>Lyra hummed happily to herself as she walked to Derpy’s home once more.
>They weren’t planning on meeting up for a while after the previous mission.
>But Floor had signaled that she’d found something.
>Something big.
>She knocked on Derpy’s door gently.

>”Come iiin!”

>She pushed the door open.
>It didn’t take long to find Derpy in the kitchen, washing dishes as she hummed happily.
>There were surprisingly few smashed plates.

“Hiya!”

>”Oh, hey! Sorry about the mess, I didn’t think you’d be here for a while yet.”

“So what’s up? Did we do it?”

>”Well, I could TRY to explain it. But it’d be quicker if you just talked to Floor.”

>She continued on her work clumsily as they spoke. 

“Heh. Somepony’s in a good mood. You know, I actually WOULD like to talk to her some time. How do you do it anyway?”

>”How do I talk to Floor?”

“Yeah.”

>”Carefully.”

>Huh.
>Lyra wasn’t certain what she was expecting.

“So it worked?”

>”Short answer or long answer?”

“First one then the other.”

>”Okay. So apparently she has full access to pretty much everything, which is better than we hoped, but also not as good as we thought because there’s too much-”

“Oh, sorry. Short answer first.”

>”Oh yeah! That makes much more sense! Uuhh, we did it. Every computer in Equestria will leak a bunch of stuff if we leave them alone for two days. We’ll have to add to it though, I couldn’t really remember all the stuff we’d found out.”

>They’d done it.
>Lyra could hardly believe it.
>But they’d DONE it!
>They had leverage!
>They could boss S.M.I.L.E. around if need be!
>Luna had folded to protect ONE of their secrets.
>But to protect EVERYTHING?
>Teleportation nexi, doomsday events, weapons that could erase entire cities, demonic presences that could withstand even the might of S.M.I.L.E. and shake Luna to her core.
>It was hard to keep track of it all.
>They could even spread the name of Orcus if they wanted.
>Not that she wanted to.
>But it would be a pretty good bargaining chip…

“And the long answer?”

>”We have a backdoor into every computer in Equestria, and we can read any file at any time.”

“SERIOUSLY?”

>Well.
>Job’s done then.
>They have everything they need.
>And then some!

>”But S.M.I.L.E.’s stuff is all encrypted. We can’t make sense of it without using the old method.”

“Aww… but- but- we’d won!”

>”It’s still pretty good though! Even if we can't read them we know they're there and we know where to look. Floor found a lot of stuff coming from a weird place.”

“Go on.”

>”Well, apparently every computer in Equestria is running one of two programs.”

“Right, we knew that.”

>Wait.

“Sorry, did you say one of TWO? I thought they were trying to make sense of how the tide communicated.”

>”Most of the programs are talking to the labs studying the tide. But some are talking to something else.”

“And what are they saying?”

>”We don’t know. Apparently this project is using more internets per minute than all the regular ponies put together use in a month though.”

>That DOES sound pretty big.

“We should try and check it out. Do we know where it’s coming from?”

>”Well, Floor tracked down an address that it’s going through. I mean, she CALLED it an address, but it was just a bunch of numbers. I’ve never seen an address like that before, and I’ve seen a LOT of mail! Starlight said that it’s coming from a monitoring station in the broken isles.”

“I’m bad at geography. Refresh my memory?”

>”A wildlife preserve off the coast of the forbidden jungle.”

“Broken Islands. Plural. So a tropical archipelago?”

>”Officially there’s nothing there except the tidal monitoring station. Starlight couldn’t even find anything else in all of the S.M.I.L.E. records she could find. It doesn’t exist, but Floor insists it’s there.”

“Either one of the biggest projects in pony history is watching the tides off of some island, or there’s something else there. Something that most of S.M.I.L.E. doesn’t know about. Probably need to know. Article zero?”

>”Maybe.”

“Well, if it’s that secret then the agents don’t know about it. There can’t be much security. We should try and get there soon.”

>”Starlight said she can’t make a plan because she can’t find anything. We can’t prepare properly. But she agrees, they’re counting on nopony finding it.”

“If we can’t make a plan there’s no reason to wait. This place is apparently really important so they probably want to be able to check on it easily. Maybe the slide things lead there somehow? Worth a try. Wanna check it out?”

>”Lemme just dry the dishes.”

“I’ll clear up the broken glass.”

>It didn’t take long to finish cleaning up.
>Before she even knew it, Lyra was suiting up for her excursion.

“Super fancy knives. Check. Crazy armored vest. Check. Heat vision that doesn’t let me burn stuff with my eyes. Check. Balaclava and black bodysuit? Check. What are you bringing?”

>”I dunno. Should I bring the invisible thingy?”

“Might as well. We don’t really know what we’re getting into.”

>”Alright. I’m all set. Ready?”

“Let’s go.”

>She activated the S.L.I.D.E.
>And Equestria vanished.
>The teleportation nexus appeared before them in all its unearthly glory.
>The biting chill of the thin air dug into Lyra’s hide as they stepped moved out onto the platform.

>”Ooh, pretty!”

“I know, right? Wait, have you never been here?”

>”Nope!”

“Seriously? I thought you’d have come here right away just to see it.”

>”Never crossed my mind. So why do you think they put it here?”

>The two of them began to wander about blindly, hoping to find an exit near their objective.

“I dunno. You couldn’t put a place like this just anywhere, it’d need to be somewhere where it was easy to reach higher dimensions. But if they can go out into space there’s gotta be billions of places like that. We’re PRETTY sure that’s the tide over the edge there, and that seems really dangerous. Why be so close? Why not set up somewhere where the tide isn’t?”

>”And how did they set it up?”

“Yeah, that’s… that’s a good question. How did they put it together when surrounded by the tide? And what’s it made of? From the research logs it sounded like they didn’t have any materials that could withstand the tide, but this has been here for a while now.”

>”Do you think it’s safe?”

>Umm…

“Let’s hurry.”

>It didn’t take long to find the right pad.
>It lie on the outer rim near the eroded mysterious runes.

“Forbidden Jungle Archipelago. That sounds like the one.”

>Lyra stepped through.
>And was immediately assailed by a muggy, damp heat.
>She immediately regretted wearing Bon-Bon’s armored vest.
>The wet air of the jungle stood still, steaming everything around.

>”Oh wow. It’s really hot here.”

>Derpy had appeared behind her.
>Lyra hadn’t even noticed.

“Yeah. Going straight from the cold there to the hot here. Ugh.”

>Lyra quickly stripped her disguise and shoved it in her bags.

“Let’s get moving. The sooner we find this thing the sooner we can leave.”

>Now where was it?
>Lyra took stock of the surrounding area.
>Massive trees all around.
>The centuries old vegetation had strangled out all other life on the rainforest floor.
>Enormous trunks and roots took up all available space with only sparse grasses and brush tenuously holding onto life beneath the dark canopy above.
>Everywhere Lyra looked it was exactly the same.
>She had no point of reference.
>No direction.
>No landmarks.
>Lyra had just arrived.
>And she was already lost.

“Where do we go?”

>No answer.
>Lyra looked around.
>She couldn’t find Derpy.
>She wasn’t anywhere!

“Okay, Lyra. No need to panic. She’s probably just wandered off. In an unfamiliar land. Where she’s already lost.”

>AUUUGH!
>This is BAD.
>Really bad!
>They'd been separated! 
>How were they going to get home?
>They were going to be lost here forever!

>”Little help?”

>The sound came from above.
>Lyra looked up, an unusual act for a non pegasus, and saw a butt sticking out through the leaves.

“So you just want a push? Or a pull?”

>”Pull, please!”

“And ONE! TWO! THREE!”

>Lyra wrapped her magic around Derpy and pulled.
>The stunningly light pony fell through the branches, seemingly hitting every single one on the way down.
>Despite her low weight she somehow managed to break them all as she fell.
>Lyra ran for cover as massive branches rained down from the heavens.

“Oh wait. D!”

>She frantically groped around with her magic trying to grab her friend.
>Lyra just couldn’t get a grip on her no matter how she tried.
>To her horror Derpy continued to fall.
>And landed on her hooves safe and sound.

“Zuh?”

>”That was fun! Let’s do it again! AGAIN!”

“You’re okay?”

>”Right as rain!”

>Pegasi.

“I was worried we’d already gotten separated. We have to stick together! We don’t want to get lost in the jungle.”

>”If we get lost don’t we just slide out?”

“Oh right. I suppose getting lost isn’t a big deal at all.”

>She sheepishly averted her gaze.

“You see anything while up there?”

>”Oh yeah! There’s a giant metal tower to the east of here.”

>Giant metal tower.
>On an island that officially had nothing on it.
>That sounded interesting.

“How far away?”

>”Not far.”

“Lucky.”

>Derpy began to trot out.
>Lyra quickly followed.
>They began to snake their way through the jungle.
>Unfamiliar sounds and cries could be heard in the distance.
>Lyra had no clue what kind of beasts lurked beneath these trees.
>She prayed that nothing dangerous lie in their path.
>Derpy continued to lead the way.
>Was she unafraid?
>Or oblivious?
>Lyra listened closely and surveyed all around them.

>”Thanks for getting Floor involved in all this.”

>Lyra jumped in fear at the sudden sound.

>”Thanks a lot.”

>It was just Derpy.

“Coming from anypony else I’d think they were being sarcastic.”

>”You gave her something to do. A purpose. A reason to keep going. You gave her what she needed most.”

“A bath?”


>”What she needed second most. She’s still… a very sad pony. But at least now she’s got some reason to get out of bed at night.”

“Wasn’t it you that got her involved?”

>”I’m the one that found her. You’re the one holding this whole thing together.”

“Well, in all honesty I wasn’t trying to help her out. I was trying to get answers. But I’m glad that I helped, even if it was an accident.”

>At least one good thing had come from this.
>Lyra hadn’t set out looking to make a difference.
>She’d never been trying to fix the world or to be important.
>At first she was just curious.
>Then she was just worried.
>But somewhere along the way things had gotten so bad that she’d gotten over her fear.
>As strange as that felt it was true.
>There were so many problems that she just couldn’t be bothered to worry about most of them.
>Equestria was bankrupt and money was a lie.
>Celestia was spineless.
>There was no privacy anymore, and society had almost totally collapsed.
>She just didn’t care about any of that anymore.
>There were bigger problems on the horizon. Problems far bigger than her.
>Why would she care about the small stuff when the planet might be swallowed by the tide or ripped in half by Eurynomos?
>And while those did bother her, it wasn’t the same.
>They were too big for her.
>Completely out of her control.
>It was strange.
>The more she learned and the more she saw, the less she felt she knew.
>And the more influence power she seemed to wield.
>Mana tide had given her the ability to overpower hoards of guards.
>And Floor’s virus had given her the power to control the princesses.
>There was a time when Lyra would never have imagined being that influential.
>And yet she now felt far more powerless than ever before.
>The worse things got the less she worried.
>And the stronger she was the weaker she felt.
>Life was strange.
>Despite it all she was more worried about the smaller things in life.
>It felt silly to care so much about a single pony.
>How could that matter when there was so much at stake?
>But she worried not about one individual, but two.
>There was a question that gnawed at the back of her mind.

“How’s Dinky?”

>Derpy let out a long, morose sigh.

“That bad?”

>”Miss Cheerilee has suggested that she move to remedial classes. I think she might be right. Dinky’s not getting it. Nopony is.”

“I’m sorry, Derpy. I tried. But…”

>”I know.”

>Lyra had tried to tutor her.
>She really had.
>But Dinky just didn’t get it.
>And it was getting to the point where even Lyra herself didn’t get it.

“There are remedial grade school classes?”

>”Starting next year. Hopefully they’re not so bad. Sorry, can we rest for a bit?”

>Derpy was out of breath.
>When had that happened?
>The goofy pegasus leaned against one of the bigger trees, panting.
>Lyra’s mouth was so dry.
>She called on her magic.
>The ley lines were empty.

“Not this again.”

>It had been happening so often lately.
>Something that would normally be a once in a lifetime event.
>It was nearly daily now.
>S.M.I.L.E. was being pushed to their absolute limit.
>Lyra felt for Aquarius.
>It wasn’t just dry, it was numb.
>Bon-Bon was okay.
>For now.
>Derpy collapsed.

“Whoa.”

>Lyra rushed to her side.

“Are you okay?”

>”So heavy.”

>Lyra tried to help Derpy to her hooves.
>And indeed she was a fair bit heavier.
>Not as heavy as a unicorn or Earth pony.
>But heavier than a normal Derpy.
>And she just didn’t seem strong enough to stand on her own.
>Lyra was at a loss.
>She had no idea what to do!

>”It’s getting better.”

“You going to be okay?”

>”Yeah.”

>That was really worrying.
>It had never been that bad before.
>A few more minutes passed before Derpy climbed to her hooves.

>”That probably caused a few crashes.”

“Will it be serious?”

>”Probably not. There was enough time to try for a landing, or at least try and slow down. But there’s no such thing as a good crash landing.”

“You’re sure you’re okay?”

>”Yeah. Let’s keep going.”

>Lyra wasn’t certain.
>But she went along with it.
>Her mouth was still so dry.
>A couple minutes passed.
>And it happened again.
>Derpy just fell over.

>”Owwww.”

“You hurt?”

>Lyra quickly looked over Derpy.
>A lump was forming on her rump.
>It wasn’t very big.
>But it was still alarming.
>This was the pony that could fall from the canopy above and be completely unharmed.
>The pony that could slam into high voltage power lines and walk away unscathed.
>Derpy was CONSTANTLY in accidents.
>And it never hurt her.
>But this tiny fall…

“Don’t push yourself.”

>Her voice was hoarse and raspy.
>Lyra sat down.
>She didn’t remember doing so, but she did.
>Her head was just so foggy.

“It's getting to me now.”

>Time passed.
>How much she had no clue.
>Eventually it started to abate.

“That was really bad. How long?”

>”I don’t know. I think a while.”

“Okay. What do we know? Still low on magic. It’s all so oily and gross.”

>”The air smells rotten. It’s-”

>Derpy ran off behind some trees.
>She started retching.
>Lyra wasn’t wasn’t sure she wouldn’t follow suit.
>A couple minutes passed before Derpy came back.

>”I feel sick.”

“Should we go back?”

>”It won’t be any better back home I don’t think.”

>It was true.
>There was nowhere to run these days.
>The whole planet was caught up in this mess.

>”Let’s just finish. It’s got to be close. I’ll fly up and check.”

>She started flapping her wings.
>Nothing happened.
>She started flapping harder.
>Derpy’s face contorted with strain and she stuck her tongue out.

>”Why isn’t this working? Oh right.”

“This lasted way longer than the other ones. What does that mean?”

>”This is S.M.I.L.E. getting in a big fight, right?”

“Probably. But they should have disengaged when they reached that point. You don’t want to fight when you’re at your limit. That’s running time. Unless they couldn’t run?”

>Uh-oh.
>Aquarius was still numb.
>But that was becoming less and less comforting.

“Either they couldn’t run or they couldn’t afford to.”

>Her magic began to thin out again.
>Not nearly as bad as last time.
>But it was still happening.

“This feels a lot like they just lost big. They couldn’t run, but if they were in that kind of shape they couldn’t fight either.”

>They were clearly losing.
>The question was what they’d just lost.
>Lyra still didn’t know what they were after in hell.
>But it really seemed like it was time for S.M.I.L.E. to cut their losses.
>Why would they persist in this risky business?
>She needed to know more.

>”Let’s go. It has to be close.”

“Right.”

>They pressed onward through the jungle.
>But it was different.
>What was rich soil not long ago was now desiccated clay.
>The trees were wilted, their leaves shedding.
>Some of them were visibly decayed.

“What’s even going on?”

>”I see it!”

>Derpy gestured forward.
>Sure enough, there was an enormous steel pylon ascending to the heavens.
>She could see it so clearly through the dying woods.
>It was amazing that she couldn’t spot it before.
>It was HUGE!
>The crisscrossing metal beams ascended at least a kilometer upward, standing tall and proud atop a hill.
>Massive braided steel cords draped down from it going to parts unknown.
>Lyra approached.
>The cords were so enormous!
>She could hardly imagine how much they weighed.
>On one end they seemed taught, light an anchor of some sort.
>But one of the lines was sagged.
>Like it was holding something aloft with other similar pylons.

“What’s in the middle?”

>”A giant bowl.”

“A giant bowl?”

>“A giant bowl.”

>Ooookay then.
>The moved inward.
>The forest seemed to be coming back alive.
>But it wasn’t as lush or green as before.
>It had been thinned out.
>S.M.I.L.E. had left their mark whether they meant to  or not.
>They continued inward.
>It felt strange to just walk into the place.
>But there seemed to be nopony around.
>They climbed the mostly green hills, surrounded by a world that was neither dead nor alive but trapped in between.
>And sure enough there was a giant metal bowl sitting in the middle of a small valley.
>Some kind of contraption was hanging above it, held aloft by the towers.

“Giant metal bowl that’s perforated. So they’re not trying to catch rain. What are they trying to hold in that?”

>”Who knows.”

>It was enormous.
>Probably over a kilometer in radius.
>A giant perforated aluminium bowl in the middle of the jungle sending out an insane amount of computer data.

“I don’t know what to make of this.”

>”There’s a building over there.”

“Hm? Oh, there sure is.”

>A relatively small wooden structure stood nearby.
>There was a wire leading from the weird thing hanging above the bowl down to the building.
>And another, smaller bowl stood on its roof.
>But this one was pointed sideways.

“This is so weird.”

>They headed toward the building.
>It was way bigger and much further away than it first appeared.
>The sheer scale of this place was messing with Lyra’s perception.

“What do you make of this?”

>”Hrmm. I think we should probably put our disguises back on.”

“Oh, right!”

>Lyra fought with her suit for a while.
>But she eventually got it back on.
>She was quickly reminded of why she’d taken it off in the first place.

“I hope it’s air conditioned in there.”

>”Me too. But it looks kinda abandoned. There's vines growing all over it.”

“Maybe they're just too lazy to clear them?”

>They soon found themselves by the building.
>The front door swung open without resistance.
>A wave of cool air washed over her.

“Oh, thank the stars.”

>Wait.
>If it was air conditioned that meant there was somepony here.
>Lyra slipped on her thermal goggles.
>There was a pony right by her!

“Ack! Oh, D. Duh. I’m not seeing any signs of anypony else.”

>”This place is really dusty. But the AC is on. It smells kinda funny. You know that smell when an air conditioner doesn’t get used for a long time?”

“Is that what that is? So this place is usually empty then, but somepony stopped in recently.”

>They began to wander around the complex blindly.
>There wasn’t much office space to be found, and there were no labs.
>Some signs of living quarters and a kitchen long abandoned to the wild.
>Nothing fancy or elaborate.
>No signs of indoor plumbing.
>But there were electric lights and air conditioning.

“How is this place powered? There's no way it's on the grid this far out. Is there a generator somewhere?”

>”Seems like a lot of trouble to wire this place just to abandon it.”

“Maybe it needed power at one point? Something around here is connected to the internet after all.”

>Somehow.
>Did they really run a cable all the way out here from Equestria?

>”Maybe this is the wrong place? We haven't explored the whole archipelajo.”

“Archipelago. But you have a point. I don't see how giant metal bowl plus island equals internets. But if this isn't it then what is this place?”

>”We should keep looking. Whether it's what we came for or not this bowl is S.M.I.L.E. stuff.”

“Right.”

>They found lots of storage space.
>Mysterious machine components carefully sorted and shelved in lockers.
>Huge stacks of replacement plates for the bowls in dingey chambers.
>It didn’t look like much work was done here except for maintenance.

”So there’s nothing here but the bowl and stuff to repair the bowl?”

>“There’s gotta be something else. The wire from the bowl has to lead to something, right?”

”Good point. Let’s split up and find it.”

>“Okay. We’ll meet up at the front door when we’re done.”

>Derpy gaily trotted off heading who knows where.
>Lyra continued to clumsily navigate the place.
>It was so empty.
>Mostly empty storage space.
>All Lyra could figure was that this building had been erected as a shelter while they made the bowl and the towers.
>And now it was abandoned.
>Almost.

“Hello.”

>One room had been maintained.
>It was clean, proper, insulated.
>And the walls were finished.
>Everything around this one room was to be reclaimed by the wild.
>But this one tiny part, this one chamber of concrete and rebar, was meant to stand the test of time.
>Its purpose?
>To house a single computer terminal.

“D said something about encryptions and needing the old method…”

>Lyra took a moment to plug Floor in before checking what it was.
>The fan whirred loudly as it struggled to keep up with the massive influx of data.
>Lyra checked the display.
>She was disappointed by how little it said.

Network:	okay
Process:	okay
Signal:		okay
Power:		538h


>That was all.
>That didn’t explain anything!
>The screen changed.
>Either it was angry at her, or Floor was here.
>Well. Not HERE. Just “here”.
>It started to frantically flip through different displays.

A:\>cd docs
A:\docs>dir
Signals 	txt	06-08-1008
Errors		txt	15-07-1008
Repairs	txt	01-05-1003

“Are those dates? One of them is half a decade old! But there weren’t any computers then. Were there?”

>Maybe.
>But that made no sense.
>Hadn’t this all started something like 3 years ago?
>Maybe that’s just when they discovered the tide.
>So many pieces fell into place as one.
>Why had they modernized the cities with a power grid?
>It was a waste of resources that could go to fighting the tide.
>Why distribute the computers? Wouldn’t the network take too much time and effort to make?
Not to mention the computers themselves!
Surely it would be more efficient to do away with the public release.
>Unless it was already in place.
Unless the gears had already been set in motion for a civilian release.
>Why burn so much wealth developing things that couldn’t destroy the tide like plastic armored vests or crazy sharp knives or poisoned gases?
>Because they weren’t preparing for the tide. They were preparing for monsters.
>S.M.I.L.E. had come across their tech source before they learned of the black tide.
>It took them years to figure out that they were in danger!
>Did their newfound knowledge give them the means to spot the danger?
>Had their source given them a warning later on?
>Did they think they were safe at first?
>It took a while before Floor did anything else.
>Had she noticed the oddity too?

A:\docs>signals.txt

>A stream of data assailed her.
>Thousands of entries blurred by in the blink of an eye.
>Hydra signal. First timestamp about 5 years ago. Last timestamp 2 years ago.
>Cetus signal. First 5 years, last 1 year.
>Phoenix signal…
>At first they were all named for constellations.
>And they all had an initial stamp of right around 5 years ago, when this place apparently started running.
>They all also had a last timestamp.
>Pavonis, Sextans, Ursa Minor, Ara, Leo…
>Before long they were just numbered.
>Signal 46, 47, 48…
>All the way down to signal 87,349.
>The first timestamp was just a few days ago.
>The last timestamp was today.
>So it was still active?
>Floor searched for entries from today.
>4.
>Entries from yesterday.
>0.
>She kept the search up for a while.
>There were only about a dozen from this month.
>Everything else had gone quiet.
>Nearly all these tens of thousands of signals had been lost over the years.
>So at first there were so many of them they couldn’t be bothered to name them.
>And now there were so few…
>Where had these signals come from?
>What were they signaling?
>And where had they gone?
>Were these signals article zero?

>”Please don’t break anything.”

>Lyra nearly jumped out of her skin.
>She whipped around to come face to face with Twilight.
>Lyra stepped back and drew her blades.

>”I surrender. I know I can’t beat you. I won’t even try. But please don’t break anything. This place isn’t much use anymore, but it might be our only hope.”

>Her voice was weak and shaky.
>Lyra didn’t put away her weapons.

>”I don’t know who you are or how you broke the contract. And I don’t care anymore.”

>How you broke the contract?
>Did Twilight think Lyra a rogue agent perhaps?

>”I’m too tired to care anymore.”

>Last time Lyra had seen her she had an illusion spell in place.
>Was it still there?
>Lyra quickly cut through the magic.
>The facade fell away.
>Her eyes were sunken and hollow.
>She was horribly underweight.
>But most striking was the leg.
>What once was swollen and tumorous was now shiny and chrome.
>The metal leg moved smoothly, perfectly mimicking a healthy pony leg.

>”Before you ask, no. I can’t feel it. Microwave burns. We didn’t know what we were toying with. I don’t know why I’m telling you this, you’re supposed to be the enemy. But I just don’t care anymore.”

>She walked past Lyra seemingly oblivious to the deadly weapons hovering in the air.

>”It was such a surprise when we lost the first one. But then we didn’t know what the signals were for yet. If only we’d figured it out sooner… it wouldn’t have mattered. There’s no escaping this. Nothing’s escaped. Princess Celestia is right, we’re doomed.”

>Lyra had thousands of questions.
>But she couldn’t voice them.
>Twilight would doubtlessly recognize her.
>Unless she used her stallion voice?

“You’ve given up?”

>”Yup. There’s nothing we can do at this point. The tide can’t be stopped.”

“You’re not going to make fun of my voice?”

>”Ehh…”

>Twilight produced a pill bottle from somewhere.
>She unscrewed the top and pulled one out.
>She considered it for a while before fetching a dozen more.
>Lyra swatted them out of the air.
>Twilight just sighed.

“Those stims will kill you.”

>”That would solve a lot of problems.”

>There she stood.
>The Princess of Friendship.
>Part of Equestria’s crown.
>The ruling caste that was meant to guide the masses through the darkness.
>A wretched drug addict who’d given up on life.

“Twilight. I have to say. I’ve never been more disgusted in my life. You don’t deserve your magic.”

>”Doesn’t mean much coming from the traitor.”

“Yeah, sure. Call me a traitor because I’m curious. Have you taken a look at yourself lately? You’re the slimiest, most disgusting pony alive. Do you have ANY idea what the agents are going through?”

>Does she know what Bon-Bon is going through?

>”Yes.”

“You don’t know the first thing of it. Have you stared a demon lord in the eyes? I did. Have you watched the unending hordes charge inward? Have you felt the agony of a host larva devouring your flesh? Have you seen the horror of Demos and Phobos swallowing your fellow pony? You don’t understand the half of it.”

>Lyra didn’t either in all honesty.
>But if Twilight thought she was an agent, there was no reason to disillusion her.

“We go through more than you can imagine to try and protect Equestria. And you’re just going to give up? You’re going to take all our blood, sweat, and tears and flush them down the drain? And then you have the gall to call me a traitor! Why don’t you take a look at yourself? Whether they know it or not, everypony is counting on you. Everypony is working for you. And you’re just going to stop? You’re going to throw literally everypony to the tide because you’re tired? What is wrong with you?”

>”It’s hopeless. Even Celestia’s given up.”

“Then Celestia’s dirt too. I’m not comfortable with the things Luna’s doing, but at least she’s trying. She won’t stop as long as she draws breath. Cadence is doing everything she can to arm us so we can wipe out the tide when it comes. But here you are wallowing in self pity because you’re too weak to keep going.”

>”So what am I supposed to do, pretend it’s fine? That we’re all going to be okay?”

“You said you needed a miracle. Say it comes. If you give up now it won’t matter, will it? The solution could be delivered on a silver platter, but you won’t be ready to make use of it. Keep pushing. Prepare as best as you can. And be ready when opportunity knocks.”

>Twilight shook her head sadly.

>”Easy for you to say. If only you knew how bad things really are.”

“When the tide comes and swallows everything, what are you going to do? Watch it spread out and wait for the end? Watch it destroy everything and anything you’ve ever loved? Are you going to watch it destroy your friends and family and home? What are you going to be thinking when it eats Fluttershy? Pinkie Pie? Rainbow Dash? Rarity? Applejack? What are you going to think when it swallows you?”

>”Applejack said it hurts a lot. I’ll probably take the quick way out.”

>Wait, what?
>Applejack got hurt by the tide?
>Is THAT what happened to her?

“Clean yourself up. Get rid of the stimulants. And then get back to work.”

>”What’s the point?”

>She really had given up.
>There was no fight left in Twilight Sparkle at all.
>But she had to keep trying!
>She HAD to!
>Encouragement and scoldings weren’t working.
>But there were other ways to motivate a pony.

“Clean yourself up and get back to work, or I’m coming for you.”

>She didn’t answer.
>She just looked at the terminal.
>She gazed over all the lost signals.

>”So many… how many has it killed? What hope do we have?”

>Nothing.
>This was… wrong.
>But Twilight needed a push.

“And then I’m going for Fluttershy.”

>”What.”

“Yeah. If you stop working I’m going to beat the tar out of Fluttershy.”

>Twilight was staring at her in horror.

“And you said it yourself, you can’t stop me. I’ll start small, just rough her up a little. But I’ll come back every day until I’m satisfied that you’re trying.”

>”Fluttershy is TOTALLY INNOCENT! She doesn’t even know about this stuff!”

“Same with the millions of ponies you’re planning on abandoning. I’m not even going to kill anypony, unlike you. Maybe put her in a coma, but not kill her. Really it’s barely worth mentioning next to what you’re thinking of.”

>Twilight’s jaw hung agape as she stared in horror.

”Hay, I’ll take on all of your friends. Why not? You can’t stop me.”

>”But- but-”

“Or you can protect them. I told you exactly what I want. Put down your pills and keep trying to figure out how to stop the tide. Do everything in your power to stop it. I’ll be watching, so no slacking.”

>Lyra walked away, heart racing.
>She was trying her hardest to look calm and stable.
>But adrenaline flowed freely through her brain.
>How could she have done that?
>How could she have threatened Fluttershy?
>And worse still, how could she have meant it?
>It was true.
>Fluttershy was totally innocent.
>She had done nothing wrong.
>There was nopony less deserving of a beating.
>But if that’s what it took, if that was the only way to keep Twilight working, well…
>She’d try other things first.
>She’d try talking to Twilight’s friends to get them to help her.
>She’d go to Cadence and see if she could do anything.
>Heck, she’d even show up herself, as many issues as she had with her former friend.
>But if that all failed?
>She’d do it.
>She wouldn’t be happy about it, but she’d do it.
>How could such a horrible act be justified?
>Aggression and violence against an innocent bystander.
>And not only was it right, not doing it would be wrong.
>Nothing made sense anymore.
>Lyra made her way to the front door.
>Derpy was there, waiting.

“Find anything?”

>”A generator of some kind. It had one of those weird hazard marks on it, but I think it was the power. It was really small. Is something wrong? You sound troubled.”

“Just got a lot on my mind is all. I think we should go.”

>”Okay?”

>They stepped through comprehensible space in an impossible way and found themselves at the nexus.
>The two of them proceeded to the Ponyville pad in silence.

>”Any guesses on what S.M.I.L.E. was trying to do today?”

>Lyra didn’t answer.
>She didn’t know.
>And she didn’t want to know right now.
>As she stepped onto the pad and found herself in Equestria once more, she was dismayed to find an answer.
>Because S.M.I.L.E. had indeed failed on this day.
>Claxons and sirens filled the air calling everypony to the shelters.
>Off in the distance a black cloud had covered the sky.
>Not a cloud of water or smoke.
>A cloud of twisted flesh and fangs.
>Hell had boiled over into Elysium.
>And it was headed to Ponyville.

                                                *       *       *       *       *

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

>Lyra’s shrill screams filled the skies.
>They were innumerable.
>Endless.
>They were evil itself, beyond comprehension.
>And they were coming straight for them.

>”DINKY!”

>Derpy shot into the air as a bolt, tearing through the air on a mad dash to her daughter.
>Lyra was unable to draw her gaze off of the overwhelming terror that approached.
>The sky seemed to darken further.
>Brilliant flashes of light arced through the incoming forces.
>Lightning seemed to stand still midair, growing in size and intensity.
>A blinding flash.
>Lyra could not see clearly.
>Bizarre patterns and colours filled her eyes even when closed.
>When she recovered she was stunned by what she saw.
>A roaring inferno had consumed the countryside.
>This was no spell, she’d felt no magic whatsoever.
>Nor was it the bomb. There was no blast, and it was far too small.
>This was something else entirely.
>Acrid black smoke wafted to the heavens in the tremendous updraft, quickly blacking out the sun.
>The conflagration which now served as the main source of light had erased the woods and grasses of their land, immolated by an inferno that burned hotter than the fires of hell itself.
>Even from so far away, Lyra felt the searing heat as though she stood by a blast furnace.
>Her long, silky mane curled up as its ends singed by the wave of heat.
>She looked out at the blasted remnants of the countryside to see the firestorm yet rising, fueled by gale force winds it created.
>Yet still they marched.
>Through the roaring blaze, through the ash.
>Their numbers were thinned.
>But still beyond counting.
>Their shadowy figures emerging from the flames, illuminated only from behind.
>They approached.
>Lyra left Elysium.
>She slipped through the cracks in spacetime to find herself in the teleportation nexus.
>She was safe here, however many light-years stood between herself and the beasts.
>Her heart hammered painfully against her ribs.
>Her eyes seemed to throb with every single pulse.
>She’d thought she knew the meaning of terror when she saw Deimos and Phobos.
>She was wrong.
>A single demon’s presence could not compare to the uncountable hoard that she’d seen.
>The overwhelming force that marched onward, undeterred by the blaze that melted their flesh.
>Lyra’s eyes teared up.
>She trembled on the ground.
>But she was safe.
>They would never reach this place.
>Everypony was going to get to the fortified wall in the city.
>They were going through the blast doors into the bunkers.
>The fortifications that had been built in this city were doubtlessly built for just this reason.
>It was all going to be okay, they’d just stay down there until S.M.I.L.E. showed up to save them.
>They just needed to get out of their home.
>And walk a short distance.
>And…

“FLOOR!”

>No, no, nonoNONONONO!
>Floor was doomed!
>There was no way she’d ever leave, no chance she’d go to safety.
>She was just going to freeze!
>This was bad.
>Extremely bad.
>INCREDIBLY BAD.
>Would anypony go to save her?
>Derpy was busy with her daughter.
>Was there a single other pony in the city that even knew she was there?
>Floor Bored NEEDED Lyra
>But what could she do?
>What hope did she have?
>She was just ONE pony.
>She could NOT stand up to an army, especially not an army from hell.
>But Floor was dead if she didn’t try.
>But she’d used her slide system three times already, it was flat; once Lyra left this place there was no coming back.
>This was a one way trip.
>And it may well be suicide.
>But Floor needed her.
>Lyra took a deep, bracing breath.
>And returned to Elysium.
>The sky seemed even blacker than before.
>She rushed toward Ponyville in a mad gallop that was fueled by adrenaline and desperation.
>Lyra dared not look behind herself, dared not glance at the fast approaching doom.
>The distinctive cracks of gunfire surrounded her, a hail of bullets surging outward at the vile hoard.
>The once peaceful town of Ponyville had officially become a battlefield.
>Lyra’s pace slowed to a crawl.
>Her lungs screamed in agony as she greedily drank down the air around her.
>The vile stench of putrid flesh was omnipresent.
>She pushed onward.
>The suburbs surrounding Ponyville seemed almost peaceful beneath the steady stream of lead.
>The last remnants of a simpler, quieter time.
>Soon to be consumed by the madness of hell.
>A massive corvid tumbled from the heavens, blood oozing from its destroyed breast.
>Still it thrashed about, crazed for blood.
>A swarm of what looked like black millipedes crawled out of the wound and began to scatter about, filling every recess and crack they could find; they’d wait patiently for unsuspecting prey.
>These events hardly registered to Lyra.
>Her brain had shut down long ago.
>All there was was an overwhelming drive to run forward.
>To draw in every last scrap of energy she had left and reach safety.
>Soon she found herself surrounded by skyscrapers, not truly remembering reaching the heart of the city.
>But there she was.
>Abandoned possessions and trash filled the streets, a sure sign of a rushed exodus.
>Her nose burned with the smell of rot.
>Massive, twisted birds and bats shot through the air above, far too busy pursuing their current prey to worry about a long unicorn below.
>Not so for the ground forces.
>Giant six legged chitinous beasts tore through the streets toward her, setting a pace far too quick for anything of its size.
>They dragged long, snake like tails behind them, covered in countless jagged barbs.
>Lyra ran into an adjacent building without stopping to check what it was.
>The shopping mall around her opened up in all directions.
>Bags were strewn about, shattered glass and broken windows everywhere.
>Lyra ran up the escalator.
>The creatures behind her rounded through the entrance just after she reached the top.
>An eruption destroyed the stairs, leaving them trapped on the ground below.
>Lyra hyperventilated in her safe space, watching the swarming terrors mill about below, seeking a path to their prey.
>She grasped the ruined railing of the escalators and began to swat at them.
>They soon fled, looking for an easier target.
>Lyra was safe.
>But for how long?
>And how long did Floor have?
>She had to move.
>Her hammering heart screamed in pain, demanding rest.
>She stood.
>It wasn’t a far fall down below.
>If she levitated the clothing store’s wares into a heap to break her fall she’d easily walk away unharmed.
>But once more it was a one way trip.
>If she left here there was no returning.
>She’d be trapped down there.
>With them.
>Lyra discarded her black suit exposing the armored vest beneath.
>There was no need for anonymity here.
>If- when she found help it would be best if there were no questions.
>She took a moment to catch her breath.
>Then she stood up.
>There was no choice.
>Floor needed help, and this place wouldn’t be safe for long.
>Lyra jumped down and began to trot away, far too weary for a proper gallop.
>If she was to reach Floor she’d have to fight her way there.
>Lyra drew the circular blades from her bags.
>And immediately saw the six legged monsters returning to the front entrance.
>The undertow spell formed instantly, almost without thought, forming a deadly storm of broken glass in the entryway.
>They gazed at her barrier only momentarily before fleeing in what seemed to be terror.
>She didn’t have to wonder long at what had frightened them.
>A short but broad three legged wretch rushed through the broken glass, seemingly oblivious to the sharp glass that surrounded it.
>Its legs tapered to a point that punctured the floor tiles with every step.
>Lyra could see no eyes on the creature.
>But its mouth made itself known when it reared back, releasing a shrill shriek.
>Dozens of needle sharp teeth filled the circular maw.
>It landed and approached.
>The thick grey hair that covered its short sloped body swayed as it moved, scattering what Lyra hoped were merely fleas.
>Far slower than the ones before, but still quicker than Lyra could hope to outrun.
>She cast the blades outward hoping to cut its thin legs, to slow its pace.
>The creature was far more dexterous than it appeared, weaving through the oncoming stream of metal.
>Despite Lyra’s best efforts she was only rewarded with shallow cuts that the demon before her didn’t even seem to notice.
>Lyra turned tail to run, but too late.
>It swept her legs out from under her with one of its spike like legs, and straddled her body.
>The horrible teeth came down and clamped onto her belly.
>Pain lanced through her.
>This was the end.
>She had failed.

“Ow, the… edge?”

>The creature was struggling to chew through Bon-Bon’s armored vest.
>Lyra struck it.
>It was too distracted by the shockingly tough meal to evade her blow.
>A deep gash formed on one of its legs.
>Giant locks of hair fell to the ground, revealing a long gaping wound.
>It ran off wailing with an unearthly cry, leaving Lyra to collect herself.
>It felt as though only one tooth had pierced.
>A minor injury, barely worth a bandage.
>But the vest was tattered and torn.
>It was unlikely it would protect her belly ever again.
>What had moments before seemed a bad dream was all too real to her now.
>This was happening.
>She was surrounded by the denizens of the burning hells.
>And they wanted her dead.
>Nowhere was safe.
>There was only one way out.
>She REALLY wished she’d spent more time practicing.
>The streets outside were fully occupied now.
>Mareholes had been opened allowing them to flood the sewers beneath.
>Demons walked the interior of the buildings around her.
>Demons fortified the intersections of the streets, erecting barriers of whatever debris they could find.
>Or make.
>She ducked back in hoping nothing had spotted her, but to no avail.
>Dozens of vile beasts of all different shapes and sizes moved to surround her, to destroy her.
>Lyra ran across the street and ducked into a back alley.
>A chain eruption was placed in her wake barring all access to her position.
>She didn’t have time to turn around and look upon the hoard that followed her.
>Because right in front of her stood another group of foes.
>One of the chitenous monsters stood aside a trash bin almost completely barring her path.
>She tried to put the maddened gibbering out of mind, to focus on the foe before her, but it clawed at the back of her consciousness; unnerving and fear inducing otherworldly cries continued to call for her blood.
>Many headed red and green serpents slithered around the creature before her, climbing over its jagged body, slithering around and beneath.
>It quickly dropped to the ground to consume several of the snakes.
>The survivors were unphased and continued their approach.
>The trash bin exploded open at Lyra’s command, its contents taking flight and raining down on the incoming reptiles.
>The crushing blows landed hard, bruising and breaking their long bodies.
>They began to flee, once more climbing over the mound of chitin.
>Lyra slammed the trash bin into the creature with her magic crushing it against the nearby tower.
>It crashed through the concrete wall.
>Lyra’s path was open.
>She ran.
>Explosions sounded out behind her, something had triggered her eruption.
>She didn’t have time to care.
>The perforated corpses of enormous bats, oversized black and red insects with short, needle like stingers, and what might have once been a vulture countless generations ago littered the area; the guards had miraculously brought them down with their clumsy gunfire.
>Gunfire that was quickly growing quieter and less frequent.
>The beast shrieked and dragged itself from the rubble.
>It began limping toward Lyra.
>Lyra continued her mad dash not entirely certain she was headed in the right direction.
>Something strange happened as she moved forward.
>The streets and skies were clear.
>There was no sign of demonic influence near her.
>Gunfire still cracked through the air.
>Horrible guttural screams still echoed throughout.
>But in this small area it was safe.
>For what reason?
>She allowed herself to slow to a gentle pace, to preserve whatever was left of her stamina.
>At the next intersection she spotted a gruesome sight to her right.
>Harmony street had been the site of something truly horrific.
>Chunks of rent flesh were scattered throughout the blood soaked roadway.
>Lyra hesitated.
>This was by far the most horrific scene she’d ever encountered.
>But perhaps, she dared hope, friendly forces had caused it.
>She hesitated for but a moment before following the path of gore.
>The bodies grew more and more numerous, severed limbs and crushed carcasses were scattered everywhere.
>It was growing difficult to proceed for all the dead that barred her way.
>She proceeded for several blocks in absolute safety before she found the cause of the carnage.
>An old wizened unicorn was in the center of it all.
>Tranquil Streams lounged on a city bench reading a blood stained newspaper.
>Lyra couldn’t believe her eyes.
>A friendly face, a safe place in the madness.
>Despite the gore it was calming.
>The panicked haze in her head thinned just a little bit.

“Whoa, who, how… What are you doing here?”

>”Oh, hi Lyra. Just taking an afternoon stroll.”

>The rapidly diminishing gunfire seemed to punctuate his statement.

>”Have you seen the headline? Looks like crime is on the rise. I tell ya, Equestria’s going to hell in a handbasket.”

>Was that a PUN?
>Was he really joking around at a time like this?

>”Don’t just stand there with your jaw on the ground.”

“I can’t believe this.”

>”Why aren’t you at one of the shelters? This place isn’t safe right now.”

“I was out with Derpy and-”

>He dropped the newspaper and stared at her with a disturbing intensity.

>”Is Derpy okay? Where is she?”

“You know her?”

>”ANSWER THE DAMN QUESTION! IS SHE OKAY?”

“She flew off to check on her daughter. I don’t know how she’s doing.”

>”Damn! We’re going to go try and save her. I hope you’re ready for a a practical lesson.”

>Lyra could almost hear his joints creaking when he stood.

>”She’ll never be able to navigate this sky. Not for long anyway. I just hope we’re not too late.”

“We also need to save Floor Board.”

>”Who?”

“A shut in. She’s about 5 minutes to the west.”

>”Derpy’s about 10 minutes to the east. We’re going for her first, she’s got a foal.”

“Do you think they’ll be okay?”

>”No. But we have to try. Get moving!”

>He moved far more swiftly than Lyra would have ever expected from somepony so old.
>His pace compared to the casual trot of a healthy young stallion.

“You’re on point.”

>”On what?”

“You’re in the front.”

“Why me?”

>He was the strong one.
>The super powerful secret agent who was once the best of the best.
>The one who apparently took on hundreds of demons and won.

>”Because I’m old and tired. I can’t do that again, not for several days.”

“You can’t fight anymore?”

>”Oh, sure I can! But your magic is much less valuable than mine, and much more plentiful. You deal with everything you can, and I’ll step in if we’re about to get killed.”

>Lyra didn’t like that plan.
>Not one bit.

>”What’s that up ahead? I can’t see.”

“Huh? Oh! Umm...“

>It looked like one of the shorter towers had toppled and its ruins stacked, barring off the streets.
>Lyra couldn’t quite tell what they were.
>But there were creatures walking around at the top.

“Barricade. Wait. I think they see us.”

>The old wizened stallion ripped the bench out of the streets, shearing the bolts that were meant to hold it to the concrete.
>He propped it up in front of them as a shield.
>A barrage of tiny spines struck it at high speeds.
>All around them small projectiles were raining down.

>”Blow them up.”

>Lyra didn’t hesitate to link her mana.
>The improvised shield held true in front of them as her strike grew in pressure.
>She hurled it at the barricade.
>The shockwave nearly knocked her off balance.
>Drywall and timber scattered everywhere.

>”Okay hit, now’s your chance for a followup. NOW!”

“Followup?”

>”Yeah! You broke their position but you’re not getting any damage done! YOU’RE LETTING THEM GET AWAY!”

“They’re running. We’re safe.”

>A hoof struck Lyra’s muzzle.
>It carried little weight, but it shocked Lyra regardless.

“You- you hit me?”

>”Don’t make me beat the stupid out of you. Sweetie Drops would be pissed and I’m not planning on dying for at least another decade. Move.”

“But-”

>”GO!”

>He started pushing her down the street, shoving with his frail old legs.

>”Derpy’s in trouble, get a move on!”

“Right!”

>They moved toward the ruined barricade.
>The gunfire had nearly ceased.
>But the howls and cries persisted.

>”Tell me what you know about them.”

“Not much.”

>”More than me I’d bet. I’ve figured out that they’re retarded, but that’s about it.”

“Why do you think they’re stupid?”

>”Not stupid. Retarded. And you’d have to be pretty brainless to think that barricades make sense against ponies. Fat lot of good they do.”

>He had a point.

>”They’re failing to adapt to their new enemy. Give me a quick rundown.”

“Quick rundown? Let’s see. Greater demons bow to the demon lords, they’re in constant contact with them, probably through psychic abilities. They control hell with an iron fist, with castles and fortresses all over the underworld. I think they’re the direct descendants of the now dead infernals…”

>”I don’t need the trivia. Do they have a command structure? What’s their goal? How many of them are there?”

“This is probably a small force. I remember something about Aryanne’s gas getting six million or so, and that was called a minor fight. The lords command the greater demons which command the lessers. And they’re trying to kill the other lords to consume their power.”

>He quietly mumbled to himself for a little while.

>”Damn! This makes things way more complicated. Incoming, behind.”

>His warning was so casual Lyra didn’t think anything of it.
>She turned around.
>A long line of dog sized brown quadrupeds approached from behind.
>They stood abreast of each other completely blocking the patht.
>At first glance they seemed the least frightening thing she’d seen to date.
>But soon dropped to the ground and began screaming.
>And jagged spines began to fire out at Lyra.
>A magical aura consumed every incoming projectile.
>And slammed them back into the attackers.
>Within seconds all movement had ceased.

>”The ones you let get away before. Don’t fail again. Wait... I think I hear their reinforcements coming.”

”What?”

>”Yeah. You hear that heavy thudding noise? They’re onto us. Chain eruption, now!”

“Where?”

>”Among the corpses! Cast it and move, we’re going to be overwhelmed soon!”

>The explosive orbs formed quickly.

>”Speak of the devil.”

>Lyra’s focus was stuck on her spell.
>Crafting this properly still a taxed her mind.
>When she was done and returned to reality she was amazed by what she saw.
>The streets behind were full.
>There was no room whatsoever as far as the eye could see, just hateful rot and rage.
>The vile beasts had turned on each other, trying to cast one another into her trap.

>”Could use a hoof here.”

>She turned around.
>Dozens of fliers lay headless on the ground, thrashing about despite their decapitation.
>Broken and shattered bodies lie everywhere, most damaged beyond recognition.
>One of the hairy ones had been topped on its back and impaled with a street sign.
>Yet more still came.
>Bugs, beasts, serpents, creatures for which she had no name.
>They all rushed forward, endless, relentless.
>Lyra drew the blades and cast them into the fray.

>”Shakram? Give me those. Harden the eruptions behind us, undertow in the crowd.”

“With what?”

>”The tall ones had swords, use those!”

>Lyra didn’t know which ones he was talking about.
>But she did see long blades sticking out from the mess.
>Not swords of steel as she’d expected.
>She held in her telekinetic grasp long sharpened bones.
>She pulled it toward them to form a barrier.

>”No, in the middle of their ranks! Maximum damage, NOW!”

>She hesitantly complied, watching helplessly as they approached.
>Her master systematically struck everything that approached.
>Still they were being pushed back.
>The foe had not given up on getting past the flying swords.
>No matter how many were cut, how many fell, the maddened mass pressed forward, trampling the demons in the fore.


>”Eat shit!”

>The chakram dug into the ground and carved through unseen support structures.
>The ground collapsed into the sewers below.
>And with it the remaining aggressors.
>Her master fell to the ground panting.
>But there was no time for rest.
>The brawl to their rear had resolved and one of the millipede looking beasts was being held aloft, ready to be cast into the eruptions.
>It struggled and squirmed, desperately trying to escape its fate.
>Lyra hardened the shells on her eruptions.
>It was thrown in.
>And nothing happened.
>The instant it landed it began to crawl towards her.
>She wildly lashed out at it with the swords, sloppily and clumsily striking.
>She hit the ground more than anything else.
>One blow bisected the creature.
>Both halves fled in opposing directions.

>”Drag me into the highrise. Leave the swords, they’ll slow us down too much.”

>Lyra complied.
>It was a strange sensation walking into the interior of the building.
>The cacophony of the outside world was muted, the air cool and clean.
>Lyra calmed down ever so slightly.
>Only then did she realise just how scared she truly was.

>”Not good, Lyra. You’re better than this. I know you are. Get your head in the game.”

>Lyra accidentally screamed her response, wound up to her breaking point by the world around her.

“HOW ARE YOU SO CALM?”

>He ignored her question.

>”You’re trying not to kill them. I’m not surprised, it’s not in your nature. But it really is the right thing to do. They’re a blight, an abomination. Every second they draw breath is a tragedy.”

“I understand.”

>”Clearly you don’t. Watch the door to make sure they’re not getting through, would ya?”

>Lyra stared out the window.
>Enormous hoards of diseased monsters milled about sniffing around.
>Suddenly, and seemingly without cause, they erupted into an orgy of violence.
>Lyra couldn’t begin to guess which was on which side.
>Or even if there were any sides.

>”They’re clearly not accustom to urban engagement. They wasted most of their air superiority fighters in the early stages so it won’t take many good pegasi to take it back, and their attempts to sweep the streets are anything but thorough. It would be easy for a small, mobile force to cut a path through. Just like we did.”

“We control the skies?”

>”Not by a long shot. And we won’t for quite a while yet.”

>Lyra chanced a worried glance at him.

>”Help isn’t coming any time soon.”

“What?”

>”Small force, weak target. They can threaten a lot of damage with a minor investment. Use that to draw forces away from the real objective, then crush the divided enemy. This is a distraction.”

“A DISTRACTION?”

>”They don’t care about us. We aren’t a threat, we don’t have anything they want. But Ponyville is vulnerable and S.M.I.L.E. considers it valuable. They want to draw the agents away for awhile. But they know that. They’re not going to take the bait. We’re on our own for now.”

>No.
>No, this wasn’t happening!

>”The lords want to kill each other, right? Looks like one is making a move on the other, and they don’t want us to intervene. They’ll have to deal with that first, then close hell again before they can come here. Break’s over, let’s go. Knock down the wall to the left, will ya? We’ll bypass the hole in the streets.”

>Help wasn’t coming.
>They were on their own.
>This was the end.
>There was no escaping this mess, no hope of rescue.
>There were so many of them!
>They were all going to-

>”Wake up! Derpy needs us!”

“Right!”

>Lyra lashed out at the structure.
>The walls collapsed forming an opening the back alley
>A single surprised looking bat stood there, blood covering its face.
>Lyra swatted it away with a brick, snapping its wing.
>It began to rush away.
>Brook sliced into its neck with the chakram.

>”I get it. You don’t like wet work. Nopony does, no matter how much of it they do. It’s not in our nature. But you’d better get over it fast, we can’t afford to have you holding back. I’m basically tapped here, and we’ve still got a long way to go.”

“It was running away!”


>”What, you think it was going to go home and rethink its life? Come back a changed demon, maybe start fundraising for underprivileged foals? It’s a danger to ponies, and we can’t imprison it safely. That means it dies. Move.”

>This was a nightmare.
>A nightmare that refused to end.
>They reached the fortified walls ahead.
>Or what was left of them.
>The guard towers had toppled, the walls were smashed, thousands of demons milled about.

>”Well, so much for the princess’ preparations. Obviously they were worried it was coming, but looks like they didn’t know how bad it would be.”

“The bunkers!”

>”30 centimeters of steel. The riff raff won’t get through, we just need to worry about the big ones. Leave them.”

“Didn’t you say we had to get rid of them all?”

>”That group’s suicide, and we have ponies to save. Let’s go.”

>He was right.
>There had to be thousands of them milling about there.
>Clawing fruitlessly at the barriers.
>Striking them would only end one way.
>Wait.
>What the?

“There she is!”

>Lyra pointed upward at a pony desperately zipping about through the sky, trying to evade a flock or sickly looking birds.
>Their tattered feathers fell gently to the ground below as the soared, revealing pustules and necrotic flesh beneath.
>There were too many of them, and they were way too fast.
>Lyra reached out with her magic hoping, praying to get a grip on one of them.
>A pulse of mana shot out.
>The sudden surge was so brief, so quick, Lyra couldn’t make heads nor tails of it.
>It felt like raw mana.
>Without form.
>Without purpose.
>The birds fell from the sky as one.
>Their heads separated from their bodies in the blink of an eye.
>Tranquil Streams dropped to the ground on his rump, breathing heavily.
>Derpy fluttered to the ground still adorned in her chameleon suit.
>Dinky clung to her back in a death grip, eyes closed, whimpering.
>Derpy tried desperately to look at her daughter, to check on her.

>”We’re safe, it’s okay, don’t worry. You aren’t hurt are you?”

>Dinky looked fine.
>Physically, definitely not mentally.
>Derpy, however, had a puncture wound on her side.
>It wasn’t wide, nor was it deep.
>But the wound was leaking at an alarming rate nonetheless.

“You’re hurt!”

>Lyra tried to cover the wound with her magic.
>The blood stopped leaking.
>But she couldn’t do that forever.

“We need to cover it somehow! We need cloth of some sort!”

>Brook stood up slowly and wobbled his way over.

>”What about that vest you’re wearing?”

“We can try, but I don’t think I can tear it. How about Derpy’s suit?”

>”What the hell is she wearing anyway?”

>Derpy replied way too quickly.

>”Nothing!”

“It looks ruined anyway. Might as well. Hold still for a bit.”

>Lyra tore strips of the bizarre half metal fabric off and wrapped them around her friend’s barrel tightly.

>Brook chewed on his lip as he watched the work.

>”We need to get you to the hospital. Hopefully the princesses had enough foresight to fortify it.”

“Floor Bored is only a short detour on our way. Adds maybe 6 blocks.”

>Derpy gasped in shock.

>”I forgot all about Floor! Do you think she’s okay?”

>No.
>Brook put on a steely look of determination on his sagging face.
>He began walking once more.

>”We’ll get you to safety. Let’s go.”

>Derpy trotted after him.

>”Ow. See, ow, see Dinky? Ow. Uncle, ow, he, ow. Your uncle Brook is going to make it alright. Ow.”

“Wait, you two are related?”

>”Not really. Brook is just a family friend.”

“Wait, Brook? As in Babbling Brook?”

>He cast a quick glare at her.

>”Shut up, Lyra.”

“As in the legend that took on entire hives of pony sized ants unarmed? As in the pony that redesigned the eruption spell matrix so that it could be used in conjunction with other telekinetic spells? The superhero you keep mentioning is YOU?”

>”Babbling Brook is dead.”

>Derpy’s face twisted in confusion.

>”You- ow, look okay- ow, to me.”

>”Can we just focus? Now isn’t the time for this!”

>He was right, whoever he was.
>He grumbled to himself for a little while lost in whatever thoughts filled his mind.

>”Derpy, when you were up there did you see how many were left?”

>”A little under half left I think?”

>”Ha, really? You mean it?”

>He looked happier than Lyra had ever seen him.

>”We’re winning?”

>”But another group is on its way, way bigger than this one.”

>Brook screamed a word that no filly should ever hear.
>She didn’t seem to notice, still paralyzed by fear.
>He continued to wrack his brain.
>Lyra was beginning to fear whatever thoughts he was forming.
>Soon she’d find that she had good reason to be afraid.

>”We’ve gotta kill the greater demon.”

“WHAT?”

>”This force occupied the city. They did that after being cooked by that super weapon, while fighting through all the defences this city had. There’s no resistance left. That next army isn’t marching into hostile territory, they’re just here to harden the position. Make it as tough as possible to reclaim. Whatever that was that burnt them before doesn’t seem to be happening again, so it’ll be a more conventional fight. A force that big in an environment where you have to check your strikes, could take days to clean up. There’ll be nothing left by then. Nopony to save. The longer Ponyville is occupied the more fatalities we’ll have.”

>Lyra was still too afraid to truly feel despair.
>But it was coming fast.

>”But they’re horribly disciplined, and they seem to hate each other almost as much as they hate us. How many times have we seen them turn on each other?”

“Yeah, you’re right! Nearly every time!”

>”If that’s how they behave with their manager ordering them around, who knows what kind of chaos we’ll have once they’re on their own?”

“Okay, it’s a good plan, but there are two problems.”

>”What are they?”

“How do we find it, and can we actually beat it?”

>”No idea, and no idea. Unless you’ve got a better plan we’re doing it. Let’s see here, our cell is a geriatric, a foal, a klutz, and her daughter.”

“You listed Dinky twice.”

>”No I didn’t.”

“But, oh. HAY!”

>”And maybe a shut-in. Not exactly top tier. What intel have we got on the greater?”

“Not much, except that they’re harder to kill and have direct blessings from Eurynomos.”

>”What’s his deal?”

“Rotten prince. Currently the most powerful lord. Obsessed with poisons and disease.”

>”Damn it all, we need to hurry! Derpy’s been poisoned!”

>”But I feel fine. Ow.”

>That did seem odd.
>If she’d been poisoned shouldn’t she be showing some symptoms?
>Even so…

“I’d rather not take that risk.”

>She quickened her pace.
>The stench of death was everywhere.
>Crazed howls echoed through the streets at every turn.
>They did their best to avoid the sounds, to avoid confrontation, but it was ultimately futile.
>Every corner had a foul creature around it.
>Every bush was full of oversized worms and scavengers.
>Lyra routinely failed to catch them all.
>Brook stayed oddly silent at Lyra’s repeated failures.
>He didn’t speak at all until he spotted something of interest.

>”Hold.”

>The area they found themselves in was far more damaged than the norm.
>Some of the towers stood.
>But most of the buildings had been turned to rubble.
>What remained had been defiled.
>Desecrated.
>Marked with disgusting and vile runes.

>”Come, Lyra. You two stand back.”

>He lead her off to the side.
>Lyra wasn’t sure if she should fear or dread what was to come next.
>Perhaps both.

>”Look here, shoved in the trash can.”

“What will I see?”

>”Just do it.”

>Lyra poked her nose into the trash bin.
>She immediately regretted it.
>A heap of bones filled the bin, each of them cracked. Their marrow sucked out.
>Lyra shut her eyes and stepped back.

>”Pony. Mare, I think. If that doesn’t light a fire in you, then you’re a sack of shit.”

“WHY would you show me this?”

>”To get you to do your job! She who isn’t outraged in the face of such evils is immoral. Embrace the outrage. Embrace the hatred. If you don’t, more ponies are going to wind up like that. Move.”

>Lyra gazed down at the remnants.
>They were ruined beyond recognition.
>She had no clue who that pony once was.
>No clue what void had just been created.
>Were there orphans?
>A grieving widow?
>Heartbroken parents?
>How could anyone willingly cause such suffering?
>How?

>”I said MOVE!”

>Lyra pulled herself away, the image permanently burned into her mind.
>Derpy quickly trotted to catch up.

>”Ow. What, ow, was that, ow, about?”

>Dinky still clung tightly to her back.
>She still steadfastly refused to open here eyes.
>But she seemed to have calmed down if only slightly.

>”Momma, where are we?”

>”Umm, Oak street I think?”

“He was showing me, uhh…”

>They didn’t need to know.
>Derpy, despite it all, still bore her sweet and gentle smile.
>The relentless optimism that saw the beauty in the darkest times.
>There was no reason to risk that naivety.
>No matter how impossibly persistent it was.
>But what to say?
>Brook saved her.

>”A bunch of shed snake skin. Gotta keep an eye out for whatever left it. Should be fine though. Easy prey coming in. Remember what you saw.”

>About a dozen of the hairy beasts were approaching in the distance.
>They moved more slowly than the others.
>And their hair seemed to be matted and stained.
>Bloody.
>They were already wounded.

>”Remember what you saw. Wipe them out.”

>He was right.
>She really had no choice.
>It was wrong, so very wrong.
>But not doing it was worse.
>Lyra prepared an eruption.
>Her focus was all over the place.
>She might have killed those timberwolves before, she wasn’t really sure.
>But that had been an accident, she’d just been trying to scare them away.
>She might have helped with the bombs before.
>But that wasn’t actually her doing the killing.
>This was far more visceral.
>To personally end a life, to plan on doing so.
>It felt wrong.
>It WAS wrong.
>But it was necessary.
>Lyra cast the eruption into the crowd and hurled a barrage of broken skyscraper.
>Brook yelled out an angry growl.

>”They have a low, sloped profile. You’re just glancing off. Attack from the top and bottom!”

>She hammered their tops as hard as she could.
>The creatures reacted, howling in pain.
>They tried to avoid the incoming torrent of concrete and rebar.
>To no avail.
>Lyra followed them as well as she could.

>”You’re wasting time. Finish them!”

“I’m trying!”

>”You’re VERY trying! Go all out! Throw everything you can at them! Above or beneath, heavy attacks, NOW!”

>She prepared another eruption.
>No.
>Not one.
>A dozen.
>The creatures had given up on evading her blows.
>They were coming for the source.
>Coming to finish it.
>But they wouldn’t.
>Not if Lyra finished first.
>The eruptions fired out, sliding under their targets.
>Lyra positioned them right in the middle of the creature’s underbelly and released.
>The execution was sloppy and slow.
>A great deal of mana was wasted.
>Lyra’s head screamed at her, rebelling against the magic usage.
>But the monsters…
>Some had simply stopped moving.
>A few had ruptured, gore spilling out of their sides.
>One had been blown wide open.
>Its pulverised innards scattered everywhere.
>Lyra averted the gaze from the carnage she’d caused.
>A weight had formed in her stomach.
>Derpy stared at her, aghast.
>Horrified.
>Brook nodded.

>”Not terrible. Move.”

>Derpy shied away from Lyra ever so slightly.
>She averted her gaze.
>Lyra couldn’t keep her eyes off of the ruptured body.
>A slurry of ground meat spilled out from it despoiling the streets.
>She had made that.
>Her.
>The horrible and violent end was her creation.
>And not just one.
>No fewer than a dozen.
>That's not what magic was meant to be.
>Dinky was loudly sobbing as they walked through the carnage.
>Derpy refused to look at it, keeping her frightened gaze on Lyra.
>Brook took a moment to spit on one of the corpses.

>”See? That wasn't so bad. You did a good thing there Lyra.”

>It certainly didn’t feel good.
>Magic was meant to be a force for good.
>A power that came from within that was used to build a world of peace and harmony.
>She’d desecrated her magic.
>And yet she had to wonder…
>Was there any other way?
>Did she really have a choice?
>Brook started prodding her.

>”Stop spacing out and keep moving. Any clue why they were wounded?”

“No. I hadn’t stopped to think about that.”

>”You hadn’t bothered to think? Well colour me shocked.”

“Why are you ALWAYS so MEAN?”

>”Hard to tell how fresh the wounds were because they blew up, good job by the way, but I know from experience that those things are deceptively tough. I don't think small arms fire would do that much.”

“So we're not the only resistance left?”

>”I sure hope not.”

>The streets were relatively peaceful in this area.
>They traveled for several blocks seeing heaps of dead demons.
>But the only signs of life were the various larvae among the corpses. 
>They finally found something little more than a block away from Floor’s apartment.
>A small pack of clearly rabid black hounds could be seen cannibalizing their dead in an upscale saddle store.
>The dress foals behind the display windows stood tall and pristine aside the feeding frenzy.
>Brook signaled to stop.
>He spoke softly and slowly.

>”Shh. We'll engage from a distance. Just back away.”

>Derpy nodded curtly. 

>”Okay!”

>”Aaand now they see us. LYRA!”

>He didn't need to tell her, she was already on it.
>An eruption formed in the air. 
>The hounds burst through the glass, circling around to surround their prey.
>There were only 5 of them left.
>A small number by demon standards.
>But a huge number by Lyra standards.

>”Wong spell! They're way too fast!”

>Lyra threw her eruption at them successfully missing each and every one.

>”Undertow!”

>She grabbed the shattered glass once more and quickly surrounded herself and her friends in a swirling vortex.
>The razor sharp chaos kept the hounds at bay.
>But for how long?
>They continued to circle her.

“What now, Brook?”

>”It's MASTER to you! And I taught you better than this! What you do is ATTACK!”

“But if I do-”

>”Shut up and listen for once in your miserable life! I know FAR more about violence than you ever will. The chance at victory lies in the offensive. If you ever stop attacking you've lost. You must never cease the offensive! Push forward! Not one step back, Lyra, NOT A STEP!”

“BUT HOW? They're too fast!”

>”Do I have to hold your hoof at every step? Limit their mobility!”

>Limit their mobility…
>Casting enough eruptions to lock them in would be practically impossible.
>But there were other spells she could use.
>Lyra drank in the mana until she felt she was about to burst.
>A series of geyser strikes shattered every window in sight, broken glass raining down all about.

>”Scattering broken glass to cut up their paws? Not a bad idea. Not sure it's good enough though”

>No.
>Lyra had something else in mind. 
>The hounds howled into the air.
>It was a sickly, ephemeral cry that chilled the bone as it rang.

>”They're calling reinforcements. Hurry it up!”

>She lifted as much glass as she could.
>Lyra couldn't help but close her eyes, her mind almost totally focused on the task at hoof.
>This is necessary.
>I have no choice. 
>She formed the glass into a larger ring that surrounded both her and her foe.
>She shuddered with exhaustion as she brought the second ring to life.
>When Lyra opened her eyes the hounds were trapped between two gale force storms of razor sharp glass.
>She began to shrink the outer ring.
>It's them or us.
>I have to protect them.
>They're counting on me.
>The demons would kill us given the chance.
>Yet doubt still lingered.
>The hell hounds visibly panicked as their doom drew near. 
>Their cries grew ever more crazed, ever more desperate.
>They backed into the middle of their safe space in a bid to forestall their demise.
>The largest one, perhaps seeing no other option, lunged at Lyra.
>The silicate storm dug deep into their hide as they passed.
>And until they passed on.
>A heap of shredded, putrid meat landed at Lyra’s hooves.
>The only proof that the hell hound had ever stood before her.
>Lyra stared at the mound transfixed.
>She could not have imagined such a gruesome fate, not even in her darkest nightmares.
>But there it was.
>Caused by her horn.
>Borne of her magic.
>This was her doing.
>Agonized, wet shrieks and gurgles sounded out as the rest of the pack was consumed.
>The weak, pathetic calls snapped her out of her introspection.
>All around them was an enormous storm of blood soaked glass.
>She let the spell end.
>The sound of glass tumbling to the ground was deafening.
>And following it, there was naught but an unearthly silence.
>Brook was the one to finally break it.
>He started casually walking to their destination.

>”Brutal.”

>Derpy and Dinky hesitated to follow.
>Their eyes far too wide open.
>Their knees weak.

“Let’s, uhh, let’s go get Floor?”

>Brook called from up ahead.

>”I think I found why enemy forces are so thin.”

>Lyra rushed to catch up.
>What had at first looked like a mere sinkhole in the distance proved to be series of small craters.
>Whatever had crashed into the ground had moved on, leaving Lyra to wonder.
>Wonder at what had caused such destruction.
>There, flattened in the center of each crater, lie a twisted wreck.
>The crushed remains of heavy metallic vehicles that looked strikingly similar to the Nemesis tanks.
>They were a bit smaller, and lacked the missile batteries on the back.
>But their front mounted cannons were no smaller.
>The too broad streets suddenly made perfect sense, being just a bit broader than needed to hold the vehicles.

>”Looks like we had an armored division trying to clean up. They were sitting ducks. Nowhere to maneuver. Nowhere to run. They thought steel plates would protect them. I thought they would too.”

“Do you think they’re okay?”

>”They were squished, Lyra. Flattened thinner than a pancake. So yeah, they’re probably fine. I don’t know what did this, nothing I’ve seen today could do… THAT. Maybe our greater demon is nearby. Best be careful. Where’s the civilian?”

“Just over there. In the dilapidated apartment.”

>”Ugh. They live in that crap shack? Might be a mercy to just leave them.”

“The front door was ripped off… FLOOR!”

>Lyra dashed to the trashed building grabbing some broken concrete on the way.
>A massive rat nest had been constructed in the corner of the first landing.
>The foul stench of decay permeated every fiber of the building.
>The dark gloom seemed to cast an air of despair upon her as she climbed the stairs, coated in stained and torn carpet.
>Everything looked pretty much the same as last time she’d been here.
>But she could hear angry grunts coming from above.
>Lyra reached the top floor and came face to face with a trio and the twisted vultures.
>They squaked and grunted at Floor’s room.
>From time to time one would push another forward.
>But they’d retch at the horrible smell and recoil.
>It seemed as though Floor’s stench was too great even for the minions of Hell.
>One of them spotted Lyra and turned to her.
>Its one eye focused intently on her.
>The other was clearly blind, oozing pus at a steady rate.

“Nope.”

>She’d already prepared her strike, bashing them repeatedly with the concrete.
>They didn’t have a chance to react.
>Before long there was little more than a greasy smear in the hallways.
>Lyra burst through the door and searched the filthy darkened room.
>Soft crying could be heard from beneath a heap of filthy bedding.
>Lyra couldn’t help but notice the mould growing on the sheets as she hurled them aside with her magic.
>Beneath them lay one of the most pathetic sights she’d ever seen.
>A filthy, frail pony with sunken eyes stared up at her trembling.

“Come on, you’re not dying today!”

>Floor didn’t move.
>She seemed to be totally paralyzed by fear.
>Lyra gripped the frozen pony with her magic and loaded her on her back.
>She was disturbingly light for an Earth pony.
>But still heavy enough to slow Lyra’s pace.

“You have no idea how lucky you are.”

>She pulled Floor Bored down the stairs.
>Floor was hyperventilating, her panic attack growing worse with each step.
>When they finally reached the great outdoors she seized up.
>And blacked out.
>Derpy came rushing up to her.

>”Oh my goodness, Floor! What did they do to you?”

“I don’t think they did anything, actually.”

>Derpy grimaced at the words.
>Dinky continued to cling tightly to her mother’s back, but eyed both Floor and Lyra warily.
>Brook came running up.
>It was a strange sight seeing him move so quickly.

>”What the hell is that thing? Is it a demon? Better kill it quick.”

“This is the civilian!”

>”Learn to take a joke, idiot. Whoa. Looks like she’s been poisoned pretty bad. We’ve gotta get them to the hospital fast!”

“Y-yeah… let’s move!”

>They quickly headed to the hospital, practically sprinting by Brook’s standards.
>They were only two blocks away when they heard it.
>A constant stream of deep, gravelly gibberish.
>It sounded like somepony had snuck stimulants into the punch at an auctioneer’s convention.
>Something was spewing orders.
>Fast.
>Lyra and Brook stuck their heads around the corner to behold a true horror.
>It stood near as tall as an elephant, but near as long as a blue whale.
>Its thick, stubby legs thundered with each step, crushing the city streets beneath.
>Buildings toppled when it turned its sickly grey scale covered body.
>There was no visible mouth or eyes, but it had a clear “front”, the only part of its body without fungus growing from between each scale.
>From its oddly angular body came an unending stream of bone chilling sounds.
>Lyra couldn’t begin to guess at their meaning.
>A huge hoard of demons surrounded it, seemingly listening intently.

>”We have our greater.”

>Lyra didn’t answer, transfixed by the sheer number of hostiles she saw.

>”Alright. This is going to hurt. Lyra? You’re a good pony and a good student.”

“Wait, why are you saying this?”

>”I’m counting on you to get me to the hospital. I’m going to need it. I’m allergic to tetracycline, and I shouldn’t be given morphine.”

“What’s happening?”

>”I’m going to take it out.”

>Light began to pour from his eyes.
>Raw mana flooded the area, filling the air with a crackling power that escaped the eye.
>Lightning arced across his horn.
>Babbling Brook had just tapped Aquarius.

>”I’m counting on you to get me to safety.”

>His eyes went wide with realization.

>”Oh fuck, I’m counting on a civilian! FUUUUUUU-”

>A massive pulse of mana shot out.
>A horrendous torrent of rain began to shower down from above.
>No, not rain.
>Geyser strikes.
>The blows carved straight through flesh, scales, bone, and asphalt, all as though they were softer than molten butter.
>Rubbel, flesh, and blood shot into the sky and rained down all around.
>Seconds later there was a deep crater where the square once stood.
>Broken and twisted bodies lay scattered about, most of them unidentifiable.
>The giant lay still, its body perforated beyond repair.
>There was no movement.
>It was done.

“That was easier than expected.”

>Derpy caught up cautiously, a slow and gentle approach.

>”What happened?”

“He found the greater demon. It’s gone now.”

>”What’s that?”

>She gestured to an enormous worm, nearly half the size of a pony.
>And twice as long.
>It slithered out of the giant disturbingly quickly.
>How could anything possibly survive that?
>Unless…
>The giant wasn’t the greater demon.
>This thing was.
>This parasite had merely been riding it, using its body to make up for its own small stature.
>It reared up and opened its too small mouth to reveal too big fangs.
>It began to slither up toward Lyra moving far too quickly for something with no legs.
>And too quickly for something WITH legs.
>Lyra clumsily stumbled aside, accidentally spilling Floor on the ground.
>She landed hard, but didn’t react.
>Lyra wrested the chakram from Brook’s bags.
>She cast them out intent on blocking the demon’s path.
>It slithered through them effortlessly.
>Lyra grasped as much rubble as she could and prepared a thick cloud of destruction in its path.
>It had to die.
>It was necessary.
>She slammed into it as hard as she could with rock, asphalt, and bone.
>It slithered through rapidly.
>Unphased.
>Undeterred.
>The monster lunged at Lyra.
>She narrowly ducked away from its path, casting the chakram in its path.
>The monster caught on in its mighty fangs and bit down.
>The impossibly sharp blade shattered, bits of metal flying everywhere.
>Time seemed to stand still for Lyra.
>How could she possibly oppose this?
>It was incredibly fast.
>It had endured the full wrath of Babbling Brook, the former agent zero.
>And it had just bit through her ultimate weapon.
>This was hopeless.
>But she had to keep trying!
>The worm chased her as she tried to form an eruption.
>She struck out with all available weapons desperate to slow it down.
>It tried to wrap itself around her leg, but she barely managed to shoo it away with the chakram.
>Then something bizarre happened.
>The demon seemed to lose interest in Lyra.
>It rapidly turned around and lunged.
>Derpy took flight.
>Too slow.
>The fiend’s fangs sunk deep into Dinky’s flesh.
>She didn’t cry in pain.
>Or weep in fear.
>She simply fell limp, and tumbled to the ground.
>Lyra could hardly register what she was seeing.
>It shouldn’t have been possible.
>But there it was.
>It had decided to kill an innocent filly.
>A harmless young pony who was so full of life and hope.
>And this… THING, it had decided to destroy that.
>A terrible excitement flooded through Lyra’s mind.
>Heat filled her every extremity.
>Her blood seemed to boil.
>Because Lyra had been introduced to something brand new.
>Something beyond anger.
>Beyond rage.
>Beyond even fury.
>Lyra knew then that the thing before her was beyond any hope of redemption.
>It was a blight, a stain.
>Every second it continued to draw breath was a tragedy.
>Killing it wasn’t necessary.
>Killing it was GOOD.
>To destroy that thing, to wipe it from the face of the earth, that was a kindness.
>Lyra had learned to HATE.
>She drew in every drop of mana that she could find.
>Every fiber of her being burned with pain, her horn filled to the brim.
>But that didn’t matter.
>The pain she felt was NOTHING compared to what she would do.
>The rubble slammed into the creature with no hesitation.
>With no doubt.
>Each strike hammered home with a ferocity that Lyra could have never produced before.
>Every time it tried to move another thunderous blow would grind it back into the asphalt.
>The remaining chakram flew into it, but failed to find purchase.
>Their edges had been ruined.
>But that wasn’t important.
>Lyra didn’t need a weapon.
>She WAS a weapon.
>She drew some of the blood from the crater and formed it into a geyser strike.
>Tremendous blasts perforated the worm, each one being lost far beneath the surface.
>She surrounded it with rubble and dragged the monster into the pit, crushing it against the streets the whole way.
>A long slippery trail of unidentifiable fluid followed its path.
>Lyra didn’t have much left.
>But somehow she knew it would be enough.
>She began to form the biggest eruption of her life.
>The massive orb of gases shrank quickly.
>It glowed with heat.
>The worm lie on the ground.
>Unmoving.

“OPEN YOUR MOUTH!”

>It didn’t respond.

“OPEN YOUR DAMN MOUTH!”

>Nothing.
>She stomped on it with her hooves a few times before finally prying its mouth open.
>The oversized eruption was fed into it, pushed in deep.
>Lyra finally grabbed the worm with her magic and threw it into the sky.
>The eruption detonated as it reached the peak of its arc.
>A mist of gore fell down to the city below.
>The greater demon was dead.
>And the world was better for it.

                                                *       *       *       *       *

>She had done it.
>Lyra had destroyed the demon.
>But not all was well.
>For one thing, Lyra had a headache.
>Not because of the magic use, though that wasn’t helping.
>The cause of her headache was a shrill piercing shriek that seemed to fill the entire city.

>”AAAAAAA- ow- AAAAAAA- ow- AAAAAAA- ow- AAAAAAA!”

>Dinky lay on the ground in a pool of her own blood.
>Totally still.
>Totally lifeless.
>Derpy hastily grabbed the filly and bolted, moving far quicker than Lyra had ever seen her fly.
>Lyra called out to her, warned her to be careful.
>To no avail.
>Derpy was long gone.
>She turned to assess the rest of her group.
>Floor was still catatonic.
>Brook was moving.
>Kinda.
>He was twitching one leg ineffectually.

>”Damn.”

>His voice was weak and raspy.

“Brook!”

>“Heart attack, I think. Can't walk.Time is a factor, but don't forget the civilian.”

>She had to get him out of here.
>There would be time to worry about Dinky later.
>Hopefully.
>Right now she had to finish the job.
>Lyra smashed a nearby bench and made a makeshift sled.
>She loaded Floor on first.
>Then piled Brook on top of her.
>He groaned with pain between ragged and short breaths.
>She hauled them to the hospital as quickly as she could, praying to the stars above that she'd be on time.
>That nothing would get in her way. 
>They seemed to accede.
>The path was far from clear, but the demons weren't interested in her.
>Only a scant few even noticed her.
>All around her fel beasts and horrors fought with each other.
>They'd cry or howl as though to signal their dominance after every blood soaked kill.
>But no matter how many fell another challenger would rise to claim supremacy.
>The pecking order in chaos, Lyra was free to walk past the orgy of blood to her destination.
>The demons grew progressively more numerous as she approached.
>The sounds of brutality were deafening, each step a cacophony of madness.
>Travelling through the horror grew ever more challenging, more and more corpses heaped up around her.
>Every step she took toward the hospital revealed more and more evil forces.
>There was but one explanation that she could think of.
>They had been planning on besieging it.
>Right up until the greater demon perished, their goal was to flatten the hospital.
>To end any chance of recovery for the wounded.
>Their evil was nigh on unfathomable.
>But eventually she saw it.
>The light at the end of the tunnel.
>It had clearly been a battlefield, but it stood.
>Fallen monsters were scattered everywhere, hung up in the long coils of razor wire, perforated by the firearms mounted on the roof.
>The area was oddly silent in the hellscape, no signs of life from either side.
>She cast the razor wire aside with her magic and rushed through the front.
>She was immediately met by a pair of orange rubbery figures.
>Two ponies clad in hazmat suits barred her path.
>But only for a moment.
>A stallion’s voice yelled.

>”We’ve got more wounded!”

>They ran in and separated Brook and Floor.
>Another pair clad in hazmat suits ran in with a stretcher.

“The stallion’s in worse shape. I think the mare is just freaking out.”

>They scurried away with the broken unicorn in tow.
>It was out of Lyra’s hooves now.
>She could only hope.
>The two who’d first met her were examining Floor as she lay on her namesake.
>The second, a mare apparently, seemed very concerned.

>”She looks way more sickly than the other patients.”

>”Yeah, but it’s all wrong. This isn’t what we were told to look out for at all.”

>”She’s clearly terribly ill.”

>”But she’s not showing any of the symptoms. If I didn’t know better I’d just say she was malnourished and underweight.”

“That’s actually exactly what it is. She wasn’t wounded. At least I don’t think she was. We've got bigger problems than her. Did a pegasus with a hurt unicorn filly get here?”

>They both gestured down the hallway marked “Intensive Care”.
>Screaming could be heard coming down the corridor.

“D!”

>Lyra ran toward the source of the noise.
>The two ponies called to her in unison, but she ignored them.
>She rushed through and shoved her way through the double doors.
>The screaming grew far louder.
>It took only a moment to find Derpy.
>She stood before a locked door, clawing and bashing against it in a desperate attempt to get in.
>A mare in a hazmat suit stood near her trying to calm her.
>She was failing.

>”We’re doing everything we can for your daughter, please stay calm-”

>”AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

>”Ma’am, we’ve got our best-”

>”AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

>Derpy’s screams were ear splitting.
>A high pitched roar of terror and anguish that pierced into Lyra’s very soul.
>Lyra channeled her curse and tapped her friend.
>The screaming stopped.

>”Thank you.”

“I want answers.”

>”We need to get the two of you decontaminated-”

“No, shut up. Answers! How is she?”

>”We’re doing everything we can-”

“Not an answer. How is she?”

>”We’ve got the best doctors available working to help her.”

>Not an answer.
>They were dodging the question.
>Lyra had long ago run out of patience.
>She let out a low growl.

“I just carved my way through the city to get these ponies here. You're scared of the demons? Well they're scared of ME. You will be too if you don't start talking. How is she?”

>The pony backed away a few steps.
>Lyra could almost hear her swallow her fear.

>”Critical condition. They’re trying but it doesn’t look good.”

>Little wonder Derpy was in a panic.
>If only she’d been better.
>If only she’d fought a little harder.
>If only…

“The mother is wounded, possibly poisoned. I want both her and her daughter saved. Don’t fail me.”

>This was a catastrophe.
>Those two deserved better than this.
>EVERYPONY deserved better than this.
>But ESPECIALLY those two.
>Lyra had to do something.
>But it was out of her hooves now.
>Could she help others out there?
>Not really.
>The demons weren’t interested in the ponies anymore.
>She didn’t know where to look for stranded or wounded ponies.
>Going outside was risky.
>Maybe the best thing she could do was let them take care of themselves.
>The time for action had passed.
>She was powerless.
>Again.
>Lyra walked away.
>Or at least she intended to.
>The pony behind her spoke sheepishly.
>But to her credit, she spoke.

>”You need to get decontaminated.”

“Excuse me?”

>”We’re wearing these suits for a reason. Go back to the front, you’re diseased.”

“Seriously?”

>She felt fine.

>”I’ll deal with the wounded pony, you go get cleaned up. You’re tracking diseased blood everywhere.”

>They sounded scared.
>But other things were coming through.
>Frustration, exhaustion, depression...
>Lyra turned around.
>Sure enough there was a long trail of bloody hoofprints through the entire building.
>A series of smears and marks written in the sanguine remains of Hell’s denizens.
>She should have been disgusted or horrified.
>Should have been.

“Tell me the moment we know more about the filly.”

>Lyra returned to the front, her mind racing wildly.
>This was her fault.
>She wasn’t good enough.
>If only she’d been a little stronger.
>If only she’d practiced a little more.
>If only.
>Dinky might die.
>And it was her fault.
>This was all because of her weakness.
>Her laziness.
>Her fears and doubts.
>The ponies at the front told her to follow.
>She complied, but she wasn’t really listening.
>Her body was present.
>But her mind was far, far away.
>She thought the fight over in her head a thousand times a minute.
>Every little thing she could have done different.
>Every little slip up.
>It wasn’t an easy fight.
>But she could have done better.
>Dinky didn’t need to get hurt like that.
>This was entirely her fault.
>The ponies stripped her of her vest and began to search her.
>Their investigation ceased almost immediately.

>”Yup. She’s got mites. Definitely infected.”

>”She’s covered in their blood, of course she’s infected. Burning Plague doesn’t need much to get in.”

>The words brought Lyra out of her reverie.

“Burning plague?”

>That sounded…
>Bad.

>”Don’t worry, you’ll be okay. It responds well to antibiotics. But you can’t leave until we’re sure you’re not contagious. Let’s get you cleaned up.”

“Do the others have it?”

>”It’s extremely contagious.”

>Derpy was wounded, probably poisoned, and diseased.
>Dinky was the same but worse.
>Brook was half dead.
>She was a failure.
>The two of them escorted Lyra into a broad, spacious shower.
>Lyra retreated further into her own head as they washed her coat with a caustic shampoo.
>Her hide burned and itched.
>The physical discomfort did nothing to distract from her mental anguish.
>She soon found herself alone once more, stuck in the quarantine wing on the third floor.
>All the rooms were reserved for ponies who were actually hurt, she was stuck in the hall.
>She gazed lazily out the window.
>The sun hung high in the sky despite the late hour allowing her to see clearly.
>The horrors were very thin on the ground, their infighting having culled the herd.
>Some demons still roamed the streets, but not many.
>Their constant struggle for dominance had cost them dearly, and still they fought.
>Were they trying to determine who was worthy of being the new greater?
>Were they simply consumed in mindless rage?
>Perhaps they weren’t even capable of anything other than bloodshed.
>With the adrenaline drained from her body Lyra found herself unbelievably tired.
>Her eyelids were the heaviest things she’d ever felt.
>She leaned against the wall and drifted off.
>Several hours passed in dreamless slumber.
>Lyra was gently prodded awake by one of the staff.
>She groggily returned to the waking world feeling far more tired than when she’d fallen asleep.
>She couldn’t identify them through the suit, but she recognized the voice.
>The one she’d threatened.

>”You wanted to know how the patient was doing.”

“Yeah. Sorry for threatening you earlier. It’s been a long day. I know that doesn't make it okay.”

>”We’ve done everything we can.”

>No.

>”But the prognosis isn’t good.”

>NO.

>”We’re doing what we can to make her comfortable.”

>No.
>Dinky wasn’t dying.
>That wasn’t an option.
>Lyra REFUSED to accept that reality.
>Maybe these ponies couldn’t do anything for her.
>But Applejack had been completely mangled, and she was still around.
>S.M.I.L.E. had medicine they weren’t sharing.
>And Lyra was going to get it.
>Through whatever means were necessary.
>Lyra stood up and started marching to the exit. 

>”Please, you have to understand-”

“I know you can’t help her. But others can.”

>The question was how to get them to share their medicine.
>She could threaten to deploy the virus.
>That was easiest.
>But she had to consider more extreme options.
>How far was Lyra willing to go?

“Okay. Plan.”

>Find a princess.
>Tell them about Dinky.
>Demand help.
>Threaten virus.
>If that wasn't enough?
>Take hostages?
>Take PRINCESS hostages.
>Celestia would be a good target.
>And if that didn’t work?
>Lyra hoped she didn’t have to go that far.
>It was time to get ahold of a princess.
>As it turned out Lyra didn’t have to search for long.
>The door burst open.
>Three ponies clad in hazmat suits walked in, the middle one lagging behind a bit.
>The slow one started yelling with a familiar voice.
>Twilight Sparkle had arrived.

>”We need to check on the bunkers, see if there are any other breaches. 17, you’re on it.”

>One of her escorts ran off without a word.

>”Nurse! Prepare for more infected. We’ve got lots of them coming. Wait. Lyra?”

>Something far in the back of Lyra’s mind was surprised.
>Surprised that Twilight recognized her.
>But the rest of her consciousness was focused on something far more important.

“Derpy’s daughter is terminal. You’re going to save her.”

>Lyra couldn’t see her face.
>But she could still feel the shock that hit Twilight.

>”NURSE! Where is Dinky?”

>Twilight knew Derpy and her daughter?
>Just how well connected was that pony?

>”In the ICU, your majesty!”

>Twilight began to gallop away.
>Lyra followed.
>They moved swiftly through the overly bright corridor.
>Lyra wasn’t certain if this was where Dinky was earlier.
>She’d been in too much of a hurry to take note of her surrounding.
>If it was, her trail had been cleaned up.
>Twilight pushed through the door as though she owned the place.
>She wasn’t even across the threshold when she started yelling.

>”Where’s the doctor? I want answers now!”

>”Your highness!”

>Yet another pony in an orange hazmat suit bowed to her.

>”The filly, tell me what's wrong!”

>”We don’t know. Her organs are just shutting down.”

>”BAH! That could be ANYTHING! What happened to her?”

>”I don’t know!”

“I do.”

>They both snapped their attention to Lyra.

“Bit by a massive worm that was living inside a giant monster.”

>”Uh…”

>Twilight drawled for a moment trying to process the words with her messed up brain.
>Something about what Lyra had just told her didn’t make sense.
>Perhaps all of it.
>She didn’t seem too involved in the Hell mess.

>”Heart. I hope you’re on your way. Yes, yeah. Well hurry!”

“Twilight? Who are you talking to?”

>Twilight ignored her.

>”We’ve got a bad one. Unicorn foal, blonde. Yeah. Oh, you know Derpy too? Well, I was just- Okay! SORRY! We don’t know what’s wrong with her! Uh huh. Right. I don’t know, but I’ve got somepony here who claims to have seen it. Lyra? What was it again?”

“Giant worm with a strangely small mouth and enormous fangs. It was inside of a giant monster but crawled out after it died.”

>Lyra could hear a voice screaming from inside Twilight’s suit.
>She couldn’t quite follow what they were saying.
>But she caught a few tidbits.
>”Greater demon, Stygian, venom, and replace” came through.
>Most importantly though…

>”Right away!”

>Twilight rubbed her ears in pain.
>Lyra could only imagine how loud that was for her.

>”Help is coming. Purple Heart will be here any minute. He’s saved ponies from all sorts of horrible things, if anypony can do this it’s him. Wait, repeat? Right. Right away. Okay, we need to prepare an operating theater. Let’s move, ponies!”

>She began to walk away thin, trembling legs.
>But walk she did, and swiftly too.
>Twilight Sparkle thought there was a chance to save Dinky.
>And she was going for it.
>But her eagerness seemed odd.
>This wasn’t the Twilight Lyra had talked to so recently.
>That Twilight was broken.
>This one was driven.
>What had changed?
>Was it merely that the task before her was more real?
>More visceral?
>Was it that she thought the job easier, or at least less hopeless?
>Had something invigorated her?
>Maybe she’d just taken another dose of her drug.
>Lyra could only guess.
>Whatever the case, she’d done what she could for Dinky.
>It was out of her hooves now, she could only hope.
>It was time for Lyra to go.
>To check on the others.
>But she couldn’t help but wonder.
>Just how bad was it?
>She crept toward the door dreading what she might see.
>It creaked open.
>And what she saw was forever burned into her mind.
>Dinky lay on a hospital bed, wrapped up tightly in thick blankets.
>Her neck was swollen horribly, turning her face into a distorted parody of a filly’s visage.
>It seemed as though they’d given up on any hope of her breathing through the swollen neck, instead electing to punch a hole into her trachea, leading a clear plastic tube down the wound.
>Her hooves were bound tightly, possibly to keep her from pulling her air supply out.
>A series of I.V. drips had been hooked up to her, filling her unmoving body with various clear liquids.
>it was a deeply disturbing sight to look at her lying there.
>Far too still for one who was merely sleeping.
>Indistinguishable from a corpse.
>It was too much.
>To know it was happening was one thing.
>To see it played out before her was something else entirely.
>Too real.
>Lyra sat herself in the corner.
>And began to softly weep.
>There was nothing else left to do.
>No more than half an hour had passed before she heard galloping coming her way.
>Lyra had run out of tears to shed, but still misery and dread permeated every corner of her mind.
>She raised her head and could see Dinky being wheeled away through puffy eyes.
>Twilight Sparkle watched as they extracted the filly.
>She collapsed in the ground the moment the door was closed.
>She produced a bottle of pills and pulled a few out, only to groan in frustration when her suit stood in the way of the drug.

“What are her chances?”

>”Not bad. Not great either, but not bad. I've seen ponies survive worse. Why did this have to happen?”

“You tell me.”

>You're the ones that opened Hell after all.

“What’s wrong with her anyway?”

>”I can't disclose-”

“Oh, shove it.”

>It took Twilight a moment to reply.

>“Lyra?”

“I'm sick of being lied to. There are DEMONS walking our streets, and you knew it was coming!”

>She took on a crude affectation of Celestia as she continued to speak.

“Oh, remain calm, a few monsters might escape Tartarus but don't worry we have everything under control. Never mind that we're fortifying every major city and funneling ponies out of the countryside. Don't mind that we have giant armored carts hidden in Ponyville. Oh, we've stockpiled enough firearms to turn every guard into a walking apocalypse. But don't worry everything's fine.”

>She snorted with derision, returning to her normal voice.

“You knew this was coming. You've known for a long time. Equestria is burning all around you and you just sit there prittely and say that everything's fine.”

>”We had no idea what was coming nor when! We had to be ready for anything. We thought we were.”

“And now, after all that, you have the gall to expect that I'll believe you.”

>”I'm telling the truth though.”

“Who taught you how to lie, Applejack? If you didn't know anything why do you now know they're plague carriers? Why do you have a name for the disease? Why do you know what drugs it responds to? You knew EXACTLY what was coming. I'd bet you knew when, too.” 

>Silence hung for a while.
>An awkward, heavy silence that seemed inescapable.
>Lyra was furious.
>Furious at the filthy wretch she sat with.
>Furious with herself for revealing how much she knew.

>”What should we have done?”

“Hm?”

>”We tried to stop them from escaping. Didn't work. We tried to stop them after they reached Elysium. Didn't work. We prepared for the worst just in case. We raised the alarm as soon as we knew they were coming. What should we have done differently?”

“You could have told us. Isn’t honesty supposed to be a big deal for you? It’s one of the elements.”

>”What would that have accomplished? You’d just freak out. Wouldn’t stop it from coming, it'd just make things worse. We'd have stampedes everywhere, even before they escaped.”

>Lyra wasn’t sure what to say.
>Twilight had just admitted it.
>And explained WHY they were lying.
>And to her chagrin, Lyra couldn’t disagree.
>It still seemed wrong.
>They sat in silence for a while longer.
>Occasionally the maddened cry of an otherworldly horror would ring.
>But between the dying howls things were unnaturally quiet.

>”Why are you so hostile? I thought we were friends.”

“We were. Once. Then you abandoned us all for a group of mares you’d just met. Years of memories all thrown away in the blink of an eye, without so much as saying goodbye. You go for YEARS without writing a letter or stopping by for a visit, despite being in Canterlot every other week from what I can tell. Hay, I LIVED in Ponyville for YEARS and you never stopped by. Not ONCE. You ABANDONED us, Twilight. And you have the NERVE to call yourself the princess of Friendship? You’re a joke.”

>”Yup. You’re right.”

>There was no hesitation, no delay.
>Twilight agreed instantly.

>”I’m not fit to be princess of friendship. I’m not fit to be princess of anything. It's just too complicated. Too much. I can't take it anymore.”

>She let out a ragged sigh.

“You broke Moondancer.”

>”I know. I'm not going to ask you to forgive me.

>Somehow, Lyra just couldn't find it in her heart to be mad at the wretch any longer.
>Broken spirit.
>Broken body.
>This was a shadow of a pony.
>A life torn asunder by the terrible burden she carried.
>Muzzle pressed to the grindstone for an impossible task until there was nought left save for dust.
>A task that she had taken upon herself to protect Equestria.
>Twilight was no villain.
>She was a failed heroine.
>A guardian who no longer had the strength to go on.
>What she'd done to Moondancer was abhorrent.
>But up until recently, she'd been trying her hardest.
>That had to be worth something.

>”I've gotta get going. I don't have time to sit around.”

>She slowly and clumsily stood up and moved to the door.
>Lyra interrupted her when she opened it.

“Wait. Obviously things didn't work out like you'd planned, but… thanks for trying. And I'm sorry I yelled at you. Yeah, some of them got here. But most of them didn't. That's worth a lot. So… thank you. And don't be so hard on yourself?”

>Twilight left without answering
>Lyra groaned.
>There had to be something she could do to help that pony.
>But really, what was there?
>Something to think about.
>There was no point in staying here any longer.
>In an empty room, alone.
>Surrounded by despair.
>Lyra left to look for Babbling Brook.
>Or Tranquil Streams.
>Or whatever his name was.
>It didn’t take long before she found the old stallion lying in a hospital bed in a small, private room.
>She walked in.

>”Fuck off, I don’t- oh. Lyra. How is she?”

>His voice was weak.
>Shakey.
>Not much stronger than when she’d last seen him.

“Dinky? We don’t know yet.”

>”I see. The others?”

“Not sure about Derpy either. Floor’s fine. Well, aside from the burning plague.”

>”Yeah. Heard about that. Not looking forward to it. What about number 1? Or 0. Or whatever she is now.”

“Well, I don’t know. It’s still numb, but…”

>”Yeah. Honestly I’m getting worried too. For something that big to get out, well… they didn’t exactly slip by. Is the invasion over?”

“Kinda. Help is here, and there aren’t many left.”

>”Good. It’s foggy, but I saw the infighting on our way here. They’ll have no trouble cleaning up. Probably take months to hunt down all the stragglers, but by and large Ponyville's safe. Just hope nowhere else got hit.”

>She hasn't even considered that.
>If it was a distraction then of course they'd hit everywhere they could.
>Split S.M.I.L.E. up as much as possible.

“How bad is it?”

>”Not my first heart attack. But definitely the worst.”

>Not the first?
>That sounded bad.

>”High blood pressure all my life. Stressful job.”

>He stayed quiet for a while aside from the heavy breathing.
>He seemed exhausted by a simple chat.

“I should let you rest.”

>”Nah. Stay a while, would ya?”

>Did he of all ponies want company?
>That didn't sound right.

>”Never really recovered from the last one. Not going to recover from this one. Going to need a pacemaker. Getting old sucks.”

“Better than the alternative.”

>”Hard to argue with that.”

>There were no chairs in sight.
>Lyra sat on the floor, leaning against the wall.

>”How about you? How do you feel?”

“Like I ran a thousand marathons. And you did this for years. I suppose you get used to it eventually.”

>”Not really. And I didn’t do it every day, hay, not even every month. No matter how good of shape you’re in once the adrenaline leaves your system you fall apart. Doesn’t matter how many times you do it. Honestly I’m surprised you haven’t fallen asleep.”

“I did. For a while.”

>He closed his eyes, but didn’t stop talking.

>”You did well by the way. Solid hits.”

>Lyra might have been surprised had she cared.
>A compliment from him was beyond odd.

“Can’t have been that good.”

>”It survived my Torrent. It had to be pretty tough.”

“But-”

>”And not just any torrent. MINE. There shouldn’t have been anything left after that. Hopefully nothing important was underground there like water lines, ‘cause if there was it’s gone. Those things are tough, and you beat it.”

>Lyra didn’t know what to say.
>And she didn’t care.
>There were far more important things to think about.

>”Look, kid. I know what you’re going through. It’s not worth beating yourself up over.”

“It’s my fault. It’s all my fault. She was counting on me and I failed her.”

>Lyra collapsed on the floor and covered her face with her legs.

“I was too slow! I just, I, but…”

*SNIFF*”

“Dinky’s going to die and it’s all my fault! If I’d practiced more or tried harder or been less stupid she’d be fine!”

>Lyra tried to hold her tears in.
>She failed miserably.

>”Stop being such a faggot.”

“She’s hurt because of me! She might die because I wasn’t better!”

>”Yup. That’s true.”

>Lyra knew it was.
>She’d already figured that out for herself.
>Even so, hearing the words aloud.
>It was like an icy dagger to her heart.

>”But she might not die because you weren’t weaker. The greater demon’s dead, so the city’s mostly safe. Dinky might live. The rest of us should. It wasn’t perfect, but it could have been far far worse. Sometimes victory isn’t binary. You didn’t fail, you mostly succeeded. And you did it against a hell of a tough foe.”

>It was a cold comfort.

“I just feel so weak. So useless.”

>”I’ve been there. Yeah, the great number zero. I felt weak all the time. Look, the stronger you are the weaker you feel. When you’re totally powerless you’ve no clue just how weak you are. You don’t have the means to size up others, to compare yourself to them. Sure, the weak can recognize that there are others stronger than them, but they can’t comprehend just how big the gap is. Early on you progress quickly and start to delude yourself into thinking you can be the best. That it’s just a matter of time before you reach the top. As you actually start to put the work in you start to get a vague idea of just how high the top really is. It takes more and more effort to get smaller and smaller gains until you’re going months without noticeable improvement. Eventually you realize that you’ll never reach the top, not because you’re lazy but because the top is unreachable. The fact that you are able to understand your own weakness is proof of your strength.”

>That was dumb.
>He was just trying to make her feel better.
>Except that he was a jerk.
>Maybe he was telling the truth?

“But why me? Why is it my responsibility?”

>”You ever hear that with great power comes great responsibility?”

“Yeah?”

>”It’s a load of crap. Fact of the matter is that everypony’s responsible for their own safety. You can’t count on others to protect you all the time no matter how nice that’d be. The guard can’t be there for you all the time, nor can S.M.I.L.E., you can’t expect them to save you. But you can expect yourself to be ready when it hits the fan. You can learn to protect yourself. You can prepare. You can be an adult. Or you can just blindly fumble through life hoping that you get lucky like they do. You’re not responsible to protect them. They’re irresponsible. They’re just lucky you were there.”

>None of this made sense.
>It was all wrong.

“I’m just so confused. I was so scared, and so angry. And… I think I wanted to kill it?”

>”So?”

“No, I didn’t just want it gone. I didn’t just want it dead! I wanted to be the one that did it. What’s happening to me?”

>”You became an adult. Left behind childish delusions, if only for a moment. Finally learned to hate.”

>Hate.
>The ugliest word of all.

“I think I feel sick.”

>”An idiot might tell you that things are complicated. Fact is that they’re simple, you’re just delusional. You've spent your whole life sheltered by the richest, most powerful nation in history. Your perspective is one of utopian abundance and absolute safety. You've been spared the rod too many times and now you think you can live however you wish with no consequences. You have no perspective outside of this tiny little bubble of luxury you live in. Simply put, you're spoiled rotten. There’s nothing wrong with hatred, never has been. Hate is a driver for change, nothing more. If something is wrong why should you not change it? If something is vile why should you not hate it?”

“But that’s-”

>He completely ignored the interruption, choosing instead to talk over her.

>”These days everyone’s been raised on a slurry of platitudes about forgiveness and friendliness. Told that kindness can make a hostile beast docile. That generosity won’t be abused. Crap like that. They’re so messed up they can’t even tell up from down. They think that anger is wrong. That hatred is immoral. That violence is evil. They’ve decided that they have to love and tolerate everyone, regardless of the consequences. They come up with all this complex nonsense to try and describe what’s right and what’s wrong, never daring to think that maybe there’s a difference between unpleasant and bad. Always trying to wedge bizarre and arbitrary rules into their morality. They debate whether or not theft can be justified or when lying is okay looking for some ephemeral good and evil. Truth is it’s very simple. Protecting your kind is good. Endangering them is bad. That’s really all you need.”

“But-”

>”We’re alive because you hated the demon. Yes or no?”

“It’s-”

>”Yes or no.”

“You’re missing the point.”

>”Yes or no! It’s not a complicated question.”

“Yes…”

>”There ya go. Hatred protected someone you care about, that makes it good. Don’t you forget it.”

>There had to be some kind of mistake.
>This was all so wrong.

“Doesn’t hatred corrode the soul? Turn you into a monster?”

>”Who told you that?”

“Princess Celestia.”

>”And you trust her? Do you have any idea how often she lies?”

>Huh.

>”She has a lousy perspective. She’s weak, and instead of fixing that she’s convinced herself that weakness is a virtue. That wouldn’t be so bad except that everypony looks up to her. Now it’s permeated our whole society. I have often laughed at the weaklings who thought themselves good because they have no claws. I’ve often laughed at Celestia herself. Sometimes to her face. Her view works well enough when there are just a few individuals. Things can get messy on small scales where you’re dealing with small numbers. This harmony stuff isn’t so bad on a school’s playground. But on the large scale it’s very simple. Protect yourself and your own. Make sure they continue to exist. That’s all you need.”

>It seemed far too simplistic.
>Something had to be missing.

>”I noticed you had a lot of trouble against fast enemies. You need a quicker attack. That spell I used to save Derpy. Rip current, I thought it was out of your league, that you’d need at least a decade more training before it was worth considering. I was wrong. If you can synthesize ley lines you should be able to pull it off.”

>Not good.

>”Don't worry, I won't tell. It's not something I can do but I still think I understand. You don’t want ponies nagging you to teach them.”

>That too.

>”I nagged Luna for over a year and she just couldn't explain it. She really tried, but it didn't work.”

“It's easy to do, but I can't put it in words. The mana just moves in a way it shouldn't.”

>”Luna says mana isn't limited to 3 dimensional space, that's how it can be used to reach other dimensions. But it also means the magic itself can move through that space. It appears to relocate instantly just like with teleportation. But neither our language nor our minds are equipped to understand hyperspace. If you happen upon it by accident you can repeat the motions, but it's impossible to understand or to explain.”

“And since every horn is different, using the exact same motions doesn’t work for others.”

>”This is uncharted territory we’re going into, it’s not like every spell has been designed for freaks like yourself. But my understanding is that synthetic ley lines are simpler to use than the basic ones. You’ll have to adapt the spell for yourself, but if you can do it you’ll… well you’ll never master it. I haven’t. But you can get pretty good.”

>THAT wasn’t mastery?
>He decapitated a flock of birds in less than a second!

>”Not going to lie, you probably won’t ever do it as well as I. But even so it’ll be a potent addition to your repertoire. What you do is you-”

>A loud high pitched screaming echoed all around them.

>”Is you go check on Derpy. Get moving!”

“Right!”

>Lyra’s body felt much heavier than usual, but she climbed up anyway.
>She wandered the hospital blindly looking for the source of the noise.
>It grew ever more painful to hear as she approached.
>Until finally she pushed through a set of doors to find the source.
>Derpy was clad in a hospital ground dragging an I.V. pole behind her.
>Standing by an operating theater.
>Screaming.
>Somepony in a hazmat suit was following them.
>A magical aura clamped Derpy’s mouth shut.
>Her screaming could still be heard, but not nearly as loudly.

“LET HER GO!”

>Twilight Sparkle replied from under the hood.

>”She’s SUPPOSED to begetting her wound cleaned! Listen, I know you’re worried about your daughter, but you’re full of demon larvae! We need to get them out!”

“Oh. Wait, WHAT? Demon larvae? That’s a problem!”

>”Ya think? But she’s refusing to get them taken care of!”

>Derpy continued screaming through her closed mouth.
>Somehow, despite all common sense, she managed to sound both frightening and pathetic.

“She's not going to do what you want until she knows how her daughter is doing.”

>Or Lyra could knock her out.
>In front of Twilight.
>Revealing she knew a spell that didn't officially exist.
>Bad idea.
>Twilight nodded and turned to face Derpy.

>”Look. We have the best surgeon alive working on it. He's never lost a patient.”

>It seemed as though the fates themselves had chosen this day to mess with Twilight.
>No sooner had the words left her lips than shouting pierced the doorway.
>A husky voices mare cried out in panic.

>”No, damn it! I can't bury another patient! I just can't!”

>Derpy’s eyes bulged out.
>Twilight sheepishly continued.

>”At least, not that I know of. Either way Dinky didn't get hurt that badly-”

>”There's almost as much venom as blood here! How is she even alive?”

>”They've saved ponies from much worse-”

>”I've never SEEN kidneys this black!”

>”Are you done? Good grief!”

>She waited a moment for the doctor to stop talking before she opened her muzzle once more.

>”Okay. I think it's safe. We have a procedure for this kind of thing, and we've done it before. She's got great odds.”

>”We're losing blood”

>”Which isn't a big deal because they can give her a transfusion.”

>”She's flatlining!”

>”Good thing they're equipped for such things.”

>”No, she's on oxygen don't use the- great! Now she's on FIRE!”

>Lyra couldn't see Twilight’s face.
>But she found herself imagining a look halfway between bewilderment and exasperation.

>”Come on! Seriously?”

>”Her heart’s a lost cause now. Let's get it out.”

*THUD*

>They both turned to the source of the noise to find that Derpy had fainted.

“Poor girl. Both of them. Are you SURE this is a good surgeon?”

>”Yes.”

“But?”

>”No buts. She's great.”

“Derpy can't hear you. Be honest.”

>Twilight groaned.
>But she answered despite her hesitation.

>”There's a lot of damage. She couldn't have picked a worse thing to be bitten by if she tried. She's going to need several transplants, and we CAN do them! But we're not sure she'll survive the process.”

“Of course.”

>This was the price of her weakness.
>The cost of her failure.
>Lyra had no clue how Rip Current worked.
>She could hardly imagine ever executing a spell that quickly.
>Nothing that wasn’t trivial anyway.
>But still she knew.
>She knew that she’d learn it.
>That she’d make that spell her own.
>That if ever she ran into a demon again, she’d be ready.
>And that they’d understand just how much she hated them.

>”Great, she’s through the worst of it! Pass the vascular clamps, we’re not done yet.”

>It was going to be a long night.


                                                *       *       *       *       *

>Twelve days.
>It had been twelve days since the attack.
>Theoretically things had gotten better.
>Everypony around her seemed fine.
>But Lyra herself was anything but.
>She sat on a sofa in the common area of the quarantine shivering and trembling in the biting cold.
>She pulled the thermometer out of her mouth and glanced at the display.
41.2c
>Better.
>But still way too high.
>She let out a gentle whine as she pulled it out, and sprawled out to expose herself to the blistering cold.
>Somepony gently placed a new ice pack on her forehead.
>She almost cried out in pain.

>”Looks like you're doing pretty well.”

>A few days ago the soft words would have echoed painfully in her skull.
>Now there was no pain, just pressure.

“I don't feel well.”

>She didn't look at the pony who was talking to her.
>There was no point.
>They all looked the same clad in those plastic suits.

>”The test results came back. Your cultures are entirely Gram positive.”

“And that's… good?”

>”Kinda.”

>Not that informative.

>”C'mon, doc. She's a curious pony. It'll be easier all around if you just explain it.”

>That voice.
>That grating, off key voice.
>It was quite possibly the best voice in the world.

“Bonny?”

>She moved her head just a little too quickly, bringing about a brief dizzy spell; the world seemed to spin and slosh and roll about.
>When reality started to come back into focus she saw the unmistakable image of grace and elegance.
>The brilliant blend of beauty and brawn that could cause both the angels above and the demons below to quake by its mere presence.
>Bon-Bon had returned.

>”There are three different kinds of bacteria all lumped together as the Burning Plague. Looks like you’re down to one.”

>Lyra forgot her illness in an instant, leaping from her seat and rushing towards the object of her obsession.
>The brave pony who was seemingly miraculously unharmed.
>She collapsed on Bon-Bon, disoriented and dizzy.

>”Whoa, be careful Lyra. Plague’s no joke.”

>Lyra groaned as crashing waves of nausea poured over her.
>Her stomach heaved and churned.
>But it didn’t take long for things to settle down, for reality to come back into focus.
>When her vision cleared she saw the attending nurse staring at them from behind her filtered mask, seemingly uncertain of what was happening.

>”You can’t be here. This is a quarantine.”

>”Oh, sorry. I’ll show myself out.”

>”Wait, no! You can’t LEAVE! This is a quarantine!”

>”But I thought I couldn’t be here.”

“Yeah, which one is it? Can she not stay or can she not leave?”

>”How did you get in anyway?”

>”Front door.”

>The attendant just stared at her for a while, dumbstruck.

“How was she supposed to get in?”

>They walked away muttering rather unprofessional words to themselves.
>They were now alone.

“She’s right though. You could get sick! Aren’t you worried about catching the plague?”

>”Naa. I already have it. And had it. And will have it? It goes through our ranks all the time.”

“Ugh. I don’t like the sounds of that.”

>”They pump us full of antibiotics before every outing so that it doesn’t really catch, just sniffles for a few days. Docs keep mumbling about how that’s not going to work much longer, but we’ll be done soon so that’s not a problem.”

“Why won’t that work anymore?”

>”Who knows.”

>Bon-Bon enveloped Lyra with her front legs, squeezing firmly.

>”I’m so glad you’re okay. I was really worried. When I heard Ponyville of all places was under attack, I…”

>She started trembling.

>”I didn’t know what to do! I couldn’t leave because if I did it would just get worse, they’d never stop! But I couldn’t stay! I just, I didn’t, I’m so sorry. This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

>Lyra started to gently stroke the trembling pony’s mane.

“Shh, it’s okay.”

>”No, it’s NOT! I’m a FAILURE! I couldn’t do it! If only I’d trained a little harder or been a little faster, it’s all my fault!”

>Lyra couldn’t help but recall Brook’s words.
>About how the best felt their weakness the most.
>About how perfection was unattainable.
>She remembered what he’d said about the top always being in sight, always just out of reach.
>Lyra had felt helpless nearly since this mess had started.
>At first she was so confident, so bold.
>She thought it wise to try and catch burglars in the night all on her own.
>So ignorant as to believe that she was invulnerable.
>That all came crashing down when she saw the Roc, the enormous smooth brained mass of muscle and talons that bore down on Bonny.
>But still she overestimated herself.
>She didn’t believe Brook was better than her.
>She didn’t think there could be anything more vicious than undertow.
>Not even able to fell 3 timberwolves on her own, Lyra had thought herself some kind of superheroine.
>Now she stood, far more dangerous than she could have even imagined half a year ago.
>The pony who could honestly claim to have felled a greater demon.
>And she felt so weak.
>If this was the feeling that came with such modest power, how did the great agent Zero feel?
>How weak did Bonny feel?
>Especially now, in the wake of what was likely her greatest failure.
>Brook understood this better than she ever would.
>And he’d known exactly what to say to Lyra.
>Perhaps the same words would sooth Bon-Bon?

“But you didn’t fail, though.”

>”Ponies DIED, Lyra! Because of me.”

>She let out a loud, pitiful sniff.

“How many?”

>”We don’t really know yet. Probably just over 9,000.”

>Wow.
>That was WAY worse than Lyra had thought.

“Let’s see. There are about 40 million ponies. So that’s… umm.”

>”0.0225 percent.”

>Showoff.

“Sounds about right. See? That’s nearly 100 percent successful.”

>”Don’t bother. I’ve heard it before.

“You did a fantastic job, and we’re all lucky to have you.”

>”Tell that to the ones I let down. Tell that to their families. Tell that to Dinky.”

“Oh, you heard about that? Well, I will. When she wakes up-”

>”If.”

“I will tell her to her face that she’s lucky, and that you did an amazing job.”

>It wasn’t clear whether or not the words had any effect.
>Perhaps she’d heard that before too.
>They held each other in relative silence for a fair while.
>Time seemed to slip away far too quickly in their embrace.
>With time, Bon-Bon began to regain control.

>”How is she?”

>How to answer?
>Lyra wasn’t certain.
>She knew it was bad, but she really didn’t understand how bad.

“I don’t really know. They’re dodging my questions.”

>”Figures. Let’s go check on her.”

>Bon-Bon pulled away and began walking with a quick trot.
>The fur beneath her left eye was matted and moist, the eye itself reddened slightly. 
>It was irritated.
>Had she been crying?
>Wait, why was only one eye irritated?

>”Umm. I just realized I don’t know where she is. Lead the way?”

“Of course!”

>Lyra began walking in the opposite direction, heading to the recovery ward.
>She’d never gone to check on the filly on her own, fearful of what she may find.
>Fearful of her failings.
>Lyra couldn’t shake the feeling that the sweet, innocent unicorn would perish.
>That this story wouldn’t have a happy ending.

>”Why are you slowing down?”

“Just feeling a bit tired.”

>She had to face it sooner or later.
>They soon arrived.
>Lyra hesitated at the door, not quite certain she wanted to see what was inside.
>Bon-Bon didn’t pause, though. She immediately reached for the doorknob.
>And missed.
>She quickly and quietly slipped her hoof into place to turn it, but Lyra hadn’t missed the mistake.
>It was probably nothing.
>But still.
>The door began to open.
>Lyra held her breath in fear.
>Fear of seeing the bitter fruits of her failure.
>The pain, the grief, the sorrow, all the hardship that her weakness had brought.
>Dinky’s life was ruined because of her.
>She’d never be the same again, and it was all Lyra’s fault.
>When the door was finally out of the way it revealed a bubbly pegasus with a brilliant goofy grin sitting next to a bed holding a book sideways.
>A small filly was giggling at the sight, face slightly swollen, and I.V. drips wired into her leg.
>Lyra released the breath she’d been holding.
>This wasn’t so bad.

>“That’s not how you hold it mommy.”

>”Oh, so you’re right!”

>She move it around until it was upside down and backwards.

>”End The. Huh?”

>Dinky continued to giggle.

“I don’t even know why I was worried.”

>Derpy dropped the book.
>Fear was clearly visible on her face.

>”We don’t want any trouble. I promise I won’t ask any questions.”

>Bon-Bon stepped in.
>Lyra stood behind her, frantically gesturing for Derpy to stay quiet.
>Bon-Bon seemed confused.

>”Pardon?”

>”Okay, fine. Do with me what you will, but my daughter is completely innocent. Leave her out of it.”

>”What are you going on about?”

>Lyra’s gesturing became more frantic and less coherent.
>Derpy was as oblivious as ever.

>”Look, I don’t care about what’s going on anymore. I don’t care what the princesses are doing or about the monsters or anything. I just want to be with my daughter.”

“Oh, yeah. Err, D’s been watching those crazy internet videos. You know, about the chemicals turning the parasprites gay? Don’t worry too much about her.”

>”Ahh.”

>Bon-Bon grabbed the chart from the front of the bed and quickly flipped through the pages.

“What does it say?”

>”I don’t know, I’m not a doctor.”

“Oh, right.”

>Why WOULD she understand it?
>That would just be silly.
>Bon-Bon returned it with a curt nod.

>”I’m glad that the two of you are okay. I was really worried when I heard.”

>Derpy blinked rapidly for a little while.
>Perhaps she was trying to align her eyes?
>Who knew.

>”We’re glad you’re okay too, Bon-Bon. Where were you anyway?”

>It seemed as though she’d figured out she wasn’t being investigated.
>Yet.
>Slip ups like that were going to cost them eventually.

>”Manehattan, visiting the folks. You know. Say, mind if I ask the little one a question?”

>”Yes.”

>”Oh. Well then. I’ll talk to you later I suppose.”

>Bon-Bon left quietly.

“That was kinda rude, D.”

>”Please leave.”

“Oh. Okay?”

>Lyra walked away, closing the door behind her.
>Bon-Bon was waiting patiently.

“That was weird.”

>”Not really. They’ve been through a lot.”

“Yeah, but shouldn’t they be thanking me?”

>”Yup. And they will. Eventually. But right now you’re a reminder of what they just went through. They’re scared of you.”

“But I protected them.”

>”Yeah. And they saw you do it. They saw a horde of demons, and they saw something even more dangerous than that. More than that they just found out that they’re not nearly as safe as they though. Eventually they’ll figure out that they’re lucky you were there, but that was a pretty jarring wakeup call. They’ve got a lot to process.”

“Hm. Still, it’s weird to see Derpy being anything but friendly.”

>”She’ll be back to normal soon enough. You’ll see.”

”Well, if you’re sure.”

>The two of them began to walk away, not entirely certain where they were headed.

“So… what did the chart say?”

>”I told you, I'm not a doctor. That said? She's not the first pony to get hit by that venom. I've got a rough idea. It's a neurotoxin, paralyzes the victim. Not so bad, right? Wrong. It also contains a powerful enzyme, digests the victim from the inside out.”

“Oof. I don't like the sounds of that.”

>”Believe it or not, she'll be okay.”

“After being digested.”

“I mean, sure, she's got an artificial heart, kidneys, liver- there's almost as much plastic in her as in Fleur De Lis’ face.”

“Burn!”

>”Probably need surgery periodically as she grows, a few operations from time to time for repairs and replacements. Poor girl's going to spend more time open than the bank, but other than that she should have a normal life.”

“That was a joke I take it?”

>”Yes? I know that the bank's always closed, but-”

“No, the normal part. You've met her mother, right?”

>She let out a short chuckle.

>”Okay, good point. She never stood a chance.”

>They continued on, each pony following the other with no actual goal in mind.
>It didn’t take long for Lyra’s stamina to fade under her illness.
>She changed course, parking herself by a window in the hall.
>Long, uncomfortable benches were positioned around it forming a meeting area for the patients.
>Lyra sat on the floor next to the benches.
>She’d discovered they were far more comfortable.
>Bon-Bon approached with an ice pack gripped in her teeth.
>She looked pained.
>She dropped it next to Lyra.

>”Oww. That really hurt.”

“The ice? You’ve got a cavity again.”

>”No I don’t, it’s just sensitive teeth.”

“It’s a cavity. That’s what happens when you eat so many sweets.”

>Lyra picked the pack up and placed it on her head.
>The cold seemed to burn on contact.

“Maybe I’ve got a cavity in my skull.”

>”You’re pushing yourself too hard, you need rest.”

>She wasn’t wrong.
>Lyra felt terrible.
>But she was sick of lying around.
>Bon-Bon sat down next to Lyra, who chose to lean against the Earth pony.
>Something was a little bit wrong.
>The texture wasn’t quite what she remembered.
>Lyra put it out of mind.

>”You’re really burning up.”

“Did you know this was going to happen?”

>”What, your illness?”

“The invasion. It seems like you knew.”

>”Oh heavens no! This is all so much worse than I’d ever feared.”

“Then why did you push so hard to make me learn how to protect myself? Why get a private tutor?”

>”I was worried that something might slip out of Tartarus, this is beyond a nightmare!”

>That sounded bad.
>Lyra used her magic to pull the curtains away on the windows.
>It was a bright and sunny day outside.
>Warm.
>Cheerful.

“Please be honest. If you can’t tell me then just don’t, but please don’t lie. Are you going to lose?”

>”No way. We’re going to win this.”

“Then what happened? How did they get here?”

>”Well, they snuck out.”

>Lyra turned her head to look Bon-Bon in the eye.
>She stared into the brilliant cerulean eyes before her.
>There was something wrong with them.
>Lyra had a hunch.

“Please don’t lie. You can just refuse to tell me, but don’t lie to me. Please?”

>”Lyra-”

“I know you’re trying to protect me. To keep me from worrying. But I’m already worried, and I can take it.”

>Bon-Bon groaned.
>Lyra wasn’t certain what response she was expecting.
>But it wasn’t a groan.

>“You didn’t hear anything from me. What do you want to know?”

“Wait, seriously? You’re just going to tell me?”

>She shrugged.

>”I’ve never liked lying to you. I hid this stuff because I didn’t want you to live in fear. Too late for that now.”

>Wow.
>This was going to make things way easier.
>It had never even occurred to Lyra that this might work.

“Okay. Just remember you don’t need to say anything if you don’t want to. Please don’t feel pressured. If you can’t tell me I understand. How did they get out?”

>”Orcus is dead.”

“What.”

>”Orcus, the living prison that makes the second level of hell, is dead. The gates are wide open and cannot be closed again. The seal is broken forever, they can leave whenever they want.”

>Lyra felt faint.

>”Whoa, whoa. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just a bit sick. Umm. Wow.”

>”Yup.”

“That seems…”

>”Bad?”

“We’ll go with that.”

>”Yup. One of them wound up being way stronger than expected. We never dreamed it’d be able to kill Orcus, but it did.”

>Eurynomos, no doubt.
>Finally able to break free with the power he’d stolen from Deimos and Phobos.

>”It’s not the end of the world. If we can get them to swear an oath on their power we’ll have them. Equestria’s going to have to engage in diplomacy with demons. Not going to be easy though.”

“Yeah! I wouldn’t think so!”

>”We’ll have to beat them all into submission. That was kinda the plan anyway.”

“So what, just fight them ‘till the end of time?”

>”Nope. Get the big cheeses to swear a binding oath on their power. Contracts are surprisingly important to them. It’s a little tricky, they always cheat on their deals. Always. It’s practically a reflex for them.”

>Lyra had heard those words before.
>Luna was almost as big of a mystery as S.M.I.L.E. itself.

>”But we’ve got that figured out too. Should be fine. Look, Lyra, I know things seem bad. I would be lying if I said things were going according to plan. But we’re going to win.”

“How can you be so sure?”

>”Because they’re idiots. They’re still behaving like they’re fighting each other, completely failing to adapt to us.”

>Brook HAD said they were handling urban combat poorly.

>”Things got bad recently. But we turned it around and with a little help from you, and they paid dearly for it. It’s always darkest before the dawn.”

>That was hard to believe.
>How could they possibly be beating something so vast?
>So terrible?
>Were they really worse?

“Why even go down there in the first place?”

>”Hmm. Not sure. I mean, I’ve been given an explanation, but I think it’s a lie.”

“Really?”

>”It’s- hrm. Something’s spooked them, I don’t know what, but they’re trying to prepare for it.”

>The tide.

>”They started building some really fancy stuff to get ready.”

“And how does this help prepare? It doesn’t seem very productive.”

>”Well, right now there are about 40 million ponies. Appearently that’s not enough to do everything that needs doing. We got some help from our allies, but it wasn’t enough. They needed more workers. Our enemies had billions of them.”

>No way.

“You’re saying they invaded hell… for cheap labour?”

>”That’s what I’ve been told. I don’t buy it. Well, maybe it’s half true. They are desperate for more workers, not sure how useful demons would be for that though. Their tools are so crude compared to ours. But Luna definitely has something else in mind.”

>This was all so wrong.
>So incredibly wrong.
>How could she so casually say that they opened up hell itself…
>To take slaves!
>Although…
>If this tide was really coming, surely it was justified?
>The demons deserved their fate.
>But the ponies who were sent to fight them, they clearly didn’t.
>It was a horrible injustice to send Bonny into that.
>A betrayal of every agent to order them into the maw of the beast.
>And a betrayal of every pony above who we subject to those horrors when they spilled over.

>”You’re mad.”

“Yup. Oh, you meant angry? No. I don’t… I don’t really know what to think of this. What do you think?”

>”Well, like I said, Luna’s got another goal in mind. I don’t have all the information.”

“So you don’t know what to think?”

>”Oh, sure I do. I believe it was worth the risk. Even now, I think it was the right move.”

“Huh? How can you say that? You’ve seen what that crazy plan has caused! And you think it was right without knowing what Luna’s after or what they’re preparing for?”

>”Yup. In the real world you never know everything. You’ve got to work with what you’ve got. If you insist on having all the answers before making a choice you’re never going to get anything done.”

“But what you chose was insane!”

>”What we chose was action. It was this or sit around doing nothing. Surrender or struggle. I chose struggle.”

>That was Bon-Bon, no doubt.
>Unafraid of conflict.
>Bold, brash.
>Disgusted by apathy.
>Eager to throw herself at the heart of the problem.
>Even so, going into something so vast, so terrible.
>Willingly!
>The price that had been paid for this attack was remarkable.
>They didn’t know that the demons would ever escape.
>But they surely knew that they’d lose agents.
>That they’d be wounded.
>That they’d be traumatized by what they saw.
>To cast one’s self into that terror with no assurance of success.
>No assurance of survival.
>They had paid known they’d pay that price, and they chose to do so.
>Because to them, it was better to risk everything than it was to do nothing.
>For those brave ponies, hell was the lesser torment.

>”You’re not feeling sorry for them, are you? They’d do far worse to us.”

“No, I’m feeling sorry for you!”

>”Don’t worry about me. I can take it. We can take it.”

“Really? Are you sure?”

>”Yup.”

“Please don’t lie to me.”

>”What are you talking about?”

>There had been several hints.
>More than enough.
>Maybe Lyra wouldn’t have caught on were it not for Rarity’s injuries.
>But she knew what to look for.

“What’s wrong with your eye?”

>”I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

>Perfect delivery.
>No signs of fear or doubt whatsoever.
>She was a good actor.
>But Lyra wasn’t fooled.

“Bonny. What’s wrong with your eye.”

>”Why, is it red or something?”

“What did they do to you?”

>”Lyra, I’m fine. Honest!”

>Lyra reached for her magic.
>She felt around for the strands of an illusion spell.
>It was definitely there.

“Please. I need to know what they did to you.”

>”Seriously, I’m fine.”

>Lyra grabbed a key part of the spell.

“I’m sorry. I need to know.”

>She ripped it apart.
>What she saw made her blood run cold.
>Huge patches of fur had been replaced with tough scar tissue, likely the result of a serious burn, chemical or thermal.
>Her legs were criss-crossed with the signs of old lacerations, some of which hadn’t yet fully healed.
>There were scars that bore a striking similarity to a wolf’s teeth right on the front of her neck- mercifully there was no signs of a tear, just the puncture.
>But most striking was her face.
>Her left cheek had been torn open TWICE with a pair of zipper scars marking the stitches that had closed the rough, uneven wounds.
>One of her ears was tattered and frayed beyond recognition.
>And her eye…
>It wasn't just damaged.
>It was gone.
>Bon-Bon tore the curtains down and buried herself under them before Lyra could really drink everything in.

>”Don't look at me!”

>Lyra was in shock.
>She HAD known what she was expecting.
>A fake eye like Rarity.
>This was so far above and beyond that.

“What did they do to you?”

>A voice came from down the hallway.

>”I heard shouting, is everything okay?”

>Lyra and Bon-Bon replied in unison.

“We're fine!”

>Lyra approached the curtains slowly but deliberately.
>She sat down next to the quivering pile.
>And started to stroke it gently.

“Bonny? What happened?”

>”I” 

*sniff*

“Shh. It's okay. Don't worry.”

>”I'm hideous!”

>She kinda was.

“You're heroic is what you are.”

>No, stupid.
>Wrong angle!

“Can I see?”

>”Please don't.”

“Okay. You take all the time you need. I'll be here for you when you're ready.”

>She sat for some time stroking the disfigured pony beneath the coarse fabric, gently humming a soothing melody.
>Bon-Bon did a fantastic job of biting back her tears, of swallowing her emotions.
>But from time to time a sob or sniffle would leak out.
>Somepony had snuck up behind her.

>”What the hay are you doing?”

>She jumped and snapped her head around to see an orange rubber soot standing above her.

“Shh! The curtains are quite upset. Aren't you?”

>”The curtains are upset. Really. That's the story you're going with.”

>Bon-Bon was apparently ready to play along.
>Her recent tears had left her with a stuffy nose, adding to the illusion.

>”Every day you mop the floors. Why don't you ever mop ME?”

>”Nope. Not dealing with this right now.”

>They began to walk away.

>”I swear that mint one. We either need to double her meds or cut them off entirely.”

>Lyra waited until they were out of sight before continuing.

“You feeling any better?”

>”A little.

>They spoke in perfect unison.

“Look, I'm sorry.”

>They both paused for a moment to let the other speak before talking over each other once more.

“It's just that I…”

>Lyra was the one to break their synchronicity.

“Sorry. I needed to know what had happened to you. I thought maybe your eye had been hurt. I should never have invaded on your privacy. I hope you can forgive me.”

>”Me forgive you? I'm the one that lied to your face. Repeatedly! You were just- I was too stupid to admit I'd been hurt.”

>Hurt.

“Bit of an understatement. I'm sure you don't want to talk about it, I won't ask how-”

>”It was my third op in Orcus. Before I came back for that break. That's actually a big part of why they sent me home.”

>The words spilled out all at once, a tangled jumble that Lyra could barely follow.
>Looks like she'd been wanting to get this off her chest for a while now.
>How long had she kept it all bottled up inside?

>”Third op, second time I saw him. Eurynomos. First op I arrogantly let some of his minions finish a spell. I thought- I KNEW I was better than them. Didn't have any idea what their boss would be like. Luna had warned me the ones on top were tough. Tough doesn't begin to describe it. I… I thought I could take him. I KNEW I could! There was no way this rotting wretch was on the same level as some of the other monsters I'd faced. He tried to tear out my throat. Almost got it too. When evac arrived he'd… it was awful. He was stronger than me. Something out there was stronger than me. I didn’t know what to do.”

>The heroic agent zero.
>Unbreakable.
>Unstoppable.
>Given a cruel reminder of just how fragile life can be.

>”The second time I saw him, I just panicked. He was too fast to dodge, too destructive too endure. Everything I threw at him just … he just shrugged it off. I just didn’t know what to do. When I finally collected myself, I was… this.”

>Her voice was so weak.
>Beyond morose.

”Bonny…”

>”When they’d finished putting my body back together I came home so you could put my mind back together. And you did. You always make it all better.”

>She poked her deformed face out from under the covers and cracked a twisted, misshapen smile.

>”Round three.”

>Suddenly she was speaking firmly and clearly.
>With conviction.

>”I knew what I was up against. I understood how to go forward. And I’d had plenty of time to think about what went wrong. He’s stupid. Dumber than a brick. Easy to feign, easy to read. I think his brain might be rotting, who knows. What matters is that I was adapting and he wasn’t. I didn’t need to be stronger than him, nor did I need to be faster. I could read his movements, slip between his blows before he’d even attacked. I noticed that he wasn’t smart enough to keep track of more than one opponent at a time, if it was two on one he was always wide open. I still couldn’t hurt him. But he couldn’t hurt me either. No matter how powerful he was. I could face him.”

>She let out a low, guttural growl as she stood up.

>”Round four. I barely had to think to avoid his attacks. I had all the time in the world to focus on the offensive. I noticed that some parts of his body were more decayed than others. Hit him in exactly the right place and sometimes, just sometimes, it stuck. I couldn’t finish the job, we had to retreat. But after that day, some of the other ponies started calling me Jawbreaker.”

“Because you’re tough and sweet?”

>”Yeah. Yeah, let’s go with that. It’ll be time for round five soon. And believe me when I say I’m going to win.”

>She let out a long suffering sigh as she turned to face the window.

>”I’m glad you’re okay Lyra. But I need to go.”

“Promise me you’ll come back?”

>”You… what? You want me to come back?”

“Of course! Why wouldn’t I?”

>Bon-Bon quickly examined her own body.
>It was a bit hard to read her emotions with so much damage on her face.
>But it wasn’t hard for Lyra to guess.

“I don’t care. I want you to come home. I miss you.”

>”But, this… this doesn’t belong in Elysium.”

>She thinks she’s too ugly to live in Elysium?
>Perhaps.
>But that’s what illusions are for.

“Well, if it doesn’t work out I’ll just move in with you. Wherever you wind up.”

>What was left of her face smiled.

>”You’re delusional. The fever’s probably getting too high again. You go get some rest.”

“Alright. But you make sure you come home. I need you, Bonny. And maybe try to write from time to time?”

>”You’re not getting my letters? Suddenly, Luna’s in trouble. Try to feel better, Lyra. I’ll see you soon.”

>She kicked the window open and jumped out through the broken glass.
>Lyra quickly stuck her head out, but there was no sign of Agent zero.

“Woulda been more impressive if I didn’t know about about the slide dealeys.”

>That was so much to digest.
>Lyra was torn between relief and horror.
>Hope and dread.
>The uncertainty was exhausting.
>Or maybe that was just the plague?

“I need another ice pack.”

>Lyra started to head back to the commons.
>But she stopped mid stride.
>She turned around and looked longingly out the broken window.

“Please be safe.”

                                                *       *       *       *       *

>Lyra was walking home with a goofy grin on her face.
>She’d FINALLY been discharged from the quarantine.
>It had been far too long since she’d been home, and she was eager to return.
>There was nothing particularly special about her home.
>Nothing important waiting for her there.
>But it was hers.
>It was where she belonged.
>Where she could truly be at ease in this insane world she was stuck in.
>Sure, she knew it was just an illusion.
>She wasn’t really safe there.
>The world didn’t go away when she closed the door.
>But it was out of mind.
>That was almost good enough.
>Lyra strolled through the wreckage of the city.
>It had recovered relatively quickly, but scars remained.
>Windows were boarded up, potholes lined the streets, the odd pentagram was carved into the benches.
>The roads were covered in track marks from the Ponyville armored division…
>But life went on.
>Everypony was going about their business more or less as they always had done.
>It was remarkable how quickly they had returned to their business.
>Were they refusing to acknowledge what had happened to them?
>Were they hoping that if they ignored it it would all go away?
>Perhaps they just didn’t know any other way.
>Anything other than the simple happy-go-lucky pony way.
>Perhaps they didn’t know how to adapt.
>Really, Lyra wasn’t certain what she should do either.
>Things were getting far too real.
>Far too salient.
>She had to do something.
>But what?
>Lyra reached her home and sighed in relief.
>Her home hadn’t been seriously harmed.
>In fact, it looked almost pristine.
>Lyra approached the front door and pushed it open.
>The annoying squeak was gone.
>Somepony had been here.
>Somepony had repaired the damage.
>Which meant…

“Oh no.”

>Lyra rushed through the house looking for Bon-Bon’s hidden equipment.
>Absolutely everything was missing.
>EVERYTHING.

“Okay, okay. Calm down. Maybe she hid it herself?”

>Yeah.
>That had to be it.
Ginny had stashed her stuff away somewhere and got somepony to patch the place up.
Surely.
>But what if that wasn't it?
>She could be in serious trouble.

“Okay. Think. Don't panic. Stop with the panic!”

>The virus!
>Wait, did they still have that?
>Floor had been removed from her home.
>For all she knew their insurance policy was gone.
>Or worse still, it might have activated on its own.
>Lyra had no leverage, and somepony had probably found her contraband!
>For all she knew agents were coming to her house right now!
>There was a knock at the door.
>A heavy, insistent pounding that suggested the visitor had long since run out of patience.

“Okay. You can bluff your way out of this. Just stay calm, act natural.”

>Lyra hesitantly made her way to the front.
>The intruder hammered on her door once more.

“Calm. Cool. Collected.”

>She threw the door open way too quickly and shrieked unintelligible as a greeting.
>Luna stood before her, burdened with a comically large sack.
>She cast it to the ground hurriedly.
>Lyra could neither see above nor around it.

“What?”

>”Somehow, I became your personal mail carrier.”

>Lyra cautiously popped an envelope out of the bag and cracked it open.

“It's all been blacked out.”

>”Protocol demands that certain elements be redacted. In this very special instance we would like to relax these restrictions. Doing so would draw undue attention.”

“Certain elements? The WHOLE PAGE is blacked out. It's literally just a black rectangle.”

>”Selective screening of missives was deemed a waste of resources and a security risk. It’s far safer to redact indiscriminately.”

“Why even bother with mail then?”

>“EXACTLY! It’s a waste of time! Why does nopony else get this?”

>Lyra opened another letter.
>It too was just a black page.

>”Regardless. I have delivered your mail. And in doing so I have honored our bargain!”

“Why now? Why not weeks ago?”

>”Somehow, I’ve been tasked with taking you to Canterlot.”

>Lyra dropped the letter and readied her horn.

>”You are to be given the Solstice Star for your heroism during the invasion. Attendance is mandatory!”

>The Solstice Star?
>The highest honor that could be bestowed upon a civilian?
>Lyra really had no idea how to react.
>She’d never even dreamed of this moment.

>”Were it not for your efforts the damage would have been far greater. It is not unreasonable to say that Ponyville would be lost were it not for you.”

>She wasn’t wrong.
>Somehow that truth refused to click in Lyra’s head.
>She knew it was true.
>She’d been there, after all.
>But it just didn’t FEEL real.

“I, uh, I didn’t do it alone.”

>”I know. But it would be… unwise to credit a wizened old stallion. Besides, he would take it as an insult.”

“The Solstice Star? An insult?”

>”It is an honor bestowed upon civilians.”

“Ahh, yeah.”

>Luna started walking away.

>”A chariot will be here to take you within the hour. Attendance is mandatory.  Don’t screw things up! Oh, right.”

>She stopped in her tracks and turned around.
>She looked Lyra right in the eyes.

>”I’m not sure how to say this. It’s… hard for me.”

>Luna seemed to be struggling with some real emotional distress.
>Her upper lip was even trembling.
>Eventually Luna whispered something.

“Pardon?”

>”I said thank you, okay? Thank you from the bottom of my heart! There, I said it!”

>She vanished in a quick red flash, followed by a wave of sickly mana.

“That was weird”

>Was there any way out of this?
>She really didn’t want to bother.
>Lyra had never wanted celebrity or accolades.
>Her ideal life was quiet.
>Calm.
>She yearned for simpler times, going off and being part of some grand award ceremony was anathema to her aspirations.
>A flying chariot landed before her drawn by a pair of snow white stallions.

>”Get in.”

“Wait, she said you’d be here within the hour.”

>”Are we late?”

“Never mind.”

>Lyra climbed in and headed to Canterlot.
>She peered over the ledge and looked longingly at her comfy home.

Later...

>Lyra winced as a brush was pulled through her mane.
>Hair stylists and makeup artists had been forced upon her for her appearance.
>And they were merciless.
>But at least she wasn’t alone.
>Cadence too was suffering with her.
>She looked well.
>Lyra could only hope that she'd been spared any lasting harm from the burden she doubtlessly bore.
>She seemed to be in good health and spirits.
>A weight was lifted that Lyra hadn’t even known was there.
>Despite everything that was going on, through all the chaos and terror, Cadence was okay.
>SOMETHING was okay.
>Or was she?
>Was she too hiding something beneath clever spellwork?
>Too many questions.

“Why am I here again?”

>She asked as a dozen ponies all crowded around to work on her eyelashes.

>”Do you want the real answer or the official answer?”

“Come on, Cadence. You know me. Ow, ow! Stop pulling on my tail back there!”

>”The public needs a hero. A face to put behind the recent events. They’re all scared and confused right now, they need some kind of assurance that there are ponies out there who will keep them safe.”

“But I’m not going to keep them safe. I can’t be everywhere at once.”

>”But you’ll make them feel safe.”

>She didn’t like this at all.

“Okay, but do you have to broadcast it over the entire internet?”

>”Yup. We’re all in agreement on that one. Sorry about this, Lyra. I know you don’t like this kind of thing. But the ponies need a hero.”

“Do I get anything out of this?”

>”A shiney medal and a free makeover.”

“Ugh. I just wanna go home and hang out with Bonny. Is that really so much to ask?”

>”I know what you mean. How is she, anyway?”

>Not great.

“Why were there demons in Ponyville?”

>It wasn’t just a question.
>It was a demand.

>”A while back somepony broke open the gates of Tartarus-”

“I don’t buy it. You’d started preparing for this long before that announcement. Please don’t lie to me. Everypony lies to me. Can’t you be different? You’ve known me since I was a little filly, you were my foalsitter! Can’t you just tell me the truth?”

>”They say you took down the greater demon yourself. I didn’t know you could do that.”

>Changing the subject.
>Even Cadence was intent on keeping her in the dark.
>Lyra was used to that though.
>She’d just piece it all together herself.

“What have you been up to?”

>”Oh, you know, this and that. Busy busy.”

>Useless.
>Bon-Bon had been horribly wounded and these ponies wouldn’t even answer simple questions.

“Are we almost done here?”

>”Just about. I promise it’ll only take a few minutes.”

>Somepony shoved a mirror in front of Lyra’s face.
>She frowned in dismay.
>Her eyelashes had been exaggerated horrendously, her mane done up in a ludicrous beehive, far too much blush had been applied, and a pink frilly saddle was mounted on her back.

“I looks stupid.”

>”Kinda, but the pictures will look good. Trust them, they know what they’re doing.”

>Trust.
>That wasn’t easy to do these days.
>Cadence lead Lyra out toward the throne room where the ceremony was to take place.
>The ceremony in which she was to be granted the Solstice Star and recognized as the saviour of Ponyville.
>The heroine who’d fought so hard to keep them all safe.
>She would be lauded for the work that the agents of S.M.I.L.E. had done.
>For what Bonny had done.
>It was a grotesque injustice, and one that she couldn’t help but feel sickened by.
>Cadence went in first to get in position.
>Lyra was to follow shortly after, but she was sorely tempted to walk away.
>She’d no interest in this award.
>All she wanted was to go home to a quiet simple life.
>To spend time with Bonny.
>To laugh and live with her.
>To be safe and comfortable.
>Had she not been through enough already?
>Had Bonny not been through enough?
>She’d sacrificed so much, and faced such horrors!
>Yet still she was cast into the thick of things.
>Thrown against impossible odds over and over again.
>And without even being granted the best backing.
>All because of Celestia’s mercy.
>Celestia.
>A deep scowl formed on Lyra’s face.
>Celestia had denied them their weapons, which was bad enough.
>But she’d also been responsible for Deimos and Phobos being poisoned.
>Which meant she was responsible for Eurynomos being able to slay them.
>This powered up super demon was entirely her doing.
>The vile beast who’d scarred Bon-Bon so horribly had escaped from his cage because of her.
>Because she was so soft.
>And now there was no choice.
>The only way out for Bon-Bon was through.
>Do or die.
>Lyra didn’t want that for either of them.
>She wished not to be surrounded by action and glory.
>She cared not for this ceremony.
>But as she’d been told, attendance was mandatory.
>They’d have their heroine one way or another.
>The only way out was to get it over with.
>Lyra was walked in sheepishly.
>She was surrounded on either side by a crowd of posh ponies applauding lazily.
>Lyra could tell at a glance that they were totally apathetic to her presence.
>To them this was all a show, an attempt to keep up appearances.
>She was an outsider, an interloper.
>This was everything she’d sought to escape when she moved to Ponyville.
>Before her stood Princess Celestia herself, sitting prittely upon her throne, radiating her signature aura of warmth and comfort.
>Twilight stood to her left, all made up for her public appearance; fake leg and sunken face hidden beneath a thin veil of magic.
>Her smile seemed far less genuine, a mask over top a mask.
>A lie over a lie.
>And Cadence, of course.
>Lyra hurried forward through the mass of observers, eager to be done and be gone.
>Perhaps she should have been overwhelmed by pride or some other such emotion.
>She was to be officially recognized as one of the greatest ponies to ever live after all.
>But a mass of other emotions were roiling in the back of her mind as she approached the front.
>Concern about her appearance drifted in and out of her thoughts, gently nagging her for being under dressed for the occasion.
>Apprehension for the future, exasperation at being in the spotlight, curiosity about the princess’ plans…
>And BLINDING FURY at Celestia.
>The object of her ire had begun delivering a speech, but Lyra wasn’t listening.
>Celestia’s platitudes didn’t matter right now.
>Bon-Bon was thrown against that madness EVERY DAY!
>She’d faced things FAR worse than Lyra had seen, in numbers she dared not imagine, and she had paid dearly for her bravery.
>All the while Celestia sat far from harm, performing her song and dance.
>Insisting that all was well, preaching apathy as everything burned around her.
>Meanwhile she tried to deny S.M.I.L.E. their tools, withhold their weapons.
>Perhaps she HAD!
>Perhaps they’d been denied some critical weapon, or forestalled from deploying an asset during a vital moment.
>Were Bonny’s injuries Celestia’s fault?
>Was the sacking of Ponyville her fault?
>Perhaps in a different time she'd have been right to show restraint.
>But the truth was it no longer mattered if S.M.I.L.E was in the right.
>They could have started all of this with the noblest intentions or overt malice.
>The fact of the matter was their failure was catastrophic.
>With Orcus dead it would take nothing short of total victory, a complete capitulation of the burning hells to end that nightmare.
>If that even WAS the end.
>Lyra looked up at Celestia with a snarl.

>”Were it not for her bravery, many more would have been lost. We all owe this noble pony for her valor…”

>Still chattering on, trying to use Lyra to shore up the illusion of safety.
>Trying to use Lyra to bury the truth.
>She wasn’t Celestia’s plaything.
>Lyra would not play along.
>Princess Celestia produced a small silver medal.
>The six pointed star that formed the medal hung from a short black and gold velvet strap.
>It swayed gently as Celestia levitated the emblem toward Lyra.
>It was fastened to her fore through means unknown, glittering gently in the light.
>Celestia continue to speak.

>”Six virtues, one nation. United in harmony, and love.”

>Everypony began to applaud once more, including the princesses.
>She was being lauded by nobles and royalty alike.
>And unlike the audience behind her, it seemed that the princesses before her were genuine in their accolades.
>Lyra hesitated for a moment.
>She’d been determined before.
>Intent on proving her point.
>On defying Celestia’s will.
>Was she going too far?
>Was she being a spoiled brat for opposing the crown when they were trying to show their gratitude?
>No, of course not.
>This wasn’t about gratitude.
>This was about keeping up appearances.
>About the media circus, and nothing more.
>She turned her head to take a quick glance at the camera crew, and nearly bumped her muzzle into a boom microphone.

>”We thank you Lyra Heartstrings, hero of Equestria.”

“Me? The hero? I think we both know there’s somepony else you’re forgetting.”

>The words slipped out unbidden.
>But she meant them.
>Bon-Bon was the one who truly deserved the recognition, not her.

“You’d best start talking, ‘cause you’ve got an awful lot to answer for.”

>”I am sure you've many questions-”

“And I'm sure you've many lies.”

>Cadence walked forward.

>”Cut! I’ll handle this. Lyra?”

>Cadence lead her out of the room through a murmuring crowd.
>Celestia would no doubt convince them that all was well, that Lyra was just being silly.
>The two of them started walking, though Lyra wasn't certain where.

>”What are you doing? This isn't like you.”

“Bonny got hurt. Bad. And I think Celestia is to blame.”

>”When you say she got hurt…”

>She left the sentence hanging, clearly waiting for an answer to the unasked question.

“On deployment.”

>”So she finally told you.”

“That's not a problem, I gather.”

>”That depends on WHAT she said.”

“Way less than I'd like. She wouldn't even admit to being wounded.”

>”How bad is it?”

“You tell me.”

>”I honestly don't know. I don't have time to keep track of field operations.”

>Doesn't have time.
>Not uninterested, preoccupied.
>Too busy focusing on her weapons programs, no doubt.

“I don't know. She's hiding it. But it's pretty bad. “

“Really? But I thought she- do you know her rank?”

>Zero.

“No. Don't you? I thought you were close. She was one of your bridesmaids.”

>”Yeah, but I don’t know her that well. She was there for security. You’re certain she got hurt?”

“Yes.”

>”Wow. That’s…”

“Bad?”

>”Catastrophic, yeah. If she got hurt they’re in deep!”

>This was her first hint?

“I think I deserve to know what’s going on.”

>”And I’d love to tell you, Lyra. I really would. But I can’t.”

>That stupid contract again.

>”But I think you’re right.”

“About?”

>”Celestia being to blame. Maybe. I don’t know, I’ve said too much.”

“Oh come on, you can’t drop that and not explain it!”

>”Lyra, it’s-”

“I deserve to know!”

>She shouted the words as loudly as she could.
>They echoed through the empty halls for a moment before giving way to an empty silence.

“There were DEMONS in my home, in the streets, in the skies! You don’t know what that’s like! You don’t know how terrible it is! But that’s not even what bothers me most about this.”

>She glared straight at Cadence’s eyes.

“Bonny’s hurt! She’s hurt really badly! She’s NEVER going to recover, and it’s all because of this stupid fight! I DESERVE to know what’s going on!”

>The righteous fury began to leak out of Lyra as she looked up at Cadence’s sorrowful, loving eyes.
>There was no anger at Lyra’s outburst, not even frustration.
>There was just sympathy.

>”That’s terrible, but I can’t say any more.”

>With her rage missing there was nothing left in Lyra’s mind to distract her.
>Nothing to detract from the crushing sorrow and fear.
>Bonny was horribly injured.
>Dinky too.
>Who was next?
>Who else that Lyra loved would be mangled by this mess?

“But my Bonny got hurt! She’s not- I don’t-”

*sniff*

>Why was everything so blurry?

“She’s hurt, and I don’t know how she is, and I’m scared, and I don’t know…”

>Cadence’s face betrayed emotional anguish.
>Sympathy for Lyra’s pain?

“I don’t even know if I’ll ever see her again!”

>”Shh, it’ll be okay. Dry your tears.”

“I’m not CRYING!”

>Tears rolled off her cheek as she spoke.
>Cadence pulled her aside into a small reading room.
>She seated Lyra on a sofa and rubbed her back for a while.
>Lyra let out all the worry she’d bottled up since she’d discovered Bon-Bon’s wounds.
>All the fear and grief she’d held back.
>The flood gates were open, and she could hold it back no longer.
>Cadance continued to comfort her until there were no more tears to shed.

“Sorry.”

>”So am I. I can’t begin to imagine what you’re going through. Or what she’s going through. They-”

>She let out a brief sigh.

>”They need her. And they need to finish the job.”

“I know.”

>”I’ll do what I can to help them finish as quickly as possible. All this pain and suffering… Luna’s right. Again. But then I wonder… but is there any point in wondering?”

“What?”

>”Celestia and Luna are at odds with each other over this mess.”

“Let me guess. Luna wants to go all out and hold nothing back, Celestia wants to try and reform the enemy.”

>”Pretty much.”

“And you side with Luna?”

>”It doesn’t really matter what I think.”

>Lyra gave her a confused look through reddened, puffy eyes.

>”Luna and Celestia are, how to describe this? They’re more than mere ponies. They’re forces of nature, will made manifest.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

>”I know. It’s hard to put it into words. It’s impossible to disagree with them. They’re both always right, no matter what they say.”

>That made even less sense.

>”They’re just so good at rhetoric that you can’t beat them. Luna could tell me the sky was red and I’d wind up believing her. Then the next day Celestia could say the grass was blue and she’d be right. It doesn’t matter what you know, or what you see, their word winds up being law. They speak with such confidence and power that their words cut right through to your soul, with no room for doubt.”

“I’ve talked to Celestia plenty, but I’ve never noticed that.”

>Had she?

>”They’re sneaky about it most of the time. Rather than telling you what to believe, they set you up so you make up your own mind. Of course you just happen to side with them every time that happens. I’m not even sure they do it on purpose!”

>So Cadence can’t disagree with Celestia or Luna because she always winds up thinking they’re right?

>”Luna wants to deploy every asset we have, no matter how terrible, that we might win with the fewest casualties possible. Celestia thinks the price too great, the atrocities unforgivable. She thinks that we have a duty to uphold the virtues we hold dear even in the darkest of hours. Right now, looking at you and the grief you’re feeling for Bon-Bon, I have to agree with Luna. We need to finish it as fast as we can. But it doesn’t matter what I think, because I won’t be able to argue with either of them. I’ll just agree with whoever I talked to most recently. No matter how airtight my argument or how passionate my defence, they’ll change my mind in seconds.”

“Does Twilight have this problem too?”

>”Everypony does. Once those two have made up their mind it’s over. Everypony around them is going to agree. Sometimes they’re not sure what to do, then you’ve got a chance. And sometimes they disagree. The confusion that causes brings everything to a standstill. We try to do both things at once, and so we wind up failing to do anything.”

“Do you not get any say in these matters at all?”

>”Oh, sure! Twilight and I both get a vote. But it’s split down the middle. Twily always winds up siding with her teacher when Luna and Celestia are at odds. She’s more sympathetic to Celestia’s worldview I suppose. Sure, I’ve seen Luna convince her that up was down, but when both of them are working on her at the same time? She goes with Celestia.”

“And you Luna?”

>”I have a foal now. Your outlook changes a lot when that happens. You stop caring so much about what’s going on right now, you’re way more interested in the future. You put up with almost anything in the present to make sure your foal has a better future. Luna doesn’t have to work hard to convince me that it’s okay to go through hard times right now when she’s offering Flurry a tomorrow. You cling to hope.”

>Wait.
>A tough today.
>Hard times now.
>For a better future?
>She’s not talking about strategies or weapons.
>Those would make things easier and safer.
>The trade is in morality, not hardship.
>She’s talking about the campaign in hell!
>Which means the issue at hoof for that discussion was the tide.
>She had a hunch.

“Celestia’s given up, hasn’t she?”

>”She’s not entirely optimistic.”

>That’s a yes.
>Celestia thinks it’s hopeless.
>If there’s no chance of success, there’s no point in the struggle.
>Luna thinks they have a chance.
>If they can turn back the tide then there’s no hardship too great, no pain too terrible.
>What was it she’d said?
>She’d burn down Equestria and piss on the ashes if she had to?
>So the princesses were torn on what to do.
>Should they struggle ‘till the very end, go through any and every hardship so long as there was a faint hope of surviving the tide?
>Or should they accept their fate and make the most of what time they had left?
>With Celestia and Luna at odds with each other
>It occured to Lyra that she held the power to end the deadlock.
>She needed but control Cadence or Twilight to get her way.
>Through them Lyra held the reigns of Equestria itself.
>She could control what was done next time Celestia and Luna were in disagreement.
>She could do that right now.
>Equestria’s strategy was, if Cadence was to be believed, to try and accommodate both mutually exclusive visions.
>To surrender and struggle at the same time.
>They invaded hell despite the hardship because Luna thought it was worth fighting.
>They withheld their best weapons and negotiated for peace because Celestia had thought the quest hopeless.
>The half measures had been disastrous, with hell boiling over even after Luna had taken her weapons.
>In fact, the half measures, had they continued, would have been worse than doing nothing!
>Maybe they already were!
>If they were torn on what to do about the tide, were they going to wind up with a similar situation?
>Were they to be swallowed by it as Luna feared, while also suffering from an impossible struggle as Celestia feared?
>That seemed to be exactly the case!
>There was no doubt that their society was suffering from their ambitions.
>And it also seemed that they were failing to prepare what with Twilights words of desperation.
>So here they stood, torn between Luna and Celestia.
>Between struggle and surrender.
>She remembered Bon-Bon’s words clearly.
>She refused to sit idly by when there was some chance of making a difference.
>She ALWAYS chose struggle.
>And Lyra?
>Well, she chose Bon-Bon.
>Lyra wasn’t done digging into their business.
>But it was time for her to pick a side.
>It was time for her to take control.
>She would never hold the crown.
>But she could pull the strings from the shadows.
>And she knew exactly how she was going to do it.
>But first she had to finish up her.

“Sorry about the outburst earlier. I’m just under a lot of stress. We’ll go do the ceremony again if you want.”

>”Well, first we gotta get you back to makeup.”

>Lyra groaned wearily.

                                                *       *       *       *       *

>Lyra had no trouble waking up.
>It was easy for her to climb out of bed and prepare for her day.
>She was a driven mare, full of energy and purpose.
>For her each day had value, had meaning.
>She was no longer going through life one day at a time.
>She wasn’t living just for the sake of life.
>Lyra had a clear goal.
>And she had the beginnings of a plan.
>Not a complex plan, nor a detailed one.
>But it had a solid foundation.
>Because Lyra finally understood how this world worked.
>She thought back and balked at her naivete on the matter.
>Not so long ago she would have sworn by consensus, principal, kindness, and all sorts of other things.
>But it was far simpler than that.
>She just needed one thing.
>Lyra spat out her toothpaste and left without bothering to rinse the sink.
>She had ponies to see.
>She pushed open the front door nearly striking another in the process. 
>Nurse Redheart stood before her with barely masked apprehension on her muzzle.
>She took a half step back when Lyra locked eyes with her.

“Oh, hi.”

>”Umm, sorry to bother you but I kinda need your help.”

“Oh? What with?”

>”One of the patients you brought is refusing to leave.”

“Who?”

>She averted her gaze.

>”Mare whos mane we won't come clean no matter how many times we wash it.”

“Floor Bored?”

>”Oh, thank you. We've been trying to get her name this whole time! So, err, if you'd be so kind as to help us get her home? She's refusing to leave.”

“Why?”

>”We don't know.”

“No, I get it. That's Floor for ya. Why are you scared of me?”

>”I'm sorry!”

“What for?”

>”I'm sorry for saying you were weird!”

“When did- is this about the curtain thing? There's nothing to apologize for. That was super weird!”

>”You're not angry?”

“No? I'm weird at the best of times, and that was hardly the best of times.”

>”Oh thank goodness!”

>She seemed to sag slightly as built up tension left her body.

“I’ll go pick her up right away. Thanks for letting me know.”

>Weirdo.
>Lyra began her journey to Ponyville hospital, leaving the strange nurse behind.
>She saw now reason not to go there right away, she’d been planning on seeing Floor today anyway.
>She’d have been lying to herself though had she said it was out of concern for the bizarre hermit.
>Though she was loathe to admit it, Lyra hadn’t really thought about Floor lately.
>Perhaps it was because of how little she knew about her?
>Maybe Lyra was just too busy worrying about other things?
>Maybe it just hadn’t occured to her that anything might be wrong?
>The truth was she really wasn’t certain why she’d failed to consider the pony she’d risked life and limb for.
>She felt strangely selfish for not spending more time worrying, for not even thinking about her until she wanted something.
>Surely there was room for empathy in this world.
>Surely.
>Lyra made her way through town in the early morning sun marvelling at how quickly Ponyville was being restored.
>Yes, some buildings remained in ruin.
>But all the debris, all the desecration, had been replaced with construction and order.
>In the few short weeks following the madness Ponyville had bounced back, as though it had been a mere parasprite infestation.
>She chanced a glance over at a small park that stood defiant in the asphalt architecture of the city.
>A pair of young fillies sat upon the swings, playing merrily.
>Were their parents watching less intently the scene would have seemed no different from the days before the invasion.
>It boggled the mind to think that, had things gone any differently, there might be nothing left.
>That those fillies and their parents would be long gone.
>That Ponyville would have been naught but a memory.
>This rapid recovery lie adjacent to complete ruin.
>Yet there it was.
>The line between total annihilation and relative safety was razor thin.
>Balanced there on the edge all it took to make all the difference was a little push.
>So too with the split between the royal sisters.
>So too with all of Equestria.
>Lyra entered the hospital surprised to see it relatively calm.
>There was no crowd milling about, no hurried movement of the staff, no noise, no panic.
>The hospital appeared to be at peace.
>Lyra wandered about aimlessly as she searched for any sign of Floor.
>The halls were empty, many of the rooms open, the floors spotless and waxed.
>This was not at all the crowded quarantine she’d known so recently.
>Lyra eventually came upon a nurse knocking insistently against a door.

“Lemme guess. Floor?”

>”Who?”

>They turned to look at Lyra, jumping in apparent fright the moment they saw her.

“Right. I’m going to need a blanket or a sheet or something of the like. She doesn’t like being seen.”

>They ran off in a hurry without saying a word.
>Lyra quickly rubbed her face, wondering if perhaps there was something grotesque affixed.
>She found nothing.

“What’s going on?”

>Whatever.
>Lyra tried to open the door to find it barricaded.
>It was Floor alright.

“Hey, Floor? You okay in there?”

>”Lyra?”


>A raspy phlegmy reply came from the other end, the voice of one who speaks so rarely they’d almost forgotten how.

“Yeah. You alright?”

>It took her nearly a minute to reply.
>But reply she did.
>Her voice a bit clearer, a bit less hesitant.

>”Why did you save me?”

“Because you were worth saving?”

>”I was?”

>The confusion in her voice was almost palpable.
>Even without being able to see her, Lyra somehow knew her face was contorted in doubt and wonder.

>”But wasn’t it dangerous?”

>Insanely.

“Yeah, kinda.”

>”But then why?”

“Because I would prefer it if you weren’t horribly killed?”

>”You want me not dead?”

>There was some rapid scuffling followed by the door swinging open to reveal Floor Bored.
>She looked up at Lyra through her abhorrent posture with watery eyes and a pained smile.

>”That’s the nicest thing anypony’s ever said to me!”

>That’s the saddest thing anypony’d ever said to Lyra.

“C’mon, let’s get you out of here.”

>Floor ran back in for a moment before returning with a blanket draped over her.

>”Sorry. I know I can be a bit odd sometimes.”

>ODD?
>SOMETIMES?

“Don’t worry about it. Hay, I’m friends with Derpy. I don’t mind odd.”

>”What’s wrong with her?”

>Lyra honestly had no idea how to respond to that.
>She guided the walking blanket outside, listening to its heavy breathing.
>Lyra slowed her pace just a bit.

“Let’s get you home.”

>Home.
>To her run down, filthy, mouldy, dark shack.
>For her to rot in her little, solitary cave.
>With nothing but instant noodles and darkness to sustain her.

“Unless you wanna stay with me for a while?”

>”No, please, just get me home.”

“You sure? I don’t mean to offend you but your home kinda sucks.”

>”Please?”

>She sounded sincere.
>As though she wanted nothing more than to return to her hovel.
>Lyra didn’t understand.
>But she wasn’t about to argue.
>This was the most open Floor had ever been around her.
>There was no need to push her on this, if she’d rather be there then who was she to judge?
>Lyra pulled Floor through the city, sticking to back alleys and side roads, eager to avoid the masses.
>Strangely, when she was forced through heavy traffic, others were generally willing to give her a wide berth.
>It was almost as though half the town was afraid of her.
>Why?
>Lyra arrived at the dilapidated apartment.
>Unlike most of the city this place had not been mended.
>Windows were boarded up, chips were missing from the brick facade, the front door was missing entirely…
>Lyra walked in and a racoon ran out between her legs.

“Is that a blood stain in the carpet?”

>They hadn’t even tried to clean the carpet after all that.
>Wait a second.
>This was right by the front door.
>She hadn’t wounded anything there.
>Had this happened AFTER?
>It was inhumane to force somepony to live here.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with me?”

>”This is the only place I feel comfortable.”

>Poor girl.
>They made their way to the top floor and entered Floor’s room.
>Lyra turned on the light.
>Nothing.
>She prepared a simple light spell and dropped her jaw.
>The place was pristine.
>There was no filth, no trash, no smell.
>There were only two room, a small unlit washroom with a narrow shower behind a simple white plywood door.
>In the main room there was a small wooden desk with a computer sat upon it right in the middle, a half refrigerator with its door open, a hot plate sat atop it, and a small pile of bedding piled in the corner.

”This place isn’t quite as I remember it.”

>“Derpy must have cleaned up. I don’t know why she bothers, things just get dirty again.”

>True.
>Especially around here.

“Why is the fridge open? Won’t it burn out?”

>”Oh. It’s been broken since I moved in.”

“Why didn’t you make your landlord fix it? If it’s their appliance it’s their problem.

>”I don’t want trouble.”

“Well I do. Who’s your landlord? They’re not getting another bit until they fix this place up!”

>One thing at a time.

“We’ll worry about that later. You hungry? I’ll go get something.”

>Floor was already sitting at the computer.
>Lyra looked over her shoulder, but quickly looked away.
>Her face was hot with a sudden blush after looking at the lecherous wallpaper.

>”I have to redistribute the virus.”

“You turned it off?”

>”I was worried the internet might go down when the demons came.”

>She was-
>PRIORITIES!

“So we still have that? Good. It’s exactly the kind of thing I need. Floor? I need your help.”

>She looked over her shoulder at Lyra.
>Her sunken eyes looked incredibly tired.

“Okay, are you sure you’re feeling okay?”

>”Better than I’ve felt in years.”

“Seriously?”

>”They said I was low on zinc, iron, selenium, iodine, uhh… a bunch of other things. They gave me a bunch of stuff and I feel way better.”

>How is she still alive?

“You need to take better care of yourself.”

>”Yeah, yeah. I’ll do it later. I gotta catch up.”

>She opened a web browser and began typing at a stunning pace.
>Again, one thing at a time.
>Focus!

“Floor? I need your help.”

>”Hm.”

“It’s obvious that Equestria is broken. Well, I'm no longer satisfied with just watching. It's time for us to take action. To get involved. We can make a difference here!”

>”Mmm.”

“Our society is falling apart. No, it's being TORN apart. And I suppose that’s warranted to some degree. With the tide and all that, they have to do what they have to do, right?”

>”Heh.”

“But it seems like they’re giving up. Twilight especially has given up. If we don’t make them keep trying, things are probably going to get really bad.”

>”Hm.”

“They keep taking these half measures. Invade hell, but don’t use the best weapons. Defend Ponyville, but don’t warn anypony. They try to catch me when I’m messing with their stuff, but then they let me go. It’s obvious that they can’t make up their mind. And when that happens they can’t get anything done.”

>No answer at all.

>”Twilight’s supposed to be studying the tide, but she’s a complete wreck. Celestia’s supposed to be securing their resources and building their industries, getting as much out of ponykind as possible, but I don’t see any factories popping up. Why? Why have they stopped? It’s clear that they’ve given up, and they don’t think it’s even worth trying anymore.”

>”Huh.”

>Was she even listening?

“It’s looking bad. The tide is coming and they don’t think they can stop it. But if they don’t even try at all, obviously they won’t. They need to at least try! It’s too important! We don’t really know how much they’re holding back, but they are. It’s unacceptable, and we need to stop it. We need to be able to control them. We need to be able to control the princesses.”

>No answer again.

“It’s obvious what angle we could use to control them. Cadence and Twilight are the weak links. Those two are the youngest, the least cunning, the most exposed. We just need to manipulate them to control any vote in our favor. I could do it myself! But there’s a problem. How do we keep them from talking? Celestia and Luna have been trying to manipulate me, and I suppose they’ve succeeded. But I’m sure they’d be a lot less lenient if I went and beat up Twilight or one of her friends. Luna probably wouldn’t turn a blind eye if I abducted Flurry. We can't touch them. Not yet at least. Not until we have the means to control ALL of them at the same time.”

>”Uh.”

“If we’re going to do that we need to understand a few things. Why is it that they’re in charge and we aren’t? It’s very simple. Power. They have more power than we do. Because for better or for worse, that’s how the world works. Those who have power get their way. Those who don’t, don’t. Might makes right.”

>”Huh.”

“It’s not that might IS right, it’s possible to be strong and still be bad. But you can’t do any good unless you’re mighty. The most benevolent pony in the world isn’t any good unless they have the power to force others to do what they want. The cruelest pony in the world isn’t a problem if they have no power. I didn’t freeze because I had more power than the timberwolves in Everfree. Derpy didn’t get caught beneath the post office because I had more power than Twilight. I got out of Canterlot because I had enough power to threaten Luna’s interests. You, Dinky, Derpy- all of us are alive because Brook and I weren't weaker. Every single time we get our way, it’s because we were stronger than something else! If we want to keep getting what we want we need MORE power!”

>”Hmm.”

“Luna’s got power of her own, she seems to be a very dangerous pony. But Celestia? Her power comes from her followers. From the masses that do what she wants. She gets her power from her guards and from S.M.I.L.E., some from the civilians too. Either way the result is the same, they have power so they’re in charge. If we want to take charge we need power of our own. The power to impose our will on the world, to force others to do what we want. We need so much power that we can force the princesses themselves to do what we want. Only once we are mighty can we set things right.”

>”Yeah.”

“But as we are we'll never be strong enough. Nopony’s invulnerable.”

>Not even Bonny.

“We can never hope to overpower S.M.I.L.E. ourselves. BUT! What if we were to take some of their power and make it our own? I’ve seen their bombs with my own eyes, they’re terrifying. They’ve got incindiaries that set asbestos on fire, poisons that can cripple even the lords of hell, they had something that cooked an entire army of demons. I don’t know what else they have, but they’re well armed. If we can take control of their super weapons, we can hold all of Equestria ransom.”

>Floor Bored slowly turned around with her jaw agape.
>She stared straight into Lyra’s eyes.
>Lyra wasn’t entirely certain what that expression meant.

“I want Twilight to get back to work. We NEED her to study the tide, to figure out how to stop it! We need to get Celestia to take out all the stops no matter how much discontent it causes, otherwise they won’t have the tools to stop it. We need Luna to be armed with everything available otherwise we won’t even last long enough to be swallowed by the tide. And we need Cadance to finish Helios. Whatever it is, it sounds important. It’s all important! We need to FORCE them to do it all, and to do it right! With just ONE of their bombs in our control, imagine what we can do? If we tell Twilight that the next time she takes one of those stims, Vanhoover gets vaporised, what do you think she’s going to do?”

>Floor blinked deliberately a few times.

“Whatever they used to cook the demons, I want that. Then we tell them that if Luna doesn’t hit the demons with everything she’s got we burn Manehattan to the ground.”

>Floor cocked her head slightly.

“Cadence said a while ago that she didn't have enough electricity, I remember her saying that at the missile stockpile. But that's not true, there’s LOTS more electricity to go around. There are millions of ponies out there wasting it when it could go to Cadences projects! The problem isn't that we don't have enough, the problem is Celestia pampering us with things like air conditioning.”

>”Wha- WHAT?”

“Luna was complaining about a lack of munitions and fuel. They're desperate for workers and can't keep up with demand. Celestia's TRYING to get it done by playing with the bits, but this is no time for half measures. We need all hooves on deck here. Why is it just the prisoners being made to help out? Why haven’t they drafted every unemployed pony in Equestria to make munitions? Where are the labor camps?”

>”Lemme get this straight. Your plan is to steal a nuclear bomb, point it at a major city, and then threaten the most influential ponies in existence with ANNIHILATION until they declare a state of total war and turn the whole WORLD into some kind of global slave camp.”

“I mean, it doesn’t have to be a bomb.”

>”Are you INSANE?”

>Possibly?

“There is no room for half measures, there’s too much at stake.”

>She rubbed her eyes briefly before staring at Lyra again in disbelief.

>”Hold on. I’m going to get Starlight on the line.”

“Yeah, do that. We’re going to need her help too.”

>”Mental help.”

>Starlight’s voice came through the speakers.
>It was shaky, timid.
>Meek.
>It was the voice of one who was afraid of everything and anything.

>”Hello?”

“Starlight, I’m going to need your help.”

>”There were- there were demons.”

“Yeah.”

>”There were demons everywhere.”

“I warned ya.”

>”They’re REAL!”

“And you owe me at least one apology, because I was right.”

>”But there were demons in Ponyville!”

>Is she broken?

“Can we focus? I need your help with something.”

>”But-”

“Yes, yes. I get it. I’m trying to get rid of them!”

>”Sorry! I’m so sorry, please forgive me!”

“Okay, no. Hold on. Why is everypony afraid of me?”

>Floor prodded Lyra a few times.
>She apprehensively looked at the screen, fearful for what other lewd things might be displayed.
>Instead, she was greeted with a news article.
>A news article about her.
>And about how she’d recieved the Solstice Star.
>There, front and center, was a picture of her all made up.
>With a hideous snarl, the face of one who was about to erupt in blind fury.
>The face of a madmare.

“Local resident Lyra Heartstrings… for her role in repelling the recent monster attack? They weren’t just monsters, whatever. Yeah, yeah. Resulting in thousands dead and injured. Lyra, who reportedly destroyed the entire invading force on her own, is known for her explosive temper and- I don’t have an explosive temper! Do I?”

>Starlight spoke up, but she still seemed a bit fearful.

>”Rumor has it you screamed at princess Celestia, and you almost kicked her in the face.”

>Huh.
>She couldn’t deny that.
>Well, the kick yeah.
>She’d have probably used her magic.
>Was that better or worse?

“So everypony’s afraid of me because they think I’m a violent psychopath who can wipe out an entire army of demons and is likely to snap at any moment?”

>She wasn’t certain, but Lyra thought she heard Floor Bored say “cool”.

“Well, what I’m about to say doesn’t exactly refute that. Look, Equestria has systems in place to deal with all this stuff, but the machinery of the state has stalled out. We need to get the gears turning again.”

>”How will that stop the demons?”

>Lyra wasn’t sure if she was being honest with herself.
>She’d only really thought things half way through.
>After all, she was still missing so much information.
>But she could offer a partial answer.

“By removing Celestia from the equation we will unleash S.M.I.L.E.’s full potential. She’s limiting their actions because of moral concerns. We need to convince her to get out of the way.”

>”You’re sure they can handle it if we do?”

>No.

“Yes. And that’s why we need to get her to step out of the way.”

>”Ooookayyy. But how do we do that?”

“We threaten her. We need to find some way to force her to do what we want.”

>”And what do you propose?”

“Well, I’ve got a few ideas. But the simplest is probably to steal a nuclear bomb.”

>”What?”

“We steal a nuclear bomb, point it at a big city, and tell her our demands.”

>The only sound was the slow dripping of Floor’s leaking sink.

“Did we lose the connection?”

>”No, I’m just- WHAT?”

“Steal a nuke, boss the princesses around. Simple.”

>”Lemme get this straight. Your plan is to steal a nuclear bomb, point it at a major city, and then threaten the most influential ponies in existence with ANNIHILATION until they do what you want?”

“Why is this so hard to understand? There’s a problem and I’m trying to fix it.”

>”Lyra, what HAPPENED to you?”

>Bon-Bon got hurt.
>That was the line.
>No more holding back, it was time to go all out.
>She was going to end this.

“Well, there were demons in the streets for one. Look, we don’t have to START with the bomb, I’ve got some smaller ideas we can use first. But we’re going to need power if we’re going to get anything done. Might makes right, and what’s mightier than the bomb?”

>”But blowing up an entire city?”

“We don’t have to use it! Hay, it’s better for us if we don’t. We just need to be able to threaten them with it, or something similar. We need power if we’re going to get anything done.”

>”But-”

“Agent zero was wounded. They’re permanently disfigured and disabled. Their best agent bar none isn’t good enough to stop hell. Think about that. Every time an agent is so much as SCRATCHED it’s a permanent loss, and the demons never stop coming. What happens when an agent dies? What happens when an entire cell dies? Hay, they’re controlling the plague with antibiotics, but those are apparently going to stop working. What happens when every single agent succumbs to the plague? They’re running out of time! S.M.I.L.E. is getting weaker by the SECOND, and the enemy isn’t even slowing down. Now that they’re free to target Elysium at will? It’s only a matter of time before we’re COMPLETELY overrun. And let’s not forget the tide! They have NO solutions, NO ideas, NO plans! They’re not even TRYING anymore! This is real, it’s happening right now, and we’re going to fix it. But we can’t fix it without POWER. We NEED power! And we’re going to get it, one way or another. And once we have it we’re going to FORCE them to clean up their act. Might. Makes. Right.”

>Floor was chewing on her lip pensively.
>It looked like she was seriously thinking about it.
>As though Lyra’s words had finally reached her.
>To Lyra’s surprise, Floor spoke first.

>”I don’t know.”

>”Who’s that?”

>Lyra ignored Starlight for the time being.

“How would you like to matter? To be important? How would YOU of all ponies like to make history? To be the saviour of ponykind?”

>”It sounds terrible.”

“But you can do it anonymously! From the, ahem, ‘comfort’ of your home. Your life could matter, hay, your life could be one of the most important lives ever lived! You would be no failure, you would be the unsung heroine of history! One of the greatest mares to ever grace this world with her presence! And nopony would even need to know your name.”

>Floor had a thousand meter stare, she was lost in thought.
>Starlight came back in.

>”Are you sure the bomb is necessary?”

“It doesn’t have to be the bomb, but we need something. Something terribly destructive, something that will scare the bejeezus out of them. We start small, threatening little things. Every time they fail to meet our demands we hit them with everything we threatened and more. Then we threaten something worse next time. But we need an end game, something so unbelievably terrible they’ll do whatever we say. We need something to escalate to.”

>”But isn’t there some other way?”

>Was there?
>She’d thought it over time and again.
>But it really didn’t look like it.
>No matter how she looked at the problem, Lyra ALWAYS came to the same conclusion.

“Power is law.”

>”Hnnn… What you’re proposing is dangerous.”

“I know.”

>”I’m not sure we can do it.”

“We’ll leverage whatever we can. Like I said, it doesn’t have to be the bomb. We just need power. The power to destroy anything and everything they care about. We can’t build without the power to destroy.”

>”I'll think about it.”

“Do. And while you're thinking, take a good long look at Twilight. See what she's doing to herself and ask if that's really who you want at the helm. If you REALLY think we can afford to sit back and watch things unfold.”

>”Okay. I will.”

>The line went dead.

>”Do you think she'll help with that?”

“She will.”

>One way or another.
>Lyra needed Starlight, her privileged knowledge was an incredible asset.
>And she WOULD have her.
>It would be best if she decided to help on her own.
>But even if she didn't, Lyra would have her way.
>After all, she was more powerful.

“Will you?”

>”I'll try to help. But I get a say in what our demands are.”

“Thank you. I know I'm asking a lot of you. I know we'll have to watch our every step too. So far it's just been a warm-up, Luna wanted me poking around. But there's no way she wants us taking over. They are definitely going to try and catch us the moment they know something’s happening. We’re going to have to be completely invisible, and have undisputable alibis. At least until we hold all the cards. We are weak, they are strong. That means we need to be careful.”

>”What do you want me to do?”

“Not sure yet. They’re dependant on their computers though, and I don’t know anything about them. I’m sure I’ll need you to break into one at some point. I’m not going to be able to do this alone.”

>”And what about Derpy?”

“I think I’m going to leave her out of this if I can. She needs to take care of her daughter.”

>Derpy was too kind, too sweet.
>It would be perverse to give her this task.
>Lyra would call on her if absolutely necessary.
>But for now?
>She just wanted Derpy and Dinky to be happy together.

“Do you still have access to the researcher’s office computers? The ones studying the tide?”

>”I think so.”

“Great. We’ll need to keep tabs on them to see if Twilight’s playing along. Speaking of, I’m going to go pay her a visit, remind her that she has a job to do. Thank you again, Floor.”

>Lyra moved to leave the building.
>But she paused moments after opening the door.

“You sure you don’t want me to fetch you something to eat?”

>”If it’s not too much to ask…”

>”Sure thing. What’s your opinion on pierogies?”

“What are those?”

“Oh, you’re in for a treat. I’ll see you soon. And Floor? I’m glad you’re not dead.”

>What a bizarre thing to say.
>Lyra headed out.
>First to the supermarket.
>Then to Twilight’s.

                                                *       *       *       *       *
>Lyra lay in bed, wide awake.
>She’d planned on taking a nap before her excursion today.
>But to no avail.
>She couldn’t stop thinking about her next op.
>Her heart rate was already elevated, her adrenal glands already excited.
>Because this was fundamentally different from all the ones before.
>She wasn’t gathering information.
>Lyra was trying to impose her will on the state.
>To wrest control of Equestria itself and change the course of history.
>It was exciting.
>But also terrifying.
>There disturbing questions she didn’t wish to ponder.
>Questions she was scared to answer.
>Just how far was she willing to go?
>Who and what would she step on to reach her goal?
>How far was she willing to go?
>What would the price of her rebellion be?
>Lyra didn’t want to know.
>But she DID know that it had to be done.
>The stakes were too high for her to sit idly by, not while there was a chance she could help.
>Even if her help wasn’t welcome.
>She rolled over and glanced at the clock.
>Three in the morning.
>Time to move.
>She climber out and stretched her back before walking out into the night.
>She’d lost pretty much all of her gear, a fact that Lyra was still bemoaning.
>Derpy still had some spare slide dealies she could probably gt.
>But other than that she was woefully underequipped.
>Luckily for Lyra her greatest asset wasn’t her gear, it was her horn.
>She walked into the night painted a deep blue.
>Her movements in the darkened back alleys were confident and swift.
>One who saw her might think her arrogant or oblivious for marching so boldly through the treacherous night.
>One might be right, for nopony was invulnerable, nopony immortal.
>But one might also be wrong, for Lyra was far and above your average everyday mugger or brigand.
>Few as they were, they were seldom a threat to your average pony.
>To Lyra they were no longer a consideration.
>She idly wondered if this was what the agents of S.M.I.L.E. felt when they saw one such as her skulking in the shadows.
>Dismissive indifference at the sight of an inconsequential foe, mild irritation as though beset by a buzzing gnat, bemusement at the sight of what amounted to a foal challenging a giant…
>There were a myriad of ways they might perceive her, none of them flattering.
>It would be best if they never saw her at all.
>Lyra approached Twilight’s palace, letting out a groan when she saw the heightened security.
>There were far more than two guards here this night.
>More than two dozen.
>Large coils of razor wire surrounded the building, slowing any who approached by ground.
>Flood lights illuminated the surrounding area ensuring none could approach unseen.
>And it was hard to tell through the blinding light, but Lyra thought she spotted something perched amongst the branches.
>Likely nothing friendly.
>Could she fight her way in?
>Almost certainly.
>The royal guard was a joke, feeble, a paper tiger set in her path.
>They looked intimidating, and they were armed. The guard may be sufficient to control the masses.
>But they were ill equipped to handle real opposition.
>No, the guards were not a threat at all.
>But being seen was inviting ruin.
>Her greatest strength lie in surprise and misdirection.
>It would be unwise for Lyra to strike here where Twilight was at her strongest.
>Best case scenario backup would be called and Lyra would be forced to flee.
>No, it was better to strike at another time when Twilight was exposed.
>Lyra knew exactly the time and place.
>But what to do in the meantime?
>She needed to show her power, to prove she was capable.
>She needed to threaten Twilight.
>Why not get a head start?
>Lyra returned home with haste.
>She tore up an old newspaper pulling letters out of it to paste upon a page and form a note.
>It would do her no good if they were able to identify her writing.
>Lyra returned to the alleyways and moved to the outskirts of town, beyond the suburbs, beyond the city limits, and into sparse woods.
>There was an odd tension in these woods at night, even so far from everfree.
>Lyra was almost perfectly safe her. She was far more than capable of protecting herself from anything that prowled in the dark.
>But these dark woods preyed on something very primal in her psyche.
>The visceral knowledge at the fact that a predator could be lurking behind any tree, inside any bush.
>The fear of these shadows gnawed at the most primitive parts of her mind instilling emotions that had been imprinted into her genome over countless generations.
>It was a fear that sharpened focus and sped movement.
>It was this fear that she hoped to wield for her own ends.
>Lyra came upon Fluttershy’s cottage.
>It was the very picture of tranquility surrounded by sleeping beasts and critters, friendly and fearsome faces scattered about in the moonlit clearing.
>And no signs of heightened security.
>No guards, no lights, no fences, nothing.
>Had Twilight dismissed her warning as an idle threat?
>Perhaps she thought that whatever security she could drum up would be so ineffectual as to be useless.
>She walked boldly onward passing by a snoring hounds and beasts.
>None saw fit to awaken as she approached.
>Lyra cracked the front door open, nearly striking a sleeping brown bear as she did.
>She was surrounded a fluffy army who’d gladly rise to Fluttershy’s aid.
>What she'd assumed at first would be a simple, risk free outing was not without danger.
>She didn't close the door for fear of making sound, instead electing to move onward at a pace that would make a tortoise seem swift as a hare.
>Lyra's eyes struggled to adapt to the darkness, she made every step deliberately, pausing to listen as she moved along, bemoaning the loss of her thermal goggles.
>She made her way to the kitchen guided by the dripping of a leaky faucet.
>She gently slid a drawer open with her magic and began to pull things out.
>Fluttershy did not have a wide array of knives, she didn't even have a complete set.
>Lyra had assumed that her tendency to feed such a wide array of creatures would have lead her to prepare a wide array of dishes.
>And indeed it seemed as though she had every kitchen gadget one could care to name.
>But poor Fluttershy kept stunningly few knives
>Lyra claimed the largest of the bunch, a mid sized utility knife.
>Curiosity lead her to test the edge.
>It was about as sharp as a ball-peen hammer.
>Poor, fearful, innocent Fluttershy was afraid of even her kitchen.
>Lyra approached Fluttershy's room nervously, hesitantly.
>This was the most delicate part of her excursion. 
>If she was to make maximum impact she had to pass completely unseen.
>She had to make it known that she could come and go as she pleased, that there was nothing they could do to stop her.
>She came upon the door sitting ajar as though to allow the passage of smaller creatures.
>Moonlight poured gently through the window to illuminate the sleeping pony, her chest slowly rising and falling beneath the weight of a furry white lump.
>Angel, the terror that he was, seemed so gentle as he slept upon her.
>The soft lighting completed a scene of tranquility, of serenity.
>To disturb them would be perverse!
>A wanton act of aggression against one of the gentlest, kindest ponies in the history of ponies!
>Was she really going to do this to FLUTTERSHY of all ponies?
>She was the epitome of innocence!
>Bon-Bon’s tormented face came to mind unbidden.
>Lyra steeled herself.
>She produced the note she’d prepared at home and took a quick glance to ensure all the letters were in place.
>It was too dark to read.
>Lyra pinned it to the door working the knife as deep as she could into the heavy oak.
>It was a simple message, designed to instill fear.
>Just four little words.
>”Twilight. I am watching.”
>She walked in the shallows of the nearby river for fear of Fluttershy’s menagerie following her scent.
>Lyra let out a breath she didn’t realise she’d been holding.
>This was the easiest operation she’d done in quite some time.
>And though she was surrounded by creatures, none of them were half as dangerous as the literal demons she’d fought not so long ago.
>Yet Lyra was tense, full of a terrible excitement.
>Why was this still frightening?
>Was this tension unavoidable around the mere prospect of violence?
>Even against a much lesser foe?
>Did one ever grow accustomed to it?
>Was it possible that the few agents she’d faced off against were fearful when they faced her?
>It seemed laughable.
>But she’d been afraid in Fluttershy’s cottage of all places.
>Lyra made her way back into the city, her mind busy, unfocused.
>A million thoughts milled about, each pulling her focus in a different direction; her mind was a chaotic mess, a wreck that couldn’t hope to accomplish anything of value-
>She shook her head violently.
>This was no time to get lost in idle thought, her job wasn’t yet done!
>It was time to go to the post office.
>She had a message to deliver.
>The sky was beginning to take a light yellow tint by the time she’d arrived.
>Lyra climbed into the bushes near the back and waited.
>Here, back where it all began.
>Derpy had said Twilight came here every morning at dawn to retrieve a sample.
>A sample of what, though?
>And for what purpose?
>Perhaps she could simply ask-
>No.
>Twilight thought that Lyra was an agent, that she was an unstoppable terror who could vanish without a trace.
>She thought Lyra had her hoof on the pulse of the whole operation, tapping into every tiny aspect.
>Any sign of weakness, any sign of ignorance, ANY shortcoming could break that illusion.
>It would be best to maintain that illusion, to seem as dangerous as possible.
>And to throw her off her scent.
>Tempting though it was Lyra couldn’t afford to ask that question.
>If she was to ask anything it had to be minor details or trivia.
>Not major operations and projects.
>Lyra came upon the post office and settled herself in a nearby bush.
>And there she waited.
>She waited for hours.
>The sun was well past risen and Lyra was beginning to nod off.
>She was struggling to keep her eyes open when it happened.
>A dishevelled looking Twilight approached on hoof, dragging herself along at a snail’s pace.
>She hadn’t brushed her mane, or even bathed in what must have been days.
>Lyra snapped to attention.
>She waited patiently for Twilight to open the door.
>The moment it cracked open her magic lashed out and bound Twilight’s tail to the ground.
>She pulled on Twilight’s horn painfully, and delivered a light geyser strike to her knee.
>Twilight tumbled to the ground gracelessly.
>Lyra ran in, pulling Twilight with her.
>She hurriedly closed the door behind them, making sure it was locked.
>Twilight lay on the ground groaning in pain.
>Lyra on her flank.
>She spoke with her squeaky stallion voice.

“You’re late.”

>Twilight didn’t struggle.
>She didn’t even move.

“Dawn. Every morning. Late.”

>”Why do you care?”

“Why do I care?”

>She ground her hoof into Twilight’s flesh just a little harder.
>The prone princess recoiled in pain.

“Why do I care that everything I love, everything I’ve fought to protect, is going to be wiped away? Why do I care that everything S.M.I.L.E. is doing, that all the terror and suffering we’ve faced, that the ponies WHO’VE DIED wasted their lives, all because a librarian was LAZY?”

>She raised her leg to kick Twilight.
>But staring down at the broken wretch before her, she just didn’t have the heart.
>Lyra let Twilight go.

“Look at yourself. Top of every class you ever took, magical prodigy fit to be an archmage, more connections than I can count, groomed for greatness by Celestia herself. And now you're laying at my hooves, too pathetic even to stand. I used to despise you. But now? I just feel sorry for you.”

>”Just kill me and get it over with.”

“Kill you? No, I've got something much more painful in mind for you. I'm going to put you back together. You used to be something great. Something amazing. You could have done anything, BEEN anything. The waste of skin I see before me is a travesty. We need a miracle and you're going to provide it.”

>”I tried.”

“Try HARDER!”

>”It's hopeless, don't you get it? HOPELESS!”

>Her face turned to meet Lyra's eyes.
>And for the first time since the fateful day of the invasion, Lyra truly looked at Twilight Sparkle.
>She drank in the sight before her drinking in detail that a cursory glance would never yield.
>Even beneath the illusion it was apparent that Twilight Sparkle was a sickly mare.
>Her hollow tear filled eyes seemed so lifeless, no more vital than a stone.
>Her rotten teeth were unlike anything Lyra had seen before. Cracked and blackened pegs that protruded too far from receding gums.

>”We. Can't. Stop it!”

>Tears leaked freely from Twilight’s eyes.
>She didn’t make any attempt to wipe them away, nor did she attempt to hide her face as it contorted in torment.

“Can’t? No. Not like this. THIS pony can’t do anything. You’re useless! But there was a better Twilight Sparkle once. One that I looked up to. We WILL have her back, whether you like it or not.”

>Twilight didn’t say anything.
>She didn’t DO anything.
>She just lie on the ground, an unmoving lump waiting to die.
>Lyra had meant it before when she’d said she felt sorry for Twilight.
>But this was beyond mere pity.
>This was like looking at a wounded puppy.
>But Lyra had to be strong!
>She had to FORCE Twilight to step in line.
>Because it was clear she wasn’t going to take care of herself.

“I am not your enemy, Twilight. What I do now is for your own good no matter how much it hurts. This is a worried parent spanking a filly who insists on playing by the cliff, a painful vaccine preventing a terrible illness, a- umm, I’ve run out of metaphors. Whatever! I’m here to help you.”

>”Don’t bother. It’s over.”

“You’re so quick to surrender.”

>”QUICK?”

>A fire seemed to have been lit inside her, the dying embers within suddenly fanned and fueled.
>Twilight Sparkle flailed about for a moment before climbing to her hooves.
>Lyra prepared to attack, unsure of what was happening.

>”YEARS of study, day in and out, HUNDREDS of sleepless nights, dangerous experiments- I’ve done EVERYTHING and then some! The tide is unstoppable!”

“You’re looking at the problem from the wrong angle. Every problem has a solution.”

>”What? NO! That’s- there is no solution, there is no hope, and there is no point! Don’t you think they’d have found it?”

>They?
>What’s she on about?
>Twilight had proven before that she had loose lips.
>Perhaps it was time to go fishing.

“Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe you’re smarter than them, maybe you see the world in a different light.”

>”Pfft. Yeah, me, smarter? Smarter than the ones who mapped out hyperspace on the Planck level? Smarter than the ones who tapped zero point energy? How about the ones who turned their star into a giant thruster with nothing but a series of mirrors? Oh, how about the ones who built their own PLANETS?”

>Twilight jabbed a hoof in Lyra’s direction.
>Tears were still streaming down her face, but they were no longer accompanies by a vacant expression.
>Twilight’s visage seemed torn between rage and sorrow.

>”Tens of THOUSANDS of species, empires so vast they conquered BILLIONS of stars, marvels of engineering and fields of study that can’t even be described in our languages!”

>Her leg slowly sagged down to the ground.
>And with it her rump.
>Twilight sat on the floor hard.
>She buried her muzzle in her front legs.

>”A galaxy full of friends, full of life. The whole galaxy sharing what they know freely, helping each other out. All united by a singular purpose, stop the tide! Dead. Before we even knew how to say hello. Millions of years before we even knew they were there.”

>She raised her head and looked Lyra in the face.
>Twilight was trembling.
>Fear?

>”We’re ALONE now. Every single signal we were able to pick up has been snuffed out. The observatory is silent. NONE of them found a way out, NONE survived. What hope do we have?”

>The whole galaxy stood as a united front.
>Every species capable of communicating, all in correspondence.
>All sharing everything they knew.
>All dead.
>Alien creatures beyond imagination, populations beyond number, minds beyond comprehension.
>Dead.
>That…
>Wow.
>That was a lot to take in.
>Lyra reached out with her magic and brushed Twilight’s tears away.

>”They were the best of the best, and they couldn’t do it. It’s over.”

>The best of the best?
>Lyra knew a thing or two about that.
>The best were still fallible.
>Still mortal.
>There was no such thing as perfection.

“I won’t pretend to understand how difficult it is to stop the tide. But I understand struggle. It’s easy to surrender, to lay down and die. But you will regret it in the end. You’ll watch it consume everything you’ve ever known and loved, watch everything that’s good in the world be washed away. You’ll watch your friends and family, the old and the young alike consumed before your eyes, until there’s nothing left. Not even memories. And all the while you’ll be wondering. Wondering if there was something you could have done different. If maybe, just maybe you could have stopped it.”

>Twilight slowly averted her gaze, guilt just barely visible beneath the pain.

“It’s hard to keep trying. To keep improving. You look to the best for inspiration and guidance, and you can’t even understand how far above you they are. You work and you toil but the peak doesn’t get closer. It gets further. You start to understand just how lowly you are. And then something strange happens. You start to understand that the best of the best feel the same way as you do. You think the aliens knew everything? That they had a perfect understanding of the universe and its inner workings? They didn’t. They were missing something, even if it was small. It might even be something you already know, something we take for granted. Even the absolute best are flawed. Even number zero can improve. They can always push a little harder and climb a little higher no matter how great they become, because there is no such thing as perfect. One cannot summit the mountain, Twilight. There is no peak.”

>”There is no peak?”

>Twilight started chewing on her lip.
>She was deep in thought.
>Something about those words had reached her.
>The gears in her head, seized for who knows how long, had begun to spin once more.
>All too soon she slumped over, consumed by despair.
>It was working.
>Lyra just needed to push harder.

“I meant what I said earlier, by the way. If I think you’re not trying hard enough, if you’re not putting everything you have into this project, I’m taking it out on your friends and family.”

>She tensed up visibly.
>It was an odd sight, seeing panic piled atop all the other swirling emotions.

“I already paid Fluttershy a visit this morning. You should go and check on her.”

>Twilight lunged at Lyra, catching her by surprise.
>She tackled Lyra and threw the both of them to the ground.
>Twilight wrestled with her for but a moment trying to get on top.
>She was surprisingly weak.
>Lyra didn’t even need to use her magic to come out on top.
>Before long she was sitting on Twilight’s back.
>Triumphant.

>”Why?”

“I haven’t hurt her. Yet. But I will.”

>”Fluttershy is innocent! She doesn’t even KNOW about all this!”

“All the more reason for you to protect her. I don’t ask much of you.”

>Yet.

“But I will be watching. No more stims. Ever.”

>”But-”

“Next time you’re about to take one imagine what I can do to her. Imagine trying to explain to her that you cared more about your drugs than you did her. Because that’s the price. Imagine facing your broken and bleeding mother and explaining to her what you’ve become. Or you can give me what I want. Understood?”

>She nodded.

“Good. No more stims, you’re of no use to us like this. I want you to continue studying the tide from all angles, looking for any way you can stop it or even slow it down. Hold nothing back. I want full progress reports written up every week to make sure you’re actually trying, you don’t have to deliver them to me. I’ll find them.”

>”Okay. You win.”

“Oh. And umm… mandatory 2d husbandos for everypony.”

>”What?”

“I don’t know either.”

>Dang it, Floor.

“Remember. You belong to me now. I’m stronger than you, and that means I make the rules. Capiche?”

>”Ca-what?”

>Lyra stood and began to walk away.

“Sunday. You’re going to write up everything you’ve done for the week, and everything you’re planning. I’ll be watching.”

>Lyra felt magic forming behind her.
>She didn’t even turn to look.
>She produced a geyser strike and blasted Twilight right in the solar plexus.
>A loud gasp of pain could be heard from behind.

“I own you, Twilight. Don’t forget it.”

>Lyra left the post office.
>It was time to go to bed.

                                                *       *       *       *       *

>Lyra stood in the shower lost in thought.
>The dye she'd sought to remove was long gone, as was the hot water.
>She thought over what she'd just done, what she'd just said, even what she'd been planning.
>She examined it all and couldn't help but feel disgusted.
>It was abhorrent!
>Direct threats of immediate physical harm against an innocent bystander!
>And the vitriol she'd spewed at Twilight, calling her a waste of skin?
>How had that done any good?
>She stepped out of the shower shivering cold, her entire coat drenched in icy water.
>Lyra dried herself absentmindedly, missing several parts in the process.
>She stared in the mirror, and what looked back dismayed her.
>Those familiar amber eyes stared back accusingly.
>How could that face, HER face, really be attached to a terrorist?
>Those hideous creatures, Deimos and Phobia. Avatars of pure self centered evil.
>And she was copying their playbook!
>Controlling others with fear and violence, she was even planning on extorting Starlight!
>Did that not make her a traitor too?
>She turned away in disgust unable to bear her own appearance.
>Lyra from a month ago would never have done this.
>Lyra from a year ago would never have even thought of it!
>It was clear that following this path was changing her.
>She feared what might lie at the end.
>Was it too late to turn back?
>Had that ever been an option?
>She was one of the fallen now, no longer fit to walk this veritable Eden, for she had tasted the fruit.
>Lyra looked over at her Solstice Star- cast haphazardly upon the table- and couldn't help but feel hollow.
>It was meant to be a symbol of courage and selflessness, the mark of a defender! But it was also the mark of a remorseless killer, one so adept in destruction that she could give the beasts of Orcus pause.
>She has taken the mark, embraced hatred, and for her efforts countless innocent were spared.
>It HAD been the right thing to do, of this she had no doubt.
>But had it cost her soul?
>Celestia had been right, truth WAS a corrupting force, knowledge gained WAS innocence lost.
>Innocence...
>What was it worth? More than truth? Was Celestia perhaps justified in suppressing all this knowledge lest the public abandon harmony? Was it right to lie to everypony for fear that they might grow aggressive and violent?
>For fear that they might change as Lyra had?
>Luna seemed to care little for innocence, little for harmony. She embraced destruction in a way that none other had, mercilessly purging whatever opposed her, spreading the vile truth to her advisors and informants without care, throwing good ponies to their doom in the dark abyss of Orcus. 
>She was corrupting and bleeding everything in her midst in the pursuit of power.
>A hellish reality where pony was pit against pony, where power was law.
>Or harmonious surrender to the void.
>Struggle or surrender.
>Night or day.
>Celestia or Luna.
>There had to be a third path.
>There HAD to!
>Lyra wandered into the den and moved to the couch.
>A shattering sound filled the air, glass exploding into her house as a bulky cloaked figure leapt through her window.
>Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the earth pony, clad entirely in a dark green bodysuit, sailed through the air. Their broad muscular frame rippled beneath the thin veneer of cloth betraying a veritable powerhouse of a stallion, strong even by earth pony standards.
>They turned their eyes straight at Lyra while in midair.
>Their facial features were entirely obscured, their eyes covered by darkened lenses. Lyra could no more identify them than she could walk on water.
>But she could feel the aggression, the intent behind their moves. There was no doubt that this pony had come looking for a fight.
>Lyra plucked the shattered glass from the air and formed a thick cloud of flying blades between herself and her foe.
>She launched a few particularly large shards at the invader without thinking.
>They effortlessly stepped aside, the projectiles digging deep into the drywall.
>Lyra’s jaw sagged in disbelief as they ran through the cloud completely unphased, legs carrying them far faster than she would have ever expected from a pony so large.
>Lyra used her magic to throw everything and anything in their path, tables, chairs, wastebaskets- everything and anything she could find was thrown in their path as Lyra ran to the kitchen.
>The lights dimmed briefly as Bon-Bon’s hidden taser discharged. In a sane world against a reasonable foe that would have spelled the end. But it was to no avail. They followed undaunted, effortlessly navigating the impromptu obstacle course in their relentless pursuit of their terrified prey, the taser having lodged itself harmlessly in the carpet.
>They were just too fast to hit, it was hopeless!
>But she had to try!
>Lyra groped around desperately trying to bind their tail, their leg, to snare ANYTHING as she moved further in. Droors, pots, pans, cutlery- everything and anything she could find came alive in a miasma of madness as she relentlessly and ineffectually attacked her pursuer.
>Lyra had just barely opened the door to her bedroom when she felt a painful blow sweeping her hind legs out from under her. The world turned sideways and she landed hard on the plush carpeting below.
>Lyra reached into the closet with her magic as she crawled backwards, pulling out a small metal lump out from under one of Bon-Bon’s saddle.
>She could only hope that the firearm was loaded.
>She shoved the package in between their ribs and pulled the trigger. The bang she’d been expected came as a rapid series of blasts, dozens of bullets spraying out in the blink of an eye right into her assailant.
>Lyra dropped the weapon, horrified.
>Horrified by the fact that she’d just turned a deadly weapon on a pony.
>More horrified that they seemed completely unphased.
>”Not too smart, are ya? I’d suggest you stop moving.”
>He spoke with a surprisingly high pitched androgynous voice, a tone that one might have expected from a colt or unusually husky mare. It was not the tone one would expect from the wall of muscle that had completely overwhelmed her magic.
>Her assailant sat on her barrel, their crushing weight completely immobilising her small frame.
>A single hoof pressed gently down on her neck.
>”Nine-nine, tango’s down. Confirm identity? Negative, keep the V.I.P. out, A.O’s hot.”
>Lyra’s adrenaline addled brain drank in every detail of the pony above her. Every fiber, every gadget.
>They seemed to be wearing the plastic armor that Lyra herself had owned not so long ago, the lightweight and flexible mesh of woven fibers allowing for full mobility while still protecting
>She saw no signs of damage on it whatsoever, save for a small cluster of holes where the bullets had struck, revealing thick chocolate brown fur.
>”Confirm that last? I strongly- understood.”
“Who are you talking to?”
>Lyra could hear hoofsteps approach.
>A long, slender, white leg crossed the threshold into her room.
>Princess Celestia was here.
>”I’m extremely disappointed, Lyra. You used to be better than this.”
>The pony pinning Lyra down was unwilling to stay silent as Celestia spoke.
>”You CERTAIN this is the right one?”
>”Positive. Why do you ask?”
>”You told me she was powerful.”
>Ow, my pride!
>The agent continued to speak as though she weren’t there.
>”She had an m5 5.56 machine pistol. We really should sweep the area.”
>”There will be no need. Lyra will do us no harm.”
>How was she so sure?
>Was she betting on Lyra’s compliance? Or maybe on the threat posed by her agent?
>”I heard a weapon discharge. Lyra, if we were to search this area, how many weapons would we find?”
“Lots. I live with an agent.”
>Celestia let out a low, long humming noise, the sound of one who had a million things to say but could not decide with which to begin.
>She eventually decided to skirt around the issue, perhaps reluctant to address the heart of the matter.
>”Fluttershy is inconsolable. We’ve done everything we can to assure her that she’s safe, she’s got her own detachment of guards now. But she’s nearly catatonic! Why would you do that to her?”
>Lyra turned her eyes to meet Celestia’s.
>It was a painful contortion of the neck, pinned as she was.
>But Lyra had to see for herself.
>The sadness painted on Celestia’s face was genuine.
>There were no tears, but every other sign of dismay was present.
>”And you injured Twilight! Lyra, I taught you magic myself! I saw you using it to spread joy, love- I thought you’d use your gift to make beauty! Why would you use it to hurt princess Twilight?”
>Lyra tried to answer firmly and steadily, to suggest absolute confidence in her every word and action.
>She couldn’t keep the doubt out of her voice.
“I did what I had to?”
>”Was the knife really necessary? Fluttershy thinks some madpony is out to kill her!”
>Lyra really wasn’t sure.
>She had to make the message clear, and yet…
>”Lyra, I’ve worked for millenia to make Equestria a realm of peace and harmony. A place where everypony can be happy and free! You’re a threat to that. Equestria is in danger, I cannot ignore this any longer!”
“I’m not the one threatening Equestria and you know it!”
>”You injured Twilight!”
“And you damn near got Bonny killed!”
>Lyra’s ire was rising, the terrible trembling of fury overriding her fear and trepidation.
>Her heart was hammering in her throat as she did her best to glare daggers at Celestia.
“Bon-Bon got brutally wounded, and you didn’t even have to common decency to tell me! You think I CARE that Twilight got bruised a little? Bonny’s missing her damn eye!”
>Celestia took a half step back, the sadness on her face replaced with shock.
>”Zero’s hurt?”
>The pony pinning Lyra down gasped when Celestia spoke. 
>”Wait. She knows Zero? Oh- oh no, YOU’RE the pony she keeps talking about?”
>They quickly climbed off of Lyra and offered her a hoof to help her up.
>”I am SO sorry, I didn’t know- if I had any clue I’d have- oh stars please don’t tell her I hurt you!”
>”Agent, you’re-”
>”You want my advice, princess? Don’t mess with Zero. She’s NUTS.”
“Hay! Bonny isn’t nuts, she’s well adjusted. At least I think she is… Hold on, when did-”
>Had she ever done anything that seemed crazy?
>Lyra couldn’t think of anything off the top of her head.
>Wait, there was that one time that she went to hell voluntarily.
>And then that time that she went BACK...
>Celestia spoke again, and once more her tone had changed.
>The shock was under control, the sadness suppressed.
>Celestia spoke firmly, demanding that Lyra give her what she wanted.
>”Where is Bon-Bon now? Is she resting?”
“No. She was thrown straight back into the pit. You’d know that if you were paying any attention!”
>Lyra climbed up onto the edge of the bed and began to massage her bruised joints.
>”You still haven’t explained to me why you threatened Twilight and Fluttershy. What were you doing?”
“I was doing what YOU should have done long ago!”
>Lyra shoved a hoof aggressively in Celestia’s direction.
“TOUGH. LOVE. Twilight’s destroying herself and she’s not going to put herself back together without a push! Her spirit is BROKEN, she’s beyond hope, beyond despair- Twilight doesn’t care about herself anymore AT ALL! She needs to be FORCED to clean herself up, and her friends are the only thing I could leverage to do that! She’s YOUR protege, she’s YOUR problem. I shouldn’t have to clean up YOUR messes! Hay, if you’d been keeping an eye on her she wouldn’t be in this condition in the first place!”
>”My mess?”
>She had no idea.
“Just how out of touch are you anyway? You don’t even know when your own agents get wounded? You don’t know when Twilight’s self destructing? You have NO idea what your sister’s doing- What do you even DO?”
>”Is something wrong with Twilight?”
“Last time I saw her she told me to kill her. Said it would make things easier. YOU tell me if something’s wrong! Wait, no… that wasn’t last time. Was it the- no. Two times ago. I think? Hold on, I’m confused. It’s been about a month since the invasion right?”
>”She what? Please, I need to know what’s wrong with her!”
“Sure. But if I do we’re cutting a deal.”
>Celestia raised a single brow as she looked down on Lyra.
>Frustration and concern were battling for control of her expression.
>”Twilight Sparkle is in trouble and you’re trying to leverage her problems for personal gain?”
“That seems to be how things work with your kind. Next comes the part where you try and cheat me.”
>”Or I could just go and check on her. 87? Don’t let her leave.”
>Celestia closed her eyes for a moment before vanishing in a burst of golden light.
>The agent began to walk away casually.
“Wait, where are you going?”
>”You want me to stay?”
“No, I’m just confused.”
>”I’m staying out of this one. Too dangerous.”
>Lyra didn’t stop them from leaving.
>But she didn’t really believe it either.
>She knew their line of work, how could this of all things be too risky?
>Whatever, there was work to be done!
>Lyra ran out of the house, leaving the mess in her wake.
>She made her way to Derpy’s as quickly as she could.
>When Lyra finally came upon the humble home she was winded, having pushed herself just a bit too hard in her excitement.
>She approached the front door.
>But then she hesitated.
>Lyra wasn’t sure it was right to do this.
>Derpy didn’t seem to want anything to do with any of this mess when last they spoke.
>Was it wrong of her to interrupt in their lives?
>Would Derpy be upset or irritated by the intrusion?
>Was it possible that-
>The door swung open, nearly bashing Lyra’s muzzle.
>Derpy’s brilliant smile poked out of the front.
>”Oh, hiya Lyra! Good to see you!”
>It looked like Lyra’s fears were unfounded.
>”Sorry I can’t stay and chat, Dinky has a doctors appointment. Can’t be late!”
“Quick, do you still have the laser microphone?”
>”Yeah?”
“Can I borrow it?”
>Derpy turned around to return indoors.
>The doormat slipped out from under her, tossing her gracelessly to the ground.
>She bumped into a counter on her way down.
>The laser microphone rolled off, landing on her butt.
“Hey, thanks! Look, I gotta run. But tell me in… five words or less. How’s Dinky?”
>”Oh, she’s doing wonderfully well!”
“Glad to hear it!”
>Lyra trotted off to Twilight’s palace at a brisk pace.
>She wasn’t sure what exactly was going on in there right now, but she knew for a fact that she had to hear it!
>It wasn’t long before Lyra was set up in an alleyway listening in.
>She could only hope she hadn’t missed anything important.
>Celestia’s voice came through, crackly and distorted but clear enough to understand.
>”Twilight, you’re scaring me!”
>”Don’t you see? There is NO PEAK! There SHOULD be a peak, but it’s not there! It never comes!”
>”Twilight! Are you okay? Are you hurt? What’s going on?”
>”Power input DOESN’T PEAK! I thought that- no, no. There can’t be a battery. There’s no room! Okay, I’m coming down. And when I do I’m probably not going to remember.”
>Coming down?
>”Write this down! The tide doesn't change power input EVER. There's no room for capacitance, it should peak when signalling! It’s- umm… I?”
>A loud crashing noise rang out.
>”TWILIGHT!”
>”There is no peak. AUGH! It's right in front of me! I can't think! I need it, princess! I NEED it!”
>”Twilight? How many of those things have you taken?”
>Twilight didn’t answer.
>But there was some scuffling, some sounds of conflict.
>Lyra heard something break, but she wasn’t sure what.
>A third unfamiliar voice chimed in.
>”Do that again, I DARE you.”
>Celestia began to yell.
>”Spike! I want you to tear this place apart and find ALL of the stims!”
>Spike replied, fear and confusion in his voice.
>”I already flushed ‘em, Twilight told me to this morning!”
>”Just one more, PLEASE! JUST ONE! I’ll stop tomorrow, I SWEAR!”
>Lyra could hear Celestia groan with a bizarre concoction of emotion that she couldn’t quite decipher.
>”I really thought- take her into custody.”
>”No, NO! I’ll stop, I SWEAR!”
>”Get her dried out. I need to talk to somepony.”
>”Princess, PLEASE! PRINCESS!”
>Lyra turned the microphone off, ice forming in her stomach.
>Had Twilight attacked Celestia?
>Was she TRULY that far gone?
>It seemed inconceivable, there HAD to be some mistake!
>And Twilight, it was… it was depressing.
>Lyra had never hated Twilight, but she’d had a fair bit of animosity towards her.
>But to hear the desperation and pain in her voice, the final surrender to her hopeless addiction, Lyra genuinely wished her nothing but the best.
>This was-
“Wait.”
>Who was Celestia going to talk to?
>Was it her?”
>Lyra rushed back home hoping she wasn’t too late.
>She had to at least pretend she was being good.
>She slammed the front door behind herself when she arrived, breath ragged and short.
>She did her best to compose herself, to seem unphased and stress free.
>There was a knock on the door.
>Celestia began calling.
>”87? Is it safe?”
>Lyra opened the door hoping that she looked calm.
“Not sure. I’d invite you in, but my place is a mess.”
>Celestia brushed past her regardless.
>”Close the door, we’ve much to discuss.”
“And if I don’t want to?”
>”Perhaps you’ve forgotten the situation you find yourself in. I could easily have you arrested.”
>Lyra wasn’t entirely sure of that anymore.
>That agent wanted nothing to do with this mess, perhaps the others would feel the same?
>Still, it was likely better to play along.
>She was going to have to take some care to not reveal too much.
>As far as she knew neither Luna nor Celestia was aware that she knew about the tide, it would be best if she kept it that way.
>”Were you trying to help Twilight?”
“No. I was trying to help Bon-Bon.”
>Celestia raised a single brow.
“They’re losing the battle in hell. Don’t deny it, it’s obvious. Twilight’s involved in some kind of R&D program trying to help out, I assume she was involved in the big bombs.”
>Lie one. Lyra had to remember that.
“We need her to finish up whatever she’s working on.”
>”So you didn’t want to help Twilight.”
“I didn’t know, at least not until recently.”
>Lie two. Starlight had told her a while ago, but she couldn’t risk revealing that source.
“I was trying to figure out why her projects had stalled out so I started following her. I noticed one day that she was hiding something under an illusion. That’s what got me interested in her health.”
>”An illusion? Is it a glamour?”
“Uhh… I don’t know.”
>”Well, I shall certainly have to investigate that.”
>Celestia hadn’t seen Twilight’s withered body?
>Lyra was glad she wouldn’t have to witness that revelation.
>Celestia was going to flip!
>”So you’re worried that S.M.I.L.E. may be failing-”
“They ARE.”
>”And you thought to intervene to help protect the agents and Equestria?”
“I protected Ponyville, didn’t I?”
>Celestia rubbed her brow in frustration.
>”I give up! Why are you angry at me?”
“Why? WHY? Wait. Why was-”
>Why was she mad at Celestia again?
“Oh right!”
>Lyra shoved a hoof between Celestia’s ribs.
“Because YOU’RE holding back on S.M.I.L.E., YOU’RE the one that sent them down there, and YOU’RE getting them killed!”
>”I didn’t send them. I was opposed to it!”
>What.
>”I NEVER wanted this, Lyra! NEVER! I want Equestria to be a land of PEACE and harmony! If I’d had my way, we would have left that damnable pit sealed until the end of time!”
“Wait, then why did- how did this happen then?”
>Celestia dropped her haunches to the ground, the last vestige of energy depleted.
“Luna went behind your back, didn’t she?”
>”I begged her not to. But I couldn’t stop her, she just charged right in. I’ve done all I can since then to stop things before they got out of hoof. Too late for that now…”
“And when you tried to stop her from getting the bombs?”
>”She was in a hopeless position without them. I thought that she’d come to her senses and retreat if I kept her unarmed. But she got her hooves on them anyway, I don’t know how.”
>Lyra couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt.
“But it’s too late now. You can’t keep them contained anymore.”
>Celestia shook her head gently. So gently in fact that Lyra wasn’t entirely sure it had actually happened.
“So what you’re saying is that all of this horror, all of the ponies that have been wounded and killed, all the emotional trauma- you’re saying that all of this is Luna’s fault?”
>Celestia’s eyes widened.
“You mean to tell me that Bonny’s missing an eye because of LUNA?”
>A terrible heat was rising in Lyra’s face, her legs trembling as her breathing grew ragged.
“She nearly got Bonny killed, got Ponyville sacked, killed THOUSANDS of ponies, and left ME to fix her mess?”
>Lyra’s eye began twitching erratically.
>She was seeing red.
“And she had the gall to LIE to me about it?”
>A hoof gently rested upon Lyra’s back.
>She could feel the tension and rage slowly bleeding away at Celestia’s touch. 
>”She has her reasons, Lyra. Sister is a good mare.”
“Oh yeah, she’d better have a pretty damn good reason!”
>”So much rage, I don’t know if you can be reformed. Whatever shall I do with you, Lyra?”
>What?
>Oh right, she was in trouble!
“Reformed? Princess, I have done nothing wrong!”
>”You SHOT somepony today, Lyra! Repeatedly!”
“But they’re FINE.”
>”Did you know they’d be okay?”
>No...
“Well, they were attacking me in my own home! And in my defence, I didn’t know it was going to shoot more than once.”
>”Be that as it may I cannot have somepony as unstable as you walking the streets. So far today you’ve threatened Fluttershy with a knife, assaulted Twilight, and shot somepony. That’s just today!”
>Wow.
>Lyra had already been upset with herself, but when she put it that way...
“You need my help. I’ll give it to you. Under a few conditions of course.”
>”I need your help? You’ll have to forgive me if I’m skeptical.”
“There are actually TWO things you need from me. When you went and saw Twilight, did she look like she was ready to clean up?”
>Celestia averted her gaze and began to chew on her lower lip.
“She’s going to kill herself with those things, you have to know that. And even if you get her to dry out she’ll just relapse. We need to scare her straight.”
>”I don’t know…”
“If you can think of something better I’m all ears!”
>”It’s not a good solution though.”
“No. It’s not. But it’ll buy time for us to find something more permanent. We can still save her, princess. She can make her who she used to be.”
>She closed her eyes for a short while, sitting almost perfectly still in what appeared to be a meditative trance.
>Lyra could only assume she was thinking it over, but it seemed a strange pose.
>”What was the other thing you’re able to offer me?”
“I can help you figure out what Luna’s trying to get out of hell.”
>”I already know what she seeks.”
“It’s not labor or materials.”
>Celestia slowly opened her eyes and locked her gaze with Lyra’s.
>She moved her neck forward, intently examining Lyra’s expression.
“She vaporised an industrial sector, right? That’s not what you do when you’re trying to pillage.”
>”I am uncertain there was any industry there. He doesn’t use many metals for his forces.”
“Okay. But she loudly proclaimed that she couldn’t win at her meeting with Eurynomos.”
>Celestia flinched when the name was uttered.
“She’s terrified of him. If she was just after metal or whatever she’d have closed up and gone home before they broke free, it wouldn’t be worth continuing a losing battle.”
>”So what is she after?”
“I don’t know yet. But it’s something so valuable she thinks it’s worth fighting Eurynomos.”
>Celestia flinched again.
“AND! It’s something she didn’t want you to know about. Think about that. She said she was declaring war on hell to pillage it. And that was supposed to be better than what she’s actually doing.”
>”Hrmm. That’s a troubling thought.”
“I scare Twilight straight until you can get a better solution, and I find out what Luna’s after. In exchange you leave me alone. Deal?”
>Lyra extended a hood to shake.
>Celestia left her hanging for quite some time.
>”I’m issuing a peace bond. You may not break any laws whatsoever, I don’t want to hear about you loitering! You may not cause physical harm to anyone, be they equine or otherwise, even in self defence. You may not carry any weapons at any time. You may not interact with Twilight or any of her friends without my expressed approval. And you must consult me before undertaking any investigations.”
>She didn’t really like that deal, but she didn’t have many choices.
“Deal.”
>”Why does it feel like I’m signing a faustian pact?”
>Celestia hesitantly extended her hoof.
>They shook in agreement.
“You won’t regret this.”
>”I already am. You’ll be hearing from me soon, Lyra.”
>Celestia vanished in a burst of radiant light.
>Lyra was alone.
“How in the hay am I going to hide from her?”
>She was going to need help.

                                                *       *       *       *       *

>Doubt plagued Lyra as she walked the early morning streets of Ponyville.
>The thoughts that had been plaguing her had not been resolved. They had been exacerbated.
>She’d gone too far, and yet somehow, it had turned out okay?
>Twilight was getting dried out, and it sounded like she was interested in her work again. That’s what she’d been trying to do, right?
>And she’d MOSTLY avoided trouble. Hay, Celestia had practically endorsed her!
>It was troubling to know that she was wasn’t being punished for what she’d done just a few days earlier, that she was being REWARDED for her aggression; nice ponies were meant to get nice things and mean ponies were meant to be punished.
>That’s how things ought to be.
>That’s what she was raised to believe.
>But that’s not what was happening.
>Lyra knew that far too well, the fact was that reality cared only for power.
>Justice, fairness, integrity- GOOD as a whole was the product of consciousness, a set of values and concepts that only mattered to the thinking mind. Something to create, not something to find.
>But nothing that threatened Bonny cared. Nothing that threatened Equestria as a whole cared.
>She wanted to live in peace and harmony. But there were too many forces in their world that saw such things as weakness.
>There was no use in charity when engaged with a parasite, no room for friendship when engaged with a monster, no room for kindness when dealing with a demon.
>If they insisted on abiding by their values in such trying times as Celestia did, all that was good would be wiped away, and all that would remain would be those that were cruel enough to do them in.
>If they chose NOT to adhere to these values, pony would be pitted against pony in a struggle for dominance.
>Those who thrived at the expense of others would quickly gain control, whereas those who were naturally good would be muscled out.
>Flim and Flam would reign supreme for their dishonest practices while Applejack went bankrupt.
>A world of harmony, destroyed from without.
>Or a world of competition destroyed from within.
>Still she sought another way.
>A voice filled the twilight streets shattering what little semblance of peace there was to be found.
>Babbling Brook was yelling at her from the distance behind.
>”You’re late!”
>Lyra yelled back.
“Late for what?”
>”For wha- what do you think?”
“I thought practice was cancelled until you get better!”
>”I’m walking, ain’t I? Now stop yelling like an idiot and get over here!”
>Lyra’s cheeks flushed as she looked around, everypony in the sparsely populated streets glaring at her for the ruckus.
>She quickly trotted toward him.
>When she arrived he shook his head in dismay as he lead her inside.
>”Honestly. You’re disturbing the peace, hollering like that.”
>She opened her mouth to point out that he had started it, but quickly thought better of it.
>She closed the door behind herself to find the familiar barren room, the cool tile flooring biting into hooves with a surprising chill.
>Lyra tried to push the discomfort from her mind.
“So… Babbling Brook?”
>”Don’t call me that.”
“But-”
>”No.”
>He used his magic to grab a newspaper from the far end, quickly rolling it up into a tube.
>”Bad Lyra.”
>He swung it clumsily at Lyra’s muzzle.
>It was easy to step out of the way.
“Okay, fine. I won’t call you that.”
>”Damn straight. It’s MASTER to you!”
“But can you at least explain why?”
>He averted his gaze in what she could only interpret as shame.
>It was a strange look for one so accomplished as himself, but there it was.
>”Because I said so. It’s time for a demonstration. Go to the storage room and get me some dowelling.”
“Dowelling?”
>”Ugh. Wooden rods.”
>Lyra quickly trotted to the back, confused by his behaviour.
>He was normally an aggressive jerk.
>But today- well, he was still an aggressive jerk. But he wasn’t nearly as confident about it.
>Something was bothering him.
>She found what she sought, a tightly bound bundle of long, straight sticks of varying girth.
>Lyra gave one of the thinner ones an experimental tug, nearly snapping it in half in the process.
>The thin stick could be no thicker than half a centimeter in diameter.
>This was strange, normally he’d demonstrate by breaking something durable.
>She hauled the faggot out to the main room.
>Brook glared at her on her way in.
>”I’ve seen you fight firsthoof. It’s not terrible.”
“Wow. Praise from Caesar!”
>”Can it.”
>He pulled one of the thicker rods from the bundle and stood it on end.
>The precariously balanced stick swayed gently, but didn’t quite fall.
>”You’ve got okay stopping power with your core strikes, and your eruption is-”
>He chewed on his words for a moment, either reluctant to speak or uncertain of how to convey his thoughts.
“Acceptable?”
>”I think heavy is the word. It was far too slow for my tastes, but I must admit that was a brutal hit. I could see a trainee agent’s eruption looking similar.”
>Lyra could hardly believe what he was saying.
>That WAS a compliment!
>”But you’re WAY too slow. Not just with eruption, with everything! If you can’t control your enemy’s movements you’re screwed. What will you do when there’s no convenient way to stop your opponent from moving?”
>Lyra put a stern determined look on her face and stared him straight in the eye.
>She stomped one hoof when she gave her answer to emphasise the point.
“Hope I get lucky!”
>He barely suppressed a chortle at her words.
>”In all my years. That might just be the best answer I’ve ever heard.”
>No signs of happiness came upon his face, but she could hear traces of it in his voice.
>”You do need a quicker attack though. Rip Current is good for that.”
“Yeah, about that… I’m not sure I trust myself with that.”
>He raised a single brow, but said nothing.
“Being able to do that much damage that quickly, I’m not sure I’m responsible enough.”
>”But you’re responsible enough to learn how to pull a bomb out of thin air.”
>It did seem silly when he said it like that.
>”What changed?”
>She shot somepony, that’s what.
>They were totally unphased, but that didn’t really matter.
>She’d pulled the trigger on them without even pausing to THINK.
>She didn’t think if she really wanted to do it, she didn’t think about the pain and sadness she could cause, she just reacted in panic.
>Could she really be trusted to wield such a power if she’d turn it on her fellow pony?
>And was the risk of reckless use not so much greater with such a quick attack?
>Eruption she at least had a moment to consider what she was doing!
>But to destroy so rapidly, she feared she would come to regret having such power.
>”Lyra? What did you do?”
“I maaaaay have shot somepony?”
>”Pardon?”
“They broke into my house, and I was scared! And they were chasing me! And- and… I wasn’t thinking, okay? I was SCARED!”
>Lyra began to tremble as she spoke, her mind body overwhelmed by the emotions.
>”Ugh. I’m not good at this gay stuff.”
>He trotted over to her and placed a hoof on her back.
>”There there? It’s going to be okay?”
“No, no it’s not!”
>”I really don’t see the problem here. Did you kill them?”
“No.”
>Wait, she can’t say it was an agent!
“I missed.”
>”Oh. Well, that is pretty serious then. Try harder next time.”
>Not the answer she was expecting.
>He should be throwing her out! Disavowing her! Maybe even turning her in to the guard!
“But I tried to hurt them!”
>”And?”
“And- what? That was wrong!”
>He shrugged dismissively.
“When I started, didn’t you make me take an oath?”
>”Yup. Perhaps you’ve forgotten, but no part of that oath demanded that you never hurt anypony. I told you to make a better world. Maybe in that better world a few scumbags are missing.”
“But-”
>”Shut up, Lyra.”
>There was no anger or disapproval in his words.
>He was merely demanding a chance to speak uninterrupted.
>”It may be distasteful, but there’s nothing inherently wrong with hurting others.”
“Sorry, could you repeat that? There was something crazy in my ear.”
>”What stops bad ponies from stealing?”
>It seemed obvious.
>Was this a trick question? No, no. That wasn’t his way.
>He was leading her to something.
“They don’t want to be caught.”
>”They don’t care about being caught though. They can just try again later.”
“I see where you’re going with this. The guards will put them in prison, and if they resist they’ll get hurt.”
>”And what happens if they fight too hard? If they’re too tough to subdue?”
“That doesn’t happen often.”
>”Not for petty thieves, no. Society needs rules to function, the rule of law. Without law everypony would wind up working against each other in a competition for resources. Say you've been met with a fine for littering.”
“Look, I was a teenager, and I was having a bad day-”
>”Shut up. If you refuse to pay the crown will wind up seizing the money from your bank, or taking it off of your pay. They steal your stuff for minor crimes. Major crimes they throw you in a cage. If you continue to cause trouble they beat the crap out of you.”
“Right, but-”
>”Shut up! Everything good comes from violence. Property rights? Personal security? Public infrastructure? Violence. You like having a power grid? Water works? A sewage system? All there because we have an agreement that anyone who threatens them will get their teeth kicked in. Anyone who thinks that violence is never the answer is either stupid or sheltered. Biggest problem Equestria has these days is that we don’t use it more often. Violence is the PILLAR of civilization. ”
>Civilization is violence.
>That sounded absurd!
>He had to be wrong.
“You’re biased.”
>”There’s nothing wrong with killing an intruder.”
>He didn’t understand.
>And he probably never would.
>This pony had seen things she hoped never to imagine, his world was totally different from hers.
>Perhaps he was right, being less sheltered from reality.
>Maybe it was best to listen to him, to listen to those who’d seen what bumped in the night.
>Still though.
“That doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it.”
>”I should hope not, if you enjoy hurting other ponies there’s probably something wrong with you. But if you’re unwilling to protect yourself? You’re just a cuck.”
“A what?”
>”Don’t worry ‘bout it. You did the right thing. Hopefully you scared them enough that they won’t try any of that again.”
>Somehow Lyra doubted that.
>”Alright! Let’s design a spell!”
>His voice and expression contained a strange electricity to which Lyra was ill accustomed.
>It was reminiscent of Fluttershy talking about some exotic breed of gnat or Bon-Bon impatiently waiting for a batch of candies to cool.
>This was a voice full of passion and genuine joy, the voice of somepony who had freshly been reminded why they were alive!
>”Okay, we want a spell that can be executed extremely quickly, the faster the better! How do we start?”
“Well? You’d have to use Leo for one. Its mana flows way quicker than any other, even Aquarius.”
>”Yeah, that sounds like a good start. So what else do we want this fast spell to do?”
“It’d be nice if it was powerful enough to do some damage. But with Leo you don’t really get that much power.”
>”There’s one other problem. A much bigger problem.”
>Lyra waited a moment for him to finish his sentence before realizing he wasn’t going to provide it.
>This was a test of some sort, he wanted her to figure it out on her own.
>What were the problems with Leo?
“Reliability. Leo is basically rapids, it’s shallow and temperamental. If we want to execute the spell as fast as possible, we’re sort of defeating the purpose if we have to try a dozen times.”
>”And yet we have no choice. If our goal is to make the fastest attack a unicorn can possibly execute we’re stuck with Leo. Things would be much easier if we were willing to slow down a little bit.”
“And if you’d slowed down a little bit Derpy would be dead. We’re stuck. I think I’m starting to get why this spell is so hard. Are you sure I can do it?”
>He let out a sarcastic chuckle at her expense.
>”I’m sure you CAN’T. But we’ll get to that. So we take this unstable and weak mana. How are we going to apply it?”
“We can’t really use it directly on the target’s body like a grapple. Then we’re competing with their magic and their strength. You can get away with that sometimes if you’re using a strong leyline, but not with Leo.”
>”So anything stronger than a squirrel and we need to get a bit creative, use an intermediary to do damage.”
“No time to get any weapons in place, we need something that’s already there. We’re using air again aren’t we?”
>”The nice thing about air is that it’s available. If you can’t find any you probably have bigger problems than your opponent.”
“So our goal is to weaponize thin air in the blink of an eye using the weakest and second most volatile leyline. This just keeps getting worse.”
>He stood a thick piece of doweling upright on the ground after several seconds of careful balancing.
“I’m noticing it’s wood this time, not concrete or steel.”
>”This is hard enough as is. Let’s not get too crazy.”
>That almost sounded like humility. There had to be some kind of mistake.
>”Focus on a location in space where you want to strike. Visualise a perfect circle around it, as close as you can manage without intersecting with their body or any obstacle. Form a barrier with Leo.”
“Uhh, I can’t. I thought barriers came from Cancer?”
>As though to prove her wrong his magic created a brilliant glowing disc around the rod.
>Almost instantly it began to wobble and warp.
>Within a second it had totally dissipated.
>”Any mana can be used to make any spell in theory. Cancer is stable and sturdy, it’s the only way to make a good barrier without aquarius. But if you’re good enough?”
>He recreated the ring. Within a blink of an eye it was rattling about, changing altitude and bumping into the rod as the glow faded.
>This time it lasted nearly two seconds before fizzling.
>Lyra considered for a moment who it was that was casting this spell.
>Once upon a time he’d been agent zero, the best of the best.
>An unparalleled superpower who dominated any battle he chose to participate in.
>A brilliant magician who had dedicated his whole life to honing his craft, and yet he could only hold these spells together for an instant.
>”Follow along with a stable leyline for now.”
>Lyra reached for cancer and formed the ring with ease.
>It stood rock steady with the doweling in the exact middle.
>”Right. Now do the same thing but with a hollow toroid.”
>Lyra shrugged.
>That was still plenty easy for her, requiring only a little bit of focus.
>”Okay. Now make it spin.”
>A simple task-
>”No, we’re going for speed here. We can’t do these things one at a time, it all has to come together at once. Make the toroid spin while you’re creating it.”
“That doesn’t sound TOO hard.”
>She formed the toroid with spin.
>It immediately tore itself apart, the interior and the exterior having the same tangential speed.
>The dowelling wobbled as a burst of air escaped the broken spell.
“Oh. Every single part of the toroid has to have the same angular velocity, so the further out I get the faster it has to be. This sounds extremely hard.”
>”Then shrink it while it’s forming to compress the air inside so that you can actually do damage.”
“Eh?”
>”Then make it collapse in on its target.”
“Seriously?”
>”Then taper the interior of the toroid to make a blade.”
“I get it, you can stop.”
>”Then make it a serrated blade”
“No, that’s quite alright. I think I’m good without that part.”
>”And have it all come together at once, perfectly centered, and with perfect reliability.”
“Using Leo.”
>”If it makes you feel better you don’t need to break the spell on your own to release the air. The barrier should break apart on contact with your target.
>Lyra dropped her butt on the ground with a sigh, then rubbed her eyes wearily.
“Yeah. I can’t do it. That’s way too much.”
>”Very few can. Even amongst the ranks of S.M.I.L.E. this is a rare skill. Maybe you could learn it someday in the fullness of time, but it’s WAY above you right now.”
“So why show me?”
>He smirked at her.
>”What’s the single biggest problem in play here?”
“The leyline. If I could use something else maybe I could pull it off with practice. But- a synthesized leyline? You know, that MIGHT just work. But isn’t that cheating?”
>”There’s no such thing as cheating in a fight. You should know that by now.”
>Lyra planned to be in as few such fights as possible.
>But she couldn’t deny that she and trouble seemed to have a very close relationship as of late.
>”Give it a try.”
“Can I get a demonstration first?”
>”Of course!”
>He seemed pleased with the request, which came as no surprise.
>He was always eager to show off.
>”Don’t blink.”
>Lyra stared intently at the rod.
>She felt a burst of magic, but it was far too quick for her to make any sense of it.
>A terrible shredding noise filled the air, the dowelling rod wobbled and turned.
>Sawdust filled the air as several small chunks of wood fell to the ground.
>But something was wrong.
>Lyra looked at the chopped up wood, taking note of the uneven edges and angled cuts.
>The wood from the top had been sliced perfectly parallel with the floor, with nice clean lines as though lovingly carved by a skilled craftspony.
>But as the cuts approached the floor they grew erratic, rough, uneven.
>Splintered chunks of wood cut at long angles, uneven thicknesses, some of them even snapped more than cut.
>She looked to what remained of the rod, the once long stick now reduced to a couple hundred centimeters.
>It was covered in scratches and scrapes, signs of attacks that had landed but failed to stick.
>He had tried to strike around thirty times, but more than half of them had failed.
>It was astounding that he’d managed to attack so many times in such a short period.
>Lyra knew already she could do that ONCE in the time he’d taken, yet here he’d managed 10 clean hits.
>Failures be damned that was incredible.
>But that’s not how he looked at it.
>He looked down at the product of his wrath with a forlorn expression that betrayed hopeless surrender, the depressed acceptance of one who knew too well that their time had passed.
>”I’m old, Lyra.”
>Just how old was he anyway?
>”And I’m only getting older. Heart attack didn’t help any.”
“You’re still amazing. I bet there’s only a hooffull of unicorns who could do that.”
>”Yeah…”
>It didn’t sound like that was any comfort to him.
>Babbling Brook sat down on the floor, his his hooves tucked under his body.
>He gazed off into nothing, his eyes looking excruciatingly tired.
“You’re still stronger than basically anypony else.”
>He ignored her.
>Whatever comfort those words offered was nowhere near enough.
>”I used to be great. Amazing. I was the best there was, no foe too strong, no challenge too great.”
>A snort of derision could be heard.
>”Look at me now. Broken. And it’s all downhill from here.”
“Brook…”
>”I’m not Babbling Brook. Not anymore. He was strong, full of life and promise. Verile.”
>Ewww.
>”Babbling Brook was- It’s-”
>He spoke slowly and weakly, the voice of a pony saddened to the point of exhaustion.
>”I was ready to die on duty. But I wasn’t ready for this. How did he become this?”
>Lyra was starting to understand.
>He was ashamed of who he’d become, of how far he’d fallen.
>Babbling Brook was the name of the living legend, the unstoppable force of protection and destruction.
>He didn’t think he was worthy of his own name anymore!
>To him, being called by that name was an insult to what he was, to his legacy.
>In his eyes Babbling Brook WAS dead, and all that was left was an empty shell.
>Lyra put a comforting hoof on his back, only to be swiftly rebuffed.
“Yeah. You’re not who you used to be. But you were the best there was. You WERE number zero, and you WERE unstoppable. You’ve made your mark, and nothing can ever take that away from you.”
>”Time already did.”
>Poor guy was really depressed about it.
>Lyra wasn’t sure how to handle this.
>He refused comfort, no surprise there. This pony was used to being independant and domineering.
>He wasn’t a fan of relying on others.
>How could- maybe? Lyra had an idea, but she wasn’t sure it would work.
>Maybe it was worth a try.
“What would Babbling Brook think if he saw his future self wallowing in self pity?”
>”Stop talking.”
“No, no I don’t think I will. Was Babbling Brook the kind of pony who gave up when he failed?”
>”Implying he ever failed.”
>She ignored his interjection.
“Was he the kind of pony who’d sit by idly? Who’d just lie down and rot? Or would he find a way to matter again?”
>”I know what you’re trying to do. And you’re right.”
>He stood up slowly, joints creaking almost audibly.
>”I’ll be fine.”
“You sure?”
>That seemed too easy.
>”I’ve known all this for a long time. Started teaching so that my skills would still matter, try to advise on deployments, stuff like that. I’m not fit for fieldwork anymore but that doesn’t mean I can’t do anything. I’m more or less at peace with it, but sometimes it catches me off guard.”
>He looked over at the wood with a scowl.
>”This one surprised me is all. Last time I tried to teach somepony this spell was, uhh, I think 20 years ago? 30 cuts was just below my limit back then. Haven’t tried to do a Rip Current that big since.”
>Lyra wasn’t sure she understood, it was hard to tell as an outsider.
>But it made a strange kind of sense that this would bother him so much.
>He’d not been introduced to his new limitations by degrees, he’d not had a chance to acclimate to them.
>With other facets of his aging he’d faced them as they came, grown accustomed to them, found ways to cope or overcome.
>With this he’d seen 20 years of decline all at once, sneaking in beneath his notice.
>”I’ll be alright, you don’t need to worry.”
“You sure?”
>”I’ve had worse.”
>Lyra wasn’t entirely convinced.
>”Besides, I can’t spend time considering that. I’m busy.”
“How many students do you have anyway?”
>”Three. That’s not what I’m busy with though.”
>A little bit of vigor was beginning to return to his face.
>”I’m trying to develop a new spell to fit a niche for dealing with large numbers of enemies. See, with pegasi being so fast we used to struggle to keep up, but now that they’ve got all these new shiney weapons they have lighter loadouts and more stopping power. We’re left in the dust. Doesn’t really matter with 2 or 3 dozen enemies, but when you get into the thousand, well, they’ll be done before we get out the door. We need a good area spell, but we need to be able to spread it out.”
>He was nearly bouncing with excitement.
>It was like a wizened Moondancer talking about some esoteric specialty spell she’d just learned. The excitement of discovery letting them lose themselves in the moment.
>”So the idea is to abstract chain eruption away from a concrete spell form and replicate the effect with a fractal structure, right? Then we could expand or contract the fractal, cover as much space as we wanted! Now there are a LOT of problems, not the least of which is coordinating the various sub-spells, but I think it can be done!”
>Lyra tried to follow along with what he was saying, but it was out of her league.
>As far as she could tell he was just babbling along like his namesake, a chatterbox who could speak for hours on end without conveying any information or meaning.
>He covered the same territory a dozen times over with different wording, each attempt at explaining his thoughts messier and more convoluted.
>His smile seemed to grow bigger and warmer with each confused word until he came to a very abrupt stop.
>”Sorry, I got carried away.”
>Lyra looked at the pony before her with a smile.
>This was in no way the pony she thought she knew.
>He was angry, cold, sarcastic.
>That was a brief look into a different side of Babbling Brook, a joyous and sincere stallion who loved what he was doing.
“No, no. It’s quite alright.”
>”Shut up, back to work!”
>It was subtle, but there was a bit of a blush showing through.
>He was embarrassed that Lyra had seen that side of him.
>To her it seemed sweet, but it was probably best not to say that.
”Alright. I think we'll go with Leo and Cancer. Should be way more stable that way. Uhh, on second thought? Cancer’s REALLY slow. Kinda defeats the point.”
>”Leo won't compensate?”
>Lyra closed her eyes.
>She dumped the rushing mana of Leo in the the slow but steadfast depths of Cancer.
“It's just… meh. Faster than Cancer, more manageable and reliable than Leo. Each one is making up for what the other lacks for what it’s worth.”
>”But they're both losing what made the other special in the first place. Hmm. Make the toroid?”
>Lyra let the mana flow.
>She peeled off a little bit of the seemingly mellow current.
>It splashed and strained against her will, the chaotic flow of untamed rapids still very much alive just under the surface.
>Lyra could feel herself being pulled under by the flow, her consciousness being dragged into higher dimensions her little pony brain could scarcely comprehend.
>She stood fast and let the wave crash over her, surround her.
>And she let it pass.
>The spell was complete, but she could already feel it failing.
>What felt like minutes had passed in the struggle, but Lyra knew too well that time felt different here.
>The magic faded, and it was over.
>”3 seconds.”
“The spell broke after 3 seconds?”
>”Pfft. You wish it had lasted that long. 3 seconds to cast.”
>Lyra groaned.
>In almost any other context she’d have been pleased to have cast it at all.
>Messing around with Cancer while making a barrier of any kind was a feat.
>But 3 seconds was way too slow.
>It was meant to be a fast attack she could fire in the blink of an eye.
>This was useless.
>”Yeah. It was a nice idea, but not really worth it. I’ll think of something else for you to pick up.”
“No. I’m going to make this work.”
>”But three seconds?”
“Leo and Virgo. It won’t be much slower than Leo, but it’ll be way more mellow.”
>He looked at her in apparent disbelief.
“Might be hard to push enough power through with that mix, and it’ll be really unstable. But if I can do it fast enough I’ll get the damage done before I lose control.”
>”You’d be making a barrier without Cancer.”
“I know.”
>”You SURE about this? This is an absolute top tier spell, the kind that most agents aren’t good enough to cast!”
>No.
>No, she really wasn’t sure.
>She could already tell that this was going to overwhelmingly difficult, even with leyline synthesis.
>Forming the barrier at all would be an achievement, but weaponizing it? And doing it quickly?
“It won’t be as easy as we’d hoped, but it’ll still be way easier than just using Leo. I don’t know if I can do it. But I know I’m going to try.”
>He smiled at her.
>Not a smirk of amusement or a reluctant grin.
>A big toothy smile of delight.
>”I’m starting to get why she likes you. Alright, enough chatter! We’ll start really good and simple. Just make the barrier, doesn’t matter what shape or where you make it, we’ll get this one step at a time.”
>Lyra called upon Leo and Virgo.
>A moderately potent flow of mana came to her in a flash, its crisp and clean waters boiling about chaotically.
>She began to cast a barrier, her custom blend of mana responding in the blink of an eye.
>And her spell failing just as quickly.
>”You failed. But you failed FAST! Maybe we CAN make this work!”
“Yeah. Kinda hard on the ol’ noggin though.”
>”Again, again!”
>Their session went well into overtime that day, an exhausting regimen of simple spells cast at breakneck speed.
>By the end Lyra could barely find her way home.

                                                *       *       *       *       *
>Lyra sat in her living room with the curtains closed and the lights off.
>The darkened room still seemed too bright through her closed eyes, the throbbing in her head seeming to threaten to pop her eyes out of her skull.
>It would pass soon.
>Unicorn horns were pretty well adapted for dealing with mana related ailments, as weak as she felt right now she’d recovered within a couple days.
>Even so, her horn was punishing her for overdoing it.
>Rip Current was so much worse than anything else she’d ever tried to learn, even her attempts at teleportation hadn’t taxed her so badly.
>But she’d also never been so determined, so driven.
>She wanted to learn this spell, she REALLY wanted it.
>But it seemed so far away.
>She melted into the couch cushions, her weary body grateful for the chance at rest.
>How did anypony manage that spell with just Leo? It was madness!
>When Babbling Brook had cast it not once, but THRICE on that fateful day, he’d thrown them out in the blink of an eye.
>He was a bit winded afterwards, but even so! That kind of mastery over magic continued to baffle her.
>She’d seen some incredible spellcraft in her days at Celestia’s school. Feats that tested the limits of what a unicorn could achieve!
>Amazing arcana and spectacular spellwork, impossible incantations that tested and even revolutionised the field of magic.
>But she’d never seen such incredible skill displayed except by Babbling Brook.
>Twilight’s broad repertoire of spells was amazing in its own way, but there was no way she’d perfected any spell like that, no way she’d polished anything to such an incredible degree.
>Controlling that violent and temperamental mana so perfectly, so rapidly…
>It was superequine.
>She fully understood why it was considered a top-tier spell, and she WAS doubting that she could pull it off, even with the synthesized mana.
>It occurred to her that this practical miracle of magic was but one of the many spells he knew, just another tool to fill a tiny niche in a vast arsenal.
>Had he mastered them all to such an incredible degree?
>Probably. He WAS zero.
…
>What did Bonny have to do to get that rank?
>Now Lyra was curious.
>Was there some way to find out what skills and techniques she had?
>She’d seen her take on a Roc, but in retrospect Lyra was pretty sure that was nothing serious.
>There was no way Bonny would have taken her if there was any real danger at all.
>Besides, this was the pony who’d apparently gone hoof to claw with Eurynomos.
>An oversized turkey was nothing compared to that.
>How tough was Bonny?
>She needed to know.
>And she’d learn nothing just sitting here.
>Lyra got up and opened the door.
>A brilliant, warm, sunny day greeted her.
>The kind of day that was meant to be spent frolicing.
>Or better yet? Napping.
>Learning a new spell was hard, learning THIS new spell was exhausting.
>It was still relatively early, plenty of time for a nap.
>Lyra went to the bedroom and carefully slid beneath the covers.
>She yawned drowsily and closed her eyes for but a moment.
>A ringing sound starting blaring in her den.
>Lyra launched herself out of bed and quickly called on her magic.
>Leo and Virgo were totally exhausted, not so much as a drop of mana heeding her call. But Sagittarius and Cancer were still ready- she could cast a eruption without trouble.
>Lyra approached eagerly at first bit quickly slowed to a crawl, her previous encounter having been a tad one sided.
>She poked her muzzle around the corner spell prepped and horn throbbing.
>Another alarm, but no ponies.
>The sound was coming from her computer.
>Lyra cautiously approached.
>There was a stylized depiction of Floor’s face on the screen.
>She looked much cleaner in her drawings.
“Does she want to talk to me then? Or…”
>Later.
>Nap time now.

A few hours later.

>Lyra trotted through the concrete jungle with a brilliant smile on her face.
>For some unknowable reason she was in a GREAT mood!
>It was a bright and sunny day, clear skies, no demons…
>Not much to complain about.
>Not that much to be excited about either, but that was fine.
>She was perfectly happy to pretend that everything was fine, even if only for a day.
>Sometimes boredom wasn’t so bad.
>Hay, some of the most interesting parts of her life had also been the worst!
>And many of her best memories had been, in retrospect, rather boring.
>Hanging out with Bon-Bon at a park.
>Going out for lunch with Bon-Bon.
>Laughing about a bad movie with Bon-Bon.
>Just wasting a day indoors with Bon-Bon.
>There was a very clear pattern at play, something even a foal would notice.
>And that pattern was that all of those times were simple.
>Peaceful.
>Times where she didn’t have to worry about the future, no need to stress about anything.
>Just enjoy the moment.
>Lyra missed that dearly, and couldn’t help but feel a little cheated that that was no longer a part of her life.
>But somehow today it didn’t feel so bad.
>Even if things weren’t always so peaceful as she’d like, life was still pretty good.
>And just because there were a lot of problems right now didn’t mean things wouldn’t get better.
>And besides, being sad didn’t accomplish anything.
>It was like that song her mother used to sing.
“It isn't any trouble just to S-M-I-L-E
It isn't any trouble just to S-M-I-L-E
So smile when you're in trouble, 
It will vanish like a bubble
If you'll only take the trouble
Just to S-M-I-L-E.”
>Hrmm.
>That song had taken on a new meaning as of late.
>Lyra approached Floor’s apartment to find a peculiar sight.
>It was being PAINTED!
>A small crew of ponies were gathered ‘round the side of the building, a small projector in place to create guidelines for the pegasi who zipped about, brushes in tow.
>It looked like there was to be a brilliantly colourful geometric pattern adorning the structure, an oasis of beauty in the bleakest part of the city.
“That’s strange.”
>Like, really strange.
>This wasn’t what she’d come to expect from Floor’s landlord.
>She approached the front door- no longer a broken hunk of cheap plywood but a sturdy varnished timber- to find she couldn’t open it.
>It had been locked.
“What’s going on?”
>Lyra wrestled with the handle for a while.
>It didn’t fall off.
>How to get in without breaking stuff?
>Lyra didn’t have to think for long before somepony stepped out, vacuum in tow.
>She eagerly slipped in the door dragging behind them a roll of torn up carpet.
>The common area was still disgusting, but it seemed like this place was being renovated.
>Lyra climbed the stairs and gently knocked on Floor’s door.
>No reply.
>Was she out?
“Pfft. Not likely. Floor! It’s me!”
>The door clicked open immediately.
>Lyra stepped in and groped for the lightswitch.
>She couldn’t seem to find it.
>”I’m so glad you’re here! I- I thought you weren’t going to come and I couldn’t get ahold of Derpy and I didn’t know what to do!”
>A dim light spell revealed an anxious floor, even more so than usual.
“What’s the problem?”
>Lyra looked at Floor’s face, matted fur and puffy eyes completing the ensemble.
>She’d been crying.
>No doubt about that.
>”They say that they need to be in my room tomorrow and they’re going to be here ALL DAY! It might even take TWO or THREE days!”
“What’s the- oh.”
>That would require her to do her thing with strangers in her room, if the work crews even allowed that. Else she could go outside into the world. 
>No real options for her.
>Floor was stuck. 
“I shoulda come here right away.”
>Floor Bored leaned into Lyra seeking comfort.
>Lyra hesitantly stroked the greasy mane.
“So why’s this happening anyway?”
>”Rarity bought the place.”
>Ahh.
>Of course she did.
>This building was probably about a quarter of the land in Ponyville she didn’t own.
>And this place was doubtlessly offensive to Rarity’s sensibilities.
“I thought the other guy wasn’t selling?”
>Maybe he’d been coerced in some way.
>Or maybe he just didn’t want property in a city that got invaded by demons from time to time.
>”I think I read somewhere that property taxes went up to 3 bits per thousand taxable value. Maybe he was losing money on this place after that?”
“I dunno. Is that high? I’m not an accountant. And come to think of it Bonny usually handles the money. I just give her whatever I make and she says she’ll invest it or whatever.”
>”Aren’t you some fancy musician or something? Don’t you make lots?”
>Lyra shook her head slowly.
“I don’t get much work anymore given how easy it is to record music.”
>Yet they never wanted for bits.
>How much did being a field agent pay?
>Wrong question, how much did being agent ZERO of all ponies pay?
“Whatever, that’s not what’s important right now. We’ll get you out of here. Where would you be most comfortable? With me, Derpy, or at a hotel?”
>Her eyes twinkled with joy in Lyra’s hornlight.
>”You’d do that for me?”
“Sure.”
>Was it really so strange to her that a friend would put a roof over her head for a few nights?
”Maybe I shouldn’t have offered Derpy’s home, but I’m willing to bet she’d let you stay.”
*Sniff*
“You okay?”
>”Yeah, just… ramen in my eye. I- I’ll have to think. I don’t really want to leave, and no offence but you’re kinda creepy?”
>Sure, LYRA was the creepy one between them.
“Alright, I’ll swing by later to see what you’ve decided. But first I should go check in on D and make sure she doesn’t mind.”
>”Thank you so much!”
>Lyra turned to leave.
>”Oh wait, before you go! I’ve been finding some really weird stuff lately.”
“Like, beneath the sink? It’s probably mould, this entire place is mouldy. I wouldn’t worry about that, they should take care of it.”
>”No. Well, yes. But! In the data tap you put in their researchers’ offices, there’s a lot of stuff going on suddenly.”
“The researchers, you mean the ones studying the Tide?”
>Floor nodded.
>That WAS interesting.
“Good or bad?”
>”Lemme show you.”
>She trotted over to her computer and poked at it for a moment.
>She took a moment to type in a passcode at blinding speed, Lyra couldn’t tell what it was but it was quite long.
>”It started a couple days ago, the got a messsage from AL-3. Whoever that is.”
“I think Celestia’s zero and Luna’s one. So either Cadance or Twilight. But I don’t think Cadance was very involved in studying this stuff, she had her own projects.”
>But Twilight was out of commision, wasn’t she?
>Their little meeting had only been a week ago at the most.
“What did it say?”
>Floor typed a command that Lyra didn’t understand into the console.
“Let’s see here…”

Attn: all 476-0 researchers.

Despite our best efforts the Tide remains a complete enigma, defying our expectations at every turn. Our persistent failure to produce results can mean only one thing. We are wrong. This machine exists, which means it’s possible, which means we’re wrong about something. One or more of the conclusions we’ve drawn is a mistake, and the time has come for us to re-evaluate everything. We should start with power management.

I will be unable to contribute to research in the immediate future, so you’ll be answering to my assistant. He’s be- what do you mean you’re not writing that? It makes perfect sense! No, I’m NOT hallucinating. Wait, are you writing this down right now? Stop! It’s not part of the message!

Whatever, just look at its power management again. Power consumption is always static, there is no peak even when signalling. That’s weird right?

Al-3, dictated but not read.

“Not exactly the most professional memo. But that basically confirms it’s Twilight.”
>She was the one blabbering on about how there was no peak.
>”So is it good or bad?”
“I’m not sure? They’re going on about power management. Do we know anything about that?”
>”Uhh… I’ve got a couple circuit diagrams.”
“No way, SERIOUSLY? We can just look inside it then and see how it works?”
>”Well, not exactly.”
“Whaddaya mean? Do we have the diagrams or not?”
>”Yeah, we’ve got ‘em.”
“But we can’t read them?”
>Floor didn’t answer.
>She instead opened the first one.
“This doesn’t seem so bad. Hay, I was expecting something way more complicated. Let’s see… huh? They’re referring to other diagrams? Are they allowed to do that?”
>”Why not?”
“Well, it just seems like bad form to have the information spread all over the place like that. Shouldn’t it be centralized?”
>”Maybe it’s easier to read this way?”
>It did look less intimidating this way.
>Still, that seemed like it would be inconvenient to the researchers.
>Though, come to think of it, they were trying to figure out how it worked right?
>Maybe it was easier to decipher piece by piece rather than wholistically.
“What do they have on the other diagrams?”
>Floor opened up another image.
>It was horrendously incomplete.
“Ahh, okay. They have no idea how those parts work then. That kinda explains it I suppose. They’re probably having trouble dissecting these things given how small and dangerous they are, and if it really is alien tech it shouldn’t be surprising if sometimes they can’t recognise what they see. Back to the easy one?”
>Lyra puzzled over the diagram for a little while, trying desperately to think back to science class.
>”What does it say?”
“Hold on.”
>Electronics hadn’t been a big part of her education, their prevalence in Equestrian society quite minimal until just recently.
>But she WAS able to figure some parts out.
“I think- okay, it’s an alternating current power source, so this thing works in cycles. It activates 4, and if it can’t it goes to 5, and if it still can’t it goes to 6. I don’t know what that part is down at the bottom. 3 megavolts? That’s can’t be right.”
>”They have a note right there that says just that.”
>Oh. So they did.
>”What’s that part in the circle?”
“Uhh, I think it’s a transistor. So the circuit to that part doesn’t work unless that one switch is closed there. What works the switch? Oh, they don’t know.”
>Not only did they not know how it worked, they couldn’t see anything working from the looks of it.
“No observable parts is an interesting problem to have. Any research notes anywhere on that part?”
>”I can look.”
>Floor poked around for a while, the diagram shoved into the corner of her screen.
>Lyra continued to study it.
>She’d been expecting something bigger and more complicated.
>Without knowing exactly what was in the unknown bits it could still be that these things were more complex than they seemed, but on the other hoof they WERE pretty small.
>”There is something here, yeah.”
“Oh, great! Let’s see here… did not observe, unknown alloy, yadda yadda… yup. Sometimes it’s conductive and other times it isn’t. That’s about all they know.”
>Not particularly useful.
>”So this stuff will move if that not-switch is closed. But if it’s open they reproduce, and if they can’t for some reason they signal. Why wouldn’t they be able to reproduce if they’re still working?”
“Nothing left to eat maybe?”
>What was Twilight ranting about with there being no peak?
>Well, there’s no battery from the looks of things. There are some capacitors though.
“Any notes lying around about its power supply?”
>”A few. Mostly says that they have no idea how it’s powered.”
>Figures.
>The two of them spent some time skimming through notes and reports, Lyra’s eyes glazing over at the sheer amount of jargon being thrown around.
“There, no observable changes in power consumption. No matter what it’s doing it always uses the same amount of power. Why did that have Twilight so excited though?”
>”I dunno. What’s all this stuff about signalling anyway?”
“Oh. That’s what Twilight was working on before she went nuts, actually. Every now and then it’ll send out an electromagnetic signal, and they’re studying it. Any information on that?”
>Floor poked around for a while.
>There were thousands of files on exactly that topic, no way they’d be able to read them all in any reasonable amount of time, much less understand them all.
“Any of them stick out?”
>”There’s a message to Twilight here.”
“Oh, pop it open!”

ANOTHER cancer patient. As though the flash burns weren’t bad enough.
I’d have thought that after you lost your leg to it you’d take this more seriously, but noooooo.
Look, this stuff breaks the laws of physics thousands of times per second. We can’t go about assuming that sensible protective equipment will work. We need much better radiation shielding if we’re going to keep observing this stuff. Just because it’s good enough to shield an x-ray technician doesn’t mean it’ll block these, we need several meters of lead at the bare minimum.
Yes, gamma rays don’t normally penetrate that deep, but these ones don’t follow the rules and you know it! Get us some proper shielding or there won’t be any more tests, we aren’t going to sit around waiting for the next burst!

>Gamma rays?
>That’s some high energy stuff!
>Suddenly Lyra didn’t feel like going to the nexus anymore.
“This note is from several months ago. Any replies?”
>”Yeah, they approved some upgrades. This doesn’t make sense.”
“What doesn’t?”
>”Well, they’re worried about a burst of radiation, right? Doesn’t that mean it comes all at once?”
“So?”
>”Isn’t it always using the same amount of power?”
>Huh.
>”Without a battery anywhere power consumption should peak when it bursts.”
“There is no peak. But what does that mean?”
>”Like Twilight’s message said, they’re wrong about something. The question is what.”
>It seemed odd that they’d make such a mistake.
>Surely they were certain about what they’d been saying.
“How can they be wrong though? I doubt they’re wrong about power always being the same, and they’ve observed the gamma bursts.”
>”Maybe the capacitors do it?”
“No, that’s too obvious. Twilight wouldn’t be excited if they hadn’t ruled that out yet. Either they’re not discharging or they’re not enough.”
>Granted Twilight wasn’t at her best right then.
>Maybe she did overlook something.
>”You sure it can only do one thing at a time?”
“Honestly? No. Without filling out the missing parts of the diagram I don’t know that. And even if I did this stuff apparently doesn’t follow the rules all the time, so who knows? But it certainly seems like it can only do one thing per cycle.”
>This was frustrating.
>It felt like the answer was right there, she-
“Hold on. Pull up the diagram again?” Yeah, look there. It can’t move unless that switch closes, right?”
>”Okay...”
“Well, we can’t say how it tells when it should move from what we’ve got. But this was presumably designed by something. We should try and put ourselves in the designers horseshoes, or tentacleshoes? Or whatever. Even if we can’t figure out how that switch works we should be able to figure out WHEN it works. When would they want this stuff to move?”
>”Probably when there was nothing left to eat. But there’s a simpler way to do this. Just have it reproduce, else move.”
>True.
>That switch was pointless unless there was another piece to the puzzle.
>Which meant they were still missing something.
“Any other hints?”
>”We have notes on its reproduction.”
“Neat! Let’s see… it can consume any element to reproduce, but it’s mostly made of carbon. Does that mean it’s transmuting materials? How in the hay can you do that with such a small machine?”
>”It might not be, maybe it disappears the stuff it doesn’t need somehow.”
“That COULD explain where it gets its power actually, if it’s turning mass into energy. But that seems like it would be even harder to do with such small space. So does it have an insane amount of power for no reason while transmuting anything into carbon in a tiny space? Or does it convert energy to mass with no space and no enormous explosions?”
>”The more I learn about this stuff the more I’m glad I don’t have their job. Or any job for that matter.”
>No kidding, how are they supposed to understand such a thing?
>And talk about a high stress career!
>”Says here that harder materials take longer to consume. Makes sense.”
“Why do they use titanium and nickel containers? Why not diamond?”
>”Where are you going to get a diamond jar?”
>Good point.
>”What’s this? Life seeking?”
“Pardon?”
>”There’s a document labelled Life Seeking.”
>Weird
“Open it I suppose?”

The tide’s tendency to seek and destroy living organisms continues to confound. We are as of yet unable to determine how it navigates at all, much less how it locates or even defines life.
Its tendency to seek and destroy suggests an origin as a weapon of mass destruction. Whether it got out of control and destroyed its original creator, or if it’s working as intended, we cannot say. However we do know that it prioritises the destruction of life when possible, most likely intended to eliminate potential resistance. At present this function seems superfluous or even even detrimental, raising questions as to why it was created to work this way. 

The most common hypothesis on this behaviour is that its tendency to seek living creatures is an artefact from its initial deployment. This tendency was probably important in its nascency, when its numbers where less overwhelming and it could be more easily contained. Others have posited that it was never meant to destroy planets as it does, that behaviour coming from a design error. It is possible that it was merely meant to eliminate all life and leave the planet available for its creator. Ultimately the reason why it behaves like this is unimportant.

The tide’s navigation capabilities are incredible, with samples solving mazes to get to tissue samples more rapidly. It is capable of locating any living thing within 50 meters without line of sight, and is even able to differentiate between living and deceased organisms. Regrettably it does not stop reproducing while seeking but rather biases the direction in which it will navigate while in its movement phase (see attached video). 

>”Should I play the video?”
“Please.”
>They were treated to a top down view of a massively complex maze circular, a small, unidentifiable red bit in one corner.
>Lyra couldn’t hope to solve it in any reasonable time.
>A timid and nervous voice came from the monitor.
>”Maze radius, 45 meters. Predicted completion time, 500 seconds. You’re sure the suppression system is working? Okay… Beginning navigation test. One microgram of inactive Tide.”
>45 meters?
>They were viewing from a good deal above.
>This maze wasn’t just complex, it was big too.
>Something was floated into the maze, opposite the red bit.
>”Minor E.M. activity detected after 20 seconds, the tide has repaired itself.”
>Nothing happened for a while.
>”Visual confirmation after 84 seconds.”
>Lyra couldn’t see it at first, but before long a tiny black dot showed up.
>It swelled disturbingly quickly.
>The Tide stretched and snaked through the maze with seemingly singular purpose, gaining speed as it went.
>It took seemingly arbitrary turns at breakneck speed, totally ignoring most pathways as it went.
>”The tide has chosen the wrong path. Wait a minute, what’s going on here?”
>A long thin line of Black Tide had wormed its way through the maze, seemingly having taken the shortest path to the center.
>It began to spread down every path at once, continuing to grow as a thin line everywhere save the middle.
>”The tide is congregating in the middle of the maze. We’d expected the opposite- it’s overflowing!
>Sure enough, the tide had begun to climb over itself to flood over the maze’s walls, taking a direct path to the far corner.
>The walls near the beginning point collapsed, their structure having been shredded and consumed.
>Soon the rest of the maze would follow, but not before it had reached the goal.
>”158 seconds. It’s- it’s eaten through the base! Shut it down!”
>The camera went white with a blinding flash.
>”It’s not working, get out! Everypony out!”
>No fewer than 20 seconds had passed before they could see again.
>By then there was no sign of the maze, everything having been turned into the murky blackness.
>But it wasn’t a flat pool of tide.
>It was gathering up near the bottom left corner, doubtlessly trying to get to the researchers.
>Suddenly it dropped down and spread out evenly.
>Presumably everypony was over 45 meters away at that point, the tide no longer able to pursue effectively.
>A sprinkler system engaged, dumping colourless liquid down below.
>Small bursts and flashes of light abound as it rained onto the tide, a thick black smoke rising.
>The camera went dead shortly after.
“Huh.”
>Why didn’t that happen at the nexus?
>She didn’t get super-cancer, she didn’t get eaten.
>Something was protecting her there.
>There was more to that place than met the eye it seemed.
>”Wow.”
“This actually explains almost everything.”
>”What exactly does it explain?”
“Why the tide does this signal thing. It can navigate.”
>”So?”
“So it needs to be able to tell where the rest of the tide is.”
>”It actually doesn’t. It just needs to know where it’s going, if every individual machine knows that they’ll all congregate on it naturally.”
“Okay, but this isn’t for finding life, this is for spreading.”
>”It doesn’t need that to spread, speading’s easy. Just go everywhere. You’ll cover everything eventually.”
>Lyra shook her head, Floor having missed something critical.
“Yeah, but it’s floating around in space, right? Think about it. How long would it have to travel to get to the next star system after finishing one?”
>Realization dawned on Floor’s face.
>”It could be thousands of years! If it winds up going somewhere that’s already been cleaned out it’s a total waste of time!”
“And if it’s going somewhere that’s prepared to fight it can’t just be a few machines, it has to be a lot. These signals aren’t actually necessary for the tide to do what it’s doing, like you said they’d get everything eventually. But they ARE necessary to do it quickly.”
>Quickly being relative of course.
“So if it can’t eat anything it moves, but it also tells the rest of the tide everywhere in the galaxy that it’s not worth coming here!”
>”Oh, wow. But how does it tell that there’s enough of them that it’s not worth going? Like, if there are only a few lying around it’s probably still worth the trip in case whatever’s there stops- if the signal isn’t directed it’ll get weaker over distance just by spreading out! Over short distances it doesn’t take much for the rest of it to notice, but light-years away you’d need tons of them!”
“But how does it know if it’s tide or if it’s just a gamma ray? Aren’t there natural gamma bursts out there?”
>”There has to be a signature of some kind in the burst. A certain pattern or frequency or something.”
>That made perfect sense!
“That’s what Twilight was trying to figure out!”
>Twilight had lived and breathed that problem for who knows how long.
>And when she couldn’t crack it they resorted to brute force, using a planet wide decentralised computer.
>And it STILL couldn’t find the pattern.
>And STILL they kept trying.
>This signal was incredibly important for some reason.
“Okay. So it works in cycles, either moving, reproducing, or signalling its location. It has some function that directs it to look for living things but also try to spread out. It’s probably forced into ‘move’ mode if it’s detecting enough tide near it, probably to make it spread faster. So what does this all mean? Why is Twilight so excited? Is it just because she found something to work at?”
>Floor rubbed her chin for a while in thought.
>It didn’t take her long to answer.
>”There are so many other things they don’t know about it I doubt this would get her worked up. For some reason this power thing is really important. She really cares that it communicates in bursts while not using the right amount of power.”
“You’re right. This is big and I don’t know why. It feels like it’s staring me right in the face but I can’t put it together.”
>”So what do we do?”
>Lyra chewed on her lip as she considered the question.
“Nothing. Well, we keep watching. We have so much guess work here that we’re probably missing something. Hay, we don’t even know why this is important. Twilight does.”
>”So we leave it to her?”
“She and I have our differences, but if you’re trying to solve a puzzle or studying the unknown, Twilight’s the right pony for the job. I think we should shift our focus to somepony else. We have Cadence’s weapons program, Luna’s invasion.”
>And potentially demonic nature.
“And Celestia’s surveillance state. We still don’t know why it’s so important that they watch all of us all the time.”
>”Any plans?”
“Not yet.”
>And not soon.
>Last time Lyra tried one of her own plans it only took a few hours for her to get caught.
“We need help. Any word from Glimmer yet?”
>”None.”
“We kinda need her, she has so much information to work with. Maybe we can persuade her somehow? Please try to get ahold of her.”
>”Okay.”
>Lyra pulled herself away from the only source of light in the room and made her way to the door.
>”Where are you going?”
“To tell D you might need a place to stay. I’ll be back before they need in your room, don’t worry.”

                                                *       *       *       *       *
>Lyra knocked gently upon Derpy’s front door.
>She wasn’t actually sure that her friend had returned home, it was only a little while after her work had ended for the day.
>For all she knew she was still out and about, running errands or grocery shopping.
>She’d failed to consider that, her unemployed self no longer accustom to such issues.
>It was a strange state of mind. When she had regular gigs there seemed to be more time in the day somehow, time to practice, time to perform.
>These days she had little to do, and somehow less time to do it.
“Maybe I should come b- ACK!”
>Something warm and fluffy slammed into her rump.
>”Oh, heya!”
>A bright and cheery voice spoke into her butt.
“Hi, D. You okay?”
>”Right as rain!”
>Lyra turned around to see her friend's brilliant, beaming smile.
>Those joyous golden eyes seemed to make even the sun seem dim, disorganized portals through which purity and peace poured.
“You seem to be doing well.”
>”Sure am! Sunny day, long weekend coming up, and Dinky’s in good spirits.”
“Where is she anyway? Wait, long weekend?”
>”Friendship day!”
>Already?
>”And she's out visiting a friend. Wanted to get away from the house for a while what with the smell.”
*sniff*
>Shame and sweat.
“So where did Floor wind up hiding?”
>”She claimed the linen closet. Honestly I'm not sure how she squeezed herself in there, or how she got her computer running. But I haven't seen her in a day or two.”
>Lyra couldn't help but feel a strange admiration for the socially awkward pony, managing to sequester herself in such a tight place.
>”Wanna come in?”
>Not really.
“Sure!”
>The two of them stepped into the cozy abode, the stench of regret growing stronger.
>They approached the den in silence, positioning themselves around the coffee table awkwardly.
>Neither spoke for a few minutes.
>Then, both spoke in unison.
“Sorry.”
>They both spat out the word in and manner that was somehow both hurried and reluctant, being at once eager to be done with it and fearful of what might come.
“For what?”
>Again they spoke over each other.
>Somewhere in the recesses of Lyra's mind she was deeply concerned to discover that she was behaving so much like the infamously bubbly and scatter brained pony before her.
>Another small part of her mind chastised herself for feeling shame at the thought of behaving as such a sweetheart, for thinking ill of one of her dear friends.
>But those parts were far too small and too quiet to be noticed. The bulk of her mind was focused on the issue at hoof.
“Sorry I let her get hurt.”
>”What? Oh, no! You- THANK you! From the bottom of my heart! We're so lucky we had you!”
>Were they really?
“If it hadn't been for me we'd have never gotten in that last fight. She'd have never been…”
>Lyra let out a ragged sigh, the tears not quite able to shake themselves loose.
“It was my idea to go after that one. And I couldn't even work up the common decency to check in on her.”
>She'd wanted to pretend she hadn't failed. 
>She couldn't do that when coming face to face with the one she'd let down.
>Derpy grabbed Lyra in a big hug from behind, startling her.
>She'd not even noticed her friend standing up.
>”We were so lucky you came to rescue us! I don't want to think of what would have happened if you hadn't been there. They’d have caught me long before I got to safety!”
“Yeah…”
>Lyra knew that.
>But she didn't FEEL it.
>She couldn't see herself as the fearless heroine charging in to save the day.
>She knew that behind her every step on that fateful day, beneath every spell, there was nought but sheer terror.
>A mind numbing horror so vast that it wouldn't even allow her to wet herself.
>And she couldn't see herself as the mighty warrior overcoming impossible odds.
>She knew too well just how much her magic was lacking.
>The sluggish strikes, the sloppy spellwork, the way she telegraphed her every move.
>She was just a little pony thrown into an orgy of madness.
>Yes, she'd gotten them all out in one piece.
>Yes, she’d saved the day.
>But she wasn't proud.
>She was scared.
>Derpy spoke, snapping Lyra back to the present.
>”And I’m sorry too.”
“Apology accepted. I think? Wait, what is this for?”
>”For avoiding you afterward.”
“Oh. I thought it was about- never mind. You don’t have to apologize for that!”
>”I don’t? But it was really rude. I should have been thanking you.”
“You were freaking out. Can’t blame you for that.”
>”Yeah…”
>Something was off, she’d missed the mark there.
“Besides, you were worried about your daughter. That’s more important. You can let go of me now by the way, I’ll be fine.”
>”Oh right.”
>She stepped back perhaps a little too hurriedly, betraying a small amount of embarrassment at her faux pas.
>Though maybe it was too quick even for that. 
>It felt like they were walking on eggshells here, and not just because D had had another adventure in baking recently.
“Are you scared of me?”
>”What makes you think that?”
>She hadn't denied it.
>Lyra groaned at the revelation.
>It should have come as no surprise, many others were uneasy around her after seeing her snap at Celestia.
>Derpy must have had it worse, having been stuck with a front row seat to see just how destructive Lyra could be.
>She'd borne witness to Lyra ripping and tearing through otherworldly horrors, to terrible works of magic no good pony ever ought to cast.
>And the way she shredded that pack of fel hounds, even she was scared of herself after that.
>It had become common knowledge that Lyra was unstable and angry, her reputation tarnished regardless of what the truth may be.
>But could she really deny it?
>Her actions had been necessary evils, but evils nonetheless.
>She vaguely recalled Bon-Bon bemoaning her lack of recognition, wishing somepony would acknowledge what she did for them.
>If Lyra's vastly lesser power was that unsettling, perhaps it was best for Bonny to remain unknown.
> Especially with her well established reputation for grumpiness.
“I'm not going to hurt you, you know.”
>Derpy averted her gaze slightly, or so Lyra thought.
>It was hard to tell with that one.
>”I know. Sorry for acting weird lately.”
>Lately.
>”I'm just- I'd never seen that side of you before.”
“Neither had I.”
>And she hoped never to see it again. 
”Sure, I've gotten angry before, and I've even lashed out a few times. But never like that.”
> “Yeah. It was sorta scary seeing that. The good news is I think I know what brought it out. No more demons for you young lady!”
> Lyra faked an exaggerated pout.
“Not even if I do my homework?”
> “No. Maybe a couple monsters but NO demons or you're grounded.”
“You're not my real dad!”
>The two spent a brief moment giggling, thankful for the eased tension.
>Yes, Lyra felt weak and frightened. And yes, Derpy and her daughter a reminder of her fears.
>And yes, Derpy was put off by Lyra’s display of power and brutality, not quite able to see her as just another pony.
>It was clear that they had some stuff to work through.
>Some trauma to overcome.
>But that was okay, they could do it together.
>As friends.
>Just so long as they didn’t dwell on it.
“Change of subject, uhh… Is Dinky back in school?”
>”Nope. The doctors said she had to take it really slow for a while and had to avoid stress, so I pulled her out. Cheerilee helped with the paperwork.”
“Oh, that's nice of her!”
>”And Dinky seems to be way happier now so I don't want to send her back. Say, do you know anything about how homeschooling works?”
“Not a lick! Do you have time for that though?”
>”I'll make time.”
>Lyra almost immediately offered to step in and teach some of the lessons, but thought better of it.
>Derpy wasn't the kind to entrust her daughter's wellbeing with another so readily.
>She suspected Derpy would accept, but with the tension between them there was was a chance she might say no.
>Lyra would much rather avoid that awkward situation for the time being.
>Besides, she didn't know what the curriculum would be yet.
“It's worth looking into I suppose. Couldn't be much worse than public school these days. Say, did we ever figure out what they were doing with that?”
>”Huh. You know, I'd forgotten. Hehe. That's funny, that's why I started looking around in the first place and I forgot!”
“That is kinda funny. So, what do you think it was? I think they're trying to solve a specific puzzle that they can't crack. Put the problem out in public disguised as an exam or assignment and hope somepony can figure something out.”
>”You think they're counting on Dinky to figure something out?”
>There was something strange about the way she asked it. Confusion, but something else too. 
>Lyra couldn't quite put her hoof on it.
“Maybe not her. But somepony like her. Cast a wide net and hope you get something.”
>”She's just a filly though.”
>Oh. That's what that was then.
“Train them young so they have the tools to solve it when they're older? No need to worry about the ones who can't keep up, they wouldn't have solved it anyway. This is mostly guesswork here, i might just be wrong.”
>She began to pace, gesturing for emphasis on key words. 
>”They'd be destroying the next GENERATION on a HOPE if you're right. Causing damage to our society for DECADES to come, spreading misery all in a vain hope-”
>She stopped mid motion, a hoof pointing off at nothing.
>”It sounds like something they'd do. But what are they trying to figure out?”
”Who knows? We probably wouldn't understand the question if we saw it. But if I had to guess it's probably them trying to understand the tide better. Everything seems to be related to that these days.”
>”They’re getting help from other worlds, right? Maybe they’ve been told how to stop it but they can’t understand?”
>That didn’t sound right.
>From what Lyra could tell this mess had broken both Celestia AND Twilight.
>There was way too much pessimism going around for them to already have the solution. 
>Hay, they didn't even understand half of how it worked.
>But there was no need to freak Derpy out with that.
“Yeah, that makes sense. Probably hard to talk to a giant beetle from beyond the stars after all, maybe they need a special kind of genius just to understand the messages they’re getting. But this is all speculation, we aren't really going to get anywhere with it.”
>”Yeah, I suppose you’re right. What do we do next?”
“I wanna know what tools they've got to stop the demon thing. It's been going on WAY too long.”
>”It’s only been 3 months.”
“Seriously? I thought it was a lot longer. Like, it feels like that mess has taken a whole year, maybe even a little more!”
>Derpy shrugged in response.
“Well, whatever! I want it over.”
>”So what do we do?”
“I vaguely remember Cadence talking about a weapon called Helios. I have a hunch that it's what I saw when Ponyville was sacked, but as far as I can tell they haven't been using it other than that.”
>”Maybe it wouldn't work down there?”
>Maybe. She had no idea how it worked.
“It's possible, but we need to know for sure before we do anything. We find out what Helios is and see if it’s useful. Then, if it is, we pressure them to use it.”
>”How?”
>Lyra had a plan, half baked though it may be.
>She DESPERATELY hoped it wasn’t necessary though.
“Not sure just yet. We need to know what Helios is first. But I don't know where to begin.”
>”Maybe ask Starlight?”
“I dunno. I don't think she wants to talk to me right now.”
>”She's been trying to get ahold of you for a couple days.”
>Lyra stared at her friend for a moment, making no effort to hide the accusatory disbelief in her expression.
>Derpy maintained the small smile she'd borne for nigh on her whole life, either oblivious or uncaring.
>She'd gone for days neglecting to deliver a simple message!
>Though she WAS a postal worker, Lyra couldn't be that surprised.
“I'll have to get ahold of her somehow. Umm… probably shouldn't talk to her face to face.”
>Derpy trotted out of the room, heading towards the washroom.
>She stopped by a small closet built into the hallway and gently tapped on the door.
>The door popped open on the second tap, towels and sheets spilling everywhere as the overburdened storage space depressurized.
>A very shocked looking Floor Bored stared out at them from the heaps of fabric, her head upside down, one hoof kicking about ineffectually from the top as it sought purchase.
>”Oops! Sorry!”
>Floor didn’t answer.
>She just stared.
“Heya! How’re you doing here?”
>She replied softly enough to put Fluttershy to shame.
>”They say I can’t go back for two weeks.”
>Lyra’s eyes opened wide at the words.
>Two weeks?
>Just how much mould was there in that place?
>She suddenly felt the urge to take a hot shower.
“So how do you like it here?  Pretty nice, yeah?”
>Derpy began to gesture frantically, incoherently.
>Lyra couldn’t make heads nor tails of the body language.
>What was she trying to say?
>The flailing of hooves and shaking of heads gradually evolved into jumps, twirls, and even a flip.
>An impromptu modern dance meant to convey some meaning silently.
“Uhh…”
>Probably best to just shut up then.
>Derpy nodded briefly when Lyra closed her mouth.
>”Oh, right! Lyra, I needed to show you something. Come to the kitchen would you?”
>She chomped down on Lyra’s tail and began to drag her away.
“Ow, what’s that for?”
>”Flrr fffs shmed-”
>She spat Lyra’s tail out and tried again.
>“Are you trying to make her panic?”
“No?”
>”Then what are you doing?”
“Talking about how much nicer your place is than hers and saying that if she just kept clean- oh.”
>Yeah, Floor would freak out if she thought Lyra was holding her to normal pony standards.
>It would make her even more self conscious if Lyra up and stated she disapproved of that lifestyle.
>Probably not a good idea to do that.
“I’ll be good. No talking about cleanliness.”
>”Not until we build her self esteem up a bit. We’re making progress, I don’t want to go back to how she was when I first met her.”
“RIght, sorry.”
>The two of them headed back to the closet.
>”Floor? Didn’t Starlight want to talk to Lyra?”
>Some rapid beeping could be heard for a moment.
>A few seconds later Starlight’s voice came through.
>”Yes? Hello?”
“Umm. You wanted to talk?”
>”Right! Hold on, I had something written down.”
“What?”
>”Just hold on. Here. Ahem. Lyra Heartstrings. You may be the single most deranged pony I’ve ever had the misfortune of meeting. Your reckless disregard for friendship and harmony make it clear that you desperately need help- wait. That’s the old version.”
“Well, love ya too. If you’re not going to help me any longer just say so, you don’t need to write a novel.”
>”Hold up, I’ve got an updated one. Right. When you contacted me a week ago- week and a half now- to tell me of your plans I was shocked. The idea of intimidating the crown with their own weapons seemed abhorrent, appalling, repugnant, vile, disgusting, unconscionable-”
“Okay. Starlight’s out.”
>”I didn’t say that!”
>Lyra raised a brow, expecting her expression to communicate her thoughts.
>She soon remembered that Starlight couldn’t actually see her.
“Your letter implied the opposite.”
>”Fine! Forget the letter!”
>Derpy raised a hoof, asking for the floor.
>”What’s this about intimidating the crown? Isn’t a crown just a lump of metal? How do you scare them?”
“She raises a good point. It was a silly idea anyway.”
>”Forget the letter! I was out for a while but now I’m back in!”
>Half of that made sense.
>When Lyra proposed stealing a nuke, Starlight had seemed more than a little apprehensive.
“Why are you back in?”
>”I talked to Twilight. Not some drugged up madmare, Twilight Sparkle herself.
>Derpy again butted in.
>”Is there a Twilight imposter running around?”
>”There was. One who looked like her, sounded like her- actually, I’m just going to confuse you if I go with this metaphor. Twilight had a stimulant problem. Didn’t you know?”
>Lyra applied her hoof to her face with great vigor.
>”Pardon?”
>”Twilight was addicted to their stimulants.”
>”WHAT?”
>”She nearly killed herself with an overdose. I think she was trying to.”
>Derpy took a deep breath.
>She spread her legs out wide to steady herself.
>And then, she screamed.
>A loud, shrill, wail of panic that was second only to her reaction to seeing Dinky hurt.
>A cry of traumatised terror that could make a banshee’s ears rupture.
>Fortunately, she soon ran out of breath.
>A weak rasping noise continued in place of the scream.
“Starlight? I wasn’t telling her that for a REASON.”
>”What was that all about?”
“Twilight happens to be D’s favourite princess. She even dressed as her for Nightmare Night once.”
>”So? That seemed way worse than-”
“She admires Twilight for reaching the top from humble origins-”
>Like an aristocratic family.
“Using hard work and intellect.”
>And nepotism.
“To her Twilight is the smartest and hardest working pony ever. There is none other more capable than her. And if Twilight Sparkle has fallen.”
>”Then all hope is lost. Oh boy.”
>Derpy continued to try to scream in vain.
>”If it makes you feel better things are looking up?”
>”Oh? Oh, good!”
>Derpy replied in her usual chipper manner, it was like nothing had happened at all.
>”Yeah. Uhh, Lyra proposed we start being really aggressive when dealing with them because they’re not doing what they need to. She proposed some really messed up stuff so I decided to walk away. But then Twilight showed up and threw out all her stimulants because because the Flayer was coming for Fluttershy?”
“Flayer? Is that what they’re calling me now? Last I heard I was Brute.”
>”Shush. Next time I see her she’s putting on weight, excitedly talking about her studies, laughing at Pinkie’s antics. She was stressed, but she was HER!
“Already?”
>”I mean, yeah. She still gets really mopey for no reason and she sleeps more than she used to. And she’s kinda weak. But she’s getting better. And it’s not just her mind or body that are better, it’s her spirit.”
>That was great news indeed.
>Twilight had run out of hope, and Lyra couldn’t provide any.
>But she’d found a substitute.
“Twilight had given up on herself. She didn’t care what happened to her anymore, but she still cared about her friends. She always will. I’ve got a few personal problems with Twilight, but behind that obliviousness and self centered nature she’s a genuinely good pony. I figured that if her problem became her friend’s problem, she’d find the strength to put herself back together.”
>”Don’t you think she already knew she was hurting us with that?”
“No, actually. Remember the oblivious and self centered part? She gets lost in her own little world all the time, forgets about everypony else. Focuses on her studies or personal predilections so much that she completely forgets that there’s more to the world than her and her books. Only way to snap her out of it is to throw something her way that she can’t ignore.”
>”Well, she certainly couldn’t ignore THAT. I’d have never supported you, not in a million years. It was messed up what you did, and that’s coming from me. But it worked, and I don’t think anything else would have.”
“Ponies act the way they do for a reason. They won’t ever change without a little push in the right direction.”
>”LITTLE? It was hardly little!”
>Lyra shrugged nonchalantly.
“The point is that we’re not going to fix anything just by sitting around. If we’re going to fix things we need to throw our weight around a bit! Make sure they have no choice but to shape up!”
>”You might be right. I still don’t plan on helping you steal a bomb though.”
“Oh, come on!”
>”It’s evil!”
>Lyra mumbled her answer to herself.
“Never said I was gunna use it.”
>”Not to mention impractical, those things weigh literal tonnes!”
“But we’re going to need leverage at some point?”
>”We still have the virus, right? Should work for now. If we need more I’m sure we can come up with something.”
>That was true.
>But she had the feeling they’d need more than that before all was said and done.
“Fine.”
>She needed Starlight for other things anyway.
>If push came to shove, she’d come up with her own leverage.
>”What do you even need a bomb for anyway?”
“It’s time to stop the demons.”
>”Yeah, no kidding. Did you hear we almost lost Vanhoover this time?”
“Wait, seriously? A SECOND demon invasion?”
>”No. Oh wait, D. Cover your ears for a bit, we don’t need more screaming.”
>”Okay!”
>Derpy crouched down, resting her chin on the carpet.
>She squished her ears beneath her front legs, bright eyes beaming happily.
“No? Not a second? A THIRD?”
“Lyra? It was a FIFTH.”
>Her blood felt cold.
>”I dug up some records on deployment, found what all the agents were doing one day.”
>A FIFTH invasion.
>”Well, almost all of them. There were 3 on a mission that was expunged.”
>They were still coming, they had never stopped!
>”With only 3 left out we have almost complete information. Some of the best intel we’ve gotten to date”
>Any day now they could come to Ponyville again, she could be thrown into that horrifying fray AGAIN, it was never going to stop! They were-
>”LYRA!”
“Oh, umm. Sorry. Just got a bit distracted. You were saying something?
>”Thank you. A good chunk were listed as wounded.”
>No surprise.
>If Zero was getting hurt the others probably were as well.
>”They had some defending something called Achlys, some trying to guard the exit, some running around Equestria trying to catch the ones who’d broken free, and they were trying to cut off reinforcements and supply lines.”
“Is that it?”
>”Yeah. Why?”
“You’re CERTAIN that’s it.”
>”Other than the 3 we don’t know, yes.”
“No. No, no no NONONO!”
>She collapsed to the ground, clutching her head in the vain hope that it might suppress the throbbing pressure.
>Derpy started stroking her with a wing.
>”Can I uncover my ears now?”
>Floor spoke up, much to Lyra’s amazement.
>”What’s wrong?”
>Starlight spoke immediately after, but was ignored by everypony who’d heard her.
>”Who was that?”
>Floor seemed to flush at being heard, but Lyra didn’t notice.
“They’ve lost, okay? They’ve lost! We’re not going to last long enough to get killed by the tide, we’re- no. No, there’s a way out of this. I know it.”
>Starlight again interrupted her.
>”What makes you think they’ve lost?”
“They’re not attacking anymore! That’s what you learn DAY ONE, you win by attacking! If you just defend you’re just going to lose slower; the CHANCE at victory lies solely in the offense.”
>”They have 3 ponies-”
“3 isn’t enough to stop Eurynomous, okay? 3 MILLION isn’t enough! They have nothing left, they’re just buying time waiting for a miracle! They’re looking for a miracle in the bowels of HELL! It’s all over!
>”Maybe they know something you don’t?”
“I’m sure they know PLENTY I don’t, but they can’t win without attacking! They NEED to be going after Eurynomos, but they aren’t! They can’t anymore, hay, Luna jumps when she hears his name! It’s-”
>Something snapped in Lyra’s brain.
>The most primitive parts of her consciousness so overwhelmed by fear that they began to shut down.
>She had pushed beyond terror into a strange, uneasy clarity.
>There was terror below her, panic above, and yet she was focused.
“No, we’re not beat yet. I refuse. But they’re going to need our help.”
>”Lyra? I’m not a warrior. I can’t-”
“Neither can I. I’m practically a filly next to the agents, I’ve seen a withered old stallion who was a hundred times the fighter I am. That doesn’t mean we can’t do anything thought!
>”Like what?”
>”Can I please uncover my ears now? Pretty please?”
>Lyra gently nudged Derpy’s legs aside
>”Thank you! What are we doing now?”
“Trying to figure out how we can help Luna.”
>Derpy stood up, suddenly towering over Lyra.
>Lyra only then realised she was prone, and quickly rose with a weak blush.
“RIght! So, how can we help Luna?”
>The lot of them sat around for a while thinking.
>This was a pretty tall order, but they’d little choice but to try.
>Derpy sighed softly.
>”That’s hard! Do we have anything she doesn’t?”
>”Not really. She has more personelle than us, more power, more money, she knows everything that’s going on.”
>”No, I don’t think she does. Haven’t they split this mess four ways?”
“Oh, hey, yeah! Luna’s trying to take down hell, Celestia’s trying to keep Equestria or maybe even all of Elysium in order, Twilight’s in charge of studying the tide, maybe even all of R&D. And Cadence? We’ve only confirmed her being involved in weapons”
>Derpy nodded, one eye focused on Lyra the other on Floor.
>”You were friends with Cadence, right? What do you think she’d be good at here?”
“Well, she’s not as bright as Twilight. But she’s charismatic and organized. She’d be a good leader. She could manage more than just making some bombs. Either they’re doing way more with weapons than we know or she has other projects going on.”
>The computer beeped and went silent.
>Floor croaked a quick sentence out before turning the sound back on.
>”Didn’t you say she was talking about the power grid when you were at the bomb stockpile?”
“Oh yeah! Starlight, you didn’t hear that I’m betting.”
>”Hear what?”
“Our technician just reminded me that Cadence was talking about how she needed to expand the power grid. She’s doing more than just weapons if she’s involved in that. Probably directing their manufacturing and construction?”
>Derpy smiled a bit bigger than usual.
>”Makes sense. So Twilight figures out how to make stuff and how stuff works. Cadence directs teams to make the stuff Twilight figured out.”
“Celestia’s dealing with statecraft, designing policy to keep the ponies in line while squeezing out all the resources she can and settling in for the long term, gotta get as much out of the public as fast as possible without starting a riot. And Luna? She fights. They all have their hooves full, probably only have a vague idea of what’s going on elsewhere. Wait a second… Yeah! When I was at the missile stockpile Luna admitted she didn’t know what Cadence was working on! And later during the award ceremony Cadence let slip she didn’t know that the top agent had been wounded! Girls, they don’t know the full picture either!”
>Nopony responded.
>It looked like Lyra was going to have to spell it out for them.
“We know things Luna doesn’t know! Hay, we might have even figured out some stuff that NONE of them know!”
>Starlight decided to rain on her parade.
>”I wouldn’t go THAT far.”
“Okay, who cares! We know things Luna doesn’t. That means we might be able to find an answer she can’t!”
>Derpy rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
>”What’s the answer then?”
“I dunno.”
>She hadn’t thought that far ahead just yet.
“But I do know that they need two things. They need to free up agents to attack, and they need some way to do enough damage to Eurynomos that they can beat him.”
>If Bonny could only break his jaw, and if he could survive a nuclear strike, they needed something really REALLY big.
“Luna can probably do a better job of deploying than we can, but she doesn’t necessarily know all the tools available. We need to find the biggest, meanest weapon they’ve got. The thing Cadence was stressing over was called Helios. Any records on that, Starlight?”
>”Hold on, it’s- wow. Yeah, there’s a LOT! Looks like they tried to cover their tracks on this one, but it shows up in so many places that a lot of stuff got overlooked. Tens of thousands of engineers, MILLIONS of tonnes of fuel? It says here they blew 100 billion bits in a month! This might be the single most expensive project in pony history!”
>Bingo.
“And they were talking about building a second one. It’s gotta be something special if they’re going through that much trouble. And we already know it’s a weapon. This sounds like exactly the kind of thing that could stop Eurynomos. We need to figure out what Helios is, how destructive it is, what its limitations are- we need to know everything.”
>”We need to figure out how to get you to the facility. Small island off the west coast near the equator.”
“What’s on the island?”
>Lyra could hear Starlight type for a while, contrasting the silence that otherwise surrounded them.
>”I don’t know. But it’s a pretty small island. Probably only a few square kilometers.”
“It would be hard to burn that much money on such a small island. They must be doing most of the work elsewhere again. This is probably where it’s assembled.”
>”We should get you there as soon as possible.”
“There is, um, a slight complication?”
>She averted her eyes, even though Starlight couldn’t see her.
>Derpy and Floor were looking at her though.
>That was already too much.
“See, I kinda got caught when I confronted Twilight?”
>”What do you mean kinda?”
“Well, only a little.”
>”Only a- did you get caught or not?”
“Celestia had a pony jump through my window to arrest me, okay? She knows it was me! I talked my way out of it, convinced her she needed my help. But if anything weird happens I’ll be the first suspect. She was already keeping an eye on me, but now that I messed with her favorite student-”
>And lead her to believe that I’m a violent maniac.
“She’ll come down hard unless I can convince her I didn’t do anything. And given how many times they’ve spotted me it won’t take much to convince them I’m guilty.”
>”That’s, yeah! That’s a pretty big problem! Why didn’t you say this earlier?”
>Huh.
>Why HADN’T she brought it up earlier?
>”Looks like I’m out of time for now. Everypony try to come up with some idea for how we can keep from getting caught, we’ll figure it out tomorrow.”
>The line went dead.
>There was still so much to figure out, so much to do.
>But somehow, Lyra KNEW in her heart that she would find the answer.
>That she’d learn something on that island that would stop Eurynomos and save Bon-Bon.
>But how to get there?

                                                *       *       *       *       *
>It was time.
>Lyra hadn’t been on a mission like this for quite a while, and she’d have preferred to keep it that way.
>Her last few adventures had been more exciting than she’d cared for, the danger too real.
>And she knew for a fact that she would be the first suspect if ANYTHING happened. Though her life was no longer in imminent danger as it had been during the invasion, the chances of failure were likely no lower.
>She’d have loved to just walk away, to take things slowly or even to give up entirely!
>But there was no time for delay.
>Equestria was doomed if nothing changed, and she seemed cursed to be the arbiter of their salvation.
>She stood by the coastline of the mainland, looking out to the west.
>The full moon and clear skies helped to reveal her surroundings, the clear blue waters of the ocean, the gentle waves crashing against the stunningly white sands, the stumps and logs of driftwood that had washed ashore on this remote, untouched beach.
>It was the very image of tranquility.
>For a moment she could almost forget that Equestria was set to be consumed by not one but two doomsdays.
>She could almost forget that Bon-Bon was at this very moment being hunted by unimaginable evils that had shrugged off weapons of unthinkable wrath.
>She could almost forget the terrible burden on her shoulders.
>Almost.
”Hey, D. You there?”
>”Yup! Why do unicorns always forget to look up?”
>Lyra looked up above her to see her bubbly friend hovering only a few meters above ground.
>She was hopeful that it was too dark for her blush to be visible, but on this bright night she doubted that she was so lucky.
>Not that it really mattered that much given how well obscured her face was.
>”Is it really a good idea to do this tonight? Shouldn’t we wait for a new moon or a cloudy night or something?”
“I’d love to, but we don’t have time to wait half a month. Besides, Starlight says something is supposed to happen here tonight. I don’t wanna miss it.”
>Derpy did have a point though.
>It would be hard for her to hide tonight.
>”You look different from how I remember.”
>Lyra should hope so.
>It was meant to be a disguise, and a new one at that.
>She bore a dark green cloak to conceal herself, a clothing option that she really ought to have considered in the past.
>A body suit would have been preferable in some regards, having less trailing fabric, but the cloak made it harder for one to estimate her size, and allowed her to conceal objects if necessary.
>Beneath the cloak she wore a balaclava, the warm fabric already causing her to perspire in the late summer breeze.
>It was worth it to hide her facial features. It, when combined with some padding strategically placed on her body, would hopefully make it unclear if she was a small stallion or a mare.
>Should anypony catch a glimpse of her beneath the cloak they’d not see her iconic green coat, nor would they find the blue dye she’d formerly worn.
>Instead she was painted a deep red, a red more sanguine and fierytohan blood or flame.
>A red that she hoped would bring to mind the infernal wrath of Hell.
“Well, with me having been caught and all I needed to be somepony else. We talked it over for a while and eventually Starlight and I agreed that a rogue agent was the best choice. We came up with a disguise they might wear, though there was a lot of guessing done.”
>The hardest part was going to be changing her behaviour.
>A rogue agent wouldn’t act as Lyra had.
>They’d be far more swift, more decisive.
>An agent would never fear a guard or their weapon, they’d never fear a fight from mere equines.
>But beyond that they’d display prowess in nearly all things.
>She thought over the non-violent skills Bon-Bon had displayed, the ease with which she picked locks, the ability to reprogram computers, the knowledge needed to see through the official truths of the day.
>It was hard to say just how many skills an agent was expected to have, but it was clear that they were more than mere warriors.
>”Think it’ll work?”
“If I can fake it well enough, maybe? It’s going to be hard.”
>”Really? You know some really scary spells.”
>Yeah. She did.
“That’s not going to be the hard part. Well, it WILL be if a real agent shows up.”
>Or Luna.
“It’s the other stuff that worries me most, though.”
>”Other stuff?”
“Bonny’s really smart. Like, super smart. I went to a really fancy school and that pony still knows more than I ever will.”
>Just how much more though?
>Lyra had discovered Bon-Bon’s deep wealth of knowledge gradually over the years, discovering her understanding of esoteric and complex subjects as they came.
>Even then she was occasionally surprised.
>She recalled around the time Bonny had first shown her Earth pony magic, being shocked to learn that she had a solid or perhaps even robust knowledge of unicorn magic as well.
>They’d been so close for so long and still that pony was able to surprise her.
“I think she’s hiding most of what she knows too.”
>”Really?”
>Lyra looked out over the water hoping to see their goal.
>Nothing.
>She produced a pair of binoculars from beneath her cloak.
>Not as good as the visor dealy, but that was long gone.
>”Why would they send somepony super smart like that out to do this stuff?”
“Brook explained that to me once, actually. What was it he said? If you seperate your scholars from your fighters you’ll have your thinking done by cowards and your fighting done by idiots. Something like that.”
>But with more colorful language.
“They expect a lot more of their agents than just strength.”
>Lyra raised the binoculars to her eyes and peered through.
>Everything was distant and tiny.
>She rolled her eyes as she turned the eyepiece around.
“Brook said that they normally didn’t do all that much fighting, and I remember Bonny talking about recon work once or twice. Come to think of it she knew that Roc was coming way in advance, maybe even before it did. They do way more than fight.”
>At least, they used to.
>She peered through the lenses, gazing out over the gentle waves.
>They were much bigger this time.
>It looked like the still weather extended well out to sea.
>Sure enough she could see her destination.
“1, 2, 3, 4- there are a lot of islands here. Wow.”
>Derpy hovered by her side, strangely electing not to land.
“Around 30 of them from what I can see.”
>”I’d never heard of these islands before. What were they called again?”
>Lyra had never heard of them either.
>More perplexingly she’d checked a world map after Starlight had mentioned them.
>Nothing.
“The only name we’ve seen is Typhon. I’m pretty sure they don’t officially exist.”
>It boggled the mind to think that an entire chain of islands could be hidden from public knowledge.
>But there they weren’t.
“Does nopony ever come out here?”
>”I don’t think so. Look at the beach. No hoof prints.”
>She was right.
>This sandy beach hadn’t seen a pony in quite some time.
>Even when high tide came and wiped the beach clean there’d still be some near the top, for it to be this clear nopony had come since the last storm.
>No signs of campsites, no attempts to clear the debris from the shores.
>This place was abandoned.
“We’re pretty sure this is the right place, right? Like, there are no ponies, there haven’t been for a while, how do they get stuff to the islands?”
>”Boat?”
“Oh yeah. Durr.”
>Lyra stowed the binoculars beneath her cloak.
>”Ready?”
“Well, I- ACK!”
>A pair of fuzzy legs abducted her and dragged her into the sky.
>Why did Derpy even ask if she was just going to go ahead and do it?
>Cool moist air blew through Lyra’s mane at a startlingly high speed.
>She gripped on as tightly as she could. 
>The two of them were cutting through the cool night air at an alarming rate, her heart racing even though she wasn’t doing any of the work.
>A very primal part of Lyra’s brain was calling to her, begging her to do something- to do ANYTHING! Insisting that she was plummeting to the ground and about to meet an abrupt and messy end.
“Do we have to move this fast?”
>”We’re not going that fast.”
>She looked down at the water zipping on by far faster than she could ever hope to run.
>A stray wave nearly caught her.
“Maybe a tad higher?”
>”But then they’d see us! We have to be low.”
>Any lower and they’d be swimming.
>The islands were approaching far too slowly for her tastes, yet she dared not ask for her pilot to speed up.
>”Huff- oh geeze, why are you so much heavier than Dinky?”
“She’s just a filly!”
>And I happen to live with a confectioner.
>”But you’re both unicorns!”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
>”I'm losing my grip!”
>Oh good grief.
>Derpy was going to drop her!
>Lyra closed her eyes and tried to ignore what was happening, but her body wouldn’t allow it.
>She glanced down.
>The waves here were rough and erratic, water spraying about mightily, drenching her cloak.
>The water below seemed to blur by faster and faster, Derpy speeding up as much as she could before her legs gave out.
>Before long Lyra couldn’t make sense of what she was seeing below her, nothing but a steady blur of white water and nausea.
>She silently mouthed thanks when sand appeared below her.
>Derpy flapped hard against the island to break her momentum, but didn’t account for the adult unicorn in tow.
>The two of them hit the beach hard, tumbling across the mercifully sandy shores.
“Owww…”
>”Oh my goodness, are you alright?”
“Yeah. I’m fine. Just a bit of internal bleeding, don’t worry about it.”
>”Oh good, I was worried.”
>Was she incapable of understanding sarcasm?
>Lyra rolled over and spat the seashells out of her mouth before looking up at the brilliant sky.
>No wind at all.
“Is there a storm coming in?”
>”No?”
“Why was the water around here so turbulent then?”
>”Maybe it’s really shallow?”
>Could be.
>It was a chain of islands, suggesting some greater structure beneath the surface.
>But for it to be THAT shallow?
>And how did they get boats here without ripping the hull apart?
“Whatever, that’s not important right now. We on the right one?”
>”The only one that had anything on it as far as I could see.”
>So yes, if Derpy’s eyes could be trusted.
>Lyra figured it was about 50/50.
“Okay. I’m going in. See you back home.”
>”Are your slide dealies working?”
>She had a point, they’d failed her before.
>And the crash can't have been good for them.
>”Maybe you should test them.”
“Then we’d have to come back. And then they might be flat, we’d need to test them again.”
>As much as she loathed it, Lyra would have to trust the machines she wore around her ankles.
>”I can’t just leave you here without a way to get out. I’m staying until you’re done.”
>Lyra raised a hoof to protest.
>But she slowly lowered it.
>Derpy had a point, if something went wrong she’d be stranded, capture would be inevitable.
>On the other hoof, Derpy wasn't properly disguised, her stealth suit ruined beyond repair. She couldn’t just stay in a blacksite like that, she had to leave for her own safety!
>But then again Derpy did have a talent for talking her way out of trouble, be it demolishing entire buildings or leading flocks of birds astray, nopony could ever stay angry at her.
>But then-
>Lyra shook her head violently to break her train of thought.
“Go back to shore and wait. I’ll throw up a light spell if I need your help, don’t worry, it’ll be bright enough to see.”
>”How long should I wait?”
“I’ll come pick you up after I slide out.”
>Derpy gave a quick nod
>”Alright. Don’t forget to look up!”
>She quickly flew away, seemingly satisfied by the plan.
>Lyra took a moment to shake some of the excess sand from her body before stepping inland.
>She took three steps up before turning around.
>She was meant to be a rogue agent, not a bumbling- a bumbling... bee?
“Do bees bumble?”
>That didn’t matter right now! An agent on a stealth operation wouldn’t leave hoofprints in the sand!
>And they definitely wouldn’t crash land.
>Lyra took several minutes to brush the sand mostly smooth with her magic.
>To her great dismay it was still clearly disturbed despite her best efforts.
>She tried to levitate seawater in to wash away the evidence, but it remained wrong somehow.
>It seemed as though nothing she did would return the natural state of the water swept shores.
>Would she just have to hope high tide came and cleaned the scene before she was found out?
>It was only a few hours before high tide, but was she really confident that HOURS would pass without incident?
>She had to look like an agent, she couldn’t leave evidence like this behind.
>But an agent also wouldn’t struggle for half an hour failing to cover their own tracks.
>She had to move swiftly and silently.
>She walked up the steep slopes of the grassy but otherwise barren island.
>Not just ordinary barren either, remarkably barren.
>Thick patches of wild grass had taken hold, their overgrown blades reaching nearly to her head, but there seemed to be nothing else in sight.
>No bushes, no flowers.
>Weren’t tropical islands supposed to have at least one coconut tree?
>Maybe it was further inland?
>The uneven terrain was full of short but sheer cliff faces over which she was forced to climb, dried out mudslides from torrential downpours, pockmarked with small lakes.
>Navigating was proving an exhausting nightmare.
>Lyra sat down to catch her breath.
>This place was weird. Like, really weird.
>Maybe there was something to that?
>Only grasses, no larger plants and seemingly no animals inland.
>Rough terrain. Shouldn’t it have been smoothed out at least a bit by all the rain?
>And speaking of rain those mudslides were odd. That should have all settled centuries ago.
>It hit her like a conductor’s baton might strike a filly who’d forgotten their pencil.
>All those things pointed in the same direction.
>But could it be?
>Could these islands be NEW?
>Too new for larger plant life to settle in, too new for the rough features to wash away, too new for the lakes to form a river network.
>Too new for it to be on a map?
>If so, then what was this place?
>Was she STANDING on Helios?
>That didn’t sound right, they’d called it Typhus.
>And besides, Helios was supposed to be a weapon of some kind, not a bunch of dirt in the ocean.
>She had to be overthinking this.
>What felt like at least half an hour more of hiking eventually revealed a complex on what she thought to be the peak of the island.
>By and large it was underwhelming.
>This particular area had been paved over, the overbearing grass thankfully smothered beneath concrete.
>She was free to walk about unhindered, but also unobscured.
>Lyra receded into the growth.
>She could see a long strip of concrete that had been painted with guide lines of some sort, though she couldn’t say exactly what they were for.
>Right near her was a seemingly overbuilt barn or hangar. Last time she’d seen something like that there were rockets in it.
>Behind it was a smaller but no less sturdy structure, about the size of a small house.
>And that was it.
>There was NOTHING else here.
>A strip of concrete and a big, steel reinforced barn.
>And it was supposedly the site of the most expensive undertaking in pony history.
>Lyra felt cheated.
>She scanned around again to make sure she hadn’t missed anything, but that genuinely seemed to be it.
>Had Starlight been wrong?
>Maybe.
>On the other hoof this place was mighty suspicious.
>Maybe it had been important but was now abandoned?
>Everything seemed tidy enough at first glance, so probably not abandoned.
>Maybe it soon would be important but wasn’t finished?
>She would find no answers hiding here.
>But moving out of the reeds was asking for trouble.
“Think.”
>What would a real agent do?
>She didn’t have to think for long, Brook had told her the answer.
>The chance at victory lies in the offence.
>If one is to stand a CHANCE at victory one must attack!
>There was no point in dawdling, no point in doubt.
>Hiding would get her nowhere.
>The only way out was through.
>She stepped out cautiously.
>No, caution is what Lyra would do.
>But she wasn’t Lyra right now.
>Lyra was the pony who fearfully stumbled into this mess.
>She was the pony who kept getting caught, kept needing to cover her tracks, kept running in circles.
>Kept failing to save Bon-Bon.
>Lyra had been a noisy observer, a gnat that the princesses were too busy to swat away.
>This pony was the opposite of Lyra.
>They were unstoppable, focused, successful.
>They weren’t the noisy observer, but the silent manipulator!
>Hay, they were SO opposite Lyra that their colours were opposite!
“Sooo… what WOULDN’T Lyra do?”
>She wouldn’t just march in like she owned the place with a clear goal in mind.
>So that’s exactly what Red did.
>She maintained a quick trot on the surface, as swift as she could without making a racket.
>With every step she grew more and more confident it was the right choice.
>There was nowhere to hide, so sneaking was useless.
>The swift pace would minimize the chances she were spotted, and the confident aura might make ponies believe she was allowed to be there.
>Lyra boldly marched up to the smaller structure.
>It didn’t seem to have any windows or anything else of the sort.
>But there was a wire between it and the hangar, so she was assuming it was electrified.
>Which probably meant cameras.
>Which probably meant she’d been spotted.
>Which definitely wasn’t what would happen to an agent.
>Floor had said she could scrub all evidence of Lyra’s presence from them if she got her into the local system.
>It looked like Red had a new objective on her hooves.
>If the cameras were onto her anyway there was no reason not to try the front door.
>Red gently popped it open from just around the corner using her magic, gradually sliding it open until it was just wide enough for her frame.
>She walked up and in to find what she could only assume to be the world’s smallest barracks.
>The entryway had rather spartan furnishings, just a couple of stools and a torch lamp in the corner.
>There were no visible light fixtures around save for it.
>To the right was a small kitchen, fully stocked with a couple of hotplates and no refrigeration.
>There were maybe half a dozen pots and as many sets of cutlery to be found, all stacked up and unwashed.
>There was a little bit of what she thought was pasta sauce in one of them, notably not mouldy.
>She popped open the pantry to find it barren save for a few packets of instant noodles.
>Isolated. Dirty. Noodles.
>Did Floor have family working for S.M.I.L.E.?
>She left the kitchen to explore a bit further.
>One part of the structure featured a series of bunk beds, enough for 6 ponies.
>All of them were empty and unmade.
>Lyra was starting to feel uneasy about all this.
>But she couldn't be Lyra right then.
>Red moved along confidently and casually, wondering what else she might find.
>There was only one more door in this place.
>She popped it open to find a single computer terminal hooked up to a printer, sat upon an oaken desk sagging beneath the weight of innumerable papers.
>The cramped and darkened room was overfilled with filing cabinets that doubtlessly contained a wealth of information; she could probably learn just about everything about what was going on on this island without leaving this room.
>If only she had time to read it all.
>Lyra quickly plugged floor into the machine in the hopes that Floor would be able to dig something up.
>She immediately felt foolish for doing so, this place was so remote, so inaccessible. There was no chance this machine was connected to the internet.
>Her embarrassment was instantly replaced with surprised confusion when the display showed a file transfer in progress.
>This place was far enough from the mainland that she could only see it as a smudge on the horizon without binoculars, but it was connected.
>The power could be explained by a generator, but the network?
>She knew that their machines didn’t actually need wires to talk to each other, she’d seen it so many times before.
>But just how far away could they communicate?
>Was there even a limit?
>No point in just wondering, especially when she was surrounded by information.
>Lyra grabbed a random paper.
“H1 performance report.”
>H1?
>Helios 1 perhaps?
>They WERE talking about building more than one.
“Failed to perform as expected. Affected area only reached 3500k-”
>3500 degrees Kelvin?
>ONLY?
“Failed to operate for required duration, major overheating, systems not recharging.”
>They seemed to be proposing why it had failed, but Lyra couldn’t make much sense of it.
>Something about thermal bloom being worse than anticipated.
>What was thermal bloom?
>It looked like their solution was using a different frequency and adding more power.
“Hmm.”
>What’s this?
>Dated the day after the invasion.
>That tore it, there was no room for doubt anymore.
>What she saw in the early stages WAS Helios.
>It all added up!
>Burning everything, not quite being able to finish the job, the timing…
>She was pleased with the new information, but it did raise a few more questions.
>Lyra had seen the effects of Helios AND the effects of their bombs.
>The bombs were more destructive, hooves down.
>And from the sounds of things they were far cheaper.
>So why bother with this thing?
>There had to be something more, Helios HAD to have some kind of advantage!
>She flipped through several more papers, none of them seeming useful.
>There was a 30 page document requesting more paper of all things.
>Was that why this project was so expensive? Bureaucracy?
>Perhaps. Cadence was in charge, and she was less experienced than the others.
>But Lyra doubted Celestia would tolerate that level of waste. She seemed like the kind of pony who was hyper aware of the burden placed on the populace, if Cadance was asking for enough funding to run the most expensive project in pony history Celestia would at least flip through an expense report.
>There had to be some hardware or R&D somewhere to justify it, something BIG.
>Wait a second. How do they request more paper if they’ve run out?
“I’m getting nowhere slow here, I should- hello.”
>A damage report.
>It was dated just after the performance report.
“Major overheating during operation? Likely the result of a defect in lense 16-D.”
>It seemed strange that this would be seperate from the performance report.
>Different teams?
>Wait, lense 16-D? How many lenses did this thing have then?
“Molten frame, severe damage to battery, heatsink EXPLODED? Sublimation of laser diodes 257 through 768-”
>Lasers?
>And hundreds of them.
>And it overheated because of a faulty lense.
>Helios was weaponized LIGHT!
>An array of hundreds of lasers that could melt solid rock.
>But how in the world could they possibly move such a thing?
>Derpy’s words came unbidden.
>”Look up.”
>Could it be?
>She wanted to say it was impossible, that there was no way anypony could ever pull such a thing off.
>But she knew better by now.
>Those ponies did the impossible at least a dozen times before breakfast.
>Lyra couldn’t rule out the possibility that this thing had been built on the moon.
>Hay, maybe it was just hanging in the sky like the moon!
>But if so, what was the point of this place?
>And more to the point, what would they do if Helios got hit by the Tide?
>It had to have some means of protecting itself.
>Lyra flipped through some more pages, but consistently failed to find anything she understood.
>But she saw no reason not to keep going.
>It seemed like there was nopony around here.
>There was still stuff lying around so it wasn’t just abandoned
>Almost as though the pl-
“As though this place has been…”
>Evacuated.
>An earth shaking roar filled the air, the banshee’s cry harkening doom to all who heard it.
>Lyra ran from the building in a panic, both seeking and fleeing the source of the omnipresent roar.
>An enormous machine had rolled itself out of the hangar
>It brought to mind a bird, the aerodynamically shaped nose and body of the massive structure. Its long body stretching out of sight.
>Those massive metallic wings almost seemed to shine in the darkness, and were they sagging?
>The broad frame carried below it a hefty piece of hardware, painted with one of their high threat hazard symbols.
>That thing was deadly!
>The hazardous material was attached to what was unmistakably a small rocket.
>She couldn’t tell exactly what that thing was, but she was pretty sure she knew why this island had been evacuated.
>Lyra activated the S.L.I.D.E. system.
>Nothing!
>She backed away from the flying machine, fearful for what might come next.
>That horrible shrieking grew louder, a windstorm formed behind it, jets of flame erupted from beneath the wings.
>The machine shot down the runway at breakneck speed and tore through the sky.
>Leaving.
>Ascending.
>Bringing more materials or components to Helios, to make spaceborne weapons.
>Ripping through the skies and perhaps even beyond.
>Lyra’s legs trembled beneath her weight while she walked back down to shore.
>She sat herself on the beach where she’d crashed, heart still hammering.
>It looked like she was safe.
>But what would have happened to her if the launch had gone wrong?
>What was so dangerous about that component that they evacuated the whole island before launch?
>She shuddered involuntarily.
>Lyra called upon her magic to launch a brilliant light into the sky, calling for evac.
>But she did so absentmindedly, almost forgetting where she was.
>Her thoughts were elsewhere.
“They’ve been able to destroy the Tide all along.”
>She’d known that for a while, they had a nuclear bomb on site at the lab where they experimented on it.
>And they hadn’t needed to use it yet.
>If their final failsafe wasn’t necessary then it had to be overkill, smaller things did the trick.
>But if they could destroy it then what was the problem?
“It’s not going to stop.”
>It’s NEVER going to stop.
>From the sounds of it this stuff had devoured countless worlds before.
>It was aggressively spreading, and even seeking out life.
>Lyra had figured it was going to arrive in a little over a decade, but she’d never bothered to ask when it was going to leave.
>Never.
>An eternity under siege by a force the size of a galaxy.
>If she’d had any doubts before Helios had shattered them, that thing made no sense unless it was used hundreds of times or maybe even thousands!
>Their task was not to overcome the tide, nor to fight it back, but to endure it.
>For eternity.
>She looked out at the beautiful, pristine ocean.
>The waves seemed to turn black before her eyes as they rose upon the shore.
“And the ways that they destroy it…”
>There were no subtle methods to turn back the tide.
>Nothing but overwhelmingly destructive force would do.
>How long could their world last before it was reduced to a barren hellscape that made Orcus seem a paradise?
>100 years?
>200?
>And what happened when it landed in a city?
>It couldn’t be allowed to spread, to take hold.
>What happened when it landed in Ponyville?
>Lyra closed her eyes and shook her head.
>She could see the enormous mushroom clouds made by the nuclear bombs etched into the backs of her eyelids.
>In the end it wouldn’t even matter if they could destroy it as fast as it came.
>Twilight was right, they needed a miracle.
>Water splashed up against her hoof.
>The Tide was rising.
>”You okay?”
>Derpy had arrived.
“I can stop Eurynomos.”
                                                *       *       *       *       *
>Lyra was eager to get out of the shower.
>This was quite unlike her, she was the kind of pony who enjoyed the sensation of hot water running over her body, singing to herself in the unique acoustics of a washroom until the hot water ran cold.
>But things were slightly different this time.
>For one she wasn’t home, she was at Derpy’s.
>For two she had an important announcement to make.
>She hadn’t even wanted to shower right then, but she HAD to wash away the dye.
>Lyra stepped out of the shower the instant she was convinced the evidence of her dual identity was floating out to sea.
>She dried herself off in a hurry and ran out to the linen closet with a spring in her step.
>Because she was going to save the day.
>All this madness, all this fear, all this pain. She knew the cure!
>Lyra nearly bowled over Derpy in her excitement.
“Oh, sorry!”
>”You’re… you’re so FLUFFY!”
>What?
>”I’ve never seen you with an unbrushed coat! It’s all fluffy and poofy!”
“Is that really important right now? I’ve found something big!”
>Derpy started rubbing Lyra’s barrel vigorously.
>”It’s like a cloud made of fur!”
“Uhh, y-yeah! That’s, umm, is that a good thing?”
>”They should make plushies based on you!”
“They? They who? Wait that’s not what’s important right now!”
>Floor Bored spoke up, head poking out of a heap of towels in her little nest.
>Lyra wasn’t sure how she managed to wedge herself into a linen closet, but she had.
>”Right! We need to update the virus.”
“What? Why?”
>”Well, we’ve learned a lot since I made it. It’s supposed to tell everypony what we know, right?”
>True.
>It was a means of threatening the crown in case they got captured, a bargaining chip.
>The more information they had the better the threat.
“Can’t it wait though?”
>”Not really. I can’t just update it whenever I want. I actually can’t push new files out to every machine in Equestria. What I CAN do is wait for them to write a software update and sneak my own stuff into the package.”
“Oh, I see.”
>Lyra did not see.
“Alright. So… wait, what do we need to add to it? I can’t remember what we knew then and what we didn’t. Uhh... “
>”Just start from the top, that way we don’t miss anything.”
“Right. From the top. Uhh, where we first got involved? Where ponies first got involved? Or where everything began?”
>Nopony answered her.
>It looked like it was up to Lyra to decide.
“Okay. We’ll, uhh… we’ll start with what kicked this all off. Ahem.”
>A long time ago, in a star system far far away…
>An alien species of unknown nature was working on a machine. 
>No, not just any machine, THE machine.
>Why they made it is unclear, but some suspect it is a weapon-
>”Nope. No good.”
“Huh?”
>”Cut the uncertainty. This thing is supposed to scare the princesses really bad if it needs to, right? Why don’t they want the public to know?”
“So that they won’t freak out too much. So we should write this to be as scary as possible then? Alright.”
>As I was saying, THE machine.
>The ultimate weapon, a device so terrifying and destructive that it leaves nothing in its wake, not even ashes.
>They released the weapon, sicking it on the galaxy as a whole and consigning a trillion souls to oblivion.
>An ever growing sea of microscopic doom spread throughout the stars, consuming everything and leaving only an inky blackness in its wake.
>We call this the Black Tide.
>The Tide continued to spread, to grow, to hunt, to rend and consume innumerable worlds.
>Countless years have passed since then with the tide only growing larger and deadlier.
>Nigh on half the galaxy had been wiped away.
>Then, the first pony was born.
>”Wait a minute. How do you know it’s wiped out that much of the galaxy?”
“Well, I don’t. But Twilight only had a few sources left out of thousands, right? And the only survivors were the most recent discoveries. It’s gotta have spread really far, right?”
>”But space is big! Maybe there were a lot of other creatures in our little corner. And why do you think it’s older than the first pony?”
“I don’t think it can move faster than light, and the galaxy is between 150,000 and 200,000 light years across. There haven’t been ponies that long.”
>”We don’t know it started at the opposite end. It might have started relatively nearby!”
“Look, do you want this thing to be scary or not?”
>Floor nodded.
“Okay then. So as I was saying...”
>The first pony was born.
>Born into a wild and untamed land, full of adventure, beauty, mystery, and fright.
>Ponies made their way through the world, bringing order and harmony everywhere they went.
>But for every day there must be a night, and likewise for all harmony there must be dissonance.
>For every pony that was born into the world there seemed to be a thousand monsters, demons, and fiends. Bringers of strife and chaos. Powerful and hateful beasts that threatened everything the ponies had ever known and loved. And ponies, being peaceful and gentle by nature, were powerless to stop them.
>A solution was proposed. Celestia and Luna founded the now ancient order known as the Secret Monster Investigation League of Equestria. The best and brightest ponies were identified during foalhood and groomed to be guardians-
>”Foalhood? Really?”
“Yup. B- an agent I know of started studying when they were 5. It takes a LOT to make an agent. Moving on then.”
>Groomed to be guardians, to put aside the notion of weakness or failure, to put aside equinity. They are more than ponies. They are more than mortal. They are S.M.I.L.E.
>The agents of of S.M.I.L.E. were a success. So successful in fact that they were able to operate in the shadows, hunting and rebuffing monsters of all kinds so swiftly and consistently that hardly anypony even knew they existed.
>As they grew more effective, more powerful, and more ruthless the ponies they protected grew softer, weaker. Ponies spent their entire lives in peaceful ignorance to the madness that lurked in the shadows. Today, the average pony would not only be unable to protect themselves, they wouldn’t be able to understand what was hunting them.
>Yet still S.M.I.L.E. stood, willingly throwing themselves at the ineffable fiends that surround us to this day. Doing so without thanks, without recognition. Without even existing in the public eye.
>Thousands of years passed with S.M.I.L.E. serving as an invisible bulwark. Innumerable catastrophes arose that tested their mettle, and even threatened to break them. But they always rose to the challenge, ALWAYS found a way to fight back. Until one day they faced the challenge that broke them.
>Lord Tirek wormed his way out of Tartarus, the lesser of the many hells. When he reached Equestria, he was emaciated. Frail. Exhausted. And unstoppable. His ability to effortlessly consume magic from his victims made him the perfect foil for S.M.I.L.E. who, so greatly dependent on their magic, could only serve to make him stronger. They had no solution, no plan, no hope- for the first time in history S.M.I.L.E. was at a loss. They didn’t beat Tirek.
>They didn’t even try.
“Actually that might be a little overly critical. It makes it sound like S.M.I.L.E. gave up. I mean, they DID, but… it’s not like they had much choice.”
>Derpy shrugged.
>”I think it’s fine. Tirek was tough, everypony gets that. I wonder how he is.”
“Who, Tirek?”
>”Yeah. I haven’t seen him in months.”
>Lyra just looked at Derpy.
>She said nothing, merely staring.
>”He’s on my mail route. We don’t get down there very often, it’s monthly delivery. Last time I took the day off because Dinky was hurt, and the time before that I was still on paid leave after getting beaten up at the post office.”
“Sorry about that again, by the way. I know you told me to do it, but- wait. You deliver mail. TO HELL?”
>She nodded cheerfully.
>”Neither rain nor snow nor brimstone nor madness of Hell.”
>Well, that WAS their creed.
>”Of all the baddies I deliver to he’s my favourite. So polite. And he tips REALLY well, especially around Hearth’s Warming.”
“You’re supposed to tip your mail carriers?”
>Derpy didn’t answer.
>She just smiled, maintaining uncomfortable eye contact.
“So, do you ever deliver any deeper than Tartarus? Like, have you been to Orcus?”
>”No, I’ve never been. You need a special certificate to go there, and I didn’t think it was worth getting because delivery is only once a year.”
“Who sends letters to Orcus?”
>”I am not at liberty to discuss Luna’s letters, or how sick her burns are.”
>So Luna takes time every year to make fun of the denizens of the second Hell?
>Interesting.
>Lyra had thought Luna was terrified of them, but this painted a different picture entirely.
>Luna clearly wasn’t afraid of them before the invasion.
>This also suggested they had some history with each other.
>”And once per decade we’re supposed to go to Inferno, but nopony ever sends any letters there.”
“That’s probably for the best, they’d just burn up anyway. Right, so where were we? Right!”
>They didn’t beat Tirek.
>They didn’t even try.
>S.M.I.L.E. had suffered many setbacks in recent years, from the Changeling invasion to Discord’s mind bending chaos, but never before had they been so thoroughly crushed as they had been by Tirek. A solution was needed. An idea was born.
>Princess Twilight Sparkle suggested that it might be possible do battle without magic, without the STRENGTH offered by the Earth, the SPEED offered by the winds, the VERSATILITY of the waters.
>She proposed that S.M.I.L.E. be armed not only with magic, but with physics, chemistry, mathematics.
>Floor cut Lyra off.
>”Say, is there a magic type for fire?”
“Hm?”
>”We have this 4 elements thing going. Earth magic, air magic, and water magic. What about fire?”
“Demonic.”
>”Oh. Makes sense. Go on.”
>S.M.I.L.E. now had a new division, one that wasn’t involved in recon or containment or battle, one where the ponies would never even get to see the monsters they fought. S.M.I.L.E. had moved into research and development.
>Nopony knew at first where this approach might take them. Would these tools only be useful in special situations like Tirek? Would they be versatile enough to make good additions to traditional methods? Would they even be good enough to deploy at all? Would the program even succeed?
>If anything it was too successful.
>S.M.I.L.E. had come up with chemically propelled slingshots that could tear through the thickest of armor in the blink of an eye, blades that could shred concrete and steel like they were warmed butter, poisons so deadly as to put a manticore to shame, invisible gases that would stop a heart at the touch, incendiaries that could reduce asbestos to smoke and ash, and explosives that could vaporise entire cities with a single blast.
>Celestia was horrified by the results, by the cruelty and destruction they had become capable of. She ordered the most devastating of the weapons be destroyed, and entire fields of research be cancelled.
>Luna was thrilled by the results, by the efficacy and ease with which they could project force. She ordered the most devastating of weapons be hidden and preserved without her sister’s knowledge.
>But while the sisters fought along these lines a far greater breakthrough was made. It was discovered that one could encode information on light, even with the invisible parts of the spectrum, making it possible to communicate almost instantly and across great distances.
>”You mean Radio.”
“Floor, are you going to cut me off every- Is that what they’re calling it? Dumb name. Oh, uhh, the next part is partially guess work. Twilight sorta admitted it was aliens but she didn’t say much about what kind. Do we need to tell them that?”
>”Naah. Better if we seem confident. It’s a pretty good guess anyway.”
>This new device was to be used to communicate in secret, using a tool that the public wasn’t even aware of. An agent could receive new orders within seconds, across the continent, and with no chance of interception. This was not the groundbreaking discovery, for there was something far greater.
>We were not alone.
>Five years ago. Ponies hadn’t been the first to invent the radio. And they weren’t the only ones using it. The skies were full of signals passing through us, a silent chorus, an intangible mob of voices surrounding us at all hours of every day. Out there, amongst the stars, there were thousands- MILLIONS of civilizations, nations, empires, innumerable WORLDS all communicating through the radio. S.M.I.L.E. began to study their missives, to record and to seek their every word. The more they looked, the more they found. There were countless lifetimes of information to sort through, and S.M.I.L.E. began with gusto.
>What they had intercepted was not merely missives, not pleasantries, but a compendium of knowledge, a tome of all the natural sciences, of mechanics, of fields we hadn’t yet imagined! They had been given the blueprints for reality itself! Equestria entered an unparalleled golden age of scientific and industrial growth, all thanks to alien creatures who didn’t even know we were there.
>It took time to make sense of what they were saying, some of the best and brightest minds of our generation were recruited simply to listen in. To try and make sense of alien languages and concepts. But it was far easier and faster than inventing alone. What might once have taken centuries of thought and experiment could now be accomplished in an afternoon. But all throughout this knowledge was mention of something sinister, of something deadly.
>Two years ago. We learned what it was the others had been speaking of. There was a crisis on a galactic scale, one that had shaken even the mightiest of empires. They had not been broadcasting for no reason. Every technologically sophisticated species in the galaxy had been freely trading information, everything they could imagine in an attempt to prepare. To arm themselves against a wave of darkness that was set to consume the entire galaxy. The Black Tide was coming.
>And nobody in the entire galaxy knew how to stop it.
>Equestria scrambled to prepare a solution, mass producing weapons that Celestia had previously banned in hopes of destroying it, creating new marvels of engineering. They traded all the treasure Equestria had gathered over the years, circulated fake money, lied, cheated, and stole to do EVERYTHING they could to speed up their development.
>It wasn’t enough.
>They used their miracles of science to reach out and pluck the tide from among the stars, using their samples in ever riskier experiments, DESPERATE to understand its behaviour or composition. No solution was found.
>It was then that things took a turn for the worse. With every passing day another alien empire would go dark, forever silenced by the Tide. Trillions of lives cut short, wonders of engineering and science we can’t begin to comprehend washed away, entire worlds devoured and destroyed by the relentless machines.
>One by one the radio signals were silenced, one by one the creatures that taught us EVERYTHING we know were consumed by the thing they had all conspired to resist. Until finally, we were alone.
>We are the only ones left, faced against the immeasurable darkness.
>And our time is running short.
>The Tide is expected to arrive and finish its brutal conquest in 10 years.
*sigh*
>Lyra stopped talking and rubbed her eyes wearily.
>Derpy asked her in her bubbly, chipper voice.
>”Are you okay?”
“I was just thinking. It’s- I’d thought Twilight was weak. I was even mad at her for giving up on us. But I’d never really stopped to think of it from her side. What does Twilight love most?”
>”Friends! No, wait, books! Umm- I don’t know! Either friends or books!”
“Yeah. Either friends or books. When they found those signals she got both. An entire galaxy teeming with friends, all helping each other out, united by a common goal. An unimaginable network with every living thing united, working together. And they’d given her the ultimate book, they’d given her all the knowledge she could ever possibly desire. It was Twilight Sparkle’s ultimate dream.”
>Lyra shook her head slowly.
“And she had to watch helplessly as it was all wiped away. Knowing that she was next. No wonder the poor girl broke. I would too. Just- let’s finish before it gets too depressing.”
>6 months ago. Princess Luna saw salvation in Hell. She has kept to herself what exactly it is that might save us, but she is convinced that something in Orcus, the second Hell, will help us withstand the Tide. She gathered the forces of S.M.I.L.E. and invaded, marking the first time in history that Equestria started a war of aggression. Tartarus was quickly brought to heel, its denizens either brushed aside or intimidated into nonviolence. Orcus was a very different story.
>Luna had been confident in their ability to take on the ones that called themselves the Lords, certain that their new tools of war would allow them to make quick work of any opposition.
>She was wrong.
>Their intel was a thousand years out of date and Orcus had changed a great deal since that time.
>Where once there were dozens of Lords fighting for dominance there were now only three.
>Achlys, the cruel queen of pain. Deimos and Phobos, the conjoined twins of terror. Eurynomos, the rotten prince.
>These three had emerged on top of the constant warring of Orcus and in doing so had claimed their prizes, they had consumed the tainted souls of the other lords and in doing so absorbed their infernal magics. All of the might of the second Hell had been concentrated into three, faster, stronger, more vicious. And yet S.M.I.L.E. fought on. They staked a claim in the eternal battlefield of Orcus and began to dismantle their foes.
>Two months ago. Princess Celestia summoned Deimos and Phobos in a futile bid to broker a peace treaty. Her naive and reckless devotion to peace and coexistence quickly proved to be a disaster. Deimos and Phobos knew Celestia’s True Name, spoken from her own lips. They used it to take control of her mind and body, if only briefly, and force her to free him in the bowels of Canterlot mountain. A desperate battle ensued to prevent their corrupting powers from spreading, from claiming and destroying Equestria’s capitol, destroying all of Elysium. The agents of S.M.I.L.E. fought bravely and at great cost, finally forcing them to retreat back to Hell by administering an unbelievably toxic substance, weakening him just enough that he was forced to flee. Several agents perished in the battle, but disaster had been averted.
>Or so they’d thought.
>Deimos and Phobos never fully recovered from the poison, leaving them easy prey for Eurynomos. It was a matter of days before he’d slain them and gained their evil powers. The power of the second hell was now concentrated in two, with one being far more powerful than the other. S.M.I.L.E. was forced to protect Achlys, else Eurynomos would become completely unstoppable.
>Two weeks ago. Eurynomos had killed a great deal of agents, proving himself to be too powerful for S.M.I.L.E. to handle. A fateful battle was joined  when he attempted to break free from the eternal prison of Orcus. A battle that S.M.I.L.E. lost handily. Demons flooded into Equestria almost unopposed, an overwhelming force that was meant to serve as a distraction so that Eurynomos could finish Achlys off and become truly unstoppable. S.M.I.L.E. did not take the bait, and instead chose to allow the demons free reign in Equestria, to slaughter and destroy as they saw fit. It was a difficult choice, but the alternative was far worse.
>S.M.I.L.E. turned the tools they’d developed to stop the Black Tide against the forces of hell, but it was not quite enough. Were it not for the bravery and blind luck of a civilian, Ponyville and all her inhabitants would be lost.
>”Nope. I’m cutting the blind luck part.”
“But-”
>”Give yourself some credit! Geeze.”
“It was a group effort! I couldn’t have done it without Babbling Brook.”
>”He’s retired S.M.I.L.E. right? You’re the only civilian who put up a fight. And you won.”
“Didn’t feel like winning.
>”It was.”
“But Dinky got hurt, Brook had a heart attack-”
>”And we’re all alive. You won.”
“Fine, whatever. Can we move on?”
>Things have only gotten worse since then. Every wound, every fatality, every stubbed hoof makes S.M.I.L.E. grow weaker, and Eurynomos can breed a new army in days. S.M.I.L.E. is now locked in a battle of attrition against a foe that will never tire, will never relent. An enemy that will doubtlessly slay every single pony if he wins, a beast that they cannot stop.
>Today. Equestria is being crushed by two doomsdays at once. The Black Tide still looms, and we still have no idea how to stop it. Eurynomos is still coming, nopony can stand in his way. The only question that yet remains is which one will claim us first.
>”I need to go find my daughter and give her a hug.”
>Derpy sounded sad.
>A pain ran through Lyra’s heart at the sound, Derpy was the purest and most optimistic pony alive.
>A beacon of hope and joy who refused to let anything get her down.
>She wasn’t upset when her Wonderbolt career was cut down before it even started, her eyes ruining her chances of becoming a performance flyer.
>She stayed optimistic when she was pregnant even though she knew she was to be a single mother.
>But this, this nearly had her in tears.
“Are you going to be okay?”
>”I- we can’t let this happen to Dinky.”
>Lyra put on what she hoped was a stern and confident face.
“Don’t worry. We won’t. I can stop Eurynomos.”
>Floor’s eyes widened just a bit too much.
>”How?”
“We’re going to turn one apocalypse against the other. We don’t know if the Tide was designed as a weapon, and we probably will never know. But whatever its original purpose was, it IS the ultimate weapon! Hay, it killed an entire GALAXY! If you can kill a galaxy you can kill a demon.”
>”Are you sure?”
“I have it on good authority that Eurynomos is NOT invulnerable.”
>Thanks Bonny.
“He has weak points where he’s exceptionally rotten, AND he HAS been wounded since he got his power up! Agent zero BROKE his JAW!”
>Derpy gasped slightly.
>She had figured out that agent Zero was Bon-Bon a fair while ago, the revelation that this pony that she knew was capable of such a brutal hit likely coming as a shock.
“The problem then isn’t that they can’t hurt him, it’s that they can’t keep it up long enough to kill him! They need something that NEVER stops attacking, something that doesn’t mind being destroyed, something that will fight for years on end without taking a break. The Tide!”
>”But then they can’t get whatever Luna was looking for in Hell.”
“Then we’ll lure him up here!”
>Both Derpy and Floor exclaimed at her words.
>”WHAT? But then the Tide would kill us!”
“No, that’s just the thing! I actually had this idea a while ago, but I threw it out because of just that. But when I was looking into Helios I realised that that’s not really a problem. S.M.I.L.E. has been running tests on the Tide for a long time now, they know how to get it, they can store it for several minutes, they can destroy it reliably with their bombs and with their orbital laser cannons- getting rid of it isn’t the problem! They’re at the point where they’re trying to find ways to destroy it on the cheap! The problem is that it’s going to be raining down on us from space all the time forever! Eventually it’ll land somewhere important, and we can’t stop it without collateral damage. BUT! If it was in the middle of nowhere, with nothing important happening and nopony around?”
>Floor rubbed her chin.
>It looked awkward with her wedged in the linen closet like that.
>”Then they can stop it when it’s getting too big. Lure him out there, introduce the tide, and leave it to take him out!”
“Problem solved! And then it’s just Achlys down there. If they can stand up to Eurynomos they can stop Achlys. And if not? Use the Tide again! Then Luna gets whatever she was after and she STOPS the Tide with it and we all live happily ever after.”
>Starlight’s voice cut in.
>”Lyra? Are you okay? Thank the heavens!”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
>”I tried getting ahold of you but you’d already left! There was an evacuation order on the island! They were doing something dangerous!”
“Right, I’d figured that out. I just didn’t know what.”
>”It was some kind of fuel!”
>What.
“That doesn’t sound so bad.”
>”An incredibly toxic fuel.”
>Why would they-
“Oh. And if the launch had gone wrong it would have, huh. And it would probably be on fire too. Yeah, that was pretty dangerous.”
>”Lyra, I’m SO sorry I sent you there! I SWEAR I didn’t know what was going on there or I’d have NEVER-”
“Starlight, it’s fine. I trust you not to try and hurt me. Besides, it was one of the most productive excursions ever!”
>”Really what did I miss?”
“Well, Helios is an orbital laser designed to melt the tide. I think it’s solar powered, takes some time to recharge. But then why would they need fuel for it?”
>”Maybe they need to move it?”
“I… suppose. That’s not that important right now. We need to worry about the next phase.”
>”And that is?”
“I’m going to kill Eurynomos!”
>”What? Seriously? How?”
“Sick the Tide on him.”
>”Wait. Are you sure that would-”
“Yeah, we already went over all that. Our next step should be to find how to store the Tide. I’ll need some way to get it to him.”
>Silence hung for a while.
>Floor and Derpy were starting at Lyra.
>Or at least she was pretty sure Derpy was staring at her.
“What’s wrong?”
>Starlight answered.
>”Are you, umm, are you planning on doing this yourself?”
“Yyyyyyyessss?”
>”Why not just, I dunno, get S.M.I.L.E. to do it? Seems safer.”
“You wouldn’t understand.”
>”Lyra, if you’re feeling depressed you should seek help. Suicide isn’t the only option.”
“You mocking me?”
>”YES! That’s a TERRIBLE idea!”
>Derpy interjected.
>”It really REALLY is! Do you think you’d stand a chance?””
>Starlight didn’t give her a chance to answer.
>”Lyra, aren’t you supposed to be smart?”
“I mean, I’m not an apex mind or anything-”
>”He’d rip you apart! If you even managed to get to him before the Tide got you! It’s- it’s- stupid! Stop being STUPID!”
>Derpy cut in again.
>”We can just make S.M.I.L.E. do it. They know what they’re doing.”
“But-”
>”Why did you even want to? I thought you’d want to stay as far away from him as possible.”
>Everything was blurry for some reason.
>Why was that?
>”Can I talk to you for a moment? In private?”
>Derpy grabbed Lyra by the tail and physically dragged her away.
>By the time she’d recovered from the surprise she was in the kitchen and Derpy was struggling to look her in the eye.
>”Were you thinking of taking him on yourself?”
“Yes.”
>”That’s not like you! You want to find the most dangerous demon in existence, and kill him? Neither of those things sound right. I hope I’m not being too mean when I say this but you’re not strong enough to fight him. You know that! And I can’t believe you’d be so eager to kill someone, even if they WERE a demon.”
“It’s personal.”
>Derpy gasped.
>”What happened to Bon-Bon?”
>Lyra averted her gaze.
“That obvious?”
>”Is she alive?”
“Yeah…”
>”Is she going to be okay?”
>Lyra’s body felt so very heavy.
>She sank down to the floor.
>Was it raining?
*sniff*
“She doesn’t- She’s hiding it with magic. But she got cut up pretty bad.”
>Derpy started to pet Lyra in an attempt to sooth her”
“When the magic came down I didn’t even recognise her! And that hole where her beautiful eye used to be, it was- I don’t-”
>Lyra let out a sob.
“I’m just so scared of what’ll happen to her next time, I can’t LOSE her! I just can’t!”
>”You should go check on her, keep her company. Where is she now?”
“Hell.”
>”They sent her BACK?”
>Lyra nodded sadly.
>”But she’s hurt! And they’re still sending he after that thing?”
>That thing.
>That abhorrent, DISGUSTING, PUTRID WRETCH!
>Lyra began trembling.
>Not with sadness.
>But with blinding hatred.
“That BASTARD is DEAD.”
>”No, YOU’D be dead!”
“I don’t care! He’s DONE!”
>”You have to let go. This isn’t who you are.”
“YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND!”
>Lyra whipped her head toward Derpy, tears flying from her cheek.
>She bared a wicked snarl at her dear friend.
>Her friend who seemed to be looking straight past her, bearing a forced smile.
“I-”
>Her friend who nearly lost her daughter to a demon.
>Her friend who had to watch it happen before her very eyes.
“You understand perfectly.”
>”You can’t let this change who you are. Bon-Bon is still alive, there can still be a happy ending.”
>The sadness seemed to fade from Derpy’s face bit by bit.
>”Life can be hard. And it can be scary. But you know, for all the bad things that happen there are a gazillion that don’t! You can’t get sad about what might happen or what could happen because, it might not! And it probably won’t! She’s ZERO, the best there is! And she’s tough enough to hit him back! She’ll come back to you, Lyra.”
“Are you sure?”
>”The bond you two have is special. There is nothing that could keep her from you, not even in Hell.”
>Derpy closed her eyes in a bright, genuine grin.
>The tension bled away from Lyra, unable to withstand Derpy’s reassurance.
“Sorry about all that.”
>”Don’t worry. Like you said, I understand. Take a moment to calm down, wash your face, and then come back. We’ll figure this all out. And remember, you don’t have to do it alone.”
>Derpy walked away to let Lyra collect herself and salvage some dignity.
>She was right.
>Lyra didn’t have to do this herself.
>As long as everypony was safe, that’s all that mattered.
>She quickly rinsed her face at the sink to wash away the tears and rejoined the group.
>Floor bore a puzzled look, but nopony said anything as she approached.
“Sorry about that. I’m okay now.”
>Starlight replied, her voice dripping with suspicion.
>”Uhhh huh.”
“Okay. We need to convince them to use the Tide to stop this mess before it’s too late. The princesses vote on major issues so we need to introduce the ideas then tip the scales. Luna will be on board right away, she said she’d do anything to ponykind and I believe it. We can count on her support. Celestia’s out. She’s against all of these superweapons, even the ones made by ponies. Even after that mess with Deimos and Phobos. I don’t think we’ll be able to convince her. But Twilight And Cadence, they’re wide open. What we need is some kind of leverage. I think it’s time to use the virus.”
>Floor stared at her like she was the biggest idiot in the world.
“What’s the matter?”
>”You know how this virus works, right?”
“Yes.”
>No.
>”I’m exploiting an oversight in their security. It would be incredibly easy for them to run a quick check on the package they send out and shut us down. Honestly if I were them I’d be embarrassed by this.”
“So?”
>”If we tell them we’ve spread this computer virus they’ll get rid of it. It’ll take them, I dunno, a couple hours to find it? Then 5 seconds to lock us out? Maybe take a few hours to push out an update and wipe it from the network. Some of the computers won’t install it right away because they’ll be in the middle of a project for their distributed computing deal. If we get really lucky it’ll take maybe a day before there’s no trace of it left. That’s only going to work for an immediate demand. Something like let me go right away or I leak it. Give me that thing, tell me what I need to know. Stuff like that. But for this they’ll need time to plan, prepare, get him out of Hell. If we tell them to do something a few days later? You’re just throwing this tool away. And I don’t know if I could make another.”
>Oh.
>Derpy spoke up before she could.
>”I don’t think I understand.”
“The computer stuff?”
>”No, that made perfect sense. I don’t get why you need leverage.”
>Starlight jumped on the opening.
>”Yeah. Why don’t you just, I dunno, TALK to them?”
>Huh.
>”Like, they want to get rid of him too, right? They really REALLY want that, like, how much have they thrown at this problem?”
“Dozens of nuclear missiles, who knows how many bullets, dozens of lives, tonnes of fuel, that whole Nemesis project-”
>”Oh, Nemesis? You knew about that?”
>Wait, Starlight didn’t know they knew?
“Yeah. I’d kinda forgotten about it though.”
>”Oh boy. What a wreck.”
“Seriously? The one I saw looked really imposing.”
>”Yeah. Oh boy, where to begin. It started as something really simple, a mobile missile platform so they had more deployment options. They kept gluing new things onto it though, it was a mess!”
“When I saw it it didn’t look like a missile platform. I mean, I think there were- yeah! It launched the nukes. But what was the other stuff about?”
>”Well, they decided that the ordinance was too valuable to leave exposed so they started to armor it, but if it was going to support as many projectiles as they wanted it was going to have to have a wider chassis than the engineers wanted, which meant more armor, and a bigger engine. And then they said it had to be able to protect itself so they didn’t need to escort it and they started trying to find ways to attach weapons. And THEN it needed to be bigger again to make up for the added weight.”
“So why didn’t it work?”
>”Well, its bulk made it almost totally immobile for one. It kept getting stuck and mired down, its weapons couldn’t deal with enemies right in point blank range because they were welded onto its frame and couldn’t aim properly, its big profile made it an easy target for projectiles and since the armor wasn’t shaped properly the heavy plates didn’t really protect it all that well- it was over budget, behind schedule, and pretty much a huge waste.”
>Huh.
>”Needless to say they scrapped the program.”
“Well, sure. What kind of idiot would continue to spend a fortune on a war machine that doesn’t work?”
>Right?
“So yeah, I’ve got a rough idea of what they’ve done to get rid of Eurynomos.”
>”So why do you think you need to force them to get rid of him?”
“Uhh…”
>”It seems like they’d jump at the chance. Just float the idea, no need for blackmail or violence.”
“I think I’ve been doing this cloak and dagger stuff for too long. Talk to them. Is that even allowed?”
>Derpy shrugged at her.
>”Wear a disguise?”
“Well, alright then. Red will go and have a chat with Twilight and Cadence.”
>”Who’s Red?”
”Starlight, can I count on you to cover my alibi again?”
>”Fine, fine.”
“Floor, if things go wrong I’ll need you to tamper with their cameras.”
>”Sure. Wait, I’ve actually got an idea for that.”
“Oh?”
>”You never learned how to teleport.”
“It’s a hard spell, okay?”
>”You should cast a spell that you can’t cast. Then they’ll know it wasn’t you.”
”I’m not entirely sure I know how to explain what’s wrong with that.”
>”Well, if you talk to them there’s not much point in scrubbing the camera footage, they’ll know you were there anyway. But! What if you’re standing in plain view of a camera with your horn glowing on one frame, and then next frame there’s nothing there?”
“Ooh! They’ll think I teleported, and if they’ve been watching me they probably know I can’t!”
>”We should look for ways for you to cast spells that Lyra Hearstrings can’t use.”
“Actually, I’ve been working on something like that. Say, D, could you bring me a carrot?”
>”Sure! Are you hungry?”
>She opened her mouth to answer but Floor talked over her.
>”Horny?”
“Kinda, and gross. Respectively. I’ve been working on a spell that I should never be able to learn.”
>”So you’ve been wasting time.”
“Oh, but I’m learning it.”
>”That doesn’t make ANY sense.”
>Lyra sighed wearily.
“I’d like to explain it to you, but I’m not sure I can. Umm, there’s a spell form that’s really hard to execute, and some of its components demand a really stable form of mana. But using that mana makes it really slow, and the whole point of the spell is to be fast. So you need to cast this delicate spell with a volatile magic, right? It’s basically impossible, most agents can’t pull it off. But I’ve been shown a way to cheat the system a little. If I can be seen casting Rip Current they’ll never believe I’m a civilian.”
>Starlight seemed interested in that.
>”What exactly is so hard about this anyway?”
“Barrier without Cancer.”
>”What? Is that even possible?”
“Define possible.”
>Derpy had returned, carrot in tow.
“Hey, thanks. Toss it here?”
>Derpy whipped her head and released the carrot by the stem.
>Her timing was terrible, the carrot soaring not toward Lyra, but over Derpy’s head back toward the kitchen.
>In the blink of an eye the carrot was consumed by Lyra’s magic.
>It snapped in half, refusing to fall from Lyra’s grasp.
“And I screwed up. I was supposed to cut it in half, not snap it. Oh well.”
>She floated the vegetable over to herself and shoved them in her mouth, stem first.”
>Derpy looked confused.
>”You eat the stems?”
>Lyra nodded.
>”Weird.”
“Rearry?”
>Lyra swallowed the root.
“I thought green vegetables were supposed to be good for you.”
>”And please no combat magic in my house.”
“But-”
>”No buts. This is my house, Lyra.”
>Fair enough.
“Alright. No combat magic in the house. Unless a demon shows up.”
>”Deal.”
“Well, I suppose I’m off to have a chat. Hey, Star, is Twilight in town?”
>”No. She’s still in Canterlot. Please try not to scare her too much, she’s still not well. We don’t need a relapse.”
“Don’t worry. I think I’ve got a better solution to her addiction than what I offered last time.”
>”What’s that?”
“Hope.”
>Lyra walked out without a word-
>”LAAAAAME!”
“Dangit Floor, that was cool!”
>”No, it was cheesy.”
>Stupid Floor, wouldn’t know style if it bit her in the face.
>Lyra headed home to prepare for her next sortie.
>Ideally it would be a calm and straightforward discussion.
>But she had to assume something would go wrong.
>Her last op had been very straightforward-
>The lights in her house were on.
>Lyra called on her magic and sidled up by the front door.
>She slowly creaked it open-
>Luna’s voice boomed at her.
>”Ahh, about time you got here. Come in.”
>Lyra marched into her house and slammed the front door.
“What the hay, do you not understand what a home is? You can’t just invite yourself in!”
>”Do you not understand what a blacksite is?”
“I’ve been keeping my muzzle clean, okay? Celestia’s watching too closely.”
>Lyra rounded the corner to find Luna lying on her sofa, a bottle of cider resting on her belly.
“How much of that stuff do you drink anyway? You always seem to have one.”
>”It’s good. And I’m under a lot of pressure thank you very much.”
“Yeah. Blackmailing civilians and sending wounded ponies against hordes of demons, I’m sure you need plenty of help sleeping at night. Err, at day?”
>”Yes. Yes I do.”
>She sounded profoundly exhausted.
>Mentally, physically…
>Emotionally.
>”I know all their names, Lyra. All the ponies who’ve perished under my command. No just in this campaign, but in all time. Even from thousands of years ago.”
“No you don’t.”
>”Rolling Thunder. Mountain Stream. Golden Dawn.”
>Luna’s eyes were tearing up.
>”Silverstar. Sweet Tooth. Frost Flash. Do I need to go on?”
>She levitated the bottle to her mouth and finished the sweet liquid within, tossing the empty bottle aside haphazardly.
>”I’ve tried to forget. But I can’t. Their names are permanently burned into my blackened soul.”
>The image of the intruder casually lounging on the sofa had somehow metamorphosed.
>Now Lyra saw a patient resting in a psychologist’s office.
>But Lyra was no psychologist.
>And from the looks of things Luna needed more than mere therapy.
“What do you need?”
>”I’m scared, Lyra. Terrified.”
>Yeah.
>That was believable.
“Yeah. I’ve seen them. They are really scary.”
>”No, I’m not scared of them. Well, I am. But that’s not it.”
“Eh?” 
>”Is there a price too great?”
“For?”
>”If I don’t, there won’t be any ponies left. I don’t want that. But if I do- I don’t want that either. I’m scared of what I’ll become.”
“What are you talking about?”
>”You know I can’t tell you.”
>That stupid curse!
>”What would you pay to stop it? To make sure that there will always be a next generation?”
>What would she pay to stop extinction?
>Was Luna talking about the Tide or the demons?
>Did it matter?
“Everything. Everything I have, everything I had, would have. If there’s a more worthwhile cause I don’t know it.”
>”Even if their lives are different? Worse?”
“How much worse?”
>No answer.
“Life has been worse before. And it’s been better. But it was still life, and the ponies at the time still thought it was worth living. No matter how bad things get they can get better. While there’s life there’s hope.”
>”While there’s life, there’s hope…”
>Luna nodded solemnly, the thoughts in her head boiling about.
“Can you really do that? Can you really make sure there will always be more ponies? Can we really withstand everything the universe throws at us?”
>Luna replied without hesitation.
>“No. We ponies are foolish, frail, impulsive. Our failings will lead to our extinction.”
>She paused to think for a moment, solidifying the chaotic storm of thoughts in the back of her mind.
>When she spoke it was firmly, confidently, and with resolve.
>“But not yet. We’ve far more to do before our kind meets its inevitable end. A thousand years ago we were a crude and primitive lot. In my time we’d not yet invented the compass, we were wholly reliant on the stars to navigate; I recall scheduling nightfall early when we were mapping the wilds so that our explorers could find their way. It may seem mundane now but charting the Hayseed hills was a monumental task. Only the bravest and most able dared venture off on their own. We struggled to make sense of the world around us, as small as it was. But we endured. And now? Now we've moved on to greater things. Look around you. The ambitions of our modern era make a mockery of the greatest and noblest goals of yesteryear. We have come impossibly far in only a hooffull of lifetimes. I cannot fathom what we might aspire to a thousand years hence. The stars guided us to discovery in the wilds long ago, and they beckon once more. We shall heed their call. Our kind will perish some day, but not before we have made our mark, not before the universe knows our name.”
“You sound mighty confident compared to just a moment ago.”
>”Only when it is dark can you see the stars. Thank you, Lyra. I know what I have to do.”
>Luna stood to leave, her face bearing an expression of steely determination.
“Wait!”
>Luna turned her head to look at her.
>But Lyra couldn’t tell her to use the Tide.
>Even Luna didn’t want her to know about that as far as she could tell.
“I hear Twilight is getting worried about the demons. She was saying she might have a solution. Don’t do anything too rash before you hear her out?”
>”Good. This has already gone on way too long. Thank you, Lyra.”
>Luna walked out of the building, leaving the door open behind her.
>As she left Lyra couldn’t help but notice something.
>Luna was limping.

                                                *       *       *       *       *

>Lyra Heartstrings was trotting through the streets of Canterlot.
>The sun was perplexingly dim today, the late summer rays only dimly illuminating the streets below despite the perfectly clear skies.
>It felt like there was significance to this, but she wasn’t certain what.
>An ill omen, a day of mourning, the sun was burning out, Celestia had a head cold, Lyra had no clue what was up.
>With any luck it was nothing important.
>Enough had gone wrong in recent history, they didn’t need more trouble.
>Soon it would be over though. Eurynomos would be gone, Bon-Bon would be safe at home, Luna would have what she was after, and with any luck at all she would use it to stop the Tide.
>Celestia’s absurd gentleness and cowardice wouldn’t get in the way, her vote didn’t matter.
>They needed Luna to do the dirty work, Twilight to provide the Tide, and Cadence to clean up, Celestia didn’t figure into the equation at all.
>Lyra looked up at the Canterlot palace, her plan rushing through her head.
>She pulled her eyes and thoughts away. It wasn’t time yet.
>She would strike after nightfall, a few hours from now.
>She needed to get Twilight on her own. Marching in in the middle of the day would cause too much trouble.
>But what to do in the meantime?
“Moondancer?”
>Moondancer.
>Lyra had been meaning to check in on her old friend more often. 
>Moondancer having a predilection to work herself to exhaustion and isolate herself to the point of near madness could use more downtime, and Lyra didn’t want to abandon her old friends just because she had new ones.
>Unlike a certain purple alicorn she knew of.
>Lyra made her way up to the residences near the palace and found the rows of small but cozy  homes where Moondancer resided.
>The dim sun cast long eerie shadows across the land, the difference in lighting not appearing like true shadows to the equine eye. Lyra knew that it was just an illusion but everything around her looked dirty and unsettling.
>She unconsciously hurried her pace until finally arriving at her destination, a gentle rapping upon the front door marking the end of her journey.
>The door opened immediately.
>Moondancer nearly bowled over her in her excitement to greet Lyra.
“Whoa, good to see you too!”
>”By the stars, Lyra! You’re okay!”
>Moondancer grabbed Lyra just a bit too tightly, squeezing as though to confirm that the pony before her was material and not merely a trick of the mind.
>Lyra opened her mouth to speak.
>A croaking noise came out.
>”Oh sorry!”
>Moondancer released her grip and stepped back inside.
“Ouch. I mean, It’s okay. Can I come in?”
>It took Moondancer far longer to answer than Lyra had been expecting.
>”I’m not sure. Can you?”
“What?”
>”You heard me.”
>Lyra stepped inside with a puzzled look on her face.
>”Sorry about that, can’t be too careful these days.”
“Riiiiight. What’s that all about?”
>”Well, I heard a rumor that demons can’t enter a home uninvited. I’m pretty sure it’s not true, but…”
>Moondancer moved in to the kitchen and fetched a teapot from the cupboard.
>She placed it by her electric kettle, a model that stored heated water around the clock for immediate use.
“I’m not a demon. And I assure you, they can enter a home whenever they want.”
>She’d seen enough proof of that back in Ponyville.
>”Sorry if I’m being a bit paranoid, but you can’t be too careful these days. Tea?”
“Sure? Is this a test too? You make it with holy water?”
>”Ooh, that’s a good idea! No, it’s hard to get ahold of holy water. Any liquid that spends enough time near angelic energy will do, but nopony’s seen an angel in over a thousand years.”
>It took mere seconds before the two of them were seated around her small coffee table, the bachelorette pad only barely able to accomodate two ponies at once.
>”I was so worried about you, when I heard Ponyville was sacked I thought for SURE you were doomed! But then I read a couple days later that you’re getting a Solstice Star!”
“Oh, yeah. That thing.”
>Stupid hunk of metal.
>It wasn’t going to get Bonny back, what good was it?
>”Word has it you freaked out at princess Celestia when she gave it to you.”
>Lyra averted her gaze slightly.
>”What are you hiding from me?”
“Uhh, what do you mean?”
>”Please don’t lie to me, Lyra. You come in here one day and ask me about demons, then shortly after they start showing up everywhere! And YOU are in the middle of it. What’s more you apparently know enough combat magic to take them on yourself. You’ve been preparing for this for a while, how did you know it was coming?”
“Oh.”
>No point in denying it.
>She didn’t like lying to friends anyway.
“I have to ask that this stay between us.”
>”My lips are sealed.”
>Lyra was reluctant to talk.
>This was all very incriminating.
>But then, she was already incriminated.
>And besides, if she couldn’t trust her friends what COULD she do?
“A while back I learned that Equestria had invaded Hell.”
>Moondancer looked at her with a face of confused disbelief.
>”What? Like, sending troops in to take over? Why would anypony do that?”
“Not sure yet. I stuck my muzzle where it didn’t belong and learned that Luna was after something down there, don’t know what. I also noticed that when she uses magic it feels dirty, like there’s this caustic oil mixed in with the mana.”
>”Yeah, you’d mentioned that. So you mean to tell me that the rulers of Equestria thought it was a good idea to break Hell open and march on in?”
“Uhh, I’m not so sure about that. It seems like Celestia’s been against it from day one. I think this was Luna’s idea.”
>”Why didn’t princess Celestia stop her?”
“Luna’s stronger than her.”
>Moondancer stared at Lyra with the vacant look of a filly who’d just been lectured on particle physics.
“Luna is a frighteningly powerful pony. Celestia can talk to her, but if Luna decides she’s doing something there’s not much that can be done to stop her.”
>”What about the guard? Couldn’t she send the guard to stop her?
>Lyra tried to suppress her laughter.
>She failed.
“Haha, the guard? Against Luna? Might as well have Pinkie Pie try to outfly a Wonderbolt. Wait. Pinkie- yeah, she might actually pull that off. I don’t know how but she would.”
>”Who’s Scootaloo?”
“Okay, so Luna decided to mess with the demons. How did they get out?”
“Orcus is dead.”
>Moondancer blanched.
“Celestia summoned Deimos and Phobos to try and broker a peace treaty. I’m sure you can imagine how that ended. They had this… this weird poison that they started pumping into him when he broke free. Eventually made him retreat back to Hell. But he didn’t recover.”
>”But, if they were weakened then one of the other Lords could-”
“Eurynomos. After consuming them he was strong enough to break out of Hell, break it open. Permanently. It’s just him and Achlys down there now.”
>”Just two? But if he kills her, oh no. Oh dear no. No, this is bad. Very bad.”
>Moondancer was almost visibly shaking in terror.
>Lyra had to calm her down.
>She had to tell her that it was almost over.
>But she couldn’t mention the Tide, that’d just make things worse!
“They’ve got some kind of superweapon they’re planning on using to take him out.”
>”Do you think it’ll work?”
“Yes.”
>If she didn’t think it was going to work she wouldn’t do it.
>Moondancer’s breathing slowed slightly, but she certainly didn’t look calm.
>”But what if it doesn’t?”
“I don’t think I can articulate just how dangerous the ponies they sent are. How tough Luna is. They’ll stop him, I promise.”
>Lyra immediately felt guilty.
>She was in no position to make that promise.
>If she was wrong she’d have broken a promise to her friend.
>Not that that would be her biggest concern if it didn’t work.
>”Are they as tough as you?”
>Lyra let out a loud laugh without really knowing why.
>Somehow the question was greatly amusing.
>Perhaps the notion that she could hold a candle to a real agent was what did it, the sheer absurdity tickling her funny bone.
>Or maybe the idea that she of all ponies would be looked to as a standard for toughness was what got her.
>Lyra wasn’t entirely sure.
“I might be able to take one of them. If I got really lucky. And they were blindfolded. And wounded.”
>What else did she have on her side when she fought that one pegasus?
“And I was armed but they weren’t. And they were a pegasus who didn’t have room to fly. It’d be hard though.”
>”But you stopped an invasion! How could they be stronger than that?”
“If they’d been there instead of me, they’d have finished up before anypony even noticed there were demons around. They’re going to stop him, don’t worry.”
>Moondancer began chewing on her lip, clearly still worried.
>Maybe if Lyra changed the topic?
“I actually could use your help on something. I intend to find out what’s going on with Luna. How can I tell if she’s a demon?”
>”You think she’s a demon?”
“Maybe? Her magic certainly feels evil enough. And how does she know so much about Hell? Think about it. If she went in to get something, that means she knew what was down there. I think Luna might be Erebus. MIGHT. How could I tell if she was?”
>”Erebus… well, she’d be able to see in the dark, she’d be nocturnal, Erebus preferred to field a relatively small number of elites rather than counting on huge numbers, she’d be able to make areas so dark that no light could penetrate…”
“Well, aside from the last one I’m pretty sure you’re just describing Luna. And for all we know she CAN do that.”
>”It couldn’t be. Our princess couldn’t be a demon. Could she?”
“What about deals? Contracts?”
>”Yeah, demons are kinda weird like that. They actually can’t break an oath made on their power or else they lose it for a while. And that’s a death sentence down there. If you make a deal with Luna and she breaks it without anything happening to her she’s not a demon. But be careful! Just because they can’t break the deal doesn’t mean they can’t cheat. They’ll negotiate in a loophole or condition of some sort and worm their way out, it’s almost a reflex for them”
>Luna again.
>Moondancer’s expression changed to shock.
>”No, no! You didn’t!”
“It took her about 5 seconds to get out of our deal. She demanded a passcode, I told her where she could get it. Didn’t technically tell her the code so she walked. Got everything she wanted and gave me nothing.”
>”Lyra, you got LUCKY if that’s all that happened. NEVER make a deal with a demon, EVER! They’ll twist it beyond recognition, you’ll lose EVERYTHING!”
“Yeah, I learned I had to be careful. Second time we negotiated-”
>”There was a SECOND time?”
“I demanded that she let me leave, in exchange I wouldn’t reveal one of her secrets.”
>”What were the EXACT terms?”
>Lyra closed her eyes and thought hard.
>It’d been too long, she couldn’t remember every detail.
“She couldn’t arrest me ever, and couldn’t direct somepony else to do it. Oh, and she couldn’t drop information that might lead to my arrest.”
>”Did she promise not to kill you?”
>Oh.
“Oh wow. Uhh, no. No she didn’t do that. Okay, don’t make deals with demons.”
>”Either she wants you alive for some reason or she’s not a demon. Because if she were she’d have noticed that, probably even planned it.”
>Luna DID want Lyra alive.
>She’d become one of Luna’s advisors, after all. Couldn’t do that while dead.
>”And don’t tell her your Name either, name is fine.”
“What?”
>”Everyone says their Name in a very specific way. It’s not just a label, it’s an expression of the self, a part of the soul. It’s part of who they are. Nopony else can quite say it right, but if YOU say the words Lyra Heartstring, and they can repeat it perfectly? This true Name, if they know it they can use it to take control of you, mind, body, and soul.”
>Yeah, Lyra was aware.
>She’d seen it before her very eyes.
>But not by Luna’s tongue.
>But Lyra didn’t know that Luna COULDN’T do that.
“It’s starting to sound a lot like Luna IS a demon. Except for one thing. Can they feel remorse?”
>”No, not a chance. Regret, sure, but remorse? They only care about themselves, about getting more power.”
“Then either she’s not a demon, or she’s a great actor.”
>”Lyra, you NEED to find out if she’s a demon. We can’t have a demon ruling Equestria!”
“Would it really be that bad?”
>”YES!”
>Her voice was panicked, emphatic, and perhaps a little manic.
>The very notion that a demon would call themselves princess was beyond horrifying to her, sickening and terrifying in a visceral way that touched the most primal parts of the mind.
“It wouldn’t really change anything though. She’d be the same pony or whatever that she’s been all along, and she hasn’t really done anything wrong lately.”
>”It’s all part of her plan! She probably killed Luna and has been masquerading as her ever since! Pretend to be Celestia’s sister, build up your trust, claw her way into power, then BAM!”
>Moondancer slammed a hoof on the table, knocking her drink aside.
>Lyra narrowly caught it with her magic before the cup shattered on the floor.
“Moondancer? I need you to CALM. DOWN.”
>Lyra returned the teacup to its rightful place.
“Take a deep breath- no, stop hyperventilating. Right, there you go. Now think. We can’t do anything rash until we know for sure. How can we tell if she’s a pony or a demon?”
>”Holy water. You- uhh, you need to make her touch holy water. If she’s a pony it won’t bother her, but if she’s a demon it’ll catch fire.”
“The water would catch fire?”
>”The demonic energy would react violently to it, you’d see it as a deep red flame.”
“Alright, that’s great and all, but where am I going to get holy water?”
>”Any liquid that spends enough time near a divine being, angel, seraph, cherub- aaaall of which nopony’s seen in around a thousand years. Okay, uhh- OH! Look at her!”
“Look at her? Should be easy enough. I’ve done it before.”
>”But WITHOUT magic! She might be hiding behind an illusion spell! You can’t look straight at Erebus, and she’s the only demon who could be filling in for Luna!”
“You can’t look straight at her?”
>”No! She’s a, uhh, it’s like your glasses are really dirty or- or your whole eye is peripheral vision or you’ve got a blind spot because of a brain tumor or something like that! No matter how hard you try you just can’t look at her, she’s always just out of sight!”
“How does that work?”
>”She’s a supernatural, evil, living shadow! That’s how!”
>Lyra was willing to trust Moondancer on this one.
>She was a curious mare who had a bizarre set of knowledge, her ideas sometimes suspect.
>Like thinking demons couldn’t enter houses without an invitation for example.
>Everypony knew that was vampires.
>But she always knew when she didn’t know.
>She had a clear understanding where the line was between certainty and guesses.
>And this was not Moondancer guessing.
>She’d have said “might” or “should” a couple dozen times.
>No, she was certain about this.
“And you’re certain she’s Erebus.”
>”There’s no other demon she could possibly be! All the Lords are dead except for Achlys, Eurynomos, and Erebus. Everything about her matches Erebus, and she went missing around a thousand years ago!”
>Wow. Lots of stuff was going on a thousand years ago.
>Like, all at once.
“Okay. Luna’s either a pony, or she’s secretly Erebus. Could she have been Erebus all along?”
>”By the stars you’re RIGHT! There might never have BEEN a princess Luna! Or a Nightmare Moon! That might have just been Erebus making her move too soon! Lyra, you NEED to figure this out! You HAVE to!”
“Don’t worry, I will.”
>And if she was Erebus she would catch fire if she touched holy water, and it would be impossible to look straight at her.
>Once Lyra cut through any illusions of course.
“This is going to be really hard. Luna’s a dangerous mare. Or demon. Or whatever. She radiates strength, it’s actually really intimidating just being near her. If I’m going to look for illusions I’m going to have to get close. I can’t hope to overpower her, and I can’t really let her know what I’m doing. Any other ideas?”
>”If you can get me some of her blood-”
“Nope. So I need to check her for illusion spells then. This is going to be hard.”
>”What’s the plan?”
“I have absolutely no idea.”
>This was tough.
>One wrong move and she was done.
>And as it turned out the deal she’d struck with Luna wasn’t nearly as airtight as she’d hoped.
*sip”
“Oh wow, this tea is really good!”
>”Right?”
>Lyra greedily drank the sweet and flowery beverage.
“I need to get some of this for myself. Where did you find it?”
>”There’s this smallish online store that sells it.”
“You can get tea from the internet? Does it come out of the screen, or…”
>”They mail it to you.”
>That was a bit of a disappointment.
>”You’re looking for Rainbow Delight blend, make sure to ask them to caffeinate it because it's caffeine free by default.”
>Uh oh.
“How caffeinated are we talking?”
>Moondancer shrugged nonchalantly.
>”They’ll only do quadruple. I mailed them and asked for a custom order but they say it’s a health hazard to add more. Pfft.”
“Quadruple dose?”
>Lyra put the cup down just a little too quickly.
>It was empty.
>”Right? A bunch of lightweights is what they are. But I found a place that sells caffeinated water, so I can reinforce it a little.”
“Yeeeaahhh.”
>”Want another cup?”
“No thanks, I think I’m good. Actually I might have to show myself out, it’s getting late.”
>”Yeah, I’m starting to feel kinda sleepy too.”
“Didn’t you just drink a whole bunch of caffeine?”
>”Yeah. My sleepy time dose.”
>Of course.
“Okay. I’ll be on my way then.”
>”Don’t be a stranger though!”
“Oh, of course not! I’ll make sure to check in on you soon. Hopefully when I do I’ll have some good news to share.”
>She couldn’t help but feel guilty for sharing all this with her friend.
>While Moondancer HAD been a useful source of information, her life wasn’t better for knowing this stuff.
>It was worse!
>Celestia had once told her that knowledge gained was innocence lost.
>And Lyra couldn’t deny that there was some truth to that.
>Had she not dragged Moondancer into this she wouldn’t be worried about her princess being an avatar of pure evil.
>She wouldn’t be wondering if Equestria was about to be consumed in some diabolical plot.
>Moondancer deserved a peaceful life, and Lyra wanted to give it to her.
>But she couldn’t take the knowledge back.
>The corrupting element of truth had reached her, there was no going back.
>The only way to fix this was to give her good news.
>To tell her that everything was going to be okay, to reassure her that all was well.
>Just one more reason to see this mess through.
>Lyra gave her friend a quick goodbye hug before grabbing her bags and heading out into the night.
>The pale sunlight had been replaced with an oddly bright night, the moon seeming to burn brightly in the sky above as it cast its eerily red glow on the land below.
>There was a distinct otherworldly aura about the moon on that night, a distinct sense that something was wrong.
>That something was angry.
>It wasn’t clear to Lyra if this was actually the night she was seeing or if her mind was playing tricks on her, imposing this sinister air upon her senses even though everything was normal.
>In the end it didn’t matter, her actions would remain the same regardless of the atmosphere of the night.
>Lyra made her way into a back alleyway, the kind of grimy and dingy place where unscrupulous sorts would hide from polite society.
>Soon after Red walked out covered beneath their padded cloak.
>The palace was nearby.
>After a short trot they found themselves by the front entrance.
>A pair of guards barring their path, spears at the ready.
>”HALT!”
>Lyra would have done one of two things.
>She’d have run, or she’d have attacked.
>Either way Lyra would have acted rashly and impulsively.
>But she wasn’t allowed to by Lyra right now, she had to be Red.
>And Red was the opposite of Lyra in almost every way.
>She spoke whilst inhaling, a croaky and eerie sounding voice that didn’t carry far.
“Why are you still using spears?”
>They looked at each other for a moment, silently exchanging the thoughts that were clearly etched on their faces.
>Confusion, surprise. Maybe a little fear.
“Shouldn’t you be using firearms?”
>She called on what she knew about the weapons.
>Bon-Bon had given her a brief explanation once. She hoped some of it was privileged information that was meant to be unique to S.M.I.L.E.
>“Princess Luna is not holding court tonight, the palace is closed to the public at this time.”
“I’m not the public.”
>The guards shared another worried glance with each other.
“You two should drop the spears and pick up rifles. You can get fully automatic models these days you know, just hold the switch and you’ve let off a dozen shots in the blink of an eye. I’m not a big fan of them though, harder to aim. I like the subsonic Gauss weapons personally. No sonic crack, no blast from the chemical propellant, nice and quiet.”
>The two guards pointed their spears at her and began to cautiously approach.
“Your bravery is commendable. But foolish.”
>She nearly struck with rip current but thought better of it.
>Even if she did snap the spears with it there was no way she’d actually cut them, she just wasn’t good enough.
>The idea was to make it look like it WASN’T her, like it was somepony more competent.
>Leaving evidence of a failed spell was a terrible idea.
>Lyra gripped the tip of their spears with her telekinesis and wrenched them toward the ground.
>They bent but did not break.
>Geyser strikes of air slammed into them from beneath, striking where the haft was bowing, and snapping them in half.
“See, guns are made of metal. Or really tough plastics sometimes? They’re a little harder to break. I mean, sure, I’d have just gone for the triggers or pulled the magazine out, but it would have been a LITTLE harder. But I’m sure you know what you’re doing.”
>She brushed past the shocked guards as they stared down at their ruined weapons.
>The two seemed paralyzed by what had just happened, neither their training nor their instincts sufficient to guide them through what she’d done.
>Her calm application of force had so thoroughly shocked the two that they offered no resistance.
>Or rather, her SEEMINGLY calm application.
>Internally Lyra’s heart was racing, her legs trembling slightly.
>She was full of a terrible nervous energy that was at once demanding she push onward and run away.
“Stupid caffeine.”
>Lyra walked into the palace and closed the doors behind her.
>She took a moment to bar the doors in an attempt to stall her pursuers.
>They wouldn’t stay shocked forever.
>But what now?
>Lyra surveyed the room, normally crowded with visitors, workers, and gawkers this place was oddly barren.
>Lyra had never before seen the plush and regal rugs despite her many visits to this place, they were always hidden from sight beneath hoards of ponies.
>Red with golden weaving lined the floors heading eastward, while a deep blue with silver weaving trailed off to the west.
“That’s actually kinda pretty.”
>Ordinarily they’d have seemed gawdy but the minimal use of the secondary colours combined with the contrast of the regal atmosphere somehow made it work.
>There was a banging noise on the door behind her.
“Oops.”
>She had wasted her lead!
>She ran east into the depths of the palace heading toward Twilight’s old room.
>She wasn’t certain where Twilight was at the moment save for that she was in Canterlot, there was a good chance that she was going to the wrong place.
>But this was the only lead she had at the moment.
>Lyra ducked into the first unlocked room she could find and turned on the lights.
>A quick survey revealed it to be a rather messy dormitory, books scattered about and unwashed dishes stacked near the slowly leaking sink.
>The school must be close.
>Which meant Twilight might be close.
>She pressed her ear to the door and listened carefully, the distinct sounds of hoofsteps and knocking could be heard.
>The guards were checking every room.
>Lyra quickly removed her cloak and hid it beneath the bed.
>She grabbed a book almost at random and popped it open.
>Only a few pages later there was a knocking on the door.
“What’s with all the noise out there? I’m trying to study.”
>”Royal guard, open up!”
>She popped the door open with her magic, doing her best to appear annoyed.
>Lyra didn’t move from the desk.
>The guard at the door was a pegasus much to her delight.
>They wouldn’t know as much about magic, it’d be easier to bluff.
“What’s going on? I’ve got an exam coming up on theoretical thaumaturgy and I can’t focus with all this noise!”
>”Aren’t you a little old to be here?”
“Aren’t you a little fat to be a guard?”
>A pang of guilt shot through Lyra before the words were even out.
>That hadn’t been necessary.
>She hadn’t even really meant to say it.
“I’m not a freshmare, I’m working towards a doctorate. Why is my age even important?”
>”We’re looking for somepony.”
“Oh. Can you tell me who? I might have seen them.”
>”Cloaked figure, a bit bigger than you. Unicorn.”
>Bigger?
>The padding worked!
“Can’t help ya, sorry.”
>The guard closed the door without answering.
>The bluff had worked!
>It was just a matter of waiting things out and hoping this room’s resident didn’t return.
>Lyra couldn’t explain it and didn’t understand it, but everything seemed so much easier as Red.
>Just acting like not Lyra made things so much simpler.
>Being calm, confident, and perhaps a bit caustic was all it took to make them leave.
>She put her cloak back on pressed her ear to the door again.
>A few minutes after the knocking had ceased she made her move.
>Stepping out once more revealed an empty corridor. The guards had finished their sweep and moved on.
>She rushed her way to Twilight's room and pulled on the door.
>It swung open without hesitation to reveal…
>Nothing.
>No ponies, no furnishings, no books.
>This room had been vacated.
>Lyra walked in and closed the door to consider her next move.
>She couldn't just wait around for Twilight to go back to Ponyville. 
>The longer she waited the more likely Bonny would get hurt.
>Oh, and also the other agents, they were there too. 
>Lyra had to find Twilight tonight. But how?
>She sat on the hard floor and thought.
>Where was Twilight staying?
>Did she have a new room?
>Hopefully not, finding it in the palace would be next to impossible.
>Maybe Twilight was elsewhere?
>Where would she be if not locked up in her room?
>Library perhaps?
>No, she was the kind to check the books out and go home.
>If anything she’d-
“The med ward!”
>Starlight had said that withdrawal of the stimulants was dangerous, and that she had to be monitored overnight!
>Twilight was either being watched at the medical here in the palace or she was at the hospital!
>Lyra took her cloak off once more and shoved it in her bags.
>The guards were looking for a cloaked figure, and she’d bluffer her way through being red before.
>That and the medical ward wasn’t exactly off limits, nopony would bat an eye at somepony swinging by to check on their patient.
>It was just a few minutes before she was near her goal.
>She’d passed dozens of ponies and not one had tried to stop her.
>She confidently walked in past the double doors and began walking through.
>The palace’s medical ward was much smaller than the hospitals, and only equipped for first aid.
>To Lyra’s surprise not much had changed over the years.
>She didn’t know much about about medicine, but it struck her as odd that so much had remained the same.
>For that matter not that much had changed at Ponyville hospital save for its size.
>They treated her fever with ice, suppressed the disease with penicillin, and they couldn’t neutralize the vile toxins that nearly took Dinky.
>The replacement organs were doubtlessly impressive, as was what sustained Applejack or Rarity’s eyes.
>But from what she understood these things were different from ordinary medicine.
>They were not actually pony tissue, they weren’t ALIVE.
>They were just replicas of what had been lost.
>Products of metallurgy and chemistry, not medicine.
>Perhaps that was just as good. If it kept ponies healthy it was doing its job.
>But vanishingly little had changed in how they sustained pony lives.
>There hadn’t been a wave of new drugs or a revolution in genetics.
>They had merely discovered materials that the body wouldn’t reject, plastics that allowed proper blood flow and osmosis without triggering an immune response.
>Perhaps this was an artifact of where they got their knowledge?
>The alien creatures they learned from could share their knowledge of materials and their surgical practices, but their understanding of pharmacology was useless here in Equestria.
>”Hey, visiting hours are over.”
“Oh!”
>Lyra jumped at the sudden interruption to find she’d nearly walked into a nurse.
“Sorry, I’ll show myself out.”
>Lyra turned around and made her way to the exit.
>As soon as the nurse had returned to her tasks, she ducked into one of the empty rooms and donned her cloak.
>She was going to have to resume her search unseen-
>Princess Celestia walked past her door.
>”Your highness!”
>Lyra didn’t recognise the voice, but somepony else had noticed.
>”Good evening. I need to speak with princess Twilight for a moment. Is she awake?”
>Princess Celestia’s voice was filled with warmth and comfort as usual, the sweet words soothing the soul in a way that seemed almost supernatural.
>”Yes, your highness. I think she’s reading at the moment.”
>”Excellent. Please leave us be, we’ve much to discuss.”
>Lyra pulled a small mirror from her bags and used it to glance around the corner.
>Everypony was bowing down as Celestia walked on by.
>Twilight was RIGHT THERE!
>But she couldn’t move.
>An apparent eternity passed before everypony had cleared out of the way.
>When her opportunity presented itself she swiftly made her way to Twilight’s room, ducking quietly into the en suite lavatory.
>She closed the door and pressed her ear to the door.
>Celestia was speaking, and she sounded sad.
>”No, Twilight. You’ve nothing to apologize for.”
>The grief in her voice was palpable, the soothing facade gone while she spoke in perceived privacy.
>”But I’m the one who screwed up. Twice!”
>”Perhaps, Twilight. But I am still the one who is to blame. I gave you an impossible task, placed the weight of the world on your back and demanded a miracle. It wasn’t right for me to do that to you. How are you feeling?”
>”Aweful. But better.”
>”I’m sorry I didn’t notice what was happening to you, Twilight.”
>”It’s not your fault, princess.”
>”But it is. Everything is my fault. Well, not the tide I suppose. But everything else.”
>”Hey, that’s not true!”
>”That’s sweet of you to say. But it’s time for me to accept responsibility for what I’ve done. The first step is apologizing to you.”
>”And then?”
>”I’ve got a lot of grieving families to visit.”
>”The demons are NOT your fault! Luna-”
>”Would have won by now were it not for my meddling. I didn’t trust her judgement, I didn’t believe her when she told me they couldn’t be reasoned with. And thousands have suffered because of this.”
>”Eurynomos isn’t your responsibility.”
*sniff*
>”Isn’t he? I made him, Twilight. He’s my creation. If I hadn’t gotten in the way he’d have never gotten as strong as he is. This is all on me.”
>She let out a sorrowful, bitter chuckle.
>”I’d once dreamed of making Elysium the greatest of the heavens. Of being a shining beacon of love and friendship. These days… do you have any new developments?”
>”No. We’re wrong about something, I just don’t know what. We’ve checked and rechecked everything a dozen times over and we always get the same results”
>”So what does that mean?”
>”We’re making a bad assumption of some sort. Maybe there’s a fundamental interaction we don’t know about, maybe 2 plus 2 is actually slightly more than 4, and then there’s my personal pet hypothesis.”
>”Which is?”
>”Maybe the Tide doesn’t actually exist and I’m just crazy!”
>Celestia produced a fake chuckle.
>But despite its forced nature there seemed to be some genuine warmth and joy beneath it.
>”It is good to see you in good spirits. I’ll leave you to rest, Twilight. It’s been a long day for the both of us.”
>”Yeah… Good night, princess.”
>Lyra didn’t move for some time.
>She mulled over what she’d just heard.
>Both Twilight and Celestia sounded so defeated.
>So hopeless.
>The both of them had given up long ago and were now just going through the motions of living.
>Empty shells devoid of hope, alive but not living.
>Those two wouldn’t deliver them from the darkness.
>They needed Lyra to deliver THEM.
>She stepped out of the lavatory and walked up to Twilight’s bed.
>Twilight’s eyes were closed, a cuff wrapped tightly around one of her legs to monitor her pulse and blood oxygen.
>An intravenous drip was wired into her, delivering some kind of drug. Lyra couldn’t say what.
>Lyra called upon her magic and grabbed Twilight by the muzzle, keeping her mouth shut.
>Twilight’s eyes snapped open in terror, she began to thrash about violently.
“Shh, shh. It’s okay, I’m not here to hurt you.”
>She again spoke with her croaky inhaling voice, the words were muddy but she hoped the message was clear.
“I just want to talk, I’m not going to hurt you. I’m a friend. I’m going to release your muzzle in a couple seconds and you’re not going to scream or shout or anything, I just want to talk-”
>Her heart monitor started blaring.
>Lyra let go and ran into the washroom and closed the door.
>She was cornered.
>Lyra was going to have to fight her way out, and she hadn’t delivered the message.
>The mission was a failure!
>”I’m okay, nurses. It’s fine.”
>What?
>”Your heart was racing though, and your oxygen dropping!”
>”Yeah. I had a bad dream. I think I’m okay now.”
>”Do you want something to help you sleep?”
>”No, no that’s okay. I think I’ll just read for a while, I have a lot of reports to go over.”
>”Are you certain your highness?”
>”Yeah, I’m fine. If anything happens the alarm will let you know. Now please leave me, it’s not that I don’t like you or anything! Just that some of these are classified.”
>”Well, okay. If you’re certain. Press the button if you need anything?”
>”I will, don’t worry.”
>A short time passed before Twilight spoke again.
>”The coast is clear.”
>Lyra entered again.
>The lights were on, she didn’t like that.
>In the brilliantly lit room everything looked very different.
>Balloons were scattered about willy nilly, some scattered around the floor, some taped to walls, some floating up against the ceiling.
>The walls were plastered with streamers, a stack of cards were heaped on her bedside table, there were piles of confetti swept up in the corners…
>It looked like Pinkie Pie had been here.
>Lyra quickly flipped them off returning the room to its dim murkiness, only lit from the moonlight creeping in through the window.
>She approached Twilight’s bed.
“Sorry. I just didn’t want you to scream.”
>”I’ve been doing what you want, I haven’t touched that stuff since we talked, and I even hid you from the nurses. PLEASE don’t hurt Fluttershy.”
>Oh.
>That’s why she was being so helpful.
“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.”
>”You threatened to hurt Fluttershy if I didn’t do what you wanted.”
“Wasn’t me. There’s more than one sneaky pony out there you know.”
>Lyra wasn’t sure if Twilight was buying it.
>But she couldn’t afford to own that.
>If Red was the same pony as before her cover was blown.
“Do the princesses know about that?”
>”Yeah. Princess Celestia said she’d try and protect her but that there really was nothing she could do. That the best bet was to do what that pony wanted. Wait, what do YOU want if you’re not here about that?”
“I need your help.”
>”Okay… who are you?”
“Just somepony who’s seen enough of Hell for a dozen lifetimes. Twilight, do you know what’s going on down there?”
>”Just what the reports say.”
>Lyra didn’t know what the reports said.
>But if she was meant to be a rogue agent she couldn’t let that piece of information slip.
“It’s worse. Much worse.”
>”Really? ‘Cause Luna says you’ve taken some heavy losses-”
“Heavy losses, princess, we’re getting SLAUGHTERED down there! We’ve got nothing left! It’s only a matter of time before we get wiped out entirely!”
>Lyra couldn’t make out Twilight’s face in the dark.
>But there was still an aura of surprised disbelief.
>”Luna says you’re holding your own.”
“Luna. LIES.”
>A heavy silence held for a few seconds.
“She lies when she says we’re holding our own. She lies when she says we have a REMOTE chance of winning, and she’s lying when she tells you we went down there for minerals or cheap labour or whatever nonsense she told you.”
>”Why should I believe you? Princess Luna is Princess Celestia’s sister. Who are you? Some hooded figure who won’t even show me their face?”
“Who am I? I’m the one who’s stared Eurynomos himself in the eye.”
>Technically true, even if she was pretty sure he didn’t notice her.
“I’m the one who’s thrown themselves into the thick of battle with those fiends, and I’m the one who’s seen what they can do!”
>”Okay, but why should I trust you over Luna?”
“How many times have I tried to blot out the sun?”
>”Twice?”
“Never.”
>”Okay, but I just have a hard time believing that some random pony I’ve never met is telling the truth when they say that everything I’ve read about that campaign is a lie.”
>Twilight didn’t answer.
“I thought we stood a chance at first. But Eurynomos ripped agent zero apart, even she can’t stand up to that thing! He’s unstoppable! All we’re doing these days is trying to keep him and Achlys apart. It’s over. We’ve lost.”
>”I haven’t read anything about that…”
“We nearly lost Ponyville. Think about that. An entire CITY almost died. Think about that, 2 MILLION ponies were nearly killed in ONE day! Each and every one of them ripped apart by- I don’t even want to think about it. Does that sound like winning to you?”
>”No, no that doesn’t.”
“Princess Twilight Sparkle. I’m not here today to negotiate. I’m not here to bargain, to threaten, or to trade. I’m here to BEG.”
>Lyra bowed down deeply, her muzzle bumping into the tile floor.
“To beg you to save us. Help us stop Eurynomos, to put an end to this horror.”
>Lyra didn’t move from her position, the black silhouette prostrating itself before the bedborne Twilight.
>”But what can I even do?”
“We aren’t strong enough to stop him. Our best weapons don’t stop him. He’s even survived a nuclear strike! There is nothing a pony can make or do that will stop him. But there is a way. The Black Tide.”
>Twilight gasped.
>”How do you know about that?”
“I know many things, princess. And I know that the Tide is the ultimate weapon. I don’t know where it came from, I don’t know who made it or why, but I do know that it can destroy. And I know that it’s the only thing that can save us.”
>”It’s dangerous.”
“I know. But you can destroy it. We can’t destroy him.”
>”Please rise. I’m not comfortable with ponies bowing to me.”
>Lyra climbed to her hooves.
>She was torn.
>She didn’t like obeying Twilight, like that, but she also didn’t like bowing to her.
>”I feel like an idiot. Why did I trust princess Luna?”
“She’s a good liar.”
>”Yeah, but I shouldn’t- we almost lost Ponyville! We needed a musician to save us! I never knew Lyra had it in her.”
>Lyra nearly said she didn’t know it either.
>But that was absolutely the wrong thing to say.
“You know her?”
>”We were friends once. I wasn’t good to her. Hay, I was terrible to her. She didn’t deserve to be abandoned like that.”
>Lyra was dumbstruck.
>She’d held her grudge against Twilight for years, thinking she was a self absorbed jerk.
>This didn’t sound anything like the Twilight she knew.
>”I’ve tried to approach her you know. But I don’t know what to say! I can’t just pop in and act like nothing happened, like I hadn’t cut her out of my life for years. At the ceremony I wanted to apologize but I just froze up.”
“It can’t be that bad.”
>”And at the hospital she was so angry! She was blaming me for the invasion, calling me all sorts of terrible things…”
>And now she felt guilty.
“Was this right after the invasion?”
>“Yeah.”
“You shouldn’t read too much into that. It can be pretty traumatic to face off against them.”
>”I suppose. I just wish I could make things right with her.”
“Just go to her. Tell her you’re sorry and ask how she’s been.”
>”But she’s not wrong. I was awful to her, and I don’t think she’ll ever forgive me.”
“Something tells me she already has.”
>”Hmm. Maybe it is time to talk to her. Well, after I’m out of here. Thanks, uhh… you.”
“Call me Red.”
>”Red? Okay. I promise you, I WILL help you stop Eurynomos. It might take a little time to figure out all the details, it’s very hard to transport. But we WILL stop him.”
“Thank you, princess. I know you’ve been struggling with your research, but I want you to know. If you can stop him all your work will have been worth it. I believe in you, princess. Even if you don’t believe in yourself.”
>It was time to leave.
>Lyra moved to leave.
>”Wait! I know the signs. You’re really twitchy, full of nervous energy. You’re moving just a bit too quickly.”
>She WAS pretty wired.
>Stupid Moondancer.
>”Those stimulants… should we ban them?”
“What?”
>Did Twilight think she’d been taking their stims?
>There was no way this caffeination looked the same as the stimulants.
>Maybe it was a trick from the disguise and poor lighting.
>Or maybe Twilight was just seeing what she wanted to see.
>”Well, I know how bad they are for you. They’re really REALLY bad! But princess Luna says they’re too important to get rid of. On the one hoof just… look at what they did to me! I know it’s my fault, but I really honestly couldn’t help myself. Once those things have their claws in you… but then the demons have claws too.”
>That was something Lyra had never really pondered before.
“I don’t know. I really don’t. Those stimulants, they come from a different place than the rest of this tech, don’t they?”
>”What makes you say that?”
“Side effects, mostly. They seem unfinished. Like a square wheel. The other stuff seems so polished, perfect. I suppose that doesn’t really make much difference. I don’t know what the right move is with the stims. But once he’s gone we won’t need to worry about that anymore. We’re counting on you, princess.”
>”I won’t fail you.”
>Lyra casually marched out of the room, making no attempt to hide herself.
>”Hey, what are you doing here!”
>The nurses cried out as they saw her.
>Red ignored them and made her way to the exit.
>Twilight called from her room.
>”It’s okay, Nurse! They were just here to deliver a message.”
>That made things easier.
>Lyra wasn’t afraid of the nurses, far from it. But she was thankful for Twilight’s assistance regardless.
>She left the premises without any complication, uncertain if Twilight was continuing to run interference for her, if the guards were just glad to see her leave, or if she was merely lucky.
>Dawn saw her climbing out of a river a few kilometers away from the base of the mountain, the red dye washed away, her disguise removed.
>Next stop was Cadence.
>Lyra felt a sharp pain in her horn, a sudden influx of roaring energy slamming into her head.
“No, no no no!”
>She reached for her magic, calling upon the Aquarius ley line.
>The mana heeded her call.
>No, this isn’t happening! This isn’t right!”
>The artifact she’d made had been destroyed.
>Bon-Bon was in trouble.
>Bon-Bon might be hurt.
>Bon-Bon might be DEAD.
>Lyra glared up at the mountain, failing to focus on the palace through tear filled eyes.
“I warned you, Celestia.”
>If Bon-Bon was dead…
“I told you back at the missile silo. If anything happened to her, I was coming for YOU.”
>Lyra began to ascend the mountain once more.