1055 AD, November 10th

“Heh… didn’t think you’d come talk to me. At least not right now…”

“It’ll take time to pack everything up, so I might as well get… whatever this is out of the way.”

“Yeah, cool. I get that.”

“… Well? Make it quick.”

Vinyl nodded, not at all perturbed by Nightmare Moon’s harsh tone, and came to a stop. She turned to face her, but didn’t look up. Her entire body language spoke clearly of the awkwardness between them.

Nightmare Moon tapped her right forehoof impatiently, her gaze focused on her soldiers working to pack the Resonator and the equipment back into the chariot.

She could also see Octavia standing a bit away and giving her a scathing glare.

“If you do anything to her…”

‘Oh, what could you do if I did? I could flay Vinyl alive with magic and you wouldn’t be able to do a thing to stop me.’

The thought left a very bad taste in her mouth and a weight in her belly.

Looking away and realizing that the DJ still hadn’t spoken, Nightmare Moon’s temper flared, and her throat vibrated with a deep growl.

She didn’t have to spare time to talk to Vinyl; after all, what reason did they have to speak after their last encounter? Vinyl made it clear that she no longer wished to be acquaintances. Nightmare Moon had given her a chance, said that she would be rewarded, reassured her worries, but Vinyl refused to listen and see reason.

So why in Tartarus was she humouring her with a chat?

“Vin-”

“It was a dick move.”

Nightmare Moon pulled her head back slightly in confusion. “What?”

Vinyl lifted her head, magically pushed her glasses up over her horn, and said, “You lying to me for four years – it was a dick move.”

“This again?” Nightmare Moon made a noise of aggravation. “I said before that-”

“I get why you did it,” Vinyl continued with a steely glint in her red eyes. “You did it so you could infiltrate the Royal Court and all that… secret agent spy crap. Still, it was a dick move.”

“… So long as you acknowledge my reasons for it.”

“And you…” Here, Vinyl hesitated and visibly swallowed. “You friggin’ used me to further your own goals, you know? That… that really hurts.”

Nightmare Moon huffed indignantly. “You act as if you’re the only pony who’s ever had that done to them. At the very least, I tried to reimburse you for your help, if you recall.”

“Look, you don’t…” Vinyl squeezed her eyes shut and placed a hoof against her head. “Ugh, there’s… Do you honestly not get why I don’t want to be rewarded for something like this? I don’t want to be remembered as the pony who helped get the princesses overthrown; I want to be remembered as just… that super-cool DJ with the smoking hot wife!”

“You’d have a more significant place in history if you chose to be remembered for the former, but…” Nightmare Moon shrugged. “Fine. If you don’t want your involvement to be mentioned, then I won’t say anything.”

“Wait, have you been saying it?”

“Only I and my Praetorian Guard know. And you and your wife, of course.”

Vinyl breathed a sigh of relief. “Alright, cool… cool.”

Another lengthy pause caused Nightmare Moon to shift restlessly and mutter, “Is that all you wished to say to me?”

“No, there’s something else… I wanted to, uh… you know…” She looked away awkwardly. “Say sorry and crap…”

“Oh?” Nightmare Moon hadn’t expected that and her eyebrows rose in surprise. “What for, exactly?”

“For saying… shit, I’m bad at these…” She cleared her throat. “For saying that you’re like a robot and implying you don’t care about us… about me. It’s just… I knew ‘Star Secret’, not Nightmare Moon.”

“We are both-”

“Yeah, I know you’re the same, but I had just found that out the night we went at each other’s throats, so I was, uh…”

“Emotionally charged,” Nightmare Moon finished with a reluctant nod of agreement. “Yes, I admit that I was… at fault for not keeping calm. I told myself that I would, but…”

“Yeah, so…” Vinyl started idly drawing circles on the ground with one hoof. “It was hard to think of you as the same mare I’d known for four years; the same one who was my best mare and got my ass out of that closet. ‘Cause seriously… you’re, like… super-huge and look like you wanna eat everypony.”

“Only a few…” Nightmare Moon said dismissively. “Honestly, nopony who angers me looks very appetizing.”

Vinyl chuckled and shook her head in bemusement. “That’s… After that fight, I started thinking, and I realized that… when we were arguing… you were pretty much acting exactly how ‘Wolf’ would have acted if I said those things to her face. You know – getting super-upset, speaking weirdly, and having trouble talking when it comes to friendship and crap.”

“I do not do that,” Nightmare Moon bristled with a sour expression. She wasn’t so easy to read that somepony as boisterous as Vinyl could pick it up. “I am easily able to discuss matters of fr-friendship and their-”

“You’re doing it now.”

“…”

Well… any two ponies who had been in another’s company for long enough could pick these things up, no matter how much tact they lacked.

“So once I thought that…” Vinyl continued. “I started feeling bad because I said all that stuff about you not caring when I knew that you, Wolf, had trouble showing it.”

Hearing Vinyl refer to her by that moniker again… it felt… nice.

“And… well, gotta say that it’s pretty badass that you still care. I mean, you could have just been acting like you did and turned me to stone when you were done.”

“How do you know I’m not still acting right now?” Nightmare Moon could not help but point that out in both parts curiosity and pessimism.

“Because you wanted to keep being friends when you revealed yourself; you even said how you enjoyed me, Octavia, Fancypants, and Fleur’s company,” Vinyl shrugged. “Anyway, what’s there to gain by pretending to be friends? My music’s off the hook and crap, but I don’t think it’ll actually help you remain in power.”

It pleased Nightmare Moon to hear the DJ using logic and thinking clearly, without emotion obscuring and clouding her head.

And – as much as she didn’t want to admit it – it wasn’t as if Nightmare Moon was exempt from blame; she even told herself to expect confrontation and to remain calm, but Vinyl’s words had struck closer and harder to home than she realized.

They made her feel uncomfortable and wrong, so she had responded with what felt natural: anger and indignation.

To think that this uncouth and loud DJ could unbalance her so easily without even trying…

“So point is…” Vinyl rubbed the back of her neck with red cheeks. “I’m… sorry I said all those things.”

An apology was not what Nightmare Moon had expected, but it was welcome.

“Well, Vinyl, I-”

“But you have to say you’re sorry, too!”

“… What?”

Vinyl’s resolve was solid as she stared up at Nightmare Moon, unflinching and expectant. “You have to say sorry for lying to me and manipulating everypony for all those years.”

“… Vinyl, I sincerely doubt an apology will have any sort of effect considering how-”

“Nope! No big words! Say you’re sorry and then we can get this friendship – our one at least – back on the road.”

Nightmare Moon had… considerable difficulty with apologies. Fake ones, no problem – genuine ones, not so much.

And a fake one wasn’t going to win over Vinyl.

Which was not too much of an issue since… well, she did want Vinyl back.

Though she would never allow it to affect how she ruled Equestria, Nightmare Moon’s fight with Vinyl had left her feeling… a lot of emotions she didn’t enjoy feeling.

She tried to ignore it, tried telling herself that losing somepony whose company she enjoyed was a minor loss compared to what she had gained, but that infernal, Vinyl-shaped part of her psyche refused to be lied to, and continued throbbing pitifully.

Hating how she had allowed somepony to sneak their way into her heart consumed energy and time she couldn’t waste, so she didn’t do it anymore.

‘The idea of having Vinyl as an associate again is an appealing notion. Yes, her words stung, but if she is willing to look past what I have done – necessary as it was – then surely I can do the same?’

“…” Nightmare Moon wetted her lips and nodded. “Very well. Vinyl… I am s… I am s-sorry…” A flash of irritation passed through her as she cleared her throat. “I am sorry for lying to you and manipulating you for all these years. The others, too, of course.”

Vinyl’s expectant expression remained for a bit, but then a glint of playfulness shined in her gaze. “Well, well…”

“What?”

“Oh, nothing…” The tight line that made up Vinyl’s mouth slowly curled into a broad smirk. “Just stoked because, you know… I just made the friggin’ Empress of Equestria apologize!”

“And thus the crowning achievement of your life reveals itself…” Nightmare Moon grumbled. “You must be so proud.”

“Hellz yeah I’m proud!” Vinyl laughed with an affirming nod. Her horn lit up and her glasses slid down to cover her eyes. “So now that we got all that mushy stuff out of the way, let’s talk about how friggin’ awesome it is that we don’t have to worry about creeps in armor droppin’ down on our asses!”

“Yes, it is ‘awesome’,” Nightmare Moon agreed, perking up upon being reminded of her latest accomplishment. “The Resonator worked far better than I expected. There is still the matter of finding the other Fractures in Equestria and closing them as well, but today is a good day.”

“Uh, Empress?”

Ebony had made her way over to them, a gilded chest held in her magical grasp.

Nightmare Moon held up one hoof to the DJ. “A moment, if you will?” Placing the hoof back down, she turned to take the chest and open it to confirm that the Elements were inside. The sight of them and the aura they gave out even when inert sent shivers down her spine. “Good. Have you packed everything up?”

“More or less,” Ebony replied with an uncertain glance to the side. “Twilight and Sunset are arguing again, but Fade reckons it’s just foreplay at this point.”

Vinyl guffawed loudly and said, “Isn’t there some law against that crap?”

Ebony shrugged. “Indecent behaviour in public, sure, but we can’t exactly arrest them if it’s just words and subtext,” It took a moment for Ebony to realize exactly who she was talking to and blinked in surprise. “O-oh! DJ Pon-3, I didn’t…” Her gaze switched between Nightmare Moon and Vinyl. “Am I interrupting something?”

“No.”

“Nah, you’re cool.”

“Oh good…”

“I’ll take the chest back myself,” Nightmare Moon shut the chest’s lid and held it aloft to the side. “I don’t trust these being anywhere near Twilight.”

Ebony saluted and headed back towards the chariot. Some of the Eclipse made the mistake of taking down the road blocks when they weren’t ordered to, so she was quick to loudly reprimand them.

“Jeez…” Vinyl watched her go, impressed. “You really got a force working for you, eh?”

“It’s still far from what I wish for them to be, but it’s better than nothing,” Nightmare Moon said, watching her Right Hoof shout down several guards before turning back to the DJ. “At any rate, I am… pleased that we have re-established our companionship, but I really must return to the castle.”

“Yeah, nah, I get it,” Vinyl said with an easy-going shrug. “Running Equestria – that’s a job I certainly wouldn’t want. But if you get any time to yourself, ya wanna go hang out? Just like old times?”

“Old times meaning that you get into trouble and I have to pull your tail out of the fire?”

“Is there any better way to have fun?”

Nightmare Moon grinned and allowed herself a brief chuckle with a shake of her head. “It really is good to see you again.”

“Same here, Wolf. Same here.”

It was rare for Big Mac to pick up Apple Bloom from school.

Filly she may be, but she was still old enough to see herself home before curfew, and she had Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo for company and safety.

When she did need to be picked up for whatever reason, Applejack was often the one who went; her stall was in the town anyway so it seemed logical. The only times Big Mac had to go was if Applejack was feeling under the weather, or he had made plans to take Apple Bloom on an outing.

Right now, he was picking Apple Bloom up because Applejack was still imprisoned somewhere in Canterlot and he had only gotten his youngest sibling back recently, so he was… understandably paranoid and maybe a bit overprotective.

He felt it was a natural response however.

Walking at a brisk trot along the dirt path and giving quiet nods of acknowledgement to the Ponyville residents that passed by with a cheery – and often sympathetic – wave, it wasn’t long before the school came into view. The final bell had already rung and a few of the students’ parents were already waiting outside to greet the onrush of fillies and colts with cheerful smiles.

Big Mac smiled warmly as he saw Derpy hoist her unicorn daughter onto her back and hover into the air. The small filly laughed in delight, hooves wrapped tightly around her mother’s neck.

“Hey, you’re Apple Bloom’s brother, huh?”

Big Mac tore his gaze from the mother and daughter and looked straight ahead. Seeing nopony, he glanced to the left, the right, and then finally looked down at the rather dopey expression of Snails.

“…” Big Mac cocked an eyebrow in slight concern as he watched Snails’ eyes s-l-o-w-l-y cross together and focus on some point on his nose. “Eeyup.”

“Oh, cool!” Snails’ eyes snapped back into focus and he turned to gesture towards the schoolhouse. “Oh, well, Apple Bloom’s in there. She got into a fight with Diamond Tiara.”

Big Mac furrowed his brow. “Verbal-like?”

Snails squinted up at him and scratched his head. “Er… dunno what that word means, but it was a real bad fight this time; both parties escalated from trading insults and threats to physical confrontation which required the intervention of an authority figure.”

Big Mac was shocked to hear this, but didn’t let it faze him for too long. “Alright, thanks. You take care now, ya hear?” He said as he walked past Snails.

“D’ohkay, I will.” Snails waved goodbye and started walking home.

Halfway towards the schoolhouse, Big Mac paused and turned to watch the colt’s retreating figure with an expression of complete befuddlement.

‘Did he just…?’

… Deciding that getting to the bottom of this fight was more important than following up on a possible savant, Big Mac made his way into the schoolhouse, parting his legs in surprise when a particularly energetic pegasus filly buzzed through them.

“Oh, hello, Macintosh,” Cheerilee greeted from her desk, a look of delight, frustration, and sympathy creating crinkles in her brow. “I was hoping you’d drop by,” She gestured with a foreleg towards the almost-empty room. “It seems we’ve had a… bit of an incident.”

Big Mac followed her gesture and his massive frame expanded with a great sigh.

Sitting in the front row but at opposite ends were Diamond Tiara and Apple Bloom.

The former of the two was without her tiara, but only because it had been warped into something less worthy of admiration, most likely by somepony using it in place of a hammer. Her forelegs were crossed and her face was set in an exaggerated pout that drew attention away from her black eye and to the black and blue bruise covering her right cheek.

Apple Bloom, on the other hoof, was staring down at the desk, unable to meet his gaze, and pressing a bloody tissue against her nose. Her bow had been torn, but she still wore it faithfully. He couldn’t be certain if that was the only injury, but it was the only one he could see at first glance.

Shaking his head in disappointment, Big Mac turned his gaze to Cheerilee and said, “What happened?”

“Well…” Cheerilee began in an exasperated tone that had seen a lot of usage during her years as a teacher. “It seems as though Diamond Tiara made a few… remarks that set Apple Bloom off.”

“Ah’m guessin’ she threw the first punch?” Big Mac sighed.

“I’m afraid so.”

“I didn’t even say anything!” Diamond Tiara protested. She blanched at the two adults’ deadpan expressions and muttered sullenly, “Okay, but, like… the usual stuff I say! And I said that to Scootaloo; I didn’t even get to think up an insult before she came over, hit me, and started messing up my beautiful tiara!”

Apple Bloom grumbled incoherently into the tissue as her nemesis started fussing over her accessory.

“Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Silver Spoon had to hold them both back until I arrived,” Cheerilee continued with an admonishing shake of her head directed at the two foals. “This isn’t the first time they’ve butted heads, but it’s the first time they’ve, er… literally butted heads.”

“And she has the unfair advantage by having such a thick skull,” Diamond Tiara interjected. “No wonder she’s so dumb.”

Bang

Apple Bloom slammed the hoof holding the tissue against her nose onto the desk and shouted with an accusing point of her other hoof, “Miss Cheerilee reads out our test scores an’ ah’m only a few points behind ya! Why do ya’ll keep sayin’ ah’m dumb?”

“Does it annoy you?”

“Yeah it does!”

Diamond Tiara held out her forelegs in a ‘there you go’ expression.

“Ah’ll make sure to set her straight,” Big Mac told Cheerilee before turning to his sister and jerking his head towards the exit with a firm expression. “Up an’ at ‘em, missy.”

“Don’t you giggle either, Diamond,” Cheerilee warned when she noticed the pink filly snickering behind her hooves. “I’ll be sure to have a word with your father about your behaviour.”

Seeing her nemesis’ sour face brought some joy to Apple Bloom, though once she saw Big Mac’s stern face, her mood took a nosedive, and she shuffled out the schoolhouse with her tail between her legs. Big Mac bid Cheerilee farewell with a parting nod and grunt before exiting as well.

Once they were outside and a few yards away from the schoolhouse, Big Mac rounded on Apple Bloom with a firm glare.

“… Ah know ah shouldn’t have hit her,” Apple Bloom said – voice slightly muffled behind the tissue – and her ears drooped in shame. “Ah jes’ got so angry an’ ah don’t know why…”

Big Mac’s right eyebrow rose.

“Yeah…” She nodded in agreement and her large eyes shone wetly. “Ah miss her an’… an’ ah feel like ah should have done something… anything.”

Big Mac’s glare softened into a sympathetic look.

“Maybe…” Apple Bloom didn’t look convinced. “But yer right; that doesn’t mean ah should be takin’ mah anger out on the wrong pony… even if they are a jerk.”

Big Mac sighed and closed his eyes as he shook his head.

“Ah guess that’s fair. Ah’m sorry, Big Mac…”

Big Mac smiled fondly and bent down to nuzzle her.

“Heh heh – thanks, bro. Yer th’ best!”

Big Mac rose back up and tilted his head questioningly.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Apple Bloom glanced at her side, where a bruise was forming just beneath her ribs. “Diamond Tiara jes’ got me good is all,” She shook her head in bemusement. “Ya know – for a prissy filly, she’s got a mean right hook.”

Big Mac knew he shouldn’t laugh, but couldn’t help but give a short chuckle. “Eeyup.”

WHAM

Upon turning and finding that all of the apples had fallen into their baskets, Clockwork grinned and pumped his hoof in victory, a fine layer of sweat and grime covering his rust-coloured coat.

“Grain Sprout! Hey, Grain Sprout!”

A few trees over, Grain Sprout placed a wicker basket underneath a branch heavy with apples before looking over. “What?”

“Not one of dem hit da dirt,” Clockwork puffed out his chest like a proud rooster. “Not bad for a ‘city-boy’, eh?”

“Nopony was calling you out on that,” Grain Sprout replied and turned to set up into the ‘prime apple-bucking position’ that Big Mac had shown them. “I’m sure he was just happy you work as hard as you do.”

“Ah, what’s da point in doing a job if ya don’t put everything ya got into it?”

“You weren’t this eager when you were a guard,” Grain Sprout pointed out. Lining up, he raised his back hooves and delivered a strong buck to the tree. To his annoyance, only half of the apples fell into the pre-set baskets. “Son of a… Anyway, the only reason you’re so eager to do this is because you want to impress your boyfriend.”

“Dat’s not… da only reason!” Clockwork awkwardly drew circles in the dirt before asking, “Ya reckon he swings dat way?”

Grain Sprout gave a shrug as he started picking up the apples that missed. “No idea – big guy barely says two words. Plus, he’s probably too distracted to even think of a relationship. His sister’s the Element of Honesty, remember?”

“Shit, right, right…” Clockwork nodded with a dejected frown. “Always goda fall for da hard-to-get ones…”

“There are plenty of other stallions around here…” Grain Sprout pointed out. “I mean… well, not in comparison to the amount of mares, but there’s definitely more than ten, so why don’t you try giving them a shot? Oh hey, he got back fast.”

Both stallions watched Big Mac and Apple Bloom trot up on the path to Sweet Apple Acres. The large stallion said something to his youngest sibling and the filly responded with a nod, and then she raced up towards the house.

“Did she have a bloody nose?”

Clockwork nodded and his brow drew together in concern. “Hope she isn’t in any trouble.”

“Yesterday she was muttering something about two bullies at her school,” Grain Sprout said. “I heard her talking about it to Willow yesterday.”

“Makes sense,” Clockwork nodded again. “He’s da only one in our platoon who actually has kids.”

“Prime does, too, but that’s… yeah, he doesn’t say much about it.”

Big Mac took notice of them and gave a short wave which they returned. After that, he walked over towards the shed, most likely to finish repairing the plough.

Clockwork leered openly as he watched the hulk of a stallion walk away before turning to his friend. “You see dem muscles? Dat ass? Yeah, dere’s odder stallions around, but none of dem got da body he has.”

“Fair enough,” Grain Sprout agreed with a single bob of his head. “Faust knows I love a mare with some ‘oomph’. Pegasi and unicorns… they’re just…”

“Pretty lanky, eh?”

“Eeyup.”

“Hey, kiddo – how was sch- land sakes, girl! What happened to yer nose?”

One ear pricking up in alarm, Willow continued stirring the batter in the mixing bowl with his magic while trotting out into the living room. There, he caught sight of Apple Bloom with a bloody tissue pressed against her nose and a look of shame.

“Ah got in a… lil’ disagreement with Diamond Tiara…”

Granny Smith thinned her lips and gave a scolding glare as she leaned forwards in her rocking chair. “Why ya spendin’ yer time fightin’ when ya could be learnin’?”

Apple Bloom winced and replied, “Ah wasn’t thinkin’. Ah’m sorry, granny.”

The genuine apology curbed the old mare’s wrath; she leaned back and softened her expression. “Big Mac done dolled out yer punishment?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Alright then – scoot your boot an’ get cleaned up.”

Willow waited until the young filly had gone up the stairs to the bathroom before entering, drawing Granny Smith’s attention.

“Fighting?”

“Ah had an inkling something like this might happen,” Granny Smith said with a weary sigh. “Could see it in her eyes when she came back; all tense an’ full of more energy than a Zap Apple,” She shook her head and smiled sadly at him. “She’s real close with her sister; puts her up on a pedestal high as all outdoors.”

Willow nodded in understanding. “Maybe I should talk to her?”

“Nah,” She waved off the notion. “She’s an independent sort that grandchild of mine; she’ll talk to her friends before she’ll talk to us,” Her joints creaked as she shrugged and rocked back. “Nothin’ wrong with it; her friends were with her th’ entire time she was up in Canterlot, so they can relate.”

“True…”

Granny Smith glanced towards the stairs for a moment and then back to Willow. Just before he left, she called out, “So how’ve ya’ll been, Willow? Ain’t talked much lately.”

“Oh, the usual,” Willow answered, turning back to her and shrugging casually. “Went to go see Cotton Puff yesterday.”

“How’s he handlin’ those critters?”

Willow pursed his lips.

“What the bloody hell?!” Cotton Puff rummaged through Fluttershy’s pantry madly, spilling assorted pet foods across the kitchen floor. “Did you animals get in here?! How’d you bloody do…?”

Slamming the doors shut, Cotton Puff twirled and set his narrowed, twitching eyes to the middle of the floor.

“You…”

Angel met his cold glare calmly and popped a diced carrot into his mouth.

“I’m gonna make mittens from your fur!”

Angel threw his arms out to the side.

“Come at me, bro!”

“Well, the jackalopes aren’t trying to eat him anymore, so… that’s something.”

“What about, er… th’ fella that saved Pinkie?”

“Virtue’s fine. He loves books, so he’s right at home in Golden Oaks.”

“Tha’s good to hear,” Granny Smith said, her rocking steady and meticulous. There was something calming about the punctual creaking. “Ah know ya’ll are city-folk boys, so it must be drainin’ work in these here rural hills, hm?”

Willow hummed thoughtfully for a bit before shaking his head. “Not really. Clockwork’s adapted pretty well, Grain Sprout’s content with pretty much anything, Virtue likes the quiet, and I grew up on a farm before I became a guard.”

Noticing his pause, she asked, “What’s Cotton Puff thinkin’?”

“He’s still antsy, but I think it’s less to do with Ponyville and more with Nightmare Moon.”

“Mm…” Granny Smith made a soft sound of agreement. “But ah reckon he’s not th’ only one feelin’ like that?”

Willow snorted with a half-smile and temporarily stopped his stirring. “That obvious, are we?”

Returning the smile, Granny Smith tapped her temple. “Ah may be getting’ old and forgettin’ things, but ya’ll young’uns are as easy to read as a coyote near a chicken coop.”

Resisting the urge to point out he wasn’t necessarily ‘young’ – though considering her age compared to him… - Willow replied, “Yeah, we’re all still thinking about what’s going on in Canterlot. We want to do something, but we’re not sure what. Cotton Puff’s… He’s just taking it the hardest. Not a happy past, so the Royal Guard means a lot to him. Having it disbanded and being unable to do anything about it is… pretty damn depressing.”

“It’s a bad feeling – helplessness…” Granny Smith said in a way that gave Willow no reason to doubt that she was talking from personal experience. She looked over at him, gravelly. “Watch out for them, will ya? Ah get these trembles from time to time. They’re usually nothin’, but…”

“But?”

“Ah got them on th’ day I lost mah daughter and son.”

“Why do I have to get it?” Lyra grumbled as she dropped the bat on the ground and stomped over to the barricade. “You guys are pegasi!”

“You’re the one that hit it over,” Flitter retorted haughtily. “Only fair that you should get it.”

“Whatever – you guys just… ungh…” Lyra grunted as she started climbing the two-metre tall obstruction. “Just wanna be alone so you can… ugh… sex it up in front of everypony!”

Cinnamon blushed beet-red underneath her umpire mask while Flitter just rolled her eyes. “If we were going to sex it up, it’d be in privacy, Miss Exhibitionist.”

“Hey! Bonbon was the one that sweet-talked me into doing it in Sugarcube Corner and those curtains were poorly hung-up!”

Lyra balanced on top of the barricade for a moment before hopping straight down on the other side. A few of the grazers from the other world or… whatever jumped at her sudden appearance, but simply pranced away to another spot to eat.

The cumulus-ball, fortunately, had not gone anywhere near the Everfree; it sat between two grazers and was being mercilessly assaulted by their long tongues.

“Aw, come on!” Lyra took a few steps forwards and picked the ball up in her magic, shuddering even though she couldn’t actually feel the slime. “Ew, why is their spit purple?”

She gave the ball a few shakes to get rid of the slime; it looked like it was starting to harden, and she didn’t even want to think about what would happen if it-

“…”

At the edge of the Everfree forest, a glinting light emerged and revealed its full form.

Floating through the air, a spherical, metal object approached her, its alabaster surface marked with scratches and what seemed to be soot. Two skeletal fins fanned out backwards from its sides and a single red eye peered out from its ‘face’.

Lyra cautiously took a step back as it floated towards her. The lack of noise it made was disconcerting; there was no flapping of wings, no hum or twinkle of magic, and no whirr of machinery to suggest how it remained aloft.

The grazers didn’t seem to mind the sphere; they didn’t even acknowledge it outside of moving out of the way when it came close.

But the sphere… it noticed her.

Part of Lyra told her that she should run, hide, climb back over the barricade, call for help, do something, but for whatever reason, she remained there, staring at her distorted reflection in the sphere’s glass eye.

When it was but a few inches from her muzzle, a random pattern of lights flashed across the row upon row of LEDs that made up its eye.

Then, just as silently as it arrived, it turned and meandered back into the Everfree.

“…”

“Hey, Lyra! What’s up?”

Lyra turned and Flitter – hovering high enough in the air to look over the barricade – frowned worriedly upon seeing her face.

“Everything okay?”

“… Soooo… a ‘thing’ just happened.”

Author's Notes:

Note 1: Interracial, interspecies, and same-sex relationships are prevalent in Equestria, and - for the most part - are widely accepted.

This was not the case in the time when Discord ruled supreme. Back then, the only relationships that were tolerated and publicly recognized were between two ponies - a stallion and a mare. It was once believed that anything that was even remotely chaotic would attract the draconequus and since any relationship that wasn't heterosexual strayed from 'the norm' of society, they were shunned and outlawed.

Ironically, it was this intolerance and fear which attracted Discord.