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Red Shift Part 1

By Writefag_Is_Kill
Created: 2021-02-01 23:21:59
Expiry: Never
lyrasafebon-bonmysterymy little progress

  1. >Lyra Heartstrings bounced excitedly before her mailbox with a big, goofy grin plastered on her face.
  2. >Her eagerness had grown out of control, crowding all other thoughts out of her head.
  3. >Because it would be here soon!
  4. >It was early in the afternoon, the sun having just recently crested the sky as the heat of an unusually harsh summer bore down on Ponyville.
  5. >Most ponies had elected to avoid the heat, instead choosing to laze about in their homes. But not Lyra. She'd been waiting far too long for this day.
  6. >On this day, the latest ‘Double O Zero’ novel was supposed to be delivered to her doorstep.
  7.  
  8. “Come oooon!”
  9.  
  10. >Her whining was in vain as there was nopony around to hear her.
  11.  
  12. “It should be here by now!”
  13.  
  14. >”Lyra! Is the paper here ye- Augh! It’s so hot out here, come back in! We have an air conditioner you know!”
  15.  
  16. >Bon Bon had emerged from their shared home, only just poking her muzzle out.
  17.  
  18. “It's 1:30 in the afternoon! That means the 9 A.M. mail delivery should arrive soon!“
  19.  
  20. >”Let me guess. More of that stupid book?”
  21.  
  22. “Hey! It's not stupid! Spies are SUPER NEAT!”
  23.  
  24. >”Those books don’t make any sense! Why is she drawing so much attention to herself and shooting through all her problems? Aren’t spies supposed to be, you know, SNEAKY?”
  25.  
  26. >Bon Bon would know, of course.
  27. >As one of Equestria’s top ranking secret agents there was little doubt she’d have some amazing stories to tell.
  28. >But much to Lyra’s chagrin, Bon Bon’s lips had remained sealed ever since the day of the Bugbear attack.
  29.  
  30. “Well, maybe if somepony would tell me a few stories I wouldn’t be interested in the fake stuff!”
  31.  
  32. >”Yeah, but who would you ask?”
  33.  
  34. “Come on now, you know!”
  35.  
  36. >”I'm afraid I haven't a clue.”
  37.  
  38. >She returns inside without another word.
  39.  
  40. “And no, the paper’s not here yet!”
  41.  
  42. >There’s no answer.
  43. >Lyra returns to doing her usual Lyra things as the seconds become minutes.
  44. >And the minutes become hours.
  45. >She does not, however, allow the hours to become days.
  46. >As the sun starts to set on the sweltering day, a very grumpy Lyra returns indoors.
  47. >A wave of relief washes over her body as the cool breeze from the air conditioner washed over her.
  48. >Lyra wasn’t sure how it worked.
  49. >But she really didn’t care.
  50. >The strange non-magical artifact was proving to be indispensable in this freakishly hot summer.
  51. >She spent a moment basking in the cool air directly before the new machine.
  52. >She then started poking around looking for her roommate.
  53.  
  54. “Bonny?”
  55.  
  56. >Her search eventually brought her into their basement.
  57. >A single electric light hung from the ceiling in the narrow stairwell that led down into the dingy, unfinished basement.
  58. >Their brand new electric water heater had taken up a good deal of the space, forcing them to move a bunch of old junk out of their home.
  59. >But it was a sacrifice that both were willing to make.
  60. >Gone were the days of heating water on a wood fired range whenever one wished to bathe.
  61. >The wonders of Equestria’s latest golden age were only just beginning to reach the populous, and already life had become far easier for the masses.
  62.  
  63. “Bonny, are you down here?”
  64.  
  65. >”Yup. Could you lend a hoof with something?”
  66.  
  67. >Lyra proceeded down to the landing and properly entered the overcrowded room.
  68. >Boxes lined every wall in the surprisingly small room.
  69. >Lyra used to wond why the ponies that made this place went through the trouble of making a basement so small.
  70. >These days she’d just grown used to it and accepted it as fact.
  71. >Bon-Bon stood next to a heap of boxes by the far wall.
  72. >And she didn’t look happy.
  73.  
  74. >”Did your stupid book get here?”
  75.  
  76. “No. And it’s not stupid!”
  77.  
  78. >”It’s the worst. She wouldn’t last ten minutes. I really wish you’d stop filling your head with that garbage.”
  79.  
  80. >The two ponies knew each other well.
  81. >Having spent years together, there was nothing either didn’t know about the other.
  82. >Or so Lyra used to think.
  83. >Now she wasn’t so sure.
  84. >But even so, she DID know one thing.
  85. >Bon-Bon was upset.
  86.  
  87. “What’s wrong?”
  88.  
  89. >She walks right up to you and jabs a hoof in your chest.
  90. >You’ve never seen her so upset before.
  91.  
  92. >”You need to stop talking about spy stuff. Right now.”
  93.  
  94. “So you admit it then! You ARE a spy!”
  95.  
  96. >”Covert operative, there’s a big difference. And you’re putting us both in danger every time you open your mouth.”
  97.  
  98. “How?”
  99.  
  100. >”I stay hidden for a reason. There are plenty of monsters out there who want to get even with me. And then there’s going to be those who want me as a bargaining chip or information leak.”
  101.  
  102. >She lets out a long, sad sigh.
  103. >Her anger had already melted away, and now there was just worry on her face.
  104.  
  105. >”And if they can’t find me, they’ll go after you. I don’t want that.”
  106.  
  107. “I’m- oh wow. Sorry Bonny. I’d never really stopped to think about what it all meant. Can you ever forgive me?”
  108.  
  109. >She spends a few moments scowling before shaking her head.
  110.  
  111. >”I couldn’t stay mad at you if I tried. Why are you so obsessed with all that anyway?”
  112.  
  113. “I don’t know. It’s just that when I learned that the best pony ever was even cooler than I thought, I wanted to know everything.”
  114.  
  115. >Bon-Bon couldn’t help but smile at the sweet words.
  116. >The rest of the evening passed largely without incident.
  117. >But when night came, Lyra found herself tossing and turning without end.
  118. >The idea that some monster might be hunting the two of them wouldn’t stop nagging her.
  119. >She knew she was safe.
  120. >Bonny would protect her.
  121. >And she’d know if any monsters had shown up in Ponyville.
  122. >Even so, the worry didn’t subside.
  123. >Hours of restlessness finally took their toll, and Lyra left their shared bed.
  124.  
  125. >”Where are you going?”
  126.  
  127. >Lyra jumped in shock and turned to look at the source of the voice.
  128. >Bon-Bon lay perfectly still in bed with one eye open.
  129.  
  130. “I can’t sleep.”
  131.  
  132. >”I’d noticed. What’s wrong?”
  133.  
  134. “Nothing.”
  135.  
  136. >Lyra lied, not wanting to seem like a scaredy-pony.
  137.  
  138. “I think I’ll go for a walk for a bit.”
  139.  
  140. >Hearing no objection she stepped out the door and into the warm night.
  141. >A few homes still had the telltale glow of light bulbs as ponies stayed up far too late into the night.
  142. >Most of the town, however, had fallen into a peaceful slumber long ago.
  143. >The others were doubtlessly thankful for the bright, steady light that candles could never offer.
  144. >She spotted the post office in the distance.
  145. >Something was off though.
  146. >Even at this late hour lights were shining brightly through their windows.
  147. >They were doubtlessly closed at this hour.
  148. >And they failed to deliver the day before…
  149.  
  150. “Maybe I should check it out.”
  151.  
  152. >As she approached the building she noticed a pair of shadowy figures emerging from the rear entrance.
  153. >They carried behind them a massive cart with a tarp covering its heaping contents.
  154. >Thieves perhaps?
  155. >Lyra quickly dove behind a nearby tree to observe.
  156.  
  157. >”Ugh. What is all this crap they gots us movin’?”
  158.  
  159. >”We ain’t bein’ paid to ask questions. In fact, they’s payin’ us to NOT ask questions! C’mon, pull! We gots a lotta stuff to move before them mail workers show up!”
  160.  
  161. >They slowly dragged the mystery object away.
  162. >Many thoughts went through Lyra’s head all at once.
  163. >They WERE thieves!
  164. >And they were coming back soon!
  165. >What would Double O Zero do?
  166. >Probably seduce them then get drunk.
  167. >Not a great idea.
  168. >What would Sweetie Drops do?
  169. >She’d go inside, wait for them to get back, and ambush them!
  170. >Then she’d be the heroine for stopping these criminals!
  171. >Lyra quickly snuck in the back door and found herself in what looked like a loading bay.
  172. >There didn’t seem to be many things of note laying around, definitely nothing as big as what they were taking.
  173. >A few filing cabinets and letter bags lay strewn about, but nothing huge.
  174. >There WAS, however, a cargo lift that was going downstairs.
  175.  
  176. “I’ll jump them when they get off the lift!”
  177.  
  178. >She stepped on and pressed the button.
  179. >And began descending beneath Ponyville.
  180. >And descending.
  181. >And descending some more.
  182. >Lyra grew ever more concerned as she went further and further below the ground.
  183. >She was doubtlessly several stories under the Earth before it came to a halt.
  184. >Before Lyra was a long branching corridor of rough concrete.
  185. >The strange place was far too cold and sterile, as though no living thing was meant to see it.
  186. >No decoration.
  187. >Harsh lighting that strained the eyes.
  188. >No carpet.
  189. >Just metal doors and concrete.
  190. >There was no place for her to lay in wait, so Lyra pushed inwards to head for one of the side rooms.
  191. >The first door pushed open easily.
  192. >And revealed utter madness.
  193. >Within was a room full to the brim of twitching and writing hunks of metal.
  194. >Half formed appendages made of steel jerked about violently, lashing out at nothing in what seemed like a blind rage.
  195. >The living metal seemed to howl as it struggled against invisible bonds
  196. >Lyra slammed the door shut in panic, not knowing how to handle what she’d just seen.
  197. >She nearly ran away then and there.
  198. >But her curiosity got the best of her, and she tried door number 2.
  199. >Within she found yet another disturbing sight.
  200. >Chunks of raw meat lay in pans on the table, many of them twitching erratically.
  201. >DOZENS of them.
  202. >They all had strange tubes of brightly coloured liquids plugged into them at various places.
  203. >Some almost seemed like they were trying to escape.
  204. >Others had fallen still.
  205. >Forever.
  206. >Lyra felt sick as she looked at the gorey display.
  207. >She stumbled out of the room, not daring to look back lest she make a mess.
  208. >Instead of dwelling on what she’d just seen she approached door number 3.
  209. >She hesitated for a moment before opening it.
  210. >What if it was as bad as what she’d just seen?
  211. >Would she ever be able to sleep again?
  212. >She wasn’t sure.
  213. >But she DID know for a fact that she’d never forgive herself if she didn’t find out.
  214. >She walked up to the door with the strange symbol painted upon it.
  215. >She took a moment to look at it.
  216. >The other two doors just had numbers on them.
  217. >This one also had a red and yellow decal painted upon a black background.
  218.  
  219. >She started to push the door open.
  220. >An alarm started to ring.
  221. >Flashing red lights started blinking all throughout the halls.
  222. >And Lyra could hear galloping hooves approaching.
  223. >LOTS of them.
  224. >Lyra began to sprint toward the lift, desperate to escape whatever was coming.
  225.  
  226. >”LOCKDOWN INITIATED. LOCKDOWN INITIATED. LOCKDOWN INITIATED.”
  227.  
  228. >The voice kept repeating, filling the already deafeningly noisy halls.
  229. >She hurriedly climbed aboard the lift.
  230. >And to her horror, it failed to move.
  231. >Not for the first time, Lyra wished she knew how to teleport.
  232. >She was a talented unicorn in her own right, but that particular trick had always eluded her.
  233. >She began blindly groping around the lift’s mechanism with her magic until she found the right cable.
  234. >She used her telekinesis to pull.
  235. >HARD.
  236. >Her head throbbed with the strain, but it began to move.
  237. >She could feel the blood rushing through her system.
  238. >The pressure behind her eyes stung, her knees felt weak, her heart HURT!
  239. >An ear splitting crack rang out, and holes started forming in the floor of her lift.
  240. >She finally reached the surface and walked off the lift with legs shaking.
  241. >She walked over to the door.
  242. >It was locked!
  243. >Lyra desperately gasped for breath as she summoned what remained of her magic.
  244. >She lifted one of the filing cabinets.
  245. >And slammed it against the door.
  246. >Repeatedly.
  247. >On the fifth blow, the wooden door finally broke apart.
  248. >She dropped the cabinet and started running out toward the Everfree forest.
  249. >Sweat frothing through her coat.
  250. >Heart racing.
  251. >Head throbbing.
  252. >Legs wobbling.
  253. >Lyra didn’t make it halfway to the forest before collapsing from exhaustion.
  254. >She dragged herself towards somepony’s house and slid a window open.
  255. >After a couple failed attempts she climbed in and found herself squatting in a washroom.
  256. >She didn’t know who’s home she’d just broken into.
  257. >All she knew was that she was hidden.
  258. >For now.
  259.  
  260. >”Split up and find ‘em! Pegasi, get up in the air! Hunt down ANYTHING that moves!”
  261.  
  262. >The mystery voice barked orders as Lyra cowered in a bathtub.
  263. >She pulled the shower curtain just in case somepony looked in the window.
  264. >Time passed.
  265. >Lyra didn’t want to leave.
  266. >She was scared witless.
  267. >She had no way of knowing if the search was still on!
  268. >No way of knowing if they’d actually seen her.
  269. >What would Double O Zero do?
  270. >Crazy wagon chase.
  271. >What would Sweetie Drops do?
  272. >Hide.
  273. >Change her name.
  274. >Pretend to be somepony else.
  275. >Lyra needed to stay hidden.
  276. >Hoofsteps started approaching her hiding hole.
  277. >She didn’t know if it was the search party or if it was the resident.
  278. >She wasn’t about to find out.
  279. >Lyra quickly lept out the window and started running home, eyes constantly pointed skyward.
  280. >She tried to stick to the outskirts of town, taking cover behind any tree or bush she could find as she darted towards the one place she felt safe.
  281. >To her friend and idol.
  282. >She finally made it home in one piece.
  283. >Ragged and exhausted.
  284. >After locking every door and window she climbed back into bed and cuddled up against her room mate.
  285. >Lyra held her sleeping friend tight.
  286. >The sun had risen before sleep finally came.
  287.  
  288. The next day…
  289.  
  290. >Lyra sluggishly dragged herself to the kitchen for some morning toast.
  291. >She wasn’t hungry.
  292. >Eating was more a matter of habit than need.
  293.  
  294. >”Good afternoon, sleepy head.”
  295.  
  296. >Bon-Bon sat at the table, newspaper laid out before her.
  297. >She picked up a pencil and started writing on the page before her.
  298.  
  299. “Afternoon already?”
  300.  
  301. >”Yup. Your book’s here.”
  302.  
  303. >Lyra was no longer worried about her novel.
  304. >There were far more important things on her mind.
  305. >Just what is happening beneath Ponyville?
  306. >What were those hunks of flesh?
  307. >What were those ponies moving?
  308. >What was that weird machine?
  309. >What was that symbol?
  310. >What are they hiding?
  311. >So many questions.
  312. >And absolutely no answers.
  313. >She tried to levitate some slices of bread into the toaster.
  314. >Tried, and failed to lift it.
  315. >Her magic was still spent.
  316. >She instead moved them with her mouth.
  317. >The things she saw under the surface still occupied nearly all her thoughts.
  318. >Something big was happening.
  319. >Something unwholesome.
  320. >She didn’t know what to do to find out more.
  321. >The thought of forgetting the whole thing did occur to her.
  322. >But that’s not what the mare she admired most would do.
  323. >That wasn’t the Sweetie Drops way.
  324. >Lyra was going to get to the bottom of this somehow.
  325. >But she couldn’t do it as she was.
  326. >It would take more than an ordinary unicorn to get back in there.
  327. >Lyra knew full well that she’d gotten lucky.
  328. >There was no way she’d be able to do that again.
  329. >And she had no idea what to do next.
  330. >But one thing was certain.
  331. >Her magic had nearly failed her once already.
  332. >There was no way she was going to let that happen again.
  333.  
  334. “Bonny, where are my old textbooks?”
  335.  
  336. >”The ones on music theory?”
  337.  
  338. “No, the stuff from when I was in the Princess’ school for gifted unicorns.”
  339.  
  340. >”Why? You haven’t looked at those in years.”
  341.  
  342. “Uh, well… that is…”
  343.  
  344. >She knew she couldn’t say what had happened.
  345. >But she needed an answer.
  346.  
  347. >”What are you hiding?”
  348.  
  349. “Nothing!”
  350.  
  351. >Lyra answered way too quickly.
  352. >Bon-Bon lifted a single brow as she stared at the unicorn before her.
  353.  
  354. “I just fumbled a levitation spell.”
  355.  
  356. >”Why would you lie about that?”
  357.  
  358. “It’s embarrassing, okay? I went to an exclusive school to study magic. I shouldn’t ever mess up a levitation spell.”
  359.  
  360. >Bon-Bon returned to her attention to the paper.
  361.  
  362. >”Basement, third heap of boxes to the right. It’s near the top. I don’t get why it’s so embarrassing.”
  363.  
  364. “What if you messed up-”
  365.  
  366. >Don’t say spy stuff.
  367.  
  368. “Burnt a batch of chocolates?”
  369.  
  370. >”How would I even do that? If you follow the proper technique it’s basically impossible.”
  371.  
  372. “Exactly.”
  373.  
  374. >Lyra headed towards the staircase-
  375.  
  376. >”Damn!”
  377.  
  378. >Lyra was shocked by the harsh language.
  379. >She’d never heard such a foul curse pass her friend’s lips!
  380. >Bon-Bon jumped up from the table, threw the paper on top of the stove, and lit the fire.
  381. >The morning paper burst into flame and was quickly reduced to ash.
  382.  
  383. “What’s wrong?”
  384.  
  385. >”I got work to do. Need to track someone down right here in Ponyville.”
  386.  
  387. >Lyra’s heart skipped a beat.
  388. >She knew EXACTLY who was being hunted.
  389.  
  390. “What do you know about them?”
  391.  
  392. >”I really shouldn’t be telling you… but I want you to know who to avoid. They might be dangerous. Promise me you won’t breathe a word of this?”
  393.  
  394. >Lyra nodded profusely
  395.  
  396. >“Powerful unicorn. That’s all we’ve got. If you see any unfamiliar unicorns in town, keep your distance. Don’t trust anypony. Trust is dangerous! I need a cover story... If anypony asks what I’ve been up to lately, I’m experimenting with low calorie sweeteners. You don’t know much about it because you think it’s boring.”
  397.  
  398. >She walks over to a corner of the kitchen and stomps on one of the floorboards.
  399. >It swings up to reveal a small hiding place holding a pair of saddlebags, which she quickly grabs.
  400.  
  401. >”Stay safe, and stay quiet. Carry a knife with you wherever you go.”
  402.  
  403. >And then she walked out the door, leaving behind the very pony she sought.
  404.  
  405.  
  406.  
  407.  
  408.  
  409. >Life had more or less returned to normal for Lyra.
  410. >The past few weeks had been tense at first.
  411. >But as it slowly set in that they didn’t know who’d broken into that weird place, she allowed herself to relax.
  412. >Relax, but not forget.
  413. >She couldn’t forget.
  414. >Whatever all that junk was was right beneath her hooves.
  415. >There was at least twenty meters of dirt between the two of them, but that did little to put her mind at ease.
  416. >What was it?
  417. >Where did it come from?
  418. >Was it dangerous?
  419.  
  420. >”Lyra! Are you done washing the sheets?”
  421.  
  422. “Workin’ on it!”
  423.  
  424. >The not weird machine before her was far less unnerving.
  425. >Indeed, Lyra had seen many ‘washing machines’ before.
  426. >A few years ago they were only found in public laundries, but these days everpony could afford one.
  427. >Lyra stared at the painted metal box before her.
  428. >Inside was bedding.
  429. >Freshly washed, stains removed.
  430. >She put soap in, water came from… SOMEWHERE, and it washed them for her.
  431. >How did it work?
  432. >And far more importantly, where did it come from?
  433. >It was so unlike anything from her foalhood.
  434. >A machine that replaced pony labor, found in an average household.
  435. >When had such strange things become normal?
  436. >It just happened so gradually she hadn’t even noticed.
  437. >But things had changed.
  438. >The blinkers had come off her tack and she could see.
  439. >She just wasn’t sure what it was she was seeing.
  440. >Not yet.
  441. >She levitated the wet linens out of the machine and moved them into the dryer.
  442. >Another weird device.
  443. >Another thing she’d never thought to question.
  444. >The inside bits started spinning and heating.
  445. >Lyra took one last suspicious look at the machines before walking away.
  446. >It’s not that she didn’t trust it.
  447. >It seemed safe enough.
  448. >Nor did she want it gone.
  449. >That device had saved her a great deal of time in the past, and was likely to continue to do so in the future.
  450. >She just wasn’t sure where it came from.
  451. >Lyra left the kitchen to find Bon-Bon sitting in the kitchen writing something.
  452. >The earth pony before her carefully dragged her quill across the page with her mouth, leaving no ink.
  453. >Lyra was tempted to ask what she was writing.
  454. >But she knew better than to put her friend in that awkward position.
  455. >Pushing for secret information wouldn’t end well.
  456. >At best, Bon-Bon would be forced to lie.
  457. >Things would have been so simple for Lyra were this not the case.
  458. >She knew a pony who had insider knowledge.
  459. > She likely didn’t have the exact information Lyra sought, but she surely knew something useful.
  460. >But she couldn’t just ask her friend to betray the trust Equestria had placed in them.
  461. >Even if it seemed like Equestria might not be worthy of that loyalty.
  462. >On the other hoof, though, Lyra had nothing to work with.
  463. >No leads except the bunker.
  464. >No clues except that weird symbol.
  465.  
  466. “Is it safe to talk?”
  467.  
  468. >Bon-Bon nodded curtly.
  469. >If Lyra didn’t know her so well she’d think she was upset with.
  470. >But the fact is that she just under a lot of stress.
  471. >The recent break-in has her working overtime every night.
  472. >Lyra couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty about that.
  473. >But she wasn’t ready to quit digging.
  474.  
  475. “Have you caught the bad pony yet?”
  476.  
  477. >”They vanished without a trace. Whoever it was, they’re really good at what they do.”
  478.  
  479. “R-really?”
  480.  
  481. >”Yeah. They hit at the exact right moment. Guards were changing shifts, rear entrance was open for delivery, there was a false alarm at the other end of the facility to distract them… They had SECONDS to move and they nailed it. This must have taken months of planning.”
  482.  
  483. >Or insane amounts of luck.
  484.  
  485. “What did they do?”
  486.  
  487. >”Classified.”
  488.  
  489. “Oh. Sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”
  490.  
  491. >”That’s not it. I don’t know what happened.It’s above my clearance level. Say… why do you ask?”
  492.  
  493. “I might be a teensy bit scared.”
  494.  
  495. >It wasn’t a lie.
  496. >Lyra was worried.
  497. >The gory sight she’d seen underground had her worried.
  498. >Bon-Bon said nothing.
  499.  
  500. “Isn’t this the part where you tell me not to worry and everything will be fine?”
  501.  
  502. >”I don’t like lying to you.”
  503.  
  504. >So cryptic.
  505. >So calm in the face of danger.
  506. >So cool!
  507. >At least she was in Lyra’s eyes.
  508. >Bon-Bon folded up the letter she’d been writing and places it in an envelope.
  509.  
  510. >”All done for the night. Wanna head out for a bit?”
  511.  
  512. Later…
  513.  
  514. >The night wound up taking them to Ponyville’s brand new indoor theater.
  515. >It was another sweltering day in Ponyville and the citizens were glad to finally be free from the confines of their homes.
  516. >Lyra was no exception.
  517. >She couldn’t for the life of her figure out why the weather patrol wouldn’t move at least a couple clouds up to cool things off.
  518. >But for whatever reason it was nothing but clear skies all week long.
  519.  
  520. >”So, what are you showing tonight?”
  521.  
  522. >Bon-Bon inquired of the attendant.
  523.  
  524. >”God Lizard. A terrifying tale of a giant, monstrous dragon destroying a city.”
  525.  
  526.  
  527. “Why would we pay to watch that? That happened here just a couple years ago.”
  528.  
  529. >”R-really?”
  530.  
  531. >”There’s nothing special about monsters destroying cities. What’s next, a film about swarms of bug monsters eating everything? Ancient evil spirits reshaping the world into a madmare’s fever dream? Shapeshifters replacing loved ones? Demonic invasion from Tartarus? It’s just another day in Ponyville.”
  532.  
  533. >”You made that last one up!”
  534.  
  535. >You’re not entirely sure she did.
  536. >Stuff HAS escaped Tartarus before.
  537. >Not demons as far as you know.
  538. >Who knows what the public never hears about?
  539.  
  540. “Say-”
  541.  
  542. >Lyra began to ask her friend what the scariest monster she’d ever seen was.
  543. >Somepony who worked in the monster location unit must have seen some of the worst the world had to offer.
  544. >The biggest, ugliest fiends ever to be banished to Tartarus.
  545. >Doubtlessly it’d make an exciting film for everypony not in the know.
  546. >But sadly, she couldn’t share her knowledge.
  547.  
  548. >”Say what?”
  549.  
  550. “Uhh- how does the film work? How do you make the moving pictures and sounds?”
  551.  
  552. >”I dunno.”
  553.  
  554. >Lyra was disappointed to hear that news.
  555. >Disappointed, but not surprised.
  556. >It seems like nopony knows how any of this new stuff works.
  557. >And for some reason, nopony seemed to care.
  558.  
  559. “And you’ve never tried to find out? You’re okay with having no idea how the world around you works? Have you no curiosity? Are-”
  560.  
  561. >”What is WRONG with you?”
  562.  
  563. >Bon-Bon angrily yelled out of nowhere.
  564.  
  565. >”You call THAT candy floss? It’s an abomination!”
  566.  
  567. >Lyra turned to look at the confection stand.
  568. >And Bon-Bon was angrily gesturing at a small plastic tub of spun sugar.
  569.  
  570. “It’s all right, Bonny. Calm down.”
  571.  
  572. >”No! Candy floss is supposed to be light and fluffy! This is practically rock candy!”
  573.  
  574. >“How do you know? You haven’t eaten any.”
  575.  
  576. >”I don’t need to. Just look at it! I bet this was made days ago.”
  577.  
  578. >Lyra grabbed the enraged pony and started dragging them away.
  579. >The pair attracted little attention as they walked through Ponyville’s crowded roads
  580. >The asphalt beneath their hooves still felt uncomfortably warm from the blazing sun.
  581. >Lyra pushed her way out of the heart of the city towards what remained of the countryside.
  582. >At some point Bon-Bon took charge and changed course towards the woods.
  583. >Lyra didn’t object.
  584. >She didn’t really care where they went at this point.
  585. >Just so long as they went somewhere quiet.
  586. >They soon found themselves lying on the dry, wilted grass and staring up to the heavens.
  587. >The night sky wasn’t as striking as it used to be.
  588. >The light from Ponyville washed out the fainter stars.
  589. >Even the bright ones seemed comparably dull.
  590. >Lyra had never been much of a stargazer, but even so it felt…
  591. >Wrong.
  592. >Living in Ponyville as it was now was such a far cry from the Ponyville she knew.
  593. >The city kept growing and changing.
  594. >More ponies, more buildings, more gadgets...
  595. >It almost felt like a whole different world.
  596. >And the missing night sky, well, that was just one more thing she’d lost without even noticing.
  597. >Life WAS better these days, of this she had no doubt.
  598. >But there were things she missed.
  599. >Things she feared she might never enjoy again.
  600. >The starry night was gone forever.
  601. >Quiet solitude in the park was no longer an option.
  602. >No matter where she went she was surrounded by strange ponies with odd backgrounds.
  603. >And there was just so much noise all the time!
  604. >Ponyville had changed, it had moved onward at a blinding pace.
  605. >And it left Lyra behind.
  606.  
  607. >”Sorry.”
  608.  
  609. “It’s okay.”
  610.  
  611. >”Not really. I made an ass of myself there.”
  612.  
  613. “Racism aside, what was the problem?”
  614.  
  615. >”It’s just… It wasn’t about the candy. Okay, it was. It wasn’t JUST about the candy. Everypony loves monster movies, loves seeing them wreck stuff. They don’t know how terrible it can be. And everypony idolizes mockeries of me and what I do.”
  616.  
  617. >The monster movie had her upset?
  618.  
  619. >”Nopony knows what I can do or what I have to deal with. Everypony just thinks of me as that mare that eats too much sugar.”
  620.  
  621. >Lyra would be lying if she said she hadn’t heard that from time to time.
  622. >Some of her friends would even go so far as to ask why Lyra was interested in her companion.
  623.  
  624. >”Even you.”
  625.  
  626. >Oh.
  627.  
  628. “I don’t like Double O Zero. I like you. I just wish I was allowed to know everything about you.”
  629.  
  630. >Lyra cuddled up closer to her favourite pony beneath the hollow night sky.
  631. >There was at least one thing in her life that hadn’t changed.
  632. >Her feelings for Bonny hadn’t faded.
  633. >If anything they’d grown in recent history.
  634. >Lyra knew for a fact she could trust the mare beside her.
  635. >She was safe when she was around Bon-Bon, and-
  636.  
  637. >”This was a huge mistake.”
  638.  
  639. “Pardon?”
  640.  
  641. >”I brought you here because I wanted to show off. To impress you. But it was a stupid thing to do. You need to hide. Right now.”
  642.  
  643. >Bon-Bon lept to her hooves in one swift motion and stared up at the sky.
  644. >She gestured off towards the nearby woods without taking her eyes off of…
  645. >A small bird flying off in the distance?
  646.  
  647. “What’s wrong?”
  648.  
  649. >”You have five minutes before it gets here. Hide.”
  650.  
  651. “Uhh. Okay?”
  652.  
  653. >Lyra reluctantly moved off to hide among the trees.
  654. >She couldn’t figure out what the problem was as the bird drew closer.
  655. >And closer.
  656. >And kept getting closer for several minutes.
  657.  
  658. *KRAAAAA*
  659.  
  660. >A vicious gale threatened to knock her over as it passed by overhead.
  661. >She poked her muzzle around the side of the tree to see a massive hawk with a scaled head.
  662. >It opened its beak to bare vicious rows of fangs.
  663. >The once tiny bird she’d seen must have been several kilometers away as it now dwarfed the tallest buildings.
  664. >Bon-Bon stood before it.
  665. >Unflinching.
  666. >Unwavering.
  667. >She reached into her saddlebags and produced a small black ball.
  668. >And the bird turned away from her and started to stomp towards Ponyville.
  669.  
  670. >“Hey, Roc! Get ready to drop like a stone!”
  671.  
  672. >Lyra grinned like a madmare at the cheesy one-liner before the reality of the situation sank in.
  673. >Sweetie Drops hurled the ball at its eyes.
  674. >A sickly yellow cloud erupted at the site of impact.
  675. >And the bird was PISSED.
  676. >It turned towards the offending pony and started pecking wildly.
  677.  
  678. “Bonny, get out of there!”
  679.  
  680. >No answer.
  681. >Lyra watched as hundreds of tonnes of predatory muscle bore down on her Bonny.
  682. >On her whole world.
  683. >She was going to DIE out there!
  684. >Lyra had to do SOMETHING!
  685. >ANYTHING!
  686. >She tried to reach out to her magic.
  687. >The fear and panic ruined her concentration, but she dug deep and pulled out what she could manage.
  688. >A simple flame spell splashed against the bird and singed a few feather.
  689. >It didn’t seem to notice.
  690. >She levitated a nearby stone and repeatedly bashed it into the monster’s face.
  691. >Until the Roc ate the rock, reducing it to dust with one vicious bite.
  692. >Lyra watched helplessly as the best pony in the world ran and rolled about, narrowly evading doom with each missed blow.
  693. >There was nothing she could do.
  694. >She was useless.
  695. >Helpless.
  696. >Her magic was failing her yet again.
  697. >She groped at its neck with a telekinetic field trying desperately to slow it down.
  698. >To choke it out.
  699. >To do something!
  700. >Nothing.
  701. >But she needed to help!
  702. >She couldn’t just sit by idly and watch!
  703.  
  704. “Hold on Bonny.”
  705.  
  706. >She still had one trick left.
  707. >Lyra might not have been great at evocation or illusions.
  708. >But she she did know some conjuration.
  709. >Sweat poured from her head as she focused.
  710. >Her head burned with each rapid heartbeat as the pressure behind her eyes grew ever more.
  711. >And with a flash of light, an anvil materialised above the bird’s head.
  712. >It hit home.
  713. >Hard.
  714. >And then slipped on the side and buried itself in the ground before vanishing back into the ether.
  715. >It turned to look at Lyra with murder in its eyes.
  716. >And Lyra was paralyzed by exhaustion and fear.
  717.  
  718. >”I’m not done with you yet!”
  719.  
  720. >Sweetie Drops raised a dark tube up at its head.
  721. >A grappling hook shot out and coiled around the fiend’s neck.
  722. >It retracted on its own pulling the agent upwards at blinding speeds.
  723. >Special agent Sweetie Drops released the hook halfway through her ascent and flew straight onto the beast’s breast.
  724. >Lyra saw a blinding flash of mana for just an instant before impact.
  725. >When she could see clearly again, the Roc was rapidly rolling through the woods leaving trail of destruction in its wake.
  726. >Fresh soil flew about as it plowed through the ground face first.
  727. >It recovered far too quickly.
  728. >But when it rose, one wing dangled by its side.
  729. >Broken.
  730. >That wing was now useless.
  731.  
  732. “Just like me.”
  733.  
  734. >Sweetie Drops casually walked up to the monster.
  735. >And to Lyra’s surprise, it backed away.
  736. >Just a little bit.
  737. >But it never quite ran.
  738. >Instead it pecked down one last time when Sweetie Drops approached.
  739. >Her hoof rose.
  740. >Another flash of light.
  741. >The Roc snapped backwards and collapsed.
  742.  
  743. “Is- is it safe?”
  744.  
  745. >”Yup!”
  746.  
  747. >Lyra stepped out of the bushes and cautiously approached the beast.
  748. >It still seemed to be breathing.
  749. >But Bon-Bon didn’t seem concerned.
  750.  
  751. “That. Was. AWESOME!”
  752.  
  753. >”We best get out of here before too many prying eyes show up.”
  754.  
  755. “Wait, you’re just going to leave it there?”
  756.  
  757. >”A reclamation team is already on the way. Locking them up isn’t my job.”
  758.  
  759. “So you just beat them up and leave?”
  760.  
  761. >”No. They usually leave that to the fighters. I’m just supposed to find them. I maaaaaay have neglected to inform them about this so that I’d have a chance at it?”
  762.  
  763. >Bon-Bon started to walk away from the scene.
  764.  
  765. >”I’m going to have to have to go report on this. They aren’t going to be happy that it got so close. Stupid!”
  766.  
  767. >And she disappeared into the night.
  768. >Lyra didn’t answer, instead choosing to survey the destruction.
  769. >How could one kick have been so devastating?
  770. >With one last look she spotted something strange.
  771. >The Roc had an ear tag on it.
  772. >She couldn’t quite read it though.
  773. >Lyra was tempted to get a closer look.
  774. >But far more tempted to be far away, and fast.
  775. >She soon found herself walking past the post office.
  776. >And also the bunker.
  777. >And near the rear entrance was none other than Twilight Sparkle and her assistant.
  778. >She watched quietly as they stepped inside.
  779. >Lyra stood dumbfounded for a moment.
  780. >Twilight Sparkle, a pony she’d known for years, was in the know.
  781. >She had an angle to work with.
  782. >But then…
  783. >She and Twilight hadn’t spoken for years.
  784. >Neither had really made any move to get back together despite living in the same town.
  785. >Truth be told, Lyra was never fond of Twilight, and she was pretty sure the feeling was mutual.
  786. >It was more that they had mutual acquaintances than anything.
  787. >What good would confronting the purple pony princess do?
  788. >Best case it would raise suspicion.
  789. >No, Lyra knew she wasn’t getting anything out of Twilight.
  790. >However…
  791.  
  792. Later that evening.
  793.  
  794. >Lyra stood before the crystal tree shaped palace thingey adorned in all black.
  795. >She didn’t know what she was looking for.
  796. >But she knew Twilight was out.
  797. >And she also knew that just asking around wouldn’t do her any good.
  798. >If she was going to get to the bottom of all this stuff, she had to do it the Sweetie Drops way.
  799. >Which, Lyra naively assumed, meant going in through the front door.
  800. >Was she really going to do this?
  801. >Was she going to break into somepony’s home on her quest for truth?
  802. >Was she ready to become a criminal just so she could know more?
  803.  
  804. “Totally!”
  805.  
  806. >It swung open without resistance.
  807. >Lyra quietly mused to herself that it was strange.
  808. >Why wouldn’t the princess of all ponies lock their door on the way out?
  809. >Sure, nopony locked their doors a few years back.
  810. >But in the new Ponyville you could never be too sure.
  811. >Everypony locked their doors when they left their homes empty.
  812. >And why were all the lights on in the foyer?
  813. >She quickly flicked the lights off with her magic as she prowled through the building.
  814. >Nothing seemed particularly out of order at first blush.
  815. >Save for the opulence and size it seemed like any other home.
  816. >With all the lights on.
  817. >And none of the doors locked.
  818. >Lyra popped another door open to see a pony sitting quietly in a reading room.
  819. >She nearly slammed the door in panic, but barely managed to stop herself in time.
  820. >Instead she quietly stepped away.
  821. >’Wasn’t that that cultist pony?’ she thought to herself.
  822. >Indeed, it looked quite a bit like Starlight Glimmer.
  823. >Since when was she living with Twilight?
  824. >Does SHE know what’s going on?
  825. >Lyra backed away slowly, not daring to close the door fully lest she make a noise.
  826. >Whatever the case may be with Starlight, there was nothing to be gained from being seen.
  827. >Lyra considered leaving.
  828. >But her curiosity got the best of her and she moved on.
  829. >Nothing suspicious in the grand hall or washroom.
  830. >Nor in the throneroom.
  831. >Next was the bedroom.
  832. >As a very embarassed Lyra returned a box under Twilight’s bed, she noticed something.
  833. >A weak arcane signature coming from the wall.
  834. >A less gifted unicorn would have totally missed it.
  835. >But Lyra was no ordinary unicorn.
  836. >She was trained at Princess Celestia’s school.
  837. >Lyra lacked power, but did not want for finesse.
  838. >She moved up to it.
  839. >Put her hoof up to the wall.
  840. >And nearly fell through the illusion.
  841. >On the other side was a small cramped office with a tiny stack of papers set off to the side.
  842. >But in the middle of it all was a green glowing box.
  843. >Something felt wrong about the box, almost as though it it didn’t belong in this world.
  844. >It had an otherworldly glow about it as though it wasn’t intended for pony eyes.
  845. >Lyra strained her eyes to look at it.
  846. >Upon it was written a strange combination of symbols.
  847.  
  848. A:\>cd ART
  849.  
  850. A:\ART>cd AL3
  851.  
  852. A:\ART\AL3>037.txt
  853.  
  854. Object class: safe
  855.  
  856. Access: Need To Know
  857.  
  858. 037 is an extremely powerful tool with greater mathematical capacity than the entirety of ponykind.
  859. Our best attempts are yet insufficient with all completed objects performing below expected parameters. However, it is our belief that they will save time in the long run by allowing us to process data at previously unimaginable rates. The underlying mechanism that allows 037 to function is ill understood (see 037-AD5.txt) and could use more inspection. Proposing further funding (see 037-PR12.txt)
  860.  
  861. Though there does not appear to be any risk in doing so, AL0 has insisted that 037 not be declassified at this time.
  862.  
  863. A:\ART\AL3>
  864.  
  865. >That was it.
  866. >Lyra had caught them red hoofed.
  867. >She had no idea what was going on, but it was still a huge breakthrough.
  868. >There were multiple ponies working with mysterious machines and hiding them from the public.
  869. >And at least one princess was in on it.
  870. >She had done it.
  871. >She had actually managed to do spy stuff!
  872. >She had just been recorded on camera.
  873. >Lyra only then noticed the camera sitting above the entryway pointed down on her.
  874. >Luckily for her she’d had the foresight to hide her identifying features.
  875. >But even so this complicated things.
  876. >She could leave and they’d have footage of her snooping around.
  877. >Or she could destroy it and they’d have evidence of an intruder.
  878. >They were going to know that they’d been found out, one way or another.
  879. >It didn’t take her long to decide on her course of action.
  880. >She crushed the machine in her telekinetic grip.
  881. >Lyra wanted to stay longer.
  882. >She wanted to snoop around.
  883. >What would Double O Zero do?
  884. >Stick around until she knew everything, get caught, wind up in some absurd death trap, and then escape in an equally absurd manner.
  885. >What would Sweetie Drops do?
  886. >She didn’t know.
  887. >It was too late to slip out without a trace.
  888. >So…
  889. >In for a penny in for a pound?
  890. >She grabbed all the papers she could before absconding into the night.
  891. >She didn’t notice the light pink unicorn watching her as she snuck out.
  892.  
  893. Recovered documents follow.
  894.  
  895. -3
  896. F jrpq obfqboxqb qexq lro bkzovmqflk jbqelap xob ixzhfkd. Xkvmlkv tfqe x mxppfkd rkabopqxkafkd lc zovmqldoxmev tlria zoxzh qefp tfqe bxpb. F rkabopqxka qexq qefp fp elt jbqela lkzb pbosba vlr tbii, yrq qfjbp exsb zexkdba xka pl jrpq tb. XI3
  897.  
  898. +6
  899. Eua xgoyk gt kdikrrktz vuotz. Uax hajmkz oy yzxgotkj gy oz oy gtj ck cut'z hk ghrk zu xkrkgyk znoy zu znk vahroi gte zosk yuut. Nuckbkx, ck corr cotj av yvktjotm suxk ot znk rutm xat ol ck jut'z ju oz xomnz znk loxyz zosk. Znk gjbgtikj rotky gxk kdikyyobk lux cngz ck'bk vrgttkj lux znk iusotm sutzny, haz ck corr hk cgtzotm znks ot znk ekgxy zu iusk. GR0
  900.  
  901.  
  902. +12
  903. U tmhq eqduage oazoqdze dqsmdpuzs eqogdufk mf agd rmouxufuqe. Iq tmp ftmf uzfdgpqd mf rmouxufk 37 vgef xmef iqqw ita saf mimk, ftq uzfdgpqd uz mf rmouxufk 12 ita efuxx iaz'f fmxw, mzp ftqdq mbbqmde fa nq mf xqmef azq xqmw mf rmouxufk 63. Iq omz zaf mrradp fa mxxai rmouxufuqe 000 ftdagst 004 fa nq oaybdayueqp, qxeq ftqdq iuxx nq za otmzoq ar egooqee. U bdabaeq iq qcgub mxx sgmdpe iuft MDF-54 mzp MDF-97 uyyqpumfqxk. Ymk ftq efmde radsuhq yq. MX1
  904.  
  905. -5
  906. Mzlpznodib kzmhdnndji oj yznomjt vgg nvhkgzn ja VMO-148. Do vkkzvmn oj cvqz ij xjinompxodqz vkkgdxvodjin viy dn zsxzkodjivggt yvibzmjpn. D mzhvdi nfzkodxvg ocvo do rdgg apixodji vn zskzxozy, wpo zqzi da do yjzn, oj rcvo ziy? Rz vmz ijo hjinozm, rz'qz ij izzy ajm npxc avibn. VG2
  907.  
  908.  
  909. * * * * *
  910.  
  911.  
  912. >Lyra could scarcely contain her excitement after her successful heist.
  913. >Were anypony watching who was unfamiliar with the mare, they’d doubtlessly think her mad.
  914. >Were anypony watching who WAS familiar, they’d still think her mad.
  915. >But in a charming, loveable way.
  916. >She quivered with happiness as she floated into her home.
  917. >Lyra quickly stripped off her black suit and stowed it away in her dresser before moving to the kitchen with the stolen notes in tow.
  918. >She sat down at the kitchen table.
  919. >And then she looked at them.
  920.  
  921. “What the hay is this!?”
  922.  
  923. >They were total nonsense.
  924. >She had no idea what was going on.
  925. >Lyra deflated, dropping her face on the table in frustration.
  926. >She scorned herself for thinking it would be that easy.
  927. >She was going against Twilight Sparkle of all ponies.
  928. >Twilight excelled at pretty much everything she did.
  929. >Beating her would be…
  930. >Tough.
  931. >And Lyra didn’t really know what she was doing.
  932. >But still, on the other hoof…
  933. >She had seen that weird glowy box and read what it said.
  934. >Lyra perked up a bit at that thought.
  935. >The papers may be useless to her, but she didn’t walk away empty hoofed.
  936. >But what to make of it?
  937. >And what next?
  938. >What would she do with this information?
  939. >Who should she tell?
  940. >Could she tell anypony?
  941. >Wouldn’t that risk her being figured out?
  942. >And even if she DID find a way to share what she knew without getting caught, what good would it do?
  943. >She had no proof.
  944. >The giddy Lyra from moments ago was gone, and in its place was a sober Lyra.
  945. >She was once again lost and without direction.
  946. >All she had was a vague idea that Twilight was lying about weird machines, and a bunch of meaningless papers.
  947. >And knowledge that a new one, something named 057, might be on the way soon.
  948. >She tried to think back to the one document she did understand.
  949. >She couldn’t quite remember-
  950. >AL0!
  951. >She ran to her room and wrote it down before she could forget.
  952. >Grabbing a fountain pen and quickly refilling the reservoir, she jotted down the words.
  953.  
  954. Somepony, or someTHING named ‘AL0’ said that 057 (a tool that does math) couldn’t be released to the public.
  955.  
  956. >She then hastily blotted the ink and tucked the note pad she’d written it on under her bed.
  957. >Now if only she could figure out who AL0 was, or find a machine that did math.
  958. >Then maybe she could start putting pieces together.
  959. >She returned to the kitchen and saw an envelope on the table.
  960. >Lyra was pretty darn sure that that envelope hadn’t been there a moment ago.
  961. >In it was a note written in clean block printing.
  962. >It clearly wasn’t penned by somepony’s hoof.
  963.  
  964.  
  965. Never get seen by one of those cameras again. They send the pictures elsewhere. I think I got rid of them for you this time. Next time you won’t be so lucky.
  966. Be careful, this goes way deeper than you know.
  967. They will stop at NOTHING to track you down.
  968. I will be in touch.
  969.  
  970. -A friend.
  971.  
  972. P.S. you dropped these.
  973.  
  974. >Lyra’s heart was hammering away in her chest.
  975. >She sat down before her trembling legs gave out.
  976. >She’d been caught.
  977. >Everything had gone so perfectly, and she was still found out.
  978. >By whom?
  979. >Were they really a friend?
  980. >Was she going to be safe?
  981. >If not, what were they going to do to her?
  982. >It took several minutes for her senses to return to her.
  983. >But eventually her breathing slowed to a normal rate.
  984. >She looked at the note again.
  985. >’I will be in touch.’
  986. >How would she know who this pony was?
  987. >Could she trust them?
  988. >Should she go into hiding?
  989. >COULD she hide?
  990. >Wait.
  991. >Dropped what?
  992. >Lyra opened the envelope and looked inside to see three mint green hairs.
  993. >Her face went red as her blood pressure soared.
  994. >She’d left hairs of all things at the scene!
  995. >They’d have known the colour of her coat, and mint green wasn’t a particularly common shade.
  996. >If she hadn’t been caught by whoever this pony was, she would have surely been caught by Twilight.
  997. >She could have been in prison by dawn!
  998. >It was then that Lyra knew.
  999. >She wasn’t cut out for this spy stuff.
  1000. >She had to quit for her own safety.
  1001. >The idea was torturous to her.
  1002. >Leaving all these mysteries unsolved.
  1003. >Not knowing would be Tartarus for the curious pony.
  1004. >But she knew the risks.
  1005. >And she knew she wasn’t good enough.
  1006. >Lyra went and retrieved her note book from under her bed and tore out the page she’d so recently written on.
  1007. >She grabbed the documents she’d stolen as well as the envelope.
  1008. >And then she crumpled them all up.
  1009. >Lyra stood before the trash can, but she hesitated.
  1010. >Would she ever be able to forget what she’d seen?
  1011. >Was it even possible to return to her old life now?
  1012. >The electric lighting hung above her, illuminating the room around her.
  1013. >A few years ago she would have laughed at the idea of such a device.
  1014. >Now she suspected, nay, KNEW it represented something far greater.
  1015. >A secret she was not meant to know.
  1016. >Lyra looked outside at the rapidly growing maze of concrete that had swallowed up her former home.
  1017. >It too was a reminder of what lay beneath her hooves.
  1018. >The rate at which the city was growing and the size of the buildings were both unimaginable, yet real.
  1019. >She stared at the crumpled notes before her.
  1020. >One had been written with a fountain pen.
  1021. >Just last year she’d been using a quill.
  1022. >Scarcely anypony had a fountain pen, the metal was simply too valuable.
  1023. >And now?
  1024. >She was throwing out metal cans without a second thought.
  1025. >What had changed?
  1026. >She didn’t know, but she was pretty sure she knew where that change had come from.
  1027. >Lyra stood between two worlds.
  1028. >On one side was an illusion she’d seen through.
  1029. >A false reality that would always be fake to her.
  1030. >To the other side there lay truth.
  1031. >A world of mystery and deception that she was not fit to face.
  1032. >Lyra had to choose.
  1033. >Did she pretend to swallow the lie?
  1034. >Or did she take a stand against princess Twilight and risk retribution?
  1035. >It was a choice she didn’t want to make.
  1036. >But the stakes were too high.
  1037. >Lyra hesitantly dropped the papers in the trash.
  1038. >And with them she discarded her hopes of ever learning the truth.
  1039.  
  1040. Two days later.
  1041.  
  1042. >Lyra hadn’t slept since that night.
  1043. >Not properly at least.
  1044. >The mystery still weighed heavily on her mind.
  1045. >As well as the fear that the royal guard would barge into her home at any moment.
  1046. >The constant tension was taking its toll on her, and apparently it showed.
  1047.  
  1048. >”What’s wrong?”
  1049.  
  1050. >Bon-Bon asked as her bed mate turned over for the umpteenth time that night.
  1051.  
  1052. “Nothing. I’m fine.”
  1053.  
  1054. >”No you aren’t.”
  1055.  
  1056. >Were she more awake Lyra would have been embarrassed by the transparent lie.
  1057.  
  1058. “I’m just worried about some things is all.”
  1059.  
  1060. >”Such as?”
  1061.  
  1062. >She couldn’t tell the truth.
  1063. >But Lyra knew she couldn’t get away with lying either.
  1064. >She was lying next to Special Agent Sweetie Drops.
  1065. >A pony who was adept at digging up the truth and sussing out secrets.
  1066. >Even before learning of that identity Lyra knew it was impossible to lie to Bon-Bon.
  1067. >But now she knew why.
  1068. >A half truth would have to do.
  1069. >Something that had been eating at her, just not the right thing.
  1070.  
  1071. >”Lyra?”
  1072.  
  1073. “The roc. I just felt so helpless there. I tried to do something to save you, but in the end I was useless. I couldn’t do anything. What if you’d been hurt?”
  1074.  
  1075. >It was true.
  1076. >That incident had weighed heavily on her mind.
  1077. >She’d more or less put it behind her when the danger had passed.
  1078. >But in the moment it was horrifying.
  1079.  
  1080. >”Don’t talk about that so openly. It’s fine this time, but… You know my favourite kind of candy, right?
  1081.  
  1082. “Dark chocolate truffles with toasted hazelnut topping and a ganache center.”
  1083.  
  1084. “Almond. Toasted almond. Just ask me what my favourite candy is if you ever want to talk about these things. If I say that you know it isn’t. And about the attack? I’ve dealt with way worse than a roc before and walked away just fine. You don’t need to worry about me.”
  1085.  
  1086. “But-”
  1087.  
  1088. >”No buts! I hardly ever actually face the monsters myself, and I’m more than ready to deal with them if I have to. I’ll be fine.”
  1089.  
  1090. >Lyra didn’t answer.
  1091. >She instead continued to not sleep.
  1092. >About an hour passed in relative silence.
  1093.  
  1094. >”Still worried?”
  1095.  
  1096. “Yeah. You don’t know what it’s like to feel helpless.”
  1097.  
  1098. >Bon-Bon tensed up for a an instant.
  1099. >It was brief, Lyra wasn’t even really sure it had happened.
  1100. >Bon-Bon then stared blankly at the ceiling for a couple of minutes.
  1101.  
  1102. >”I’ll keep you safe.”
  1103.  
  1104. “You can’t always be there, Bonny.”
  1105.  
  1106. >”But I’m here right now.”
  1107.  
  1108. >Bon-Bon wrapped her legs around her bunkmate and held her friend close.
  1109. >And Lyra quickly fell asleep in the comforting embrace.
  1110. >Morning came far too soon.
  1111. >And Lyra reluctantly opened her eyes.
  1112. >Bon-Bon was still there, wide awake.
  1113. >Lyra was surprised
  1114. >Her Bonny had always been an early riser.
  1115. >And Lyra was pretty sure she’d slept in.
  1116. >It was strange, but Lyra wasn’t about to object.
  1117. >There were worse ways to greet a new day.
  1118.  
  1119. “Thank you.”
  1120.  
  1121. >Bon-Bon tried to answer.
  1122. >And she failed.
  1123. >Instead she yawned loudly.
  1124.  
  1125. “Did I keep you up all night? Sorry. Just kick me out next time.”
  1126.  
  1127. >”Not your fault. I’m just worried.”
  1128.  
  1129. “About?”
  1130.  
  1131. >No answer.
  1132.  
  1133. “I’ll go and make you breakfast. Unless you’re going back to sleep?”
  1134.  
  1135. >”I’ll get up in a minute.”
  1136.  
  1137. >Lyra made her way to the kitchen and set to work.
  1138. >She removed the mixing bowl from the dishwasher, assembled the electric beater, and pulled a box of pancake mix from the cupboard.
  1139. >Lyra tore open the plastic bag within and liberally poured.
  1140. >Before long she was flipping oat laden foodstuffs in the teflon frying pan.
  1141. >She was nearly done with both servings by the time a very groggy Bon-Bon emerged from their bedroom.
  1142. >She sat before her meal with a smile that didn’t quite reach the eyes.
  1143. >Lyra soon joined her.
  1144.  
  1145. “Wanna talk about it?”
  1146.  
  1147. >”Yup.”
  1148.  
  1149. >She began eating in silence.
  1150.  
  1151. “ARE you going to talk about it?”
  1152.  
  1153. >She nodded rather than speaking with her mouth full.
  1154. >Lyra was willing to accept that.
  1155. >If Bon-Bon said something, she believed it.
  1156. >Few ponies were half as reliable in Lyra’s experience.
  1157. >And so assured that she was going to get her answers in due time, she set to eating.
  1158. >Breakfast was over before either of them spoke.
  1159. >Lyra was levitating their plates into the dishwasher when she finally got her answer.
  1160.  
  1161. >”You’re right.”
  1162.  
  1163. “Hm?”
  1164.  
  1165. >”What you said last night. You’re right. I can’t always be there to keep you safe.”
  1166.  
  1167. “What’s your favourite candy?”
  1168.  
  1169. >”Try to work it in more naturally next time. And I’m not talking about monsters. Ponyville isn’t as safe as it used to be.”
  1170.  
  1171. “Less safe than the city that got blown up in a fight between Tirek and a turbo-charged alicorn princess?”
  1172.  
  1173. >”Okay, fair point. But- what can I tell you. No, no... Hrmm. The criminal I’ve been assigned to find. They struck again a- recently.”
  1174.  
  1175. >Lyra couldn’t help but tense up.
  1176. >Luckily for her, Bon-Bon misread the reaction.
  1177.  
  1178. >”It is unclear if they are still in town, though we know they are still active.”
  1179.  
  1180. >Bon-Bon spoke slowly and deliberately, clearly picking each word with great care.
  1181. >She was holding something back.
  1182. >Probably some sensitive information, or maybe details they weren’t sure of.
  1183. >Lyra wasn’t sure what was being hidden, she just hoped it wasn’t important.
  1184. >Such as a new hint from her last escapade.
  1185.  
  1186. “What do you know about them?”
  1187.  
  1188. >”Powerful unicorn. They’ve broken into six homes.”
  1189.  
  1190. >What.
  1191.  
  1192. >”And they beat somepony pretty bad last time.”
  1193.  
  1194. “What?”
  1195.  
  1196. >”Yeah. They broke into somepony’s home, stole a bunch of stuff, smashed other things, and beat the resident to a pulp. They’re dangerous and violent. And I can’t find them.”
  1197.  
  1198. >Lyra was pretty sure she didn’t do most of those things.
  1199. >She wasn’t really sure what to make of this news.
  1200.  
  1201. “Are they going to be okay?”
  1202.  
  1203. >”Hm. I don’t know how well they’ll fare. I’m not a doctor. Luckily, they tagged their assailant, so whoever we’re after should be visibly hurt. That narrows down the search a lot. And we still can’t find them. It’s almost as if- hrmm. No matter. The point is that there’s a very dangerous pony on the loose who isn’t above breaking into homes and who will attack anypony who sees them.”
  1204.  
  1205. >Lyra wasn’t too worried about all that.
  1206. >She was pretty sure she wasn’t going to beat herself up.
  1207. >Unless, maybe there was somepony else?
  1208. >Could it possibly be that she wasn’t-
  1209. >The pony who returned her hairs to her!
  1210. >THEY must be the one prowling around!
  1211. >And they knew where she lived.
  1212. >Were they really a friend?
  1213. >What if they got caught, would they reveal her secret?
  1214. >Were they going to blackmail her?
  1215.  
  1216. >”If you meet this pony, just run. But if you can’t run, well… I’d feel a lot more comfortable if you knew how to fight.”
  1217.  
  1218. >Lyra’s eyes could have put dinner plates to shame.
  1219. >Her face hurt from grinning too wide.
  1220. >She’d seen how Sweetie Drops fought.
  1221. >Her idol was probably the toughest pony alive.
  1222. >She DEFINITELY wanted to learn how she’d done that.
  1223.  
  1224. “You’re going to teach me how to punch out a Roc with one kick!?”
  1225.  
  1226. >”Two kicks. And no, I can’t.”
  1227.  
  1228. “Aww! But that was so cool!”
  1229.  
  1230. >Lyra whined unabashedly.
  1231.  
  1232. “Classified?”
  1233.  
  1234. >”What? No. You can take Jigutaedo classes down at the community center.”
  1235.  
  1236. “Jiga-what?”
  1237.  
  1238. >”The problem is that you’re a unicorn.”
  1239.  
  1240. “So what?”
  1241.  
  1242. >”So you can’t use Earth’s breath.”
  1243.  
  1244. >Lyra deadpanned.
  1245.  
  1246. “Earth. Breath.”
  1247.  
  1248. >”Yeah. The vital force of the planet. It’s an Earth pony thing.”
  1249.  
  1250. “Sounds made up.”
  1251.  
  1252. >”What do they teach at Princess Celestia’s school?”
  1253.  
  1254. “Unicorn stuff.”
  1255.  
  1256. >Bon-Bon couldn’t hide the incredulous look on her face.
  1257.  
  1258. >”How could anypony know that little about Earth pony magic?”
  1259.  
  1260. “Look, I grew up in Canterlot. Not a lot of Earth ponies around there.”
  1261.  
  1262. >That answer clearly didn’t satisfy Bon-Bon who just shook her head in amazement.
  1263.  
  1264. “What can you tell me about mana flux between bodies as they approach equilibrium? Because if you don’t understand that you’re going to have a lot of trouble with basic spells.”
  1265.  
  1266. >”That flux will approach zero and you need to compensate by activating more of your horn if you want to maintain a steady flow of mana!”
  1267.  
  1268. “Oh. Yeah, actually.”
  1269.  
  1270. >”So you really don’t know ANYTHING about how Earth pony magic works?”
  1271.  
  1272. >Lyra bashfully shook her head.
  1273.  
  1274. >”This is going to take a practical demonstration. Come with me.”
  1275.  
  1276. >Bon-bon started walking out.
  1277.  
  1278. “But I’m not done with the dishes.”
  1279.  
  1280. >”I’ll finish them later. Come!”
  1281.  
  1282. >Lyra shrugged before following.
  1283. >The two of them pushed through the throngs of ponies going through their daily business.
  1284. >Each and every one of them walking blindly through the growing urban sprawl, never once wondering from whence it came.
  1285. >They were just happy to reap the rewards of all this change without a single thought in their head.
  1286. >Their lack of curiosity disgusted Lyra.
  1287. >And the knowledge that she was so recently like them only made it worse.
  1288. >Neon signs adorned the five and six story tall buildings they walked past as they cut through the heart of the city.
  1289. >The two waited for the traffic lights to halt the flow of carts before passing the too wide streets.
  1290. >Realisation hit her hard.
  1291. >The streets were too wide.
  1292. >They weren’t designed for carts or carriages.
  1293. >What WERE they designed for?
  1294. >She threw the idea out knowing the only way for her to find out was to wait.
  1295. >She wasn’t going to risk her neck on all that stuff anymore.
  1296. >Even if she really wanted to.
  1297. >They headed out well beyond city limits.
  1298. >Massive transmission towers ran out across the landscape carrying in power from who knows where.
  1299.  
  1300. “Say, do you know where the power is actually made?”
  1301.  
  1302. >”Huh. I’d never thought to ask.”
  1303.  
  1304. >Even Bon-Bon, an actual secret agent whose job it was to look for weird things.
  1305. >Even she hadn’t stopped to wonder.
  1306. >It felt to Lyra like the whole world was blind, and she’d just opened one eye for the first time.
  1307. >They continued to walk through the hot, dry landscape.
  1308. >Dead grass crunched beneath their hooves as they walked through the arid, overheated landscape.
  1309. >Luckily for Lyra, her comrade had stuffed their saddlebags full of water bottles.
  1310. >A great deal of walking later, the two were in Ghastly Gorge.
  1311. >Bon-Bon spotted a large boulder and smiled.
  1312. >She gestured towards it.
  1313.  
  1314. >”There. Does that look sturdy?”
  1315.  
  1316. >Lyra had no idea what she was talking about.
  1317. >Of course it looked sturdy!
  1318. >It was a boulder!
  1319.  
  1320. “Yyyyes?”
  1321.  
  1322. >”Do you think you could break it?”
  1323.  
  1324. “Not without dynamite.”
  1325.  
  1326. >”It has a bit of Earth’s breath in it. It’s nearly unbreakable, unmoveable, and heavy. But what if I told you that I’d seen untrained Earth ponies break them apart with just their hooves?”
  1327.  
  1328. >Lyra was torn.
  1329. >The idea was absurd to her.
  1330. >But this was Bon-Bon talking.
  1331.  
  1332. >”They could do it because they were more like the Earth than the rock they kicked apart. They took the Earth into their body and let its power fill them. They become unbreakable and unstoppable. If they were trained they could have done it in a single blow. Stand back.”
  1333.  
  1334. >She walked up to the boulder.
  1335. >Bon-Bon was no more than half as tall as the rock that she stood next to.
  1336. >She casually swung her hoof at it.
  1337. >For a split second just before impact her hoof glowed brilliantly.
  1338. >And the boulder shattered.
  1339. >Tiny shards of stone flew everywhere as the once mighty rock was reduced to gravel.
  1340. >Lyra’s jaw dropped.
  1341. >She could only watch in awe as the tiny mare walked back from the scene of destruction.
  1342.  
  1343. >”Fill your body with the Earth’s breath and become a stone. Focus it just where you need it and become a boulder. Time it just when you need it, and you can strike with the weight of a mountain.”
  1344.  
  1345. “You… that… AWESOME!”
  1346.  
  1347. >Bon-Bon ate the praise up with gusto.
  1348.  
  1349. >”Thank you. It’s nice being able to show off for once. Hiding half your life all the time is tiresome, you know? No. I suppose you don’t.”
  1350.  
  1351. >Lyra didn’t.
  1352. >Yet.
  1353. >It took Lyra a while to get over her amazement.
  1354. >The Roc thing was incredible.
  1355. >But to see such a massive boulder explode into fragments?
  1356. >That was something else entirely.
  1357.  
  1358. >”So, yeah. Unless you can do that there’s not much point in learning the style I use.”
  1359.  
  1360. “How did you not hurt yourself?”
  1361.  
  1362. >Bon-Bon tapped her chest with the hoof that had just reduced a boulder to gravel.
  1363. >Her hoof didn’t glow this time.
  1364.  
  1365. >”Harder than a rock. More like Earth than the boulder was.”
  1366.  
  1367. >Lyra had thought that was just metaphor.
  1368.  
  1369. “So, doing that thing makes you crazy strong?”
  1370.  
  1371. >”I wish! It makes me heavy. Get my hoof up to speed, make it weigh a few million tonnes, and momentum does the rest.”
  1372.  
  1373. >Strike with the weight of a mountain.
  1374. >She wasn’t joking.
  1375. >Bon-Bon could crush things with the weight of a literal mountain.
  1376. >Lyra decided then and there that she must never be kicked by an Earth pony.
  1377. >And then after thinking about it a bit longer, she felt even more vulnerable.
  1378. >If every Earth pony she passed in the streets could do that…
  1379.  
  1380. “Can any Earth pony do that?”
  1381.  
  1382. >”Nope! It’s really hard actually. Drawing that power in is really tiring, so you need to focus it exactly where and when you need it or else you’ll wear yourself out. It takes a lot of discipline and practice. I’m one of the best.”
  1383.  
  1384. >One of.
  1385. >There were ponies out there who were better than that.
  1386. >It could be darn near any Earth pony.
  1387. >For all Lyra knew, Pinkie Pie had the power to crush boulders with a single blow.
  1388. >She’d never before felt so inadequate.
  1389. >Levitating stuff was nice and all.
  1390. >And light spells were useful.
  1391. >But it hardly seemed fair.
  1392. >Earth ponies were so amazing.
  1393. >And here she was, just a simple unicorn.
  1394. >How could she compete?
  1395. >What if she got hit by an Earth pony guard next time she was poking around Twilight’s secret stuff?
  1396. >Lyra quickly chastised herself.
  1397. >That part of her life was over.
  1398. >She would never again do something so risky.
  1399. >Although if-
  1400. >No.
  1401. >Nope!
  1402. >Too risky.
  1403.  
  1404. >”But unicorns can do some pretty amazing things if they know how. And everypony should know how to protect themselves. Even in the best of times, things can turn sour fast. I’ll pick out a master for you.”
  1405.  
  1406. “You’re going to pick them out? What if I don’t like them? What if I don’t want to learn to fight at all? Don’t I get a say in the matter?”
  1407.  
  1408. >”Nope!”
  1409.  
  1410. >And she happily trotted away.
  1411. >But not back towards Ponyville.
  1412. >Lyra knew immediately that something was up.
  1413. >Bon-Bon was making no effort to hide it.
  1414. >But she decided it was probably best not to ask.
  1415. >Instead she returned home alone.
  1416. >After swallowing a couple liters of water she set to work.
  1417. >Despite Bon-Bon’s promise to finish up the dishes, mint horse elected to deal with the task on her own.
  1418. >She knew that Sweetie Drops was a busy mare, and that she herself had barely any responsibilities.
  1419. >It was the least she could do.
  1420. >Lyra couldn’t help but marvel at her room mate at times.
  1421. >Bon-Bon seemed to have limitless energy.
  1422. >Others would finish with their work day, come home, and collapse on their couch.
  1423. >But Bon-Bon somehow managed to juggle two lives without ever seeming tired.
  1424. >How she did it Lyra had no clue.
  1425. >Lyra closed the dishwasher and set it to run.
  1426. >But as she walked out of the kitchen, she noticed something.
  1427. >Mana leakage.
  1428. >A lot of it.
  1429. >It was nothing to worry about, just a sign of an unskilled unicorn using a spell in a sloppy manner.
  1430. >A unicorn who had refined their craft or had a talent for a certain incantation would never waste so much mana
  1431. >This was a sign of a novice using a spell they weren’t good at.
  1432. >Say a foal first learning to levitate, or an adult trying for the umpteenth time to teleport.
  1433. >But Lyra was on edge.
  1434. >She still hadn’t gotten over her failed escapade from a few nights earlier.
  1435. >This was probably somepony whiffing a levitation spell.
  1436. >Or maybe it was a hit squad preparing to breach and silence her forever.
  1437. >She was scared.
  1438. >And so she ducked into their undersized basement and hid behind some boxes.
  1439. >Shortly after settling in the basement door opened.
  1440. >But no hoofsteps came down.
  1441.  
  1442. >”I’m not here to hurt you.”
  1443.  
  1444. >The voice came from above.
  1445. >Whoever it was spoke with a gravelly affectation.
  1446. >They didn’t want to be recognised.
  1447. >It was definitely a mare though.
  1448. >Lyra held her breath.
  1449.  
  1450. >”You’re going to have to be a lot more careful. Whatever you do, don’t get caught.”
  1451.  
  1452. >Not quite what she was expecting Twilight’s henchmares to say.
  1453. >But she wasn’t going to be lured out.
  1454. >She was going to stay hidden.
  1455.  
  1456. >”I get that you don’t trust me. And I don’t want you to. It could easily be a trick, they’re not above such things. Just- I have to go.”
  1457.  
  1458. >Something fell down the stairs.
  1459. >The door closed.
  1460. >And Lyra could just barely hear hoofsteps leaving.
  1461. >It was an awkward gait, almost as though the pony moving wasn’t familiar with their legs.
  1462. >But they were definitely walking away.
  1463. >Lyra cautiously popped out of her hiding place.
  1464. >A small brown box lay at the bottom of the stairs.
  1465. >She foolishly opened it.
  1466. >There were a number of things inside.
  1467. >First was a small transparent visor.
  1468. >Lyra levitated it out of the box and stared in confusion.
  1469. >Why would somepony break into her home and kick a visor down the stairs?
  1470. >Beneath it lay a bunch of crumpled up papers.
  1471. >The ones she’d taken from Twilight, and the note she’d written herself.
  1472. >Whoever this was, they’d been going through her trash.
  1473. >And translating the notes?
  1474.  
  1475. I must reiterate that our encryption methods are lacking. Anypony with a passing understanding of cryptography would crack this with ease. I understand that this is how method once served you well, but times have changed and so must we. AL3
  1476.  
  1477. You raise an excellent point. Our budget is strained as it is and we won't be able to release this to the public any time soon. However, we will wind up spending more in the long run if we don't do it right the first time. The advanced lines are excessive for what we've planned for the coming months, but we will be wanting them in the years to come. AL0
  1478.  
  1479.  
  1480. Requesting permission to destroy all samples of art-148. It appears to have no constructive applications and is exceptionally dangerous. I remain skeptical that it will function as expected but even if it does, to what end? We are not monsters. We’ve no need for such fangs. AL2
  1481.  
  1482. I have serious concerns regarding security at our facilities. We had that intruder at facility 37 just last week who got away, the intruder in at facility 12 who still won't talk, and there appears to be at least one leak at facility 63. We can not afford to allow facilities 000 through 004 to be compromised, else there will be no chance of success. I propose we equip all guards with art-54 and art-97 immediately. May the stars forgive me. AL1
  1483.  
  1484. >Lyra didn’t know what to make of this.
  1485. >Why the coded language inside the coded message?
  1486. >What are all these things?
  1487. >What’s so special about those specific facilities?
  1488. >Whatever was going on, Lyra didn’t like it.
  1489. >She shoved everything back in the box and climbed up stairs, intent on destroying the evidence.
  1490. >Upon reaching the top she turned left to go to the kitchen-
  1491.  
  1492. >”Always clear the corners.”
  1493.  
  1494. >Lyra jumped in shock.
  1495. >The voice had come from right behind her.
  1496. >She whipped around and lit her horn in a panic.
  1497. >The intruder used their telekinesis to grab her horn and pull her head back.
  1498.  
  1499. >”Really? You don’t check corners, you open a box that could have been a bomb, you trapped yourself when you picked your hiding place, and you don’t know how to fight. I might be wasting my time with you. But I’m getting desperate, so you’ll have a chance to prove yourself.”
  1500.  
  1501. “Please don’t hurt me!”
  1502.  
  1503. >”Hurt you? I need you healthy for what comes next.”
  1504.  
  1505. >The magic cut out and she was free to move.
  1506.  
  1507. >Lyra finished turning.
  1508. >There was a pony wearing a black hooded cloak.
  1509. >She couldn’t see any identifying features.
  1510. >Lyra took a few steps back to put some distance between them.
  1511. >The other didn’t react.
  1512.  
  1513. “Who are you?”
  1514.  
  1515. >”That’s not important. You are Lyra Heartstrings. Born Quintilis fourth 978 E.S. Blood type B. Failed out of Princess Celestia’s school in your last year because of you’re terrible at evocation. Fined for littering at age 18, but otherwise no criminal record. You’ve got 1,487 bits in the bank, you send your parents a letter every month, and it’s been 47 days since you last bought peanut butter. Need I go on?”
  1516.  
  1517. >Lyra was in shock.
  1518. >Whoever this was, they knew way too much about her.
  1519. >How could she possibly know her bank balance of all things?
  1520. >And what was all that about peanut butter?
  1521. >This just keeps getting weirder.
  1522.  
  1523. “How do you know all this?”
  1524.  
  1525. >”They’re keeping track of everything. To what end I cannot say. I do know this, however. They’ll not be satisfied until they know what you’re thinking before you even think it.”
  1526.  
  1527. >Lyra had a LOT of questions.
  1528. >But one thing was nagging her even more than the rest.
  1529. >This pony said that ‘they’ were tracking everything.
  1530. >But she never actually said how she herself knew.
  1531.  
  1532. “Are you one of them?”
  1533.  
  1534. >”I don’t know anymore.”
  1535.  
  1536. “How could you not know?”
  1537.  
  1538. >No answer.
  1539.  
  1540. “What do they want?”
  1541.  
  1542. >No answer.
  1543.  
  1544. “What do YOU want?”
  1545.  
  1546. >”An answer.”
  1547.  
  1548. >Somehow that was even less useful than the silence.
  1549.  
  1550. “Are you going to turn me in?”
  1551.  
  1552. >”No. I’m going to help you. You aren’t good enough to find the truth. Nopony is. They do the impossible on a daily basis, so if you want to keep up you’re going to have to be impossible as well. I can help you with that. In that box there is a visor. They call it ART-097-D. Call it whatever you like. That visor will help you find compounds and infiltrate them. I modified it so it’ll also help you find any tracking systems on anything you might decide to take home. Your top priority should be to get as much of their equipment as possible, because there’s no way a mere unicorn could reach the bottom. I offer you a choice. You can take it and go out into the world. If you’re clever and cautious you’ll soon see things as they really are. You’ll come face to face with the ugly truth. A terrible, upsetting reality you’ll wish you could forget. You will hate the world you live in, but it will be real. Or you could destroy the visor and return to your happy lie. A safe, comfortable life of blissful ignorance. Choose carefully, because once you see the truth there will be no going back.”
  1553.  
  1554. >Lyra wanted truth.
  1555. >She knew that truth was good after all.
  1556. >But how could she know she could trust this pony?
  1557. >They weren’t being very forthcoming.
  1558.  
  1559. “Couldn’t you just, you know, TELL me what’s happening?”
  1560.  
  1561. >”I don’t know the whole story. And if I told you what I did know and you got caught, they might be able to use what you know to find out who told you. No. You’ve got to figure this all out on your own. I know this is a lot to take in.”
  1562.  
  1563. >That was an understatement in Lyra’s eyes.
  1564.  
  1565. >”Take all the time you need to decide. But while you wait, I suggest you find a better hiding place for your stolen stuff. You’re going to wind up having a lot of it if you go forward. Now, I really do need to go.”
  1566.  
  1567. >She teleported away.
  1568. >Lyra stood dumbfounded as the distinctive smell of ozone filled the air.
  1569. >She looked at the parcel before her.
  1570. >Either dig deeper, commit more crimes, and apparently wind up living in a waking nightmare.
  1571. >Or return to her comfy life with her favourite pony.
  1572. >It was a simple choice.
  1573. >And Lyra was definitely destroying the visor.
  1574. >But not before she tried it on.
  1575. >She slipped it over her eyes and clipped it to her ears.
  1576. >And the world changed.
  1577. >She could see yellow dots all around her, each with a nametag.
  1578.  
  1579. Mint Swirl:E-F
  1580. Carries scissors in saddlebags.
  1581. 483m
  1582.  
  1583. Brass Blare:U-M
  1584. None
  1585. 983m
  1586.  
  1587. Sunshower:P-M
  1588. 3 months training in Stormhoof style
  1589. 1873m
  1590.  
  1591. >Lyra was amazed.
  1592. >She could see where ponies were through walls, see who they were, see how far away they were…
  1593. >And some of them even had notes attached.
  1594. >Whatever this thing was it was amazing.
  1595. >But she as a civilian had no use for it.
  1596. >She’d have to get rid of it.
  1597. >Tomorrow.
  1598. >She’d totally get rid of it tomorrow.
  1599. >Honest!
  1600.  
  1601.  
  1602. * * * * *
  1603.  
  1604.  
  1605. >Night fell before Bon-Bon returned.
  1606. >And Lyra eventually retired to bed.
  1607. >She lay awake for several hours lost in thought.
  1608. >Who was that mare?
  1609. >She clearly knew a lot of what was going on.
  1610. >Somehow she was able to get her hooves on secret technology.
  1611. >Which would suggest she was on the inside.
  1612. >Then why was she helping Lyra and risking the secret?
  1613. >Who could it be?
  1614. >Lyra decided to think over what she knew for sure.
  1615. >It was a unicorn that knew how to teleport.
  1616. >They messed up a spell earlier though.
  1617. >What was that spell?
  1618. >Was it something more complex than teleportation?
  1619. >Or did something interfere with their casting?
  1620. >She really had no way of knowing.
  1621. >Whatever it was they could teleport.
  1622. >That’s what Lyra knew for sure.
  1623. >And right now she needed to worry only about certainty.
  1624. >There were still too many possibilities to begin entertaining ‘maybe’.
  1625. >She also knew that that pony had access to way more information than Lyra was comfortable with.
  1626. >Why would anypony know that much about her?
  1627. >And how did they know her shopping habits?
  1628. >Nopony needed to know THAT.
  1629. >Yet she knew.
  1630. >Lyra spent more time wondering what else was certain.
  1631. >She didn’t have much to work with.
  1632. >They seemed to have some trouble walking.
  1633. >That could have been faked though.
  1634. >And they had her hairs after the heist.
  1635. >So they were the one that caught Lyra when she was in Twilight’s-
  1636.  
  1637.  
  1638. *gasp*
  1639.  
  1640. >Unicorn.
  1641. >First respondent at Twilight’s place.
  1642. >Had insider knowledge.
  1643. >That couldn't be more than a hoof full of ponies.
  1644. >Was it maybe Twilight herself?
  1645. >Or perhaps Starlight?
  1646. >Lyra didn’t know.
  1647. >She had no proof of any sort.
  1648. >But she had two suspects.
  1649. >Two unicorns who could teleport that had a chance to be the first on the scene.
  1650. >One was definitely in the know, and the other may be.
  1651. >She needed some way to dig deeper without drawing attention to herself.
  1652. >Or she could just forget about the whole thing and return to a normal life.
  1653. >The mystery pony hadn’t made a very good sales pitch after all.
  1654. >It was more like a warning than anything.
  1655. >Like they were saying that Lyra would regret succeeding.
  1656. >But that didn’t make sense to the sleepless pony.
  1657. >How could knowing the truth be a bad thing?
  1658. >Still, the words frightened her.
  1659. >And more to the point...
  1660. >Could she do it?
  1661. >Did she have the wherewithal to keep poking around without getting caught?
  1662. >Though the thoughts kept plaguing her, Lyra soon succumbed to fatigue.
  1663. >Morning came earlier than usual for the sleepy pony.
  1664. >The sun had not yet risen when Bon-Bon began shaking Lyra awake.
  1665.  
  1666. >”Up! Get up! It’s time, get up!”
  1667.  
  1668. “Wuuuh. It’s too early Bonny.”
  1669.  
  1670. >Lyra adamantly refused to open her eyes.
  1671. >And Bon-Bon began shaking more vigorously.
  1672.  
  1673. >”No excuses! You’re going to go to class! RIGHT NOW!”
  1674.  
  1675. “This early in the morning?”
  1676.  
  1677. >”6:30 A.M. three days a week! And YOU get up at 6! And if you’re late I’m smashing your lyre!”
  1678.  
  1679. >That got her moving.
  1680. >She sat up like a bolt.
  1681.  
  1682. “WHAT? You can’t do that!”
  1683.  
  1684. >”And I’ll make you watch while I do it.”
  1685.  
  1686. >She was joking.
  1687. >She HAD to be joking.
  1688. >Right?
  1689.  
  1690. >”Drink this.”
  1691.  
  1692. >Bon-Bon then shoved a tall glass in front of Lyra’s face.
  1693. >Lyra proceeded to down the drink with mild surprise.
  1694.  
  1695. “This is actually pretty good.”
  1696.  
  1697. >”Milk, yoghurt, protein powder, peanut butter. Speaking of we’re almost out.”
  1698.  
  1699. >Lyra was aware.
  1700.  
  1701. >”We’re leaving as soon as you’re finished.”
  1702.  
  1703. “Yeah, fine. Lemme just grab some coffee-”
  1704.  
  1705. >”No! Drugs are useful if you use them right, but you most certainly aren’t!”
  1706.  
  1707. “Oh come on, caffeine isn’t a drug! It’s- umm. It’s…”
  1708.  
  1709. >”A chemical that alters the way your brain functions?”
  1710.  
  1711. “Yeah. That.”
  1712.  
  1713. >”Look. Drugs can be useful. Caffeine is pretty much the weakest stimulant out there, but you still shouldn’t use it. If you use drugs when you don’t need them, they won’t be effective when it counts. No more caffeine. Not unless you absolutely need it.”
  1714.  
  1715. >Something about that didn’t sit right with Lyra.
  1716. >But she was too groggy to try and put it together.
  1717. >Instead she obediently finished her liquid breakfast before dragging herself out of her home.
  1718. >The normally busy streets were almost totally silent in these early hours as the night had only just begun to yield to twilight.
  1719. >She stumbled out onto the streets to see a lively and chipper Bon-Bon impatiently waiting.
  1720.  
  1721. “What’s going on and why couldn’t it wait ‘till morning?”
  1722.  
  1723. >”It IS morning.”
  1724.  
  1725. >It really, REALLY wasn’t.
  1726.  
  1727. >“And I found you a proper instructor! Your training begins today!”
  1728.  
  1729. >Lyra yawned widely.
  1730. >She then blinked several times to clear the sleep from her eyes.
  1731. >It was a partial success.
  1732. >Bon-Bon for her part was trotting in place with a goofy grin plastered on her face.
  1733. >She seemed genuinely excited.
  1734.  
  1735. >”Let’s get moving!”
  1736.  
  1737. >And then she began to run off.
  1738. >Lyra sprinted forward in pursuit.
  1739. >And she almost immediately ran out of breath.
  1740. >Within ten blocks she'd slowed to a crawl.
  1741.  
  1742. >”Oh come on now. You’re not in THAT bad of shape.”
  1743.  
  1744. >Lyra slowly walked forward as she desperately gasped for air.
  1745.  
  1746. >”Are you?”
  1747.  
  1748. “Hate. You.”
  1749.  
  1750. >She choked the words out between gasps.
  1751.  
  1752. >”Oh dear. We’ll have to work on that too.”
  1753.  
  1754. >They walked for a few minutes before Lyra’s breathing stabilized.
  1755. >They moved their way through the inner city which was generally agreed to be the bad side of Ponyville.
  1756. >Lyra could clearly remember when ponyville had no bad side.
  1757. >Yet here it was.
  1758. >Vulgar words such as ‘poop’ were painted upon the ugly concrete walls, windows were smashed, trash littered the streets.
  1759. >And Lyra couldn’t quite shake the feeling that she was being watched.
  1760. >It was then that Lyra got stubborn.
  1761.  
  1762. “You know what? No.”
  1763.  
  1764. >”Hm?”
  1765.  
  1766. “You drag me out of bed before dawn, and bring me to the most dangerous part of Ponyville presumably to teach me something I might not even want to learn. I’m not moving any further until you answer some questions. Why are we doing this here? Why are we doing this so early? And why are you so adamant that I learn how to fight?”
  1767.  
  1768. >”Look. I got you one of the best Mana Tide instructors out there. Maybe THE best. And when Tranquil Stream gives you an opening, you don’t complain about little details like time.”
  1769.  
  1770. >Mana Tide.
  1771. >Lyra had heard of that one.
  1772. >But she knew nothing about it.
  1773.  
  1774. “Okay, but why are we doing this at all?”
  1775.  
  1776. >”I told you yesterday, we can’t rely on the guards to protect us all the time. And also-”
  1777.  
  1778. >She leaned in close and whispered into Lyra’s ear.
  1779.  
  1780. >”Check the newspaper when it comes out later today.”
  1781.  
  1782. >Ominous.
  1783.  
  1784. “So, this Tranquil Stream. If they’re such a big deal how did you get them?”
  1785.  
  1786. >”They’re an old friend.”
  1787.  
  1788. >So it was classified then.
  1789. >Lyra gave in.
  1790. >It was obvious she wouldn't be able to convince her friend that this was a waste of time.
  1791. >Bon-Bon had made up her mind, and it was final.
  1792. >Besides.
  1793. >It might not be all bad.
  1794. >Maybe after today she'd never have to feel so helpless again.
  1795. >As they pressed inward the vandalism continued to grow worse.
  1796.  
  1797. >”And we’re here.”
  1798.  
  1799. >Bon-Bon walked up in front of an ugly, blocky two story building without windows.
  1800. >The unpainted concrete wall was only remarkable for its total lack of graffiti.
  1801. >The metal door at the front entrance didn’t look at all inviting what with the face shaped dent on it.
  1802.  
  1803. >”Look, Lyra. I should warn you. He’s a jerk.”
  1804.  
  1805. “Bonny! Watch your mouth!”
  1806.  
  1807. >”He’s old, crotchety, and tough. You aren’t going to like this pony. But I promise you you WILL like the results.”
  1808.  
  1809. “This is sounding worse by the second.”
  1810.  
  1811. >Lyra hesitantly walked up to the door.
  1812.  
  1813. >”I’ll be here to pick you up in a couple hours. Have fun! Or at least try not to kick him in the face.”
  1814.  
  1815. >And she walked away.
  1816. >Lyra opened the door and stepped in.
  1817. >A dimly lit concrete room with no carpet lay before her.
  1818. >There were no decorations to be found, and the only furniture was a bench up against the back wall.
  1819. >An elderly unicorn stallion sat upon it.
  1820. >He opened his eyes as Lyra entered the room, one eyelid failing to fully rise.
  1821.  
  1822. “Hi there.”
  1823.  
  1824. >The old stallion’s wrinkly blue face scanned over her.
  1825. >He made no attempt to hide his disgust as he stood and approached her.
  1826. >What little remained of his greying mane hang limply by his side as he walked.
  1827.  
  1828. >”You will bow when you greet me.”
  1829.  
  1830. “Oh. Umm. Okay? Sorry mister.”
  1831.  
  1832. >Lyra lowered her head in a clumsy attempt at a bow.
  1833.  
  1834. >”And you shall address me as master.”
  1835.  
  1836. >Lyra already didn’t like him.
  1837. >The old stallion approached and circled his new apprentice.
  1838.  
  1839. >”Tell me a bit about yourself. Have you any combat experience?”
  1840.  
  1841. “No mist- master.”
  1842.  
  1843. >”Have you ever studied any other combat style?”
  1844.  
  1845. “No master.”
  1846.  
  1847. >”And you’re clearly not in good shape. Just look at that gut.”
  1848.  
  1849. >Lyra held her tongue.
  1850.  
  1851. >”So you can’t protect yourself at all then? How many times have you been mugged?”
  1852.  
  1853. “Zero.”
  1854.  
  1855. >Though she wasn’t sure how long that would stay true if she spent any more time in this part of town.
  1856.  
  1857. “The guards keep things safe enough.”
  1858.  
  1859. >”So you need other ponies to protect you. There’s a word for ponies who can’t take care of themselves, you know. We call them FOALS. Are you at least competent with magic?”
  1860.  
  1861. “Oh! I studied at Princess Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns!”
  1862.  
  1863. >”Hm.”
  1864.  
  1865. >The non-committal grunt was all the answer he provided for several seconds.
  1866.  
  1867. >”You’re clearly the worst I’ve ever had to work with, and I’m pretty damn old so that’s saying something. But don’t you worry. I like a challenge.”
  1868.  
  1869. >Lyra pouted.
  1870.  
  1871. “Words can hurt you know.”
  1872.  
  1873. >”Bon-Bon has vouched for your character so we can skip a few steps. The tenets are non-negotiable though. Repeat after me. I shall observe the tenets of Mana Tide.”
  1874.  
  1875. >Lyra hesitated.
  1876.  
  1877. >”Well go on, say it.”
  1878.  
  1879. “I don’t know what the tenets are yet. I’m not going to make a promise I don’t understand. I’m sorry master, but no.”
  1880.  
  1881. >The old stallion did something that Lyra didn’t see coming.
  1882. >He smiled.
  1883.  
  1884. >”Very well. The tenets are as follows. I shall never misuse mana tide, I shall respect my instructor,”
  1885.  
  1886. >Lyra wasn’t crazy about that one.
  1887.  
  1888. >”I shall be a champion of justice, and I shall build a better world.”
  1889.  
  1890. >Champion of justice?
  1891. >Really?
  1892. >Other than being cheesy, everything seemed reasonable to Lyra.
  1893. >All save for the respect part.
  1894. >Although, Bonny said that he might be THE best.
  1895. >She had to respect that if nothing else.
  1896.  
  1897. “That seems reasonable.”
  1898.  
  1899. >”Say them.”
  1900.  
  1901. >The request seemed somewhat strange, but Lyra acceded.
  1902.  
  1903. >”Then let us begin. We unicorns are the most vulnerable of all three tribes. The Earth ponies can harden their flesh to protect themselves, and the pegasi can take flight to avoid them entirely. Practitioners of other Unicorn styles tend to focus on shield spells, however we practitioners of Mana tide understand that one can not win by defending. Shields have their uses! But the focus should be on aggression first and foremost.”
  1904.  
  1905. >That actually made a lot of sense to Lyra.
  1906. >You couldn’t win by defending.
  1907. >Well, maybe she could slam into somepony with a shield spell up?
  1908. >But that’s not really defending anymore.
  1909.  
  1910. >”When faced with violence, your goal is to incapacitate your opponent as quickly and as safely you can. If your fight is righteous you’ve no obligation to ensure the wellbeing of your opponent. The wellbeing of those you defend, be they yourself or others, is your sole goal. And so you should not restrict yourself to half measures or soft strikes lest you’ve already won. You should immediately target vulnerable points such as the eyes and throat. Strike without hesitation, without fear, and without doubt.”
  1911.  
  1912. >That most certainly did not sit well with Lyra.
  1913. >Did this old meanie just tell her to gouge somepony’s eyes if she got into a scuffle?
  1914. >And yet he claims to be a champion of justice?
  1915.  
  1916. >”Being a member of the most vulnerable tribe of ponies, you can be defeated by a single stray blow. It is then best to ensure that this single blow never arrives. This is why we focus on aggression. Every time you grant your foe a chance to strike you risk death.”
  1917.  
  1918. >DEATH?
  1919. >Just who did this pony think he was teaching?
  1920. >Lyra was no soldier, she was just a musician.
  1921. >And also one of Equestria’s most wanted.
  1922. >But that part of her life was over.
  1923. >Honest!
  1924.  
  1925. >”It is for this reason that we seldom call upon shield spells, instead relying upon a relentless assault to hold off our foes. Many skilled practitioners don't even know shield spells.”
  1926.  
  1927. >That part seemed strange.
  1928. >If unicorns are the most readily harmed, shouldn’t they be more worried about self preservation?
  1929. >Sure, you couldn't win with it.
  1930. >But they still seemed really important.
  1931. >She thought to interrupt.
  1932. >But on the other hoof…
  1933. >Bonny said he was the best.
  1934. >He should know what he's talking about.
  1935.  
  1936. >”In your lessons we will focus on developing aggression, predicting and avoiding attacks, forcing and exploiting vulnerabilities. But first, the most fundamental part of all. The magic.”
  1937.  
  1938. >The old stallion walked away and headed towards a door near the back.
  1939. >Lyra got a good look at his cutie mark for the first time.
  1940. >It seemed to be a brook flowing through a tranquil meadow.
  1941. >When he returned from the back room he was levitating a large cardboard box.
  1942. >He upended it and a couple dozen small styrofoam blocks scattered across the ground.
  1943.  
  1944. >”Levitate them.”
  1945.  
  1946. >It was a trivial task for Lyra.
  1947. >She wasn’t the best out there, far from it.
  1948. >She could never compete with prodigies such as Twilight in terms of raw power.
  1949. >But she was still quite potent in her own right.
  1950. >She could levitate a thousand times that weight, no problem.
  1951. >She started to gather them up into a heap-
  1952.  
  1953. >”Independently. Levitate each one independently.”
  1954.  
  1955. >That was…
  1956. >Harder.
  1957. >This wasn’t a matter of power.
  1958. >It was about multi-tasking.
  1959. >She’d have to run dozens of levitation spells at once.
  1960. >She closed her eyes and started to pick them up one at a time.
  1961. >It was quickly growing to be an impossible task.
  1962. >Before long she was grinding her teeth with frustration.
  1963. >19 blocks…
  1964. >20…
  1965. >Just 4 more to go.
  1966. >And the moment that thought entered her mind, each and every one fell to the ground.
  1967.  
  1968. >”Again.”
  1969.  
  1970. “Yes, master!”
  1971.  
  1972. >Several attempts and several failures later, Lyra just barely managed to get the last one airborne.
  1973. >She’d never before attempted to cast so many spells at once.
  1974.  
  1975. >”Very poor. Your levitation spells are clean and efficient, but you’ve never trained your mind properly.”
  1976.  
  1977. “That-”
  1978.  
  1979. >All the blocks fell when she opened her mouth.
  1980.  
  1981. “That’s not true!”
  1982.  
  1983. >Something struck her in the back of the neck.
  1984.  
  1985. “Ack!”
  1986.  
  1987. >”You will address me properly.”
  1988.  
  1989. >Lyra winced at the pain and started rubbing her neck.
  1990.  
  1991. “Sorry, master. What I meant to say is that I’ve studied magic a great deal, so I don’t understand what you mean. How should I have trained my mind, master?”
  1992.  
  1993. >”You’ve filled your head, but you’ve never trained it. You lack focus. Too many things are clouding your thoughts and distracting you. We’ll begin that next lesson. It would be best to start now, but I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if I sent a foal out into the streets without teaching them something actionable. Levitate them.”
  1994.  
  1995. >Time ticked down slowly and for Lyra.
  1996. >The wizened old stallion never seemed to run out of excuses to insult her.
  1997. >However, he never stopped instructing either.
  1998.  
  1999. >”Come on, come on! We’re almost out of time. Surely you’ll manage the MOST BASIC strike in the book!”
  2000.  
  2001. >Lyra’s head was throbbing.
  2002. >Caffeine withdrawal, fatigue, and overexertion had all managed to take their toll at once.
  2003. >But she dug deep for one last try.
  2004. >Half of the foam blocks lifted into the air.
  2005. >They floated towards the sandbag in the middle of the room.
  2006. >She lifted them higher, and one by one shot them towards the sand bag.
  2007. >Each struck home from a different angle, delivering blows from all sides.
  2008.  
  2009. >”Terrible. But at least you did it. Congratulations, if you get mugged by a blind quadriplegic you’ll be fine. Probably.”
  2010.  
  2011. >I’d like to see you do better.
  2012. >Stop talking old stallion!
  2013. >You’re a JERK!
  2014. >I actually did it?
  2015. >These thoughts and more all went through Lyras mind as she sat on the floor panting.
  2016.  
  2017. >”Alright, that’s enough for today. Go away. Be sure to practice. I don’t have time to waste rehashing this same lesson every day.”
  2018.  
  2019. >Lyra wasn’t quite ready to go yet.
  2020. >She’d been told so many times today that she was worthless and awful.
  2021. >But she didn’t buy it.
  2022. >Managing that many spells at once was almost impossible.
  2023. >She didn’t believe for an instant that the old stallion before her could do better.
  2024. >She couldn’t just call him on it though.
  2025. >She had to be a bit more subtle.
  2026. >But she had a plan for that.
  2027.  
  2028. “Pardon, master, before I go. Would you please demonstrate how you would do that so I know what to aspire to?”
  2029.  
  2030. >It was perfect.
  2031. >He’d either have to admit he couldn’t do what he was asking of her, or show her.
  2032. >And there was NO WAY he could pull it off.
  2033. >Nopony could.
  2034. >It was simply impossible.
  2035.  
  2036. >”Don’t bother trying to match me. You aren’t cut out for it.”
  2037.  
  2038. >A bluff, surely.
  2039.  
  2040. “Please master? It would be much easier to figure out if I could actually see it done properly.”
  2041.  
  2042. >”Ugh. Very well.”
  2043.  
  2044. >All 24 of the foam blocks instantly lifted into the sky.
  2045. >Lyra was already in shock.
  2046. >He made levitating so many separate objects at once seem effortless.
  2047. >But then?
  2048.  
  2049. >”No, you wanted to see how I would do it. I wouldn’t do it like this.”
  2050.  
  2051. >He dropped them and walked outside.
  2052. >A few minutes passed before he returned with a broken hunk of concrete in tow.
  2053. >He levitated it beside the sandbag before setting it down.
  2054. >He then upended the sandbag.
  2055. >Lyra was extremely confused at this point.
  2056. >Why was he pouring sand all over the floor?
  2057.  
  2058. >”Stand back. Bon-Bon would kill me if you got caught in this. And at my age there’s no way I could handle her.”
  2059.  
  2060. >Lyra complied.
  2061. >She went over by the door and watched.
  2062. >In an instant all the spilled sand shot into the sky.
  2063. >Not as a lump though.
  2064. >Each and every particle flew in its own path, making a thin cloud of sand.
  2065. >A moment later the cloud became a storm.
  2066. >Sand blasted the concrete block from all over, striking at blinding speeds.
  2067. >The stallion stood in the cloud seemingly without a care in the world.
  2068. >It seemed as though not a single grain touched him as the assault went on.
  2069. >Each individual particle flowed around him on its way to its target.
  2070. >The concrete block was rapidly shrinking as it got chipped away by hundreds of thousands of tiny blows.
  2071. >And as it shrunk the sand cloud grew.
  2072. >He was using the debris from the concrete rock to chip it away even faster.
  2073. >Within seconds nothing but the sand cloud remained.
  2074.  
  2075. >”Pick your jaw up off the ground and get going. I got stuff to do.”
  2076.  
  2077. >The sand shot back into the bag.
  2078. >And when it was full whatever was left shot out the door, narrowly avoiding Lyra’s face.
  2079. >She blinked several times.
  2080. >But no matter how many times she did it, the concrete block was still gone.
  2081. >Reduced to dust in a matter of seconds.
  2082.  
  2083. “I- thank you master!”
  2084.  
  2085. >She made sure to bow on her way out lest she incur the wrath of what appeared to be some kind of crazy super soldier.
  2086. >On the outside a heap of sand lay in the middle of the street.
  2087. >She could see a bank of concrete barriers over by a nearby construction area.
  2088. >One of them had been shattered.
  2089. >She had a hunch as to who did it.
  2090. >Bon-Bon came galloping up from down the street with a big grin on her face.
  2091.  
  2092. >”Wow, I’ve never see you so sweaty! I take it he worked you pretty hard?”
  2093.  
  2094. “I think I need a week long nap after that.”
  2095.  
  2096. >”I need to talk with him for a moment then we can be on our way.”
  2097.  
  2098. >She happily bounced into the building and shut the door behind herself.
  2099. >Several minutes passed before she emerged.
  2100.  
  2101. >”Well then, let’s get you home!”
  2102.  
  2103. >She bounced with excess energy in a manner more befitting a Pinkie Pie than a Bon-Bon as the two made their way back home.
  2104. >She seemed to be trying to look at everything at once as they made their way through the mean streets back to the outskirts of town.
  2105. >Lyra slowly started to relax as the concrete towers started to thin out and more familiar architecture returned.
  2106. >Wooden houses, straw roofs, grassy yards.
  2107. >When Lyra could see no concrete before her she let out the breath she didn’t even know she’d been holding.
  2108. >It was only then that she felt safe to talk.
  2109.  
  2110. “You were right. He’s really mean.”
  2111.  
  2112. >”Yup! But he’s good at what he does.”
  2113.  
  2114. “That doesn’t mean I have to like him.”
  2115.  
  2116. >”Nope! But he likes you, so maybe you should give him a chance.”
  2117.  
  2118. >Lyra scoffed at the thought.
  2119.  
  2120. “He likes me? Seriously? Are we talking about the same pony?”
  2121.  
  2122. >”Yup! He just has a strange way of showing it is all.”
  2123.  
  2124. >Lyra rubbed the back of her neck which was still sore from when he struck her.
  2125.  
  2126. “Strange is right.”
  2127.  
  2128. >”When you refused to make a promise you didn’t understand you really impressed him. It shows you actually care about the integrity of your word. Apparently nearly everypony just does it without actually thinking about it.”
  2129.  
  2130. >Lyra wanted to ask if Bon-Bon had taken a similar oath.
  2131. >But she probably didn’t want her crazy kicking power to be common knowledge.
  2132. >So she kept her mouth shut.
  2133.  
  2134. “I don’t think I want to learn from him.”
  2135.  
  2136. >”Too bad! If you want to live with me you have to!”
  2137.  
  2138. “Yeah, but- he told me to go for the eyes.”
  2139.  
  2140. >”That’s Mana Tide for you!”
  2141.  
  2142. >She seemed totally unfazed.
  2143. >But it still just seemed so wrong to Lyra.
  2144.  
  2145. >”Look. Neither of us have ever been in a fight.”
  2146.  
  2147. >Liar.
  2148.  
  2149. >”So we shouldn’t judge him too harshly for that. That’s a pony that’s seen violence first hoof. I’m sure that he knows what he’s talking about, and that what he says makes sense in the moment.”
  2150.  
  2151. >Was that her way of agreeing with him while maintaining her cover?
  2152. >Did the mare she’d been living with for years think it was okay to go for the eyes?
  2153. >She DID hurt that roc pretty badly…
  2154. >Was that really the Sweetie Drops way?
  2155. >Was Lyra living with a maniac?
  2156. >None of this felt right.
  2157. >They eventually made their way to their shared home.
  2158. >A scene from the Ponyville of old, when life was simpler.
  2159. >It wasn’t completely unaffected though.
  2160. >Power lines ran through the streets.
  2161. >Some plastic litter lay scattered about.
  2162. >And there were a few more ponies than she remembered.
  2163. >But it was home.
  2164. >There was grass and trees.
  2165. >She didn’t know how long any of those things would stay true though.
  2166. >The heart of the city was growing rapidly, consuming everything in its path.
  2167. >Lyra dreaded to think of what happened to places that were already big.
  2168. >Manehattan must be a horrible sight.
  2169.  
  2170. >”I’ve gotta go, sorry! Don’t wait up for me! I’ll be late!”
  2171.  
  2172. “But you were gone all night last night too!”
  2173.  
  2174. >”I know, sorry! I’ll make it up to you later!”
  2175.  
  2176. >And then she ran off.
  2177.  
  2178. “Honestly, when does that pony sleep? Speaking of.”
  2179.  
  2180. >Lyra then took a nap.
  2181. >Just a brief one, an hour at most.
  2182. >Or so she told herself when she laid down.
  2183. >6 hours later she woke up.
  2184. >Her legs felt too heavy when she left her bed.
  2185. >She’d been doing much more walking and running than she was accustomed to, and it was starting to take its toll.
  2186. >She dragged her way to the kitchen to prepare some evening coffee.
  2187. >And then she remembered Bon-Bon’s words.
  2188. >No caffein.
  2189. >It seemed as though her best friend had decided to take charge of her life.
  2190. >Were Lyra left to her own devices this day would have never come to pass.
  2191. >She’d have never gone to study how to hurt other ponies.
  2192. >Maybe it was for the best that she knew?
  2193. >If she was to keep digging- no.
  2194. >She wasn’t cut out for that lifestyle.
  2195. >But Bon-Bon was pretty insistent.
  2196. >Despite not knowing what Lyra had been doing at night.
  2197. >Why-
  2198. >The paper!
  2199. >She walked outside to fetch it from her doorstep.
  2200. >And there it was.
  2201. >That headline.
  2202.  
  2203. HUNDRED INJURED IN TERRORIST ATTACK
  2204.  
  2205. The normally peaceful town of Ponyville erupted in violence last night when an unknown perpetrator struck. At around 2 A.M. one or more individuals attempted to detonate several explosives in city hall-
  2206.  
  2207. “WHAT?”
  2208.  
  2209. >Lyra excitedly read the rest of the article.
  2210.  
  2211. In what is believed to be an attempt to destroy the building. Only one of the charges successfully detonated and the building did not collapse as planned allowing first responders to reach the wounded. When asked to comment, Princess Twilight Sparkle said that she had her best ponies investigating, and stated that safety was their primary concern.
  2212.  
  2213. >Twilight.
  2214. >Lyra immediately distrusted her.
  2215.  
  2216. Though it is not yet clear what motivated this attack, a full investigation is underway and police believe they already know the suspect’s identity. This comes in the wake of several reports of home invasion and assault in the area, leaving many to wonder
  2217. Cont. pg9
  2218.  
  2219. >This had to be what Bon-Bon was talking about.
  2220. >A bomb going off right here in Ponyville.
  2221. >She could hardly believe it.
  2222. >And she also understood why Sweetie Drops was pulling such long hours.
  2223. >But still.
  2224. >This had been touched by Twilight.
  2225. >Was she hiding anything here?
  2226. >Probably not.
  2227. >But maybe?
  2228. >She had no way of knowing though.
  2229. >And she doubted she could just walk into Twilight’s home again.
  2230. >It’s not like she wanted to anyway.
  2231. >She wasn’t suited for that lifestyle.
  2232. >And besides.
  2233. >There was no way that she, an untrained civilian, could dig through all this.
  2234. >It was impossible.
  2235. >The words of the mystery mare came to mind unbidden.
  2236. >’They do the impossible on a daily basis.’
  2237. >’You’re going to have to be impossible as well.’
  2238. >’I can help you with that.’
  2239. >The promise of doing and being more than she thought possible.
  2240. >Already today she’d seen things she thought impossible.
  2241. >An old, wizened unicorn reducing cement to dust in seconds…
  2242. >Lyra had a feeling this was more than that.
  2243. >That visor was pretty amazing.
  2244. >What’s more was it clearly didn’t fit in with the world around her.
  2245. >It didn’t use magic, it had no moving parts, it was unlike anything she’d ever seen.
  2246. >THAT thing was impossible.
  2247. >Or so she’d have thought just days before.
  2248. >Yet it was somehow completely real.
  2249. >Maybe…
  2250. >Maybe just one test run?
  2251. >She walked to her room and dug the cardboard box out from under her bed.
  2252. >And she pulled it out.
  2253. >It felt heavier than she remembered.
  2254. >She retrieved the visor from within.
  2255. >Just a small hunk of clear plastic with an ear clip.
  2256. >How it worked she had no clue.
  2257. >She slipped it on.
  2258. >And the world changed.
  2259. >Names and places filled the horizon.
  2260. >But what could she do with this?
  2261. >Lyra actually had an idea.
  2262. >Could this thing see underground?
  2263. >Could she get the names of the ponies working beneath the post office?
  2264. >She slipped the visor and a notepad into her saddlebags and set out.
  2265. >The post office lay between the Ponyville she knew and the abomination that it was becoming.
  2266. >To the east lay the land she called home.
  2267. >To the west a concrete cage.
  2268. >When she stood on this street- this blurry line that fused the two worlds, Lyra could see both realities.
  2269. >The world she loathed that seemed an inevitability.
  2270. >And the world she loved that would soon be naught but a memory.
  2271. >And beneath it all lay the cause of this divide.
  2272. >Lyra casually walked to a green area and sat down.
  2273. >She looked around slowly.
  2274. >There were ponies present.
  2275. >But none were looking at her.
  2276. >She picked up her saddlebags and quietly slipped the visor out.
  2277. >The moment it came to rest on her muzzle they appeared.
  2278. >Names before her.
  2279. >Names behind.
  2280. >And names below.
  2281. >Lyra could see who was in the facility below Ponyville.
  2282. >Ambrosia, Blue Bonnet, Lucky Streak…
  2283. >She wrote as quickly as she could, trying to get all the names.
  2284. >When all was said and done she had 28.
  2285. >28 ponies she'd never heard of.
  2286. >She needed a registry of some sort.
  2287. >Some way to look into these ponies.
  2288. >There was certainly something like that at City Hall.
  2289. >Which just exploded.
  2290. >Great.
  2291. >Fat lot of good that list was going to do.
  2292. >What good was this thing anyway?
  2293. >She already knew where this one place was.
  2294. >Getting names was neat and all, but that pony said it'd help her find compounds AND infiltrate them.
  2295. >Compounds.
  2296. >Plural.
  2297. >It had never before occurred to Lyra that there might be more than one.
  2298. >But where to search?
  2299. >Her tool allowed her to locate ponies where they ought not be.
  2300. > It would be useless in the heart of Ponyville.
  2301. >There'd just be too many to names to go through.
  2302. >And it would be hard to tell what was a secret compound and a ordinary basement.
  2303. >But if she headed outward…
  2304. >She walked about the outskirts of town periodically seeking solitude to search.
  2305. >This brand of spy stuff was much more to Lyra's liking.
  2306. >No trespassing.
  2307. >No hidden cameras.
  2308. >Safe.
  2309. >Her search eventually yielded something strange.
  2310. >A pair of names sat beneath a tree enjoying an outdoor meal.
  2311. >But three ponies were present.
  2312. >Mommy and Daddy were tagged, but filly escaped notice somehow.
  2313. >So it doesn't work on everypony?
  2314. >Why not?
  2315. >She'd have to take care not to rely on it too much until she understood the blind spot better.
  2316. >As she continued her search a pattern began to emerge.
  2317. >The overwhelming majority of adults were tagged.
  2318. >She only spotted a couple exceptions.
  2319. >And the overwhelming minority of foals were involved.
  2320. >Just one exception there.
  2321. >Lyra had no idea what that meant.
  2322. > But it felt important so she wrote it down.
  2323. >A little while later she had her first breakthrough.
  2324. >Three names deep beneath the Everfree forest.
  2325. >Everfree of all places.
  2326. >She didn’t know where the entrance was.
  2327. >Which was fine.
  2328. >She wasn’t planning on going in there anytime soon.
  2329. >But she had more names, and she’d confirmed there was more than one place.
  2330. >She went to write the names down.
  2331. >Parasol, Compass Star, Applejack.
  2332.  
  2333. “Applejack!?”
  2334.  
  2335. >She knew that one.
  2336. >The next step in Lyra’s grand plan was obvious.
  2337. >She was going to Sweet Apple Acres to see if she could spot anything unusual.
  2338. >Fortunately for her weary legs she was already in the area, and soon found herself hopping the old wooden fence that marked their perimeter.
  2339. >Lyra walked through the orchards with confidence, assured by her visor that nopony else was nearby.
  2340. >Sweet Apple Acres had changed too.
  2341. >The produce was even bigger and juicier looking than she remembered.
  2342. >And the equipment had changed radically as well.
  2343. >Massive tractors had replaced most of the physical labour, strange chemicals had taken the place of traditional fertilisers, and they’s switched to wheel line irrigation for the fields.
  2344. >But the homestead itself was the same.
  2345. >On the outside at least.
  2346. >Lyra was hopeful that the interior might have some interesting changes.
  2347. >And that’s when she realised.
  2348. >She had sworn off of this lifestyle just yesterday.
  2349. >And here she was, planning on breaking into somepony’s home.
  2350. >For what?
  2351. >Because they were underground in a weird place?
  2352. >Had Applejack really lost her right to privacy just because she was associated with Twilight and her weird machines?
  2353. >This was wrong.
  2354. >And Lyra knew it.
  2355. >And Applejack was suddenly in her home.
  2356. >The visor must have been acting up, Lyra thought.
  2357. >It was the only possible explanation.
  2358. >There was no way Applejack could have just popped into existence there.
  2359. >And there was also no way Applejack could have reached the farm before her.
  2360. >Lyra kept her distance to be safe.
  2361. >She fished around in her saddlebags for her binoculars, but to her dismay she forgotten to bring them.
  2362. >Applejack was off in the distance, too far to see.
  2363. >But Lyra wasn’t comfortable getting closer to look.
  2364. >She squinted in a vain hope of getting a better view.
  2365. >And to her amazement, the image zoomed in up close.
  2366. >She had an exceptional view of the farmer pony walking out of her front door.
  2367. >Lyra took off the visor and marvelled at it for a moment.
  2368. >Not only could it identify ponies through hundreds of meters of dirt.
  2369. >It was also binoculars.
  2370. >Somehow.
  2371. >The apparent lack of a lense did nothing to stop the device from magnifying the world around her.
  2372. >She put it back on and looked at Applejack again.
  2373. >She squinted and the world came closer.
  2374. >She opened her eyes wider than usual and it returned to normal.
  2375. >No moving parts.
  2376. >What Lyra knew of optics told her this was impossible.
  2377. >But that was okay.
  2378. >They did the impossible on a daily basis.
  2379. >Lyra saw no reason why she couldn’t too.
  2380. >She spent some time watching Applejack, who seemed to be contenting herself with walking her fields.
  2381. >Lyra had no idea what she was doing.
  2382. >She was under the impression that the Apple family was ALWAYS busy.
  2383. >Yet here, Applejack was doing nothing.
  2384. >And being creepy about it.
  2385. >Lyra couldn’t put her hoof on what was creepy though.
  2386. >Applejack made her way to one of the irrigation rollers.
  2387. >Notably one that wasn’t running at the moment.
  2388. >She furtively looked around her, totally missing her silent observer who sat over a kilometer away.
  2389. >Then, satisfied that she wasn’t being watched, she allowed her welding torch to protrude from her chest.
  2390.  
  2391. “The hay?”
  2392.  
  2393. >Welding torches weren’t meant to pop out of a pony’s chest.
  2394. >Lyra was pretty sure of that.
  2395. >Lyra was forced to look away as sparks began flying about the irrigation system.
  2396. >Applejack made quick work of the task without any form of eye protection.
  2397. >When Lyra looked back, the farmer ‘pony’ was polishing the patch with the angle grinder that was apparently built into her leg.
  2398. >Lyra could not believe her eyes.
  2399. >That was DEFINITELY impossible.
  2400. >There was supposed to be organs and muscles there, NOT power tools!
  2401. >She blinked several times to clear her vision.
  2402. >But no matter how many times she did, the facts stayed the same.
  2403. >And that’s when she finally figured it out.
  2404. >The reason why Applejack looked creepy.
  2405. >She didn’t blink.
  2406. >EVER.
  2407. >Not even when sparks were flying everywhere.
  2408. >Whatever that thing was, it DEFINITELY wasn’t Applejack.
  2409. >Applejack was a pony.
  2410. >And that THING wasn’t.
  2411. >But what was it?
  2412. >It wasn’t a changeling.
  2413. >Changelings were made of flesh and blood too.
  2414. >It had metal bits built into it.
  2415. >Just like the moving metal appendages she’d seen under the post office.
  2416. >Was that abomination that had replaced Ponyville’s resident farmer one of those machines?
  2417. >She needed to know for sure.
  2418. >It it was a machine it would be made of metal.
  2419. >If not, it would be flesh and blood.
  2420. >Lyra’s heart hammered in her chest as she closed in on the thing.
  2421. >For all she knew it was dangerous.
  2422. >And she was CERTAIN it didn’t want to be found out.
  2423. >Lyra was still well away when she lost her nerve and stopped approaching.
  2424. >She ducked behind a tree as not Applejack made its way back to the homestead through the wheat fields.
  2425. >Lyra dug around for some rocks.
  2426. >She found one.
  2427.  
  2428. “If it’s really you Applejack, I’m so so sorry.”
  2429.  
  2430. >She levitated it.
  2431. >One small stone floated towards its target.
  2432. >One small stone struck the orange machine.
  2433. >And a loud clanging noise rang throughout.
  2434. >It was not the dull thud of a pony being struck.
  2435. >Rather, it was the sharp ring of metal that filled the sky.
  2436. >The machine jumped, and large metal tubes spring out from its back.
  2437. >They started spinning menacingly.
  2438. >THAT was NOT Applejack.
  2439. >THAT was a machine.
  2440. >A machine had replaced a pony.
  2441. >Lyra retreated as quickly as she dared.
  2442. >It took her hours to reach her home.
  2443. >But the machine seemingly failed to spot her.
  2444. >Or if it did, it didn’t persue.
  2445. >Lyra stashed all her contraband away beneath her bed when she got home.
  2446. >Adrenaline had flooded her brain after the confrontation, and she was ITCHING for action.
  2447. >Machines were replacing ponies.
  2448. >She was the only one who knew.
  2449. >How many had already been replaced?
  2450. >Was there a better way to find them?
  2451. >Who or what was behind it?
  2452. >Lyra didn’t really know any of that stuff.
  2453. >But she did know one thing.
  2454.  
  2455. “I’m going to be the one to stop them.”
  2456.  
  2457.  
  2458. * * * * *
  2459.  
  2460.  
  2461. >Four days had passed since then.
  2462. >Four days since Lyra had discovered that Applejack wasn’t herself.
  2463. >Lyra had made no progress since then.
  2464. >She’d gone to her classes and practiced as instructed, but beyond that she’d mostly just stayed around the house.
  2465. >Waiting for a certain somepony to return.
  2466. >Lyra was starting to worry and she didn’t want to miss the second her Bonny came home.
  2467. >She grew ever more anxious as time went on, getting excited each time a Pony passed by.
  2468. >They all disappointed her.
  2469. >Lyra couldn’t help but feel some irritation each time a Pony walked by their home.
  2470. >She judged them all guilty of the grievous sin of not being Bon-Bon.
  2471. >Her Bonny had never been gone so long, and after learning what she was doing while she was out, Lyra couldn’t help but worry.
  2472. >Night was about to fall yet again when the front door swung open.
  2473. >Lyra sprinted to the front with a goofy grin plastered on her face.
  2474. >Bon-Bon slowly dragged herself over the threshold into their shared home.
  2475. >She was a mess.
  2476. >Her mane and tail were beyond disheveled.
  2477. >And Bon-Bon’s eyes were all but closed.
  2478. >It seems as though there was in fact a limit to her energy.
  2479. >And it had long ago been reached.
  2480.  
  2481. “You’re back! I was getting so worried!”
  2482.  
  2483. >Bon-Bon stepped forward.
  2484. >She grabbed Lyra in a loving embrace.
  2485. >And started snoring.
  2486. >Bon-Bon had passed out on her hooves.
  2487. >It was a strange sight having the normally energetic pony fall asleep like that.
  2488. >Lyra was used to her room mate having limitless stamina.
  2489. >Seeing her so drained felt wrong.
  2490. >Lyra awkwardly disentangled herself from the sleepy hug and levitated the unconscious super-spy to the washroom.
  2491. >To her great dismay Bon-Bon still didn’t awaken even as Lyra began cleaning her.
  2492. >She was breathing, and her heart rate was steady.
  2493. >But she was downright catatonic.
  2494. >Lyra had to keep propping her friend up as the much needed bathing went on.
  2495. >The water came out black when Lyra finished the first round of shampoo.
  2496. >Black, but not red.
  2497. >Bon-Bon seemed to be unharmed from whatever she’d been doing.
  2498. >Filthy and exhausted.
  2499. >But not a scratch on her that Lyra could see.
  2500. >Bon-Bon had said that Sweetie Drops wasn’t supposed to fight the monsters.
  2501. >Had she spent all that time just gathering information?
  2502. >Had she avoided any and all violence?
  2503. >Or, was she just that good?
  2504. >So good in a fight that she could walk away without being touched?
  2505. >Lyra didn’t know.
  2506. >Nor did she care.
  2507. >She was just glad that Bon-Bon had returned home safe.
  2508. >Even if her coat did seem to be more dirt than fur at the moment.
  2509. >It took some time and care and a LOT of scrubbing to do it, but Lyra finally got her friend cleaned up.
  2510. >Next was drying and brushing.
  2511. >Detangling the entire furry coat was a daunting task.
  2512. >It was far easier to maintain one’s coat than it was to return it to order.
  2513. >But Lyra was determined to finish the job, even if she had to do it one hair at a time.
  2514. >To Lyra’s great dismay she found clear signs of starvation on the dirty pony.
  2515. >Ribs protruded visibly beneath her matted coat.
  2516. >Whatever had happened, Bon-Bon had been through more than any pony should ever have to face.
  2517. >Lyra was nearly done, and STILL Bon-Bon didn’t awaken.
  2518. >She still refused to move, or speak, or even snore.
  2519. >She’d gone away to do spy stuff, and came back half dead and unresponsive.
  2520. >Lyra decided that this was the perfect time to panic.
  2521. >She started started shaking the comatose pony frantically.
  2522.  
  2523. “Bonny! Wake up! WAKE UP! You’ve been poisoned!”
  2524.  
  2525. >It wasn’t working!
  2526. >She needed to snap her out of it somehow!
  2527. >Lyra raised her hoof to slap her room mate.
  2528. >And special agent Sweetie Drops’ leg shot out with blinding speed and intercepted.
  2529. >She lept over Lyra and took a combat stance, reaching to her back to grab something from her absent saddle bags.
  2530. >She took a moment to look around.
  2531. >And when she saw naught but a cowering Lyra she relaxed.
  2532. >Her eyes started to close again.
  2533.  
  2534. “No, you need to stay awake! You’ve been poisoned!”
  2535.  
  2536. >Sweetie Drops returned to alertness once more.
  2537.  
  2538. >”When? How?”
  2539.  
  2540. “I don’t know!”
  2541.  
  2542. >Bon-Bon gave a look that seemed torn between frustration and disbelief.
  2543.  
  2544. >”You don’t know?”
  2545.  
  2546. >It wasn’t a question.
  2547. >It was a demand.
  2548. >A demand that details be provided immediately.
  2549.  
  2550. “You just- you weren’t moving or anything! Even when I was bathing you, you didn’t move at all!”
  2551.  
  2552. >”Oh.”
  2553.  
  2554. >It was hard to tell with her weary face, but Lyra was pretty sure she looked relieved.
  2555.  
  2556. >”No, that wasn’t poison. I- I’m fine. I’ll be okay. Good night.”
  2557.  
  2558. >Bon-Bon clumsily walked to their bedroom.
  2559.  
  2560. “Are you sure? Like, absolutely sure?”
  2561.  
  2562. >”Yeah. Thanks for cleaning me up.”
  2563.  
  2564. >Bon-Bon climbed into bed.
  2565. >She failed to get the blankets over herself before blacking out again.
  2566. >Lyra lovingly tucked the exhausted superspy in before joining her in bed.
  2567. >Not that she was ready to sleep.
  2568. >Far from it, Lyra was wide awake.
  2569. >She just didn’t want to let Bon-Bon out of her sights.
  2570. >There was something clearly wrong with the mare, and Lyra wasn’t planning on taking any chances.
  2571. >Breath in, and out.
  2572. >Steady heartbeat, though somewhat rapid for a sleeping pony.
  2573. >She seemed to be plagued by night terrors of some sort.
  2574. >Her legs kept kicking out ineffectual as she tossed and turned.
  2575.  
  2576. “Hush now quiet now it’s time to lay your sleepy head…”
  2577.  
  2578. >Lyra began to softly sing the lullaby to try and sooth her friend.
  2579. >Her trained voice flowed smoothly and sweetly.
  2580. >And soon, Bon-Bon had stopped her fussing.
  2581. >Lyra never stopped watching throughout the night.
  2582. >Morning came and went without incident.
  2583. >It was lucky that Lyra’s lessons weren’t scheduled for this day, since she wouldn’t have gone anyway.
  2584. >She was still worried about Bon-Bon.
  2585. >She’d never seen her so exhausted.
  2586. >And Lyra wasn’t entirely convinced her friend hadn’t been poisoned.
  2587. >There was no way she’d leave the sleeping pony’s side until she was absolutely certain all was well.
  2588. >Bon-Bon continued breathing softly, hinting at calm rest.
  2589. >It wasn’t until early afternoon that that changed.
  2590. >A quick jolt followed by Bon-Bon sitting up in a flash.
  2591. >She surveyed her surroundings.
  2592. >And found all to be well.
  2593.  
  2594. >”Did you stay up all night?”
  2595.  
  2596. “I was worried about you”
  2597.  
  2598. >Lyra couldn’t deny that she was tired.
  2599. >But the thought of sleep hadn’t entered her mind.
  2600.  
  2601. >”Why? I’m fine.”
  2602.  
  2603. >Said the pony who collapsed in the doorway coated in filth.
  2604.  
  2605. >”Were you crying?”
  2606.  
  2607. “No.”
  2608.  
  2609. >A little.
  2610.  
  2611. “I thought you’d been poisoned.”
  2612.  
  2613. >”I was just overworked.”
  2614.  
  2615. >She tried to get up.
  2616. >But her legs gave out, dropping the pony on the floor.
  2617. >Lyra scrambled to help her.
  2618.  
  2619. “This is more than just overworked! What happened to you?”
  2620.  
  2621. >”Lyra, please. Please stop asking questions.”
  2622.  
  2623. >The normal firm confidence was missing from her voice.
  2624. >Instead she seemed uncertain and plaintive.
  2625. >Bon-Bon was begging.
  2626.  
  2627. >”This is the only place I can let my guard down. Everywhere else I go, I have to pretend to be somepony I’m not. I have to walk around, acting like I’m just an ordinary, ignorant mare. When I’m here I don’t have to hide who I am. Please don’t take that away from me.”
  2628.  
  2629. “It’s classified, then. And you can’t tell me?”
  2630.  
  2631. >She nodded.
  2632.  
  2633. “Promise me you’re going to be okay?”
  2634.  
  2635. >”I’m expected to have fully recovered in about two weeks. I’ve been given a month off just to be safe though.”
  2636.  
  2637. “That’s not very reassuring.”
  2638.  
  2639. >”It was a rough op. But everypony walked away in one piece, and now Tartarus has a couple new residents. I’ve never seen princess Celestia so angry.”
  2640.  
  2641. >Lyra honestly couldn’t imagine princess Celestia angry.
  2642. >She always looked so serene.
  2643. >Lyra had several questions.
  2644. >She elected to ask just one of them.
  2645.  
  2646. “Is there anything I can do to help make you feel better?”
  2647.  
  2648. >”Feed me?”
  2649.  
  2650. >Less than an hour later Bon-Bon was asleep once more.
  2651. >She’d eaten enough to make Twilight’s stomach hurt and drank enough to drown a fish before she laid down with a contented smile.
  2652. >Lyra’s fears had been greatly assuaged upon seeing the super-spy pony return to wakefulness, even if it had only been for a short while.
  2653. >Lyra figured it was finally safe to leave the house for a much needed grocery run.
  2654. >She tossed some bits and plastics in her saddlebags before heading down to the marketplace.
  2655. >Where once there had been a bustling collection of humble carts and stands there now stood massive concrete structures and superstores.
  2656. >Isles of boxed, wrapped, and frozen good of all varieties offered themselves to Lyra with bright colourful packaging.
  2657. >This place had always been a monument to capitalism; a show of just how far ponies were willing to go to turn a profit.
  2658. >In the yesteryear this had manifest in different ways.
  2659. >Be it price gouging the meek through ruthless haggling, or outright deception there was never a lack of merchants seeking to fill their coffers.
  2660. >These days they’d taken a new approach.
  2661. >Haggling took valuable time, and the crown had been ruthless in their pursuit of honest business practices, so the stores had been forced to adapt.
  2662. >And adapt they did.
  2663. >No single sale was significant to these stores any longer, instead they relied on incredible volume.
  2664. >Millions of bits flowed in and out of these buildings every year as the owners did everything in their power to whip the populace into a buying frenzy.
  2665. >And it was working.
  2666. >Marketing had gone from being an art to a refined science.
  2667. >Bon-Bon had pointed out just how well placed each and every item was on their last outing together, and it worried Lyra.
  2668. >Highly sought items were placed as far from the entrance as possible to force ponies to spend longer in the stores.
  2669. >High profit items had more artful and eye catching displays.
  2670. >Prices were given in as many different ways as possible to make comparison difficult or impossible.
  2671. >Shopping had before been an exercise in barter.
  2672. >Ponies had fought over prices, with the most savvy and charismatic coming out on top.
  2673. >Now shopping was an exercise in restraint.
  2674. >Those who had the discipline to ignore the impulse buys and the patience to compare prices were the winners.
  2675. >It was better this way, Lyra figured.
  2676. >No less manipulative, but at least less time was wasted.
  2677. >But still she had concerns.
  2678. >How long before the science of marketing was perfected?
  2679. >How long before it was the merchants, not the ponies, who chose what the ponies bought?
  2680.  
  2681. “Hay, flour, carrots, peanut butter…”
  2682.  
  2683. >How did that pony know what she was buying?
  2684. >Lyra made her way to the clerk.
  2685. >And she waited.
  2686. >The line was moving relatively quickly though.
  2687. >As she approached the front and placed her items on the turntable, she noticed something different.
  2688. >The cash register had been replaced.
  2689. >The formerly bulky adding machine was gone, and in its place was a smooth and sleek display with a thin keypad.
  2690. >It was different than the one she’d seen, no longer printing out text in an angry green that was hard on the eyes.
  2691. >But still there was no doubt.
  2692. >This thing was the same kind of machine as she’d seen in Twilight’s home.
  2693.  
  2694. “Say, what’s the deal with the new thing?”
  2695.  
  2696. >”I dunno. Boss said we’re using it now. Called it a computer.”
  2697.  
  2698. >Computer.
  2699. >Something that computes.
  2700. >A machine that does math.
  2701. >This thing was 037.
  2702. >Didn’t it say that they were delaying the release?
  2703. >It was then that Lyra realised she had no idea how old those notes were.
  2704.  
  2705. >”That’ll be 38 bits. Do you have your membership card?”
  2706.  
  2707. >Several pieces fell into place at once.
  2708. >A device that does math and stores data sat before her.
  2709. >The clerk had just input all her purchases into it.
  2710. >And now they were asking for a membership card.
  2711. >A tiny piece of plastic that had a unique number on it that was associated with her.
  2712. >The grocery store was monitoring her purchases.
  2713. >Had they been feeding these machines that data all along?
  2714. >Was this how that pony knew what her shopping habits were?
  2715.  
  2716. >”Ma’am?”
  2717.  
  2718. “I, uhh, I forgot it.”
  2719.  
  2720.  
  2721. >”Alright. You could have earned 7 points.”
  2722.  
  2723. >0.07 bits.
  2724. >She was selling her shopping habits for hundredths of a bit.
  2725. >If Lyra was right, then this was how that mystery pony knew what she was buying.
  2726. >Which means that THEY were somehow involved with this store.
  2727. >She paid for her purchases and loaded them up in her saddlebags in a hurry.
  2728. >She suddenly didn’t feel comfortable in that building.
  2729. >As she walked through the automatic doors she couldn’t help but eye the security cameras warily.
  2730. >Lyra dropped off her purchases at home before heading out to the library.
  2731. >Discount Delectables, the grocery store, was somehow involved in this mystery.
  2732. >Either they were affiliated, or they were selling the information.
  2733. >Which meant that the owner probably knew something useful.
  2734. >All Lyra had to do was find out who owned it.
  2735. >Should be simple.
  2736. >Or so she thought.
  2737. >It wasn’t until she arrived at the library that Lyra discovered she had no idea what to search for.
  2738. >How does one research corporate ownership?
  2739. >’Computers’ had been installed to help ponies find what they were after, but Lyra didn’t know how to use them.
  2740. >Nor did she trust them.
  2741. >Nearly an hour later she’d made absolutely no progress.
  2742. >She’d parked herself off in a corner and was sitting down to read a tome on retail law in vain hopes that there might be some useful insight.
  2743.  
  2744. >”Discount Delectables is a subsidiary or R&A incorporated.”
  2745.  
  2746. >Lyra jumped.
  2747. >That voice had come from behind her.
  2748. >She whipped her head around to find a peculiar sight.
  2749. >The pony who was speaking to her had an ethereal quality about them, almost as though she could walk straight through them.
  2750. >Lyra could definitely see through them when they stood still.
  2751. >Whoever it was was almost totally transparent.
  2752. >When they moved however, the colours behind them moved with them in an eerie manner.
  2753. >It looked almost like a pony shaped cutout of the wall was walking half steps before blending into the background.
  2754.  
  2755. >”R&A is a holding company, owns a lot of other big names. Rarity is the sole owner at the moment. They’re not publicly traded so that’s unlikely to change.”
  2756.  
  2757. “Who are you!?”
  2758.  
  2759. >”Quiet, this is a library. I’m a pony who’s concerned about what kind of world we’re going to be leaving our foals.”
  2760.  
  2761. >Lyra could almost recognise the voice of that mare.
  2762. >She was masking it, but even so Lyra couldn’t help but feel she knew this pony personally.
  2763.  
  2764. >”Were you expecting a straightforward answer? I’ve been watching you closely. Good find on Applejack back there.”
  2765.  
  2766. >Lyra could only barely see their mouth moving as the colours of the wall bled together in strange ways.
  2767.  
  2768. “You saw that? But how?”
  2769.  
  2770. >”Your ocular enhancement system looks for tiny chips implanted in ponies that send out a unique signal. If you’ve donated blood you have one.”
  2771.  
  2772. >Lyra had not.
  2773. >She’d been meaning to, but Bon-Bon had always found a way to delay the process.
  2774. >She now knew why.
  2775. >It was reassuring in a strange way.
  2776. >Not the fact that they were being tagged in secret, that was horrifying to Lyra.
  2777. >Rather, she was happy to be reminded that Bon-Bon always had her back, even if she didn’t say it.
  2778.  
  2779. >”I cut mine out, so those things don’t see me.”
  2780.  
  2781. “But where were you hiding? I was so careful.”
  2782.  
  2783. >”Non-pegasi never think to look up.”
  2784.  
  2785. >Lyra couldn’t help but blush a bit at that.
  2786. >That was such an obvious mistake to make.
  2787.  
  2788. >”I could use your help. There’s a narrow opening tonight where we can swipe some gear from a delivery cart. Security should be light since they’re trying not to draw attention.”
  2789.  
  2790.  
  2791. “Why me?”
  2792.  
  2793. >”Because I like you, Lyra. And I trust you. I still don’t want to give you my name just in case you get captured or something, but you’re a good pony. You’re going to use this stuff for the right reasons.”
  2794.  
  2795. “Okay, but why anypony?”
  2796.  
  2797. >”Because I need help.”
  2798.  
  2799. >That seemed simple enough.
  2800. >Lyra wasn’t entirely certain she could trust this pony though.
  2801. >This could be some kind of trap.
  2802. >Or maybe they were going to use her as a decoy at the end of the heist so they could escape.
  2803.  
  2804. >”Meet me in the bushes behind the post office at 10. Bring a disguise and whatever gear you’ve got.”
  2805.  
  2806. “Wait, before you go, what is it we’re after here?”
  2807.  
  2808. >”Honestly? Not sure.”
  2809.  
  2810. >The mystery mare walked away.
  2811. >Lyra did her best to keep track of their movements.
  2812. >A strange blur here, a weird colouration there…
  2813. >They took flight.
  2814. >And slammed right into a bookshelf.
  2815. >The shelf fell over knocking down the adjacent shelves, spreading out until half the books in the building lay on the floor.
  2816.  
  2817. “Derpy?”
  2818.  
  2819. >It wouldn’t have been Lyra’s first guess.
  2820. >But few ponies were half that clumsy.
  2821. >The odd pony shaped illusion climbed out of the wreckage and stumbled toward the door.
  2822. >All eyes were on it at this point.
  2823. >It walked headlong into the checkout desk while heading out, successfully knocking everything on the floor.
  2824. >It was definitely Derpy.
  2825. >Lyra was just hopeful that the ditzy mailmare could come up with a good alibi.
  2826. >There was no way she was supposed to have half that chameleon dealy.
  2827. >Lyra really had no way of helping though.
  2828. >All she could really do was hope that Derpy could take care of herself.
  2829.  
  2830. “She’s doomed.”
  2831.  
  2832. >Hopefully Twilight goes easy on her.
  2833. >Lyra had some time before the planned heist.
  2834. >And she was planning on going.
  2835. >Derpy was trustworthy.
  2836. >Incompetent and clumsy, but trustworthy.
  2837. >She had many questions for the wall eyed pegasus
  2838. >They’d have to wait.
  2839. >It wasn’t like they couldn’t talk things over later on.
  2840. >Lyra knew where she lived.
  2841. >And Lyra was eager to investigate something else.
  2842. >Or rather somepony else.
  2843. >Rarity.
  2844. >She was closely tied to both Twilight AND Applejack.
  2845. >Lyra probably would have looked into her sooner or later anyway.
  2846. >But now she was learning that Rarity was apparently a business mogul?
  2847. >When had that happened?
  2848. >She was off to Carousel Boutique.
  2849. >The boutique was largely unchanged
  2850. >The surrounding area however, had changed dramatically.
  2851. >Large ugly concrete structures towered over the carousel from all sides.
  2852. >They stood almost threateningly, as though the city was intent on devouring this one oasis of rural life.
  2853. >Lyra approached the front door.
  2854. >She hadn’t really thought this through.
  2855. >The fact of the matter was she wasn’t sure what to do once she went inside.
  2856. >But she pressed on anyway.
  2857. >Inside was a strange sight.
  2858. >There were no dresses.
  2859. >No cloth.
  2860. >Nothing.
  2861. >The store was almost totally barren.
  2862. >All save for one white unicorn sitting against the back wall.
  2863. >She was making no effort to hide her despair.
  2864. >Rarity wept openly and dramatically in the unlit room.
  2865. >She seemed oblivious to Lyra’s presence.
  2866. >Lyra couldn’t help herself.
  2867. >This pony was probably the enemy.
  2868. >But even so she couldn’t help but pity them.
  2869.  
  2870. “Rarity, what’s wrong?”
  2871.  
  2872. >She spoke without thinking.
  2873. >Rarity jumped as though she’d been struck.
  2874. >She attempted to collect herself.
  2875. >It was a partial success.
  2876. >Lyra couldn’t help but notice something strange.
  2877. >Rarity’s eye-liner was immaculate.
  2878. >It hadn’t run at all.
  2879. >She was crying, but had not shed a single tear.
  2880.  
  2881. >”What are you doing here, Lyra?”
  2882.  
  2883. >She sounded confrontational.
  2884. >Lyra was starting to feel unwelcome.
  2885.  
  2886. “I came to do some shopping. But…”
  2887.  
  2888. >Lyra gestured at the empty room.
  2889. >Rarity seemed to believe the lie.
  2890. >She stared at Lyra intently, eyes just slightly too wide open.
  2891. >And somewhat unfocused.
  2892.  
  2893. >”Oh, I’m afraid the boutique has been closed for quite some time now. I simply didn’t have the time to run it anymore.”
  2894.  
  2895. >There were many valid questions.
  2896. >Lyra hesitated a moment trying to figure out which one to ask.
  2897. >As it turned out, though, Rarity was more than willing to speak on her own.
  2898.  
  2899. >”I do miss my dear boutique. There’s not a day that goes by where it doesn’t call to me, pleading to be made fabulous once more. Oh how I yearn to spread the gift of FASHION to the masses. Perhaps someday I might return to it. But for now my duty calls.”
  2900.  
  2901. >Lyra was almost in shock.
  2902. >She’d been getting used to having to pry for every scrap of information.
  2903. >Getting details out of this mess was like pulling teeth.
  2904. >And here Rarity was giving it all away freely.
  2905.  
  2906. “Why are you so busy? Like, what do you do without your boutique?”
  2907.  
  2908. >”Oh. That. I manage my other businesses.”
  2909.  
  2910. “Okay, but, you clearly don’t want to. Why don’t you just leave it behind and go back to your boutique? Why not do what you love?”
  2911.  
  2912. >Rarity seemed to stare off into the distance for a while.
  2913. >There was something very much wrong with her eyes.
  2914. >Lyra was pretty sure she knew what it was.
  2915.  
  2916. >”I don’t do it for myself. Were it up to me I’d do exactly as you say. But… It’s hard for one to understand the power of money when they’ve never had it. With these bits I can change the world, and this world desperately needs changing. Have you seen the rot that is consuming this city? Of course you have, you had to brave it to come here. Hopefully I’ve some wealth left when this is all over, that I may reverse it.”
  2917.  
  2918. >Lyra barely held her smile in check.
  2919. >Rarity had just fumbled.
  2920. >Bad.
  2921. >She’d basically admitted that her money wasn’t for fixing up the city as she was claiming.
  2922. >There was something else it was going to.
  2923. >Which meant her enterprises weren’t just there to get information.
  2924. >What was it they were buying?
  2925. >And how many bits did it take?
  2926. >Lyra was reminded of the note that said their budget was strained.
  2927. >If she could get some grasp on how much money Rarity was making, maybe she could get a feel for their operating budget?
  2928. >Perhaps that would offer some insight into the scope of their plans?
  2929. >Lyra had one more angle to investigate.
  2930.  
  2931. >”I’m sorry Darling, but I must ask you to go. I’ve places to be and things to do.”
  2932.  
  2933. “Alright, Rarity. I hope things start going better for you soon.”
  2934.  
  2935. >Lyra was surprised to find she meant the words earnestly.
  2936. >Rarity was one of ‘them’, but even so Lyra couldn’t help but pity her.
  2937. >It was clear Rarity wasn’t in this for herself.
  2938. >She was miserable as things were.
  2939. >Rarity was doing this for others in the hopes of making something better.
  2940. >Else she was the greatest actor of all time.
  2941. >Could their goals be noble?
  2942. >Could it be that they’re doing the right thing?
  2943. >Lyra needed to know more.
  2944. >But she did know something for sure.
  2945. >Rarity had no eyes.
  2946. >Sure, she had blue balls where her eyes were meant to be.
  2947. >But they were fake.
  2948. >No tears filled them despite Rarity’s weeping.
  2949. >She didn’t blink even once.
  2950. >And they never quite focused right.
  2951. >Was Rarity blind?
  2952. >She seemed to know where Lyra was, but maybe that was based on sound?
  2953. >Lyra was going to have to investigate further.
  2954. >But for now she had other plans.
  2955. >It was time to meet up with Derpy.
  2956.  
  2957.  
  2958. * * * * *
  2959.  
  2960.  
  2961. >Lyra sat in the bushes behind the Ponyville post office.
  2962. >Or at least, she was planning on.
  2963. >They were too small for her to hide within.
  2964. >She had to make do with standing beside it on the green side of town.
  2965. >The sun had set, though it was difficult to tell these days.
  2966. >City streetlights had overpowered the subtle lights of the night sky.
  2967. >Looking down at eye level revealed little change from high noon.
  2968. >Looking up, however, showed Lyra an inky black sky.
  2969. >She almost felt as though she were in danger of falling up as she stared at the endless abyss above.
  2970. >Without the twinkling stars and moon to illuminate the void it all felt so…
  2971. >Empty.
  2972. >Cold.
  2973. >The majesty that Luna brought to the skies above had been erased, in its place stood nothingness.
  2974. >She knew the heavens hadn’t changed so drastically.
  2975. >It was Ponyville that had changed.
  2976. >And with it her perspective.
  2977.  
  2978. “C’mon, you said you’d be here by now.”
  2979.  
  2980. >Were anypony around to look they’d find Lyras presence alone to be strange.
  2981. >They’d find her inaction even stranger.
  2982. >Few ponies walked the streets at this hour, and those who did were generally unsavoury.
  2983. >Those who spent their time doing things good ponies ought not do.
  2984. >It occurred to Lyra that she had somehow become one of them.
  2985. >She was a criminal.
  2986. >Unrepentant and unashamed.
  2987. >Why should she apologise for what she was doing?
  2988. >These ponies had proven themselves untrustworthy.
  2989. >They seemed to be trying to make privacy a distant memory for others while hiding their own nefarious deeds.
  2990. >In Lyra’s eyes, it was all well and good that she bring their acts to light.
  2991. >She cared not what the law thought.
  2992. >But she couldn’t help but wonder.
  2993. >How many other criminals felt the same way?
  2994. >Did thieves justify their actions in a similar manner?
  2995. >Did your average thug think themselves in the right?
  2996. >Was she truly justified in her deeds, or had she just talked herself into it?
  2997. >The nearby bushes exploded as something barely visible crashed into them.
  2998. >Derpy had arrived.
  2999.  
  3000. “Hey Derpy.”
  3001. >”I’m not Derpy. I’m… okay, fine. Just please don’t use names.”
  3002.  
  3003. “Oh right. My mistake. What’s the plan?”
  3004.  
  3005. >”First off, why aren’t you geared up?”
  3006.  
  3007. >Lyra was confused.
  3008. >She was wearing her visor and a black body suit.
  3009. >And she carried saddlebags with stones in them incase she needed to fight.
  3010. >What was she supposed to have?
  3011.  
  3012. “I am. At least I think I am.”
  3013.  
  3014. >”That’s all you’ve got? I assumed you’d at least have modular armor.”
  3015.  
  3016. “I thought you’d been watching me?”
  3017.  
  3018. >”I can’t watch you all the time. I’m not princess Celestia.”
  3019.  
  3020. >Lyra was starting to feel inadequate.
  3021. >Derpy had managed to get her hooves on an invisibility suit and who knows what else.
  3022. >And she was DERPY.
  3023. >All Lyra had was fancy binoculars.
  3024. >She hadn’t even gotten them herself.
  3025. >Wait a second.
  3026.  
  3027. “Princess Celestia is watching us?”
  3028.  
  3029. >”Somepony has to be in charge of all this. I think it’s her.”
  3030.  
  3031. >Lyra desperately hoped not.
  3032. >She really wanted this all to be Twilight’s doing.
  3033. >Princess Celestia was a good pony that everypony loved.
  3034. >She was the protector and ruler of Equestria.
  3035. >There was no way she’d betray the public like that and spy on them.
  3036. >Not without a very good reason.
  3037. >Lyra decided she’d rather focus on the task at hoof than think further on that horrible possibility.
  3038.  
  3039. “What’s the plan?”
  3040.  
  3041. >”We go in through the front.”
  3042.  
  3043. “Seriously?”
  3044.  
  3045. >”I work here, so I’ve got a key.”
  3046.  
  3047. >Derpy walked up to the front door of the post office.
  3048. >It was difficult for Lyra to track her movements, but she could just barely see the grass being crushed beneath Derpy’s hooves.
  3049. >Once she stood on pavement though, Lyra quickly lost her.
  3050. >The front door swung open seemingly on its own.
  3051. >Lyra walked up.
  3052.  
  3053. >”Hold on a second let me disable the cameras.”
  3054.  
  3055. >A loud smashing noise rang out.
  3056.  
  3057. >”Okay now.”
  3058.  
  3059. >Lyra stepped in.
  3060. >She’d been in the post office before of course.
  3061. >But it felt quite different in the dark.
  3062. >She was tempted to turn on the lights, but decided against it.
  3063. >The light that came in through the windows would have to do.
  3064. >Sheets of stamps and collectible bits sat behind the display case at the front desk.
  3065. >It occurred to Lyra that there was quite a bit of money to be made in this place.
  3066. >But she was no common thief.
  3067. >She was better than that.
  3068.  
  3069. “Aren’t you afraid they’ll figure out you were the one that broke in? When they see somepony broke in they’re going to suspect employees. And when they figure out that you used a key to open the front…”
  3070.  
  3071. >”I have a plan for that, don’t worry.”
  3072.  
  3073. >The voice was coming from the back door.
  3074.  
  3075. >”Why isn’t this working?”
  3076.  
  3077. >Lyra walked up to the back door to see what was happening.
  3078. >There was a muzzle shaped indentation built into the back wall by a heavy door.
  3079.  
  3080. “What is this?”
  3081.  
  3082. >”Retinal scanner. It looks at the inside of your eyes to see if you’re allowed in.”
  3083.  
  3084. “It can’t see the inside of your eyes. You’re invisible.”
  3085.  
  3086. >”Oops.”
  3087.  
  3088. >A pony shaped grey lump appeared before Lyra
  3089. >The silvery-grey bodysuit and mask combination was made of countless tiny hexagons.
  3090. >It had a relatively large bulge set upon the back, probably some kind of storage.
  3091. >And on one leg was a ring-like band, Lyra didn’t know what it did.
  3092. >Derpy pulled the mask off and shoved her face back in.
  3093.  
  3094. “What is that stuff?”
  3095.  
  3096. >”The panels change colour to match what’s behind me making me hard to see. It’s not perfect, you can kinda see me from some angles. The big thing on my back is a battery that runs it. Kinda heavy.”
  3097.  
  3098. “And the band?”
  3099.  
  3100. >”Combat stimulants. Never had to use them, I hear they make you really sick.”
  3101.  
  3102. “How sick? Like, passing out and not waking up for pretty much anything?”
  3103.  
  3104. >”Not sure.”
  3105.  
  3106. >Lyra had a hunch about what had happened to Bon-Bon.
  3107. >One day she’s talking about the right way to use drugs.
  3108. >The next she has endless energy despite not sleeping.
  3109. >And then later on she shows up catatonic after what she described as a rough operation..
  3110. >She could only hope they were safe to use.
  3111.  
  3112. “So what’s wrong? Why aren’t we in yet?”
  3113.  
  3114. >”I need to look straight at it.”
  3115.  
  3116. >She pulled her muzzle out of the indentation and shook her head violently.
  3117. >She stuck her face back in.
  3118. >Nothing happened.
  3119.  
  3120. “So… read any good books lately?”
  3121.  
  3122. >The door beeped twice.
  3123. >Derpy pulled her muzzle out, a big grin adorning it.
  3124. >She turned her nearly straight eyes towards the door and pushed it open before once again becoming invisible.
  3125. >Her completely visible head floated in midair, seemingly detached from her body.
  3126.  
  3127. >“Alright, let’s go.”
  3128.  
  3129. “Aren’t you going to put the mask back on?”
  3130.  
  3131. >”Oh. Right.”
  3132.  
  3133. >She started struggling with the mysterious material, struggling to get it over her face.
  3134. >Lyra eventually stepped in and put it on Derpy using her magic.
  3135.  
  3136. >”Thanks. I usually get D- somepony else to do that for me.”
  3137.  
  3138. >She stepped through the door and held it open for Lyra.
  3139. >They stood in the familiar back room.
  3140. >The place where it all started.
  3141. >The door Lyra had bashed down had been replaced and reinforced.
  3142. >The filing cabinet had been put back in place.
  3143. >And the elevator seemed to have disappeared.
  3144. >Other than that it looked exactly the same to Lyra’s eyes.
  3145.  
  3146. >”Okay. Use your super-crazy fancy unicorn magic to make the elevator come back.”
  3147.  
  3148. “Uhh… I don’t think I can do that for you.”
  3149.  
  3150. >”Really? Aww! Alright then, let’s just hide in some mailbags and wait for the delivery to show up.”
  3151.  
  3152. >It didn’t take long for the back door to swing open.
  3153. >Lyra cautiously poked her muzzle through the opening of the mailbag she hid within.
  3154. >A single unicorn stallion levitated a small but heavy looking metal crate into the middle of the room.
  3155. >He pulled a small rectangle out of his saddlebags and poked it with his hoof.
  3156. >Part of the floor retracted into itself to reveal the service elevator.
  3157. >The stallion stood rigid for a second before collapsing.
  3158. >Unconscious.
  3159.  
  3160. “What happened? Is he okay?”
  3161.  
  3162. >”Sedative dart. We’ve got a couple hours before he wakes up. Smash that crate open- never mind. We don’t want what’s in it.”
  3163.  
  3164. >She gestured at the top.
  3165. >A strange symbol was written upon it.
  3166.  
  3167. ATTACH HAZARD IMAGE HERE
  3168.  
  3169. “What is it?”
  3170.  
  3171. >”A hazard symbol of some sort. Whatever’s in that box is dangerous.”
  3172.  
  3173. >Lyra didn’t recognise it.
  3174. >Whatever that was was supposedly dangerous, but not corrosive or poisonous.
  3175. >Nor was it a biohazard.
  3176. >It was something else.
  3177.  
  3178. “There should really be more security for a dangerous delivery”
  3179.  
  3180. >”We’ve got somepony on the inside, remember?”
  3181.  
  3182. >Still.
  3183. >Dangerous materials going through ponyville with no protection didn’t sit right with Lyra.
  3184.  
  3185. >”Do you see any guards down there?”
  3186.  
  3187. >Lyra looked down.
  3188. >There were no fewer than 20 names listed in the facility.
  3189.  
  3190. “Lots. But none by the elevator. This thing doesn’t see everypony though.”
  3191.  
  3192. >”All the important ponies have the implant as far as I can tell.”
  3193.  
  3194. >That made some sense to Lyra.
  3195. >It was likely a security measure.
  3196. >Like an I.D. card built into their skin that most ponies didn’t even know was there.
  3197.  
  3198. >”Well, let’s get in there. Me first, I’ll make sure the coast is clear.”
  3199.  
  3200. “Wait, are you sure you want to go down alone?”
  3201.  
  3202. >”I can hide in plain sight. You can’t.”
  3203.  
  3204. >The service elevator began to descend into the depths.
  3205. >Lyra noted with some trepidation that there was no safety railing around the hole.
  3206. >Anypony could fall in and meet their end were they clumsy.
  3207. >Lyra was very glad that Derpy wasn’t up here to get herself hurt.
  3208. >She took the opportunity to hide the unconscious stallion and his package in the corner of the room.
  3209. >Just in case somepony walked in.
  3210. >The elevator returned to the top.
  3211. >She was still a bit uneasy about going in.
  3212. >But she did it anyway.
  3213. >The promise of finding out what these ponies were up to was just too much for her.
  3214. >Upon returning to the bottom, Lyra was greeted with an image that was forever burned into her mind.
  3215. >The concrete hallways she had so narrowly escaped.
  3216.  
  3217. >”Alright.”
  3218.  
  3219. >Lyra jumped at the noise, but managed to hold back a cry of fear.
  3220. >It was just Derpy.
  3221. >There was no reason to be alarmed.
  3222. >Lyra was simply on edge.
  3223.  
  3224. >”I need you to keep track of where the guards are.”
  3225.  
  3226. >They made their way through the corridors slowly and silently.
  3227. >It didn’t take long for them to reach the door that triggered the alarm the first time Lyra was in here.
  3228. >The symbol was still on it.
  3229. >There were no ponies behind that door.
  3230.  
  3231. ATTACH SYMBOL IMAGE HERE
  3232.  
  3233. “Do you know what that one means?”
  3234.  
  3235. >”No. But I almost got hurt really bad last time I opened one of those. I think they might be a warning too.”
  3236.  
  3237. >Lyra barely heard the words.
  3238. >She was gripped in panic.
  3239.  
  3240. ”Somepony just came down the elevator.”
  3241.  
  3242. >She couldn’t see it, but she could hear Derpy’s fear.
  3243. >The rapid breathing and the gasp were dead giveaways.
  3244. >The two of them ducked into a room.
  3245. >Lyra recognized the gorey experiment on live tissue.
  3246. >The hunks of bloody flesh lying in trays below glass with strange chemicals being pumped into them.
  3247. >From the barely suppressed wrenching, it seemed as though Derpy hadn’t seen them before.
  3248.  
  3249. >”Who is it?”
  3250.  
  3251. “Shh, they’re close.”
  3252.  
  3253. >Derpy and Lyra both cowered in the corner, trapped.
  3254. >They were hidden in this room.
  3255. >But if anypony chose to enter this room there was no place to go.
  3256. >No place to hide.
  3257. >They’d have to go through the ponies.
  3258. >And there was no way Derpy and Lyra could take these ones in a fight.
  3259. >Lyra let out a deep, shuddering breath once they’d passed.
  3260.  
  3261. “Princess Celestia, princess Luna, and princess Twilight! We gotta get out of here!”
  3262.  
  3263. >”No. You can, but I came here for a reason.”
  3264.  
  3265. “What could possibly be worth the risk?”
  3266.  
  3267. >”Look, we only got in because somepony helped us. We don’t know if they’ll be able to do this for us again. This might be our only chance in here. I’m going on.”
  3268.  
  3269. >She had a point.
  3270. >And though this was terrifying to Lyra, it really didn’t change that much.
  3271. >They were alicorns, yes.
  3272. >But if they didn’t see her…
  3273.  
  3274. “Okay. Let’s move.”
  3275.  
  3276. >They pushed onward.
  3277. >The next few room they checked were much less disturbing.
  3278. >They contained seemingly defunct machines; hunks of metal that had no clear purpose.
  3279. >Lyra wasn’t sure if they had been destroyed or if the tangled mess of steel and wires were just dormant.
  3280. >For all she could tell they were heaps of scrap.
  3281. >The next room, though…
  3282.  
  3283. “It’s locked.”
  3284.  
  3285. >”This is probably the one we’re after.”
  3286.  
  3287. “What’s in it?”
  3288.  
  3289. >”I don’t know, but I was tipped off that it would be useful. I’m breaking in.”
  3290.  
  3291. “How?”
  3292.  
  3293. >Lyra quickly examined the door.
  3294. >She saw no keyhole.
  3295. >There was just a thin horizontal slit.
  3296. >A wire was shoved into it from seemingly nowhere.
  3297.  
  3298. >”Their security is based on computers, and they assume nopony but them can carry one around so it’s pretty bad. I’ve got a bunch of passcodes saved on this thing. Hopefully one works.”
  3299.  
  3300. >Lyra didn’t like the thought of splitting up.
  3301. >But there was something she needed to do.
  3302.  
  3303. “Stay safe.”
  3304.  
  3305. >Lyra walked in further.
  3306.  
  3307. >”Where are you going?”
  3308.  
  3309. “I’m going to go check on the princesses.”
  3310.  
  3311. >Lyra’s heart pounded wildly in her chest as she walked towards them.
  3312. >This was insane.
  3313. >If Princess Celestia of all ponies caught her, well...
  3314. >She’d rather not think about it.
  3315. >She quietly made her way to the room they were sitting in.
  3316. >She dared not open the door, instead contenting herself to press her ear against the walls.
  3317. >To her great surprise she had little difficulty making out what they were saying.
  3318. >It was a tad muffled, but they enunciated well enough that there was no doubt what they said.
  3319.  
  3320. >Celestia spoke.
  3321.  
  3322. >”Please, Pinkie. It has to be this way.”
  3323.  
  3324. >Pinkie?
  3325. >Lyra couldn’t see her name through the wall.
  3326. >She wasn’t implanted.
  3327. >Derpy said that all the important ponies had one.
  3328. >Was she wrong?
  3329. >Or was Pinkie not important?
  3330. >Either way, Lyra had already learned something.
  3331. >One more element of harmony was in on it.
  3332. >At this point Lyra would be shocked if there were a single one of them not involved.
  3333. >She’d have to check in on Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash at some point.
  3334. >And princess Celestia herself was in the know.
  3335. >This wasn’t something Twilight was doing behind her back.
  3336. >Did princess Luna know?
  3337. >Did Cadance know?
  3338. >Lyra really hoped not.
  3339. >She and Cadence were friends.
  3340. >She was even one of her bride’s maids at the royal wedding.
  3341.  
  3342. >”NO! I’ve had it with you three! It’s NOTHING but secrets and LIES!”
  3343.  
  3344. >Pinkie isn’t happy with what they’re doing?
  3345.  
  3346. >”Miss Pie, I understand your concerns. You’ve many valid grievances, I shan’t deny this. We just ask that you trust there is good reason for all this.”
  3347.  
  3348. >”Trust YOU?”
  3349.  
  3350. >Pinkie started laughing.
  3351. >There was no humor or joy in her laughter though.
  3352. >It was purely bitter.
  3353.  
  3354. >”Not a chance!”
  3355.  
  3356. >”She’s a security risk, Twilight. You know what you must do.”
  3357.  
  3358. >”No! I’m not going to have Pinkie mind controlled!”
  3359.  
  3360. >Mind control?
  3361.  
  3362. >”I know. You could never do that to one of your friends. You know it’s the right thing to do. She’s a huge security risk, and we cannot afford any delays. You MUST silence her. And yet you can’t bring yourself to do it. This is what happens when you let ponies know your secrets. It’s okay for friends to keep things from each other sometimes. We all hide things, and we all have our reasons. Remember this situation next time you’re tempted to share state secrets. Now, what to do about miss Pie.”
  3363.  
  3364. >”I’m leaving.”
  3365.  
  3366. >”Pinkie wait! If- if we proved that we need to do these things would you keep quiet about it?”
  3367.  
  3368. >”This is risky, Twilight. But I agree. Pinkamena has proven herself to be a pony of great virtue. She lacks the resources and talents of some of the other ponies we’ve let into the fold, but she’s got a way with ponies. She could influence the masses quite well given the right means. If we were to get her on our side she may be a valuable asset.”
  3369.  
  3370. >”Not happening! When Twilight told me about this she said you were trying to make ponies’ lives better. And now I find out you’re spying on everypony all the time? How does that make their life better? And what’s with all these creepy and dangerous experiments? How does inventing new weapons make life better? And what about 148? How could you POSSIBLY justify building THOSE!?”
  3371.  
  3372. >Weapons?
  3373. >Like, sharper blades or better bows?
  3374.  
  3375. >”Our priorities have… changed. We wanted to make life better at first, but something more important came up. Once this is done we’re going right back to the original goal.”
  3376.  
  3377. >”Your priorities CHANGED? To WHAT? Twilight, you’re supposed to be my friend. That’s not good enough for this, because honestly? It looks to me like you’re planning on starting a war!”
  3378.  
  3379. >”We aren’t planning on starting anything, Pinkie. There’s a terrible wave of darkness coming our way, and we need to be prepared.”
  3380.  
  3381. >”I. Don’t. Trust. You. You’ve done nothing but LIE to me for the last THREE YEARS! Words aren’t good enough anymore.”
  3382.  
  3383. >”Princess, I think we need to show her.”
  3384.  
  3385. >”Indeed. Do so with my blessing, Sparkle.”
  3386.  
  3387. >”And mine. Just remember my student. One of your closest friends just accused you of being a warmonger. This is how the masses would see you if they knew. And while I believe we can entrust Pinkie with the whole truth, the public must not know. It would jeopardize everything we’ve worked for. The secret must be kept. Seek our counsel next time you wish to introduce somepony into the fold.”
  3388.  
  3389. >”Of course princess. Pinkie? Wait for me by the elevator, I’ll show you everything right after we finish talking here.”
  3390.  
  3391. >”No. I’m not leaving, Twilight. If you want to get my trust back, then that means no more secrets.”
  3392.  
  3393. >”It’s fine, Twilight. What we are about to discuss is unsavoury, but I am confident she will understand why it is necessary in time. Pinkie, I ask that you withhold judgement until after all is revealed. Onto the next order of business. We’re broke.”
  3394.  
  3395. >”What do you mean broke?”
  3396.  
  3397. >”What I mean, Twilight, is that Equestria has no bits left. We’ve collected all the debts we can and sold off all our hoards.”
  3398.  
  3399. >”’Tis a most distressing outcome, though entirely expected.”
  3400.  
  3401. >”Yes. We set Rarity up for exactly this reason. It was expensive, but it’ll pay for itself in the long run. Even so we cannot afford to maintain this project.”
  3402.  
  3403. >”We can’t stop now!”
  3404.  
  3405. >”Right you are, Twilight. We can not halt, nor can we delay. However, it is as sister said. Equestria does not have the means to fund this project any longer. Our expenses are obscene and climbing, so we’ll need multiple new sources of revenue. We’ve a few options at this time. For one, we could simply raise taxes.”
  3406.  
  3407. >”Right! Do it!”
  3408.  
  3409. >”We shall, though only slightly. If we raise taxes enough to maintain this we will destroy our economy, inhibiting future revenue. That may be an option in the final years, but for now we need to think about long term viability.”
  3410.  
  3411. >”We could sell more tech!”
  3412.  
  3413. >”Indeed. This is something we will doubtlessly keep doing in the future. Computer sales have been better than expected, and I suspect we’ll have a steady stream of income once the network is complete. However, this is still insufficient. We cannot release the bulk of the things we’re harnessing. Sooner or later we’ll run out of objects that are safe to sell.”
  3414.  
  3415. >”Well, can we cut spending elsewhere?”
  3416.  
  3417. >”Luna and I have been seriously considering cutting funding for medicine. Before we started this it was our greatest expense.”
  3418.  
  3419. >”The moral concerns are not lost on us, but we must be pragmatic. We have decided, however, that it is too soon for that as well. We need a healthy and productive population in the years to come. Furthermore, civil unrest would be catastrophic, and Equestria is less stable than we care to admit. This is an option we may consider at a later date. For now it would be unwise. Other programs may be cut but they won’t be sufficient. We’ll need to get creative.”
  3420.  
  3421. >”You’re thinking of closing the hospitals? What is wrong with you! Ponies need those!”
  3422.  
  3423. >”Please calm yourself miss Pie. We would not consider that were we not desperate.”
  3424.  
  3425. >If Lyra was to take her at her word, Celestia really was scraping the bottom of the barrel here.
  3426. >Could she trust her?
  3427.  
  3428. >”Can Equestria borrow the bits?”
  3429.  
  3430. >”For a time. There exists no power in the world with the wealth to support us in the long run, and I fear they’d lose faith that we’d repay them too soon.”
  3431.  
  3432. >”’Tia speaks the truth. Equestria has never been indebted before. Borrowing anything would raise suspicion. Borrowing enough to fund Cadence’s proposal alone would raise alarm. Borrowing enough to keep on schedule would be impossible. We could intimidate certain nations into lending despite this.”
  3433.  
  3434. >Intimidate?
  3435. >Were they really thinking of threatening others for bits?
  3436. >Hold on, Cadence is in on this too?
  3437. >That upset Lyra quite a bit.
  3438. >She and Cadence were friends.
  3439. >Good friends.
  3440. >Lyra was even her bride’s maid.
  3441.  
  3442. >”Seriously? How could THAT be justified?”
  3443.  
  3444. >”Again, miss Pie, please refrain from judging us until after Twilight shows you what it is we’re doing. If you still doubt we are in the right then you may speak. I’d rather avoid that option; blood would be inevitable, and we’d still fall short.”
  3445.  
  3446. >”Indeed, ‘Tia. There are lesser evils we can consider though. How about fraud?”
  3447.  
  3448. >”Fraud!?”
  3449.  
  3450. >Both Twilight and Pinkie seemed upset by the proposal.
  3451.  
  3452. >”With our authority we’ve many options to defraud the public. We could clip our bits or decrease their gold content. Why not mint bits with no gold in them whatsoever? We could issue as many as we needed.”
  3453.  
  3454. >”Would ponies accept them?”
  3455.  
  3456. >”Indeed, my student. If we present them correctly. I too suspect that this may be our best option. We’ve a few other dishonest means to consider, however.”
  3457.  
  3458. >”How much are we short?”
  3459.  
  3460. >Lyra nearly thanked Twilight out loud.
  3461. >That was an excellent question that she too wanted answered.
  3462.  
  3463. >”4 trillion bits per year. About twenty thousand per citizen.”
  3464.  
  3465. >Lyra’s mouth hung agape.
  3466. >She couldn’t even begin to imagine that kind of money.
  3467.  
  3468. >”Were we to raise that sum we’d take the bulk of everypony’s income. Having seen your funding proposals, Twilight, I fear I must agree. The most expensive is yet to come. Ponies are not productive enough. We’ll need to find some way to coerce them to work longer hours for less reward. And even should we succeed in that we’ll need to explore multiple methods to fill the gap. If either of you come up with any ideas, please relay them to us through secure channels. Honesty isn’t always the best policy.”
  3469.  
  3470. >”Thank you ‘Tia. There are tough times ahead for us all, but Equestria has a history with strife. We are no stranger to hardship. We shall endure. The next order of business is to test the shipment we’re getting tonight. Though it doesn’t seem to have arrived yet.”
  3471.  
  3472. >”Can Pinkie and I go?”
  3473.  
  3474. >”I see no reason why not. It shall be a couple days before we can use it anyway, and you live near enough that you may examine it at your convenience.”
  3475.  
  3476. >Lyra decided to leave before anypony left that room.
  3477. >She hurriedly moved her way back to Derpy.
  3478.  
  3479. >”I got it. Kinda. Can’t get the box open. Let’s get out of here.”
  3480.  
  3481. >Lyra could easily tell where the voice was coming from.
  3482. >There was a floating box in the middle of the hall, presumably what Derpy had come to get.
  3483. >They made their way to the elevator as quickly as quietly as they could.
  3484. >But there was a problem.
  3485.  
  3486. “Run.”
  3487.  
  3488. >Twilight was approaching from behind and would soon turn the corner.
  3489. >They were going to be seen, and there was nowhere safe to hide without turning back.
  3490. >They had to move forward.
  3491. >Lyra began to gallop while Derpy took flight.
  3492. >Lyra quickly found herself standing on the elevator, ready to go.
  3493. >A loud crashing noise came from behind.
  3494. >Derpy had overshot and smacked herself into the wall.
  3495. >Her invisibility suit seemed to be running out of power as the colours grew less and less true.
  3496. >She would be spotted in an instant.
  3497. >And that’s when Twilight rounded the corner.
  3498.  
  3499. >”Run, go!”
  3500.  
  3501. >Derpy valiantly told Lyra to escape on her own.
  3502. >But Lyra would have none of it.
  3503. >Derpy was her friend.
  3504. >What kind of friend would she be if she left?
  3505. >What would happen to Derpy?
  3506. >Banishment?
  3507. >Life in the dungeons?
  3508. >Mind control?
  3509. >It didn’t matter, she had to stop it.
  3510. >And that meant she had to take Twilight down.
  3511. >Lyra Heartstrings had to WIN!
  3512. >But could she?
  3513. >This was Twilight Sparkle she faced.
  3514. >One of the most gifted unicorns in history, turned alicorn.
  3515. >There was no way she could compete in a contest of magic.
  3516.  
  3517. >”Take off your mask.”
  3518.  
  3519. >Lyra didn’t want to for obvious reasons.
  3520. >Twilight Sparkle drew closer.
  3521. >There was something wrong about her movements.
  3522. >They were slow and deliberate.
  3523. >She moved in a perfectly straight line.
  3524. >It was predictable.
  3525. >If she knew what she was doing she’d carry herself in a totally different manner.
  3526. >Her steps would be light and rapid, allowing her to move in any direction at a moment’s notice.
  3527. >Twilight Sparkle may have been in fights before.
  3528. >And she may wield incredible power.
  3529. >But she had never learned to fight properly.
  3530. >She was totally clueless.
  3531. >Lyra had a chance.
  3532. >But only if it was a surprise.
  3533. >She had to strike suddenly.
  3534. >Without hesitation.
  3535. >Without fear.
  3536. >Without doubt.
  3537.  
  3538. >”I said OFF!”
  3539.  
  3540. >Lyra levitated her saddlebags off her back and hurled them at Twilight’s face.
  3541. >While in flight she changed the spell and gripped every rock individually.
  3542. >Twilight easily blasted the bags out of the air with her magic, and then turned to strike Lyra.
  3543. >The stones flew out of the ruined bags, curved around Twilight and stopped in midair once behind her.
  3544. >Then, in an instant, six small rocks flew into the back of Twilight’s head from six different angles.
  3545. >Twilight fell to the ground.
  3546. >Defeated.
  3547. >Lyra started hyperventilating as adrenaline flowed through her brain.
  3548. >She’d just beaten an ALICORN!
  3549. >It had been so easy, too.
  3550.  
  3551. >”TWILIGHT! You… NOPONY hurts my friends!”
  3552.  
  3553. >Pinkie stomped her way forward.
  3554. >And Lyra wasn’t confident she had what it took to handle this one.
  3555. >She’d won by surprising Twilight.
  3556. >It hadn’t been a fair fight by any stretch of the imagination.
  3557. >There was a furious Earth pony coming her way.
  3558. >Lyra was afraid.
  3559. >She’d seen the terrible destructive power they could wield.
  3560. >It didn’t matter.
  3561. >If she and Derpy were to escape, she’d have to win this fight too.
  3562. >The six stones shot out at Pinkie Pie.
  3563. >Five bounced off her face harmlessly.
  3564. >The sixth was gripped in Pinkie’s teeth, and crushed to dust.
  3565. >And the swallowed.
  3566. >There was no way Pinkie wouldn’t reach them.
  3567. >Unless…
  3568. >Lyra stopped attacking Pinkie and moved the rocks over to the still unconscious Twilight.
  3569. >Pinkie skid to a halt and began running back to save her friend.
  3570. >Lyra didn’t strike.
  3571. >She wasn’t interested in hurting Twilight any more than she had to.
  3572. >But it had worked.
  3573. >The trick had bought them enough time to escape.
  3574. >Derpy had disentangled her limbs and climbed aboard.
  3575. >The elevator began to ascend.
  3576. >When they got to the top Derpy started shoving as much junk as she could on the elevator.
  3577.  
  3578. >”Help me! They’ll have to clear it off before they can follow!”
  3579.  
  3580. >Lyra eagerly knocked every filing cabinet over onto the service lift.
  3581. >It started to descend.
  3582. >The two of them began throwing everything they could down the hole.
  3583. >They then ran into the reception room as soon as they ran out of heavy stuff.
  3584. >Derpy hurriedly stripped down and shoved her suit into a box.
  3585. >She taped the box shut.
  3586.  
  3587. ”What are you doing? We need to leave!”
  3588.  
  3589. >”I’m mailing it to an invalid address. The return address abandoned, but it’s on my route. I’ll be in charge of returning it and then I can take it home.”
  3590.  
  3591. >She then shoved the package they’d stolen into Lyra’s hooves.
  3592.  
  3593. >”You hide this somewhere, there might be a tracking system built in. Don’t pick it up until you’re sure it’s safe!”
  3594.  
  3595. “Okay, sure, let’s get out of here!”
  3596.  
  3597. >”No. I’m staying. They already know I was here, I used the retinal scanner. I need an excuse for opening it. Beat me up.”
  3598.  
  3599. “WHAT?”
  3600.  
  3601. >”Beat me up and leave me here! I’ll say you attacked me and made me open the door!”
  3602.  
  3603. >There was no way Lyra could do that.
  3604. >She liked Derpy.
  3605. >How could she hurt her?
  3606.  
  3607. >”PLEASE! If you don’t do it I’m going to wind up in a dungeon somewhere!”
  3608.  
  3609. “I- sorry.”
  3610.  
  3611. >”Not in the face, okay?”
  3612.  
  3613. >Lyra halfheartedly kicked Derpy in the side.
  3614.  
  3615. >”Harder! I need bruises!”
  3616.  
  3617. “Sorry! Sorry! I’m so sorry!”
  3618.  
  3619. >She kicked with all her might.
  3620. >Derpy fell to the ground with a cry.
  3621.  
  3622. >”More!”
  3623.  
  3624. >Lyra started to kick the downed pegasus.
  3625. >She couldn’t help but tear up.
  3626.  
  3627. “I’m so sorry!”
  3628.  
  3629. >”That’s enough. Run.”
  3630.  
  3631. >Derpy wheezed out the words, clearly pained by her injuries.
  3632. >Lyra ran away, ill gotten good in tow.
  3633. >She’d succeeded.
  3634. >They’d managed to get whatever Derpy was after, and Lyra had learned a lot about what was going on on the inside.
  3635. >But she didn’t feel good.
  3636. >She felt terrible.
  3637. >Striking Derpy should have been wrong.
  3638. >How could harming the innocent be right?
  3639. >And yet there it was.
  3640. >Faced with the choice of bodily harm or capture, it was clearly better.
  3641. >But that didn’t mean it was good.
  3642. >One thing was certain.
  3643. >Next time, Lyra made the plans.
  3644. >And hitting Twilight…
  3645. >Again, what should have been wrong was the right path to take.
  3646. >Lyra didn’t even blink at that one.
  3647. >And she could have seriously hurt Twilight too!
  3648. >Lyra was appalled when Tranquil Streams told her to attack in such a brutish manner.
  3649. >Was he right?
  3650. >Was Lyra really justified in risking Twilight’s health to protect Derpy?
  3651. >Twilight could have a concussion now!
  3652. >And Derpy could be locked away in a dungeon, never to see the light of day again.
  3653. >What would happen to her daughter?
  3654. >Tranquil Streams was right.
  3655. >Lyra HAD to protect Derpy there.
  3656. >She had no choice.
  3657. >And if she’d failed because she held back, well, Derpy and Dinky would suffer because of her.
  3658. >But still...
  3659. >Lyra continued thinking in circles as she walked through the warm night.
  3660. >There seemed to be no solution to her train of thought; no matter how she looked at things they felt wrong.
  3661. >She found herself in Whitetail woods with no answer.
  3662. >She used her magic to dig a hole in the ground.
  3663. >Still no answer.
  3664. >She was about to bury the box when it occurred to her she had no idea what was in it.
  3665. >Lyra examined the metal box carefully.
  3666. >It had no hinges that she could spy.
  3667. >But pulling at its seams was fruitless.
  3668. >She cautiously shook the box.
  3669. >It didn’t rattle.
  3670. >She couldn’t see any keyholes in it either.
  3671. >There had to be some way to disengage the lock.
  3672. >But Lyra had no ideas.
  3673. >She buried the box and headed home.
  3674. >Lyra no longer had her saddlebags to stow her stuff in.
  3675. >She was forced to walk the streets clad entirely in black.
  3676. >Making her way through the outskirts of Ponyville un-noticed was proving difficult.
  3677. >Yet necessary.
  3678. >There were few things more suspicious than a pony covered in black, and Lyra was intent on avoiding attention.
  3679. >While on her way Lyra’s thoughts once again began to wander.
  3680. >It all seemed too convenient.
  3681. >She got in and out of a blacksite not just once, but twice.
  3682. >Yes, she was being helped by somepony.
  3683. >Presumably somepony with a lot of influence and power.
  3684. >But were they trustworthy?
  3685. >Lyra had some suspicions about who it was, but she had no idea WHY.
  3686. >Was she being shown the truth?
  3687. >Or was she just being shown what they wanted her to see?
  3688. >They spoke as though they sought a greater good.
  3689. >Or perhaps a lesser evil.
  3690. >It was as though they knew that they were doing the wrong thing.
  3691. >But that they had no choice in the matter.
  3692. >Twilight had said that a ‘wave of darkness’ was coming.
  3693. >That was so vague.
  3694. >Were they still concealing information from Pinkie?
  3695. >Did they not really understand the threat they spoke of?
  3696. >Was it a failure of language?
  3697. >Or maybe they were lying again.
  3698. >Pinkie Pie said she wasn’t going to take them at their word.
  3699. >She needed evidence if she was to trust them at all.
  3700. >Lyra wasn’t sure if Pinkie was just acting there or if she was honestly fed up with them.
  3701. >Either way she had to agree.
  3702. >Lyra wasn’t going to believe them until she had some hard proof.
  3703. >But evidence could be fabricated.
  3704. >She needed to get at them without help.
  3705. >And without warning.
  3706. >The notes she’d taken from Twilight’s home had mentioned a facility 000.
  3707. >They had said that they couldn’t afford to have it infiltrated.
  3708. >Lyra finally had a goal in mind.
  3709. >She was going to find that place and break in.
  3710. >She was going to do it all on her own, without giving them a chance to prepare.
  3711. >Only then would she be ready to trust what she found.
  3712. >It wasn’t going to be easy.
  3713. >It might even be next to impossible.
  3714. >Lyra didn’t care.
  3715. >She was determined to find the unfiltered truth.
  3716. >It was well after midnight before she arrived at home.
  3717. >Lyra stowed her suit away and washed up.
  3718. >She joined Bon-Bon in bed.
  3719. >And quickly passed out.
  3720. >Her dreams were troubled and incoherent.
  3721. >She had no memory of them when dawn came.
  3722.  
  3723. Later…
  3724.  
  3725. >Lyra was at her Mana Tide lessons again.
  3726. >Sweat frothed all over her body as she pushed herself ever harder.
  3727. >She was again being drilled on the most basic attack pattern in Mana Tide.
  3728. >’Undertow’, he called it.
  3729. >And it wasn’t working.
  3730.  
  3731. >”No, no! This is all wrong. You are NOT an Earth pony! Brute force isn’t enough. This is about finesse and volume. Again!”
  3732.  
  3733. >Lyra attacked the sandbag before her viciously.
  3734. >Blows rained down upon it from every conceivable angle.
  3735. >Lyra managed eight projectiles at once, and always struck true.
  3736. >But there was something wrong.
  3737. >Even before he spoke she could tell that Tranquil Streams was upset with her performance.
  3738. >She thought it was pretty good.
  3739. >It was enough to fell an alicorn after all.
  3740.  
  3741. >”You still lack focus! Follow me.”
  3742.  
  3743. >Lyra warily followed the grumpy old stallion into his back room.
  3744. >She was preparing herself for another verbal beating.
  3745. >But to her surprise, it didn’t come.
  3746. >Instead she was lead to a small bowl of water sitting upon a table.
  3747. >It was very much out of place in this storage room, sitting in the middle of heaps of clutter.
  3748. >Lyra stared at the dimly lit bowl of water with some confusion.
  3749. >The surface of the water was perfectly smooth; it had been poured long ago and allowed to rest.
  3750.  
  3751. >”When you do battle, your own mind can be your enemy. It takes great focus to fight properly. A single stray thought can ruin your spells.”
  3752.  
  3753.  
  3754. >Lyra knew that.
  3755. >She was very well acquainted with spellcasting.
  3756. >Focus was paramount.
  3757. >It was one of the things she’d struggled with most in school, but she finally managed to master it after years of study and practice.
  3758. >Why was this pony saying she wasn’t good enough?
  3759.  
  3760. >”When you seek to push your magic to its utmost limits you must do so with a perfectly clear mind. The waves of thought can ruin your efforts, even after the thought is long gone.”
  3761.  
  3762. “Waves? I don’t understand, master.”
  3763.  
  3764. >”I know you don’t. Look at the water. Perfectly calm and serene. Nothing has touched it in days. Watch as I introduce a single thought.”
  3765.  
  3766. >He levitated a tiny pebble above the bowl and dropped it in.
  3767. >Waves started rippling throughout.
  3768. >The water continued to move and swirl for several seconds before it settled to gently rocking back and forth.
  3769. >Well over a minute had passed before it once again lay perfectly still.
  3770.  
  3771. >”When you let your mind wander, it has lasting repercussions. Your focus is ruined, and you start to think about focus. You think about not letting it happen again, and you think about how you failed. Once you’ve cleared your head fully, you’ll find yourself immensely more capable. However, a single failure in focus will stay with you for quite some time. You must learn to clear your mind. Do not consider failure or success. Do not worry about anything. Focus only on your magic.”
  3772.  
  3773. “That’s not going to be easy.”
  3774.  
  3775. >”Nothing worth doing ever is. But you can do it.”
  3776.  
  3777. >Was he just being nice?
  3778. >Did he encourage Lya?
  3779.  
  3780. >”If you stop being so lazy.”
  3781.  
  3782. >Oh.
  3783.  
  3784. >”In the meantime I suspect that this is the limit of your abilities with Undertow. The goal of the spell is to submerge your foe with with countless waves of attacks until they can no longer stay afloat. If you can’t strike with great enough volume you waste your efforts. I want you to keep practicing on your own time, but for now it’s pointless to instruct you further in this.”
  3785.  
  3786. >He was going to send her home?
  3787. >It sounded like Bon-Bon had pulled some major strings to get this pony.
  3788. >And Lyra had failed.
  3789. >She wasn’t sure how she was going to explain this.
  3790.  
  3791. >”For now we’ll move onto something better suited to a brute like you. Back to the front room with you.”
  3792.  
  3793. “Yes, master.”
  3794.  
  3795. >Lyra hurried out to the main room and eagerly waited.
  3796. >Her encounter with Twilight had been an eye opener of sorts.
  3797. >The alicorn in the room had been felled by a mere musician.
  3798. >And the pastry chef was nigh on invulnerable.
  3799. >There was so much more to fighting than mere power.
  3800. >Lyra didn’t really understand what it was that made the difference just yet, but she had some suspicions.
  3801. >What she did know for a fact though was that she had to be ready.
  3802. >If she ever found herself in a similar situation to the night before and she lost?
  3803. >She shuddered to think of the fate that she and Derpy would have shared.
  3804. >From the sounds of it they were mind controlling security risks.
  3805. >Tranquil Streams stepped out of the back room with a dummy pony in tow.
  3806. >A dummy alicorn to be specific.
  3807. >He placed it in the middle of the room.
  3808.  
  3809. >”Unicorns may grapple far more safely than others. With a strong telekinetic grip, one may hold another without placing themselves in danger. This is not a wise strategy for most. It places the two combatants in a direct contest of power. Your magic isn’t strong enough to reliably hold a foe, especially should you face a monster. However, if you grip your opponent in certain ways they’ll find themselves at a great disadvantage. Going for certain pressure points can inflict great pain, and certain muscles will prove easy to overpower Pressing a pegasus beneath their wings will often interfere with their flight path, potentially causing them to fall. Gripping a unicorn by the tip of the horn offers leverage, allowing you to force their neck with great efficacy. Earth ponies can often be snared by the tail…”
  3810.  
  3811. >Time went by with Lyra being instructed on various ways to grapple a pony.
  3812. >Her master repeatedly made a point of saying that this was a poor tactic to rely on.
  3813. >Not because it wasn’t effective.
  3814. >Rather, it was because it only worked on ponies.
  3815. >His frequent mention of monstrous beings was especially concerning.
  3816. >Lyra was beginning to think that this pony was affiliated with SMILE in some way.
  3817. >Who else would need to be so adept at fighting monsters?
  3818. >Not to mention that Bon-Bon refused to say how she knew him.
  3819. >She had nothing concrete though.
  3820. >Nor did she really need to know.
  3821. >There was no point in trying to dig up more information on who this stallion was.
  3822. >Nor was there a clear way to go about it.
  3823. >Lyra decided not to concern herself with that.
  3824. >Instead she focused on her lessons.
  3825. >There were an amazing number of ways one could grip a pony.
  3826. >Far too many for her to learn in one day.
  3827. >Before too long she found herself going home.
  3828. >And once she arrived, she found Bon-Bon awake, lounging on a sofa.
  3829. >Staring at the ceiling.
  3830. >Silent.
  3831.  
  3832. “Bonny!”
  3833.  
  3834. >Lyra ran up to her and gave her a great big hug.
  3835. >Bon-Bon accepted it readily.
  3836.  
  3837. “Oh, I’m so glad you’re awake. I was really worried about you.”
  3838.  
  3839. >”I’ll live.”
  3840.  
  3841. >She sounded miserable.
  3842. >Lyra tried to end the hug.
  3843. >Bon-Bon wouldn’t allow it.
  3844. >She gripped harder.
  3845. >And started softly crying into Lyra’s mane.
  3846.  
  3847. “What’s wrong?”
  3848.  
  3849. >The words came out muffled as Lyra spoke through Bon-Bon’s fluff.
  3850.  
  3851. >”I can’t tell you.”
  3852.  
  3853. >Lyra didn’t like that answer.
  3854. >She was struggling to decide on whether or not she should press the issue.
  3855. >Bon-Bon decided for her.
  3856.  
  3857. >”Side effects. They told me it might happen. I’m okay, just really really sad.”
  3858.  
  3859. “Side effects?”
  3860.  
  3861. >”Depression, fatigue, heart attack, stroke… a bunch of other ones I can’t remember.”
  3862.  
  3863. >That was all the confirmation Lyra needed.
  3864. >Combat stimulants.
  3865. >Whatever Sweetie Drops had gone up against was dangerous enough that they felt the need to drug her.
  3866. >Lyra had seen that pony fight without the stimulants.
  3867. >And it was terrifying.
  3868. >What was so dangerous that Sweetie Drops of all ponies needed a boost?
  3869.  
  3870. >”I just- *sniff* they make me do all this really scary and dangerous stuff and nopony knows what I go through to protect them and they think I’m just some confectioner and it’s not fair.”
  3871.  
  3872. >This was an amazing opportunity.
  3873. >Sweetie Drops was talking openly and freely.
  3874. >Whatever she was going through because of that drug, she didn’t care about secrecy anymore.
  3875. >But Lyra didn’t care about that right now.
  3876. >Bon-Bon needed to be cheered up.
  3877. >That was what mattered at the moment.
  3878.  
  3879. “I know, Bonny. I know there’s way more to you than that.”
  3880.  
  3881. >Bon-Bon hugged tighter.
  3882. >It was starting to hurt.
  3883.  
  3884. >”Thank you Lyra. It’s scary sometimes, you know? Everypony walks around like everything’s fine. They don’t know what I know. They don’t know just how bad it can be.”
  3885.  
  3886. >Special Agent Sweetie Drops was SCARED?
  3887. >That was one of the most disturbing things Lyra had ever heard.
  3888.  
  3889. “What happened?”
  3890.  
  3891. >”I don’t- I can’t…”
  3892.  
  3893. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. But please at least tell me. Are the drugs safe?”
  3894.  
  3895. >She tensed up for a moment.
  3896. >Then let out a morose, humourless laugh.
  3897.  
  3898. >”I shouldn’t have said that. The way we’re using them is supposed to be safe enough.”
  3899.  
  3900. >That sounded like a ‘no’ to Lyra.
  3901. >She had to push that one.
  3902. >There was no way she was comfortable with her Bonny poisoning herself like that.
  3903.  
  3904. “Are you sure? Do you really trust them that much? This is an organisation that doesn’t even admit it exists, they could be lying.”
  3905.  
  3906. >Bon-Bon laughed.
  3907. >It was a genuine laugh, rich with amusement.
  3908.  
  3909. >”Princess Celestia is the biggest liar I’ve ever met. Of course I don’t trust her. But she really does care about her subjects. She genuinely wants us to be safe above all else. She wouldn’t risk my well-being frivolously.”
  3910.  
  3911. >Bon-Bon continued to hold her friend in a vice-like grip for a fair while.
  3912. >She seemed to be calming down, if only slightly.
  3913. >Was it the drugs that had her so frightened?
  3914. >Or had she seen something truly terrible?
  3915. >Hold on a second.
  3916. >Something doesn’t quite add up.
  3917.  
  3918. “Why do they have you hunting monsters? I thought you were looking for a pony who was breaking into homes. It’s okay if you can’t tell me.”
  3919.  
  3920. >”I’m normally supposed to find monsters. The pony thing was kinda an emergency and there weren’t many monsters going around. But something came up.”
  3921.  
  3922. >Something big.
  3923.  
  3924. “Will you be safe? You look like you’ve been through Tartarus.”
  3925.  
  3926. >Bon-Bon shuddered.
  3927. >Did she-
  3928. >No way.
  3929. >Why would they ever send a pony there?
  3930. >Dealing with something that broke out made sense.
  3931. >But going in?
  3932. >Bon-Bon didn’t answer.
  3933. >That worried Lyra.
  3934. >She was sure that Bon-Bon would say she’d be fine.
  3935. >Even if it wasn’t strictly true.
  3936. >It seemed like she wasn’t certain.
  3937. >Or even like the answer might be ‘no’.
  3938.  
  3939. “Bonny? You need to resign before something happens to you.”
  3940.  
  3941. >”I can’t.”
  3942.  
  3943. “Please?”
  3944.  
  3945. >”SMILE needs all the ponies they can get right now. I can’t leave them.”
  3946.  
  3947. “For me?”
  3948.  
  3949. >”It is for you.”
  3950.  
  3951. >Lyra didn’t follow.
  3952. >Apparently that came across.
  3953.  
  3954. >”Three days ago we weren’t sure there’d be a Ponyville anymore.”
  3955.  
  3956. “Seriously!?”
  3957.  
  3958. >”We’re safe now. But if something like that happens again it has to be stopped. I could run, yes. I’d be okay. But…”
  3959.  
  3960. >Lyra understood.
  3961. >She could have run from Twilight.
  3962. >But she had to protect Derpy.
  3963. >Even if it meant facing somepony far far more powerful than herself.
  3964. >Even if it meant going into a fight she didn’t think she could win.
  3965. >She still wanted Bon-Bon to quit.
  3966. >But she knew that wasn’t happening.
  3967. >All she could do is hope for the best.
  3968. >And treasure the time they had together.
  3969.  
  3970.  
  3971. * * * * *
  3972.  
  3973.  
  3974. >A few days had passed since then.
  3975. >Bon-Bon’s recovery was quick, for which Lyra was immensely thankful.
  3976. >There was no room for doubt that the super spy was feeling much better.
  3977. >But the symptoms remained.
  3978. >They were lessened, but not gone.
  3979. >Bon-Bon was sleeping in until sunrise; it was uncharacteristically late for the early riser.
  3980. >Her movements were a bit more sluggish than usual, and they were punctuated by awkward stumbling.
  3981. >Her legs were clearly not quite doing what she was expecting them to.
  3982. >And though it was difficult to tell, Lyra was pretty certain the smile on her friend’s face was a facade.
  3983. >The overtaxed pony emerged from their shared bedroom after Lyra had awoken.
  3984. >It wasn’t the first time this had happened since they moved in together.
  3985. >But it was definitely a rarity.
  3986. >Uncommon enough that it was worthy of note.
  3987. >She made her way to the table, stumbling once as her leg didn’t quite get in position before she lifted the next one.
  3988. >She offered a soft and simple smile.
  3989. >But her eyes remained half lidded and her head tilted downward.
  3990. >It was an act.
  3991. >And a weak one at that.
  3992. >Whatever plagued her mind remained.
  3993. >Be it a side effect from the drugs, trauma from her trials, or a combination of the two, Bon-Bon’s spirit was still weighed down.
  3994. >Lyra wanted to know more.
  3995. >Not knowing what was wrong with the sweet mare that was so dear to her was hard on Lyra.
  3996. >And not knowing if or when her friend would return to normal was torture.
  3997.  
  3998. “Good morning.”
  3999.  
  4000. >”Yeah.”
  4001.  
  4002. >Lyra prepared a large stack of pancakes for the depressed pony.
  4003. >It was easily enough for two mares.
  4004. >Yet Bon-Bon devoured them all with great gusto.
  4005. >Was she taking comfort from the food?
  4006. >Or was she genuinely that hungry?
  4007. >Lyra didn’t know.
  4008. >Nor did she know how her Bonny stayed so thin.
  4009. >What she did know was that Bon-Bon looked far less miserable with her full belly.
  4010. >Her smile still failed to touch her eyes.
  4011. >But she was less downcast.
  4012.  
  4013. “Anything on the agenda today?”
  4014.  
  4015. >”Actually, yeah. Wanna go shopping?”
  4016.  
  4017. >She wanted to go OUT?
  4018. >Lyra was thrilled by this news!
  4019. >Bon-Bon hadn’t left their home since coming back from her mission.
  4020. >Clearly she was feeling much better.
  4021. >The truth was that Lyra didn’t want to go shopping.
  4022. >She found it an extremely unpleasant pastime.
  4023. >But if it was what Bon-Bon wanted…
  4024.  
  4025. “Sure! What are you after?”
  4026.  
  4027. >”Do you know what a computer is?”
  4028.  
  4029. >Lyra nodded.
  4030.  
  4031. >”There’s an Equestria wide network being built so computers can talk to each other. I need it for work, but it would be really suspicious if we got connected and didn’t own a computer. So it’s time to buy one.”
  4032.  
  4033. “Why do you need to be connected to the network if you don’t have a computer?”
  4034.  
  4035. >”Next question.”
  4036.  
  4037. >She already had a computer, didn’t she?
  4038.  
  4039. “Why would we want computers to talk to each other?”
  4040.  
  4041. >”Eh. It’s sorta pointless right now. But- hrmm. Just trust me on this one. It’ll be a big thing.”
  4042.  
  4043. >The answer was classified, then.
  4044. >Were they going to be putting something important on them?
  4045.  
  4046. >”Shall we be off?”
  4047.  
  4048. >The heart of Ponyville seemed so much less oppressive with Bon-Bon present.
  4049. >Lyra couldn’t quite relax in the inner city.
  4050. >But she also wasn’t on edge.
  4051. >Being near Bon-Bon just felt…
  4052. >Safe.
  4053. >Lyra remained calm as the buildings began to tower over her.
  4054. >She didn’t feel on edge as they walked through the throngs of ponies that filled the streets.
  4055. >And she didn’t concern herself with all the noise.
  4056. >They made their way to Davenport’s Quills and Pens and Sofas and Also Computers (a subsidiary of R&A inc.)
  4057. >And stepped inside the climate controlled building.
  4058. >Lyra shivered with delight as the heat of the un-naturally warm summer left her body.
  4059. >They were quickly accosted by a salespony that Lyra didn’t recognise.
  4060. >Bon-Bon confidently ignored them and walked in.
  4061. >They made their way to the electronics department with salesponies in tow.
  4062. >Lyra stood in amazement at the wide array of mysterious machines.
  4063. >Small plastic and metal boxes with wires leading from them sat upon the shelves.
  4064. >Lyra still wasn’t entirely clear on what they were for.
  4065. >Yes, they did math.
  4066. >And yes, they stored information.
  4067. >But to what end?
  4068. >Why would anypony want one?
  4069. >That was something she’d yet to figure out.
  4070. >And while she did want an answer, there were far more important questions at hoof.
  4071. >How did they work?
  4072. >How long ago were they invented?
  4073. >And why were they hidden?
  4074. >Lyra turned to the salespony.
  4075. >An earth pony stallion with a brown coat and a slicked back mane.
  4076. >She couldn’t help but feel he looked sleazy.
  4077. >Though she couldn’t quite put her hoof on why.
  4078.  
  4079. “So… who’s your supplier?”
  4080.  
  4081. >”We get out merchandise from the best of the best, ma’am. You can rest assured that there exists no finer merchandise than this.”
  4082.  
  4083. “Yeah… that wasn’t an answer. Who’s the manufacturer?”
  4084.  
  4085. >”Our computers are built by none other than the most genius ponies to walk this world! The brightest ponies who have ever lived, all brought together with a common goal. To make you the best computers possible!”
  4086.  
  4087. >He clearly had no idea.
  4088. >But he wasn’t willing to admit he was clueless.
  4089. >Lyra couldn’t help but wonder how far she could take this.
  4090.  
  4091. “So… this model here.”
  4092.  
  4093. >She gestured at a computer at random.”
  4094.  
  4095. “How many offorts does it have?”
  4096.  
  4097. >”Thousands! Choc full of ‘em!”
  4098.  
  4099. “Eugh. Yeah, we’ll be passing on that one then. Which one here can do the most pira per second?”
  4100.  
  4101. >”Why, that would be this model right over here!”
  4102.  
  4103. >He guided her over to the most expensive model in the store.
  4104. >Lyra wasn’t really paying attention though.
  4105. >She was looking at Bon-Bon, who appeared to be disassembling one of them.
  4106. >She popped the side panels off, poked her muzzle in, then closed it up a moment later.
  4107. >Lyra tried to convey her confusion silently.
  4108. >Bon-Bon mouthed to her ‘keep distracting him’.
  4109.  
  4110. >”And that is why a lovely mare such as yourself shouldn’t be caught dead without this baby!”
  4111.  
  4112. >Lyra hadn’t really heard a word he’d said.
  4113. >From what she could tell it didn’t really matter.
  4114. >He was an idiot.
  4115. >There was a good chance the only pony in the building who knew ANYTHING about computers was Bon-Bon.
  4116. >And she wanted to look inside uninterrupted.
  4117.  
  4118. “Gee, I dunno. It’s kinda expensive. What’s the over-under on the strama module?”
  4119.  
  4120. >”Great, top notch!”
  4121.  
  4122. “No, give me a number. I want a number.”
  4123.  
  4124. >He put a great big, disingenuous smile upon his visage as he searched for an answer.
  4125. >None came.
  4126.  
  4127. >”Hold on, I’ll go check.”
  4128.  
  4129. >He walked off to who knows where.
  4130. >Seconds later Bon-Bon burst into laughter.
  4131.  
  4132. >”Offorts? How do you come up with that stuff?”
  4133.  
  4134. “It just came to me. What are you doing anyway?”
  4135.  
  4136. >”Checking the components. It’s all- they’re identical. This is so weird.”
  4137.  
  4138. >Bon-Bon quickly checked a couple more machines, giving a confused grunt every time she closed one up.
  4139. >Lyra was starting to feel very uncomfortable.
  4140. >Somepony would doubtlessly be by soon.
  4141. >They’d see her pulling their merchandise apart!
  4142. >They were going to get kicked out of the store!
  4143.  
  4144. >”Out of time.”
  4145.  
  4146. >She closed it up and stepped away.
  4147. >Moments later the salespony returned.
  4148.  
  4149. >”Errr. Seven?”
  4150.  
  4151. >He offered an answer to the nonsense question, apparently still oblivious to how stupid he looked.
  4152.  
  4153. >”Your cheapest model here. I’m curious about the power supply.”
  4154.  
  4155. >”Oh, that one. If you want a computer that generates more power you’ll want the deluxe models!”
  4156.  
  4157. >”Power supplies don’t generate- it’s not important. Isn’t 600 watts a bit excessive? 900 megahertz is really slow, I don't care how many cores you've got. I’d expect a much lower power drain. Say, 100 watts that for the whole system.”
  4158.  
  4159. >“Oh, I’m on to the two of you! I’m no fool! You’re just making stuff up to make fun of me, aren’t you? Honestly, megahertz? You thought I’d believe that?”
  4160.  
  4161. >He then stomped off in a huff.
  4162.  
  4163. “That was an honest question, wasn’t it?”
  4164.  
  4165. >”Yup. Something’s weird about these. Why would it need that much power? Why are they all so slow? Why do they all seem to have the same components? It doesn't- oh. I get it. That’s clever. We’re going to get the cheapest model we can find. Grab that one.”
  4166.  
  4167. >Bon-Bon gestured to a drab looking cardboard box locked up in a cage.
  4168. >Lyra wasn’t sure how she was supposed to grab it.
  4169.  
  4170. >”Oh right.”
  4171.  
  4172. >Bon-Bon walked up to the padlock holding it shut.
  4173. >She pulled something out of her mane and shoved it in.
  4174. >A second later the lock fell open.
  4175.  
  4176. “Shouldn’t we ask them to unlock it for us?”
  4177.  
  4178. >”Why? He forgot to lock it when he left.”
  4179.  
  4180. >Lyra wasn’t crazy about that.
  4181. >But she decided not to argue.
  4182. >She gripped the box with her magic and followed Bon-Bon to the front.
  4183. >None other than Davenport was working the till.
  4184.  
  4185. “Oh hey there! I thought you’d be retired.”
  4186.  
  4187. >”Hey Lyra. Bon-Bon. Why’d you think that?”
  4188.  
  4189. “Well, you sold the place didn’t you? Must have gotten a pretty good payout for this piece of land. Right in the middle of the fastest growing city in Equestria? Must have been worth a fortune.”
  4190.  
  4191. >Davenport was completely deflated
  4192. >He looked like a pony who was being crushed with regret.
  4193. >He’d sold too soon.
  4194. >Lyra decided to change the subject before she hurt him further.
  4195.  
  4196. “So are you managing the place then?”
  4197.  
  4198. >”Yup! I know the location, I know the market, I know the ponies. There’s nopony better suited for running Quills and Sofas!”
  4199.  
  4200. >”Why do you still sell quills? Does anypony buy them anymore?”
  4201.  
  4202. >”Nope. I’ve got several thousand in the store room though. No point in throwing them out! Say, you wanna buy a quill?”
  4203.  
  4204. “We’ll pass, thanks. Say… do you know how these computer things work?”
  4205.  
  4206.  
  4207. >”Not at all. I see you’re getting one. Why?”
  4208.  
  4209. >”You hear about that internet thing?”
  4210.  
  4211. >”Oh yeah. They say everypony’s going to be on it. I don’t really see that happening though. Just another fad, like movies.”
  4212.  
  4213. “Who knows. Maybe it’ll be worth having.”
  4214.  
  4215. >”Why do you say that? Nopony really knows what computers are for. What makes them so special anyway?”
  4216.  
  4217. >What makes them so special?
  4218. >Lyra knew.
  4219. >She wasn’t supposed to, but she did.
  4220. >ART-037, also known as computers.
  4221. >An extremely powerful tool with greater mathematical capacity than the entirety of ponykind.
  4222. >Capable of recording and presumably copying information with great speed.
  4223. >Used to process data at unimaginable rates.
  4224. >Lyra didn’t know what they would be used for either.
  4225. >She could see academics having uses for them in some situations, but why would she, a musician want one?
  4226. >It seemed strange.
  4227. >And yet Bon-Bon had assured her they’d be a big thing.
  4228. >If Bon-Bon said it, then it was true Lyra knew that much.
  4229. >She also knew they were more potent than was being let on.
  4230. >These tools were nothing less than a minor miracle.
  4231. >And they were being sold off by sleazy salesponies in a retail store.
  4232. >Something about that didn’t feel right to Lyra.
  4233.  
  4234. >”Lyra here wants one because you can get sheet music on it. And the actual music itself too.”
  4235.  
  4236. >”That’s a pretty expensive way to get sheet music, isn’t it?”
  4237.  
  4238. “You have no idea how pricey that stuff can get. This is downright reasonable.”
  4239.  
  4240. >Lyra saw no reason why she couldn’t prop up the cover story.
  4241. >It was true, after all.
  4242. >Sheet music was absurdly expensive.
  4243. >Did these things actually have that?
  4244. >If so, she really did want one now.
  4245.  
  4246. >”500 bits is reasonable?”
  4247.  
  4248. >Bon-Bon lifted a sack out of her saddlebags.
  4249. >She then started to count out golden coins.
  4250. >48 ten bit coins and 20 one bit coins lay on the counter.
  4251.  
  4252. >”Well. All right then. Need any help setting it up?”
  4253.  
  4254. >”I got a friend for that. Thanks though.”
  4255.  
  4256. “See you around Davenport!”
  4257.  
  4258. >The two ponies headed back home.
  4259. >They pushed through the crowded and noisy streets with the package in tow.
  4260. >Lyra wanted to ask a lot of questions.
  4261. >But she had no choice but to wait until they returned home.
  4262. >It wasn’t until the door was closed that she finally spoke.
  4263.  
  4264. “I’m feeling kinda hungry. Think I might run down to Sugarcube Corner. Want me to pick something up for you? What’s your favourite candy?”
  4265.  
  4266. >She spoke the code phrase in what she hoped was the correct manner.
  4267.  
  4268. >”Better. It sounded like a real question. What’s up?”
  4269.  
  4270. “These computer things are SUPER weird. I don’t trust them. How do you know so much about them? Where did they come from?”
  4271.  
  4272. >”Good, you shouldn’t trust them. I’ve used them before. And I don’t know where they came from.”
  4273.  
  4274. “Okay. Do you know why they weren’t made public for so long?”
  4275.  
  4276. >”What do you mean?”
  4277.  
  4278. “There’s an Equestria wide network ready for them, right? That’s not something that pops up overnight. They needed to build it first. They had to lay wires everywhere and connect every city. That takes time. If computers were really a new invention it wouldn’t be done yet. It might not even be started yet. We’re meant to believe that they were invented recently, like this year. I don’t buy it. These things have been around for a while.”
  4279.  
  4280. >”Not bad. I’ll neither confirm nor deny, but your reasoning is solid.”
  4281.  
  4282. >Lyra understood.
  4283. >Bon-Bon couldn’t say it was true.
  4284. >But she was trying to imply it was true.
  4285.  
  4286. >”It’s probably a good idea to pretend you aren’t suspicious. But if I were you I’d be asking a different question.”
  4287.  
  4288. >She picked up the parcel and placed it on the kitchen table.
  4289. >She then swiftly and smoothly pulled it apart.
  4290. >And once the cardboard was gone, she popped the side panel on the computer itself off.
  4291.  
  4292. >”Why did…”
  4293.  
  4294. >She produced some pliers from somewhere and gripped them with her mouth.
  4295. >She then leaned into the machine itself.
  4296.  
  4297. >”They shange eir mind?”
  4298.  
  4299. >Why did they change their mind?
  4300. >That IS a good question!
  4301. >Why are they suddenly not only publicly available, but being pushed?
  4302. >Bon-Bon pulled her head back out of the computer.
  4303. >In her pliers she held a tiny shard of plastic.
  4304. >She placed it on the table and closed the machine up.
  4305.  
  4306. >”There ya go. Fastest privately owned computer in the world. Well, once I reprogram it a bit. It’s going to pretend it can’t work without that chip I bet.”
  4307.  
  4308. >Lyra stared at the removed component.
  4309. >She couldn’t begin to guess what it did.
  4310. >But supposedly it was sabotaging the machine.
  4311.  
  4312. “Why would they put it in?”
  4313.  
  4314. >”Pretend you needed a computer to do something super complicated.”
  4315.  
  4316. “Okay…”
  4317.  
  4318. >”Not wanted, NEEDED. It had to happen. And soon. Now, pretend you can’t afford the hardware to do the job in time. You’d need millions of computers working on it around the clock, and you just can’t pull it off.”
  4319.  
  4320. “Right…”
  4321.  
  4322. >”Now pretend you’d already made a global network for these things before you decided not to make them public. What might you do?”
  4323.  
  4324. >You need a lot of them.
  4325. >You can’t afford them yourself.
  4326. >They’re already planning on defrauding the public to fund their projects.
  4327. >Honesty isn’t the best policy.
  4328.  
  4329. “Maybe sell them to the public. Have the ponies pay for them instead of yourself. And then, once they’re connected to the network, use them for your own project.”
  4330.  
  4331. >”Yeah. That makes sense. But ponies would notice them slowing down when you put them to work.”
  4332.  
  4333. “Unless you made sure the user couldn’t use its full power! Limit them to only having a tiny fraction of what it can do, and keep the rest for yourself!”
  4334.  
  4335. >”Ooh, that’s pretty devious Lyra. That might also mean that they’d have access to the computer all the time. That they could tell it what to do when they wanted, and maybe even know what they were being used for. Hay, they might even be keeping records of what everypony does on the internet all the time. Maybe the only safe way to use it is to use somepony else’s computer, and you should only use this to do stuff you don’t mind the whole world knowing.”
  4336.  
  4337. >Whoa.
  4338. >THAT was definitely a warning.
  4339.  
  4340. >”But ponies might find it strange if they’re all the same.”
  4341.  
  4342. “So you pretend there are different models! They’re all the same except the more expensive ones let their owner use more of their power!”
  4343.  
  4344. >”But none of this is worth doing unless ponies want to buy them.”
  4345.  
  4346. “So you offer a bunch of easy and cheap services! Like free music!”
  4347.  
  4348. >”But you can’t roll it all out at once. It’d be weird if all this stuff was already in place on launch day. Better to pretend that third parties are setting up everything themselves over time.”
  4349.  
  4350. “Which means they’ll have to give us the tools to actually work with these things.”
  4351.  
  4352. >So that’s why she’s so insistent the internet will be a big deal.
  4353. >They’re going to MAKE it a big deal.
  4354. >Though she might not yet know how.
  4355.  
  4356. ”“Why are you telling me all this?”
  4357.  
  4358. >”Hm?”
  4359.  
  4360. “Well, not that I’m complaining or anything! But isn’t this all supposed to be secret? I promise I won’t tell anypony, but still.”
  4361.  
  4362. >Lyra wasn’t entirely sure what answer she was expecting.
  4363. >But a giggle definitely wasn’t it.
  4364. >Even so, that’s what she got.
  4365.  
  4366. >”Because you’re Lyra.”
  4367.  
  4368. >Not much of an answer.
  4369.  
  4370. >”There isn’t another pony in the world I’d trust with this. But you’re not just any old pony.”
  4371.  
  4372. “That’s very flattering, but why tell ANY pony?”
  4373.  
  4374. >”Living a double life was driving me CRAZY. Just all the secrets and lies. It’s a huge relief to just be honest with somepony for once.”
  4375.  
  4376. >Even with so little experience, Lyra understood.
  4377. >She was constantly itching to tell somepony what she knew.
  4378. >To say that Applejack was an imposter.
  4379. >To tell the world that princess Celestia herself was a con artist.
  4380. >She wanted to tell Bon-Bon.
  4381. >And if she could do it without also telling Sweetie Drops, she would.
  4382.  
  4383. >”Don’t expect me to spill everything though. Sometimes secrets are kept for a reason.”
  4384.  
  4385. >The happy giggling pony from a moment earlier was gone.
  4386. >This Bon-Bon was sober and stern.
  4387.  
  4388. >”Now shoo! Shoo! I’ve got something important to do.”
  4389.  
  4390. >Bon-Bon started to push Lyra toward the front door.
  4391.  
  4392. “You’re kicking me out of the house?”
  4393.  
  4394. >”For three hours. You’ll find something to do.”
  4395.  
  4396. >She already knew what she had to do.
  4397. >It had been a few days.
  4398. >The heat should be off.
  4399. >Lyra was going to go see Derpy.
  4400. >She made her way around the outskirts of town.
  4401. >It would have been faster to cut through the heart of the city.
  4402. >But Lyra was enjoying the bright summer day.
  4403. >It was way too hot.
  4404. >The dirt was powder dry.
  4405. >Most of the grass was dead.
  4406. >And the trees were losing their leaves.
  4407. >But it was still a nice day by most counts.
  4408. >Lyra didn’t want to ruin it by surrounding herself with a mob of strangers.
  4409. >Derpy lived in a small home out in the rural outskirts of Ponyville.
  4410. >It was a quaint wooden abode, painted powder blue.
  4411. >The lawn was, of course, dead.
  4412. >With not a cloud in the sky to rely upon and no rain for the last couple of months, water rationing had long ago been enacted.
  4413. >It wasn’t serious just yet.
  4414. >Ponies simply weren’t allowed to waste water on their lawns.
  4415. >Lyra was doubtful that it’d get much worse than that.
  4416. >Surely the heat wave would break soon.
  4417. >Either Cloudsdale would bring them a good shower, or Celestia would turn down the sun.
  4418. >Lyra was starting to wonder why neither of those things had happened yet.
  4419. >Yet another thing to investigate.
  4420. >Lyra made her way to the front door.
  4421. >She knocked three times.
  4422.  
  4423. >”Coming!”
  4424.  
  4425. >Derpy’s voice rang throughout.
  4426. >Clumsy hoofsteps approached the door.
  4427.  
  4428. >”ACK!”
  4429.  
  4430. >A loud crash filled the air.
  4431. >A minute or two later the door opened.
  4432.  
  4433. >”Lyra!”
  4434.  
  4435. >A bright and chipper pegasus greeted her.
  4436. >She was heavily bruised all about the barrel.
  4437.  
  4438. “Oh my goodness! What happened!”
  4439.  
  4440. >Lyra knew of course.
  4441. >She’d done it herself.
  4442. >But she wasn’t supposed to know yet.
  4443.  
  4444. >”Come on in, I’ll tell you all about it.
  4445.  
  4446. >Derpy lead Lyra into the house.
  4447. >A rug had been crumpled up and cast aside, presumably after tripping its owner.
  4448. >She led Lyra into the den.
  4449. >The two of them sat across from each other at a simple coffee table.
  4450.  
  4451. >”Dinky’s out. We can talk.”
  4452.  
  4453. “Look, Derpy, I’m really sorry-”
  4454.  
  4455. >”None of that now. It was my plan, not yours. It’s not your fault I got hurt. Besides, I got a couple days off. Paid even!”
  4456.  
  4457. >Lyra was glad that it wasn’t all bad at least.
  4458.  
  4459. >”And that was so cool how you stood up to a princess of all ponies! I thought for sure I was going to have to use my drugs there to get out. But you just looked her in the eye and took her down! I hope she’s okay.”
  4460.  
  4461. “So do I. I’m not sure she’s doing anything wrong.”
  4462.  
  4463. >Derpy cocked her head in confusion.
  4464.  
  4465. “I overheard the princesses say some things about how this was all for the greater good. I don’t know what exactly that is though.”
  4466.  
  4467. >”I don’t trust them.”
  4468.  
  4469. “Neither do I. But I think we have to at least accept that THEY think they’re doing the right thing.”
  4470.  
  4471. >”But what could be worth tormenting a little filly like that?
  4472.  
  4473. >Lyra had no idea what Derpy was talking about.
  4474. >She made no attempt to hide the blank look on her face.
  4475. >Despite the vision problems, Derpy seemed to read it well enough.
  4476.  
  4477. >”School has changed a lot. It’s not what I remember having to go through. Miss Cheerilee doesn’t seem to like what’s happening either. Say, you went to fancy school right? Do you think you could tutor Dinky some time? She’s having trouble with her homework, and I don’t get it at all.”
  4478.  
  4479. “Sure? What’s the subject?”
  4480.  
  4481. >”Math I think. She’s at school right now. You can check it out when she gets back. Care for some tea?”
  4482.  
  4483. >Lyra immediately imagined the clumsy pegasus trying to pour boiling water for tea.
  4484. >She couldn’t it imagine ending well.
  4485.  
  4486. >”No thanks. We have something to discuss. What all do you know?”
  4487.  
  4488. >Derpy tried to stare at Lya.
  4489. >It didn’t work, of course.
  4490. >After a few seconds she poked Lyra’s muzzle.
  4491.  
  4492. “What was that for?”
  4493.  
  4494. >”Making sure you’re not made of metal. I don’t know much yet. Just the obvious stuff. SMILE has a secret research program, the princesses are closely involved, and they’re building something in Tartarus.”
  4495.  
  4496. “Wait, what? Building IN Tartarus?”
  4497.  
  4498. >”Oh, you didn’t know that? Yeah. I don’t know what they’re making, but they just started recently.”
  4499.  
  4500. >That was extremely interesting.
  4501. >Was whatever they were worried about currently in Tartarus?
  4502. >Were they preparing to imprison it there?
  4503. >Or was something else ahoof?
  4504.  
  4505. >”What do you know?”
  4506.  
  4507. >Lyra relayed what she’d found out thus far.
  4508. >She told Derpy about the documents she’d found.
  4509. >And she told her about the discussion the princesses had had.
  4510. >Every single detail she could recall.
  4511. >She didn’t, however, tell Derpy what she’d learned about computers.
  4512. >She’d promised Bon-Bon she’d keep that secret.
  4513. >And she meant it.
  4514.  
  4515. >”Pinkie might not be on their side. I wonder if she’s the one that let us in?”
  4516.  
  4517. “I don’t know. She didn’t have the implant my visor can see so probably not. Whoever it is would have high security clearance. If they’re using those implants as ID, we can assume anypony who doesn’t have one has low clearance.”
  4518.  
  4519. >”Right, right. I wish I knew who it was so I could thank them. That’s the second time they’ve let me in there.”
  4520.  
  4521. “Oh, you’ve been in there twice?”
  4522.  
  4523. >”Well, not exactly. I tried a little while back, but somepony else went in when I was supposed to and set off an alarm.”
  4524.  
  4525. >Lyra hoped the blush on her face wasn’t visible.
  4526. >She knew just who that somepony was.
  4527.  
  4528. >”Oh, that was you? I’m glad you got out okay.”
  4529.  
  4530. “So!”
  4531.  
  4532. >Lyra interrupted, hoping to change the subject from her first foray into infiltration.
  4533.  
  4534. “What should we do next?”
  4535.  
  4536. >”We go dig up whatever we stole last time.”
  4537.  
  4538. “Alright, let’s head out!”
  4539.  
  4540.  
  4541. * * * * *
  4542.  
  4543.  
  4544. >”And that’s why I’m no longer invited to PTA meetings!”
  4545.  
  4546. >Lyra couldn’t help but laugh as Derpy concluded her story.
  4547. >It wasn’t a particularly funny tale.
  4548. >Nor was it all that interesting.
  4549. >But the way that the klutz had delivered the story had been something else entirely.
  4550. >Each word was delivered with impeccable comedic timing.
  4551. >Lyra wasn’t sure if Derpy had practiced that story or if it was raw talent that carried her.
  4552. >They made light chatter and shared stories as the two of them made their way through what remained of nature.
  4553. >The prolonged drought and brutal heat wave had taken its toll on the forest.
  4554. >The sparse leaves were turning yellow despite the warmth as the trees went to seed early.
  4555. >Lyra knew little of botany, but she DID know how dying plants behaved.
  4556. >When survival became unlikely, they’d rally the last of their strength not to try and endure, but to try and reproduce.
  4557. >The forest had accepted its demise in a bid to ensure its legacy.
  4558. >Was this what the princesses were doing with their reckless spending and cuts?
  4559. >Were they allowing Equestria to perish so that ponies might persist?
  4560. >She let out an irritated sigh.
  4561. >It was so tempting to assume the best of them; she wished to take them at their word and accept that they were doing what had to be done.
  4562. >But the fact of the matter was that Lyra didn’t KNOW they were doing the right thing.
  4563. >And she had plenty of reason to be suspicious.
  4564. >All her life she’d been taught that Honesty was the foundation of their society.
  4565. >And yet they lied at every turn.
  4566. >That Loyalty was vital to harmony.
  4567. >And they betrayed her trust when they chose to spy on her.
  4568. >That Generosity was one of the greatest virtues.
  4569. >Then they agreed to defraud and extort the populace.
  4570. >And that Kindness was its own reward.
  4571. >So why were they so cruel as to fill their own agents with dangerous drugs?
  4572.  
  4573. >”You okay?”
  4574.  
  4575. “Oh, yeah. Sorry. Just… thinking about stuff.”
  4576.  
  4577. >”About how there might be some similarities between the forest and Equestria, and how you want to give them the benefit of the doubt but can’t because they seem to be giant hypocrites?”
  4578.  
  4579. “Uhh, yeah actually.”
  4580.  
  4581. >It wasn’t long before they made their way to the impromptu dead drop.
  4582. >Lyra eagerly lifted the soil with her magic to expose…
  4583. >Nothing.
  4584.  
  4585. “What?”
  4586.  
  4587. >”Are you sure it was here?”
  4588.  
  4589. >She was.
  4590. >Absolutely positively certain.
  4591. >That was where she’d placed the box.
  4592. >Lyra nearly wet herself with fear.
  4593. >Not because of the missing box.
  4594. >But because of the wave of mana that surrounded her.
  4595. >It wasn’t her magic at play.
  4596. >And it definitely wasn’t Derpy’s.
  4597. >She found herself dazed and confused.
  4598. >It wasn’t clear what direction was up.
  4599. >Her vision was first blurred, then filled with vision of impossible shapes and colours she’d never before seen nor imagined.
  4600. >And just as quickly as it came, it passed.
  4601. >She found herself lying on the forest floor with dried foliage tangled into her mane.
  4602. >Beside her Derpy had somehow wound up entangled in the barren branches of a nearby tree.
  4603. >And before them was a small metal box.
  4604. >The one she’d buried there.
  4605. >Lyra was scared to approach it.
  4606. >But she reasoned that had whoever placed it there wanted to do her harm, they’d have already done it.
  4607. >She hesitantly poked it.
  4608. >And the lid fell off without resistance.
  4609.  
  4610. >”What just happened?”
  4611.  
  4612. “Illusion spell. Designed to interfere with your senses in ways that you cannot comprehend from the looks of it. Whoever did it is very gifted.”
  4613.  
  4614. >And very dangerous.
  4615. >The spell felt entirely different from what Lyra knew.
  4616. >She said it was an illusion, but it really didn’t feel like it.
  4617. >The mana wasn’t formed in a way that made any sense to her.
  4618. >It didn’t have the unyielding nature of abjuration.
  4619. >It didn’t carry with it the wild shifting energies of transmutation.
  4620. >The mana drifted far too slowly for it to be conjuration.
  4621. >She listed off all the schools of magic she knew, and one by one struck them off the list.
  4622. >Whatever this was it had reached into her very soul and twisted something.
  4623. >No kind of magic was meant to do this.
  4624. >Perhaps it was a forgotten form of magic.
  4625. >Whoever had done that might have had access to lost knowledge.
  4626. >Or perhaps more frighteningly, they might have invented it themselves.
  4627. >Lyra would have to be careful.
  4628. >But how might she protect herself from the unknown?
  4629. >How was one to resist a power if they didn’t understand its capabilities or its limits?
  4630. >She looked into the box, hoping for some kind of answer.
  4631. >A sheet of paper lay on top.
  4632.  
  4633. Tracking beacons disabled.
  4634. This was meant to be a solo op, so I didn’t prepare equipment for the both of you.
  4635. The pegasus gets this one.
  4636. Unicorn, go to 12.154.191.11
  4637.  
  4638. >It was written with a typeface that implied mechanical precision.
  4639. >It was not penned with a pony’s hoof nor horn.
  4640. >There was no way to trace this one.
  4641. >None that she knew of at least.
  4642.  
  4643. >”So there was some way of tracking that.”
  4644.  
  4645. >Derpy had managed to get herself down and had joined Lyra before the box.
  4646.  
  4647. “What’s that number?”
  4648.  
  4649. >”It looks like one of those internet addresses. Give that to a computer connected to the internet and it’ll give you a file. We can do it when we get back to my place.”
  4650.  
  4651. “That might be a bad idea.”
  4652.  
  4653. >”Why?”
  4654.  
  4655. >Lyra nearly answered.
  4656. >She then remembered her promise to Bon-Bon.
  4657. >She swore she wouldn’t tell anypony else what her friend had told her.
  4658. >She was starting to regret that decision.
  4659. >Bon-Bon hadn’t asked her to do it.
  4660. >She’d offered.
  4661. >There had to be some way of warning Derpy without breaking her word though.
  4662.  
  4663. “Well, they set up the network. There might be some way of watching which computer gets which file. We should probably assume they know what we do with our computers and only use them if we don’t mind their watching.”
  4664.  
  4665. >”Oh. Oh yeah. That- that could be bad. We’ll swing by the library then. Hopefully they’ve cleaned up by now. Is there anything else in the box?”
  4666.  
  4667. >There was.
  4668. >Lyra lifted out a smaller cube made of black plastic, no more than three centimeters a side.
  4669. >A clasp was anchored to each corner, and on the bottom lie two metal prongs.
  4670. >On the side was inscribed the the number 983.
  4671. >Lyra lifted it from the box.
  4672. >It was much heavier than she’d expected.
  4673. >Derpy took flight and quickly did a flip while squealing with delight.
  4674. >To Lyra’s amazement, she didn’t crash into anything.
  4675.  
  4676. “What is it?”
  4677.  
  4678. >Derpy landed beside Lyra and began prancing in place.
  4679.  
  4680. >”I have no idea!”
  4681.  
  4682. “Well, why are you so excited?”
  4683.  
  4684. >”This!”
  4685.  
  4686. >She gestured at the package excitedly.
  4687.  
  4688. >”This is experimental hardware! It still has an article number on it!”
  4689.  
  4690. >Lyra started to think back.
  4691. >She’d seen several things referred to by these numbers.
  4692. >But she’d never seen something labelled with one.
  4693. >They were always divorces from that catalogue in some way.
  4694. >Either they had no label at all, or they were given a proper name.
  4695. >This had the number engraved upon it.
  4696.  
  4697. “So it’s experimental. Meaning… they’re not sure it works yet?”
  4698.  
  4699. >”Meaning that this MIGHT be the ONLY one in existence!”
  4700.  
  4701. “Huh.”
  4702.  
  4703. >That made sense.
  4704. >If this was a prototype of some sort they wouldn’t be widespread.
  4705. >Derpy could now be in possession of something that the agents didn’t have access to.
  4706. >But didn’t she already?
  4707.  
  4708. “What about your invisibility suit? You already had that.”
  4709.  
  4710. >”They call it the Chameleon stealth system. Several of the agents of S.M.I.L.E.- you know about S.M.I.L.E. right?”
  4711.  
  4712. >Lyra nodded.
  4713.  
  4714. >”Lots of them have these. Mostly their recon and infiltration agents. This, none of their field agents will have these yet.”
  4715.  
  4716. >Recon.
  4717. >In charge of gathering information and scouting.
  4718. >Had Bon-Bon worn one of those?
  4719.  
  4720. >”Let’s take it home and test it!”
  4721.  
  4722. >Derpy grabbed the package and began running back home, keeping an amazing pace.
  4723. >Lyra had no chance of keeping up
  4724. >She eventually reached her friend’s home to find the front door ajar.
  4725. >Lyra’s heart raced.
  4726. >Somepony had come into Derpy’s home.
  4727. >She’d been found out and an agent had been dispatched to subdue her.
  4728. >Was Lyra too late to save her?
  4729. >Was-
  4730. >Derpy opened the front door, bright smile plastered on her face.
  4731. >Lyra let out the breath she didn’t know she’d been holding.
  4732.  
  4733. “Why wasn’t the front door closed?”
  4734.  
  4735. >”Oh. I was kinda in a hurry to get started. Maybe I didn’t close it right? Come, come!”
  4736.  
  4737. >Lyra followed into Derpy’s living room.
  4738. >Her table had been smashed.
  4739. >Lyra sharply jabbed the pegasus in the side.
  4740.  
  4741. >”Ow! What was that for?”
  4742.  
  4743. “Sorry. There were signs of a struggle. I wanted to make sure you weren’t made of metal.”
  4744.  
  4745. >”Oh, the table? Yeah. I had an accident. With my new DOOMSDAY DEVICE!”
  4746.  
  4747. >She let out a maniacal cackle.
  4748. >Lyra took a few steps back.
  4749.  
  4750. >”Lighten up, Lyra. You’re normally so playful and goofy. Why so serious?”
  4751.  
  4752. >Lyra wasn’t sure she liked being called goofy by Derpy of all ponies.
  4753.  
  4754. >”I figured out what this thing did. And sorta kinda got really excited and accidentally fell on my table in the process.”
  4755.  
  4756. “And broke it?”
  4757.  
  4758. >”I fell hard.”
  4759.  
  4760. >She WAS known for her clumsiness.
  4761.  
  4762. >”Look, here!”
  4763.  
  4764. >She produced her invisibility suit from somewhere.
  4765. >The box was fastened to the side of one of the forehooves.
  4766.  
  4767. >”You point it at something and… it’d be easier to show you.”
  4768.  
  4769. >She pointed it out the window.
  4770. >And the machine started talking.
  4771.  
  4772. >”Well, I heard that the explosion downtown was an inside job. Princess Celestia did it to have an excuse to take away our right.”
  4773.  
  4774. >”Yeah? Well I heard that the Gryphons did it to make money.”
  4775.  
  4776. >Two different voices coming from somewhere.
  4777.  
  4778. >”It tells us what ponies are saying really far away!”
  4779.  
  4780. “There’s no way it would be able to pick that up from so far away. Any other sounds would overwhelm the speech. The wind alone would be deafening.”
  4781.  
  4782. >”So how does it work?
  4783.  
  4784. >Lyra closely examined the device.
  4785. >There was a small lense at one end.
  4786. >Maybe…
  4787.  
  4788. “Do you have a small mirror?”
  4789.  
  4790. >Derpy bounced away to her bedroom.
  4791. >She returned with a hoof held mirror gripped in her teeth.
  4792. >Lyra grabbed it with her magic and placed it in front of the lense.
  4793. >The sounds and words the device was picking up changed radically when she angled the mirror.
  4794.  
  4795. “It can see sound.”
  4796.  
  4797. >”How does that work?”
  4798.  
  4799. “Maybe it’s sensitive enough it can actually see the sound waves.”
  4800.  
  4801. >This was a very interesting development.
  4802. >If Lyra was right, this meant that they had incredibly refined instruments.
  4803. >Not only was this camera impossibly small, it was sensitive beyond imagination.
  4804. >And impossibly precise.
  4805.  
  4806. “What the hay is going on in S.M.I.L.E.? How do they have this stuff?”
  4807.  
  4808. >”I know. It’s kinda scary the kinds of things they have. I haven’t seen any weapons, but I’ve heard they have those too.”
  4809.  
  4810. >148.
  4811. >They wanted to destroy them.
  4812. >They said that only monsters would want them
  4813. >And now they’re apparently mass producing them.
  4814. >Just how many gadgets did these ponies have?
  4815. >What were they capable of?
  4816. >And how long had they been developing this stuff in secret?
  4817. >Lyra could only imagine what the world would be like if they’d devoted themselves to helping ponies.
  4818. >How well off they’d be if the countless bits that had been sunk into S.M.I.L.E. had gone elsewhere.
  4819. >Ponyking would be running out of diseases to cure.
  4820. >How could such a price be justified?
  4821. >What were they so afraid of?
  4822.  
  4823. >”We’d better hurry off if we’re going to stop by the library. I want to be home when Dinky gets back.”
  4824.  
  4825. >She went and stowed her suit somewhere in her bedroom.
  4826.  
  4827. >”I need to find somewhere better to hide that. Under my bed is a terrible place. It’s way too easy to find, and I can’t pretend it belongs to somepony else.”
  4828.  
  4829. “Hehe, yeah. Uhh… Hiding it under your bed isn’t great.”
  4830.  
  4831. >Especially with a secret agent sleeping atop it.
  4832. >Lyra noted that she’d have to find another place.
  4833. >They made their way to the public library.
  4834. >The tall, four story building had been erected hastily; little consideration had been given to appearance.
  4835. >The ugly concrete block fit into the heart of the city perfectly.
  4836. >Ponyville had indeed needed a new library for some time.
  4837. >After Tirek destroyed the old one, they’d made do with opening the bottom floor of Twilight’s new home.
  4838. >But over time her palace had become progressively more difficult to access.
  4839. >At first Lyra had thought little of it.
  4840. >It made sense for a princess’ home to be off limits.
  4841. >But now she suspected other reasons.
  4842. >She knew they were hiding things there.
  4843. >Had they really started so long ago?
  4844. >They made their way inside and found the building had been returned to proper order.
  4845. >The two of them made their way to a computer terminal.
  4846. >They placed themselves before one at the far side of the library, out of view of the front desk.
  4847. >Neither was sure what they’d find.
  4848. >They hoped it wouldn’t bring trouble.
  4849. >It was only once they’d arrived that Lyra realised she had absolutely no idea how to use the machine.
  4850. >Luckily for her, Derpy was there.
  4851.  
  4852. >”Double click there. No, not there! THERE!”
  4853.  
  4854. “Why do I have to click twice?”
  4855.  
  4856. >”You just do. No, with the other button! Right. Now click the- no, only once this time! Select the address bar.”
  4857.  
  4858. “What’s an address bar?”
  4859.  
  4860. >Lyra was growing increasingly frustrated as the minutes passed.
  4861. >This device was beyond infuriating.
  4862. >There were so many rules that made no sense.
  4863.  
  4864. “Why do you keep saying scroll down? If this thing were a scroll, we’d be scrolling up to do this. Think about it.”
  4865.  
  4866. >”I don’t know, okay? You can ask Dinky later. She’s the one that showed me how to use these things.”
  4867.  
  4868. “Alright. So I type in the number on this note then hit enter?”
  4869.  
  4870. >”That’s right!”
  4871.  
  4872. >Lyra did so.
  4873. >And waited.
  4874. >And waited some more.
  4875. >And she kept on waiting.
  4876.  
  4877. “Is it broken?”
  4878.  
  4879. >”It’s only been a minute. This thing could be anywhere in the world, it’ll take time.”
  4880.  
  4881. >Nearly two minutes had passed before it appeared.
  4882. >Written in an ugly fluorescent green on a red background.
  4883. >The site hurt her eyes and the text was hard to make out.
  4884.  
  4885. REAL MAGIKS
  4886.  
  4887. BY DARKHORN SHADOWMAGE
  4888.  
  4889. >Lyra let out an aggravated groan.
  4890. >THIS was what they’d waited for.
  4891. >This eyesore by some foal who thought they were being cool.
  4892.  
  4893. >”Oooh! Magic spells!”
  4894.  
  4895. >Lyra scrolled down, which she insisted was up.
  4896. >The incantations listed only made her more upset.
  4897.  
  4898. “Ward against groundings? Bully vapriasation beam? Ugh, at least spell it right. This- none of this makes sense.”
  4899.  
  4900. >”What’s wrong with it?”
  4901.  
  4902. >Lyra pointed to the ‘summin food’ spell.
  4903.  
  4904. “Focus your magic into your horn and chant ‘food food gimme food’ then clap three times. Really? REALLY? This is a special kind of stupid. Whoever made this doesn’t know anything about how magic works. Nothing at all. It doesn’t say which locus to use, it doesn’t tell you what kinds of mana to use, it’s incredibly non-specific about the results...“
  4905.  
  4906. >She kept scrolling and looking with disdain at the myriad of nonsense spells.
  4907.  
  4908. “Look at this one. The ‘magic booster ritual’. That violates the third law of arcane constancy. It’s literally impossible for that to work. You can rewrite it as many times as you want, you’re never going to make your own magic stronger with a spell. Not unless you draw from some other source of mana at least. And has a single one of these listed which ley line to draw from? It’s- huh. This one’s different.”
  4909.  
  4910. Stupor
  4911. Causes a subject to ignore all external sensory stimuli.
  4912. From the Taurus-Scorpio ley line, draw chaos.
  4913. Draw anima from your heart.
  4914. Inscribe Ehwaz upon the mana…
  4915.  
  4916. >It went on.
  4917. >And on.
  4918. >It was a pretty complicated spell. Not particularly hard to execute, but it’d take some time to memorise.
  4919. >And it was actually quite coherent.
  4920.  
  4921. >”Can you cast it?”
  4922.  
  4923. “I’m not sure… it looks easy enough, but there’s something weird about it.”
  4924.  
  4925. >The more Lyra looked at it the stranger and stranger the spell became.
  4926. >As far as she could tell it wouldn’t work.
  4927. >The bulk of the mana was being used as a timer and counterspell mechanism.
  4928. >But the remainder, the energies meant to actually cast the spell itself, she couldn’t see where it went.
  4929. >And yet nothing in the spell seemed to break any of the laws of magic.
  4930. >At least, not as she knew them.
  4931.  
  4932. “It’s supposed to linger for about an hour. I should be able to change that if I want though; the spell uses a pretty standard mechanism for- ehh, you don’t care about that. But most of this process is fail safes to make sure the spell will wear off. Whoever made this didn’t want it to last forever.”
  4933.  
  4934. >”Oooh, neat. Cast it. Cast it already!”
  4935.  
  4936. >”SHHHH!”
  4937.  
  4938. >Somepony had finally gotten fed up with their antics and reminded the two of them that they were in a library.
  4939. >Lyra blushed profusely at the chastisement.
  4940. >She quickly scribbled down the instructions and turned off the machine.
  4941. >Or at least she tried to.
  4942.  
  4943. >”Okay, press start.”
  4944.  
  4945. “But I want to stop.”
  4946.  
  4947. >”Yes, but you stop it by pressing start.”
  4948.  
  4949. “Can’t I just push the power button?”
  4950.  
  4951. >”No, you’ll break it.”
  4952.  
  4953. “Why would they make a machine that breaks if you turn it off?”
  4954.  
  4955. >A few more minutes passed with Lyra growing increasingly frustrated.
  4956. >But they finally departed from the building with new magic in tow.
  4957. >Lyra pondered the spell as they made their way back to Derpy’s home.
  4958. >It was a strange incantation.
  4959. >It didn’t really fit with any school of magic she was aware of.
  4960. >Yet it seemed to be real, unlike all the other nonsense she’d seen.
  4961. >It was almost like it was a new kind of magic.
  4962. >Just like was used on them earlier that very day.
  4963. >Lyra’s jaw dropped.
  4964. >She began galloping down the road as fast as she could.
  4965.  
  4966. >”Hay, wait up!”
  4967.  
  4968. >Lyra was gasping for breath when she reached the door.
  4969. >But she didn’t care.
  4970. >She was too excited to care!
  4971. >Derpy came in through the door and hastily closed it behind herself.
  4972.  
  4973. >”What’s so exciting?”
  4974.  
  4975. “This spell… I know what it is!”
  4976.  
  4977. >She tried to slam her notes down upon the table, but was soon reminded that there was no table any longer.
  4978. >Instead she settled on levitating it at eye height.
  4979.  
  4980. “I’d been told this kind of magic didn’t exist! Everypony knows this isn’t real. But we’ve seen it used. That wasn’t an illusion that got us earlier today. This is magic that lingers in another living thing whether they want it to or not.
  4981.  
  4982. >”And?”
  4983.  
  4984. “Think about it, D. Magic that lingers in another pony and can mess with them whether they like it or not? This is a curse!”
  4985.  
  4986. >”I thought those weren’t real.”
  4987.  
  4988. “So did I. I also thought that invisibility suits and metal ponies weren’t real.”
  4989.  
  4990. >”Well, what are ya waiting for? Try it out!”
  4991.  
  4992. “How?”
  4993.  
  4994. >”Curse me!”
  4995.  
  4996. >Lyra’s face couldn’t decide on disbelief and disgust.
  4997. >It eventually settled on a dazed look as she stared at her friend.
  4998.  
  4999. “You want me to curse you.”
  5000.  
  5001. >”Sure!”
  5002.  
  5003. “You DO realise that’s insane, right?”
  5004.  
  5005. >”The spell isn’t going to last forever. You said so yourself.”
  5006.  
  5007. >That’s true.
  5008.  
  5009. “It really doesn’t seem like a good idea though.”
  5010.  
  5011. >”You can’t really use that spell properly if you don’t know what it does.”
  5012.  
  5013. >Also true.
  5014.  
  5015. >”And you said you can make it only last a short time. So curse me up!”
  5016.  
  5017. “I’m really starting to hate your plans.”
  5018.  
  5019. >”C’mon, it’ll be neat.”
  5020.  
  5021. “It would be neat to be cursed.”
  5022.  
  5023. >”Yup!”
  5024.  
  5025. >What a strange mare.
  5026.  
  5027. >”Please? Pretty please?”
  5028.  
  5029. >She tried to give Lyra the puppy dog eyes.
  5030. >It didn’t quite work, with the left eye insisting on pointing straight up.
  5031. >Even so, Lyra found her resolve failing.
  5032.  
  5033. “Ohhhhkaaayyyy. If you insist. I’ll try for… a minute?”
  5034.  
  5035. >She began preparing the spell.
  5036. >Everything about it felt wrong.
  5037. >Not just the morality, the spellcraft itself.
  5038. >This was so beyond the realm of what she knew that her instincts insisted it couldn’t be done.
  5039. >And yet, it was so basic.
  5040. >So straightforward.
  5041. >Nearly any mature unicorn could pull this off with only a bit of practice.
  5042. >For a talented and potent unicorn such as Lyra, it was…
  5043. >Easy.
  5044. >Simple.
  5045. >Intuitive.
  5046. >The spell was charged, her horn held the energy as a loaded crossbow might hold a bolt.
  5047. >Ready to fire at a moment’s notice.
  5048. >All she had to do was touch Derpy with her horn and it would be done.
  5049.  
  5050. >”Hurry up, Dinky will be home soon.”
  5051.  
  5052. >Lyra touched Derpy with her horn.
  5053. >And Derpy didn’t react.
  5054. >Not at first.
  5055. >A few seconds later she sat down on her haunches.
  5056. >IT was hard to tell given her condition, but she didn’t seem to be looking at anything.
  5057.  
  5058. “D? You okay?”
  5059.  
  5060. >No answer.
  5061.  
  5062. “You, uhh, you feeling alright?”
  5063.  
  5064. >Nothing.
  5065. >Lyra spent the next few minutes trying to bring her friend out of her state.
  5066. >She tried shaking Derpy.
  5067. >She tried yelling at her.
  5068. >She even nipped her neck.
  5069. >Nothing was working.
  5070. >Just when she was starting to panic, Derpy looked straight at her.
  5071.  
  5072. >”C’mon, cast it already!”
  5073.  
  5074. “I did. You just… spaced out. Sat down. And then you just stopped.”
  5075.  
  5076. >”Really? I don’t remember that. At all. That sounds super useful!”
  5077.  
  5078. >It actually did sound pretty useful.
  5079. >That didn’t make it right.
  5080.  
  5081. “But it’s a curse! It’s wrong!”
  5082.  
  5083. >”Seems harmless to me. What if you need to subdue somepony? I’d rather have that happen than get hit in the head.”
  5084.  
  5085. >Like what she did to Twilight.
  5086. >Lyra hated this.
  5087. >This wasn’t what magic was supposed to do.
  5088. >Magic was a constructive force.
  5089. >It was meant to help.
  5090. >Fighting with levitation was one thing, levitation being a very useful spell.
  5091. >But this was strictly harmful.
  5092. >This spell was perverse.
  5093. >The door swung open.
  5094. >Derpy bolted to the front.
  5095. >Moments later she came back with a dour looking filly perched upon her back.
  5096.  
  5097. >”Don’t worry too much, Dinkums. There’s a lot more to life than school.”
  5098.  
  5099. >”Mommy? Am I stupid?”
  5100.  
  5101. >”No, no no. You just need a little help is all. Everypony needs help sometimes. That’s why my good friend Lyra here is going to help you. Why don’t you show her what you’re having trouble with.”
  5102.  
  5103. >Dinky slowly climbed off her mother’s back and pulled a notebook out of her saddlebags with her teeth.
  5104. >She tried to open the book with her magic for a bit before giving up and pushing the pages aside with her snout.
  5105. >Lyra was met with a page covered in red ink, marking everything as wrong.
  5106. >A great big ‘0/100’ was written at the top.
  5107. >And at the bottom?
  5108. >Cheerilee had written ‘I’m sorry, Dinky.’
  5109. >At first Lyra was stunned to see the abysmal performance.
  5110. >But then she noticed the questions.
  5111.  
  5112. Solve for x. Write all valid answers.
  5113.  
  5114. X^2 - 36x = 0
  5115. X^2 + 4x = 9
  5116. 2x^2 - 22x = 18
  5117. x(x + 1) = 1122
  5118.  
  5119. “What the hay?”
  5120.  
  5121. >Derpy glared at Lyra for her inappropriate language.
  5122. >Dinky didn’t seem to notice.
  5123.  
  5124. “Dinky, what grade are you in?”
  5125.  
  5126. >”Grade three. And I probably will be for the rest of forever.”
  5127.  
  5128. “Why are they trying to teach quadratics in grade three? This is stupid. I’m going to go have a talk with Cheerilee.”
  5129.  
  5130. >”I’ve already talked to her about it. She says this is the curriculum now and there’s nothing she can do about it.”
  5131.  
  5132. >Derpy sounded so depressed.
  5133. >It wasn’t like her to be sad about…
  5134. >Anything really.
  5135. >This was really eating at her.
  5136.  
  5137. “Well I’m going to go have another chat with her because this is ridiculous.”
  5138.  
  5139. >Lyra marched out the front door, righteous indignation in tow.
  5140. >Neither Derpy nor Dinky followed.
  5141. >That was fine.
  5142. >She had plenty of words for the teacher all on her own.
  5143. >The schoolhouse was coming into view.
  5144. >It was still on the outskirts of town, with some dead grass and wilted trees scattered about.
  5145. >The schoolhouse itself had changed though.
  5146. >The cozy wooden building had been destroyed, and in its place was an ugly two story concrete school.
  5147. >It looked cold and uninviting, perhaps even hostile.
  5148. >Lyra conceded that it was necessary.
  5149. >Ponyville had grown, and with its swelling population its needs had changed.
  5150. >The old schoolhouse would never be able to handle all the foals in the city.
  5151. >This place had been built with haste to fill a specific need.
  5152. >And as Lyra had recently learned, it was built from an overburdened budget.
  5153. >It was no surprise that the place was a windowless eyesore.
  5154. >Perhaps there was nopony to blame and nothing to be done.
  5155. >Perhaps they were simply making the best of a bad situation.
  5156. >Lyra began trying to navigate the building.
  5157. >It took her some time, but she eventually found the right classroom.
  5158. >Roughly a hundred cheap, painted particle board desks lay in neat rows.
  5159. >The classroom was littered with paper airplanes and spitballs; clear signs of an uncontrolled class.
  5160. >Again, it seemed there was nopony to blame.
  5161. >There weren’t enough teachers in town to handle this many foals, and so Cheerilee wound up with a massive classroom.
  5162. >Nopony could reasonably ask her to keep track of that many foals.
  5163. >Cheerilee was sitting at her old desk, seemingly salvaged from the old schoolhouse.
  5164. >The nice oak surface was horribly out of place in the cheaply constructed building.
  5165. >Even with the sturdy material, it was practically bowing beneath its mighty load.
  5166. >One could barely see the surface through all the clutter.
  5167. >Stacks of papers, dozens of books, an oversized coffee mug.
  5168. >And also Cheerilee’s face, planted against the wood.
  5169. >The anger drained from Lyra when she saw the sorry state of affairs.
  5170. >How could one be upset with that pony?
  5171. >She was horribly overworked, and there was no sign of any help coming.
  5172.  
  5173. “Cheerilee?”
  5174.  
  5175. >She sat up with a start, baggy glazed eyes looking for the source of the sound.
  5176. >It didn’t take her long to find it.
  5177.  
  5178. >”Oh. Hi Lyra. Why are you here? You don’t have any foals. Do you?”
  5179.  
  5180. >She sounded defeated.
  5181. >This was a mare who had long ago passed depression and reached acceptance.
  5182. >Acceptance that everything was terrible and there was no hope.
  5183.  
  5184. “I’m here to talk about Dinky.”
  5185.  
  5186. >”Poor girl. She used to be doing so well. Then… whatever. Just start yelling.”
  5187.  
  5188. “I, uhh, I wasn’t planning on yelling at you.”
  5189.  
  5190. >”Really? Everypony else does. Nearly everypony else. Hard to blame them. I fail almost all their foals. Just Sweetie Belle, Silver Spoon, Diamond Tiara, and Carrot Crunch. Never would have taken him for a genius.”
  5191.  
  5192. “Only four? There’s gotta be a hundred desks here.”
  5193.  
  5194. >”117. Three of them are just passing because of their tutors and cram school, and only just barely. Carrot, well, I have no idea how he does it. Personally I think he’s cheating, but I haven’t caught him yet. I’m not sure I want to.”
  5195.  
  5196. >Less than 4% were passing.
  5197. >A horrendous state of affairs.
  5198.  
  5199. “Are the other classes doing any better?”
  5200.  
  5201. >She shook her head slowly and somberly.
  5202.  
  5203. “Well, what happened? If you’re dealing with quadratics in grade three, what’s left for the other grades?”
  5204.  
  5205. >”Grade 4 they move into calculus. In grade 5 I don’t really understand it anymore. It’s this new program. Accelerated Curriculum for Education they call it.”
  5206.  
  5207. “Isn’t that kinda clumsy?”
  5208.  
  5209. >”They wanted to call it A.C.E. A new system for a new era.”
  5210.  
  5211. >She let out a deep, long suffering sigh.
  5212.  
  5213. >”They said something about how the old standards weren’t high enough for our new, technologically advanced society. Maybe they’re right, I dunno. But these foals are never going to pass. What kind of future will they have if they can’t pass grade 3?”
  5214.  
  5215. “Dinky’s going to pass. I’ll make sure of it.”
  5216.  
  5217. >Half of Cheerilee’s mouth tried to crack a smile.
  5218. >She was very much pleased to hear that.
  5219. >But it didn’t do any good for the rest of the class.
  5220. >Nor would it help next year’s group.
  5221.  
  5222. “I’m going to have to have a word with some of the princesses.”
  5223.  
  5224. >”You think you can get ahold of them?”
  5225.  
  5226. “I was Cadence’s bride’s maid, and I knew Twilight back in school. I’m sure I can get an audience with them.”
  5227.  
  5228. >”Thank you, Lyra. Thank you so much.”
  5229.  
  5230. >Why were they doing this?
  5231. >Why would they torture foals in such a way?
  5232. >S.M.I.L.E. had even more to answer for now.
  5233. >Lyra turned to leave.
  5234. >But when she turned to close the door, she spotted something in the corner of her eye.
  5235. >Cheerilee with a wine bottle in her mouth.
  5236. >She decided it would be best if she left her alone.
  5237. >There was nothing to be done here.
  5238. >Cheerilee was trying.
  5239. >If she wanted change, she’d have to go higher up.
  5240. >For now, though, she’d just have to try and help make do.
  5241.  
  5242. “Back to Derpy’s then.”
  5243.  
  5244. >Night had fallen before Lyra returned home.
  5245. >Dinky was bright enough for a young filly, but she was still just a filly.
  5246. >She had a LOT to learn before she could even hope to keep up in school, and not much time to learn it.
  5247. >But Lyra was determined to make it happen.
  5248. >Tomorrow, though, she was going to give Twilight a piece of her mind.
  5249. >If that didn’t work she was going to Cadence.
  5250. >Lyra was willing to go all the way to Celestia with this one if she had to.
  5251. >But it was too late tonight; there was no way she’d be able to get an audience at the moment.
  5252. >She pushed the door open and entered her cooled home.
  5253. >She eventually found Bon-Bon sitting at a table in the study looking at their brand new computer.
  5254. >It was showing what looked like absolute nonsense.
  5255.  
  5256. >”You’ve been gone a while.”
  5257.  
  5258. “Yeah. I was catching up with Derpy. She’s got a lot of problems right now. What are you doing?”
  5259.  
  5260. >”Letting it know it’s okay to work without that chip. Turned out to be an interesting challenge. I think I’ve got it figured out though. What kind of problems?”
  5261.  
  5262. “Well, somepony beat her up to make her let them into the post office.”
  5263.  
  5264. >Shouldn’t she have known about that break-in?
  5265. >Was it because she was still on leave?
  5266. >Or was she pretending?
  5267.  
  5268. >”Is she okay?”
  5269.  
  5270. “Seems to be. But her daughter’s having trouble in school. Like, a lot.”
  5271.  
  5272. >”Bullies?”
  5273.  
  5274. “Quadratics.”
  5275.  
  5276. >That got her attention.
  5277. >She turned to look at Lyra, one brow raised.
  5278.  
  5279. >”Quadratic equations? Isn’t she in grade 4?”
  5280.  
  5281. “3.”
  5282.  
  5283. >Bon-Bon stood up and walked straight past Lyra.
  5284. >She made her way to the washroom.
  5285. >And returned with a bottle of antacids.
  5286.  
  5287. >”I think I’m going to develop an ulcer.”
  5288.  
  5289. >She popped it open and downed three tabs.
  5290. >Lyra was pretty sure she was only supposed to take one.
  5291.  
  5292. “Stress?”
  5293.  
  5294. >”Yeah.”
  5295.  
  5296. “You know something about this, don’t you.”
  5297.  
  5298. >”Just a hunch.”
  5299.  
  5300. >Bon-Bon wasn’t going to offer any more information than that.
  5301. >Lyra started trying to piece together what she could.
  5302. >S.M.I.L.E. was involved.
  5303. >They needed incredibly highly educated ponies next generation.
  5304. >They had no use for average, ordinary ponies and were willing to ruin their lives.
  5305. >Bon-Bon knew something.
  5306.  
  5307. >”I’m sure they know hardly anypony will pass. They’ve got a plan for them.”
  5308.  
  5309. “Then what are you worried about?”
  5310.  
  5311.  
  5312. >”I’m worried about why they need 8 year olds who’ve studied pre-calc. Or more accurately, why they need whatever an 8 year old who knows pre-calc grows up into. No, I don’t know what that is.”
  5313.  
  5314. >They’d gotten this far with the current education system.
  5315. >But it wasn’t far enough.
  5316. >Invisibility suits and cameras that could see sound WEREN’T ENOUGH.
  5317. >They wanted to be even more advanced than that.
  5318. >Even more sophisticated.
  5319. >And they weren’t planning on slowing down anytime soon.
  5320.  
  5321. “Pass me those antacids, would ya?”
  5322.  
  5323.  
  5324. * * * * *
  5325.  
  5326.  
  5327. >”Grip! Pull! Drag!”
  5328.  
  5329. >Lyra grappled the dummy at Tranquil Stream’s command.
  5330. >She’d done her homework on this one, and it seemed as though the crotchety old stallion was pleased.
  5331. >Not satisfied, PLEASED.
  5332.  
  5333. >”They’re gliding. Stop them.”
  5334.  
  5335. >Lyra gripped the wingtip by the digit and pulled it downward.
  5336. >Were they a real pegasus trying to fly, they would have plummeted.
  5337.  
  5338. >”They’re flying. Break!”
  5339.  
  5340. >She gripped the metacarpus and alula and forced them in opposite direction.
  5341. >The plastic dowling that held the dummy’s structure together shattered.
  5342.  
  5343. >”Alright, Lyra. It’s time to come clean. What happened?”
  5344.  
  5345. >Lyra wasn’t entirely sure what he meant.
  5346. >She gave him a confused look.
  5347.  
  5348. >”That was vicious. When you first came here you didn’t want to learn from me, and you were repulsed by my teachings. Today you showed up early, wide awake, and ready to learn. You’ve clearly studied in your own time, and you’re not hesitating to attack. Now, why are you so eager?”
  5349.  
  5350. >Lyra honestly hadn’t noticed.
  5351. >But he was right.
  5352. >When he first told her to attack weak points- to go for the eyes even, she was horrified.
  5353. >But she had no problem with breaking wings now.
  5354. >Even though that wasn’t a real pony, it should have felt wrong.
  5355. >She was a pony; she was supposed to be a peaceful and virtuous being!
  5356. >Violence was supposed to be disgusting.
  5357. >And yet she’d hurt Twilight with barely a thought.
  5358. >Her master was growing irritated with her lack of answer.
  5359. >She had to say something.
  5360. >And she doubted a lie would suffice.
  5361.  
  5362. ”A friend was in danger.”
  5363.  
  5364. >He raised a single brow, but said nothing.
  5365.  
  5366. “She’s okay now. I worry about the pony I hurt sometimes, but in the moment…”
  5367.  
  5368. >”They weren’t important. What mattered was that you protected your friend, and you wouldn’t be able to forgive yourself if you failed.”
  5369.  
  5370. >Lyra really didn’t like thinking about it.
  5371. >The whole situation was terrible.
  5372.  
  5373. >”Remember that feeling. Hold onto it.”
  5374.  
  5375. >He walked into the back room and produced the foam blocks she’d been given on day one.
  5376. >He dropped them in front of her.
  5377.  
  5378. >”Attack.”
  5379.  
  5380. >Lyra took a deep breath.
  5381. >She started lying to herself.
  5382. >This wasn’t practice.
  5383. >This was real.
  5384. >That dummy was Twilight.
  5385. >The pony who was locking fillies and colts up in a grey box.
  5386. >The pony who was intent on spying on each and every thing that everypony did.
  5387. >The pony who was trying to lie, cheat, and steal to get her way.
  5388. >And if Lyra didn’t do anything, Derpy would wind up in a secret dungeon.
  5389. >Lyra wasn’t angry.
  5390. >She was furious.
  5391. >Twilight’s health didn’t matter.
  5392. >She didn’t need to worry about failure.
  5393. >Not because failing had no consequences.
  5394. >Rather it was because failing simply wasn’t an option.
  5395. >Lyra wasn’t thinking about morality or consequences or risk.
  5396. >She only had one thought in her head.
  5397.  
  5398. >”ATTACK!”
  5399.  
  5400. >She did.
  5401. >Foam blocks slammed into the dummy’s head.
  5402. >Wave after wave of blows crashes over the dummy.
  5403. >Vicious attacks rained down upon it in a steady torrent
  5404. >Each drop of her wrath flowed into each other to form a destructive steam.
  5405.  
  5406. >”Good.”
  5407.  
  5408. >She stopped.
  5409.  
  5410. “Good?”
  5411.  
  5412. >”Good. Not great, but good.”
  5413.  
  5414. >Lyra stared at the old stallion mouth agape.
  5415. >He wasn’t even being mean!
  5416.  
  5417. >”What, am I not allowed to give credit where it’s due? That was a vast improvement. Count them.”
  5418.  
  5419. >Lyre started counting the foam blocks.
  5420. >23, 24, 25, 26…
  5421. >They just kept going.
  5422.  
  5423. >”On day one you struggled to wield 12.”
  5424.  
  5425. >48, 49, 50.
  5426. >50 projectiles.
  5427.  
  5428. >”Every stray thought sends ripples through your mind. You’ve found a way to push most of the noise out, and now you have much more space to work with. Remember that feeling.”
  5429.  
  5430. >Y-yes, master!”
  5431.  
  5432. >”It’s far from perfect. Whether you realise it or not there is still something distracting you. You’ll never best a manticore like that, but a couple timberwolves should be no problem.”
  5433.  
  5434. >Again, he immediately starts talking about monsters.
  5435.  
  5436. >”Keep practicing that on your own time. For now, we’re going to look into specialised forms of the Undertow.”
  5437.  
  5438. >He gathered the blocks up and returned them to storage.
  5439. >When he came back out he had two boxes in tow.
  5440.  
  5441. >”There are many different ways to execute Undertow, each with their own niche. If the monster you’re battling has thick scales, hide, or fat, blunt strikes will have little effect. You must then adapt. Giants will shrug off any blunt trauma you can deliver-”
  5442.  
  5443. >Giants are REAL?
  5444.  
  5445. >”So when doing battle with them you must wound them in another way, such as with a blade.”
  5446.  
  5447. >From the box he levitated a plastic ring.
  5448. >It didn’t look much like a blade.
  5449. >Until he started spinning it at a blinding rate.
  5450.  
  5451. >”By adding spin you can increase the relative velocity of the blade’s surface to the target’s flesh. Of course, this is much more difficult. One must orient the blades properly unlike blunt weapons, and they must add spin. This power is far more difficult to wield properly.”
  5452.  
  5453. >Dozens of rings shot out and slid across the dummy’s surface.
  5454. >They each let out a loud whining sound as they tore through the air.
  5455.  
  5456. >”Diamond tipped chakram are best for this of course. It’s doubtful a civilian such as yourself would be able to find those. You could get circular saw blades from a hardware store, though.”
  5457.  
  5458. >Lyra definitely had no need for that.
  5459. >He returned the rings to the box and produced from the other one a bundle of long, thin needles.
  5460.  
  5461. >”Creatures with thick scales such as dragons or cetae are more vulnerable to puncture wounds than lacerations.”
  5462.  
  5463. >The needles slammed into the dummy at high speeds, sinking deep into it.
  5464. >In an instant it looked more like a porcupine than a pony.
  5465.  
  5466. >”Such wounds are usually insufficient to slow an enemy unless delivered in extremely large quantity. Poison is an effective solution. Again, equipping yourself would be challenging as a civilian. I suggest nails.”
  5467.  
  5468. >He pulled them all out and quickly bundled them up again.
  5469.  
  5470. >”And next we explore options for when we’re ill prepared. The best solution is to never be caught off guard and always be armed. However, this isn’t always possible. We must be able to improvise a weapon. Worst case scenario-”
  5471.  
  5472. >He spat.
  5473. >The saliva shot out with a bang, and to Lyra’s surprise, it left a deep gash upon the dummy.
  5474.  
  5475. >”Water delivered at high enough pressure can tear through steel. You’d be hard pressed to handle any serious monsters with this method, however. It doesn’t matter how talented you are, if you’re not prepared you’re at a disadvantage.”
  5476.  
  5477. ”Master, please forgive me for asking. Why are you so obsessed with monsters?”
  5478.  
  5479. >”That’s what Mana Tide is for. Fighting monsters. It can be used on ponies, but there are easier ways to hurt a pony. This kind of power is for fighting things stronger than yourself.”
  5480.  
  5481. “A fighting style specifically for handling monsters? You’re… oh.”
  5482.  
  5483. >”You’re just now figuring out I’m from S.M.I.L.E.? I thought that was obvious.”
  5484.  
  5485. >In retrospect it was.
  5486. >Sweetie Drops had a connection with this stallion, and stated he was the best.
  5487. >Lyra had seen what Sweetie Drops could do.
  5488. >For her to call somepony the best, they couldn’t be a mere hobbyist.
  5489.  
  5490. >”Don’t see the field these days of course. They’ve got no use for a broken down old fool like myself. I just teach the recruits. And you apparently. This goes without saying, but none of what I just said is true and S.M.I.L.E. doesn’t exist. And yes, that was a threat. Sweetie Drops placed a lot of trust in you. Don’t you dare ever cross her.”
  5491.  
  5492. “Of course!”
  5493.  
  5494. >Lyra would NEVER hurt her Bonny.
  5495.  
  5496. >”Good. Now go away. I have better things to do than look at you.”
  5497.  
  5498. >And he was being a jerk again.
  5499.  
  5500. >”Decide which of those three techniques you want to learn before your next lesson.”
  5501.  
  5502. “Yes, of course. Thank you master.”
  5503.  
  5504. >Lyra gave a deep bow on her way out.
  5505. >Being able to fight while unarmed seemed the best option.
  5506. >Why would she need the destructive force of the other methods?
  5507. >Although, she had no idea what she’d face in the future.
  5508. >Lyra was still hopeful she could continue to dig into whatever was going on without more violence.
  5509. >But she knew there was always a chance it would happen.
  5510. >What if she was attacked by a metal pony like “Applejack”?
  5511. >Would rocks be good enough?
  5512. >Without actually knowing what she’d be up against she really couldn’t say.
  5513. >Maybe more destructive power was needed.
  5514. >Lyra really didn’t know.
  5515. >She eventually put the decision off for later.
  5516. >At the moment, Lyra had other things to worry about.
  5517. >She marched her way to Twilight’s palace.
  5518. >As upset as she was, Lyra was still quite certain she’d be able to talk some sense into the princess.
  5519. >Twilight might be a terrible pony, but nopony was THAT bad.
  5520. >Lyra just had to talk some sense into her is all.
  5521. >As she drew close to the palace she could start to make out a few guards.
  5522. >Two pegasi carrying spears and bronze armor stood before the door.
  5523. >Somehow they weren’t as intimidating as she remembered.
  5524.  
  5525. >”HALT! The princess isn’t accepting any visitors today!”
  5526.  
  5527. >They immediately produced their spears
  5528. >Lyra took a couple steps back.
  5529.  
  5530. “I just wanted to tell her about-”
  5531.  
  5532. >”You just wanted to leave. Nopony gets in here, no exceptions.”
  5533.  
  5534. “But-”
  5535.  
  5536. >”Unless the palace is about to explode we don’t want to hear it.”
  5537.  
  5538. “When will she be available for an audience again?”
  5539.  
  5540. >”One more word and you’re under arrest.”
  5541.  
  5542. >Lyra couldn’t believe it.
  5543. >She was expecting to have to wait in line or to take a number or SOMETHING.
  5544. >But to just be sent away like that?
  5545. >And THREATENED?
  5546. >This was NOT the Equestria she knew.
  5547. >The place where the concerns of the citizens mattered, where the crown cared.
  5548. >What kind of nightmare was she living in where the government didn’t care what the citizens thought?
  5549. >Where those in power could just ignore the public?
  5550. >Lyra wasn’t ready to throw in the towel though.
  5551. >She was still going to do something about this school situation.
  5552. >And she knew just where to go.
  5553. >Sugarcube corner lay on the edge of the urban rot.
  5554. >On its exterior it still resembled the confectionary of old, though these days the chimney lay dormant.
  5555. >Gas ovens had replaced the wood fired stoves of yesteryear, allowing for easier and cheaper baking.
  5556. >Something the whole town was glad for it seemed.
  5557. >A long line of ponies stretched out of the door.
  5558. >Every minute or so somepony would leave the bakery with a package in tow, and the line would inch forward.
  5559. >Lyra got in line.
  5560. >It took longer than usual to reach the front, but Lyra was determined.
  5561. >The lobby on the inside had been removed, and replaced with more display shelves and counter space.
  5562. >Business was good for the Cake family as they struggled to keep up with the growing city’s insatiable hunger for pastries.
  5563. >Lyra approached the counter when it was finally her turn.
  5564.  
  5565. “Hey there, Cup!”
  5566.  
  5567. >Cup Cake looked weary.
  5568. >Her movements were sluggish and her eyes unfocused.
  5569. >She was clearly overworked.
  5570.  
  5571. “Is Pinkie not here today?”
  5572.  
  5573. >”No. What do you want?”
  5574.  
  5575. “Oh. Do you know where she’s living these days?”
  5576.  
  5577. >Cup grumbled loudly, but provided an address.
  5578. >Lyra, feeling guilty for wasting the busy mare’s time, purchased some cupcakes.
  5579. >With the pastries in tow she headed to Pinkie’s new home.
  5580. >It too lay on the periphery of town.
  5581. >Lyra knew it was hers the moment she spied it.
  5582. >The bubblegum pink cottage was a rather humble abode for one as celebrated as Pinkie Pie.
  5583. >An Element of Harmony and personal friend of a princess would be expected to live in a luxurious or ostentatious abode.
  5584. >But this was far from it.
  5585. >Pink walls, pink picket fence, pink door, and streamers hanging from a single tree upon her dead lawn.
  5586. >She approached and knocked confident that Pinkie would be glad to see her.
  5587. >Pinkie Pie was everypony’s friend.
  5588. >She knocked three times.
  5589. >And waited.
  5590. >And waited some more.
  5591. >Just when Lyra had decided Pinkie was out, the door creaked open.
  5592.  
  5593. >”Oh. Hi, Lyra.”
  5594.  
  5595. >The door opened fully.
  5596. >There was clearly something wrong with Pinkie.
  5597. >She was all hunched up, trying to avoid Lyra’s gaze.
  5598. >And it looked like she’d not slept in a couple days.
  5599.  
  5600. “Pinkie! Are you okay?”
  5601.  
  5602. >”Yeah. Yeah.”
  5603.  
  5604. >She blinked.
  5605. >Her eyes were real at least.
  5606. >Lyra moved in for a hug, mostly to check for metal.
  5607. >Partially to console the pony, but mostly for metal.
  5608. >A soft warm pony accepted the embrace.
  5609.  
  5610. “What’s wrong?”
  5611.  
  5612. >”I’m just worried about some things.”
  5613.  
  5614. “Such as?”
  5615.  
  5616. >”Oh. You know. This and that.”
  5617.  
  5618. >Lyra knew then she’d have to tread carefully.
  5619. >It looked like Pinkie was trying to keep the secret
  5620. >Was she on their side?
  5621. >Was what Twilight showed her really so terrible that Pinkie was okay with their constant lies?
  5622. >Looking at a depressed Pinkie Pie was nearly too much for Lyra to handle.
  5623. >The chipper and cheerful pony was always a ray of sunshine even in the darkest times.
  5624. >Seeing her so down was just wrong.
  5625.  
  5626. “I, uhh, I brought you some cupcakes?”
  5627.  
  5628. >Lyra offered the purchase she’d made from Sugarcube Corner.
  5629. >She hadn’t planned this when she’d bought them, but it seemed the right thing to do.
  5630. >Pinkie accepted the package with a small smile.
  5631.  
  5632. >”Thank you. I don’t get to eat these as often as I’d like. We’re usually too busy at work these days. There are never any leftovers.”
  5633.  
  5634. “Please don’t think of that as payment. But, umm, I have a favor to ask. Have you been to the school lately?”
  5635.  
  5636. >”No. Miss Cheerilee said I’m not allowed there anymore. I’m too much of a distraction.”
  5637.  
  5638. >Lyra could easily see that.
  5639. >If Pinkie stopped by class would quickly devolve into frivolity and laughter.
  5640. >Which was exactly what Lyra was hoping to bring to them.
  5641.  
  5642. “Please come with me. I really need to show you something.”
  5643.  
  5644. >”Why me?”
  5645.  
  5646. “I wanted to talk to Twilight about it, but she’s not accepting any visitors. I’m hoping you’ll bring a few things to her attention.”
  5647.  
  5648. >Pinkie went to the kitchen to drop off her pastries.
  5649. >She came back and locked up her home before the two of them set out.
  5650. >It still seemed strange to Lyra that one would have to lock their doors.
  5651. >She knew it was needed though.
  5652. >In a small town like Ponyville used to be it was possible to know nearly everypony.
  5653. >You could figure out who you could and couldn’t trust.
  5654. >But what Ponyville had become was a totally different beast.
  5655. >No matter how sociable you were, most ponies would be strangers.
  5656. >There was no avoiding this fact. One had to deal with the change instead.
  5657. >Just one more way that Ponyville had changed for the worse.
  5658.  
  5659. >”So Twilight isn’t accepting visitors? If it was important why didn’t you just walk in?”
  5660.  
  5661. “Her guards threatened to arrest me.”
  5662.  
  5663. >”She has guards now? Oh. Of course she does.”
  5664.  
  5665. “Did something happen?”
  5666.  
  5667. >Pinkie mulled the question over for a while.
  5668. >It seemed she wasn’t sure whether or not she was allowed to answer that question.
  5669. >Lyra knew the answer, of course.
  5670. >Twilight’s home had been broken into by what was described as a violent unicorn.
  5671. >That was of course not how Lyra saw herself.
  5672. >But after her last encounter with Twilight, she had to ask herself.
  5673. >Were they wrong?
  5674.  
  5675. >”There’s a lot of crime in Ponyville these days.”
  5676.  
  5677. “Yeah. It ain’t what it used to be. I miss the old Ponyville.”
  5678.  
  5679. >”Me too.”
  5680.  
  5681. >It struck Lyra as odd that they were doing so little to stem the tide of crime.
  5682. >Were they so short on resources that they really could do nothing to clean up the city?
  5683. >Was there no way to keep the streets safe?
  5684. >Tranquil Streams had mocked Lyra for many things when they’d first met.
  5685. >But the thing that brought the heaviest mockery was Lyra’s faith in the guard.
  5686. >Perhaps he was right.
  5687. >Because it didn’t seem like they were getting the job done.
  5688. >Sometimes it didn’t even seem like they were trying.
  5689. >The two of them drew close to the school.
  5690. >Lyra was nearly at the door when Pinkie spoke up.
  5691.  
  5692. >”I thought we were going to the school.”
  5693.  
  5694. “This is it.”
  5695.  
  5696. >”No it isn’t.”
  5697.  
  5698. “Yeah. This is it. They knocked over the old one a while ago because it wasn’t big enough.”
  5699.  
  5700. >”Where’s the playground? Why are there no windows? Where are the decorations?”
  5701.  
  5702. “That’s part of why we’re here.”
  5703.  
  5704. >”It’s better on the inside, right?”
  5705.  
  5706. >Lyra pushed the door open and stepped inside.
  5707. >A burly stallion eyed them carefully.
  5708. >The brown Earth pony was clearly unhappy to see them.
  5709. >Lyra didn’t recall there being any security guards last time.
  5710. >Perhaps they left after class was dismissed?
  5711.  
  5712. >”Parents, students, and faculty only. State your business.”
  5713.  
  5714. >She was clearly not a student.
  5715. >And Lyra suspected this pony knew the faculty.
  5716. >Parent it was then.
  5717.  
  5718. “I’m thinking of moving to Ponyville. I wanted to take a look at the schools before deciding! My little sunshine deserves only the best.”
  5719.  
  5720. >”And why is an element of harmony here?”
  5721.  
  5722. “She offered to by my guide.”
  5723.  
  5724. >”Stay out of the classrooms until class is dismissed.”
  5725.  
  5726. >He stepped aside to let them in.
  5727. >Lyra was surprised with herself.
  5728. >She wasn’t sure when she’d become so used to lying.
  5729. >It just sort of happened.
  5730. >She’d been living a double life ever since that fateful night at the post office, and now it was second nature for her to outright lie.
  5731. >She’d gotten her way without any fuss.
  5732. >It was expedient and easy.
  5733. >And she wasn’t going to cause any trouble here.
  5734. >As far as she could tell, there was no good to be had from being honest with that guard.
  5735. >He would have almost certainly turned them away, and Pinkie needed to see what was going on.
  5736. >And yet it still felt wrong.
  5737. >Surely the truth had some inherent value, and she’d done the wrong thing.
  5738. >Surely.
  5739. >But still, everything turned out better this way.
  5740. >She’d reached the best outcome, something her principles likely wouldn’t have allowed.
  5741. >Was that good enough reason to abandon them?
  5742.  
  5743. >”The school didn’t used to need security guards.”
  5744.  
  5745. “It gets worse.”
  5746.  
  5747. >They started walking through the hallways.
  5748. >The walls almost seemed to close in on Lyra as the navigated the cramped concrete interior.
  5749. >And the cheap artificial lighting did little to improve the atmosphere.
  5750. >Cacophonous noises filled the hallways growing louder every time they passed a classroom.
  5751. >They weren’t cries of joy or excitement.
  5752. >These were the sounds of anarchy.
  5753.  
  5754. >”There doesn’t seem to be much learning happening.”
  5755.  
  5756. “No. There isn’t.”
  5757.  
  5758. >They made their way to the top floor.
  5759. >The narrow stairwells were littered with paper and other detritus.
  5760. >It seemed as though the janitors were overworked too.
  5761. >Or perhaps even absent.
  5762. >Lyra didn’t know, nor did she really care.
  5763. >At this point clutter was the least of her concerns.
  5764. >Lyra brought them to Cheerilee’s classroom.
  5765. >And despite the guard’s orders, she opened the door.
  5766. >Pinkie stared in.
  5767. >And she quickly stepped out.
  5768.  
  5769. >”This is the detention hall, right? This is where they put the bad ponies as punishment?”
  5770.  
  5771. “This is grade 3. Today’s subject is-”
  5772.  
  5773. >Lyra poked her muzzle in and looked at the whiteboard up front.
  5774. >Cheerilee was giving her lecture despite the uncontrolled masses behind her.
  5775. >It was a waste of breath, but still she tried.
  5776.  
  5777. “Complex numbers.”
  5778.  
  5779. >She pulled out and closed the door.
  5780.  
  5781. “Personally, I think they should be worried about multiplication right now, but that’s just me.”
  5782.  
  5783. >Again with the math.
  5784. >It seemed like they didn’t study anything else these days.
  5785. >What was it that the crown was after?
  5786. >Why was math and math alone so important?
  5787. >Pinkie sat down in the middle of the hallway and rested her chin upon her hoof.
  5788. >It seemed as though she was deep in thought.
  5789. >What was there to think about?
  5790. >This was terrible and needed to stop!
  5791. >What was it that she knew that made this complicated?
  5792. >Lyra decided not to press the issue.
  5793. >Pinkie was intent on keeping the secret, and she doubted there was anything she could say or do to change that.
  5794. >All she’d accomplish by asking questions would be drawing attention to herself.
  5795. >It wasn’t long before class let out and all the foals started heading home.
  5796. >The hallways were packed as they flooded out of the building.
  5797. >Lyra and Pinkie managed to fight against the stream and make it into Cheerilee’s classroom.
  5798. >There was no such thing as order within these walls; paper airplanes and spitballs littered the floor.
  5799. >There was even a smashed desk pushed off to the corner.
  5800.  
  5801. >”Lyra! And Pinkie?”
  5802.  
  5803. >She was smiling like a madmare at the sight of them.
  5804.  
  5805. >”I’m sorry, Cheerilee. I know I’m not supposed to be here.”
  5806.  
  5807. >”Oh, no! You’re PERFECT! We need to cheer those foals up and you’re just the pony to do it!”
  5808.  
  5809. >”But you said I’m distracting.”
  5810.  
  5811. >”Pinkie, this is not a house of learning. This is a madhouse! Your presence would only make things better.”
  5812.  
  5813. >True.
  5814. >It might well be that Pinkie could improve the situation here and now.
  5815. >But Lyra was aiming a bit higher than that.
  5816. >Pinkie could only be in one place at one time, and Lyra suspected all the schools were like this.
  5817. >Besides, that wouldn’t fix the education problem.
  5818. >Lyra needed to work a different angle.
  5819.  
  5820. “If you were to describe what it’s like to be a student here with one word, which word would that be?”
  5821.  
  5822. >”Torture. I’m thinking of telling everypony to start skipping class. They aren’t going to pass anyway.”
  5823.  
  5824. “Wouldn’t you lose your job?”
  5825.  
  5826. >”Who cares? I’m probably going to quit anyway.”
  5827.  
  5828. >Lyra couldn’t imagine Cheerilee as anything other than a teacher.
  5829. >This was wrong on so many levels.
  5830.  
  5831. “Maybe hold off on that for a bit. I’m trying to see if there’s anything we can do about this mess.”
  5832.  
  5833. >”I’ll go talk to Twilight.”
  5834.  
  5835. “You think you can fix this, Pinkie?”
  5836.  
  5837. >”No. But I have to try, right?”
  5838.  
  5839. >No?
  5840. >She doesn’t think this is going to stop?
  5841. >Again, what’s going on that’s so terrible?
  5842.  
  5843. >”I’m going to go right away. Sorry, Lyra, I don’t think they’ll let you in.”
  5844.  
  5845. >She walked away without another word, grim determination plastered upon her face.
  5846.  
  5847. “Sorry, Cheerilee! I need to run too!”
  5848.  
  5849. >Lyra bolted from the school.
  5850. >She had little time if she was to do this.
  5851. >Twilight and Pinkie were about to discuss the school situation, and perhaps even the cause of all this madness.
  5852. >Lyra couldn’t get into the palace to eavesdrop, but she didn’t need to.
  5853. >She had a friend with a shiney new toy that could see sound.
  5854.  
  5855.  
  5856. >Derpy hovered just above Lyra as the two of them approached the palace
  5857. >She carried her contraband in her bags to avoid detection as they tried to blend into the crowd.
  5858.  
  5859. >”So, what are we doing here?”
  5860.  
  5861. “Looking for a good view. We need to hear what’s going on in there.”
  5862.  
  5863. >”There’s nothing high enough to get a good angle.”
  5864.  
  5865. >She was right.
  5866. >The tallest building in the vicinity was the palace itself.
  5867. >If it was in the heart of the city there’d be no shortage of ugly towers they could prop themselves in.
  5868. >But as it was they were short on options.
  5869. >There were only a few back alleys to be found where they’d have any privacy at all.
  5870.  
  5871. >”We need a mirror.”
  5872.  
  5873. “Good idea.”
  5874.  
  5875. >Lyra produced a single, shiney bit.
  5876. >After quickly polishing it against her coat she levitated it up and placed it in the branches of the crystal tree.
  5877. >The two of them ducked into a back alley and Derpy produced her laser microphone.
  5878.  
  5879. >”But Twilight, it’s cruel!”
  5880.  
  5881. >The sound was distorted and muddy.
  5882. >But they could tell what was being said.
  5883. >Barely.
  5884.  
  5885. >”I know. And truth be told, I didn’t realise just how out of hoof-”
  5886.  
  5887. >The sound cut out.
  5888.  
  5889. >”Sorry! It’s hard to hold it still like that.”
  5890.  
  5891. >It didn’t take long for Derpy to get it trained back on the bit and soon they had their muddy sound back.
  5892.  
  5893. >”Look, it happened one step at a time. Each time we made it worse, it didn’t seem so bad. Taking a step back and looking, it’s pretty terrible. You’re right.”
  5894.  
  5895. >”Well? Change it!”
  5896.  
  5897. >”No.”
  5898.  
  5899. >She knows it’s sick and she’s still not changing it?
  5900.  
  5901. >”Pinkie, we’re looking for a miracle here, because honestly? We’re not going to make it without one. The final exam contains a problem we NEED to solve, but we can’t. If a SINGLE one of those foals manages to get their grade 12 we might just make it.”
  5902.  
  5903. >”And how likely do you think that is?”
  5904.  
  5905. >”Slim to none. We’d devote more resources to them if we thought they had a chance. But like I said, we’re looking for a miracle.”
  5906.  
  5907. >Derpy looked over to Lyra.
  5908. >She looked torn between confusion and fear.
  5909.  
  5910. >”Twilight, we’re probably going to fail, aren’t we?”
  5911.  
  5912. >”Yes. It… it looks bad. We’re running out of time, resources, leads- another source went dark last night. Most of them are gone now. And time just keeps slipping through our hooves no matter what we try.”
  5913.  
  5914. >The machine let out a gurgling sound.
  5915. >Lyra was pretty certain that was originally a sigh.
  5916.  
  5917. >”I know what we’re doing to Equestria, and I don’t like it. But if we’re to have a chance of surviving this we can’t stop now. I’m sorry, Pinkie. The new curriculum stays. And things are going to get worse before they get better.”
  5918.  
  5919. >”But it’s sick!”
  5920.  
  5921. >”DON’T YOU THINK I KNOW THAT?” I’m a MONSTER, Pinkie. I can’t stand to be in the same building as myself! I don’t for the life of my know WHY you can still stand to look at me. But it has to be done. And like I said, it’s going to get worse. Forget I was ever your friend, because I’m not worthy of that anymore.”
  5922.  
  5923. >”Twilight, you’re just trying to protect them. I can’t be mad at you for that.”
  5924.  
  5925. >”That’s because you don’t know what I’m doing next.”
  5926.  
  5927. >Derpy’s face had finally decided on fear.
  5928.  
  5929. >”Twilight? You’re probably going to fail. Ponykind is probably going to be wiped out. Is this really how you want it to end? Do you want the last generation of foals to spend their lives locked up in a concrete box? Do you want them to go from cradle to early grave knowing nothing but the pain you’re putting them through? If we’re going to go out, shouldn’t we let them enjoy the time they have left?”
  5930.  
  5931. >”I can’t stop trying. Not until the bitter end.”
  5932.  
  5933. >”I’m not asking you to give up. Just ease up.”
  5934.  
  5935. >”I’ll… I’ll think about it. Talk it over with the other princesses. Maybe we can make it a little less terrible. Actually, would you mind coming with me to the next meeting? We might have a job for you. You’re good at making ponies happy. Maybe you can help us make them less sad? We don’t really have any resources to give you, but maybe you’ll be able to figure something out.”
  5936.  
  5937. >”I’ll try. Is it this bad all over? Or is…”
  5938.  
  5939. >The two of them had walked away, and the signal was lost.
  5940. >Lyra and Derpy sat in the alleyway for several minutes in silence.
  5941. >What they’d just heard was horrifying.
  5942. >There was indeed some terrible danger coming to Equestria.
  5943. >Something apocalyptic.
  5944. >And they were expecting to fail.
  5945. >Seconds slipped away.
  5946.  
  5947.  
  5948. * * * * *
  5949.  
  5950.  
  5951. >Against all odds life had returned to normal.
  5952. >Lyra had no leads at the moment, none that she could safely follow.
  5953. >So she was left to return to her day to day life while knowing full well that Equestria was in peril.
  5954. >And also knowing that the troubles their society faced were going to grow worse.
  5955. >Her knowledge had cost her more than a few hours of sleep and plagued her dreams.
  5956. >Worrying about the future was consuming her, and she was ultimately incapable of doing anything about it.
  5957. >And so Lyra had become eager to keep busy; she needed to distract herself as much as possible.
  5958. >Right now she was preparing a stir fry for dinner.
  5959. >Freshly washed carrots lie upon the cutting board before her, ready to be chopped.
  5960. >She was about to pull the cutlery drawer open to fetch a knife, but then thought better of it.
  5961. >Instead she fetched a bowl from the cupboard.
  5962. >She turned the faucet on her sink and filled the bowl with cold water.
  5963.  
  5964. “Allright, Lyra. Remember what your teacher told you.”
  5965.  
  5966. >You’re so fat!
  5967.  
  5968. “No, the useful stuff he told you.”
  5969.  
  5970. >Lyra turned her thoughts to her previous lesson.
  5971. >Her teacher had been somewhat surprised by her choice.
  5972.  
  5973. >”Geyser? That’s easily the most challenging of the three. Are you certain?”
  5974.  
  5975. >She was certain.
  5976. >Lyra could still remember the horrible feeling in her gut as she watched the Roc charge at Bon-Bon.
  5977. >The overwhelming sense of helplessness as she watched the pony she cared so much about face what seemed an inevitable doom.
  5978. >Lyra would have done anything at that point to save her Bonny.
  5979. >There existed no line she wouldn’t cross, no principle she wouldn’t violate, and no price she wouldn’t pay.
  5980. >But her efforts were completely fruitless.
  5981. >Despite her clumsy attempts she’d failed to accomplish anything.
  5982. >Lyra was little more than an observer at that time.
  5983. >And even though it all turned out fine in the end, Lyra never wanted to be that helpless again.
  5984. >Relying on weapons to protect herself was too big of a risk; she couldn’t carry such things with her at all time.
  5985. >Besides, she wasn’t an agent of S.M.I.L.E.
  5986. >She was never going to seek out a monster to fight.
  5987. >Those other techniques were useless unless she was prepared.
  5988. >And she wouldn’t be prepared with saw blades of all things unless she was planning on fighting something terrifying.
  5989.  
  5990. “I am, master.”
  5991.  
  5992. >”Very well. The idea with Geyser is to maximise pressure! Strike with a sudden blast of pressurised fluid to catch your foes off guard. Pressure, as you HOPEFULLY know, is force over an area. The smaller the area and the greater the force, the higher the pressure! And for force, mass and speed are what matter. Denser fluids are generally more destructive, but any fluid can be used in a pinch. Though I wouldn’t advise it, the air itself could be wielded as a blade! It is said that the creator of this technique, the great Babbling Brook, once cut down an entire hive of Myrmekes with his sweat alone! This is of course, false, as he left the larvae for the cleanup crew!”
  5993.  
  5994. >Lyra returned her focus to the task at hoof.
  5995. >The technique made a lot of sense as a whole.
  5996. >She wasn’t totally convinced that it could actually cut steel.
  5997. >But on the other hoof, she’d seen that old stallion do some scary things in the past.
  5998. “Right. Shape the water into an edge or a point, the smaller the better.”
  5999.  
  6000. >Lyra lifted the water out of the bowl.
  6001. >It took a few seconds, but she managed to shape it into a thin wedge.
  6002.  
  6003. “Squeeze it as hard as you can from all sides without breaking the shape.”
  6004.  
  6005. >Pressure started to rapidly build in her skull as she pressed with all her might.
  6006. >She’d wear out fast like this.
  6007. >If she was to cut that carrot, it had to be NOW!
  6008.  
  6009. “Release the magic holding the edge, and let the pressure burst forth!”
  6010.  
  6011. >A heavy spray of water shot out at the offending vegetables.
  6012. >Which were totally unmarred from her blow.
  6013. >Lyra couldn’t help but pout.
  6014. >She’d put so much power into that, and it didn’t work!
  6015. >It would have been so much easier to just snap it in half with her magic.
  6016. >But that would be cheating.
  6017.  
  6018. >”Last time I saw somepony do that they were swinging the water around like a sword. Why aren’t you doing that?”
  6019.  
  6020. >Lyra had no idea she was being watched by Bon-Bon.
  6021. >Her face heated up a bit knowing that her failure had been observed.
  6022.  
  6023. “They did it to build up speed before hitting so the jet would have even more power. But that’s too hard for me. There’s a lot to keep track of here.”
  6024.  
  6025. >”Well, why don’t you just hit it with the sharpened water?”
  6026.  
  6027. >Lyra sat down, her head light from the strain of her failed strike.
  6028.  
  6029. >”You okay?”
  6030.  
  6031. “Yeah. Just- that’s really tiring. That would work, but I wouldn’t hit very hard. There’s practical limits on how much power you can put into a single spell before the arcane channels powering it overload. I was shaping that water with several separate telekinetic fields, each pressing as hard as I could manage, squeezing from all sides. If I just swung it I’d only be able to press from the one side. This is a way to turn dozens of spells worth of force into a single hit.”
  6032.  
  6033. >And it was really really REALLY hard.
  6034. >Keeping the water from spilling everywhere was hard enough.
  6035. >Shaping it into a razor’s edge, and pressing with all her might while also positioning the water?
  6036. >Lyra was worried she’d bitten off more than she could chew.
  6037. >But it was so cool!
  6038. >Even if she was never to use that spell for any practical purposes, Lyra was determined to learn it.
  6039.  
  6040. >”Are you going to try again?”
  6041.  
  6042. “Later.”
  6043.  
  6044. >”Well, when you do maybe don’t do it here. I don’t want you cutting through the counter.”
  6045.  
  6046. >Oh.
  6047. >Right.
  6048. >Maybe casting spells designed for fighting the most terrifying monsters in the world inside the house wasn’t a great idea.
  6049. >The blush on Lyra’s face grew more intense.
  6050.  
  6051. >”I’m surprised you’re already moving to intermediate techniques.”
  6052.  
  6053. >Intermediate?
  6054. >Seriously?
  6055.  
  6056. “This isn’t advanced?”
  6057.  
  6058. >”Nope! Mana Tide masters can be pretty scary.”
  6059.  
  6060. >Not for the first time, Lyra wondered what her teacher was capable of.
  6061. >Who was he?
  6062. >He was supposedly the best.
  6063. >Perhaps the more important question was who Sweetie Drops was.
  6064. >Her teacher had said himself that Sweetie Drops was the superior fighter.
  6065. >And if she was so powerful, why did she need dangerous performance enhancers?
  6066. >And even with all that, Bon-Bon had described her last mission as rough.
  6067. >What had they made her do?
  6068. >What was S.M.I.L.E. facing?
  6069. >And if they were succeeding against such terrifying beasts, what was it they were preparing for?
  6070.  
  6071. >”You okay? Is something wrong?”
  6072.  
  6073. >Lyra banished the thoughts as quickly as she could.
  6074. >She returned to her hooves with only a little difficulty having mostly recovered from her failed attempt at cookery.
  6075.  
  6076. “Just a bit worried about you.”
  6077.  
  6078. >”I can take care of myself. Don’t you worry.”
  6079.  
  6080. >Lyra quickly cleaned up her spill and returned to her cooking.
  6081. >She somewhat reluctantly used proper tools to complete the task, and soon the job was done.
  6082. >Lyra happily trotted out of the kitchen with two heaping plates of steaming hot vegetables and noodles in tow to find Bon-Bon sitting at their table.
  6083. >The computer’s display had been moved to the center of the table much to Lyra’s confusion.
  6084.  
  6085. >”Wanna watch a movie?”
  6086.  
  6087. “Sure, I suppose. We can head out after dinner.”
  6088.  
  6089. >”No, I meant during dinner. Over the internet.”
  6090.  
  6091. “You can watch movies on the internet?”
  6092.  
  6093. >”Yup. I’m feeling like a comedy.”
  6094.  
  6095. >Something lighthearted DID sound appealing.
  6096.  
  6097. >”I’ve heard good things about Defective Spires. It’s about a hotel manager.”
  6098.  
  6099. “That doesn’t sound very funny.”
  6100.  
  6101. >Bon-Bon poked at the machine for a couple seconds
  6102. >The screen showed an estimate of 3 hours for the transfer.
  6103.  
  6104. “3 hours? Blech.”
  6105.  
  6106. >Bon-Bon giggled briefly.
  6107.  
  6108. >”We’re over a thousand times that fast.”
  6109.  
  6110. >True to her word the audio and video began to play.
  6111. >It had taken far less time to get the entire movie than it had to load that page of spells.
  6112. >If S.M.I.L.E. had that much computing power, why did they need mathematical prodigies?
  6113. >Was theirs a task that computers couldn’t do for some reason?
  6114. >If so, why bother with this whole computer thing?
  6115. >Maybe they had multiple projects in the works?
  6116. >She put the thought aside for later.
  6117. >The two of them spent the evening enjoying the comforts of the modern era.
  6118. >Fresh out of season vegetables, cheap entertainment, climate control…
  6119. >The modern era had more than its fair share of problems.
  6120. >But even Lyra had to admit that it wasn’t all bad.
  6121. >Imminent doomsday aside, life in Equestria was pretty good.
  6122. >Maybe, Lyra thought, it would be best if she quit.
  6123. >All her digging had brought her was fear and misery.
  6124. >It was just as that mystery mare had warned her.
  6125. >The truth was ugly.
  6126. >And it looked like she was still just scratching the surface.
  6127. >How horrible would it be to know the whole story?
  6128. >She was foolish for thinking she could stand against S.M.I.L.E. anyway.
  6129. >If there were ponies as capable as Bon-Bon on the other team, Lyra really had no chance in the first place.
  6130. >Lyra decided it was in her best interest to give up.
  6131. >To return to her normal life.
  6132. >She retired to bed that night with a smile on her face.
  6133. >But try as she might, she couldn’t forget what she knew.
  6134. >The curiosity was eating away at her thoughts as she drifted off to sleep.
  6135. >Her dreams were troubled that night.
  6136. >She remembered none of them.
  6137.  
  6138. Next morning…
  6139.  
  6140. >Lyra opened her eyes and was greeted with the soft sunlight of the early stages of dawn.
  6141. >She peeled the sweat soaked sheet off her body and headed towards the shower.
  6142. >Her good mood from the night before had passed, and in its place was curiosity and concern.
  6143. >Lyra knew that the right choice was to leave it all behind and just be a normal pony.
  6144. >It was in her best interests.
  6145. >But it was no longer an option.
  6146. >Lyra HAD to know.
  6147. >She’d tried to put it behind her and failed miserably.
  6148. >And something told her that trying again wasn’t going to work.
  6149. >The illusion of the perfectly peaceful world she’d once lived in was gone.
  6150. >And in its place was the grim visage of reality.
  6151. >She wished she could go back.
  6152. >She wanted to live the lie once more.
  6153. >But somehow she knew she was going to keep digging.
  6154. >She’d peer further beyond the veil.
  6155. >The truth hurt, but at least it was true.
  6156. >Once she’d dried herself off and brushed her coat down, she headed out to the living room.
  6157. >Bon-Bon was sitting at the computer.
  6158. >She was rapidly typing what looked like nonsense.
  6159.  
  6160. “Morning!”
  6161.  
  6162. >”Hey there.”
  6163.  
  6164. >She didn’t look up from her task.
  6165. >Lyra was sorely tempted to ask what she was doing.
  6166. >But there was a good chance it was classified anyway, so she kept her peace.
  6167.  
  6168. >”I’m working on our home’s security system. You’re allowed to ask you know, worst thing that can happen is I don’t tell you.”
  6169.  
  6170. “Yeah, I just don’t want to put you in an awkward position. So… security system?”
  6171.  
  6172. >”Never had one before because I didn’t want to catch you with it. But now that we have this thing it’s a bit different.”
  6173.  
  6174. “How?”
  6175.  
  6176. >”Computers can identify ponies. Once it’s found an intruder it can deploy automated weapons. Non-lethal, don’t worry.”
  6177.  
  6178. >That was VERY good to know.
  6179. >Lyra would have to watch out for hidden automated weapons.
  6180. >One more reason to quit.
  6181. >And yet she knew she couldn’t.
  6182. >The mystery would eat away at her if she left it now.
  6183. >Again, that mystery mare was right.
  6184. >There was no turning back.
  6185. >Lyra would have to find out who it was.
  6186. >She was pretty certain it was Starlight Glimmer, but how to prove it?
  6187.  
  6188. >”I know I’ll sleep better once this is done. Even if Twilight says she’s going to fix the crime problem, Ponyville ain’t what it used to be.”
  6189.  
  6190. “Twilight’s fixing the crime problem?”
  6191.  
  6192. >”You didn’t read the news yesterday, did you?”
  6193.  
  6194. “Umm…”
  6195.  
  6196. >Lyra couldn’t see Bon-Bon’s face, but she could still somehow feel her eyes rolling in frustration.
  6197. >The display flashed from the seemingly meaningless symbols to what looked like a news article.
  6198.  
  6199. “You can get the news on this thing? Of course you can, why am I surprised?”
  6200.  
  6201. Tough On Crime
  6202. ‘The time has come to put an end to criminal activity’ Princess Twilight Sparkle said this morning.
  6203. The hour long impassioned speech marks the first time the princess has made an appearance in over 3 months. In it the Princess vowed to ‘clean up the streets’ with more active policing and harsher punishments for violent criminals. While no specifics were provided, the princess assured the press that her top priority with the prisoners was rehabilitation through education and work programs which would help them develop skills for when they returned to society.
  6204. It is believed that this comes as a direct response to the attack on city hall-
  6205.  
  6206. >”It’s all opinion and speculation from there.”
  6207.  
  6208.  
  6209. “They wouldn’t put opinion in a news piece.”
  6210.  
  6211. >”You’re naive. Almost enough for it to be endearing. Almost.”
  6212.  
  6213. >Those words stung.
  6214. >And yet they still rang true.
  6215. >How could she claim otherwise when shocking revelations came so often?
  6216.  
  6217. “Why now? If this is because of the city hall thing shouldn’t they have done this like, a week ago?”
  6218.  
  6219. >Bon-Bon didn’t answer.
  6220. >Perhaps she didn’t have the answer.
  6221. >Perhaps it was classified.
  6222. >Either way, Lyra was intensely suspicious.
  6223.  
  6224. “Where would I look to find out more?”
  6225.  
  6226. >”I dunno. Maybe Ponyville Penitentiary?”
  6227.  
  6228. “We have a pen in town? Since when?”
  6229.  
  6230. >”Like, two years ago.”
  6231.  
  6232. >Ponyville never needed a prison before.
  6233. >Perhaps it was just the population that had changed.
  6234. >One bad pony in a thousand wouldn’t be many before.
  6235. >But with millions of ponies in town now things were bound to change.
  6236. >Lyra knew she shouldn’t be surprised.
  6237. >And yet it seemed one more betrayal of what Ponyville once was.
  6238.  
  6239. “I think I’d better go check it out.”
  6240.  
  6241. >”Eat breakfast first. And I’m coming with.”
  6242.  
  6243. “You’re curious too?”
  6244.  
  6245. >”I don’t want you to be alone over there.”
  6246.  
  6247. >That wasn’t a no.
  6248. >Before long they were setting out into the burning hot morning.
  6249. >It took them a few hours to reach their destination.
  6250. >Ponyville Penitentiary stood beyond the city limits in what would otherwise be grasslands.
  6251. >Concrete walls stood tall with a thick chain link mesh tented above the building to hold in pegasi.
  6252. >Searchlights mounted atop guard towers lie dormant in the bright daylight.
  6253. >Lyra and Bon-Bon walked up the broad asphalt roadway towards the front entrance.
  6254. >The walkways stung their hooves with blistering heat.
  6255. >They made their way through the front gate, guards eyeing them from behind rows of razor wire.
  6256. >Lyra was starting to feel uneasy with all the eyes warily watching her.
  6257. >But Bon-Bon barely seemed to notice.
  6258. >She walked on head held high.
  6259. >The two of them arrived at a heavy steel door.
  6260.  
  6261. >”Halt! Authorised personnel only!
  6262.  
  6263. >Bon-Bon grunted with frustration and stepped forward.
  6264. >The door swung open on its own and the guards stepped down.
  6265.  
  6266. “What just happened?”
  6267.  
  6268. >”I’m authorised.”
  6269.  
  6270. >The two of them made their way into the prison.
  6271. >Lyra couldn’t help but note it was strikingly similar to the school.
  6272. >There was naught but soulless concrete wherever she looked.
  6273. >Lyra was scared of what the cellblocks looked like.
  6274. >Bon-Bon turned to a nearby guard.
  6275.  
  6276. >”Take us to the warden. Actually? No. Bring the warden to me.”
  6277.  
  6278. >The guard saluted and ran off.
  6279. >Lyra looked to her friend with surprise and confusion.
  6280.  
  6281. “Who are you?”
  6282.  
  6283. >”Just a humble confectioner.”
  6284.  
  6285. “Riiiiiight. And I’m Princess Celestia.”
  6286.  
  6287. >It only took a couple minutes for the prison warden, an older Earth pony mare with a dusty orange coat, to come running up to them.
  6288.  
  6289. >”What- *gasp* what can I do for… um...”
  6290.  
  6291. >Lyra wasn’t certain if that was a gasp of shock or fear.
  6292. >Either way, that pony held Bon-Bon with great regard.
  6293.  
  6294. >”A confectioner. My friend here has a few questions she’d like to ask.”
  6295.  
  6296. >Bon-Bon casually leaned against a wall seemingly unsurprised by what had just happened.
  6297. >Lyra was still amazed.
  6298. >Her Bonny was ordering the prison warden around!
  6299.  
  6300. “Umm, right. So, about this work program… what’s actually being done?”
  6301.  
  6302. >”Is she…”
  6303.  
  6304. >The wardeness looked around Lyra to Bon-Bon who still seemed disinterested in the whole discussion.”
  6305.  
  6306. >”ST-3.”
  6307.  
  6308. >Lyra had no idea what that meant.
  6309. >Some kind of security clearance code perhaps?
  6310. >Was that high?
  6311.  
  6312. >”Manufacturing has begun on schedule. Would you like to see?”
  6313.  
  6314. “I would.”
  6315.  
  6316. >Manufacturing?
  6317. >She lead them through the prison complex towards what was likely once the yard.
  6318. >What she found disturbed her deeply.
  6319. >Hoards of unsavoury looking ponies were bound to long assembly lines by thick chains.
  6320. >Each and every one of the bore an orange jumpsuit as they fiddled with layers of cloth before shoving them down the line.
  6321. >To Lyra’s horror Bon-Bon pushed past the ring of guards and walked right up to the assembly line.
  6322. >One of the inmates, a large, bulky unicorn mare, jabbed her horn right at Bon-Bon’s eye.
  6323. >There was a bright flash of light.
  6324. >And the unicorn lie on the ground, dazed.
  6325. >Bon-Bon didn’t seem to stop her inspection for even a second.
  6326. >The rest of the ponies, seemingly frightened by this show, began working more rapidly.
  6327. >She casually walked back.
  6328.  
  6329. >”Well, I’ve nearly seen enough.”
  6330.  
  6331. “You’re okay, right?”
  6332.  
  6333. >”Why wouldn’t I be? One last question. Where are the rest of them?”
  6334.  
  6335. >The rest?
  6336. >What was missing?
  6337.  
  6338. >”The volunteers shipped out last night.”
  6339.  
  6340. >There were more prisoners than that?
  6341. >There must have been hundreds of ponies there!
  6342. >Just how many were behind bars?
  6343.  
  6344. >”Gotcha. We’re leaving.”
  6345.  
  6346. >Bon-Bon started to push a very confused Lyra away.
  6347. >They were out of the prison before Lyra collected the presence of mind to start walking again.
  6348.  
  6349. “What just happened?”
  6350.  
  6351. >”They’re putting the prisoners to work. Some of them got shipped out to a work camp, probably in exchange for a shorter sentence.”
  6352.  
  6353. “That’s terrible!”
  6354.  
  6355. >”Why?”
  6356.  
  6357. >Why?
  6358. >WHY?
  6359.  
  6360. >”Bonny, that’s slavery!”
  6361.  
  6362. >”How do you figure?”
  6363.  
  6364. “It’s- how do you NOT? They’re being forced to work and they aren’t allowed to leave!”
  6365.  
  6366. >”Plenty of ponies have jobs they can’t leave.”
  6367.  
  6368. “Name one.”
  6369.  
  6370. >”Me.”
  6371.  
  6372. >Sweetie Drops couldn’t quit?
  6373. >What would they do to her if she did?
  6374. >Bon-Bon spoke up almost as though she could hear Lyra’s thoughts.
  6375.  
  6376. >”I can’t leave because I’m needed. It’s not like they’re forcing me. But even so I really don’t have any choice. If I walk away terrible things will happen, and so I’m just as stuck as they are. I’m bound by duty, but bound no less.”
  6377.  
  6378. “It’s not really the same. They’re being forced to work!”
  6379.  
  6380. >”So what is it you propose? Should we just let them sit on their rumps all day? Why should criminals get a free ride while law obeying ponies have to work for a living?”
  6381.  
  6382. >Was she seriously defending this?
  6383.  
  6384. >”Lyra, prisons are extremely expensive. Why shouldn’t the CRIMINALS help pay their own bills?”
  6385.  
  6386. “What were they making?”
  6387.  
  6388. >”Does that matter?”
  6389.  
  6390. >Maybe.
  6391. >Lyra wasn’t sure.
  6392. >But the fact that her question was dodged wasn’t lost on her.
  6393.  
  6394. “Well... huh. It gives the princesses a reason to arrest more ponies for one! I don’t think we want that.”
  6395.  
  6396. >”Do you really think they’d arrest ponies just for money?”
  6397.  
  6398. “Yes.”
  6399.  
  6400. >To Lyra’s surprise Bon-Bon quickly ruffled her mane.
  6401. >Doing so while walking was a rather impressive feat that Lyra doubted she could recreate.
  6402.  
  6403. >”You’re a quick learner! Yeah, that’s probably going to happen. They’re making armor by the way. Cheap, obsolete stuff. The kind you might give to the police or a prison guard. They’ll probably wind up making stuff for me at some point in the future. Sure hope it gets tested properly first...”
  6404.  
  6405. >The prisoners were being forced to arm their own guards and captors.
  6406. >This was disgusting.
  6407.  
  6408. “And you’re okay with all this?”
  6409.  
  6410. >She didn’t answer for a while.
  6411. >Instead, she stared off into space for several minutes.
  6412. >Lyra could only imagine what she was thinking.
  6413.  
  6414. >”We live in a dangerous world, Lyra. Equestria is an oasis of sanity and peace. Beyond those borders are terrors that nopony should ever have to see. Ideally they’d stay on the other side and we’d never have to deal with them. But that’s not how things work. Somepony has to face them. And when we go out there, when I go out there, I need support. We protect everypony, and I see no reason why everypony shouldn’t help keep us armed to the teeth. No, it’s not pretty. But sometimes? Sometimes there is no good answer.”
  6415.  
  6416. >Lyra still didn’t like it.
  6417. >Surely there had to be another way.
  6418. >Surely.
  6419.  
  6420. “So you’re okay with using slave labor to arm yourself.”
  6421.  
  6422. >”They have the easier half of the job.”
  6423.  
  6424. >There was no sympathy at all in her voice.
  6425. >Instead, it was dripping with contempt.
  6426.  
  6427. “What are they making you do?”
  6428.  
  6429. >”Nothing you need to worry about.”
  6430.  
  6431. >Something terrifying no doubt.
  6432. >This wasn’t who Bon-Bon was.
  6433. >But it might be who she IS.
  6434. >The last operation had changed her.
  6435. >The Bon-Bon she knew would never have acted like this.
  6436. >She wouldn’t have thrown her weight around at the prison and bossed the wardeness about.
  6437. >She wouldn’t have picked that lock back at Quills & Sofas.
  6438. >Lyra was starting to understand.
  6439. >She got why her teacher was such a jerk, why Bon-Bon was so easily irritated, why she was okay with all this madness.
  6440. >She wasn’t certain, but she had a good hunch.
  6441. >And with it came a bad feeling.
  6442.  
  6443. “You resent us, don’t you?”
  6444.  
  6445. >”Hm?”
  6446.  
  6447. “Civilians. You resent us civilians.”
  6448.  
  6449. >”I don’t resent you. We’re going to have to stop talking about this, there are other ponies nearby.”
  6450.  
  6451. >Lyra didn’t see any.
  6452. >Not at first.
  6453.  
  6454. >”Don’t look around, it’s suspicious. Yeesh. And they’re up.”
  6455.  
  6456. >Pegasi.
  6457. >Of course.
  6458. >They made their way back home, and Bon-Bon started speaking seconds after the front door was bolted.
  6459.  
  6460. >”As I was saying, I don’t resent YOU. But you’re close to right. It’s… it’s not fair, you know?”
  6461.  
  6462. *sniff*
  6463.  
  6464. >The strong, confident visage that normally adorned Bon-Bon’s face was missing.
  6465. >In its place there were watery eyes and trembling lips.
  6466. >When had that happened?
  6467.  
  6468. >”Every member of S.M.I.L.E. winds up hating ponies eventually. We’re out there dealing with the worst the world has to offer, trying to keep Equestria safe and happy. And when we come home we’re surrounded by ponies that don’t appreciate us, that don’t even know we exist. And they complain about the most inane things. Remember when I went away to visit my parents and when I came home you were upset because you didn’t manage to get any cider before they sold out?”
  6469.  
  6470. >Oh.
  6471. >Oh no.
  6472.  
  6473. “I am so SO sorry. I can only imagine what that feels like.”
  6474.  
  6475. >”It’s okay. I could never stay mad at you. But the others…”
  6476.  
  6477. “Whoa, whoa! Colgate told you to stop grinding your teeth like that!”
  6478.  
  6479. >Lyra was pretty sure she’d never before seen such an angry Bon-Bon.
  6480. >It looked like her face was about to pop!
  6481. >Yet another worrying mood swing.
  6482.  
  6483. >”I risk life and limb to make Equestria safe. And then I come home and there are beasts who claim to be ponies undoing all my work. I’ve worked SO HARD to purge evil from this world, and they see fit to make MORE of it? So, yes. I’m okay with using criminals as cheap labor. It’s better than they deserve. I- I think I need to be alone for a bit.”
  6484.  
  6485. “Oh. Okay. Just… if you ever need an ear, I’m here for you.”
  6486.  
  6487. >Bon-Bon cracked a small but genuine smile at the words.
  6488.  
  6489. >”Thank you.”
  6490.  
  6491. >And then she walked to the bedroom.
  6492. >And just like that several pieces fell into place.
  6493. >Tranquil Streams was a jerk because he resented civilians.
  6494. >After so many years of thankless work he was fed up with the ponies he’d protected.
  6495. >And why shouldn’t he be?
  6496. >Lyra STILL didn’t understand what they had gone through.
  6497. >She didn’t know what it meant to be an agent of S.M.I.L.E.
  6498. >And she’d never known terror the way he had.
  6499. >Was this Bon-Bon’s future?
  6500. >Was she destined to become a bitter old mare who seethed with rage every time somepony talked to her?
  6501. >Lyra couldn’t allow that.
  6502. >She had to find some way to let her know she was appreciated.
  6503. >And in order to do that she had to know more about S.M.I.L.E.
  6504. >She needed to understand the burden her Bonny bore.
  6505. >It was then that Lyra added a goal to her growing list.
  6506. >She was going to find out what exactly Sweetie Drops did for a living.
  6507.  
  6508. That night…
  6509.  
  6510. >Lyra reluctantly woke up.
  6511. >It was still the dead of night, and she desperately wanted to go back to bed.
  6512. >But there was a problem.
  6513. >Lyra was shivering.
  6514. >It was cold!
  6515. >She peeled off the sweat drenched sheet and climbed out of bed.
  6516. >Bon-Bon pulled it over herself and curled up into a ball, tail tucked over her muzzle.
  6517. >Lyra couldn’t help but take a moment to admire the heart melting sight.
  6518. >She tore her eyes away and headed to the closet to fetch heavier bedding.
  6519. >When Lyra returned her Bonny was shivering heavily.
  6520. >Lyra peeled the sheet off with her magic and cast it aside.
  6521. >To her surprise it didn’t crumple.
  6522. >Rather, the frozen fabric stayed rigid.
  6523. >Lyra took great care in wrapping the sleeping pony up with heavy blankets and comforters.
  6524. >She tucked them in under her body with her hooves.
  6525. >It didn’t take long for Bon-Bon to stop shivering.
  6526. >But it was still quite literally freezing cold.
  6527. >Just the day before it was sweltering hot.
  6528. >The air conditioner was still running even.
  6529. >Lyra quickly shut it down.
  6530. >Having grown accustom to it, Lyra had stopped noticing just how noisy that machine really was.
  6531. >And with it gone she could hear the winds howling.
  6532. >It was an unnatural sound, not the kind one would normally associate with a strong wind.
  6533. >It had a maddened animalistic sound to it.
  6534. >Lyra was starting to get scared.
  6535. >She hesitantly looked out a window.
  6536. >It was snowing.
  6537. >HARD.
  6538. >Lyra rushed back to the bedroom.
  6539. >Bon-Bon was still sleeping.
  6540. >Somehow.
  6541. >She’d always been a heavy sleeper despite her profession.
  6542. >Lyra was sorely tempted to wake her up and ask what was going on.
  6543. >But she had a hunch.
  6544. >It was silly.
  6545. >They weren’t real.
  6546. >Just like giants and secret agents.
  6547. >Lyra snuck her box of contraband out from under her bed.
  6548. >She retrieved the visor.
  6549. >And she walked to the kitchen to peer out the window.
  6550. >The visor zoomed in at her command.
  6551. >Massive blue spectral beasts weaved throughout the skies leaving massive stormclouds in their wake.
  6552.  
  6553. “Wendigo.”
  6554.  
  6555. >They were real.
  6556. >How could they be real?
  6557. >Wendigo were just a story meant to scare foals.
  6558. >But there they were.
  6559. >They had a maddened glint in their sunken eyes.
  6560. >Even though Lyra was so far away she couldn’t help but feel it was staring straight through her soul.
  6561. >Its jaw distended far too low to reveal not rows of razor sharp teeth, but nothing.
  6562. >Not air nor ice, just a seemingly endless void of blackness.
  6563. >A blinding light filled the sky nearly searing Lyra’s eyes.
  6564. >She took off the visor and blinked a few times to clear her eyes.
  6565. >Looking up at the sky she could barely make out a few faint flashed.
  6566. >She donned the visor once more and zoomed in, not quite so much this time.
  6567. >There must have been thousands of windigo up there.
  6568. >And only a hooffull of pegasi.
  6569. >They all bore sleek dark grey suits that bore a striking resemblance to Derpy’s invisibility suit.
  6570. >Except that the heavy battery pack her suit had on the back had been swapped out for an even heavier looking battery of metal tubes.
  6571. >The tubes themselves were easily twice the length of the fliers, with a girth that could put the proudest of trees to shame.
  6572. >The visor refused to identify the fliers.
  6573.  
  6574. NAME REDACTED
  6575. ID#187
  6576. ST-3 CLEARANCE
  6577.  
  6578. >They each had their own number, and all carried the same clearance level.
  6579. >Wasn’t that what Bon-Bon had said Lyra had?
  6580. >One of them let loose a volley of shots from the tubes they carried on their back.
  6581. >Flames streaked through the sky on the backs of what looked like giant arrows.
  6582. >How could a pegasus possibly carry that payload?
  6583. >Were they made of some super light material?
  6584. >Or did S.M.I.L.E. have yet more secrets to their equipment?
  6585. >The massive arrows each split into hundreds of smaller arrows that all slammed into the beast.
  6586. >A massive fireball engulfed the windigo.
  6587. >And when the flames subsided nothing remained.
  6588. >The pegasus who fired the projectile immediately went into a nosedive to avoid hitting their own fireball.
  6589. >They looped up behind the blast and did a quick half spin to re-orient themselves, right behind another windigo.
  6590. >The ice monsters charged at the fliers, but somehow, some way their lunges always fell just short of striking.
  6591. >The pegasi always seemed to lazily drift out of the way of blasts of frost, almost as though the wind itself knew where to take them.
  6592. >Another volley was let loose.
  6593. >They were fighting windigos.
  6594. >And they were winning.
  6595. >What’s more was they seemed to be winning with ease.
  6596. >They knew they could and they were prepared to do it.
  6597. >Odds were that fights like this were taking place all over the globe.
  6598. >The heat wave suddenly made sense.
  6599. >They were trying to keep everything as hot as possible to buy as much time as they could to fight the windigos off.
  6600. >Which meant they knew they’d be coming.
  6601. >What had caused them to return?
  6602. >Was this the doomsday that they feared?
  6603.  
  6604. “No. No, it isn’t.”
  6605.  
  6606. >Using the foals was a long term plan.
  6607. >There were years yet before any of them had even the slimmed chance of graduating.
  6608. >They were worried about something else.
  6609. >Another windigo disappeared in a skyborne inferno.
  6610. >They feared something bigger than this.
  6611. >Because S.M.I.L.E. no longer feared the windigo.
  6612. >They weren’t afraid of the monsters that nearly froze the whole world.
  6613. >Because S.M.I.L.E. could do the impossible.
  6614. >Sweetie Drops could do the impossible.
  6615. >Lyra glanced toward the bedroom.
  6616.  
  6617. NAME REDACTED
  6618. ID#000
  6619. ST-2 CLEARANCE
  6620.  
  6621. >000
  6622. >Double O Zero.
  6623. >In the novels that designation was reserved for the highest ranking field operative.
  6624. >Could it really be?
  6625. >Was her Bonny really at the top of S.M.I.L.E.?
  6626. >Lyra tucked the visor away and shoved the box under the bed.
  6627. >She looked at the sleeping pony on the bed, all wrapped up tight in a quilt.
  6628. >Just her muzzle was poking out.
  6629. >Bon-Bon let out a contented sigh in her sleep.
  6630. >And Lyra knew.
  6631. >Those were the sounds of one of the most dangerous ponies in history.
  6632. >And possibly the most dangerous pony alive.
  6633. >The Bon-Bon burrito rolled over, a cute little smile upon her face...
  6634.  
  6635.  
  6636. * * * * *
  6637.  
  6638.  
  6639. “Careful… Just a little higher.”
  6640.  
  6641. >Lyra carefully levitated the package higher and higher.
  6642. >This was delicate spellwork that warranted the greatest of care.
  6643. >If she messed this up, it could be a massive setback to her work.
  6644. >And this work was of the utmost importance!
  6645. >If she failed at this, she might as well just give up on everything!
  6646. >Without this one act there was no meaning, no hope!
  6647. >THIS was the MOST important task she’d ever undertaken!
  6648. >And the greatest challenge of her LIFE!
  6649.  
  6650. >”What are you doing?”
  6651.  
  6652. “Oh, heya Bonny!”
  6653.  
  6654. >Lyra didn’t turn around to face her friend.
  6655. >There was no need to.
  6656. >She knew what she’d see anyway.
  6657. >Bon-Bon was standing in the doorway, reluctant to leave the warmth and comfort of home.
  6658. >She’d just opened the door halfway.
  6659. >Partially to preserve heat.
  6660. >But mostly because the snow buildup on their step wouldn’t allow her to open it any further.
  6661. >The sweeping winds would occasionally blow a healthy cloud of powder snow between the two obstructing vision.
  6662. >Which was a terrible shame.
  6663. >Bon-Bon deserved to see this unhindered.
  6664.  
  6665. “I’m making ART!”
  6666.  
  6667. >She dropped the massive snow boulder atop the other, making a three high stack of frozen water.
  6668. >her creation stood half again as high as their home.
  6669. >It was perfect.
  6670.  
  6671. >”You know snow ponies are usually longer than they are tall, right?”
  6672.  
  6673. “This isn’t a pony. It’s… umm. I don’t know what it is!”
  6674.  
  6675. >She waded through the deep snow toward the neighbor’s home.
  6676. >And then she ripped three branches off a fallen tree.
  6677. >The icy winds had taken their toll on the local flora, felling many trees beneath the weight of ice and snow.
  6678. >She buried a branch on either side of her creation.
  6679.  
  6680. “Two great big wings.”
  6681.  
  6682. >And then she shoved the third in its back.
  6683.  
  6684. “And a beefy leg coming out of the neck!”
  6685.  
  6686. >For the finishing touch she embedded several stones in the top snowball making a great big goofy grin.
  6687.  
  6688. “It’s perfect!”
  6689.  
  6690. >Lyra finally turned to look at Bon-Bon who was rubbing her face in frustration.
  6691. >But she was also smiling, and just barely holding back her laughter.
  6692.  
  6693. >”What- *pfft* what about the eyes?”
  6694.  
  6695. “Oh right! Totally forgot. Do you think they make googly eyes big enough for this thing?”
  6696.  
  6697. >”Get in here you goof. I made cacao.”
  6698.  
  6699. >That sounded VERY appealing.
  6700. >It took some effort but Lyra managed to push her way through the deep snow.
  6701. >When she finally got inside she began to strip layer after layer of clothing, shaking off huge amounts of frozen water.
  6702. >She quickly collected the snow into a pile with her magic and opened the door to cast it outside.
  6703. >But then she changed her mind.
  6704.  
  6705. “Collect it. Shape it into an edge. Compress it…”
  6706.  
  6707. >The pressure built around the floating snow.
  6708. >It melted beneath her pressure becoming the familiar water blade.
  6709. >She aimed it at her monstrous creation and opened fire.
  6710. >A cracking noise rang out and a heavy spray of water flew out.
  6711. >It froze in flight, becoming a flurry of ice crystals.
  6712. >It did not, however, do any damage.
  6713. >Lyra shrugged her failure off and went inside.
  6714. >Her ears itched fiercely as her body adjusted to the more reasonable temperature.
  6715. >Bon-Bon say at the kitchen table nursing a steaming hot mug.
  6716. >One sat opposite her awaiting Lyra.
  6717. >She sat before it and looked at the piping hot liquid.
  6718. >It was far too hot to drink.
  6719.  
  6720. >”How can you stand to be out in that cold for that long?”
  6721.  
  6722. “It wasn’t THAT bad.”
  6723.  
  6724. >”It’s FORTY BELOW!”
  6725.  
  6726. “Maybe I’m just fluffier than you?”
  6727.  
  6728. >”Make sure you don’t freeze yourself. Icicles are no good for cuddles.”
  6729.  
  6730. >Lyra blew gently on her drink hoping she’d be able to safely consume it soon.
  6731. >It was taunting her there.
  6732. >The tantalizing chocolatey sweetness was in reach, and still she couldn’t drink.
  6733.  
  6734. >”You don’t seem at all alarmed by this cold snap.”
  6735.  
  6736. “Naa.”
  6737.  
  6738. >Lyra loudly slurped at her cacao.
  6739. >The liquid stung her lips, but failed to burn.
  6740. >She put it back down.
  6741.  
  6742. “I reckon the windigo won’t be sticking around too long. Wait. Is it windegos? Windegi?”
  6743.  
  6744. >”Windigog. You think it’s a monster from a story?”
  6745.  
  6746. “Windigog? What a silly language. And it’s pretty obvious. There aren’t that many things that could cause a cold snap like this.”
  6747.  
  6748. >”Maybe there was a problem at the weather factory?”
  6749.  
  6750. “What, like somepony sabotaged it trying to prevent winter? I suppose that’s not the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. Still. My bits are on windigog.”
  6751.  
  6752. >Lyra managed a small sip without burning herself.
  6753. >The warmth radiated through her body, taking the edge off a chill she didn’t even know she had.
  6754.  
  6755. >”How are you so certain?”
  6756.  
  6757. “They were making a LOT of noise last night. I’m honestly not sure how you slept through it all.”
  6758.  
  6759. >”They got close enough for you to hear them? Good grief. This is going to be hard to sweep under the rug. Oh, and if anypony asks they definitely don’t exist and you’re too old for foal’s stories.”
  6760.  
  6761. “Right, right. What about the balls of light in the sky last night? Weather balloon?”
  6762.  
  6763. >She planted her face in her hooves and let out a long suffering groan.
  6764.  
  6765. >”Yup. Definitely not highly potent air to air munitions being deployed way too close to town. Ugh.”
  6766.  
  6767. “You feeling okay?”
  6768.  
  6769. >”Peachy.”
  6770.  
  6771. >She didn’t remove face from hoof to say that.
  6772. >If anything she seemed more dismayed.
  6773. >Was this really such bad news?
  6774.  
  6775. “Okay. Now I’m worried about this cold snap.”
  6776.  
  6777. >She sat up and shook her head with dismay.
  6778.  
  6779. >”Don’t be. Windigog aren’t a big deal. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were all taken care of by now.”
  6780.  
  6781. “How do you know they’re not a problem? Have you dealt with them before?”
  6782.  
  6783. >She ignored the question.
  6784.  
  6785. >”I’m just scared of how much paperwork this is going to generate. If ponies saw what happened there’s going to be a crazy mess to deal with. It already takes way too long to get anything through the bureaucracy these days. I don’t want to have to wait 6 to 8 weeks to requisition a spoon.”
  6786.  
  6787. >Not even S.M.I.L.E. was free of the burden of paperwork.
  6788. >These were dark times indeed.
  6789.  
  6790. *BZZZT*
  6791.  
  6792. >The lights cut out for a couple seconds as the loud zapping noise filled the house.
  6793. >When the lights returned, Bon-Bon was missing.
  6794. >She’d bolted to the living room with stunning speed.
  6795. >Lyra followed cautiously.
  6796. >On the floor lay a pony clad in a dull grey suit with a heavy battery pack mounted on their back.
  6797. >It looked like Derpy’s invisibility suit.
  6798. >But this wasn’t Derpy, it was a unicorn.
  6799. >A wire was attached to their barrel, leading up to a nail holding up a painting on the wall.
  6800. >The firing port was hidden in plain sight.
  6801. >And she’d not noticed it despite living right next to it.
  6802. >The pony on the ground groaned in confusion and pain.
  6803. >Bon-Bon gestured for Lyra to stay hidden.
  6804. >She did.
  6805. >But she didn’t stop listening.
  6806. >Lyra pressed her ear to the wall and held her breath.
  6807.  
  6808. >”What the hay was that for?”
  6809.  
  6810. >A stallion.
  6811.  
  6812. >”Sorry! Bit of a bug there.”
  6813.  
  6814. >”A BUG? That REALLY hurts you know!”
  6815.  
  6816. >”Yeah, yeah. I’ll make it up to you later.”
  6817.  
  6818. >A bit of grunting could be heard for a few second.
  6819. >Then relative silence for a little while.
  6820.  
  6821. >”I thought you lived with somepony. Where’s the canton?”
  6822.  
  6823. >Canton?
  6824. >What’s that?
  6825.  
  6826. >”Whoa, whoa. S.D., what’s wrong?”
  6827.  
  6828. >The lights went out again.
  6829. >The zapping noise filled the house once more.
  6830.  
  6831. >”Did- did you just shock yourself?”
  6832.  
  6833. >”Yup. Remember how that took you out so quickly? Remember how I was still more than able to beat your ass?”
  6834.  
  6835. >Did Bon-Bon just use her stunner on herself to prove she was tougher than him?
  6836. >That was pretty hardcore!
  6837.  
  6838. >”Don’t insult her. Ever.”
  6839.  
  6840. >”YES MA’AM!”
  6841.  
  6842. >”FRIEND is out at the moment. Now that we’ve got that straightened out, why are you here? I’m connected to the internet you know. You could have easily sent a message that way.”
  6843.  
  6844. >”Net outages. Ice storm took down a couple lines. Raptors finished in overtime so we’ve got some extra cleanup to do.”
  6845.  
  6846. >Raptors?
  6847.  
  6848. >”What happened? Were they unprepared?”
  6849.  
  6850. >”Beancounters decided to hold the Balefire missiles. Took a bit longer.”
  6851.  
  6852. >”Can’t blame ‘em too much I suppose. We’re always short on those things. So… what message you got for me?”
  6853.  
  6854. >”Your Ares suit is ready and awaiting approval.”
  6855.  
  6856. >Bon-Bon let out a loud squeal of delight.
  6857.  
  6858. >”Site three. All the mods you requested are done. Speaking of your mods, are you insane?”
  6859.  
  6860. >”Probably! I’ll be there straight away! I’ll see ya there.”
  6861.  
  6862. >”Bundle up. It’s stupid cold out there.”
  6863.  
  6864. >Lyra quickly pulled her ear from the wall
  6865. >Bon-Bon practically pranced out of the room.
  6866. >She was clearly giddy with excitement.
  6867.  
  6868. >”I gotta go for a bit see you tonight bye!”
  6869.  
  6870. >She bounced to the front door and began wrapping herself in cloth.
  6871. >A few minutes later what looked more like a walking laundry pile than a poly was struggling to wrap their scarf around their balaclava.
  6872. >Lyra decided to intervene, wrapping it around with her magic.
  6873. >She gave the giant bundle of winter wrappings a clumsy hug before watching it totter out the door.
  6874. >And then she had nothing to do.
  6875.  
  6876. “Now what?”
  6877.  
  6878. >She walked over to the sofa and sat down upon her rump.
  6879. >Being snowed in was no fun.
  6880. >She COULD leave the house, but it would be too much trouble.
  6881. >It was really cold and there was so much snow.
  6882. >Lyra was pretty much stuck.
  6883. >With time her thoughts began to wander.
  6884. >She wondered what a canton was.
  6885. >The dictionary said it was a decorative pillar, but that didn’t sound right.
  6886. >She looked over to her spy novels.
  6887. >She’d awaited the most recent installment so eagerly.
  6888. >Yet it still sat unopened.
  6889. >Collecting dust.
  6890. >She tried to read it but failed to get lost in the words.
  6891. >The spies that surrounded her were far more interesting.
  6892. >And unlike the fictional agent 000, they could be nigh on anypony.
  6893. >They weren’t all suave highborn ponies.
  6894. >They didn’t carry badges.
  6895. >And they could be anywhere.
  6896. >Her thoughts continued to drift.
  6897. >The one who’d just visited them had one of Derpy’s invisibility suits.
  6898. >Wasn’t he cold in that thing?
  6899. >How many of them had those?
  6900. >Could there be invisible spies everywhere?
  6901. >What was an Ares suit?
  6902. >Some kind of armor based on the name.
  6903. >Why did Sweetie Drops just get hers now?
  6904. >She wanted some modifications, but Lyra couldn’t help but think that should have been done a while ago.
  6905. >Were these new?
  6906. >When Bon-Bon said that armor at the prison was obsolete, did she mean compared to this thing?
  6907. >Why are they making obsolete armor?
  6908. >Bon-Bon suggested that it was cheap. But why make any armor in the first place?
  6909. >If the agents of S.M.I.L.E. weren’t going to use it, who would?
  6910. >The guard had their bronze armor already.
  6911. >Why did they need better?
  6912. >It occurred to Lyra that this likely wasn’t for whatever great danger they were worried about.
  6913. >That was years away yet.
  6914. >They should have enough time to make the good stuff.
  6915. >Right?
  6916.  
  6917. “Maybe it’s for something else?”
  6918.  
  6919. >Was there a different fight coming?
  6920. >Was there no end to the violence S.M.I.L.E. faced?
  6921. >Today they battled windigog.
  6922. >Soon another battle would come.
  6923. >And later a fight they didn’t think they could win.
  6924. >Would they ever have ‘won’?
  6925. >Or was theirs an unending task?
  6926. >The computer began to emit a high pitch squealing noise.
  6927. >Lyra tried to ignore it at first.
  6928. >But it was far too annoying.
  6929. >She approached the device somewhat hesitantly.
  6930. >Lyra really didn’t know how to use the thing.
  6931. >She was more than a little fearful that she might damage it in some way.
  6932. >The screen bore a simple message in giant, bold letters.
  6933.  
  6934. URGENT MESSAGE FOR LYRA HEARTSTRINGS
  6935.  
  6936. >How did this message get here?
  6937. >Didn’t they say the network was broken?
  6938. >Was that a lie?
  6939. >Or had this message been delivered in pony?
  6940. >Lyra glanced at the wires that lay dormant on the ground.
  6941. >Bon-Bon hadn't reset them.
  6942. >There could be an invisible pony here right now and she'd have no clue.
  6943. >What were they trying to tell her?
  6944.  
  6945. “Where’s the open button?”
  6946.  
  6947. >After a few minutes of searching, Lyra saw no key that said it would open the message.
  6948. >She decided to try typing ‘open’.
  6949.  
  6950. “Why aren’t these things in alphabetical order?”
  6951.  
  6952. >She eventually found the O key and pressed it.
  6953. >The message changed.
  6954.  
  6955. Bon-Bon won’t return until after midnight. Go to the Everfree bunker, infiltrate, and discover. You’re looking for a message about lithium.
  6956. Try not to assault anypony this time. Staff are on duty. I repeat, staff are still on duty. Seek the smoke.
  6957.  
  6958. Failure to comply will result in your immediate arrest for breaking and entering, treason, espionage, and attempted regicide.
  6959.  
  6960. “Regicide!? I didn’t try to- augh!”
  6961.  
  6962. >Whoever had been helping her out was now blackmailing her.
  6963. >The ‘mystery’ benefactor was perhaps not quite so benevolent as they first seemed.
  6964. >Lyra was almost certain it was Starlight Glimmer.
  6965. >Perhaps if she had some evidence of that she could use it to protect herself?
  6966. >Investigating Glimmer suddenly became a very high priority.
  6967. >But it was not yet the top priority.
  6968. >There was a task right before her.
  6969. >This sounded like a REALLY bad idea.
  6970. >But she really had no choice in the matter.
  6971. >If she got caught she'd face the exact same thing that was being threatened.
  6972. >There was only one way out and that was success.
  6973. >She loaded a pair of unmarked saddlebags with her visor and a few stones before bundling up and heading out.
  6974. >Lyra stepped behind her hulking snow beast and donned the visor.
  6975. >A quick look at her house revealed no names.
  6976. >Either the stealth suits could hide from this or they'd already left.
  6977. >Or perhaps this pony wasn’t chipped?
  6978. >Too many questions, far too few answers.
  6979. >She needed some way to find these invisible ponies.
  6980. >Lyra thought back briefly.
  6981. >Derpy explained how it worked.
  6982. >The suit changed its colours to match the background.
  6983. >But if there were something ON the suit…
  6984. >Lyra decided to go into the city.
  6985. >For perhaps the first time, she was glad to be there.
  6986. >The snowfall had been cleared out of the busiest roadways saving time and effort.
  6987. >And she even had the option of ducking into stores when the biting cold grew to be too much.
  6988. >She eventually stepped into a party store.
  6989. >It was surprisingly buttoned down and orderly given its nature.
  6990. >Everything was neatly arranged and organised upon their shelves.
  6991. >Signs and advertisements plastered every wall in a desperate bid to move more product.
  6992. >Lyra made her way to the silly string intent on purchasing a couple cans.
  6993. >She hoped the toy would allow her to find the unseen ponies if the time came.
  6994. >It took her a while to determine which brand was the better buy.
  6995. >The canisters were different sizes marked with different units and tagged with different prices.
  6996. >Everything was done to obscure the actual value of the product, to make comparison as hard as possible.
  6997. >She eventually noticed a small detail with the corner of her eye.
  6998. >All three brands were made by R&A incorporated.
  6999. >The choice was an illusion.
  7000. >No matter which she purchased she was supporting Rarity.
  7001. >She rolled her eyes and went to the counter to pay for her purchase.
  7002. >With silly string in tow, Lyra hesitantly left the Party Plaza (a subsidiary of R&A incorporated).
  7003. >She walked back out into the cold.
  7004. >To Lyra’s great surprise she was hesitant to leave the city when she arrived at the outskirts.
  7005. >Great heaps of powder snow stood between herself and her target.
  7006. >She was forced to wade through the snowfall, head barely peeking over the top.
  7007. >The effort helped to keep her relatively warm, but still she could feel the stinging pain of cold in her extremities.
  7008. It took her hours to push through the ice and snow before finally reaching Everfree.
  7009. She hesitated.
  7010. This place was DANGEROUS.
  7011. But she had little choice.
  7012. Whoever was threatening her had all they needed to get her condemned to any fate they desired.
  7013. And Lyra was not interested in attracting their ire.ities.
  7014. >The trees of the forest started to come into view just above.
  7015. >Strangely enough, they didn’t seem to be covered in ice and snow.
  7016. >The green leaves were completely unburdened by snow.
  7017. >And as she pushed inward the snow began to grow thinner.
  7018. >There was a strange burning sensation in Lyra’s ears as her body began to regain heat.
  7019. >Somehow, some way, the Everfree forest had been spared the wrath of the windigog.
  7020. >Lyra was scared.
  7021. >This was the Everfree forest.
  7022. >Everypony knew that entering that forest was completely insane.
  7023. >She stood frozen in place for several minutes unable to enter the horrible place.
  7024. >The cold started to become too much and her hoof was forced.
  7025. >Move or freeze.
  7026. >Lyra stepped under the trees.
  7027. >Only a very thin layer of snow covered the forest floor.
  7028. >Puddles and streams were scattered about as the incredible amount of snowfall melted before her very eyes.
  7029. >The forest was positively soaked.
  7030. >Lyra was forced to tread carefully lest she become mired in.
  7031. >It wasn’t long before her winter clothing grew too hot in the strangely warm forest.
  7032. >Lyra began to strip down.
  7033. >She took some time to find a good hiding spot, stashing her clothing in the branches of an abnormally broad tree.
  7034. >She now wore nothing but a black bodysuit and a balaclava.
  7035. >It was still too warm.
  7036. >But she needed to conceal her identity somehow.
  7037. >Being in this forest was entirely too eerie for Lyra.
  7038. >She’d heard so many horror stories about these woods.
  7039. >But they seemed so peaceful.
  7040. >The atmosphere may have been a bit dark and humid for her tastes.
  7041. >But the constant noise of the city was gone.
  7042. >And in its place were the gentle sounds of nature.
  7043. >A reminder of the simpler life that she used to know.
  7044. >There was no shortage of birdsong in these woods.
  7045. >The sounds were wrong; whatever birds these were were not the ones she used to know.
  7046. >But they were still birds.
  7047. >She definitely preferred them over noise construction sites and generators.
  7048. >Somehow, despite being in the infamous Everfree forest, Lyra found herself calming.
  7049. >This place was supposed to be horrifying.
  7050. >And yet she was at peace.
  7051. >She wasn’t being towered over by ugly concrete spires.
  7052. >She wasn’t being pushed at from all sides by throngs of strangers.
  7053. >And she wasn’t barraged with the mindless noise of the city.
  7054. >Somehow, the Everfree forest had become more like home than her actual home.
  7055. >Tension began to bleed away as she wandered through the woods.
  7056. >This forest had withstood all the changes and horrors their world had been burdened with.
  7057. >It had even been spared the drought and the heat wave.
  7058. >In this small corner of the world things almost seemed…
  7059. >Normal.
  7060. >Was this all that remained of the Equestria of old?
  7061. >It was comforting to know that she could at least visit the old world at times.
  7062. >She put her visor back on and began searching.
  7063. >There was a spring in her step and even a small smile on her face.
  7064. >This wasn’t so bad.
  7065. >But what was she looking for?
  7066. >She moved inward almost entirely blindly.
  7067. >But what was that?
  7068. >A plume of smoke in the sky.
  7069. >She was reluctant to approach.
  7070. >Wasn’t running toward a forest fire really stupid?
  7071. >But it seemed pretty small right now.
  7072. >And she was specifically told to look for smoke.
  7073. >Lyra approached the flame.
  7074. >It took half an hour to reach it, but she found a small clearing.
  7075. >In the middle was a metal hatch in the middle of a concrete pad.
  7076. >Large electric pumps with nozzles were mounted upon the concrete.
  7077. >Pumps of some sort?
  7078. >And all around was ash and dust.
  7079. >She could see faintly glowing coals scattered about beneath the ash.
  7080. >Lyra could see the forest reclaiming the land before her very eyes.
  7081. >Vines were crawling their way towards the concrete pad at a steady pace.
  7082. >A small sapling sprouted out from beneath the still hot cinders.
  7083. >Within a minute it was taller than Lyra.
  7084. >A thick oily liquid sprayed out of the nozzles, splattering about the fresh growth.
  7085. >There was a spark.
  7086. >And then the area turned into a raging inferno.
  7087. >Lyra had to step back as the scorching heat filled the area.
  7088. >The plants burnt.
  7089. >Far too slowly, but still they burnt.
  7090. >When the flames subsided, the forest began growing anew.
  7091. >Could they not poison the soil in some way?
  7092. >Was this their best solution for controlling the Everfree forest?
  7093. >It seemed a lot of trouble.
  7094. >Why build anything here?
  7095. >Lyra knew she’d find no answers standing about.
  7096. >She needed to see what was under that hatch.
  7097. >Lyra approached, somewhat fearful that the flamethrowers would target her.
  7098. >She plugged on up with the stones she carried in her saddlebag.
  7099.  
  7100. “Okay. Okay, you can do this.”
  7101.  
  7102. >She didn’t move.
  7103.  
  7104. “Any second now.”
  7105.  
  7106. >The forest was regrowing.
  7107. >A vine began wrapping itself about her leg.
  7108. >That was all the push she needed.
  7109. >Lyra bolted toward the concrete pad.
  7110. >The turrets did not react.
  7111. >She stood on the landing, no more than fifty meters away from where she started.
  7112. >And yet she was short on breath.
  7113. >That was terrifying.
  7114. >If she’d been caught in that spray of burning liquid-
  7115. >Lyra shivered as she recovered the stones.
  7116. >And then turned her attention to the hatch.
  7117. >A raging inferno erupted around her.
  7118. >She couldn’t help but jump in fright.
  7119. >But the flames began to subside without any problem.
  7120. >She seemed to be safe here.
  7121. >How to get in though?
  7122. >There was a heavy steel hatch.
  7123. >She saw no way to open it.
  7124. >Prying at it with her magic accomplished nothing; it was locked in place in some way.
  7125. >Just a round slab of steel.
  7126. >No visible hinges.
  7127. >No keyhole.
  7128. >Nothing.
  7129. >There was only one way in.
  7130.  
  7131. “You can do this, Lyra.”
  7132.  
  7133. >Liquid fuel began to spray out.
  7134. >Lyra swiped a little bit with her magic before it was lit ablaze.
  7135. >Fire roared around her as she began to shape it.
  7136. >A small blade of oily black liquid hovered above the hatch.
  7137. >Lyra began to pressurize it.
  7138. >She started to sweat both from the heat and from exertion.
  7139. >Lyra struck.
  7140. >Nothing.
  7141. >She collected the liquid with her magic and began to try again.
  7142. >But her head was swimming with exhaustion from her failure.
  7143.  
  7144. “Clear your head. Stop thinking. Focus.”
  7145.  
  7146. >Easier said than done.
  7147. >The spell was complex.
  7148. >Not thinking too much was going to be extremely difficult.
  7149. >And focusing on so many different parts would be taxing.
  7150. >She needed to push thoughts aside.
  7151.  
  7152. “Remember that feeling.”
  7153.  
  7154. >The feeling of anger, nay, FURY!
  7155. >The burning hatred and disgust she felt when she attacked Twilight Sparkle.
  7156. >She NEEDED to do this or she’d be imprisoned.
  7157. >She wasn’t going to fail!
  7158. >AND she was going to HUNT DOWN whoever DARED to blackmail her!
  7159. >Lyra was MAD!
  7160. >And she was going to take her anger out on this hatch.
  7161.  
  7162. “RARGH!”
  7163.  
  7164. >A cracking sound filled the air.
  7165. >The oil struck the hatch, bursting into flame upon impact.
  7166. >When the flames died down, Lyra could see a shallow gash had formed upon the hatch.
  7167. >Her knees wobbled.
  7168. >She collapsed.
  7169. >And then she smiled.
  7170. >It was poorly executed.
  7171. >She didn’t get through.
  7172. >And it had wiped her out.
  7173. >But something had happened.
  7174. >Her happiness was short lived though.
  7175. >There was no way she’d get through like that.
  7176. >Her magic was pretty much spent for the day, and she’d barely even made a dent.
  7177. >Lyra rolled over to lie upon her back.
  7178. >Smoke filled the sky above her, blocking out most of the sun.
  7179. >Staying here was probably bad for her lungs.
  7180. >But that wasn’t really at the forefront of her thoughts.
  7181. >Lyra wasn’t sure what to do.
  7182. >How to get in?
  7183. >A high pitched beeping noise chirped out.
  7184. >The hatch swung open.
  7185. >Someone had let her in.
  7186. >Was it her blackmailer?
  7187. >Why had they not opened it sooner?
  7188. >Were they testing her in some way?
  7189. >Perhaps they wanted to see if she could get in on her own.
  7190. >Lyra didn’t know.
  7191. >It took her a moment to get back up to her hooves.
  7192. >Lyra looked down the hatch.
  7193. >A ladder led into the inky blackness.
  7194. >This didn’t seem like a front door of any sort.
  7195. >It was more like an access tunnel.
  7196. >Where was the main entrance?
  7197. >Why would they go through this trouble to protect a secondary entrance?
  7198. >Why not just put everything through the front door?
  7199. >For that matter, why bother with Everfree at all?
  7200. >She didn’t know.
  7201. >Lyra began to climb down.
  7202. >Her legs trembled with weariness and fear and she was swallowed by the blackness.
  7203. >It kept going further and further down.
  7204. >Lyra had no clue how far below the surface she was when she finally reached the landing.
  7205. >She whipped up a light spell.
  7206. >Or at least she attempted to.
  7207. >A couple failures later and she could see.
  7208. >There was a metal door in front of her.
  7209. >It had a warning sign on it, the one she’d first seen back below the post office.
  7210. >Derpy had said it was dangerous.
  7211. >Lyra could either face the unknown or fall back.
  7212. >And be thrown into a dungeon for the rest of her life.
  7213. >Starlight Glimmer was going to pay.
  7214. >She opened the door.
  7215. >There were large metal tubes pointing straight at her face.
  7216. >Massive belts of metal cartridges were loaded into them.
  7217. >And they did nothing.
  7218. >Was this a weapon of some sort?
  7219. >She saw no room for an operator.
  7220. >Perhaps it was automated like Bon-Bon’s stunner?
  7221. >Why had they not attacked?
  7222. >She stepped past them.
  7223. >Nothing happened.
  7224. >Were they broken?
  7225. >Had they been told not to hurt her?
  7226. >Or could they not see her?
  7227. >Lyra needed to know how those worked.
  7228. >She walked through the unfinished corridor, wooden beams holding the earth aloft in the cramped tunnel.
  7229. >This place was so different from the one below the post office.
  7230. >It felt unfinished.
  7231. >No lighting, no actual walls, nothing.
  7232. The corridor was mercifully short.
  7233. >The door at the end had no warning sign.
  7234. >She pushed through.
  7235. >And entered a sweltering hot chamber.
  7236. >Lyra could scarcely believe that this place existed so close to the mounds of snow she’d so recently braved.
  7237. >And there was something strange about the air here.
  7238. >Breathing was easy, but not satisfying.
  7239. >The wet air was sustaining her, but she needed a lot of it.
  7240. >Lyra realised there was no need for her light spell and she let it go.
  7241. >In here there was no shortage of light.
  7242. >Row after row of vegetables grew in planters.
  7243. >This was a greenhouse.
  7244. >An automated, subterranean greenhouse.
  7245. >But why in Everfree?
  7246. >Lyra found herself breathing heavily once more as she approached the vegetables.
  7247. >The lighting in this area was strange.
  7248. >It lacked any green whatsoever.
  7249. >When she looked at the leaves of the plants they were pitch black.
  7250. >These lights were designed to only produce the wavelengths the plants needed.
  7251. >She examined one of the plants.
  7252. >It was a corn stalk.
  7253. >But it was way too short.
  7254. >And to Lyra’s surprise, there was no soil.
  7255. >The plants were suspended in a murky stream of water.
  7256. >What was in it?
  7257. >A fertiliser of some sort?
  7258. >An ear of corn began to sprout on the side of the plant.
  7259. >It bore no peel, and the corns themselves were unusually large.
  7260. >It looked perfect.
  7261. >Lyra was sorely tempted to bite into it.
  7262. >A small machine that sat on a rail system above moved into place.
  7263. >A clamp extended and plucked the ear.
  7264. >The machine zoomed off to who knows where.
  7265. >They had automated the harvest too.
  7266. >Produce of all sorts filled this place.
  7267. >And all of it was unnatural.
  7268. >Sugarcanes that oozed a thick syrup straight into bottles.
  7269. >Apples that grew from a stalk.
  7270. >Carrots hanging from a vine.
  7271. >They had somehow made plants of their own creation.
  7272. >Disguised as the normal foods from before.
  7273. >And they were harnessing the strange magic of Everfree to make them grow faster.
  7274. >Was this the source of her fresh, out of season produce?
  7275. >Did the stir fry she’d made so recently come from here?
  7276. >Was this safe to eat?
  7277. >Why was S.M.I.L.E. bothering with agriculture?
  7278. >There were plenty of farms up above.
  7279. >That had all just been buried in ice and snow.
  7280. >A global snowstorm had wiped them out.
  7281. >There might be no harvest this year.
  7282. >THIS, right here, was where food came from.
  7283. >All of it.
  7284. >There were even plants ponies couldn’t eat here.
  7285. >Oversized tomatoes hung from dwarf vines.
  7286. >Toxic to ponies.
  7287. >Delicious to minotaurs and centaurs.
  7288. >They had taken it upon themselves to feed the whole world when this happened.
  7289. >Not just ponies, but thinking beings everywhere.
  7290. >But she didn’t know.
  7291. >Either way, they were going to make a fortune.
  7292. >And EVERYBODY, be they pony or not, was forced to buy from them.
  7293. >Doubtlessly through Rarity’s company.
  7294. >She kept walking through the area.
  7295. >Her movements were sluggish and clumsy.
  7296. >The heat and bad air were taking their toll.
  7297. >She could see another door in the distance.
  7298. >Lyra moved towards it without really knowing why.
  7299. >Her thoughts were muddy and confused.
  7300. >She passed potatoes that hung from stems, grains and berries that fell into chutes when they grew too large, there was even a pineapple stalk.
  7301. >Lyra reached the far door and pushed through.
  7302. >She sat on the far side for a few moments before her head cleared.
  7303. >And when she could finally see straight?
  7304. >She was staring a stunned Applejack in the eye.
  7305. >The ‘pony’ before her seemed too frightened and confused to act.
  7306. >Clearly they were not expecting to ever see another down in this place.
  7307. >Lyra turned to go back through the door-
  7308. >The metal barrels popped out of ‘Applejack’s’ back and began spinning.
  7309.  
  7310. >”These will turn you into paste in under a second if you try anything funny. Get on the floor.”
  7311.  
  7312. >She did.
  7313. >’Applejack’ produced a rope out of the storage compartment she apparently had in her rump.
  7314. >She walked up to Lyra and began tying her legs.
  7315. >But there was an opportunity here.
  7316. >Their leg was near Lyra’s horn.
  7317. >If she stretched she could just barely reach it.
  7318. >Lyra remembered the curse she’d learned recently.
  7319. >She tapped her horn to the leg.
  7320. >It made the distinctive clicking sound of metal.
  7321. >She quickly pushed her magic into the machine.
  7322. >And it stopped moving.
  7323. >It just stood there, barrels spinning.
  7324. >Not moving.
  7325. >The curse had worked.
  7326. >Somehow, Lyra’s desperate bid for freedom had won the day.
  7327. >But she couldn’t curse machines.
  7328. >Could she?
  7329. >She didn’t know.
  7330. >What Lyra DID know was that it wouldn’t move for a couple hours.
  7331. >And that her legs were tied together.
  7332. >It proved surprisingly difficult to disentangle the knot with her magic.
  7333. >Whatever method had been used was very thorough and suggested a great deal of knowledge and experience with rope.
  7334. >But half an hour later she was free to move again.
  7335. >Lyra could hardly believe her luck.
  7336. >She’d gotten out from under that thing’s hoof without so much as a scratch.
  7337. >But she knew that trick would never work again.
  7338. >She had a time limit before the thing woke again.
  7339. >And by that time she had to be well away from here.
  7340. >But in that time, she was free to poke around.
  7341. >This room looked to be an office of some sort.
  7342. >The climate was controlled, and there was no shortage of oxygen to be had.
  7343. >And the walls were lined with desks that were burdened by tomes, papers, folios, and of course computers.
  7344. >One of the computers was turned on.
  7345. >And to her great delight, whatever passcode was needed to access the files had already been put in.
  7346. >In the bottom right corner of the display, the user ID AL5 was showing.
  7347. >Lyra’s attempts at browsing the files were clumsy.
  7348. >She really didn’t know what she was doing.
  7349. >But every now and then she’d accidentally find something.
  7350. >It looked like this place had been in the works for years.
  7351. >And they barely finished on time.
  7352. >The goal was indeed to feed the whole world in the event of a famine.
  7353. >But there was so much more information here.
  7354.  
  7355. “What’s this?”
  7356.  
  7357. >A message from an unknown sender.
  7358. >It was labeled as new.
  7359. >And the subject line was ‘lithium’.
  7360.  
  7361. We need Lithium or we’re sunk. We will have it one way or another. There are means that we could extract it if we had more time, but as it stands there are only two viable options. Invade Saddle Arabia or invade Labyrinth. The horses of Saddle Arabia have done eveything in their power to spite us, but they are a much more formidable threat. The minotaurs of Labyrinth would be easily defeated despite the power of their warriors because of poor logistics, however they have long been our allies. If we invade Saddle Arabia we will lose more forces. Do we shed more of our own blood or betray an ally?
  7362. There is so much more you need to know to make this decision, but for reasons beyond my control I cannot tell you.
  7363.  
  7364. >That was definitely what she was sent here to find.
  7365. >It arrived while she was here, and it was about lithium.
  7366. >But why did she need to know that?
  7367. >And why did they have to send her here to find it?
  7368. >Why not just send her the message directly?
  7369. >This was all so terribly weird.
  7370. >Whatever the case, mission accomplished.
  7371. >But she wasn’t done.
  7372. >Not yet at least.
  7373. >She kept digging for a while.
  7374. >It was very dry, mostly progress reports and shipping manifests.
  7375. >How they shipped anything in or out of here she still didn’t know.
  7376. >Eventually she found a file with a different icon.
  7377. >A sound file.
  7378. >Lyra opened it.
  7379.  
  7380. >”Howdy. This here’s Applejack.”
  7381.  
  7382. >She quickly turned to the machine.
  7383. >It was still stationary.
  7384.  
  7385. >”Just wanted to record my thoughts in case this goes south.”
  7386.  
  7387. >”Applejack, PLEASE! You don’t have to do this!”
  7388.  
  7389. >Twilight’s voice.
  7390. >A door slammed in the recording.
  7391.  
  7392. >”That’s nice of her to say, but somepony’s gotta. And we all know I’m the least important one that can do it. Gotta be somepony we know so we know any changes when we see ‘em. Gotta be somepony healthy enough to do it. Gotta be somepony bound by the contract. Gotta be somepony expendable. It’s gotta be me.”
  7393.  
  7394. >There was frantic banging in the background.
  7395. >Twilight trying to knock down the door?
  7396.  
  7397. >”Docs say they can change a pony in a way that might help us get through this. But we gotta know how it affects our heads. I gotta do my part to see us all through this, and far as I can tell this is the only thing I can really do to help. It’s… It’s darn scary. I might not be me afterward.”
  7398.  
  7399. >The recording let out a long, shuddering sob.
  7400.  
  7401. >”Just in case you don’t know who you are, remember this. You love your family and would do anything to protect ‘em. Absolutely anything. You cherish your friends so so much. They mean the world to ya. Take care of ‘em for me, would ya? Make sure Applebloom eats enough. I’m- I...”
  7402.  
  7403. >The recording just broke down into crying.
  7404. >Lyra looked over to the machine.
  7405. >No, to Applejack.
  7406. >She wasn’t staring at a heap of scrap metal.
  7407. >She was staring at a martyr.
  7408. >One who’d risked, or perhaps even lost her very self to help protect others.
  7409. >Had she retained her self?
  7410. >Or was it lost when they changed her?
  7411. >Lyra didn’t know.
  7412. >But she was sure she’d be going to check in on the former pony.
  7413. >Lyra didn’t know how much time she had left before Applejack woke up.
  7414. >She decided it was time to leave.
  7415. >Lyra went back out the way she came.
  7416. >She passed through the sweltering greenhouse.
  7417. >Went into the corridor.
  7418. >And started climbing the ladder.
  7419.  
  7420. >”The hatch is locked. You can’t use the other exit. The only way you’re getting out is if I let you.”
  7421.  
  7422. >Lyra froze in terror and let go of the ladder.
  7423. >She dropped hard on her rump.
  7424.  
  7425. “Who’s there?”
  7426.  
  7427. >She looked around.
  7428. >But she could find nopony.
  7429.  
  7430. >"You're not going to find me."
  7431.  
  7432. >The voice was beyond bizarre.
  7433. >It sounded neither male nor female.
  7434. >It didn't sound equine.
  7435. >It didn't even sound alive.
  7436. >This voice sounded like a low quality recording or a tin can talking.
  7437.  
  7438. >”I’ll let you go once you answer the question. Labyrinth or Saddle Arabia? Give me your reasoning. The choice is not yours alone, I am consulting many on this matter. But one of them shall fall. Betray a friend, or send our own to die? I can tell you no more.”
  7439.  
  7440. >Why couldn’t they tell her?
  7441. >Why did they have to start a war?
  7442. >And most importantly…
  7443.  
  7444. “Why me?”
  7445.  
  7446. >There was no answer.
  7447.  
  7448.  
  7449. * * * * *
  7450.  
  7451. “Hay D. You, uhh, you need some help?”
  7452.  
  7453. >Lyra called up into the chimney.
  7454. >The fire was out since they’d switched to electric heating long ago.
  7455. >Indeed the chimney was entirely superfluous and in their case even hazardous.
  7456. >There was no good reason for them to have it save that it would cost bits to remove.
  7457. >And so Derpy was wedged tight into a relic from the recent past. An obsolete structure that had no place in the modern world.
  7458.  
  7459. >”Oh, hi Lyra! Feel free to make yourself at home!”
  7460.  
  7461. >The voice came down from the pipe.
  7462. >Despite her situation she was chipper and cheerful as always.
  7463. >It really did seem that nothing could get Derpy down.
  7464. >Not for long anyway.
  7465.  
  7466. “Right, thanks. But shouldn’t we get you down from there?”
  7467.  
  7468. >”Oh, I’ll be down in a bit. Just gotta finish cleaning up in here!”
  7469.  
  7470. >Lyra shook her head in frustration.
  7471. >She’d been through this song and dance before.
  7472. >Sometimes with literal singing and dancing.
  7473. >Derpy would always pretend that everything was fine for whatever reason.
  7474. >Was she trying to save face?
  7475. >Or maybe she didn’t want to worry everypony else?
  7476. >Lyra had long ago given up on figuring that out.
  7477. >For one reason or another Derpy would insist that she was fine until Lyra prised her out.
  7478. >Then she’d thank her for saving her from that horrible trap.
  7479. >And then she’d seemingly forget it ever happened.
  7480. >Lyra rather felt like skipping straight to the end.
  7481.  
  7482. “Hold on.”
  7483.  
  7484. >She gripped Derpy’s barrel with her magic.
  7485.  
  7486. “Tuck your wings in. And one, two, THREE!”
  7487.  
  7488. >Derpy landed clumsily on the fireplace, covered in soot.
  7489.  
  7490. >”Oh thank you so much, Lyra I thought I was going to be in there forever, and it was scary and-”
  7491.  
  7492. >She yammered on for a couple minutes gripped in hysterics.
  7493. >It should have been tiresome.
  7494. >Irritating even.
  7495. >But something about Derpy made her impossible to dislike.
  7496. >As the wall eyed mare rambled on Lyra’s frown faded into a smile.
  7497. >There was something so endearing about that pony.
  7498.  
  7499. “It’s okay D. I’ll get you out of there whenever you need. And soon, Dinky will be able to as well.”
  7500.  
  7501. >A derisive snort filled the air.
  7502. >Lyra looked around trying to find the source.
  7503. >But it was just Derpy, Dinky, and herself in the room.
  7504. >It must have been Dinky.
  7505. >Such a tiny filly making such a strange sound seemed absurd.
  7506. >But there it was.
  7507.  
  7508. >”You’ll be able to use your magic some day! Don’t worry. We all believe in you.”
  7509.  
  7510. >”Thanks, mama. But reality doesn’t care what we believe.”
  7511.  
  7512. >Derpy patted Dinky’s head with a sooty wing.
  7513.  
  7514. >”Then I’ll just have to believe harder!”
  7515.  
  7516. >”Obt- opti- happy thinking doesn’t actually make things work different! It just seems that way because you ignore all the bad stuff!”
  7517.  
  7518. >What a strange filly.
  7519.  
  7520. >”Then I’ll believe THREE TIMES AS HARD!”
  7521.  
  7522. “Wait. You can’t use magic yet? Not at all?”
  7523.  
  7524. >They both shook their heads.
  7525.  
  7526. “Why haven’t you taught her how to use magic, D?”
  7527.  
  7528. >Derpy rolled her eyes, each in opposite directions.
  7529. >Had she done that on purpose Lyra would have been quite impressed.
  7530. >She flapped her wings as an answer.
  7531.  
  7532. “Just because you’re a pegasus doesn’t mean you can’t explain magic to a unicorn.”
  7533.  
  7534. >”I don’t know how unicorn magic works.”
  7535.  
  7536. “Why not? It’s not that complicated. Not for getting started anyway.”
  7537.  
  7538. >”How does one fly? It’s not complicated. Not unless you want to be a stunt flyer.”
  7539.  
  7540. “Err, flap really fast? Okay, you got me.”
  7541.  
  7542. >Lyra turned to Dinky and lowered herself to eye level.
  7543. >It was quite the feat to get so close to the floor, by Lyra managed.
  7544.  
  7545. “Want me to give you a quick rundown on magic?”
  7546.  
  7547. >Her eyes sparkled like brilliant stars.
  7548.  
  7549. “Well alright!”
  7550.  
  7551. >”I’ll go get a notebook!”
  7552.  
  7553. “No, there won’t be any need for that. Not for now at least.”
  7554.  
  7555. >Lyra stood up from her practically prone position.
  7556.  
  7557. “Magic isn’t-”
  7558.  
  7559. >Derpy sat down upon the floor.
  7560.  
  7561. “You’re staying for this?”
  7562.  
  7563. >”It sounds interesting!”
  7564.  
  7565. >Lyra wasn’t certain she’d have stayed were their roles reversed.
  7566. >And she couldn’t help but scold herself for this.
  7567. >That lack of curiosity is exactly why she had no idea what pegasi were capable of.
  7568. >Why she couldn’t believe her own eyes when Sweetie Drops beat the tar out of a roc.
  7569. >Maybe she’d have to get a primer on pegasus magic later.
  7570.  
  7571. “Magic isn’t about stuffy scrolls and runes. We used to think that the symbols themselves were magic and that ley lines came from the stars, but now we know that this isn’t true. We just kept the language because we were used to it by then. When I talk about the Gemini leyline it has nothing to do with that constellation. And when I say Hagalaz, it just means a narrow but deep channel. So don’t worry about any of that stuff for now.”
  7572.  
  7573. >Dinky was practically bouncing with excitement.
  7574.  
  7575. “Ley lines are the sources of magic that run through our world. Nopony really knows where they come from or where they’re going. But we do know how to use them. Think of them as rivers, coming from somewhere and flowing to somewhere. If you need a drink from a river you can pull a bit of water out. If you need to cast a spell you can pull a little magic out.”
  7576.  
  7577. >”How can there be more than one river in the same place?”
  7578.  
  7579. “It’s not a literal river. Close your eyes.”
  7580.  
  7581. >And she suddenly stopped.
  7582. >The look on her face was deadly serious.
  7583.  
  7584. >”No way. I know that trick. Everypony knows that trick by now.”
  7585.  
  7586. “What trick?”
  7587.  
  7588. >”You can’t fool me like that.”
  7589.  
  7590. “Is this some kind of prank they’re pulling at school?”
  7591.  
  7592. >Derpy stood up and walked between the two of them.
  7593.  
  7594. >”Don’t worry. Lyra wouldn’t do anything mean to you. But I’ll be here just in case.”
  7595.  
  7596. >”Thanks mommy.”
  7597.  
  7598. “Right. Close your eyes. You don’t need to do this to use magic, but it makes it easier to focus on it. Think about the tip of your horn. Pay really really close attention to it. Focus. What does it feel like?”
  7599.  
  7600. >”Nothing?”
  7601.  
  7602. >”Keep focusing. There’s just you and your horn. Don’t think about anything else.”
  7603.  
  7604. >A couple minutes of silence passed.
  7605. >Dinky was starting to look worried.
  7606. >Derpy too.
  7607.  
  7608. “Okay, that’s not a big deal. Different parts of your horn can tap into different kinds of magic, different leylines. And everypony’s horn is different. Your tip might be attuned to a subtle kind of magic, like Virgo. Try again with the base of your horn.”
  7609.  
  7610. >She closed her eyes.
  7611. >And almost immediately jumped in shock.
  7612.  
  7613. >”What’s wrong, Dinkums?”
  7614.  
  7615. >”It was so… fast! And it was going everywhere!”
  7616.  
  7617. “Did it feel kind of like rapids? Like a shallow rocky stream moving at high speeds?”
  7618.  
  7619. >”Yeah.”
  7620.  
  7621. “That’s Leo, the lion. It’s really hard to control and not that powerful, but you can get it really fast. If you need magic right away that’s the one to use. Not good for a beginner. Try somewhere else.”
  7622.  
  7623. >Silence for a bit.
  7624.  
  7625. >”It’s slow and gentle. It feels like a small creek?”
  7626.  
  7627. “That’s probably Cancer. Don’t worry, the name has nothing to do with the sickness. That’s a really good one for a beginner or for delicate spells. Not powerful, not fast, but gentle and easy to control. Remember, it’s like a river. Even a small one isn’t going to be controlled easily. Try and make the river stop.”
  7628.  
  7629. >Her eyes clamped shut and she started gritting her teeth.
  7630. >Her legs started to tremble.
  7631.  
  7632. >”I can’t.”
  7633.  
  7634. “Nopony can. When you push against it it pushes back just as hard. What you need to do instead is peel a little bit off. Just enough to get the job done. Imagine digging a small channel to redirect a little bit where you need it. The more magic you pull in the harder it gets to control, but the stronger the spell. You’re never going to be able to pull of a big amount all at once though. If you try and pull enough off all at once you’ve just made another river. What you need to do if you don’t have enough is break your spell into a lot of smaller spells. Dig lots of little channels.”
  7635.  
  7636. >”When do I get to teleport?”
  7637.  
  7638. >Probably never.
  7639. >Lyra was about to say so.
  7640. >But then she looked at the little filly before her.
  7641. >Eyes full of hope and wonder.
  7642. >She couldn’t crush her dreams so early.
  7643. >But could she really lie to a little filly?
  7644.  
  7645. “After years of practice. Try to get used to controlling that magic. Figure out how much you can hold, and play with it. Odds are nothing will happen but it’s good practice. Just promise me one thing.”
  7646.  
  7647. >”Yes?”
  7648.  
  7649. “If you find a source of magic that seems to be perfectly still with endless depth, don’t use it. Aquarius is the master ley line. All the other ones come from it.”
  7650.  
  7651. >”What’s the problem with that?”
  7652.  
  7653. >Derpy asked.
  7654. >Dinky seemed to understand already.
  7655.  
  7656. >”It’s too big, isn’t it?”
  7657.  
  7658. “Way too big. If you make even a slight mistake it’ll overwhelm you. Swallow you.”
  7659.  
  7660. >”WHAT WOULD HAPPEN?”
  7661.  
  7662.  
  7663. >Derpy was right up in Lyra’s face.
  7664. >She bore a clear expression of panic which somehow reached both eyes.
  7665.  
  7666. “Nasty headache and dizziness. It’s EXTREMELY unpleasant. Trust me on this one.”
  7667.  
  7668. >Tension started to fade from Derpy’s face.
  7669. >She wasn't exactly relaxed, but she no longer looked ready to tackle the first thing that moved.
  7670.  
  7671. “Unicorn magic is actually pretty safe for the user. Our horns are really good at absorbing the backlash. You'd need to try pretty hard to hurt yourself in any serious way.”
  7672.  
  7673. >“And in a not so serious way?”
  7674.  
  7675. “Don't use Aquarius. I mean, if you’re trying to use an extremely powerful spell you might have to, but that’s advanced stuff.”
  7676.  
  7677. >”Do you ever use that one?”
  7678.  
  7679. “No, Dinky. I never need to. It’s-”
  7680.  
  7681. >It might just be what she lacks.
  7682. >Maybe using a more powerful ley line would let her use Geyser?
  7683. >But it’s slow.
  7684. >And delicate.
  7685. >There’s no way that it would work in a fight.
  7686. >Using Aquarius for THAT could easily take her an hour.
  7687.  
  7688. “It’s usually easier to use a different ley line. I can’t overstate how finicky it is. Come to think of it, I don’t know of anypony that uses it with any regularity. Well… Moondancer. But she’s studying it specifically, trying to find out why it refills. It’s actually very interesting work! You see, she needs to probe it while in a totally magic free environment to get a clean reading, but that’s really hard seeing as she herself is magic, right? So, how do you set up a magical clean room? And how do you enter it without contaminating it? Well-”
  7689.  
  7690. >Dinky had stopped listening and moved on to experiment with magic.
  7691. >Her horn would frequently let out a small spray of sparks as the magic she drew upon shorted out.
  7692. >Lyra knew that sensation well.
  7693.  
  7694. >”Heheh… It kinda tickles.”
  7695.  
  7696. >Derpy was prancing about excitedly.
  7697. >And vigorously.
  7698. >She seemed elated to see her daughter making progress with her magic.
  7699. >And why shouldn’t she?
  7700. >A unicorn without magic was an aberration.
  7701. >It was wrong to deny her her birthright.
  7702. >A unicorn denied their magic was no unicorn at all.
  7703. >Lyra shuddered at the very thought.
  7704.  
  7705. >”Thank you, miss Lyra!”
  7706.  
  7707. >Dinky was vibrating with delight.
  7708. >Though her horn had gone dark, her smile still lit up the room.
  7709.  
  7710. “Of course! I’m just sorry I didn’t explain it sooner. D, may I have a word in private for a moment?”
  7711.  
  7712. >She nodded and walked into the kitchen.
  7713. >Lyra followed.
  7714.  
  7715. >”There’s no delicate way to put it, so I’ll just be straight.”
  7716.  
  7717. >Derpy’s face was dead serious.
  7718. >Her gaze drilled to Lyra’s core.
  7719. >Well, half of her gaze.
  7720.  
  7721. >”Are you working for S.M.I.L.E.?”
  7722.  
  7723. “What brought this on?”
  7724.  
  7725. >”That’s not an answer.”
  7726.  
  7727. “I don’t work for them.”
  7728.  
  7729. >She closed her eyes and nodded.
  7730.  
  7731. >“I’m going to ask again, and I want you to know something. If you lie to me here I will never trust you again. You’ll just be that spy who pretended to be my friend to keep an eye on me. Do you work for S.M.I.L.E.?”
  7732.  
  7733. “Derpy, I swear upon my power I don’t work for S.M.I.L.E.”
  7734.  
  7735. >Lyra raised her front right hoof to her horn and then stamped it on the ground.
  7736.  
  7737. >”Okay. I believe you. What’s that all about though?”
  7738.  
  7739. >Lyra cocked her head in confusion.
  7740.  
  7741. >”Swearing on your power? What’s that?”
  7742.  
  7743. “Unicorn thing.”
  7744.  
  7745. >”Right, but do you lose your magic if you lie or something?”
  7746.  
  7747. “No. That would be silly. It’s just… do pegasi ever make a promise on their wings or anything?”
  7748.  
  7749. >”No?”
  7750.  
  7751. “Oh. Uhh…”
  7752.  
  7753. >Now that she thought about it for a second, it really was a strange thing to do.
  7754. >How did that get started anyway?
  7755.  
  7756. “Why did you think I worked for them?”
  7757.  
  7758. >”First off you’re wearing a vest made out of their stuff.”
  7759.  
  7760. >”Oh. You have a bunch of their stuff too though.”
  7761.  
  7762. >”Second I did some snooping recently and found some files with your name on them.”
  7763.  
  7764. “WHAT!?”
  7765.  
  7766. >”Whoa, calm down there. They’d have already arrested you if they wanted to. It’s- you know what? I’ll just show you. But didn’t you want to talk to me about something?”
  7767.  
  7768. “No, hold on! You just dropped something huge on me. We’re talking about this now!”
  7769.  
  7770. >”Look, I’ll show you what I found. I don’t think they’re hunting you, you’re safe. Actually, it sounds like they’re protecting you.”
  7771.  
  7772. “Why would they want to protect me?”
  7773.  
  7774. >”I’ll let you hear it from them in a bit. But first you need to tell me what you were going to say about my daughter.”
  7775.  
  7776. “Oh right! Dinky should have figured out how to use magic on her own a long time ago. I don’t know why she didn’t honestly. It’s really weird.”
  7777.  
  7778. >”Maybe she’s just a late bloomer?”
  7779.  
  7780. “No. She’d never even tapped into it before. Most foals can use magic, even if they can’t control it. Something strange is going on here. It’s a unicorn instinct.”
  7781.  
  7782. >”Oh! That explains that. She says… what is it she says? DINKY? WHAT ARE INSTINCTS AGAIN?”
  7783.  
  7784. >”AN UNRELIABLE AND PRIMITIVE TOOL THAT’S COMPLETELY INDEPENDANT OF REASON AND REALITY!”
  7785.  
  7786. >”Yes, that!
  7787.  
  7788. “What?”
  7789.  
  7790. >”She said-”
  7791.  
  7792. “No, I heard her. But what filly talks like that?”
  7793.  
  7794. >”The best one. Come with me, I need to show you something.”
  7795.  
  7796. >Lyra didn’t move for a bit.
  7797. >She was still amazed by what she’d just seen.
  7798. >It turned out there was a pony out there stranger than Derpy.
  7799. >And it was her daughter.
  7800.  
  7801. >”You coming? I stashed some stuff in the woods again, I want to show it to you.”
  7802.  
  7803. “Right! Let’s get going.”
  7804.  
  7805. >The two of them soon headed out to the heart of the city.
  7806. >Lyra, as usual, wasn’t fond of being in the cramped landscape.
  7807. >But it was the most direct route.
  7808. >She was still amazed by what had happened with Dinky.
  7809. >Lyra couldn’t help but wonder of she was fully equine.
  7810. >And she was very curious what these documents held.
  7811. >But there was another question.
  7812. >One that had been eating at her for a while.
  7813. >And now was the time to ask it.
  7814.  
  7815. “So… what was your answer?”
  7816.  
  7817. >”What answer?”
  7818.  
  7819. “You got called to the weird greenhouse in the everfree forest, right?”
  7820.  
  7821. >”Oh, that! It was all so weird!”
  7822.  
  7823. “I know, right?”
  7824.  
  7825. >”The royal family of Saddle Arabia is immensely corrupt, everypony knows that. It wouldn’t be hard to bribe them.”
  7826.  
  7827. >Wait, really?
  7828. >Lyra didn’t know that.
  7829.  
  7830. “Exactly.”
  7831.  
  7832. >”And what good is litinum?”
  7833.  
  7834. “Lithium? I don’t know. It’s a metal, that’s pretty much all I know about it.”
  7835.  
  7836. >”And, I think the weirdest and perhaps most important part, what kind of alliance is this?”
  7837.  
  7838. “Hm?”
  7839.  
  7840. >”Well, if one party is their ally why aren’t they helping? If they’re in such desperate need of this stuff what kind of ally won’t let them harvest it for any price?”
  7841.  
  7842. >That’s actually a really good point.
  7843.  
  7844. >”If they’re allies they should be eager to work together, right? But it seems like they won’t cooperate for anything. Not even if S.M.I.L.E. is worried about something world changing.”
  7845.  
  7846. >Or world ending.
  7847.  
  7848. >”This is no alliance. I don’t know what it is.”
  7849.  
  7850. >She had to admit that was a really good point.
  7851. >Derpy had indeed offered a more interesting perspective than Lyra.
  7852.  
  7853. >”And so I don’t see how they have any obligation to this fake ally. They should place the embargo on the minotaurs.”
  7854.  
  7855. “Embargo?”
  7856.  
  7857. >”Yeah. They’re going to stop trading with one of them until they cough it up, remember?”
  7858.  
  7859. >That’s a TOTALLY different question!
  7860. >The hay is going on?
  7861.  
  7862. “They told me-”
  7863.  
  7864. >Derpy cocked her head slightly.
  7865. >Her brilliant eyes stared right at Lyra attentively.
  7866. >She bore a small but sweet smile that hinted at boundless optimism and hope.
  7867. >A sincere belief that everything would be okay in the end and that you need but keep your chin up.
  7868. >She couldn’t do it.
  7869. >She couldn’t tell Derpy the real weight of the situation.
  7870.  
  7871. >”What did they tell you?”
  7872.  
  7873. “Tariffs. They said it was just going to be a tariff, not an embargo.”
  7874.  
  7875. >”That’s strange. Maybe they’re still planning things out.”
  7876.  
  7877. “Probably.”
  7878.  
  7879. >They continued to walk through the city for a while.
  7880. >Hundreds of ponies filled the oversized streets.
  7881. >Lyra was used to a simpler and smaller lifestyle.
  7882. >Even Canterlot was never this crowded.
  7883.  
  7884. “Why do you think Ponyville got so big?”
  7885.  
  7886. >”Lots of high paying work around here. Mostly construction. I thought about changing to construction, but…”
  7887.  
  7888. “You were worried you’d hurt somepony with your clumsiness if you were working with heavy tools?”
  7889.  
  7890. >”What? No. The postal service has a really good union. I don’t want to give that up.”
  7891.  
  7892. >And just like that, Lyra felt like a jerk.
  7893.  
  7894. “Huh. Umm, I’m sorry about…”
  7895.  
  7896. >”Oh, it’s fine! You make a good point. I just hadn’t thought of it.”
  7897.  
  7898. >She didn’t seem hurt by the words.
  7899. >But Lyra couldn’t help but wonder if Derpy was just being nice.
  7900.  
  7901. “Okay, but why are there so many construction jobs?”
  7902.  
  7903. >”Gotta build houses for all the ponies moving here. For the construction jobs. Hrmm.”
  7904.  
  7905. “Yeah. Something doesn’t quite add up. And have you noticed that the streets are too wide?”
  7906.  
  7907. >”Oh, hey! Yeah! You could fit like, six carts on these.”
  7908.  
  7909. “Land is really expensive in Ponyville these days. You’d think they’d try and make the streets as narrow as possible.”
  7910.  
  7911. >”So why do you think they’re so broad?”
  7912.  
  7913. “Don’t know. Probably designed specifically for something, but I couldn’t say what.”
  7914.  
  7915. >”Well, have YOU noticed that there’s too many homes?”
  7916.  
  7917. >Lyra looked around herself.
  7918. >There was no shortage of ponies in the streets.
  7919. >But there were so many huge towers.
  7920. >Buildings that climbed thirty or even forty stories tall.
  7921. >Some of them were probably offices.
  7922. >Some were apartments.
  7923. >But were they all really occupied?
  7924.  
  7925. “You might be onto something. What do you think is in them?”
  7926.  
  7927. >”I dunno.”
  7928.  
  7929. >Derpy led them to a seemingly random point in the woods.
  7930. >She flew up into a seemingly random tree and retrieved a small piece of plastic.
  7931. >From her saddlebags she produced a small glowing panel.
  7932. >Lyra recognized it as the portable computer Derpy had used to open the door the time they infiltrated together.
  7933. >That hadn’t been that long ago.
  7934. >But somehow it felt like an eternity.
  7935. >So much had changed in so little time.
  7936.  
  7937. >”This small drive has a ridiculous amount of data on it. I just copied everything I could onto it, and now I’m trying to sort through it all. It’s going to take months.”
  7938.  
  7939. >She slid it into her portable computer, and it began talking.
  7940.  
  7941. >”Good evening, Sweetie Drops.”
  7942.  
  7943. >Earlier…
  7944.  
  7945. >Agent Zero groaned as she sat upon the sofa.
  7946. >The soft seat was greatly appreciated, offering a respite for her weary and overworked body.
  7947. >Right across from her sat her arch nemesis.
  7948. >It wasn’t a horrifying monster or eldritch abomination.
  7949. >It was something far worse.
  7950.  
  7951. >”Good evening, Sweetie Drops.”
  7952.  
  7953. “Evening, quack. Don’t use names, use my number.”
  7954.  
  7955. >It was her psychologist, Calm Breeze.
  7956. >A powder blue pegasus with a straight black mane.
  7957. >She bore a pair of half moon glasses over her cyan eyes.
  7958.  
  7959. >”Numbers are far too impersonal. I want you to know that I understand you are your own pony, with your own thoughts and feelings. I don’t wish to reduce you to a number.”
  7960.  
  7961. “Names have power, and the things we’re dealing with these days can exploit that. If my name gets out there I’m in serious danger. Use my number.”
  7962.  
  7963. >”My understanding was that this power didn’t work unless the name was given by the name’s holder.”
  7964.  
  7965. “They’ve surprised us in the past. I see no reason to take chances.”
  7966.  
  7967. >”These files are classified. The only copy will be on my personal computer which is not on any network. But if it makes you feel more comfortable I shall do as you ask, Agent Zero. You missed your previous appointment. Was there trouble?”
  7968.  
  7969. “Skipped it. I’ve never pretended that I didn’t hate being here. You know it. Heck, you had to lure me here with promises of an Ares suit. I don’t appreciate that.”
  7970.  
  7971. >”The suit is real. We’ll let you at it when you’re done here. First we have to make sure there are no long term effects from the stims. Not to mention the trauma you suffered while on your previous mission.”
  7972.  
  7973. “Trauma? Puh-lease. They didn’t lay a claw on me.”
  7974.  
  7975. >”Mental trauma. Nopony should have to face what you did. Tell me. How did you feel during the operation?”
  7976.  
  7977. “I assure you that whatever it is you want to know is classified.”
  7978.  
  7979. >”I’ve been given access to the mission logs, including your briefing and debriefing. You were on a sabotage mission, correct?”
  7980.  
  7981. “What can’t you know?”
  7982.  
  7983. >Calm breeze pushed a thin file folder forward.
  7984. >Zero picked it up.
  7985. >The word ‘Classified’ had been stamped on it with an angry red ink.
  7986.  
  7987. >”I read this before the scheduled meeting a few days ago. If it’s not in there and it’s privileged information I’m probably not allowed to know it.”
  7988.  
  7989. >Zero flipped through the file.
  7990. >She wasn’t exactly happy with how much information this pony had been granted.
  7991. >But such was the way of things.
  7992. >There was no helping it.
  7993. >S.M.I.L.E. had always concerned themselves greatly with the wellbeing of their agents, both mental and physical.
  7994. >As irritating as it was she couldn’t fault them for that.
  7995.  
  7996. >”It sounds as though you faced something completely impossible.”
  7997.  
  7998. “It sure was a Tuesday.”
  7999.  
  8000. >”Do you mind that they’re putting you in danger like this?”
  8001.  
  8002. “Do I mind doing my job? Somepony has to.”
  8003.  
  8004. >”Hrm.”
  8005.  
  8006. >Dr. Breeze scribbled something on her clipboard.
  8007. >Bon-Bon couldn’t see the tip of her pen.
  8008. >But she could watch her mouth movements.
  8009. >It was trivial for her to suss out what was being written.
  8010. >’Patient reluctant to speak, repeatedly dodging questions.’
  8011.  
  8012. >”And after your last mission, what prompted you to resign.”
  8013.  
  8014. “Don’t worry about it. I’m not going anywhere.”
  8015.  
  8016. >”I know. You withdrew your resignation the same day. But something clearly shook you on that day. What was that?”
  8017.  
  8018. “Classified.”
  8019.  
  8020. >”And why won’t you tell Princess Celestia or Luna? Is this mission so top secret that even they may not know?”
  8021.  
  8022. >No, they NEEDED to know.
  8023. >But she couldn’t…
  8024.  
  8025. >”Neither you nor agent 037 have been willing to speak about what happened. Why is that?”
  8026.  
  8027. “His reasons are his own.”
  8028.  
  8029. >”And you?”
  8030.  
  8031. >Silence.
  8032. >She’d tell them soon.
  8033. >Just as soon as she stopped trembling.
  8034.  
  8035. >”This operation. What were your thoughts on it?”
  8036.  
  8037. “The job had to be done, and I was the best equipped to do it.”
  8038.  
  8039. >She wrote again.
  8040. >’Patient is showing signs of extreme distress.’
  8041.  
  8042. >”Do you approve of the decisions to send you on this operation solo?”
  8043.  
  8044. >Zero wasn’t supposed to question orders.
  8045. >But she always did it anyway.
  8046. >And so she’d already thought that question through.
  8047. >She pretended to think it over for a moment anyway.
  8048.  
  8049. “They provided support where it counted. Having another pony on the mission would have just increased the risks. It was a sound decision.”
  8050.  
  8051. >”Walk me through the mission. Tell me in your own words what happened.”
  8052.  
  8053. “Eurynomos is the lord of the Dolorin province in the underworld. We had a hoof hold in Tartarus, but getting into the underworld proper has been proving challenging.”
  8054.  
  8055. >”Sorry, but isn’t Tartarus part of the underworld?”
  8056.  
  8057. “No. Tartarus is above the underworld. The river Acheron circles the underworld 7 times. I’m not sure if you’re familiar, but that river is trouble.”
  8058.  
  8059. >”In what way?”
  8060.  
  8061. “It paralyses you and drags you under. If you don’t drown you get washed up on the shores in the underworld. We’ve not found any way to protect ourselves from it, it seems to work even if you don’t touch the stuff. All of the lords of the underworld that can fly are trapped deeper in, so it’s serves us well thus far.”
  8062.  
  8063. >”Would it not be possible to cross in a boat or a raft? Or perhaps to fly over?”
  8064.  
  8065. “We’re not sure why, but boats sink the moment they touch the waters. All except for the one, but Charon only takes passengers in, not out.”
  8066.  
  8067. >”And flight?”
  8068.  
  8069. “I was being sent in to make the skies safe. Taking off is risky down there. No, I had to take Charon’s ferry in, and if I didn’t secure the skies it was going to be a one way trip.”
  8070.  
  8071. >”Were you worried that you’d be trapped on the other side?”
  8072.  
  8073. “No.”
  8074.  
  8075. >Yes.
  8076. >Very yes.
  8077.  
  8078. “I knew extraction was coming. I just needed to make it safe. I won’t deny that being so close to Charon was unnerving though. Looking into the empty eye sockets of that hooded- eugh.”
  8079.  
  8080. >”Tell me about Charon.”
  8081.  
  8082. “For a skeletal pony he’s amazingly ugly. I’d have thought you needed skin to be that disgusting. And I can’t help but wonder what he does with the money. He charges a coin to cross the river, you know? Any coin. It doesn’t matter. I gave him an iron slug and he took it. No idea what they’re used for.”
  8083.  
  8084. >Again, she wrote.
  8085. >’Subject does not appear to fear the undead.’
  8086.  
  8087. >”What happened when you landed?”
  8088.  
  8089. >The memory was burned into Zero’s mind.
  8090. >She remembered it all too clearly.
  8091. >Breathing down here was hard, even when on dry land.
  8092. >The hot and dirty air assaulted her nostrils with every breath.
  8093. >The landing was clear. Sharpshooters had been able to give her at least that much.
  8094. >But it was going to get rough quick.
  8095. >The different provinces of the underworld were locked in an eternal war with each other.
  8096. >A struggle for dominance that might be as old as the world itself.
  8097. >The Dolorin province was no exception to that, and Eurynomos was likely a capable leader.
  8098. >A massive fortress lie in the distance.
  8099. >That was her target.
  8100. >What lie within?
  8101. >What defences and forces did they have available?
  8102. >Nopony knew.
  8103. >Nopony was meant to ever see it, much less destroy it.
  8104. >Yet that’s exactly what Agent Zero had been sent to do.
  8105. >At first they’d hoped to shell it with artillery.
  8106. >But the low ceiling of the underworld disallowed the necessary trajectory.
  8107. >They needed to control the skies, and they needed it yesterday.
  8108. >And so it was Zero’s time to shine.
  8109. >She’d been forced to travel light, and her loadout had suffered for it.
  8110. >A gauss pistol was strapped to her leg with a thin wire snaking its way into her mouth.
  8111. >A quick bite on the switch on that wire and death would flow freely from the barrel.
  8112. >She took a moment to check in on it, to make sure it was ready to fire.
  8113. >Explosive charges were strapped on her back, not yet primed.
  8114. >Odds were she could smash whatever was in that fortress using her hooves, but she’d brought the satchel charges just in case.
  8115. >There was nowhere to hide in the open, blasted terrain.
  8116. >And the chameleon suit only had half an hour of charge.
  8117. >It’d take nearly that long to get there at a full gallop.
  8118. >She activated the cloaking and began to run.
  8119. >The fortress before her stood tall, reaching all the way to the top of the underworld.
  8120. >The shiny black stone was jagged and unwelcoming, with murder holes lining the exterior.
  8121. >From them came vicious spines and corrosive fluids that traveled with stunning speed and precision.
  8122. >Even kilometers away the skies weren’t safe from their relentless assaults.
  8123. >An invading force from another province had assaulted this place not long ago, and they were torn asunder by the projectiles.
  8124. >Then their corpses were dragged into the fortress for who knows what.
  8125. >Frightening though that may be that wasn’t what made flight impossible.
  8126. >Up in the sky swarmed a thick cloud of blood red stinging insects.
  8127. >Somehow they could detect invisible ponies if they got close enough.
  8128. >Was it their sense of smell?
  8129. >Could they see an unusual part of the spectrum?
  8130. >It didn’t matter.
  8131. >Somehow they could find flying ponies and descend upon them.
  8132. >Any pegasus worth their oats could outfly them.
  8133. >But the air was thick with them.
  8134. >And they’d come from all directions if you let them.
  8135. >It was just too much.
  8136. >S.M.I.L.E. was stuck on the ground for the time being.
  8137. >Zero was grateful that they were staying up in the air, seemingly oblivious to her presence down below.
  8138. >There was no way she’d be able to handle them.
  8139. >But they were confident that if the queen died, they’d become inert.
  8140. >Harmless.
  8141. >The few they’d captured didn’t seem to have any awareness of their own, instead relying on a magical connection to some greater intelligence.
  8142. >The queen.
  8143. >She had to get into that fortress and take the queen down.
  8144. >What did they have up close?
  8145. >What would be protecting the fortress?
  8146. >She was about to find out.
  8147. >The heat of the underworld combined with the exertion were taking their toll.
  8148. >But she had to keep moving.
  8149. >If she was too slow she’d be revealed.
  8150. >Her heart hammered.
  8151. >Her lungs burned.
  8152. >But the fortress drew into sight.
  8153. >To her surprise, concrete roadways led to the building’s entrance.
  8154. >Probably built for supply convoys.
  8155. >She had no idea that the denizens of the underworld could make concrete.
  8156. >She had no idea they had roads.
  8157. >But there it was.
  8158. >What else were they capable of?
  8159. >Would they be firing crude arrows at her?
  8160. >Heavy bolts?
  8161. >Bullets?
  8162. >Something totally new?
  8163. >She had no idea.
  8164. >She made her way to the base of the fortress.
  8165. >The front gate was lined with terrifying beasts.
  8166. >Massive five legged monsters nearly the size of an elephant.
  8167. >Their bodies were almost perfectly circular, forming a strange dome of green chitin.
  8168. >Clusters of eyes covered the dome at odd positions, granting them vision in all directions.
  8169. >Including up.
  8170. >Between the eyes lay vicious spines that narrowed to a needle point.
  8171. >Would they try to ram her given the chance?
  8172. >One walked to another and reared up on its hind legs.
  8173. >A piercing shriek rang out from the three mouths on its belly.
  8174. >Dozens of them began running out from the fortress and fanning out.
  8175. >They knew someone was here.
  8176. >And they were looking for her.
  8177. >Agent Zero ran around to the side of the fortress.
  8178. >She was definitely going to be heard when she did this, but her chameleon suit was nearly out of charge anyway.
  8179. >Up near the top there were massive holes in the fortress that seemed to point in every direction.
  8180. >Those were her target.
  8181. >The insects flew in and out of them in thick clouds and seemingly endless numbers.
  8182. >It was time to cut them off at their source.
  8183. >Step one was to climb to the top.
  8184. >She reared up on her hind legs.
  8185.  
  8186. “Ugh. How does she walk like this?”
  8187.  
  8188. >She then swung her hoof at the wall, drawing the Earth into it just before she struck.
  8189. >He hoof slammed into the wall, making a horrible noise.
  8190. >To her amazement blood began to ooze from the hole.
  8191. >It wasn’t her own.
  8192. >Whatever she’d just hit made a good hoof hold though.
  8193. >She used it to pull herself up and repeated the process, making another hole.
  8194. >It didn’t take long to find a good rhythm and soon she was nearly galloping up the sheer wall, leaving oozing wounds in her wake.
  8195. >And not a moment too soon.
  8196. >The beasts had made their way around the building and found her.
  8197. >The clusters of eyes on the top of their domes all focused on Zero.
  8198. >She kept running.
  8199. >And then they did something strange.
  8200. >They rolled over and lay upon their backs.
  8201. >Then their legs folded up into a star shaped pattern.
  8202. >A five pointed star on a circle.
  8203. >She’d been warned about that symbol in her briefing.
  8204. >Apparently the pentagram was an important symbol in demonic magic.
  8205. >These creatures were casting a spell, and she didn’t want to wait around to find out what it did.
  8206. >She pointed one leg at them, gauss pistol at the ready.
  8207. >And she opened fire.
  8208. >Slugs slammed into the beasts, quickly bringing them down.
  8209. >But more and more kept coming.
  8210. >She only had so many shots.
  8211. >There was no way agent Zero would be able to take them all down without getting close and personal.
  8212. >The swarms in the distance had begun to return home to protect the hive.
  8213. >She had no time to battle the guards below.
  8214. >Zero headbutted the wall and smashed the fortress open.
  8215. >She quickly sprinted in.
  8216. >The walls bled violently, and the interiors were made of stiff flesh.
  8217. >It was then that she realised that the black walls weren’t stone.
  8218. >They were chiten.
  8219. >This fortress was alive.
  8220. >It was a fortress, a hive, and an animal all in one.
  8221. >Was the fortress itself the queen?
  8222. >She ran through the dark spongy halls even as the walls began to writhe.
  8223. >No, not walls.
  8224. >Densely packed heaps of eggs. Long, grey worms worked their way through the eggs and began to slither her way.
  8225. >They were fast!
  8226. >And they approached from every direction.
  8227. >She ran through them, hardening her flesh when they lunged.
  8228. >Sharp teeth clamped onto her, forcing her to rip the worms off her body before her defences failed.
  8229. >Thick swarms of flying insects flooded in, buzzing angrily at her as their small red bodies tore through the sky.
  8230. >They were faster than her.
  8231. >Not as fast as an athletic pegasus, but much quicker than she could hope to move.
  8232. >She was surrounded.
  8233. >The only way out was down.
  8234. >Or maybe up.
  8235. >She charged at the heaps of eggs and lept.
  8236. >She then sprung off the wall and reached to the ceiling, drawing the Earth into her body just before contact.
  8237. >She ripped through the thick tissue and managed to grab hold one floor up with a single hoof.
  8238. >Zero quickly pulled herself up.
  8239. >The insects followed.
  8240. >More worms worked their way through the eggs.
  8241. >A thundering noise approached in the distance.
  8242. >Dead insects lay everywhere, slowly sinking into the flesh of the fortress.
  8243. >Was it eating the dead?
  8244. >Was it going to try and eat her?
  8245. >She needed to get out of her.
  8246. >But there was no escape until the mission was completed.
  8247. >This place had blood.
  8248. >Which meant it could exsanguinate.
  8249. >The insects were upon her.
  8250. >She hardened her flesh as they slammed into her, their stingers shattering on impact.
  8251. >They fell to the ground.
  8252. >Dead.
  8253. >But there was no way could keep her entire body protected, not for long anyway.
  8254. >Agent zero drew even more of the Earth into herself as the insects crawled all over her body.
  8255. >With their sheer numbers, even the heat they generated was a threat.
  8256. >There was no way she could handle this many enemies.
  8257. >Swarms were best handled by unicorns.
  8258. >She did have one option.
  8259. >Agent Zero pulled as much of the Breath of the Earth into her body as she could.
  8260. >And then she detonated her satchel charges.
  8261. >A blinding flash filled the area.
  8262. >Everything was consumed by fire.
  8263. >All except the pony who held the might of the Earth in her body.
  8264. >She gracelessly fell several stories in the gory explosion, eggs splattering all around her.
  8265. >Agent Zero kept as much of the Earth in her as she could, using her weight to tear through the innards of the hive as she fell.
  8266. >And when she finally ran out of the Breath, when she couldn’t hold it any longer, all was silent.
  8267. >The worms on the bottom floor lay still.
  8268. >Not dead, but disconnected.
  8269. >Without orders from their recently deceased hive they were idle.
  8270. >She lay in the heap for a while, heart hammering.
  8271. >It wasn’t the toughest op she’d been on that month.
  8272. >But she had to admit it was taxing.
  8273. >Maybe she was getting old.
  8274.  
  8275. “That’s what happened. It sucked and I don’t want to do it again if there’s any helping it.”
  8276.  
  8277. >Zero sat on the sofa, trembling.
  8278. >The doctor pushed a box of tissues toward her.
  8279. >She didn’t see them through her blurry eyes.
  8280.  
  8281. >”So the fortress was alive, and you killed it.”
  8282.  
  8283. “Yeah.”
  8284.  
  8285. >”And once you were outside?”
  8286.  
  8287. “I signaled for extraction and went home.”
  8288.  
  8289. >”When you arrived you were in rough shape. The pegasus extracted you was in bad shape too. He was even wounded. What happened?”
  8290.  
  8291. >She didn’t answer.
  8292.  
  8293. >”You’ve both refused to say what happened after you killed the fortress. Even the princesses themselves can’t get an answer out of you. Was it really that bad?”
  8294.  
  8295. >Zero let out a long shuddering breath.
  8296. >She was better than this.
  8297. >She was the toughest pony alive.
  8298. >She wasn’t supposed to fear anything!
  8299.  
  8300. >”And when you returned you’d taken your stimulants. And none of your equipment made it back.”
  8301.  
  8302. “Chameleon suits can’t handle being blown up by satchel charges.”
  8303.  
  8304. >”And the stimulant capsule implanted in your tooth. Why was that gone?”
  8305.  
  8306. >She was shivering.
  8307. >Why was she shivering?
  8308. >Why were her eyes wet?
  8309.  
  8310. >”I understand. You don’t need to say anything if you’re not ready. Agent Zero, may I make a suggestion?”
  8311.  
  8312. >She didn’t answer.
  8313. >She curled up on the sofa and buried her face in the cushion.
  8314.  
  8315. >”You need to open up to somepony. Somepony you trust. That pony you speak of so often. I think she’s good for you. I’m sure you need no encouragement to spend time with her, but I suggest you share some of the details of your work life with her. I understand that nearly all aspects of your job are classified, but there are some things you can tell her. If you trust her to keep your secrets, you should confide in Lyra Heartstrings.”
  8316.  
  8317. Presently…
  8318.  
  8319. >Lyra was furious!
  8320. >They’d taken Bonny and thrown her into battle in same place even more vile than Tartarus.
  8321. >They’d sent her on a do or die mission that could have had her trapped in the underworld for the rest of her life.
  8322. >They’d told her to attack an unknown enemy with no support.
  8323. >And apparently that wasn’t even the worst of it.
  8324. >She’d seen something so horrifying that she couldn’t bring herself to speak of it.
  8325. >S.M.I.L.E. had abused Bonny.
  8326. >As far as Lyra was concerned, there was no disputing this.
  8327. >She was going to-
  8328. >The recording kept talking.
  8329.  
  8330. >”Sweetie Drops has collected herself and departed. Whatever she saw has scarred her deeply. I fear she’s on the verge of a mental breakdown. At this point I think it’s fair to say that without Lyra to keep her sane we’d have lost our best agent. I suggest we classify her as a mission critical asset. We can’t afford to allow any harm to come to her.”
  8331.  
  8332. >The recording ended.
  8333.  
  8334. >”Lyra? I’m not going to ask you to betray the trust they’ve placed in you. But I do have to know something.”
  8335.  
  8336. >Lyra’s heart skipped a beat.
  8337. >She’d forgotten Derpy was listening in.
  8338. >She knew about all this.
  8339. >And her name was attached to it.
  8340. >There was no way Derpy didn’t know that Bon-Bon was agent Zero.
  8341.  
  8342. >”Do you trust her?”
  8343.  
  8344. >She’d lied to Lyra for years, claiming to be nothing more than a confectioner.
  8345. >She downplayed the weight of her assignment, claiming to be nothing more than a scout.
  8346. >She was hiding deep mental wounds that could tear open at any moment.
  8347. >And worst of all, she kept raiding the fridge.
  8348. >But still.
  8349. >It was Bon-Bon.
  8350.  
  8351. “I trust her entirely.”
  8352.  
  8353. >”Is she really trying to do the right thing?”
  8354.  
  8355. “Absolutely. I’m not certain S.M.I.L.E. as a whole is benevolent, but she is. Absolutely.”
  8356.  
  8357. >”Alright.”
  8358.  
  8359. >Derpy scooped up her portable computer and the data chip.
  8360. >Then she began to walk away.
  8361.  
  8362. >”Don’t tell her about me. And keep her away from my daughter.”
  8363.  
  8364. “D, she’s still the same pony! Nothing’s changed. She’s the same pony you knew before.”
  8365.  
  8366. >”I know. That only makes it worse.”
  8367.  
  8368. >And then Derpy flew away.
  8369.  
  8370.  
  8371. * * * * *
  8372.  
  8373. >Lyra Hearstrings stalked her prey intently.
  8374. >She’d been pursuing her mark for hours now, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.
  8375. >Her mission was risky, the prey cunning and dangerous.
  8376. >The elusive Glimmius Glammicus blended into the crowds at the hardware store quite well, her camouflage making her look like a regular unicorn.
  8377. >To the careful observer, however, something was off.
  8378. >Lyra was having trouble putting her hoof on just what that was though.
  8379. >Starlight Glimmer walked up to the busy till with her purchases in tow.
  8380. >She spat the shopping basket out of her mouth and began to wares onto the counter with her hooves.
  8381. >Wooden dowelling.
  8382. >Clearly the most sinister of dowelling.
  8383.  
  8384. >”Ma’am, are you going to buy something or just stare creepily?”
  8385.  
  8386. >Lyra ignored the clerk and their question.
  8387. >Meanwhile, Starlight was fishing about in her saddlebags with her muzzle.
  8388. >She pulled out a couple pieces of plastic and placed them on the counter.
  8389. >The clerk returned a few small slips of plastic, and Starlight began to bag her groceries.
  8390.  
  8391. >”Ma’am?”
  8392.  
  8393. “Sorry, I’m just wondering. What’s everypony paying with?”
  8394.  
  8395. >”Bits.”
  8396.  
  8397. “Those thin sheets of plastic don’t look like bits to me.”
  8398.  
  8399. >”Lady, do you live under a rock? You can trade those notes for bits at any time.”
  8400.  
  8401. “Where? And why not just use bits?”
  8402.  
  8403. >”Any bank. Coins wear out. The older the bit the less metal there is in it and the less valuable they are. Princess Celestia has started issuing notes instead of bits.”
  8404.  
  8405. >This was it.
  8406. >This was the fraud they were talking about.
  8407. >Princess Celestia said that they could get away with spending fake bits if they presented them correctly.
  8408. >And Lyra had to admit, she probably could have been fooled by this if she hadn’t known.
  8409. >With the promise of them being just as good as real bits, what was there to lose?
  8410. >Electrum was heavy, and yes bits wore thin.
  8411. >This was so much more convenient.
  8412. >And it was just based on a promise.
  8413. >One they likely didn’t plan on keeping.
  8414. >What was to keep them from issuing too many?
  8415. >There was no way everypony would cash them all in at the same time.
  8416. >Could they put out two plastic notes for each electrum bit they had?
  8417. >Ten?
  8418. >A thousand?
  8419.  
  8420. >”You’re staring creepily again.”
  8421.  
  8422. >Lyra ceased her reverie and looked around.
  8423. >Starlight Glimmer was gone.
  8424.  
  8425. “Gotta go!”
  8426.  
  8427. >Lyra ran out of the store and started to look around frantically.
  8428. >Starlight hadn’t gone far.
  8429. >She was walking surprisingly slowly.
  8430. >Each hoofstep was very deliberate as she walked to the palace.
  8431. >Was there something wrong with her legs?
  8432. >The pony who broke into her home was having trouble walking.
  8433. >And they didn’t go down the stairs to find her.
  8434. >It was all adding up.
  8435. >Lyra approached her with what she hoped was a casual demeanor.
  8436. >Her exaggerated whistling drew more than a few looks as she closed the divide.
  8437. >There was something wrong about the fur on Starlight’s right front leg.
  8438. >Lyra couldn’t tell exactly what it was though.
  8439. >She had to get closer.
  8440. >Lyra picked up the pace.
  8441. >And then Starlight turned left.
  8442. >She wasn’t heading to the palace at all.
  8443. >Where was she going?
  8444. >Lyra slowed down a bit to match pace.
  8445. >They walked through the urban sprawl out toward suburban Ponyville.
  8446. >The crowds began to thin out and Lyra couldn’t help but worry that she’d be noticed.
  8447. >The snow had melted to reveal the dead grass and barren trees.
  8448. >It was an odd combination of wintery lifelessness and summery warmth.
  8449. >Was this the face of the whole of Equestria?
  8450. >This might be all of Elysium.
  8451. >Starlight kept walking through the suburbs.
  8452. >She seemed to be going quite far away from home.
  8453. >Well over an hour later she finally stopped.
  8454. >She sat down on what was formerly a grassy hill.
  8455. >And then she opened her saddlebags.
  8456. >Lyra approached cautiously.
  8457. >Starlight pulled out the dowelling and some yellow material.
  8458. >And before Lyra knew it a delta kite was taking flight.
  8459. >Starlight slowly let out the line until she was apparently satisfied.
  8460. >She then sat down, string in hoof.
  8461. >And she just stared at it.
  8462. >What kind of sinister ploy was this?
  8463.  
  8464. >”Why are you following me?”
  8465.  
  8466. >Lyra’s blood ran cold.
  8467. >She’d been found out.
  8468.  
  8469. “I- I- I wasn’t?”
  8470.  
  8471. >”Yes you were. And your stuttering doesn’t make for a very convincing lie.”
  8472.  
  8473. >Lyra swallowed her fear.
  8474. >This confrontation was going to happen sooner or later.
  8475. >Maybe this wasn’t all bad.
  8476.  
  8477. >”Come here. I don’t feel like shouting.”
  8478.  
  8479. >Lyra walked up the formerly grassy hill.
  8480. >The kite seemed to hang almost perfectly still in the skies above.
  8481. >A gentle wind began to sweep her mane as she crested the hill.
  8482.  
  8483. “The winds don’t seem strong enough for a kite to fly.”
  8484.  
  8485. >”They are. Down near the ground the winds are generally weaker and more erratic. Up there there’s no obstacles. No cities or forests or hills to get in the way. Nothing but freedom.”
  8486.  
  8487. >She didn’t look at Lyra as she spoke.
  8488. >She just lay there.
  8489. >Staring up at the heavens.
  8490.  
  8491. >”Polyester is a wonderful material. So light and strong. I’d like to get some carbon fiber for the struts, but it’s hard to get ahold of so I’m stuck with wood for now.”
  8492.  
  8493. >Lyra finally got a good look at Starlight.
  8494. >It had been masked fairly well beneath her fur, but the small bald spots gave it away.
  8495. >It looked like she had some scars on her right front leg.
  8496. >Long snaking scars that spread out in a tree like manner.
  8497.  
  8498. “What happened to your leg?”
  8499.  
  8500. >”I’d rather not say.”
  8501.  
  8502. >She tucked it in under herself when she answered.
  8503. >To Lyra’s surprise Starlight had to push it in place with another one of her hooves.
  8504.  
  8505. >”Why were you following me?”
  8506.  
  8507. “I want you to stop blackmailing me.”
  8508.  
  8509. >The tension was palpable as they sat upon the hill.
  8510. >No sounds save for the gentle whistling of the wind.
  8511. >Starlight’s face didn’t change in the least.
  8512. >She just continued to stare at the clear blue skies.
  8513.  
  8514. >”Are you going to finish that sentence?”
  8515.  
  8516. “What?”
  8517.  
  8518. >”Exactly. Stop blackmailing you or… what? What’s your leverage?”
  8519.  
  8520. >She hadn’t thought that through.
  8521.  
  8522. “I’ll tell everypony you’re the one helping me investigate S.M.I.L.E-.”
  8523.  
  8524. >”Which would necessitate you admitting you’ve broken the law.”
  8525.  
  8526. >Oh.
  8527. >Right.
  8528. >Not a great plan.
  8529.  
  8530. >”I’m not blackmailing you. I don’t know who is.”
  8531.  
  8532. “I don’t believe you.”
  8533.  
  8534. >”Understandable. It does seem like something worth lying about. But it’s true. It sounds like you couldn’t stop me even if I was.”
  8535.  
  8536. >This whole day was a bad idea.
  8537.  
  8538. >”It was very stupid of you to confront me like this. You admitted to an awful lot. Now I know you’re investigating S.M.I.L.E.”
  8539.  
  8540. “You already knew.”
  8541.  
  8542. >”No, I didn’t.”
  8543.  
  8544. “You were the one who broke into my home and gave me that visor. You were pretty much the only pony who could have known I was in Twilight’s place that night, and you were having trouble walking that night.”
  8545.  
  8546. >”Hrm. So you’d noticed that.”
  8547.  
  8548. “And there’s something wrong with your magic. You had trouble casting some spells that night, and you haven’t used it once since I started following you.”
  8549.  
  8550. >”Alright. You caught me. I suppose there’s no point in hiding anymore. If they interrogate you I’ll be found out anyway.”
  8551.  
  8552. >She let the kite out a little further.
  8553.  
  8554. “Why? Why are you helping me and also blackmailing me?”
  8555.  
  8556. >”I’m not blackmailing you. And I’m helping you because I want answers too. I don’t know much about S.M.I.L.E.”
  8557.  
  8558. “You said you used to be one of them.”
  8559.  
  8560.  
  8561. >”I said I wasn’t sure if I was one of them. A few years back I stumbled on some tech Twilight had. A computer. I started asking questions. And she told me a little. Showed me around. They had a research and development program that seemed impossibly advanced. She said they were trying to make everyday life better. I believed her.”
  8562.  
  8563. >She let the kite out further.
  8564.  
  8565. >”Around three years ago something changed. The tone of everypony involved got a lot heavier, and they started taking ridiculous risks.”
  8566.  
  8567. “Like what?”
  8568.  
  8569. >”The first big one I know about was Applejack. They found some way to move way faster. Impossibly fast. It worked fine for objects, but they were worried. The machine moved outside of Elysium in some way, I don’t really understand. They were worried that being away from here would drive the user crazy.”
  8570.  
  8571. “What happened?”
  8572.  
  8573. >”Applejack went in to test it. When she came out she’d been torn apart. It was horrible. Nopony saw it coming. All the non-living things that had gone through were totally unharmed. But she almost looked like spaghetti when she came out.”
  8574.  
  8575. >The kitestring was now at its full length.
  8576.  
  8577. >”I’m told they used an experimental surgery to save her life. Don’t ask me how they knew how to do that. I’ve got no clue.”
  8578.  
  8579. “They didn’t turn her into a machine on purpose?”
  8580.  
  8581. >”No. Why would they? It’s risky and costly.”
  8582.  
  8583. >It did seem pretty silly.
  8584.  
  8585. >”I haven’t been allowed to see much of anything since then. Hay, they were already shutting me out of pretty much everything when that happened. But I never stopped watching. There have been a lot more accidents since then.”
  8586.  
  8587. “Like?”
  8588.  
  8589. >She looked down to her scarred leg.
  8590. >The look of pain on her face was palpable.
  8591. >She let go of the kitestring while staring, and her kite began to fall.
  8592. >Her horn lit to grab the string.
  8593. >But her spell fizzled.
  8594. >Lyra grabbed it for her and passed it along.
  8595. >She began to reel it in with impressive speed, and the kite began to fly once more.
  8596.  
  8597. >”Four triangles, a red diamond, and a black circle. That’s a warning sign. It means there’s something there they don’t understand. Possibly harmless, possibly deadly. I didn’t know it generated electricity. It’s possible nopony did.”
  8598.  
  8599. >She’d been electrocuted.
  8600. >Was the trouble with her magic and difficulty walking because of that?
  8601. >Was it some kind of nerve damage?
  8602.  
  8603. “Starlight, I’m so so sorry. Losing your magic like that, I can’t even imagine.”
  8604.  
  8605. >”I didn’t lose my magic. But I could have lost everything. Stay safe. They’re still throwing the dice all the time, toying with forces that they don’t understand.”
  8606.  
  8607. “How do you know? I thought you hadn’t seen much lately.”
  8608.  
  8609. >”Twilight has an illusion spell up all the time now. Not long ago she didn’t.”
  8610.  
  8611. “What happened to her?”
  8612.  
  8613. >”I don’t know. I’ve just pretended I didn’t notice.”
  8614.  
  8615. >Something bad had happened to Twilight?
  8616. >Despite all her misgivings, Lyra couldn’t help but be worried for her.
  8617.  
  8618. >”If you pay close attention, you’ll find that plenty of ponies involved in S.M.I.L.E. have been hurt horribly.”
  8619.  
  8620. “Rarity’s eyes are fake.”
  8621.  
  8622. >”Yup. I don’t know what happened to her.”
  8623.  
  8624. “Why are they doing all this? Why are they endangering their own?”
  8625.  
  8626. >”That’s what I was hoping you’d find out. I want to say they’re evil. It would all be so simple. But… I know Twilight better than that. She has to have a good reason.”
  8627.  
  8628. “Or maybe Twilight’s just a monster.”
  8629.  
  8630. >Starlight smiled.
  8631.  
  8632. >”No. That’s not who she is. She might be in the wrong, but she means well.”
  8633.  
  8634. “I’ve known her longer than you. Twilight Sparkle isn’t what she pretends to be.”
  8635.  
  8636. >”What is she then?”
  8637.  
  8638. “Selfish. Arrogant. Narcissistic. She’s the kind of pony who will throw you out the moment she doesn’t need you. Don’t put too much faith in Twilight. She’ll just disappoint you.”
  8639.  
  8640. >Starlight lay on the hill for a while.
  8641. >She continued to gaze up on the heavens above.
  8642. >Then she shook her head.
  8643.  
  8644. >”I don’t know what history you have with her, but that’s not who she is anymore. Ponies change.”
  8645.  
  8646. “If they can change, they can change back.”
  8647.  
  8648. >”I suppose. But she hasn’t. Look, Lyra, I have nothing against you, but you can’t talk to me anymore.”
  8649.  
  8650. “If I offended you-”
  8651.  
  8652. >”You didn’t. But it’s risky. If you get caught I don’t want them looking into me. And if they get suspicious about me it’d be best if they didn’t start looking into you.”
  8653.  
  8654. >That did make sense.
  8655. >It was no great loss anyway.
  8656. >Lyra barely knew Starlight.
  8657. >It’s not like she was losing a friend.
  8658.  
  8659. >”I’ll lend you a hoof when I can. If you figure out what they’re doing try and let me know once the coast is clear. And I’m not the one blackmailing you. Somepony else is, and that means somepony else knows. Be careful.”
  8660.  
  8661. “I will. Thanks.”
  8662.  
  8663. >Lyra turned to leave.
  8664. >But she hesitated.
  8665. >There was one more question.
  8666. >Somepony was hurting inside.
  8667. >And Lyra wanted to know just how badly their soul bled.
  8668.  
  8669. “Do you know the side effects of their stimulant drug?”
  8670.  
  8671. >”Some. Nasty stuff, that. Hypertension, rapid and erratic heart beat, nausea, all sorts of stuff.”
  8672.  
  8673. “How about depression?”
  8674.  
  8675. >”Not that I know of.”
  8676.  
  8677. >Bon-Bon lied.
  8678. >Again.
  8679. >She came home half dead and in tears.
  8680. >And she said it was the drugs.
  8681. >What had made her cry?
  8682. >What had she seen down below?
  8683.  
  8684. “Thanks.”
  8685.  
  8686. >Lyra returned home, not entirely convinced by Starlight’s words.
  8687. >She seemed to be telling the truth.
  8688. >But if so then Lyra had no leads.
  8689. >Was Starlight trustworthy?
  8690. >Did Lyra have any choice but to believe her?
  8691. >She had no idea.
  8692.  
  8693. That night...
  8694.  
  8695. “You’re sure you’re okay?”
  8696.  
  8697. >”For the last time YES! Geeze, Lyra. What’s gotten into you?”
  8698.  
  8699. >’I just learned that you went on a traumatizing mission into a pit that lay below even Tartarus and won’t talk about it to even the princesses.’
  8700. >That’s what she wanted to say.
  8701. >But she knew well that that was a bit much.
  8702.  
  8703. >”You don’t need to worry about me so much. My life’s great! Pass the cream, please. 589,615 milliliters.”
  8704.  
  8705. >Bon-Bon stood before the stove melting butter.
  8706. >A large chunk of milk fat sat in a dish in the middle of a pot of hot water.
  8707. >Lyra wasn’t sure why she was bothering with that.
  8708. >It seemed to her that the microwave would do the job just fine.
  8709. >But she wasn’t the confectioner.
  8710.  
  8711. >”Toss it in that bowl with the sugar.”
  8712.  
  8713. >Lyra glanced into the mixing bowl on the counter just before dumping the creme in it.
  8714. >Brown and white sugar, cream, bees, and butter.
  8715.  
  8716. “What is this? It looks crazy unhealthy.”
  8717.  
  8718. >”Sucre à la crème isn’t exactly health food.”
  8719.  
  8720. “Who’s it for?”
  8721.  
  8722. >”Not you. You’re already too fat.”
  8723.  
  8724. >That was fine by Lyra.
  8725. >It looked rather unappetizing at the moment.
  8726. >All that sickly green fluff.
  8727.  
  8728. >”I’ve got a friend who died. Figured I’d make his one of his favourite treats to cheer him up.”
  8729.  
  8730. “Will he be okay?”
  8731.  
  8732. >”Probably.”
  8733.  
  8734. >She poured the butter into the cream and sugar and added a bit of vanilla.
  8735. >And then she began to mix it vigorously with a wooden spoon.
  8736. >A thick green paste was all she got out of it.
  8737. >It still looked unappetizing.
  8738.  
  8739. “Well, that’s good to hear. Say, what time is it?”
  8740.  
  8741. >”96:80”
  8742.  
  8743. “Huh. I thought it was later than that.”
  8744.  
  8745. >Lyra walked out of the kitchen and climbed aboard the ferry.
  8746. >She gave the skeleton a single coin and he began to ferry them across the 7 swimming pools.
  8747. >Lyra couldn’t remember why they’d installed them.
  8748. >The fumes were terrible.
  8749.  
  8750. >”Lyra?”
  8751.  
  8752. >Bon-Bon gently shook Lyra, awakening her from her sleep.
  8753. >She lay in bed, safe in their room.
  8754.  
  8755. “Wha? Oh. I should have known it was a dream. You only make sucre à la crème for Hearths Warming.”
  8756.  
  8757. >”Have I been acting strangely lately?”
  8758.  
  8759. “Is this a loaded question?”
  8760.  
  8761. >”I’ve been told that I’m not myself lately.”
  8762.  
  8763. “Well, kinda. You sorta bullied those guards at the prison.”
  8764.  
  8765. >”Yeah…”
  8766.  
  8767. “And you picked the locks at the computer store. Oh! You started leaving towels on the floor again.”
  8768.  
  8769. >”Sorry. I’m just having a rough time lately.”
  8770.  
  8771. >Rough enough that she had to wake Lyra up in the middle of the night, it seemed.
  8772.  
  8773. “Wanna talk about it?”
  8774.  
  8775. >She didn’t answer.
  8776. >This was doubtlessly about the mess in the underworld.
  8777.  
  8778. “I can’t help but be a little worried that something would get to you of all ponies. If you’re worried about it it has to be big.”
  8779.  
  8780. >”What do you mean?”
  8781.  
  8782. >Lyra cuddled up to her bunkmate.
  8783.  
  8784. “You’re scared of something. What’s bothering you?”
  8785.  
  8786. >”I’m not scared.”
  8787.  
  8788. >Lyra ignored the lie.
  8789.  
  8790. “You don’t want to go back, do you.”
  8791.  
  8792. >Bon-Bon began shivering.
  8793. >She wasn’t cold.
  8794.  
  8795. >”Did Luna talk to you?”
  8796.  
  8797. “Princess Luna? No. Why?”
  8798.  
  8799. >”She- I’m supposed- don’t worry about it.”
  8800.  
  8801. “Bonny? You’re going to tell me what’s wrong, or I’m going over your head and talking to Princess Cadance. She’s my friend, I’m sure I can get an audience.”
  8802.  
  8803. >”Why not Twilight? Aren’t you friends with her?”
  8804.  
  8805. “No. No, I am not.”
  8806.  
  8807. >”Right. I forgot about all that. Ever since her coronation you’ve had it out for her.”
  8808.  
  8809. >And it was only getting worse.
  8810. >The whole mess with S.M.I.L.E. had made the worst princess seem even less deserving.
  8811.  
  8812. “So tell me what’s going on. Are you sure you’re okay?”
  8813.  
  8814. >”I’m fine.”
  8815.  
  8816. >Lyra got out of bed.
  8817.  
  8818. >”Where are you going?”
  8819.  
  8820. “To the Crystal Empire.”
  8821.  
  8822. >”Yeesh, fine. You got me. You’re sure nopony put you up to this?”
  8823.  
  8824. >Derpy had.
  8825. >Kinda.
  8826. >But Lyra was pretty sure she shouldn’t say that.
  8827.  
  8828. “Why do you think somepony did?”
  8829.  
  8830. >Bon-Bon let out a deep, reluctant sigh.
  8831.  
  8832. >”Because I was ordered to talk to you. You’re right. I am scared. My last mission really- ugh.”
  8833.  
  8834. >She’s refusing to tell anypony what happened.
  8835. >The pegasus who flew her out won’t either.
  8836. >Odds were she just didn’t want to think about it.
  8837. >Bon-Bon lifted the corner of her mattress and pulled out a small contraption.
  8838. >Lyra didn’t get a good look at it in the poor light.
  8839.  
  8840. >”Heh. Look at me. Checking every five minutes to make sure it’s still there. Pretty pathetic.”
  8841.  
  8842. “Is this why you set up a security system in our home?”
  8843.  
  8844. >”Kinda. I’ve been meaning to for a while, but this made me finally get around to it. It’s stupid. They’re stuck down there, I shouldn’t have to worry about anything bad getting all the way up here. What a ridiculous thing to be worried about.”
  8845.  
  8846. >Lyra climbed back into bed and slid up against Bon-Bon once more.
  8847.  
  8848. “Down there? Like, Tartarus?”
  8849.  
  8850. >Lyra knew it wasn’t Tartarus.
  8851. >But she wasn’t supposed to know that.
  8852.  
  8853. “Are you afraid Tirek will break out again?”
  8854.  
  8855. >”No. We don’t need magic to fight anymore. He’s not a threat. You know about the four worlds, right?”
  8856.  
  8857. “Sure. I learned about them in school.”
  8858.  
  8859. >Something that the current generation won’t do.
  8860.  
  8861. ”Up on top is our world. Elysium. Anyone that is capable of living peacefully is allowed here. Those that are won’t get locked up in Tartarus. Monsters that are too dangerous or disgusting for Tartarus get moved to the Underworld. That’s not its real name, that’s just what we call it. It’s actually named-”
  8862.  
  8863. >Bon-Bon shoved her hooves in Lyra’s mouth.
  8864.  
  8865. >”Don’t say it. Just don’t.”
  8866.  
  8867. “WHHH?”
  8868.  
  8869. >”It’s dangerous. Trust me on this one.”
  8870.  
  8871. >Bon-Bon removed her hooves slowly.
  8872. >Lyra spat out a little bit of fur.
  8873.  
  8874. “Saying a name is dangerous.”
  8875.  
  8876. >”Names have power.”
  8877.  
  8878. “So if I say that name something bad will happen.”
  8879.  
  8880. >”If you say it in the wrong place at the wrong time, yes.”
  8881.  
  8882. >At the wrong place and time.
  8883. >Not now.
  8884. >But somewhere and somewhen.
  8885. >The name Orcus had power.
  8886.  
  8887. >”Escape from the underworld is supposed to be totally impossible for anything that has a physical body.”
  8888.  
  8889. >Which turned out not to be entirely true it seemed.
  8890.  
  8891. “Below the Underworld is Inferno. Evils spirits don’t have bodies, so they could escape Underworld. They get locked up here instead.”
  8892.  
  8893. >”Close enough. What about the fifth world?”
  8894.  
  8895. “I didn’t know there was one. Is this classified?”
  8896.  
  8897. >”No, actually. It probably will be soon, but even the princesses didn’t know about it until recently. The bureaucracy is having trouble keeping up lately.”
  8898.  
  8899. “Why not just say everything is classified until they say otherwise?”
  8900.  
  8901. >”The contract needs updating.”
  8902.  
  8903. >She’d heard about this contract before.
  8904. >Applejack had brought it up in her recording.
  8905.  
  8906. “What contract?”
  8907.  
  8908. >”Some things are so dangerous and so evil that neither the Underworld nor Infero will put up with them. Beasts and spirits so horrendous that the most evil monsters imaginable teamed up to lock them away. Their prison is Hades.”
  8909.  
  8910. >That was not an answer.
  8911. >Bon-Bon checked to make sure her trinket was still there.
  8912. >It hadn’t moved in the last couple minutes.
  8913.  
  8914. >”What’s down there? How could anything be worse?”
  8915.  
  8916. >Bon-Bon pushed away and got up.
  8917. >She pulled her weapon out and moved to leave.
  8918.  
  8919. “And where are YOU going?”
  8920.  
  8921.  
  8922. >”To get a bigger gun.”
  8923.  
  8924. “What’s a gun?”
  8925.  
  8926. >Bon-Bon didn’t answer.
  8927. >She walked off into the night in silence.
  8928. >Lyra started to follow.
  8929. >But she thought better of it.
  8930. >There was little doubt that wherever Bonny was going, she wasn’t allowed to follow.
  8931. >There was one thing she could do with the spare time though.
  8932. >She donned her visor and black garb and headed out.
  8933. >Starlight had told her something had happened to Twilight.
  8934. >Lyra wanted to know what.
  8935. >Maybe it would offer some much needed insight.
  8936. >They were toying with things they didn’t understand, and getting hurt in the process.
  8937. >Whatever Twilight hid behind her illusion was likely caused by something top secret.
  8938. >Would she understand when she saw?
  8939. >There was only one way to find out.
  8940. >She walked confidently through the night, sticking to the back alleys whenever possible.
  8941. >The electric streetlights made it nigh on impossible to hide in the darkness, but precious few were out at these early hours.
  8942. >Somewhere in the distance an owl began to call.
  8943. >Not long ago such noises had been commonplace.
  8944. >Crows and ravens now made up the bulk of the bird sounds.
  8945. >The palace drew into view.
  8946. >The visor revealed Twilight, Starlight, and Spike lie within.
  8947. >And without there were two ponies standing guard by the front door.
  8948. >Lyra saw no indication of any guards on the inside.
  8949. >She zoomed in with her visor to get a better look at the guards.
  8950. >They weren’t wearing the standard bronze armor of the royal guard.
  8951. >Instead they bore thick black vests that looked quite familiar.
  8952. >The strange invulnerable cloth they were working with at the prison.
  8953. >Their thick necks and powerful legs were exposed.
  8954. >But their bodies were totally covered, and supposedly uncuttable.
  8955. >It occurred to Lyra that they weren’t protected from blunt trauma.
  8956. >It seemed a pretty big oversight.
  8957. >Were they not worried about that?
  8958. >In Lyra’s experience, that was the easiest way to strike.
  8959. >Maybe whatever they were anticipating fought differently.
  8960. >The guards still seemed to hold traditional weapons.
  8961. >Long spears leaned against the doors as the bored looking guards wiled away their shifts.
  8962. >Was a spear the best of their weaponry?
  8963. >Surely not.
  8964. >Those things they were throwing at the Wendigog were terrifying.
  8965. >A spear was just a sharp stick.
  8966. >Were this guards hiding their real weapons?
  8967. >Had they not been distributed yet?
  8968. >Were they perhaps not going to get anything better?
  8969. >She had no clue.
  8970. >Lyra stared at the buff guards for some time wondering how she’d get past them.
  8971. >They were far from alert after many hours of silence and boredom.
  8972. >She could almost certainly knock them out with a surprise attack.
  8973. >But she wanted to avoid that.
  8974. >They’d done her no wrong.
  8975. >They didn’t deserve a concussion.
  8976. >But she had no idea how to get past them.
  8977. >Lyra pondered the problem for some time.
  8978.  
  8979. “Maybe I can distract them?”
  8980.  
  8981. >What was it Bon-Bon had warned her about?
  8982. >Pitch black smoke and spooky whispers.
  8983. >Maybe they’d heard about them too?
  8984. >It had been a long time since Lyra had used any illusion magic.
  8985. >But all those years of study had not been forgotten.
  8986. >With a flick of her horn black smoke began to billow out from behind the palace.
  8987. >Lyra tried to match it with an auditory illusion.
  8988.  
  8989. “Lup’Duj’HomwIj luteb gharghmey.”
  8990.  
  8991. >The two big, burly stallions stared at the smoke as it approached them.
  8992. >One of them let out an ear piercing shriek.
  8993. >And then they both ran away, leaving their spears behind.
  8994.  
  8995. “Huh. That’s not worrying at all.”
  8996.  
  8997. >She left the shadows and walked up to the front door.
  8998. >To her surprise it wasn’t locked.
  8999. >The heavy door swung open smoothly to reveal the entranceway.
  9000. >But there was something about the atmosphere of this building that seemed different from before.
  9001. >Was it just her perception?
  9002. >Or had something really changed?
  9003. >She honestly didn’t know.
  9004. >After closing the door she carefully surveyed the room.
  9005. >A small camera was hidden by the coatrack.
  9006. >She draped a scarf over it before moving forward into the foyer.
  9007. >It was stunningly dark inside, far more than she’d have expected.
  9008. >She cast a simple light spell and found her first big surprise.
  9009. >It seemed the place hadn’t been cleaned in several days.
  9010. >Perhaps even weeks.
  9011. >Dust covered the shelves, paintings were askew, and some litter lined the hallways.
  9012. >There were problems in Ponyville’s princessly palace.
  9013. >Didn’t she have servants for that?
  9014. >Lyra moved in further.
  9015. >Heavy blinds blocked all light coming through the windows, making the interior even darker than the night sky without.
  9016. >With the oppressive darkness, dust, and the tension with every step Lyra didn’t feel like she was in a home.
  9017. >It felt like a tomb.
  9018. >She cautiously climbed the stairs, heart hammering and breath held.
  9019. >Mercifully not a single creak came out during her ascent.
  9020. >Something approached in the distance.
  9021. >The nametag in her visor listed Rainbow Dash tearing through the skies, approaching at 900 km/h.
  9022. >Lyra ducked into the first room she saw.
  9023. >It was a washroom.
  9024. >The mirror had been shattered, the glass hastily thrown into a bin.
  9025. >Small shards still lay about, but none were large enough to pose a danger to her hooves.
  9026. >Rainbow Dash decelerated at an amazing rate and landed by the entryway.
  9027. >Lyra extinguished her horn and hid in the bathtub, drawing the shower curtain.
  9028. >She watched as Rainbow Dash systematically checked every single room in the palace.
  9029. >Had the guards told her about the sighting?
  9030. >Was she hunting her?
  9031. >Whatever the case was she was going to be found.
  9032. >Lyra had to think fast.
  9033. >She doubted she could even hit Dash at the rate she was moving, much less beat her in a fight.
  9034. >There was no choice but to hide.
  9035. >But where?
  9036. >A dozen more ponies flooded in through the front door.
  9037. >Guards?
  9038. >She was going to get caught.
  9039. >There was-
  9040. >The hidden room.
  9041. >Maybe they didn’t know about it.
  9042. >She moved as quickly as she dare, stumbling through the pitch black building.
  9043. >She fumbled through Twilight’s door and moved to where she hoped to find the illusory wall.
  9044. >To her great relief it was still there.
  9045. >The camera above had been replaced, but it was easily moved aside.
  9046. >She doubted it would have seen her anyway.
  9047. >It was pitch black in here.
  9048. >All she could see was the floating nameplates drifting through the palace.
  9049. >Sweeping it for any signs of intruders.
  9050. >She hadn’t left any evidence, had she?
  9051. >Lyra thought back.
  9052. >Her blood ran cold.
  9053. >She hadn’t closed the from door on her way in.
  9054.  
  9055. “Stupid.”
  9056.  
  9057. >She whispered to herself.
  9058. >Rainbow Dash herself came to investigate Twilight’s room.
  9059.  
  9060. >”Twi, are you okay?”
  9061.  
  9062. >”Uhh?”
  9063.  
  9064. >”Somepony broke into your place! Again!”
  9065.  
  9066. >Twilight started moving quickly.
  9067. >Within seconds she was on her way out of her bedroom.
  9068.  
  9069. >”We gotta check the hidden rooms!”
  9070.  
  9071. >”Right!”
  9072.  
  9073. >Lyra’s heart skipped a beat.
  9074. >They were going to find her any second now.
  9075. >She prepared to fight.
  9076. >And they walked out of her room.
  9077. >She was trembling in terror as they filtered out.
  9078. >Were there more secret rooms?
  9079. >Whatever the case, she had to move.
  9080. >They’d check this place sooner or later.
  9081. >But where?
  9082. >She stepped out.
  9083. >The lights had been turned on, and she finally got a good look at Twilight’s bedroom.
  9084. >The bed was a mess; no surprise since it was just occupied.
  9085. >But what was strange was that all the windows had been covered with blankets.
  9086. >And the vanity mirror had been smashed.
  9087. >Lyra walked over to the ultimate hiding place.
  9088. >She moved to slide under the bed.
  9089. >But first she noticed something.
  9090. >There was quite a bit of purple fur littered about.
  9091. >More than one would expect from natural shedding.
  9092. >And there were a couple blood stains on the sheets.
  9093. >What had happened to Twilight?
  9094. >She didn’t have time to worry about that right now.
  9095. >She quietly slid underneath.
  9096. >And she almost immediately started sneezing.
  9097. >The dust beneath the bed was insane.
  9098. >Had it ever been cleaned out?
  9099. >She wasn’t sure.
  9100. >An appearent eternity passed while she lay perfectly still under that bed.
  9101. >She controlled her breathing carefully, desperate to avoid that killer sneeze.
  9102. >And after an agonizing hour and a half, she saw the guards leaving the premises.
  9103. >Twilight and Rainbow Dash returned to the bedroom.
  9104.  
  9105. >”You sure you’re okay Twi?”
  9106.  
  9107. >”Yeah. Just really tired. Stims only take you so far.”
  9108.  
  9109. >”I wish you wouldn’t use those things.”
  9110.  
  9111. >”Yeah. I never want to see another pill for as long as I live. Don’t worry, everything’s in place. I’m not needed for a while. It’s time to sleep.”
  9112.  
  9113. >”Is it bad?”
  9114.  
  9115. >”We’re on schedule.”
  9116.  
  9117. >”I meant you.”
  9118.  
  9119. >”I might wind up with a fake leg.”
  9120.  
  9121. >”Twi…”
  9122.  
  9123. >”Don’t worry about me. I’m not nearly as bad of as A.J. and she doesn’t seem to be suffering too much.”
  9124.  
  9125. >Twilight climbed into the bed.
  9126. >The boxspring shifted slightly, pressing against Lyra’s muzzle.
  9127.  
  9128. >”Does it hurt?”
  9129.  
  9130. >”Yeah. But it’s not so bad with analgesic spells. Err, painkiller magic.”
  9131.  
  9132. >”If you’re sure. Sleep tight, Twilight. I’ll come by tomorrow to check in on you.”
  9133.  
  9134. >”Thanks for coming to check in on me. To think the demons are here already.”
  9135.  
  9136. >Demons.
  9137. >They thought it was demons.
  9138. >Wait, already?
  9139. >They’re expecting demons in Equestria.
  9140. >Bon-Bon’s insistence that Lyra learn to fight suddenly made sense.
  9141. >Her warnings about black smoke, her demanding Lyra wear armor, the security system…
  9142. >It all made sense.
  9143. >And the guard’s wearing the new material.
  9144. >Equestria was getting ready for a demonic invasion.
  9145. >But something still didn’t make sense.
  9146. >Where had they learned to make all this stuff?
  9147.  
  9148. >”I thought you hadn’t broken the seal yet.”
  9149.  
  9150. >”We didn’t. I don’t know how it got out.”
  9151.  
  9152. >Broken the seal?
  9153. >Were they going to LET them out?
  9154. >Why would they ever do that?
  9155. >Lyra couldn’t imagine anything that idiotic.
  9156. >She had to be missing part of the picture.
  9157.  
  9158. >”It shouldn’t be possible. Dash, do you think it might have been a false alarm?”
  9159.  
  9160. >”Could be. The meatheads looked pretty on edge when I saw them. They might be jumping at shadows.”
  9161.  
  9162. >”Yeah… you’re right. We’re still safe up here. Good night.”
  9163.  
  9164. >Rainbow Dash left the building.
  9165. >But Lyra still didn’t dare move.
  9166. >Was Twilight asleep?
  9167. >Would she be found out when she moved?
  9168. >She had to go before dawn.
  9169. >Sooner or later she’d be found out.
  9170. >But she was right under Twilight!
  9171. >Some time passed.
  9172. >How much, Lyra had no clue.
  9173. >But then she dared to move.
  9174. >Twilight lay in bed, blankets dragged up to her neck.
  9175. >She was dead to the world.
  9176. >Lyra quickly cast her curse to make sure Twilight didn’t awaken.
  9177. >And then she set to work.
  9178. >Twilight supposedly had an illusion spell on her.
  9179. >Lyra started probing.
  9180. >She was having a lot of trouble finding it.
  9181. >There was so much magic in this place it was hard to get a read on any one spell.
  9182. >And even Lyra had to admit Twilight was amazing with magic.
  9183. >Her spells were always so stable and efficient.
  9184. >Twilight had the skills to get away without much power, and the power to succeed without any skills.
  9185. >But Lyra was no slouch either.
  9186. >She blasted the area with undirected magic in hopes of disrupting the spell.
  9187. >It worked.
  9188. >Barely.
  9189. >She could just make out the edges of the illusion.
  9190. >Once she could find the spell it was trivial to pull it apart.
  9191. >The magic faded away and with it went the Twilight Sparkle she knew.
  9192. >Lyra gagged at what she saw beneath.
  9193. >Twilight’s body had been tightly bound by bloodied bandages, and massive chunks of fur had fallen from her hide.
  9194. >And her leg was swollen and deformed, looking more like a gnarled tree trunk than anything that belonged to a pony.
  9195. >Pus oozed from a growth near her messed up knee.
  9196. >Twilight had toyed with something she didn’t understand.
  9197. >Something that perhaps nopony understood.
  9198. >And she’d paid dearly for it.
  9199. >Lyra had resented S.M.I.L.E. for what they’d done to the populace.
  9200. >For what they’d done to Bonny and all the bereaved foals out there.
  9201. >She’d assumed them to be selfish.
  9202. >But maybe she had been a bit hasty in her judgement.
  9203.  
  9204. “Whatever happened to you, keep Bonny out of it or I’m coming for you.”
  9205.  
  9206. >Lyra carefully tucked Twilight sparkle in.
  9207.  
  9208. “Get better soon.”
  9209.  
  9210. >Lyra left the palace and returned home as dawn broke.
  9211.  
  9212.  
  9213. * * * * *
  9214.  
  9215.  
  9216. >The flow surrounded her.
  9217. >Who was she?
  9218. >What is ‘she’?
  9219. >Did it matter?
  9220. >Eternity lay before and behind.
  9221. >The endless waters above pressed down with immeasurable force.
  9222. >Below lay an eternal murky abyss.
  9223. >From whence did this force originate?
  9224. >Why did this exist?
  9225.  
  9226. “I.”
  9227.  
  9228. >Yeeeeessss.
  9229.  
  9230. >”What they hay is going on?”
  9231.  
  9232. >Bon-Bon frantically inquired of Tranquil Streams.
  9233. >He glanced at Lyra Hearstrings.
  9234. >And immediately ducked for cover.
  9235.  
  9236. >”Holy shit! Get away from her!”
  9237.  
  9238. >The old stallion was hiding behind in front of Lyra’s home.
  9239. >He cautiously peeked around and looked at the back yard.
  9240. >It was still there.
  9241. >Lyra floated half a meter above the ground, surrounded by an unearthly glow.
  9242. >Brilliant light flooded out of her eyes as she stared at the sky.
  9243. >Bon-Bon joined him, though she wasn’t entirely certain why.
  9244.  
  9245. >”What’s going on?”
  9246.  
  9247. >”Your friend’s retarded. That’s what.”
  9248.  
  9249. >Bon-Bon poked her muzzle around the corner and took a quick look.
  9250. >Something was distorting the air, making Lyra look like an image from a funhouse mirror.
  9251.  
  9252. >”Could you repeat that?”
  9253.  
  9254. >”Err, I meant to say that she’s done something retarded?”
  9255.  
  9256. >”Better. Not exactly good, but better. I’ll take it.”
  9257.  
  9258. >”There are many sources of magic a unicorn can tap into. But they all feed from one master source. A unicorn that’s skilled enough or arrogant enough can try and tap directly into the master source, into Aquarius. But it’s too big and too powerful. Only the best of the best can control it.”
  9259.  
  9260. >”And what happens when they lose control?”
  9261.  
  9262. >”The magic goes wild. Random spells start firing off. The user is pretty much safe, but everything around them gets weird. Growth spells, transforming things into cacti, all sorts of weird stuff. Right up until the magic tries to do something impossible, when all that energy breaks free right into the user’s horn. She’s going to be sick as a dog for days!”
  9263.  
  9264. >He carefully snuck a glance at Lyra.
  9265. >Light had begun to shoot out of her mouth and ears.
  9266.  
  9267. >”Make that months! What the hay is she doing?”
  9268.  
  9269.  
  9270. >”Well, she was practicing her attacks. She got a steel girder from somewhere and said she wasn’t coming in until she’d cut it in half. A couple hours later I look out and she’s like that. So it’s possible to do this and be fine?”
  9271.  
  9272. >”Possible? Yeah, sure. Just not for her. I’ve seen her use magic. She’s not good enough.”
  9273.  
  9274. >”Twenty-thousand bits says she does it.”
  9275.  
  9276. >”Wanna make it fifty-thousand?”
  9277.  
  9278. >”Deal!”
  9279.  
  9280. >The light began to fade.
  9281. >The distortions in space disappeared.
  9282. >And a loud humming that nopony had even noticed went silent.
  9283. >Tranquil started walking to the back yard.
  9284.  
  9285. >”If you have any painkillers go get them. She’s- what?”
  9286.  
  9287. >He stopped in his tracks.
  9288.  
  9289. >”She did it, didn’t she?”
  9290.  
  9291. >Bon-Bon walked into the back yard beaming with pride.
  9292.  
  9293. >”I told you she was good.”
  9294.  
  9295. >The two of them rounded the corner.
  9296. >Bon-Bon moved towards Lyra, but the wizened grouch held her back.
  9297.  
  9298. >”It’s not over yet. Look.”
  9299.  
  9300. >Lyra stood on all four hooves.
  9301. >But it was a tenuous position.
  9302. >She was trembling, knees weak.
  9303. >The girder was intact, and a small ball of water hung in the air just before it.
  9304. >Tranquil opened his mouth to guide his student.
  9305.  
  9306. >”Lyra? Drop the water. You don’t need it. With that much power, air will be plenty.”
  9307.  
  9308. >The water ball exploded.
  9309. >Another orb slowly began to grow.
  9310.  
  9311. >”Steel is hard. Your body is soft. Stay back.”
  9312.  
  9313. >Lyra took a couple steps back.
  9314. >Her legs gave out on the fourth step.
  9315. >The ball dropped and the girder shattered into a thousand pieces.
  9316.  
  9317. “Woohoo…”
  9318.  
  9319. >Lyra lay in the dirt greedily drinking down air.
  9320. >Her every muscle ached.
  9321. >Her head was throbbing.
  9322. >But she was happy.
  9323.  
  9324. >”Two out of ten.”
  9325.  
  9326. >She was too tired to react to the insult.
  9327.  
  9328. >”You wiped yourself out with a single attack that took, what? An hour to prepare? That’s totally useless for pretty much every practical application. In a real fight, time is a factor. No opponent will give you that much time to prepare.”
  9329.  
  9330. “I did it. Yaaaaayy…”
  9331.  
  9332. >”I’m going home.”
  9333.  
  9334. >”C’mon, Lyra. Let’s get you inside.”
  9335.  
  9336. >Bon-Bon shoved her muzzle beneath Lyra and hoisted her onto her back.
  9337.  
  9338. >”Thanks for coming out to check on her.”
  9339.  
  9340. >”Still can’t believe she of all ponies pulled it off.”
  9341.  
  9342. >He muttered to himself as he walked away.
  9343.  
  9344. >”Looks like you impressed him. That’s, well, that’s pretty impressive!”
  9345.  
  9346. “Ugh. He’s right though. That’s not a good way to do things. Not worth it.”
  9347.  
  9348. >She tried to lift a leg.
  9349. >She failed.
  9350.  
  9351. >”I’ve never seen anypony do that before! Are you sure you’re okay?”
  9352.  
  9353. “Yeah. I just need to rest for a bit. Drop me off on the couch, would you?”
  9354.  
  9355. >Bon-Bon carefully placed her friend on the soft seat in their den.
  9356. >And Lyra lay down on her belly.
  9357.  
  9358. >”Sitting like a normal pony. You really ARE tired!”
  9359.  
  9360. “Yeah… I’ll be fine though. Just give me a couple minutes.”
  9361.  
  9362. >She melted into the couch, her weary bones crying out in relief.
  9363. >It felt to Lyra as though she’d run ten marathons with the whole weight of the world upon her back.
  9364. >Standard fare for a unicorn drained of her magic.
  9365. >In truth her body was unharmed, there was nothing to heal.
  9366. >She just lacked the energy that mana normally provided.
  9367. >Lyra could already feel her strength slowly returning as her horn drank deeply.
  9368.  
  9369. >”You need anything? Like, are you thirsty, or…”
  9370.  
  9371. “Naa, I’m fine. This is just what happens when a unicorn runs out of magic. I just need to recharge.”
  9372.  
  9373. >Bon-Bon cocked her head in confusion for a second.
  9374. >Then a flash of understanding came across her face.
  9375.  
  9376. >”So it’s like sailing.”
  9377.  
  9378. “Exactly. What?”
  9379.  
  9380. >”Earth ponies don’t mind being off the ground for a while. But if we can’t touch solid ground for a couple days we get sick. You’ll find there are very few Earth pony sailors.”
  9381.  
  9382. >Lyra pushed herself up to what she considered a more proper sitting position.
  9383. >To her surprise and delight she felt no dizziness.
  9384.  
  9385. ”So what’s a gun?”
  9386.  
  9387. >”Remember the code phrase. And you’re not supposed to know about those. When- I mentioned them last night, didn’t I? Oh well. The guards will be getting them soon. I could explain it, but I think a demonstration is needed.”
  9388.  
  9389. >She stepped away for a bit.
  9390. >Lyra heard her going first to the bedroom.
  9391. >Then second to the basement.
  9392. >She returned carrying her saddlebags.
  9393.  
  9394. >”Keep your hooves off, okay? It IS a weapon. They’re dangerous.”
  9395.  
  9396. >A secret kind of weapon?
  9397. >Last time Lyra saw one of S.M.I.L.E.’s weapons, they were making giant fireballs in the sky that reduced horrendous monsters to ash.
  9398. >She was already nervous.
  9399.  
  9400. >”Calm down. There’s nothing to be afraid of. They’re not loaded.”
  9401.  
  9402. >Bon-Bon started by closing the blinds.
  9403. >She pulled a tube out of her saddlebags.
  9404. >Lyra noted that she used her hooves instead of her mouth, and always pointed it towards the floor.
  9405. >The black metal glinted menacingly in the lamplight.
  9406. >There was some kind of leg brace upon it, though she didn’t don the weapon.
  9407.  
  9408. >”You strap it to whatever leg you want to fire from and put a wire with a switch on it into this slot. Whenever you want to shoot it you press the switch, I use my mouth but some ponies use other parts of their body. Then a small ball of metal, usually lead, shoots out the end at high speeds. Kinda like an arrow.”
  9409.  
  9410. “Oh. So it’s a smaller bow? That’s nowhere near as scary as I thought it’d be.”
  9411.  
  9412. >”More like a slingshot come to think of it. This is a pretty small gun. Some of them are back mounted, others need to be moved with a team. I use gauss guns, they use magnets to throw their bullet. They don’t have nearly as much power as some of the other kinds and you need pretty fancy batteries to use them, but they’re quiet. This one is practically silent. Others use small explosions to shoot their bullets, which is usually better, but really loud.”
  9413.  
  9414. >Using a bomb to throw a chunk of lead.
  9415. >These ponies are crazy.
  9416.  
  9417. “That’s what they send you out with? I kinda assumed you’d have something better. Like a heavy crossbow, or something.”
  9418.  
  9419. >Lyra wasn’t sure what reply she was expecting.
  9420. >But a giggle wasn’t it.
  9421.  
  9422. >”Let’s just hope the monsters think the same thing when they see it. If they see it.”
  9423.  
  9424. >She stowed the seemingly innocuous weapon away and pulled out a much larger model.
  9425. >There was a belt of metal objects wrapped around it, though it didn’t seem to actually be attached in any way.
  9426. >Lyra instantly recognised that belt.
  9427. >A similar albeit larger one fed the device that was pointed at her when she broke into the greenhouse.
  9428.  
  9429. >”This baby uses explosives as a propellant instead of magnets. The bullet moves at about 4 times the speed of sound and it fires about 20 times a second. Give or take.”
  9430.  
  9431. “Look, if you can’t tell me what it’s capable of that’s fine. Just say so. There’s no need to make up stories.”
  9432.  
  9433. >”Of course, there are heavier models.”
  9434.  
  9435. >Bon-Bon was apparently ignoring Lyra’s comment.
  9436.  
  9437. >”And all sorts of specialised models. There are guns that are built for longer range and precision instead of firing rate, as an example. I’m not very good with them, but some ponies can hit a shot two or three kilometers away. Those take a while to set up though. These weapons have changed how we fight so drastically. Some ponies don’t like them though. They don’t really work with your magic, they’re their own thing entirely. We’re not really used to them. Lots of agents prefer other tools that more closely resemble traditional weapons because they understand them better.”
  9438.  
  9439. “You’re serious, aren’t you? This is real.”
  9440.  
  9441. >She put the horrifying tool of destruction away and slung the bags over her back.
  9442.  
  9443. “The princesses are being pretty careful with who gets them. For what I think are obvious reasons.”
  9444.  
  9445. >That thing could hit harder than any crossbow ever built before.
  9446. >Fifteen times.
  9447. >Not per hour, as one might expect of a clumsy crossbow user.
  9448. >Not per minute as one could expect of a skilled longbow.
  9449. >Per SECOND.
  9450. >Was there any doubt that S.M.I.L.E. would win their coming battles?
  9451. >Bon-Bon insisted there wasn’t, and Lyra fully understood why.
  9452. >But Twilight thought failure was likely.
  9453.  
  9454. >”I’d like to give you one, but I don’t think I can get away with that. You won’t need it anyway, because you’ll run for help if anything happens. Right?”
  9455.  
  9456. >It wasn’t a question.
  9457. >It was an order.
  9458.  
  9459. “Yes ma’am!”
  9460.  
  9461. >Lyra attempted what she hoped was a proper salute.
  9462. >Bon-Bon mussed up her mane lovingly in response.
  9463.  
  9464. “Say, did you ever find that one pony?”
  9465.  
  9466. >”Which pony?”
  9467.  
  9468. “A while back you left in a hurry because somepony broke into a military base. I’m just worried they took one of those guns or something.”
  9469.  
  9470. >”Oh. The trail went cold and the search got cancelled a while back. Probably a false alarm.”
  9471.  
  9472. >They gave up on finding her?
  9473.  
  9474. “Why do you think it was a false alarm?”
  9475.  
  9476. >”Most alarms are. When you design an alarm system you have to decide how sensitive it’ll be. Too sensitive and it goes off for nothing, not sensitive enough and it doesn’t work. Better to have it go off too often than not often enough.”
  9477.  
  9478. >So most of the time when their alarms go off nothing’s happened?
  9479. >That’s actually really good to know.
  9480. >It’d serve her well with what she had planned for later that night.
  9481. >Speaking of.
  9482.  
  9483. That night…
  9484.  
  9485. “Okay, you’re sure this one’s fake?”
  9486.  
  9487. >”Absolutely.”
  9488.  
  9489. >Derpy and Lyra stood beneath a massive ‘apartment’ building.
  9490. >It looked like a nice enough place to live.
  9491. >There was no front yard to speak of, but she could see some greenery peeking over the edges of the roof.
  9492. >A rooftop garden.
  9493. >Large windows by what was supposedly the apartment’s living rooms.
  9494. >It seemed cozy.
  9495. >Though on closer inspection, Lyra noted she couldn’t actually see through the windows.
  9496.  
  9497. “So they built all this but there aren’t any ponies living in it? It seems a pretty big investment. This thing’s huge.”
  9498.  
  9499. >Indeed, it was strange already just in its size.
  9500. >Seven stories of brick and mortar.
  9501. >The massive building ate the entire block.
  9502. >How many million bits would that much land in Ponyville cost?
  9503. >She feared what the answer may be.
  9504.  
  9505. >”Check for yourself.”
  9506.  
  9507. >Lyra donned her visor and took a quick glance at the building.
  9508.  
  9509. “There’s like, fifty ponies in there.”
  9510.  
  9511. >”Really? Huh. Well, I’m still pretty sure that it’s not a real apartment building. The security in there is insane.”
  9512.  
  9513. “What kind of security are we talking about?”
  9514.  
  9515. >”Lots of armed ponies, cameras, digital locks. The works.”
  9516.  
  9517. “Sounds expensive.”
  9518.  
  9519. >”They’re supposed to be broke, right? They wouldn’t throw that kind of money around if they didn’t need to.”
  9520.  
  9521. “Right. There’s something important in there.”
  9522.  
  9523. >”Very important. I tried to get in once, and the whole building went into lockdown immediately. Any plans?”
  9524.  
  9525. “Yeah. Actually I do. Are there any rooftops here that are real apartment buildings? And can you fly me on top of one?”
  9526.  
  9527. >Derpy grabbed Lyra and took off.
  9528. >And Lyra immediately regretted her words.
  9529. >This was DERPY she was talking about.
  9530. >She was being held aloft by the clumsiest pony alive.
  9531. >It was all she could do to not shriek in terror as the ground pulled away.
  9532. >In under a minute she found herself on a flat concrete rooftop.
  9533.  
  9534. >”Wow. I think there’s a leak over here. They should really get that checked out.”
  9535.  
  9536. >Lyra paid no heed to the leak.
  9537.  
  9538. “First we cut the power.”
  9539.  
  9540. >She scanned around with her visor, following the power lines to the building.
  9541. >A quick yank with her magic snapped the power line.
  9542.  
  9543. >”Yeah, this roof is super leaky! There’s another crack over here! They’re going to get mould if they don’t fix this.”
  9544.  
  9545. “Do you think they’ve got backup power in there? Silly question. Of course they do. But this gives a plausible cause when I trigger the alarm here. If they’re this high-sec all I should really have to do is try and force the door, right?”
  9546.  
  9547. >Lyra pried on the front door with her magic.
  9548. >And everypony inside jumped to life and began moving about.
  9549.  
  9550. >”Do you think I should tell them? Oh, but how would I? Just walk up to them and say I was hanging out on top of their building? That’s kinda weird.”
  9551.  
  9552. “Can you focus?”
  9553.  
  9554. >”Right. Sorry. So, now what?”
  9555.  
  9556. “We wait for the lockdown to end.”
  9557.  
  9558. >”You made me stop what I was doing so we could wait?”
  9559.  
  9560. “Oh. Yeah… my bad. So. Did you bring a deck of cards or something?”
  9561.  
  9562. A few hours later…
  9563.  
  9564. >Derpy gently shook Lyra’s snoozing form.
  9565.  
  9566. >”Wake up. Wake up. They’re leaving.”
  9567.  
  9568. >She whispered just a bit too loudly in Lyra’s ear.
  9569.  
  9570. “Zuh?”
  9571.  
  9572. >Lyra got up from her impromptu nap.
  9573. >She didn’t recall falling asleep.
  9574. >But at some point in the hours of boredom she apparently dozed off.
  9575.  
  9576. “Oh. Sorry. This spy stuff is so boring sometimes.”
  9577.  
  9578. >”The guards are leaving.”
  9579.  
  9580. >Lyra got up and peered at the building.
  9581. >Everypony seemed to be returning to work.
  9582.  
  9583. “Let’s get in before they reset the alarms.”
  9584.  
  9585. >Derpy grabbed Lyra and flew them to the rooftop garden.
  9586. >It was far less terrifying this time, though she still wasn’t entirely comfortable with the process.
  9587. >She lead the way towards a covered stairwell and pulled out her portable computer.
  9588. >After shoving a wire into a slot and a few quick keystrokes, the door swung open.
  9589.  
  9590. >”I think we should split up. I’m invisible, but you’re not. Give me a few minutes to take over the computer network and turn off the cameras. The lights in this stairwell will flicker when I’m done. I don’t think we should regroup.”
  9591.  
  9592. “Why not?”
  9593.  
  9594. >”Because we’d have to make ourselves easy to find if we wanted to find each other.”
  9595.  
  9596. “Right. Bad idea. Good luck and stay safe.”
  9597.  
  9598. >Derpy disappeared.
  9599. >And then it occurred to Lyra that she was trapped.
  9600. >The only ways out were off the top of the seven story building or through it.
  9601. >She couldn’t run.
  9602. >This had to work.
  9603. >To her amazement the lights went out after just a couple minutes.
  9604. >They returned, only to flicker incessantly.
  9605.  
  9606. “Wow. She’s really good at this.”
  9607.  
  9608. >Lyra moved inward.
  9609. >She had no idea what she was expecting.
  9610. >But she knew this wasn’t it.
  9611. >The central room of the ‘apartment’ was a massive, open structure.
  9612. >It looked more like a blimp hangar or a warehouse than a home.
  9613. >Hooks and cranes carried about heavy chunks of machinery through the wide open central room.
  9614. >She was standing on sturdy metallic scaffolding that offered workers access to their project at a multitude of levels.
  9615. >And what a work it was.
  9616. >A colossal vehicle of blocky shaped armor sat upon heavy treads.
  9617. >She could hardly fathom how much this vehicle had to weigh.
  9618. >How could it possibly move?
  9619. >It had to be slow.
  9620. >A slow, unstoppable force.
  9621. >For some reason Rainbow Dash’s pet tortoise came to mind.
  9622. >None of the workers milling about below her had spotted her just yet.
  9623. >They were all far too busy with their tasks.
  9624. >And the lighting in this room was quite dim, aiding in her task.
  9625. >Derpy’s work?
  9626. >Or a power saving measure from being cut off from the grid?
  9627. >Lyra didn’t know.
  9628. >Lights sparked up as a worker began welding.
  9629. >A massive plate of some dark metal was being affixed to the steel frame beneath.
  9630. >Upon the armor plate a name was etched.
  9631.  
  9632. NEMESIS 3
  9633.  
  9634. >Nemesis.
  9635. >The mythological avatar of retribution and vengeance.
  9636. >An immortal whose wrath could not be escaped.
  9637. >A fitting name from the looks of the massive cannon barrel sticking out of the front.
  9638. >Lyra was pretty certain she could fit in that cannon.
  9639. >Did it too shoot faster than sound?
  9640. >And she couldn’t help but notice that this was Nemesis 3.
  9641. >The third one.
  9642. >They had others.
  9643. >Upon the top was an array of long heavy tubes similar to the ones the pegasi used against the wendigog.
  9644. >Did this thing use those fiery explosives as well?
  9645. >Lyra cautiously moved around the scaffolding.
  9646. >From another angle she could see the thickness of the armor plates.
  9647. >Some of them were nearly half a meter thick.
  9648. >There was no way any ordinary weapon could even hope to scratch this thing.
  9649. >And with weapons like that she could hardly hope to imagine a possible defence.
  9650. >This thing could easily lay waste to entire armies on its own.
  9651. >This confirmed her suspicions about the ‘war’ she’d been asked about.
  9652. >Equestria could take on Saddle Arabia and the minotaurs fifty times over with this vehicle alone.
  9653. >It was totally invulnerable from what she could see.
  9654. >They had THREE of them.
  9655. >And still they thought themselves outgunned.
  9656. >They were preparing for a fight, but there was nothing in elysium that could hope to compete.
  9657. >Where then-
  9658. >Tartarus.
  9659. >Orcus.
  9660. >Inferno.
  9661. >Hades.
  9662. >The question her malefactor had asked wasn’t about invading minotaurs or horses.
  9663. >They were asking which monsters to attack.
  9664. >Which meant that S.M.I.L.E. considered at least one group of monsters to be an ally.
  9665. >She felt more than a little disgust at the thought.
  9666. >And she’d advised them to not betray their ally.
  9667. >To risk equine lives for some kind of obligation to a monster.
  9668. >Or worse, a demon.
  9669.  
  9670. “They’d better know what they’re doing.”
  9671.  
  9672. >The smell of ozone filled the air with dozens of ponies welding below.
  9673. >One of the cranes began to slowly move a dome to the top of the colossal vehicle.
  9674. >Twin barrels protruded from it.
  9675. >Yet another weapon.
  9676. >How many guns did that thing need?
  9677. >She climbed down a staircase.
  9678. >Somepony was on this floor overseeing the process.
  9679. >The had before them a clipboard that they were intently reading.
  9680. >She dared not approach to check what was on it.
  9681. >As Lyra drew closer to the base it slowly set in just how massive this vehicle was.
  9682. >The treads alone were easily twice her height.
  9683. >Despite her trepidation, Lyra couldn’t help but wish she could see it in action.
  9684. >But she couldn’t help but wonder.
  9685. >What did the other fake apartments hold?
  9686. >She doubted that they were all building these hulking monsters.
  9687. >But perhaps other equipment was in the works.
  9688. >Ares suits, for example?
  9689. >Guns and armor and the like.
  9690. >Perhaps she could find some useful equipment for herself.
  9691. >Though she wasn’t exactly looking for any lethal weapons.
  9692. >She hoped never to need them.
  9693. >And what she’d seen of S.M.I.L.E.’s arsenal suggested they didn’t hold back.
  9694. >Lyra continued skulking around, sticking to the shadows as much as possible.
  9695. >She was relieved to see that everypony in here seemed to be labourers or engineers.
  9696. >She was certain that there was no way she’d be able to escape should a real agent spot her.
  9697. >But these ponies were probably pretty harmless.
  9698. >There was a good chance she could handle herself-
  9699. >The foreman had something on their leg.
  9700. >A gun.
  9701. >It looked like the magnetic one Bon-Bon had.
  9702. >Low power and low fire rate.
  9703. >But totally silent and totally deadly.
  9704. >She looked around and to her terror everypony had one.
  9705. >The grunts moving materials around, the workers attaching weapons and armor, the engineers coordinating and overseeing the process.
  9706. >Each and every single pony in this room was armed with a deadly weapon.
  9707. >Except for Lyra of course.
  9708. >Even with her combat training these ponies might well be more dangerous than her.
  9709. >Would she even stand a chance in single combat?
  9710. >It didn’t matter.
  9711. >There were dozens of them.
  9712. >And it would only take one of them to end her life.
  9713. >Would they go that far if she were caught?
  9714. >Would they grant her a chance to surrender?
  9715. >Maybe they wouldn’t be able to do it.
  9716. >Perhaps they’d hesitate to pull the trigger.
  9717. >She wasn’t eager to test that.
  9718. >Perhaps it was time to leave.
  9719. >Sadly she only really had the one out.
  9720. >Lyra needed a distraction.
  9721.  
  9722. >”Oi! Who’s there?”
  9723.  
  9724. >Her blood ran cold.
  9725.  
  9726. >”Princess Celestia! The princess is here!”
  9727.  
  9728. >Lyra stole a glance downward.
  9729. >Indeed, Princess Celestia had arrived.
  9730. >Lyra didn’t notice a teleport spell going off.
  9731. >That didn’t mean much though.
  9732. >Perhaps the princess had entered without magic.
  9733. >Maybe she’d just taken the front door.
  9734. >But on the other hoof, it could just be that her spells were flawless and no mana leaked.
  9735. >Given who it was that wouldn’t surprise Lyra in the least.
  9736. >Celestia ran a hoof along the barrel of the giant vehicle’s gun.
  9737.  
  9738. >”Disgusting.”
  9739.  
  9740. >What.
  9741.  
  9742. >”I abhor this machine. Such terrible things do not belong in Elysium.”
  9743.  
  9744. >She turned to an middle aged stallion, the only pony who wasn’t bowing.
  9745. >Including Lyra herself.
  9746. >She hadn’t even noticed that she was bowing.
  9747. >Quickly shaking it off, she began to sneak toward the exit.
  9748.  
  9749. >”Will it be done on time?”
  9750.  
  9751. >Celestia inquired of the standing pony.
  9752.  
  9753. >”Maybe.”
  9754.  
  9755. >”Maybe. That’s always the answer these days. Sometimes I wish for certainty, even if it’s a definitive no.”
  9756.  
  9757. >”Everypony! Get off your sorry rumps and get back to work! The princess needs results, not groveling!”
  9758.  
  9759. >Everypony snapped to attention and returned to their tasks.
  9760. >Angle grinders roared to life.
  9761.  
  9762. >”I won’t blame you if it’s not ready in time. I understand that we’ve placed an impossible burden upon you and your team. However, I must impress upon you the gravity of the situation. We WILL be breaking the seal on Tartarus in exactly four days. Whether we’re ready or not, that is when it shall happen. We’ve no more time to spare.”
  9763.  
  9764. >”I know.”
  9765.  
  9766. >What the hay?
  9767. >Lyra nearly cried out loud.
  9768. >They were going to open the gates of Tartarus intentionally?
  9769.  
  9770. >”There will be escapees. We can’t stop it. The only thing we can do is finish our grim work as quickly as possible so we might close the gates once more.”
  9771.  
  9772. >”I don’t follow.”
  9773.  
  9774. >Lyra did.
  9775. >But she desperately hoped she was wrong.
  9776.  
  9777. >”If Nemesis three isn’t ready, we won’t be able to safely fight on three fronts. We’ll need to consolidate our forces and strike more carefully. Which means we’ll be behind schedule closing the gates of Tartarus.”
  9778.  
  9779. >She looked at the massive machine of war with more than a little disdain.
  9780.  
  9781. >”If this thing isn’t ready, Tartarus will be open for hours if not days longer than it otherwise might be. There will be more escapees and more blood.”
  9782.  
  9783. >Lyra had managed to inch her way to the exit without being noticed.
  9784. >All the workers had once again quit their tasks, listening intently on Celestia’s speech.
  9785.  
  9786. >”I know I’ve already asked too much of you. But I must ask for yet more. Finish this awful device. Do not rest until it is ready for war.”
  9787.  
  9788. >Celestia’s voice was trembling.
  9789. >Was she crying?
  9790. >She blinked out of existence before Lyra’s eyes without so much as a whiff of mana escaping.
  9791. >Lyra barely saw a single teardrop fall to the ground.
  9792. >Whatever was going on, Princess Celestia still had a heart.
  9793. >Something was forcing her hoof.
  9794. >Lyra couldn’t imagine that this was anything except the most pressing of need-
  9795.  
  9796. >”Oi! Who’s THERE?”
  9797.  
  9798. >Again, they hadn’t spotted her.
  9799. >Rather, somepony had been wrestled to the ground by a shadow.
  9800. >Their gun was pried off their legs, and a quick gust of wind kicked up.
  9801. >One of the reflective windows shattered.
  9802. >Looks like Derpy was out.
  9803. >The pegasi in the group scrambled to follow, unsable to see her.
  9804. >To Lyra, that seemed like her cue to exit.
  9805.  
  9806. * * * * *
  9807.  
  9808. “C’mon, Lyra. You can do this.”
  9809.  
  9810. >Lyra stood in the dull concrete building that served as her training ground.
  9811. >Tranquil Streams watched intently as she lifted a small puddle of water for yet another attempt.
  9812. >Sweat frothed from her brow as she strained with concentration.
  9813.  
  9814. >”Come on, Lyra. You can do this.”
  9815.  
  9816. >Her focus was shattered.
  9817. >She turned to the crotchety old grump that she called master with a look of shock.
  9818. >Then confusion.
  9819. >Then shock again.
  9820. >Emotions battled for some time with neither one gaining the upper ground.
  9821.  
  9822. >”What? You can do this.”
  9823.  
  9824. “Thanks?”
  9825.  
  9826. >”Not everything I say has to be an insult you know.”
  9827.  
  9828. “Really?”
  9829.  
  9830. >She quickly slammed her mouth shut having realised what she’d just said.
  9831. >Surprisingly, he didn’t look offended.
  9832.  
  9833. >”I had you all wrong. I thought you were just another weak idiot. But you’re not weak, you’re just useless! That’s nowhere near as bad.”
  9834.  
  9835. >He beamed with a crude facsimile of a friendly smile.
  9836. >Lyra wasn’t certain, but it seemed like he thought that was a compliment.
  9837.  
  9838. “Thanks again?”
  9839.  
  9840. >”Anypony who can tame Aquarius can manage a simple spell like Geyser. I didn’t believe One when they told me you were special, but I was wrong.”
  9841.  
  9842. >One?
  9843. >Not Zero?
  9844. >Maybe that was her rank before he retired.
  9845.  
  9846. >”Lift the water. Shape it. Surround it with hundreds of small kinetic fields. Make a point.”
  9847.  
  9848. >She followed along as he spoke, preparing to destroy.
  9849. >Readying a spell that was meant to shed blood.
  9850. >To rend flesh.
  9851. >To KILL.
  9852.  
  9853. >”What are you feeling right now?”
  9854.  
  9855. >She loosed the spell.
  9856. >It failed to do anything to the lump of concrete that served as her target.
  9857.  
  9858. >”Terrible. Just terrible. How did you feel before striking?”
  9859.  
  9860. >How did she feel about using magic in this way?
  9861. >Using her power for violence, destruction, and bloodshed?
  9862. >Why was he even asking?
  9863. >It should be obvious.
  9864.  
  9865. “Disgusted.”
  9866.  
  9867. >He held his smile for a moment.
  9868. >It looked strange on him.
  9869. >Deep frown lines twisted into a form they were clearly ill accustomed to.
  9870. >His lips slowly began to sag, dragging his eyebrows with them.
  9871. >It took nearly a minute but finally the scowl that Lyra had grown to expect from his muzzle had returned.
  9872. >He raised one hoof to his face and began rubbing his brow.
  9873. >Lyra could practically taste his frustration.
  9874.  
  9875. >”Ugh. Celestia save me from these bloody cantons.”
  9876.  
  9877. >Canton.
  9878. >She’d heard that word once before.
  9879.  
  9880. “What’s a canton?”
  9881.  
  9882. >”Look. Equestria is literally built atop the burning hells. Right there-”
  9883. >He gestured down.
  9884.  
  9885. >”Is Tartarus and worse. What keep all this from being like that?”
  9886.  
  9887. >What makes Equestria different from Tartarus?
  9888.  
  9889. “Friendship, love, law, charity-”
  9890.  
  9891. >”Power. You don’t live in luxury because of some idealistic tripe about kindness and generosity. You get that because the baddest sons of bitches in the land gave it to you. S.M.I.L.E. holds all of Elysium on its back, stopping it from falling into hell. What do you call something that holds a structure up?”
  9892.  
  9893. “A buttress?”
  9894.  
  9895. >”A pillar. And what do you call a useless, stupid, pathetic waste of space that claims to be a pillar?
  9896.  
  9897. >Canton: a decorative pilaster or similar feature projecting from the corner of a building.
  9898.  
  9899. “Oh. So you’re saying I’m useless despite looking like I do something important.”
  9900.  
  9901. >It was a terrible thing to say.
  9902. >But somehow the words didn’t wound Lyra at all.
  9903. >He’d berated her so much by this point that she’d grown numb to his insults.
  9904.  
  9905. >”You can preach about how friendship and love and all that crap is what makes Equestria great. In the end it all depends on blood and iron.”
  9906.  
  9907. >He stood up straight with a start.
  9908. >And then he tried to force a smile on his face.
  9909. >It looked even worse than the last one.
  9910. >He was clearly uncomfortable with the expression.
  9911.  
  9912. >”But that’s okay. We do what we do so that you can exist in peace. We want a world of love and friendship. If we have to take on the burning hells on our own to make it then that’s what we’ll do.”
  9913.  
  9914. “Bonny asked you to try and be nicer to me didn’t she.”
  9915.  
  9916. >”Yes.”
  9917.  
  9918. >His scowl returned.
  9919.  
  9920. >”Now try again. This time don’t hesitate. Don’t be disgusted by violence. Embrace it.”
  9921.  
  9922. >Lyre closed her eyes and focused.
  9923. >She lifted the water and began to shape it.
  9924.  
  9925. >”You first made real progress when you had to protect a friend. Remember that feeling.”
  9926.  
  9927. >She imagined Derpy on the ground, Twilight bearing down on her.
  9928. >If this spell failed Derpy would be captured.
  9929. >If it succeeded she’d rip into Twilight’s body, rending flesh, shedding blood-
  9930. >The water struck.
  9931. >She managed to make the concrete block wet.
  9932.  
  9933. “Sorry master. I’m trying. But fighting just feels wrong.”
  9934.  
  9935. >”Fine. You claim to be so high and mighty? You think you’re too good for a little violence?”
  9936.  
  9937. “I never said that.”
  9938.  
  9939. >”Let me introduce you to a new kind of friendship. Close your eyes.”
  9940.  
  9941. >She did.
  9942.  
  9943. >”Pick up that water. Now imagine Ponyville is under attack. Hordes of monsters swarm through the streets. Bon-Bon moves in to engage them to keep your sorry rump safe. She’s outnumbered ten thousand to one. But since she’s Sweetie Drops she’s winning. The battle won’t end. Innumerable hideous monstrosities come out of the woodwork. She finally makes a mistake. I giant pig charges out from the darkness, worms crawling out of its rotting flesh. It slams into her, burying a tusk deep into her barrel. The tusk breaks off as it steps back readying itself for another strike.”
  9944.  
  9945. >She could see the whole scene in her mind’s eye.
  9946. >The sickening stench of the rotting monster.
  9947. >The blood oozing from the life threatening wound.
  9948. >The wild look in the beast’s one eye.
  9949.  
  9950. >”She gasps out to you to run, to save yourself. The monster charges at her. You’re too pathetic to do anything. She’s-”
  9951.  
  9952. >Something snapped.
  9953. >Lyra wasn’t certain when or how, but she’d released the spell.
  9954. >Her magic strained against itself, pushing for no reason.
  9955.  
  9956. >”Holy- warn me before you do that!”
  9957.  
  9958. >Lyra opened her eyes.
  9959. >The concrete block had been ripped in half by her strike.
  9960. >A deep gash had also formed in the far wall.
  9961.  
  9962. “Did- Did I do that?”
  9963.  
  9964. >”Again! AGAIN!”
  9965.  
  9966. “Hold on, I-”
  9967.  
  9968. >”No, shut up! Do it again!”
  9969.  
  9970. >Lyra shrugged and picked up some more water.
  9971. >She threw it at the rock, successfully wetting it.
  9972.  
  9973. >”Okay, that was terrible. Now. What were you feeling when you actually accomplished something?”
  9974.  
  9975. >Rage.
  9976. >A terrible, burning hatred that this thing that called himself a pony would even TALK about Bonny getting hurt.
  9977. >That he’d even imply that something bad might happen to her!
  9978.  
  9979. >”Based on the look on your face I’d say you were pretty angry. That’s good! Keep that up! Strike!”
  9980.  
  9981. >Water flowed through the concrete block again and again.
  9982. >Heavy blasts tore through the artificial stone perforating and pulverizing it into nothingness.
  9983. >Lyra’s heart was hammering in her chest.
  9984. >Her legs began trembling.
  9985. >The onslaught had taken its toll upon her body.
  9986. >But before her was nothing but rubble.
  9987. >She’d done it.
  9988. >Tranquil Streams stepped forward and surveyed the destruction.
  9989. >He gave a short, curt nod.
  9990. >Though his expression remained unchanged.
  9991.  
  9992. >”The average pony is not a fighter. Very few are. Other species find combat to be natural; your average gryphon could probably best a wonderbolt without trouble. They have well honed predatory instincts. They are natural born killers. We are not.”
  9993.  
  9994. >Lyra merely stood there panting.
  9995.  
  9996. >”We are naturally gentle and passive. We shy away from violence. Only freaks such as myself will seek it out. Others avoid combat unless forced. Are you here of your own volition?”
  9997.  
  9998. >That was an interesting question.
  9999. >Was she?
  10000. >At first she’d been forced into it.
  10001. >But things had changed.
  10002.  
  10003. “I am now.”
  10004.  
  10005. >The encounter with the Timberwolf had terrified her in a primal way.
  10006. >She didn’t even know it was possible to feel that kind of dread.
  10007. >She was NOT going to be helpless anymore.
  10008.  
  10009. >”But you weren’t at first?”
  10010.  
  10011. “Bonny kinda forced me to come here.”
  10012.  
  10013. >”Because you’re a pony. You detest violence. I could see it in your face in your first lessons. You need something to overcome your natural aversion to violence. A great need, or overwhelming fury.”
  10014.  
  10015. “That’s why you’ve been so mean to me! You’ve been trying to make me angry!”
  10016.  
  10017. >”No, I just don’t like you. I’d more or less stopped trying to help you honestly. I thought you were a lost cause until I saw you control Aquarius.”
  10018.  
  10019. >It seemed like that really impressed him.
  10020. >Pride swelled up in Lyra at the thought of impressing one of S.M.I.L.E.’s best unicorns.
  10021.  
  10022. >”We’re cutting the lesson short today. You’re too worn out to continue anyway. We’ll work on refining that later, preserving stamina, quickening your blows, etcetera. I want you furious when you come in for your next lesson.”
  10023.  
  10024. “Right! Thank you master!”
  10025.  
  10026. >”And clean up that rubble on your way out. Mop’s in the back for the puddle you made.”
  10027.  
  10028. >Of course.
  10029.  
  10030. “Oh! Before you go, I need to ask you a question. Which do you think is the least important ley line?”
  10031.  
  10032. >”Aquarius. But for you? Maybe Taurus. You really should try and master all of them though.”
  10033.  
  10034. >Taurus.
  10035. >She’d rather use a stronger one for this.
  10036. >If she was going to do it she ought to do it properly.
  10037.  
  10038. “Right, but if you were to…”
  10039.  
  10040. >She mumbled the rest of the sentence.
  10041.  
  10042. >”Speak up!”
  10043.  
  10044. “If somepony were to give one up?”
  10045.  
  10046. >Lyra was avoiding eye contact as she spoke.
  10047. >A small blush had begun to form on her face.
  10048.  
  10049. >”Give one up? Why- oh. OH! Wow. You have to decide that for yourself.”
  10050.  
  10051. “Yeah. Okay.”
  10052.  
  10053. >She’d been trying to for days now.
  10054. >But it was so hard.
  10055.  
  10056. “Well, could you tell me what she might want?”
  10057.  
  10058. >”Sweetie Drops is basically unbreakable. And she could probably kick through an elder dragon if she wanted to. She doesn’t need your help.”
  10059.  
  10060. “I know. I just want to let her know I appreciate what she’s done.”
  10061.  
  10062. >He seemed to mull it over for a while.
  10063. >Was this that complicated of a question?
  10064. >Surely not. This stallion would know exactly what Bonny would want while in the field.
  10065. >Perhaps he was wondering what he was allowed to say.
  10066.  
  10067. >”She has a very stressful job. Some wounds aren’t physical. Do you think you could manage Beacon of Hope?”
  10068.  
  10069. “I’m not familiar with that one, but I’ll look into it. Thank you.”
  10070.  
  10071. >Lyra began walking to the back room to get the mop.
  10072. >But Tranquil Streams stepped in her way.
  10073.  
  10074. >”Go home and get to work. I’ll handle it.”
  10075.  
  10076. “Thank you?”
  10077.  
  10078. >”She’s lucky to have found somepony like you, Lyra.”
  10079.  
  10080. “She’s not the lucky one between us.”
  10081.  
  10082. Days later.
  10083.  
  10084. >It had taken nearly an hour to find it, but Lyra had finally dug up what she was looking for.
  10085. >She had found a scanned copy of a very important book on the computer back home.
  10086. >A tome by the name of ‘Cedar’s Compendium: Cast, Chant, and Create!’
  10087. >It had been a long time since Lyra had toyed with enchanting.
  10088. >It was a very niche school of magic that was rarely used.
  10089. >Incredible artifacts COULD be created by a skilled enchanter.
  10090. >Nothing on the level of primal artifacts such as the Elements or the Crystal heart, but amazing items of equine origin did exist.
  10091. >Even so, few bothered with enchanting.
  10092. >It was finicky, delicate work.
  10093. >Magical items didn’t last long.
  10094. >And the reagents could be rare and pricey.
  10095. >Residuum, a crystallized form of mana, was the worst of it.
  10096. >And even after you find that the other materials are so often exotic and esoteric in use.
  10097. >Living in the big city did have its perks though, and Lyra was able to find everything she needed.
  10098. >Including the petrified joy.
  10099. >Who knew there was a specialty shop for magical crafts right here in Ponyville?
  10100. >She scanned over her checklist to make sure she had everything.
  10101.  
  10102. “Yes, yes, yes, ye- no.”
  10103.  
  10104. >There was one more stop to make before she could go home.
  10105. >It would be absurd to say there was a most important part of an enchanting spell.
  10106. >But there WAS a most obvious component.
  10107. >You need something to enchant.
  10108. >And that’s exactly what Lyra had forgotten.
  10109.  
  10110. “Okay. One more stop then.”
  10111.  
  10112. >And she was off to the jewelers.
  10113. >The order had been placed some time ago.
  10114. >Though they hadn’t given her an estimate on when it would be done, Lyra was confident they’d have finished their work by now.
  10115. >Lyra made her way to the mall and entered the towering temple of commerce.
  10116. >She breathed a soft sigh of relief.
  10117. >She hadn’t even noticed it, but the heat of summer had returned.
  10118. >Not quite as fierce as before, but still enough to be a bother.
  10119. >The air conditioned climate sank into her coat, chilling her in a most pleasant manner.
  10120. >She took a moment to bask in the sensation before proceeding.
  10121. >What was normally a bustling and overcrowded madhouse was strangely orderly today.
  10122. >She climbed aboard the escalator and began descending into the basement without having hoards of ravenous shoppers push past her.
  10123. >The mall wasn’t empty by any means.
  10124. >Ponies did mill about, ducking in and out of the various shrines erected to the almighty bit.
  10125. >But it was emptier.
  10126. >Lyra smiled slightly.
  10127. >She hated coming to these crowded, noisy places.
  10128. >But this time it wasn’t so bad.
  10129. >She passed by about five hundred clothing stores on her way to her destination.
  10130. >Gabriel’s Gems.
  10131. >Ponyville was still overwhelmingly equine.
  10132. >But there were more than a few foreigners who’d come to stake their claim in the ever growing city.
  10133. >She stepped into the small, somewhat cramped room and stepped towards the counter.
  10134. >Watches, rings, pendants, and all kinds of accessories lay beneath the counter’s glass top.
  10135. >Each and every one of them carried a price tag that boggled belief.
  10136.  
  10137. “Five thousand bits for a watch? Seriously?”
  10138.  
  10139. >”Yes. What do you expect? A gryphon owns this store.”
  10140.  
  10141. >Someone spoke up behind her.
  10142. >Lyra knew that voice.
  10143. >It was that weird Earth pony mare.
  10144.  
  10145. “Hello Aryanne.”
  10146.  
  10147. >She tried not to groan when she said it, but she failed.
  10148.  
  10149. >“The Gryphon cannot be trusted. They care only for gold-”
  10150.  
  10151. ”I’ve read a couple of the pamphlets you keep shoving under our door. I know.”
  10152.  
  10153. >They were honestly quite well made.
  10154. >It was clear that she put a lot of effort into them.
  10155. >Lyra disagreed with the message, but she had to admire the effort and craftsmareship.
  10156.  
  10157. >”You again? Don’t you have anything better to do?”
  10158.  
  10159. >A somewhat chubby gryphon walked out from the back room of the store.
  10160. >The jeweler’s yellow and silvery grey feathers were immaculate; this bird clearly took great care in maintaining their appearance.
  10161. >Strangely, he bore no jewelry at all despite his profession.
  10162.  
  10163. >”More important than protecting my fellow ponies from a catbird? No. I do not.”
  10164.  
  10165. “It’s okay. I know what I’m doing.”
  10166.  
  10167. >A look of realization crossed Aryanne’s face.
  10168. >Lyra wasn’t sure what she’d figured out.
  10169. >She was just trying to get the weird pony to leave.
  10170. >But apparently that Aryanne had picked up on some kind of signal that wasn’t really there.
  10171.  
  10172. >”Be careful, friend.”
  10173.  
  10174. >Aryanne walked away, presumably to harass someone else.
  10175.  
  10176. >”Sorry about that. She’s here pretty much every day.”
  10177.  
  10178. >The gryphon looked so very tired.
  10179. >And who could blame him?
  10180. >Aryanne was a strange one.
  10181. >One of the strangest things about her was her seemingly endless energy.
  10182. >Being bothered by her day in and day out would be a nightmare.
  10183.  
  10184. “Yeah. I think she was here when I placed the order. Say, what gives with these prices? This is way higher than when I was here last time.”
  10185.  
  10186. >”That includes the sales tax.”
  10187.  
  10188. >Lyra blinked a few times in confusion.
  10189.  
  10190. >”And I also had to raise prices because rent went up in the mall.”
  10191.  
  10192. “Sales tax?”
  10193.  
  10194. >”The fifteen percent tax on the sale of all non-essential goods.”
  10195.  
  10196. “FIFTEEN?”
  10197.  
  10198. >”Lady, do you live under a rock?”
  10199.  
  10200. “Ugh. I don’t have enough bits on me… I’ll be back.”
  10201.  
  10202. >Lyra somehow managed to find a way to walk and sulk at the same time.
  10203. >But she was quickly stopped.
  10204.  
  10205. >”You don’t need to pay that. You gave me the down payment before the tax was enacted, so it doesn’t apply.”
  10206.  
  10207. “You sure?”
  10208.  
  10209. >”My brother’s a lawyer. I’m sure.”
  10210.  
  10211. >”Well that’s great! So, let’s see it!”
  10212.  
  10213. >He produced a small pendant from beneath his wing and gently placed it on the counter.
  10214. >Lyra gripped it with her magic and looked closely.
  10215. >It was a perfectly faithful representation of Bon-Bon’s cutie mark, cast in sterling silver.
  10216. >One third of her cutie mark at least.
  10217.  
  10218. >”MAKE SURE IT’S REALLY SILVER!”
  10219.  
  10220. >A voice called from the distance.
  10221.  
  10222. “Yes, thank you Aryanne.”
  10223.  
  10224. >”Is it to your liking?”
  10225.  
  10226. “Is the crystal I gave you inside it?”
  10227.  
  10228. >”Yes.”
  10229.  
  10230. “Should be good.”
  10231.  
  10232. >Lyra produced a few plastic notes and plopped them on the counter.
  10233. >She picked up the pendant and stowed it in her saddlebags.
  10234.  
  10235. >”So you’re going to enchant that? Is there any chance you could do something for me?”
  10236.  
  10237. “No.”
  10238.  
  10239. >She spoke far more sternly than she’d intended.
  10240.  
  10241. >”I can pay.”
  10242.  
  10243. “No, sorry. A proper enchantment isn’t something you just do. The simple ones wear off after a couple days. The good ones take a lot to make. There’s a reason why you don’t see magical artifacts everywhere.”
  10244.  
  10245. >He nodded, though Lyra could tell he wasn’t really satisfied with that answer.
  10246. >She wasn’t comfortable explaining it in full though.
  10247.  
  10248. >”If you ever change your mind you know where to find me.”
  10249.  
  10250. “Thanks, Gabe.”
  10251.  
  10252. >Lyra hurried home to begin the final stages of her task.
  10253. >She’d spent days studying the spell, making sure everything was in order and drawn up perfectly.
  10254. >All that was left to do was pour the mana into the pendant.
  10255. >Lyra entered her home.
  10256.  
  10257. “Bonny! I’m home!”
  10258.  
  10259. >Silence.
  10260. >It seemed she was alone.
  10261. >She entered the den and quickly cleared off the coffee table.
  10262. >She poured a small satchel of residuum out and began to spread it.
  10263. >The magical dust shimmered in some unseen light as she shaped it.
  10264. >It took some time, but eventually she was ready.
  10265. >The carefully crafted ritual was built, residuum lines drawn out to guide and bind the energies.
  10266. >A few reagents were placed at key points along the perimeter.
  10267. >Petrified joy, yarn from a hoof knit scarf, and a vial of water from a hot spring.
  10268. >She placed the pendant in the middle and tapped her horn to it.
  10269. >Mana surged out, arcing through the air.
  10270. >A strong smell of ozone filled the room.
  10271. >And she began to shape her magic.
  10272. >Her entire horn was being drained by the ritual, energies battling each other for dominance.
  10273. >A golden vortex of arcane power spring up, and the pendant began to hover in mid-air.
  10274. >But it was wrong.
  10275. >Or rather, it was not yet right.
  10276. >The power flowed, the mana surged through the ritual.
  10277. >It was without shape or meaning.
  10278. >Lyra began by cutting off Virgo.
  10279. >The pure, potent mana was hard to tap into.
  10280. >Powerful and clean, but difficult to coax out.
  10281. >It was not the right one.
  10282. >This thing had to be ready at all times.
  10283. >Leo was cut off next; its wild and rapid energies were too weak for what she had in mind.
  10284. >Lyra severed the flow of mana from each and every ley line one by one until finally none remained.
  10285. >None save one.
  10286. >Aquarius, the most powerful and deepest well of mana continued to pour out.
  10287. >For Aquarius was the only one she could count on for this.
  10288. >The most powerful and the most reliable.
  10289. >And also the most challenging to wield.
  10290. >The nigh on untameable, overwhelming energies poured out of Lyra’s horn and into the pendant.
  10291. >Bolts of raw mana arced through the sky as the magical storm grew.
  10292. >Soon the entire room was consumed in a torrential wind that seemed to pass through everything without touching it.
  10293. >A golden hurricane that touched nothing.
  10294. >Nothing save for the pendant which blew about in midair, never quite leaving the eye of the storm.
  10295. >Powerful energies pulsed out from it, blowing Lyra’s mane about on incorporeal waves.
  10296. >She strained with all her might to shape the magic against the overwhelming current of Aquarius.
  10297. >To guide as much as possible into the proper channels.
  10298. >And then there was darkness.
  10299.  
  10300. >”Lyra. Lyra. Wake up.”
  10301.  
  10302. >Bon-Bon’s spoke softly and gently.
  10303. >Lyra pried her eyes open and looked around.
  10304. >She’d passed out while casting her spell.
  10305.  
  10306. >”Are you okay?”
  10307.  
  10308. >Lyra sat up and wiped a bit of drool off her chin.
  10309. >She quickly picked up the pendant and stuffed it in her messed up mane.
  10310.  
  10311. “Y-yeah. Just fell asleep while reading.”
  10312.  
  10313. >”What were you reading? I don’t see anything.”
  10314.  
  10315. “I put it away and then came back and fell asleep.”
  10316.  
  10317. >”Oh.”
  10318.  
  10319. >She didn’t call out Lyra on the transparent lie.
  10320. >Instead she pressed a hoof against Lyra’s neck.
  10321.  
  10322. >”Your pulse is high. Are you sure you’re okay?
  10323.  
  10324. >Lyra stood up and began stretching.
  10325. >She nearly fell over as a wave of dizziness overtook her.
  10326.  
  10327. “You caught me. I’m working on a surprise for you. It’s not quite done yet though.”
  10328.  
  10329. >She still needed to test the spell, to check for leakage and stability, to look for mana decay…
  10330. >There were a lot of things that could have gone wrong.
  10331. >She might have to destroy it and try again.
  10332. >”So you’re not sick?”
  10333.  
  10334. “Not physically.”
  10335.  
  10336. >”Pfft. Alright, if you’re sure. Come here and join me on the couch.”
  10337.  
  10338. >She stumbled over and collapsed on the soft surface.
  10339. >Bon-Bon settled in with her and cuddled up.
  10340. >It was then that Lyra noticed the computer was showing something unusual.
  10341. >It read ‘Emergency broadcast soon’.
  10342.  
  10343. “What’s going on? Are we in trouble?”
  10344.  
  10345. >”We’re fine. This is happening everywhere.”
  10346.  
  10347. “So every computer in Equestria is showing this?”
  10348.  
  10349. >”If they’re plugged in and connected to the internet, yes.”
  10350.  
  10351. >Lyra was surprised that they could take control of all the computers.
  10352. >Then she was surprised that she was surprised.
  10353. >It’s their machine.
  10354. >The ponies who bought them didn’t even own the whole thing, just a small fraction.
  10355. >Of course the crown could make them do whatever they wanted.
  10356.  
  10357. “What do you think it’s going to be about?”
  10358.  
  10359. >”I think princess Celestia’s giving a speech.”
  10360.  
  10361. “About what?”
  10362.  
  10363. >”We’ll find out soon.”
  10364.  
  10365. >That wasn’t really much of an answer, but there was no point in arguing.
  10366. >She was right.
  10367. >It was just impatience that made her ask.
  10368.  
  10369. “It’s been a long time since anypony’s seen princess Celestia in public.”
  10370.  
  10371. >”Yeah. She used to be out there all the time.”
  10372.  
  10373. >She looked fine when Lyra saw her the other day.
  10374. >All she could figure was that the princess was too busy for her usual appearances.
  10375. >It would be no great surprise; princess Celestia definitely had her hooves full.
  10376. >So whatever this was was important enough to make her take a break from whatever it was she was doing.
  10377.  
  10378. “I wonder-”
  10379.  
  10380. >The screen changed.
  10381. >Princess Celestia stood before a podium, microphone pointed straight at her muzzle.
  10382. >Behind her was a giant Equestrian flag.
  10383. >She bore upon her face a look of stern determination.
  10384. >One that implied a calm and collected approach to a serious problem.
  10385. >Not yet a crisis, rather this appeared to be a manageable challenge.
  10386. >A facade, surely.
  10387.  
  10388. >”Citizens of Equestria. Brothers. Sisters. Friends.”
  10389.  
  10390. >She spoke calmly yet firmly. Clearly and steady, with more than a bit of gravity.
  10391.  
  10392. >”Good morning. Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, and our harmony came under attack in a deadly and deliberate terrorist attack.”
  10393.  
  10394. >Lyra stood up in shock.
  10395. >Her hooves slapped over her mouth as she let out a loud gasp.
  10396.  
  10397. >”The victims: friends and neighbors, mothers and daughters, fathers and sons… All are in danger. Thousands of lives are at risk because of evil, despicable acts of terror. The gates of Tartarus have been destroyed. The sight of monsters pouring out into Elysium filled us with disbelief, sorrow, and quiet unyielding anger. This act was intended to frighten us into chaos and retreat. But they will fail. We are strong. They can destroy the gates of the hells themselves, but they cannot touch Equestria. They might shatter steel, but they cannot damage our resolve. Equestria was targeted for attack because we are the brightest beacon for friendship and love in the world, and none shall dim that light. Immediately following the attack, I enacted our emergency response plans. Our guards are numerous and prepared. Emergency teams are already tending to the wounded, and Tartarus has already been sealed.”
  10398.  
  10399. “Wait, Tartarus?”
  10400.  
  10401. >”We will not shrink in the face of fear. For-”
  10402.  
  10403. >There was a deafening crash.
  10404. >Bricks and debris filled whatever room Celestia spoke of as a massive beast lunged at her.
  10405. >It looked like a wooly pony cleft hooves and a pig’s snout.
  10406. >Most striking were its giant jagged horns, which it leveled straight at the princess.
  10407.  
  10408. >”Aeternae? What?”
  10409.  
  10410. >Bon-Bon apparently recognised the creature.
  10411. >The monster lunged at the princess, horns pointed straight at her face.
  10412. >And Celestia was too slow to react.
  10413. >The beast slammed into her hard, pushing her back a bit.
  10414. >She did not waver.
  10415. >She pushed back against the monster, knocking it aside.
  10416. >A blast of magic emanated from her horn and slammed into the thing’s gastly visage.
  10417. >She slammed it into the wall with her magic and covered its limbs with magical shackles.
  10418. >It struggled madly against its restraints.
  10419. >Princess Celestia returned to the podium.
  10420. >She looked totally unharmed, save for a messy mane.
  10421.  
  10422. >”I’m going to have to cut this short. As you can see, some monsters did escape before our guard was able to react. It is unfortunately necessary that we take measures to ensure the safety of the public. We ask everypony to stay within city limits at all times, and to stay indoors after dark. Security checkpoints will be erected in all major population centers. We ask our citizens to memorise their location and flee to them in the event of a monster attack. We ask for your patience and compliance while we work to restore order in these trying times.”
  10423.  
  10424. >A wild howling came from the speakers.
  10425. >Celestia turned to the side the monster had attacked from and lit her horn.
  10426.  
  10427. >”Get out of here. I’ll handle this.”
  10428.  
  10429. >The feed went dead.
  10430.  
  10431. “Do you think she’ll be okay?”
  10432.  
  10433. >Bon-Bon started laughing.
  10434. >Loudly.
  10435.  
  10436. “Bonny! This is serious! Princess Celestia just got attacked by a vicious monster!”
  10437.  
  10438. >Bon-Bon started laughing harder.
  10439.  
  10440. >”Aeternae? Vicious?”
  10441.  
  10442. >She tried to choke out something else, but couldn’t quite manage.
  10443. >She just couldn’t stop laughing.
  10444.  
  10445. “It looked vicious to me.”
  10446.  
  10447. >Those massive, blade-like horns.
  10448. >That wild hungry look.
  10449. >The maddened flailing against its bonds.
  10450. >And it must have been pretty tough.
  10451. >It took an arcane blast to the face from princess Celestia-
  10452. >Wait, what?
  10453.  
  10454. “Why did she just shoot magic from her horn?”
  10455.  
  10456. >That’s a really bad way to fight.
  10457. >It uses so much mana for so little stopping power.
  10458.  
  10459. “I suppose princess Celestia’s strong enough that she can get away with it. She must be a really strong fighter.”
  10460.  
  10461. >”Stop it! You’re killing me!”
  10462.  
  10463. >Bon-Bon was nearly doubled over with mirth.
  10464. >This was apparently one of the funniest things she’d ever seen.
  10465. >What was so funny about it?
  10466. >Lyra grabbed the keyboard with her magic and rewound the video.
  10467. >Bon-Bon almost had her laughter under control.
  10468. >Until it rammed into Celestia.
  10469.  
  10470. >”It hu-u-urts!”
  10471.  
  10472. >She choked out the words through her laughter.
  10473.  
  10474. “Oh! Sorry.”
  10475.  
  10476. >Lyra paused the video.
  10477. >Princess Celestia was sliding across the ground, still on her hooves.
  10478. >It had hit her side hard enough to push her back, but it didn’t knock her over.
  10479. >That was weird.
  10480. >Maybe she was using her Earth pony magic to be bottom heavy?
  10481. >Earth magic would explain how she wasn’t hurt.
  10482. >Still.
  10483. >It was odd that she made no attempt to take a combat stance.
  10484. >And with how much magic she could wield, a proper unarmed strike should have been easy.
  10485. >It sounded like more monsters were coming and she STILL hadn’t taken a proper stance.
  10486.  
  10487. “Princess Celestia doesn’t know how to fight?”
  10488.  
  10489. >She did get beaten pretty badly at the wedding.
  10490. >Lyra had chalked that up to Chrysalis being incredibly powerful.
  10491. >But now she was having second thoughts.
  10492.  
  10493. >”You mean glass jaw?”
  10494.  
  10495. >Bon-Bon had mostly calmed down.
  10496. >She was still clutching her gut though.
  10497.  
  10498. “Wow. I always just sorta assumed.
  10499.  
  10500. >”Don’t take this the wrong way, but YOU could beat her in a fight.”
  10501.  
  10502. “Seriously?”
  10503.  
  10504. >She DID beat Twilight in a fight.
  10505. >Even if she had to fight dirty to do it.
  10506. >She was an alicorn too, however undeserved that may be.
  10507. >But this was PRINCESS CELESTIA of all ponies!
  10508.  
  10509. “You really think I could take her on?”
  10510.  
  10511. >”Look, Lyra, you’re not a fighter. You’re a great pony with many talents, but you’re not a fighter. That’s okay. Few ponies are. Princess Celestia’s DEFINITELY not a fighter. I could go on for days about all the things she is and can do, but I doubt she could take on a puppy.”
  10512.  
  10513. “Why not?”
  10514.  
  10515. >”She probably holds herself back like you.”
  10516.  
  10517. >Lyra remembered well how she was at first.
  10518. >Repulsed by the reality of violence.
  10519. >Disgusted by her instructor’s lessons.
  10520. >She only started to make progress once she’d been forced to fight.
  10521. >When failure meant Derpy got captured and Dinky lost her mother.
  10522. >She just couldn’t do it when she still hoped there might be another way.
  10523. >Even to this day she needed to be angry to get anything done.
  10524.  
  10525. >”Princess Celestia is painfully optimistic. She’s not stupid, don’t get me wrong. She just insists on hoping for the best. If there’s even a chance of a peaceful resolution, she’ll go for it. She’s never been forced to learn to fight, and she’s too gentle to figure it out on her own.”
  10526.  
  10527. >A gentle pony who’s disgusted by violence.
  10528. >The eternal optimist that’s peaceful to a fault.
  10529. >And she’s opening the gates of Tartarus to invade.
  10530. >There really is no alternative, is there?
  10531.  
  10532. >”You look worried.”
  10533.  
  10534. “Was that whole attack staged?”
  10535.  
  10536. >”Probably. Ponies are going to take things more seriously if they actually see a ‘monster’ attack.”
  10537.  
  10538. >She waved her hooves by her head at the word monster, as though to imply that those things didn’t count.
  10539.  
  10540. “They’re also going to be less resistant to a curfew and security checkpoints.”
  10541.  
  10542. >”They didn’t say anything about a curfew.”
  10543.  
  10544. >Yet.
  10545. >Lyra was willing to bet it was coming.
  10546.  
  10547. “I dunno. Kinda suspicious that this would happen right before you head out. You’re leaving in a couple days, right?”
  10548.  
  10549. >”Yeah…”
  10550.  
  10551. >She sounded saddened by the thought.
  10552. >Lyra felt sorta bad for bringing it up.
  10553. >But she was more worried about the lack of time.
  10554. >If her spell had failed she might not have enough time to try again!
  10555. >Lyra moved to get up.
  10556. >Bon-Bon clung on.
  10557. >She whimpered just a little bit and looked up at Lyra with her expressive eyes.
  10558. >Lyra was still tempted to move and return to her work.
  10559. >But there was no helping it.
  10560. >She couldn’t say ‘no’ to Bonny when she was like this.
  10561. >Lyra settled in with her unusual sitting style.
  10562. >Bon-Bon stretched out and placed her head on Lyra’s lap.
  10563.  
  10564. >”Thanks for staying.”
  10565.  
  10566. >Lyra began to gently stroke the cream coloured belly below her.
  10567.  
  10568. “Of course!”
  10569.  
  10570. >Bon-Bon let out a contented sigh.
  10571.  
  10572. >”This is what it’s about. This right here.”
  10573.  
  10574. >A calm evening of nothing with the pony closest to you.
  10575. >Lyra had to agree.
  10576. >There was nothing quite like it.
  10577.  
  10578. >”I’d stay right here forever if I could.”
  10579.  
  10580. >It didn’t take long for the mighty agent Zero to start snoring softly.
  10581. >Lyra would have been more than content to stay right there the whole night.
  10582. >But there was work to be done.
  10583. >She carefully levitated her bunkmate to the bedroom and gently tucked her in.
  10584. >She then quietly snuck out of the bedroom and back into the den.
  10585. >She fished the pendant out of her mane and began probing it with her magic.
  10586. >There was no clear signs of leakage.
  10587. >It seemed to be working.
  10588. >Lyra strapped it around her neck and felt soothed.
  10589. >As though wrapped in a mother’s embrace.
  10590. >Everything would be okay.
  10591. >It was a struggle to take it off.
  10592. >But the pendant wasn’t for her.
  10593. >It was for another.
  10594. >There was one more test.
  10595. >The test that would measure the longevity of the spell as well as the pendant’s classification.
  10596. >And the price she had paid.
  10597. >Lyra called upon Aquarius one more time.
  10598. >If this worked then she had failed, and the energy in the pendant was leaking out.
  10599. >She pulled and pulled at the magic.
  10600. >But nothing happened.
  10601. >She prodded her horn at the point where the magic should have been coming forth.
  10602. >It was numb.
  10603. >And it forever would be.
  10604. >So long as that pendant remain intact, a portion of Lyra’s power would forever be trapped within.
  10605. >Magical items were rare because their spells decayed in a matter of days.
  10606. >But this was no mere magical item.
  10607. >It was something far rarer.
  10608. >Something that would last millennia if left undamaged.
  10609. >Because it was an artifact.
  10610. >Lyra would never again know the taste of Aquarius.
  10611. >But in exchange, Bon-Bon would never fault in the face of fear.
  10612. >She smiled.
  10613. >In her opinion, that was a good deal.

Steel Sanctuary Part 1

by Writefag_Is_Kill

Steel Sanctuary Part 2

by Writefag_Is_Kill

Steel Sanctuary Part 3

by Writefag_Is_Kill

Red Shift Part 1

by Writefag_Is_Kill

Red Shift Part 2

by Writefag_Is_Kill