Paul swept the crowd with his eyes. People seemed to be recovering from the explosion. Sure, there was still some chatting and gawking, but there wasn't much to see and nothing was happening. A game of volleyball had re-assembled as if nothing had happened. So far as most of them knew, exactly that was true.

"Some vacation."

Swift Swim swatted him on the back. "It's not like you're the president. The super agent is right there." She was hiking a thumb at the Secret Service on his cellphone. "He'll tell the people in charge."

Mike snickered at his girlfriend. "Now you're the one being silly."

"Am not!"

"Easy there." Paul gently waved the children with little downpats at the air. "Something serious is going on. I can't just ignored it."

Mobile tapped at the table Paul was seated at. "You can say that again! Now, look, you seem nice." She nodded at Paul. "This isn't your fault. This isn't any of our faults. I see folks starting to relax out there. Maybe we should take a hint? Let's just..."

"Mom." Swift was scowling at Mobile. "Someone died. I'm not pretending that didn't happen."

Paul clenched a hand. Someone had died. Not a person he knew, sure, but... "Let's see what he finds out."

As if noticing he was being spoken of, the Secret Service agent slipped his phone away, done with it for the moment. "They've been told." Who qualified as 'they' he did not bother to expound on. "He should have reported in by now. The entire situation is compromised. I recommend scuttling it."

Swift hopped in place, her hooves clopping against the floor on the way back down. "It's settled then." The adults looked to her. "What? We're going home." She pointed at Paul. "Don't worry! We'll protect you. What's a changeling?"

Mobile grabbed her daughter with a strained laugh. "That's right. You never did meet one of those, did you? Sorry about that." She was trying in vain to keep Swift from speaking further. "Changelings are nice creatures that can change shape into basically whatever they want."

Swift squinted at Paul with new eyes. "Then why does he look like that? If I could be anything, I'd be something way cooler!"

Mike snickered at her reaction. "Like what?"

"Well, I'm not a bad start." For all the trouble she'd gotten, Swift's self image appeared to be vibrantly healthy. "Why not something young instead of old?"

Paul nodded at her. "That's actually a very clever question. I'll tell you the truth. I've tried. I can look younger, but I won't actually be younger. What's the point of looking like I should be spritely if I'm still not? So I stick with this." He turned his hand towards himself. "And this is me. Is this a bad thing?"

"Nah," Swift offered a big thumbs up. "You're dignified. But you could be like a huge dragon or a robot or something."

Mike was less sure of that. "Can he do that?"

The debate over what a changeling could or could not become was sparked.

President Stein took a slow breath as she looked across the desk there in the Oval Office. "This isn't something we can ignore, but what intel do we have right now?"

The other was a military contact, a go-between. "We don't have satellites in that area, yet. At least none looking down with the resolution that'd get us the information we'd want. Weather, Internet... About it. It isn't technically our airspace."

Not that the other countries did much to even notice what was going on in low orbit. "Right." But, sending up satellites still cost money. The network was growing, but that wasn't instant. "We need to know what's happening, and who's doing it. This is not something to be flailing around the dark about."

"Understood." They rose to their feet smoothly. "We'll report as further Intel arrives."

"Queen Novo on the line," called out an Aide.

Stein took the phone there on her desk. "Novo, always a pleasure." Not technically true, that. "What's going on?"

"Stein," replied Novo with the watery noise that revealed she was speaking from beneath the waves. "I heard about the attack. How awful! Was anyone hurt?"

Stein made a note with a pen. "You already heard?"

"We do get television down here," reminded Queen Novo in an amused tone. "It's all anycreature's talking about. A resort town, attacked! It wasn't yours, exactly, but I hear many humans like to play there, so I imagined you were worried."

"That's very kind of you." A foreign dignitary calling because one of their vacation spots was attacked? That was perhaps a step further than most she was more accustomed to reading about. "Do hippogriffs go there?"

"I called up each and every one of them in the area." Her voice was firm with solid conviction. "I do keep track of them. I am happy to report that they are all safe. Speaking of that, thank you again, for silencing those screams. The ocean is much nicer again."

"I am glad to hear that." Another note was hurried scribbled. "It's still rattling around the polisphere, but in the direction we want it to make that a lasting change. We need peace. If the drums of war resume, the screams may be called for."

A miserable grunt echoed on the line. "Not what I wanted to hear," admitted Novo plainly. "You don't need screaming eyes. Have you tried saying that out loud? It's a strange thought. In either event, we will scout the waves and find them, without screaming."

Stein smiled at that offer. "Appreciated. I'll let the boys know that. Keep me appraised of any discoveries, no matter how small."

"Don't take this the wrong way." Stein tensed a bit. Novo was many things, but when she said that, it meant she was about to be rude in some human-ignorant way. "But it is nice to have a female in charge. We'll get this straightened out. You tell your boys, keep them in line. We'll sort this out."

Stein's tension faded. "It's taken us too long to get to this point. We humans both love and are terrified of change. A funny habit of ours. Thank you again for calling, Queen Novo. I'll keep you appraised in kind."

"We'll handle this, together." The line went dead.

Stein set the phone back down. "It's good to have friends." The attack had caused no actual damage, just scared people, but that was enough at times...

"Imbeciles!" Grogar sent the monstrous hulk of a once-man flying to bounce off the wall with a dull thud. "I said to be subtle! I said to be discreet!" He stormed towards Tirek, eyes flashing with the fury boiling within him. "What happened?!"

"Discord," spat Tirek, refusing to be entirely cowed by the ancient goat. "He was snooping around, almost found us. I told the fools to get us way, they decided that also meant, 'Take a shot if you can,' and you can see the results of that."

Grogar roared to the heavens, which did not have the courtesy to reply. "And where is she?" He looked left and right, scowling at each creature in sight. "Where is Cozy Glow?"

"Well, you see..." Tirek worked his fingers together in an idle fidget.

"Was she killed?"

"No! Just... She was on the beach when we fled."

"Inconceivable!" He stomped his forehooves with enough force to split the ground just before him, bits of rocks littering the area. "We need her back."

Speaking of her, she frowned at the fading smoke. Her ride had left. She was abandoned. "Figures." She shrugged and sauntered out into the crowd. "Didn't need them anyway. And if they ditched me, well, then it's not really my fault, or my problem."

She spotted her original target. He was talking with a bunch of other people. Chums at a glance. Hm. "Some habits don't go away easy." She strolled towards Paul and the family he had adopted. Her eyes were not on any of them. She had learned who the real threat was, and made for the Secret Service first. "Hey."

The Serviceman looked up at the new voice. "The patio is currently closed," he announced with cold precision. "Sorry."

"Is it now?" She inclined a hand towards the gathering. "I see a whole family, maybe two. It can't be that closed."

"Private function," pivoted the man without missing a beat. His eyes were on her, wary and suspicious. But also falling into her trap. She was made to entrap human males, which he was, his thoughts gravitating around her as he spoke to her. The more they exchanged words, the more doomed he was. The more he remained near her, the worse it became.

"Your friend's looking for you." She crooked a finger. "Right over there. Want me to show you?"

"What?" He looked off where she had directed, but it was beyond the confines of their little safe nook. "I shouldn't. Thank you for telling me."

"Oh, not a problem." She giggled softly with her innocent smile. "A hard working man like you deserves a helping hand." She offered one of those, a new thing for her to have, but she was learning to enjoy the attachment. "You look so serious."

"I... have to be." He was becoming lost, forgetting what he was there to do, instead thinking of her, about her, all about her. "What's your name?"

"Get a new friend?" Paul had noticed the interaction, calling out to them from across the way.

"Yeah." He didn't even glance at Paul. "Your name?"

Cozy's grin only grew. "I'm taking your friend to his friend. This way." She started away, leading the way that the one caught in her snare followed without further objection. "Be right back."

Swift squinted at the two heading off. "Your bodyguard's distracted by a pretty lady."

"He's a professional." Paul looked to the others. "Thank you all. You didn't owe me anything."

"Don't be like that." Tim took up the glass Paul had never enjoyed. "We're friends. Friends don't just ditch each other."

Mobile squinted at that glass and its colorful contents. "You do know Discord made that, right? It could have anything."

And yet, he was still holding it.

"Hm?" Discord tapped at a keyboard for a computer he didn't have a week before, but when did that ever stop him. "Right? Right?! Where does this guy think he's going." He browsed forward. "Seriously, what shoddy writing." Sure, it was his life, but that didn't mean it was always well-written, consarnit!

"Oh?" He leaned in so close he could see nothing but large pixels. "Now you have my attention. Why didn't I think of that?!" He swiveled in his chair to face another Discord, scowling at them.

"Don't look at me," the second Discord deflected. "It was his job."

A third Discord jumped. "Me?! I do conjurations!"

The first Discord crossed his arm. "Well I do need that. Enough talking to me. Let's talk to--"

With a sharp snap, Fluttershy fell onto his couch, caught mid yelp of terror. She looked around wildly. "This isn't... Where are we? What happened?!"

"I saved your precious little life." He fluttered his lashes at her. "And I didn't even break any promises doing it."

Fluttershy felt over her cheeks. "I... feel like I wasn't here, which is a very strange feeling. What did you do?"

"You weren't not there, I just sort of pulled you forward in time. That'll pass." He waved it off. "And you didn't make me promise not to do that. The sub exploded." He burst his fingers apart, his hands exploding like small bombs. "I got you out at just the last moment. Aren't I clever?" His tail casually brushed the computer that had told him the answer out of sight.

"Discord... You know that's not what I meant." She stepped down from the couch. "But... I'm here... I don't want to... not be here." Her words felt hollow in the face of making that choice herself. She liked existing! "This is--"

"Have no fear." He was suddenly at her side, gently petting her. "Therapist Discord is on the case. We are going nowhere until you feel all better. They can handle their own business for a while."

Author's Note

Discord read your comments. Cheeky multi-dimensional bastard.

Humanity and the Hippogriffs are now on alert, making Grogar's job much more difficult. But what is Cozy up to?

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