and by the time I got to the front of the queue I was salivating.

"Oh, Lyra! You're back!" Pinkie giggled up a storm. "Sorry about you having to wait in line twice."

"It's okay, Pinkie. I think I'll just take a feta and spinach danish and one of those custard scrolls you have there." I gestured to each of the items. Weighing up my options, I decided to avoid asking about the pony living in the house just in case they got wind of somepony asking after them and—I was maybe overthinking this.

Pinkie slipped both my purchases in little paper bags and slid them across the counter. "That'll be six copper bits."

I slid a silver bit across to her and got four coppers change. "Are there any good places in town for dinner? I didn't exactly bring anything with me…"

Cup was bringing out a new batch of cupcakes and set them on the counter. "Well, there's a Hayburger place, but if you're used to fancy Canterlot food you might want Savoir's Cafe. They have a wonderful dinner menu." Lifting up one of the cakes, Cup held it out to me. "Here. This is on the house."

"You really don't have to—"

"Of course I do. Go on now." Cup Cake had the kind of smile that was impossible to turn down. That the cupcake looked amazing with chocolate and strawberry decorations made my hunger a force to be reckoned with.

"Thanks, Cup, and you too, Pinkie. I guess I'll be seeing you both around." I left the bakery with my things, their goodbyes chasing me out the door, and made my way to the town square.

An open area that resembled a little park, I found a comfortable-looking bench to sit on and climbed up to get comfortable.

The first bite of the danish had me sighing in equine bliss at the delicious food. I couldn't help exploring the entire treat.

"Hi there. New in town?" The speaker was a pegasus mare with a sky-blue coat and the most awesome, rainbow-colored mane and tail I'd ever seen. The other odd thing about her was she just hovered there, flapping her wings as if she didn't have time to land.

Gulping down my last mouthful, I nodded. "Sure am. Lyra Heartstrings." I held out my hoof to her.

She looked like she was waiting for me to say something else, and it honestly became a little odd. Eventually she let out a sigh and reached down to shake my hoof. "So you haven't heard of me? Rainbow Dash?"

Okay, either she has an ego the size of Equestria, or she's part of some famous group. Let's see, pegasus, likes flying way more than is sane. "Are you in the Wonderbolts?"

Apparently not. It was like all the confidence exhaled out in her sigh. "Not yet." Then suddenly it was back again in a double helping. "But I will be soon! You'll see! Commander Spitfire will—"

"Oh? Spitfire's the commander now? I'll have to go congratulate her." Apparently I'd said something wrong.

Rainbow Dash looked shocked. "You know Commander Spitfire?!"

"Only a little. She and another Wonderbolt put on a show for my wife and me when we were still dating. Our first date, if I remember clearly enough. You should have seen 'em fly!" My time in the E.U.P. Guard let me appreciate that their flying on that day had been impressive, even if I hadn't realized it at the time. "So you're going to join up? Maybe you'll be the next commander."

"That would be totally awesome!" Rainbow shot into the sky with a rainbow-colored trail chasing after her, only to return again a moment later. "How'd you manage to get the Wonderbolts to perform for your date?"

"I asked a friend, and she asked them." Good one, Lyra, now you have to explain how you're friends with a princess—or two—or lie. Or maybe I could just smudge it a little. "You know how it is with friends. Somepony always knows somepony."

"Oh. Well yeah, of course. I just need to know somepony who knows somepony…" Rainbow Dash doing subtle was a sight to behold.

I picked up my custard scroll and hovered it just before my mouth. "I'll let them know if I see them." That's when I noticed her looking at my treat. "You want to go halves?"

When Rainbow's eyes lit up, I broke the scroll in half and passed a piece to her. "I got it at Sugarcube Corner. They have a new baker working there." And now I'm advertising for them. Couldn't hurt, I guess.

She seemed to inhale the piece. "Wow that's good. Kinda heavy though."

"Yeah." I tucked the cupcake away in my saddlebags for later. "But that's why you gotta work it off. Wanna go for a run?" Okay, so I was being cruel. Without my armor on, I could run all day at a canter and barely be feeling it. An afternoon would be nothing.

"Why not a fly?"

My brain futzed at that. "Not sure if you noticed, but I don't have wings." Never mind that I could kind-of fly, I still wouldn't be able to out-fly a pegasus—and not one aspiring to be a Wonderbolt. "Let's say ten laps around Ponyville?"

Rainbow's eyes widened. "Ten laps?" I spotted the slightest hesitation.

"Sure! Easy! I'm not going to take it easy on you just because you're a unicorn, though." She jumped to her hooves and started doing stretches.

My legs were already reasonably warm from walking around, but I nonetheless got up and did a little trotting on the spot. "Look, you're a good sport, but I should probably warn you—running is part of my life."

"Pfft! Whatever. I doubt you'd even finish ten laps of Ponyville at anything above a trot!"

Oh, that did it. No more Mrs. Nice Mare. "Wanna put a wager on that?"

"Like what?" She was still doing static stretches. Whoever had taught this mare how to run, didn't do a good job of it.

"If I make ten laps, you have to help me work on my house. Let's say… a week of work." It wasn't even mine yet and I was already planning to fix it up. "And if I win, make it two weeks."

"What about if I win and you don't make the ten laps?"

"I'll tell you what. I'll personally track down Commander Spitfire and make sure she knows about you, if you manage to beat me. If I don't make ten laps, I'll buy you one of those scrolls every day for lunch for a whole month." My heart-rate was rising smoothly and I could feel my lungs settle into the deep breaths I took when running. "How's that for rules?"

"Perfect. Not that I'll have to worry about working on your house. Three." She raised an eyebrow and finally started shifting her legs to get ready. "Two."

"No wings and no magic?" I asked.

"Of course. One… Go!" Alright, she can run. Rainbow Dash hit trot pace and rose into a canter and then gallop. She was fast as all get-out.

In contrast, I'd started into a canter and was letting my heart-rate and breathing build more. I followed her in a line for the edge of town before turning to chase after her. When I reached the edge of Ponyville, I stepped my pace up into a gallop and leaned into the wind that was blowing by.

It was good to run again. My morning run had been just that, and wonderful as it was I liked to stretch my legs whenever possible. For the whole first lap around town I kept an eye on where I was going, watching my footing as I negotiated bridges, roads, and the odd pony watching the rainbow blur ahead of me that hadn't noticed me bringing up the rear.

Rainbow Dash was fast. Her gallop was actually faster than mine—something I wasn't used to. In the Guard we always matched our speed so that, as a unit, we kept pace. Neither the second, third, forth, or fifth laps saw me actually catch her, but at the end of the sixth I could actually see her tail ahead of me.

She'd dropped to a canter, it seemed, which was probably faster than my canter, but was no gallop. Each stride she took of the 3-metered gait saw her wings twitching, and I knew she wasn't used to long distance running. Pegasi were wonders on the wing. A pegasus could fly all day and not even feel the strain in their wings, but like an untrained unicorn, running was a strain.

By the time I marked off my eighth lap, Rainbow was only a few ponylengths ahead. She'd alternated between a lap of canter and one of gallop for the last three, and was due for another gallop.

On cue, Rainbow Dash's speed built and she pulled away from me again. In my mind I could see this being close. Unless she had the stamina to gallop both the last two laps, I might have her.

As I figured, at the end of the ninth lap she was well ahead again, and again she slowed to a canter. For half the tenth lap she came closer and closer. I could see her tail just a ponylength ahead, then I was starting to get up beside her. With a quarter lap to go her hindquarters were level with my shoulder.

But she surprised me. With the end in sight, Rainbow Dash broke into a gallop again. It wasn't as fast as her earlier gallops, but it was enough to keep pace with me.

Two weeks help was two weeks help. I tried to lengthen my stride a little, to build my pace just a bit faster than her, but Rainbow did the same. My snout was at her shoulder when we both passed the spot we'd started at.

Rainbow started to slow, so I brought myself down to a trot. I could see she wanted to slow further, but when she saw I wasn't stopping, she kept shoulder to shoulder with me. "What the heck was that?! How'd you,"—she gasped in a breath—"how'd you keep up like that? Did you even slow down?"

"Like I was trying to tell you at the start, before you told me I couldn't possibly make it, running is part of what I do." Despite how wrecked she looked, she was keeping the trot going easily. "What I do is train for the E.U.P. Guard."

"So you want to join them?" She looked interested in hearing more, but from experience I knew we needed to take care of ourselves. "What're you getting out?"

I lifted the bottle of rocket fuel and took a quick pull from it. The salt was the important thing here, and the drink was literally made for just this kind of thing. "Here, take a short swig of this. You don't need much, and it'll put back whatever that run just took out of you." Unused to dealing with pegasi, I just kinda held the bottle out for Rainbow to take.

"What's in it?" Rainbow Dash held the bottle in her wing for a few seconds before lifting it to her lips and drinking. After two mouthfuls she pulled it away with a shocked look on her face. "Whoa!"

"Hits you quick, yeah?" Taking the drink from her, I put the cap back on the bottle and put it back in my saddlebag. "And no, I don't want to join the guard, I'm already a private in the reserves."

"I didn't think they gave ranks to reserves?"

"Kinda. They only give a reservist a rank if they've seen actual duty." I made my way slowly over to the river that ran alongside the town and leaned down to get a good drink.

Beside me, Rainbow did the same. The rocket fuel was great for giving you a quick kick, but a pony needed water to replace what they'd used up. "So you're moving to Ponyville, then?"

"Yeah. Canterlot's great and all, but we want to give our parents some space. Also, get our own space, if you know what I mean?" Standing up straight, I shook my head a few times to free any extra water from it.

"Totally. You have no idea how crazy it is back home with my—Yeah. Let's just say I'm glad to be here and have a nice and easy job that lets me practice for the Wonderbolts." She kept pace beside me, walking back into Ponyville itself. "About the work, when would you need me to help?"

"I probably don't even need a full week. I think I'll be replacing a lot of the fittings, and may need a spare pair of hooves to help hooking things up while I hold them. We've got a few bits to get everything, but I'm not exactly going to pay ponies to fit everything for me." As we got closer to the house, I caught Rainbow's expression changing a little to surprise. "What's up?"

"N-Nothing. Well, a friend used to live here. More precisely, their parents." Rainbow Dash had my full attention, but she stopped talking.

"Well, I want to do a little work on it, mostly just to make it comfortable and some things modernized, but there's one or two things I absolutely don't want to change." Walking up to the house, I opened the front door to the empty front room. "There's this awesome old wood-fired stove in the kitchen that I know Sweetie will love, but at the same time I'd like to get a modern gas unit. It's going to take up a lot of room having both, but it'll be worth it."

When we walked through the house, Rainbow stopped at the bottom of the stairs. "What about up there?"

"Not going to worry about that until tomorrow." Truth. By then I'd have a better idea of what was going on. "Honestly, it was good just to have somepony to run with. When Sweetie's home from the Guard, she runs with me, but most mornings and nights I'm stuck running solo."

"So, about the Wonderbolts…?"

"I'm not going to skip out on you. The Wonderbolts swing by E.U.P. Guard HQ in Canterlot every Monday. I'll have a talk with them next time they're there." The kitchen was as I'd left it a few hours ago. That old wood-fired stove made me tingle with possibility. Keeping it fed might be a problem, but then, maybe not. There were ways to use magic for such things.

"You run every morning and night? Like that?" Rainbow gestured with a wing in the vague direction we'd come from. "I mean, if you want some company… I sorta want to run faster—even though I can fly. You know—"

It was obvious where she was trying to get to, and failing. "I get it. We started working on our legs before joining the Guard so we would have things a bit easier in basic training. It did help, but the funny thing is that I thought I was ready with my magic, too. I wasn't. I had some useful spells, and knew how to use them, but there was a pile of tricky things I'd never thought of, and I spent nearly the whole training time learning a new way to train up my magic so I could use it better."

"Yeah. I guess like that. So if I ran every day I'd get better, right?"

"That's how it worked with your flying, right? You work at it every day and you become better at it?" When Rainbow nodded, I continued. "Well, for running it's the same. Probably the same for magic, too, but you need to know a few tricks to really work out how to go the extra mile there."

"Same for flying. Sounds like I'll be getting the best out of this deal." Rainbow walked out the back door into the yard and cringed at the sight of tons of weeds. "You're not going to make me do gardening, are you?"

I snorted at the tone. "Nah. Yanking weeds is where a unicorn shines. Besides, I'll have you working way harder helping me inside."

A shiver seemed to run over Rainbow Dash and she tilted her head back. When I followed her gaze to the dark cloud coming in low from the forest on the edge of town, she spread her wings. "Sorry, Lyra, got work to do."

I'd seen pegasi jump into the air before, I'd seen them rip their wings through the chill mountain air of Canterlot, and I'd even watched my mum practically float into the sky on her huge wings, but Rainbow Dash seemed more like she let go of the ground and the air pulled her upward. It was some kind of magic, I was sure, that shot her into the sky like a rainbow-trailing missile headed right for that angry cloud.

"Far out…"

Author's Note

To whoever's watching the satellite footage right now, what does Australia look like by now?

"Broken. There are areas of land that shimmer and change, monsters that we've seen walk out of thin air and back into it, and then there's the cities." The young analyst shuddered. "I don't know how anything can live in that chaos."

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Lab

Chapter 29 [[ A Joyce Perspective ]]

When night came, I had something that needed doing—I wanted to find and talk to Nightmare Moon. Purposefully seeking her out was not going to be easy unless she was willing to be sought.

As I closed my eyes, hanging from my newly installed perch, I focused on keeping myself aware of my dreams. It should have been harder to enter a waking dream, but I felt Nightmare Moon's magic flare within me and, without too much fuss, found myself floating in my own dream.

"Alright, Joyce, you've managed to sneak into the back door of your own dream." Looking down, I saw my bedroom and me walking around in it. Wait, I was walking around in it, but it was my dream.

Things were officially weird. I was both having the dream and watching myself have the dream at the same time. Well, it was time to mess with that. Reaching out with a wing, I prodded myself—and felt myself get prodded on the back in the dream.

"That is your subconscious. It will keep dreaming while your conscious mind is working apart from it. You are doing a very odd form of dreamwalking." Nightmare Moon's voice was from right at my side, and to my credit I didn't flinch. After all, she was the point of this. "You wished to find me?"

"Princess Nightmare Moon—" I wasn't going to deprive her of her title, "—I thought I'd bring you up to date on the happenings of Equestria."

She looked at me with what I assumed was actual surprise. "You would lecture me on how Equestria fares?"

I sat down without even knowing what it was I sat on (probably empty space, but if I don't look it works). "Somepony needs to tell you how the world is. You're going to return, correct?"

Slit eyes widened and a big grin spread across Nightmare Moon's mouth. "Yes." The word came out the way a lover would say their partner's name. She wanted to return a lot.

"Well, you'll need to know what is happening if you are going to be useful to Equestria. The ponies there are not the ones who hurt you." This was both a test and a plan. Nightmare Moon had been disconnected from the world for so long, I doubted she had any concept of it. A thousand years, on Earth, would see civilizations rise, fall, and turn to dust. "So, firstly, Cloudsdale is—"

"Cloudsdale? What is Cloudsdale?" Nightmare Moon narrowed her eyes.

Okay, time to wrap my head around the fact that there was probably cities and civilizations that had grown in her absence. "Cloudsdale is the cloud-city the pegasi call home. There is a small population of unicorns living there as well, and last census states five earth ponies. It's where the weather factory is located, and the whole city is mobile."

"That's interesting. And the pegasi run it?"

I just nodded to her.

"Very well, continue. If there's anything else I'm not familiar with, I'll tell you." Her attention was focused on me, for which I was thankful. If Nightmare Moon had been distant or disinterested, as I'd feared she may have been, it wouldn't have boded well for her return.

I dove right in. "Cloudsdale's latest expansion to service the growing needs of the city is going well—too well. Ponies are actually considering building another cloud city. The Wonderbolts are—"

"Wonderbolts?" Nightmare Moon asked.

"We have all night, so I guess there's no need to skim over this. The Wonderbolts were a squad of very talented fliers in the E.U.P. Guard, but they've become more than that. They put on stunt shows, they are ambassadors for Equestria, and they assist in various seasonal activities—usually in support of weather management. They're also some wonderful ponies." I felt the last bit was needed, mostly because from what Lyra said, they were.

"My sister has been busy."

This was going to take forever if she kept making little remarks like that. "For a thousand years. Yes she has. Nightmare Moon—princess—I don't condone or support what was done to you, but neither do I support your reactions to it. Violence is never the answer."

"Was violence not the answer when the Yara-ma-yha-who attacked? Did the bat ponies sent to Equestria not dispatch it with tooth and talon?" She smiled enough to show fangs. I'm fairly sure Nightmare Moon expected that to intimidate me, but after seeing the bat pony hunter Phil, the little things Nightmare Moon sported were hardly intimidating.

"You considered your sister to be a monster that would kill ponies?" The moment I asked, I felt her anger grow. An oppressive darkness gathered around me and tried to push in and attack. "Is this how you treat friends?"

Nightmare Moon faltered and I saw surprise register on her face. If she'd expected me to stand up for myself, she was better at hiding it than Celestia. "Don't question me on—"

"No. No, Nightmare Moon. I will question you on that." I stood up and let my wings hang at my sides a little. "Why did you attack her? Why did you curse your entire country? Ponies are still suffering under that curse, you know? What did they do to deserve this treatment?"

She jerked back from me for a fraction of a second, then froze. Slowly, very slowly, Nightmare Moon hung her head. "They don't deserve it."

"Then, the moment you're back, break the curse. Show everypony that they don't need to fear the night or its princess." I reached a hoof toward Nightmare Moon. When her head snapped up and she looked at it, I put it down and instead walked closer to her. "Show them you'll be able to lead them."

For just a moment Nightmare Moon's eyes widened and I saw the tears in the corners of them she likely hadn't intended me to notice. "Tell me more about these Wonderbolts."

"The individuals?"

Nightmare Moon nodded slowly.

"Brave, smart, fast. I've only really met one of them, and last I heard he was flying third in command. Soarin's his name, and he—"

"You love him?" Her tone was soft and silky, like one mare discussing something naughty with her best friend.

I had a moment to think about how to deal with the question. "Not one bit. Don't get me wrong, he has his bits in all the right places for a pegasus, but I have a husband I love."

She looked as if my words had burned her. Nightmare Moon settled herself down into a pile of cushions that appeared a moment before her belly touched them. "Shadowbolts," she said in an easy tone, "were my champions. At least, they were meant to be. Ponies I'd invest with power and send out to help guard the night of Equestria from the bad things that stalked ponies."

Finding my own spot, I settled down onto my own stack of cushions. Of course, mine had a tray covered in fruit beside it.

"I'd told my sister. I told her everything back then. We talked about how wonderful it would be help everypony have the time to find—to find what they want to be. We'd have the bravest ponies assist us, soaring high in the sky, blazing with magic, and earth ponies who could withstand any peril and keep their spirits intact.

"None came. I had Celestia tell all the ponies what I was trying to do, and not a single pegasus came forth to join my Shadowbolts. That was one straw."

"Was that all your idea? The three tribes working together to fight monsters and protect Equestria?" I asked.

Nightmare Moon nodded her head. "My Celestia thought only the pegasi would be needed. They were militaristic enough already, and would only need a slight nudge to become an Equestrian army. I told her that was a bad idea."

"She listened." When Nightmare Moon's head jerked up and looked at me, I smiled at her look of surprise. "The E.U.P. Guard I mentioned? Earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi. They are a combined guard that was formed in the early days of Equestria. The Wonderbolts sprang out of them."

Looking softer and less bloodthirsty than ever, Nightmare Moon had closed her eyes and rest her head on the cushions—though her ears were still perked toward me.

"My daughter and her wife are members of the Guard. Lyra is in the reserves, a unicorn who I've heard tell is more wily than ten others with her magic, though I've never had to witness her using it like that. Sweetie, her wife, is an earth pony who serves in the Monster Hunters." The moment I said it her eyes snapped open. "They were both part of the team who dispatched the Yara-ma-yha-who. They put themselves between ponies and danger."

"You have another daughter." Nightmare Moon reached out with her magic and plucked an image of Robin from the air—which was basically my mind. "Who is this?"

Watching the image, it changed from the bat pony she was now to the little human girl she used to be, then slowly back again. "Robin Mango." I couldn't keep the smile off my face. "She's an advisor to the princess of Batstralia. My little girl…"

"Batstralia. This is the place bat ponies come from. Where she went back to. Perhaps I was right to share my magic with her. She had fire in her spirit. What do you suppose she'll do with it?"

It was a safe topic—a good topic. This was normal talking, something Nightmare Moon had lacked for a very long time. I shared a mango with her, and she shared a loaf of flat bread with me, and we just talked.

"You spoke to her again. How is she?" Tufts was awake beside me, carefully not touching me, but then he reached over with one wing and pulled me against him firmly.

"She tried to threaten me, cajole me, and I thought for a moment she might decide to plan her invasion of Batstralia." Reaching out to Tufts with my own wing, I hung onto him as tight as he was me. I shoved my snout against the ruff of his neck and inhaled the musky scent of male bat pony. "But I think she realized she couldn't have a friend and a minion."

Tufts ran one claw through my mane and used it to hold my head against him. "You know what male bats normally do to enhance their scent?"

"You didn't?" My snout was still pressed to him.

"Of course not. This is my natural scent. See? Even in this I have made allowances for you." His claw relaxed a little—just enough for me to tilt my head up and kiss the underside of his jaw.

"They are good allowances. If you ever think it's a good idea to do that trick, Tufts, you get to sleep outside until you shower."

He shifted, letting go with his wing to grab me lower and pull me upward. Sliding as much as I did, Tufts pressed his snout against my belly and spoke softly—too softly even for my excellent hearing to catch.

"What are you—I am, aren't I? You can tell?" I arched my back and looked down at him. "When did you find out?"

"She quickened tonight. No more than the tiniest bundle of potential, but I can feel her." He looked up at me, eyes wide in excitement. "Joyce, my darling Mango, we're going to have a girl."

I grabbed him by his shoulders with my wings and forelegs and yanked Tufts up and atop me. Enveloping him each wing, I kissed his wonderful mouth as firmly as I could. Never before had I had a moment like this—where the father of my child was alone with me when I found out.

Never before had I been with a man who suited me as well as Tufts did. I clung tight to him with every limb at my disposal and felt tears of joy welling in my eyes. I broke the kiss—I had to speak. "Tufts, I love you so much."

"You're crying."

"Because of you, you big idiot." My tears flowed and I didn't care. I clung all the tighter to him. "You wonderful idiot."

"I'm not sure about the idiot part. After all, I found you didn't I?" Tufts kissed my lips briefly, then my chin, and then down my jaw and to my throat as I tilted my head back. Soft, hungry little sounds spilled from his lips as he worked, kissing me more and more around my jawline.

It took a long time for us both to work off a little energy and finally rise from bed—though Tufts had risen twice already. I slid from one side onto my hooves and made my way to the bathroom. Even while cleaning myself up for the day ahead, I couldn't stop thinking of the news Tufts had given me.

Another baby—a foal. The thought cycled through my head again and again, and each time it did I felt a little happier. When I made it to the breakfast table, I found a spread of fruit already laid out for me.

Ignoring the food, I walked around the table and kissed Tufts on the cheek. "Thank you."

"Mmm. For breakfast?" Tufts ruffled his wings and used a forehoof to pull the chair out beside him.

Sitting down, I speared a peeled banana on my plate with a wing-claw. "For everything."

"No, no. This won't do. Everything is too much. I need thanks for each thing. Itemized, as it were." Choosing a small bunch of flowers, he lifted them up and began chewing on them daintily.

I laughed and took a small bite of my banana. The flavor of fruit was almost without equal. It wasn't just that Tufts shopped for the best fruit he could find, it was my batty nature that made fruit and flowers the best meals. "Okay, where do I start? Saving Australia. Thank you, Tufts."

"You're welcome. Anything else?" I was fairly sure that being vain wasn't specifically a bat pony trait, but Tufts had a little streak of it he loved to play for laughs. Of course, I had to play along.

"A few things." I leaned over and left a banana-tasting kiss on his cheek. "Lots of things, actually. How much time do we have?"

"Oh, a good while yet. You have eleven months before this little bundle of joy comes out." Turning, Tufts leaned his forehead against mine.

That was the answer to what I asked, but I remembered another question—the same question, really—that I'd been curious about. "A-And after that?"

"I don't know." Tufts leaned down and licked an escaped flower petal off his plate. "I can only promise one thing, whatever the future brings, we will be together for it." He turned back to me and raised an eyebrow.

Uncertainty. Would we live a normal lifetime, or be stuck for a thousand years like Celestia? It was both more and less reassuring than knowing what the average human lifespan was. But one part about it was vitally important. "Then it doesn't matter so long as it's with you."

Still with his forehead pressed to mine, Tufts plucked up a cut slice of apple and offered it to me.

My nose twitched at the sweet fruit smell, and I couldn't stop myself from opening my mouth for him to feed me. I'd done cute things like this with the other men in my life, sure, but not once they'd found out I was pregnant. Tufts is definitely the one for me.

"How's your friend doing?" he asked.

Who he meant was obvious. I let out a breath I didn't know I'd held. "She's both better and not. We sat down and had a quiet conversation about events in Equestria, and then moved on to talking about Lyra and Robin. It was normal stuff. But at the same time she still holds her anger so tightly that I can't even begin to tease it away from her. If she doesn't let go of it, I fear she won't be able to live in Equestria."

Tufts held another piece of apple to my lips and used his other wing to rub the back of my neck. "You're worried her sister will have to fight her?"

"I'm worried that if they do fight, Equestria might not survive. Nightmare Moon is a fighter. She kept the monsters of the night away on her own—for all Equestria. What worries me more than them fighting is them fighting and Nightmare Moon winning." I drew my head back from Tufts', but gratefully accepted another slice of apple. "All I can do is keep working with her and keep being her friend."

Tufts let out a sigh and kept rubbing at my neck while I ate. It was soothing to have the casual touches, but it didn't exactly help me with the weighty issues I was facing. I ate my breakfast, grabbed an extra apple, and kissed my wonderful stallion goodbye for the day.

Living on the outer edge of Canterlot made for cheap rent, not that bits were a problem—Celestia had made sure of that. I didn't step out the front door of our home, but the back. Unicorns might not like a back garden that opened onto a deadly drop, but winged ponies saw it less as a hazard and more of an easy way to get flying in the morning.

Reaching my left wing out, I grabbed the apple from my right in my mouth (and started chewing it, of course) then stretched that wing too and literally walked off the edge of Canterlot.

I didn't need to give up my altitude to gain a lot of speed. Big wings meant I could easily float along just on the updrafts that the underside of Canterlot channeled to its edges. Slowly gliding around the city, I gained altitude in small amounts until I found what I was looking for—a thermal updraft.

Dipping one wing, I slipped sideways into the thermal so I didn't hit its wall of cooler air hard, but the moment it got under my wings I shot upward. Warmth poured around and through me. I was no longer in the shade of Canterlot and had the sun bearing down on me from above and hot air rushing past from below—having the apple to chew on still made this the batty version of paradise.

Not wanting to fly over the castle just for the fun of freaking out any rookie guards there, I focused my attention on the medical school and spiraled lazily around it as I spent my altitude frivolously. Landing at the school, I gulped down the last of the apple pulp (thankful I didn't have to spit it out like actual bats) and opened the front door of the school.

"Joyce!"

I turned around, not expecting to be hailed by somepony outside. Spotting the source, I brightened and held the door open. "Professor Horse, I just arrived for the meeting you requested?"

"I'm so relieved. Princess Celestia sent a letter asking us to prepare a list of medications that would be worthwhile trading with a far less magical nation, and her letter made it clear I needed to discuss this with you, Dr. Joyce Mango." Professor Horse wore a knowing smile. She'd fully meant to use my now official title just to butter me up.

It worked. With all the drama and fuss going on, I'd managed to forget I was now a licensed and qualified doctor of medicine in Equestria. I let Professor Horse head in before me and followed her. "The princess has been establishing new trade routes with a country that previously had no magic, and has suddenly come into a surfeit of it. They've also been shunned by their geographical neighbors due to this. So, Equestria is their new trading partner."

She led the way through the building toward her office, which was on the second floor. "Oh. Well, that's probably more than I need to know about it, but why are they seeking magical medication? Is there a problem with their previous remedies?"

"That's the big issue, yes. Previously, a lot of their medications were imported from other nations. While the spread of magic has probably solved a lot of the more problematic conditions, there's still a lot of everyday situations that need medication to deal with." I followed her into her cozy office (all the offices were "cozy") and took an offered seat. "The flu pill we sent last time was seen as a huge boost to their moral, for one thing. Did you know even the advanced medicines they had before couldn't cure a simple flu?" It was hard to keep a straight face while telling her that.

"Just delivering these medications won't work. Flu-b-gone is easy. There's no side-effects from taking even a large dose of it, and the directions to administer it are so simple that—as you know—it doesn't even require a diagnosis to purchase. Bone-fixer tonic, for example, is not what you could simply trust just anypony to apply." She froze and looked directly at me. "And of course I have an expert in such right here. I really should learn to trust Princess Celestia a little more."

"You thought because I work up there that she'd saddle you with me just to keep an eye on you?"

The professor's expression spoke volumes—I'd guessed correctly. "Am I to assume that country is the one you came from originally, then?"

"You got it. It was my suggestion to trade the flu-b-gone in the first place, for exactly the reasons you pointed out. Some bone-fixer tonic would be a good choice, but I agree that it would require a doctor's touch to administer. They are well-versed with setting broken bones. All we'd need to do is describe dosage and tell them it accelerates bone growth, and they'll know how to use it." I lamented not bringing a drink with me, though the pulpy juice of the apple from earlier soothed my throat for now. "What else do you suggest?"

Author's Note

Lyra: How do you think ponies would react to monsters like Scylla, Fenrir, and the American windigoes?

"The what-now? Look, I didn't go into much history and stuff back on Earth—it took all Candela's effort to get me to learn the history that was required. Fenrir sounds familiar, though. Is that like the fenris wolf from Norse mythology?" Tapping her chin with a hoof, Lyra struggled, and failed, to remember anything further. "If you ask me about the Rainbow Serpent, or Gallipoli, I could answer dozens of questions!"

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Lab

Chapter 30 [[ A Lyra Perspective ]]

It was almost dusk when I heard the front door open. In truth I was almost getting ready to just go to sleep in the sleeping bag I'd purchased when my ears twitched with the noise. Planning an ambush against an unknown "enemy" required me to plan for everything. If they were a unicorn, that meant I couldn't use magic initially or they'd feel it. If they were a pegasus I couldn't have ambushed them outside or they could have flown off. As it was, I didn't relish dealing with an annoyed earth pony either, but I had to trust that I could deal with most such.

The sound of the hooves, though, were all wrong. Too light and too quick. A foal. Dammit, that meant I had to be a lot more careful not to hurt them. Straining my senses, I caught whiff of something spicy—cumin, curry.

The sound of hooves were coming closer to the kitchen. I stayed hard up against the wall as a short foal walked in with what looked like a take-away food box held in her mouth. She turned toward the oven and froze.

I'd been cleaning up, and had completely forgotten I'd done some work on the beautiful old ironwork. "Hi."

The foal—filly—dropped her food as she spun around, and it was only my magic that stopped a big mess from eventuating. "Who—Who are you? What are you doing in my—my parents' house? They'll be home soon!"

Okay, Lyra, don't grab her or she'll freak out ten times more. She's calling my bluff now, I didn't want her screaming loud enough to call the town down on me. "Wanna chat while you eat?" I sat down and held her curry out before her with my magic.

She looked so small it made me wonder how young she really was. Eyeing me, she reached a hoof out to grab her food and then walked to the kitchen drawers, reared up, and pulled a fork out. "What are you doing here?"

"Thinking of moving in. What are you doing here?" I asked.

Worry and anger seemed to register on her face as I spoke. She narrowed her eyes but started eating. Well, that was perfect. Nopony could out-wait somepony trained for guard duty. She must have eaten half the curry before she finally let out a sigh. "You're gonna move in, so I guess the gig is up anyway.

"My mom and dad didn't come—come back after one of their trips, but I didn't want to tell anypony. I like living here, and it's not like I'm not doing good at it!" She glared at me, daring me to gainsay her. "I was living with friends while they were away, and nopony asked any questions when I just moved back in."

Silence reined while she ate the rest of her dinner. Looking at her, I realized she was probably younger even than Robin. "They got rid of your parents' stuff?"

"Someone came in and picked it all up. I had to be tricky to stop them getting into my room or the bathroom. Hidin' stuff in other rooms. Bed was hardest."

"This isn't right. Somepony should at least be keeping an eye on you." I bit my lip on saying more along those lines. "Do you have any relatives nearby?"

"Couple of aunts, but they don't live in Ponyville. I'm not leaving here. All my friends are here, and even if you try to make me, I'll just run away and come back." Her wings were out and she glared at me with all the force I was used to seeing Robin deploy in a similar situation.

Well, I could do things by force and drag her to her aunts, or I could use my head—something Princess Celestia insisted was always a good idea—backed up by my heart. "So what do you want to do, then?"

It seemed to take the wind out of her sails. "What do you think? Stay here. I like it in Ponyville. All my friends are here."

"What about school?"

"I've been going to school."

Full marks there. At her age, I wouldn't have been so keen. "So you want to live here and keep going to school with your friends?" Lyra Heartstrings, you are the biggest softy in the whole of Equestria—probably Earth too.

"Y-Yeah!"

"Well, that's a problem. You see, I really like this place. I like the old oven, I like the nice big bedroom over there, and I really like the idea of settling in here." I tried to keep my face as nonchalant as possible—hard under the circumstances, but not impossible. "Yours is the upstairs bedroom?"

"Yeah." Dammit, I could see some tears in her eyes.

"Well, I don't think Sweetie or I'll need that." Raising one eyebrow, I waited for it to sink in. When she looked more than a little shocked, I continued. "We'll have to talk to some ponies about it, you understand, but I think we can spare the room."

Sweetie was going to kill me. This was too much, but I couldn't stop myself. Just looking at her scared face had almost made me give up the house and leave—but that wouldn't have helped her. She wanted to stay, and probably stay in this house, but I wouldn't have been able to let that slide.

I'd probably be in the doghouse for a while, but she'd understand I couldn't let this go. The filly still hadn't said a word. "Do you have a name?"

"Scootaloo." She walked back to the bench and opened a cupboard to reveal a rubbish bin inside it. "What if they say I can't stay here?"

Scootaloo? Kinda cute name. "What makes you think I'll let anyone say no?" The truth was, if Princess Celestia turned me down, I'd have no say in it whatsoever. It wasn't like I could just tell her I was going to help her anyway. "My name's Lyra Heartstrings."

"So what now?" Scootaloo seemed to be examining me from horn to tail.

This was the big bit. Trusting her was important, and her trusting me more so. "Well, I was going to sleep. Tomorrow will be a big day, so you should probably do the same."

"You're not going to make me promise not to run away?" She looked skeptical. I couldn't really blame her, she'd had to do a lot of growing up for a small filly.

"What? Nah. I think we've both been pretty straight with each other so far. Good night, Scootaloo." Shifting a little, I squirmed into my sleeping bag on the floor.

Scootaloo didn't budge. She stared at me in the dim light of my horn. "Wait. What do you mean about a big day? What are you doing?"

"First I need to talk to your teacher. It's a school day, right?"

"Yeah." That honestly seemed like a default answer to her. Maybe one used quickly so that ponies didn't prod any further?

"Right. So we're going to your school to let her know you won't be there for a day or so, then we're going to Canterlot to talk to a friend." I managed a yawn as I pulled the bag up to my neck and set my head on the pillow.

Slowly dimming my horn, I waited for the sound of her hooves leaving the room, but they didn't come before it was dark. "This is the bit where you go to bed."

"What if I want to go to school instead?"

"Then I have to act like an adult should and tell somepony about you. Probably have to track down your aunts, talk to your friends, find out what they think. You'll miss a lot of days of school." I yawned and closed my eyes.

Finally, I heard her hooves retreat for the stairs and go up to her bedroom. Well, Lyra, if she's still there in the morning, you have a hope of doing something really stupid.

Throughout the night I felt something tickling at my thoughts. It was odd, but I'd felt it before. Throwing silly dreams at the tickling always did the trick—this time it was singing the Song That Never Ends that did the trick. When I finally woke up, I felt wonderfully rested and ready to face one of my stranger days for a while.

My sleeping bag was like a warn and snuggly sack of comfort around me, but it wouldn't protect me from all the day had to offer. The golden glow of my horn lit up the dark room and I pulled the zip down on the bag and climbed out.

Yawning, I kept my horn going just for the light it gave off and looked through my saddlebag. The cupcake from the previous day was a passable breakfast, though I would have preferred something a little more substantial. Nonetheless, I walked out the back door just as the sound of little hooves rattled through the house behind me.

"Where are you going?" A glance back showed Scootaloo rubbing at her eyes with a forehoof. There was worry in her voice—fear.

"A run. Do you like running?" I held the door open for her, and cursed my not having saved the cupcake for her.

Scootaloo seemed hesitant. She walked a bit closer, halfway across the kitchen. "You go for a run before the sun's up?"

I gave a laugh. When I was her age, I would have been just as flippant. "Yeah. Keeps me from getting bored. Wanna come?" It was insane to ask a little foal to do this, particularly with a big day ahead, but what the heck. If she got bored, she could jump on my back—she wouldn't weigh more than my armor.

Instead of dismissive (as I would have been), Scootaloo tilted her head up and grinned. "Why don't you run and I'll ride?" At my nod, she ran back upstairs—presumably to get whatever she was going to ride.

I walked outside and waited. The sun wouldn't be much longer. I knew Princess Celestia liked to adjust times for different seasons, but I also had a feel for when—The sun came up. I yawned and rolled my shoulders, then trotted in place until I heard the unmistakable sound of wheels on hardwood floor. The soft buzzing sound that accompanied Scootaloo from the house was her little wings working away.

A scooter. It had what looked like a skateboard deck with a handle leading up to a T bar. She crouched low over it with her forelegs on the bars and her wings working like crazy.

With a laugh, I struck my back hooves into the dirt and launched into a canter. When it seemed like she was able to keep pace with me all the way to the edge of town, I turned to trace the same track as the previous day.

Stretching my pace out, I drew into a full gallop, but she started falling behind. Slowing again, I waited for her to catch back up.

"You wanna go faster, don't you?" Scootaloo asked.

"We'll do one lap like this, then one faster. That's pretty impressive speed you get on that thing." And it was. Scootaloo was keeping up with my canter gait with just the push of her wings. On a more solid surface than the occasionally grassed path I was on, she would have probably kept up with me at a gallop.

"Sure!" She kept up with me easily until the halfway mark, but started to slow a little. "I can go faster, but not on grass."

"Yeah, I figured. Paths and flat ground are your thing, right? Think you can keep up until we get back to the start?" I looked aside at her, only to see Scootaloo smirk and lean into her handles a little more.

She managed to keep pace with my canter all the way back around, but I could see she was slowing as soon as we crossed the mark. Well, it was time to improvise. Magic was the solution to every problem in Equestria, or so some unicorns thought. Okay, so it might not be, but here it was. I formed up a golden length of magic and floated it over to Scootaloo. "Grab that!"

"What?" She might have asked for clarification, but Scootaloo grabbed the rod of magic and held it to her handlebar.

With her holding tight, I lengthened my stride to a gallop and then stretched further. Running with a load was one thing, but running with drag was another. Scootaloo wasn't a lot of strain, but she was more than I was used to. She was also squealing in excitement and flapping her wings like crazy. "How're you doing back there?"

"This is great! Can you run faster?!"

"Not exactly. I can do this, though." Ahead was one of the bridges over a stream we'd need to cross. Rather than aim at the bridge, I veered off to the side and aimed at the water itself. Just before my hooves hit the water, I teleported us both to the other side.

"What just happened?!" Scootaloo sounded a little shocked, but when I looked back she still had a big smile on her face. "What did you do?!"

"I'm a unicorn. It was magic." Well, saying things like that would make me a smugicorn, but I didn't need to downplay it.

"Can you do it ag—?"

I teleported again, the spell quick to cast and the vectors easy to add in when I was just running in the open. "Are you hungry? What do you normally have for breakfast?"

"Normally I just grab an apple. Big Mac—that's my friend's big brother—said it was okay." When I glanced back, Scootaloo was riding her scooter without flapping her wings at all. She looked to be enjoying herself at least. "Most unicorns I know aren't all that good at running and doing physical stuff."

"Everypony's different, ya know? How long until your teacher will be at school?" The extra pull on me from dragging Scootaloo along was definitely making my gallop more work than normal, but it agreed with me. I liked having a bit more load.

"She'll probably be there soon. Miss Cheerilee's always there when we arrive, no matter how early we get there." Scootaloo let go of the golden rod with with hoof to point at a building that stood apart from the rest of the town. There was a playground and everything there. "That's it!"

I shook my head with a laugh. "We'll catch it on the next lap. I'm not done running yet."

"You really are a strange unicorn. My friend doesn't like running at all. She's the only unicorn I know."

"She's not anymore. You know me." With that, I lengthened my gait a little more and ran a harder, faster lap of the town—only slowing down as we reached the same spot again.

With my sights set on the schoolhouse, I slowed down to a canter and then a trot. There were no other foals around, which was preferable for a serious little discussion. As we neared the front door, I let go of my magic that Scootaloo was holding and stopped. "You want to listen to this?"

"Grown-up speak, right?"

"Yeah, but it's about you. I used to hate when people would talk about me behind my back when I was a kid. I figure the least I can do is let you know what's going on." If she'd been living on her own for a while, Scootaloo already knew some of the hard truths of life. She deserved to be able to make a few more of her own decisions.

She looked surprised. "Really? Okay."

"Also, ask all the questions you want." I lifted my hoof and knocked on the schoolhouse door.

Hoofsteps approached from inside, and the door opened to reveal a mare that was pink/purple all over except for her bright green eyes. Her coat was the darkest shade, but her mane and tail were a two-tone deal with lighter shades. I couldn't see any wings on her back, and she definitely had no horn. "Yes?" Her tone was friendly and curious—exactly what I would have expected.

Alright, Lyra, big smile and best tone. "Hi there. Private Lyra Heartstrings from the E.U.P. Guard. I wanted to let you know I was taking Scootaloo to Canterlot today." Now was the key bit. Did she know Scootaloo was living alone? My training reminded me that if this was going to turn into a struggle, standing close to an earth pony was a terrible point to begin one. Training was, of course, rarely useful when dealing with regular ponies.

"She won't be here for the day, then? Well that's perfectly alright, but you won't mind me asking what this is all about?" I assumed this was the Cheerilee Scootaloo had mentioned.

She didn't sound like she was trying to hide anything, and truthfully I couldn't think what she would have to gain by covering up for Scootaloo's solitude. "Miss Cheerilee, I assume? Mind if we come inside?"

"Of course." Cheerilee (she hadn't claimed otherwise) backed up and turned so that I saw the three pretty flowers on her flank. There was a sense of youth about her, like she was around my own age but without any of the harshness I'd dealt with. She led the way to a room marked Office, and left the door open as she entered.

After I stepped inside, Scootaloo hesitated. "Come on in, Scootaloo, if you want."

For a moment I wondered if she'd run. Her eyes flicked to the side once but then came to rest on me again. Holding her head a little higher, she walked into the room with us.

"This has to do with Scootaloo's living conditions." Using my magic to pull the chair out, I sat down on one held the other back for Scootaloo to jump up onto the second. We both watched Cheerilee take a seat behind the desk. "Were you aware she's been living alone for…" I gestured to Scootaloo.

"Since the news about Mom and Dad."

I was relieved that Cheerilee looked shocked. I know I'd felt shocked when I'd first realized what was happening. "And that's not right. She's a bright, independent filly, but she needs somepony to—"

"I don't need anypony!" Scootaloo glared at me.

"…to make sure she's doing okay." I reached out a hoof and booped her nose. "I know you don't want anypony, but you can't live off leftover curry and apples forever." When she kept glaring at me, I raised an eyebrow. "Ask. I said you could ask."

"Why are you doing this?"

Cheerilee was being quiet. On the plus side, this gave her time to catch up on the situation.

"Because I have a little sister who's just fourteen. She lives on another world, and she doesn't even live alone. Scootaloo, I don't want to take over your life, but you need somepony to help you learn how to live better." I held Scootaloo's gaze, not willing to give an inch on this.

Cheerilee cleared her throat, which earned her both of our attention. "I agree that things can't be left the way they are. You're taking her to the authorities?"

"Yes." Totally not a lie. I just didn't say which authorities I was taking her to. "We'll be leaving the moment we're done here."

"That's a relief. Please, make sure this is all resolved. If you need anything else from me, don't hesitate to come here." Cheerilee did look relieved. Her smile was the last thing that reassured me she had no knowledge of Scootaloo's situation.

Scootaloo, I'd noticed, had gone quiet. My experience dealing with Robin told me that either she wanted to yell at me or she had something she wanted to talk about without Cheerilee hearing. I stood up and looked at Scootaloo. "Well, ready to go for a ride on a train?"

She was too young and too pony to outright lie to me. Scootaloo glared at me as if I'd just told her I was going to drag her away from everypony she knows—which I was doing. Kinda. "'Kay."

We got outside and I said my goodbyes to Cheerilee, then we got all of about twenty steps from the school before Scootaloo trotted up in front of me and glared at me. "You didn't say you were taking me to the authorities, and you didn't say you were the authorities. You wouldn't have let me just leave, would you?"

I nodded. "I would have, but I would have gone looking for you. Scootaloo, living on your own isn't right."

"What? You said your little sister live—"

"This is nothing like my sister's situation! She has adults to keep an eye on her. That's all I'm saying you need. You don't need somepony to be watching your every move, or paying you an allowance to do chores. You kept your bedroom, bathroom, and the kitchen spotless. What I'm going to do is ask a friend to make sure you're given the payments you deserve, and to—" Lyra, you let her goad you into this, but you'd already made the decision. Don't back down now. "—to help you live your own life."

Turning away from me and back toward town, Scootaloo started walking. "Why you?"

"Because I don't trust anypony else in town to look after you. You did want to keep living here, right?" I walked along at her side. "Your friends are here and all."

"Yeah. Why don't you trust them?"

"You're too clever. You hid this, you looked after yourself, so well that nopony noticed. So no, I don't trust anypony here to be able to see through you and see when you need help."

Scootaloo was carrying her scooter over her shoulder, but at my words she stopped and just looked at me. When I stopped, just ahead of her, she finally let out a laugh. "Really?"

"How were you getting food, how did you manage to sign up for school, and how did you move all that heavy furniture yourself?" When she didn't look to respond, I started walking again. "This is a two-way street, Scootaloo. If I'm going to trust you, you have to be honest with me."

"I'm being honest." She cantered quickly to catch up and settled into a trot beside me.

"Being honest is more than just not telling a lie, it's telling the truth."

Scootaloo sighed. "I have 'part-time jobs' at four restaurants. I wash dishes two nights a week at three of them, and one night a week at the other. They give me a few bits and dinner. None of them realize I'm working for the others on different nights."

"This is exactly what I'm talking about," I said. "You're too smart for anypony else."

"And you would have caught me?"

I nodded. "Of course. Either I would have followed you to talk to your parents, or—" I realized what I'd said a moment too late.

The sob that came from Scootaloo told me I'd screwed up.

"Sorry." What else could I say? I could beat myself up over it, or treat her as an adult.

"It's alright. You just caught me out of the blue with it. I managed to stop crying, when anypony asked about them, after the first month they were—they were gone." She turned her head to the side, lifted a hoof to the side of her nose and blew hard. She swapped sides before taking up trotting again. "How else would you have caught me?"

"I would have asked around about you. Being nosy is my job." I couldn't believe it. She looked like she hadn't just been hit with a curve ball.

"Why didn't you tell me you were a guardpony?"

"Because it didn't come up. Your teacher might have been suspicious about me otherwise, so I figured I'd start off with all the truth."

Through my directing our walk, we'd reached her house again. I opened the front door with my magic and walked inside behind her. "I'll just grab my bags and we can head to Canterlot. Is there anything you want to bring?"

"Just my scooter."

I grabbed my saddlebags from the kitchen and walked back out to find her waiting for me. "You ready then?"

"You say that like we're leaving for good. We're not, are we?" Scootaloo narrowed her eyes at me like she expected me to tell her a half-truth.

"Celestia no. I like this place, and I know you like it. Come on, this is only temporary. We'll be back tonight, unless you want to spend the night in Canterlot?" I opened the front door for her.

No sooner did we leave the house than two ponies—foals—confronted us. "Scootaloo!" a young earth pony filly called. She bounded toward Scootaloo with a similarly sized unicorn at her side. Both of them looked around Scootaloo's age. "Are you ready for school?"

Scootaloo rolled her eyes and looked back at me. "No. I gotta go to Canterlot for something. I'll tell you about it tomorrow."

The two new fillies grabbed Scootaloo and pulled her to what they probably thought was out of earshot of me. It was, but only because Ponyville was waking up and getting noisy. After some chatter between them, Scootaloo finally turned around and looked up at me. "Guess we should be going."

I was about to answer when both the fillies walked past Scootaloo and stomped their way right up to me. The yellow one with a cute bow in her mane glared furiously. "Bring Scootaloo back when you're done! Got it?"

Looking between her and the silent unicorn, I decided I was so done with being the responsible adult already. I dropped to the ground on my belly and swung a foreleg around and behind my back dramatically. "Please! I'll do anything! I promise!"

The yellow filly stood, jaw gaping wide at my performance, but her companion broke into a fit of giggles.

Crawling up to little miss yellow, I looked up at her and then reached up with a hoof to boop her on the nose. "I promise I'll bring her back. We're only going to talk to a friend."

After straightening up and letting Scootaloo say goodbye to her friends, we started off for the station again. Scootaloo looked to be distracted by something, so naturally I had to ask. "What's up?"

"Why'd you act so silly?"

"Because your friends didn't expect it. Also, I like doing silly things. Your friend seemed like they were being super serious for a situation that wasn't." I shrugged my shoulders as we reached the railway station. "Besides, it made her laugh."

"Are you sure you're in the Guard? Aren't they meant to be all serious and stuff?" She waited by my side while I paid for our tickets.

I passed Scootaloo a ticket and approached the train car closest to us. "When I'm doing serious stuff, I'm serious. I just like helping ponies, and the E.U.P. Guard was a good way to do that. Also, my wife's in the Guard full-time."

We stepped onto the train together and looked down the empty seats. "You're married?" Scootaloo asked.

Sweetie Drops. Being reminded of her brought my love to the front of my mind. It made me giddy and put me off-balance. I wouldn't have it any other way. "Yeah."

We sat together in silence for nearly ten minutes before the sound of the train's whistle cut through the lack of conversation. "Finally," Scootaloo said.

"You've been on trains before?" I asked.

A jolt rocked us in place before the train started moving in earnest. The sound of the locomotive laboring forward—just one car away—echoed down the train to us.

"Duh. Mom and Dad took me everywhere when I was smaller—before school started. I've been all over Equestria… but I can't remember much of it." She looked a little sad, and I could totally appreciate that. "It hurts whenever I think about them too much."

Bat ponies were lucky. They had neat wings that were built for casual hugging. The only option I had to deliver hugs was my legs, and they were a much bigger commitment, all told. I might as well keep treating her like an adult, since that's how she wanted things. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really." Scootaloo seemed to shrink from her already small stature. With a sigh, she leaned a little closer and I found myself with her head against my foreleg. "It was the second time they'd left, but that's kinda wrong. They only came back here for a few days between their expeditions before going again.

"Aunt Lofty and Aunt Holiday came to visit once a week—for the weekend—but it was kinda like I was a burden to everyone. Mom and Dad had arranged for ponies to look after me for the other days, but they mostly just checked up I was okay and would leave me alone.

"I don't even remember who was meant to be looking after me that week. They'd come on Monday, done some cleaning up, then left me alone until Miss Derpy arrived with the mail on Thursday. She had a special letter from—"

I put my foreleg around her shoulders and held her while Scootaloo cried. What could I say that would help? I had no idea how to deal with this other than to hold her and let her keep crying.

We were almost halfway to Canterlot when I heard the conductor open the door behind us and start to walk through the car. Scootaloo jumped against me and hurriedly tried to dry her eyes.

Thinking quickly, I took her ticket and stood up to meet the conductor halfway. It was hardly a surprise when I realized it was Stamped Mark. I smiled at him, and nodded toward Scootaloo. "Just two, thank you."

Stamped Mark's eyes wandered over to Scootaloo, then to me again before one eyebrow raised. Nonetheless, he used his little device to notch both the tickets and pass them back. "Have a nice ride… Lyra, wasn't it?"

I nodded. "Thanks, Stamped." My words earned a smile from him. I turned back to the seat and this time sat between Scootaloo and the aisle so she didn't have to look at Stamped.

As soon as Stamped was out of the car, Scootaloo let out a grunt and resumed trying to dry her eyes. "You must think I'm such a wuss."

"For crying?" I watched her nod. "Nah. Losing someone is just about the hardest thing you'll ever go through, I figure. I don't know what I'd do if my mum or dad—if either of them died." It was hard to say, hard to even think about. "You'll probably get to meet them, depending on if my friend is busy."

Truthfully, I wanted to show Scootaloo how good adults could be, which meant introducing her to the best I knew, but there was more than that. What had happened was a failure of "the system", or society, or something, and I had no idea how to fix that side of things. There was only one pony I could think to talk to about such an issue and be sure it would get handled. "Trust me. You know her."

"Her? Are you making this a guessing game?"

"Not really. It's P—"

"Why'd you call your mom mum? My dad talks—talked—like that too." Scootaloo had changed the topic, not me. Interesting. Did she like the idea of this being an adventure?

"You want to hear a crazy story?" Okay, time to make this filly not think about her parents for the rest of the ride to Canterlot. "I'm not a pony. Well, I mean I wasn't born a pony. I was a…" I looked around suspiciously, then leaned down to whisper in her ear "human."

Scootaloo looked up at me. "Human? What's th—"

"Shh! Nopony must ever know about them." Illusion magic of the kind I wanted was easy enough to do, just shaping my telekinesis into the forms I wanted. Making them move and animating them was harder. "Humans,"—I looked around suspiciously again and got a laugh from Scootaloo—"look like this."

I didn't just make a human appear in front of us, I made me appear. The old me. Of course I didn't leave him—me—naked, I had my old hoodie on, shorts, and my beanie.

"You're making this up," Scootaloo said. "That looks just like a minotaur without any horns."

"I know. I haven't seen any minotaurs, but I learned about them in school. But it's not like it would matter. You'll never see one of these in Equestria anyway." I gestured at my old form with a hoof, dramatically, and it started to change. "Because the moment they get near any magic, they turn into ponies."

Scootaloo watched as the human boy turned all the way into a unicorn mare. She paused a moment and leaned closer, then turned her head to look at me, then back to the copy. "That's you? Wait. Go back."

With a snort I turned it back—slowly—to human. "The whole point of it is, once a human gets a cutie mark, they just start turning all the way. Up until then, it seems leaving the magic lets it go back."

"So you used to look like this? What was it like?"

"Well," I said, "balancing wasn't a problem, in case you were asking, but it is odd all the little differences. Humans need to wear clothes to keep warm or stay cool, but I've never had a problem with that as a pony. Not having hands kinda sucked, but I have magic now, and that's so much better. Mum has her wings.

"The oddest thing was learning to walk on all fours. Oh, and dealing with being a mare."

Her head snapped around as if it were on a cord. "You were a colt?!"

"Yeah. I had to go through this special process to get all the cooties off." I made the animated me start washing themselves as they turned into a pony again. "Not sure what caused that, but it seemed really random. My sisters and mum were fine, but I wound up like this."

"Your mom's a pegasus?"

"Not quite. You'll see." I banished my magic illusion and looked out the window. Rock. Looking back to the other window I could see nothing but sky and a distant horizon. Canterlot always seemed to sneak up on you like this.

Scootaloo seemed like she was ready to pounce to another line of questions, but instead took her time to come up with one. "Did you join the Guard because of your special somepony?"

"Yes and no. Yes because I did. No because I had other reasons. It felt right, it seemed like a fun thing to do, and I like knowing I can protect ponies who need it." As I spoke, the train left a tunnel and lit up as Canterlot came into view. The city still felt like a home to me, but the desire for something more was there too now. "We're almost there. You got this?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Scootaloo looked up at me as I stood. "What do I need to get?"

"I'm going to have to describe everything. It'll be okay if you cry, but try not to run," I said as I started walking for the door.

Keeping up beside me, Scootaloo scoffed. "I don't run away from nothing."

Leaving the train together, it seemed a quiet morning in Canterlot. Not quite as early as I normally toured the city, but at least I had a companion again. Compressing my gait a little, I kept at a trot that Scootaloo was able to maintain too.

I took the main path through the center of the city. Ponies were everywhere. Selling and buying goods were the main two things everypony did in the morning, but there was also a lot of chatter, too. This was the rumor mill of Canterlot, and nothing was safe from being discussed.

Half conversations rolled over us from every direction, but I kept our course straight through in the direction of Canterlot Castle. Scootaloo was dead silent as we walked up the path that brought us to the castle's entrance.

I smirked at the guard on duty at the gate and winked at him. "Okay, Scootaloo, you distract him while I sneak in." My voice was easily loud enough to be heard from the gate.

Scootaloo looked shocked. "W-What?! You didn't say we were going to sneak in! How do I distract—"

"Halt!" Shining Armor's voice was every bit as stern and sharp as I'd expected. Life in the Royal Guard had definitely agreed with him. "Who goes there?!"

"Distract him!" Charging my magic, I teleported beside Shining and then put a foreleg around his neck.

Shining stretched out his own leg around my neck and hugged me back. "Lyra! It's good to see you! What's going on that you have to sneak into the castle?"

I looked down the path at Scootaloo and saw her staring between us. "Just bringing a friend to see Princess Celestia. Shining Armor, this is Scootaloo. Scootaloo, this is Shining Armor, Sergeant of the Royal Guard."

"You know her? So what was with all the shouting about distracting him?" Scootaloo narrowed her eyes at me.

"That was to distract you," I said.

"Head on in. She's in a meeting right now, but it should be a short one." Shining let go of me and retreated to his guard post again. "And try not to scare anypony else."

"No promises. Come on, Scootaloo." I turned toward the castle and looked back at Scootaloo. As she slowly walked past Shining, I asked, "Have you figured it out yet?"

"No, because it's crazy." Scootaloo glared up at me. "This is all crazy. I must still be asleep. Can you pinch me?"

I used my magic to carefully pinch her shoulder. "That help?"

"Nope. I must be crazier than I thought, because I thought you asked if we could see Princess Celestia, and then he just told you to walk in and see her, and why isn't anypony stopping us?" Scootaloo ran in front of me and turned to face me with her little wings flared out. "I want an answer!"

Author's Note

Nightmare Moon: have you ever heard of a creature that gave others nightmares as a defense mechanism?

"There were many such creatures that used dream magic not only in defense, but also offense." Nightmare Moon looked serene as she pondered her history—the time before her banishment. "I killed most of them off. Hunted them until every last one was no more than a scary story to tell little foals to make them behave."

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Lab

Chapter 31 [[ A Lyra Perspective ]]

I stopped and looked at her. "I promised myself I'd be straight with you. This whole situation is wrong. A foal shouldn't be able to fall through the cracks like you did, no matter how clever they are. Something happened that's wrong, and the worst bit is I don't know how to fix it except by taking responsibility for you.

"Scootaloo, I can't be everywhere in Equestria. How many other foals has this happened to? How many aren't as clever or responsible as you?"

"S-So what are you going to do?" Scootaloo asked, her air of annoyance faded.

"I'm going to talk to a pony who will be able to fix it. Since coming to Equestria, I've learned that if there's one pony that always has the right advice and has the power to help, it's Princess Celestia." I held Scootaloo's gaze, but tried to keep my features as soft as I could—this wasn't a challenge, this was an offer.

She finally let out a little huff. "So what about me?"

"If I had my way, we'd be shopping for a new stove about now. We'd buy all the things we need for the house and head back and start working on it together. But, that wouldn't be fair. You wouldn't be receiving your bits, and your relatives wouldn't have any clue where you are. If you want to be treated like an adult, Scootaloo, you need to be treated completely as one. Come on."

After another pause she stepped to the side, then fell in beside me as I walked past. "You didn't answer all my question."

The entry hall was quiet. There wasn't a single pony there apart from the Royal Guard and a clerk. The latter looked up at me as we stepped inside, but they looked back to their papers until we walked up to them. "Lyra Heartstrings and Scootaloo, here to see Princess Celestia."

"Do you have an appointment?" The mare looked up from her paperwork again and gave me the bored, detached look of someone comfortable that their job makes them better than everyone.

"It'll be alright, Nib, Lyra's one of the princess' students." I hadn't realized I was so popular that all the Royal Guard knew me. "Just wait until she lets us know she's free to accept a guest, and send them through."

"New here?" I asked.

Nib let out a sigh and nodded. "Sorry, yeah. Still getting used to things." Her officious look was gone, she looked like a mare frazzled and troubled.

"You'll get the hang of it. The important thing is listening to these guys—they know what they're talking about." I gestured with a hoof at the Royal Guard who'd spoken before. That's when I recognized him. "Sure Fire really knows his stuff."

"Was this a setup?" Nibs looked between me and Sure.

I shook my head and did Sure followed suit. "Would have been a good one, but I really do need to see Princess Celestia."

"Tell you what, Nibs," Sure said, "why don't you slip in and ask Joyce Mango if the princess is free to talk? She'll know."

Well, our chat hadn't been a setup, but what Sure was doing definitely was. I looked at him pointedly and got a wink when Nibs wasn't looking his way.

"I can do that? I-I guess I can. I'll be right back." Standing up, Nibs trotted to the smaller door that allowed guards and officials access to the throne room without using the large doors.

The moment Nibs was through, Sure's face broke into a huge grin. "Citron, Bartlett, open the doors if the princess is free." Both unicorns at the big double doors were grinning at the order, and their horns lit and swung the entryway open.

Sure Fire walked through the doors and cleared his throat. "Announcing Private Lyra Heartstrings, daughter of Joyce Mango, sister of Duchess Robin Mango of Batstralia, student of Princess Celestia, and…"

I cleared my throat. "Scootaloo of Ponyville."

"…Scootaloo of Ponyville!" Sure Fire said and stepped to the side.

Nibs was standing beside Mum when she spread her wings and rushed down the last few steps of the dais to attack me with a vicious hug. Vicious, of course, in that she threw herself into me and wouldn't let go without a tight squeeze back. "Lyra!"

Being just a unicorn, I reared up in her grip and hugged her back. "Hey, Mum, we're kinda here to see Princess Celestia."

Mum blushed bright red and quickly let go of me to retreat up a few steps, which let me see that Princess Celestia was already at the bottom of the dais and was walking toward us. The only pony now standing higher than the floor was poor Nibs, who looked like a deer in headlights.

"And to what do we owe this appearance, Lyra? I take it your young friend here is involved?" Princess Celestia looked down at Scootaloo.

Looking stunned at the turn of events, Scootaloo just nodded.

The Guard had done a good job of teaching me how to put my thoughts together into a report, Princess Celestia's school had done a great job of teaching me how to present an argument—I used both to good effect to describe Scootaloo's history and how I came to be moving into her house.

Scootaloo, throughout the story, moved closer and closer to my side until she was leaning against my leg. Princess Celestia looked like she was doing her best to hold a neutral mask on her face, and Mum actually looked angry.

"… and while I can help Scootaloo," I said, "I hate to think that this has happened elsewhere—or will some day."

Princess Celestia and Mum both looked at me, but the princess then looked down to Scootaloo. "Of course. I'll personally look into this, but first we have an issue to resolve. Scootaloo, what do you wish to do?"

Fluffing her little wings, Scootaloo stepped away from my side and looked up at the princess. "Lyra said I need to be an adult to be able to be a foal. She said I need to get my own income and that I could live with her. But she's wrong."

I stared at the filly in surprise, wondering where she was going with her speech.

"It's my house. It belonged to M-Mom and Dad, now it belongs to me. Dad built it himself!" Glaring up at me, Scootaloo stuck her tongue out. "So I'll let her live in my house!"

Princess Celestia looked at me, then down at Scootaloo, then back up to me. "That sounds agreeable. Your father, having built the house, would not have had to pay any rent on it. If I may be so bold, Miss Scootaloo, you could ask to have an assessor come and calculate the cost to rent the house, and perhaps charge Lyra here… I'm sure half would be a good value."

Scootaloo looked so surprised at Princess Celestia's words that I knew she hadn't planned that. She nodded. "Th-That would work, I suppose."

"Mayor Mare had requested assessors to inspect the house in the next day or two." Half the agreed value would be even better than the deal Mayor Mare had offered, and it all going to Scootaloo was even better still. "She still needs a guardian."

Still ignoring me, Princess Celestia kept her eye on Scootaloo. "Is it agreeable that Lyra—and her wife Sweetie—are your legal guardians? You can change your mind later if you wish, but you'll need to see me to do so."

Sitting back a little, Scootaloo looked up at me and tapped her chin. "Yeah. I guess."

"Wonderful. Then they are." Princess Celestia looked pleased at last. "Now, I happen to have my new scribe present, I'm sure Nibs can furnish you with all the paperwork you need to ensure this is carried out."

"Y-Yes, Your Highness!" Nibs barely got the words out as she walked up to us. "I'll see to it ri-right away."

"Lyra," Princess Celestia said, "you did the right thing, and I'm proud of you."

She counted as my teacher, sure, but she was also like a guiding light to all Equestria. Being told you were a good pony, by Princess Celestia, was probably one of the more uplifting things that could happen to a pony. And, I was definitely a pony. "Thank you, Princess Celestia. C'mon, Scootaloo."

I got all the way back to the entry hall before the rumble of small hooves on the marble floor caught up with me. At my side, I could see Nibs glare at Sure Fire as she passed him. "About those papers?" I asked.

"Give me a moment. I have to get straight exactly what Princess Celestia said." Nibs climbed onto her seat and lifted up her quill with her lips. For a moment she paused and then, with a nod, started to write.

A tingle in the air was all the warning I had that there was magic happening. It wasn't obvious magic, like a unicorn's telekinesis, it was the kind of trickle that ponies used when doing what they were good at. Nibs, apparently, was a very good scribe in part because it had to do with her special talent—or it was her special talent.

Either way, Nib looked serene as she wrote, her quill gliding across the page in arcs to create the most amazing and perfect script I'd ever seen. She wrote better with the quill in her mouth than I could hope to with my magic.

"There." Nib finished up with her quill at the bottom, signing a mark that glowed with golden light before it faded. Princess Celestia's mark. "One for you." When Nib lifted up the scroll and passed it to me, another revealed itself below it—already written out as the duplicate of what I held in my magic. "And one for records."

"Princess Celestia must trust you a lot." I carefully put the scroll into my saddlebag. "Your special talent is writing?"

Okay, so complimenting ponies (or anyone) is a surefire way to make them happy, why not use it when I knew she was feeling down? It was no less true.

Nibs seemed to brighten and nodded. "I got my cutie mark when I was writing a letter to Princess Celestia for school. Since then I kept writing letters to her, I couldn't believe that she kept writing back. How she finds time to do that, for a little filly who didn't know any better than to write letters to the ruler of Equestria and expect to become pen-pals…"

That was something that always happened when you asked somepony about their talent—even I did it. If somepony asked me about my lyre, I'd stop whatever I was doing and tell them the story of my life.

"You know, I did the same thing. Well, we didn't become pen-pals, but I wrote a letter to Princess Celestia and she invited me to come visit—from a whole other world. I did. Then later I came back—once I'd become a pony—and decided to stay. Mum came with me." I could feel that desire to spill everything about my history bubbling up. Keeping it down was hard, and would prove impossible if she asked about it. "We should have coffee sometime. Do you plan to be in Ponyville anytime soon?"

"Ponyville? I guess I could head down there. Is that where you live?" Nibs, thankfully, had taken my bait and drifted away from the topic that would have me waste an hour on my life story.

"Soon to be. Just clearing up things before we're going to do some shopping. Right, Scootaloo?" I turned my head to see Scootaloo talking to Sure Fire. He held his wing out to her to examine, and the pair were talking away about flying.

With the noise level in the entry hall suddenly lowered, Scootaloo turned to look at me as if she'd been caught doing something she shouldn't have been. "Thanks, Sure Fire, I really need to go, I think."

Scootaloo walked quietly at my side until we were halfway to the front gate, then she stopped. "A lot of stuff happened. Did you know the princess would do all that?"

"Nope. She's Princess Celestia. If I knew what she was going to do every time, I'd be a princess too. The thing is, Scootaloo, I trust her to make the right choice. What about you?"

Tilting her head to the side, Scootaloo looked to be thinking hard. "She did what is fair, I think. We both have somewhere to live. I have somepony to—to help me look after myself. You have…" She looked up at me with a curious expression. "What do you have, apart from a house to live in?"

"A few things, actually, and you underestimate how much I love that house. Firstly, I got half rent. That's pretty awesome, Miss Landlord. I got a little more purpose to my life—that's important." I waved a hoof around to prompt myself further. "Those are already pretty important to me, and I can't think of more."

"That last one? What do you mean?"

"Purpose?"

"Yeah."

I sucked in my breath and let it out again slowly. "When I was younger, I helped Mum look after Robin. When we moved to Cowwarr, I helped look out for Marble and Pinkie too. When I was in school in Canterlot, I guess I looked out for my classmates a little. I joined the Guard because I liked helping others and…" I gestured at Scootaloo. "I'm pretty sure I can guess why I put myself in this role."

Scootaloo marched around to stand in front of me, and glared up at me. "You're not going to be running my life!"

"Some things I will."

She looked up at me in shock, as if I'd just said the most offensive thing ever. Her wings fluffed out and she scrunched up her face. "Like what?!"

"You aren't going to be working anymore. Not for a few years at least. No more take-away dinner every night and if you think for a second you'll get away with sitting about until school starts, you have another thing coming—we'll both go for runs each day." As I read off my list (and it was only my starting list) Scootaloo's determined and hardened expression softened more and more. "So?"

She finally folded her wings back down and looked relaxed. "I-I guess. But what will we eat?"

"Sweetie Drops literally got a cooking cutie mark, and she taught me what my mum didn't. I think I can keep us eating good stuff. The not working thing is a hard one, you know. We'll be going to get you applied for an income so you don't have to even think of it until you want to." I stepped to the side and started walking around her. "So let's get that done first, then you can come and visit my dad."

Turning, Scootaloo trotted back up to my side as we approached the front gate again. "Wait, that's something else. What kind of pony was your mom?"

"Bat pony. Cool wings, huh?"

"They were huge. I bet she can fly really well with them." Scootaloo snapped her mouth closed as we reached Shining's post at the gate.

"Thanks, Shining. We got everything sorted ou—" He had a big grin on his face. "What's wrong?"

Shining Armor said, "Three. Two. One…"

Big pink wings wrapped around me from behind as I was tackled by an alicorn. If I wasn't standing still, I'd have gone rolling down the path that led down to the city itself. "Cadance!" I hugged her back and squeezed. "I haven't been gone that long, but it's good to see you."

"I know. I know. But it's just that knowing you're moving—or moved—makes me want to appreciate every time I get to see you." Cadance let go and looked me up and down. "Who's your friend?" Her gaze swept over and down to Scootaloo.

"This is Scootaloo. She's my new landlord." The claim was as true as it was absurd. My mind worked over how to explain this to Sweetie Drops, and though introducing Scootaloo like that would be amazing, not being able to sleep indoors for the rest of my life wouldn't be. "It's a long story. Just think of her as my new little sister."

Scootaloo's eyes focused on me as sharply as Cadance's did. The former gave me a grin, the latter a curious frown—but each only lasted for half a second.

Puffing out her breast, Scootaloo looked up at Princess Cadance and nodded. "I needed somepony to pay rent, Lyra needed somewhere to sleep."

By the look on Cadance's face, I was in for a grilling later. Well, that's fine, but I think keeping Scootaloo's history a secret—until I got the okay from Scootaloo to splash it around to everypony in Equestria—was the better move. Besides, I was only keeping it secret. It's not like either of us told a lie.

"I… see…" Cadance let out a very equine sounding snort. "So, will you still be coming to Canterlot to work?"

"Yeah. I don't want to let down Princess Celestia, though I will be spending a few weeks in Ponyville at first to help Scootaloo with some chores." Then something churned and I remembered something important. "Oh, do you know, uh, Spitfire?"

"The new commander of the Wonderbolts? Not particularly, but I think she's in town today. She had a meeting with Princess Celestia earlier, and on the way out mentioned she was going to spend the morning at the Guard headquarters." Cadance gestured across the city—that the castle grounds put us above—to the E.U.P. Guard fields. "Hey, wasn't she the Wonderbolt that performed for you and Sweetie?"

"One of them. The other was…" I chased the memory around in my head, looking for the stallion's name. Of course, Lyra, trust you to remember the mare's name and not the stallion's. "A cute stallion."

Scootaloo made a gagging sound before Cadance could reply.

"What's up?" I asked her.

"Boys aren't cute."

"Well, yeah. I was being polite. There's a reason I married my bestest friend."

For just a moment Scootaloo looked to be thinking about something, but at last she nodded in agreement to me. "That's how things should be!"

Nodding at Scootaloo, I then turned to face Cadance. "We're off. If you decided to leave your icky coltfriend, you can come and visit our clubhouse in Ponyville."

"No colts allowed! House rule!" Scootaloo set the pace and I marched beside her. Together we stomped past Shining and down the path and back into the city itself. When we got to the bottom of the ramp, Scootaloo started giggling.

"We need to detour. Head back to my place first and get my armor on, then we'll head to the Guard fields and try to find Commander Spitfire. Looking official at the registration office afterward won't hurt our case, either." I aimed us along the right road that led to the edge of the city. "Mum and Dad live not too far away, but for the sake of Sweetie's peace of mind, we had a place closer to the mountain. Sweetie's an earth pony, you see."

"Right. The edge would be dangerous. But what about you? You're a unicorn." As Scootaloo asked, we came to a small park that bordered the edge of Canterlot. There was a lot of such little places ponies could relax—assuming they weren't afraid of heights.

I walked into the little park with Scootaloo beside me. When I walked right up to the edge, Scootaloo let out a gasp as our hooves reached the very edge. I'd chosen this particular park because there was literally nothing below it but sky. "Can you fly yet?"

"N-No." Scootaloo looked down and I could have sworn her orange face blanched white.

"Hey. You're safe, Scootaloo. I wouldn't come here if I wasn't able to do… this." My usual trick. Steam-making spell (which was a combination of head and water) and a cloudwalking spell for both of us was quick and easy to recall because I'd used them so much in the past. Stepping out onto the roiling mass of vapor, I turned to look back at Scootaloo.

For a few seconds she just stared at me as I floated on my own cloud. "How'd you do that? You aren't a pegasus!"

"Clouds are water vapor, so steam works as a substitute. A cloudwalking spell later and I can walk around the sky almost as safely as a pegasus can fly." I demonstrated by making more cloud and walking around on it. A little focus on another cloudwalking spell aimed at Scootaloo, and I held out a hoof to her. "Come on, you're all good. If something happens, I'll grab you with my magic."

She looked at me, really looked at me, and I could see her weighing up everything we'd done together in just a day. "I hope I don't regret this." She walked forward onto the cloud. "You're a strange unicorn, Lyra."

"Ha! You should meet some of my classmates." Unicorn magic can shape and move clouds, but it uses a lot of energy to do it. Instead, I just made more steam under our cloud which heated it up. "You know the best bit about doing this?" I asked.

Scootaloo turned and looked out over the city as it slowly fell away under us. Up and up we rose, and to my delight she didn't seem afraid anymore. "Height? You can see further… Oh! You can use your magic to go—"

I casually put my leg around around her shoulder and let loose with the simplest of teleportation spells. Half a city and half a heartbeat later we appeared at the front door of what I was already thinking of as my old house.

"…anywhere you want. Neat. This is your place?" She waved at the front door.

"Yeah. Come on in." I opened the door with my magic and led the way inside. "I'll have to spend a bit of time to move all our stuff down to Ponyville, but that can be done while you're at school. Wanna see my armor?"

The extra bedroom was where we kept our Guard gear. There was three armor stands now, one held my armor, one that held Sweetie's light armor, and an empty one where her heavier armor normally sat. Of course, on a dangerous mission she was wearing it. "This is mine."

Scootaloo ignored my awesome armor and walked up to Sweetie's. "What about that one?"

"That one is Sweetie Drops' light armor. She's on a mission at the moment that might turn dangerous, so she's taken her heavy gear." I picked up my armor with my forehooves and turned it so it was at least aimed the right way. Picking it up in my magic, I lifted it onto my back.

Scootaloo was running her hoof over Sweetie's armor. "Aren't you afraid b-bad things might happen to her?"

The weight of the armor was familiar—a friend. "Not one bit. She's a brave pony, and a really good fighter, plus she has her squad with her. She'll come back." Was I trying to convince Scootaloo or myself? That she'd even taken her heavier armor worried me a little, but I remembered that she was part of experts at dealing with monsters. She was an expert herself, of course. "Can you get this strap here?"

I could have reached the strap, of course, but I wanted to keep talking and change the topic. Scootaloo walked over to me and reached up for the strap. Tugging didn't help, buzzing her wings as she pulled didn't help, but when she literally grabbed the strap and hung off it, she had enough tension to do up the buckle. "Do they all have to be that tight?"

"Most of them. They are made to be in places where they don't rub and where they don't pinch, so being tight is good. Want to get the next one?"

Author's Note

Sweetie and Apple Bloom, have you girls already started trying to find your special talents together?

Apple Bloom nodded sheepishly. "Well, my big brother said we should just let it come, but—"

"I realllly want my cutie mark, so we've been meeting in Apple Bloom's tree house and have decided to form a club to help us organize finding our special talents." Sweetie Belle stuck her tongue out at Apple Bloom.

"Why'd you have to tell them all that? They'll tell Big Mac I'm using Applejack's old tree house."

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Lab

Chapter 32

Scootaloo struggled with each and every strap, but she was getting it done. Running through her head was how crazy everything was. Her life—that she'd worked hard to keep as normal as she could—had been completely flipped on its head by a single unicorn.

What was constantly confusing her, however, was how much Lyra kept insisting that she'd retain her freedom. Freedom, Scootaloo had learned, was not all it was cracked up to be. "So now we go?"

Turning to look at Scootaloo, Lyra nodded. "Yeah. Gotta find some ponies to move all our stuff, unless I really do want to move it myself. I need to think on a spell or spells to do that. Maybe I should ask while we're at the Guard."

Looking at Lyra, Scootaloo started to believe she really was a Guardpony. The armor changed her from just another mare to something more. Following her outside, she tried to work out what it was about the armor that made Lyra seem like a different pony. "Are we going to run there?"

"We could if you want. Gonna use your scooter again?" It felt a little odd to Lyra, to have someone other than Sweetie in the house with her, but it was something she knew she needed to get used to.

Why her life had become so exciting, Scootaloo might never find out, but she knew one thing for sure—she loved it. "Yeah!" Having carried the little board and handles on her back all this time, she flipped it off and fitted the handle into the board so she could ride it.

Scootaloo grabbed the offered golden bar with her forelegs as she jumped up on her scooter and held on tight as Lyra took off at a canter. The air flew past Scootaloo's face and ripped a shout of excitement from her. Riding fast was her thing, and she loved it.

Lyra's canter didn't last long before she lengthened her stride into a gallop. Unlike the ride around Ponyville, there was a lot more ponies on the street, as well as other things to get in the way. When Scootaloo thought Lyra would crash head-first into a cart, there was a loud POMF sound and a flash of golden light before they were both on the other side.

"This is amazing!" The faster they went, the more Scootaloo enjoyed it. When Lyra swung the bar closer to the drain on one side of the street, Scootaloo lifted the front of her scooter up and ground along the ridge with the back truck.

The added load of her armor and Scootaloo made a much more satisfying load for Lyra to gallop with. She couldn't stretch her legs as much as usual, but she could feel the strain with every stride. By the time she reached the gate of the E.U.P. Guard training grounds, she was working up a good sweat.

Stopping in a rush and releasing the gold bar she'd been holding for Scootaloo, Lyra snapped a salute to the Guardpony at the entrance. "I request two passes for permission to enter and goof off!"

Narrowing her eyes, Bottle Rocket returned the salute. "Private Heartstrings, you were given a life-long pass to goof off, last I heard. It's good to see you." Walking up, she offered her hoof to bump and got a good thud from Lyra. "Who's your friend?"

"A friend I'm helping with some stuff—this is Scootaloo. Scootaloo, this is Private Bottle Rocket. Is it cool if I show her around? Oh, right. I'm looking for Commander Spitfire of the Wonderbolts."

"Yeah. We have a new batch of recruits in at the moment. Shame you wore your armor or you might have gotten grabbed to teach a lesson in misjudging an enemy. Wonderbolts are over in the Lieutenant's office. They've been skimming us for some new muscle. Heard they were getting too many non-mil members." Bottle smirked at Lyra. "I was thinking of trying out for 'em."

"You should. I'm sure Scootaloo'll be a Wonderbolt some day."

Scootaloo's eyes widened. Without even realizing it she began bouncing in place in excitement. Lyra had become a force of nature in her life in just one day, and hearing those words from her mouth made Scootaloo believe them. "I will!"

"Well, let's go talk to the Wonderbolt Commander and get you set up with a spot right now." Lyra aimed herself into the training fields, but turned one last time to Bottle Rocket. "Great to see you again."

Bottle had to fight back a sigh. Lyra Heartstrings had been touted, several times, as a stand-out soldier. The fighting she'd been involved in—even as a part-timer—had left several veterans reluctant to talk about it. "Yeah, you too, Lyra."

Only when they were a little bit away from the gate did Scootaloo turn toward Lyra with narrowed eyes. "Do you know everypony in Canterlot?" She pointed back to Bottle Rocket. "How did you know her?"

"We were cadets together. It's not as bad as you think. I've just been living here for… five years now. You get to know a lot of ponies in five years." Lyra paused to snap a salute as Sergeant Bluebelle led a group of pegasi past.

"Private Heartstrings! Finally signing up full-time?" Bluebelle asked while her squad kept marching out to the platform for pegasi training.

"No, ma'am! Got you a new recruit who wants to be a Wonderbolt eventually. Where do we sign her up?" Gesturing at Scootaloo, Lyra smiled at the sergeant. "Junior Cadet Scootaloo."

Scootaloo puffed her chest out excitedly and stood a little straighter. It was silly, crazy, and she was sure it was also mad, but the constant buzz of excitement around Lyra was contagious.

"Might need a few more years yet, Cadet, but I think we'll make a Guardpony out of you." Bluebelle snapped off a salute to Scootaloo, never missing an opportunity to make a foal's day with a bit of fun.

Lyra nudged Scootaloo's shoulder with her magic. "Hear that, Scootaloo? Just a few more years. C'mon, let's go bug Commander Spitfire to see if we can get you in early."

Bluebelle raised an eyebrow. "Here to see Spitfire? Head on back that way, she was just looking over this lot."

"Thanks, sarge. Let's go." With Scootaloo at her side, Lyra headed back toward the classroom Bluebelle and her squad had just left. Just as she reached the front door, she froze and snapped to attention.

"… just saying you can take your pick of the recruits." Lieutenant Stiff Peaks noticed Private Lyra Heartstrings and his small smile broke into a larger one before he sketched a practiced salute back to her. "Commander Spitfire, this is—"

"Lyra Heartstrings. Did you get anywhere with… Sweetie Drops, was it?" Spitfire had a mind like a steel trap, and the names of the two ponies that a princess roped her into performing for was etched in her memory. She highly approved of seeing at least one of them wearing the armor of the Guard.

"Sweetie Drops and I got married." Surprised that Spitfire had remembered her name, Lyra couldn't help but feel happiness rise at being reminded of Sweetie. It was just something that would never stop being awesome to her. "She's out making a name for herself in the Monster Hunters, ma'am."

"Both of you in the Guard? I don't suppose you've tried sprouting wings? I could use a flier with a brain and some guts." Glaring at Stiff Peaks, Spitfire rolled her eyes at the stallion. "All I'm getting offered here are green fillies and colts who wouldn't know a storm cloud if I dropped it on them."

"Pfft." Lyra snorted, "ponies like us don't become princesses, commander, but there was a pegasus I promised to put in a good word for, who really wants to join the Wonderbolts." As Lyra spoke, she watched Spitfire's eyebrow (singular) raise.

"I'm listening."

"Weatherpony in Ponyville. Rainbow Dash is her name. Slick flier, but looked like she needs some shaping up to fit in with the military. She can sure run." The last bit made Lyra grin—anypony who'd been through the E.U.P. Guard training would know all about running. "Though she lacks stamina."

Spitfire tapped her chin. "Everypony lacks stamina before basic. I'll tell you what, tell her we'll keep an eye out for her, and get her to work on her stamina. We swing past there every year or so, I'll have somepony get the locals to put on a show for us. I'll be honest, we need new blood, but I'd prefer it already broken-in, if you catch my meaning?"

"We actually have a deal where she'll be running with me each day. If nothing else, I'll have her at least above average for you." Lyra was glad for having the situation under control.

"You're moving out of the city?" Stiff Peaks asked, rejoining the conversation.

"Just to Ponyville. Not even an hour by train, shorter if I'm in a hurry. If you need me, lieutenant, just send word." Snapping a salute, Lyra gestured in the rough direction of the town. "We just wanted somewhere that would give our parents some breathing room, and somewhere to make ours."

Nodding to Lyra's reply, Stiff Peaks could fully understand where she was coming from. "I hope we don't need to call on you again, but will you be keeping up your training?"

"Excuse me, Lieutenant, but I should be leading my squad back to Wonderbolt HQ," Spitfire said. "Private."

Lyra stiffened and saluted Spitfire, getting one in return before she turned and walked off. "Like I said, running when I can, and you better believe I'm not relaxing on my spells. When's the next reserves assessment?"

"Four weeks." It was then that Stiff Peaks took a little more interest in Lyra's companion. Looking over the filly, he could easily assess that she wasn't Lyra's, but Scootaloo was smaller than most parents would let out of their sight for a day. "Training up next generation's Guardponies?"

Jerking at the realization she hadn't introduced Scootaloo to her companions. "Lieutenant Stiff Peaks, this is Scootaloo. Our story's a little complicated, sir, but I can assure you it's well in hoof."

Stiff had been fishing for the full story, but he could accept that it might not be the best time for it. Four weeks wasn't long to wait. "I trust it is. Is there anything the E.U.P. Guard can do for you, Miss Scootaloo?"

"I—err—Could I really be a Wonderbolt when I grow up?" Scootaloo was about as overwhelmed as ever, which had become her default state over the last day, though she was getting better at dealing with it.

"If you work hard and practice with your wings and legs every day, I don't think there's anything that could stop you." It wasn't a canned recruitment line, but Stiff felt it would stack up with their best. "Are you stuck with Private Lyra looking after you?"

It was a stab in the dark for Stiff Peaks, but it was all he could think of under the circumstances. When Scootaloo nodded, he made an appreciative noise. "Well, we won't hold that against you. I'm sure you have a smart head on your shoulders, make sure to learn how to use that, too, and listen to about… half of what Lyra tells you."

That's when it clicked to Scootaloo. The two ponies Lyra had been talking to were her bosses. "Yes, sir!"

Lyra couldn't hold back a snort of laughter. It hadn't been refined by days of being forced to shout it, but Scootaloo's acknowledgment would stand up well for a first-day recruit. "Sir, it was just a little SNAFU, we're sorting it out today so I can get this little hurricane back into school tomorrow. She'd been toughing it out alone, and I happened to pick the house she lived in as the one I wanted to move into. Now she's my landlord."

Taking a deep breath for effect, Stiff nodded. "I smell the work of a princess in that resolution. Good luck, private,"—he turned to Scootaloo and saluted—"and good luck to you too, Junior Cadet Scootaloo!"

After spending months trying to hide and keeping out of focus of everypony around her (even her friends to an extent), Scootaloo felt a wash of relief and excitement at being able to be herself again. She stood as straight as she could and saluted back. "Yes, sir!"

Seeing a chance to have some fun, and never being able to resist such, Lyra said, "I didn't hear you, cadet! Try again!"

"Yes, sir!" Shouting so much she screwed her face up in the process, Scootaloo nearly shook with the effort to get the words out—and not a small amount of excitement, too.

"Much better." Lieutenant Stiff Peaks looked at Private Lyra with a some interest, but filed the thought away for later use. "I'll see you, Private Heartstrings, at your tests." He turned and walked away from the pair, thoughts turning back to how to ensure every detachment of the E.U.P. Guard could get their share of recruits without leaving the core of the military short-hooved.

"Well, that's that done. Let's get your bits settled, then we can do some shopping. Come on." Lyra turned for the entrance and started walking.

Moving to keep up, Scootaloo found herself practically strutting. She felt better than she had in a while, and it was all because she realized she could be herself. "Thank you."

Raising an eyebrow, Lyra turned her head to look at Scootaloo. Given the latest jaunt had been for Rainbow Dash's benefit, she was somewhat surprised at the thanks. "Oh?"

"I thought I was doing okay. I thought I had things under control." It was a hard lesson for a little filly to learn. Scootaloo gulped down her pride and buzzed her wings a few times. "So, thanks."

"Want to know a secret?"

The question startled Scootaloo. She'd been expecting a you're welcome or something silly. This had her intrigued. "Sure."

"I'm on the edge of freaking out. Two days ago I was heading to a new town to look for a house for me and my wife to move into. I was thinking about how I'd have a nice little place with all these cool things to show her and let her fall in love with it as much as me." Reaching out with her magic, Lyra ruffled Scootaloo's mane just enough to make her try to pat it back into place. "Now? I've got all that and someone to look after. I need to get you home for school tomorrow. I need to make sure your finances are in order. I need to help you register the house as yours. I need to start paying you rent."

Fixing her mane up, Scootaloo looked at Lyra with a little surprise. "You're not supposed to tell me all this. You're supposed to be an adult and tell me, 'Everything will be okay.' That kind of thing."

"Well, I have to tell somepony, and you're the only pony I know who'll listen right now. It's freaking me out… and I'm on top of it. I've gotten you the house in your name. The registration and paperwork is somepony else's problem now we have this letter from Princess Celestia. We can go and buy some cool stuff and arrange it to be delivered. If all else fails, I can literally magic us to Ponyville—and might do it anyway to show you how I like to fly—and it's working. I'm actually adulting and it's working."

"That freaks you out more?"

"Yes! Everything I've ever done has been following or being asked by somepony. Well, not everything, but all the big things. Sweetie asked me to marry her, Princess Celestia invited me to come to Equestria, even becoming a pony was something I didn't even try to do on my own. This? You? I just—"

"That's why I was saying thanks! I couldn't deal with it. I mean, I could, but it wasn't fun and I just realized that." Scootaloo just smiled at Lyra. "But that's all up to you now."

"Gee, thanks!" A laugh bubbled up in Lyra. It wasn't hysterical laughter, or even panicked laughter—she just enjoyed having her own sense of humor used back on her.

Breaking into a run, the pair took off for the Canterlot Financial Reserve—the main branch of the department that served as Equestria's sole bank and bursar. With the letter from Celestia, that was no issue at all, and neither was transferring the house into Scootaloo's name.

Shopping for an oven, fridge, bed, and other items had been a little more complicated, with styles and features being big on not just Lyra's mind. In the end, however, the various large goods had been promised to be delivered, and the pair were leaving the last store when Lyra remembered the other thing she'd planned to do.

"Still plenty of time until we need to get home. Let's go see my dad. I want to find out what you think of each other." Pointing with a hoof toward her parents home, Lyra started walking down the nearest street that would lead to there.

Scootaloo—riding on her scooter—kept pace easily at Lyra's side. "Your dad is like your mom, isn't he?"

"He looks like her, if that's what you're asking." Doing her best to ignore Scootaloo's raised eyebrow, Lyra kept up a brisk trot.

By now Scootaloo had learned when Lyra was trying to be cagey about something, and all her experiences over the day had taught her that there was no use trying to prize extra information from her. This was a gag and not something dangerous, or so she'd also found. "What about a guessing game? Give me three guesses and if I get anything, you have to tell me."

Tilting her head to the side a little out of instinct, Lyra found herself grinning at the addition to the little game she'd been playing with Scootaloo. For one thing, it promoted thinking. "Alright, but if you get them all wrong, I canter there and you have to keep up."

"Deal!" Scootaloo could keep up with a canter, or so she hoped. "Is he some kind of bat alicorn?"

"You mean with a horn?"

"Yes!"

"No. There is only one bat alicorn I know of, and they are princess of Batstralia." The answer was appeasing to Lyra's fairness and humor. "Two more."

Scootaloo had to think now. With two guesses left, and not a lot to go on, she wanted to make them count. "Okay. You wouldn't do this if there wasn't something strange about him." Then something hit Scootaloo, something that had started hitting close to home. "He's not your birth-dad?"

"That's a good one. You're right, he didn't have a hoof in my birth, but he—" Lyra snapped her mouth closed before she gave away a secret. "One more."

"He didn't what? Did he have something to do with you turning into a pony?"

Regretting the game, but not at the same time, Lyra let out a defeated sigh. "You win. You got two correct."

Kicking her scooter into a mid-air twist, Scootaloo came down again beside Lyra. "What do I get, then?"

"A gallop, but you get to hold on." Lyra made the gold bar again, and the moment Scootaloo had hold of it she took off at a gallop toward her parents home.

Ducking a little lower on her scooter, Scootaloo shouted with excitement as Lyra poured on the speed. One thing she hadn't been able to get over was how Lyra could, without fail, always wind up into a gallop. She wondered if there was some kind of magic involved. "Lyra?!"

Slowing to a canter, Lyra raised her nearest eyebrow at Scootaloo. "What's up?"

"Do you use magic to let you keep running so much?"

"Nope! Just lots of work and practice. There are spells that would let an out-of-shape unicorn run for a long time, but they'd be risking getting hurt after it. That kind of magic is only for earth ponies to use."

"Earth ponies have magic?!" The concept took Scootaloo aback. "Apple Bloom never told me anything about earth pony magic!"

"Lessons on magic will have to wait until we're home." Slowing all the way to a walk, Lyra waited for Scootaloo to slow down too before she vanished the rod. "We're here."

"This is the edge. L-Like the very edge. I guess since they have wings, they don't mind the edge as much as unicorns and earth ponies."

Lyra reached a "You know I won't let you fall, right? Even if something happened, I can zoom us back up here with a teleport."

"Yeah, but…" Scootaloo just sighed. "You wouldn't understand."

It took every ounce of Lyra's self-control to not yell really at Scootaloo. "Try me. Put it in the best words you can."

"Foals my age should be starting to fly. Listening to your friends at the Guard earlier, they expected me to be able to fly." It was hard to admit, but Scootaloo had felt more open with the crazy unicorn at her side than with anypony else in her life. "What if I can't fly?"

The question was a harsh one, and though Lyra wanted to laugh it away, she knew that wasn't right. "Forgive me for asking, but are pegasi not able to fly often? Is this a thing that happens?"

"Dunno."

"Then we have something to research. If this is a thing that can happen, you'll hardly be the first." Stopping at the front door to her parents' home, Lyra waited for Scootaloo to join her.

"And what if it is, and what if I'm not?"

"Then we find out what happened to those others."

"And what if it is, and what if I am?"

Lyra manifested her magic an used a fist to knock on the door. "Then we work out how to fix it or work around it. Scootaloo, I'm a unicorn. Unicorns don't have wings at all, but I can fly."

Reaching up with a hoof to rub at tears that had managed to appear in the corners of her eyes despite her best effort, Scootaloo straightened as the sound of hooves within came closer.

Opening the door, Tufts' curiosity turned to excitement when he spotted Lyra. With a screech of glee, he pounced forward to wrap Lyra up in a hug with both wings. "My little grape has returned!"

"Daaad!" Lyra knew better than to struggle too much—struggling just meant more excited bat hugs. "You've got company."

A pang of loss hit Scootaloo at the sight of Tufts embracing Lyra. Her own father being gone was a wound that would keep opening.

Tufts froze at the somber little filly beside Lyra. "Who is this that is so unhappy to be here? Lyra, did you kidnap a foal? You shouldn't do that unless you think you can get away with it, you know. Do you need help getting away? I know a pony who can—"

By this point Scootaloo had realized that Lyra's father was quite possibly a little more silly than she was. It was enough to make her father's absence harder to focus on—which immediately made the bat pony better in Scootaloo's eyes.

"Dad! I didn't foalnap her. Okay, maybe a little, but I got Princess Celestia to say it's okay. Can we come inside?" Doing her best to divest herself of bat wings, Lyra made room for Scootaloo to get past.

"Of course! Let me get you something to eat. Have you had lunch?" Tufts spun on a dime and pranced back into his home—making a beeline for the kitchen. "Fruit salad okay?"

"You know it is, Dad." Lyra walked in behind Scootaloo, and paid attention to how the filly was looking around at everything. "Bet you don't know what those are for." She pointed with a hoof at one of the perches—heavily supported beams at almost the height of the ceiling.

"They look like places to hang clothes." The place both looked and smelled slightly different to every other house Scootaloo had ever been in. Apart from the perches (that she wasn't really sure the use for), there was strange little items that confused her. Walking over to one, she lifted a hoof to prod at it carefully. "What's this?"

"That's a didgeridoo. Don't ask me where Mum got it, but she felt she really needed to bring it with her." Lyra used her magic to pick up the instrument and brought it close to her lips. "I played one in school once, so I kinda know how to get it going, but I suck at the breathing you need to do to get a full sound out of it."

Pressing the didgeridoo to her lips, Lyra let loose with her best attempt—which lasted about ten seconds.

Tufts, who had heard quite literally the song of his people, turned and poked his head into the living room. "You never said you could play."

"I can't. The breathing—"

"Is a skill you can learn. You have an ear for music, and that cannot be learned. Pass it here and I'll show you." Holding out one wing, Tufts took the instrument from Lyra's magic. "You have the basics, not letting air escape, working your lips right, but the breathing takes practice."

Lyra was all ears when it came to learning about instruments. She watched Tufts bring the didgeridoo to his lips and the familiar drone returned, but rather than stopping after just a few seconds, Tufts continued and started varying the tone of the instrument.

The tune was a simple one, but with two different notes coming from the instrument Tufts could weave a melody over the base drone. After a few minutes of playing, he stopped and let the sound die out. "You treat your mouth like a bellows. Seal the back of your mouth with your tongue when you inhale, then tighten your nasal muscles when you exhale."

The revelation surprised Lyra, but it was something she was a little more familiar with. "Like a bagpipe?"

"What's a bagpipe?" Tufts asked.

"Same sort of note, but much higher. Uses a bag you squeeze and blow air into."

"So the bag is like your mouth? That would fit. This is a little more tricky." Tufts passed the didgeridoo back to Lyra. "If you'd like, I could make you one to practice with."

Lyra almost had the didgeridoo to her lips, but paused. "Could you make two? One about this size, and one a bit smaller."

The undertone of what Lyra was asking didn't evade Tufts. "I will do this on one condition—you will both come with me to select the tree I'll use."

"What do you think, Scootaloo?" Lyra asked.

Scootaloo had been just observing so far, but now she felt the need to be honest. "We're going to find trees? We can do that anywhere."

"Not these trees." Tufts turned the didgeridoo around in his wing-claws. "This is the wood of a eucalyptus tree—a hardwood—and it was hollowed out by termites." Sniffing at the instrument, Tufts huffed out through his nose. "It was tuned afterwards on some sort of machine. I can do better than that."

"A eucl-whatnis?"

"Where are you going to get all that, Dad?" The word dad still felt new to Lyra, but the more she said it the more she liked saying it. Tufts felt like he deserved the title.

"A Dream. Tonight. You'll both have to stay here so I can more easily pull you in." Tufts turned his face a little sour and glared at Lyra. "You are really annoying to grab out of your dreams, did you know that? Last time your mother tried, she got a headache for half a day."

"Really? I just figured no one was trying to reach me. You and Dream Thunder are the only ones who've ever gotten me into a special Dream." Lyra did think about the issue. "Could it have something to do with my training at the Guard? We didn't really—"

Tufts waved a wing at Lyra. "Nothing to do with that. You just have a strange mind."

"You can say that again," Scootaloo said.

Letting loose a shriek of batty laughter, Tufts poked Lyra with one wing-claw. "You have a strange mind. So, what's the real reason for this foalnapping?"

Lyra looked down to Scootaloo. "That's your call. Will you be fine with me telling him?"

The question surprised both Scootaloo and Tufts, though it was the former that nodded. "Yeah," Scootaloo said, "you can tell him."

"After I get you something to eat. Take a seat and I'll be back with some fruit." Walking back to the kitchen, Tufts quickly sliced up some mango cheeks, bananas, a few apples, and poured three glasses of non-alcoholic cider before he walked back out carrying the (to him) feast. "Here you are." Passing Lyra the tray, Tufts took one of the glasses and walked toward the nearest perch.

Scootaloo gasped in surprise when Tufts did a backwards flip and hung himself from the perch—upside down—by his tail. "What are you doing?!"

"That," Lyra said, "is a bat pony thing."

"Huh? Oh! The wings!" Scootaloo looked at Tufts in time for him to stretch one of his wings out to its full extension. Her eyes widened at the display and she completely forgot what she'd been talking about.

"It's a bit more than just wings. Mum and Dad have the full batty compliment—fangs, a love of all things fruit—"

Tufts interrupted with an angry screech. "But not oranges!"

"—all things fruit except oranges and other citrusy things." Plucking up some banana with her magic, Lyra took a nibble of one piece. "Can't say I'm upset about it either. You should see Robin, chopping up fruit is her special talent."

"A filly after my own heart. I'm so proud of her!" Spearing a mango cheek with his wing-claw, Tufts settled back a little and bit off some pieces of the beloved fruit with careful, dainty bites. "What happened?"

Scootaloo almost let Lyra tell her story again, but she was in the most comfortable mood she'd had for almost a year, and she felt it was time she needed to say the words herself. "I found out a-about ten months ago that Mom and Dad were—weren't coming back." When a foreleg reached over her shoulder and pulled her to a warmer spot on the couch, Scootaloo didn't fight it. "Everypony in town helped take care of me while they were away, but when I found out they weren't—

"I didn't believe it, not really. Then Aunt Lofty and Aunt Holiday came and said they needed to pack up our things, and then it got really busy while they had some ponies help. I moved my stuff between rooms, over and over, and told everypony a different thing so they wouldn't notice."

A deep pain hit Tufts as he listened to the story. He regretted asking for her story now, but he wouldn't tell her to stop unless she wanted to—and she looked determined to continue. The more he heard, the more he appreciated Lyra's judgment.

Continuing, Scootaloo was relieved she was past the hard bit. "I-I kinda got a job. A few. I washed dishes at a few places after school. They gave me a few bits and let me have leftovers. I saved the bits and tried to only eat half the food so I didn't have to work every night.

"The only downside, I thought, was I couldn't go on any school trips. I missed two this year that I needed permission notes for. But I wasn't just missing that. I—Life wasn't as fun. Lyra's like a whirlwind. She was just there last night, and again today, and she keeps dragging me along to see her friends. Friends like Princess Celestia, Princess Cadance, Commander Spitfire, and now I find out she can play music and stuff too? And she's going to be taking care of me?

"And don't think"—Scootaloo cut in before Lyra could gainsay her—"for a second that I buy all that 'We're just going to be best buds,' stuff. I wasn't born yesterday." Glaring up at Lyra, Scootaloo realized she was being hugged and fought not to pull away. "I hate being alone!"

"You aren't alone," Lyra said. "Sweetie might be off on work most of the time, but you can always come and talk to me."

Tufts hid his smile behind the skin of the mango cheek he was eating. One of his laments for his eldest daughter had been that she'd married another mare—he'd pondered ways to solve the problem for them, and apart from magic this had so far been the best.

Scootaloo leaned her head against Lyra's shoulder. Unlike the soft fur she'd expected, her head met Lyra's armored and solid self. In a way she preferred that it was nothing like her mother in every way. "Thanks."

"So, we're moving in with Scootaloo as our landlord. We pay her rent for the house, and while she'll have to pay tax on that, she'll still have more bits than working as a pot-washer would have earned her." Grabbing a mango cheek for herself, Lyra started on the soft, sweet flesh within.

Grabbing her own piece of mango, Scootaloo sniffed at the fruit curiously. "That means I'm the boss. What is this?"

Tufts let out an explosive and melodramatic gasp. "Eat it! Eat it now!" Gesturing emphatically at Scootaloo, his face read absolute shock. "Lyra! How could you let this filly go all day without having mango?!"

"But—But I didn't know! Oh, sweet Celestia, I didn't know!" Lyra, despite wearing body armor, managed to fling herself off the couch without harming Scootaloo and assumed a prostrate form on the floor—forehooves raise. "Can you ever forgive me?"

Dropping from his perch, Tufts shrouded Lyra with one of his wings. "Shush, Daughter, you have already done this filly great harm by your ignorance. Quickly, taste the mango and know paradise."

Scootaloo, currently experiencing a case of the giggles, lifted the cheek of mango to her mouth and sucked a few of the cut squares of fruit from it. Her eyes dilated a little at the sweet, vibrant taste that danced across her tongue. "This is really tasty!"

As Scootaloo continued eating her mango, Lyra managed to shoulder her way out from behind Tufts' wing. "C-Can you forgive me?"

"If you let me have the last piece," Scootaloo said as she finished scraping the last of the mango flesh from the inside of the skin.

Tufts broke into a screech of laughter and used his wing-claw to hook the remaining mango cheek and pass it to Scootaloo. "You'll fit in just fine, though in future you might have a fight on your hooves if you want to keep getting that last piece."

Telling her story herself had lightened Scootaloo. A warmth seemed wrapped around her that the memory of her parents didn't detract from—if anything it felt better because she could think about them without so much sorrow. Lyra's silliness knew no bounds, and along with her father the pair made it hard for Scootaloo to stop giggling—despite stuffing her mouth with fruit.

By the time Joyce arrived home, she found the three sitting around (or hanging in Tufts' case) and chatting about flying. "Hello, dear—" Any more of Joyce's words were stolen by a pouncing bat pony who attacked her with his usual Welcome Home Hug-Kiss.

"Ignore them for a bit," Lyra said to Scootaloo. "I hope you like more fruit, because that's all they're going to have for us. We could head back to my place, but I want to see what Dad has planned for tonight."

Scootaloo looked away from Joyce and Tufts' open display of affection and focused on Lyra. "What did he mean by dreams? I didn't get all that."

"Remember how you asked if he was an alicorn?" As soon as Lyra asked it, Scootaloo's head snapped around to look at Tufts again as if she expected him to sprout a horn. "He's not, but bat ponies have their own kind of magic. It has to do with dreams.

"Normally, our dreams are all their own little shell of… dream. Dad and Mom, and some other bat ponies, can pull your dream into theirs, or even pull themselves into your dream. Things in those dreams are more real, and Dad's the only bat pony I've ever seen able to pull things out of the dream into the real world."

"The dream," Tufts said, "is the real world, or part of it. Dream Thunder can do this too."

Author's Note

Tufts: what is your favorite mango

Screeching excitedly, Tufts gave both his wings a quick flap. "I would normally say all of them, but there's this one I've become especially fond of. So much so I married her."

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Lab

Chapter 33

Lyra had to focus for all she was worth to not do the thing she did when bat ponies tried to get into her dreams. The result was that she was drawn into Tufts' Dream with her father holding his head. "What's wrong?"

"Would you believe me if I said I had to battle a thousand knights who kept shouting ni at me?" Tufts fought back at the headache for all he was worth. He'd given away the bulk of his magic—what should have been trivial was undeniably a fight. "Now to get Scootaloo."

As Tufts seemed to focus, Lyra looked around the world she'd found herself in. It was Australia. Perched on a treeless hill, there was a hot sun in the sky above, scrubland as far as she could see, and a sense of serenity.

It took a little time for Lyra to think back to her last time in a Dream. Closing her eyes, she focused on a beach umbrella and a banana lounge to relax on. When she opened her eyes, neither were there. "Apparently I'm just terrible at this."

"You are, but that's because you're too literal." Tufts lifted his wing off Scootaloo and gestured around them with it. "Welcome to my Dream."

"What do you mean I'm too literal? I make magic happen in real life!"

Scootaloo tried to tune out the silly argument taking place. She'd been alone in her house before—plenty of times—but the world around them showed nopony but the three of them. They were truly alone. If it wasn't just a dream, it would be scary. "So what are we doing here?"

Turning his attention back from Lyra, Tufts gestured expansively around them. "Out there is two trees that are the perfect size and length, and being eaten out by termites."

"Wait, what?" Lyra was confused. She'd expected Tufts to find a tree and bring it back to Equestria to be cut up. "That'll take forever!"

Tufts shook his head and let out a little screech. "It won't take forever. I know there's two trees out there that are just right."

"But it will still take a long time, won't it?" Scootaloo asked.

"This is a Dream. Years and years could pass and yet we would wake up in the morning. Come on. Let me show you what you need to look for." Tufts picked a direction that felt right and walked down the hill and into the scrub—that consisted of small bushes and trees.

Scootaloo and Lyra looked at each other, and they both looked a little like they were regretting agreeing to the dream.

"Well, come on. Tufts is a lot of things, but uncaring isn't one of them." Lyra turned and started following Tufts down the hill with Scootaloo at her side. "Okay, so what should we be looking for?"

Walking up to one tree, Tufts unfolded his wing and hooked his claw around it. "This is what you are looking for. See how the tree has this little mound at its base, and there's some bark broken here? That's where the termites burrowed in.

"They eat the tree from the inside out so they don't get caught in the hot sun. We need two trees like this, one smaller than the other, and you'll need one about twice as round as this for yours, Lyra, and only a little bigger than it for yours, Scootaloo."

Looking closer at the tree, Lyra couldn't see a single termite on it, though she could see the little hole Tufts had pointed out. "Sooooo… We have to find more trees like this, but just the right size?"

"Yes, but it's more than that." Tufts Started walking while stretching his shoulders. "You have to do it as bat ponies." The moment he said the words, Tufts stretched his wings out wide and let his magic flow. It might not be as potent in the waking world, or when trying to pull someone into his Dream, but here he was the master.

Lyra had been ready to craft a quick composite spell to find the trees she needed, but when Tufts' power hit her, her magic faded. She gasped at the feeling of her body changing and an extra pair of limbs growing from her back. "Tufts!"

Barely hearing Lyra's shout, Scootaloo had frozen to look at her wings. As far back as she could remember, her wings were small—tiny. Now? Now her wings were as long as she was. She stretched them out instinctively and let out a little screech of excitement—then covered her mouth with a hoof.

"How do you like them?" Tufts asked as he walked over to Scootaloo. "How do you like them?"

"They're amazing!" Scootaloo ran in a few circles trying to look at her wings before she stopped and leaned further to the side. "They're so big! Why is there so much of them? Can I fly with these? How long will this last? Will it work when I wake up? How do I—" She gasped as Tufts stretched a wing out and scooped her up in it.

Settling Scootaloo on his back, Tufts let out a happy screech. "So, let's look for your trees. Why don't you stand up there and try to find one?" He started walking forward again.

Looking around for the mounds of dirt, Scootaloo couldn't help but shift and move her wings. They were entirely different to the ones she had in the ~~real~~ waking world (her mind quickly corrected itself, willing to take Tufts' word for this being just as real), but they felt real now. Her eyes latched onto a tree to her left, and she pointed a wing at it. "There's one!"

Lyra had wandered a little away from Tufts and Scootaloo. She looked around the bush and let out a sigh. "I'd left this place, but I guess I forgot how much I liked the hot weather and…" Fumbling to remember another thing she liked about the Australia she'd left, she let out a short screech of laughter. "Robin."

Robin, not just a name—the concept of her sister.

Her shorter coat didn't get too hot in the bright sun filtering through from above, despite her dark colors (at least, her dark bat pony colors). Arching her back, Lyra kept walking as she thought about Robin. She was practically all grown up and had a life and destiny of her own—one of the guardians of Batstralia, much as Lyra felt herself to be a guardian of Equestria.

There was her mother, too. As she walked, Lyra remembered everything she could think of regarding her mother. From her earliest years she'd only had her mum as a guide in life—and it'd been fine until she started high school.

High school, for Lyra, was not a high point of her life. She ruminated, however, on the bad things that had happened. Drugs, people using her, a lack of purpose… "I was kinda fucked." Swearing in such a way surprised Lyra. What was more surprising was saying it in English.

It would have been depressing if it weren't for the rest of her life. Leaving Queensland and heading to Victoria had been a huge change. Not just the temperature, but also not having thousands of other kids in school. "There wasn't even a thousand people in Cowwarr."

Simplicity had been key then. The kindness and friendship of her pony friends combined with the focus of Candela had been good for her in a way she would never have dreamed of in Queensland.

What had happened—what had really changed her life completely—was that time in Equestria. Standing in a field with Pinkie Pie and watching the rainbow waves flow across the sky had been the biggest step on the path to becoming who she now was.

Walking slowly through the bush, she wasn't even looking for a tree like Tufts had described, yet she had to stop when one was directly in the middle of her path.

Just the thought of that, of it being her path, had Lyra a little confused. There wasn't a path in the scrub. Half the time she had been stepping aside from such trees, but this one was just there. It took a few moments of looking at it and not understanding what she was seeing before she realized what exactly was odd about it. "A termite mound."

The revelation that the tree—mostly straight and a little thicker around than her leg—seemed to have the exact thing she'd been looking for was too much. "Dad! Scootaloo!"

"And that's our cue." Tufts turned toward the sound of Lyra's voice. "She needs time to think sometimes."

"Lyra?" Scootaloo asked.

"Yes. Remember what I said about her?"

"She's literal?"

"Lyra Heartstrings lives in the world and fits everything in it to her rules. Even magic bends to the rules she was taught." Tufts walked easily through the bushland of his Dream, branches flicking and falling away from him as he walked. "It's why she's so hard to bring here. You know I had to fight through the most horrible shouting to even reach her? Back when I had all my—"

Scootaloo was surprised at what he'd said—but more than that she was curious about what he hadn't. "When you had all your what?"

"Magic. I gave a lot of it away to a filly who had a gift for Dreaming. She needed it more than me." A smile spread across Tufts' face as he thought back on Dream Thunder. "When I first met her, she hadn't even gotten her cutie mark."

"Is she a bat pony like you?"

"She is now, but she started off as a pegasus—Misty Rainfall. She'd be… twenty now." Tufts could see Lyra in the distance, but didn't see a need to speed up to reach her. He could easily see she'd found her tree. "What do you want to do with your life, Scootaloo?"

"I wanna be in the Guard, and then I'll become a Wonderbolt!" Spreading her wings out to the sides, Scootaloo made flying noises and tilted from side to side. She didn't even question that her wings never caught on a tree or a bush. "And then I'll be able to do all the best stunts and protect Equestria!"

Tufts cocked an eyebrow, not that Scootaloo could see it. "How long have you known Lyra for?"

"Just a few days."

"She found her tree. Did you want to go looking for yours?"

Scootaloo thought about the question and looked away from Lyra for a moment. "It's safe here, isn't it?"

"Yes. You'll never get hurt by anything in my Dream." The wording was more than he felt obliged to say, but Tufts felt he needed to be extra clear. When Scootaloo jumped from his back and trotted off into the bush, he let out a soft sigh. "But what you bring into it may be upsetting."

Walking away from Tufts was easy at first, but the longer Scootaloo walked, the more she felt alone again. Lyra had, in just a single day, made her forget what being alone was like. A slight chill rose in the air causing Scootaloo to instinctively wrap her wings a little tighter around herself.

As she walked, Scootaloo tried to block out the cold and memories of the past. She focused on the here and now, forsaking all else.

The day seemed to stretch on, but still Scootaloo kept walking. When the hot day started to turn cool, she felt her wings start to twitch. And that brought up her worries about the future.

Flying.

It was literally all she wanted to do. Whenever she'd seen a pegasus flying, Scootaloo felt envy. She wanted to fly like a pegasus should.

Finding a clear patch in the scrub, she spread her bat wings out and gave them an experimental flap. So unlike her pegasus wings (those took furious buzzing to get anything done at all), her bat wings almost lifted her off the ground with just one weak flap.

A rebellious thought wormed into Scootaloo's head: she could just stay in this Dream and keep her wings!

Reality started to intrude on her as night fell in earnest. Her friends from school—Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle—would be worried about her, and she'd miss them.

With full dark descending, her mind wandered to the times she'd spent huddled in bed, cold and worried about noises she'd thought she'd heard, unable to get properly warm or get to sleep.

She walked through throughout the night and into the early hours of dawn. Every step she took left her hooves and heart feeling heavy.

The days—distant in the past to her now—when she'd lived with her parents, seemed so far away. Her mother's… Scootaloo's mind slipped for a moment and she felt a few tears slip down her cheek. Squeezing her eyes closed, she remembered her mom and then her dad. Both were huge and there.

The chill of her loneliness fell away before the heat of her parents' memories. She smiled—still with tears leaking down her face—as she remembered her mother showing her a rabbit hole. Another time her father had let her ride on a cragodile's back. The memories came one after another, everything she could recall of her parents poured through her—it almost felt to her like they were walking beside her.

Scootaloo's eyes opened and her parents weren't there.

The cold pulled in again and was twice as intense as before. She squeezed her wings and still couldn't get warm. The day carried no heat with it, and despite her best efforts to shake her sorrow, it clung to her like a chill mist on a still day.

"Hey. Dad said you'd be ready to come back now."

Her head snapped around at the sound of Lyra's voice, which resulted in Scootaloo walking right into a tree. "Ow!"

As Lyra got closer to her, Scootaloo realized she was getting warmer. All the memories of her parents crowded in on her loneliness from one side and Lyra's vitality attacked it from the other.

"You found yours too, huh? Damn bat had a plan all along." Lyra paused a moment as she realized something was wrong. Scootaloo looked like she'd been crying, and it almost broke something in Lyra to see her like that. "C'mere."

Scootaloo rushed to Lyra's side and shoved her face against the soft fur of Lyra's neck.

Wrapping her foreleg around Scootaloo's shoulders, Lyra tried to ignore the growing damp patch on her fur. "I can't ever try to replace them, nopony can. I'm also not the best at this stuff. I mean, I've had little sisters before, and they turned out okay."

Confusion warred with Scootaloo's other emotions. Of how long she'd been walking in the forest she was unsure, but the way Lyra spoke it had been only hours. Shaking her head, she focused back on Lyra's words.

"I don't want a big sister." Scootaloo reached a hoof up to rub one of her eyes to dry it. Wanting to have her mother back was one thing, but she couldn't ask Lyra to be her mother—not now and maybe not ever. "I just want…"

"Would Auntie Lyra work better?"

Snorting, Scootaloo looked up at Lyra. "I've got aunts already. They're kinda focused on each other a bunch."

"Well, I can't exactly use princess, since that's already taken. Aunt is the only other one I know."

"It's okay if I call you Lyra, right?" Scootaloo didn't want to move and didn't want to let go, but she mostly didn't want to be left alone again.

Lyra was not entirely sure where the conversation was going, but for the first time since meeting Scootaloo she felt at ease with the way it was going. "Sure you can. Did you want me to call you anything in particular?"

"Just Scoots is fine. My name's a bit of a mouthful to say sometimes."

"It's a pretty cool name, though. I used to ride something a bit like your scooter. Come to think of it, are there skateboards here?" Sitting there with Scootaloo was oddly comfortable. They might both be in bodies that weren't strictly their own, but it helped them relate to each other more, rather than less.

"Skateboards are cool, but they don't work so good on dirt roads. You kinda need something to hold onto." The sound of angry screeching behind her made Scootaloo turn to look back in the direction Lyra had come from. "Is he having trouble with it?"

"He's a bat pony, Scoots, and this is his own Dream. Of course he's having trouble, but trouble is usually nothing more problematic than a mango giving up a fight."

Scootaloo relaxed a little more against Lyra. She tried to put the feelings about her parents aside for later examination. "Mangoes can fight? I thought they were just fruit?"

"Mangoes are not just fruit!" Tufts walked into the clearing with the trunk of Lyra's tree tucked under his wing awkwardly. "Mangoes are life. Even when they are a bit under ripe, they're still the most wonderful thing ever."

"Scootaloo found her tree." Lyra shifted her stance a little to give Scootaloo room to move if she wished. "This was some kind of vision quest or something, wasn't it?"

"Vision quest?" Scootaloo looked between Lyra and Tufts. "What's that?"

"Something like that. An old tradition for Aboriginal men was to go walkabout. They would live alone—which gave them time to center themselves and connect with the land and the spirits of the world. But this wasn't that. You both had things you were keeping bottled up inside. You needed some time to reflect on them." The answer soothed Tufts' self-imposed rule to always answer questions in full.

"Y-You knew—know—what we were going through?" Lyra stared at Tufts in shock.

Tufts shook his head and tried to shrug off the hurt that Lyra's accusation caused. "No. I'm not omniscient—not even in here. I could see you both needed to look inward. Did it help?"

"Yes." Biting her lip, Scootaloo looked up at Lyra. "I—My parents aren't coming back, but I don't want their memory to die. Pretending I was on an adventure wasn't working, and living alone didn't work either."

Bowing her head, Lyra reached around Scootaloo's shoulders and squeezed her in a hug. "I'm sorry, Dad. I did need it, but I just—" She fumbled for the words she wanted, and in the end simply couldn't find them. "Thanks. I needed it."

"I'm still getting a didgeridoo, right?" Scootaloo asked.

"Of course you are. You have earned it." Walking up to Scootaloo's tree, Tufts didn't need to tap at the wood to hear the hollow sound echo back, or even check that the termites hadn't eaten too much of the wood. This was the right tree for Scootaloo's didgeridoo, and that was simply a fact in his Dream. He still went through the motions of checking it anyway.

"How's Robin and Dream?" Lyra asked.

"They're both doing well. Dream Thunder is growing into her power, and Robin Mango is powering into her growth." Tufts enjoyed a little screech of laughter at his joke. He ran a claw tip down the outside of the tree until he found the right spot. Turning his claw, Tufts dug it into the wood effortlessly and sliced the top half of the tree free.

Scootaloo looked from Tufts to her own wing, wondering if her claw could so easily slice trees. She was so distracted she missed Tufts asking her to come over the first time. "S-Sorry." She left the shelter of Lyra's warmth and made her way over to Tufts.

Tufts tapped at a spot a little further down the severed tree than Scootaloo was long. "Use your claw and cut here. This is an ancient tradition for bat ponies."

"I thought bat ponies were recent?" Doing as instructed, despite her question, Scootaloo dug her wing-claw into the wood and sliced. "Wow!"

"This is now an ancient tradition. What happens in the Dream was always, is now, and always will be. This is your didgeridoo." Tufts lifted the bark-covered length of hollow wood. "Now we have to shape it up and decorate it."

"What about mine?" Lyra walked over to her own tree—where Tufts had dropped it—and tried to use her wing to pick it up. On her third go she managed to hold one end.

Walking over to his daughter, Tufts gestured vaguely at the tree trunk she held. "Just cut it wherever you think is best."

"You're joking, right?"

"Of course I am. Cut it where you think is right."

Lyra was about to say something else, then closed her mouth. So far, or so she reasoned, everything had been a searching out and finding experience. She looked down at the wood and brought her free wing claw over to it. Tapping gently on the wood, she started to hear notes in the echoes it made. Each tap brought it closer to a pure note, and when she finally found a minor, she paused. "This isn't the right spot."

"What do you mean?" Scootaloo asked.

"This is a minor note. My didgeridoo should be a major. Bright and happy." Lyra tapped a little further until she came to the next pure note. "There. That's the right spot. A major A." She didn't even look at Tufts, bringing her free claw down and slicing the wood like it was butter.

Turning her head towards Tufts, Scootaloo watched as he started stripping the bark off it. "How do you know all that?" she asked Lyra.

"Music is my thing." Lyra gestured to her flank where her lyre sat in embossed gold. "Trust me when it comes to music."

"Except playing a didgeridoo?" Scootaloo asked.

"Except that. But if I have my own, I can work on it. This isn't too weird for you, is it?" Gesturing with her free wing, Lyra tried to indicate where Tufts was diligently trimming Scootaloo's didgeridoo.

"When I was younger, Mom and Dad would take me with them on their adventures. It was—Okay, it wasn't as weird as this, but it was close. Dad had a pet cragodile, did you know that?" The memories didn't hurt as much to bring up. Scootaloo could remember them for the happy times more than the sad—though there was still sadness there.

Lyra shook her head and sat down. "What was its name?"

Scootaloo had to think harder on the memory, but she brought it up after a little work. "Marshmallow. Mom named him. He was a big softy."

"My mum found an odd friend like that back home. It was a kangaroo before the magic got loose, then it became a bunyip. It was—It scared me once, before it got to know me. I turned my back on it and it was about to attack me. Mum made it understand that ponies weren't food." Tilting her head to the side as she watched Tufts, Lyra brought her own didgeridoo up and started to strip the bark off it in the same way Tufts did. "I don't even know why I mentioned it. It was—"

"No. It's cool. I get that sometimes there are…" Fishing for a word, Scootaloo waved her hoof around vaguely. "… creatures that just… don't know better. Cragodiles aren't known for how much they don't eat their friends."

"Wait, cragodile? Aren't they one of the rock-based monsters?"

"Yup!" A twinge of pain grew brighter and Scootaloo found herself frowning. "I wonder what happened to him?"

"We'll visit your aunts and find out. Hopefully they'll know a little more."

"Were—Are they bad ponies? My aunts, I mean. Shouldn't they have stuck around to find out what happened to me?"

"That's a good question, Scoots. I don't know, but if I found out my little sister had—that she wasn't around anymore, I'd be pretty upset and not thinking right." Lyra looked down at the bark she was slicing off the wood and sighed. "That's something for Princess Celestia to get to the bottom of. I have three important jobs right now."

"Three?"

"Try to get us out of here without Tufts doing anything really strange to us, get you back to Ponyville in time for school tomorrow, and make our house a home again."

Spreading her bat wings, Scootaloo gave them an experimental flap. "Is two out of three okay? I kinda like the weirdness."

Lyra's eyes narrowed to pinpricks. "Don't let Tufts kno—"

"Finally!" Tufts rushed over to Scootaloo with her unfinished didgeridoo in tow. "Finally somebatty appreciates my efforts!" He looked at Lyra pointedly and stuck his tongue out.

"I like the wings a lot. Can I keep them?" Scootaloo looked up at Tufts.

Tufts let out a sad sigh. "I wish I could, but my magic will be stretched just taking these from the Dream. Maybe Dream Thunder could take you to visit Batstralia? All you'd have to do is get your cutie mark there, and it'd be a one-way trip to bat town."

The idea made an odd kind of sense to Lyra. Scootaloo might have trouble with her pegasus wings, so why not get her bat wings? "Fate. Destiny. Princess Celestia would be upset with me if I didn't say it."

"Huh?" Scootaloo asked.

Passing her didgeridoo to Tufts, Lyra stretched out a wing to the side to its full extent. "We can go visit Batstralia in the school holidays, and if it's your destiny to become a bat pony, that'll be your chance. But it might not be."

Scootaloo tilted her head to the side. She'd heard similar things from her teacher—that ponies should try all sorts of things in case their destiny lay outside the familiar. "Th-Then, if it's my destiny to be a bat pony, I just won't get my cutie mark until then, right?"

"That's how it's supposed to work, yeah. Princess Celestia said destiny can be as subtle as a gentle spring breeze, or it can be as blunt as a bat pony with a mango." Lyra made sure to poke Tufts in the rib with a wing tip.

"I'll have you know," Tufts said, "bat ponies are very pointy when it comes to mangoes." He then opened his mouth to show off his fangs.

Rolling her eyes, Lyra brought her wing down and over Scootaloo's back. "How long until your school break?"

"I-In about five weeks, I think." The prospect of going somewhere for her school break wasn't exactly new, but going somewhere without her parents was. "What about our house?"

Lyra felt Scootaloo's wing claw hook her own and hold her wing, and she smiled at the little action. "We'll find somepony to check in while we're gone. I happen to have two friends in Ponyville already."

"Two? You work fast. Who did you meet?"

"Well, I cheated. The new baker at Sugarcube Corner—Pinkie Pie—is one of the friends I grew up with. Rainbow Dash is a new friend, though. She was the reason we were visiting the Wonderbolts." She watched as Tufts continued working on the trees, finishing the removal of the bark and now using a stick to scrape out the insides.

"Yeah. You mentioned Rainbow Dash when we were there. She's one of the weatherponies in Ponyville, right?"

"Yup," Lyra said.

Scootaloo let out a sigh. "I haven't exactly been able to keep up to date on what's going on around town. Kinda busy, you know?"

"Right, but you don't have to work anymore. You'll have enough bits to do what you want—which will include going to see the Wonderbolts a few times, visiting Batstralia, and maybe even having a fancy dessert every now and again."

Tufts cheated only in the ways that didn't matter. He was forcing things a little, but ultimately this was more about the spiritual journey he'd set up for Scootaloo and Lyra than about the legitimacy of their didgeridoos. That said, of course, he considered the instruments as authentic as any other—after all, he was the magical embodiment of an Aboriginal god. If what he made wasn't authentic, nothing could be.

Finally, getting the insides hollowed out completely, Tufts walked back to the others with their prizes. "Now we just have to paint them."

Lyra lifted her head to look at Tufts, only to jerk in surprise at the bowls scattered around him on the ground. Each seemed to have a different color of ochre paints in them. She walked over to where the larger didgeridoo was laying and sat down beside it. "So how do we paint them? I don't see any brushes."

"You don't use brushes for this. Sticks and hands were traditional, and I see no reason that we can't use wings, claws, and hooves too." Taking his own place beside the two art stations, Tufts reached for Lyra's didgeridoo. "There are patterns that are old. Old as my spirit. This—"

Scootaloo watched in fascination as Tufts dipped his wing claw in the darkest ochre and made three U shapes all facing one another. He added two lines to the side of one, radiating out from the middle.

"—is us. Two females and a male, sitting together. If there was a campfire, I'd put circles here." In his Dream, and with his history, this was an important thing to Tufts. This was culture, and it was that culture that had brought him into being. "The patterns are important, but more important is what they mean to you. Please, paint what you want."

The reasoning for turning them both into bat ponies became quickly apparent to Lyra—Tufts had planned this out. She looked at the little picture he'd started on her didgeridoo, and smiled at the symbolism that it gave. It was a moment in time, but she had to wonder if it was the start or the end.

Asking Tufts, Lyra realized, wouldn't get her the answer. She reflected on what had happened so far in the Dream, and what it meant to her. Turning the didgeridoo, she dipped her claw in more of the black paint and started working. Three more U shapes, one with a little line at the innermost curve that made it look like an E, while another got a line from the sides that almost made it look crossed out (except the middle was empty). "Three females. One with a horn, one with wings."

Scootaloo couldn't hear Lyra. She was exploring her own recent history—mostly the walk she took in the bush. She dipped her own claw and started drawing. Without realizing it, the male and two females picture she made copied Lyra's styling perfectly—at least how she'd denoted pegasi.

Wiping her claw clean, Scootaloo then speared some blue paint onto her claw and started telling her story. From her younger years and growing up with some of the most unique creatures in Equestria, to traveling around all the crazy places with them. She cleaned and prepared her claw again and again, smiling as she worked to tell her story.

Lyra had made her choice—her didgeridoo told her present and future. The past, she'd reasoned, was less important than what you do after it. Using blue wavy lines to show the water Sweetie had to travel over, she showed her wife armed with a spear that was nothing more than a long arrow with a small tip, fighting a monster that left large tracks.

Working with both her wings, Lyra showed Sweetie returning to a welcoming fire, meeting Scootaloo, and them sitting together around the fire again. She added a winged Scootaloo soaring through a lighter blue sky and everyone looking up at her.

Something, however, had taken control of Lyra's wings. Instead of Sweetie going off to fight again, she stayed at home with Lyra and Scootaloo. They danced and sang together.

"Dad?"

Tufts looked at Lyra and pondered keeping quiet. By his assessment, she was literally retelling the future in the Dream—not exactly uncommon for Dreamtime, but this was only one Dream. But he had his oath. "Yes?"

"Is this real?"

"It's likely. This is a future that could be." Tufts looked closer at the patterns on Lyra's didgeridoo. "It feels true."

"Does that mean Sweetie will come back and stay with me? What about her career? Is this because of Scootaloo?"

"You ask a lot of questions, daughter. The truth is that none of us will know until it happens." The words almost hurt Tufts to say, mostly because he wanted to tell Lyra something that would make her feel better. "You know I won't lie to you."

Scootaloo was still working on hers. She had her earlier years filled in nicely, but she got as far as her parents' news arriving and it became harder. When she began crying, she almost stopped but for the closing in of a bat pony on each side of her. She used a forehoof to wipe the tears from first one eye, then the other. "Thanks."

Lyra's own worries had evaporated the moment she'd seen Scootaloo start to cry. She left her own Didgeridoo and sat down beside Scootaloo, even put a wing over her back.

Watching Scootaloo continue, Tufts almost cried himself at seeing the dark patterns that circled the filly's instrument. But she went on.

A unicorn appeared, and when she did, all of Scootaloo's darkness started to give way to golden light. After Lyra, she added Tufts, Joyce, and even Princess Celestia. There was so much to add, and she could see the end of the didgeridoo coming up. With only a little room left, she added Lyra, herself, and Sweetie Drops around a fire together. She hadn't even met Lyra's wife, and yet knowing that they cared so much for each other warmed Scootaloo to her.

Finished, Scootaloo noticed that her tears had smudged some of the black paint where she'd portrayed her parents' deaths.

"That's alright. It strengthens the didgeridoo," Tufts said, having to block Scootaloo's wing from trying to correct the smear. "Now we will decorate and embellish them."

Lyra pulled her own work over and remained beside Scootaloo as they both worked to fill in the negative space of their artwork with dots and other patterns. Some of the style was meant to reinforce the main story, while others were just a backdrop for it.

Scootaloo finished hers first, but waited for Lyra to catch up. The style was eerily authentic and natural to Scootaloo, the styling of simplistic shapes and vibrant but earthy colors complimenting to the story she wrought into the didgeridoo.

"You're both done." It wasn't a question—Tufts could tell that both the didgeridoos were completed. They were filled with character and life, and now the only thing left was to hear them. "Lyra, would you like to play yours?"

"Shouldn't we—I dunno—protect them? Lacquer or clear coat or something?"

Tufts shook his head. "You think making this immutable would be a good idea? Your didgeridoo is almost alive, and nothing alive stays the same forever. Play it."

Bringing the instrument to her lips, Lyra tried to run through all the things Tufts had patiently explained to her earlier in the evening. She set her her lips vibrating, and was instantly lost to the music that came out of her didgeridoo.

Closing her eyes, Lyra began to weave a tune that came to her only moments before she played each harmony. The instrument was very alive and sang the song she asked it to.

Staring in complete and utter surprise at Lyra, Scootaloo couldn't so much as move a muscle as she listened to the song. It was like nothing in Equestria, but it was perfect in so many ways. In the song, she experienced the raw joy of Lyra and Sweetie's wedding, the excitement of their time in the Guard, and even Lyra's fear of the future. But when the last bit could have been full of fear, it was like there was a different musician playing—supplying the reassurance that everything would be alright.

When the music stopped in her head, Lyra stilled her lips and stared off into the bush. Her special talent was literally music, but she'd never played so much of her own life into a song before.

"Scootaloo, do you remember what I told you?" Tufts asked.

"Y-Yeah. I don't think mine will be as happy as Lyra's." Given the magic in the air, Scootaloo almost feared what would come out through her own playing.

"Music isn't about playing things to make people happy. You play things to share your feelings with others," Lyra said. "So long as your feelings are genuine, that's all that matters."

Looking down at the didgeridoo, Scootaloo let out a sigh. Ponies weren't meant to spread sadness, but that was the bulk of her recent life and all her past was colored by it. She also worried that it would color her future, too. "Okay, I got this."

Scootaloo lifted the wooden pipe to her mouth and took a deep breath. There was a lot to think about with playing—at least what Tufts had told her. Letting her lips go loose, she started to "speak" into the didgeridoo.

The note was not very full and fell apart as soon as Scootaloo ran out of breath. "I don't got this."

"You're breathing with your lungs." Lyra stepped forward and sat beside Scootaloo on the ground. "You need to use your cheeks to push air out, and then keep refilling your mouth with air from your lungs."

"That's what you were trying to explain?" Scootaloo glared at Tufts for a few seconds. "Okay, how does that even work?"

"There's a bit at the back of your throat you need to keep tight. That will stop air from going down to your lungs or up into your nose. Then you need to inhale more air and breathe it out into your mouth."

"This is a lot more complicated than I thought it would be." Trying again and again, Scootaloo tried to do the things Lyra was explaining. "How long did it take you to learn to play?"

"We have time. Don't worry about that," Tufts said.

Remembering her walk in the bush that had felt like over a day, Scootaloo could believe Tufts. So she focused on Lyra's explanations and followed along with her. Each time she tried to play, Scootaloo made a little more improvement.

"Are you ready now?" Lyra asked after Scootaloo finished playing for a full five minutes.

Scootaloo nodded, but looked up at Tufts. "Will I still be able to do this outside the Dream?"

"I made things a little easier. You'll need to practice more, but you'll have plenty of time for that." Looking from Lyra to Scootaloo, Tufts gave them both a toothy grin. "Maybe you can show it to your class, too."

Bringing the instrument to her lips, Scootaloo decided it was time to just play.

Lyra's heart fell at the pain that caught her in the instrument's notes. It wasn't expertly played by a pony with a cutie mark for music, but rather by a filly still caught up in the darker emotions of loss and fear. The tune wound on, and though there wasn't as much depth to the winding tune, it finished on a higher note that left Lyra feeling slightly buzzed and excited.

"Pass them here," Tufts said and held out his wing.

Looking left and right at her wings, Scootaloo let out a sigh. "It'd be really cool if I could be a bat pony."

"Maybe. We still don't know for sure your wings aren't going to grow." Despite how chipper she tried to be about it, Lyra could feel the worry in her own words. "C'mon, it's time to wake up."

Author's Note

Dream Thunder, does the Dream stretch across the divide betwixt Earth and Equestria? Are there two separate dreams, like a pair of islands, or is it all a part of a greater whole?

"I don't know. Robin tells me it's a lot harder to Dream in Equestria, and when she managed it (mostly with Tufts' help), it wasn't part of the natural world she was Dreaming, but her own private Dream. It's like each bat is an island there rather than part of the cohesive world of dreams." She shrugged her wings and let out a soft sound from her throat that was halfway to a screech but without the effort behind it. "Meanwhile, here, bats are practically falling into the Dreaming."

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Lab

Chapter 34

Waking up again brought with it a rush of dysphoria. Lyra tried to shift her wings, but they simply weren't there. Keeping her eyes closed, she remembered her lessons on shapeshifting. "Deep, slow breaths, focus on what I am, make a list of what I should have."

"Legs. Body. Neck. Head. Horn. Tail."

"Wings, but not bat wings."

Lyra's eyes snapped open and she looked across the dimly lit room to spot Scootaloo laying on another bed in the room. "Hey. How're you pulling up?"

"Uh… I'm not sure what you mean, but if you're asking how I feel, it's strange. I can still feel my big wings." What surprised Scootaloo most about saying the words was that they didn't hurt. She felt almost drained of her negative emotions, but in a good way. "When can we go to Batstralia?"

"When I drop you off at school, I'll ask your teacher about when the holidays are. Do you need to take anything special to class or can we head straight there?"

The bedroom door opened and Tufts reached in with a wing to flick the light on. "Here you are."

Rolling out of bed, Lyra landed beside Scootaloo, though Scootaloo was faster to run across the bedroom to Tufts. Looking at her father, Lyra could see obvious signs of strain. "You okay, Tufts?"

"You are not getting back in my Dreaming for some time." Though he scowled at Lyra, he passed her her didgeridoo. "And this one is yours. Take good care of it."

Though Lyra floated her didgeridoo carefully off to the side, it was Tufts she was targeting for a big hug. Grabbing the bat—and ignoring his surprised screech—she hugged him close. "You're the best, you know that?"

Tufts stretched a wing around Lyra's back and hugged her close to him. "Yes I do, but I now know I have the best family in two worlds." He used his free wing to hook around Scootaloo and hug her too. "The sun will be up soon."

"We should be going soon, then. Was it really that hard to pull me into the Dream?" Lyra asked.

"You have no idea."

Lifting her didgeridoo, Scootaloo had to hold it steady with a foreleg rather than her (now) shorter wings. Pressing her lips to it, the instrument already felt a little different. She managed to make a tone, but her lips didn't vibrate as much and her breathing didn't work quite right. She dropped the tone after just a few seconds. "It's a lot harder!"

Joyce, rubbing her eyes with one wing, stepped through the doorway. "How was your Dream?" She didn't so much as pause before walking up to Lyra and putting her own wings around her daughter and Tufts.

"You're going to hear about it from Tufts for weeks. Apparently I'm not easy to get into a Dream." With only her forelegs, Lyra struggled to fulfill her hugging quotient, though her parents more than made up for it. "How about you, Scootaloo?"

Thinking for a second, Scootaloo smiled broadly from one side of her little snout to the other. "Can you teach me how to Dream like that?"

"It's not exactly easy, but I could try. Now I've felt you in a Dream, I should be able to bring you into mine again—and a lot easier than a certain unicorn I won't mention." Tufts stuck his tongue out at Lyra, who stuck hers out right back.

Clearing her throat, Joyce gave one last squeeze before letting go. "Enough of this. We need to get them fed."

"Can you help me get my armor on again?" Lyra asked Scootaloo.

"Okay!" Scootaloo put her didgeridoo on her bed and waited for Lyra to lift her armor on magically. "Why are you going to wear it to Ponyville? To look official again?"

"Mostly, but I also want it with me in case there's some trouble there. If I have to fight something alone, I want to have my best friend protecting me." As she spoke, Lyra gave a tap to her armor with her magic. "Okay, start with the straps. You remember the order from last time?"

"I think so."

The pair went through the same process as the previous day, Scootaloo hanging off the straps until they were tight enough to fasten the buckles, while Lyra kept her help to a minimum. By the time they had the armor on and were in the kitchen with their didgeridoos and Scootaloo's scooter, the sun was up.

Joyce tried to keep from crying. Always before, Lyra had been literally in the same city, but now she was going to be really gone. "I'm going to miss you."

Finishing off the second of a pair of bananas, Lyra gave her mother a droll stare. "Mum, Ponyville isn't even a day away. Less if you fly down."

"Yes, I know, but that's going to make dropping in for tea and having a chat harder." Any actual fight Joyce might have made against Lyra moving was completely lost when she heard how bad that sounded. "I'm being a fool, aren't I? My own mum was like this when I moved out of home."

Reaching his wing around Joyce's back, Tufts pulled himself against her. "My darling Mango, you care for our daughter a lot, nothing more."

Shooting Tufts a suspicious look, Joyce nonetheless let her emotions be appeased by his hug. "When did you get so wordy?"

"Since my family deserved to hear what I had to say." Tufts rubbed his nose against Joyce's with a happy little noise in the back of his throat.

"We better leave before they get too carried away, Scoots." Lyra ignored the eye-roll she got from her mother. "I promise we'll come to visit every month."

"Month!" Joyce's mothering instincts kicked into high gear all over again. "We used to have tea every week! Twice some—"

Tufts had done the one thing to surely silence Joyce. He'd kissed her.

"That's our cue. Love you Mum, Dad." If Lyra's words were heard, she got little reaction except for twitching ears. She led the way out the front door and into the bright morning. "Now, we're going to take the fast way to Ponyville. How are you with heights?"

"Heights? I'm a pegasus!" Scootaloo almost sounded offended.

"Great. What about trusting me to not let you fall?"

"Well, I trust you to try to stop me falling."

"Good enough. Ponyville's just over that way"—Lyra gestured off the edge of the city with a hoof—"I've got our gear, and I promise we won't hit the ground any harder than a moderate jump."

The way Lyra spoke had Scootaloo tense up, but despite her best instincts she trusted Lyra. "Okay, what do we do?"

"This." Lyra grabbed up Scootaloo with her magic and, judging her first set of calculations to be half a mile off the edge of the city, teleported them both into empty air.

Scootaloo's first instinct was to panic. Panic was what any creature that couldn't fly would do when faced with a several mile fall to the ground. She'd had exactly a full day in Lyra's company, however, and though the very idea of doing so was probably mad, she trusted the unicorn. It didn't stop her from screaming, though.

Falling from such a height, Lyra knew she'd reach terminal velocity quite quickly. A glance down made her laugh into the wind rushing past herself and Scootaloo, but it didn't stop her from calculating their angle and velocity with a flipped vector. Wrapping herself and Scootaloo in her magic grip again, Lyra teleported before reaching the rooftops of Ponyville.

Suddenly, Scootaloo's momentum was carrying her up instead of down. For a fraction of a second it took her brain to work out she wasn't falling anymore, and when it was done figuring that out she laughed.

At the peak of their ascent, when their upward momentum had finally been canceled by gravity, Lyra cast her final teleport and had them both appear just half a pony-length from the ground below.

"How'd you do that?!" Scootaloo spun to look at Lyra, her heart beating fast in her chest. "That was amazing!"

"I had the best teacher in all Equestria for teleporting. I'll have to introduce you to her sometime." Lyra looked around their landing point to get her bearings. "School's this way, right?"

"Uh…" Looking around as well, Scootaloo got her directions worked out a little quicker. "Yeah! Come on, I want to tell all my friends about—about everything!"

"Race you." Lyra lifted Scootaloo's scooter from where she'd pinned it to her armor and waited for the filly to get on it before extending her the magic handle again. The few ponies that had seen the pair literally appear out of nowhere only heard Scootaloo's squeals as they took off at a gallop.

Lyra reached the school just as Scootaloo's teacher, Cheerilee, arrived. The mare watched the unicorn galloping in—all dressed up in her armor—and had to pick her jaw up off the ground. "Keep it together, Cheery, don't start drooling over every mare you see." She kept the words mostly under her breath, and forced a big smile onto her face as Lyra and Scootaloo arrived at the step of the schoolhouse. "Good morning!"

Backing off from her gallop, Lyra demanifested the rod Scootaloo was using and brought herself down to a walk. "Hi there! I hope Scoots didn't miss too much from her class yesterday?"

"Oh, one day here and there isn't a problem, but I think I can have her make up for it by telling the class about everything she did yesterday."

Scootaloo looked up at Lyra for a second before she started to giggle. "That's going to take a few days, Miss Cheerilee."

Cheerilee had come to expect some boasting from Scootaloo, but it was normally different to her current situation. "Really? Perhaps you'd like to give me a quick rundown before class?" Her look turned to Lyra as she spoke, aiming her question at both ponies.

"That'll probably be a good idea. Would you rather talk inside or out here?" Using her magic to relieve her saddlebag of the letter from Celestia, Lyra prepared to put things in order to tell the teacher. She didn't plan to tell her everything, of course, but she'd need to know some of it.

"My students will be arriving soon. Perhaps you could help Scootaloo tell the class about her day after you've shared the more important bits with me?" Even as she spoke, Cheerilee had to tell herself she wasn't just doing this to see more of the cute Guardpony.

"Well, this is probably the most important bit, though I can assure you I don't plan to change anything about Scootaloo's schooling." As she spoke, Lyra passed over the letter from Celestia. She had the distinct pleasure of seeing a look of shock on Cheerilee's face.

"Y-You saw Princess Celestia about this?" Cheerilee's thoughts of romance were shoved to the side at the revelation she'd received. The documents looked correct, and Lyra wearing Guardpony armor strengthened the authenticity of the paperwork. "What's she going to do about it now?"

"That's not my job. The reason I went to Princess Celestia with it was I didn't know how to fix the problem of a filly being able to live without anypony to care for her. I'm just a soldier." Lyra was happy to hear Scootaloo snort at her final comment. "But there is something much more interesting than all that we can show Scoots' class."

"You're going to play?" The memory of Lyra's playing still made Scootaloo tingle. She'd never heard music that inspired so much emotion before. Before she knew it, she reared up and cycled her forehooves in the air in excitement.

Lifting her didgeridoo from her back, Lyra twirled the instrument with her magic, finishing with the end pressed to her lips. Focusing herself to her task, she started her first breath and began to play.

About to ask what kind of flute was so long, Cheerilee froze at the twin notes that Lyra started playing. The music was instantly captivating, and all she could manage was to sit down in place and listen.

Lyra focused her music on her recent life. Saying goodbye to Sweetie Drops for her big mission, finding the house she wanted, finding somepony already living there, and eventually got to the joy of seeing Scootaloo fight back against the dark things that life could bring. She didn't even notice that her audience of two had grown to include Scootaloo's two closest friends and, eventually, the whole school.

Over a dozen ponies sat and listened to Lyra's song. None of them had ever heard such an instrument before and certainly never played by such a musician. When the song finally wrapped up, everypony cheered and stomped their hooves on the ground—even Cheerilee.

"If you thought that was good, wait until I get everything moved here, so I can play my bass." Slinging her didgeridoo to her back, Lyra looked around the young ponies assembled. There was a mix of races and age-groups that spanned Scootaloo's age right up to what she would call teenagers. Ponyville school covered quite a wide range.

"Why do you have a smaller one too?" Apple Bloom asked. She'd taken up position close to Scootaloo, her curiosity burning at her to find out what had happened the previous day.

"That one's mine," Scootaloo said. "I'm not very good with it yet, but I'm going to learn to be the best!"

All the other foals gasped in appreciation, but Sweetie Belle was first to ask a question. "Where'd you buy it from?"

Looking to Cheerilee for guidance on what she should be doing, Lyra only saw a happy smile on the mare's face. "She made it herself, with the help of—"

"A bat pony!" Scootaloo's little wings shot out to add emphasis to her words. "He was really nice, and we went looking in the forest for the right trees to make them, but I guess it took a while because it felt like days in there."

It was altogether too much for Diamond Tiara to take. "There's no way you could have spent so long in a forest. You were only gone for a day!"

When Scootaloo looked up to Lyra for support, Lyra weighed in. "Well, of course, but it all happened in the Dreaming. It's like a dream, but you can share it with others. In dreams, days can take hours, or hours days."

"That makes even less sense. If it was all in a dream, how do you have them for real?" The logic was flawless to Diamond—none of what they were saying made sense.

"It was something Tufts did. He was really awesome. He let me be a bat pony in the dream and everything!" Scootaloo punctuated her statement with a raspberry blown at Diamond.

"It's true," Lyra said.

Silver Spoon didn't like the way Lyra Heartstrings was just brushing off each of Diamond Tiara's questions. She pouted a little as she tried to work out a way to make her friend feel better. "Why are you wearing armor?"

"Because"—Cheerilee felt the need to defend her new guest's honor somewhat, considering the only reason she'd come up with this was to get to know Lyra better—"she's a member of Equestria's E.U.P. Guard. That mark on her armor, there, tells you that she's a private, which means she's in the full-time guard."

"Actually, I'm just in the reserves, but thanks to a little action I saw a bit ago, I was awarded the rank of private." As Lyra explained it, she felt a touch embarrassed for gainsaying the teacher. "My wife is in the full-time guard. She's a member of the Monster Hunters."

Cheerilee's hopes and dreams (at least those of the morning) took a nose-dive. Married. Of course she would be—all the cute ponies were married or not into mares. Fighting with her emotions, Cheerilee put on her teacher-smile and nodded to show her support.

"Why are you at our school, and why was Scootaloo with you yesterday?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Lyra's going to be looking after me. After my parents—when I found out they wouldn't be coming back," Scootaloo said, pausing when several other foals gasped, "I was kinda hiding. I got by doing some work to wash plates and things, but—"

Scootaloo cut short her words as every single foal walked up to her and hugged her. Not even being school-ground rivals would stop any of the foals from trying to comfort their fellow student.

"I'm going to be taking care of Scootaloo." The words felt right all the way to Lyra's heart.

Author's Note

Lyra: Have you explained some of the mythology if your home world to Bon Bon at all?

"A little. Not a lot. I don't actually know a lot of it, but she's talked to Tufts about some stuff. Those bat ponies we helped would be the ones to ask about the so-called mythology." Lyra put extra emphasis on the word and rolled her eyes a touch. "For mythology, it sure seems pretty real lately."

Support me on Patreon or fuel my writing on Ko-Fi!

Join me on Discord. Warning, said chat may contain NSFW material and should be considered adult in nature.

Awesome ponies who are already helping to keep me in keyboards and rum:
A.P.O.N.I.
Canary in the Coal Mine
Daremo
Dio-Drogynous
Ender Voidwalker
KFS Crimson
Sirion123
Vi Watch

And special thanks to the following, for careful eyes and friendly words:
Lab

Chapter 35

Lyra's day, when she'd escaped from an oddly despondent Cheerilee, turned out well. The delivery ponies with her new cooker were waiting at her new home (a phrase she was still excited to think) and, once it was installed, her new refrigerator arrived. Things were going as planned—which seemed only minorly worrying to her.

She made sure the house was closed up and headed out to have some lunch. As she walked through town, she felt a sense of belonging. It was strange for her, given she'd only been to the growing town irregularly, but she already knew so many ponies that it just felt right. When she found herself at Sugarcube Corner, she was surprised at how popular it was.

The line moved rapidly, and all too soon Lyra found herself looking at a mare, perhaps a little older than her, that looked like she enjoyed her own cooking. "Hiya, Mrs. Cake, having a good day?"

Her face lighting up, Cup practically beamed in delight as she gestured around her shop. "Lyra! Oh, Celestia, it's good to see you again. What can I get for you?"

Looking around excitedly, Lyra couldn't help but feel she was spoiled for taste. Though there was one thing in particular that got her attention. "I think I'll take two lemon muffins, thanks. How has Pinkie been working out for you?"

"She's a darling. She baked the most amazing cake yesterday, and you wouldn't believe what she does in her spare time." Cup used some tongs to lift out two of the muffins. "She throws parties. Birthdays, anniversaries, welcome parties… You name it and she has a party for it. It's going to increase our cake output nearly double."

"Could I grab those to go?" Lyra asked.

"Of course." Cup being an old hoof at such things, slipped the two muffins into a bag and set them on the table. "There you go."

"How much?"

"Nothing, dear. You run along now."

Lyra tried using her best soldier-stare on Cup, but she just laughed it off. "Come on. You can't keep doing this." Turning around to face the next customer in line, Lyra was surprised to see Derpy smiling at her. "Oh! Hi there, Derpy. Do you know how much they charge for muffins?"

Derpy's gasp of shock worried Lyra for a moment. "You like muffins too?! Some of my friends gave me the nickname Muffins because I love them so much. Mrs. Cake charges three copper bits each for them."

"Thanks!" Lyra spun back around and looked at Cup with triumph burning inside her. She passed Cup a silver bit. "That's to pay for my two, one for Derpy, and one copper bit as thanks for being amazing!" She didn't give Cup time to do more than open her mouth before she teleported out with her muffins.

Blind teleporting was never usually safe unless you absolutely knew the place you were teleporting to was clear. The best way to do that was to teleport somewhere you'd prepared in advance, or up. Pegasi might enjoy flying, but if you kept your target just under any cloud cover, you'd be too low to hit a weather pegasus and too high to collide with anypony else.

Hanging in mid-air for a moment, Lyra started to fall when gravity noticed there was a unicorn in armor bravely challenging it.

"Hi! Are you okay?" Rainbow Dash asked Lyra.

She'd been so busy running her usual landing calculations when Rainbow distracted Lyra from her maths. "In a moment I will be. Hold on." New numbers—new distances—needed to be calculated, and Lyra barely got it right and teleported before the inevitable happened. Bouncing upwards a little ways, she waited until she was at the peak of her travel before teleporting safely to the ground.

"How'd you do that?" Rainbow hadn't been too lax either. She'd dived to catch up with Lyra and looked impressed at the fact the unicorn wasn't a pancake.

"Magic!" Lyra gestured to her horn. "But seriously, a lot of practice and maths. I talked to Commander Spitfire for you. She has good news and bad news."

"W-What's the bad news?"

"That she wants you to improve your stamina. The good news is that you have somepony she thinks can help you with it." Lyra started off walking toward the schoolhouse again.

Visibly excited at the good news, Rainbow rushed up and hovered beside Lyra as she walked. "Who's that? Is she sending one of the Wonderbolts to train me?!"

Lyra shook my head. "No, hot shot, she's assigned a member of the E.U.P. Guard to take over your training." Still wearing her armor, Lyra waited for Rainbow's to catch on. "I mean me."

"Huh? But you're not a pegasus! How can you possibly help improve my stamina?" Doing a quick loop and winding up back where she was, Rainbow scoffed. "You can't even fly!"

"I can fall in interesting ways, but you're right—I can't fly. Stamina isn't just about flying, it's about building every other part of your body up. Running is the perfect way to improve stamina." Stomping her hooves as she walked, Lyra smirked at her companion. "Running made me better at using magic, after all, I'm sure it can help with flying."

"Now I know you're lying. There's no way running could make you better at magic." In the face of Rainbow's claim, Lyra gave her the best that's exactly what I meant look she could manage, which lead to Rainbow losing her edge of confidence. "C-Can you?"

Lyra shrugged her shoulders, causing her armor to make a few odd clinking sounds in the process. "Mostly? No. But some of the same discipline carries over, and there are exercises you can do while running that help with some aspects of magic training. But that's beside the point, Commander Spitfire said you need to build stamina by running, and I think that'd be a good idea for you to do."

About to counter again, Rainbow looked thoughtful for a moment. Lyra could almost see the gears ticking over as Rainbow ran the conversation through her head again. "So Commander Spitfire, leader of the Wonderbolts, sent you to train me to be ready to join the Wonderbolts?" Her ego was reinflating by the second. Rainbow snorted. "I always knew they wanted me to join."

"Glad you're so enthusiastic. I'll see you at 6 A.M. tomorrow, and every day." When Rainbow fell to the ground and froze in place, Lyra couldn't help but grin and keep walking. "Don't worry, I'll let you know what time at night will be good for our evening runs. There's another way, of course."

Rainbow jumped back into the air and rushed up to Lyra's side again. "Another way than getting up before anypony else in Equestria? What is it?"

"Well, you could go to Canterlot and join the E.U.P. Guard. You'll have two weeks of running several times a day—with a pack and armor on—and then some more months of specialized training, but you could join the Wonderbolts that way."

"I…" Turning her head, Rainbow looked off to the edge of town. "I can't do that."

Not putting the facts together, mostly because she didn't know the mare who lived in the direction Rainbow looked, Lyra just shrugged. "Well, I'll see you in the middle of town at 6 tomorrow morning."

Freezing again, Rainbow seemed to remember to keep pumping her wings. She just stared at Lyra for a moment. "Oh Celestia no… You're a morning pony, aren't you?!"

"Not really, but you know what happens when you keep getting up really early? You get used to it."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

Scootaloo almost jumped when she was walking out of class with her friends and Lyra was standing in the hallway. "Uh, hi?"

"In all the rush today, I totally forgot to make you a lunch. Here's something I picked up, I hope you like muffins." Floating the remaining muffin out of her saddlebag, Lyra passed it to a surprised Scootaloo, then she turned and started walking for the front door.

Staring at the muffin, Scootaloo lifted her head at the sound of the door opening and rushed forward. "Wait!"

Scootaloo's hug caught Lyra by surprise. She lacked a wing to hug the filly back with, but instead put her foreleg around her and gave a little squeeze.

"Thanks for—for all of this." The hug made Scootaloo feel good. She wanted to hug Lyra more, but her friends (and lunch) were waiting. "I'll see you tonight!"

Looking back at the filly who was now galloping down the hall to her friends, Lyra couldn't help a little chuckle. "Now I need to find somewhere to do some shopping." She turned for the door a second time and trotted into the midday sun.

The day progressed—as they do—and Lyra found Rich's Barnyard Bargains. After buying a good amount of groceries and some cookwear, she retreated back to her new home to put the groceries away.

The amount of little jobs around the house were myriad, but Lyra took to them one at a time with regimented precision. A mental bell went off in her head and she turned to look at the kitchen. Their first big meal together in the house—Lyra wanted to do something special.

And she did.

"I'm home!" Scootaloo opened the front door and walked inside. The floor was spotlessly clean, which surprised her. "You've been cleaning?"

Poking her head around the doorway to the kitchen, Lyra grinned a little wider at the look of surprise Scootaloo wore. "Of course. I'll be bringing some stuff from Canterlot tomorrow, and didn't want it getting dusty. I hope you're hungry."

That's when Scootaloo's nose started twitching and her eyes widened. "I-I know you said you can cook, but I kinda just—What's that smell?" There were hints of familiarity to the scents wafting from the kitchen. Scootaloo dropped her schoolbag and started following her olfactory sense to the source.

"Well, since there seems to be a lot of stuff that's kinda the same between where I came from and what I know of your dad's culture, I figured I'd try some Australian staples. I wasn't sure if you liked meat at all, so I skipped the barbecue shrimp." It had surprised Lyra to see shrimp at the market, and she'd almost purchased some but figured she should ask first.

Lyra used her magic to lift two plates from the barely-warm oven and carried them to the old table in the kitchen. "Eggplant parmigiana, with some mashed potato and green beans. We used to have a more… meat-oriented version of this back home, but it was really popular."

"When you say meat, I get the feeling you don't mean more shrimp." Scootaloo jumped up on a seat and stared at the meal before her. A shiver ran all the way from her nose to her tail and back up into her head.

Using just her hooves, Lyra picked up a knife and fork and got to work on the meal. "Yeah. Where I came from, we were… omnivores." When Lyra saw confusion on Scootaloo's face, she realized she'd need to go into details. "We ate meat and plant stuff. In about equal measure."

Looking a little more warily at her plate, Scootaloo used her fork to poke at the schnitzel.

"That's eggplant. Don't worry, I haven't eaten like that in years—since before I became a pony." Proving her point, Lyra cut into her own parmigiana and speared it onto her fork. "See?"

"Is it strange then that I feel more comfortable with you than if another pony had come here and done this?" Following suit, Scootaloo started into her own meal. The first bite into the rich Napoli sauce swamped out her earlier worries with flavor. Her second mouthful followed quickly on the first, then the third…

A tight little knot of tension in Lyra unwound at the sight of Scootaloo eating. It was like a milestone and millstone both. She took another bite of her own meal before answering. "Sometimes it takes the eyes of an outsider to see a problem. I don't know if that was Princess Celestia's plan for letting us move here, but I'll bet if I ask her she'll just smile at me as if it was."

Gulping down a mouthful of potato, Scootaloo shook her head. "It's still unbelievable that you know Princess Celestia."

"I only know her as a teacher and mentor. If you really want somepony who knows her, you'd be better off talking to Mum. She's spent more time with the princess than anypony else I know except for her guards."

"And you know all them!" Scootaloo giggled at that. "Hold on. She was your teacher? You said something about that before, but I didn't think she was really your teacher."

"Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. When she first invited me to attend, I wasn't even a unicorn—or a pony." The addition of caramelized onion to the mashed potato, Lyra mused, had been a good idea. "That's why I said we'll go to Batstralia and let fate decide if you should be a bat pony. It's been—and I can say this completely honestly—good to me. I turned up in Equestria as a unicorn, with Princess Celestia's invitation, and there was just no question about if I should attend."

Scootaloo drank up the information. It reminded her of good days with her parents and exploring new places. A stray thought picked up on Lyra's mention of Batstralia, and she reminded herself that she'd be going there soon. "School term lasts another five weeks." Though it seemed like forever. "Then we have a four-week break."

"That'll be perfect. Hopefully Sweetie's back by then, and we can arrange her some time off to come with us."

"W-What's she like?"

"Sweetie Drops? You're going to get a bunch of biased opinions from me—I married her after all—but I think you'll like her." There wasn't much left on Lyra's plate. She used her fork to scoop up some remnants of potato and use them like putty to catch stray beans.

Scootaloo was a little slower than Lyra at eating—it was a big meal—but she was doing her best to savor what had been a surprisingly memory-stirring dish. "I hope so."

"Ready for dessert?" Lyra asked.

"Wait, there's dessert too? What did you make?" Staring at Lyra, Scootaloo felt like she was being buttered up for something.

"I don't know if you'll have heard of them. We call them lamingtons." Not bothering to get up, Lyra used her magic to float the plate of chocolate and coconut covered cakes to the table. "I hope you don't mind, I used plum jam and whipped cream for the filling."

When the plate got close enough, Scootaloo froze. "W-What do I do with it?"

"You can hold them in your hoof. Eat it like you would a cupcake." Demonstrating, Lyra floated one lamington to herself and held it with her hoof before taking a bite.

Following Lyra's example, Scootaloo lifted one of the cakes from the plate and held it up to her mouth. The smell of chocolate and coconut was strongest, but she could definitely get hints of something sweeter inside it. Taking a bite, her eyes dilated as the flavor combination hit her palate. "Mmm!"

"Yeah. I figured with the predisposition ponies have for cakes and sweets, lamingtons would be a hit. Have you had them before?"

Scootaloo didn't want to stop eating the delicious dessert, so she just shook her head. "Mff-ffff"

"Well, I might have to give Pinkie Pie the recipe to them. I don't think she had them back on Earth, so it's probably an idea to take her one and the recipe." Clamming up, Lyra decided to just take the time to enjoy the fruits of her labor.

Only when two lamingtons each were consumed did Lyra start the conversation again. "I'll bring as much of our stuff down tomorrow. Did you want to come for a run before bed?"

"A run?" Only after asking did Scootaloo realize that Lyra was literally that crazy about running. It fully dawned on her that though she might not be working nights anymore, she was going to be doing work. "Sure."

The run went well, to Lyra's way of looking at it. Scootaloo ran beside her for the first lap (though it was only Lyra's fast-trot), and then rode her scooter for the next three. Lyra welcomed the extra work of pulling her ward around. After a shower each, they both lacked any ability to resist sleep once they lay down in their respective beds.

Over a week, life settled down and became normal for Scootaloo. She'd been surprised at how much stuff Lyra and Sweetie had, but the addition of furniture to the rest of the house made it feel like a home again.

Though it wasn't her parents' home anymore.

Scootaloo's parents never had electric guitars, armor racks, and the constant smell of baking, but it was completely impossible for Scootaloo to claim any of those things were bad.

What surprised her, when she rode her scooter home after school (just before the weekend started), was the confused-looking mare standing beside the front door of her house. She dismounted her scooter and walked up to the door. "Hello. Can I help you with something?"

Relieved at finding somepony to help her, Sweetie Drops tried her best smile on for the filly. "Hiya. I'm trying to find Lyra Heartstrings. She said this should be the right house in her letter, but I don't want to barge in on…" She trailed off when she realized Scootaloo had frozen in shock. "Um, are you alright?"

"You're Sweetie Drops, aren't you?" Scootaloo's voice shook a little as she asked the question. Her life had been entering a stable period after far too long without one—it was a little scary for her to consider things might go pear-shaped again.

"Scootaloo, I take it?" Sweetie Drops looked at the filly critically for a moment. It wasn't immediately obvious to her why Lyra would have taken Scootaloo in—but she'd read enough to know that Scootaloo's looks were deceiving. "I'm Sweetie Drops, I'm pleased to meet you."

Staring for a moment, Scootaloo blinked as her mind started working again. "Guess I should have guessed from the armor." She lifted up her hoof and clopped it against the one offered by Sweetie. "I have a friend with the same first name."

"I don't mind if you use my whole name to keep things compartmentalized." Turning back to the house she was standing before, Sweetie let out her breath slowly. Lyra's letter had been full of all kinds of talk as to what she'd done with the kitchen, but being a somewhat gifted cook herself, she wanted to see it.

"What's compart—That word?"

"It means keeping things straight and in the right places. Storing your thoughts in boxes so you can get to the right one when you need it."

Scootaloo stepped past Sweetie and opened the front door. "Huh. I guess that works. Come in."

"Thank you." So far, Sweetie liked Scootaloo. Asking when she didn't know a word instead of just assuming it was something else boosted her opinion. "Wow, all our stuff!" Looking around the living room, Sweetie turned in place to take in the placement of all their things.

Immediately gravitating toward two new things, Sweetie turned back to look at Scootaloo. "Are these yours?"

The sound of quiet (but not silent) hooves alerted Sweetie to an unseen assailant approaching her. Lack of metal on wood sounds indicated a lack of armor, but there was a telltale addendum to each step that told her the pony coming had learned to run. She turned just in time to get tackled by Lyra.

Sweetie's heavy armor made hugging her a little more difficult than usual, but Lyra was not a mare to be dissuaded from welcoming her wife home. "I missed you, Bon Bon."

Freezing at the show of affection, Scootaloo started to turn and walk away. It was obvious that this was the right mare—Lyra's wife—but she just didn't know her well enough yet to consider her part of the strange little family she'd found herself in.

Spotting Scootaloo walking out, Sweetie paused her reunion with Lyra and made sure her wife knew where her attention lay.

"Hey, Scoots, I want you to meet a very special pony," Lyra said. She'd picked up on Sweetie's silent message easily enough.

Stopping her retreat, Scootaloo turned. "We, uh, met outside. Hi again."

"I was asking her about some new additions to the house. What are these?" Sweetie looking to Scootaloo for the answer, and when Lyra tried to provide one, Sweetie silenced her with a boop to her nose.

Given that the new instruments were one of her favorite subjects over the last week, Scootaloo felt buoyed up with excitement to have somepony new to explain everything to. "They're didgeridoos. You play them like an instrument by blowing into them a lot. Tufts made them for us."

"Is it like some kind of flute?" Sweetie asked.

"Excuse me," Lyra said, "but I have dinner to finish."

Scootaloo barely noticed Lyra leave the room. She walked over and grabbed up her didgeridoo and made her way back to the couch with it. "It's different than a flute. There's no wavy bit in it to make a high-pitched noise, so you use your tongue, lips, and cheeks to make the sound. Like this."

Over the week, Scootaloo had practiced each night. She wasn't able to keep a tune going for long, but she was getting much better at breath control. Lining the instrument up with her mouth, she held it with her forehooves and leaned back on the couch.

Though she couldn't get as low as Lyra could with her didgeridoo—mostly because of the size and resonant notes—Scootaloo still got a good depth of tone as she played. Wanting to put on the best show she could, she struggled and strained to keep her breathing cyclic, but she couldn't keep going for too long and eventually had to stop.

Shivering at the haunting notes, Sweetie Drops clopped her hooves together when Scootaloo stopped. "That was quite something. You said Tufts made it for you?"

"He did! But we helped—me and Lyra that is. We did it in a Dream, and he turned us both into bat ponies while we were there. It took me a while to find the right tree, but that made it more special." Scootaloo was more than happy to talk at length on one of the strangest and most amazing turning points of her life. The instrument in her grip only inspiring her to continue into explaining the whole week following the Dream.

By the time Lyra called on Sweetie and Scootaloo, she found the pair talking about boats of all things. "Dinner's ready. I hope you're both hungry. I made roast vegetables and shire puddings." She noticed Sweetie's eyes widen a little and giggled softly to herself for remembering the meal they worked together to produce most often in Sweetie's mother's kitchen.

"I've never had that before. What's it like?" Scootaloo asked.

"Why don't we got to the kitchen and find out?" Sweetie still hadn't seen the kitchen, and was itching with excitement to not just have a good, home-cooked meal again, but to explore what Lyra had done with the place.

Following Scootaloo, Sweetie froze in the doorway and looked around the kitchen. There was a modern and professional-looking stove installed as well as an old wood-burning one at the far end of the room. A refrigerator that looked big enough to climb into dominated one end of the counter, while that modern stove was at the other. Everything looked gleaming and new—even the old stove that seemed to have been polished up to within an inch of its long life. "Wow."

"Is that a good wow?" Scootaloo asked, already climbing up to her seat at the table.

"Yeah, that's the good wow. It's normally followed by a hug wow." Lyra was correct in her estimation of Sweetie's mood. She squeezed her wife back tightly. "We need to go have dinner, Bon Bon."

Sweetie paused and looked back at herself. "Much as I'd love to take my armor off, I've been running in it all day. If I take it off now, you'd disown me." She took her spot at the table and sat down.

Floating the plates over to the table, Lyra set one before each of them. She didn't wait on any signal, nor did any of the others.

The meal was everything Sweetie had hoped she would get upon returning from her latest mission. Scootaloo was still a bit of a conundrum for her, but she had already found herself liking the filly just from the time they'd spent talking about her recent history. "The mission was… not as we'd have hoped."

"Mission?" Scootaloo asked.

Biting her lip, Sweetie had a moment to think if telling the filly would be a good idea before she remembered that Scootaloo was part of their life now regardless. "Yeah. Lyra told you what I do?"

"Monster Hunters, right?"

Sweetie nodded. "Each year the bugbear get stirred up by their—their desire to expand their territory. Most years this is just infighting between each clan, but we'd gotten a tip-off that it was different. He was a big sort, about twice the size of the other bugbear, and he was riling them all up to cross the inlet to Trottingham. It would have worked, too. They'd ripped down countless trees upriver and sent them down in clumps.

"They'd just finished making a bridge of sorts when we arrived. We literally got off our boat, galloped from one side of Trottingham to the other, and watched the bugbears loping across the logs toward us." Digging back into her meal, Sweetie left Lyra and Scootaloo hanging on her words for a minute or two while she enjoyed more of her dinner. "Everypony got their game on. Half the squad was in light armor—the pegasi and our unicorn—so those of us in heavy gear charged out onto the logs to meet them.

"I'd never seen Sargent Broad Strokes really fight like that before. She held her ground and our line against the charging bugbears. I took one of her flanks and, as a squad, we kept them back. That's when Corporal Giggles started using her signature spell."

The turn of the conversation to magic had Lyra almost literally spellbound. She hadn't met with many of the Guard's other spell-slingers, and in particular she hadn't had time to investigate specific spells of any. "What was it?"

"She turned the logs into balloons. You should have seen it. No sooner did a bugbear put their weight on a log than their claws would pop it. That nasty one, though, he got all the way up to us and tried to blindside the sergeant. If I'd been wearing my light armor, I wouldn't have been able to put as much force into my kick, but as it was I sent him flying across the gap of balloon logs and back to where he'd come from."

Scootaloo's eyes were wide as saucers. This wasn't a tall tale that her friends might tell to amuse themselves—Sweetie Drops was a real soldier and this was real fighting. She barely remembered to eat her food as she listened to the story.

"So all done with now, right?" Lyra asked.

"We hope so. The griffons still have to deal with the bugbears on occasion, but that's a much more one-sided fight. Griffons are kinda lazy, but if you get one angry you have to remember that, for the most part, both their parts are predators and they can fly. We have some scouts keeping an eye on the bugbears. They report both to the Guard and the griffons. You'd be surprised at how territorial the griffons get." Sweetie pushed the last of her shire pudding around her plate to mop up the gravy.

Lyra followed suit, cleaning up her own plate. "You don't sound convinced this is over."

"There was a moment, Lyra, when he looked at me after I'd just bucked him over the gap in the logs, and it was the kind of look that says, 'I'll be seeing you again soon.'" Sweetie put the last of the pudding in her mouth and savored the taste of it. "This is really good."

Scootaloo stared at Sweetie, then at Lyra. "But, what about the bugbear? Aren't you worried that it'll come after you?"

"If it does, it does. The Guard will stand with me and we'll deal with it. I'll cook breakfast tomorrow, okay?" Mopping up the last of her meal, Sweetie savored the food to the very last bite.

Lyra stood up and collected the plates from the table with her magic. "I hope you're both ready for your run."

"Sure am." Sweetie stood, causing her armor to clank a little. "You haven't been slacking off your exercise I hope, Lyra?"

"Pfft. As if. I've been resistance training, you know. C'mon and let me show you what I did with one of the downstairs rooms." Lyra led the way from the kitchen to the room she'd called The Armory. "Here. With all our stuff, we didn't have a hope of filling this whole house, so I figured one room just for our military gear would be fine."

"There's four armor stands in here, Lyra."

"Well, I figured better to have an extra one. You never know when we might have company, or I might need to get some heavier armor. Speaking of which, I'd better load up." Walking to her own armor stand, Lyra started transplanting her armor to her body. "Hey, Scoots, wanna help me out?"

After a week of helping Lyra put her armor on twice a day for their runs, Scootaloo considered herself an expert in it. As Lyra twisted and turned, Scootaloo grabbed the right straps and pulled them tight until Lyra could fasten the buckles. "This strap here looks a little messed up."

Walking over to inspect the strap, Sweetie nodded. "Well spotted. You'll need to take that to get an armorer to fix it, Lyra." She hadn't realized it, but Sweetie had slipped back into her military voice easily.

"Sir! Yes, sir!" Lyra said, her tone and pose showing off her experience in the military, though her salute was sloppy.

Sweetie just groaned and kissed Lyra on the cheek. "I missed you."

"Well, of course you did. You need to aim better next time." Prancing past her wife, Lyra left the room with a big grin on her snout.

Scootaloo, now far more used to Lyra's sense of humor, couldn't stop giggling at the silly reaction. She walked out—grabbing her scooter—before Sweetie and followed Lyra to the front door. "Oh! We have another pony who runs with us."

Lyra opened the front door to reveal Rainbow Dash outside doing stretches. "Hi, Rainbow, this is my wife, Sweetie Drops. Sweetie, this is Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow's eyes widened at the earth pony in heavy armor who walked out of Lyra and Scootaloo's house. Earth ponies had more than just a little extra size over pegasi and unicorns, they had a greater sense of you aren't going to move me unless I want to-ness to them, and seeing one in the heaviest armor Rainbow had ever seen only made her seem more-so. "Uh, hi!"

"Rainbow's trying to get into shape to join the Wonderbolts. Commander Spitfire herself said that she should start with running," Lyra said.

Rolling her eyes, Rainbow stretched her wings a out. "I thought it was totally stupid, but you know, it feels good to be able to run more now. Been getting a bit tired during the day, though. Guess if I can't sleep in and can't have an early night, the sleep has got to come from somewhere."

"Before we started," Scootaloo said, "Rainbow didn't even know there was a six o'clock in the morning."

Even Rainbow Dash had to snort a laugh at the gag. "Yeah, yeah. Come on, let's get this started." The first lap would be a trot—a warm up. What Rainbow was most curious about was how much running Sweetie would be able to manage in heavy armor.

Stepping forward easily into a trot, Lyra picked up Scootaloo's scooter and set it on her back. When Scootaloo broke into her own gallop, Lyra smiled. On her other side, Sweetie caught up with a trot and Rainbow took up a position on the opposite side of Sweetie. "We start off like this to give Scootaloo a good run. When her legs get longer, though, we're going to have her lengthening her stride more with us."

In just a week Scootaloo had learned the joy of running. In her whole life up until meeting Lyra, she'd not really just run before, but having stretched her legs and moved with the rhythm of her body, she was hooked. She ignored the chatter of the adults around her, mostly talking about Ponyville itself—she was in her zone.

"Scoots? You want to go another lap or get on your scooter?" Lyra asked.

"B-Bit more!" She managed almost another half lap around Ponyville before Lyra set the scooter down before her. With a jump, Scootaloo landed on her scooter and she took hold of the golden handle Lyra made for her. "Ready!"

As Lyra broke into a full gallop, so do Sweetie. She felt good about running beside Lyra again, the simple act of moving together a delight that never failed to sate some desire inside her.

Scootaloo didn't just ride along passively behind her, Lyra knew. The filly was constantly doing stunts and moves that tugged backwards on the magical tether more or less depending on what she was doing. Lyra wouldn't begrudge her for it—far from it. The extra pull on her magic (and thus herself) at random made her focus all the more on keeping her pace and stride constant.

The run, however, eventually came to an end. Lyra slowed them all down to a trot again for the last half a lap, then brought everypony to a stop back at her front door.

Rainbow just stared at Sweetie for a moment before she shook her head. "How can you run with all that on?"

"Practice and training. Think about it, if I couldn't run with armor on, how would I be able to fight with armor on?" Sweetie Drops offered up some of the same words she'd been given when joining the Guard. She could tell, however, that both herself and her armor were going to need some cleaning.

"We'll see you tomorrow?" Lyra asked Rainbow.

Giving the same groan she gave every night, Rainbow Dash nodded. "Yeah. This'll kill me."

"You'll get used to it." Lyra used her magic to open the door for Sweetie. "Trust me. Eventually it will be normal, and then you won't be able to handle waking up later."

"That's what I'm worried about." Rainbow had a grin on her face as she said it, however, and spread her wings. "I'll see you in the morning."

"She already knows everypony in town." Scootaloo trotted into the house, intent on reaching the upstairs bathroom as soon as possible. Two runs every day had taught her an appreciation for having two showers each day.

"Do you now?" Sweetie made her way toward The Armory. "Any cute mares?"

The question would be thought of as a trap by many, though Lyra tapped her chin in contemplation. "Well, Scootaloo's teacher is pretty hot."

"Is she now?"

"Yeah. Totally cute in that young teacher kind of way. Oh! But this mare I saw today…" Lyra let out a trailing sigh. "Thighs that wouldn't quit, stacked muscle for days, and the cutest little snout that makes me want to spend the rest of my life kissing her."

Sweetie accepted a kiss on her nose with as much grace as she could muster. "Let's get out of this armor and have a shower."

The idea seemed like the best Lyra had ever heard.

Author's Note

Cheerilee: Have you tried dating services

"I'm at the point of actively looking, not desperate and dateless. Though, if you know any cute mares or even stallions, I..." Cheerilee blew out a sigh. "Just give me their name. Ponyville is a surprisingly large town—I'm sure there's somepony here for me."

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Lab

Chapter 36 [[ A Joyce Perspective ]]

"Your daughter has applied for three holiday visas to visit Batstralia."

Princess Celestia's words didn't surprise me. I'd heard Lyra murmur about visiting Dream and Robin. "Is there a problem with that?" I lifted the delicate porcelain cup to my lips and sipped. She'd done it, of course—Princess Celestia had made me into a tea snob. The leaf we were drinking now was a rich black tea from the griffons. It cost a small fortune to acquire, but that didn't stop the royal pantry from stocking it.

"It's less about allowing two of my finest guardponies to visit a friendly nation and more about them taking Scootaloo. I don't believe you are ignorant of the situation there."

I didn't answer immediately—I was enjoying the tea too much. It was fortunate that Princess Celestia had the same habits as I'd developed when it came to tea, and even more patience. "She could become a bat pony." I'd discussed it with Lyra myself. "But, only if she finds her special talent while there."

"It's a gamble."

"You know the background of her?" I'd need something more substantial than the tea if I was going to be giving Celestia advice. I reached for a piece of tea cake that had chantilly cream. A good portion of said cream wet my palate in prepration.

"Not entirely. Is there pertinent information I may not know?"

Doctor Mango mode it is. "She may not ever fly. There's a set of tendons in a pegasus' wings that regulates feather angle for the secondary feathers. She doesn't have it. As a foal grows up, there's a small chance the tendons will grow in anyway."

"Chances?"

"Less than thirty percent of it correcting itself. There's a remedy that works in another ten percent of cases. This—if she does find her special talent—might be a way for her to avoid that fate."

It was my turn to exercise patience. Princess Celestia levitated her teacup up and took a long sip—something I knew meant she was thinking on something and wanted some time to work it over in her head. Only once she'd had a good few minutes to savor the tea (while I ate my piece of cake) did she seem ready to make her stance known.

"Your daughter knows my feelings on fate and destiny. Hearing Scootaloo's plight in more detail reminds me why I gave Lyra an A-plus for that topic. She's allowing fate itself to roll the dice for the filly just once more. I can appreciate that everything will be left to fate to decide. Very well, I won't stand in the way of their visas." She barely seemed to take a breath throughout her little proclamation. "How is the situation with my sister going?"

"She's going to attack you. There's going to be a confluence soon—she says not more than six months away—that will allow her to return. She wants revenge." It wasn't failure. Her getting revenge on Celestia had been the one thing Nightmare Moon had been rigid on. I'd gotten her to mellow and relax on everything else.

"The Summer Sun Celebration is in five months. That will also coincide with the thousandth year of her exile."

I nodded to that. Nightmare Moon had been planning her revenge for a long time, though I'd managed to talk her down from destroying the world with nightmare monsters to just eternal night and punishing her sister. "You have preparations in place?"

"If you're asking will I let her have her revenge on myself? The answer is yes. She deserves that. As for Equestria—it needs its ruler, but there is somepony I think can help here. Much as I dislike sending ponies into dangerous situations, I have long learned that I can no more stop a pony from doing what they think is right than I can change the seasons on my own.

"You'll forgive me, Joyce, for not revealing everything?"

"I will, of course. I like to think I'm your friend. Friends, or so I hear, are tolerant of their friends' need for privacy." It was reassuring, actually. Knowing that she had a plan and expected to survive her sister's wrath calmed some of my worries.

"You are the rarest friend a monarch could hope to have, Joyce Mango."

We sat together in the relative quiet of her garden and sipped tea and ate cake together. It gave me time to reflect more on what I was doing with my life as a whole.

I'd come to Equestria seeking to learn skills that I could take back to Batstralia and help people there, but what I was doing here did that and more. The medical trade I'd help initiate was enough to sate my desire to help my former nation, but what I was doing to help the ponies here was heartening in a way that doing hands-on (or wings-on these days) work in the field wouldn't be able to approach.

My expertise and knowledge was doing good. It helped Equestrian and Batstralian ponies thrive and be their best. "Thank you," I said.

Celestia just lifted her visible eyebrow a little.

"For letting me do what I wanted. I don't think I fully explained it to you, but when I came here I wanted to learn and use that learning to help Batstralia. I thought it would mean I'd have to go back and leave Lyra behind.

"But this—Working for you gives me a chance to do that and more. I'm helping Batstralia by helping you work with them, but I'm also helping Equestria.

"It just didn't click before that I was so busy trying to build my skills to help, that I didn't notice I was doing so already."

Her smile didn't waver for a moment, but it wasn't the Princess Celestia Mask I was seeing, this was Celestia who I had tea with in her garden. "I can't say I planned this. Some might attribute foresight among my talents, but the truth is I make opportunities and let destiny see to the rest."

I couldn't stop from chuckling at her confidence. Back on Earth, that kind of optimism would be crushed. Here in Equestria, with destiny being a tangible force, it was proper leadership. "That's worked well so far?"

"A thousand years of peace. You could even say destiny rules at my side—though I would prefer it if my sister were able to do that again."

Could she? If I were back on Earth and Nightmare Moon was my patient, I don't think I'd be recommending her for leadership of a nation. Well, Joyce, now you have to put on your doctor pants. "I don't think she's ready for that."

"I believe that, but I will give her the chance to rise above this, particularly if she has somepony to advise her." The tone was as obvious as that expressive eyebrow Celestia possessed.

"Destiny," I said.

It was time for another cup of tea. I carefully emptied out the last of my cup and over a rose bush just behind me, then picked the teapot up with my wing. "It's taken me some thinking, given we didn't have such a tangible force where I came from, but I can't deny that a thousand years of experience and observation—as well as my own interactions with it—actually show destiny to be affecting things that it is real."

"Which is why I will allow Lyra and Sweetie to take Scootaloo for a little holiday. Sometimes destiny must be accounted for, sometimes it must be left to make its mark, but on rare occasions it needs a little push. If it is Scootaloo's destiny to be a bat pony, she will be one."

"How soon?" I asked.

Nightmare Moon's visits were more frequent now—several times a week. This was the second.

Sitting in a pile of cushions, Nightmare Moon sipped on her drink. If it was tea, I had no idea what blend it was. "You ask me that every time. I assume you've already told my sister I'm making plans?"

I rolled my eyes at her—she seemed to get the point.

"I know you told me you would, but I wondered still." She sounded calm and collected, far from the raging demon I'd first met. There was a lot of anger under the surface still, but I was slowly getting to the bottom of that and revealing it for us both to talk about. "The Summer Sun Celebration. It's as good a time as any, and a thousand years sounds like a good, round number. I'm not going to go easy on her."

"Yeah. You told me before, and I told her. She looks forward to seeing you again." Waiting for her anger, I tried to not let it show—nor did I let it show that I was surprised she didn't get angry.

She was so much like her sister at times. We sat in a companionable silence in the dream realm together. This was different to Dreaming primarily because it was controlled and static. If I wanted to change something, I'd have to focus to do so. If this were the Dreamtime, I'd have to focus to stop things changing.

"What is happening with your family?" Nightmare Moon asked.

"My daughter and her wife are going for a holiday, my husband is laying beside me on our bed. I have a new foal on the way." She was a lot calmer than she used to be, so I considered it okay to mention them now. "Did you have a foal? Before your exile, I mean."

She looked surprised, perhaps a little shocked. "No."

"Maybe you'll find the right stallion when you return." As soon as I said it, her head snapped around to look at me in complete shock. "What? You don't believe in love? Tall, dark, and brooding is a big turn-on for some stallions. Plus, with those wings, I know several pegasi who'd do just about anything to take you out on a date."

She narrowed her eyes for a second, looking at me through her pupils that were slit down like a cat's in bright light. Then she laughed. "You are a delight, Joyce. You don't lie at all, and I swear that you have a more pony-like view of the world than any born pony. You'll have to introduce your family when I'm free."

"We'll see. I'll have my foal by then." The idea that I was going to have another baby came with a mix of worries and delights. Mostly the delights. The only things that worried me about bringing another life into the world (any world) was having someone to help me this time—and I had Tufts. Just thinking about him made me grin like a fool.

"What's she like?"

"Who?"

"My sister?"

It was my turn to be stunned. Normally, if the topic turned to Celestia, Nightmare Moon would devolve into rage instantly. This Nightmare Moon looked somber. "I talked to her about destiny today. Her governance almost seems Machiavellian in her control and poise, but she is almost the opposite. She tries to be hooves-off so far as individuals are concerned. She lets destiny rule with her.

"Do you want to know what she said?" I asked. At Nightmare Moon's nod I continued, "Celestia said it felt like she was co-ruling with destiny, but that she'd rather co-rule with yo—" I stopped because she'd looked away. "Do you want me to leave?"

"Please don't go." Nightmare Moon looked up at me with tears in her eyes. "C-Can you sit with me a bit longer?"

I stood up and took a few steps until I was standing beside Nightmare Moon. There, I curled up and folded my legs down and stretched one wing over her back. "Of course I can. We have all night."

Author's Note

Scootaloo: do you enjoy living with Lyra and Sweetie Drops?

"It beats all the alternatives." Scootaloo blew out a weighty sigh for such a little filly. "I gotta face facts. They're gone. I can't ever have my—my parents back. Lyra is like twenty ponies in one. She's a goof, she's a musician, she's a cook, she's a soldier, she's a friend, she's a big sister, she's..." Unable to finish, Scootaloo wiped some tears from the corners of her eyes. "And Sweetie Drops is the same. It's like they were put in Equestria to create and fix problems."

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Lab

Chapter 37 [[ A Lyra Perspective ]]

After our morning run, I'd given Rainbow instructions on how much running I wanted her to do while we were away, and I was fairly sure she'd do it, too. It'd only taken her seeing two Wonderbolts organizing a weather event for her to practically double her efforts. She ran every morning without fail, and every evening I swore she looked ready to collapse—but only because I'd pushed her to do more.

In the month and a half we'd been living together, Scootaloo had grown almost an inch, but still had no sign of her cutie mark. She'd had her shower after our run, breakfast, and was waiting for Sweetie and me in the living room. "We'll miss our train!"

I looked across at the clock on the wall and shrugged. "If we do, we'll walk. It's not far." Sweetie's elbow in my shoulder made me wobble a little. "Alright, alright. Do we have everything packed?"

"Yes! C'mon!"

Sweetie and I'd checked each other's packs, but Scootaloo we'd left to do her own. Her pack was small, but I could see one obvious thing missing. "Not taking your scooter?"

"If I was going to get my cutie mark in riding a scooter, I think I would have it by now. I want to maximize my time trying out new things." She fluffed the feathers of her wings a little in what appeared to be pride at the leap of logic. "I want to try everything!"

Sweetie Drops cleared her throat. "Let's get going, then. If we miss the train, your sister might not be waiting for us in Cowwarr/Stonecrop."

Following her to the door, I was struck by how odd it felt to be carrying a pack without wearing armor. For the first time since becoming a pony I felt naked. Silly, but naked. Heh—butt naked. Get it together, Lyra. "I'm sure she'll wait for us."

We got all the way to the train station before two fillies stopped in our path and looked forlorn at Scootaloo. There was no sight of the train yet, so Sweetie and I stepped around and left Scootaloo to talk with her friends before we left.

"They do practically everything together, you know?" Sweetie asked.

"Yeah. Thick as thieves. Err, I mean they're close." Even now, after six years living in Equestria, sometimes I'd say something so Australian that people wouldn't get what I meant. "What was the letter about?"

"That bugbear is hunting for me. A pair of scouts saw it back at the shore sniffing at a log and pacing. They think it's smarter than we figured at first." I watched as Sweetie rolled her shoulders and limbered up her muscles. For me, at least, watching Sweetie was a spectator sport. At first glance—without her armor on—she didn't look that big, but when you saw her move like she was now, muscles that could tear a tree in half rippled under her coat. "… Lyra? Lyra!"

I still blushed when she caught me watching her. I blushed like a filly—or boy—who saw his first crush and got caught staring. "Sorry, what?"

Sweetie kissed me front-on, right on the lips. "You'll give ponies the wrong idea about us if you keep looking at me like that."

"What's the wrong idea?" I asked and kissed her back.

"Kiss me again and I'll think of one." She didn't wait for me to kiss her again, taking the initiative, and only breaking apart when the sound of a locomotive whistle made our ears twitch.

"I want to continue this discussion on the train." I turned to look for said train. It was slowing down, but it was obvious that the ride down the mountain was a lot easier on the locomotives than the ride up.

There was an odd sense of imminence. I wasn't anywhere near the border with Batstralia and I felt a sense of going there already. Movement in the corner of my eye caused me to glance to the side and down. Scootaloo looked like she had a balanced mix of excitement and regret on her face. "Your friends have something planned?"

"No, that's why this sucks a little. Spending weeks away from them will be forever. Apple Bloom will be visiting her big sister, and Sweetie Belle will be going home to her parents' house for the holidays. It's like—It's like we're all going our own ways."

I couldn't stand seeing Scoots down. Had I gone clucky? Was this the whole starting the biological clock thing people always said about girls? "Well, you'll be coming back soon enough, and I'm sure they'll be back by then."

"Besides. You might make a new friend or two in Batstralia that you can tell them about when you get back," Sweetie Drops said.

"Yeah! I might!" Her mood reversed, Scootaloo practically bounced along as we got on the train. She stared out the window at the scenery going past, and after the conductor came and checked our tickets, then left, she finally looked up at Sweetie. "What's it like in Batstralia?"

Sweetie Drops turned from her own contemplation of the scenery to look at Scootaloo. "I haven't been there either, so we both get to find out together."

Both of them looked at me. "Hey, I haven't seen the place for… seven years or so. From what Robin said, it's really different. I hope you both like fruit."

The pair of groans I got made me giggle something fierce. The train ride took a turn as I felt the locomotive start to slow down. I looked out the window nearest us, saw nothing, so ran to the other side and stared in surprise.

There was a huge station ahead, but unlike any I'd seen built in Equestria, this one had armed guards around it. E.U.P. Guardponies stood side by side with batponies that had spears and boomerangs mounted on their light armor. A part of me wanted to inspect the batpony guards' equipment to see if they had any magic on them. The boomerangs looked strange, one of the arms was way longer than the other, but they still looked to be shaped for throwing.

"You've got our paperwork?" Sweetie asked.

I nodded and used my magic to pull a letter from Princess Celestia from my pack. They were in lieu of actual passports, since Equestria didn't have such a thing. A second set of papers joined them—our visas for entry into Batstralia. I wasn't even sure what had been harder to get, though we had Robin and Dream on one side and Mum on the other helping. "Yeah, got 'em all."

As the train slowed to a stop, I felt a sense of excitement. Batstralia might not be my home anymore, but it was where I grew up. I'll never forget Cowwarr, though my previous school is better forgotten. I led the way off the train and onto a platform that reminded me of the ones on Earth. Heavy concrete and long wooden buildings dominated the station, but what made up the bulk of that Earth-feel was the non-slip pads worked into the concrete.

"Deployment papers?" The tone was sharp and made me remember the sergeants I'd trained and served under. The stallion who was the owner of the voice did indeed have the markings on his armor of a sergeant, though I didn't know his name.

"Sir!" I snapped an excellent salute (at least I hoped it was) but didn't give him the paperwork I carried. "We're not on duty, simply going for a holiday."

"Private Lyra Heartstrings, Private First Class Sweetie Drops, and their daughter Scootaloo." This speaker was a different pony with a different tone. A Royal Guard lieutenant held a clipboard with one wing and walked toward us.

Not for the first time in my life I was struck by how big those selected for the Royal Guard were. This stallion was on a whole other scale compared to most ponies. His armor was polished to a mirror shine, the crested helmet (also polished) atop his head made him look larger still, and he walked with the kind of assuredness that said he knew he was the biggest fish in this pond. "Princess Celestia sent me warning that one of her pupils would be arriving with such paperwork as that you are carrying. Sergeant, with your leave, I'll escort these guests to the border."

"Yes, sir." The sergeant sounded both relieved and curious with just two words. I guess they didn't get many visitors out here.

"Please come with me, ladies."

I looked at Sweetie and Scoots, and both just shrugged back at me. "So, what's the deal here? Expecting new troops?"

"Oh, the usual. Cycling the troops. End of one tour, start of the next." The stallion stopped—almost causing us to walk into him—and turned. "Where's my manners. Lieutenant Dawn Crisp of Princess Celestia's Royal Guard." He dipped his head, though not enough to even get his snout level with the point of my horn. Damn he's big.

"You know our names and all. Thanks for the save back there," I said. "So what kind of hoops are we going to have to jump through?"

Sweetie, I noticed, looked at Dawn Crisp with a hint of confusion. "And why's a Royal Guard out here… not guarding any royalty?"

"What outfit are you with?" Dawn Crisp asked.

"Monster Hunters."

"That'd explain it. You operate within the borders but don't extend much to them. Equestria's borders protect Princess Celestia's realm, and thus Princess Celestia herself. I let the E.U.P. Guard do their job here—which is the hard work needed to protect Equestria as a whole—while I carry out any special tasks that the princess might need overseen."

"That's why you asked the sergeant's permission for leave?" I asked.

"Exactly. They're in charge here. I am an ancillary. A dollop of grease the princess supplies to ensure the gears of international—and interdimensional—relations turn smoothly. Today that includes ensuring three VIPs have no problem finding my counterpart on the Batstralian side."

"Seems fair enough. I know Princess Celestia has a tendency to train ponies to be problem solvers." Sweetie elbowed me in the shoulder. "I happened to marry one. What about the other question? If the gears are greased on this side, who's doing the greasing on the other?"

"That will be a young mare called Dream Thunder. She's a cross between a wizard and the goofiest pony I've ever met. She claims she was born a pegasus, but I can never tell if she's telling the truth or not." I almost cracked up laughing at Dawn Crisp's description of Dream. "Regardless of her racial affiliations and state of mind, she's told me you are expected and your processing will be expedited."

It was sobering to remember that Dream held the bulk of the magic that Tufts had possessed when he was in Batstralia. I wondered how much she was able to use now. "Hopefully we can make a good first impression on her. Is she cute?"

Sweetie stared at me in surprise, as did Scootaloo.

The truth was, I still felt a bit like Dream's big sister (though it was big brother when I first knew her). Finding out who was her coltfriend (or even potential coltfriend) was important.

"Like all bat ponies, she has a wingspan that just won't quit. I make it a code of honor not to consort in such ways with members of an allied nation, however." Dawn Crisp sounded a little wistful there. So maybe not Dream, but did he have his eyes set on another bat pony?

He led the way off the platform and into one of the long buildings attached to it. What was particular about this building the moment we stepped inside was there were only bat ponies in here. It almost felt like we were intruding.

The stallion sitting behind a desk on one side of the room lifted his head from where he'd been writing something and smiled at us. "Lieutenant, it's always good to see you. What have you brought us today?"

He spoke perfect Equish, but there was a heavy enough Aussie accent that I knew it wasn't some kind of spell doing the translation.

"I have brought the first three tourists who will be visiting your country. Their paperwork…" Dawn Crisp looked to me.

I walked as casually as I could over to the desk—with Scootaloo and Sweetie following along—and cleared my throat. "G'day. I hope I've got everything ya need," I spoke in English as I passed over the papers with my magic.

The bat pony looked at me with a surprised glance, grinned, and in English said, "There aren't a lot of ponies that speak English that well. You'd have to be Dream's friend, right?" They took the paperwork and gave it a look over. "This all looks good. Head on through the door on your right. Dream's been waiting for you."

"Thanks. Hey, is it you this big hunk's been eyeing?" I asked.

"I wish. He keeps looking at Mary—that's the head customs officer. Don't know why he doesn't ask her out, she's been giving him longing looks when she thinks he isn't looking."

"Ha! I thought so. He has some kind of honor thing going. What you'll want to do is get word back to a Princess Cadance. Get her to come out here and do an inspection. Tell her Lyra suggested it. I promise she'll get them hooked up or my name isn't Lyra Heartstrings." Was I setting him up? Yes. Was I doing it for good reasons? Probably. He did help us get through what might have been hours of repeating our story over and over.

"You know a princess? Wait, I thought there was only one?"

"There's a second one. She's pretty big on getting ponies hooked up. Talk to one of the E.U.P. Sergeants. They'll get it done." As soon as I mentioned sergeant, the stallion's eyes twinkled. How integrated was this place? Couldn't possibly be a bad thing, in my opinion.

"Will do. You better head in or Dream will come out and ask where you are for the twentieth time today." That last he said in Equish.

"Thanks, I think." Sweetie gave me a hard look and led the way to Dream's office—the one the stallion at the desk had pointed to.

Okay, I was probably in hot water here until I explained to Sweetie what all my antics had been in aid of. Great way to start the holiday, Lyra. I followed Sweetie with Scoots at my side. After a knock from my wife, a familiar voice inside called, "Come in!" in Batstralian.

"She said come in," I said.

"Figured." Sweetie opened the door and walked inside. "Dream! It's great to see you again!" It had completely slipped my mind that they'd met before.

"You too!" Dream jumped over her desk and met Sweetie halfway across the room with a hug. "And Lyra, too!"

I rushed forward into a hug with her too, reveling in our old friendship rekindled. "It's been too long, as always. Sorry if we took a while coming in, I was trying to set up Lieutenant Dawn Crisp with some pants-unstarcher."

"Is that what you were doing? I thought you were—" Blushing, Sweetie snapped her mouth shut. "You were finding out who he's been 'saving himself' from, weren't you?"

"And organizing for Cadance to come and pay him a visit. I don't have the time or the pull to uncork his emotions, but Cadance takes that kind of thing as a challenge." That's when I realized we were forgetting somepony. "Hey, Scoots, come over and meet Dream Thunder."

Scootaloo looked from me to Dream, then marched forward with a big grin on her face. "Hi! I'm Scootaloo!"

"Hello, Scootaloo, you probably already caught my name, but in case you didn't, it's Dream Thunder. Lyra sent me a letter telling me so much about you." Dream offered her hoof to Scoots to bump, and she did. "Did you know I was born a pegasus?"

There probably wasn't much else Dream could have said that would have gotten Scootaloo's full attention so quickly or so deeply. "Really? Why'd you go to Batstralia?"

"My mum was teaching there. Lyra told me why you're coming, and I think it's a good idea to give destiny a little push from time to time—but I want you to make me a promise."

Scootaloo blinked a few times owlishly. "What is it?"

"I want you to promise me," Dream Thunder said, "that you won't focus entirely on getting your cutie mark. This is meant to be a holiday! You should have fun and meet ponies while you're here—err, there."

"Yeah… Is everypony there like Lyra and Tufts?"

Not cracking up laughing at the question was impossible. I giggled away while Dream looked completely stunned. Just the look on her face made me laugh even more.

"Yes and no. Lyra's sense of humor is fairly common, though her personal outlook is a lot brighter than most Batstralians. Tufts…" Now Dream tilted her head a little to the side. "You met him, huh?"

"He helped me make my didgeridoo!"

Dream looked about to ask more, but then closed her mouth and sighed. "That bat will never stop surprising me. Okay, are you all ready to head in?"

"Does this still need you to do…" I leaned in beside Dream and mock-whispered (loud enough for Sweetie and Scoots to hear), "…the thing?"

"What thing?" Scootaloo asked.

I gasped. "I cannot speak of it. It's how Dream realigns you to stay in either Equestria or Batstralia. She takes her—It's too much!"

Scootaloo's wings floofed out and buzzed a little. "Is it another thing like the Dreaming? That was awesome last time! I got to be a bat pony! My wings were huge!"

"Well, we're going to have to do some flying to reach Canberra. Are you feeling up for that?" Dream gestured to a side door.

"You mean you're going to pull us into the Dream together, then we'll fly to Canberra?" Sweetie led the way to the door and opened it with her hoof. There was a short hallway beyond that we all set off down.

"That's the best way to get around. Oh, there might be a few nasties on the way, but I can deal with them. You can even practice some Dreamtime magic if you like." When Dream Thunder reached the end of the hall, she opened the door and stepped outside.

The change in her was amazing. She stopped once she was clear of the doorway and swayed her head a little side to side while stretching first one wing then another. Just like with Mum and Dad's, they were huge.

Scoots noticed Dream's wings too. Excitement and hope in equal measure were obvious on her face. For the first time since becoming a pony I wished I'd been given wings. Wings that I could give to her.

"Is your mum still living in Cowwarr?" I asked.

"Yup. She's still teaching. Just because everyone turned into bat ponies didn't stop kids from needing to learn. C'mon!" Her hooves suddenly flashing, Dream took off at a canter for the town in the distance.

Flying might be Dream's thing, but running was definitely ours. Even Scoots kept up with her all the way to the barrier. A dome that had swollen to encompass all of Cowwarr and Stonecrop stood before us. There was a slight shimmer to the surface of it, and it was hard to see the other side, but I just laughed and jumped right through.

Sweetie's eyes narrowed a little, but she followed suit with Scootaloo at her side.

Dream walked through last and reached a hoof out to boop me.

"No!" I teleported backwards exactly thirty centimeters—just out of immediate boop range. "Ha! Can't get me!"

"Get back here!" Her words were backed up by a batty screech, and I had to teleport again or else have Dream land on top of me.

I lost track of what Sweetie and Scootaloo were doing in my increasingly difficult efforts to get away from Dream. Eventually, though, I had to surrender to her booping. Mostly because we reached town. Home—kinda. It wasn't easy to see the stripes from the ground, but I knew the town was still compacted and bound up in concentric rings of alternating Cowwarr and Stonecrop. The magic still hadn't quite settled—and I could feel it now.

Dream was panting with exertion beside me. "Why did you make that so hard?"

"Because it was fun, and now the others will be freaking out over getting booped."

"You make everything a good bit stranger, Lyra Heartstrings. What's Scootaloo's chance of flying without turning into a bat pony?" Dream's question surprised me with its seriousness.

I flicked my head to look, but found Scoots and Sweetie still far enough away that they wouldn't hear me. "Not great. I've looking into just about anything a unicorn could do—even an alicorn, though don't tell Princess Celestia about that—and there's just not much for it. If she wants to fly with her own wings, it's going to take a lot of luck and work."

Author's Note

Sharp Fang and/or the other hunters: any other critters try to sneak into Equestria?

"We cracked down hard on the border, and have worked with the eyoop guard. Patrolling our border is important, and we don't want any of the monsters from either side crossing over. Also, those in charge of aligning goods and people to one side or the other are being more careful too." Flicking their wing, Sharp Fang let out a soft screech of annoyance. "Now we just gotta stop everyone from relaxing so much it doesn't happen again, or so I've been told."

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Lab

Chapter 38

Scootaloo had so many questions. Everything about the town was strange to her. From the concentric rings that formed it to why she needed to be booped—every question seemed to bring two friends. Candela was an interesting pony to meet, though she seemed far more Equestrian than Batstralian, owing to her being a pegasus.

As night fell, however, Scootaloo was called inside from her explorations. "What's up?"

"We're going to be flying north, but first I want all of you to get some practice Dream-flying. There's some guest beds at the end of the hall on your left." Excited to have her "big brother" back, Dream Thunder couldn't help but see how much Lyra and Sweetie were in love. Even when she visited, she didn't see this much of them interacting, but it was obvious they were so besotted by each other that Dream could rest a little easier knowing Lyra had found her special somepony.

Gasping in surprise, Scootaloo bounced up and down a few times. "Wait, right now?!"

"You need to go to sleep first."

Scootaloo froze mid jump and just landed back on all fours with a deadpan look on her face. "So you got me all excited to go to sleep?"

Dream cocked an eyebrow at Scootaloo. "You'd think it would be hard, but I have a trick for helping ponies sleep."

"I still want to see how you handle getting Lyra into a Dream. Tufts said it gave him a headache trying to do it." Trotting after Dream, Scootaloo was engaging on her secret mission. Tufts had instructed her to remember what kind of face Dream would pull after getting Lyra into the dream.

"Well, you understand he's an old bat. It's gotta be harder to do that kind of thing at his age." Dream completely ignored the fact that, technically, Tufts was only eight years old. She opened the back door of the house she shared with her mother and found Lyra and Sweetie talking with Candela on the couch. "Hey, Mum. Are you two ready to get this Dreaming started?"

"I've been keeping them company. Will you be gone for long?" Candela had enjoyed chatting with Lyra and Sweetie, but she knew they were in Batstralia on holiday and didn't intend to spend it all chatting in her living room.

"I told you, Mum, I have some fill-ins covering for me. They might not be able to do it as easily, but working together they can get it done. I'll spend time with them and be their taxi for as long as they're staying." Her other job, that she'd given herself even before Princess Screech had Dreamed to her asking, was overseeing Scootaloo's safety.

Candela let out a sigh. "I'll miss my little filly is all."

"Muuuum…" Walking forward, Dream Thunder embraced her mother and squeezed her in a hug. "I'll miss you too."

"Come on, Scoots, let's get comfortable for this trip. Did you get booped?" Lyra asked.

"I'm too excited to sleep!"

Sweetie walked past Scootaloo and grinned over the filly's back at Lyra. "I heard Dream has a trick to help with that. Truth be told, I'm pretty excited too."

Lyra followed Sweetie and Scootaloo down to the bedroom they were sharing. There was a double bed that would be big enough for all three—not that they'd be on the bed for long. She climbed up on the bed, trying to focus her thoughts to be calm so she didn't mess with Dream Thunder like she had Tufts.

"Lyra?" Sweetie patted the bed beside her. "You look like you're in a daydream already."

"Just trying to get my head calm for Dream. I remember how miserable Tufts looked." Climbing onto the bed with her pack on her back, Lyra managed a yawn. "And here I thought it might be hard to—"

"Sleep." As she said the word, Dream Thunder reached a hoof to Lyra and used the bond between her, Sweetie, and Scootaloo to press her will upon the others too. They never stood a chance against the weight of her power. "Now for the hard part. I hope that old bat was just playing a joke on me."

"STOP DROPPING HAMMERS ON ME!" Dream resorted to shouting as she pulled Lyra forcefully into the Dreaming. Sweetie was already there, as was Scootaloo. "What was with the hammers, Lyra?"

Lyra blinked in surprise, then looked up and shooed a flying hammer away with her magic. "Uh, I don't know? What was happening?"

"When I tried to pull you into the Dreaming, I opened a door into your dream to get you, but you told me it was Being Hit on the Head Lessons. Next thing I know there's an endless cascade of hammers hitting my head, and all I can do is shout ooooh or sometimes wahhh. Every time I managed the latter, you told me I was getting better." Reaching one of her wings up to rub her head, Dream expended energy to shove the pain away.

"I bet it was the wrong room," Lyra said. "You were probably looking for complaints or an argument."

Scootaloo had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing. She'd seen the extra hammer that Lyra had dealt with, and had committed Dream's face to memory so she could tell Tufts about it. That's when she realized she was a bat pony again.

Running around and flapping her wings, Scootaloo screeched with excitement when she actually lifted her hooves off the ground—and each subsequent time. "I CAN FLY!"

Dream gave Scootaloo some time to burn off her initial excitement before she stepped in. "Okay, time for flying lessons."

Having been watching Scootaloo with some fondness, Lyra walked up to stand before Dream. "Pilot Banana reporting for duty!" She almost cracked a giggle when Sweetie rushed to her side.

"Sergeant First Class Cherries!"

Scootaloo quickly rushed over and stood beside Lyra while trying to imitate her stance. "Private Mango, sir!"

"Mango, eh?" Dream marched up and down before her "troops" a few times. "Well, the first—and hardest—part of flying is getting wings. Congratulations, you all passed."

Screeching again in excitement, Scootaloo had to clamp down on her exuberance.

"So, the trick is, you need to throw yourself at the ground and miss."

Lyra struggled not to laugh, she really did, but was ultimately unsuccessful in her efforts to suppress her giggling.

"The second trick is that it isn't just your wings that let you fly. Your forelegs, back legs, neck, and even your tail are important too. Spread your wings and start gliding." With a tickle of her magic, Dream made the ground go away and gave each of them their own little updraft.

Sweetie panicked at first. She hadn't gotten her wings out in time and was falling—but oddly she wasn't actually falling away from the others. More curious now, she spread her wings and felt warm air lift her up and keep her airborne—still at exactly the same height as the others.

Scootaloo was already doing loops and spirals by the time Sweetie got herself level. Each new stunt pulled another screech from her throat. "This is the best thing ever!"

"Okay, good. You've all got the hang of static gliding. It's really very easy to just hold everything out and let your wings do the work. I'll try to keep the winds neutral on our way north. Flapping—you should try that now—is how you get more height and speed. You can flap your wings straight down if you just want height, or row them from forward to back for speed—or you can do a mix of the two for a bit of both." Dream demonstrated each of the flapping styles for the other ponies. "Now you try."

The lesson continued until all three could fly reasonably well for a species they weren't born as—though as could be expected, Scootaloo took to flying much easier than her guardians.

"Right. Now everypony grab a mango or two and let's head north." Spreading her wings and tilting them, Dream Thunder soared over to a waiting mango tree that seemed to follow her and exist wherever she needed it. Of course, being a bat pony meant she needed it practically everywhere.

The moment she saw the tree, Scootaloo's eyes widened and she literally willed herself to home in on one of the mangoes on its branches.

The poor fruit never stood a chance. Four hungry bat ponies descended upon it and feasted on two mangoes each with a lot of excited bat noises that amounted to sighs of delight and screeches when the fruit didn't peel as easily as they'd hoped.

Sweetie managed to shake the fruit-hunger first and blinked a few times as she realized what she'd been doing. "Alright, that was weird. Does that happen every time a hungry bat pony sees mangoes?"

"Come on, you've met Tufts, and Mum isn't far behind him. She talks a good game about not being fruit crazed, but have you seen an apple cake last more than the time it takes to cool out of the oven?" Stretching her wing out, Lyra snagged a third mango and stashed it in her backpack.

"Has everyone eaten what they can?" When a round of affirmative noises met Dream's question, she spread her wings and let out an excited screech. "Come on! Let's go!"

Lyra realized the backpack was gone again, but assumed that was the magic of this particular Dream. Spreading her wings, she confidently flapped her way into the air and took off after Dream Thunder.

The landscape of the Dreamtime flashed by in fits and starts. One moment Lyra could identify Cowwarr and its surrounds, the next she saw mountain ranges, then coastline dominated her view. She was so distracted by the scenery that she didn't see the threat until Scootaloo screamed.

Panic rose in Scootaloo as the bat-like thing tried to grab her a second time. It looked only marginally worse than it smelled, and it smelled like something had long-since died. Its wings were torn and weeping green goop, and they looked to be all sinew and bones with no muscle or guts to them.

Sweetie's blood chilled and she swung around quickly to face the monster. She glared at the pony skull just as the creature wrapped its claws around Scootaloo and disappeared—with the filly in its grip. "Where'd it go?!"

"A namorodo! It grabbed her and pulled her into her own nightmare. Touch me!" Dream Thunder was caught betwixt fury and fear. She stretched her wings as wide as she could and held herself in place with the force of her will. "Hurry!"

Lyra was faster than Sweetie, but they both touched Dream quickly enough and were pulled out of the Dreaming and into a dark and musty place. What should have been a calm and bright dreamscape was twisting itself into a fleshy nightmare.

Shaking her head, Sweetie looked around and spotted Scootaloo on the ground with the monster standing over her. She wasn't an earth pony at this exact moment, but that wasn't going to stop her from entering a crash-dive aimed at the monster.

Her mind racing, Lyra could see that Sweetie was going to hit it just after the thing sunk its fangs in Scootaloo's belly. "Come on, all it takes to be a unicorn is to think I am. I'm a unicorn, and no Dreaming is going to stop—"

Lyra began to plummet. Focusing all her attention on Scootaloo, she executed a dual teleport that sent Scootaloo into the air and Lyra took her place.

The creature was confused. One moment it had its ambushed prey at its mercy, the next it had a new prey. Not particularly smart, it grabbed onto Lyra and pulled her into Lyra's own private nightmare.

It should have been easy. All bat ponies were simple to pull into dreams. The first moment the creature noticed something had gone wrong was when something large and heavy fell on its head.

"You wanted inside my head? You got it. Have another foot!" What looked like a paper cutout of a misshapen foot lifted off the namorodo and crashed down again.

Dream Thunder grabbed Scootaloo out of the air and rushed down to the ground. "Sweetie, I can't go into Lyra's head, but you can. I'll pull you out in five minutes, okay?"

"Why can't—" Sweetie Drops didn't get any more words out before she popped into place in Lyra's dream, only to witness her wife beating the monster around its bony head with a large salmon.

Lyra could feel Sweetie's presence, but it felt a lot more right in her head than even Tufts had. "Hey, Sweetie! Grab a fish and come help me!"

Finding a golf bag full of salmon at her side, Sweetie grabbed one with a foreleg and walked on her back legs over to the monster—then she joined in beating it up. "What's going on? Why did you pull it into your own dream?"

"It's like what Tufts said, my head is strange and not friendly to intruders." Finding her salmon not as effective as she would have liked, Lyra grabbed an old shotgun out of her own golfing bag. After six shots with the thing—and six misses—she only managed to prove that she was the best Upper Class Twit of the Year.

Swapping to a black pudding, Sweetie proved herself at least more competent at connecting blows with the namorodo. "So why can I be in here?"

"You're my straight mare. The love of my life. You're always welcome in—Good shot with that one—You're always welcome in my head." Tossing the gun aside as being useless, Lyra started shouting at the monster. "Ni! Ni!"

Never before had the namorodo faced such fury or been so powerless within a dream. The creature it had latched onto had looked like a wingless bat pony, but now it realized its mistake. It wasn't a wingless bat pony, it was some kind of demon slayer!

With the last of its strength, the namorodo fled Lyra's Dream and escaped back into the Dreamtime. Free of her oppressive mind, it quickly regained a little strength and confidence.

"Figured she'd drive you out of her own head. Stubborn as a sack full of hammers that mare. Why don't you and I have a little chat about attacking fillies and what oblivion feels like?" Dream Thunder gathered her will and focused it down to a tiny dot in the middle of the namorodo. The crackling, dry sounds of its flesh and bones imploding into that point echoed throughout the Dreamtime.

When it reached an infinitesimal point, the namorodo ceased to exist.

Lyra, Sweetie, and Scootaloo all popped back into the Dreamtime at the same instant. Scootaloo rushed to Lyra and dove into a hug with her, then used a wing to pull Sweetie closer too. "What was that?"

Devoid of her bat wings, Lyra held Scootaloo while she looked up at Dream. "I'll second that. What was that?"

"Namorodo. Like a vampire thing. They pull people into their own nightmares and eat them from the inside out until they're nothing more than a husk. We hunt them down whenever we find them, but sometimes they hide in the Dreamtime or the real world to avoid our hunters." Walking closer to her friends, Dream felt conflicted. She wanted to reassure them, but this wasn't the place to dawdle—as had been demonstrated. "We should keep moving."

Sweetie cleared her throat. "We're going to be moving on foot now."

Looking Sweetie in the eyes, Dream realized she was losing an argument she didn't even realize she was having and before she'd even started it. "But that'll take days!"

"This is a Dream, right? Tufts stretched time in our shared Dream so that we could spend tons of time hunting for our trees to make our didgeridoos. Can't you do the same?" Lyra asked.

"Not rea—Well, I—" Dream started and stopped a few times before finally sighing. "Let me try. Normally I bend distance, but I could try to do the same with time."

Satisfied with the change in plans, Sweetie turned to look at Lyra. "How did you get rid of your battiness?"

"Just focus on being who you are. You're an earth pony, Bon Bon, ground yourself and remember what it feels like to be you." Turning her attention to Scootaloo, Lyra picked her up with her magic. "No matter what happens, Scoots, you can believe that I'll always be trying to help you."

"Next time just teleport me away. You don't have to put yourself in danger like that." The time for being stoic and strong was long gone for Scootaloo, she wanted a hug and reassurance, and between Lyra and Sweetie she got both. "I was scared for you."

"You want to ride on my back for a bit? It might not be as comfortable as flying, but—"

"Yes please!" The speed she cut in made Scootaloo blush a little, but she just wanted to climb up on Lyra's back and hide in her mane. So she did.

At first Sweetie Drops had trouble finding herself. There was a lot of bat plastered on around her, but here and there were cracks where her ground-pounding self was visible. She worked at those spots and widened them until the image of a bat pony mare crumbled to dust and left just Sweetie.

"I worked it out, Ly—Oh, getting a ride are we? You two look after each other and I'll deal with any other nasties that show up!" Despite what Scootaloo had told her, Sweetie had no trouble seeing this as a mothering role for herself.

Seeing both Lyra and Sweetie in their natural forms boosted Scootaloo's spirits further. She felt her life falling back into certainty and took strength from that. She managed to smile at Sweetie, a mare she knew had kicked a bugbear so hard it ran away, and felt her worried shakes subside.

Dream Thunder cleared her throat to get the little family's attention. "Alright. I think I've got this worked out. Are you ready to start walking?"

"Please. Guardponies don't walk." Sweetie stomped one of her hooves on the ground and looked around. They were in some kind of forest it seemed, though the trees were all huge and irregularly spaced. "Just point us in the right direction and we'll run there."

"You ready, Scoots?" Lyra asked.

"Yeah!"

"Ugh, walking would really be—I can't even fly in this forest without—You're going to make me run too, aren't you?" Dream Thunder favored flying over running. In her head she tried to figure out a better path that would take them out of the forest they were now in. "Okay, this way!"

The feel of Lyra moving under her was far more comforting than Scootaloo could ever have imagined. She'd grown used to the routine of running with Lyra and Sweetie in the weeks since the two moved into her home that she felt like they really were an odd little family.

Wrapping her bat wings around Lyra's neck, Scootaloo clung to her and tilted her head sideways to listen to the beat of Lyra's heart.

The forest gave way to low scrubland, which was when Dream Thunder spread her wings and started flying again. Her legs ached and she mentally chided herself for not telling Lyra and Sweetie she needed a break, but she didn't want to admit that galloping for hours on end wasn't something she was capable of.

Dream's problem was she had to keep close to Lyra and Sweetie to keep bending time, but unlike bending distance this didn't make the trip shorter for them, it just made it short for everyone else.

The banks of mango trees around Canberra were a sign that they'd almost arrived. A group of circling bat ponies swooped down to intercept the little party and escort them into the center of the city where it was safe.

"Okay. Now I need to wake you all up. Lyra, no hammers." Dream gave Lyra a hard look. "Or feet or pianos."

"What about an after-dinner mint?" Lyra asked, only to feel herself waking up. Yawning, she opened her eyes to see Scootaloo looking right at her. "Hey. How you feeling?"

"Like I slept for a month straight. I miss those wings." Scootaloo looked over her back to ensure she was once more a pegasus. "But that might change."

"You made it!" Robin screeched and bounced on all four legs into the room. "Lyra! Sweetie! It's great to see you both again!" Using her wings and forelegs, Robin scooped up both mares into a big hug. She then paused and looked at Scootaloo. "Uh, hi!"

Scootaloo looked up at the bat pony. She looked younger than most of the others she'd seen, but still much older than herself. "Hi!"

"You must be Scootaloo?"

"That's me. How far did we just come?" Sitting up, Scootaloo found herself grabbed by Robin's wing and pulled into the hug along with Lyra and Sweetie.

Sweetie hugged back her sister-in-law. "You'd need to ask Lyra."

"You know how far it is from one side of Equestria to the other?" Lyra asked.

Releasing her grip, Robin couldn't help but study Scootaloo. She'd already got a little of her story, but it was such a treat to see an Equestrian flier that she got caught staring and blushed. "Sorry. It's just you remind me of Dream when she was little."

"They don't get many pegasi up here, you see," Dream Thunder said.

Scootaloo turned her attention back to Lyra and nodded. "Kinda. Mom and Dad took me for a lot of trips, though I think I slept through a lot of them."

"Well, imagine going from one side to the other about three times."

"Really?!"

"Yeah. That would have been quite the run." Lyra looked over at Sweetie and winked at her.

Looking around the room, Scootaloo turned and narrowed her eyes at Lyra. "How many sisters do you have?"

Standing up, Lyra made a show of counting Dream and Robin before turning back to Scootaloo. "That's both of them. Why, did you have a suggestion for another?"

"So, now we're here, what are we doing?" Sweetie climbed off the bed and stretched her shoulders. "And is there anywhere I could go for a run?"

Dream turned to Robin. "We ran into a namorodo on the way here. It grabbed Scootaloo. You should let the hunters know. I unmade it, but there may be more."

Robin turned to look at Scootaloo then back to Dream. "How'd she—How'd you stop it if it grabbed her?"

"Easy. I threw our sister at it. Poor wretched thing didn't stand a chance." Dream was trying to put the best face on it she could. "I think I'm more shaken up over it than she is. I took my eyes off them for a second, it's not all that easy keeping Lyra in the Dreamtime."

Turning to speak to Lyra, Robin realized the three visitors had left the room. She let out a little screech of surprise and raced to the doorway only to see them standing outside discussing where they would go. "What are you doing? I have your holiday planned to the—"

"I want to try everything!" Scootaloo said.

Sweetie Drops couldn't help but smile at the enthusiasm. "We will eventually, but we should probably check-in with the Equestrian consulate here before we do anything else. They should know we are in the city and doing fin— Oh, are you coming too, Robin?"

"I have a whole day of excitement planned!" Robin looked around the three. "Canberra's famous royal mango trees? Parliament house? The botanical gardens?"

"We'll go see those after seeing the consulate. We're E.U.P. Guardponies, Spud, we should let them know we're here." Walking over to Robin, Lyra put one foreleg around her shoulders. "You've got some time off, right?"

"Y-Yeah."

"Well, come with us. Have a holiday!"

Author's Note

Sweetie: Marry a problem, or marry it's solver?

"Both." Sweetie looked aside at Lyra with a smirk. "Definitely both."

Support me on Patreon or fuel my writing on Ko-Fi!

Join me on Discord. Warning, said chat may contain NSFW material and should be considered adult in nature.

Awesome ponies who are already helping to keep me in keyboards and rum:
A.P.O.N.I.
Canary in the Coal Mine
Daremo
Dio-Drogynous
Ender Voidwalker
KFS Crimson
Sirion123
Vi Watch

And special thanks to the following, for careful eyes and friendly words:
Lab

Chapter 39

Scootaloo sought out everything she could try, and threw her all into each activity. Mango harvesting had been the one she'd really wanted, but after a week of looking around the city she had to admit that it was pretty fun not having to worry about school for a time.

What surprised her was the darker coat growing through her orange one. It fluffed out in places here and there, but around her neck and the back of her head she got a russet-red tinge to her coat, but what really excited her was her wings.

Scootaloo's wings were noticeably larger, though she was losing feathers from them too.

At the breakfast table, Scootaloo stretched one wing at a time, losing a few more feathers, and said, "I want to try flying with them today."

"You'll have to talk to Dream about that. Of everypony in Batstralia—and Equestria for that matter—she knows the most about being a pegasus and turning into a bat pony." Lyra prepared breakfast, as she had each day, and again it was a bowl of fruit for each of them. "When I get home, I'm going to have the biggest bowl of porridge for breakfast."

"And gravy! I'm going to caramelize onions for a whole day to make that rich gravy you like." Sweetie was practically drooling on her apple and pear breakfast. "I want real vegetables and shire pudding…"

A knock at the front door of the hotel suite pulled Sweetie away for her repetitive breakfast. She trotted across the large living room and opened the door. "Oh! Good morning, Robin! We were just having breakfast. Did you want to join us?"

"I've already eaten. I wanted to have a talk with you all about Scootaloo. Dream said her wings are almost ready to be able to fly, and I should talk to you about the possibility of accidental cutie marking." Robin's eyes kept drifting to the bowls of fruit. She might have eaten already, but she was a bat pony. "After the one week mark is when the highest danger of cutie marks appearing starts. We've had our fair share of people sneaking into Batstralia and hiding."

"Dream didn't tell you?" Lyra asked.

"We're staying two weeks literally to give her a chance of getting her cutie mark." As she spoke, Sweetie chased a chunky piece of pear around her bowl with her fork. "Giving fate a chance to intervene."

"My wings are a bit screwed—my pegasus ones. There's a chance I might be able to fly with them, but it doesn't look good. So, after Tufts turned me into a bat pony in his Dream, we came up with this idea to maybe get me some wings." Scootaloo had been practicing with her stubby wing-claws since they started to grow, and speared a piece of apple with one and tossed it into her mouth.

Robin's mind was finally distracted from the fruit. "That's why you keep trying to do everything? You're trying to get a cutie mark?"

"We told her not to go too far with that—we want her to have a fun holiday—but Scoots seems to enjoy hunting for her cutie mark." Lyra was just as unenthusiastic about eating her breakfast. There was only so much she knew to cook with apples and pears.

"Okay." It took Robin a moment to square that away. "Well, I've warned you. That's the important bit. My boss was asking if she could meet you today."

"Your boss?" Scootaloo asked.

"Princess Screech. She's interested to meet all of you, but especially Lyra."

"Me?" Lyra asked. "Why me?"

"The effect of the gift Dream Thunder gave us has mostly worn away. We all understand Batstralian now because we speak it every day, just like we know about all the bad things because they're important to learn about, but even if you weren't actually my big sister, everypony in Batstralia knows of Lyra Heartstrings, or at least they know of you by sight." Watching her sister's expression grow more and more incredulous, Robin let out a screechy-giggle at the end. "Mum too, but she hasn't visited. She's not here."

"That explains all the odd looks Lyra keeps getting," Sweetie said.

Scootaloo giggled around her latest mouthful.

"So should I offer autographs? Signed copies of photos? How am I meant to take this?" Tapping her chin, Lyra pondered some more. "Maybe I could get my own television show?"

"TVs don't work well here, Lyra. Well, you probably haven't noticed here because Canberra is protected by several powerful Dreamers, but outside of here anything with a microchip is going to have massive problems." Walking up beside her sister, Robin speared a piece of pear from her bowl and started nibbling on it.

"So when does the princess want to see us?" Sweetie asked.

"Whenever you can get your hooves out of here. It was a little crazy in the early days of the change. People were fawning over her left, right, and center. They still do if she lingers in one place too long, but people tend to not notice her horn unless she draws attention to it." When Robin tried to spear another piece of fruit, the bowl shifted just out of her reach with a golden hue around it.

"It's my breakfast and you said you'd already eaten." Lyra stuck her tongue out at her sister.

"Maybe I can get a cutie mark related to helping a princess or just royalty in general? We didn't get to spend much time in Canterlot talking to Princess Celestia." With the impetus of a cutie mark up for grabs, Scootaloo started practically inhaling her breakfast.

Lyra looked at Robin for a moment with a big grin spreading slowly wider and wider. "You know, Scoots, Robin is technically royalty."

"What?!"

"It's true. Don't you remember when we were going in to see Princess Celestia? What did Sure Fire say as my introduction?"

Midway through working what amounted to a whole apple into her mouth, Scootaloo waited a moment to chew and swallow the fruit. "I wasn't exactly listening because I was in the process of freaking out, meeting a bat pony, and meeting Princess Celestia."

"Well, she's a duchess. I'm not sure how high a rank that is, but I'm pretty sure it counts almost as royalty."

"Not quite, but close enough that people have special ways to address me if they recognize me. It's annoying and I think Screech only did it to bug me." With her sister distracted with Scootaloo, Robin reached a wing around behind her and managed to spear a piece of apple.

"Would her ladyship like some more fruit?" Sweetie asked. "Is that the right one?"

"Yes. I mean no, but yes, I wouldn't say no to some more." This time robin speared two bits of fruit from Sweetie's bowl. "Your Grace is the one they love using. I've never been graceful in anything in my life. Ask Lyra."

"I heard you were graceful with writing laws," Lyra said.

"Lies. Blatant lies. I only did it because everypony else kept screwing it up. They left loopholes for themselves or others, or were just shortsighted enough that they didn't know they were making the legal equivalent of Swiss cheese." Robin popped the fruit in her mouth and chewed it angrily.

"I'm sure," Lyra said as she ate her last piece of fruit, "all the lawyers and politicians were so happy to have a little kid tell them how to do it properly."

"Well, yeah. They were the ones who sucked at it. They tried getting at Screech first, but she was having none of it. Of course, it didn't help that the gift Dream gave us all sort of impressed upon us how important a ruling princess was. Their honey words died the moment they saw her." Another piece of fruit was impaled by Robin's left wing-claw. "But that didn't stop them trying it with me."

"How bad was it?"

"Pretty bad. Everything from trying to treat me like a child to claiming I was biased. Sometimes at the same time. How can I be unable to grasp the subject and also smart enough to be covertly biased?" Robin looked around for something to savage, but all the fruit was already disappointingly small.

"But this Princess Screech helped, right?" Sweetie Drops asked.

"She did! She read everything I wrote and would tell them she had done so and then challenge them to find fault with it. It was kinda an encouragement to me, too. I wanted to make all the laws as short and concise as possible so she didn't have to do as much work."

Lyra smiled at hearing her sister so dedicated to helping. "And you want to introduce us to her?"

"Nope. This was all her idea. She's been having a bit of trouble working up the nerve to do it. You are the Lyra Heartstrings, after all. Big sister to a whole nation." Robin finished chewing up the last pieces of fruit she stole from Lyra's breakfast and then swallowed them.

There was a lot less outwardly royal trappings as Lyra followed Robin into Parliament House. She noticed there were guards discretely placed inside, but nothing like the shiny-armored Royal Guard that Princess Celestia kept.

Like their mother, Lyra realized Robin had access to the princess of this realm any time she wished it. Then again, she realized, so did she. They walked down yet another hall and when they walked into a room, Lyra took nearly ten seconds to realize that the mare sitting behind the desk at the back corner had a horn.

"Robin, if you give me another your highness I'll kick your butt." Screech said before slowly lifting her head. She froze at the sight of the ponies walking into her office. Robin she recognized, as well as Lyra, but the other mare and the filly she had never seen before.

Of course, technically, Screech had never seen Lyra before—but everypony in Batstralia knew what Lyra looked like. It took a little more for her brain to catch up and put more names to the other ponies. Sweetie Drops (Lyra Heartstrings' wife) and their ward, Scootaloo. The latter had perplexed Screech.

"Your Highness," Lyra said as she lowered her forequarters down to a kneel before Screech. Her time at the E.U.P. Guard combined with learning the customs of Equestria gave Lyra a good idea of how to greet a ruler of another nation.

At Lyra's side, Sweetie performed a similar kneel, also greeting Screech formally.

"Get up before she banishes all of us. Screech, I'd like to introduce my sisters and their landlord. This is Sweetie Drops, Lyra Heartstrings, and Scootaloo." Robin walked past the others and took a seat on the couch to one side of the office.

Rushing around her desk, Screech almost reached out to hug Lyra before freezing. It was too easy to let her mind just go with her "memory" and treat Lyra as an older sister. "I hope your stay has been good so far?"

"Oh no you don't." Robin jumped back to her hooves and marched over to stand almost between Screech and Lyra—then glared at the latter. "Lyra, this is Screech. She's my friend and don't you dare use her title." Turning her attention to Screech, Robin gave her no less of a hard stare. "This is my sister. She won't bite and she loves British comedy. She's also been known to let bats steal her fruit."

Sweetie stepped a bit closer and said, "Lyra's a hugger."

Screech closed the distance, and without any sign that Lyra would rebuff her approach, she wrapped her forelegs and wings around Lyra. For the first time in seven years she felt weight being lifted off her shoulders rather than added.

Lyra, having spent nearly a third of her life (and all her adult life) in Equestria, knew a pony who needed a hug when she saw one. She might not have wings to hug with, but her forelegs were more than up to the task of reaching around Screech's back and squeezing her warmly.

Robin grinned and then turned to march over to the couch again. "I've been surprised we haven't been mobbed by bats every day you've been here. Batstralia might be back on its hooves somewhat, but there's still an edge of craziness about this world that only a good hug can help with—and who better to hug than your big sister?"

"Dream mentioned this thing." Sweetie circled the huggers and found a spot on the couch too. "Something about everyone here needing knowledge of how to be a pony?"

"Yeah. The Gift everypony calls it. A condensed ball of knowledge that she, Tufts, and the Rainbow Serpent made. Well, Dream made it, the others just provided the boost of magic to make it reach all the way across the country. It was a hard time and it would have been a lot harder if everypony didn't know how to walk and fly, didn't know about the dangers that magic had made, and didn't know that there was a princess to guide them and a big sister who was looking out for the whole country. That last one kinda slipped in by mistake."

Screech, Lyra realized, wasn't just a princess in the same way she'd discovered Celestia wasn't exclusively one. The two wet patches where Screech's face was pressed to her neck assured her of that.

"I want to give up," Screech said. "I want to just—just tell somepony else they can do this job. I was never trained for this. My only claim to fame was saving a child. I should—I should be back home graduating from college or something, not—not ruling one of the biggest countries in the world."

"Do you want actual advice or somepony to nod and agree?" Lyra asked, not relaxing from the hug yet.

"Both I think. Maybe neither." Screech wished she had an excuse to continue hugging, but the time had come to part ways with this stranger who felt like the sister she'd never had. Carefully unfolding her wings from around Lyra, she pulled back a little ways and saw the damp patch she'd left on Lyra's neck. "Oh shit, I'm sorry."

"Hey, no sweat. Just order me down here to hug and I'll come running every time." Lyra kept her tone light and held up her hoof to Screech. When she got a solid hoof-strike back, she grinned a bit more. "So, what did you actually want to invite us down here for?"

"I don't actually know. Half the time I feel like a fake, the other half I feel like a bully. But the thing I really have no clue about is this." Screech lifted her wing-claw up and tapped at her horn. "Your princess' envoy tried to teach me how to use it, but I don't think I really got anything from him—teaching wasn't really his thing."

Sweetie cleared her throat. "Why don't we go for a tour of the building? I'm sure there's sights to see." Despite having a lot of proof Screech wouldn't get upset with having her failing talked about, she knew it wasn't a good idea to discuss such failings in front of a leader.

"Yeah. Okay. Come on, I think I can give you the tour of the place without anypony interrupting us." Robin could pick up the vibe Sweetie was giving off.

The moment the others were out, Lyra let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Okay, show me what you can do already. What did he—whoever was teaching you—teach you?"

Screech was surprised to be getting a lesson on the spot, but quickly straightened and focused on the task. "He'd gotten me to channel a little magic, like this." She strained herself to get the magic flowing, but when it did a warm flood started pouring through her.

"No pattern exercises? No channeling into light? Telekinesis?" At the blank look, Lyra closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Okay, so there's a lot you're missing. The first thing I'll teach you is the two simplest things to do with all that magic. So, light." Lyra began the same lesson Twilight Sparkle had taught her. Light.

After half an hour Screech was managing to make her horn light up without any struggle and consistently. "So what was the next bit?"

"Okay, now understand this would normally take a few months to teach, mostly because so far you haven't had to target anything. Your horn is firmly attached and adding light to it is not moving things through any frame of reference."

"Frame of reference? What do you mean?" Screech watched as Lyra's own horn lit up and she floated a marker from Screech's desk over.

"Now, make this light up."

It seemed simple enough. Focusing her attention forward and away from her horn, Screech sent some power to make the marker light up—right as Lyra moved the marker. Everything Screech had been focusing on shattered because all she'd been thinking about was forward. "Okay, I think I get it. Kinda."

"You sure? Okay, try again." Lyra held up the marker again, and when she moved it the glow of Screech's horn followed it. The only thing was she noticed how Screech had done it. "You're tracking it with your head. That's a good trick, and one I've used for more advanced magic, but you need to be able to track it with your head still.

"Fortunately, you have a big advantage with this kind of magic in that you can feel with it. Reach out with your light and make the pen glow again." Lyra waited for Screech to do it. "Now close your eyes and tell me what it feels like."

At first Screech couldn't feel anything, but after a moment there was an odd tingle. Turning all her attention to it, she realized what she was feeling was movement. "Are—Are you turning it?"

"Open your eyes and look."

When Screech opened her eyes, she could see the pen slowly rotating in place with her glow of off-red light around it. "I can feel that!"

"Light is more than just light when a unicorn makes it. Magic light is an extension of a unicorn's magic field. Just because a hunk of that field is over here making this pen glow doesn't mean you can't feel it. Now, close your eyes again and tell me how I'm moving it."

Robin was at a loss. She'd showed Scootaloo and Sweetie around everything she could think that was interesting, including the odd "dream mangoes" that grew in a grove that was partly in the real world and partly Dreamtime. When she brought them back to Screech's office, she hoped Lyra and Screech were done.

Inside, Screech heard the knock on the door and was about to reply, but then she got an idea. Looking at Lyra, she got a nod from her teacher.

"Just like you did with the pen. Feel out the door handle, squeeze on it, twist it, and then pull gently. Remember, you're not holding the door, just guiding it open," Lyra said.

Screech focused her attention on the handle and ignored the knocking. She made her glow surround the handle first, felt it with her sense of touch, then twisted the handle down and pulled. Her red glow intensified a little, but Screech let out her namesake as the door opened to reveal Robin, Sweetie, and Scootaloo. "I did it!"

"Did what?" Robin asked as she walked in.

"I opened the door for you." Lifting her hoof, Screech offered it to Lyra and got her own hoof-bump back. "It helps that I had literally the best teacher in the world."

"You picked it up pretty quick. I'll talk to Princess Celestia and recommend she get you sent a better teacher. Not that I don't think I could teach you a bunch, but I have obligations of my own." Lyra looked toward Sweetie and Scootaloo. "Though, if you want to try compressing as much as possible into an hour or two each morning, I might be able to make the run up here to fill you in a little more."

"That would be appreciated. How much more is there to learn? I haven't exactly seen a lot of unicorns—and Princess Celestia's appointee didn't seem to be much of a magic user." Screech didn't want to impinge on Lyra's holiday, but at the same time she saw the need to master her powers so she could be a more effective leader.

Sweetie snorted and looked at her wife. "Aaaand now you're going to see Lyra show off. We'll probably need to go outside for this."

"Outside?" Screech asked.

"She's going to do her 'flying' thing, isn't she?" Scootaloo asked Sweetie.

"Probably. But it's generally a good idea being outside when a unicorn wants to show off."

Shrugging her shoulders, and wanting to get outside anyway, Screech used her horn's magic to grip the door handle and open it again. Grinning at how easy it had become with just a few minutes of practice, she led the way outside.

Lyra ran through all the things she could do in her head. There was exactly one hundred and thirty-six spells she trusted herself to use and not get the patterns wrong at that point in time, and it was her favorites that she wanted to use the most. "Do I need to warn you all to stand back?"

Defiantly, Sweetie Drops walked up to Lyra and kissed her on the cheek. "Don't hurt yourself. I'll stand near the princess in case anything odd should happen."

"Thanks, love." Lyra nuzzled Sweetie's cheek and then gave it a little peck. "Okay, so the first trick would be making a unicorn hover. Hovering is easy for some—some unicorns can lift themselves with their own magic—but I just can't get my head around it. That's why I cheat."

Screech froze as she watched intricate patterns of magic flicker briefly in the air and then fade. Each one had more detail than the last, and each was followed by something very odd happening. The first made a the air in front of Lyra shimmer as if it was extremely hot, the second shot a little fountain of water out of nowhere into the hot air, and the third seemed only to make Lyra's hooves glow for a moment.

"What are you—" Cutting off, Screech watched as Lyra stepped onto the resulting billowing steam she'd made. There was literally nothing supporting her. "How does that work?!"

"She's going to say magic in answer to anything you ask. You're better off just taking note of the things you'd like to learn. A warning, though, my nerdy wife spends a lot of time studying to be able to do—" Sweetie stopped talking when Lyra disappeared with a loud POMF. Unlike Screech, who was looking around at ground level, Sweetie scanned the sky. "—that. There she is."

More used to bat ponies gesturing with their wings, Screech took a moment to figure out that Sweetie was pointing up. When she looked in the indicated direction, her wings started to twitch. "She's falling!"

Sweetie was going to do nothing as Screech spread her wings wider, but she'd told Lyra she'd keep the princess safe. "Wait. This is part of it."

"But she's falling and—" Screech cut off as Lyra teleported again, this time with a flourish of fireworks as she reversed her momentum and started going up instead of down. The rest of the "flight" was observed in open-mouth shock.

Lyra would have continued, but the magic of Batstralia was subtly different to that of Equestria, and it meant she wasn't recovering as quickly as normal. Canceling her downward momentum with a reverse in direction, she teleported with as close to zero vertical movement as she could back to the ground before Screech. "If anypony tells you a unicorn can't fly, tell 'em they can."

"You don't fly, Lyra. You fall with purpose." Marching forward, Sweetie kissed Lyra on the cheek. "Are you done showing off?"

"Whatever you call it, that was real magic alright. I could learn that?" Everything Screech had learned about how the universe worked, she realized, would need an update. It was like having the horn on her head meant she could access cheat codes.

"Yes and no. The gist of what I do is I have a bunch of complex spells I memorize with preset equations baked into them. Reversing momentum is the main one for that. But then you need to spend hours each day memorizing and reinforcing the patterns. You saw the patterns, right?" The magic still wasn't rushing into her as quickly as normal, something Lyra filed away for later.

"Yes! What do those patterns mean?"

Lyra grinned. "This is a rabbit-hole, Your—"

"Don't say that. Please, just call me Screech."

"Like I was saying, this is a rabbit hole, Screech. I've spent nearly seven years learning and honing my magic. This isn't something you can just walk into and be perfect at right away."

"But you'll teach me?"

"I don't have any of the books or lesson plans. I'll talk with Princess Celestia when we get home and ask her if I can finish my duties at her school and make trips here to teach you instead." Lyra looked aside to Scootaloo, who looked more excited than ever.

Screech pondered the situation. It was plain to her that Lyra was worried about spending time away from her filly, which meant the mountain had to move instead. "What about if I met you in Cowwarr/Stonecrop for the lessons?"

"That should be a lot easier. With the train to there, I should be able to make it just about any day of the week." Now Lyra looked to her sister who had a worried expression on her face. "What's up, Robin?"

Looking rapidly between Lyra and Screech, Robin let out a short huff. "W-Well, Screech is almost the best at Dreamtime magic, but flying to Cowwarr and back on the same day is—"

"I would make it there one evening and come back the following. It would mean I'm away from the capital for two nights and a day each week, but I think this might help with another situation that I've let build too long." Stretching a wing out and over Robin's shoulders, Screech grinned toothily at her. "How would you like to be acting prime minster for a day a week?"

Giggling at the sight of her sister floundering, Lyra made her way over to Sweetie and Scootaloo to leave the bat ponies to sort things out. "So, got everything worked out for the rest of the day?"

"I was thinking we could go further north, actually. There's a lot of fun things to do when you get north of Sydney. Somepony said we should go to the Gold Coast to see the beaches." Sweetie looked at Lyra knowingly. "But that's too far, isn't it?"

Sighing, Lyra nodded. "You know how far we came to get here? About that far again to reach the Gold Coast. It's just south of Brisbane in Queensland." Using her magic, Lyra made as good a map of Australia as she could and highlighted the spots as she mentioned them. "Next time we'll go that far north, okay?"

Having been quiet while all the talk of magic went on, Scootaloo saw a need to have her say now. "Aren't there any beaches nearby?"

"We're inland a bit… Do you have a map?" Lyra asked.

Sweetie Drops was ready for this exact moment. She produced a map from her pack and offered it to Lyra Heartstrings. "It's a fair way…"

"You're right, but I think I can get us there. You both like flying, right?" Lyra's grin was wide—from each corner of her mouth and it made her whole face light up. Her eyes even twinkled.

"You know," Sweetie said, "I know I'm going to regret this, but let's try it."

Scootaloo danced around and screeched excitedly while flapping her wings.

Sidling up to Screech and Robin, Lyra tried to break into their conversation, only to find it something she hadn't expected. They weren't arguing like a leader and their follower. "Excuse me?"

"… and you really shouldn't be putting that much strain on yourself. Lyra will work you into the ground while you're there, too." Robin had barely noticed her sister's attempt at getting their attention.

Screech had barely noticed Lyra above the noise of the conversation. "Then it will need to be a day and a half. We're in a period of calm right now, and I trust you to keep things under control for me until I get back."

"Uh, guys?" Lyra asked, and when she didn't get a response she tried a bit louder. "Hey!"

Robin and Screech both froze and turned to look at Lyra.

"We're going to the beach for the rest of the day. Is there anything we need to keep an eye out for?" When Lyra got two blank looks in reply, she just shrugged and turned. "Looks like we're fine."

"Wait!" Screech followed Lyra back to where Sweetie and Scootaloo were waiting. "How will you be traveling? The Dreamtime might be—"

"We'll be flying." Sweetie Drops looked to Lyra. "Right?"

"Yup. I just need to get the initial angle right, then make the rest right angles. Who needs pegasi and flying carts when you have unicorn power!" Lyra looked back to Screech to see if there was any further protest. When there wasn't, she checked the map again. "Okay. Scoots, keep your wings tucked and get on Bon Bon's back. Then I just have to worry about two flings each time. Ready?"

Bouncing in place a few times, Scootaloo wound up flapping her wings furiously to get up onto Sweetie. "I'm ready!" she said as she shimmied up Sweetie's back and wrapped her forelegs around the mare's neck.

"Would saying I think this is crazy count as a not ready?" Sweetie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nope." Lyra judged her first teleport and launched the three of them high into the air. When the sound of the teleport faded—ripped from their ears as they began to fall—she prepared the second teleport. "Get ready!"

"What?!" Sweetie had to shout to be heard, and even then she doubted she had been.

Lyra cast the second teleport. This one didn't fling them straight back up into the air, but rather into a ballistic trajectory at 45deg to their fall. The result was they were no longer falling down but up and at an angle. With a shout of excitement, she prepared the next teleport.

Watching the trio shoot away into the distance, Screech felt tiny for a moment. Even at her best she couldn't fly anywhere near as fast as they were. "Does your sister do this kind of thing all the time?"

"If you mean crazy and… crazy. Yes. I think she's seriously stepped up her game lately." Robin couldn't help but smile as the three were soon lost even to sharp bat pony sight. "I still don't think you should do this."

Author's Note

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Lab

Chapter 40

Scootaloo looked in the mirror at her blank, gray-furred flank. "Two weeks was too short."

"You need to spend at least a week getting back into your pegasus self in time for school. Bon Bon is going to be going on another mission, and I'll be organizing a course to teach a single alicorn magic." Lyra was packing things up and using her magic to pack as much into each case as she could.

"Where will I be staying, then?" Scootaloo turned, her blank flanks forgotten (for now) at this new information.

Lyra finished stuffing one of the packs full of things they'd purchased or made and started on the next. "With Mum. She and Tufts said you can stay there anytime, and it means I can get things settled and on track with Screech. I'll be staying there too, but I just won't be around during the day much."

"So it'll mostly be me and Tufts?" The idea of spending a week learning all kinds of crazy stuff from Tufts excited Scootaloo.

"Yup. Mum still works at the castle and I'll be raiding the school for everything I can find. Possibly also accosting Cadance for tips." Lyra stopped and thought a little as she watched Scootaloo's face break into a big grin. "You know, you could ask him to teach you more dream magic."

"What?" In her surprise, Scootaloo's wings shot out. One knocked lamp off the bedside table and the other bumped the wall. Getting used to having wings that were each as long as she was had become one of the highlights of her holidays. "Really?"

"Totally. He literally made all this happen, kinda. If anypony can teach you dream magic, it'll be him." Floating the first pack aside, Lyra started on the second. "I'm sorry this didn't work out."

"'s not your fault." Scootaloo tried not to think about it too much. She'd had a lot of fun over the two weeks and she didn't want to lose sight of that.

Clenching her teeth, Lyra started packing things—mostly stuff they'd purchased—into the second pack. "Well, I'll keep working at this. Mum knows a ton of medical stuff, she might know somepony we can talk to, and Princess Celestia knows more about magic than anypony."

"You're going to talk to the princess about this? I mean, I…" Fishing for a word to use, Scootaloo came up dry. "What'll she do?"

"I have no idea, and that's why I'll ask her. Princess Celestia has a lot of what I'd call wisdom. She's managed Equestria for so long that she knows a little bit of everything. Her specialty, though, is magic. What Princess Celestia doesn't know about magic, isn't worth knowing. So, yeah, I'll ask her and anypony she suggests I talk to." Leaving yet-another-boomerang laying on the bed, Lyra walked over to Scootaloo and reached out a foreleg. It still surprised her when the filly would move in for a hug, but it charged her with determination too. "You belong in the sky, Scoots."

The conviction in Lyra's voice charged Scootaloo with energy. She squeezed back and stretched her wings out to hug Lyra a little more. "Thanks."

"I haven't been looking forward to this." Dream Thunder looked at Lyra Heartstrings with a measure of distrust. "You promise there won't be any hammers?"

"I'll try, but I really can't stop myself from—"

Dream cleared her throat and continued. "Or fish! I saw what you did to that creature. I didn't know you could actually bludgeon a namorodo and hurt it."

"Hey, my head, my rules. It made that mistake so it had to live with it. We could always run home."

Shouldering her own pack, Sweetie Drops nodded. "I like that option. Why don't we do that? How many days is it?"

"Too many. Look, all I want is for you to try to go a bit easier on the mental defenses, okay?" Dream reached her wing out, one of her digits extended toward Scootaloo's nose, and booped her into the Dreaming.

Scootaloo's surprise at being booped into a dream made her look up at Dream. "Whoa, you can do it that easily?"

"You're a bat pony right now. You could probably fly into the Dreamtime yourself. Now to get Sweetie in here…" Keeping herself in both worlds at the same time wasn't the easiest of tricks, but doing impossible stuff with Dreamtime was literally Dream's game. Reaching out her wing, she booped Sweetie in the real world and pulled her into the Dreamtime too.

"Good luck," Sweetie said.

Dream let out a soft screech. "Thanks. Ugh, why does she have to be this difficult?"

Scootaloo and Sweetie looked to each other and laughed. "Lyra," they said together.

Sliding her focus back to the real world, Dream looked at her arch nemesis and slumped her shoulders. "Please go easy on me."

"I'll try!" Lyra's eyes crossed at the leathery wing-finger that prodded her in the nose.

There was the slightest sense of something pushing into her head, and then it was gone and Lyra was standing beside Sweetie and Scootaloo. Something was wrong and she couldn't work out what. "Where's Dream?"

Popping back into the Dreamtime, Dream Thunder glared at Lyra. "You did it again!"

"What did I do?" Struggling not to giggle, Lyra had trouble taking this quirk seriously.

"You. Shouted. Ni! At. Me!" Panting, Dream tried to shake her head to free herself of the ringing cries she'd just had to deal with. "The only way I got out of that hellscape you call a mind was to shout It back."

"What's 'ni'?" Scootaloo asked.

"Oh. My. Gosh. We've been neglecting your education!" Lyra dropped to her belly and started crawling toward Scootaloo. "Can you ever forgive me?"

"You really should have watched it here with her while you had the time." In her head, every pronounced letter N echoed in sympathy with the struggle she'd gone through. "How long was I out for?"

"About five minutes. I'm sure we can come back next holidays and watch whatever it is Lyra wants us to see. Unless you have a version on film we can take back with us?" Trying to move things along, Sweetie reached down for Scootaloo and offered her a hoof up.

Swinging up onto Sweetie's back, Scootaloo looked around the room they were in within the Dreamtime. "So, how do we get out of here?"

"That door." Dream gestured to a wall and willed a doorway into being. She had to be careful to not make it too firm in the Dreamtime. There were bat ponies in Canberra working around the clock to keep the city safe and magic from going wild, they did not appreciate having a powerful Dreamer rip holes in buildings.

"There wasn't a door there a moment ago!" Scootaloo said.

Walking up to Sweetie, Lyra lifted her hoof up and booped Scootaloo on the nose. "That's because Dream is a wizard. When she makes holes in things, it's okay, but when I do it, everypony freaks out."

"That's because you literally blasted a hole in the side of somepony's house. How are they doing, anyway?" Sweetie adjusted the twin weights on her back to get ready for her run.

Scootaloo gasped. "You blew a hole in someone's house?"

"Derpy Hooves house, and yes. To be fair, we were chasing a monster at the time, and it wasn't entirely my doing, but at the end of the fight there was a hole in her house." Lyra stepped forward a little and kissed Sweetie on the cheek. "Okay, Dream, what now?"

"We fly." Dream stepped out of the doorway she'd made in the wall and into empty air. She didn't need to flap her wings to fly, but she preferred it to just floating there.

Sweetie forestalled Lyra's wit by stepping toward the edge of the doorway. She fully intended to ask how they were all going to fly since only half of them had wings, but as she neared the edge she realized something. "You're getting bigger!"

"No. You're getting smaller." Dream reluctantly stopped flapping and floated closer to the building so the tiny Sweetie could climb up on her back. "This way I don't have to mess with Lyra's form and we can get there in one night without exhausting me."

"Neat! And you get a tiny unicorn for your trouble!" Breaking into a gallop from a dead start, Lyra vaulted across to Dream's back and laughed. "This is a great trick, Dream! This is the essence of magic. You don't need to know the exact spell for every situation, you just need to know one that works."

The praise, from her sister, made Dream Thunder grin like an excited filly. She knew Lyra had attended Celestia's school, and knew she'd passed whatever requirements the E.U.P. Guard had for a unicorn wizard—to say nothing of Lyra being her literal big sister. It was almost as good as having a mango. "Thanks! Okay, now to get you three safely back to Equestria!"

Reduced to the size of about a chicken each, Lyra and Sweetie grabbed a hold of Dream's mane as she began to pump her wings and launch them flying south. The whole trip, this time, was uneventful. Sweetie and Lyra kept their grip on Dream's mane while Scootaloo maintained hers on Sweetie.

Dream had made good time, and as she swooped down toward Cowwarr/Stonecrop, she was still feeling quite fresh despite the flight. A quick mental check of her mother's house revealed the spare bedroom to be empty of any sleepers, so she circled down and landed in the back yard of the house.

Lyra blinked awake and looked at the mare she was snout-to-snout with. It wasn't Sweetie Drops.

"Psst. Can you get untangled from her?" Sweetie asked in a whisper. "Let's make them some breakfast."

Carefully disentangling herself from Dream's legs, Lyra slowly slid backward with Sweetie's help and managed to get off the bed without waking her sister. Only when they'd slipped all the way up to the kitchen without making noise did Lyra relax a little. "What are we making?"

"Well, they're bats, so it needs to have fruit in it. I was thinking pancakes—if they have the things we need—and a nice fruit spread topping. Try to find a mixing bowl and I'll hunt down some flour." Sweetie was already getting into Candela's cupboards.

By the time Lyra found a mixing bowl, measuring cups and spoons, and a skillet, Sweetie had located the dry ingredients. Both turned to the refrigerator.

Sweetie Drops stepped up and opened the fridge. "I already checked. She has enough milk, butter, and some eggs. How much should we make?"

"A stack each. Dream worked her butt off to get us here, we need to show her a proper thank you." Lyra left Sweetie to lift out the milk, butter and eggs while she used her magic to start working on the dry ingredients.

"I guess Candela has a more Equestria-centric diet what with being a pegasus. She and Dream mean a lot to you, don't they?" Measuring out the milk and butter, Sweetie put back what they didn't need in the fridge and started getting the pan hot.

"Want me to get onto the topping?"

"Sure."

"Candela and Dream taught me everything about being a pony. Not the walking and magic stuff, I mean what it really means to be a pony. They were such a huge part of our—Robin, Mum, and me—lives for just over a year that it felt like we'd been together forever. I kinda thought Mum and Candela might hook up at one point. They just fit so well together." Forsaking the few mangoes that seemed to exist in every Batstralian fridge, Lyra pulled out a bunch of grapes, some apples, and some pears.

Sweetie mixed the milk and eggs in with the dry ingredients and started mixing them together. "A tough situation like that can pull ponies together, but I find myself wanting to know more about Michael."

Lyra started at the name—her old name. "Michael Robertson was a strange boy. He grew up in Queensland, in Brisbane, and had a few people he called his friends. Life coasted along for him, until one day when his friend wanted some help selling drugs and offered him a score."

Her ears tucking down, Sweetie listened to the story of a part of Lyra's life she'd never spoken of before. As far as Sweetie was aware, Lyra hadn't existed before she'd arrived in Cowwarr.

"Michael was at least smart enough to talk to his mother about it. There was other stuff going on, not great stuff, but it was the drugs that were the tipping point. So, not exactly kicking and screaming—though there was bitterness and grumbling—his mother packed up the little family and drove all the way two states away and out in the middle of nowhere in time for the apocalypse." While she spoke, Lyra plucked the seeds out of the grapes and skinned them with her magic. "I don't want to know how those friends got on after all this, and Michael doesn't either."

Reaching out a foreleg, Sweetie pulled Lyra tight against her and kissed her cheek. "I'm sorry if I picked at an old wound."

"No. It's good to bring it to light. If there's one thing I'm proud of back then, it was telling my mum what happened. I wasn't ready to deal with stuff like that, but she was." Lyra had the advantage of being able to hug Sweetie back and continue working with her magic. "Mum was amazing. She literally pulled up roots and just got the buck out of there."

"What smells good?" Scootaloo asked as she walked into the kitchen. The light coming in the windows was a little tiring for her bat eyes to deal with, but it was mostly the inactivity of sleep that kept her from focusing so well.

Sweetie turned to look at Scootaloo, almost bumping her head against Lyra's in the process. "We're making breakfast for Candela and Dream. Want to help?"

"Sure. Dream is in the shower." Rolling her shoulders and stretching her wings one at a time, Scootaloo employed one of her wings to pull herself up onto Sweetie's back. "What do you want me to do?"

"We need five plates on the table, plus knives and forks for each." As she spoke, Sweetie continued working with Lyra to make more batter. "You able to do all that?"

"Piece of cake!" Jumping down, Scootaloo used a wing-claw to grab the bench as she landed on the floor and swung herself up so she could hang off the end of the bench. Inching sideways with her wings, she got to the cutlery drawer and opened it up.

By the time Candela realized there was movement in her house and gotten up to investigate, she found three ponies in her kitchen setting out plates of pancakes. "You didn't have to do all this!"

Lyra blushed a little at what was a very typical Australian compliment. "I hope you don't mind we used some eggs and—"

Candela, being a pegasus, was quick on her hooves to reach Lyra and pull her adopted daughter into a hug with her wings. "Honestly! Apologizing for using a few things to make me breakfast. You're still the timid little colt I first met, Lyra."

Unable to help herself, Sweetie giggled at the comment. "It's hard to imagine Lyra timid. You've heard about her attempts at ballistic flight?"

"Attempts nothing. I like to think I'm getting quite adept at it." Despite her protests to Sweetie, she hugged Candela back with a tight squeeze, then released her to float the stacks of pancakes across to the table. "It's all about throwing yourself at the ground, then missing."

"I-I may not have got my cutie mark as a bat pony, and I know I'll change back when we get home, but being here has taught me there's more than one way to fly. Pegasi use their feathery wings, bat ponies fly completely differently using theirs, and Lyra has her own thing." Climbing up onto a seat with an encouraging push from Sweetie, Scootaloo settled herself at the table. "And it's fun if you completely forget about the ground."

"See!" Lyra ruffled Scootaloo's mane a little. "Scoots gets it!"

When Dream Thunder stepped out of the hallway and saw a pile of pancakes with fruit and—figuratively speaking—her name on it, she pounced into the empty seat and began eating along with the others.

Though there was little chatter over the breakfast table, when it came time to leave Lyra was caught up in another of Candela's hugs. In all, it took them another hour before they were getting back on a waiting train to head back to Canterlot.

With one of her legs across Scootaloo's shoulders, Sweetie was surprised at how relaxed and normal it felt. "Are you sure you two will be alright? I could ask for a week's leave to let you take care of things, Lyra."

"Nah. We've got it all under control, don't we Scoots? Besides, we have a party to go to at the end of the week, and then we head back to Ponyville with Scootaloo looking like her normal self again and me all set to teach Princess Screech magic."

"A party?" Sweetie asked.

"Yeah. I got the invite just before we left. Turns out one of my old school friends is having a birthday party in Canterlot. You met her, I think. She's named Moon Dancer."

Author's Note

Lyra, how do you feel about the whole "big sister of the nation" thing?

"It's completely and utterly terrifying and humbling. How can I possibly know how to square this information away when I'm struggling to keep up with one filly? And don't get me started on Robin and Dream—those two are a lost cause so far as me being a responsible big sister to them. And on top of everything I have two parties in one weekend to contend with. This is madness!" Lyra mimed being hit in the chest and flopped onto her back—sticking all four legs up in the classic dead pose, let her tongue flop out of one side of her open mouth, and used her magic to summon a single white lily to hold.

Support me on Patreon or fuel my writing on Ko-Fi!

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Lab

Chapter 41 [[ A Lyra Perspective ]]

It wasn't a long wait to see Princess Celestia, and even if it was I wouldn't get bored. The Royal Guard were always chatty with somepony they knew to be attached to the E.U.P. Guard, and apparently I had a reputation as being one of the royal problem solvers. Honestly, I thought I caused more than I solved, but here we are.

So I chatted with Sure Fire for only a few minutes before my name was called and I marched into the throne room of Princess Celestia. Bowing my head as I entered, I heard a scoffing sound coming from above me—the direction of the throne. "Your Highness?"

"Lyra Heartstrings, do I need to attach some titles to your name so I can use them to annoy you? I heard that's what Princess Screech did to your sister." Celestia sounded jovial. "Please, report on any official parts of your visit, and tell me what you're obviously here for."

Inhaling, I gave her as much of the visit to Batstralia as I thought she needed—certainly all the bits she'd asked for. But then I continued on with Screech's request to have me teach her magic.

"I'd considered sending you, but with Scootaloo to think of, I didn't think it would work. You said that Screech will meet you in Stonecrop once a week for these lessons? And you're sure you will be able to attend?"

I nodded. "The train service between Ponyville and Stonecrop will mean a day trip there will be no longer than one to Canterlot. I've told her I'll spend a week arranging things, and then I'll take a message to her in Stonecrop."

"You could attend to this on weekends and take Scootaloo with you. That way you'll not be neglecting any time with her. As for next week"—Princess Celestia took a deep breath and closed her eyes—"there may be some badly timed events then, but the start of next week will be the Summer Sun Celebration, or did you forget?"

Well, of course I'd forgotten, and by Celestia's grin she knew that as clear as day. "Well, I had forgotten, what with my holidays and all. Of course I can attend. It will be here in Canterlot again?"

"Actually, I was planning to hold it in Ponyville this year, and I'll be sending somepony special to make sure everything's organized. Somepony you know quite well." She smiled like there was a grand joke that she knew I'd get only when she wanted me to. I was so not going to ruin her special day by trying to find out what it was. "Assuming everything with your preparations this week goes well, I don't see any reason for you to miss either your friend's party or mine."

"The most important thing I need to know is, do Alicorns need special training right from the start? Can I begin things with teaching her simple spells and work her up to learning alicorn magic later?"

"Everypony has to start from the start, Lyra. Even Cadance began by learning to make light. You've got yourself a talented pupil if she could use her telekinesis so quickly, but don't neglect a second of her study." Almost blinding flashes of golden sunlight pulsed and revealed that Celestia had teleported me several books. "These, however, will be essential additions to her training. Please don't try to return them to my library yourself—just bring them back to me and I'll store them again."

"And it goes without saying that I don't show them to others. Got it, and thanks for trusting me." While Candela felt like a second mother to me, despite only teaching me for a year, Celestia was a mentor who'd guided me through learning everything I knew of Equestria and magic. Knowing I had her trust was a big boost.

Princess Celestia gave me that one-eyed smile that meant I'd guessed things correctly. She stretched out one of her wings to the side and gave it a flick. "Did Scootaloo find her cutie mark?"

"No. Part of the reason we came back a week early was to allow her time to turn back into a pegasus before school starts next week. Though, if I'm taking her with me to Stonecrop each week, there will be other opportunities for her to gain her mark. Destiny sometimes needs a push, as you taught me, but I think this is less a push and more a hoof offered in friendship." I carefully placed the books inside my saddlebags I'd worn today—I'd been expecting as much as what she'd given me.

"Did she get to fly?"

"Yes. Scootaloo soared on the wind under her own wings. I've never seen that filly so happy. If you'll excuse me now, Your Highness, I have other appointments with another princess."

"Hrmm." Princess Celestia tapped her chin as she looked at me from her one twinkling eyes that I could see. "Baroness? Perhaps a dukedom? What's the most awkward form of address I could bestow upon you? A knighthood perhaps?"

It was a joke. Surely it was a joke. I began backing away from Celestia while her grin got wider and wider. I hope it's a joke.

"If you can go two weeks without calling me your highness, I'll not give you a title. Sound fair?" ~~Princess~~ Celestia asked.

"A-And if I don't agree?"

"Dame Lyra Heartstrings sounds good, and I could ensure it carries over to your wife, too."

I know my face paled almost to the same hue as Celestia's. "I agree! I can avoid using that Y—" I halted dead in my tracks. Every hair on my body spoke of the danger ahead if I finished that sentence. "… Celestia."

"Good work, Miss Lyra Heartstrings. Keep it up."

This was my opportunity. I turned tail and ran for the doors as quickly as I could and didn't stop until I'd passed some laughing Royal Guards and was free of the castle itself.

"Running away from Celestia? Now there's some wisdom I don't see in many other mares." Cadance's voice drew my attention. When I looked toward her, she grinned like a fool. "I heard you were visiting your homeland. How was it?"

There was nothing else for it. I rushed over to Cadance and hugged her for all I was worth. "You wouldn't believe how crazy it was and what ended up happening. Do you want to have lunch and we can chat?"

"If you didn't ask, I would have. Shiny's off on a diplomatic mission with Blue, and all I have is my pink plot to keep me company while Celestia keeps calling me in for all sorts of crazy what-if scenarios. I get it, she's grooming me to take over something, but why is it happening so fast?" She wrapped her huge wings around me and squeezed until I felt some measure of normalcy return to my life. "What about you?"

"Sweetie's off on another tour. I have Dad looking after Scootaloo for the days while she un-battifies, and I have to research how to teach an alicorn magic from the ground up." I squeezed her back for all I was worth, but forelegs were a poor replacement for alicorn-strength hugging wings. When she looked at me strange, I laughed. "Not you. Princess Screech of Batstralia."

"You're moving to Batstralia?!"

"Lunch first, then you get the full story." I turned for the front gate and started walking while Cadance rushed to keep up.

Growing up, I'd never been particularly big on coffee. My time training with the E.U.P. Guard had changed that. Coffee was a ritual way to for them to wake up drowsy recruits and train them to keep waking up just before dawn. The ritual usually stuck, and although I hadn't needed any since then, I still enjoyed a cup of coffee.

Over a steaming cup of coffee and another of tea, and with a croissant each, I told the story of my new job. By the time I got to the end my coffee cup was empty and I was trying to get the attention of a waitress.

"So you'll be working weekends teaching an alicorn magic? Lyra, you have really jumped in the deep end of teaching, haven't you?" Cadance sipped at her tea with a big grin on her lips. "But then, I'd expect nothing less from one of Princess Celestia's Problem Solvers."

That title would haunt me. "Ugh. Don't say it like that. I just like helping ponies, okay?"

"And Princess Celestia is a pony. I get it."

The waitress walked up to our table and immediately spotted my empty cup. "Oh my goodness. Here, let me get that for you."

"Thanks." Showing enthusiasm when our conversation was interrupted would normally be hard, but with the conversation having turned to my sort-of job, I was glad enough to have Cadance's train of thought broken.

When the waitress had left again, I narrowed my eyes as Cadance. "So, when are you and Shining…" The look on Cadance's face stopped me. "Still no word from Princess Celestia?"

"Nothing. I ask her each week and the answer is always the same—the time isn't right." The long sigh she let out broke my heart.

I reached across the table with my hoof. "I'll talk to her." Raising my hoof again, I called the waitress over. "Excuse me again, could I have two slices of your most decadent chocolate cake?"

The waitress didn't need my urgent tone to see the kind of cake we needed. Cadance's expression was more than enough. "I'll be right back."

"I haven't really gotten tough with Princess Celestia before, but if she doesn't let you two get married I'll…" I grit my teeth in frustration. Neither Cadance nor Shining deserved this situation.

"Here we are. Two slices of the best chocolate cake in all Equestria. They make it in a little town nearby called—"

"Ponyville," I said, cutting her off. "If I don't miss my guess, they have a new mare working there that is a master of chocolate."

Looking incredulous, the waitress almost dropped the plates of cake. "How'd you know that?!"

Cadance had caught the two plates before they'd gotten too far. "There's one thing you'll learn about Lyra Heartstrings—she knows everypony. This is no joke. She met a princess of another land and is going to be teaching her magic. I place bets with Princess Celestia that Lyra can't possibly surprise us anymore, but I keep losing." Levitating her fork up, Cadance took a small bite off the thin end of her cake and brought it up to her mouth.

"Now to see if Pinkie Pie has put as much effort into baking as she has into everything else." I mirrored Cadance's gesture and, like Cadance, I sat there in shock after tasting the cake. It was literally amazing. I closed my eyes and let the cake's flavor take me on a ride of gastronomical delight.

Not a single understandable word left our mouths until the cakes were gone. Our minds were paralyzed and our bodies focused on just one thing—eating that cake. Even after it was gone the flavor lingered enough to keep us shell-shocked by the experience.

Finally, Cadance managed to say, "Wow."

"Same here. I can see myself needing to run twice as much if I spend too much time in Ponyville." A shiver ran through me. "Though I guess if I'm going to be working with magic more, I can afford to eat a little more cake from time to time."

"Perhaps I could make some visits there. I mean, if one of my best friend lives in Ponyville, surely I can pay her a visit—once a week or so." Cadance and I shared a knowing look that spoke of expanding waistlines and stern lectures from a doctor. Then we both broke into a fit of giggles. "I missed having you to chat with over your holidays, Lyra. It gets so droll here sometimes. I wish things would get more exciting."

The week had been a rush. I'd been running to and from the library, studying the books Celestia had given me, and trying to spend time with Scootaloo while she slowly turned back into a pegasus. With the Summer Sun Celebration scheduled for Monday morning, I promised myself I'd take Scootaloo with me. If nothing else, it would mean some great food.

But first I had Moon Dancer's birthday party on Saturday, and that meant I needed to get the perfect present for her. Knowing Moon Dancer, that meant I had to find a book she hadn't read. "Come on, Scoots, we're going shopping."

Scootaloo now resembled a normal pegasus again except for one thing—well, four things. Her teeth were still far more pointed than any pegasus' had any right to be. "What're we getting?"

"A book." At her groan, I continued. "Specifically, a book for a friend's birthday party. Later today one of my friends from school is having her birthday party. I asked if I could bring a plus one and she said it was fine."

"Did you hear the Summer Sun Celebration is in Ponyville this year?"

"I did. After the party we are heading back home to get ready for it." I slung my saddlebags on over my armor, which was already strapped on tight. "We'll need a big sleep tonight, because tomorrow night there will be a party to prepare for Monday's dawn. Then, on Tuesday, school starts again."

"Do you think my friends will forget me?" She ruffled her wings in a similar way to how she did when they were bat wings. I had to wonder if there was something significant there. How would fate play its hand here?

I was so distracted that I almost forgot her earnest question. "Of course they won't, but I bet they both have big stories to tell about their holidays too. Don't get too caught up talking about yours to listen to theirs, okay?"

She blinked her big eyes up at me in surprise and nodded.

Our shopping involved us trotting around Canterlot, exploring musty bookstores, and finally finding what we needed. I'd assumed that everything we'd studied in school would have been consumed by my book-hungry friend—well, the book-hungry friend who was having a birthday party on this particular day. Twilight Sparkle was a whole other order of book-hungry that I wasn't prepared to deal with right now.

We got the bookstore to wrap the book on E.U.P. Guard magic training up and put a ribbon on it, then headed out again. Trotting down the streets of Canterlot reminded me of how much this city meant to me. It had been the place I'd come to to learn and grow as a pony.

"Hi Twilight!" I said as the mare (no longer the filly who'd taught me magic years ago now) trotted past. She was mumbling to herself and seemed to distracted to reply.

"Was that your friend?" Scootaloo asked.

"No. Well, yes, but a different friend. That was Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia's personal student at her school. If you ever want to know anything about magic, and Princess Celestia is busy, you ask Twilight Sparkle. Seven years ago she tutored me on it—and she was the same age you are now!"

Scootaloo looked behind us, presumably at Twilight trotting the other direction. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-five. Not that old, but she was really ahead of the class. I bet that one day she'll know everything there is to know about magic. Odd, though, she should have been invited to the party too."

The party, as it turned out, was a bit of a downer. Apparently Moon Dancer had been excited to meet back up with Twilight Sparkle. In the end I'd sat down with her to discuss E.U.P. training—a subject I liked to think I was pretty good at—which is when I'd told her to unwrap my present.

"This is a book on—" Moon turned to look at me, and I could see that she hadn't read that particular book. "Thank you!"

I had a huggy unicorn to deal with, which was actually something my seven years in Equestria had trained me to deal with. Hugging her back, I felt happy I'd found something for her that she liked. "You could even try some of the techniques in there. Did you ever notice how I went from struggling to do repeated magic to keeping up easily?"

"It makes that much of a difference?" She practically dropped me on the spot and opened up the book. "Ooh…"

And just like that the birthday girl was appeased. At least for now.

"Hey, Lyra, I heard you moved to Ponyville?" Minuette asked.

I left Moon to her reading—something I knew she would enjoy more than mere party chatter—and turned to Minuette. "Yeah. Settled into a nice place there. You should totally come for the Summer Sun Celebration!"

Lemon Hearts let out a gasp. "Would you have room for more? I was heartbroken when I heard it wasn't going to be in Canterlot this year."

I thought about it. We had room, but just needed room for others to crash. "Sure, but you'll need to bring something to sleep on. We have tons of room, right Scoots?"

"We do?" Scootaloo asked.

"Yeah. We'll move the couch to the side and there's room for a few ponies to stretch out then. So, what do you girls think? Sleepover at our place?" The resulting cheer told me everything I needed to know. "We'd better head off early, then. We'll have to make that room and organize food for everypony."

Lemon Hearts looked confused for a moment. "Food? Oh, didn't you do a lot of cooking in the school dorm?"

"She sure did. Married the dorm manager's daughter, too. I heard they did all their cooking together." Minuette nudged me in the side with a foreleg.

I'm not sure why, but there was a sense of urgency. I felt compelled to head to Ponyville for some reason. Fate? Destiny? They were real powers here, and not ones to be ignored. "I really should go. Scoots will need her sleep tonight if she wants to stay up all night tomorrow night for the big event."

"You'll need to sleep too!" Scootaloo said.

"Right. I'll just say goodbye to Moon Dancer and then we'll be going."

Saying goodbye to Moon was easy—she was too focused on reading a new book to do more than say "bye", but the rest all wanted a hug and a few words. By the time we were on the train headed to Ponyville, it was getting dark.

"I had a lot of fun today, Lyra, but I can't help but feel there's something strange about to happen. Is that silly?" Scootaloo asked.

I shook my head. "No. It's not silly. I feel it too, Scoots. I want you to stick close to me tomorrow and at the party."

Scootaloo nodded and leaned against me. She trusted me way too much, and here I was just a— Okay, I was kinda a trained warrior, and pretty good with tricks and stuff, but I still felt like I wanted my mum to tell me it was going to be okay.

But I was an adult now. I had responsibilities to take care of, and one of those was at my side. Besides, Princess Celestia would be in Ponyville. What could possibly go wrong?

Author's Note

Support me on Patreon or fuel my writing on Ko-Fi!

Join me on Discord. Warning, said chat may contain NSFW material and should be considered adult in nature.

Awesome ponies who are already helping to keep me in keyboards and rum:
A.P.O.N.I.
Canary in the Coal Mine
Daremo
Dio-Drogynous
Ender Voidwalker
KFS Crimson
Sirion123
Vi Watch

And special thanks to the following, for careful eyes and friendly words:
Lab

Chapter 42

Joyce walked into the throne room to find Celestia's throne empty. The princess was standing at the huge windows and staring out at the city through the colored glass. Walking over, Joyce didn't move to sit or stand beside Celestia, but just waited for her to start the conversation.

"It's happening tonight," Celestia said.

Freezing in place, Joyce's blood ran cold at the thought of what might happen if things unfolded poorly. "I won't be choosing sides. I'll do my best for Equestria."

The words were reassuring to Celestia, who had seen so many bad ways the next two days could go. "Thank you, Joyce. That's more than I could have ever asked for. The moment she returns, her curse will break. You can then warn anypony you need to."

"Except Twilight Sparkle."

Three words hadn't shocked Celestia so much in nearly a thousand years. "How did you—?"

"You've been pouring your time into teaching her, guiding her. Is this her destiny?"

"Yes. No. Maybe. I don't know, Joyce. I feel the tugs of what might be a little stronger than most only because I've learned to look for them. She strikes me as a pony with limitless potential, but of late she's been forsaking what I believe is her true calling. If I've made the right choice, she has everything she needs to do whatever is needed of her. Otherwise… Otherwise it was destiny for her to rule instead." It was hard to say. Celestia felt terrified of such an outcome because it would mean she'd been doing something wrong. She'd dedicated her life to Equestria, and although there were some rough patches, she felt she was doing things right.

When a large, leathery wing folded over Celestia's back, she leaned sideways a little. "Thank you."

Joyce was relieved to realize her hug was being taken in the context it was being offered. She hadn't seen Celestia so deep in this mood before. "I've told you, haven't I, that every time I hear from Lyra, Sweetie, Robin, or Dream I feel a sense of immense relief? I don't fill my days with worry for my girls, but hearing from them alleviates a pressure that builds up."

Celestia let her mane cross over her face in such a way that it hid her eyes from her guards and Joyce, and then she cried. They weren't tears of pain or loss, but a simple relief of emotions that burned so hot inside her they needed to come out. The wing around her tightened, seeming to squeeze more still from her.

Around the room the Royal Guards were stoic. Not a single one of them would speak a word of what was happening, nor would they interfere with the emotional outpouring going on before them. Celestia's ruse hadn't worked—each of the stallions present could feel her tears like a knife inside them.

Joyce held on. Nothing in Equestria would cause her to release Celestia in the midst of this moment. She hugged the princess and waited for the tears to stop. When she'd cried herself out, Joyce passed Celestia a white handkerchief that one of the guards had floated over to her with magic.

Using the fabric to wipe down her cheeks, Celestia felt empty emotionally. In the minutes she'd stood there leaning on Joyce her fears were opened and laid bare to her inner eye, and she felt like she could think clearly again. One breath. Then another. "Thank you, Joyce."

"You're welcome, Celestia." Taking the handkerchief back, Joyce held it up in her free wing and felt it taken back from her. "What do you need me to do today?"

Celestia opened her mouth to tell Joyce that the usual court would be held, but then stopped. "You know, I believe some tea would be in order." Summoning her strength to stand up was hard. Every part of her felt drained and bereft of energy, but when she finally felt confident in lifting her rump from the cold floor and turning, her body responded without quibbling.

Only when they were both outside with the midday sun warming them did Celestia begin talking again. "I sent her to Ponyville this morning. She thinks it was because I don't want her to investigate Nightmare Moon, but the truth is it only made her more hungry to discover the origins. If things are timed correctly, she'll find out the true secret after my sister has returned."

Joyce poured the tea for them, knowing exactly how Celestia took hers. "Which is sundown?"

"Yes. We can fly down together once we're done with this tea." Tea, of course, could take a good amount of the day, though Celestia didn't want to put off the planning of the festivities. She hoped that all the ponies of Ponyville would be able to truly celebrate the morning.

Lifting her own cup with her magic, Celestia sipped at it and let out a delighted little wicker. "How do you make each cup taste better than the last?"

"It comes with being born in a nation of tea drinkers." It was small talk, but Joyce enjoyed leaving the heavy topics aside for now. She sipped at her own tea and gave Celestia time to talk more.

"I don't know what I'm scared of most, Joyce. If she comes back and fights to take over, I won't have the heart to—to banish her again. If she…" Celestia found the rest of her emotions, though she was able to avoid crying this time. "If she is willing to listen to reason, what will I say to her? How many ways can I say sorry?"

"You'll have the right words at the right time," Joyce said, "or you'll blurt out something and she'll laugh."

The words broke through the wall of emotional blockage and Celestia laughed. It may have been bordering on hysteria, but the laughter helped her just as much as the crying had. "Joyce, I wouldn't have survived today without you. Now, let's have a piece of teacake each and be off."

Nothing more needed to be said. Joyce was comfortable in her role as friend to a princess, and knew how to carry out all the little ceremonies that came with having tea in the garden. When the last piece of cake (Celestia had lied, she'd had two pieces) was gone, she stood up. "You won't be taking your guards?"

"They would be brave to their last to stop her, and I wouldn't have that. I made a promise to each of them, and I intend to keep it." Rising too, Celestia stretched each of her wings out to their full before tucking them back at her sides. "Let's go."

Despite the gravity of the situation, Joyce couldn't help but feel excited at getting to fly—particularly with somepony with similar aerodynamic capabilities. Unfolding and spreading her wings, she was always aware of how much more work she had to do to get airborne. To an observer it might look like she just shot into the air, but bats were never meant to take off from a standing start.

Soaring through the sky above Canterlot, catching thermal updrafts that were well cataloged and managed meant that the pair gained enough height to past the crest of the mountain between them and Ponyville. From there, they entered into a twin, stooping dive.

The air rushed faster and faster by the pair, though neither could so much as shout as the rushing wind would have stolen any words far sooner than they'd reach the other's ears.

Well before things would have become dangerous, each extended their wings and swooped out of the dive and into a stall to spend their speed as quickly as possible. From there it was a lazy spiral down to the town hall.

"Have they seen many bat ponies here?" Joyce asked.

That fact had gone overlooked in all her preparations, and Celestia almost missed her next wing-beat as she turned it over in her mind. "Do you think it will cause a problem?"

"If you summoned me a cloak, I could keep my wings hidden." The last was said just as their hooves made contact with the turf beside the circular building. A flash of golden light later and she found herself with a beautiful white cloak over her back that bore Celestia's own cutie mark on each flank. "This isn't…?"

"I couldn't think of anything else on short notice. It was made too small for me anyway, and it strengthens your word while here." Celestia also liked the contrast of Joyce's red-gray-black body hair with the pure white robe. "It suits you."

"Princess Celestia! Your Royal Highness! I was expecting a chariot. Did you really fly here yourself?" Mayor Mare was beside herself. She didn't know whether to panic, run in a circle, bow, curtsy, or try all of them at once.

Fighting to not roll her eyes at how many forms of address were being thrown at her, Celestia put on her best and most joyous smile and dipped her head the appropriate amount. "Sometimes I like to stretch my wings, and coming with a friend gave me the chance to do just that. Please, don't cause a fuss."

"Your friend?" Blinking a few times, it took Mayor a few moments to realize that there was another pony present. "Oh, please forgive me miss…?"

"Joyce Mango," Joyce said. "Joyce will be fine."

Celestia got to enjoy seeing somepony else be treated officially. "Please be as accommodating to Joyce as you would be to myself. I believe, before we go any further, that there was a promised spa treatment? I'm as eager to partake in a good relaxing afternoon as Joyce is."

This surprised Joyce. She'd expected to spend the afternoon helping Celestia with officious things. "Sp-Spa?"

"Oh yes! I'll escort you both along right away. Your royal inspector has been in town all day ensuring everything is ready. Would you like to meet with her first, or go right to the spa?" The most strange sense of difference struck Mayor when she looked at Joyce. She had to assume Joyce was a pegasus, but the line of her body was slightly different to a normal pegasus—too bulky for a start, but also she had a sense of strangeness. She put it down to meeting a stranger and ignored her gut.

It was like a whirlwind. Joyce found herself and Celestia led off around the edge of town to the Ponyville Spa where a pair of ponies insisted they would take the best of care of them. That's when she realized they'd want her to disrobe.

"Mayor Mare, you've been such a wonderful help already. I'll send for you the moment we're finished." Celestia had planned for this, though at the time she hadn't expected to feel as good about relaxing as she did now.

"Oh! Of course. I'll just—Of course, Your Highness." Bowing again, Mayor Mare retreated from the spa and left Celestia and Joyce to the tender mercies of Lotus and Aloe.

Only when they were alone with the two spa ponies did Celestia carefully grip the robe and lift it up to reveal Joyce. "I organized this mostly for you, Joyce. I thought I'd be too wound-up to enjoy any time here."

Joyce tried her best to ignore the twin gasps of surprise from Aloe and Lotus. "You shouldn't have, but I'm not going to say no when my boss gives me an afternoon off to spend with my friend."

Aloe elbowed her sister and got another elbow back. She needed it. She'd never seen a pony like Joyce Mango before, but the familiarity with which Joyce and Celestia conversed was a quick reminder as to how important Joyce was. "Would Miss Joyce enjoy a wing massage? You'll have to forgive us for our inexperience, but we haven't met a pony quite like you."

"You're probably going to start meeting more soon. Just down the line away from Canterlot, a new embassy has opened that's full of bat ponies like myself. The secret to massaging my wings is to treat my wings like the arms and hands of a minotaur." Joyce had had enough experience helping Celestia with visiting dignitaries that she could explain a good likeness for bat wings. "And I'm married, so mrs is just fine."

"Minotaur hands?" Aloe watched as Joyce spread out a wing and could immediately see what she meant. "Oh goodness, you do have hands in there. Each bone and tendon… Yes. I can work with this."

Joyce was soon melting on the massage table as Aloe worked on her wings and body. Beside her, Celestia shared a similar fate at Lotus' hooves. The pair managed to remain silent all through the massage and neither was immediately aware when it was over.

"Come now, ladies, your bath is ready." Lotus Blossom gestured to the door, smiling at how distracted her customers looked. When each groaned and rolled off the tables and to their hooves, she was satisfied that she wouldn't have to carry one or the other… or both.

Feeling more relaxed than she had in her life, Joyce found herself passively following Lotus to another room where they were both shown the steaming bath.

Celestia, who was far more used to the walk-in baths of her castle, ambled down the steps and into the sultry water. With the weight of her body easing into the displaced water, she let out a sigh of bliss.

"It can't be that good…" Joyce said as she walked down into the water. Immediately the heat started to suffuse her body and warm her up her muscles again. "Oh my goodness, it is that good." Splaying her wings out to let the water warm her more, she closed her eyes and just floated for a few moments.

All through their massage and bathing, Celestia couldn't help but turn over the eventual events of the day. "You know I wouldn't bring you if I expected you'd be in danger."

"I was assured by a colleague that I wouldn't be slowed down by my pregnancy until the day I was due. I think he was grossly misinformed about the pressure of foals on bladders. I don't fear N—" Joyce jerked herself up short. "I don't fear her. I hope you have nothing to fear from her too."

"There are ways in which I could have come at this, Joyce. Had I left Equestria without a sun for a few days, or even just left it at dusk, I could have faced her with my full strength." Fluffing her wings a little like a duck, Celestia splashed water into her wings and coat. "Sometimes destiny and fate need a little nudge, but I don't believe this is my fight. I could no sooner raise magic against my—her—than I could anypony in Equestria."

"That wasn't something you foresaw, was it?" Joyce asked, her emphasis made plain that the question was not just leading, but that she already believed it.

"No it wasn't. It was fact, for one night I ruled with an iron hoof and I've regretted it for a thousand years. Peaceful rule is only attained by ruling peacefully. We have two hours until nightfall. I'd like to meet her at our old castle."

"The Castle of the Two Sisters?"

"Correct. You've been studying for this?"

"I wouldn't have come without preparation. I'm a doctor, I prepare for everything." Joyce rolled her shoulders and stepped a little from the water. The weight of her pregnancy pulled on her with the renewed strength of a waterlogged coat.

Lotus was quickly by Joyce's side. Towels—warmed by their own steam boiler—quickly extracted the moisture from her coat while a quick pat down took care of Joyce's wings. She could tell the pair were censoring their words, and though she prided herself on never exposing details a client had revealed to her, she could also understand that the ruler of Equestria might not want everything said outside of the exclusive company of her advisor.

As they climbed out and were dried, Celestia kept her words to herself about the night ahead. Even when walking out of the spa with just an hour and a half until sundown, she couldn't think of what to say.

In silence, they walked together into the Everfree Forest, taking old trails and paths—even having to fly over a gorge together—until they reached the castle.

"Look up, Joyce."

Turning her head skyward, Joyce watched as twilight began, but what was more important was the stars—they ringed the moon.

The world around them went silent as those stars flashed in intensity, and then the equine head on the moon vanished.

"Welcome home, sister," Celestia said. "I'm sorry."

"You think sorry will save you?!" Nightmare Moon stalked around Celestia. "You think anything you could say would make up for a thousand years on the moon?!" Fury boiled up inside and Nightmare Moon reveled in it. She stoked the fire of her anger simply by looking at Celestia, but something else caught her eye. "Joyce…"

"Forgive me if I don't curtsy, Your Highness." Joyce stepped forward without hesitation and reached out with her wings to hug Nightmare Moon. "And forgive my familiarity, but I think you deserve this."

The surprise of the hug disarmed Nightmare Moon's anger for several moments. She'd spent too long talking long hours with Joyce for it to feel bad, and before she knew it she lifted her own midnight wings and pulled Joyce into an embrace. "Thank you."

Smiling and squeezing for all she was worth, Joyce could hear the sound of hoofsteps approaching. Breaking from the hug, she turned and spread her wings to defend Nightmare Moon. "Who goes there?"

"You remember me, Joyce? You saved my life with the magic she gave you, and I've saved others." Sharp Fang wore the night like a cloak of darkness—something she shared with the other two bat ponies. Stepping closer, she made no attempt to defend herself. "We came, Your Highness."

"We had to come. Your magic called us." Phil ruffled his wings but made no move to action. "And I fucking hate that. You give us an order again and I'll come with a warband. Got it?"

The fire of anger boiling off Phil sang to Nightmare Moon and caused her to laugh gaily. "I honestly didn't mean to. This was simply my magic returning to me and nothing more. I'll teach you how to resist it."

"What of me, Sister?" Celestia's voice plunged those around her into silence. "I won't fight you."

"I should strike you down here and now, Sister, but I made a promise to somepony we both call friend. I have plans for this night. I will reveal myself to the ponies of…"

"Ponyville," Joyce said.

"… to the ponies of Ponyville, thank you Joyce, and I will challenge them to find the best and most furious. Oh yes, I know I'll need a small army to take Canterlot, so I'll raise one, but first I need to know who is the strongest, most cunning, and I will reward them with a seat beside my throne." Looking at Joyce, Nightmare Moon winced at the worry in her eyes. "I will avoid harming anypony."

"Good. Start with your sister. I'll ensure she doesn't escape while you carry out your game." Joyce couldn't believe that she'd say such a thing or that Nightmare Moon would break into laughter at the command.

"You are too smart by half, Joyce Mango. Very well, you will be my sister's keeper. I trust she won't try to get away from you and/or harm you in the process." Nightmare Moon rounded on the three other bat ponies. "Keep them company if you wish. You are free to leave—you have my word."

"And when will we expect you back?" Phil asked.

"Just before the dawn that never comes."

Author's Note

To Shining Armor, in the unlikely event of an attack on the celebration, how quickly would the guard be able to react in force?

"Sorry, I was ordered off the detail for the celebration. Princess Celestia ordered no Royal Guard at all—and not that she really needs us, but I still hate leaving her alone like this. But, she's right. What could possibly happen in Ponyville, of all places? It's the quietest little town in all Equestria." Despite his positive words, Shining Armor seemed more focused on convincing himself than anypony else.

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Lab

Chapter 1

"Are we there yet?" Joyce, a rather striking bat pony mare with youngish features, completely ruined her attempt at annoying her daughter by giggling.

Lyra, said daughter of Joyce, rolled her eyes and groaned. "For the fiftieth time, almost!" She couldn't hold back her own laugh, and nor could the third young mare at her side: Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie Pie was bouncing along, pulling a wagon that was hitched up around her barrel. She looked to be in her middle teens, as did both Lyra and Joyce. The truth was their ages were much more separated.

Lyra Heartstrings once was an eighteen-year old human male, Joyce Robertson had been a thirty-four-year old human female, and Pinkie Pie was just a normal young mare. But the strangest member of their group was curled up in the wagon Pinkie pulled.

Tufts, A.K.A. Tjinimin, was the recent magical embodiment of an ancient god. He had been responsible for humanity's change into bat ponies rather than a random host of monsters. He had given the bulk of his magic ability over to a filly he considered his daughter, but that didn't change the fact that he retained some of his tricks.

Unlike the other three, Tufts now resembled nothing so much as a typical Equestrian red fox with large bat wings. He had been a flying fox on Earth, and Equestria had taken that name and transformed him to make a joke from it—one that even Tufts could laugh at.

All together, the four were approaching a low-built railway platform that sat on the edge of a huge forest and a gorge. Lyra, an aquamarine unicorn with cyan/white hair and gold-rimmed eyes, pointed a hoof at the train platform in the distance. "See!"

Thanks to the particular transformation magic that had affected them, Joyce could reach out a wing to her daughter—that appeared to be the same age as her—and ruffled her mane with the leathery appendage. "I know. But it was too much fun to poke you about it." Like most bat ponies from Batstralia, Joyce had a red ruff of fur around her neck and shoulders, mostly dark gray fur elsewhere on her body, and strikingly black mane and tail. She also had the enormous leathery wings for which her kind were named.

Pinkie Pie, aptly named for her pink hair and pink fur, pulled out a little notepad and began writing in it furiously. The page of her pad she was writing in was a simple list:

Leaving Batstralia
Leaving the farm
Leaving Stonecrop
Reaching train station

The last entry was the one Pinkie had just written in, of course, and the top of the page had a title: "List of Parties Owed." Pinkie Pie was very serious about parties (as much as she was ever serious about anything), they were her special talent after all.

Lyra's special talent was about to be put to use. On her flanks was a picture of a golden lyre, although it was a metaphor for music and stringed instruments in general—she had never actually played a harp of any kind.

When they reached the platform, and found a timetable that said it would be an hour wait for the train, Lyra immediately reached into the wagon for her acoustic guitar. Pinkie Pie and Joyce went quiet while Lyra tuned up the guitar. Her ears flicked with each string pluck, but once they all sounded right to her, she began to play.

An acoustic guitar didn't respond well to Lyra's preferred way of playing (which needed an electric bass), but she could still work the strings with both hooves well enough to coax beautiful, magical music from the instrument.

Joyce and Pinkie sat silently and listened to Lyra Heartstrings use her special talent. Each strum of her hoof caused the strings to tremble with a new chord. She stared off into the distance, not seeing the forest, the gorge, her mother, her friend, or even the flying fox she almost ironically called dad. All Lyra saw was Equestria.

A whistle cut through the song and four heads snapped around to see a locomotive hauling itself over the bridge that spanned the gorge. Lyra stilled the strings of her guitar and stood up. "I hope they have room for the wagon."

"We could always walk. It's not too far to Ponyville. We could stay there overnight and push on to Canterlot on the morning." Pinkie Pie reached for her notebook and wrote "Sleepover Party?" on a fresh page.

The train drew closer, the big locomotive giving off white puff-clouds into the air as it drew up at the station. A familiar face, to Lyra at least, stepped off the train as it drew to a stop. Stamped Mark, a unicorn stallion, smiled at the three ponies (and one flying fox). "Howdy folks. We're taking on some water here, and then we'll be off to Ponyville and Canterlot."

Pinkie Pie brightened and thrust out a hoof in welcome. "Do you have room for our wagon?"

Gently clopping his own hoof against Pinkie's, Stamped nodded. "Sure do. One bit for each of you, and two for the wagon. Bring it down to the caboose."

"Stamped Mark?" Lyra, having stowed her guitar, walked up excitedly to the stallion. "Don't you remember me? Wait! Of course you don't remember me."

Blinking in surprise, Stamped tilted his head a little to one side. "Sorry ma'am, I don't—"

"Mike! I was the strange, uh, two-legged creature. The one who visited Canterlot earlier in the year." When she still saw confusion on the stallion's face, Lyra groaned. "Lots of magic, zap zap zap, turned me into a mare. Anyway, you caught me in your magic so I wouldn't fall over."

Stamped Mark met a lot of ponies in his line of work, but very few furless bipeds who were clumsy. He slowly pulled his mouth into a smile and raised his eyebrows high. "Going to visit the Princess again?"

Lyra practically turned herself into a bobble head she nodded so much. "Yeah! She invited me to go to her school and, well, things got a little complicated,"—she gestured to herself—"back home, so I thought I'd take her up on the offer."

"And your friends?" Stamped looked to Pinkie Pie and Joyce.

"You remember the two mares I was with last time?" When Stamped nodded to her, Lyra continued. "Well, I'd like to present Pinkie Pie. Pinkie, this is Stamped Mark."

"Hi!" Pinkie bounced up and down a few times, excitement burning within.

"And this is my mom and dad." Lyra gestured first to Joyce, then Tufts. "You'll excuse how they look right now, magic…"

Joyce, not as familiar with the pony custom of hoof-bumps as Pinkie or Lyra were, reached a wing forward to shake with Stamped Mark. She watched as he focused on her wing and just stared. "Uh…" Slowly folding her wing back to her side, Joyce tried to smile despite an apparent faux pas. "Sorry. I'm a little new to having all this. I'm Joyce Robertson, and this is Tufts." She gestured to Tufts, again using her wing.

"I've sold tickets to pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies galore. I've even sold them to minotaurs, goats, and a griffon once—although he argued about price for the entire journey. But, Joyce, I've never sold one to at——"

"Bat pony," Joyce supplied.

"I've never sold a ticket to a bat pony, and I'm not going to start now. I remember your filly, and she had a letter from Princess Celestia. The Princess herself told me—when I started working on the train—that if anypony had business with her, they ride free." Stamped Mark loved the story of his first day on the job, and it warmed his heart every time he carried out Princess Celestia's command. He lifted his hoof and offered it to Joyce. "Now. How ponies normally greet is with a firm clop of the hooves."

Under the force of charm that Stamped deployed, Joyce was powerless to do anything but clop her hoof against his. "Thank you, Mr. Mark."

"My pleasure. You too, Tufts. Please board and I'll get your wagon into the caboose." Stamped used his magic to pick up the harness of the wagon and started wheeling it toward the back of the train.

Lyra's smile was wide as could be. She pranced as she walked to the carriage, and gestured within. "All aboard."

Tufts quickly leapt from the cart, spread his wings for a quick flap, and then landed on Joyce's back. "He seems nice."

All four got on the train and settled in an empty carriage. Lyra practically glued herself to the train's right-side windows. "Just wait! You're going to flip out over this. Heck, I'm going to flip out over this—again!"

"Lyra, dear, you're making less sense than usual—and that's saying something. What are we meant to flip out over?" Joyce sat across from Lyra, sitting on the seat as if it were the floor.

Giggling, Lyra almost bounced off her seat. "Ponyville!"

The train gave a shunt. The carriages shifted and, after their minor frictional disagreement with the locomotive, started to roll forward.

Despite her thoughts on her daughter's silliness, Joyce found herself gazing out the windows anyway. A huge, dark forest tried to impose its own brand of malevolence. Oddly, or perhaps simply unusually, Joyce felt a certain amount of invitation in the gloom. Her eyes pierced the darkened interior well, and all she saw was big trees.

Then, accompanied by a gasp of obvious excitement from Lyra, Joyce saw Ponyville.

A familiar voice came over the train's PA. "Ponyville station next stop." There was a little crackle, then it came again. "Next stop is Ponyville."

Joyce was used to seeing bat ponies, even earth ponies, but Ponyville was something else completely. There was a lot of earth ponies, sure, but there were pegasi zooming through the air, and unicorns making casual use of magic. Her heart thudded in her chest, and she couldn't remember to blink.

Just seeing so many ponies together, doing everyday things, made the world brighter. Joyce couldn't peel her eyes away even when the train stopped and started off again. That the train car had half filled with various ponies went completely unnoticed.

Lyra watched Joyce with delight. Her mother was just as spellbound as Lyra had been her first time here. Ponies were inherently magical and it showed when they weren't doing their darnedest to remember they were humans. Despite having lived in a town that eventually wound up completely pony, seeing these colorful ponies was an experience. "So. What did I tell you?"

"That. Was. Amazing!" Joyce rocked in place and even loosened the wings at her side as if she were going to do flappies. "They're so colorful and—" Realization dawned that she was in a train car with over a dozen such ponies.

"Mom? Wings down." Lyra reached across with her magic to gently prod at Joyce's wings.

Joyce tucked her wings down. "Sorry. It's just so much! How are there so many colors?"

Clearing her throat, Pinkie Pie let out a giggle when Joyce stared at her. "Oh come on! You've seen plenty of colorful ponies!"

"E-Excuse me?" A small voice beckoned the attention of Joyce.

She turned and looked down, only to be met with the most precious sight yet. A little pegasus colt gazed up at her with wide eyes. If Joyce had opened her mouth, she would have let out an ear-piercing screech of excitement.

"Y-Your wings look really cool!" The colt stared up at Joyce, completely ignoring everything except for the leathery wings. "Can I touch one?"

Tufts moved before anypony else could. He jumped around Joyce and walked right up to the colt. Looking at the foal with almost as much curiosity as they held, he stretched one of his own wings out. "Will this one do?"

The foal's eyes widened in delight, and seemed glued to Tufts' wing. "That's amazing? How does it work?"

Loving to show off whenever possible, Tufts reared up and started flapping his wings. "Like this!" He gave a screech of excitement at doing flappies with both wings for his audience.

The carriage was plunged into darkness as it began winding up through switchbacks, headed for the mountain-city of Canterlot. The darkness interrupted Tufts' demonstration of bat-wing-mechanics.

"How long does this go on for?" Joyce peered out the window and tried to look up. Her view was blocked by the next switchback, of course.

Seemingly an expert among their group—thanks to having made the trip once before—Lyra puffed her chest out a little. "I have no idea! Last time I came up I was so excited about seeing Ponyville that I barely even registered that there was a mountain."

Joyce just stared at her daughter for a minute before groaning. "That's it. You're getting demoted to daughter second-class. Robin's now my favorite."

Unwilling to let the joke stop there, Lyra pulled her most terrified face and tried to force out a tear or two. "But—But Mom…" She lost her poise and a giggle escaped. "Butt Mom!"

"How old are you, Lyra?"

Lyra closed her eyes and struck a proud pose—then gestured to her chest. "That is something neither of us say for certain anymore. My answer is: yes."

"You both look about sixteen. At least, that's how old Maud was when she was about that size. I think." Pinkie Pie had to squint as the train left another tunnel, but this was the last time.

Light assaulted Joyce. She stared, her slit eyes wide, as Canterlot came into view. The train was slowing while crossing a bridge, and as it turned toward the railway station, the center of the city was presented to her. "Holy moly…"

The longer she looked the more amazing the place seemed. A short glance out the windows on the opposite side revealed more of the city, but it was the right side that was afforded the best view. Above the city, perched on high, was Canterlot Castle.

Pinkie Pie was every bit as enthralled as Joyce. "Ooo!"

The train rolled into a station and drew to a halt. Unlike the world they were from, Joyce and Lyra watched as ponies sedately climbed out, deferring to each other frequently, and making public transport a lot more pleasant than it had any right to be.

"Staying longer this time?" Stamped Mark had finished clearing the rest of the train and made his way up to Lyra, Joyce, Pinkie, and Tufts.

"We hope so. My little filly here got invited to a school, and I want to learn how ponies do medicine." Joyce waited for Tufts to jump on her back before standing up. "So if everything goes well, several years."

Stamped let out a laugh. "This is Canterlot. Everything goes well here." He waved as the strangest little group of ponies he had ever met left the train.

"Excuse me!" Heavy Haul walked up to the unmistakable three ponies as they disembarked the train. "Excuse me! Stamped said this wagon was yours."

Lyra thought she had seen nearly every type of pony on her last visit, but the stallion who pulled their wagon up was huge. Brown with a green mane and tail, he had a picture of a cart on his flank that implied he had already found his special talent. "That's ours alright. Thank you!"

Heavy was used to dealing with unicorns (he lived in Canterlot after all), and he was an earth pony himself, but the third member of the little group was just as exotic as Stamped Mark had described. Furred in the most sedate colors he had ever seen, he couldn't take his eyes off Joyce's leathery wings folded at her sides. "Y-You're welcome."

Prepared to hook herself up to the cart, Pinkie Pie was stopped by Heavy Haul's inaction—he was standing still, still hooked to the wagon, and staring at Joyce. "Hi there! I'm Pinkie Pie. What's your name?" She thrust out a hoof to Heavy.

Blinking, Heavy tried to pull his attention away from Joyce. "H-H-Heavy Haul." He went back to his new favorite pastime.

Joyce was a little uncomfortable in Heavy's gaze. The object of his attention, however, became obvious when she twitched a wing in confusion. She saw his eyes lock onto her wing. Narrowing her eyes, Joyce lifted the wing, stretching it out to the side. While she watched Heavy turn his head to keep all the wing in the middle of his vision, Joyce wasn't as aware that a lot more ponies were now staring at her.

Slowly, Joyce drew her wing in and extended the other one. "Is this mind-control?"

Pinkie Pie had had enough. She stomped right up in front of Heavy. "Look. I don't know about where you're from, but on the farm we were taught it's impolite to stare." When Heavy didn't seem to take heed of her, Pinkie Pie reached up and covered his eyes.

"Excuse me!" Pinkie grabbed Heavy's head and angled it down so she could look him in the eyes. "Can you please give us our cart and stop staring at my friend? It's not nice!" Implicit in Pinkie Pie's tone was what she thought of ponies who weren't nice.

"Heavy Haul! What are you doing?" Stamped Mark clopped his way out of the train and over to the starstruck stallion. "Let the young mare have her cart and go back to unloading the other luggage."

Heavy's attention was lifting back toward Joyce. "But Mister Mark—"

"They've been invited here by Princess Celestia herself." Deploying his magic and completely interrupting Heavy, Stamped disconnected the cart from Heavy and gave him a firm shove out of the way. He then turned his attention to Pinkie Pie. "You'll be pulling?"

Nodding, Pinkie Pie smiled widely at Stamped Mark. His magic quickly (faster than Pinkie could herself) fastened the wagon to her. "Thank you!" She quickly pulled out her notepad.

Throw a party to cheer up Hhhheavy Haul (I think his name is a little silly)

"They've never seen a bat pony before." Joyce hadn't failed to notice the attention her wings had gained. She walked alongside Pinkie Pie, aware that more ponies were covertly looking at her now.

Tufts climbed up and nuzzled his way along Joyce's neck. He liked nuzzling, it was now in the approved bat-things list. "They just haven't seen one as beautiful as you." He wrapped his wings around her neck and nibbled at her left ear.

Lyra used her magic to reach up and rub Tufts' ear. "It was a little like that when I was here last time. Everypony seemed confused about me at first, so I started telling jokes and made them laugh. I think it's in the rules somewhere. You can't laugh and feel fear or distrust at the same time."

"Aww. I wish I could have seen that. Maud said you met another unicorn here." Pinkie Pie walked easily despite the heavy load of the cart—she was an earth pony, after all.

"Trixie Lulamoon. She's pretty awesome once you show her you aren't trying to challenge her." Lyra waved a hoof in a circle. "We had a lot of fun."

"That's what Maud said! She put you in a cage, but you didn't know you were supposed to stay inside. And…" Pinkie frowned a little. "I don't remember the rest."

Lyra stepped around her mom and hugged Pinkie Pie with one leg. "Don't worry, Pinkie, I'm sure we'll meet her here. She was attending Princess Celestia's school." The words and the hug combined to put a big smile back on Pinkie Pie's face, which only made Lyra smile wider.

Joyce beamed at her daughter's efforts to cheer Pinkie Pie up. She also twitched her ear a lot, thanks to Tufts' efforts. "It's not a mango, you know. You can't get fruit juice out of it."

"What about the other one?" Tufts leaned across—leaving Joyce's chewed-upon ear a little damp—and started on the right ear.

"You know, Mom, if you wanted your ears pierced, I could have done it for you." Lyra kept pace with Pinkie until they reached the huge circle in the middle of the city. Buildings were laid out in rings around them, but ahead was Canterlot Castle.

Lyra and Joyce were both spellbound by the huge castle—it was literally a fairytale. Impossible spires jutted into the air, and it was all built around a huge building. There wasn't much "castle" about it apart from the outer wall, but nopony was willing to complain about that.

Neither could speak a word as they approached—climbing the path leading to the main entrance—but the moment they reached it both began to bounce.

"Isn't it awesome? Last time I was here I had a special letter to get in and everything. Princess Celestia was amazing, and—and wow!" Lyra said.

"Is that a hedge maze?" Joyce managed two steps before a stallion cleared his voice. She turned her head to see a pure white unicorn with blue mane and tail, wearing armor, trying to get her attention. "Oh! Sorry! Uh. We're here to see Princess Celestia?"

Trying to keep his widest, nicest smile on, Zest Spiral made sure his spear was couched and at ease. "You are? I'll get somepony to escort you to the castle right away." He turned to face the little Guard-post. "Shining!"

Racing out, trying to not trip over in his new, oversize armor, Shining Armor reported to Zest Spiral. "Sir!" It was hard to keep his focus, however, with one of the strangest ponies he had ever seen nearby. His eyes kept sliding from Zest to Joyce, studying her wings.

"Shining Armor!" Zest's bellow finally got the Royal Guard's newest recruit to pay attention. "So glad you could join us. Please escort these visitors to see Princess Celestia at her earliest convenience. If they have to wait too long, and they wish it, you can show them around the grounds."

"I think I'll wait here with the cart." Pinkie Pie pulled the cart to the side, careful not to crush the perfect hedge.

Lyra walked up beside Shining Armor. "Hi. My name's Lyra Heartstrings. You can call me Lyra."

Her mood bubbling, Joyce took up Shining Armor's other flank and walked along with him. She hadn't been inundated with attention by males before, and was—for the moment—enjoying it.

"My name's Shining Armor, ma'am!" Shining stared ahead, not wanting to be caught staring at the strange 'pegasus' wings again. "Err. Lyra, I mean."

"Is there something wrong with my wings, Shining?" Joyce ruffled her wings to emphasize them. "Oh, and my name's Joyce Robertson, but Joyce is fine."

"They're really different, ma'a—Joyce. They look really big, too." Shining Armor had lost his moral struggle within. He turned his head and gaped at Joyce's wings. When she lifted and extended one, his jaw dropped further. "That's nearly triple the wingspan of a pegasus."

"I keep them folded up because of that." If Joyce had to guess, Shining Armor was a little older than her own apparent age, but not by much. "Almost like a certain bat, that loves big wings, had a wing in designing them." She jostled her head.

Tufts gave an outraged screech at the displacement. "I'll have you know I—" Lyra's gold magic clamped Tufts' mouth closed.

"Why don't you go and wait with Pinkie Pie, Tufts. I'm sure this will be boring for you." Lyra released her grip and got a little nod from Tufts.

Shining Armor watched the bat-winged fox leap into the air and fly back to the entrance. "Is he your pet?"

Screeching a laugh, Joyce covered her snout with one wing. "He'd like to believe he's my husband. The fact is: it's complicated. He—He has never let me down, at least, which is better than most who tried to claim that title."

The doors at the front of the castle had a pair of guards on them, though they were open. Shining Armor led Lyra and Joyce inside, his mind trying to process all the information the two had given him. He moved with a sure stride, however, his training ensuring his body knew what to do even while his brain wandered.

No sooner did they reach another set of inner doors than one of the two big stallions guarding them cleared his throat. "Private Shining Armor, where are you taking these guests?"

"Sir! Lyra Heartstrings and Joyce Robertson are here to see Princess Celestia, Sir!" Shining Armor practically snapped into a formal stance.

Lyra was impressed by how suddenly on-the-job Shining had become. The gawking colt she had been chatting with moments ago was now a steely-eyed, armored guardian.

"Well, don't stand there, recruit, go in and announce them." Smiling at the look of awe on Shining Armor's face, the guard winked to Lyra and Joyce.

Shining Armor slipped through a side door that led to the throne room. He couldn't help but prance a little, it wasn't every day strange ponies asked to be taken to see Princess Celestia, and he got to announce these ones!

"Announcing Lyra Heartstrings and Joyce Robertson!" Shining Armor's voice was magically amplified to be heard in both waiting room and throne room.

The huge doors opened before Joyce, and she found herself frozen in surprise. The inside of the throne room of Canterlot Castle was more pretty than opulent. There wasn't gold everywhere, but the one place it did reside was the focus of the room.

Sitting on her throne, Princess Celestia was a little surprised at what she saw. A unicorn wasn't unheard-of in Canterlot, but the strange pony beside them was. Princess Celestia noticed, however, that the strange pony seemed awestruck. "Please, come inside."

Lyra pranced forward, feeling excitement boiling up inside. She felt like she needed her guitar, she needed to make a song about Celestia. Remembering herself, she bowed her head.

Still a little surprised, Joyce stumbled more than walked (and definitely didn't match her daughter's prance) forward, and was further startled at Lyra's bowing. Realizing that it must be some part of ceremony, she dipped her own head as she reached Lyra's side.

Celestia was intrigued. She climbed off her throne and walked down the stairs on soft, velvet carpet until she was standing before the two ponies. "Please, don't keep bowing." Waiting for both ponies to lift their heads, Celestia could help but smile at the wonder both displayed. Not that Celestia wanted worship, but it was nice to know her ponies recognized her. "What can I help you with?"

Having learned the proper address after her last visit, Lyra opened her mouth to start the little speech she had put together. Something was off, and Lyra quickly realized what: Princess Celestia was looking more intently at her mother than herself. "Your Highness, you probably remember me better as a two-legged human, Mike Robertson."

All of Celestia's focus now resided on the two ponies before her. Thoughts of paperwork, of teaching her students later in the day, and even of the short time remaining before her sister returned, faded. She looked over Lyra Heartstrings with a lot more focus, even some magic, but found not a trace of the human from the previous visit in the unicorn.

Celestia turned her attention to Joyce. "You share a name with Mike. Robertson?"

"I'm Mike's—now Lyra's—mother. I don't know if you got a report on what happened in our,"—Joyce turned her head to look at Lyra, and gulped—"world, but you will probably want to know."

"Excuse me for interrupting," Princess Celestia said, "but if there is no need for haste we could better continue this over tea, if you please." Smiling as she was, and being who she was, the request wasn't a question. Celestia smiled a little more as Lyra and Joyce both bobbed their heads. "Wonderful. This way, please."

Joyce realized how authoritarian Celestia had acted. She realized the question wasn't one, and that Princess Celestia was literally the head of state in Equestria. With nothing more to do, she looked to Lyra.

Nodding to Joyce, Lyra walked after Princess Celestia.

The sound of two sets of hooves on marble followed Celestia, reassuring her that the two (likely foreign) ponies were keeping up with her. Tea, traditionally, was served to Celestia in her sun room. She guided both Joyce and Lyra in and closed the door behind them. Magical amenities afforded to the Princess of Equestria meant there was always a steaming hot pot of tea waiting.

"Please rest yourselves. How would you like your tea?" The pomp and ceremony of preparing tea appealed to Celestia—she enjoyed taking her time with things where she could afford to.

"No milk please, Your Highness, but could I have a little sugar?" Lyra's knowledge of official ceremony involving Princess Celestia began and stopped at "be courteous and call her Your Highness," but she recognized the offer of tea as something less formal than the previous room.

Celestia already liked Lyra's manners. "Of course you can. Joyce?"

"Same for me, please." Joyce slowly folded her legs under her and ruffled her wings. Unlike with the other ponies, Princess Celestia didn't stare at her wings. Then she remembered something important. "Your Highness! Sorry…"

"You can dispense with titles and honorifics while we drink. I think you know why I'd invite you in here." Using her magic, Celestia poured three cups of tea, adding sugar to all three.

When Celestia passed her a teacup, Joyce reached her wing out to take it. "Thank you, Your—" She bit down on the words now. "We came here for the same reason, but hoped your offer to Michael—Mike, Lyra—would still stand now he's—she's—a unicorn. The magic of Equestria was leaking through the portal into our own."

Lyra held her own cup in her magic, a little surprised that she and Celestia shared magic aura colors. "There's a little more to it." Shooting an apologetic glance to her mother, Lyra turned to face Celestia again. "When magic first broke through it filled patterns—one pattern was what some humans called a god.

"I-I talked to them, and they said the magic was going to do all kinds of wild things. Random." Lyra took a sip of her tea and felt it calm her down from the near panic of dancing around the truth she had promised to Tufts she would keep. "They had a choice to make, that only they could make. They took a pattern the magic was already carrying and merged it with one of the iconic creatures of Australia: bats."

Staring at her daughter, Joyce sipped at the tea as she heard the story for the first time. The tea helped keep her calm.

"And then the magic started changing us. Just little bits here and there. I came to visit just before it started on me, and I got…" Tilting her hips a little, Lyra showed off her cutie mark with a nod toward it. "I got that on the way home."

"I see. It is still leaking?" Princess Celestia had heard of worse fates, of magic twisting colts into monsters.

"The hole it came through sort of collapsed and stretched. The town we lived in, Cowwarr, merged with Stonecrop. It's like magic from both worlds works there equally. Magic launched out in a wave, changing people as it went. The god helped Dream Thunder—a former pegasus who turned into a bat pony—make a chunk of knowledge: The Knowing. Everypony who changed in that wave got her information on how to live." Lyra's hooves itched to hold an instrument, but this wasn't the time for putting on a show.

Lyra sipped more of the tea to get her past the last bit of the story. "So we came here. I want to learn how to use my magic."

"And I want to learn how to treat ponies." Her voice anything but firm, Joyce still felt conviction inside. "I'm a doctor. I want to learn how to help ponies as well as humans and animals."

Celestia's mind was splitting and fragmenting—bouncing around all the new ideas she had been given. She was confident Lyra was Mike—their manner of speech was similar enough—and was prepared to honor her deal with them, but Joyce was something different. She prepared a minor spell—Teleportation. "Of course I will honor my promise to you, Lyra Heartstrings."

A little gold token appeared on a cushion beside Lyra. She smiled, assuming it was some kind of approval mark for Celestia's school. "Thank you."

"I have a school for unicorns, I have a school for earth ponies, and I have a school for pegasi, but I don't have a school for bat ponies or doctors." Celestia raised an eyebrow—enough to quell Joyce's almost-response. "You are both ponies. You are both Equestrian ponies, now, in addition to any other allegiances."

Sipping her tea, Princess Celestia pondered her next steps. "I will pay your first year's tuition. You will make a report to me each month regarding what you have learned. If your letters are satisfactory after one year, I will continue the arrangement."

Joyce was surprised at the terms, and told herself not to look a gift… She quickly shied away from horse puns. "Thank you, Your Highness. I don't mean to sound greedy, but will that cover my living expenses?"

Letting loose a little laugh that caused both her guests to jolt in surprise, Celestia shook her head. "I'm sorry. It's easy to forget you don't know how Equestria works—both being ponies. As Equestrians you receive a small monthly stipend. Everypony in Equestria is expected to find their special talent, even if that means they can't do work to make their own bits.

"I said you are both Equestrians, so you both receive this." Celestia smiled at the confused looks on Lyra and Joyce's faces. "I'll make sure one of Lyra's first classes is economics. My system is simple: I ensure my subjects all have the time to learn what their special talents are. Both of you have your cutie marks, are their meanings clear to you?"

"Uh, music?" Lyra hoped her answer would be enough, but she didn't get the response she expected from Celestia. "Stringed instruments?"

"Those are literal interpretations. Cutie marks are usually more complicated than that." Celestia turned instead to Joyce. "Yours, I think, is a touch more literal. It's why I am giving you this chance." She set her empty cup to the side. "Was there anything else you wanted to tell me?"

"N-No. But if you need to know something about Batstralia, Earth, or anything, let us know." Joyce finished her own tea and passed it to Celestia. This time she caught the princess inspecting her wing. Joyce didn't hold back a chuckle as she spread her wing wide—wider than any pegasus would manage.

"This is fascinating. I take it your—patron did this so that you could fly more effectively in lower magic areas?" A burst of magic had a sheaf of paper appear before Celestia, accompanied by a quill that was already dancing across the page.

Lyra, to stop herself making a joke about Tufts just really liking wings, stuck her snout into her cup to get the last of her drink.

"Perhaps something more regular than a monthly letter would be appropriate. Would you care to set Saturday afternoons aside for a little tea party?" The wing before her, and how it attached to a pony body, was fascinating to Celestia. She might be the ruler of Equestria, but she was still a student of the world around her at heart.

Joyce was a little unsure what to say, and also a little afraid that indecision was obvious to Princess Celestia. Then something dawned on her, something prophetic: This was Celestia actually asking to learn something. Refusal would be unthinkable. "Of course."

Finishing her sketch off, Celestia returned the paper and quill to whence it came. "Wonderful. Now if you could take that token back out and show it to my guards, they will ensure you are shown where to go."

Lyra floated her cup across to Celestia, focusing to not break what she assumed to be delicate china. "When does school start?"

"Tomorrow." Pulling the door open with her magic, Celestia stood up. "Once you are settled it will all be explained."

"Thank you—again—Princess Celestia. I'll see you in…" Joyce trailed off.

"It's Sunday. I expect you to be enrolled at Canterlot Medical School by the end of the week. We'll chat next weekend." Celestia led the way from the side room, heading back up the dais to her throne. She had to school her expression, as always, lest she show just how excited she was for the coming weekend.

The moment the two strangest ponies in Equestria left her throne room, Celestia's face broke into a big smile. "It's refreshing having ponies that easy to please." She levitated a scroll and quill up and began to write—the first thing was an order to the school Joyce wished to attend, the second was an order for the Royal Guard to open a new outpost. "Assign somepony to show them around."

Hearts thudding with excitement, Lyra and Joyce started walking towards the entrance of the castle. They got within two pony-lengths of the big outer doors when Shining Armor trotted back up to their side. "I have orders direct from Princess Celestia to show you around town."

"Why are you hurrying?" Lyra, ever observant, noticed Shining Armor trying to speed their pace. "What don't you want us to—"

"Shining!"

Joyce and Lyra craned their heads in the direction of the feminine voice from above them. A flap of wings—big wings—was the next warning they got before Princess Cadance arrived. Dropping down on the opposite side of Shining Armor from Joyce and Lyra, she stood the same height as the young stallion.

"Shining Armor. Where're you going? Aren't you meant to be on duty?" Cadance folded her wings to her back.

"This is my duty today, Cady. Two new ponies in Canterlot, come to attend school. This is Lyra Heartstrings and Joyce Robert...son…" Shining trailed off, realizing his pace was no longer the pace of the group. Behind him, Cadance, Lyra, and Joyce had begun their own group.

"My name's Cadance—just Cadance. It's great to meet you, Lyra, Joyce." As she spoke, Cadance offered her hoof to her new friends. Although, for Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, the status of friendship generally ended the moment the former friend tried using her full name.

Joyce returned Cadance's hoof-bump. "It's nice to meet you, Cadance. As our escort said, my name's Joyce, and this is Lyra. We're a little new to all this, and Princess Celestia assigned Shining to show us around the city."

"'All this'?" Cadance was used to sniffing out interesting gossip. A normal pony might assume Joyce had meant Canterlot, but there was two things that made her a genuine oddity.

"Equestria. We're from another—I guess you'd call it world." Watching Cadance's look shift slightly, Joyce knew what Cadance was glancing at from the corner of her eyes. To tease her new friend, Joyce ruffled her wings a little.

Cadance dropped all semblance of propriety. "Those are real?!"

In answer, Joyce took a few quick steps, spread her wings, and leapt into the air. A fraction of a second later Cadance joined her. The absolute joy of flying took hold, and Joyce found herself challenging and being challenged by Cadance's own flight.

Lyra, having been a little in awe of seeing a second alicorn, sidled up beside Shining. "Cadance?"

Shining grunted and shoved his head as far forward as he could. "Ugh. She's nice, and a good friend, but she's going to get me in so much trouble for this!"

"Princess Cadance?" When Lyra said the title, she knew it was accurate: Shining Armor stiffened and almost stopped moving. "Or Princess Cady?"

"I thought you were new here?" Shining Armor suddenly didn't want to talk. He tried to stomp ahead.

"I am new here, but I'm not blind and deaf. She's really cute." Lyra found herself actually meaning it. She tilted her head to look up at the two cavorting mares above, and couldn't help but trace the pink-on-pink-on-pink form of Princess Cadance. When she looked back at Shining—after him going quiet—she saw her answer. "Ah, got it."

"Got what?!" Swinging his head around, Shining looked at Lyra. "What do you mean?"

Lyra gave Shining a moment to stew before her eyes widened with dawning realization. "This is what girls do to guys." Her voice trailed off, but she reached both hooves up to grab Shining Armor's neck so she could stare into his eyes. "I'm so sorry, man!"

Shining's complete panic was brought up sharply by Lyra's apology. "Wait. What?"

Walking around to stand in front of Shining Armor, Lyra looked deep into his eyes. "It's alright. I used to be a ma—it's complicated. Horse-apples, and I was going full-on gossip-girl on you."

"You don't say? Since you met with Princess Celestia, I guess I can trust you." Confused, intrigued, and a little shook up, Shining Armor shrugged his shoulders.

"Thanks. You ever get that feeling that the entire world just flipped and you don't know what's going on?" Lyra stepped to the side and offered her hoof.

"Every day." Lifting his hoof, Shining Armor met Lyra's with a good clop.

Lyra produced the token Princess Celestia had given her. "So. Let's get started. What's this thing?" She showed the token to Shining.

"That's your admittance to Princess Celestia's school." Shining Armor knew exactly what the little token was—his little sister had one, after all. "I guess we're headed there first, then?"

"I guess. So you're in the Royal Guard? That's like military?" Lyra did her best to ignore the huge shadows that passed them by, or the rushes of air.

"Well, there's a few different branches. I'm in the Royal Guard, which is Princess Celestia's personal guards, and we make sure there's no trouble in Canterlot. I joined up nearly six months ago!" His step moving to a more formal prance, Shining Armor couldn't help but show off his namesake—there was a pretty mare paying attention to him, after all.

Spotting the gates ahead, Lyra was reminded of Pinkie Pie and Tufts. "Is there room in this tour for two more?" She waved at Pinkie, who was—of course—waving at them.

"She's a friend?" The bit-coin dropped for Shining, and he realized he was about to spend the better part of the day with four pretty mares, on duty, and he got to show them around Canterlot.

Pinkie Pie wasn't waving at Lyra or Shining. She was waving at Joyce and Cadance—at the end of a flattened out dive—who were rushing up behind the two unicorns. At the exact same time, Joyce and Cadance buzzed past Lyra and Shining, causing them to duck their heads in shock.

Cadance hadn't felt this good since she got her cutie mark, her horn, and a special visit from Princess Celestia. She loved flying, and having somepony who could keep up with her made it extra special. "That. Was. Awesome!" Sparks flew from Cadance's shoes as she fanned her wings while sliding.

"Wooo!" Joyce's heart was pounding like a drum, but she didn't care. She felt alive in a way only a winged creature could. Her eyes scanned around, sharp in the bright daylight only because her pupils were narrowed down to slits. "Race you to the bottom of the ramp!"

"Private Shining Armor!" The bellow came from the guard-post. Zest Spiral poked his head out of the gate, looking from the retreating Cadance and Joyce to Shining and Lyra. "How did I know that where Princess Mi Amore Cadenza was, you'd be nearby?"

"Sir!" Shining stiffened. "Orders from Princess Celestia, Sir! I am to escort Lyra Heartstrings and Joyce Robertson in a tour of Canterlot, and see that they reach the student dormitory." He held completely still, managing not to laugh when Cadance swung back and stole Zest's helmet.

Keeping your cool when madness reigns is part of being a well-trained solider. Shining managed to see Cadance swooping in on Zest. The target of Cadance's act of rebellion, Zest Spiral, actually jumped at the removal of his headgear. Seeing Princess Cadance zoom past holding his helmet, however, calmed Zest back down—princesses happened.

"Recruit, see that you carry out your mission as quickly and efficiently as possible!" Zest Spiral's left eye was twitching, however, as he spotted the giggling Princess Cadance. "Ahem! Your Highness! I dutifully must report myself as being out of uniform. As such, it is your duty to take over gate—" He didn't even need to finish the speech before his helmet was launched back toward him.

"Spoilsport!" Cadance deployed the royal tongue at Zest. "Come on, Shiny. Let's show Joyce and her sister how to have fun!"

Author's Note

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Cross Lament
Vutava

Chapter 6 [[ A Joyce Perspective ]]

I sat down at the desk and looked at the sheaves of paper stacked neatly. The test. Ruffling my wings, I looked up at Rough Stitch.

"You can start now," Rough Stitch said, and sat down at the teacher's desk at the front of the classroom.

Two weeks of study—of playing catch-up on pony medicine—had been eye-opening. Rough and Princess Celestia had both been correct that the Royal Library was a huge help. Flipping the first page over, I looked at the header.

Magic in Medicine

I thought I'd be throwing away this section. A smile spread across my lips, and I knew I was showing my fangs. The basic ailments of magic was not a short list—the number of ways ponies had messed themselves up from doing stupid things was almost as long as the list of things doctors removed from embarrassed human butts.

The first question was literally the easiest to answer: Which forms of magic can cause detrimental effects? I had to hold back a giggle as I wrote the answer: All of them. Thinking, though, I continued: Light, Dark, Change, Motive, Emotive, Chaos, Harmony. The basic forms of magic.

I stopped. This was stupid. I'd been trained better than this. Scanning downward, I began making small marks beside the questions I knew the answer to, and another mark beside those I had no clue about. The test—it had been explained—gave points for right answers, took them for wrong answers, and neither for unanswered.

Page after page I flicked through, quickly setting myself up for the work ahead. It reminded me of a triage nurse. At last, I had marked over a half of the questions as doable, left about half the remainder as maybe, and the last section was something to worry about. Turning back to the start, I picked the next do-it-marked question.

I worked hard at each question. The ones I'd marked to be completed first were all things I'd studied and learned the pony way of medicine. Some of it contradicted what I'd learned—particularly when it came to pharmacology—but for things like broken bones, dislocated joints, cuts, abrasions, even much of the pony body's system was fundamental and transferred.

Circulatory system. Check.

Lymph nodes. Check.

All the usual organs. Check.

Horn… Okay, some things would be different. Hoof care was easier, since I'd done the animal side of things, but a magical unicorn horn was nothing like the simple horns of deer or other animals from Earth.

But I'd done the work and knew the basics. Cleaning and dressing horn-wounds, what medications could and couldn't be given to unicorns, and even ways to deal with a unicorn who had no sense of when to let their physician help them.

I just finished doing all the questions I knew easily when Rough cleared her throat.

"You are halfway through, Joyce," Rough Stitch said.

Halfway through, but over halfway on the questions. Flipping back to the start of the examination, I turned the first page again. I had to be careful on this pass, too many wrong answers could drop my score below a third.

Despite my confidence that I had answered all the questions so far correctly—thus securing me a push forward through my schooling—I had something to prove not just to the staff at the school, but to myself too.

That isn't to say I answered frivolously. Many of the questions about magic went unanswered, but when I got to physiology I regained the lost advantage. Dr. Bright Meadow had met with me several times, and while she examined my wing (no doubt to publish a paper before her colleagues on the anatomy of bat ponies), I plied her for information.

Thus, when it came time to know what the pony words for a tonsillectomy was, I knew it. Bright Meadow might not have liked me jumping into her school, but that didn't mean she wasn't an extremely intelligent pony with a lot to teach me.

I was three-quarters of my way through the second pass of the paper when Rough Stitch said, "Ten minutes remaining, Joyce."

I'd spent nearly two hours on the maybe questions, but I had to keep going. By the time Rough cleared her throat again I'd only gotten another four questions answered. I lifted my head to see her smiling face.

"It's time, Joyce. Please bring your papers up here," Rough Stitch said, but didn't stand up from her seat.

"Would anyone—pony—be able to complete this in four hours?" I passed the papers over to Rough, expecting her to dismiss me. Instead, however, she started flipping through the pages.

"I managed it in just under five hours." As Rough Stitch flipped through, her eyes scanned the pages. "You said you knew nothing of magic medicine? You answered more than I expected."

I shuffled between my hooves like a girl—filly—before her first teacher. "The topic is interesting. I found some primers on the topics, and like to think I have a basic understanding of it."

"As you know we invited the students to help us build this test. Ninety percent of the questions come from them. We added some of our own." Stopping her flipping, Rough Stitch circled one of the unanswered questions under the Magic in Medicine section. "I didn't know this one, either. Professor Horse added that."

I bit down—thankfully not on my tongue—at the knowledge that there was some trick questions. It was stupid of me to think there wasn't since it was a common method to test a student's capacity to understand and skim a document. If I'd been trying to do the exam from cover to cover in one go, that question would have completely bamboozled me. "I had no idea with it. I was taught that if you don't know an answer, in medicine, you don't guess. But, that was one testing aspect of this, wasn't it?"

"Is it now I tell you that you have probably spent more time as a student than I have as a teacher? You're right, of course, and I notice you skipped the question like you didn't even notice it. Well done," Rough Stitch said. She continued flipping before stopping and stacking the sheaves of paper. "We will grade this and get back to you. Same time tomorrow?"

It was a Thursday, and I'd picked it because I didn't want to wait a whole weekend for the results. "Sure." I took a deep breath. "Thank you, Rough, for everything."

"I'm not an idiot, Joyce. When I see a letter from Princess Celestia asking us, in flowery words, to allow a new pony to join the school, I can see that somepony with better judgment than I believes this is where you should be. I'm just giving you the chance to prove Princess Celestia right." Rough Stitch stood up and turned for the door—with my test now secure in her saddle bag. "I'm confident that tomorrow will bring good news."

I watched Rough walk out of the room and sighed. There was nothing else to do or say. I'd done the test and could relax. But I wasn't the kind of person—pony—who could forget something like this. I gathered my things, slung my saddlebags to my back, and left the school.

Like Dr. Bright Meadow, I'd spent some time watching wings, however my attention was on the differences of pegasi given my understanding of bat ponies. A pegasus could practically step into the air. Their wingbeats didn't drop lower than their stance, so they could flap from a standing start and be in the air.

Finding some space off to the side of the entrance of the school, I spread my wings out and lifted them. There was a special way of holding my wing-fingers that caused air to slide off my wing easier—I set my wings just so and jumped.

My bunching rear legs shot me into the air nearly a full ponylength, which is when I brought my wings down in their first beat. Set my fingers, grip the air, pump down. Adjust to slide, pull wings back up. Three quick strokes dragged me into the air, but the moment I had some height I was completely free of gravity (poetically speaking).

I had a target, but that didn't mean I wasn't going to enjoy flying. Beating my wings until I was higher than the castle, I started swaying left and right by cupping more air in one direction or another. It was lazy flying, but the sensation of all my wing muscles working together in perfect harmony was worth no longer being human. Yup, I'd totally thought that. I didn't care about being human, or being pony for that matter. I was me, my daughters were safe and pursuing their own dreams, and I could fly.

My destination was the same place I'd spent the majority of my days since getting the access chip from Princess Celestia: Royal Canterlot Library.

Passers by gasped when my hooves hit the ground and I pulled my wings closed, but I'd become somewhat of a regular here for the staff. Ignoring the ponies who had apparently never seen a bat pony before (which honestly wasn't their fault), I walked to the front door of the library and pushed it open.

"Joyce. It's good to see you," Alpha Betical said. I'd been completely unsurprised that a librarian pony had the name Alpha Betical, it fit the situation with a certain measure of rightness.

"Good afternoon, Alpha. How're the books today?" I kept my tone low. It was perfectly alright talking softly at the front of the huge, glass-fronted library, but courtesy to those studying was still important.

The stallion I was speaking with was thin and a little gangly, though he seemed fully grown. Sky-blue fur adorned his body, a pair of wings rode high on his sides, and his mane and tail were both a soft silver. I'd seen students from Lyra's school swoon after speaking with him, so I had to assume that tall and leggy was attractive to ponies.

"Same as usual, Miss Joyce. Are you looking for anything in particular today?" When Alpha spoke about books there was an excited and barely restrained energy to him. His wings would twitch a little, and his smile would always widen.

"Well, I think I'll hold off on the medical textbooks today. I was actually curious about the economy. Princess Celestia spoke a little about the system of basic income, and I was curious where all these bits come from." As I spoke, I watched his excitement play out further. It was nice to see a stallion so excited by something I said, but Alpha's interest was strictly textual.

"I know exactly what you'll want. The unification of Equestria and the binding of the three tribes into one society necessitated a lot of changes, one of which was the unification of lands themselves. The proud pegasi believed they owned all the land under Cloudsdale, but some of that land belonged to the unicorns, and yet more belonged to the earth ponies." As he spoke, Alpha Betical led the way into the shelves of the library. He began reaching out with his wings and lifted down a tome. "The way Princess Celestia persuaded them all to agree about the splitting of ownership was to not have any. All their lands would become owned by her, and thus the Tithe to Crown was initiated."

The book he passed me was actually called Tithe to Crown, and it was written by a pony named Princess Platinum. "They just gave her their land? I know she's persuasive, but how did that go over?"

"Terribly. But it got Princess Platinum, Chancellor Puddinghead, and Commander Hurricane on the same side for once. They argued about every little facet, working together to counter every idea Princess Celestia put forward," Alpha said. "They argued against it so much and with such enthusiasm that they apparently came to realize that in each other was the qualities needed to make Equestria work.

It was easy to see that earth ponies were the undisputed masters of growing things—nopony does that better, as a whole. Unicorns are creation personified—their magic builds cities, powers defenses, and allows ponies to flourish. Pegasi are the masters of the sky—weather is only the beginning of what they—we—do."

"But those aren't the limits of each race, surely?" I asked.

"Of course not. It doesn't take a unicorn to appreciate books on magic, nor does it take an earth pony to plow a field, but it is a leaning that most ponies of their races drift toward. If you went to Manehatten, found an earth pony making high fashion, I'm sure you would find at least one houseplant in their abode—and it would be flourishing.

"While they argued against Princess Celestia's plans, the pegasi saw that they would be better off letting the earth ponies have the farmland, and the earth ponies realized how much better farming would be with weather they could predict."

"And unicorns?" I asked.

"The little charms we use as passes, the city of Canterlot itself, the equipment the pegasi use in Cloudsdale to make the weather… None of that would be possible without unicorns. We are three races, but Princess Celestia used herself as the anvil for the three tribes to forge themselves together. When all the arguing was done, Princess Platinum, Commander Hurricane, and Chancellor Puddinghead asked Princess Celestia to start working on the papers to make her plan official."

Alpha Betical lifted down another book, though this one looked different to the others. When he passed it toward me, I realized why.

Equestrian Title Holding by Princess Celestia. "Is this the actual laws regarding that?" I asked.

"This is a copy. The original is—"

My jaw dropped open in shock. "Y-You don't mean to say you have the original documents from over a thousand years ago?"

Alpha looked like I'd just asked him if he was going to eat all the cake himself. He smiled so much that his eyes started to squint a little. "Yup."

"Alexandria eat your heart out," I said, my voice barely a murmur. "I'll make a start with these."

There was only one thing that would make Alpha Betical look happier than telling him you'd read some books he chose, and that was telling him you enjoyed them. So, given that I anticipated telling the cute stallion that soon, I carried the books reverently to a reading table.

Tithe to Crown was like most of the other pony history books I'd read—amazing. If the history books on Earth had been written by the people who actually lived it, and were invested in it, they would be like this (and I might have passed high school history).

Princess Platinum explained each aspect of the tithe system Princess Celestia had designed. It was obvious Platinum liked the system because everything was enthusiastic.

There are four levels of tithe depending on the purpose of the land: housing, production, community services, and commercial.

Community services was the simplest, there was no tithe on education buildings, hospitals, libraries, or other such buildings approved by the crown—ever.

Housing tithe was the next simplest. When a pony or family moves into a house for the first time, the house is evaluated and they pay that tithe for as long as they live there. Princess Platinum extolled the virtue of this as being that ponies were encouraged to improve their homes to make them more comfortable.

What Princess Platinum went on further about was how this encouraged families to spread out and colonize the less-populated parts of Equestria, since settling empty land meant there was no tithe.

Commercial tithes were a little more fluid, and took into account products flowing in and out.

The system was utterly fascinating, and I got the feeling that Princess Platinum found it so too. The last section on tithing took up over half the book, however.

Production tithes applied to growing, making, building, and other industrial or agricultural endeavors. At first, I was worried it might be so archaic as to be similar to serfdom, but the reality was vastly more interesting than slavery.

There were estimates of production that made sure that while ponies could make a living producing things, though from my limited appreciation for the value of bits I had to take Princess Platinum's word for that, but there was also an offset system. Put simply, if a quota of goods was sold at or below market value, some of the tithe would be reduced.

I skimmed a little, mostly the hard numbers and tables of values that denoted tithe offsets—I might be curious about the system, but I wasn't planning to open a business or start a farm. Closing the book, I felt a greater respect for what Princess Celestia had built.

Equestrian Title Holding was a different matter entirely. It was pages of documents signed by Princess Celestia and landholders of the pre-Equestrian societies exchanging their lands to the crown. The best part was the notes jotted down here and there, either by Princess Celestia, the landholder, or by one of the other three leaders.

I promise this land will be taken care of, and all effort will be given toward ensuring the nice monsters in the river and looked after.

Was typical of a lot of such notes by Princess Celestia, and there were hundreds of them. Everypony was attached to the land they owned, and in giving it up to the new princess they were dedicating themselves to following her, and showing trust in her. I'd met Princess Celestia twice now, and I don't think I'd have behaved any differently.

There were other notes, particularly regarding old monuments, structures, or things of more magical nature on various titles.

The ruined barn in the south-west-most paddock is the home of a friendly windigo. Please do not damage it.

Our farmstead has stood over two-hundred years, it would be a waste to demolish it.

There is a forest glade west of here, please place some food there every month.

The titles finally ran out and I found what seemed to be a proclamation.

Ponies of Equestria. I, Princess Celestia, do swear to hold your lands even as I give you your future. Discord was just the beginning. We will stand between you and any darkness that threatens.

It was just the opening lines, but it sent a chill down my spine all the way to my dock and then back up again. Here was someone—pony—that could heft the sun and moon around with her magic, promising her protection. But, it gave me a question I wanted to ask her: would she have withheld that if they didn't agree to the land trade?

I had a feeling that while it was a brazen question to ask, it was one Princess Celestia would expect. Taking out a notepad from my saddlebags, I made a page for questions, and added it. If Princess Celestia didn't want awkward questions, she shouldn't have made me so curious about Equestrian history.

Closing Princess Celestia's book with one careful wing-claw, I stretched my wings and rolled my shoulders without actually opening the limbs.

Thinking on the laws I'd read, I thought about what it would take to open a little medical clinic. Nothing fancy, just some rooms to see patients and a little house to live in. It would be a little complicated since there was two sets of codes to be applied: the clinic would have no tithe while the house would have whatever was deemed appropriate. Unless, of course, I built the whole thing myself.

I barely managed to hold back a screech of laughter at the thought of me building a house. I sighed and let the daydream play out in my head, with everyone in town helping to build the little clinic and house. This was the dream I'd promised myself I'd always had—healing people, helping them feel well, assisting others as their life slows down.

So far I'd spent nearly thirty years in school learning how to do that (as well as general adulting), and what had it gotten me? More learning. But I felt a need inside to learn so that I was ready. My eyes widened and I stared across the horizon—the books, the building, even Canterlot itself was gone from my sight. I was training for something important.

The moment passed when I heard hoofsteps approach. Shaking my head and blinking rapidly to clear the vision-of-destiny-that-I-totally-didn't-believe-was-a-thing, I turned to see Alpha Betical walk up to the table. "I think I'm done with these."

"Did you find everything you needed?" he asked.

I nodded. "Pretty much. There's probably a lot of things in here that are out of date in regards to the numbers, but I don't need that stuff. This is so very different to how things were done where I came from."

Came from not come from. A tiny distinction regarding where felt like home. There was only one thing missing that would make Equestria my full home: Robin.

"You sure don't look like somepony who's just found out some of the secrets of Equestria's success." Alpha Betical sat down beside me. "What's the—"

Everything hit me at once. My little baby was a universe away, I was facing more years of schooling, and every breath I took reminded me this wasn't the body I was born with. Alpha's chest rushed toward me (or I fell against him), and tears started flowing.

A foreleg reached around my neck and held me, and Alpha Betacal let me sob.

Images of Robin rushed through my head and I couldn't think around them. As a baby in the hospital where I'd had her, at home, as a little toddler, her first day of school, and more until finally she was saying goodbye to me.

Nothing in the world mattered so much at that moment than my little girl—my little filly. "Robin…"

I pulled back from my weeping as hard as I could. I was in public, sobbing against a nice young stallion I barely knew, but the pain inside had become too much to bear. I needed someone who was more familiar—Lyra was out, I'd probably just get her down too.

So I redoubled my efforts and pulled back from Alpha Betical. Lifting one hoof up, I wiped at my eyes to dry them. I spotted a wet patch on Alpha's chest. "I'm so sorry. I didn't—"

"Don't apologize. I don't know what you're going through, Miss Joyce. Is there somepony you'd like to contact?" he asked.

I shook my head. "N-No. I need to go home and talk to my daughter." The sharp pain, a symptom of the distance between Robin and I, threatened to send me against Alpha Betical again. "Thank you for being a shoulder to cry on—a little too literally—but I should go."

Turning, I struggled to keep myself together. I barely made it out the front door of the library when I realized Alpha Betical was trotting up to my side. "D-Did I forget something?"

"No, ma'am. I just want to make sure you make it home safely." Alpha didn't sound either chipper or excited about the walk, just determined.

I almost came back with an admonishment that I wasn't a young girl needing to be walked home, but I realized I was. Another quip might have been how he just wanted to see more of me, but he made no advances—for which I was appreciative. It cost me a lot of pride to simply say, "Thank you."

"Did you want to walk, or fly?" he asked.

"Walking's fine. I don't feel happy enough to fly right at this minute." And I didn't. Flying amounted to the most fun way to spend my time, and I didn't feel fun at the moment. Ruffling my wing, I stretched and folded back one and then the other.

Though the sky called my name, I had no urge to listen. Alpha kept by my side all the way to the dormitory. "Thank you, Alpha."

"No problems, Joyce." Alpha Betical turned to trot off.

"Wait. Alpha?" I waited for him to turn back around. My brain froze. I wanted to ask him how he felt about me. So far, to my jolted human-stuck-in-a-pony-body senses, he seemed like the only stallion not flirting with me, and I wanted to know why. But I chickened out. "Thanks again."

Alpha Betical gave me a wide smile that reached his eyes and a nod.

I turned around before I made an actual fool of myself. Lyra wouldn't be home for another hour, so that left just one person for me to talk to. Taking the stairs two at a time, I found our room and slipped inside.

The sight of Tufts laying on Lyra's bed reading a book was, quite possibly, the last thing I thought to find. The source of the book was obvious: it was one of Lyra's textbooks. "Enjoying some light reading?"

"It behooves a bat to learn something of where he's staying. What's wrong, my peach?" Tufts scrambled to his paws and jumped toward me.

I turned a little to give him a better landing, and felt his soft paws touch down. He turned around and walked up my back and wrapped his wings around my neck. A deep sigh left me, and I found myself longing for more of this. "I miss her, Tufts."

His small snout nuzzled around in my mane, and I could fully appreciate how much he was trying to communicate his love and support.

"I could try something," Tufts said.

He acted less and less like just-a-bat every day we were here, but this statement hinted my thoughts were true. "Please?" I jumped at my perch and whipped my tail up to circle and grip tight.

"We should have time enough. Could you sleep, my love?" Tufts settled in and hugged me with his wings while his own tail seemed to coil around the base of mine.

The doctor in me had questions, problems, and assumptions, but the mother in me shoved it all aside and I wrapped my wings around my upper body, shrouding the world in darkness. An opportunistic sleeper, now, I felt my mind slow as sleep welled up around me.

Barely a yawn later and I was asleep.

I was hanging from a tree that clung desperately to the side of a mountain. Beside me on the branch was a handsome bat pony stallion. He cocked a smile at me, and I already realized who he was. I used legs and wings both to hug Tufts.

"This will take some concentration, so no nibbling." There was a measure of laughter and satisfaction in Tufts' voice. He sounded more solid and real than any dream had a right to, but there was something odd, he wasn't speaking Equish, English, or Batstralian—I realized he was using dream-speak.

I wasn't in a random, hopeful dream. I was in the Dreamtime, or so it seemed. I'd been here before, of course, but that had been when the Rainbow Serpent pulled our whole town into the Dreamtime to help us decide what to do about turning into ponies.

"We need to fly closer, my precious mango. Come." With no more words Tufts spread his wings and let go of the tree.

I had nothing to hold on to but him and the branch, and I felt for sure he was more exciting than a tree (even if the fruit in it smelled delicious). I spread my own wings and gave chase.

Soaring in a dream was as real as my subconscious could make it, which meant it was nothing like real flying. I zoomed through the air, barely needing to flap my wings to gain on Tufts. This afforded me a great sigh of a powerful looking stallion. My heart beat faster for him, and for what he'd promised.

It didn't seem to matter to Tufts that there shouldn't be a mango tree near Stonecrop, that it was the wrong climate and wrong soil for tropical fruit trees. He dove toward the tree, and I followed without hesitation.

"What are we doing here? Can't we fly through?" I asked.

"You can't and I might struggle, but I know a young mare who could not only move through that and bring a friend." Tufts reached one of his wings out absently and grabbed a mango from the tree. "You need the right bait to catch a bat."

I giggled at his antics despite my aching heart. I didn't know exactly what Tufts did next, but there was a lot of screeching coming from the bubble around Stonecrop.

Like a missile, a dark-colored bat pony came zooming right for us. I looked to Tufts to see a big grin on his face, and when I looked back to the approaching pony, I realized who it was. She had blue-tinted batty fur, and her red ruff and mane had a dirty blue-white undertone.

"Dream!" I was so excited I flapped my wings at her. "Dream Thunder!"

"Joyce? Tufts?!" Dream Thunder looked excited, but not surprised. "It's good to see you both!"

I realized Dream's eyes kept turning toward the mango Tufts held as if it were a blinking light. "Tufts," I said, "give her the mango."

"This is a beacon, and I don't think I could make another easily. Dream will need it to get back here with Robin." Tufts looked significantly at Dream Thunder. "Joyce needs to see our filly."

"That's going to be tricky, but I think I can do it. I have some questions for you, too." With that said, Dream let go of the branch and shot back toward the barrier with only a few glances back at Tufts' mango.

"She only seems about ten years older than she is. When did she grow up so fast?" I asked.

"I wouldn't have given so much to a filly who wasn't so bold, Joyce." Tufts carefully eyed the mango he held in his wing, and for a moment I thought he was going to eat it. "You're going to have questions about this, aren't you?"

"Tufts," I said, "you have done a lot for our family, and this helps buy you a reprieve. I'm not a stupid filly, I know something's up with you, and there's a lot I apparently don't know about you. I want to know one day, but for now I am happy to snuggle and let you do amazing things."

He stretched a wing—the one not encumbered by a magic mango—and pulled me tight against his side. I needed it, I loved the feel of him against me. It might be a dream, but it felt real. We clung together—sharing no words—and waited for Dream to return.

Two shapes broke out of the barrier in the distance, and my heart jumped in my chest again. Dream Thunder was recognizable, but the pony at her side was who I longed to see. My filly, Robin, zoomed through the air toward us. I had to abandon my grip on Tufts to catch her in an embrace.

"Mum!" Robin Robertson said. "Mum! What's wrong?"

I couldn't reply. My throat was choked with emotion, and there was so much there all trying to leap free that none could.

"She missed you," Tufts said.

I didn't see Dream eat the mango, I could barely even sense Tufts at my side. My filly was here and safe. "Robin. How have you been?"

"Busy. I've been helping Screech get things under control, and—I should probably tell you who she is. Princess Screech is a bat pony in Canberra. Mum, she turned into a princess!" Robin said. "I mean, she was a prince already, or something, but now she has a horn, and she needs a lot of help working out how to keep everypony safe."

Information seemed to pour from my filly's mouth. She babbled on about embargoes and quarantine in a manner I don't think I've ever heard from another nine year old.

"Robin? What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Everypony got really crazy. There was—were—some people who didn't take turning into ponies well. Princess Screech needs help getting Batstralia back together. I guess I just felt a need to be there and help her. She's really nice!" Robin Robertson said.

If I didn't know better, I would have sworn my daughter had aged five years in the two weeks since I left. I cleared all the worry for her to the side for now—stacked it neatly beside my questions for Tufts—and brushed Robin's mane back from her face. "Are you okay? Do you need anything?"

Robin seemed almost out of breath. She stared at me for a few seconds and then hugged even tighter. "Mum, I'm fine."

"You must think I'm being silly," I said.

"No, Mum. I wanted to see you too." Robin's words only got her a tighter hug from me.

The dream world around us came slowly into focus again, and I saw that it looked a little odd. "What's happening?" I asked.

"There's a lot of ponies here. A lot of them are going to sleep. The Dreamtime here is different to back home. It only exists around a dreamer," Tufts said.

"Before we get distracted, Joyce, I need to ask you if you know a strange pony who arrived. He's a tall, white unicorn, and he said Princess Celestia sent him." Dream Thunder was pointing back toward the town with one wing and cradling half a giant mango with the other.

I blushed at the memory of my meeting with Princess Celestia where she had discussed just this. "Yes. Princess Celestia said she'd sent someone."

"Hold on." Robin squirmed in my grip and pulled herself free. "I need to talk to him, then. Princess Screech needs to talk to him."

It hadn't hit me before, but now it actually sunk in that my filly was working with the government. She was only nine, though I had to admit she now spoke like an adult. Was it the topic? Was this her destiny?

"I'll need help bringing him through the Dreamtime. He's not really attuned to Batstralia, either," Dream Thunder said.

"I can help with that. Screech too if we need it. She's a lot stronger at this than I am…" Robin sounded a little upset by that, as if she weren't the most adult sub-teen I'd ever heard. A thrill of pride hit me, followed by a knowing sense of sadness—her plans to become a doctor, I was sure, had shifted.

I cleared my throat. "I'll tell Princess Celestia that he's in good hands—hooves?"

Something happened and I jerked from the dream like cold water had poured down my back. I was awake again.

"Dang. Sorry, Mom. I didn't mean to wake you," Lyra Heartstrings said.

I didn't intend my sigh to hurt her, but it had a sense of loss to it that I couldn't hold back. "It's alright. I was just talking to Robin and Dream."

"How are they?" Lyra's complete lack of a surprised tone made me suspicious that she knew whatever it was Tufts wasn't telling me—she didn't question my statement at all.

"Robin's helping get the country back into one piece—in Canberra. Dream is—I don't know what Dream's up to, but she sounded well." I peeled one wing back from my face while the other held Tufts—still asleep—at my side.

"Hang on. Robin? Little filly about so-high?" As she spoke, Lyra used her magic to casually show roughly how tall Robin was. "That Robin?"

I shrugged. "Seems so. Drat, I should have asked Dream to make sure she'll be back at school next year."

"Mom. Robin's only nine," Lyra Heartstrings said.

Reaching out, I hooked a wing claw over Lyra's shoulder and pulled her over for a kiss on the cheek. "I don't know the full details, but apparently she is helping a princess save Australia."

Lyra chuckled. "You mean Batstralia?"

I just groaned and pulled my wing back and wrapped it around my head again. "Wake me up in the morning."

Author's Note

Celestia: how quickly can you set up an embassy?

"An embassy depends on several factors, not the least of which being establishing peaceful contact. I have set things in motion, and given certain facts I am confident that at the very least I won't have to smash the link between our worlds. An embassy could be accommodated quickly, but the ties needed to trust each other will need to grow," Princess Celestia said, almost like she were reciting the words from a textbook.

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Lab

Chapter 20 - Explicit Content

[[ A Joyce Perspective ]]

"She is going to learn to be a fighter," Tufts said.

I could only choke a sob and nod.

"Why was I cursed with a family full of brave women?" Tufts jumped onto my back and walked along my spine until he could put his nose into my mane. His paws pressed rhythmically into my shoulders and built a tempo that threatened to send me to sleep.

When his wings wrapped around my neck like a scarf, I felt as relaxed as I could under the circumstances. "You're using your wiles to distract me."

"Is it working?"

I nodded. "More than I could have hoped. Where are we going from here?"

"Here? I could move back further and—"

"Tufts, I mean chronologically and relationship wise. You're a guy that I like a lot, I'm a girl you like a lot. There's normal things that would happen, but we have something getting in the way." I wanted to roll over and look him in the eyes, but right now his paws were too good on my shoulders.

"Oh. Well, I am male, and you are female." Tufts sounded as coy as coy could be. "What would you like to do?"

I'd had enough of this bat. I reached up with my wing and caught him, then rolled as I pulled him around and looked up into his eyes. "Tufts, I'm going to tell you that although I appreciate being treated with tenderness and love, I also appreciate a stallion who will tell me what he wants."

Tufts' mouth pulled up at the corners of his long snout. "Will you let me explore?"

"Me?"

"Yes."

Leaning up, I brought our mouths together in a brief kiss. "As long as it isn't just another massage."

"Massaging may be involved, but I have other intents." Both his eyebrows waggled in what was both not and yet every bit a vulpine manner. "Things were simpler in my day. A man would approach a woman and ask if she wanted sex, she would say yes or no and things would proceed or not."

One thing about his statement confused me. "In your day? You mean when you were a bat back on Earth?" I set him down on my barrel and immediately his snout moved to my chest.

"Not quite yet. How about we play a game while we play a game? I'll keep talking, and if you can guess what I mean, you win a prize." Tufts licked the fur at my chest, which I have to admit felt nice.

Squirming my hips, I nodded. "I'm still confused, but now I'm intrigued as well. Go on."

"I have known many women, Joyce, but none is so intriguing as yourself. To woo you with mangoes would be simple and not very subtle of me—though I expect it would be effective."

I couldn't help a giggle at his words. Mangoes were tasty, it's true, and while they wouldn't hurt his courtship, they wouldn't guarantee it either. "That reminds me, we need more fruit."

"Such a practical mare. Practical, and wonderful." Tufts turned around to face the back end of me, nuzzling and licking as he went.

I tilted my head back and let him.

Laughs, giggles, and lots of squirming accompanied his explorations. Tufts used his nose, tongue, teeth, and paws to investigate everywhere—almost everywhere. Almost. When his snout started working along my belly with purpose, I tensed just a little.

"Are you sure you are ready for this?" Tufts asked, his nose having stopped half a hoof's width from my udder and teats.

"It's sensitive." I lashed my tail despite my words. "I'll tell you if I want you to stop."

"Alright." Tufts had the same tone he used when discussing proper ways to eat fruit. I tried not to tense, but when his tongue found one of my teats, I gasped. He paused again.

"Th-That was a good sound," I said.

"Really?" Tufts licked my teat again, nuzzled it, and very carefully took it into his mouth.

I tried to bite back my cry, but the feelings—particularly after the mother of all droughts—were too intense. Squirming, I moaned to express every deep need I had for what we were doing.

Then he swapped to the other teat, and it made me squirm in a different direction. I didn't care what he did anymore, so long as he kept going. Fighting my urge to just sit back, I leaned forward and looked down at him—watched his tail flick and twitch. "Tufts?"

"Your tone doesn't sound like slow down. What is it, my little mango flower?" He turned his head, leaving me to be plunged into the absence of his touch.

It was unbearable. I whined and threw myself back to the bed. "Please don't stop."

"Bats," Tufts said, "Spend many hours nuzzling and giving pleasure to their perspective mates. A male will bath his intended in pleasure until she gives in and begs him to take it another step."

I bit my lip at the description.

"Is this such a begging?" Tufts licked my left teat once more. "Very well, I will continue my ministrations."

The first I knew of his plans was he settled down on my tail. When each of his forepaws touched my rump—one to each side—my breath quickened at what I knew was coming. The gentle probing of his nose was a let down, but then his tongue touched me and I found myself flapping my wings uselessly on the bed. Another lick and another, and I couldn't breathe properly. More licks and I couldn't even think.

I don't know how long he spent there, nuzzling and licking away so that the years since the last time my body'd been sated meant nothing. He could have asked me anything and I would have happily agreed no matter the question. What surprised me was when his licks became deeper, more penetrating.

Memories of noisy bats back in Australia came to me while I squealed and squirmed, bucked and moaned on the bed. I tilted my head up and struggled against my body's desires, intending on demanding Tufts do something, anything else. Then I screamed.

The stallion with his tongue shoved into me was big. He would have stood several hooves taller than me, and just from that I knew his wingspan would be huge—his bat-wing span.

"Who are you?!" I asked.

"You know, Joyce—my mango blossom."

I froze. To go from so worked up from arousal, to so worked up in fear, and now—Curiosity burned within me. "Tufts?!"

"You're getting somewhere. Would you like me to continue?" Tufts waited a few moments. "Or would you like to ask more questions?"

Intellectualism be damned. This is a world of magic, and I'd been hoping magic would happen for so long. I gulped. Don't think about the how, just think about him. A stallion. Tufts was a stallion. It sounded better and better the more I thought about it. "Questions later."

He climbed back on the bed and crawled closer to me. My little panic had sent me further up the large bed than before, but Tufts didn't seem to object. When his head dipped down behind my body again, I felt my cares melt away. Then his tongue started again.

From one lick to the next I felt my worries shoved aside. My motor didn't take much to get back to the pinnacle Tufts had worked me to before. But it wasn't my pinnacle, it was just a plateau. I wanted more. I needed more. "Tufts?"

"Mmmm-yes?" The sound of lip-smacking did nothing to calm my racing heart.

"W-What sign does a female bat give that she is—that she wants a male?" I looked along myself at him—he looked very satisfied.

"She will turn herself and prepare for the male."

Turn. I looked to my left and judged how far it was to the side of the bed. Squirm, slide, roll, and I was on my hooves. I was on my hooves with my rump facing Tufts. My heart beat a million miles an hour, and I wouldn't deny myself the view over my shoulder as I lifted my tail to one side. "Like this?"

"Yes. Just like that." Tufts climbed off the bed and I could see him—see it. My breath caught in my throat at the size of him. His shaft was equine in nature, after all, and there was a saying about horses being hung for a reason.

Each step he took excited me more. When Tufts leaned down and pressed his nose under the dock of my tail, I almost squealed. A nuzzle and a lick was all I got before he literally leapt into action—and onto my back.

The change was palpable. One moment he was big and on my back, and the next moment he was big and inside me. Years melted away and I couldn't have cared less about all the time I'd spent without this—I had it now.

Tufts was forceful, something I appreciated when I was in the mood for it. He shoved forward, then again, and then he didn't stop. Big wings wrapped around my shoulders, and I felt Tufts clamp his mouth down on the back of my neck. It all felt right, good, and proper.

My pleasure soared to new heights as his body drove into me with all the force the word stallion implied. I shoved back into each thrust, pulling us both into a dance as old as creatures.

When my moment came, I was singly unprepared for it. With a squeal of bliss I felt my legs wobble, trembling from the force of the pleasure sparking like a lightning storm within me. Then one knee folded, not that I cared, and we both went tumbling to the floor.

Tufts finished within me moments later. His grip tightened, and even through the thundering of orgasmic drums in my ears I could hear him screech. The force of his climax within me seemed phenomenal. I could feel the jetting of his seed, and it scratched an itch I didn't even know I had.

Panting an making happy little screeches from time to time, we both measured out minutes (I think) on the floor. We were still joined, though with his screech Tufts had released my neck.

"I didn't hurt you, did I?" His voice was rich, but concerned.

"N-No. Not hurt. What's the opposite of that?" I couldn't help but giggle at my own joke.

He nuzzled at my neck, but rather than bite me again Tufts licked where he'd bitten. The lapping calmed me down more, let me think back over what had just happened.

"What just happened?" It was the first and most obvious question I could think to ask.

"Joyce, if you need me to answer that, maybe a demonstration would be better?" Tufts returned to licking the moment he stopped speaking.

"Okay. The most amazing sex of my life." It wasn't a lie, not even close. "But, I mean, how did you get big?"

"Magic." More licking.

"And you became a pony? Were you always a pony?"

"I became a pony because you wanted yourself a stallion, not a little flying fox. I was not always a pony. You're getting closer." Yet more licking.

I almost didn't want to ask him more questions—the licking was that nice—but I had to know. "You were never just a bat."

"That wasn't a question."

"The only other creature in Australia when you were around that had magic was—" My brain tripped a circuit. There are some thoughts that just don't work, and this was one of them.

"Keep going, Joyce."

The licking helped. It pushed me forward. "The only other creature there that could do magic was the Rainbow Serpent."

"I am no snake."

"Is there a—?" I couldn't get my head around what I was about to ask.

"Go on, Joyce. I will answer any question you ask."

Deep breath, Joyce. You need to ask this. "Is there another god, one for—for bats?"

"In the myths of the people, there was another. Tjinimin."

"Tjinimin?"

"Yes?" His tone was that used by someone upon hearing their name.

The world went fuzzy around the edges, then darkness pushed the fuzz closer and closer to the middle of my vision. I had just one thought left in me as the darkness pulled around me like a blanket: Tjinimin?

My dreams that night were not hard to figure out. I'd had the best sex of my life with someone I loved and my subconscious was onboard to play it back over and over like a sports replay. Far from be upset at my mind's more salacious side, I reveled in the scenarios it created while I slept.

When the dreams faded, and the light of Celestia's sun started coming through the window of our bedroom, I yawned and stretched. With my wing I felt around the bed, but couldn't locate the lover my dreams promised me should be there. Opening my eyes, I looked for him.

"Just in time."

Tufts' voice made my head snap around to the stallion in the doorway. It had seemed like a dream that he had become a bat pony, but though the stallion walking into the room might be dreamy, he was no dream. Tufts looked solid, a strong build—my mind helpfully brought back memories of the previous night and what his strong build had done with me.

"In time for what?" I asked.

Lifting one of his wings, Tufts revealed four bananas tucked under it. A deft flick of his thumbclaw and the hand of fruit was split in two. He passed two of the bananas into my waiting wing. "Breakfast in bed."

It wasn't hard to get a bat pony breakfast in bed. We had a fridge full of fruit, so acquiring said breakfast was easy too. I used one thumb to hold the fruit while the other sliced down the length of a banana skin.

"How much do you remember of last night?" Tufts asked.

"If you're asking if it was fun, it was. You had a lot of moves on you, but how did this happen?" I gestured at him with one wing while nibbling the banana.

Tufts looked a little confused for a moment, then shrugged his wings. "This is a little trick I have learned. Do you think I could spend so much time with Robin and Dream—teaching them how to bat—without learning a little pony?"

It didn't seem to add up, but I wasn't going to argue—at least not while I still had banana to eat.

Tufts climbed onto the bed with me and started eating his own fruit. Normally he'd maul the skin to get at the fruit within, but I watched him carefully peel his first banana before he started eating it. "You have a lot less skepticism now, Joyce."

I gulped down my current mouthful of banana. "Well, when my personal friend raises and lowers the sun each day with her magic, I started looking at things a different way."

"A fun way, I'd say." Tufts grinned at me while he took another bite of his fruit. He waited until he was done before continuing. "You remember the wall of magic back on Earth that stopped people seeing ponies?"

I remembered that "wall" pretty well, given it had taken the efforts of my daughters—of my son and my daughters—to get rid of it. Was he implying there was something like that blocking the reality of things now? "What do you mean? Is it still doing something?"

"No, but this is like that. I shared with you a secret about myself. It harms nobody, but you seem to be having a similar problem understanding it." Tufts reached under my chin with a hoof and stroked my throat slowly. "I don't think revealing it to you again will help. You need to discover it yourself to understand it."

This was more words than I think I'd ever heard Tufts use to describe something. "So what you're saying is, my mind rejects it. I need repeated exposure in a safe environment to reinforce the knowledge until it sticks." It was now impossible to move my wings enough to get food into my mouth, but not because of any restraint.

Tufts, however, realized the problems his gentle touches were creating and held a piece of his own banana up to my mouth. When a took a little bite, he kissed my cheek. "Something like that."

The more he stroked at my throat the harder it was to do anything but relax. "Do you have any ideas on how I can be in as safe and relaxed manner as possible?" All the ideas my subconscious had come up with while I slept floated to the surface, and I wondered idly if we could manage them all in one day.

"One or two, my little mango. One or two." He kept up stroking my chin while one wing occasionally fed me more banana (mostly to keep me from talking, I think), but another hoof roamed back along my body.

I wanted to ask him what he planned, suggest something of my own, but every time I opened my mouth, Tufts pressed some banana into it. It was infuriating and adorable. When his hoof stroked far enough to pass my belly, I began making a soft whine between mouthfuls.

"When we run out of banana, and we can both talk, then we will talk some more. Until then, Joyce, I don't want you to say anything coherent." His voice was deeper than usual, sounding like pure honey in my ears.

His hoof worked between my back legs with little resistance on my part. Each slow stroke there only made me relax further into his attention. After what seemed like an eternity of slow pleasure at his hooves, Tufts ran out of banana. "You believe in a lot of work-up, don't you?"

"It's the bat way, my sweet little mango. In a colony, a male doesn't just get to mate with a female, he has to woo her, then he has to show commitment. He has to prove to his intended that he is worth her time, and worth suffering his attentions further." Tufts paused in his stroking of both ends of me. "Am I?"

I rolled my eyes and moved before he could anticipate. "And what if a female wants to show a male she's interested in him?" I pushed Tufts over to his side. "What then? Does bat society break down and crumble?" I licked and nuzzled at Tufts' chest.

"Ah, but we're not in bat society. I may have my roots as a bat, but I like to think a certain mare has helped me grow into more than that." He had the sense to hold still and let me continue to explore as he had explored me last night.

I nuzzled between his forelegs and into the joint between shoulder and leg—it was musky, but it made Tufts squirm nicely when I did it, so I did it a few more times until I heard him laugh. I looked up at his and saw he looked astonished. "Something wrong?"

"My dear, I have never laughed like that before."

Of course this meant I should nuzzle more, so I did. I licked, poked, and wiggled my snout around in the ticklish joints until Tufts was a giggling—squirming—mess. Only when he seemed to have laughed himself out did I start moving lower.

Tufts' barrel and belly seemed to be devoid of any ticklish spots, or maybe he really was tickled out. Either way, I dipped my snout down further.

Unlike on a mare, all the fun bits of a stallion are at the bottom of his belly. I carefully nuzzled around—avoiding his sheath—until I found another musky place. Tufts was silent now except for slow, deep breaths. When I opened my mouth and took his ballsack in my mouth, he let out a low groan.

That groan meant everything to me. It meant he trusted me with such exploration, but it also meant he was enjoying what I was doing. Careful of my teeth, I pursed my lips and let one of his balls fall back into his sack, then I sucked on it.

"Joyce!"

I paused.

"Joyce, what are you doing? That feels—please don't stop."

In reply, I simply hummed. I could feel Tufts squirm properly now—squirm like a man should when his wife is showing him how much she loves him. I hummed again before I realized my thoughts had slipped wife into my head without me realizing it. Tufts' renewed cries simply spurred me on.

I let go of his scrotum and licked over his sack a few times. Both his heavy balls were now down again, and both jumped at the touch of my tongue. The last stroke I gave his balls continued along the underside of his sheath and all the way to the tip—where he began pushing free.

Completely wrapped up in the act of lovemaking, my mind tried to tease at the big thing Tufts had revealed yesterday that I couldn't quite remember. It seemed right at the edge of my mind, but nothing I could do would trick it into revealing its secret. I licked again, this time tracing a new length of flesh that was very near and dear to both of us.

Last night he'd spent all the work of bringing me to arousal, today it was his turn to receive. Pursing my lips, I kissed the flared head of his shaft and pushed down. To my shock his hips bucked, shoving him deep into my mouth, and Tufts spilled himself into me.

The shock of his hitting his wall so quick was caught between wanting to giggle, having a mouthful of his issue, and being so damn happy I'd worked him up so much.

"Joyce!" Tufts sounded shocked, though his hips moved again and pushed him deeper into my mouth. "I-I didn't—I couldn't—You were just so—" He stopped talking when I sucked.

While it was tempting to pull myself free of him and give him the satisfaction of a porn moneyshot, subconscious me had already come up with the idea to do that later—there would definitely be a later.

Only when he was done did I pull back and give him a lick for good measure.

Tufts let out a worried sigh. "Joyce. I'm so sorry. I just couldn't stop—"

"Oh shush. That was meant for you to enjoy yourself, and I think you did." I licked him one more time and then slid along the bed until we could face each other. "How many times have you had sex as a pony?"

"Does this count?" he asked. When I nodded, Tufts said, "Two."

"Last night was your first time like this?" I spread a wing around his shoulders and pulled myself closer to him. Much closer.

Tufts sighed the sigh of somepony caught having to tell the absolute truth. I liked that he thought that much of me to do so. "That was my first time ever."

I was taken aback. "So the talk of bats and mating and—"

"I may have enhanced the truth a little."

Nuzzling along his throat, I pressed my belly more firmly against him. "So the best sex of my life was your first time?"

Tufts jerked his head back and looked into my eyes—deep into my eyes. "That was the best sex of your life?" One of his fuzzy eyebrows lifted.

"Since we are here to be completely truthful, yes. I warn you, however, that the bar wasn't exactly super high. You were still pretty amazing." It would have been an easy lie to give to earn the huge smile and excited expression Tufts now bestowed upon me, but it was the simple truth. "But did you enjoy it?"

"More than anything in either of the worlds I know of. Joyce, you are more than just a mare to me, you are the completion of my heart." He kissed my cheek softly, but insistently, making me eager for more such kisses. "Could you ever forgive me for my—excitement?"

"Well, the only proper thing to do is help you," I said. "You need coaching, you need practice, and you need a lot of tests to check for improvement."

As I spoke, I watched Tufts' smile get wider and wider. When I got to the end, he tilted his head back and let out an excited screech.

"I'll take that as your agreement with my training methods."

My holidays settled into routine. Mornings and evenings were spent with Tufts—going out for dinner or just spending the whole night in—while my days were spent at the castle. Princess Celestia was in the early processes of defining a treaty with Australia that included a somewhat open border, and she needed little pieces of information that I was uniquely suited to provide.

The puzzle Tufts had given me was always nibbling at the edges of my thoughts. That first night together had been magical, and though I frequently dreamt of it, I felt I didn't get any closer to understanding what it was he'd told me.

A full month had gone by before I woke up—with Tufts in his diminutive form—and remembered. For several minutes I couldn't process it fully. Tufts. Tjinimin. I had to breathe slowly for fear of hyperventilating.

I let an hour pass as the concept circled within my head. A god. Maybe not completely a literal god, but he was effectively one. There was a moment when I was still trying to couch that in a manner that would fit in my head when I realized I was effectively working for one: Princess Celestia.

Okay. My boss is almost certainly a goddess by most Earth definitions, and my boyfriend—husband?—is too. Where does that leave me? "Why me?"

"Because you're all that's good. You are amazing, caring, and wonderful. You save every creature you see and lift them up to be what they should be." Tufts' eyes were closed as he spoke. I wondered how long he'd been awake. "Because you can accept the fantastic and you don't break when presented with something hard." He waited a moment before continuing. "And you're beautiful."

"Flattery will get you everywhe—Wait. You did this, didn't you?" I asked.

"Did what?"

"Made it so magic turned everyone into bat ponies."

"Of course. If I didn't do that, it would have gone wild and done all sorts of odd things." Tufts sounded so proud of his work.

I smiled at his confidence and nuzzled against the back of his neck. "You made me beautiful."

"Mmm," Tufts said as he nuzzled my chin. "Yes."

It was supremely hard to be angry at him for either saving everyone or taking pride in it. "You changed everyone." I kissed him on the nose.

"Actually, I've only ever changed myself. I gave the change that was going to happen a pattern. You remember now?" Tufts waited for me to nod before going on. "I'm not what I once was. I invested a lot of power into Dream Thunder."

"But you've still got enough to transform?" Familiarity had slowly forced out my shame in his smaller body. I nuzzled my way between his forelegs and licked along his barrel.

"And a few other tricks. Have you ever noticed any of our fruit being a little sour?"

I nuzzled down to his belly. "Do you mean to tell me that you keep all our fruit perfectly ripe?" I waited for him to draw breath to respond before licking over the vulpine sheath his smaller body had.

The result of my attention was evident by the startled screech Tufts made. Tjinimin.

"Which name would you prefer I use?" I asked, and licked him again. When he didn't reply, I licked a third time.

"It's hard to think when you do that," Tufts said.

"At least one part of you is thinking." I licked the little red tip of his penis, earning myself another screech—though this one had an urgent edge to it. "More?"

"You are an evil temptress, you know that?" Tufts squirmed in place, but my snout kept him pinned to his back. "Let me up." His words had a little chuckle behind them, I knew them for the challenge they were.

"Or what?" I asked, and licked him again.

"Joyce, I'm going to change both of us." His words were strained. I had barely a moment to think before what he said became what he was doing.

The first change I noticed was my wings. The leathery membrane pulled up and into my limb before feathers started sprouting. "What are you—Ack!" My mouth changed, as my whole body was. My teeth seemed to merge together and push forward, while my snout pulled back. I coughed a few times as my face adjusted to having a beak.

My forelegs changed next. Hooves unclenched, releasing fingers that had been trapped into the equine shape, but now they had claws growing on them. Colorful feathers danced down my chest, while vivid green ones coated my shoulders, neck, and poured up over my head.

I glared at Tufts, but realized he too was changing. He was alive with bright colored feathers, stretching into a larger form that likewise had a beak and, about midway, became more feline in appearance. My brain caught up with the sensations coming from all over me. Toes were a unique thing to have back, but I could have done without the beak.

"This the best I could do," Tufts said.

He looked like no creature that had ever existed on Earth, but I recognized it all the same. "You're a griffon. A parrot griffon." How my mouth worked I had no idea. It just worked.

"So are you." Tufts rolled over on the bed so that he was practically on top of me. "I got in a lot of trouble for chasing parrot girls once." He stepped closer. "This seemed more appropriate given the world we're in."

"Hold on a second." I lifted up one talon (or is it a hand?) and pressed firmly against his chest to keep him from advancing further. "You made us into parrot griffons, but why do I have bright colors? Female parrots are just green."

"What did I say earlier about my creations, hrmm?" Tufts leaned his head down and nuzzled at my foreleg. "I couldn't stand by and just make you pretty, I had to make you beautiful." He worked his beak in little chewing motions up my leg, the gentle pinching of it on my feathered limb made me coo without realizing what I was doing.

Different body, different sensations.

"Our back-ends are cats," I said while trying my best to hold off just letting him do what he wanted. "I'm going to say a big no to cat back ends, Tufts."

He worked all the way up to my shoulder, circled around to my chest, and nibbled his way up the ruff of my neck. "Mmm. Why?"

"Just one word: barbs. Something non cat. Hippogriff?" I almost gasped as he nuzzled up my jaw and to my beak. For being a hard beak, they were remarkably sensitive, and just him nuzzling his beak against mine had all the intimacy of a kiss.

"Hippogriff?"

"Bird horse. Swap the cat out for horse or you don't ride this parrot." I went back to rubbing our beaks together.

The feeling of my body changing should have been more focused this time, but rather than just changing our back ends, Tufts changed all of us in little ways. My feathering became more subdued, and I felt a plume of mane spring from my head and neck again. What surprised me was how good it was to have a pony tail back—I gave it a good swish to explore that feeling.

"Better? Tufts asked.

I looked up at him. He had so much more tail now, and at the base of it was a fine web of feathers. His body was both more equine and more streamlined. He was, of course, still a green-parrot in coloration—as I assumed I was too.

Rather than answer immediately, I pushed him sideways with my hands and pounced on top of him. Rolling Tufts to his back I nuzzled down his belly to the much more familiar equipment just below his belly button. "Now, let me make sure you haven't slipped in any surprises."

There was little embarrassment left. I could nuzzle around him and explore both our bodies with practically nothing to hold me back. It was just us—Tufts and me—no one else was here to get outraged at what we might do. It took me a moment to work out how to get my tongue out, but eventually I ran it over his sheath a few times—enough that he started to push free. "Mmmm."

"That sounds—sounds positive," Tufts said, his voice having trouble keeping even whenever I licked.

I licked him a few more times as he grew out into the open air. "Mmm—yes." I thought of giving him a blowjob, but remembered a problem with that. "Beaks aren't really made for this." But looking down at him, wanting to do something special, I noticed something that would work. "But on the other hand…"

When I closed my talon around his shaft, Tufts jerked his head to look at what I was doing. "Hands?"

"Hand-job. Now this I know how to do." The moment I said it I realized what I'd implied. "Not that I gave—You know what, bugger it." I leaned down again and nuzzled behind his shaft while my hand slid carefully along him. A little spray of liquid from his tip was perfect to lubricate my fingers enough to speed up.

The odd little coo Tufts let out was the most adorable thing I'd heard from him yet. When I shifted around to put my head between his back legs and reach around to stroke him, Tufts shimmied his hips a little on the bed. "I don't care who you've been with, Joyce. It only matters that we're together now."

Angling my eyes up from the two testicles I was nuzzling, I looked past Tufts' hard shaft, taut belly, and powerful barrel to his twinkling eyes. "That kind of truth is dangerous, Tufts." I stroked a little slower, my hand catching on his medial ring as it slid down, then back up again. "Telling a girl what she wants to hear can lead to her thinking things." Another stroke.

Tufts lost the impromptu staring contest and started to shiver. I knew what this particular sign meant, and crawled up him a little further to position my beak at the end of his shaft. I was about to pump, but got a better idea and let go.

"W-What are you doing?! Joyce, please, I'm so close—"

Rolling sideways, I landed back on all fours and lifted my rump in the air. "Tufts?"

"What?!"

"Open your eyes and look at me."

"What are you—Oh. OH!" He wasted no time. Tufts launched himself onto my back and, thanks to weeks spent in repeated carnal training, he should have hit his mark perfectly, but neither of us were exactly ponies right now.

My own squawk of surprise met Tufts as he adjusted and shoved forward. I didn't care that I wouldn't get anywhere near a climax of my own, sometimes just hearing a lover enjoy themselves was enough, and feeling him—so solid and real—inside me gave me happy tingles all up and down my spine.

Tufts stretched himself out on my back, his hips giving a few last ditch thrusts before he stalled and stopped. The heat pouring from him into me made all kinds of happy sparks explode in my brain, but I'd learned to lock my knees and elbows when I was supporting a stallion.

The weight of a stallion on my back—of my stallion on my back—was its own reward. The feel of his barrel expanding and contracting with each breath, the slow thudding of his heart, the mass of his shaft inside me… "Tufts?"

"Mmm. Joyce?"

"I love you, Tufts." The words were easy to say and flowed freely from me. Even though I knew everything—because I knew everything—I had to say them.

"There is nothing I want to say more than I love you too."

Author's Note

Sergeant Bluebelle, does the EUP allow non-ponish elements to enlist, such as donkeys or griffons? If so, do they have their own particular talents like the three tribes do?

"At this point in time—" Bluebelle sounded like it was something she had opinions on, "—the E.U.P. Guard is just that: Earth Ponies, Unicorns, and Pegasi. Our commander has declared that as a requirement of admittance. That said, I've heard talk about a different type of winged pony—with bat wings—and I'd be more than happy to take their signature on an application form."

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