A tall and gangly man came forth, his shoulders slouching to either side as he stood by the booth. "Can I get you something?" He looked between them. "For both of you?" He looked down at Twibright with clear hesitation. "Do I need to do anything about that, or what?"

Watcher shrugged with one hand raised, a slender bill balanced on it. "A lady can take her dear thing out on the town, can't she?"

"'Course she can." He snatched the bill away. "What'll it be?"

Twibright spotted that exchange, but kept her snout shut as lunch was ordered for them both. The moment the man was out of earshot, she leaned over the table. "Why did you pay him to order? Is that how it works around here? What a curious tradition."

"I gave that to him and his family for his help. Any information we need will cost us more of those. I'm not worried about the cost. More temporary nothings I am ignoring. Besides, it avoids unwanted questions, while answering one of my own." She pointed to Twibright. "They beleive it possible that you could be an expensive pet of mine, talking and all. Let's not challenge this faith. Money has power here. I see why I appeared as I did. I look just right to be possibly poor, or possibly wealthy."

Watcher's eyes wandered over Twibright. "And you remain a bit out of place."

The waitress brought their meal and they began dining in silence. Watcher broke the quiet after a few minutes with their mouth full of food. "I must apologize. My form of late was less socially adept." She drank some water to clear things. "I do not typically move with others. This is new for me. Not new, unaccustomed? Pardon. Is the food to your liking?"

"It's a little strange, but it's delicious!" Twibright ate her sandwich down with glee, licking crumbs from her hooves. "Better than the last one!"

"Last one?" Watcher clicked her tongue softly. "I thought that was your first."

"First here, maybe. I had one before we, uh, started doing things. I love a good sandwich for lunch." She rubbed her belly gently. "Pardon me for asking, but if you're new here, like me, how do you have any money at all? I certainly don't have what you used."

"Money is the illusion of value." Watcher took another bite and chewed thoughtfully. "I have many of these illusions in the space that I carry. I will not run out for quite some time, even if I were to buy this restaurant outright." She placed a hand flat on the table. "Which we will not be doing. Our objective is to locate the crack that will rip this world asunder, before it can do that, or spread its influence to other realities."

Twibright nodded at her, slowly, watching Watcher with curious eyes. "And then we go home?"

Watcher shook her head gently. "Then we move on." Her eyes went back to their food as if the matter were resolved. "My work is never entirely complete, but today, for lack of better term, has been eventful.

Twibright looked ready to say or ask something new when she was shoved by a heavy looking male taking up her side of the table and forcing her towards the window. "What a neon babe, with an expensive custom job with her." He rolled his fingers as if working a cigar. "Slumming it low class? You looking for something, or just a good time? I can provide that."

Watcher tilted their head slowly. "You have made a terrible mistake, sir. Please, remove yourself from my table and person before you escalate your predicament."

"Hey." He leaned over the table towards her, glancing at Twibright. "I'm just being sociable. You tell me what you want, and I'll make it happen, glitzy."

Watcher lifted her glass of water up. "I hope you're not just talking, or this water's going somewhere new. I need to know what's the latest. What are people talking about, and afraid to talk about. Especially the latter. If I don't get that answer..." She tapped the glass with one finger, still looking him in the eyes.

"You tryna ask me out? Or are you that kind of stupid?" He reached out and took her collar. "Maybe you're new to—"

He didn't get to go further, suddenly jolted with a magical bolt from the brightly colored pony beside him. He fell back onto the floor with a heavy thump, causing eyes to turn their way. The bouncer laughed at it. "Jason, I've warned you before. Get the hell out of here, creeping in on people like that."

The man stumbled out the door, holding his side, and Watcher ordered a milkshake before returning to Twibright. "Thank you. And, apologies." She took another bite. "I should have detected he was about to do something so rash."

Twibright saluted sharply. "We are a team. I couldn't let him think he could take advantage of you."

Watcher leaned in. "If it means fixing the problem of a world, sometimes being taken advantage of is the correct decision." A tense quiet moment passed as she finished her own burger. "Still, thank you. Let's try to get some intel from a less unsavory source." She waved for their original waiter to return.

When he did, she spoke up. "Pardon, but I'd like to know what the latest rumors in town are. What are you most afraid to talk about?"

"You're looking for work?" He leaned against a pillar, watching them. "Got something like that around, I'd think you're already set." He nodded towards Twibright. "Still, ain't my job to second guess where people find their fun. Where people don't like to talk about? That'd be downtown, the new EyeGo building. They claim to have everything for your vision, but all anyone knows is to stay away from there if you like seeing anything at all."

He put out a hand where Watcher could see it, but those passing by could miss it. She took his meaning and slid another bill over to him. "And where would this be?"

"Right across the river, just passed the old bridge." He tapped on his temple, just over his eye. "Got a tacky set of glasses for an icon, can't miss it. Don't get yourself hurt over it, we'd rather you came back for dinner."

Watcher nodded to the man. "I will return, if at all possible." They rose, heading for the door, Twibright on her heel. "Let's find this place."

Twibright caught her shoulder, lifting herself up to ride Watcher. "My little brother used to do this to me. It's funny, returning the favor. I hope you don't mind? There are so many people here."

"Not at all." Watcher strode out the door and onto the sidewalk, turning right to head towards the bridge.

The sidewalk was crowded, as were the skies overhead as shuttles lifted off and landed in rapid succession. The city was a dense place, with only minor relief offered as they crossed the bridge. The foot traffic was milder on it, with the strange scents of the water below coming to greet them as vehicles of all kinds powered both ways across it.

The EyeGo building stood out, with its pink glasses icon. "Over there." Twibright pointed, even as she held on to Watcher's shirt. "That's the one we want."

She had seen it already, but didn't bother correcting Twibright. "Well spotted. You were able to spot the crack, in your own reality. That may be a sign of such an affinity, but if it extends to others or not, we're going to find out. Spot anything?" Watcher moved with purpose across the street with the mild foot traffic going in the same direction.

Twibright shook her head. "I don't see anything yet."

Watcher nodded. They entered through the doors and were met by a pair of employees, both wearing glasses with the company logo on the arms. "Welcome." One clapped their hands with a big fake smile. "At EyeGo, we make your eyes go. How can we help today." Both bowed with practiced gait.

Twibright blinked down at them as she slipped off Watcher's shoulders. "That's a very strange greeting."

The employee that responded was on the taller side, their long blond hair tied back in a loose ponytail. "What a strange, but interesting, pet you have." Their eyes were on Watcher. "What can we get for you today?"

The other employee, a shorter male with his hair cropped short, stood nearby. "We have many fine upgrades for anyone. A new pair of eyes for a new pair of days." He lifted his hand, touching the frames on his face.

Watcher danced her fingers in the air. "We want to check out the merchandise first. Got a display room?"

They led her through the shop and into a back room. Twibright walked beside Watcher, but her attention was drawn to a pair of doors in the corner of the large room they passed through. "Our newest models." The larger waved to 3d displays of various people showing off glasses and eyes. The display prompted information on both what they were and what was inside them with soft accompanying music and flashes of the prices.

Twibright blinked quickly as they walked. "Is it safe to talk here?" She whispered to Watcher as they followed, though her gaze remained on the other doors.

Watcher's eyes were on the many on display. "Your attention is being diverted. Tell me what you see. Quietly. That you can talk has already been accepted."

Twibright pointed towards those doors with her horn. "I see... I think I see a fracture behind those. But it's small." She flicked her ears as she looked away. "Like before, but not as bad."

"Not as bad." Watched swiped the air, prompting the display to hop back a step. With a pinch and pull, she commanded it to zoom in on a particular part. "I don't like that. This may be more difficult to mend than the last one, and we don't have a friendly local to use this time."

She waved their escort closer to them, smiling at the two. "If we find something we like, how does the installation process work? Are there any side effects to worry about?" She tilted her head to one side, smiling gently.

That got the two of them talking about their state-of-the-art operating room and abilities. According to them, a full optic replacement could be done as an outpatient procedure that'd only require a few hours. "Forty-five minutes if you go with the deluxe package." The shorter male leaned in a bit. "But if you don't like what we have, we can build something just for you." He gestured to the corner of his eye, tapping it with one finger. "This is a custom job, made just the way I wanted it. I never looked at the world the same way again."

The taller leaned in towards Twibright. "We have pet implants as well. Just in case you want something other than plain vision."

Twibright flicked her tail, keeping a professional face. "I can see quite fine, thank you."

Watcher set a hand on Twibright's head, rubbing at the base of her ears. "Her eyes are already customized, I wouldn't want to interfere with that."

"Alright, so what about you?" The shorter was back on Watcher again, and she had to stop herself from thinking too hard about how he was behaving. "Do you see the world as clearly as you could?" He fired a finger gun at her. "You could be seeing more. We have heat vision, radiographic, and other options to let you react before anyone else in the room even knows what's happening."

"Sounds good." Watcher glanced at the displays again, then looked down at Twibright. "Still, if something is going to change how I react to the world, I want to see for myself." She waved, commanding the display to a whole new show model. "Let me look and consider. Eyes aren't something to be done on a whim."

They both nodded and left the room. Twibright spoke up once they had some privacy. "This is really creepy." She tapped her front hooves together. "They keep talking about upgrades. We're living creatures, not robots you just take parts out and replace."

Watcher made a non-committal noise. "That's a philosophic point, and I'm not even that. Let's focus on the task. Where did you see that crack?"

Author's Note

How much for that pony in the window? The one with the waggly tail!

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