Dusk peeled back the edge of the piece of bread before him, an eyebrow arched higher as he was forced to inspect the brown paste that had been smeared around the inside. The chunks of banana were easily identified, but he couldn’t help himself, he had to ask his hostess. “So it’s just made of peanuts, ground down into a paste, or butter, and then spread over bread?”

Sweetie Belle giggled around a mouthful of peanut butter and gave him an enthusiastic nod. When she’d chewed enough of the mess in her mouth up, she answered, still having to talk around the thick breakfast. “It’s my favorite! The bananas are soft and chewy, and taste sooooo~ sweet when they’re properly ripened. The peanut butter is a little sweet, and a little salty, but also really thick, chewy and super gooey!” She paused, peeling back the top piece of bread, and looked around to make sure that Rarity wasn't watching before continuing at a whisper. “And if you can get it when Rarity isn’t looking, there is a small jar of chocolate hazelnut spread in the top cabinet.”

Looking at her peeled back layer of bread, Dusk saw the thin streak of chocolate hidden by the peanut butter, mostly. He had watched Rarity and Sweetie make the sandwiches, but somehow, the filly had added that without him seeing. Peeling back his own bread a little further, Dusk realized she’d snuck some onto his as well, though not nearly as much as she had put on her own. Resealing it, he lifted the sandwich and took a bite, chewing in quiet contemplation while the filly watched, her eyes filling with glee. As he swallowed back what felt like the larger portion of the dense breakfast, he had to admit it was enjoyable, if very different. Nodding to the filly, Dusk opened his mouth and said: “Mughaph, mmyagh dah wgoaugh waha!”

Rarity bolted back into the kitchen at the sound of a crash, worried that an accident may have happened in the minute she had stepped out of the kitchen. Instead, she found Sweetie Belle rolling on the floor with laughter, while a red-cheeked Dusk gulped at his glass of milk, attempting to dislodge the thick mess in his mouth that made his attempts to talk sound like garbled gibberish.

Reassured that things were okay, Rarity walked over to Sweetie Belle and helped the filly stand up and get back into her chair, smoothing down her foal’s hair before leaving a kiss on the top of her head. Gently caressing across Sweetie’s neck and over her shoulders, she smiled at Dusk. “It’s her favorite. But with winter coming, ripe bananas are going to become a real premium.”

Finally able to talk again, Dusk laughed and reached out, squeezing Sweetie’s free hand. “What I was trying to say before your little laughing fit, was thank you for sharing such a nice treat. Now I learn it’s your favorite? My oh my, I’m honored you decided to share it with me.” Dusk winked up at Rarity, and returned to his own sandwich.

Grinning up to her mother, a question dawned on Sweetie Belle. "So, now that Dusk knows the truth, and you two are together... does that make Dusk, sorta... um. Like my herd father?"

Dusk was floored by the normally rather meek little filly's sudden connection between his relationship with Rarity and herself. It caught Dusk off guard, but Rarity smiled, and kissed the top of her head. "Not quite, Sweetie dear. A herd father is usually the direct sire of a foal, or the adoptive father of a foal. But,-"

Rarity's voice trailed off as she looked to him, a pleading look in her eyes. Dusk grinned, and squeezed the filly’s free hand again. "Barb has never been officially adopted as my daughter, but I think of her that way at times. Maybe for now, we could find a comfortable compromise like that?"

Enjoying the attention from both adults, Sweetie thought for a moment before nodding. "I think so, Dusk. It's just nice to have somepony else I can talk about stuff with, besides momma and AJ."

"Well, Sweetie Belle, I am always happy to talk. Besides, it's nice to have a different perspective from Barb." Dusk took another incredibly cautious bite of his sandwich before continuing. "I do hope Barb is enjoying her extended stay in Canterlot, she and Philomena haven't had a lot of time to visit of late. Princess Celestia promised to bring her back on Friday for the Running of the Leaves."

"Then you should enjoy the next two days, Dusk. You really shouldn't spend all day in that backlog of paperwork. Not when the approaching winter is guaranteed to make everypony a homebody soon!" Rarity added an extra lilt to her voice, suggesting the last few days had not been her definition of a fun rainy day at home, and she knew Applejack would agree.

Realizing what that one implied, Dusk shook his head. "It’s okay Rarity, really. I've only a few pieces of importance left now. If that was a few months backlog from Mayor Mare, then it will be easy to add dealing with the days’ new work in an hour or two from now on. Maybe squeeze it in after showering to clean up from jogging with Dash and strength training with Applejack, but before dinner every day. Some light paperwork to counterbalance the physical workout that fills my afternoons."

Sweetie Belle laughed and pointed a finger at Dusk. "Is Dash still making you jog for two hours a day? Cause Scootaloo at school said something about Dash teaching the pegasi foals at school some basic flight training."

"Dash promised after the Running of the Leaves, we'd cut back to an hour a day. I'm already in the best shape of my life, and recovering from my weight loss after Nightmare Moon's return ate up a lot of this summer. Now that it's winter time, I'd like to catch up on my own studies, and an hour a day with Dash and AJ seems like a reasonable way to scale back what otherwise has been a heavy workout." Eyeing the clock, Dusk finished his breakfast and gave Rarity a nod. "We'd better be going, Sweetie. It’s nearly time for school. I'll walk you on my way home, alright?"

"Rainbow Dash delivered all of this to you just a few hours before that big storm?" Dusk couldn’t hide the edge of suspicion from his voice. It crept in uninvited, but was thankfully unnoticed by the all-too-happy mare on the other side of his desk.

Mayor Mare was in heaven, too happy with the swift solution to her mess of paperwork to worry about Dusk's tone, or the way he prodded the stack of paperwork before him. "Oh, yes! See, I've been after her for proper work records and scheduling since she took over Ponyville’s weather team last winter, and I guess she finally got desperate and asked Rumble for help, because two thirds of the stack is in his writing, but my clerks went over the numbers already and It all checks out! She still hasn't supplied me with proper long term work schedules, but I'm sure that's just because of how hectic things can be for the weather team here. Princess Celestia herself nearly doubled our annual budget about ten years ago because of all the chaotic wild weather they have to deal with coming out of the Everfree Forest. Besides, even with all the overtime included, my clerks assure me we will come in eight or nine percent under budget this year!"

With red flags going off in every word she spoke, Dusk very politely adjusted the stack of fifty odd pages and gave the mayor a long and serious look before standing up and offering her his hand. "Well thank you, mayor. I'll make sure to look into it shortly."

When he was alone, and the mayor's endless use of the word magistrate had finally faded from his library, Dusk drew a thick sheaf of note paper from his drawer, and began the arduous process of accounting for the weather team’s budget, already sure the fourteen hours he had spent on this hospital’s budget had not prepared him for dealing with Rainbow Dash's attempts to make numbers say what she wanted, and not what they meant.

Rarity was quickly questioning the wisdom of her decision to try and jog with her far more athletic friends. While the other mares had slowed a little to help her keep up, what they termed a jog was quickly turning into a preview of the upcoming Running of the Leaves, as each mare pushed her pace a little faster to slip just ahead of the competition.

Now, as they approached the signpost at the edge of town, and both mares began to jostle one another in the process of making the tight turn. Before her eyes, Dash attempted to cut across Applejack’s path, at the same time as AJ lengthened her stride to speed up. The resulting impact and crash left AJ's jaw bruised by Dash's skull and Dash's leg bruised by an accidental impact with AJ's advancing leg. Now that they were down together in a tangled mess of limbs the cursing started. Rarity stopped to stand over her friends while they spat and fought one another. Tilting to one side and resting her right hand on her hip, Rarity loudly sighed in hopes of expressing her disappointment in the mares. "Really girls? We're out for a simple jog to warm up. You both have a spot in the Running of the Leaves, I know, but surely you can't get this competitive over a simple jog!"

Rarity bent down to help untangle her squabbling friends, while Dash continued to gripe. "It’s not my bloody fault! Applejack kicked me so hard, how could anypony not-" As Rarity’s hand slipped off Dash’s shoulder and came into contact against Rainbow Dash’s wing, the pain shot through her, and instantly her complaint turned to a gasp of pain.

. Rarity quickly pulled her hand away and looked to Applejack, who had fallen silent, and shook her head at Rarity’s silent question, but continued to massage her sore jaw. Leaning in again and helping the mares untangle their legs, while talking softly. "Dash, when did you hurt your wing? Did you do something foolish during that big storm?"

For a moment, Rarity worried Dash might still be too proud to admit that something had happened, but as she sat staring at Rarity and AJ in turn, she gave in and answered, while carefully folding and unfolding her wing to test the sore muscle of the wing joint. "I let Rumble and a few other kids from the school who are mostly done with their basic weather training come help us. But the colt got a sudden unavoidable fu-" Cutting herself off before she started ranting again, Dash forced herself to calm, and offered a shake of her head. "The colt earned his cutie mark by starting the storm, against my orders. So I had to grab him and run before the rain got too thick to fly through. When we landed, I tripped and rolled, and strained my wing a little."

Now feeling a little guilty, Applejack put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Dash, I'm sorry I got so competitive, no wonder you aren't using your wings like when we normally race."

Dash snorted and gave AJ a playful cuff on the shoulder. "Oh come on! The Running of the Leaves is an earth pony tradition. Using my wings would be cheating, right?"

Smiling, Applejack leaned closer, softly cupping the pegasus by the chin, lifting her head up, before giving her a light kiss. "Then before we get too caught up in who's gonna win the race, have one last kiss for good luck."

As Rarity failed to suppress a squee of delight at the heartwarming scene before her, Rainbow Dash leapt up, and fighting to hide her dark blush, while brushing a hand through the hair at the back of her head while fighting her embarrassment. "So um, anyways! How about we go hit up Sugarcube Corner for a treat or some lunch?"

Thunderlane twisted in place lying belly up so he could inspect the five young mares and stallion that followed him. "New replacements sent in from Cloudsdale just this morning, but at least they'd all had flight school certification, even if none had gone on to try for a full degree like Rainbow Dash. Means my job’s probably safe... for now at least."

Circling around a basic perimeter of the Everfree Forest, Thunderlane finally gestured for a stop, and signaled for the group to gather. "Patrols of the Everfree are your most dangerous duty. Look around, and together, I want everypony to work together to identify at least three threats in the forest. Do not descend any lower than our current altitude, and don't split off to search for danger signs alone! Pair up and call out things you spot!"

Of course, one of the mares instantly called out a distant portion of the dense treeline that shook and danced against the wind. But of course they'd found that, Thunderlane made sure to locate it before they stopped. "Great one, that is sometimes a sign of a manticore sharpening their claws on a tree, a very low altitude threat. Other times, it's a hydra on the move, and that's a much bigger threat. Never approach those rustling trees, even if you do recognize other signs of a manticore being in the area, because sometimes they nest in the upper branches, and Celestia help you, a manticore protecting their nest can be very vicious."

The stallion, a rather scrawny lad by Thunderlane's eye, suddenly spoke up over the quiet chatter of the rest of the group. "Does... does a mare count, sir?"

Groaning at the poor stallion's attempt at a joke, Thunderlane palmed both of his hands across his face before straightening up, and looking to the younger stallion. "Alright, I can give you half credit on that, because, yes, being distracted by a pretty mare can be a legitimate risk, but that's why mares get days off for their heat. Now does anypony have a serious answer?"

The mare who had been teamed up with the stallion leaned in closer and they both started whispering frantically before she called out, her voice a little worried and hesitant. "Err.. but we meant a mare IN the Everfree, Thunderlane, sir."

Something in the worry that filled her tone made him rush to their side, and look where they were pointing. It was distant, but far below the treeline, he could just make out a mare kneeling at the edge of a patch of plants, and the flash of silver as she cut one off at the base. Suddenly the head turned, and dark turquoise eyes looked towards the rustling trees that Thunderlane and the new members of the weather team had just been talking about. Suddenly, the mare bolted into the woods, her brown cloak preventing her hair from being identified.

For just a moment, Thunderlane wanted to chase, to hunt down the mare. "Dash’s smuggler! She's back!" But just as he shifted into position to dive into the woods, one of the mares screamed. Below them, the four massive draconic heads passed through a gap in the treeline.

That scream of fear pulled him away from the dive he had been about to enter, and instead, he circled around and returned to the younger pegasi, his whistle pressed between his lips to pull their attention back from the hydra. When they were all facing him again he blew the warning code, ordering them to return to town. When the stallion and the mare with him tried to linger, Thunderlane flew to their side, repeating the whistle before bellowing out at the pair. "Get back to town, now! We can look for whoever that was later! Right now, you two get back to town, or by Celestia, I'll send you both back to flight school!" An idle threat, but one that finally got through to the stunned pair, and together they soared back towards Ponyville.

Dusk furrowed his brow, looking from his scrap paper to the nine pages before him. A question had swelled up as he worked at Dash’s budget, and now it had come to a head. "How in Equestria did everypony on the weather team earn exactly three days of emergency pay? It’s down to the hour, precisely! It’s almost as if she just split a massive request evenly betwee-”

The sudden grinding of gears, as enough sand poured through the hourglass on his desk, pulled Dusk to look up, breaking his contemplation. With the weight unbalanced, the heavy guards in the hourglass creaked and groaned as it flipped over and the bell tied to both ends chimed out the alarm. Without Barb to warn him, Dusk had fished out the alarm to warn him when the noon train was due from Canterlot. Giving a sigh, Dusk capped his inkpot and returned his quill to its holder before he rubbed his palms over his eyes. “No time for this right now. Lyra’s train is due in fifteen minutes.”

Sorting his paperwork, Dusk put a paperclip on the pile of sheets and pushed it aside. Walking to the bathroom to wash up quickly, Dusk couldn’t help but laugh at the smear of ink across his face, and took a minute to clean up before heading out. The walk to the trainyard was an easy one, and even with a stop at Sugarcube Corner to pick up some fresh pastries.

Leaning against a post while munching on the cupcake that Pinkie had given him, Dusk found his mind wandering back to the unfinished paperwork in his library, as the distant sound of a train whistle alerted everypony of its imminent arrival in Ponyville. “Dash, what are you really up to with the weather team’s budget? Surely you had to know that somepony would notice everypony in the team somehow working the exact same amount of overtime.” Dusk looked up, smiling towards the approaching train as its whistle pulled for his attention. “But then again, Mayor Mare said she looked into it, and if her clerks missed it, maybe I’m just taking these things too seriously?”

A roar of steam hissed as the train released the last of the pent up pressure, its brakes locking down and squealing with the stress of stopping. Dusk was about to step away from the post he had been leaning against when Derpy came rushing up the staircase to the train platform and nearly trampled over him, three large boxes in her arms blocking her vision.

Twisting around and settling her packages on a bench, she turned around, only just noticing that she had nearly run over Dusk in her haste. Embarrassed, the mare blushed and gestured to the boxes. "Sorry, Dusk! Mayor Mare just gave me all this paperwork for delivery to Canterlot and I was so worried I'd miss this train!"

Laughing gently, Dusk stepped up to her side and waved off her apology. "No, no, it is probably my fault you have so much mail going to Canterlot today. I wanted to make sure I double-checked my whole outbox one last time before sending in this first batch of work as magistrate."

The mailmare snapped into a more professional posture and snapped off a salute that was impressive and quite professional for how clumsy and befuddled she often appeared. "Right! Sorry, Dusk! Should I, ummm... like salute and call you by title and stuff like the mail inspector?"

For a moment, Dusk froze as an annoyed chill ran up his spine. But something in the mare's goofy smile and bright golden eyes smoothed over those sore feelings. "No, not at all, Derpy. I'm no different from the stallion I was before. Thanks for your hard work, as always."

From behind Dusk, a familiar mare's voice cut in. "Well then, if you two are done, I'll steal the magistrate for a while. Apparently I'm to report to him before meeting up with the school teachers?"

As Dusk turned around, Derpy grinned and gave Lyra a wave. "Oh! That’s right, you’re the one who wanted to practise in the mail barn! You're staying at Bonbon's place before, right?! Hello there, Lyra!"

It was shocking just how different Lyra looked dressed as a civilian. The towering mare wore a simple white, strapless sundress, putting her powerful arm muscles on full display, while still being high enough cut to remain professional. With her magic pulling her bags behind her, and the strong breeze blowing her long hair in the wind, it was only her stern face that betrayed what she might really be feeling. She nodded to Derpy before answering. "I was, but my cousin had to return to Canterlot for schooling. Now I've got a new job here in Ponyville." She stopped, turning a glare at Dusk. "I suppose I'll have to look into new living arrangements now? Unless you have something planned already?"

Dusk was glad for Derpy's fun-loving attitude, because she was too busy whistling to herself and dealing with getting her packages loaded onto the train with the proper documentation signed in duplicates, and never noticed Lyra’s glare. "I've spoken with Bonbon, and she still has Minuette's room open if you still want it."

Relaxing, if only a little, Lyra gave a nod to Dusk and stepped over to Derpy, who had just finished talking with the train's staff. "I'm expecting a few parcels from family in Canterlot, but if you can bring them to me at the school when they show, I'd greatly appreciate it."

Delighted to be able to help, Derpy gave a happy little giggle. "Of course! I'd be more than happy to do that for you!" A moment passed before it dawned on her. "Oh! You're the new music teacher Miss Cheerilee was talking about! And you're a unicorn! That's fantastic! Now we can finally have somepony at school who can teach the foals practical magic, instead of just getting Dusk or Rarity to come in and help out for an hour or two!"

Again, Derpy was so busy being happy with herself, she'd never noticed Dusk's groan and facepalm, while Lyra looked baffled from Derpy to Dusk and then back. With her voice turning to ice, Lyra gently patted Derpy’s arm before linking arms with Dusk and drawing him away. “Well thank you, Derpy. Now the magistrate and I clearly have some talking to do, do take care, and I’ll come find you later dear.”

While Dusk cringed as Lyra slightly crushed his arm in her grip, Derpy simply offered a happy grin and waved as they left her behind on the train platform. “Okay! Later Dusk, and see you soon Lyra! I hope you get to meet my little girl Dinky at school!”

Once they were far enough away that she was sure they couldn’t be overheard, Lyra looked down at Dusk, her annoyance no longer kept to a subtle glare. “So am I to be given any choice in my new duties or work in the community? Silken was sure you wanted me as your contact to her spy network, but it sounds like you’ve already found me quite a bit of extra work to do around town already?”

Dusk ignored the tight grip the mare had on his arm, and looked back to make sure all of her luggage was following them in her spell’s grip before answering. "Actually, I'd planned no such thing. I wanted you here so if something happens and I need an answer faster than Barb can provide, you can step in. The excuse of having you be a music teacher just came to me in a moment of sudden inspiration. The magic teacher issue is one I only just started to consider solutions for. Frankly, I had been thinking of taking that job up myself, depending on how it might work into my schedule. However I’d like to also get you to work as a gym teacher for those who aren’t part of Dash’s flight class."

Relaxing her grip, if only just a little, Lyra laughed at that. "I will do the classes, Dusk. Ponyville only has forty or fifty unicorns if I remember my briefing properly. There can’t be more than, what 10, 12 unicorn foals in total? Besides, your time is better served doing your royal duties, not teaching uninterested foals 'Intro to Magic 101'. As for my government work? Take a hands off approach if you want, I'll leave you reports occasionally just in case."

Satisfied he had one more tool in his inventory to deal with future crises as they arise, Dusk continued to escort the mare across town, turning the topic to more casual matters. "Any word about Minuette?"

Scoffing, Lyra released Dusk's arm and walked by his side, still slightly scowling. "She is back in school, both on and off the books. Maybe in a year or two if she is still interested, they might offer her a new mission to test her once she has been properly trained."

Shifting off the road and up to a door, Dusk lightly knocked, before continuing their conversation. "Good to hear. She was always a bright filly, it's good to hear things managed to work out well enough to allow her return to school."

While Dusk talked, the door of the house opened, and a hesitant Bonbon looked out the door to the waiting unicorns. Delighted to see Lyra again, she threw open the door and jumped the taller mare, wrapping her up in a tight hug. "You're really back?!! Dusk asked if the room was open still, but I couldn't believe it!"

Dragging the still-off-balance Lyra inside, Dusk followed, collecting up the baggage Bonbon's sudden ambush had caused Lyra to drop. Following the mares inside and upstairs, Dusk only caught bits of their conversation.

"... and that's when Dusk came over to ask if the room was still open. He even put down the first two months’ payment and a damage deposit so I could afford to remove its listing so nopony got too excited about the open room!" Standing in the bedroom doorway, Bonbon pushed two sets of room keys into Lyra’s hand as Dusk rounded the corner of the staircase.

Lyra caught Dusk's approach from the corner of hir eye and pointed the stallion to drop the bags inside the room. "Well, just as we arrived in Canterlot, still trying to figure out some kind of solution, somepony at the train station was posting new job ads. The one for a part-time teacher here in Ponyville caught my eye, and since then everything has just fallen in place."

As Dusk placed the luggage in a neat, symmetrical stack beside the bed, the conversation dropped lower, and he was unable to make out the rest. In the end, the mares joined him in the room, and the way Bonbon held Lyra’s elbow and smiled up at the now noticeably calmer Lyra reassured him things were likely going to work out for the better now. Unwilling to ruin the moment, Dusk considered leaving off their visit to the school until tomorrow. But Lyra broke the silence herself. "Alright, so my room is ready, and my luggage is set up. Plus, I think I can get along with my landlord. Should we head to the school now, magistrate?"

Unlike Derpy, Bonbon caught Lyra's tone and looked questioningly at the unicorns before shaking it off. "Oh! Alright. I'll see you later tonight. And thanks, Dusk. It's so nice of you to help out Lyra and Minuette."

The walk to the school had been one of mostly silence, Dusk had noticed Lyra was lost in thought, and left her to it, instead letting his mind turn back to the paperwork, and Rainbow Dash. "With the Running of the Leaves this Friday, I should just get Mayor Mare to handle the majority of the event. After all, last I checked, only four or five unicorns were participating. Better to represent than stand in front of a microphone making speeches, even if I stand no chance at keeping up with Dash or Applejack... maybe if I were in better shape, like Lyra "

Looking over at Lyra, an evil grin dawned on Dusk's lips. "You know, Lyra. Ponyville is hosting an event on Friday, the Running of the Leaves."

Suspicious of the stallion’s motives, Lyra watched him closely. "I've read up on it, along with my other reading to prepare for my new teaching job. Why?"

"Well, you already know Ponyville has a small unicorn population, and even if I join in on the running personally, that would only make five unicorns signed up, and only Celestia knows for sure if Vinyl Scratch will really be in town or not on Friday. She's already setting up the sound system for Friday, but she works as a DJ." Lost in a moment of thought, Dusk looked at Lyra. "Err. Have you ever met Vinyl? She also goes by DJ Pon-3 when working."

Lyra kept her stride even and her face neutral at Dusk's questions, and sorted them out as quickly as she could. "I'll run, Dusk. No reason to miss an easy opportunity to get to know more of Ponyville's community, if I'm to be a good teacher. As for the DJ, let me think." For a moment, she tried to appear lost in thought about the pony in question. "Is this a test? She didn't go to SSU, but besides that time in Derpy's barn, have we ever been seen in public?" A half-answer was her best way out of Dusk's attention. "I think back in school, well, Shining and some of the other stallions took a few of us mares to a party. She's a unicorn mare, around five-and-a-half feet tall, has weird electric-blue hair?"

Satisfied Lyra knew who he was talking about, and delighted he had found somepony to at least give Dash and AJ a run for their money, Dusk grinned and clapped his hands together in honest joy. "Oh, Goodie! I can't wait to see how you do. I'd better warn you, Rainbow Dash has been practicing for this for weeks, and having some real competition besides AJ will only make her happier!"

"He is either the best actor I've ever seen, or he really does genuinely mean it. Have I ever heard a stallion say 'goodie'??" Pushing those thoughts aside, Lyra looked at the small schoolhouse as they approached. "Looking at its size, I'm going to assume there is no proper music room?"

Dusk gave a bit of an embarrassed sigh, quickly coming down to earth from his previous high. "Unfortunately, no. Not even a proper magic practice room with shielded walls. Ponyville isn't nearly the same quality as SSU. I'm sure I can find more money in the local budget, but so far as magistrate, I only handle government institutions. Ponyville school is technically a private school, founded by Filthy Rich's father bec-"

"Because of a trade agreement between Mr. Rich and Granny Smith for a guaranteed supply of Zap Apple jam every year. I said I did my reading, Dusk."

Both embarrassed and happy to encounter somepony who could keep up with him, Dusk ran a hand through his hair, while nodding. “Oh, yeah, right! Sorry.”

Lyra looked around the crowded room of students and teachers, picking out those few faces shi had met during hir time in Ponyville, as well as trying to pick out the few others that had been detailed in hir briefing. “There is Miss Cheerilee, Aura the mayor’s daughter, Scootaloo, the filly temporarily adopted by Nurse Redheart, Diamond Tiara the daughter of Filthy Rich, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. I guess I forgot that there are nearly a hundred ponies in this school including all the foals and staff.”

Dusk’s voice dropped off, and shi realized he must have finished his speech to the students, and now it was hir turn to step up to the small assembly of students. Lyra gave them a wave before folding hir hands over hir stomach, speaking up. “Hello students, teachers. It is my pleasure to finally get to meet you all. My name is Lyra Heartstrings, and I’ve been hired to be your music teacher, as well as running a general fitness class for those of you who are not part of Rainbow Dash’s flight training. And for those unicorns in the crowd, I’ve been asked to look into some basic magic training, though obviously I’ll probably still have guest speakers from the community who have special talents relevant to the lesson at hand.”

That had been hard, but nowhere near as painful as what shi had to say next. Still worried it was a lot for the fillies and colts to take in, Lyra looked around the room, giving them time to digest it all. At last, she glared at Dusk for a moment before standing up a little taller. “Finally, before I take questions, I am required by Masquerade's Law to inform you all that I am a child of Evening Rose, also known as an intersex mare.”

While a few of the foals in the room started muttering to one another at this, Dusk surprised hir by stepping up beside hir again, and squeezing hir shoulder with one hand. “Remember, everypony, Masquerade’s Law applies to all of your teachers. It’s for your protection that a very personal detail about your new teacher had to be shared. So remember, if a teacher, doctor, or another adult ever asks you to go somewhere private with them, you need to be aware that they may be out to harm you. And remember, all your teachers have pamphlets on both Masquerade’s Law, and the children of Evening Rose, should you or your parents ever have any questions.”

Lyra almost felt bad for having doubted Dusk before. “He really is a decent stallion after all, there is no way he could have known, yet he already knew so much about my people.” As Dusk’s touch softened and he finished his talking to the foals, she straightened up, and pushed aside the uncomfortable emotional moment she had just been forced to reveal so publicly. “Thank you, Magistrate Dusk Shine.” And this time, she really meant it. “Now then students, I will take questions for a few minutes.”

Instantly Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and a few other foals Lyra didn’t recognize arm’s shot up simultaneously. Hesitant for a moment, Lyra let their hands hover in the air, before at last pointing to the gray haired filly sitting beside Diamond Tiara. “Yes, you? The filly with the gray hair?”

Standing up and straightening her skirt, Silver Spoon smiled down at her friend before straightening up. “So should we call you Miss Heartstrings like we do for Miss Cheerilee? Or is there a better pronoun to use?”

“A smart question, but I wonder if it’s hers or if she is just asking for Diamond Tiara. The report on her father also mentioned she is keen, and sometimes manipulative.” Lyra was kind of surprised that she found herself doubting a foal’s intentions, but pushed it aside and focused on the standing foal’s question. “While Miss is acceptable, I’d rather you called me Lyra. I’m not the same kind of teacher as Miss Cheerilee, so don’t let it distract you. Next?”

Again the arms shot up, this time, Lyra simply pointed at Sweetie Belle, expecting the filly had an easy-to-answer question. “Does… does that mean that magic classes will take us away from some other class? Um... or...?”

“I’ll have to talk with your other teachers about that, but I hope to simply have magic classes at the same time as the pegasi are doing flight training. This includes those earth ponies who have talents that allow them to use their nature and growing magic purposefully, rather than passively like most earth ponies.”

Now there was some quiet clamor among the foals, as earth ponies did make up the majority of the class. When the foals didn't quiet down, Lyra put two fingers on her lips and blew a sharp whistle. "Quiet down foals. I'll take one last question before we end and return you to your classes."

This time she didn't need to pick, Diamond Tiara had stood up and spoke over the still rumbling talk of her classmates. "Excuse me for asking what might seem obvious, but some of us have already learned some music from private tutors. Are we to be held back by our classmates who are too busy digging up corn and carrots to learn how to hold a flute?"

Lyra had expected something like this at some point. "She is just a spoiled rich girl, but her father owns the school, and even if the city helps fund extra programs, not like I can knock her around just for asking a smart question. She probably does know her music though."

"Oh, I promise I'll make sure to take full advantage of your previous teachers’ training. Once I've properly assessed what you know, I'll find work to keep you busy. Have you ever written music, dear? How about composing an opera? No? For shame! I'd finished my second song by the time I was your age dear, and my music teacher was pushing me to take up opera. Don't worry, I'll see to making sure your talent isn't wasted!"

Scootaloo skipped out of final period. It was just another arts and crafts project. Why waste her time? Not when Dusk was up to something this exciting!

Thankfully, he had lingered outside her classroom talking with Miss Cheerilee, so sneaking out of a window while everypony else was occupied was easy. Crouching behind the schoolyard fence, she waited. The soft crunch of one pony walking up the path alone snagged her attention, so she leaned in to peer through a knotthole in the fence while staying out of sight. "It is Dusk! And he is alone. Perfect!"

Waiting until he reached the gateway of the schoolyard, Scootaloo let her book bag hang off one shoulder while she posed, leaning against the school gate in an attempt to look relaxed, and cool. Just as Dusk stepped through the gate she cleared her throat to snag his attention before attempting a knowing tone of voice. "So you move a mare built like that into the school to be our new music teacher? I don't know what game you're playing with my school, but it looks like you’re pretty proud of yourself for pulling this all off."

"Did... did he jump a little? I'm sure he jumped a little! I totally snuck up on him and everything!" Delighted at even this small victory, Scootaloo relished in managing to catch Dusk in the middle of some scheme, but that feeling didn't last long.

"Scootaloo! You've got class! Why are you out here?!" Dusk groaned and rubbed an open palm across his face, and Scootaloo's heart fell.

Stammering, she tried pushing the stallion back to the more interesting topic. "Aww, come on, Dusk! You can tell me what's up! Is somepony doing something dangerous in the school?! Maybe a secret griffon spy has infiltrated the teachers, and now you've hired Lyra as our bodyguard while you try to root out their motive?"

Even Dusk wasn't so humorless as to let the filly's enthusiasm go totally ignored. "No, Scootaloo, I swear there is no secret spy ring to break up, or a hidden invasion of buffalo we just haven't told you about. You are just trying to skip class. Don't make me give Dash work outside Ponyville for a week to punish you for skipping school." Dusk let that hang in the air between them for a minute before throwing her just a little bait. "Besides, we dealt with those two last week."

Now wide-eyed, the filly began jumping from one foot to the other in excitement, hardly able to form a proper sentence. "Really!! Did Dash help? I BET SHE COULD TOTALLY TAKE ON A BUFFALO HERD! How come nopony told me!??"

Dusk was laughing on the inside as he watched the filly's eyes go wide and the way she hopped from one foot to the other, it was all so cute and charming, but it was a silly idea. "It is not like that, Scootaloo. Things aren't always that crazy around town. It's not like something crazy like that happens every wee-"

The afternoon air was split by the sudden rapid song of a pegasus whistle calling out in the otherwise calm sky.

Bouncing with excitement, Scootaloo started translating the whistle. "It's Thunderlane! I remember the sound of his whistle from practice with Dash! He wants... he is looking for... umm... Oh! He has found a known fugitive, Dusk! He wants to know where you are!" Reaching for her own brass whistle, she started to lift it to her lips when Dusk gave his own reply, of sorts.

The brilliant royal blue flare Dusk launched up into the sky had soft pink highlights. Instantly, the fatigued stallion twisted around and dove into a deep descent, his wings folded onto his side to accelerate his pace. Scootaloo wondered how much Dusk could pick up but the stallion was watching the same distant figure she was.

"Dusk, that's gotta be Thunderlane. I'd recognize his feather color anywhere. Have you figured out what he is signaling about?"

The sudden familiar voice from behind them caught her attention, making her spin around and grin with glee. "I told him, Rainbow Dash! It's a fugitive alert, isn't it?"

Dash tousled a hand through Scootaloo’s hair and gave her a grin. "Damn right, kid. And the only fugitive around Ponyville I know of, is Tr-"

Dusk shook his head, quickly cutting her off. "No, Dash, listen. Doesn't the long hold, double pause, triple short mean leader or weather command?"

Thunderlane broke out of his dive and into a run, two pegasi Scootaloo didn't recognize following him. Rushing to Dusk's side, the stallion struggled to salute between gasping for breath. Dusk made everypony wait to question the stallion until he had caught his breath. "Dusk, Dash. The black lotus smuggler! She's back!"

Smug, Scootaloo gave Dusk a nudge with her hip. "And you said something exciting doesn't happen every week!"

Author's Notes:

Tired, water tank broke but is fixed now, so I'm going back to bed. You know what to do!

First attempt at a combination of two episodes into one chapter. Is it going well so far? Don't judge too harshly, the action really picks up in part two.

See you next time, space cowboy!