Today's gym class wasn't like the previous two days, namely because it was just before lunch, rather than during last period of the day, but also for another key reason. As I entered the women's locker room, I saw that there was another group of students already undressing in the room. Curiously, I noted that Twilight was among the number already there, although she was off in an isolated part of the locker room away from her peers. I also saw plenty of other familiar faces in here. Over there was Sugarcoat, then there was Lemon Zest over by yonder, and finally Indigo was with a bunch of sporty looking students. Then there was Sour Sweet and Sunny Flare, both looking rather unimpressed upon noticing me. Wonder what's going on?

With a shrug, I made my way over to where Twilight was in the process of getting changed, and opened a locker a few doors down from hers. After fetching my PT clothes, the pen and notepad, and my other lock from my bag, I set my stuff inside the locker and began stripping down. If she at all noticed my presence, she made no indication.

I was proven correct when she turned away from her locker after putting her uniform away, and startled upon noticing me. I just shrugged and kept putting on my own gear. Once I was fully dressed, I put my uniform into the locker and then locked it away, clipping the key ring to my medic alert bracelet. Writing out a quick question to her, I tugged on her sleeve to get her attention. This isn't like the other two gym classes. What's going on?

She seemed confused for a moment before seeming to realise that I probably didn't have a clue what was going on because it was still my first week. "It's an archery day," she explained as she led me out into the gymnasium and out through the doors leading onto the school's soccer pitch . "Since it's a sport that requires focus, discipline, and strength, one day each week has the classes mixing and practising together. The coach sets up archery targets on the field and brings us all out. Since it's a Friendship Games year, and archery is likely to be included in the Tri-Cross Relay event, Coach Wind Rider and the staff set up an obstacle course and is using archery day to scout out the best choices for the team."

Sure enough, out on the pitch, there was a series of obstacles laid out in five rows, culminating in a trio of archery targets at the end of each lane. There was a climbing wall, a couple of hurdles, tires, a rope swing, and even a wall with a gap at the bottom immediately following one of the hurdles. It reminded me vaguely of the sort of thing the drill sergeant made the unicorns and earth ponies would run in basic training. Given that Starlight said that Coach Rider was a military man, it made sense that he'd probably work the friendship games prep like military training.

When all the students were arranged in two groups of twenty-five in front of the phys-ed teacher, he grinned. "Good morning boys and girls; I hope you're ready to give it your all again today!" he bellowed in a parade ground voice, looking out at the crowd. "You should know the drill by now. Break off into pairs, and then make five lines at the starting line of the course. You and your partner will then work your way through the course as fast as you're capable. Once both of you are on the shooting platform, score a hit on each of the three targets, and then run back through the obstacle course so the next pair can begin."

Before I could even contemplate looking for a partner, everyone had already started to pair off and get in line. In the end, I ended up with Twilight by my side in the second-to-last slot of the final column of students. I watched very intently as the first five pairs took off down the obstacle course. Even though everybody was in pairs, they were all treating it as if they were competing against their partners. Coach Rider also seemed to be watching them all, looking for something—something he wasn't seeing.

When he still seemed to be looking for something when the next couple of groups went through, I considered something. The school wants to put together a killer team that will decimate the other school in competitions. Team was likely the operative word in this, so why were there no pairs working together? That made no sense, because I could see a lot of them individually struggling with the wall.

When I was sure nobody else was looking, I took my notepad and pen out of the pocket of my track jacket and scribbled out a message. Co-op at wall. Boost me. I tapped her elbow with my own, and then held the notepad in such a way that only she could see it. Her eyes widened in recognition, and as soon as I was sure she understood my meaning, I shoved the pad and stylus back into the pocket and zipped it up.

It was a while later that the pair in front of us finally crossed the line on their return trip, I let Twilight go on ahead, taking off at a sprint shortly before she reached the wall. She had just enough time to turn and cup her hands before I was on her. With my momentum and the sudden upward boost, I reached the top of the wall with ease. It even elicited the familiar feeling of pulling up out of a dive while flying, which was something that I'd dearly missed since coming here.

Rather than leave my foster-sister floundering, however, I straddled the top of the wall and reached my hand down. Twilight clasped it, and with a little help, she was able to haul herself up and over. Before I hopped down, I looked over to where the coach stood. There was the tiniest bit of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth when our eyes locked.

Hopping down from the wall, I quickly caught up to Twilight. Neither of us seemed particularly good at the tires, but we got through without tripping up. It quickly became apparent that I was more agile on my feet despite only having been a human for about a month, and I was in better shape. She was already a bit winded when I passed her and reached the rope swing leading to the archery stage.

Again, however, I waited for Twilight to catch up. Once she was on the platform, I swung across, and then sent the rope back. She was a bit hesitant to make the swing, but when I stayed at the edge with a hand outstretched to catch her, she made it across without a problem, since I was right there to haul her onto the platform.

There were a few different bows at the station, and as I grabbed two thirty pound draws, I wondered if these were from the archery club. I threw one over to Twilight and made my way over to the shooting position, where there was a bucket with a bunch of arrows. Remembering what Starlight taught me on Thursday, and then again at my practice yesterday at the archery club, I quickly grabbed an arrow and lined up my shot.

The arrow flew true, and embedded itself just inside the edge of the bullseye. Again, I lined up my shot on the next target, and to my surprise, the second bullseye proved the first wasn't a fluke. Nor was the third. Maybe Starlight wasn't lying about me being a natural to encourage me.

Twilight, on the other hand was too tense, and her stance was all wrong. Unlike Glimmer, who seemed way too keen on getting up in my personal bubble to adjust my posture, I respected her personal space a bit more. With a practice arrow that I was going to pass her when she fired her next shot, I tapped different parts of her body to make her adjust her posture. Then I noticed the way she was holding the bow, and grabbed her attention and showed her how I held the bow, putting emphasis on the breathing as I dry-fired.

Eventually, she made her shot, and hit the second ring on the first target. The second and third were closer to the bullseye, but she would still need a lot of work. I just urged her to head on back as I took the bows and went to retrieve the arrows from the targets. It wasn't specified that we had to, but I figured since our lane was clear, I may as well.

There was a lot of whispering as I helped her back over the wall and we made it to the finish line. I was rather pleased with how quickly we got through, given Twilight's more scholarly constitution. The moment she caught her breath, I patted her on the shoulder, grinned, and then held up a fist for her to bump. She sorta just looked at it, so with an amused snort, I grabbed her hand and bumped it into my own.

When the last of the groups were done, the coach marched out in front of the mixed students with a smirk. "Excellent hustle out there, all of you," he said, again easily falling into that parade-ground voice. "But for all the good effort you put into it, there was only one pair among you that really impressed me." The man pointed directly at Twilight and myself, which caused the crowd of students to part and begin muttering. "Sparkle and Construct worked as a team, rather than against one another. They worked as a unit to achieve their objective, and have been the first to really get this exercise."

A lot of students, especially Sunny Flare and Sour Sweet, started muttering angrily, but I saw Indigo looking at me with something I couldn't place. Was she impressed, or is that respect?

Coach Rider began pacing in front of the crowd of students. "Out in the real world, you will not always have the benefit of choosing who you work with, and working together with a singular purpose is often necessary, contrary to what the competitive scholastic environs of CPA encourages. Teamwork is the real key to beating Canterlot High in the Friendship Games." He clapped his hands once, and then pointed back to the school building. "Everyone, hit the showers. Next week, we'll be repeating the exercise, but with a twist. You'll be drawing lots to find your partner, and you will be tethered to one another."

As we walked back to the school building, Twilight couldn't help but ask, "How did you know he wanted to encourage teamwork?"

Since we were walking, I couldn't write out a whole explanation. Instead, I kept it brief. Happy accident. I watched his reactions when people did the wall. Then I guessed. He's ex-military, don't forget. It seemed to satisfy her curiosity, and she remained quiet the rest of the journey back in. Next week, I'd have to work with a stranger on this, and that wasn't something I was looking forward to.

Letting the silence extend was definitely on my agenda, mostly because I wanted to take a shower and wash the sweat off. Maybe my senses are just sharper because I was a pony, but I really can't stand human body odour. Something that certainly didn't help things was that I could even catch the slightest whiff of blood on me. I was used to the smell, but the concept of bleeding and being unable to treat the injury was foreign, and yet that was part of being human. Probably gonna have to change out soon, too. Why are humans so—

My thoughts were interrupted shortly after entering the locker room, as I soon found myself being slammed up against one of the banks of lockers. Stunned by the sudden attack, I could do nothing but stand there as I was hoisted off my feet by Sour Sweet. She was glaring at me, and her teeth were bared. Not only that, but a semicircle of students formed around us, preventing anyone from coming to my aide.

"You think you're so cute showing us all up like that, don't you, freak?" she snarled in that way too sweet tone. "Well, I've got news for you; nobody here is impressed by you sucking up to Coach Rider." I reached into my pocket and grabbed my pen and notepad, but before I could write anything, she slapped them both out of my hand. "Just talk like a normal person! Nobody seriously believes that the whole mute act is real."

I glanced over at Sunny Flare, who stood impassively just inside the goon barrier. She didn't seem to have orchestrated it, but she wasn't exactly trying to stop it either. If anything, Sunny just seemed like she was just watching to see what happened. That was fine by me.

A puff of air through my nostrils blew some of Sour's bangs out of her freckled face, and I leaned in close. "I literally do not have a larynx, you fucking reprobate," I hissed in her face, producing hissing, popping, and clicking sounds with my mouth that were barely intelligible as words. The sound seemed to elicit a slight shiver from her, but she did not back down. "I'm going to give you until the count of five to release me."

There was a particular reason why I never tried to talk with anyone like this. It sounded like some kind of monster trying to imitate speech. The only time I tried it at the homeless encampment, I was told in no uncertain terms by Violette that it was absolutely horrifying and to please never do that again. I think she described it as something out of a horror movie.

I held up my left hand and slowly started raising my fingers. A low murmur erupted as the crowd separated from me by Sunny's lackey line, and I could see Twilight and the crew from the lunch table looking on in horror. When I raised the last finger on my hand and still my feet weren't touching the ground, I grinned. Just remember, I gave you the chance to walk away.

Without warning, my hand went around the back of her head and gripped it, as I thrust my forehead forward. She was caught completely off guard when my forehead slammed into hers. My feet touched the ground as she brought her hands up to clutch her head, which was probably swimming with pain just as much as mine was. I wasn't content to leave it at that, though. I seized her by the front of her own shirt and then swept her feet out from under her.

Sour fell, but not nearly as hard as she would have if I had just done so without bracing her. I then lowered her to the floor the rest of the way and picked up my pen and notepad. As I stepped over the stunned girl, I wrote out a message and tore the page off, thrusting it into Sunny Flare's hands as I pushed through the enclosing ring. A glance over my shoulder showed she got the message. Control your lackey. A loose cannon can easily misfire and sink your ship.

When I got to my locker, I wasted no time doffing my clothes into the locker. The moment I was wrapped in my towel and had my hygiene kit tucked under my arm, I slapped the lock back on and made my way into the showers. Tucked away in the farthest corner, I kept my back to the water. After getting ambushed as soon as I entered, I wasn't about to present my back to potential enemies.

As I did my post work-out ablutions, Indigo took up the stall next to mine. Mostly, she wanted to see if I was doing alright, and asked me the usual concussion check-up questions. Honestly until I remembered that she was an athlete and would likely care about things like first-aid, I was kinda surprised. That being said, I couldn't exactly handle a conversation. Speaking the way I did to Sour was way too quiet to be heard over all the running water.

All dried and wrapped back in my towel, I walked back to the secluded part of the locker room where all my stuff was—or at least, where it was supposed to be. The moment I unlocked it and opened the door, I was horrified to find it empty. My clothes, goggles, notebook, bag, and most importantly my tablet were all gone. There was the faintest bit of laughter filling the locker room as I dropped my hygiene bag. Twilight returned just as I was surveying the crowd with a blank expression. Her eyes went from me to the still open, empty locker.

"Eventide what—" My gaze snapped back to her, and before she could continue, I began to pantomime. First, I pointed at myself with a thumb, and then to the door with my index finger. Then, with both hands, I made a heart shape, and then tapped on my exposed skin roughly where Cadance wore her brooch. It took her a minute, but finally she seemed to understand, "You're... going to Cadance. Like that?"

Nodding, I snatched up my hygiene bag, and then put my lock inside it. A lot of girls began to laugh when I strode over to the locker room door, probably thinking that this was somehow embarrassing to me. I wasn't embarrassed, however; if anything, I was pissed. This wasn't just some harmless prank; this was a literal attack on my personal agency. Without my tablet or notepad, I couldn't advocate for myself, and I hated feeling helpless. My anger was threatening to bubble over, and I needed to get out of there before I did something stupid.

As I made it to the door, the hairs on my body stood on end for a moment. It even felt like my still damp hair began to dry out and rise, but as soon as my hand pulled the door open, it felt like a static discharge surged out of my arm. Behind me, the fluorescent lights flashed bright and then went dark, accompanied by several pops and the panicked cries of every girl in the room.

People stared as I stormed through the school in my bare feet, wearing nothing but a towel. A headache and the feeling of exhaustion were beginning to creep in, and I just wanted to get to Cadance's office, get some help, and find somewhere safe to take a quick nap. I'm pretty sure there was even a teacher or two who happened to see me pass their classrooms, and stepped into the hall to admonish my 'disgraceful behaviour', but I paid them no mind.

Upon reaching Cadance's office door, I knocked with the hand holding my toiletries. There was a moment before the dean called out a friendly "Come in!" I wasted no time opening the door to the windowless office, and slipping inside. She appeared to be on the phone, but the moment she noticed the state of me, her eyes widened. "I'm going to have to call you back."

She hung up the desk phone, and got up. Ushering me over to the guest spot at her desk, Cadance pushed a pen and a piece of paper in front of me. "Eventide, what happened to you!?" demanded Cadance as she took her seat. "Where are your clothes?"

Putting my hygiene bag on the table, I began writing out my explanation. It took me a while to get everything down, because my hands were beginning to tremble in anger. When I did, though, I immediately slid it across the desk to her. Apparently, people took issue with me figuring out that Coach Rider was testing for teamwork, and felt that Twilight and I showed them up. After a short confrontation with Sour Sweet in the locker room, I took my shower. During that time, someone bypassed my lock and removed all of my belongings from the locker. I don't know where they are.

It took maybe half an hour before Dean Cadance returned with my belongings in her possession. We had no definitive answer as to who actually got into the locker and removed my stuff. People were more concerned about the surge that caused the fluorescent lighting in the room to explode than giving answers, and it was only upon someone opening the drop ceiling that they even discovered my bag of stuff.

I'd apparently fallen asleep in the time that she was gone, since I found her shaking me awake when she showed back up. Evidently, she'd gotten a better description of the confrontation from Twilight, because even though I was feeling fine in the showers, the sudden onset of exhaustion had her worried that I had a concussion from the headbutt. As soon I went and got changed into my uniform, she was trying to convince me to go to the hospital. It probably didn't help that I looked a bit pale.

Eventually, I managed to talk her down, but she still wanted to keep an eye on me, and pulled me out of my afternoon classes. It was probably just mental exhaustion from having all my stuff taken, coupled with other stresses my body was currently undergoing. To be fair, everything that I've read the first time is the worst, and Dr. Zecora warned me it'd likely start as my lifestyle stabilised, and she wasn't wrong. She was probably just overreacting.

Another problem came up while I was working on my morning class's homework on the floor in the corner. This problem came up in the form of a phone call. Over my time here, I've learned not to underestimate the gravity of such a simple thing, and as such, I was passively eavesdropping... until my name came up.

"Hello? What can I do for you Mr. Willow?" she asked in her cheerful, professional voice. Her expression fell as she listened to the other person on the line. "Eventide? Yes, she's here with me right now." She paused to listen to what the principal's secretary had to say. "What? What do you mean the FBI is here to speak with her?" That sent a chill down my spine. Looking over at me, she pulled the handset away from her ear and covered the mouthpiece. "Evie, there's an FBI agent here that wishes to speak to you. Legally, you can refuse to speak to them if you're uncomfortable without Velvet or Light present, but it sounds pretty important if they just showed up without warning."

I looked over to her as I reached for my tablet, and considered my answer. The smartest answer was probably to say no and wait for a guardian, given my inexperience with the legal system in this world, but a federal level law-enforcement agency likely does not just show up looking for random orphans out of the blue. It could be useful to talk to them, if for no other reason to find out what they want or know, and then make a more informed choice later. "I would be amenable to speaking to law enforcement, assuming that I am free to leave and then request a guardian or lawyer present if I feel they are trying to implicate me in anything."

If Cadance objected at all, she didn't say anything. Instead, she ran her hand through her multicoloured locks and took several deep breaths. "Do you want me to come with you?" she probed, making her discomfort clear. I just shook my head and packed my things up into my bag. "Alright. The agent is waiting for you in one of the library meeting rooms. In the meantime, I'm going to finish this call and contact Velvet." As soon as she finished speaking, I was out the door.

It was slightly after lunch as I made my way through the halls. There weren't many other students out and about, but those that did were smirking at me. Honestly, if I had grown up with the same nudity taboo that humans normally did, I might even have been bothered by having had to march through the school in naught but a towel. It's just too bad they didn't know they were dealing with the girl who used Central Park's lake as her bathtub; more than that is required to embarrass me.

The meeting rooms were in the very back of the library so I just walked right past the front desk and through the stacks. Even though there were three meeting rooms, only one of them had any lights on or any occupants. That made it pretty clear which one I was supposed to go to. With a steadying breath, I stepped into the room and shut the door behind me.

Seated at the table was a woman in a black jacket with white lapels and cuffs worn over a blue casual shirt, and black suit-pants. I actually really like her outfit, and could definitely see myself wearing something like that. I couldn't see them behind the aviator glasses, but somehow, I just knew that, like how the skin tone matched, the eyes behind those glasses were cyan just like mine. The only difference between the two of us was her long, curly red and gold locks, and the fact that she was easily six feet tall.

How can I be so sure about the eyes, you might ask? That's easy! This woman had the exact same facial structure as the redhead from the industrial district. Why would a federal agent just let her daughter run away and squat in a factory, though? Unless... that's what she's here about?

I set my bag beside a rolling chair directly across from the woman, and took a seat. The woman immediately leaned forward and extended a hand—one silver and one dark metal ring on what people call the 'ring finger'—in greeting. I clasped it with my own as she introduced herself, noting the slight upward twitch of an eyebrow. "Eventide Construct, right?" she asked, as if she weren't already sure. When she returned to a more comfortable position, she retrieved a badge and accompanying ID from inside her jacket and showed it to me. "I'm Agent Sunset Shimmer with the FBI. More specifically, I'm with a clandestine branch called PONI—Paranormal Observation, Neutralisation, and Investigation." Agent Shimmer leaned back in her chair and crossed one leg over the other. "Care to take a guess as to why I came to talk to you?"

Oh... Shit. This is basically this country's version of SMILE. If she's here, she already knows that my existence is not normal. Lying was probably not going to earn me any favours, I concluded rather quickly. It'd be better to take my chances seeing where the truth takes me. As I placed my tablet in front of me on the table, I glanced at the pads of my fingers, and recalled how they scanned those with a machine when I was booked by the CCPD. "I'm going to assume it has to do with the pattern on my finger pads matching those of somebody else," I tapped out.

Agent Shimmer smiled as she drummed her fingers along the edge of the table. "Yeah, you're definitely a Construct," she remarked, more to herself than anyone else, taking her aviators off and clipping them to her top and then pulling a glasses case out of her jacket pocket and donning the glasses therein. I could make out the teeniest bit of mirth in her cyan eyes. "Eventide Cantata would have tried to lie and pretend she didn't know what was happening, but Construct was always the rational one, willing to cut the shit when she knew it wouldn't get her anywhere."

I froze upon hearing my sister's name. She knows. She has to know this world's Cantata and Construct personally to say that. That's why she's here. "You... know what I am?"

"That you're the teenage doppelganger of a woman who's been missing for almost ten years? Yeah, that part was pretty obvious," she snarked. "I also know you're not just some Fae pact-breaker or malefic spirit, given you had no reaction to my iron and silver rings. Beyond that, however, no, I have no idea what you are."

Shaking my head, I hastily typed out a response. "No, I mean you know what me and Cantata were to one another. It's pretty clear to me that you knew this world's Eventide Cantata and Construct... but you know what I am and you're not trying to exorcise me or anything like that."

Maybe it was the fact that I'd begun to shake, but Shimmer fixed me with a pitying look. "You're definitely going to explain 'this world' to me, but yes, I know that Eventide Cantata had Dissociative Identity Disorder," she remarked, her voice growing somewhat dark as she went, "and that Construct was the alter that emerged in response to a friend of her father forcing himself upon her when she was only four. Connie was her protector, yet Cantata loved and treated her like a little sister."

I... How... These are two different worlds. How could two different iterations of the same person have the exact same traumatic event occur in two separate realities. The only reason I even knew about DID was because it became recognised after Cantata was already gone... When I'd already joined the navy. So many emotions that I'd ended up burying when Cantata gave up and just disappeared began floating to the surface. It was threatening to sweep me away in a panic attack.

With an ache in my chest, I typed out a response. "Did Uncle Wheel end up floating face-down in Manehattan Harbour when Dad found out here, too?" I asked, grasping for something I could take satisfaction in and ground myself. I hadn't thought about any of that stuff in years, and I only understood what Dad really did for us much later in life. She looked confused for a moment before a look of recognition crossed her face and she ended up nodding. "Good."

Agent Shimmer gave me a moment to centre myself before continuing. "Manehattan, huh?" she queried. "Does that make you another Equestrian expat, then?" At my shocked expression, she grinned. "Don't look so surprised. You're not the first of your kind to end up living in this very city. Somehow, I don't think you got here the same way as her, though. You're too well adjusted to have just come through when that portal, which she thinks we don't know about, would have been open last."

A part of my heart leapt at the mention of a portal, but 'when it was open last' implied that it was not currently opened and wouldn't be for quite a while. Besides, I'm pretty sure I've already been declared killed in action."I don't think going back is even an option for me. I died in combat. The only reason I think I'm even here instead of on the Elysian Fields with Dad is because that traitorous spirit of chaos took pity on me." I paused to tap the scar on my throat for emphasis. "Not that it stopped the bastard from making me reincarnate without the parts needed to speak."

I could see a number of different thoughts going through her head as her expression subtly changed. "So, Abstract died in that world," she said in a soft voice. It took me a minute to recognise that she actually sounded sad about it. "How bad did Mom's counterpart take it there?"

I stared at her in confusion. Mom? Who the hell even is that? And why the fuck is she talking like she knew my Dad. "Our dam abandoned Cantata with Dad as soon as she could wean her onto a bottle. We never knew the mare... and when Dad died before we even turned eight, we had nobody." Wait... Mom... She knows Dad... "Are you the half-sister of the Eventide Cantata of this world?"

"I... yes," she sounded almost sad. I could only imagine what was going through her head. If she was telling the truth, I might have a half sister kicking around somewhere in Equestria, one I never knew because our dam abandoned Cantata with our father... One I'd never get to meet. "Do you think... Could I speak to Cantata for a bit? Not that I don't like talking to you, but... it's sort of weird speaking to the alter that integrated after she started getting therapy in her teens. Even if she's not the same one, I still miss my little sister."

Again, I felt an ache deep in my chest. She could have asked me to do any number of things, and I'd have felt obligated just because she knew about Equestria, and could probably dictate my fate. Yet of all the things she asked me to do, she asked for the one thing I couldn't give her. Tears began to rim my eyes as I shakily typed out a response. "Sun and stars, I wish I could, Ms. Shimmer. I wish I could. Every day, I wish she was still here..."

Something inside me broke, and all of those emotions became too much for me to handle. I buried my face in my arms and began to sob into the table. My sister abandoned me fifteen years ago, and... and I was the only pony who even really cared that she was gone, and now... Now there was someone who actually cared that she existed, and I'm just sitting here as a reminder of something she cannot reach, and I can't even grant her the peace of letting her talk to her sister's counterpart. It was just too fucked up and sad.

I don't know how long I just sat there sobbing, but eventually, I felt a pair of arms around me. "Do you wanna talk about it?" Agent Shimmer asked when I picked my head up off the table. There she was in the chair next to my own, leaning uncomfortably into the arm of the swivel chair, hugging me. "It won't fix anything, but my sister always found that talking about things helped."

Grabbing the tablet, I began frantically typing out an answer. "What's there to say? We got into a fight over a colt because I was being 'too cautious'. She was the gatekeeper, and pushed me down so deep and ignored me so that I could do little more than watch and listen as she started dating the abusive prick. He used her, threw her away, and I couldn't lift a hoof to help her. She didn't even say goodbye; she thrust me back into control one day and vanished, leaving me to pick up the pieces of our life. I tried everything I could short of breaking my own psyche to bring my sister back."

"Shit, kid," was all the agent could say as she patted me on the back and passed me a pack of tissues. For a while, there was nothing either of us could really talk about. I was busy cleaning myself up and trying to calm down, and I could only guess that she was imagining what kind of life we must've lived. The agent seemed like a really smart lady, so she'd probably already picked up on the fact that I was older than my body let on, and that probably made it harder for her to decide what to do with me.

After a while, she finally explained that the government was aware of magic and things relegated to the realm of mythology, and actively suppressed the knowledge whenever possible. PONI had a major hand in keeping the lid on magic, ghosts, faeries, and the like, and the agency was well aware of increased magical activity in the area of Canterlot. That I appeared during that time just got me the benefit of a visit from a 'friendly' face.

In turn, I explained what I knew. She now knew that I only came into this world on the eighteenth of September after being slain by a magic-eating centaur and betrayed by a chaos spirit. I explained how I didn't want to cause any trouble for PONI, and just wanted to live this new life I'd been given. What little of it was left, I just wanted to live a 'normal' human childhood.

Admittedly, she seemed surprised when I pointed out that I planned on going into law enforcement. Apparently, that was the career this world's Eventide went into as well—and that investigating organised crime was likely to blame for her disappearance. Then again, was it really so weird that a protector would want to protect people?

In the end, she stood up and held out a card, upon which there seemed to be a phone number and an email address. "Listen, I can't officially do anything for you, but I'll let my bosses know you're not a threat; if you run into trouble of the magical variety, gimme a call," she offered with a weak smile. "God knows it seems like this city's headed for an upward trend of magical activity. If asked, give your foster Mom my number if she gets curious as to why I needed to interview you. I'm better at using the truth to tell a lie."

I nodded, accepting the card and slipping it into a slot on my tablet case. She turned to go, even as a thought churned in my mind. Before she could leave, however, I grabbed her sleeve and started typing. "My foster sister, Twilight, may have found a way to detect magic," I said, giving her a look of anxiety. "If PONI is keeping magic quiet, are you guys going to end up coming after her? Am I going to have to do something I'll regret like sabotaging her work to keep her safe?"

Agent Shimmer seemed to consider this for a moment before shaking her head. "If she's already capable of building something that can detect magic, then the tech division is probably going to try to recruit her once she knows what she's dealing with, so it's probably best to leave her be," she replied. "I'll have to have Null keep an eye on her in case she puts anything out there, but keep me appraised if she starts to get close to the truth. Maybe avoid helping her if you can, but I get the feeling that, based on a reading I got this morning, it might be hard for you to hide your nature from her. Otherwise, just keep her safe."

She made her way over to the door, but paused with her hand on the knob. "Oh, and Connie?" Shimmer gave me a sad look over her shoulder. "I know you can't tell your foster family everything, but be honest with them about the DID. Now, more than ever, you're going to need support and therapy. Believe it or not, but I know firsthand how much dying can screw you up, and given your history and all the stress you're probably under, you might end up with an unwanted roommate, if you catch my meaning. I hear they're not all as nice as you."

At that, she left me sitting there, alone in the meeting room. My head was spinning, and I was unsure what to focus on. The government knew that magic was real, and worse, it knew about me. Even if she said she'd tell them I'm harmless, they'd probably have their eyes on me. Tartarus, if I'm reading between the lines, they might even recruit me somewhere down the line just because I'm already in the know.

I'm not the only Equestrian in this city, either. Agent Shimmer said she met an Equestrian before, and although she never named them, I was pretty sure I had a good idea of who it was. Sunset Shimmer... That was the name of Princess Celestia's previous apprentice—the one who up and vanished—and if I'm right, I walked right past her nearly two weeks ago... and if the same holds true... I quickly stowed that last thought away and focused on what I knew. That girl living in the factory district was likely the Sunset Shimmer that disappeared from Equestria, and was almost certainly involved in whatever magical mishap caught the Feds' interests.

As I got up, grabbed my stuff, and walked out of the meeting room, I debated whether I should go meet the girl. It'd be kinda nice to get to know a fellow Equestrian who's been living in this world longer than me. ... and who might—no, don't think about it right now. Then again, according to the rumours, even though Celestia's previous student was a prodigy who could have revolutionised several magical fields, she was also an egotistical bitch on wheels. Did I really want to get to know that kind of person? Then again, people change, right? Eh, add it to the list.

I made my way back to Cadance's office, too numb to even notice the other students around me. The agent was right in that I should be honest with my new family, especially if I wanted to make this new life work. At the same time, though, admitting to them that I have mental health issues was a terrifying thought. What if they decide that's a line too far, that it's too weird for them to cope with?

Pausing outside the door, I used the screen of my tablet as a mirror and tidied myself up before knocking. While I waited for her to call out and grant entrance, I began typing up what I wanted to say. Upon entering and shutting the door behind me, I sighed and hit play. "Ms. Cadance, can we talk?" I asked as I took the seat across from her. "Talking with that FBI agent brought up some things I didn't really want to talk or think about, and she suggested that I should talk to somebody about it... You're a counsellor, so I wanted to get your opinion on how to handle it. What do you know about Dissociative Identity Disorder and alters?"

Author's Note

Merry Christmas, everybody. Here's a festive Connie for yas.

Yeah, trying to vocalise without using your vocal cords sounds really fucking creepy. I've attempted it myself, and it is barely recognisable.

I don't think anyone was really surprised about the identity of Agent S, but how many of you were surprised to find out Construct and Cantata were just to parts of a single person? For that matter, do you think our friendly neighbourhood federal agent making a mistake by cluing Evie in on the existence of magic in this world and the fact that she's not the only Equestrian in Canterlot?

For that matter, how do you think Evie will handle the knowledge that she has a half-sister who may live just miles away?