"Uh, hello! Good morning, um, can I help you with something?"

Lyra's voice rings out from far behind the couch I hide behind, my limbs frozen in a cluttered, tangled mess as I desperately squeezed myself behind the little cover it provided before Lyra had opened the door. I curl around myself a little tighter, my ears instinctively flickering towards the voices in the entryway.

"Good morning, ma'am." The guard's gruff voice echoes into the house. "We have reason to believe a pony of interest may be hiding at or around your residence. Please move aside so we may search the premises."

"What?" Lyra's voice shakes slightly, but still holds firm. "I— I have no idea what you're talking about, maybe you have the wrong house or something. Nopony else is supposed to be around until my roommate comes back from her trip."

Wow, she's not selling me out, even with how... huge this whole thing is? She really is a real one. I shift my body around to get my legs out of the awkward position I had crammed myself into and move them to a more comfortable one.

"We understand, ma'am, but we assure you, we have the right place."

"How do you know? Did you see anypony else go in? Because I know I definitely didn't."

There's a brief pause. "The source of our information is regarded to be highly accurate in her reasoning."

"Her? I— I don't understand wha—"

"Sorry, but we don't have time for this. Now please step out of the way."

"Wha— hold on a minute, you can't just— hey!" There is some scuffling at the doorway before heavy hoofsteps make their way into the hallway. Oh shit, this is getting bad real quick. I suck in my breath and creep further backwards against the wood floor, internally cursing my hooves for their lack of stealth on hard surfaces. "You can't just force your way in like that! Don't you need a warrant? You... you..."

Lyra's voice trails off in what sounds like fear. Something's not right. I look around the living room, scanning for the windows she had mentioned earlier, and begin to debating whether sprinting dead on into one of them horn-first would either shatter the glass or triple my already annoying headache when—

"I believe my authority may suffice, Lyra Heartstrings." My eyes shoot wide open as a powerful and very familiar voice fills the air. Luna's here too? Already?! I've barely been here for, like, actually I have no idea, but it clearly wasn't for long! I feel my heart already pounding in my chest as the sensation of blinding flashes, deafening explosions, and sizzling heat of energy beams flying around rushes to the forefront of my mind. Damn it, not her already. Not again... I take a deep breath in, letting my eyes once more trail across the lines of wood throughout the floor planks as I try to calm myself.

"Ni— Ni— Nightmare moon..." Lyra trembles out, her voice barely audible anymore from my hiding spot.

"What?!" Every ounce of regality drains right out of Luna's voice, replaced with a hint of... offense? "What nonsense do you speak of? Is it not clear that we are no longer that pony?!"

"I— but you—"

"Lyra, it's okay, calm down" I'm snapped out of my panic-inducing thoughts as an unfamiliar voice joins the fray. This one sounds young and feminine, maybe closer to Lyra's age.

"Twilight? What do you doing here, I—"

"This is Princess Luna, not Nightmare Moon. You remember Princess Luna, right? From the Summer Sun Celebration a couple months ago?"

Summer Sun Celebration? Is that like the summer solstice?

"Yeah, but this isn't—"

"This is her! Same pony. She just looked different when you saw her back then since she was in a, uh, weakened state after we hit her with the Elements of Harmony. She didn't have the starry mane and the... height yet."

I resist the urge to peek out from my hiding spot. So this is that Twilight I've been constantly hearing about? And what the heck are Elements of Harmony? She hit Luna with them and that weakened her? Maybe they're some kind of secret weapon or something.

"Oh... I see. Um, I'm really sorry, your Highness."

Luna lets out an exasperated sigh. "It is of no worry, little one, we understand where this confusion may lie."

"I— what's with the cloak?"

"For discretion. Now then, we are looking for our sister, and Twilight here believes she is somewhere in your house."

Five seconds of deafening silence pass by. "Y— you mean Princess Celestia? Why would she be here?"

"I used Spike's dragon fire to send a letter straight to Princess Celestia, like I do for my weekly friendship lesson." Twilight responds.

I scrunch in confusion. That sparkly smoke from earlier was... sending a letter using dragon fire? That is... ridiculously cool. I dunno about that 'weekly friendship lesson' though, sounds cheesy as hell.

Twilight continues. "I just followed its trail all the way to your house and... through your window apparently."

"So we know she is here, Lyra." Luna follows up tiredly.

"I... think I would remember seeing a letter fly through my window."

There is a moment of silence before Luna speaks up, her tone growing impatient. "Such as the one sitting on the floor behind you?"

More silence.

"Oh, uh, how'd this get he—"

"Enough." Luna's voice reverberates throughout the house, not nearly as loud as a shout, and yet carrying more energy behind it than any shout I have ever heard... at least from anyone else. I feel the shockwave travel through the air and over my fur, eliciting a shudder from me. "We had believed you to be ignorant of the situation at first, but it is clear now that you are feigning it. You obviously know of more than you let on, so we will ask only one more time. Where. Is. My. Sister?"

"I— I—" Lyra's voice trembles in fear. I let out a sigh. Lyra, I really, really, really appreciate you sticking up for me, especially for this long. But this is not worth dying over. Or being tortured over, or whatever.

"I'm here!" I shout, slowly climbing to my hooves. I wince from the ache of them having been stuck in such a cramped space for so long, and shuffle my way out from behind the couch and into view of the main entryway. "I'm here, just... don't hurt her."

Something seems to flash briefly in Luna's eyes, and her expression weakens for the quickest of moments before hardening again. "I never intended to."

With the tension mostly drained from the atmosphere, I quickly scan everyone in front of me. Two royal guard ponies, both unicorns, stand in the middle of the entryway, donning the same armor I saw back in the castle and staring up at me in a mixture of surprise and shock. Behind them is Lyra, still trembling, her gaze locked onto Luna. One of her ears flicks towards me and she turns around, her eyes widening at the sight of me. She mouths something at me, but unfortunately I was never any good at reading lips.

Finally, I gulp and turn my eyes to Luna in full, still one of the only ponies I've seen to nearly meet my height. Just like Lyra had said earlier, she now dons a black, hooded cloak that obscures her normally flowing mane and most of her body, save for her face. On the center rests a small, silver centerpiece in the shape of a crescent moon.

Yeah, that definitely helps with discretion. Why does she need that though? She levels a glare at me that seems to retain some animosity from earlier, but there is also a trace of... relief? I quickly avert my gaze to the side. Yep, she's probably still pissed off, though she looks a bit less than before. Hopefully she's calmed down or something.

After staring at me for a while, Luna trots all the way through the doorway, and is followed immediately by a short, purple unicorn with dark blue bangs for a mane with a pink and purple stripe, who had apparently been standing beside her the entire time. Her violet eyes bore into my own with wide curiosity. The moment she notices my gaze fall upon her though, a bright grin splashes across her muzzle as she rushes towards me.

"Princess Celestia! You're okay!"

"Wai— woah, woah, woah!" I back up instinctively once she makes it past the guards. "What are you doing?"

She freezes in her tracks, her ears falling flat to the sides of her face. "I was just... going to hug you..." She gazes harder into my eyes, bravely but unsuccessfully trying to hide the hurt in her own. "Princess Celestia? Why— why are you looking at me like that?"

I furrow my eyes in confusion. "Like what?"

"Like you... don't recognize me." Her voice drops to a whisper. "Princess, it's me, Twilight! Your student!"

'Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle', from the letter. Nice to put a face to such a... weird name. I blink. Celestia's a teacher too? While being a ruler of an entire nation? How the hell does she have the time? I realize Twilight's been staring at me expectantly. "Um..." My brain grinds to a halt as I'm stuck between lying to make her feel better, but knowing damn well Luna would probably curb stomp my ass the moment I try to pull that again. "Uh... yes."

I wince as I watch the hope in Twilight's face shatter in real time, her gaze falling to the floor. I growl in frustration, my ability to handle these absurd circumstances reaching its breaking point.

"Well, what the heck am I supposed to say?!" I snap blindly at everyone, stomping a hoof hard on the floor. I feel the floor give way under it, but I give it no attention. The two guard ponies back up slightly. "I didn't ask to be here!"

Twilight's expression gradually morphs from shock to confusion. "Princess? You... what?" She turns to Luna. "What's really going on here?"

"I—"

"I believe it best that we address this matter in a more private setting, away from civilians." Luna cuts me off. She casts a side glance towards Lyra, who had silently moved to the base of the stairs. "Speaking of which..." Her horn begins to glow a faint blue as she makes her way to her. "Don't you worry, little one, you won't remember a thing from this."

"Pri— Princess?" Twilight speaks up nervously.

Lyra's eyes widen in alarm and she takes several cautionary steps backwards, tripping on the bottom of the stairs.

Oh shit. "Woah wai— now hold on!" I stumble forward past the guards who barely manage to scramble out of my way. Luna turns to me with a raised eyebrow and a very impatient look.

"What."

Her icy tone freezes me in my tracks. "I— I—" I glance over to Lyra, meeting her frightened and confused gaze. She's been so nice to me, the first one to actually talk to me like a normal person even while I look like this. I... I don't know if I'll run into anyone else like this if we go back to that castle. "I told her everything already. She knows."

Luna blinks, staring deadpan at me. "What do you mean, 'everything'? As in..."

"Everything." I respond with a gulp, but maintaining a brave face. "Well, everything that I had time to talk about before you and your friends bust down the door."

"We did nothing of the sort." Luna scoffs, looking more annoyed. "You mean to tell me you played that whole lying game with me, but then spill it all out to a random civilian?"

"I— she was nice to me! Like, not to just who I look like, but to me."

"Look like?" Twilight questions, her head tilted as she tries to peer at me harder.

Luna rolls her eyes, but her expression softens a little. "And would I be correct to assume you would come more willingly if I were to allow her to retain such information?"

"I— yes."

Luna stares at me for a moment before the light around her horn vanishes. Whew, I don't want her getting neuralized or something. I sigh in relief and glance back to Lyra, who meets my eyes gratefully.

"Prepare a bag with your essentials." Luna turns around, motioning for her guards to return to her side. "We leave for the train station in five minutes, and then the castle."

"Huh?" I look at her in confusion. "I don't... have anything to pack."

"I wasn't talking to you." She responds, gesturing with her head behind me.

"Wait, what?" Lyra, Twilight, and I exclaim simultaneously.

"Princess?" Twilight questions with concern, her eyes flicking back and forth between Luna and Lyra. "You— why does she need to come too? She's not—"

"Whether you like it or not, Twilight Sparkle, this situation is currently an urgent matter of national security. Anything she knows about this must remain confidential, and must never reach the ears of anypony outside of those currently in this room. We cannot guarantee that if we were to leave her here unsupervised, where supervision would just be a continuous detriment."

"National security?!" Twilight gasps. "Why won't you tell me what's—"

"We will discuss this in full when we return to the castle, Twilight."

Twilight opens her mouth, but pauses for a moment as if processing everything. "I— I understand, Princess." She nods, then looks over to Lyra and mouths what looks like a 'sorry'.

Luna stands tall and addresses the two guards behind me. "That goes for you two as well, understand?"

"Yes, your Highness." The guard ponies drop to a quick bow, then trot ahead towards the front door.

"But Princess Luna, I—" Lyra stutters out. "I can't just leave! I— I have work, and my roommate—"

"Leave a note that you are taking care of something important. Family matters, perhaps. I do not know how long you will need to stay with us. As for your job, we will make sure they are informed of the critical nature of your absence, and that you are more than compensated for any missing time."

Lyra thinks it over for a second. "A— alright, I'll go..." She turns around, galloping up the stairs and out of sight.

Luna turns to face me, then reaches into the folds of her cloak, pulling out what looks like an identical folded cloak. On the top rests a small, golden engraving resembling the outline of the sun. "You will need this as well."

I cock my head sarcastically. "Let me guess, for discretion."

"Indeed." Luna replies, her horn lighting up as the cloak floats over to me. I reach a hoof forward as she deposits it on the end of it.

She's kidding, right? "You realize I'm like, way taller than everyone else here, right? I don't think just some big, heavy cloak is gonna hide that at all."

Luna raises an eyebrow. She reaches up with a hoof and taps the silver moon on the center of the cloak. It begins to glow the same hue as Luna's horn as several lines of blue energy arc out from it, traversing every curve and contour of the cloak. They quickly travel around and around the cloak until the whole thing is covered in a faint, blue grid of light. Then, the lines gradually dissipate, taking both the cloak and Luna with them as they all seem to vanish into thin air before my very eyes.

No way... "I— Luna?"

"Five minutes." Luna's disembodied voice calls out from somewhere in front of me. "And don't even think about trying to make any sort of escape. I'll know." Her hoofsteps retreat towards the front door, which is seemingly pushed open by itself. The two guards exit swiftly as well. Twilight makes for the door too, pausing to spare a final, concerned glance at me before following the guards out the door, shutting it behind her with a flick of her horn.

I sigh in relief, letting myself slowly collapse to the floor, my eyes still trained on the closed door. Whew. Wow. Well, at least I didn't die, right? Hmm... they tracked me down by sending me something and following its path? Not too far fetched from how that sort of thing works back home, haha. I'm snapped out of my thoughts as something clutters upstairs. Oh right, Lyra!

I toss the cloak onto a nearby table and clumsily make my way up the stairs, trying not to have a repeat of my earlier incident. Reaching the top, I spot Lyra in her room hastily packing some books and papers into a sort of double-backpack connected by a strap. I awkwardly duck down under the door frame as I make my way in. "H— hey." I call out hesitantly.

"Hey." Lyra pauses and turns around to look at me. "How are you holding up?"

"Oh, I'm fine. Well, fine as in not dead, so there's that. I just..." I look away, shuffling a bit on my hooves. "Thanks for trying to stick up for me. Even against the, uh, other princess of this place." I shudder as bits and pieces of my previous encounter flood my mind again. "You really didn't need to do that."

Lyra laughs gently. "Oh, don't worry about it. What kind of pony would I be to just give you up on the spot?"

"Someone who wants to live?" I offer.

She giggles, floating a framed picture from her wall and staring at it for a moment before stuffing it into her bag. "Besides, in almost every science fiction book I've read where aliens are involved, one way or another, an alien ends up dissected and studied by some shadowy government agency."

I let loose a chuckle. "Huh, guess the science fiction of both our worlds have that in common."

"I have absolutely no clue what's really going on here, but you don't seem like you're here to take over the world or replace us with clones." She freezes and raises an eyebrow at me. "You're not, right?"

My eyes widen and I back up a bit, flinching as I feel the tips of my ears brush against the door frame. "Noo no no. I couldn't take over a leadership role in a school group project if I tried, let alone a country. I... still don't know what happened to the real Celestia."

She rolls her eyes with a smile. "Relax, I'm just messing with you. But still, even if it is science fiction, I don't really want to take that chance. Besides, you seem nice."

"I do?" I blink. "Thanks... I guess? Also, uh, sorry about this whole thing of dragging you along. I just didn't want you getting neuralized or whatever."

"Hah, I've been wanting a reason to visit Canterlot Castle, it works out. Hopefully Bon Bon doesn't miss me too much." She pats a written note on her desk with her hoof. She paused, then looks back at me and tilts her head in confusion. "'Neuralized'?"

"Oh, you know, from Men In..." I internally smack myself in the head. You idiot, wrong planet. "Uh, it's like a science-fiction word for erasing someone's memory back home."

She looks up in thought. "That's... a fitting word." She floats her lyre from its stand and carefully places it into one of her bag. She then floats both backpacks up and behind her before resting it on her back. Both backpacks rest neatly on her sides, held up by the strap like a saddle.

Ohhh, a saddlebag.

"Alright, we better go before Princess Luna gets mad again." She hops a bit to adjust it, spares a final look at her room, then makes her way out and down the stairs. A thought suddenly hits me.

"Wait!" I cry out from the top of the stairs. Lyra pauses just before reaching the door. She looks back at me questioningly.

I look away in embarrassment as I motion towards the cloak sitting on the table near her.

"Could you, uh, help me put that on please?"

Author's Note

For anyone confused about Lyra's reaction to Luna, this is set shortly after the Season 2 premiere, meaning "Luna Eclipse" hasn't happened yet in this 'timeline'. Ponies are still used to Luna's season 1 appearance, so Lyra would reach the same conclusion most of Ponyville had on first-glance in that episode, upon seeing her in her full form.

Ahh I mean to have this done by a couple of days ago, but work started kicking my ass and I absolutely needed to focus. Thankfully, a huge thing has been completed so a lot of weight is off my shoulders :D