Background Alicorn

Chapters

Chapter 4
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 5
Chapter 6

Chapter 4

For somepony who liked to take sweeping action, Lyra realized she was going to be mired deep in the nitty-gritty of paperwork and meetings for enough time that she was going to get antsy about not improving herself.

Which is why Blaze found Lyra doing wing-ups in her office, burning both magic and muscle while writing a report on the floor in front of her. Pausing, a little taken aback, Blaze did what came naturally. "Sir!"

Teleporting upward a ponylength and then landing on her hooves, Lyra nodded to the chair while returning the salute. "At ease. Did Tailstrike explain it all to you?"

Hearing her nickname had what Blaze realized was the intended effect: she relaxed. "Yeah, I think. You need a pegasus to train newbies, and asked for me."

"You wouldn't give up a half day of training for an offer like that."

Blaze laughed and nodded. "Yeah, you're right, but I want to hear you say what you want and what you're offering. Tailstrike is so rigid sometimes, I wonder how she can turn corners."

Managing to keep her reply laugh to a chuckle, Lyra said, "Okay, the deal. You'll be a sergeant and my first pick to be a staff sergeant when this gets big enough that we need more than one of you. I have a draft of what I want trained into new recruits, and a list of requirements from commanders of what they want when we deliver them. I want you to handle all that so I can get on with handling the bigger stuff—like keeping anyone who might get up your nose from doing that."

Having had her chance to rise fast through the ranks in the Wonderbolts forestalled by teammates she had to admit were better for the job, Blaze had a lot to like about being told she would be first to be promoted. The rest, though, was what had her interest. "So I'll be teaching ponies to fly right—the Wonderbolt way?" That got her a nod. "What else?"

"Do you know the training that unicorns get to expand their mana reserves and regeneration?" Lyra asked.

"You didn't?" Blaze's question got a raised eyebrow from Lyra, so she went on. "You can increase pegasi magic the same way?"

Pulling out her second revision guide book, Lyra floated it across to Blaze. She waited, giving time for Blaze to read it and understand what it entails.

"Using your pegasi magic, keeping it constantly refreshing, is the key? So what we're doing in Wonderbolts training is the opposite of this." Barely resisting the urge to facehoof, Blaze pushed on. "But it won't take much to do solid training on non-magical flight and do this at the same time.

"First thing that needs to change is the flying. If we start by teaching pegasi this method, they can be doing that while they learn to fly properly. Since I'll have them for most of each day, I can filter those who cannot fly right—" As she said it, Blaze saw another rise of Lyra's eyebrow. "You're going to say that I should teach everypony to fly that way, aren't you? You are. Okay, so I can monitor those who are getting in into a fast-track and single out those who aren't into remedial training."

"You'll do it?" Lyra asked.

"Teaching them will be—"

"I mean, do you want the job?"

Blaze paused, shifting away from the intense focus she was in to puzzle through the words. She realized quickly that she'd already been thinking as if she had taken the offer. "I'll do it until you find somepony better."

Smirking, Lyra asked, "You think I'll find somepony better than a Wonderbolt, Sergeant?"

Lifting her chin, Blaze shook her head. "Not in this lifetime, Commander."

"Sir! Yes, Sir!" Lyra stood rigidly at attention while Blaze stared at her. There was still some confusion there, she realized. "Come on, it worked when I was Bubbles. Run me through it."

"Not only are you my commander, but you're also the pony who taught this to me." Nonetheless, Blaze ran through the prepared speech and cleared her throat. "Alright, recruits, your first lesson is how to train your magic. Like running and flying, you're going to be doing it for the rest of your life—so listen close."

The explanation was clear and concise. Lyra had started with a full tank, and after an hour she had edged that magic level down and down until she could no longer feel it. The ongoing glare from Blaze helped reinforce that she needed to be completely empty.

"Finally? How much magic do you have?"

Tilting her head a little, looking at Blaze as if over a pair of half-moon glasses, Lyra slowly lit her horn up.

"Right. Of course. I'll have to be flexible here, then. Some will empty fast, others will take—hopefully not an hour, but still."

"What about the reservists who need a brush-up?" Lyra asked.

Stopping her mental process, Blaze pivoted to the new topic. "You want those trained separately from the recruits, but I think there needs to be two different systems for them— No. One will suffice. All reservists will be required to attend the month-and-a-half training once, then they will be able to do the brush-up course."

"That was my intent, too. Especially since many reservists already signed on for this coming intake. I've sent out a warning about the increased duration, and arranged so that nopony will be penalized if they cannot attend this one." Rolling her shoulders a little and freeing up her wings, Lyra stretched next to work the twitchiness out of them. "So, what next, Teach?"

"After establishing everypony's abilities with their magic, and picking out those who need more than a little work, I'd move on to actual flight. Nothing fancy, no 'Bolt techniques, but push to see how their endurance is in the air and how hard they can pull a turn. It will also give me a chance to see how many bad habits I need to train out of them." Taking a slow breath, filling her lungs, Blaze shouted, "Get in the air, newbies, and let's see how fast you can move!"

Letting out a panicked cry, Lyra had to admit that Blaze had learned how to shout from Spitfire, and she wondered if it had been via osmosis. She tried her best to fly without the Wonderbolts' style, but unlearning all that was, she realized, too much. "Dammit."

Zipping in to fly beside Lyra, Blaze asked, "What's up?"

"I was going to try flying like a recruit would, but I can't." Lyra twitched her wingtips to pitch left and right, then back to level. "I just can't."

"That means I get to push you twice as hard. Come on, put on as much speed as you can for the first five laps, then we'll try something fancy—and don't you dare use any magic." Blaze realized she had a problem the moment she told Lyra to move faster. "Huh, hold up. There's a problem doing it like this. I can't set the pace and watch you fly at the same time."

"Come on. You know exactly how to make me fly faster. Do it!" Slowing her pace, Lyra was daring Blaze to make with the encouragement.

It took two wing beats before Blaze caught on. "Alright, Newbie, get those wings moving! You can fly faster than that!"

Lyra could, too. She flared her feathers to catch the next downswing and shot forward, bringing her wings into a far more aggressive angle to pour on the speed—and right beside her was Blaze, grinning like a fiend.

"That all you got, Newbie?!" Blaze shouted, and took the speed-up a notch. With Lyra beside her, never failing to match wing beat to wing beat, Blaze could see herself enjoying her new role far more than wallowing as a wing-second in the Wonderbolts until the next fast-tracked hothead got promoted above her.

Her blood howling, Lyra flew five fast laps of the city with Blaze. Her wings felt like they'd had their first good workout for months, and that made her wonder about the flying she'd been doing. When they landed in a training field, she rolled her wings a few times, letting the muscles cool down. "Now I know why the Wonderbolts train together so much. I've been letting myself slip."

"Huh. Lucky you happen to have a new training sergeant to fly with." Dropping to the ground and catching herself on her wings, Blaze looked over at Lyra. "Let's do a few hundred wing-ups to keep things in shape."

They had done two hundred and eighty-three when Poppy Bread and Bright Feather arrived. Lyra noticed Blaze stiffen, but she made a point of finishing out the last seventeen wing-ups before jumping up to her hooves. "Captains. Sorry for the wait—good training sergeants are hard to find, and when I have one so eager to do her job she yells at me, I am not going to disappoint her."

"Good thinking there. You wanted to see us about the matter of training requirements and filling a sergeant role?" Poppy, commander of the Royal Dragoons, asked.

Lyra nodded. "Absolutely. Changing leadership means I want to try improving things. In the past, we expanded training for individuals who specifically wanted it. Giving specialized lessons for the Guard regiment they want to be part of. That, from all reports, led to some exceptional new Guardponies."

Seeing the way the wind was blowing, Poppy confirmed Lyra's details. "The Dragoons don't get a lot of recruits, but all the ones we gained in the last few years that had that training— You're absolutely right on all counts. So you're going to make that training mandatory?"

"No. It wouldn't scale at all. Class sizes would negate the special focus our trainers could spend with the few who saw their career as their lifelong goal." In a perfect world, Lyra would have hundreds of staff and could assign one to each recruit to make them the best Guardpony they could ever be. She wasn't in a perfect world, but she was working at it. "What I will be doing is extending the full training of new recruits out to a month and a half and training every recruit to be the perfect mix of traits that they could perform in any regiment they wished to, and even shift between them, with minimal training.

"There'll be no more generic flight training for pegasi—everypony with feathered wings will learn to fly as well as a Wonderbolts recruit. Every pony will get armor and teamwork training as if they were destined for the Monster Hunters. Weapons training as if they were to be Dragoons or Guard"—Lyra nodded to Poppy and Bright—"and the empathy and investigative skills to work in the Police or Research and Acquisitions."

Whistling, Bright worked over his thoughts on the idea. "I like it, but how are you going to manage such an extended training period?"

"Reservists will not need to attend the entire training again to re-certify. They will only need to prove their fitness level and update any skills that have changed. All reservists will need to go through the new training at least once, though, so they are at a level we can verify." Lyra could practically feel Poppy's question coming, so turned to look at her.

"So you want to know what we'll need from our recruits?"

"No," Lyra said. "I want to know what you want from your recruits."

There would be entirely new weapons training, along with armor training, and (something she was prepared for) special situational awareness training. Lyra expected a delivery in two days of an assortment of weapons and a new practice spear from the Royal Guard.

She was still writing down details for the next iteration of manuals when she got a knock on her office door. "Come in." Interruptions were inevitable, but when Lyra saw Sweetie walk into her office, she put her book aside. It surprised her to see her wife without armor on. "Wha—?"

"You have twenty minutes until our reservation at The Tasty Treat's new venue is ready—and we are not allowed to miss this. Saffron might forgive us, but Coriander wouldn't. So get out of your armor, take a shower, and try to look your best." Sweetie was glad, in a way, that she wasn't a unicorn. If she had been born with a horn, Lyra would have been teleported into the shower as-is and it would have been up to one of Lyra's underlings to scrub it free of moisture. "You aren't moving fast enough!"

With the last delivered at full training sergeant volume, Lyra moved fast, stripped her armor and teleported herself to the shower. In all, she was done fast enough, and to Sweetie's standard, in under ten minutes. Thanking magic itself that she had spells to dry and wash with, she brushed out her mane quickly and returned to her office and Sweetie's side. "I'll take care of my armor later."

Sweetie would have growled and chewed out anypony else for such a flippant treatment of their gear, but she had given her wife an order and one thing she stood by was that if her order was a bad one, it was her fault. She sighed and kissed Lyra's cheek. "Come on. You're going to love the food there tonight. I invited some special guests to help Saffron and Coriander get things off to a fantastic start."

"I'll take a stab in the dark and say you invited every member of the wings and horns club?" Lyra asked.

"Being the wife of an alicorn gives me some advantage there, so yes. I got RSVPs from Celestia, Luna, and Cadance. Twilight is busy, but she didn't sound happy about it."

The evening air was cool, but pony coats were such that Lyra had never felt particularly cold in Canterlot since she became one. "She wouldn't be happy about it, and whatever it is must be important. She loved the take-out I brought back with me."

Settling into a walk beside Lyra, Sweetie almost closed her eyes in bliss. The building she'd arranged for the restaurant was lit up with big lights from outside, and there was a line at the front door to get in. Near the end of the line was a little sign that read: Those with reservations, please proceed to the door.

"We have reservations, right?" Lyra asked.

"Of course. I have an invitation from the owner, Lyra. Come on." Marching down beside the line, Sweetie felt not a hint of impropriety at bypassing the queue to get it. A glance at Lyra, though, revealed she was embarrassed enough for the both of them. "Lyra, come on."

Able to feel every stare directed her way, Lyra was glad that Sweetie was between her and the crowd as they trotted briskly for the door. When they reached it, Lyra and Sweetie were confronted by a bouncer checking reservation. When asked for their names, Lyra said them as quickly as she could so they could get inside.

Coriander saw his special guests and rushed over to greet them. "Sweetie, Lyra! It's good to see you both! I can't begin to say how grateful my daughter and I are to you. This is Saffron's dream come true."

About to reply, Sweetie was instead caught up in an uncharacteristic hug from Coriander. She hugged him back, and as he drew back from her, she saw his eyes sparkling with tears. "You both deserved it. Have the others arrived?"

That reminded Coriander of why he was so overwrought. "The princesses! Yes! When you said you had a group coming and to prepare for hearty appetites, I scarcely believed you had invited royalty!" As if the night wasn't already so important to their restaurant, he'd had two princesses, an empress, an empress' consort, and— For a moment Coriander wondered what the special name for an empress' daughter was.

Not exactly needing directions to spot her table, Sweetie said, "Thank you."

Lyra let her wing trail over Sweetie's back as they approached the big table in the corner of the huge restaurant. "I'm pretty sure we're all off duty, so can we skip all the highnesses and imperial majesties?"

"Only if you can convince our waiter to do so," Celestia said, nod doing a good job of holding back her chuckle.

"I doubt that would be possible, sister, and I too do not wish to hear another such. Please, Lyra, Sweetie, sit and share in the bounty of roti we have been provided." Luna proved her point by nibbling along the edge of a piece.

There was no chance for Lyra or Sweetie to continue the conversation, due to being pounced by a pink alicorn. "Ack!" The fluffy feathers were overwhelming, but it was hard to deny Cadance when she wanted to hug, so the pair hugged her.

"It's been way too long since I've seen you both! You didn't come to Flurry's Crystalling, Lyra!" Cadance jerked back and pouted at Lyra.

Pulling up chairs for herself and Sweetie, Lyra sat down and slumped her shoulders. "It was all Twilight's fault. She had me working twenty-three hours a day!"

"That's not how Twily describes your time working for her. I think," Shining said, "it was more like 'Lyra lays in my library all day, dog-ears all my books, and feeds Spike things no dragon should ever have.'"

"I told her, I didn't know that had tungsten in it." Slumping back in her chair, Lyra stared at the ceiling. "And it wasn't me! I figured a diamond dog should be allowed to borrow books just like everyone else."

Sweetie bonked Lyra on the head. "I can't take you anywhere."

"I heard you got a promotion?" Shining asked, doing his absolute best to keep his excitement down to a grin.

Cadance, who hadn't heard anything about it, looked at Shining. "How could she get a promotion? She's already commander of a regiment. Wait! Are you finally going to get a coronation? Do I get to sing the Behold, Behold song again?"

"You never stopped singing it. I heard you yesterday singing it to Flurry," Shining said.

Leaving the couple to their mock argument, Lyra focused on Celestia. "I hope I haven't messed things up so much you regret my new position yet?"

Celestia waved away the concern. "Nothing that would warrant a cake, certainly. You have every regiment guarding their unicorns, though. Poppy looked… happy, though. What did you change, apart from everything?"

"It's not everything, but I am increasing how long we train recruits for. This will mean a more comprehensive and consistent training. Would you like a full report?"

"Tomorrow," Luna said around a mouthful of roti. "I would like to order drinks now."

A server, apparently assigned to listen for such things, rushed over and attended to them. Once they all had their drinks, which took no time at all, Coriander arrived at the table. "Can I take your orders?" He worried a little on how to address different royalty that had different titles without offending any of them, and in that confusion he hadn't used any. He went on to explain their ordering system.

Refreshed and relieved, Celestia, Luna, and Cadance were quick to respond with a fixed menu choice. Lyra and Sweetie took that option too, and Shining surrendered to peer pressure.

"We have a special course for little ones, if you'd like that?" Coriander asked, almost overwhelmed with the enthusiasm. Even the tiniest of ponies present, currently wedged between her parents, deserved as much attention as the adults.

"That would be perfect, thank you." Cadance was nopony's fool. Her daughter, she knew, had a big lunch and that she shouldn't be too hungry—which meant Cadance could steal some extra food from her daughter's plate.

The appetizer ended up being the only thing that could fully quiet the table. Even Celestia struggled to take her time and savor each mouthful when the food tasted so good. Luna had managed to become completely distracted from the stack of roti beside her to devour the dish.

Cadance had to spend a little extra time away from her own food to ensure Flurry was content to gnaw on a samosa. When she did manage to get something down, she practically melted on the spot. "This is sooo good! I might have to send our chefs to get some training in how to cook this… uh…?"

"These are samosas, that creamy dip is raita, and the drink is mango lassi," Sweetie explained. At Cadance's curious look, she laughed. "I've done a little work for Saffron and Coriander. They needed help, and I helped. Mostly just bits."

"'Just bits'?" Celestia asked.

"They were stuck in premises too small for their growing customer base. Being limited with size and staff, they couldn't easily afford to stop their business for the time it took to modify a new building—not if they had to pay rent on it during that time. So I paid for the rent here, and paid for the ponies to fit the building out to Saffron's needs, while they kept working. This is their first night open here."

"I could have sworn I'd had something in the rental-tax code to cover that, to allow small businesses to grow. I believe," Celestia said as she finished her last samosa, "that I will need to talk with Upper Crust."

Elbowing Lyra, Sweetie asked, "Is this how it started for you?"

"Huh? How what started?" Lyra asked back.

"Seeing problems and fixing them. I guess I first noticed you doing it with Scootaloo. Finding problems, fixing the initial one, and then ensuring they can't happen again." Kissing Lyra's cheek, Sweetie caught a wink from Cadance across the table. "And I think it's something I admire about you more than anything else."

Happy to indulge in a little public affection, Lyra kissed Sweetie's cheek back and then did a double-take. "Wait. More than the wings?"

Sitting back a bit, Sweetie tapped her chin in thought. "Okay, it's number two, but it is a close race."

Reaching around behind Sweetie's back with her wing, Lyra pulled her closer for another kiss. "If I could, I'd grow another pair to make it the third thing."

"Shiny. Shiny." Cadance was biting her lower lip and struggling not to scream his name. "Look at them. Ugh, it's so adorable."

Making judicious use of his shield spells, Shining was doing a reasonable job of deflecting any food that Flurry tried to launch back onto the plate on her high chair. When he glanced at Cadance, then across at Lyra and Sweetie, he groaned. "You're an addict."

"What?"

"It's not a bad thing, though. I guess everypony has something they would give up every other pleasure in life for." Kissing Cadance on the cheek, much as Sweetie had just done to Lyra, Shining tilted his head and deflected another piece of samosa from flying toward the floor. "Have I told you, today, how much I love you?"

"Yes, but not enough times." Cadance felt the love surge within each of them, like a hurricane of perfection. Then a piece of mashed potato flew before her eyes, bounced off some kind of blue shield that certainly wasn't hers, and bounced back past her—on Shining. Watching him clean it off and tend to Flurry made her wish she could teleport him all the way back to the Crystal Empire and show him how much she loved seeing his fatherly side.

When he finished with getting Flurry back to trying to eat what had become a small pile of vegetables, Shining looked up at Cadance and felt his love for her intensify a thousandfold. "I love you, Cadey, with all my heart and for all my days."

Luna, who was sitting on Shining's other side, let out a little sigh.

"Something the matter, sister?" Celestia asked, a little concern rising at Luna's tone.

"Will we ever have time for loves of our own?"

"You need to go out and look. I… have a stallion who has caught my eye. It's not easy to convince him that he's the pony I would rather spend time with, but I believe he's starting to catch on." Looking at her sister, Celestia raised her visible eyebrow. "You should get out more. What about those trains of yours? Is there a handsome stallion who works the footplate with you? Footplate is the right word, isn't it?"

Rolling her eyes, Luna nodded. "It is a footplate." She looked down at the table. "But I couldn't lie to somepony, and especially not somepony I admire."

"Why would you be lying?"

Looking across at Lyra and Sweetie, then letting out a soft sound of regret for all that could have been, Luna replied, "Because I couldn't spend my whole life with them."

"You're right. That's why you don't promise that. Be honest. Tell them you'll be with them for as much of your life as you can, and keep telling them that. Luna, this isn't an ideal situation, but it's a burden we don't have to shoulder alone." When Luna didn't reply, Celestia nudged her sister with a wing. "You could always talk to Cadance or Lyra about it."

"I could never do that. They're both so—" Luna bit her reply off and closed her eyes. "You're right. They're both young, yet, but also happily married."

"Exactly. Plus, while Cadance is often moving around or in her own country, I have pinned Lyra to one place in particular. I would recommend speaking to her, even if love is Cadance's domain."

"When is she going to get the source of love magic?" Luna picked up a piece of roti and started nibbling it.

"You think she needs it? She can already detect it, guide it, and even manipulate it. The magic, Luna, is already hers." Celestia didn't say, of course, that she hoped it would manifest as soon as possible. She still had to maintain her mysterious airs, after all.

"Excuse me, mares and gentlecolt, your main courses are ready." Using his magic to gather the now-empty plates from before each pony, Coriander did his best to stick to his treat them like anypony else routine, mostly because it had worked and he had detected a slight air of relief among his customers when he had accidentally missed their titles. "Our rich korma, featuring seasonal vegetables and yogurt, spiced basmati rice, and some delicate aloo tikki on the side." He described the food as he passed it out to each pony, even providing another stack of roti for the middle of the table—but not daring to take the almost empty one that Luna seemed possessive of. "Would you like another drink?"

"Yeah," Lyra said, managing to drag her attention away from Sweetie now there was more food. "Probably get us all another round?" She looked at the assembled diners. "Korma is a lightly spiced curry, so you won't need anything to cool off with, but that drink is soooo good."

Luna, at long last, had discovered the best use for the monster stack of roti she'd been supplied. "This is delicious," she said after using the flatbread to scoop some rice and korma up.

Dodging two other servers leaving the kitchen with plates, Coriander set his own empty dishes down at the pot-washer and left them to it. Walking through the gleaming new kitchen, he found his daughter working hard to finish off five dishes. "They're loving it."

Turning to stare at her father, Saffron almost fainted on the spot. It was already a high-pressure evening, but then she'd found out that all of Sweetie Drops' "extra few guests" were royalty. Her new line chefs were doing wonderfully, the new dining room staff were performing flawlessly, and there she'd been hyperventilating in the bathroom. Now, though, seeing the demolished appetizers she'd made returning, and hearing the good news, she could finally let out a breath and stop her panicked frenzy. "Truly?"

"You. Make. Amazing. Food! Saffron, dear, they practically pounced on the plates as I set them down. Please, focus on your cooking and remember that tonight is your night."

Straightening up, Saffron nodded. "Yes. They're not my only customers tonight. I would like to go out later and thank them, I just— They are really enjoying my food?"

"I'm getting them more drinks now. Please, go back to making the best food Canterlot has ever seen."

Finishing off their desert, the six adults around the table all looked at each other with a great sense of accomplishment and what could border on the beginning of a food coma. Everyone except Luna, that is, who was nibbling on a piece of roti still.

"Where did you put all that food, Luna?" Lyra asked.

Blinking in surprise, Luna looked down at her scraped-clean dessert dish and then to the roti that she had so recently been chewing. "I expend a lot of energy." She managed to keep a straight face for two whole seconds before ruining it and laughing, soon joined by all the others.

"We're going to see Twilight tomorrow," Shining said. "Did you want me to take her a message, Lyra?"

Lyra racked her brain trying to come up with something, but couldn't think of what to say. "I don't— Wait. Can you tell her it was an honor to be in her guard?" At Shining's nod, she sighed. "I keep having these moments where my life turns around. At the time it's hard to tell if it's the right thing or not, but so far I haven't managed such a turn that I didn't recover from."

Celestia snorted and shook her head. "Lyra, you have excelled in everything you've ever done. Already you have every commander in the E.U.P. Guard buzzing with excitement to see what your changes will bring. We still have some things to teach you, I believe."

"Change and light?" Luna asked, and got a nod from her sister and Lyra. "Your first training intake happens in two and a half weeks. That will last for six weeks. So make sure you see my sister in two months' time."

Snapping a salute off, Lyra smiled at Luna. "I also need to talk to you about your own guards."

"But, my guards are fine. They protect me and—"

"… wouldn't last ten seconds in a fight against a squad of Guards if I gave them nine seconds to prepare for it. Have half of them sign on for training with this intake and half sign on with the next." Providing a stare she hoped matched Luna's, Lyra added, "And I still need to talk to you about them."

"Very well. Tomorrow, midday?" Luna asked.

Lyra nodded to that. "Shall we take care of things over lunch?"

"I'll have to ask my sister's newest niece if she can prepare us something special." Luna looked at Celestia, grinning up a storm at the look of confusion on her face.

"I'm pretty sure she's talking about Bread Basket," Cadance said.

Realization dawning, Celestia cleared her throat. "Of course, I knew that. I'm still coming to terms with the little coup that she and Blue pulled to arrange that wedding. I'm so proud of that boy."

Feeling a presence slipping up behind her, Lyra tilted her head so she could see who it was and relaxed when it was Saffron Marsala. "Ah, our esteemed chef."

The attention of five alicorns and two of their partners staggered Saffron for a moment. She dipped her head. "Your—"

"That meal was wonderful, thank you. Saffron Marsala, correct?" Celestia asked, interrupting before the mare before she could stumble over titles.

"We're informal here tonight, so no need for honorifics," Luna said.

Though her father had warned her to not use titles, seeing Celestia and Luna together had stunned Saffron to the point where she'd forgotten the advice. "I hope you enjoyed everything?" The enthusiastic replies made Saffron's pride swell. She dipped her head again. "Any time you would like to come and enjoy a meal, please, just have somepony contact us an hour or two in advance and we can always fit you in."

It was quite an offer, and one Celestia now planned to take advantage of at least on a monthly basis. But an idea urged her to ask, "There is a gala coming up in two months. Would you be interested in providing my chefs with the training required to cook a selection of food for it? You would, of course, receive tickets to attend as my guests, as well, for you and your staff."

Saffron blinked in utter surprise. "T-The Grand Galloping Gala?" she asked, and got a nod. "I must, graciously, accept."

"Excellent. I'll have my head chef contact you as soon as he's able. Thank you again for the meal. I believe we must take our leave, however." Standing up, Celestia realized she should have remained seated until Saffron had left; the poor mare looked rocked by the height difference.

Spotting the same thing Celestia did, Lyra stood up and interspersed herself into Saffron's foreground. "If you need to discuss—" Lyra was surprised at her wife's hoof now lodged in her mouth. She rolled her eyes at Sweetie.

"My darling wife, you have to understand, means exceptionally well, but goes a little odd when she's in Canterlot. Despite being promoted to Commander of the Guard, and having enough work to last her well into next century, she was about to offer to help you with the job of working in the royal kitchens. She is an amazing pony, don't get me wrong, but her sense of workload always falls off the side of Canterlot and she is utterly incapable of finding it again." Glad to see Saffron break into a case of giggles halfway through her explanation, Sweetie continued. "So while she was about to say she could help, the truth is she is very busy and, as a loving wife, I won't let her start down this path again. Last time, it took another princess foalnapping her to stop a destructive spiral."

Managing to get the hoof out of her mouth, Lyra sighed. "It's true. Canterlot is full of ponies that I know I can help, and I can't stop myself from trying."

Saffron got the sense this was well-trod material. She put on a polite smile and inclined her head again as Celestia led the way out of the restaurant. Within moments, she was left with Lyra and Sweetie from the group. "I scarcely believed you'd invited royalty, here."

"There are some perks to having a wife who's an alicorn. I talked to Princess Celestia about this, when it came up, and she was sure that there used to be a method for businesses to gain relief on their rent to manage such growth. She's going to look into it," Sweetie said. "But until that's arranged, if you know anypony else who's struggling, let me know."

Unable to hold back a moment longer, Saffron's composure broke and she rushed Sweetie to hug her. "Thank you so, so much. This was like a dream come true. Since we came to Canterlot, things have been a struggle. Then Pinkie Pie and Rarity came, and everything changed for the better—but we were stranded in that little restaurant."

Hugging back, Sweetie was sure it had been the right thing to do. "I definitely think we'll be having dinner here regularly."

Letting go, feeling more than a little self-conscious about the physical contact, Saffron bowed her head. "I look forward to preparing cuisine for you. I was thinking of opening a chef's table, so if you'd like, you could try that when I feel comfortable enough to have customers in my kitchen with me."

Lyra waited for the pair to finish talking before draping a wing over Sweetie's back again and walking with her out of the restaurant. "I am pondering something."

"That sounds like trouble. What?" Sweetie asked.

"If Crêpe Suzette would be upset if I ate lunch here every day?" Lyra had to duck as Sweetie half-heartedly swung a hoof in her direction. "Maybe I could foalnap Saffron?" Another dodge was needed. "Maybe get Saffron to teach Crêpe?"

"Crêpe is an amazing chef, Lyra. Don't you dare downplay her food."

"Yes, sir!" Lyra saluted with her wing in the Wonderbolt style.

Author's Note

Where is Carmen SanDiego, and why hasn't she stolen a certain Staff yet?

"Is this one for me?" Lyra asked, looking around at a shrugging cast. "Okay, well, I didn't really play those games, but if I know Equestria, and in particular how much fate loves silly jokes, she will be hiding somewhere that will take a bunch of weird clues to find."

"Oh! Oh! Lyra!"

Looking around at Pinkie, Lyra asked, "What's up?"

"I think I saw her in Ponyville last week. She was trying to seel self-propelled carts."

Lyra groaned and slumped in place, utterly defeated by Pinkie's logic.

So I do this "Ask X" thing. X can be any character 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 character to answer. Try to keep it to one question per post!

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Chapter 1

"You really stand guard like this?" Corpa Allata asked.

"Yup," Lyra Heartstrings said. She had spent significant time polishing her armor for this one duty. "You have to understand the weight of the matter. Everycreature has a destiny-weight associated with them. While they're somewhere, fate can be twisted and spun anew simply by the pressure they exert upon the local potential-field.

"You'll notice this more the longer you work at the castle. Villains are attracted to this destiny-weight simply because they can then act easier and warp the fate to their own ends. Now, we have five alicorns inside. Five. Me out here at least makes some room to breathe, but if you ever put five alicorns together, you get a destiny-weight that's close to thirty mega-Discords. That's a lot.

"But, on top of those five alicorns, you have Discord himself, and when I spoke to him earlier, he's sounding pretty feisty today, I'd judge about two mega-Discords just on his own. Plus Thorax, Trixie, Starlight— Oh, and then there's all of Twilight's friends. This is probably the second-biggest destiny-weight event of the year."

Corpa tried to follow along with the logic, and was doing well enough when she realized it was her turn to speak. "And all that's bad? Wait, second biggest?"

"Never, ever—under any circumstances—ever say this is the biggest thing ever, or something like it. You tempt destiny to engineer something worse. In those circumstances, even million-to-one chance events become a sure thing and next thing you know, custard everywhere."

"I like custard." It felt odd, to Corpa, to stand around without being in a pony form. "Would it be okay if I used my old pony shape?"

"Only if you want to." As soon as Lyra said it, Corpa was gone and Inky Stamp stood in her place. "You haven't been Inky for years, right?"

Stretching and rolling her head from side to side, Corpa let out a sigh. "I wish she could be younger— I'm being silly." She flashed with fire to return to her changeling self, then again and became Inky Stamp again, circa thirty years old. "Oh, that's better."

"Careful, or you'll make every mare and stallion jealous of your abilities."

"Of being able to look younger than I am?" As soon as she said it, Corpa realized how true it was. "Right, of course."

"So, as I was saying, that's why I'm standing out here in front of the castle, waiting to see what trouble will turn up. Celestia should be able to keep Twilight from Twilighting, and Shining and Cadance balance each other out—and I sincerely hope Discord can balance himself for once—which leaves outside sources as the only possible souring note."

"Does a griffon count?"

Lyra, who'd been watching Corpa test out different tribes with her Inky form, snapped her head up and spotted a sleek griffon walking toward them. A give-away that they likely weren't arriving with evil intent was the satchel bag they carried. "Good morning! Can I help you with anything?"

The griffon, for just a moment, managed to look like the predator she was. Sleek, strong muscles over a frame designed for speed and deadly precision with numerous natural weapons. Then Gabby's smile took over and she wagged her tail so much her butt wobbled. "Hi! I have a letter for the Princess of Friendship."

"I can take that for her. She's a bit busy at the moment." Lyra waited for the griffon to pass over the letter, but the nervous and slightly disappointed expression told her that the visitor was perhaps more interested in meeting Twilight than delivering her letter. "Do you have anything else to deliver today?"

"N-No. I wanted to spend all the rest of the day asking her questions about ponies." As she spoke, Gabby trailed off, the whole idea seeming silly now. "I understand if she's busy, though." Turning, she spread her wings to take off—but something weird happened to the air under them. Pump as she might, her wings didn't generate any lift at all.

"Why don't you hang out here and wait? She shouldn't be too much longer." Lyra waited for Gabby's flapping to stop before she stilled her own wings—what she'd used to create the air disturbance.

Snapping her head around in time to see Lyra's wings still, she realized something that hadn't occurred to her before. "You're an alicorn!"

Lyra stared in mock shock, then held out her wings and turned in circles with her head tilted, trying to see her horn. "I am?" She bounced in place. "I am!"

Gabby managed a few seconds before she broke into laughter. "How many alicorns are there in Equestria now?" she managed to ask between giggles.

"Not too many, I promise. Hey, are you from Griffonstone or Den?" Lyra asked.

Hoping she was out of Gabby's line of sight, Corpa did her best to keep her transformational flames to a minimum as she changed into an alicorn version of her Inky Stamp self.

"Oh! I didn't introduce myself. My name is Gabby, and I'm the long-haul mailgriff from Griffonstone." Turning to the side, she showed off her mail pouches. "I'm also a member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders!"

Lyra froze where she stood. It had finally happened. She was aware of the effect that her outgoing life had led her to meet a lot of important people, and how it seemed to several of her friends that she had literally met everyone, but this was the first time Scootaloo had done it to her. "A Cutie Mark Crusader, huh?" The shock of the moment wouldn't stop her curiosity. "I feel like I have to ask how you joined the ranks of the most prestigious group in all Equestria?"

It shouldn't have surprised Gabby to know that awareness of her friends' group had spread to the whole town and probably further, but she still liked to hear about them nonetheless. "You know about the Cutie Mark Crusaders? Did they help you with a cutie mark problem?"

"Oh, it was the biggest cutie mark situation in Equestria's history! See, when I moved to Ponyville, I found a filly without her cutie mark, and the Crusaders were the only way she was ever going to get her cutie mark." Lyra could see that Gabby was fully invested. "She had no one to help her, and she needed some heroes to help her find her way. Those heroes were—"

It was impossible to keep quiet. Gabby shouted, "Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo! The Cutie Mark Crusaders!"

Hanging her head, Lyra sighed and whispered, "No." Shaking her head, she hung her shoulders. "For the Cutie Mark Crusaders didn't exist at that time. But you are partly right. That little filly, my daughter, only had Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to turn to."

Gabby was about to ask why, then something hit her. "You're Scootaloo's mom?"

"Guilty. Her and her friends are inside with the party. They really shouldn't be much longer, if you still want to wait."

"But"—Gabby shuffled in place, eager to ask all the questions, but confronted with a need to remain stationary-ish—"why aren't you in there?"

"Well, I have a— Oh no! Inky!" Lyra gasped, staring at the changeling. "The alicornitis got you too?!"

Staring in shock, Gabby could have sworn the other mare was an earth pony when she arrived, but now she had wings and a horn. She let out a panicked squawk.

"It must be spreading." Turning to look from Lyra to Gabby, Inky pointed a hoof in the griffon's direction. "Oh no, look! Gabby grew a horn!"

A griffon desperately trying to feel her forehead for a sign of a horn growing was exactly what Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and Twilight saw as they threw open the doors of the castle at that moment. Also, they saw Lyra with the biggest grin ever plastered on her face, snap off a salute.

"Are you tormenting a member of the mail delivery service?" Luna's voice was cold as ice—cold enough that it made the day grow a little darker and her breath to condense.

Seeing her newest friend getting in trouble for playing a prank, Gabby held up her talons to fend off Luna while getting between her and Lyra. "No-no! We were just having fun. Honest, uh…" It sank in at last that she was facing an annoyed alicorn.

Closing her eyes to blot out the panicked look on Gabby's face, Luna tempered her anger. "I apologize. I do not like seeing postal workers made to be the butt of a joke."

Gabby was about to explain things further but Corpa's flash of changeling fire froze her in place as she realized how well the joke had worked—then she broke into giggles. It took her a moment to realize that her fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders had stepped out of the castle behind the princesses, along with a lot of other ponies. She had a duty to carry out first, though. Holding out the prized letter that would have gotten her—under any other circumstances—some time talking with the recipient, Gabby cleared her throat and said, "Mail for you, Your Highness."

Twilight did her level best to ignore Luna's excited squeal as she took the letter. "Thank you, Gabby."

"Gabby also has a minor friendship situation she wants to talk to you about," Lyra said. "It's not the highest priority, but she has dedicated the rest of her day here to securing a little of your valuable time."

Twilight didn't need much convincing to meet with Gabby again. She remembered how troubled the griffon had been last time she'd seen her, and could guess that Lyra's "friendship situation" was probably a pretense. Fabrication or not, though, Twilight replied, "Of course. If you show her inside, I need to see our guests off and then I can give the situation my entire focus."

Trying to do as instructed, Lyra nodded her head to Twilight and took two steps toward the doors of the castle when an orange missile collided with her. Stretching a wing out and hugging her daughter, Lyra said, "Hey, Scoots. How was the party?"

"It was great! Trixie showed me a new magic trick, and Discord was trying to trick magic." Laughing off the event, Scootaloo noticed who was beside Lyra. "Oh! Gabby!" She changed targets and pulled herself against Gabby with a hug that she was glad to feel returned. "What're you doing in Ponyville? Work?"

"Yup! I've been so busy delivering news all over Equestria about the changelings that today's the first time I'm getting a breather, and my last delivery was in Ponyville!" Gabby's excitement waned a moment when she remembered why she was here. "I'd love to hang out with you guys, but I needed to see Princess Twilight about"—Gabby glanced back at Twilight, then looked at Lyra, then sighed—"apologizing about lying to her."

"Oh. Right. The cutie mark thing. I'm sure she'll understand. Even Apple Bloom tried to fake getting a cutie mark one time," Scootaloo said.

"And I remember a young filly who found some paint one day trying to draw her own." Poking Scootaloo in the ribs with one feather, Lyra nodded toward the castle. "If you want to invite your friends, I could cook something for all of us."

"Just don't forget," Sweetie Drops said as she walked out of the castle and passed Lyra, "we have our date tonight."

Lyra's legs wobbled and she couldn't stop her expression from going deep into silly-happy-grin territory. "I'd never forget it. The reservations are in Canterlot, right?"

"Yes. I asked if you'd be able to teleport that—" Sweetie's words were cut off by a kiss that she had no intention of rejecting.

"You two should get a room." Scootaloo, her wing still over Gabby's shoulders, steered their way over to where Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were talking. "Hey, girls, did you want to have something to eat? Gabby's visiting!"

"You have work?" Lyra asked Sweetie Drops when the kiss ended.

Nodding, and ending up with her cheek pressed to Lyra's, Sweetie Drops sighed. "Trixie wants to get some better training. She's been an amazing asset for R&A, and I don't think she needs it for her job, but the changeling foalnapping hit her hard."

"I could—"

"No. She specifically asked not to get training from you. I think she might be worried that she'll wind up with wings next." Sweetie Drops cursed mentally at having to leave for the meeting in Canterlot, but she had to finish the cleanup of Chrysalis' throne. "Remember that explosion that shattered the throne into a million pieces and scattered them all over the desert?"

"You finally got them all?"

"We think so. There was some residual magic blocking from each piece, and I had to call in hundreds of unicorns from different Guard units, but we got them. I am attending the final reassembly today, and then they will be locked up except for several pieces that will be experimented on. This might prove to be an effective tool."

Lyra could see that Gabby was more than happy talking with Scootaloo and her friends, and decided to take a moment to catch up on the latest news. "You said you used unicorns to detect it. Does that mean it only affected unicorn magic?"

"No, it also affected pegasi and some earth pony abilities. Not my grounding, though. It's a little easier having unicorns test for it though." Taking a deep breath, Sweetie Drops couldn't keep back a little urge to tell everyone she was absconding with Lyra and leave with her here and now. "I'll see you tonight. Don't be late."

Just like her wife, Lyra wanted to throw all her duties away and run off to find somewhere alone together—but she couldn't do more than fantasize about it. "I'm not going to say what it would take to make me late, because the world would take it as a challenge. I'll be there."

Sweetie Drops nodded and walked off for the railway station before she surrendered to that urge. "Lyra wanted to handle your training. You know she would be the best at it, right?"

Snorting, Trixie tossed her mane and then adjusted her hat. "I know that, but she attracts too many eyes. The Great and Powerful Trixie enjoys the spotlight too much for that kind of assistant." She ignored Sweetie Drops' snort of derision. "And besides, learning how to use magic isn't my problem—I want to learn how not to use magic."

"That…" Sweetie Drops didn't want to give an opinion too quickly. Lyra was, without a doubt, the best trainer for practical high level magic in Equestria. She was also probably one of the better pegasi trainers for intermediate flight skills, too. "I am not sure who to— Wait. I have the best teacher for you."

"Who?" Trixie asked.

"Tomorrow I'll see about asking her. I don't think you've met Tree Hugger before, but if anypony can manage to work magic in a magic-proof area—it's her."

Lyra was supremely comfortable in the castle kitchen. The equipment was all magic powered and despite her best effort, she'd not found where it drew that power from. On the stove she had a huge pot of rice steaming while also working on a mild curry.

Well, a mild curry and a spicy one. She was making triple batches, because she had a griffon, two alicorns, and three ponies to feed and Lyra didn't want to leave anyone begging for seconds.

The timer for the rice went off, and Lyra popped the top off it and killed the heat. Giving it a quick paddling and a taste to make sure it was done, she set out six large bowls and filled them. The curries went on top, and she set a little piece of fish to the side of the three extra spicy ones, and picked them all up with her magic and headed for the dining room.

Gabby felt renewed. She had apologized, Twilight had given her a way to make amends—and it was something she was excited to do. The return of Lyra, though, broke up a little silence that had been stretching a hole in the conversation. She was about to ask Lyra what she'd cooked, but then the scent of it hit her nose and her eyes glazed over a little. She could smell fish—nice-smelling fish.

"You said you don't mind spicy food, Gabby. I hope this isn't too hot." Setting the bowls down, Lyra gave Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Twilight the mild ones, and Scootaloo, Gabby, and herself got fish-filled hot ones.

Taking her seat, Lyra was inordinately pleased by the sounds of four ponies and a griffon making appreciative food-eating noises.

Stunned by how good the food was, Gabby couldn't stop herself from scooping more and more of it into her beak, savoring the rice and rich buttery curry. She almost lost her mind at the amount of fish in it, and managed to pause just long enough to ask, "I didn't know ponies ate this much fish."

Scootaloo was nodding, and finished her mouthful before Lyra. "Yup. Pegasi who are training need lots of protein. With all the hard flying we do with the Wonderbolts, our feathers are getting stressed and damaged regularly. Plus it helps build muscle."

Gabby knew that Scootaloo was a Wonderbolt from their chatting earlier, but that made her look at Lyra with a little confusion. "But why would an alicorn need it, then?"

"Because my mum's a Wonderbolt too." Scootaloo couldn't help but grin as Gabby's eyes widened in surprise. "Somepony decided she needed to be a better flier, and cooked up a crazy deal with Commander Spitfire to join up in disguise. She didn't even tell me—and I was training her!"

Looking back at Lyra, Gabby asked, "What else have you done?"

"Well, I don't mean to brag, but I studied magic with the most amazing unicorns in Equestria." Sparing a look for Twilight, Lyra winked at her before turning back to Gabby. "And I got suuuper lucky in finding the most amazing mare to marry."

Whistling a little, Gabby settled back on her seat a little. She hadn't realized how far she'd been leaning on the edge of her seat while Lyra and Scootaloo spoke. Trying to think of a good followup question, something surprised her by slipping to the fore. "You know about Den? Have you met Gavin?"

"I'd love to visit, but I've been too busy. Gavin seems to have things well under control, though. If you see him, tell him I said 'Hi'."

Nodding in excitement, Gabby took that more as a job rather than a request—mostly because she wanted to visit Den again. "Absolutely!"

Focusing on her food again, Lyra worked to clean her bowl. It wasn't that she intended a big meal to make up for whatever Canterlot haute cuisine had to offer, but she planned to fly to Canterlot, and that meant she'd need some good energy.

"When are you leaving for Canterlot?" Twilight asked, taking note of the ravenous consumption by Lyra.

Pausing between mouthfuls, Lyra said, "I thought I should actually surprise Sweetie by being on time."

Laughing, Twilight shook her head. "Will wonders never cease? You know, there was a friendship mission a while back at a restaurant there?"

That got Lyra's attention. "Oh? Something good happened, I hope?"

"Definitely! Saffron Marsala and Coriander Cumin were being denounced by a local food critic, despite making good food. Rarity and Pinkie helped them shine. From what I understand, between their curry restaurant gaining such a good footing now and some of the nobles of Canterlot who have become strangely delighted with spicy food, the city's foodscape has had a revolution."

"They make curry?" Lyra was practically vibrating in place now—but then deflated. "Sweetie has organized that side of things tonight. I guess I can always try them another time. What is the restaurant's name?"

"Oh, uh…" Twilight fumbled at her memory for a moment, then summoned her diary and checked the relevant date. "Ah. The Tasty Treat."

"You know, a kind princess would give me until tomorrow afternoon to return. That way I could get lunch there and—"

"Do I look like Fluttershy, Lyra?" Arching one eyebrow, Twilight smirked at her friend. "Buuuut I might be persuaded to look the other way if somepony were to bring back something."

Tapping the side of her snout with her hoof, Lyra nodded. "I'm sure I can find something that will accidentally make the journey back with me. Perhaps even enough to have a small banquet for dinner tomorrow night?"

"Make it a large banquet. We can always have leftovers the next day." Holding out her hoof to Lyra, Twilight waited for the clop before saying, "Then, in a completely unbiased and not-at-all-corrupt state, I hereby grant you permission to remain in Canterlot until no later than five PM."

"I'm glad I have such a beneficent leader." Scooping up the last of her rice, Lyra asked, "You'll be okay here all on your own?"

Twilight snorted and rolled her eyes. "If anything was going to happen, it would have happened at the party. Besides, Starlight and Trixie are here as well. I won't ask what could go wrong, because I'm starting to see your reasoning—but it'll be fine."

"Oh, how is Corpa settling in? She makes a good secretary, right?" Standing up, Lyra picked up her empty bowl.

Doing likewise, Twilight carried her own dish to the kitchen. "It's hard to think that she was Inky Stamp for all those years. Are you sure she doesn't want to go back and work at Celestia's school?"

"I asked if she wanted to, but when she heard that Ink Blot has had the job for over a year, she refused. This lets her do what she wants to, live openly, and socialize. She also gets to talk with other changelings when they visit." Washing the bowls, and tossing Twilight the kitchen towel to dry with, Lyra remembered something from earlier. "Oh! Gabby recognized me as an alicorn practically right away. I think we can be confident that alicorn blindness is strictly a pony thing."

Even as she dried the dishes, Twilight teleported a notepad and pencil from her study and made a note on it. "I need to get a wider cross-section of creatures to test this blindness on. Where could I find a dragon who isn't likely to know already?"

"I can think of one." Adding gravitas to her statement by waiting, Lyra judged it time to answer when Twilight was about to snap her pencil in half. "Gavin said there's a dragon near Den, that they trade with for scales and protection. Now, Luna said that they're quite nice for a dragon, so I figure I could pay a visit and—"

"Not this time. Perhaps in a few months when all this changeling stuff has settled. Until then, I don't want you to travel more than half a day away from here." Twilight left unsaid that it was as much for Lyra's protection as for herself. "Have you come up with a shield spell we can employ all the time?"

"Well, sure. That's easy. We'd be unconscious within a week from the mana drain, but I can absolutely make a spell that does that. What I need is some time with Dinky and Sweetie Belle to optimize the design and simplify the pattern."

Nodding, the reasoning behind those two ponies needing to be involved was obvious to her, Twilight said, "In a month, Celestia's school lets out for a two-month break. I'd suggest picking then to get them both together to work on it. Bribery, of course, is recommended."

"I'll talk to Derpy Hooves about it. I might have to promise a few favors there, but I can ask Sweetie Belle right now." Walking back to the dining room, Lyra groaned as she found it empty, the bowls all neatly stacked at the end of the table. "Or I could fly off before you realize they left all the plates for us to clean."

"Lyra Heartstrings, get your tail back in here or I will have your wife bury you in that throne she's cataloging." Twilight used her magic to grab said tail and give it a tug back into the kitchen. "And bring those bowls with you."

Still giggling from her attempt to get out of washing dishes even as she reached Canterlot, Lyra soared above the capital of Equestria and took a moment to admire its beauty. The various circles of the city, the island sections of the airship docks and the E.U.P. Guard sector, even the railway station all had their own beauty, but it was the castle reaching high into the sky without any thought at all toward such mundane things as gravity or engineering that always reminded Lyra that she was a magical pony in a magical pony land.

As she watched the city below, she noticed there was a lot of activity at the Guard training fields. Curious, and with a few hours to spare, she circled slowly in that direction. At least two pegasi, currently manning the front entrance, spotted her. Their salute was likely more because she was wearing her armor than due to them recognizing her—or so she figured.

Several groups of trainees were being put their paces in small-group practice. She glided away from that when she spotted Stiff Peaks doing his best to reach the mess before anyone noticed.

Lyra was having none of it. She aimed her dive to intercept him before he would get inside and stooped her wings. Even a Wonderbolt wouldn't have hit the ground as hard as she did. Providing strength to her legs with what little earth pony magic she knew, and even pressing down into the ground to stop from making a crater, she tucked her wings back and smirked at Stiff. "Hi."

Taking a slow breath, Stiff shook his head. "Get in the mess if you want to talk. Otherwise, out of my way."

Stepping to the side, Lyra let Stiff pass before following him in. "I saw the bat ponies and griffons out there. Is training going well?" She followed him to a station and caught the vegetables he tossed toward her.

"Slice thin. I'm making ratatouille." Stiff located the pot of sauce he'd had simmering most of the day. "The griffons are shaking down well, but I expected that. The first intake we had from Den and Griffonstone were all trained fighters already. The bat ponies were another story. It took more work for them to fall-in with our training. I'm going to have to try something different."

Getting to work on the eggplant, Lyra followed his words closely. "And that short, red pegasus?"

"Ha! He was fighting a griffon on his first day. I would have booted them both out if Bottle Rocket didn't vouch that she was letting them spar. That's what made the griffons react so well, I think. Showing them that we can fight, that they can trust us to have their backs in a fight, and that we'll do our best to make sure none of us need to fight." Checking the sauce for seasoning, Stiff found himself adding a little extra pepper to it. "He's doing well, otherwise. A good flier—Bottle said he's one of the best here—and he took to combat training like a fish to water."

"I'm glad to hear that." Lyra didn't mention his history. It would be easily obtained if Stiff dug, but she wasn't going to undermine the trust Short Fuse had shown her. "Do you want these on the rack there?"

"Yeah."

Sprinkling the eggplant slices with salt, Lyra set each out to dry. "Where's the normal crew?"

"It's early afternoon. They're not on the clock for another two hours." Stiff waved his hoof toward the clock above their heads. "What about you? Running errands for the princess?"

"I could say yes, but the truth is today is one of the rare days when my Bonny and I both have some time off. We're going out for dinner tonight." Patting at the eggplant with a towel, Lyra moved on to chopping zucchini.

"Don't let me keep you, if you need to go and get ready. The help is appreciated, though." Despite his earlier gruffness, Stiff wanted to cut the mare some slack. Despite his experience using a knife, she still sliced her way through the vegetables at least three times faster than he could.

Turning in place and looking at Stiff, Lyra raised an eyebrow. "Are you going soft, Captain?"

"No. Reminding myself that despite having seen you get your training under my command, you are every bit my equal now—out there or in here."

"You're still the master of this kitchen, sir." Lyra moved fast to take the strike from Stiff's wooden spoon on her armored shoulder. "You are. If you weren't, I'd retaliate rather than let you get tomato sauce on my armor."

Thinking about that, Stiff felt his leadership was asserted enough. "But out there—"

"Most ponies can't even recognize that I have a horn and wings. They see one, they won't see the other. If you want to see the best example of that, I'll come back tomorrow and we can walk past the recruits. Watch every griffon stare while every pony ignores me." Lyra moved on to the squash next.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Really. Twilight and I have written numerous papers about alicorn blindness. Oh, right, changelings see an alicorn for what they are, and we're going to test it with dragons when either of us gets a moment free. Is this enough?"

Having been cutting up some tomatoes to match the slices Lyra had been making, Stiff nodded. "Perfect. Get out of here and show me tomorrow what this 'alicorn blindness' is all about." Using a little of his earth pony strength to push Lyra toward the door. He knew she could have pushed back, but was relieved she didn't. When she'd left at last, he thought about that. "It wouldn't be so bad if she weren't a damn alicorn."

Trotting out of the mess kitchen, Lyra took a deep breath and made her way back to the home she and Sweetie had in Canterlot. It wasn't far, which was how they'd wanted it, but Lyra still broke into a gallop as soon as she passed the entrance of the Guard training area and didn't slow until she had reached her front gate.

Opening the front door, Lyra walked inside and found a note. She made her way to their armory to start removing her gear before reading it.

I don't know how to thank you enough. Stuff got pretty crazy, and I didn't even know what I wanted out of life. I thought the Wonderbolts would be the place I could fit in, and the rejection hit hard. You

It trailed off a little, and had been crossed out a lot, but there was more below that.

I tried to clean the place up. Rolling Thunder is on her way to Canterlot and should be here in a couple of weeks. I'm going to the sign-up today. Damn, I've never wanted something as much as this. Thanks I

There was more crossed out.

I don't know how else to say it. Every time I try to write more, I get angry, cry, and want to shout. So thanks.

—Short Fuse

Lyra had to stop removing her armor to reread the letter. The amount he'd struggled saying what he wanted only made it better. "I wonder if there are more ponies out there, who didn't live up to the standards of what they thought they wanted?" A tingle of excitement bubbled through Lyra that wasn't entirely from within. "Oh ho? Really? I'll keep my eyes peeled, then. Steer them to me, and I'll help them stand up and be proud."

Getting back to her task, she stripped all her armor off while humming a tune. It was bright and happy, and she almost considered summoning one of her instruments to develop it into something more—but knew she had to get ready.

She was about to step into the shower when she head the front door open and close. Closing her eyes, she listened to the movements of the other pony in her house. Solid clops of hooves on the timber floor, taking a direct route through to where Lyra was, and eventually the sound of the door of the bathroom opening by hoof. "Want to share?" Lyra asked.

Sweetie closed the door behind her and, without breathing a word, made sure Lyra knew her answer.

"The last of the throne has been squared away and sealed, with only a few pieces left out for testing." Acutely aware how uncommon it was lately to shower with her love, Sweetie Drops thoroughly enjoyed letting Lyra Heartstrings dry her with magic. What she loved most, though, was having Lyra close, and when her wife leaned over and put all her weight on Sweetie's side, she let out a happy little whicker.

"Soooo, where are we going? Should I dress up?" Leaning against Sweetie, Lyra tilted her head and nuzzled her neck while stretching a wing over her back.

Shivering at the soft feathers that, despite their gentle touch, were shockingly strong, Sweetie nuzzled Lyra back. "I'm going to ask again, and it probably won't be the last time, but did you become an alicorn and a Wonderbolt just for me?"

"If I said yes, would we still have time to make the reservation?" Lyra said, her voice low and a purr.

Rolling her back as Lyra played her rib cage like a musical instrument, Sweetie groaned. "No. Ugh. I am going to stuff you with so much food you can barely walk, then I'll carry you back here and—and do unspeakable things to you."

"How unspeakable?" Lyra asked, slowly drawing her wing back and to her side. She opened the door.

Following through to the armory, Sweetie said, "I cannot speak of them. Moving around Lyra's armor, she froze. "How did you get—? That's not blood; it's tomato sauce. Lyra!"

"Would you believe me if I said I had to fend off a giant, rampaging goulash?" When Sweetie glared at her, Lyra mock-fainted. "You should have seen it. There was paprika and potatoes everywhere. Others tried to"—Lyra had to start trotting around her armor on its stand because now Sweetie was chasing her—"to keep back the tomatoes, but I had to use my best shield spell to protect them. I couldn't—"

"Lyra!" Despite herself, Sweetie was laughing like a fool. Stopping, she turned around and kissed Lyra when she came up behind her. "What really happened?"

"Would you believe a flying spaghetti monster?" When that didn't work, Lyra tried, "What about three foals with tomato sauce squirters?"

Reaching out with her leg, Sweetie carefully got a little of the sauce onto the clean edge of her hoof and tasted the sauce. "Stiff Peaks is making a tomato sauce with… Oh, that's good stuff. What is he making?"

"Ratatouille. I helped him cut up the vegetables for it. Where are we going for dinner?" Lyra began oiling down the heavy canvas straps of her armor, while Sweetie brushed and polished the plates.

"I was discussing with a few other Guardponies, and they said there's an amazing curry restaurant in town. It's getting tons of great reviews, and I figured you'd love that, so we're going to—"

"The Tasty Treat," Lyra said, nodding. At the jaw-dropped stare from her wife, she asked, "What?"

"How? I know for a fact you haven't been in Canterlot for weeks. You were organizing aid for the changelings and then working guard duty for Twilight. How did you know about this place?" Sweetie swapped sides with Lyra.

"A mare's intuition." Tapping her head with a hoof, Lyra grinned. "Oh! Do you remember when I was attending Celestia's school, the receptionist there? Inky Stamp?"

Sweetie could remember the name, face, and cutie mark of every pony under her command, and a lot more besides. She'd conditioned herself to take careful notice of details—but when she'd been working for her mother while Lyra was at school, she wasn't quite so talented. "Not… really. But go on."

"So, a while back I was trying to get Sweetie Belle and Dinky spots at the school, and I found a new mare working the counter. I helped her out with her filing for a day— You should remember this one. It was a day I almost knocked myself out trying to teleport you while you were grounded!"

Blinking, Sweetie shrugged. "Silly horses doing silly things. Keep going."

"Anyway, it turns out Inky Stamp was actually Corpa Allata: a changeling. I asked if she'd like to get her old job back, but she didn't want to impose, which is why I hired her to help Twilight as her secretary." Lyra finished up the last strap. "Well?" she asked, when Sweetie didn't immediately reply.

"Wasn't Twilight's secretary your job?" At Lyra's nod, Sweetie genuinely smiled wide. "Good work. You can't do everything."

"Also, I have one new recruit for Twilight's Friendship Guard going through training, and another for the next round. I suspect I might have at least a third on the way." Opening the door that led to their bedroom, Lyra fluffed her wings a little.

"I still want to know how you knew about this restaurant. Flicking your wings isn't going to distract me." Sweetie followed Lyra all the way to their wardrobe.

Stretching her right wing out, then tucking it back and repeating with her left, Lyra raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, it is distracting me a bit, but I'm still not going to let this rest. I put up with a lot of your shenanigans, but I want to know this one." Reaching out, Sweetie carefully hooked her cannon over Lyra's wing and brought it to her face to nuzzle.

"I'm thinking we go the full deal tonight. Matching dresses." Reaching with her magic while Sweetie seemed distracted, Lyra passed one of the yellow dresses to her wife. The second, the one Lyra kept, was specifically made for a larger pegasus mare, which was a good way to describe herself now—at least from the neck down. "Twilight told me about the restaurant. Rarity and Pinkie worked together to save them from being run out of town by a terrible reviewer."

Halfway through putting on her dress, Sweetie looked back at Lyra and shook her head. "So, that's it."

"Mmhmm. Is it hard to get a booking there?" Lyra asked.

"Three weeks I've sat on this reservation. That's why I was so adamant for you to get here early." Sweetie hadn't exactly doubted her wife would make it, but Lyra had a habit of getting herself in situations where she was needed for fully justified reasons. "Let me help."

"You'd think, by now, I'd be better at putting a dress on." Enjoying the fussing, Lyra turned and shifted at Sweetie's directions until she was dressed. "If it was a suit of armor, I could have it on in seconds."

Kissing Lyra's cheek, Sweetie fought back her laugh to a soft chuckle. "One of the many reasons I love you. For all you're an alicorn who has her head in the clouds, you're down to earth too."

Lyra did her best to catch Sweetie's lips with her own, but was undone by a last second turn that had her barely brushing a cheek. "We don't have time for some snuggles?"

"We would have time for one snuggle, but it would be so fast that it wouldn't be worth it—and then we'd almost be late." Shivering as three primaries traced down the back of her dress, Sweetie shook her head. "Three weeks, Lyra. Come on, we're going now."

Slumping, Lyra groaned. "No fair. We could still—"

"We're going to have time after dinner to snuggle, Lyra. Most of the evening." It took everything Sweetie had to walk out of the room. She didn't get to be selfish often, but right now she was feeling positively self-centered in her desire to have the best night ever with Lyra.

Following, with the prospect of an evening together putting a bounce in her step, Lyra spotted Short Fuse's note where she'd put it down after reading it. She tucked it into her dress and left the house to chase after Sweetie. "So, where is it?"

"Outer ring, a third of the way around, counterclockwise—and we're not running." When Lyra lined up with her, Sweetie rolled her eyes. "Or teleporting." Walking, Sweetie was glad when Lyra matched her. She was particularly happy when Lyra stretched a wing over her back.

Canterlot was a magical city, but it was still full of homes and ponies who were trying to get by and follow their destiny however they could. Lyra was tempted to stop at every little snack stall or corner treat shop. With Sweetie beside her, leading ever onward toward a fancy restaurant, she managed to resist.

When they reached the front of the colorful restaurant, Lyra drew her wing back and let Sweetie lead the way inside. A yellow/orange coated stallion greeted them at the front and asked if they had a reservation.

"For two, under Sweetie Drops and Lyra Heartstrings," Sweetie said.

Checking the book, the stallion nodded. "Of course. Right this way. I'll be your server tonight. My name's Coriander Cumin and—" Coriander froze at the sight of Lyra. He narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out what had broken his patter. Then he saw it. Eyes widening, he dipped his head. "Your Highness, please forgive me."

"Lyra isn't a princess, yet." Elbowing Lyra, Sweetie added, "We're just here for dinner."

Author's Note

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All my work is released under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA

Chapter 2

The smells were almost set to make Lyra drool herself to dehydration. The restaurant was a heady mix of spices, and she wanted to taste all of them. Taking her seat, she looked first at Sweetie, who also looked excited, then she turned to Coriander.

"Our menu is divided into two styles. The first is a meal recommended for ponies who would like to experience some dishes from my homeland with a more Equestrian palate as the focus. It has several mains to choose from, as well as your choice of appetizers and desserts. The second is more traditional, and caters more to an authentic experience. For the latter, it is a prix fixe menu—a fixed list." Coriander graced the couple with his most sincere of smiles. Watching ponies enjoy their food was always the best part of running a restaurant for him.

"Much as my wife would love to order one of everything, I think we'd like the second option." Looking pointedly at Lyra, Sweetie raised an eyebrow.

"R-Right." One of everything sounded exactly like what Lyra wanted, though she was willing to admit that trying everything, going home, and sleeping off a food coma for a week was a very good plan. "Oh, do you do to-go orders too? I had to bribe my boss with the offer of a take-home banquet."

Coriander was no fool. He'd learned the joy of friendship from two wonderful ponies who'd saved his daughter's restaurant. Right now, though, he had an alicorn talking about her "boss", and Coriander could think that there was a short list of ponies that could be—and all of them would be excellent to have as clientele. "Not normally, but I am sure we can make accommodations. How many will this banquet be serving?"

"Two alicorns with big appetites. Could I request that it be half portions of many meals? That way, more flavors can be sampled."

That ruled out one potential "boss" for Coriander. He calculated that it was either Twilight Sparkle and a plus-one, or the two alicorns were Celestia and Luna. "Of course. And can I get you two any drinks?"

"I'll take a—" Sweetie paused. "You know, I bet you'd know exactly what drinks would go with the meal, so I'll have whatever you'd recommend."

When he looked at her, Lyra nodded. "That sounds like an excellent idea."

"I'll be back with those." Turning, Coriander felt a new buzz of excitement. Ever since Rarity and Pinkie Pie had visited, The Tasty Treat’s popularity had grown in leaps and bounds. He parted the doors into the back of house and used a bulldog clip to attach the order to his daughter's order board. "Saffron, these are VIP guests. You'll never believe it. An alicorn and her wife had booked ahead!"

"A princess?!" Saffron felt stunned. She wanted to go peek at her customers, cook the best meal she could, and go out and bow to them—all at the same time.

"She said she isn't, but what else can an alicorn be? She and her wife want the prix fixe menu, but she had an odd request. She wants some extra half dishes to go. That won't be a problem?" Coriander was sure he hadn't overstepped, but his daughter also had the temper of a chef, and that sometimes flared when she was pressed.

"That won't be a problem. Half portions?" Saffron read the ticket. "Ah, I see. A half portion of everything off tonight's menu, then, and we can send that with them. Father?"

Relieved she was so calm about it, Coriander asked, "Yes, Saffron?"

"Keep being wonderful." Giving her father a hug, Saffron checked the orders on her board. "Start them with some mango lassi. I'll have their roti, samosa, and dal prepared by the time you come back."

"You're amazing, Saffron." It made his heart burst with pride to see his daughter so driven in her love for cooking. Turning to the drinks section, Coriander prepared a pair of creamy and sweet mango lassi for their customers.

Levitating the drinks out, Coriander set them down on the table before each mare. "Our chef said she can easily accommodate your request. These are mango lassi. I'll be back with your appetizers."

"I hope that wasn't too much of an imposition." Lyra turned her drink's straw toward her and sipped, watching as Sweetie did the same. "Oh wow. Mom and Tufts would love this."

"Well, get them a reservation. I thin—" Sweetie cut herself off as Coriander returned with two trays. Each had three pointed samosas, two flatbread roti, a small portion of a lentil dish. "Thank you."

"This appetizer has a mild dal, which you can eat with the roti bread. The samosas have their own range of dips. Please, enjoy." It was the standard thing Coriander always said and he never got tired of seeing people drooling at the sight of his daughter's cooking.

Lyra used her hoof to hold a samosa and dipped it into a creamy sauce, and tried it. The explosion of flavor almost floored Lyra. The richness of the samosa and the vibrant sauce were both a step above anything she'd made before. "Shoo goof."

Sweetie, who'd opted to try her dal and roti first, was in her own slice of heaven. The lentil stew was thick and, moments before it could escape the half of a piece of roti she'd used to pick some up, she got it in her mouth.

Both were without ability to talk more as they reveled in gastronomical delight. Every sense worked together to build an atmosphere that existed solely to support the dining experience into a crescendo of perfection. But the appetizer wasn't to last forever. The last samosa swallowed, and the last piece of roti used to scoop the dal from its bowl, and both were left staring at each other in shock.

"That was so good I can barely think of words to describe it. How was that so amazing?" Lyra asked.

"I don't know, but we need to eat here again." Sweetie looked down at her platter to make sure she hadn't left anything uneaten. "Am I allowed to invite myself to whatever you and Twilight are planning to do with the to-go order?"

Coriander, serving entrées at a nearby table, smiled a little more at having been able to hit the nail on the head.

"Oh, did you get to the bottom of the towns not accepting Guard outposts?" Lyra asked, not particularly liking the idea of talking shop, but still trying to come to terms with how scrumptious her meal was and needing a distraction.

"Pharynx cleared that up for me when I was at the changeling hive removing the throne. It was part of Chrysalis' big plan to destabilize our forces as she took over the leadership of Equestria. He helped me track down every town involved. Surprisingly, most of the infiltrators were doing a great job, otherwise, of running things." Taking a long sip of her drink, Sweetie sighed. "I have talked with Stiff about opening recruiting to changelings."

Likewise, enjoying her drink, Lyra waited for the taste to start to fade before she asked, "He had any thoughts?"

"Go slow. Offer amnesty to any changelings who are or were already in the Guard. Then talk to Pharynx and Thorax about opening talks." Spotting Coriander approaching their table, Sweetie cut short the conversation. He was carrying two trays, each had a bowl with a little lid on it, a second bowl sans lid, as well as another pair of drinks. "Thank you," she said as he took away their platters and empty glasses then replaced them.

"We have here a fragrant biryani featuring locally grown vegetables originally from the north of my homeland, steamed under a layered bed of seasoned rice. Accompanying that is a korma of braised vegetables cooked with dahi sauce of yogurt. The biryani is a touch on the hot side for local palates, but the dahi will cool you down if you need it." At the knowing smile on Lyra's face, Coriander couldn't help but ask, "Your palate enjoys a little more spice than is common?"

"My darling would eat liquid fire if I told her she could. Last I saw, she was consulting with a Zebrican about growing some nightmare from her home country called a bonnet. If you plan to challenge her on this, I want no part of it."

Poking her tongue out at Sweetie, Lyra chuckled and said, "I may enjoy spicier things, but in the interest of peace and tranquility, I'll forsake anything hotter than my darling can tolerate tonight."

Nodding, with nothing more to say, Coriander nonetheless wished them enjoyment on their meal and departed to the kitchen. He knew exactly what he would find, but his daughter's worry was plain to see. "They loved your cooking."

It took those four words to let Saffron breathe again. "I called a friend and they called around too. Those are not simply two mares, even if one is an alicorn. Both are captains in the E.U.P. Guard." At the look of surprise on her father's face, Saffron nodded. "But there's more. Lyra Heartstrings, so a cousin said, is part of the reason why the Guard serve curries regularly. She really liked it?"

Seeing tears at the corners of his daughter's eyes, Coriander pulled her into a hug. "They loved it, I swear. I found out who her boss is, too. She's taking the extra food back to Princess Twilight Sparkle." The gasp of recognition from Saffron made him laugh. "The friend of Miss Pinkie Pie and Miss Rarity."

Nodding, reaching out for a clean cloth with her magic to wipe at her eyes, Saffron breathed a heavy sigh out. "Please tell me how they like the— No. I will come out and ask them myself."

Nodding his head, Coriander said, "And offer them another reservation. I overheard one say they wanted to invite others."

"We should definitely hold a table for such guests," Coriander said. "Have you considered a chef's table?"

"In here?" Shaking her head, Saffron added, "Where would we put it?" She gestured around the cramped kitchen that seemed tiny with just the two of them there.

"Let's talk it over after service is finished. There is plenty of time to plan later." Coriander peeked out the slats in the kitchen door and saw the two ponies in question eating with every evidence of joy. "How is Horse D'oeuvre working? Is she taking good orders?"

"There was a moment where she brought me the orders from three tables at once, but I spoke to her about it. Everything else has been fine. She writes legibly, too." Saffron walked back to her tandoori oven and tossed some fresh bread into it. "Now, who is next?"

The main meal, for Lyra, was another fantastic eating experience. The flavor of the biryani wasn't overpowered by its heat, and when she sampled the korma she found it a surprising new favorite. "I wonder if they have anything with fish in it?" she asked Sweetie.

"Perhaps. How great is this korma? It's so creamy. I could eat this every day of my life and never get tired of it."

"I need to find the recipes for these, but I don't want to ask the chef here." Another mouthful of the saffron-spiced basmati rice had Lyra's hooves tapping the floor in bliss.

Neither could bring themselves back to their work discussion, too deep down the rabbit hole of cultural cuisine to pause after savoring one bite to interrupt it before the next.

When the two bowls on both sides were empty, and Lyra and Sweetie slumped back in their chairs, both looked at each other with silly-happy grins. Words weren't needed, just the companionship and bonds that each felt for the other.

Waiting for the two to fidget a little, Coriander made his way over to Lyra and Sweetie's table and removed their trays and (now empty) glasses. "Will you be staying for dessert?"

Lyra's eyes bulged at the very idea of more food, but before she could say anything, Sweetie cut her off.

"Absolutely. After such a great meal, we need a capstone. Please, give the chef our best." Sweetie watched as a mare left the kitchen and walked toward their table. She could read ponies reasonably well, trained as she was by years of leading them to places they probably didn't want to be, and the mare in front of her looked nervous.

"This is my daughter, Saffron Marsala. She's the owner and chef of The Tasty Treat." Coriander gestured to Saffron. "These are the two patrons who so enjoyed your meals, they want to take some home with them."

"Thank you so much," Lyra said. "We don't often get a chance to enjoy each other's company like this, so having a great meal in a cozy restaurant made it extra special."

"She says, like she planned this." Sweetie rolled her eyes, trying to help Saffron relax a little. "But she's right, this food is the best I've had in years."

Finally able to speak, Saffron bowed her head. "Thank you for the compliments. I came out because I'd heard that—that you both enjoy cuisine from our homeland."

"We do, and we both heard about your restaurant from different sources, and both were full of praise," Lyra said, nodding to Sweetie.

Wondering how the chef had gotten any information on her at all, Sweetie decided not to dig. "I was eating with my lieutenants a month ago and was surprised to learn that several of them had been to your restaurant and spoke highly of it. Knowing my wife's delight in all things food, I made an appointment and issued a letter of demands to several princesses stating my intention to be here tonight with her." She turned her eyes from Saffron to Lyra and, catching her wife's gaze, smiled with everything she had.

"Getting my marching orders from the only power in my life with more authority than a princess, I wound up talking to a friend about Canterlot restaurants, and she mentioned two of her friends stopped in here a while ago. She made me promise to get her something when I came." Looking up at Saffron, Lyra was almost proud to see so much joy on her face. "Next time I'm here, I'll bring her."

"You both— I mean, neither of you, need to book a reservation. Please, just call a day in advance and I will ensure there is a table free." Saffron was already on the lookout for larger premises. Between her bookings running out to weeks of wait time and now this—she made the decision that it would become a higher priority.

While they'd been talking, Sweetie had nodded to Coriander when he cleared off their dishes, but now he returned with two large glasses of fruit and ice cream that each had a little red substance in the bottom of them. There were some sliced nuts on top, also.

"This is your dessert tonight, falooda. It is a mix of silky noodles, vanilla bean ice cream, sabja seeds, with a rose-flavored gelatin. It is covered with chilled milk and pistachios." Sliding the drinks before the two, Coriander looked at his daughter with pride threatening to explode from him.

Her appetite returning, Lyra presented her best smile to Saffron and Coriander. "If you don't mind, I might take you up on that offer. Would it be okay if I bring some other friends along?"

With no idea who she'd be saying yes to, Saffron realized it didn't matter. Ponies coming in and enjoying her cooking was all that mattered. "It would be a pleasure to cook for them. You'll have to excuse me now, I need to finish off your other order."

Sweetie took a moment to look at Coriander. "Your daughter is a talented chef. Have you considered bigger premises and more staff?"

"When we came to Canterlot, it was her dream to have a cozy little restaurant where ponies could come and enjoy her food. At first, we had no customers because nopony would try her cooking. Now we have the opposite problem. If we don't move somewhere bigger, I fear this is how things will always be. Or, worse, customers will become tired of waiting for their tables and go elsewhere." It was a depressing thought, to be left behind like that, but Coriander pushed on. "We are looking for somewhere larger, but there's only so much room in Canterlot. Then there's also the cost." He hated mentioning that, but it was the truth.

"I guess you'd have to either close down for the time to change over, or rent both premises and pay ponies to prepare the new one while still operating here." Logistics and planning were one of the skills Sweetie had been forced to learn during her time working up the ranks in the Guard. "Have you considered taking on investors?"

Lyra could see where the conversation was leading, and she approved of it wholeheartedly. Years in the Guard had seen them both accrue sizable savings, and neither had a tendency to spend it on anything but the occasional meal together or gifts for friends.

"You have an offer?" Coriander asked.

"We'll pay for the rental, construction work, and license fees at the new place. You keep working here and move when you are ready. Pay back the money with a tab for us in the new premises." It did occur to Sweetie that they could probably eat Saffron's cooking every week for the rest of their lives and it wouldn't erase the debt, but she was fine with that. "I think we'd be getting the better part of the deal."

Taking a deep breath, Coriander said, "You make that a hard offer to refuse. I will talk to my daughter and we will have your answer tomorrow afternoon." He turned and walked off to serve another table, mind working in a million directions at once.

Nodding, Sweetie turned back to Lyra and smirked at her.

"Do we have that much money?" Lyra asked.

"I don't know. We could always ask our superiors for a raise to cover it. Maybe we could even ask an alicorn or two." Drinking her dessert, Sweetie got some of the noodles and ice cream and let out a happy little trill of delight.

"Oh, that reminds me. I need to make a note. Coriander recognized my horn and wings when he first saw me. It's an outlier for now, but it is an interesting one. So we get some free meals? I was thinking of bringing a few other friends here, but now it would be a better idea to bring them on the opening night at their new venue." Using her magic to summon some paper and a pencil, Lyra scribbled down some names as she drank.

"I'd have never thought to make a dessert with noodles, but this is delicious. They have soaked up the sweet cream and—" Closing her eyes, Sweetie decided to simply savor the dessert without further words. The final surprise was the red gelatin at the bottom, which was flavored like roses.

"I have to go back to work tomorrow. I managed to get the night and morning off." Lyra nodded toward the kitchen. "That's what the extras are going to do—bribe Twilight."

"Then, while I don't want to tell you to rush your dessert, Lyra, but please rush your dessert. We have business to attend when we get home." Staring at Lyra, hoping that her gaze backed up her words, Sweetie saw startled hunger looking back. "I'll get the check, you eat."

Trixie Lulamoon looked from Lyra Heartstrings to Tree Hugger, then back. "Are you sure?" She didn't want to seem ungrateful, but learning magic-deficient tricks from an earth pony seemed a little strange.

"I, like, totally get that our chakra don't vibe, but like, I can help with that." Tree held up her hoof and closed her eyes. "Relax, and let the peace flow through you."

Opening her mouth to complain again, Trixie froze where she stood. There was definitely magic being worked, but she couldn't sense a source. A calm and relaxing feeling flowed through her body, and a moment later she realized that Tree was making strange breathing noises.

"There. Our chakra are now in sublime synchronization and, like, with really mellow undertones. You dig?"

Trixie nodded slowly, not wanting to break the peaceful moment that had come over her. But, when Tree raised an eyebrow her way, she replied, "I feel a lot of magic, but I can't feel where you're getting it from."

"She's not, Trixie. That's why I thought she'd be the best trainer for this." Walking around Tree, Lyra widened her senses and clearly felt—nothing. "She is using the magic from within herself. It's subtle, it's delicate, and it doesn't require the world around you to have mana to work."

"Oh." Eyes wide in realization, Trixie nodded her head. "I'm willing to admit that you knew what you were talking about," she said to Lyra, and then turned to look Tree in the eyes. "Can you teach me how to do this?"

Fond of cool sounding sayings, Tree replied, "I can teach it, but can you learn it?"

Taking the lesson outside and finding a lovely oak tree to sit under, Tree Hugger arranged herself in a meditative pose. "There are three parts to chakra magic," she said, using Twilight's term for it only because it sounded better than her own gut magic. "The first is identifying your chakra. Sit down, close your eyes, and focus on your own body."

Dubious, despite the proof, Trixie nonetheless did as instructed. She closed her eyes and felt around her body, which mostly amounted to trying to feel what she could physically.

"No. Not that way. Like, use your inner eye," Tree said, not needing to look to tell what was going wrong. She reached out with her energy again and touched each of Trixie's chakra in sequence.

Struggling not to open her eyes in surprise, Trixie nodded slowly. She strained and reached, until finally she saw something within herself.

"That's your heart chakra. It's, like, the nexus of all your energy points. Can you see the big channels leading away from it?" Not needing to see Trixie's head bob with her eyes, Tree smiled. "Follow them. Tell me what you think each is for."

Drifting around, Trixie followed the first chakra connection upward, and found a new point of energy. This one, unlike the first, seemed far more structured and looked like it was designed more than had grown. "This is— This is my mind?"

"You don't need me to answer that. Prove it to yourself and, like, try to think of something difficult."

That wasn't a hard request. Trixie had been working on some new card tricks that she wanted to use in her show, and two of them weren't ironed out fully. The moment she pondered the first—that chakra glowed like the sun.

"Now, scooch back down to your heart chakra, and focus on a strong emotion." Tree didn't need to finish talking before she heard Trixie's gasp, and saw her heart chakra light up. "Now go down, tell me what you think that chakra is."

Following the path again, Trixie found a chakra that was already humming with activity. She looked at it from as many angles as she could, but it didn't change—until she opened her mouth to say she didn't know. It twitched, and more, it shifted a little as she closed and opened her mouth a few times. Testing more muscles, it flickered and danced like a flame as she flexed. "My body?"

"Righteous. Got it in one. You're a unicorn, so you have one chakra I don't. Try to find it."

That, Trixie thought, would have to be magic. As gently as she could, she summoned a little hint of light to her horn, focused on making it flash, then went looking.

She didn't find her magic chakra on her first pass, because Trixie realized she'd been thinking wrong. So far she had gone up and down and side to side (though she didn't know what the side chakra were), but apart from those core five, she didn't see anything new.

It was pure luck that made her think forward when examining her mind chakra. "My magic."

"You're a natural at this, trust me."

For Trixie, it would have been so easy to dismiss the comment if everything Tree Hugger had shown her was fake—but so far she was finding out new things about her body, mind, and magic. "What's next?"

"Next, I show you how to draw more magic in through your chakra, store it there, and use it." Tree didn't want to say it directly, but Trixie had picked up in only two hours what had taken Twilight months to do. "So…"

What surprised Trixie most, then, was how far the sun had moved across the sky. So much, she mused, for her card tricks.

"Uh, hello? Is anypony home?" Rolling Thunder had taken a chance. After being told by the Wonderbolts that she was too reckless, she'd done a lot of angry shouting, left Cloudsdale, then done some more angry shouting. Now, though, she'd gotten a letter from an old friend and had been curious enough to follow up on it.

"Yeah." Short Fuse, who'd been practicing his wing stretches in the living room, stood up and walked to the front door, opening it. "You got my letter?"

"Sure did. No clue why I'm here, but there was nothing else to do. How are ya?"

Getting hugged by a mare so much larger than him should have felt more condescending, but Short had gotten used to a lot of things, and his time in the Guard so far had showed him better ways to work out his anger. "Better. A lot better. Come inside."

Walking in and looking around, Rolling was more than a little surprised. "Whoa. This place is swank as shit. This really yours, mate?"

"Nope. This place is a friend's. She's kinda the reason I sent you the letter. After I heard you got kicked from the 'Bolts, I'd figure I'd try." Short led the way into the kitchen where he put the kettle on to make coffee.

"Oh no. Get drummed out by Spitfire 'erself?" Sitting down, Rolling thunder felt a twitch from the direction of the kettle, which made her aware of it being electric-driven instead of magic.

"That's the thing. I had an alicorn come and tell me. She offered me a job, with a caveat. I had to graduate from E.U.P. Guard training, and she'd let me do all the fancy flying I wanted—even teach me some Wonderbolt tricks." Having gotten used to making coffee doing daily KP in the Guard, because of his fighting, Short knew the routine well enough to prepare the machine that Lyra and Sweetie had in their home.

Staring at her friend for a moment, Rolling broke into gales of laughter. She couldn't stop herself, thinking of the likes of Celestia slumming it with the Wonderbolts. What stopped her, though, was Short didn't laugh with her. "You're shitting me?"

"So, the deal was, Princess Twilight Sparkle has herself her own guards. They're called the Friendship Guard, and their commander is Captain Lyra Heartstrings. That captain is an alicorn. She even tricked her way into the Wonderbolts for six months of training." Shaking his head as he remembered the story that he'd heard, Short heard the kettle start to whistle and turned it off. "Right now, there's two of them. Her and her daughter's coltfriend. She wants more ponies, particularly pegasi, so she made the deal with me and anyone else I could find."

"And you trust her? Hey, don't get your anger on with me, buddy, but you seemed to dive head-first into this." Taking her cup from Short, when he passed it over, Rolling added some sugar before sipping it, then adding a bunch more.

"Remember when I told you something did this to me? Stole my size, stole my color and future?" Short waited for Rolling to nod. "And I said there was a greenish pony with gold magic that saved me from worse?" Another nod. "She's a greenish pony with gold magic."

Settling back in the seat, Rolling sipped at her coffee. "This is pretty good, short stuff. Not your house, you said?"

"I would never spend as much as this stuff probably costs, but Lyra said I could use whatever I wanted. Well, you have a month of downtime to think about the offer. She said you can stay here, too. The Guard aren't waiting long before their next training, but it'll mostly be reservists getting certified." Sipping his own coffee, Short paused and looked at the cup. "This is excellent coffee."

"Gotten used to drinking the stuff, have ya?"

"The Guard runs on coffee," Short said, realizing a moment later that it was more of an in-joke than he thought. "That is, it gets ponies up and active, and the one thing everyone in the Guard does, is run. Oh! That reminds me, did you know there are other ponies that talk like you do—but with more swearing?"

"Pfft, yeah, right. Where are they from?"

"Another world. A place called Batstralia. Bat ponies, all of 'em, and they fight like monsters. It's great!" They had, in Short's estimation, fought about as hard as griffons, and he only knew that from personal experience. "Anyway, since you have a month, you can come and talk to Lyra yourself, if you want?"

"And let her use weird alicorn powers on me?" Rolling waved her hooves in the air as if using mind-magic needed that. "Sure, sounds like something to do, y'know?"

Laughing, Short nodded. "Okay then. I'll have to go put my gear on. Now you know this place, and I've introduced you, you get to stay here until your training starts." He downed his coffee in a swing, stood up, and walked down the hall to the armory room.

Carrying her coffee with her, not wanting to waste a good drink by gulping it down, Rolling stood in the doorway and raised an eyebrow. "Armor?"

"It's light stuff, and using any pegasus magic makes it basically weightless. You should see the stuff Lyra's wife wears. It weighs more than I do." His armor had been custom-made, as all Guard armor was, and even with his short and wide stature, it strapped in place and fit him like a glove. "You get used to it. One of the trainers said that after a few years, you'll notice more that you're not wearing it."

"I'm not sure my kind of flying would work with that." Holding her mug in her hoof, Rolling brought both her wings forward and played her primary feathers against each other like an instrument. Crackling electricity danced between them. "Seems like metal armor would be less than useful."

"Remember when I talked about the commander of this being an alicorn, and our boss being a princess? Come on, one of them can solve the problem. Probably make something that lets you do even more sparky-sparky stuff." Checking each strap, Short was satisfied his armor was on and fitted. He hadn't been joking, a touch of his magic and the armor weighed no more than a Wonderbolts' uniform. "Come on, let's race!"

Rushing back to wash her mug and set it in the drying rack beside the sink, Rolling met her friend at the front door and felt a buzzing energy building inside. She loved to race—and nothing brought out her competitive spirit more than having an old friend by her side. "C'mon! Let's go!"

Short let out a laugh and, together, they ran out and took to the sky. Pegasi, bat ponies, and griffons were all fun to fly with, but nothing compared to challenging himself and a good friend with stupid stunts and challenging shouts.

The choices, flying out of Canterlot, were to either go over the mountain or around it. There was no way they wouldn't do it the hard way. Pointing with a hoof, Short used a hint of his magic and shot up toward the peak of the mountain.

"That all ya got?" Rolling didn't want to admit that she was struggling to keep her speed up while they ascended. Part of her was already wondering if he was using stuff he'd learned in the Guard. With only the pair of them in the sky, though, she set her wingtips ablaze with witchfire and felt it shove her forward in a blast of speed that outpaced Short. "Come on! Give it some guts!"

Used to Rolling's weird turns of phrase, Short poured more and more magic on and shot forward to be neck-and-neck with her. "Like this?"

It was new to have Short keeping up. Normally, with her plasma boosting her speed, Rolling left him literally cursing her out in her dust. "Nice one, mate, but I'm just getting fired up!"

He knew it was coming. Part of him, though, thought the Wonderbolts were idiots for kicking her out of training. The dancing electric fire on Rolling's wings lit up brighter than the sun and she practically exploded up and over the mountain peak.

". . ." Giving chase as best he could, Short made it to the peak to find Rolling circling there, her wings crackling with electricity by lacking the plasma glow. "Showoff! You're still the fastest thing I've ever seen in the air."

"You know it. So what's the deal with this alicorn? She fast? You said she trained with the 'Bolts?" Gliding now, and with her superiority in straight line flying cemented still, Rolling was happy enough to relax and chat more.

"She's fast, yeah, but get this, she could fly before she got her wings. Crazy-good at teleporting. One of the unicorns I was friends with told me the training manual for them was written by her." It had been a shock to him to find that out too, and it had made him excited to meet up with her again.

"You"—Rolling did a lazy inversion before settling back into her glide—"are sweet on her!"

"What?!"

"It's bloody obvious. Just admit it, mate, you have it in for this mare. So, what'cha gonna do about it?" When she'd started ribbing him properly, though, Rolling noticed her friend looked tense. "Crap. She's taken?" He nodded. "Well, fuck."

"Don't worry about it. I figured out something that I was too stupid before to understand."

It was such an easy swerve that it had Rolling's curiosity piqued. "Yeah? Who is she?"

That got a laugh from Short. They were getting close to Ponyville now, and he adjusted their glide toward the front of the castle. "Well, here I was thinking about an old friend who I'd tried dating once, but let my ego ruin it.

"I'd been trying to shove all sorts of things in place of that, even thinking I had it for an alicorn. Then, out of the blue, that friend shows up and I see her and think, 'Damn, she's so amazing. I had to be an idiot to let anything get in the way of showing her how much she meant to me.'"

Rolling's jaw dropped open and she turned her head to stare at Short. "You—" Which is when she plowed into the ground in front of the Castle of Friendship.

"Are you okay? I think she's waking up now. Hey, you hit your head pretty hard, does it hurt anywhere?"

The female voice stirred Rolling Thunder from her happy nap she'd decided was needed instead of a safe landing. She let out a string of curses that she was sure would blister paint and possibly cause Short Fuse's armor to peel back.

With her mind turning to Short, something was tapping on the back of her head, demanding she needed to pay attention to it. Right now, though, her eyes opened. A mint green unicorn looked down at her. She looked over the mare some more and saw armor on her. "What happened?" The mare was grinning like an idiot at her. "The bloody Tartarus are you lookin' at?"

"A drongo who couldn't be arsed dodging the fuckin' ground." For Lyra, using the language of her original home—though in the pony tongue—was a delight. She grinned even wider at the shocked look on the mare's face. "Ya gettin' up, or you gonna lay there like a stunned mullet?"

It took Rolling a moment to process what she heard, then she laughed and took the offered wing. "Never thought I'd hear someone speakin' like that up this way. I'm—" Rolling's brain was trying to get her attention and she finally got at least one of the notes it was waving. "Shit. He's into me."

"Short? I figured he was. Was a bit worried he would follow me around like a puppy, but then I saw how much he was panicking about you after your crash." Hauling Rolling to her hooves from the bed, Lyra made sure she wasn't wobbling before gesturing to the door. "He's waiting outside."

"Thanks, uh… Where are we?"

"Castle of friendship, Ponyville. Were you hoping to be somewhere else?" The sigh from Rolling spoke volumes to Lyra. "You don't like him?"

"We dated for a while. He's sweet, but he gets angry and says stuff he doesn't mean. I—I know he can't help that, after that thing attacked him, but he wouldn't let himself get over it." Slumping her butt to the floor, Rolling closed her eyes a moment to take a deep breath. When she opened her eyes again, Lyra had gotten closer. "Are you—?"

The other thing finally clicked. Rolling Thunder remembered waking up and looking at Lyra's horn, but Lyra had used a wing to help pull her upright. "Fuck. Should I bow or something?"

"Nah. He's only a corporal. Even a captain doesn't deserve a bow. Celestia? Salute her—when you learn how to salute correctly—and if you ever screw something up, you'll want to learn to bake." Watching Rolling get more and more annoyed, while the pegasus tried her best not to laugh, was worth the tangent. "Me?" A nod. "Nah. I haven't managed to work my head up my ass that far yet."

"What am I meant to say to him?"

"You still like him?" Lyra asked. Another nod. "Don't say anything. Walk out there and kiss him."

"What? I can't just—" Blinking in surprise, Rolling smirked. "I mean, I guess I can." That finally led to her standing up and snorting. "I will."

Stepping aside, Lyra managed to contain her glee only with the greatest effort of willpower. She watched as Rolling grabbed the door handle with a wing, tossed it open, and walked forward to where Short stood. He was staring at her, like a deer in headlights, unable to move before she got into his personal space and leaned down to him.

Watching Short's wings spring up in shock was too much for Lyra. She didn't want to break into a giggle lest it interrupt them, so she teleported into the next room and did it instead.

"Wha—? Lyra, what are you doing in here?" Spike asked. "Are you going to help me pack Twilight's things?"

"Oh, right. Sorry, Spike. I guess I can. What do you need packed?" Lyra still wanted to prance and laugh and giggle at how well her advice had worked. The last she'd seen of Short was his eyes closing.

"Books. I don't know why anyone would take books to a friendship retreat, but…" At present, Spike was trying to smoosh down the side of a huge suitcase that, when he didn't manage to, popped open to reveal it was literally full of books about friendship.

"Spike," Lyra said using her magic to levitate the books out. "The secret here is to pack it with something just as heavy with books, but that she'll actually need."

Tapping his chin in thought, Spike asked, "Snacks?"

"Snacks and bricks," Lyra replied, nodding.

Giggling, Spike looked around the room, which was one of the many studies in the castle, and frowned. "But where are snacks?"

"This is study Three A. That means…" Walking over to the bookshelf that lined one wall, Lyra found what she was looking for and tilted a book forward with her magic. A grinding sound caused her to fold her ears back as a whole bookshelf first pushed out toward her, then turned to one side and out of the way. "Okay, nothing that requires chilling, so we want cookies, cupcakes— When did Twilight get Tim Tams?! Doesn't matter; all of those. Chips. More cookies. Baklava. I think that will do, what about you, Spike? Spike?"

Staring at the cavernous insides of the magical stasis-fridge, Spike's eyes had widened to saucers at the bounty on display. "Wow."

Tapping the dragon on the shoulder, Lyra said, "Equestria to Spike. Equestria to Spike. Come in, Spike."

"How many of these—these treasure troves are there? Does every study have one?" Taking one step toward paradise, Spike reached out a hand to a fully iced cake that sat on a lower shelf.

"I'll tell you what. We're going to be gone for a bit. When I come home, I will restock this one for you, and it will be our little secret." Levitating the cake out, Lyra set it on the table nearby and summoned a plate for it. Next, she cut it into slices. "So ration yourself."

Holding his hand up in a fist, Spike got a hoof planted firmly on it. "You're awesome, Lyra. Thanks."

"No sweat. Just don't let Starlight or Trixie find it, okay?" Summoning a few bricks for the bottom of the case, Lyra zipped it up and carefully lifted it with her magic. "I need to sort out some pegasi that I hope have finished making up and out."

Stepping out of the study, Lyra saw that the first was definitely the case, though the latter was still in progress. Clearing her throat, she had the delight to see two blushing ponies snap apart and stare at her like she'd caught two foals necking for the first time. "Corporal, you are ready for the excursion to Manehatten?"

"Today?!" Trying his best not to look at Rolling, Short stared ahead like he'd been trained to, focusing all his attention on Lyra. "Sir, I am ready."

"Great to hear. You want to come too, Rolling? Get a feel for the job and how we work?"

Rolling was conflicted and confused. The former was her wanting to spend a little more time with Short. The latter was why she, specifically, was invited. "Won't you two be busy?"

"Twilight has already planned the itinerary to include four hours to escape from an Escape Room thing. I looked it up, and while she will be able to teleport everypony out, I think she would be upset by that. So, we'll have plenty of time to stand in front of a door and be absolutely bored out of our minds." Holding the case up, she resisted the urge to shake it. "I brought snacks."

"Holy shit, you can cook too?" Rolling stared at Lyra long enough to get a nod from her, then turned to Short. "And you picked me over her?!"

"Her horn's too long," Short said, relieved to see Lyra grinning at the gag. "And besides, she's spoken for. Still interested in the job?"

"It's becoming more tempting."

"So," Lyra said, turning in the hallway and making a follow me gesture with a wing, "What did the Wonderbolts bounce you for?"

It was a knot in Rolling's stomach she hadn't realized she still harbored. She grunted and slumped her shoulders. "I can't fly fast without using my talent."

"And with your talent?" Lyra asked.

"She's faster than me, faster than you, and probably faster than half the Wonderbolts." Short fell in beside Lyra, his shorter legs widening his gait a little to match her pace.

"Really? You know I gotta see this. I don't care if you need to burn your magic up, if you can do your one thing better than anypony else." Trotting down the long hall, Lyra carefully set the case down at the doorway and opened the front doors.

Fluttershy was sitting by the door. She'd been waiting for somepony to open it, mostly because she didn't want to intrude and, since they would all be going to the train station anyway, was content to wait. "Oh, um, hello Lyra. I-Is Twilight in?"

"She is, Fluttershy, but she's Twilighting about the trip. Don't tell her, but I replaced a whole suitcase full of books she wanted to bring with cakes." Nodding back to the case, Lyra saw as her new recruit and potential recruit followed her. "You'll have to excuse us, I'm getting a flight demonstration."

Hearing that Twilight wouldn't be able to bring enough books to make a librarian blush helped Fluttershy to relax a little. She barely picked up on the idea of a demonstration, but asked, "Oh?" for some clarification.

"Rolling Thunder has shown an interest in joining the Friendship Guard, and though she's already shown the first two requirements in good quantity, I want to see what her special talent can do." Nodding to Rolling, Lyra moved herself to half shield Fluttershy from whatever crazy takeoff she expected Rolling to do.

The moment Rolling shot into the sky—leaving a crackling fizz of electricity behind in her wake—Fluttershy realized and greatly appreciated why Lyra had moved to stand before her. It made her blush, but she also felt a swelling in her heart to know that Lyra thought of her. "Th-Thanks," she said, softly.

Head tilted up, Lyra watched the lightning show as Rolling sped across the sky. She focused on not just the visible effects but also on the magic that thrummed around each feather. "You're welcome. I figured she was going to do something impressive to show off and, given her name and cutie mark, it was going to be dangerous to anypony who can't deal with electricity."

"I can deal with it, if I have a little warning first." Able to feel herself getting flustered, Fluttershy turned her head up and watched Rolling speed across the sky like a literal bolt of lightning. "That's not the normal use for lightning…"

"It sure isn't." Short was already love-struck by the forward way that Rolling had acted, but now he was in full announcer mode. "She was kicked out of the Wonderbolts training for a 'flagrant disregard for hazardous weather'. What she was actually doing was this—flying faster than any pony I've ever seen."

Lyra couldn't help it, she whistled in impressed surprise. Rolling wasn't, though, the fastest pegasus she'd ever seen. Rainbow Dash was something else again, but for the life of her she couldn't think of another that would have as much straight-line speed as Rolling Thunder showed. "I can see why she wouldn't fit in the 'Bolts. Their formation flying has no room for this. How long can she keep it up?"

"On a clear day? She can manage this for about twenty minutes. If there's a chance to cook up some stormy weather first, though, she can go faster and never tire. Give her something truly nasty, and I doubt there's a creature alive that can keep up with her." Short Fuse was comfortable saying that because he had seen her dancing in a storm. "The only problem with her is, she can't wear metal. Or, at least, she can't wear metal that isn't magically made to not interfere with her electricity."

"If she can get through Guard training, I'll make sure she gets whatever armor she needs." Watching Rolling zip around the sky, Lyra identified the exact moment when the mare lost a little of her stamina. "She's slowing. Is she going to—"

Rolling, after the race earlier against Short, didn't realize how low on energy she was until her everything felt heavy—too heavy to stay in the sky. She faltered, but her wings felt like lead. Falling, she noticed a flash of gold on the ground and then somepony was falling beside her.

Reaching out and grabbing Rolling with her hooves, Lyra hugged her tight and then judged her teleport for her next, parabolic upward flight. At the moment of apogee, she did her third and set Rolling on the ground beside where she'd started. "Are you okay?"

A little dizzy from the teleportations and magic drain, Rolling nodded. "I race Short against my guess me out took of more thought I than." As soon as she said it, she shook her head and tried again. "I raced Short to the top of the mountain earlier. He's faster than he used to be."

"Hope he is. Otherwise, all that training wasn't as useful as I'd hoped." Making sure Rolling could stand on her own hooves, Lyra could feel a looming, angry pony approaching.

"What the heck was that?!" Short asked. "Why didn't you fly up and catch her?!"

"For a lot of reasons, but mostly because the way I did it meant I could match our velocity and then slow her down without hurting her or me." Hearing Twilight approaching the front door of the castle, Lyra nodded to Short. "Attention, corporal. Our reason for being here is arriving."

Stumbling out the castle doors, her hair frazzled and one eye twitching, Twilight noticed she had a timid pegasus, a wobbly pegasus, and an armored pegasus more than she expected to be present. Using her magic to smooth her mane as best she could, Twilight centered herself using one of Tree Hugger's calming rituals, and then gave Lyra a nod and approached Fluttershy. "Hi, Fluttershy."

"Are you okay, Twilight? If you've got something you need to attend to, we can go another time." Torn between making sure Rolling and Twilight were okay, Fluttershy could see that the former was standing and moving fine, and settled on Twilight as the target of her worry.

"Lyra, if you don't stop saluting I'm going to leave you in Trixie's care until we return." Focusing on Fluttershy, Twilight lifted the case at the doorway, judged that it had a good supply of books within, and gave her friend her biggest smile. "What's say we go and wait at the station?"

Leaving off her ribbing of Twilight, Lyra made sure Rolling was okay. "You can come with us or hang around here until you feel up to flying back to Canterlot. I can even suggest training to build your magic stamina." Lyra collected the suitcase with her magic, giving Twilight time to chat with Fluttershy.

"But I'm a pegasus," Rolling said.

"That doesn't mean you can't build that part of you that carries your magic into something stronger. The source of your magic is like any other muscle. You can get exercises to build it up in both strength and stamina. And don't worry, Short is going to be doing the same thing." Lyra didn't say that she had only been working on the training methods herself for several weeks. "You up for it?"

"Is this some special Wonderbolts training that you are going to share?"

Lyra snorted and shook her head. "Nah. This is something I came up with about three weeks ago when I realized I was leaning too much on my unicorn magic and not enough on pegasi."

Rolling, feeling better about walking now, asked, "So we're your first tests of it?"

"I tried it myself, first. It works, but how well it works for other ponies is what I need to find out. Also, I'd like to refine it and write it into a training manual for the Guard."

"When Short said you wrote the book on unicorn training, I thought he was being figurative—not that you had written a book on training unicorns." Shrugging her wings, though, Rolling figured that it couldn't hurt to try whatever Lyra had planned before going into the Guard training. "Nah, yeah. I'll give it a shot."

"Five," Lyra said. At Rolling's raised eyebrow, Lyra added, "I've written five training guides for the Guard. One for general, spell-casting unicorn types. One for advanced, learn to modify their spells on the fly, ponies. A third one is for unicorns who cannot cast any but the most basic of spells—but have a powerful ability that can be used to make up for it. I rewrote the book on mana training, and have a guide on memorizing spells using simpler techniques."

Alarm bells sounded at that. Rolling wasn't an idiot by any stretch, but she knew that academics wasn't her strong point. "I don't have to read those, do I?"

"Nope. I'll probably get you to read through the pegasus one I'm working on, but I promise it won't be technical. I write them so Guard sergeants can read them, after all." When her joke didn't land, Lyra groaned. "You'll see what I mean. I served my term as a Sergeant, got to do a lot of quality shouting, but cadets tend to see them as a bossy know-it-all."

"That's my only worry about joining. All that commands stuff is a bit…" Holding out her wing, Rolling wobbled it a bit. "… Yeah. But, I would have said Short wouldn't have been able to put up with that, either."

"Second thoughts?" Lyra asked. She'd noticed Short was hanging back at Twilight's side. Given the report she'd read on his (eventually) sanctioned brawling in training, she judged him perfectly placed to deal with any actual threats to her person. "It's okay if you do. It'd be a shame to lose you, but I understand it's not something everypony wants."

Almost at the train station, Rolling shook her head. "Nah. I'll give anything a shot once. You never know what works until you try, right?"

Setting the case down, Lyra nodded and rolled her shoulders. "That's a good attitude. Train should be here in a few minutes."

Author's Note

Pharynx: now that the anti-magical throne is no longer cancelling magic, have you found any "confiscated" relics that are doing weird things?

"We're keeping our own ones but"—scuffing the ground with a hoof, Pharynx didn't look happy—"we have returned items to the ponies and griffons. There was also a stone that belonged to the dragons, but it has gone missing."

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Chapter 3

Rolling Thunder had never been quite so tired as she was after learning Lyra's sure-fire trick to improving her magic regeneration. Every time she felt her magic starting to recharge a little, she performed the exercise of manipulating air around herself, while simultaneously countering that movement, and was back on the edge of exhaustion. "I hate this."

"I know. It's really annoying, but if you do it constantly, you will build your regeneration up fast. Maximum capacity is harder to do. You let your energy run all the way to full, then drain it to nothing as fast as possible." Lyra had already felt the positive results of her own efforts, and didn't feel it bore saying that it would be a lot of work. "I prefer to work on regeneration first, since having that as high as possible makes you more capable of sustained work than just building capacity."

"And… then what? When I have enough regeneration to do all my cool stuff, where do I go from there?" As her magic started flowing back in, Rolling dissipated it using the exercise.

"That's the fun part. When you can do that, we find you even crazier things to do. Things that will use so much of your reserves that you'll want to keep training." As the train shifted, Lyra took a quick look outside to see the train was curving toward a city that seemed to float on its own island. Like Canterlot and Cloudsdale, Manehattan was a magically supported wonder, though for Lyra the capital would still hold pride of place.

"So it's one of those things where I keep challenging myself, and then improve until I can keep up, then doing it over and over?"

"Yeah." Behind them, in the train car that'd been reserved for the journey, Twilight and her friends were chatting while Short sat in the middle, keeping an eye on things. Lyra was proud of him for not complaining or asking to swap. "Great, isn't it?"

Rolling groaned as the train crossed the bridge leading to Manehattan island.

"And that brings me to another thing. When you're doing this, you need a lot more food. You're burning your magic up so much that"—opening the case, Lyra lifted out a bag of hard candy—"you are going to want to eat these, and get a good meal sooner rather than later."

"Huh?" Pulling one of the candies out, Rolling tossed it in her mouth and froze. Time seemed to slow around her as the flavor exploded. She groaned a little and closed her eyes, lost in the flavorscape of delight.

"Don't eat them all. My wife made those—in case you hadn't noticed, her cutie mark and special talent is specifically in making candy." Reaching out, Lyra plucked one of the treats out and put it in her own mouth. "An amazing candy maker."

They enjoyed another piece of candy each before the train finally engaged its brakes and stopped in the Manehatten station. "Hang back with Short. It's fine to look like you're just visiting the city with him. I'll be taking the lead."

Lyra didn't wait for the doors to open, teleporting herself and the case outside to the platform and taking a quick look around. There was nopony anywhere near the doors, so she reached out with her magic and opened them—and got pounced by Pinkie.

"Hi, Lyra! Why didn't you say hi? We were on the same train for hooouurs and you didn't—say—hi!" Not that it mattered to Pinkie that Lyra was on duty, that she was in powerfully enchanted armor, or that her friend was now an alicorn—she needed to pin her old friend in place for comedic reasons. "Huh?"

Pinned to a support pillar for the huge glass ceiling above, Lyra shrugged her shoulders. "Pinkie, this is my job, remember? I had a new recruit to train, another to observe, and I had to keep Twilight from finding out about all the snacks I smuggled." At the last, Lyra watched Pinkie's eyes widen. "Open your mouth and close your eyes."

Ever trusting, Pinkie did exactly as instructed and, when a familiar and delicious taste hit her tongue, she managed to say, "All is forgiven," around the amazing candy. "Did Sweetie Drops make this?"

"Pinkie, would I dare carry around candy made by anypony else? I got two bags. Rolling Thunder has one, and is under orders to only have a few, but I didn't tell her I have a spare bag. There may also be cupcakes, muffins, and some custard tarts in here." Lyra floated the case into the air a little.

"Twilight said you were carrying her books. Aren't there books in there?" Pinkie got a tiny glimpse of the inside when Lyra showed her carefully, then closed it again. "Sneaky!"

"What's sneaky?" Twilight asked, walking over to where Lyra and Pinkie were talking.

"Lyra." Nodding, like that was all she needed to say, Pinkie kept sucking away on the delicious treat she'd been bribed with. "Sooooo. Where are we going first?"

"I have the best day planned out!" Twilight felt all bubbly at the idea of following the list she'd made. "It's all written down on the scroll that Spike packed in my case. The first thing, though, is we're going to go have some coffee. Then we're going to see the big sights in Manehatten!"

A mild state of panic enveloped Lyra. Without the list that should have been in the case, Twilight would have the worst day ever. Even if they attended every meticulously planned event, Twilight would be on edge because she didn't have that scroll to mark them off. "Where do you plan to get coffee?"

"Anywhere will do. Lead on, guardian of friendship!" Unable to help herself, Twilight took up a prancing stride behind Lyra. So far, the journey had been a huge success. She'd spent some time talking with her friends, a little talking to her new guard—who had passed her first requirement for all Friendship Guards by bringing a friend with him—and there were so many team building exercises she had planned that she genuinely feared it might take them a week to manage them all. "Lyra, can you get my list for the day's activities out?"

There were a million and one things Lyra could do. She could distract Twilight and try to work out some kind of spell to summon the scroll (despite not knowing where it was). Another idea was to lie to her friend, but that was the worst plan of all. "Twilight, I think I inadvertently did a bad thing. I swapped out your books and filled the case with snacks."

For a moment Twilight had her most startled expression ever. She stared at Lyra with shock and panic—but then it sank in. "That simplifies things, then. Lyra, ready some paper to make a list and… break out the snacks."

It had been a tense moment for Lyra, and when her friend brushed it off as a reason to make a new and better list, the emotion hit her like a hammer leading to her pulling Twilight into a hug. "You're the best."

"I don't know about that, but Lyra?" Twilight paused until her friend looked at her questioningly. "Next time ask me if you think I'm not packing the right things."

"So we don't have to do this— What was it called again?" Short Fuse asked.

"Escape Room," Lyra Heartstrings said, "and no we don't. For a start, it costs actual money to do these things, but mostly it seems kinda trivial when I can teleport."

"Wouldn't that be cheating, though?" Rolling Thunder still felt uncomfortably low on magic. Before the start of the day, she wouldn't have even called it magic—it was just endurance, and she'd never figured she'd actually train for it.

"Ponyfeathers, you're right. Would casting a spell that turned the whole building into a mouse be better? What about teleporting it twenty lengths to the right? Actually, that last one would be functionally the same as teleporting myself, so no go. I guess I could always do the puzzles." When both Short and Rolling laughed at her, Lyra raised an eyebrow.

"She couldn't do any of that, right?" Rolling asked, but Short groaned and looked to Lyra.

Ruffling her wings and making her horn glow a tiny bit, Lyra smiled innocently.

"Why is it so hard to remember that you're an alicorn?" The question was meant to be a joke, or so Rolling thought, but Lyra's smile turned into a manic grin, and before she could think of a topic to segue to, Lyra opened her mouth.

"Alicorn blindness. Ponies have trouble recognizing alicorns unless they make sure to show off both outward facets of their tribe. If you ask me, that's why Princess Luna and Princess Celestia always show up at official things with their wings held out and heads high."

". . ." Rolling stared at Lyra a moment. "And why you ruffled your wings and used magic to make your horn glow." A smug grin made Rolling groan. "Of course you did. A different question, then. Are you doing this same training thing we are?"

"I have an alicorn's share of magic that all three of the classical tribes of ponies enjoy, including an extra amount entirely for doing crazy, alicorn stuff. So, of course I'm doing this. Even before I started, I could burn pegasi magic constantly and never run dry, but I've been working on more advanced flight patterns that require more from me than I can do at the moment—so I improve myself."

"Are you meant to tell us this kinda thing? That alicorns aren't omnipotent beings that know all and see all?" Short paused long enough, his face struggling to pull off the surprised look such a joke should be accompanied by, for all three of them to break into a fit of giggles.

The laughter was cathartic, or so Lyra felt, but she heard something that made her stiffen and, without a moment's hesitation, put up a shield spell. With Short and Rolling stopping their own mirth, she distinctly heard the heavy hoofsteps of somepony in armor approaching from the stairs. When Firelance stepped into the hall they were waiting in, she sighed and lowered the shield. "Sergeant! It's surprising to see you."

"Commander, you're needed in Canterlot. I'll take over your work here." Never in his life had Firelance needed to be so formal with Lyra. What he knew about the situation was unable to be blurted before a newly minted guardpony or the civilian that Rolling looked like to him. "Sorry if it's a problem, but we all get our orders from the same places. Is the princess free? I have information for her."

"She's currently locked in a room with her friends. There's probably singing involved. If it's important, you can contact her." Before leaving, she scrawled down a series of codes on a piece of paper, then passed it to Firelance. When he returned it back, with his own verifiable code, she sighed. "I guess I have some flying ahead of me. These are our newest member and a potential recruit. Corporal Short Fuse and Rolling Thunder. I've given them both some pegasi training exercises to do, which they can manage on their own. The suitcase there is full of snacks—don't eat them too fast."

Unsure exactly what was going on, but trusting Firelance not to prank her with something this important, Lyra made her way down the stairs and out of the building. She looked up into the sky and, not seeing any pegasi overhead, spread her wings and did her best to burn up her pegasi magic as fast as possible.

Once she had enough altitude to not pose a risk to anypony if she messed up, Lyra made the relatively simple calculation required for a direct-line teleport that she could acknowledge would have been impossible if she hadn't been invested with motive magic's source. Creating one of the loudest POMFs ever to be heard, she sent herself in a straight line that almost clipped the trees at the mid-point and had her hovering in the air miles above the landscape. She knew it would be two more before she could make it to her destination, so got to work on the next in the chain to Canterlot.

After the last of her three teleports, she was left drained and panting, then she pitched her wings into a spiral descent to give her time to recover for any encounter she might face in the city.

Finding herself a spot at the top of the stairs to the castle, Lyra could see a group of ponies in armor there. She landed among them—recognizing several of her peers from the other regiments. "Do we—?"

"Go in. Now we're all here, this can start." Bright Feather nodded to the two guards at the gate as Lyra, himself, Spitfire, and Daisy Duke all headed along the path to the castle itself.

No one stopped them. Not that Lyra expected anyone to. They were literally half the heads of Equestria's military, including the unit that defends the three currently ruling princesses. She wanted to ask what was going on, but suspected that the answer wouldn't be forthcoming until they got inside.

Celestia and Luna were standing at the base of the stairs that led up to their thrones. Twilight wasn't, of course, but standing before the two alicorns was another of the Guard commanders: Stiff Peaks. When they were all inside and the doors closed, Celestia began, "Stiff Peaks is departing today on a special mission. His place as head of Guard Training is now vacant and must be filled by somepony you all trust to shape the next generations of guardponies. I already have Captains Poppy Bread and Sweetie Drops' personal recommendations, as well as Princess Twilight Sparkle's. I will take your input now on who would be the best pony for the position."

Clearing her throat, Spitfire looked up at Celestia with her drollest expression. "Ma'am, there's only one pony who is qualified for the job, and you know who she is." Muted laughs died around her, but she could feel the wind of their nodding. "It will leave a hole in the captaincy, but there is nopony better for the role than Lyra Heartstrings."

"You're all nodding," Celestia said. "Except for you, Captain Daisy Duke."

As commander of the Equestrian Police Force, Daisy didn't hold much stock in keeping her opinion to herself. "Ma'am, unlike every other section of the Guard, I have not had extended contact with the candidate. Though, given Poppy and Bright are both nodding their heads like carnival shows, I am willing to make my vote an abstain rather than against."

Turning, fighting the urge to snarl at all his peers, Stiff Peaks walked over to Lyra and looked her in the eyes. "You'd get my vote, too. I trusted you to run the training unit once, and I'd trust it to you again."

"Wait," Lyra said, trying to come to terms with what she was hearing. "What's all this about, anyway? I'm flattered, really, but why are you—?"

Shaking his head, Stiff sighed and opened his mouth to reply, but was superseded.

"Stiff Peaks is required for a mission he is uniquely qualified to perform for many reasons. Any of you here would fit the part," Celestia said, "but each of you has something marking you as unsuitable. Spitfire, your face is too well known. Lyra, you're an alicorn. Daisy is not trained sufficiently in active-combat roles. Bright is required here more than ever. Poppy and Sweetie are both ruled out too, for reasons I won't state. What we need for this role is a pony whose dedication is not in question, but can fit in with the mission."

There wasn't a lot that such a job description would cover, in Lyra's mind, except: "Infiltration," Lyra said.

Clearing his throat, Stiff said, "After today, I am a normal pony to any of you or your units. You don't salute me, you don't let your ponies salute me, and you ignore everything I might say—"

"Except," Celestia said, "if he tells you Equestria Save Me."

It was a concession that Stiff hadn't expected. He nodded to Celestia in thanks for it, but turned to the only pony he trusted with his former command. "Lyra, I need you to do this."

Staring at Stiff, Lyra felt the moment she could have said no slip by. There was no guidance from harmony at all, not that she thought there would be. Whatever choice she made, here and now, was the right one. "I have conditions."

"Really?" Stiff asked.

"Really. This is important, so listen. Your cookbooks stay here—I will hold on to them and your command until you return. And I mean that last bit. If you don't come back, I will come and hunt you down—and then there will be no one to train the Guard. Finally, though, I want you to know that you are the best of us, so make sure to represent us well."

Frozen in place at the sound of hooves stomping on the floor, Stiff looked around to see even the Royal Guard present, normally so stoic and silent, all looking at him and stomping in support of Lyra's words. "You can't have my recipe books, Lyra. I've already given them to my sous chef to look after. I will do everything in my power to return to Equestria when my mission is complete, but don't you dare leave when ponies rely on you." The last he said with fire, and gave her a salute. When she returned it, he turned around to face Celestia and Luna. "I'm ready to—"

Stiff Peaks, and Stiff Peaks alone, was gone from the room in a crackle of teleportation magic. It wasn't a spell, Lyra realized, but a raw exercising of motive magic. A firm reminder of how much she still had to learn about her latest source. Musing on that, she eventually realized everyone was looking at her. "Oh. Right. Uh… Firelance needs promoting. He—"

"Firelance already got a promotion to lieutenant when I gave him his orders," Celestia said. "Now, Captain Lyra Heartstrings, you have a new command to be taking over." They were marching orders, though Celestia was far less worried about Lyra's journey to the other side of the city than she was about Stiff Peaks' to the southernmost outpost of Equestria.

Lyra got a hoof out of the doors, walking behind the other commanders, when she was grabbed by cobalt magic in a teleport so smooth it didn't make a sound. She blinked, looked around, and saw Luna standing before her in one of the dedicated offices connected to the throne room. "Your Hi—" A royal hoof in the mouth was still a hoof in the mouth—but with more metal. She grinned around the foot until it was removed. "Force of habit."

"Twilight, I hope, took the same approach?" Luna shook her head, not needing an answer. "Given your existing roles, and the new one, my sister and I felt it important that you know what Stiff Peaks is doing.

"Several of my sister's Dragoons have found evidence that there is a war of conquest consuming the southern nations. A particular group of airship pirates have been pillaging their way through some of our distant trade partners. Reports are scarce."

"But why Stiff? Why not one of the Dragoons?"

"You've never wondered what he did before he headed the Guard?" At Lyra's stunned look, Luna continued, "Stiff Peaks joined the Dragoons, proceeded up the ranks, learning every skill and trick a lieutenant could.

"At that time, Equestria did not have a comprehensive training regiment. Each section trained their own recruits, though they used the single location to do so. Just like Sweetie Drops, he created the training regiment and built it into the institution it is now. But, at the same time, he unified the Guard.

"I wasn't here to watch all this happen, of course, but I have access to the royal documents detailing his actions. Lyra, make sure this thing he built continues."

Lyra wasn't sure exactly what the feeling was called, but it felt similar to being smacked in the face by an earth pony who was trying to explain something with every ounce of their body mass. Like Research and Acquisitions and Royal Friendship Guard, this was something one pony had built to make Equestria safer and better. It rocked her how much it had meant to find a single unified place to call home when she was finding her hooves after Celestia's school, and now to realize that it was the stallion she could admit was a close friend as its creator was revolutionary.

For all this huge revelation forced Lyra to reevaluate everything she'd learned in and of the E.U.P. Guard, Lyra had to respond to Luna's challenge. "I will do my very best to take his work, improve it, and cement it into the history of Equestria so firmly that to break it free would require the concept of friendship to be destroyed first."

Luna, for all her sister's espousing of harmony and fate, had never felt either truly make themselves known—until now. There was a rush of feeling. The overwhelming sense was that the world had heard Lyra's words, acknowledged them, and made them fact. It was, in Luna's opinion, proof that this had been the correct path of action. "Then I look forward to the future even more."

Not delayed any further, after giving Luna a quick hug for the boost to her morale, Lyra left the castle and trotted across the grounds to the front gate. She got a firm salute from both the Royal Guards on duty before she made her way down to the streets of Canterlot.

Lyra got all the way to the wide plaza before something else sank in. "Wait, he united the E.U.P. Guard under his leadership?!" Her wings shot out in surprise at the realization. "But they were always united." Information was what Lyra needed. She aimed herself down the outer loop that led to the training fields and pushed her pace from trot to canter, from canter to gallop, and then stretched out into the faster gait that belonged to pegasi and those who did their very best to live up to the name.

The run reminded her of her first day in the Guard. Running laps of the city with her wife, learning about things like running, running, and more running. Ignoring her problems for the next few moments, she galloped and laughed for the pure joy of being alive and expressing that as much as she could.

But, eventually the gates of the training fields came into view. Lyra slowed her gait back, cycling it down all the way to a trot again before halting. The normal pair of gate guards had gained an extra member. Lyra raised an eyebrow at Honey Glaze. "Sergeant?"

"News travels fast, Commander." Stiff and at attention, Honey snapped off the sharpest salute he had in his whole life. "I'm glad they didn't leave us with somepony green," he said, once Lyra had returned his salute.

"At ease," Lyra said to the two ponies on guard duty when they showed no sign of relaxing. Both smirked at her and she rolled her eyes. "If you don't relax, I'll make you run laps of the city with me." That got both hooves down. "Well, I better get to the office and meet the staff."

Laughing at the obviously-not-toward-the-office direction Lyra took, Honey accompanied her to the mess and into the kitchen. He realized, nearly instantly, that a showdown was taking place.

Marching right up to Stiff's sous chef, Lyra gave the mare a nod. "I understand Captain Stiff Peaks gave his recipe books into your care?"

It was a delicate position Crêpe Suzette found herself in. She knew Lyra mostly by reputation and, to some extent, by her work in the kitchen. She hadn't seen enough cooking from the new commander to judge her skills to her own liking, though. "Sir. He did, sir."

"No." Lyra heard a few sharp breaths. "Don't you dare call me sir in your kitchen, head chef. Forward me your list of kitchen crew by tomorrow evening. Consider them already approved. I'm excited to see what you will be serving tonight."

On her way out, already hearing the kitchen chefs talking animatedly, Lyra asked Honey, "Did you tell everypony already?"

"I didn't know it was you until you arrived. They sent a message down from the castle that our new commander would be arriving today, but not who it would be. I had everypony be on their hooves and ready for whatever new officer I dragged through. I think Crêpe was relieved."

"You don't say? When I said 'no' to her, she looked about ready to unscrew my head. I would hate to see what would happen if an enemy tried to sneak into her kitchen." Lyra entertained herself with a mental image of a panicked bugbear being forced to cut up carrots batons.

Waiting inside the administration building was three ponies that Lyra had wanted to see, though perhaps not immediately. "Sergeants Long Shift, Solid Ground, and Pen Stroke. Pen, I thought you were still flying a desk?" she asked of the unicorn, earth pony, and pegasus (respectively).

"Needs must, Commander. We're running short on trainers, what with each regiment swelling its ranks except ours." Pen shrugged his wings. "If you can find somepony to replace me, I'd be happy to return to my usual work."

Lyra's first reaction was to announce she'd take the role herself, but her break working as Twilight's guard commander had taught her that she couldn’t afford that. "I'll send a request to Spitfire, I believe. There's a few pegasi there that she wants broken into being sergeants for her own purposes." She'd never admit it, because she'd give Spitfire the choice of whom to send, but she had a good idea who would be reporting after that request. "Solid, Long, you're both fine to continue in your roles?"

"The Royal Guard are always proud to be represented among the training regiment, sir," Long said. "But I would prefer to return to active duty in the castle full time."

"Noted. Once I find a replacement, you'll be free to." Her last target, Solid, cleared his throat. "What about you, sergeant?"

Solid wasn't as old as either of the other two sergeants. When she'd graduated, she'd spent two years in the Monster Hunters before she'd been tapped for rapid promotion and offered a spot training new Guardponies. "I am your mare, Commander. This is where I should be."

"You trained under Captain Sweetie Drops, isn't that right?" When Lyra got a nod, she felt a little relief. "Then I will need to talk to you some more, once we're all settled, about working on my own earth pony training. We have an intake in three and a half weeks?" Four nods met Lyra's question. "Then I'll make my requests for your replacements my top priority. Any further questions?"

Retiring to her office when there were only negative replies, Lyra stood in the middle of the room alone. Stiff's personal belongings—sans recipe books—were still scattered around the room. His chair, comfortable as it was, still sat behind the desk. It was hard to believe that he had been here so long that he had shaped the Guard to what it was.

The extra thing that Luna had mentioned. "You've never wondered what he did before he headed the Guard?" she said, repeating the question that'd been asked but with extra inflection. Not headed training or headed his regiment. "What have I gotten myself into?"

Having spent the afternoon packing away Stiff's belongings, and drafting a letter to Spitfire, Lyra examined the roster of unicorns she could promote. The Training regiment didn't exactly keep a staff large enough to promote in that way, so she found herself writing another letter that was addressed to all the E.U.P. Guard commanders—except Spitfire.

She wanted somepony who'd been trained on her own methods, but realized that it might not be possible. Lyra considered asking Long to stay on for one more training and prodding either Trixie or Starlight to take a crack at it—but she had a feeling those two might have too much on their plate in Ponyville already.

That's when she got another thought, and grabbed more paper.

Mayor Gavin, as the new commander of the E.U.P. Guard Training regiment, and with several griffons already signed up for training next month, would you be able to spare somegriff to come and assist with training them? Time spent in Griffonstone's military would be preferred, but if you have a talented candidate I would be more than happy to assess them myself.

Captain Lyra Heartstrings

Short, sweet, and with plenty of room for him to pick the right griffon for the job. She set that aside and looked at the next blank piece of paper.

To whom it may concern, I write to you as the Equestrian E.U.P. Guard's new training commander. Equestria already has several Batstralian ponies trained, and more still serving to guard Princess Luna, but today I am writing to request a meeting regarding a staff member position in the Training regiment's headquarters, assisting both with military relations and to act in an advisory position to my trainers and I.

At your soonest convenience, I would be amenable to a meeting here or at your embassy to discuss this.

Captain Lyra Heartstrings

She had more to write. One went out to Thorax, another to Pharynx, one to Ember of the dragonlands, and the last one went to one specific dragon in the town of Den, thanking her for her role in protecting the griffons there.

Each was crafted to be as honest and forthright as possible, except for the one to Den's dragon ally. She was positively generous with her praise there. Setting each into her desk's "out box," Lyra stood up from the chair and stretched every limb she had. "Too much sitting around. What's the time? Right, too early for dinner." Picking up the contents of the out box, she headed to the office outside where Pen Stroke was waiting with Honey Glaze. "Could you write these up onto formal stationary and have them delivered?"

"Yes, sir." Taking the paperwork with a wing, Pen was relieved to have his normal duties back.

"I feel like a run, but is there anything else important I need to address?" Lyra asked.

"I went ahead and organized an assembly before dinner for you to speak to. All the Training regiment staff. You don't need a full speech, just a few words will do. I felt it was important that everypony see you." Honey looked down his list of tasks. "Dinner, of course, and then I don't have any new business penned. Oh, a representative from Princess Luna's school will be arriving in two days to discuss the coming training session. I have also asked for Princess Celestia's school to send somepony. Those letters," he nodded at the ones that Pen had taken, "will result in more."

"That's fine. I want to review the training process, too. Perhaps not for this coming intake, but definitely for future ones. I'll need a meeting with each of the commanders to review their requirements for new recruits and if we can be doing more for them." The shocked looks she got from the pair of staff sergeants were all Lyra needed to know she was moving in a new direction. "Stiff was a guiding light for the Guard, but I can see ways to do things better, and it's not new captain wants to make her mark on things changes."

Honey rolled his eyes. "Commander, you sat in that big chair for weeks already, and everything you did there made Stiff smile when he came back. I don't expect things to be any different when he gets to see what you've done with your new command."

With nothing else on her plate for an hour or so, Lyra gave them both a nod and headed out into the cool afternoon air. Her run was exactly what she needed to clear her head and let things sink in. First, she realized there was so much work ahead of her that she'd have no time for her normal shenanigans and then, second, she figured out who it was she needed to send another letter to. "Staccato."

In a way, it would be nice to catch up with and talk to all the people she'd met. She still had to locate a unicorn and pegasus to fill the slots with training sergeants. The running helped her keep calm. She had a plan: steal a Wonderbolt and ask the rest of the Guard to find her a unicorn.

On her third lap, Lyra had a surprise guest slot in beside her. At any other time, she'd have stopped and pounced on her wife, but Lyra instead backed off to a normal gallop. "Captain," she said.

"Captain." Lyra jostled sideways a touch, bumping Sweetie—and feeling like she'd hit a wall in doing so. "Do you have a unicorn I can steal?"

"A unicorn? Why would I have a unicorn when I can have an alicorn?" Giving Lyra her own jostle back, Sweetie watched Lyra's wings ruffle.

"I need a new training sergeant. I'd rather get somepony who hasn't been doing too much training, because I want to try some new things, but anypony trained since my routines were added should work." Spotting a group of foals playing in the middle of the street ahead, Lyra stretched her wing over Sweetie's back and teleported them past the group.

"You know over half my roster are retired Guardponies, right?" Sweetie asked. She was annoyed Lyra drew her wing back; not that Sweetie could feel it through her armor. "Have you tried Poppy Bread?"

"Firstly, Poppy is an earth pony— Ouch!" Fully deserving of the thump, Lyra continued, "I'm sending out requests to all the divisions. Long Shift wants back in the Royal Guard and Pen Stroke was only filling in to begin with. Neither wants the spot full time, so I'm trying to find ponies that do."

"Asking Spitfire about a pegasus?" At Lyra's nod, Sweetie laughed. "Good luck with that."

"I expect her to laugh louder than that, but I have an offer, and it'll be part of the changes I want to institute." Waiting, Lyra let Sweetie stew in silence for a bit. To avoid being hit again, she explained. "I want training of active and inactive Guard to be different. I want active Guard training to be twice as long and focus more on advance teaching for the second half—we'd already started doing that ourselves, remember, and it worked."

"And you want a Wonderbolt so you can have all the pegasi trained up to a standard that will make Spitfire's job easier—and every pegasus in the Guard will be that much better in the air?" Whistling in admiration, Sweetie nodded. "She might go for that. So, what would you teach unicorns?"

"To create their own spells, modern memorization techniques, and I want to try to integrate some of what Tree Hugger is doing… somehow. The last I heard from Trixie, it was going well. Don't tell me I can have Trixie, I'd need a crowbar to get her away from Starlight now. And, don't tell me I should try Starlight—for the same reason."

"Trixie is on an extended leave of absence. Truthfully, I doubt she's coming back, but I spoke to Celestia about it and she said the mare deserves every bit we pay her—and I'm inclined to agree after reading the reports on the changeling incident." Despite losing such a great agent, though, Sweetie couldn't keep from smiling at the knowledge that she'd found somepony to be close with. "Shame that Firelance is off the table."

"He's going to have big horseshoes to fill, but I think he can do it. Now he has others to keep an eye on. Besides, if I asked him, and he said yes, you can bet harmony would step in and have Spitfire send Scoots to me. Then I'd be laughed at for transferring my daughter and her special somepony under my supervision." Wanting to lead away from that conversation, Lyra asked, "How are Saffron and Coriander?"

"Maybe you should stick to unicorns in the Guard?" Sweetie ignored Lyra's incoherent groan of despair. "They're doing fine. The preparations on the new place are almost done, and they have set a date to move. Two days. We're invited."

"I'll have my secretary pencil that in for me." Grinning like a fool, Lyra poked her tongue out at Sweetie. "See, because I actually have a secretary, and he writes everything down for me. Then I also have a second staff sergeant, because a mare can never have too many staff sergeants."

"There's going to be a meeting at the training fields in a week. You'll hear about it tomorrow. It's to outline your wider duties."

"Yeah. I heard something about that. Nopony told me this place was the actual center of control for the whole Guard, or that by accepting placement I would— Do you think I can do it?"

"Do I need to tell you that you got wings for being the cleverest damn unicorn in Equestria?" At Lyra's skeptical look, Sweetie groaned. "Yes, you fool. You could run the Guard with both wings behind your back. There's a reason every commander but one put your name forward, and every other alicorn did too. I bet if we asked Equestria's allies, they'd even tell us that they'd rather you doing it than anypony else. So, Lyra, do your damn job."

With the training fields coming back into view around the curve of the road, Lyra stopped sharply, turned, and picked Sweetie up with her magic. Wrapping both wings around her, Lyra kissed her wife with every burning molecule in her body. And, with the both of them possessing significant earth pony backed stamina, the kiss lasted some time before either had to break for air.

Blinking away and trying her best to shove her libido out of her armor, Sweetie allowed herself a sigh. "I think I need to get you promoted to princess, next—though I might not survive the kiss from that."

"At least we'll both be based out of the same city. Also, I won't exactly be going anywhere." Unable to resist herself, Lyra kissed Sweetie with just a peck on the cheek and set her back on her hooves. For the first time since their wedding day, Lyra watched Sweetie wobble a little on her legs. "Are you okay?"

Nodding, but still wobbling a little, Sweetie couldn't help sighing happily. "I just had a reminder of why I married you." She kissed Lyra again as they walked toward the training fields. "I'd say let's take a month off and go somewhere deserted, but we're both in the sort of jobs we can't do that, aren't we?"

"I'm afraid so. There are some perks." Walking along, her flank pressed against Sweetie's, Lyra felt in a particularly whimsical mood, she reached over Sweetie's back with her wing and hooked her love a little closer.

"Would nightly meetings be too much?"

"No. Definitely not. So long as they remain on topic and don't interfere with our other—duties—I doubt anyone would mind." When she tilted her head to kiss Sweetie, Lyra was caught halfway by her wife doing the same thing to her.

The guards at the gate were somewhat ignored, as Lyra and Sweetie kept their focus on each other, and without even meaning to, they'd stumbled up to the little induction ceremony that had been set up for Lyra to take her new command.

Doing her best not to stumble as Sweetie kissed her again, Lyra stepped up to the little lectern that had been set up for her, completely ignoring the grins on most of the ponies saluting her. "At ease. I'm sure no one here wants to delay too long. Crêpe, I hear, has a great meal planned. Captain Stiff Peaks created the Training regiment. He shaped and reshaped it over the years to optimize it for what Equestria and the E.U.P. Guard needed it to be. Things have changed, though.

"Stiff has had to move on to another duty and has left the future of this command in my hooves. I won't do things the same as he did, I have new ideas to work with, and I can assure you that I will never step hoof in the kitchen without the new head chef's okay"—Lyra paused to let the crowd laugh, and wasn't disappointed—"but I will only be able to move the Guard's Training regiment forward, to meet future challenges, with the assistance of each of you.

"There are trials ahead of us, some that I can literally feel on the horizon, others that we've worked to minimize"—Lyra nodded to Sweetie—"and some that we will never see coming. I want to make everypony in the Guard able to meet not just the first two, but the latter as well.

"To that end, I have invited other races of Equestria and beyond to come together and help us learn to fight side by side, whether that means bringing griffons, changelings, dragons, and even sirens into the Guard, or working closely with their own fighting forces. I want us to be strong, together, to ensure that we can continue to be together.

"So, if you'll help me, I want to make Equestria's E.U.P. Guard a shining example of friendship that can be a wall between strife and safety. We're going to be training more, for longer, and to a higher standard than ever before. I know most ponies tend to let these sorts of speeches drag on and on, but why don't we go eat?" Lyra got a resounding cheer for the last bit, and even caught some new energy from the assembled during her explanation of her new plan. Prickles of excitement buzzed up and down the back of Lyra's neck. It was working, they were accepting her ideas, and the unified support made harmony buzz and crackle in the air.

With the speech made, Sweetie could see everyone filing toward the mess. It gave her a chance to slip up beside Lyra and nuzzle her cheek. "Big plans."

"Yeah. It's a continuation of everything I've learned since first arriving here. We weren't ready to step into an active role with the short training we got. We extended that, for ponies who wanted extra training, but even that wasn't enough. I want to produce Wonderbolts candidates that know how to wrestle a griffon. I want Monster Hunters that can mediate a dispute between two ponies as good as the Police. I want—" Lyra was shut down in her efforts to tie all the Guard together by a kiss that she couldn't ignore.

Only when Sweetie was done did she let Lyra break away from the kiss. "You remember when we first joined up? You were only here to support me?" Grinning at her wife's guilty look, Sweetie pecked Lyra's lips again. "And now you're technically my boss."

Walking forward and to Sweetie's side, Lyra put her wing over Sweetie's withers and led the way to the mess. "Only if you're silly enough to hang around Canterlot when there's something big happening. Otherwise, you're my boss."

"How do you figure that?" Sweetie asked.

"Because I should be trying to give you what you need, in terms of recruits. That's why I want to steal at least one of your trainers to spend some time here helping us build an ideal training regimen that will have every recruit meeting a standard that you can more readily build off."

"You helped me build R&A, Lyra, you know exactly what I need." Giving Lyra a little room to enter the mess first, Sweetie followed after and found a seat beside her. Only when they'd both stopped did the noise of the room resume. She looked up to see Crêpe Suzette standing in front of them with a pair of covered trays.

"For your approval," Crêpe said, setting the food down and revealing it to the two captains. "From what I understand, commander, you prefer a protein heavy meal, while the captain prefers something milder and without so much flesh."

Inhaling, Sweetie looked up at Crêpe. "You know your food and know your ponies. Thank you."

It was hardly Crêpe's first time cooking for either, though normally she took Stiff's lead on meals. "Any time you're near the training ground, Captain, you're welcome to attend my mess."

"I once accused Stiff of hoarding all the best sergeants in the Guard," Lyra said, "and now I'm sure I wasn't in error. Thank you."

Lyra made sure to enjoy her meal with Sweetie, as they discussed what Research and Acquisitions would need from recruits, and retired to the commander's quarters to find the bedroom had already been cleared of all personal effects and had been made up with a fresh set of bed linen.

A shower, a little work spent cleaning up her armor, and Lyra was slipping into the bed alone. She barely heard the door open and four heavy hooves approach her bed. "Really, captain?"

Sweetie Drops did her best to get under the covers without letting too much warmth escape. "Yes, commander."

Lyra was on her second lap of the city when Solid Ground caught up with her. "Morning, Sergeant!"

"The sun only came up a minute ago, Commander." Solid had done her level best to be up before the crack of dawn, but then had found her new commanding officer already running.

"It did! Don't worry, Solid, I don't expect you to be up and flying before the sun, or running as it rises. I had some thinking to do, and I do my best thinking while exercising." Lyra didn't want to tell her, but she'd slowed down a touch when Solid had begun pacing with her. "You were in the Monster Hunters for a few years, correct?"

"Two, yeah." Solid wanted to hide the side of herself that hadn't been able to handle that position, but she had to be honest. "I couldn't do it."

"I read the reports. Not being able to kill isn't something to be ashamed of, Solid. The Guard always has your back. You found somewhere you fit in, though. We have that in common, Sergeant. I don't enjoy killing either."

"But you have, sir?"

Lyra nodded. "I don't think any less of you for it. You're serving the Guard well, Solid. Never doubt that."

"Yes, sir. You talked about changing things last night?"

"Over the next week I'm going to chase down as many commanders as I can, not just to steal a unicorn and pegasus for training, but to get a list of specifications about what they need trained into a recruit. New intake training will shift from three weeks to a month and a half. I'll have veteran retraining undergo the new introductory routine, then they will get an abbreviated training to test their athletics and magic handling, and bring them up to date on the latest techniques." Teleporting the pair of them past an obstacle, Lyra continued, "You might not have any expertise on the topics, but even when discussing pegasi and unicorn requirements, I'd like to have your input."

"I don't know how much help I'll be, but I'll do whatever I can."

Lyra glanced aside at Solid and rolled her eyes. "Solid, I have looked through the reports back from other regiments. Not a single one has had anything bad to say of the training earth ponies received in the six months you've been here." She waited a few moments before adding, "That includes Commander Sweetie Drops."

Leaving her with that to work on, Lyra got back into her groove of running, while also doing the pegasi lessons she'd worked on. Unlike with Rolling Thunder, though, she only drained her magic to the halfway point. As they circled around the city for the fifth time, she spotted a quartet of blue-suited pegasi descend into the training fields from Cloudsdale (which was currently above Canterlot).

As they approached the main gate, Lyra slowed her gallop down to a canter, then a trot. She sketched a salute to the guards at the gate as she passed and gave Spitfire a nod as Solid and herself reached the visiting group. "Sorry to bother you so soon after our last meeting, Captain."

Spitfire waved a wing at that as if it was nothing. "I'd put aside time, Washout, in case you needed something. Despite the distance Cloudsdale sometimes gets from Canterlot, you know the 'Bolts are always going to be the first to arrive when you ask for help."

Hearing her nickname from the Wonderbolts, Lyra relaxed more than all the fancy words a courtier could deliver to soothe someone. "Thanks. I find myself asking for two things. First, I need a pegasus who can train ponies to the standards needed by the 'Bolts—or any other regiment—and I need your backing with my latest idea."

"The second"—Spitfire grinned and shook her head—"I'll help you before you even say what it is. I've seen the way you work, Washout, and it's always the right way. As for the former, you know I can't spare any active trainers."

Realizing she was not going to win the fight by begging, Lyra changed tack and moved ahead. "My plan is to train recruits for a month and a half here. They'll learn the intricacies of using their own magic to a greater extent than before. They'll train, constantly, to enhance their magical ability. It took me a few weeks to learn to fly competently using the 'Bolts' method. I think I can cram that into the head of a recruit in a month and a half—but I need the best trainer I can get."

Spitfire stopped where she stood, deep in thought. After all they'd done to adjust their training methods, Lyra was going to make them change more—in a way that would speed their training up. "See, that's why I agreed to the second thing but not the first. This is a step in the right direction, but I hate that you're right about needing a 'Bolt to do it."

"What about Spitfiretoo?" Lyra asked.

"You think she'd be up for it?” After Flatfoot pushed Sideways up from wing-second to wing-leader, then took off after her own wing, it left Spitfiretoo in a bit of a hole. Her rival was now her boss, and even if Sideways made her wing-second, it still chafed at her. The more she thought about it, the more Spitfire knew it would be a good idea to ask the mare in question. "I'll read her in on this. She'd be her own boss here, right?"

"I'd be the only pony she ever has to report to, and all I want her to do is take my plan, shape it to the pegasi she has to train, and do it all with the skill and absolute attention to detail of a Wonderbolt." Nodding toward Scootaloo, Soarin, and Slowpoke, Lyra said, "And if she does, I'll get you ponies that you can train into full Wonderbolts in half the time."

"You're going to pitch this to the other commanders?" Her decision made about putting the choice to Blaze, Spitfire moved on.

"I need a unicorn still—but unless you're hiding another alicorn up there, I don't think I can ask you for that." Nodding toward the mess, Lyra led the way to where her breakfast would be waiting. "I still have to find out from the rest of the commanders what they require from trained recruits. The Royal Guard will be going to want something different from the Police, and a different thing again from the Royal Dragoons. I need to massage them all into a cohesive training routine that will enable recruits to not just step into their new career with the minimum amount of work from the regiments, but to shift from one to another as easily."

"Well, you'll have your hooves full, then." Spitfire followed suit, acquiring her own tray and joining the line getting breakfast.

Author's Note

Pinkamena Diane Pie: How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could Chuck Norris?

"Silly! Would Chuck Norris chuck a woodchuck if Chuck Norris could chuck wood? Would it matter? Maybe Cluck Norris would know? He's normally too busy to chuck woodchucks since he kicks grass and takes grains."

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Chapter 5

Waiting at the front door of the office was not easy for Sparklebright, but when she'd been approached by Poppy Bread, and heard the offer, she'd felt compelled to jump on it. Lyra Heartstrings had been her mentor early in her career, and they'd crossed paths several times since then. It wasn't so much she felt like she owed Lyra anything, but more that her commander had told her it would be a good use of her abilities.

"Sparklebright? Got some time off to visit, or—" Lyra froze as meaning sank in. The mare was wearing her armor, but rather than the crests of the Royal Dragoons, there were no insignia present. "Poppy sent you?"

Nodding, Sparklebright saluted. "Captain Lyra Heartstrings, I request a transfer to your regiment and seek the position of training sergeant for unicorns."

"You remember we fought together in Vanhoover?" Lyra waited for Sparklebright's nod. "Then you know I trust you. You've got the job until you don't want it. Come inside and I'll brief you on the changes I'm making and why you're going to be looking for a junior sergeant."

Blinking in surprise, Sparklebright followed Lyra into her office and listened to the same spiel and briefing that Blaze had gotten. By the end of it, she felt filled with excitement and determination. She needed to build a month and a half course of training that would ensure all of the unicorns trained would either be the most effective spell-casters the Training regiment had ever produced, or at least could leverage their natural special talent to as devastating an effect.

Her first target was the regiment's library. There were dozens of copies of Lyra's revised training manuals. Even though Sparklebright could rattle off the thing from cover to cover from memory, she still read through it. It was a newer revision than the last one she'd read, and included some new teleportation techniques that she liked the sound of.

Since her earliest days in the Royal Dragoons, Sparklebright had been presented with the doctrine that positioning was everything. Her training there had been with specializations in quickly teleporting her allies and herself around, using the most efficient spells she could to ensure everyone was always in the best spot to deal with a threat. It was a unique ability for unicorns, and she intended to strengthen that role.

She moved on from there to direct combat magic. There were some unicorns who had talents for it, and others who had none. She had to pause her plans, though, when she remembered that she wasn't training explicitly for the 'Dragoons. There were ponies who needed less deadly spells, too.

While she did know the full repertoire of spells for a guardpony, she didn't know what the Police would use, specifically, and what the Monster Hunters wanted. She knew they required more options than any other regiment. Once she had all the questions she needed answers to, she grabbed up all her notes and left the stuffy library.

A morning spent talking to the Police's training sergeant and an afternoon with the Monster Hunters' had left Sparklebright with revelations and new equipment. Both had liked her plan to emphasize positioning and repositioning tactics, but both had stressed that it was often less important than communication.

What had done a number on her previous understanding of how the different regiments of the Guard worked was finding them both using short range radios. More, though, they'd arranged to get the same units so they could coordinate.

Most of the following morning had involved her learning to use the devices and ensuring she was on a frequency that wouldn't interfere with either regiment. She arrived at the mess for dinner and was relieved to see Lyra there. "Commander, I think I have something that was overlooked, and it's more than simply a unicorn training issue."

Raising an eyebrow, Lyra didn't think she needed to ask to get the full rundown.

"I read your proposed training schedule, but none of it includes training in radios." At the surprised look Lyra gave her, Sparklebright knew she had gotten something juicy. "I met with the Police and Monster Hunter sergeants yesterday. Both their regiments use radios to keep in contact. We're going to have to teach recruits that, and more, teach other regiments about this."

Pausing to think about it, Lyra realized she'd completely forgotten aspects of her old life and how they could pertain to Equestria. "I'm an idiot. You're absolutely right. What range do they have on these radios?" She could dimly remember hearing about how some were line of sight while others could reach much further.

"The ones the Police use can cover a city. The Monster Hunters use a similar model, though they mostly have their scouts and squad leaders using them."

"Is there an advantage to having a single large transmitter? That would mean we could send more clearly to each, right, but they would be lower range on a per-unit basis?" When Sparklebright stared at her, mouth slowly dropping open, Lyra raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"

"I made notes. I talked to ponies and got the numbers. How did you know all this already?"

Lyra still wasn't sure how much she should tell regular people about her history, but it wasn't exactly a secret. "I've spent a little time in Batstralia. They have way more extensive radio equipment there. Hey, maybe we could see about buying some long range stuff from them?"

"That would be a good idea, but it's not exactly something I need to research before our first intake. Is it?" A tiny trickle of worry ran down from the recesses of Sparklebright's mind, but was quenched when Lyra shook her head. "One idea I did have was to have a central radio system in each city, and then connect those with the telephone system. Most of the major cities already have some connections between them." It was a relief to see Lyra look surprised. "That way information could be spread far faster from ponies in the field, to a central office in the city, then to other cities."

It was more than what Lyra had managed to cook up since being told about the issue, and she liked the depth that Sparklebright had taken with it. "Could you drop your notes off at my office and ask my secretary to put them on my desk?"

"Yes, sir."

The conversation wasn't missed by Blaze, who'd been soaking it all up. "Commander?"

"Can I establish a new rule? No ranks at the dinner table." Lyra looked around to the various sergeants sitting with her, and when she got nods from them all, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you. Now, go ahead."

Blaze set her fork down. "It feels like a bad idea to dump these recruits, expecting all these new ideas to already be implemented, into the hooves of regiments who have no idea about them. We could offer an officer training, prior to the intake training, to advise them how we'll be training the newbies and what new equipment they might find useful."

Nodding to that, Lyra had to finish off her mouthful before replying, "Good idea. No, great idea. We have two weeks before intake. Can each of you put together a summary of what you intend to teach our recruits, and I'll assemble a keynote speech and handle the radio."

Lyra had to admit it would be more work on top of an already massive workload, but it would only be a few hours and would be a summary of their training plans. If anything, she figured building the presentation would be good for each of them to find any last minute flaws in their work. It meant, of course, she had a lot more work too—but that work was literally Lyra's job.

Two weeks had flown by. Talks with the other regiments had been a daily event that Lyra was sure they were getting sick of. The presentation had left everyone talking seriously about communications, greater mobility, and far more agile pegasi. Lyra had even squeezed in a meeting with the people who made the radios that the Monster Hunters and the Police were using, and arranged for purchase of the equipment for the Training regiment and assurances there would be more orders coming.

She sat behind her desk, still well before dawn, and contemplated what the next month and a half would bring. There might be things that wouldn't work. No plan survived first contact with an opposing force—so they had plans to recover from failed plans. The final plan, for anything that doesn't seem to be working, was to get the recruits out and run them around until they are all exhausted, then see what could be done to recover.

Collating all her plans together, she set them aside and reread her opening speech. Like the other four hundred or so times she'd read it, it seemed fine. She got up, still cursing her decision to not wear armor for the introduction, and left all the paperwork behind.

Today she needed authority, and there was nothing better at imparting that than what she now had on her back. She walked to her door and opened it. The office was still empty, which meant she had time to go for a little run.

The morning air had some bite to it, but a pony's coat was proof against it. Soon, as she rounded back toward the fields, she was warm enough that the temperature didn't even register to her. For her second lap, Lyra took to the sky and flew as fast as she could around the city. Flying, of course, went a lot faster than running, so Lyra did two laps like that before landing at the gate. Still cantering, she made up a new rule for her final lap—she would go no more than one stride between teleports.

Again and again she flashed the spell, shoving herself forward in momentum conserving jumps that from her perspective had her running normally while the world around her stuttered past. She spared a single glance for the Royal Guards at their post before the castle entrance as she zipped through, and three teleports from the gates of the training fields she felt and saw the sun rise.

It shouldn't have been as much of a revelation as it was to realize that Celestia had done this, every day, for over a thousand years. With a jaunty grin, she trotted to the gates. "At ease," Lyra said before either could salute, "any early risers turn up yet?"

"Three griffons, a dragon, and the usual assortment of reserves."

It perked Lyra up even further to hear that a dragon had arrived. "I'll go see how they're faring after their long trip, then." She trotted through and into her command. There were indeed three griffons and a dragon among a group of ponies waiting within, and she recognized one of the griffons immediately. "Gavin! I'm glad you could make it. Are these your two?"

"Of course I'd come, but I'm afraid these two aren't mine—these three are. Grendel, Glint, and Smash, daughter of Mighty Fracture, protector of Den." Gavin gestured to each of the two griffons he was with and the dragon.

Looking over the three, Lyra had a lot of questions but no reason to ask any of them. Grendel was the biggest griffon she'd ever seen, a mix of some kind of eagle and a tiger and he seemed to balance his height with a solidness that told her she didn't want to get into a wrestling match with him. Glint was far slimmer, and she had what looked like a mix of hawk and some kind of bob-tailed feline. But Smash was something else. Standing nearly twice as tall as Lyra, the dragon had a big pair of leathery wings on their back and a perpetual scowl. "It's good to meet all of you. I got to meet your mother, Smash, when I visited Den a few weeks ago. She didn't mention you."

"Yeah, well, I came all the way to Equestria to see what she was doing, and she kicks me out and tells me if I want any of her gems, I have to earn them. Says I should talk to the mayor, and he said I should come here and prove myself. So here I am! Are you going to fight me?" Thrusting her chest out, Smash glared down at Lyra.

Debating her chances, Lyra came up with a plan. "Sure. You have your adult scales, I see."

Surprised to hear a pony agree to a fight, Smash grinned and found herself respecting Lyra a bit more, if only because of that. "Yeah. Your magic is useless."

"No it's not," Lyra said, walking toward a practice field and nodding at it. "First touch, or until one of us gives up?"

"It's no fun if it's just to first touch." Clenching her talons, Smash balled them into fists. She'd been kicked out of the dragon crèche by Ember, and now she was in the awkward phase of dragon maturity prior to being quadruped but having a lot of traits that would better suit her being that way.

"Okay then. First to leave the circle or surrender loses. Flying above it will be fine, since we both have wings." Lyra stopped at the far side of the field big enough to hold fifty sparring ponies. "When you're ready."

Wings. Something about that set off an alarm bell in Smash's head. But, with the prospect of fighting a pony and not having them cry foul, she ignored that and rushed at Lyra. Two steps into her charge and a barely begun war cry were halted when the mare vanished. She stopped and looked around, unable to see where they were. "What are you—"

Ending her crash-dive with both forelegs extended, slamming into Smash's head, Lyra teleported a second time to arrest her forward momentum in a strike directly into Smash's chest.

The one-two blow of the hits rung Smash's bell and sent her flying backward. She tumbled from the circle and roared her fury at the sudden strike. "What was that?!"

With her wings held up and her horn aglow, Lyra stepped out of the circle herself and right up to Smash. "That was showing you that your magic-immune scales and toughness can count for nothing when an enemy knows how to work around them. Do you want to learn how to stop me doing that and kick my ass?"

It made sense, now that Smash had realized what horn and wings meant. With her tongue she checked her teeth and found a loose one. A tiny stab of pain and it was completely free. She spat it onto her palm and thrust it out to Lyra. "You got a deal. But if this gets too boring, I'm gonna leave."

"That's okay. If you leave, though, I'll chase you down and kick your ass again, then your mom will know that you didn't just drop out, but a pony kicked your butt twice." Spitting on her hoof and shoving it into the saliva-filled talon, Lyra shook—only to find the tooth. "Uh, you want this back?"

"Teeth grow back. So, how many ponies are like you?" At Lyra's raised eyebrow, something Smash figured was a question, she added, "I mean can fight."

"All the Guard can fight, most will even give you a surprise if you push them to it—some will beat you." Tucking the tooth away for later examination, Lyra walked beside Smash to the group where the griffons were talking to some new arrivals.

"Being a"—Smash gestured at Lyra's horn and wings.

"Alicorn," Lyra said.

"Does being one of them make much of a difference?"

"Yeah, but in our fight it wasn't anything a unicorn and a pegasus couldn't have done. That's where the Guard gets most of its strength, filling in gaps and making a stronger whole. Picture it. If you and me were fighting something nasty, like Chrysalis, any time she tried to use her mind magic, you could put yourself in the way and block it. Meanwhile, I can teleport close to her and distract her while you rush up and beat her senseless."

"I like the sound of that!" Sauntering back to the others, Smash looked at the griffons and wondered if she could beat them up—or if they'd even accept a fight. When they all paused talking to look at her and Lyra, she shrugged. "Ponies are tricky."

"Yeah," Gavin said, "she beat me too."

"That was a close fight. You almost had me from the get-go." Lyra was glad that she couldn't feel the squelching squish of spit on her hoof anymore. "You'll have to excuse me, I see another new friend I need to talk to."

"March," Lyra said as she approached the next pony she wanted to discuss things with. "You can relax here, I've talked to all my guardponies."

Months spent in Vanhoover without the need to conceal herself had been quick to undo when March had gotten on the train to Canterlot. Every pony face that she didn't recognize felt like a potential alarm. She looked at Lyra—took in again the open safety the mare radiated—and let her magic undo.

As March unfolded her full size and shape, Lyra stepped forward with a wing extended to hug her. Among the groups of ponies and griffons gathered already, there was a moment of quiet before conversations continued.

"They were more surprised at my shape changing?" March asked.

Stepping back after the short hug, Lyra nodded. "There are plenty of folks who are going to be different from the norm here today. We have griffons, a dragon, and there should be some diamond dogs coming."

"What kind of training can you give me?"

"We can train you to work with a group of others. Meshing your own skills with theirs to create a whole that is stronger than all of you would be on your own. I am sure you will learn something new about yourself by the end of this." Shrugging, Lyra laughed. "And, if you don't, it's only a month and a half."

For all that March wanted to hug Lyra again, she also had a stoic reputation to uphold. "That's exactly what Staccato said."

"Staccato is very smart." Lyra shared a grin with March. "I'd better go. I have one more new inductee to greet and then I'll have to give my speech and start this ball rolling." With a nod from March, Lyra turned and made her way over to where a lone pegasus mare stood. "Howzitgoin'?" she asked, letting her voice drop into a drawl.

The question, Rolling Thunder knew, would only come with such a delivery from one source local to Canterlot. Turning, she stood straight and performed a salute precisely how Short Fuse had taught her. "Sir! It's goin' good, sir!"

The salute was better than Lyra had seen any non-Guard give for a while, and Lyra returned it with her own sloppiest one. "Glad to hear it. How's Short taking things?"

"He's kicking flank. Got all the moves down, and Firelance has him teaching foals how to fly." When she saw an eyebrow rise, Rolling snerked. "Okay, and he's more relaxed about us too. Thanks for that push."

"I learned from the best, and when that didn't work, I took up being a chaotic gremlin that kept her eyes open," Lyra said. "I hope you're ready to work your tail off, because this is going to be entirely new—to the point where I suspect a lot of guardponies will want to rotate back through for this training."

"So you're actually going to give me a challenge, huh?"

"Not me, cadet." Lyra nodded to where Blaze was standing. "See Blaze over there? You've got yourself a training sergeant hand-picked from the Wonderbolts. What she doesn't know about flying isn't worth knowing. Your own unique talent aside, of course."

"Yeah, yeah. We can't all be the fastest flier in Equestria."

Groaning, Lyra nodded to where the three training sergeants waited in their gleaming armor. "Time for me to give my welcome speech, I guess. Better put my authority on."

Rolling was about to ask what she meant, but then Lyra spread her wings and held them out and tilted up. The image of an alicorn replaced the interesting friend she'd been chatting to and it was all she could manage to not bow. The reaction was so instinctive and overbearing that she gasped softly at how insidious it seemed.

"Everyone, it's great to see so many new faces." Lyra had debated on how to address them all, and unlike the normally accepted everycreature, she preferred a simple everyone. The silence that had cloaked those present, even before she'd turned to face them, had been a testament to how powerful the alicorn look was among Equestrians. "Welcome, to the first of a newly envisioned E.U.P. Guard training intake. I know you were expecting the usual three weeks of training, but I think you will all agree by the end that the extra time spent will prepare you to be the best protectors Equestria has ever seen.

"From pegasi, to unicorns, to earth ponies, bat ponies, griffons, diamond dogs, dragons, and even one of Equestria's sirens—you're all going to have a chance to be part of the Guard. It won't be easy. You will be expected to work as hard as you ever have in your life—and then some. This intake has required a more focused training routine than ever, and the best ponies to teach the specific skills of their species were an absolute requirement.

"Blaze, former Wonderbolt by only a few weeks, has stepped up to be your training sergeant in all things flight related. She is without a doubt one of the most elite and special fliers Equestria has ever seen, and she will be able to instruct on all aspects of flight—if you have wings or not. She'll also be taking on duties for anyone who has a flight-focused special talent.

"Sparklebright, former Royal Dragoon likewise only by a few weeks, will be tackling the immense task of magic and special weapons training. Her experience among Equestria's most expert fighting force will see that she can impart you with a flexibility of action and power such that you can perform to the minimum standard of any active combat regiment in the Guard. She will also be working with anyone who possesses direct combat talents.

"Solid Ground, a returning veteran of this regiment and master of earth pony magics and engaging in close quarters fighting, will ensure those of you who are capable of mastering the qualities of not getting beaten up worse than you absolutely wish to be. She will also be assisting with support equipment training.

"Finally, it's important to highlight that if you feel this isn't for you, or you're having any other problem, your sergeants will listen. But, my door is always open and I will always listen to you." The introduction, Lyra felt, exemplified each of her sergeant's skills and what her new recruits could expect. There was only one thing left for the day to start properly for them. "Now, who here likes to run?" It was an agreed upon signal. Lyra grinned as Solid Ground strode forward.

"Alright! You heard the commander. She wants to know if you enjoy running? You know what the Guard is best at, right?" Solid didn't hold back. Her voice boomed across the assembled.

"Running!" The reply came from several voices among the group. Most were the returning and re-certifying Guardponies, but Lyra saw Rolling Thunder shout it just as loud.

"Then get moving! I want to see the first lap at a gallop!" Solid led the way to the front gate as ponies, diamond dogs, griffons, and a once-more pony March thundered along with her.

Lyra advanced on Smash. "Don't like running?" she asked.

"No. It's stupid." Crossing her arms over her chest, Smash blew out a gout of flame from each nostril. She wouldn't ever admit it, but it was less doesn't like and more can't, thanks to her being between juvenile and full adult. "Besides, why run when you can fly?"

"So, let's fly." Spreading her wings, Lyra nodded over to where Blaze stood. "You ever tried out-flying a Wonderbolt or two?"

Not stupid—not like some dragons she could name—Smash looked around. "Two? Where's the other one?" Lyra was smirking at her, and it took a moment to pick up on that as being her smug grin. "You? But you're an alicorn."

"I've been around a bit. So, do you think you can keep up?" Lyra asked as Blaze joined her. "Smash needs to work out her wings more than her legs. Wanna join us?"

Blaze shook her wings. The light armor she wore felt like lead compared to her Wonderbolts flight suit, but once she was in the air, she knew, it would become reasonably weightless thanks to her pegasus magic. What enticed her, however, was the size of Smash. "Sure. Who takes point?"

"Since our cadet isn't used to flying formation, why don't we fly four loops of Canterlot as fast as we can, and whenever someone gets in front, they have to slow down until they are behind the last of us?" Lyra asked.

"What? Why would we do that?" Smash felt indignant at the idea of flying slower than as fast as she could.

"Because you need to keep in formation with your squad mates. If you're faster than them, they need you to slow down. If you're slower, they have to keep back with you." Blaze slipped into her training voice. It wasn't a shout-orders parade ground voice, but conveyed the information she wanted.

The premise sounded dubious to Smash, though she wasn't going to say it that way. "I guess, but why?"

"So no one gets to the fight late and misses out on the fun," Lyra said.

Blaze fought the need to facehoof at that. She could see why a dragon would appreciate it, given everything she knew about them, but it was another reminder how far out-of-the-box Lyra could think. "So, think you can keep up with us?"

"Pfft, of course."

Blaze hadn't been ready for a dragon that weighed probably ten times her mass to spread a pair of huge wings and launch herself into the sky. The wind and pressure was immense, but the moment she figured out what was going on, she drew on her pegasus magic and shot upward with Lyra at her side.

When Smash turned her upward momentum into forward flight, accompanied by a huge flap, she shot forward like a missile. She wouldn't rest easily, though, since she still felt the dull impact Lyra'd dealt her in the mock fight. She wasn't going to take Lyra (or any alicorn) for being a mere pony with lots of bits attached. Looking back, she saw both of her pursuers gaining.

Smash was smart, though. She'd already figured out the key here to not losing, and although it meant not winning—she didn't see this as something she could win with the rules Lyra had set out. So, smirking, Smash slowed herself down so the other two could pass a bit easier than they would have otherwise.

As Blaze blew past Smash, she mentally gave a cheer to the dragon. This was exactly how the game was meant to be played. She could already see that Lyra and herself were faster than Smash, but Smash had done the right thing and let their grouping reach her faster. "You've got me by a nose, Commander!"

"Yeah, but that leaves you up here on your own." Peeling off and bleeding her speed, Lyra waited until she was level with Smash, while Blaze did the same.

Smash sped up a bit now. She could see that the other two had her beaten for raw speed. "Now we do laps?"

"As fast as you can, Cadet!" Blaze ordered, and if it wasn't for flying even with Smash barely beyond her wingtip, she knew the horrific currents she cut through the air behind her would risk swamping both her and Lyra.

It shouldn't have felt so good, Smash kept telling herself. She got to fly without any worry of another dragon getting in her way, and the two ponies flying with her could fly better than any dragon she'd ever seen.

There was still the conundrum of Lyra. It wasn't often a creature could best a dragon at physical combat, but here was Smash having to remember the fight over and over. The spell Lyra had cast confused Smash at first, until she remembered that her scales stopped magic affecting her, but didn't stop it affecting Lyra.

As they banked hard to swing past Canterlot castle, Smash realized what she had to do. A big grin split her face and left her fangs showing in a jagged line of white.

Lyra saw Celestia and Luna standing below. They were watching as the recruits galloped past, though Luna did lift her head in time to see the three of them bank away from the castle and back toward the fields.

They were leaving the runners behind, but that was always going to happen with the distance they were covering. Their speed was deceptive. It almost felt to Lyra like they were barely moving. Looking down, though, revealed a blur of ponies and buildings that told the truth: they were flying very fast and so low she was amazed they weren't clipping the tops of buildings. For that matter, she wondered if Smash would notice if they did.

A second, third, and finally a fourth circuit was completed and they broke off finally to land in the field as the runners returned.

Lyra felt like her wings had been given a good bit of work. "You fly well, Smash. How are you feeling after that?"

Smash wanted to bluff and say she was fine, but the truth was she'd flown hard to keep up that pace. Dragons like her had great wings for soaring on high thermals where flapping wasn't all that required, but she'd just been forced to fly as fast as she could without any benefits of such air currents. "My wings are sore."

"Sore as in painful, or sore as in they got a good stretch that they aren't used to?" Blaze asked.

"Not painful. Not like that time I broke one of my wings. Sore and stiff." Turning her head, Smash looked back at her wings and growled at them.

"I've got good news and better news for you, Cadet," Blaze said, her own wings tucked at her sides and feeling perfectly fine. "The better news is that by the end of two months, flying that hard will no longer make your wings sore."

Smash didn't like the sound of that. She narrowed her eyes at Blaze. "What's the good news?"

"That it'll be because you'll be flying three times a day, and a lot more than four laps of the city." Appreciating that Smash didn't attempt her namesake, Blaze added, "But don't worry. I'll be flying every lap beside you."

Leaving her sergeants to their work, Lyra headed to her quarters and put her armor on. Since her first suit, she had always given utility more thought than the look of her armor. There was the time when she denied her new wings, that she had additions made to keep them hidden, but even that was a function she wanted.

When she had her armor on—her newest suit—she groaned at her image in the mirror. Gold trim on her armor was nothing new. Royal Guard armor had it, and it was seen as useful since it could hold a lot of enchanting. What made her vocalize however was the crest on the front. A unicorn's head with proud wings to each side of it, picked out in intricate detail.

The styling on her shoulders was standard for a commander, and something she'd had during her time in Twilight's Friendship Guard, but now there was a pair of wings on each side of that, and a swirl of magic around the ring of stars.

She marched out and mentally worked over her itinerary. "Yeah, I have time." The walk to Sharp Horn's smithy took Lyra out of earshot of the main buildings of the Training regiment. She could hear the dull ring of hammer on steel as she approached. When she stepped inside, the enchantment that was keeping most of the sound at bay was behind her.

"Sorry, Commander, I can't stop with this," Sharp called, her words punctuated by her hammer beating a curve into a magically imbued piece of chestplate.

Biding her time, letting the steady rhythm of the hammer sink into her, Lyra felt an echo of the strikes in the armor she wore. She didn't for a moment doubt that there could be such a thing. Magic was sympathetic to its caster, and Sharp was in the midst of a major protective spell being worked into the huge chestplate.

It was definitely a piece for a pony, but even Twilight and herself wouldn't fit into that massive interior. Nor was it for Sharp, not that Lyra would begrudge her such a piece. "Celestia?"

Nodding with the next strike, Sharp bored down into the metal with her magic, carrying along the enchantments she intended to become part of the whole suit. Lyra kept quiet after that, giving her the minutes she needed to finish feeding the spells into her work. "The metal has cooled too much now. Sorry, sir, you have my full attention now."

Lyra waved the apology away with a hoof. "Nothing to be sorry for, Sharp. I was here about my new armor." Lyra contemplated how this would normally go. There was always a right way to handle something, a wrong way to handle something, and the Lyra way of handling something. Her way was normally the wrong way, but faster. "There's a lot of—"

Seeing Lyra gesture at the crest on the front of the breastplate, Sharp said, "Delicate motifs? I can assure you, sir, that will not weaken the armor at all. Princesses Celestia and Luna both donated enchantments for that—and right now there is nothing in this country that's its equal in protection."

"Oh." Now feeling terrible for wanting to ask for it to be changed, Lyra realized what it meant to be enchanted that much. "Oh! I guess they don't want me working some desk job forever."

"Not unless your desk is liable to be far more dangerous than Stiff's was." Tapping at the piece of steel with her hoof, Stiff picked it up with her magic and carried it back to the forge. "A lot of changes, I hear?"

"I kept you in the loop on this. I know I did!" Lyra caught the smirk on Sharp's face. "A month and a half of training, specialized training course, all that. It will be the same for you, of course. They will be getting armor training around the same time as the old classes did."

"Just checking if anything has changed in the last few hours. I can never tell with you." Stepping over to the bellows, Sharp used her magic to start working them. "I've got all the metal already. I had rough numbers of pegasi and unicorns, so there are already plenty of helmets and wing-casings. The rest I have to finish off." She waited a moment. "There was something I had meant to talk to you about, if you're not busy now?"

"I have a brace of meetings in the afternoon, but between now and midday I am free. What do you need to talk about?" Lyra was about to throw up a ward against the forge fire, but remembered that Sharp didn't like having others' magic in here. Instead, she took a few steps away from the heat and flicked her wings a few times.

"There's a pony in that—" Sharp cut herself off. "You can't overheat in that armor and your feathers won't singe." Laughing at Lyra's antics, she narrowed her eyes. "Are you actually getting hot or just reacting to the perceived heat?"

Blinking in surprise at the astute question, Lyra stepped back closer to the forge and stood there a while with her wing held out a little. "Huh."

"Good huh?"

"Yeah. You're right. I'm not getting hot, but it feels weird not to be hot. I think it's because you are negating the heat rather than mitigating it. If you reduced the heat down so it scaled from normal temperature to mildly hot, I'd be able to get a feel for the heat of the forge instead."

The insight, Sharp admitted, shouldn't have surprised her. Lyra was no slouch at magic and she couldn't recall the mare ever having had a bad result at problem-solving. "I could have the you would be severely injured level give some other kind of feedback. Yes, this will work. There was another thing I wanted to talk about apart from the ergonomics of advanced enchantments. I need an assistant, and I needed one yesterday. I would have spoken to you then, but you were busy."

"You could teach two as easily as one, right?"

"Y-Yeah." The question caught Sharp by surprise. "I'd need a second forge and— I'll need a budget then. Two ponies can use the same equipment of one, but three will need a second set of everything. It wouldn't need to be as elaborate as this, they wouldn't be working the same metals, but it— Yes, Commander, I need a budget."

"Then write a proposal and I'll approve it. You have anyone in mind to be your apprentices?" The sour expression Lyra saw on Sharp's face told her volumes about how that was going. "So you want a pair of ponies with an affinity for metal, an aptitude for magic, and a willingness to learn?"

"Yeah, but I'll need to talk to them. And try to find them within a few months. This"—Sharp nodded to the door Lyra had come through—"is too much for one pony to keep up with, if you'll have me making armor for Wonderbolts and Police, as well as those going into combat regiments."

Nodding to Sharp's assessment, Lyra walked for the door. "I'll find you three, then. You said two ponies can share a forge—so you can teach three with two forges." Smiling to herself, Lyra walked out of the forge and left Sharp behind. It had, she mused, been a complete write-off with her attempt to get more plain armor, but when it came to work, she'd given her armorer paperwork—where all Lyra had to do was accomplish the impossible in a month or two. "This day is getting better and better!"

Author's Note

Lyra: Do you ever worry your increasing of the prominence of the guard would lead to a heavier militarization of Equestria and, if so, could create power struggles or bloated messes in governance?

"It does concern me. We aren't conscripting, though, which I think would be the biggest red flag to my personal efforts. I love the chance Princess Celestia has given me, here, to find who and what I want to be. Twilight and her friends shouldn't be the only line of defense, though." Shrugging her shoulders, Lyra smiled ruefully. "It'd be great if they weren't required as a line of defense at all. There are a lot of ponies who want to protect other ponies."

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Chapter 6

The training had involved a lot more running than Rolling Thunder would have thought. She'd even gotten tipped off by Short Fuse, but it hadn't prepared her for the reality of it. They ran every morning. They ran after lunch. They ran before dinner.

Sergeant Blaze hadn't been the nightmare Wonderbolts instructor she'd feared. In the Guard, it seemed, having a method of flying that made half the sky dangerous to fly in was considered a bonus—she'd gotten pushed to an advanced training group because of that.

Five laps of Canterlot, and while she was breathing hard—it was because she'd galloped the whole way. Even slowing down, she quickly regained her breath and cooled herself off. And, it had only taken four weeks of training to do, she told herself with a mocking tone to her mental voice. Things were different now, though. Rather than split off into their various specialty classes, all three training sergeants were standing together.

It wasn't a huge leap for her to figure out they were doing something as a group today. Trotting over, she stood straight and waited for their instructions.

"Fall in," Solid Ground said, her parade ground voice a little more sharp than her two peers'. "After a month of training, we think you're all to the point where you can engage with someone and not accidentally kill yourself; congratulations!" She paused for the few chuckles to die down. A little levity was fine, but she wouldn't let it continue too long. "So, today, we're going to start with your teamwork training. We'll have three groups that will rotate each day for the next nine days. One group will focus on full combat and engagement, second will work on counter-escalation and using strictly soft subduing methods, and the third will focus on special circumstances. Pick a sergeant and fall in. Don't be surprised if we break you up and shuffle you to other groups."

As far as Rolling figured, it wasn't going to matter either way. She walked over to Solid Ground and stood before her. She waited for others to move around, and then yet others to be moved around, and finally things seemed to be starting.

"Cadets, I'll be taking you for counter-escalation and subduing tactics. You'll learn a little psychology, to head-off problems before they become problems, and ways to slow and stop all manner of creatures without having to use dangerous force." This was some of the newer topics that Solid had been working on with Lyra. She read over her own notes in her head and let the words flow as she explained the simplest method of talking someone down from a rash action—and that was talking to them.

The morning was spent on theory. Rolling learned about the importance of speaking with a calm voice, of trying to picture why someone was doing what you didn't want them to, and the most harmless ways to dissuade such actions. It was weird for her, but she'd learned from Lyra—in her short time in close contact with her—that weird often came together into something amazing.

The sun peaked in the sky and Rolling found herself reunited with the rest of the cadets as they filed into the mess. The food came with two menus, and all that changed between them was how spicy it was. There were specialty foods for other species, but Rolling was fine with the mild fish stew. She filled up a bowl with the stuff, grabbed some flatbread, and a big mug of water, and looked around at her choices. There weren't a lot that she cared too strongly about, so headed for the nearest table and sat down beside a griffon. "This spot taken?"

Shrugging her winged shoulders, Glint shook her head. "Nope."

Not having spent much time with griffons before, Rolling figured there wasn't much different between them. "I'm Rolling. You live in Equestria?" she asked, using a fork to spear pieces of fish and vegetables out of the stew.

"Glint, and yeah. South of here in a town called Den. Moved here to get away from—" Glint sighed and looked down at her pie. It was fish again, but she couldn't exactly say it wasn't good fish. She prodded it with her fork and tried to pretend it was some other kind of meat. "Griffonstone isn't exactly a nice place to live anymore, and its influence has spread to all the griffon settlements. If you're not in a hunting pride there, you can't do anything to get better, ya know?"

"Yeah, mate, I've dealt with some crap. So why here then?"

"Den's great, don't get me wrong. Anyone can be whatever they want now, and the town won't fall apart because we lack someone, but I want to cook." Glint laughed aloud at Rolling's confused look. "You can't cook griffon food unless you can hunt, and everyone tells me the best way to learn to hunt in Equestria is to join the Monster Hunters."

It took Glint a moment to realize that Rolling wasn't following her. To help demonstrate, she pried open the top of her fish pie. "Griffons have to eat a lot of meat. Unless you're big on making food for ponies, you either need to pay someone to hunt for you, or you learn to hunt yourself. So, I'll do my training here, spend a year in the Monster Hunters, then change to being a reservist." After explaining it, Glint felt a touch defensive about her plan.

"Huh. You've got it all planned out." The pie, Rolling could see, wasn't a mix of vegetables, lentils, and a little fish—it was a lot of fish all packed in tight with some kind of thick sauce. "So you normally eat other stuff?"

"Yeah. We—" Glint paused as she felt a bump on her other side. Turning her head to look up at Grendel, she watched the big guy shake his head. "R-Right. Yeah. You probably don't want to know what we eat."

"Come on, it can't be that bad." The moment she said it, Rolling had a feeling like she shouldn't. "Is it that bad?"

"We eat what we hunt, and griffons are all about hunting. The only thing off the menu is anything that talks." Shoving the contents of the pie around a little, Glint sighed. "And all we get here is fish."

Griffon and pegasus both froze as a new pony sat down at the table. Both tried to jump to their feet and salute at the same time, but Lyra said, "At ease, we're in the mess. I've been meaning to catch up and ask if the meals are okay?"

Letting loose a little squawk of surprise, Glint felt like she'd gotten caught in a hurricane. She'd just been complaining about the food, and here Lyra was sitting before her and asking—after she'd had a month to learn how exceptional the mare was. "I— It— S-Sir—"

Grendel didn't envy Glint one bit.

"What Glint's trying to say is the food is always the same," Rolling said and looked to her eating companion. "Right?"

"Right." Glint looked at Rolling, wishing she hadn't been so open about her food. "It's always fish."

Interested even more now, Lyra asked, "You don't normally eat fish?"

"Once a week. Maybe less." Pushing the pastry aside, Glint looked down into the pie. "It's tasty, but—"

"You want red meat. Something with fiber and sinew. Even salmon won't do?"

"Salmon is better than this, and tuna would be better still, but—" When Lyra had said "fiber and sinew", Glint couldn't stop herself from drooling a little. Now she had to wonder how a pony would learn of the very things that made red meat so good.

From the corner of her eye, Lyra spotted one of the few bat ponies that had applied. "I'll talk to some ponies who might be able to help. I can't promise it, but I'll do everything I can to get you at least one good meal before the end of your training, and hopefully secure more for your time as part of the Guard."

Curiosity got the better part of at least fifty percent of Glint, and she asked, "How do you know so much about meat? Uh, sir."

It was a good question, and one she'd been asked before. What surprised Lyra though was how much easier it was to accept sir than your highness and for that matter how the Guard used sir for every officer regardless of gender. "Do you know the history of the bat ponies?" When Glint shook her head, Lyra wasn't all that surprised. "They weren't ponies at all ten— Yeah, ten years ago.

"In their world, something happened that ripped open a hole to Equestria. For a world without magic, having so much suddenly pour into it was a shock, so the beliefs of that world coalesced magic into some familiar shapes. Tjinimin, a bat spirit, was the first to appear. He saw a catastrophe in progress and gave the magic forms that blended local forms and those of the magic's origin.

"He made the first bat ponies. Or, rather, he told magic how to make bat ponies, and it started infusing people with that form. One person, however, went through the portal to Equestria and saw an amazing event take place. A sonic rainboom lit up the sky, and while he spoke with a friend there, they got a cutie mark and became a unicorn."

The room had quietened down so the loudest noises were coming from the kitchen, and even those seemed muted compared to Lyra's voice.

"After some time in their home world as a unicorn, they eventually came back to Equestria to ask a friend to make good on a promise to teach them how to use magic. I think you know where that went. The important thing, though, is that pony lived years as another creature entirely. You might even say that it made them an exceptional diplomat when it comes to the needs of our more predatory friends.

"I also make it my specialty to find people who can help with problems, and two of those are here now, at least I hope so. Mango, Big," Lyra said, looking over at where the two bat ponies were sitting, bowls of fruit before them, "can you tell me if I'd have any luck buying some meat from Batstralia?"

"That wouldn't be easy. With the country a bit, uh… wild, most farms have given up on trying to farm cattle. Sheep are still kept, but in smaller numbers." Big Empty, named such because he couldn't reach the Dreamtime at all, shrugged his shoulders.

"Wait," Mango Thief said. "What about 'roos?" When she got a confused look from Big, she turned her attention to Lyra and did her best to ignore the crowd of ponies listening. "Kangaroos. They've been giving the monsters hell, and some folks still hunt them. You might be able to buy some 'roo meat. Maybe emu too."

"Is there anyone at the embassy I can talk to about it?" Lyra asked. The shrug she got in reply was enough, and in keeping with her request to keep the mess informal, she didn't push. "Thanks, I'll see if we can't figure out something to keep our griffon guards from going crazy from eating nothing but fish."

As if a signal, everyone seemed to get back to the job of refueling their bodies, and Lyra was sure that Glint looked less upset with her meal. "I'll go see them right now, actually. I'll get something for you, even if I have to hunt it myself."

Flying from Canterlot to anywhere except for Cloudsdale was the easiest thing in the world for Lyra. Altitude equated to speed and speed meant she didn't have to flap at all. She could have visited the new embassy in Canterlot, but Lyra wanted to spread her wings a little, and the bigger building situated on the railway line beyond Ponyville was ample distance for her to have some fun.

Diving close to the ground from the height of Canterlot was not for the feint of heart, but Lyra had trained for such wild flying, and executed a recovery to practically skim the tops of the trees. Ponyville was there and gone again in the blink of an eye, and soon Lyra was curving around the Everfree Forest and following the railway line to what had been a blank platform when she'd first come to Equestria.

The new station had its own spur line that then continued on south. There were several buildings in what had become a small town. Lyra dumped speed by angling her wings up into a stall and letting the chaotic air buffet her and, eventually, landing neatly near the station.

The platform had a roof over it now, but Lyra's focus was on the bat pony that looked at her in surprise. "Hi, I've come to invade. Is there a line for that, or do I need to book an appointment?"

Staring at the strange pony wearing what looked like real armor, the bat pony did his best not laugh—and failed. "You what?" he managed to ask, after a few seconds of vocal mirth.

"I think I need to talk to someone who can find and import some food products. Who would that be?" Lyra asked.

"Ah, that makes more sense. Here was I thinking you were going to hold me hostage. If it's fruit you're after, though—"

Lyra shook her head. "Not fruit. I need to buy meat. Specifically, red meat."

"Oh. Huh? Well, as you can guess, we don't sell that here, so you'd have to talk to the quartermaster to arrange a price and quantity. The big building over there. Someone will be waiting inside, ask them if you can speak to the quartermaster."

"Thanks!" Lyra turned for the indicated building and trotted off in its direction.

"No probs." It took the bat pony nearly thirty seconds before he realized what had been bothering him about Lyra, but he eventually blurted, "That was a princess."

A sign on the front door of the building said,"Come in." Lyra smiled at that and used her magic to open the door and walk inside. The room looked fairly typical for a waiting room and reception, though she had to wonder how many people came to visit them to warrant such a design.

"Can I help y— Lyra?!"

Not recognizing the bat pony mare behind the counter, Lyra nonetheless smiled as warmly as she could. "Uh, yes?"

Laughing with a screech she quickly covered her mouth to stop, the mare said, "Giggle Fit—Err, Kelly. You remember me?" The look of dawning realization on Lyra's face as she pinned a human name and a human face on a bat pony made Giggle do her namesake. "It's been so long! I heard you were some kind of famous here, but haven't seen you around at all."

"I've been all over the country, or so it seems, dealing with problems here there and everywhere. But I've never needed to come here until today. What about you? How are your parents handling the bat life?"

"Oh, they love it. Who wouldn't? They were in their late thirties, then bam, half their age. I have two little brothers and a little sister now." Tilting her head, Giggle asked, "If you don't mind, why the costume?"

"Costume?"

"The whole getup you have there. Are you going to one of those fairs? The wings are a nice touch."

"Oh. Ooooh." Lyra shook herself a little, closing her eyes and preparing for a big reveal. "Alright, so this might be a minor freakout moment, but…" Opening her wings and spreading them, Lyra struck one of the more traditional alicorn poses she'd seen Celestia use. "The wings are real and so is the armor."

Facehoofing, Giggle slumped and looked at Lyra. "You can knock it off. I know you're a unicorn. We had another so-called alicorn princess last week. Came in and asked about our new ambassador. I didn't believe her any more than you."

"Twilight?"

"No. Cadence or something. Look, I know for a fact that Equestria has two alicorns ruling it, one white and one dark blue, and there's a new one in purple. There isn't any pink alicorn, Lyra, and you certainly aren't one either."

Taking a moment to focus, Lyra closed her eyes and counted to ten. "Alright. First off, Cadance. And you're right, she—"

"I knew it!"

"She's not a princess at all. She is an alicorn, though, and empress of the Crystal Empire. Also, Princess Twilight Sparkle's sister-in-law and adopted niece of Princess Celestia—'the white one.' I'm not a princess either, but I am an alicorn." With her lecture voice subsiding a little, Lyra added, "And I am, in fact, Commander of the E.U.P. Guard. The armor is real."

When Giggle looked at her, dawning realization on her face, Lyra added, "Why would I come here wearing fake armor and pretending to look like an alicorn—when I didn't know I'd have someone here I knew?"

"She— She was an empress?" Lyra's slow nod made Giggle shudder. "I—"

"Relax. Breathe. Cadance is a friend. I'll talk to her about it." The sound of a distant train whistle didn't distract Lyra from helping Giggle recover. "You didn't know. Alicorns are a bit more common here lately. Did you know Cadance's daughter is one, too?"

"Wait." Jerking her head up from where she'd slumped on her counter, Giggle perked her ears. "Was that a train whistle?"

"Huh? Yeah. So, don't stress abo—" Lyra had to dive out of the way lest she be trampled by a screeching bat pony rushing for the front door. "Giggles?!"

"The new ambassador!" Reaching the front door, Giggles opened it and looked around. Sure enough, a train was slowing to a stop having come up the spur line from the portal.

As more bat ponies rushed out, looking eager and, at least in Lyra's estimation, flustered, she followed along to see who it was. It would have to be someone important to cause so many to act so crazy. By the time she made it to the station, there was one pony she immediately recognized standing on the edge of it. "Robin?"

It was a boring midday when Robin arrived at the freight-handling town that was the midway point between the Batstralia portal and Canterlot. She was well-versed enough in politics now that she knew she had to ensure everyone saw her and she got to have words with them.

Fifty-six bat ponies, and Robin was counting each of them. They clustered around as if she would have all the answers to every problem they faced. She could have laughed if she didn't have her political smile in place, greeting each with a little screech of greeting. Then she reached number fifty-seven, and stared. "Lyra?"

"Hey, Spud." The ear-splitting screech Lyra's sister let out, and the following pounce-tackle would have caught her off-guard, but her armor absorbed the strike without making her move at all. Not that it seemed to do anything to her sister.

Wrapped in two soft wings, Robin squeezed Lyra with her own. "How did you know I was coming today?"

"I am an alicorn now, Spud. I have flown the winds of destiny. I have meditated for days on end to commune with fate. I have even—" Lyra was cut off by a boop. "I needed to buy meat."

"Meat? Why would you need it? Don't you eat grass or whatever?" Lowering her hoof, Robin nodded toward the building Lyra had left a moment earlier. "We can probably talk in there. The train will be heading to Canterlot in about an hour."

"We could always fly. It's not far."

Opening the door to the reception, Robin stepped inside. "No. Screech made me promise not to do that. I have to go by train and stick to my schedule. There's going to be a ceremony in Canterlot." Looking around the waiting room, Robin walked up to Giggle's desk. "Is there a spare room I could occupy while I wait for my train?"

"Of course! Conference room one is free." Giggle might have known Robin from their time growing up together, but she was still an important bat pony—one of the most important. "It's the first one on your left."

When they were inside and the door was closed, Robin had to ask, "Isn't that stuff uncomfortable to wear?"

"My armor? Sis, it was made specifically for me to wear. It's more comfortable than wearing a dress once you're used to the weight. Even that is reduced because it's magic armor." Finding a seat and settling in, Lyra leaned back and heard the poor chair creak under her. "Okay, it's not completely weightless, but still way lighter than it should be."

"How's Mum and Dad?" Robin switched gears and topics. Her sister was always going to treat fantastic things as mundane, and she knew she had to deal with that.

"Mum's still working at the castle as the princesses' advisor. She's loving that and— Oh! She's pregnant again. Dad's more chill than ever. He's basically put the local cha—" Stopping, Lyra mentally berated herself for almost certainly summoning the spirit of chaos in question. "The local version of Dad. He's not a bad guy, but he's calmed down a lot from when he first awoke and helped me learn to master chaos magic."

There were several questions Robin had, but what she came up with first related to the last thing Lyra had said. "How many kinds of magic are there?"

"There are eight kinds of magic that ponies can use. There might be a ninth coming soon, though. We have light, dark, change, motion, emotive, chaos, harmony, and friendship. Love is just a matter of time."

"And how many can you cast with?"

Lyra snorted. "I can cast with any of them, but the ones I am missing the source of are light and change. Both are things I need to learn from Princess Celestia. It's a slow process, but this is something I am destined to do. It's part of what I need to be."

"How many ponies can do all this, then? All the alicorns?"

"You mean, how many sources of magic has anyone ever managed before me? Princess Celestia has three. Gathering them all is my thing, and I hope it is never needed." The idea that it might was something Lyra didn't like thinking on, but did anyway. "If an alicorn is disabled for any length of time, they either have to pass on the sources they control or the magic might perish."

The look of horror that passed over her sister's face highlighted for Robin how bad that would be. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Red meat?" When her sister rolled her eyes, Lyra pressed her advantage. "No, seriously. Beef, 'roo, pig, whatever."

"Everything I've read says ponies don't eat meat, though."

"Okay, first, that's wrong. Pegasi eat fish regularly, and there are some earth pony families that hold to traditions of fish eating, but this isn't for them. I have two griffons who joined the E.U.P. Guard, and they are not fans of an all fish diet."

"That's your job now? A cook?" Robin's mind was already racing, trying to think of how to get such a supply of meat. "We still have plenty of people who like to hunt. Kangaroos haven't stopped breeding like crazy because there's magic, so there are no laws restricting it. What your problem will be is getting it killed suitable for export.

"The laws didn't change in that regard. We didn't think we needed to change them. I can get Screech to change them, if you want?"

Nodding and taking down notes, Lyra said, "We don't issue armor like this to our chefs; they get the same armor as anyone else. As for it being slaughtered, if that's the issue, maybe you could issue hunters with stamps they can apply to carcasses so the quality can be tracked and penalties imposed for bad practices? How soon could we get the first shipment?"

Now Robin narrowed her eyes at her sister and looked—really looked—at the armor she was wearing. "Who do they give armor like that to?"

"Commander—"

"I heard you were already commander of one of the Princess' guards, and that you had one pony working under yo—"

"Commander of the E.U.P. Guard." Lyra smiled as innocently as she could. Her sister's laughter was itself enough to make her smile turn into a grin. "I know! I was surprised too. I thought I was going to be commander of the Training regiment, but then I find out that the Training regiment commander is the big cheese."

Robin's grin turned into a rolling laugh. She almost fell out of her chair at the sheer Lyraness of accidentally becoming in charge of a nation's military. That's when it hit her and she sobered immediately. "You're in charge of the military? So when those offers of training came through…"

"The first ones were from my predecessor, though I put that bee in his bonnet. Then the most recent ones were mine. They, uh, might be on your desk when you reach your new embassy in Canterlo—" A knock at the door interrupted Lyra.

"Come in," Robin said, years of practice lending her voice that bored authority that was required of someone who had to not give opinions on things regularly lest those opinions be seen as intent.

Giggle was surprised to see the siblings looking so somber and composed. Remembering the pair from growing up, she would have expected them to be far more relaxed with each other. "Your train is scheduled to leave in ten minutes."

Lyra could stop laughing at that. At the weird looks from Giggle and Robin, she managed to stop long enough to say, "I think that's the most polite way of telling your boss to move her ass I've ever heard."

"She's literally the right-hand-woman of Princess Screech—even if she was my best friend growing up. Besides, the train won't leave without her. It's her train." Shrugging her shoulders, Giggle pointed to the door. "Either way, if you want a ride to Canterlot, it's out there ready to go."

"It'd be so much easier if I could fly," Robin said.

"It'd be so much easier if I could teleport us," Lyra said, and when both Robin and Giggle stared at her in shock, she asked, "What?"

"Teleport?" Robin asked.

"Teleport?" Giggle asked.

"Yeah. It's not that hard, and besides, I could aim for the sky above Canterlot and we could fly down to the station." It sometimes took Lyra by surprise when she realized that some people didn't know that much about teleporting. "Here, let me show you."

"Wai—" was all Robin could get out before her sister cast a spell. Instinct made her snap her wings out and, with a glance, she realized she was in the air above Canterlot. "Lyra!" And, with another pomf sound, she was back in the room they'd vacated with the first teleport.

"See! It's soooo much easier."

Giggle and Robin both stared at Lyra as if she'd gone crazy. It was Robin, though, that spoke up first. "Lyra, you're my big sister and I love you to bits, but never do that again without warning me, okay?"

"You're almost as bad as Bonnie. Look, all I'm saying is that we could be cozy and warm in Canterlot right now. We were in Canterlot, as a matter of fact, and I know you need to follow this whole thing and stuff. Oh! You know I could disguise some other bats as you and me. Well, disguising one as me might be against the law, I'm not sure on that, but—" The hoof wasn't in Lyra's mouth, but Robin was threatening to do so with a sobering glare and a boop that would put Pinkie to shame. "Mrrffmmr."

"Come on, we're going to take the train. You get to be my escort—and I'll make sure you get some meat samples by the end of the week." Robin looked over toward Giggles, and nodded.

"W-What meat samples?" Giggles asked.

"Some kangaroo, let's try for four sides." Robin waited for Giggles to nod. "Okay, thanks to that little demonstration of Lyra's magic, I need to sit down for a bit. It's one thing to know your sister is a wizard, and another to have her do that. Oh, and if anybat says anything about it, let them know it's a diplomatic requirement to maintain relations with Equestria."

Lyra's eyes widened at that, which made Robin raise an eyebrow at her. "What? It is a diplo—"

"No, not that." Almost vibrating with excitement, Lyra held up her hoof to shield the conversation from Giggle, and spoke into her sister's ear. "You said anybat."

It took Robin a moment to remember her own ribbing of Lyra for ponyisms the last time they'd spoken. She groaned and used her wings to herd her sister outside and to the train.

Author's Note

Lyra: have you tried rapidly strobing your wings to see how bedazzled folks could get with the rapid oscillation of The Alicorn Effect?

"That... That would be a completely different study. For one thing, the alicorn effect is passive. It would happen anyway and we are just observing how it happens and with what side effects. We would need all kinds of permission and consent for a study like you suggest," Lyra said, "and asking for permission to do the study would probably affect the outcome in this instance."

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