When I look into your eyes

There are no more boundaries.

Should we be surprised

That we are one in this reality?

Even without background music Sweetie Belle's song managed to bring silence to the room. Clearly the lyrics had brought very specific thought to everypony's mind. Twist, however, could think of only one thing — Clairvoyance. The mysterious entity had appeared, disappeared, turned up dead, then asked Sweetie Belle to sing a dedication at Twist's party.

Our avatars combine,

We're crossing all the lines.

Does it matter, though?

For we are one in this reality.

"Soul resonance," a quiet voice beside Twist said. It was Dinky. The little unicorn had been miserable for the most part of the evening. "Memories of the past or dreams destined never to happen."

"Sorry?" Twist smiled. I better get a grip on myself. If Dinks can read me, that means everypony can.

"Nothing, no matter," Dinky singled, taking another sip of her drink. Technically, she wasn't supposed to drink cider, but Twist secretly saved a bottle just for her. As her mother would say: "it's hardly a party if even one's unhappy". That was before she had learned of the song, though. Now Twist wished that she had saved a bottle for herself as well. "I just thought..." the unicorn paused. "Forget it, I don't want to depress your evening."

"Hey now, Dinks, you aren't—"

"Can I go to your room for a bit?" Dinky didn't let her finish. "Can I go to your room for a bit? I... want to be alone for a while."

"Sure." What happened to you, Dinky? You used to be so much happier. And now because of the Web stuff I can't even have a proper conversation with you. "Is there anything I can help? You don't look like you're having too much fun."

"I'm just not good with real life," Dinky mumbled back. She didn't even try to look Twist in the eyes, instead aimlessly staring at the floor, head hung low. "Can I use your Web-gear?"

"Dinks, this is supposed to be a Web free occasion," Twist sighed. "Though, looking at you..." She nodded her head in the direction of the staircase. "Go on. Just don't do anything crazy."

For a split second a spark of joy appeared in Dinky's eyes. Without a thanks or a nod she trotted out of the room, bringing a smile to Twist's face. At least you are easy to cheer up, she thought. Sadly, in Twist's situation it would take a lot more. The party was supposed to act as a picker-upper for her, yet from what it seemed it was going to have the exact opposite effect. That is unless Twist decided to ignore the problem. After all, she could always worry about it in the morning. A few hours would hardly make any difference.

"So, this is what you do in your free time?" Snips said, trying his best not to look impressed. That didn't keep him from having a cup of cider, a zap apple sandwich and three candy canes, all levitating nearby. Apparently some things never changed. "Sweetie is good, I guess." He took a gulp of cider. "Nowhere near as good as my act, of course!"

"Few things match your act, Snips," Twist laughed. Despite everything, she liked him. Snips and Snails remained the odd pair even in their senior year. Only difference was that while Snails had grown to be quite the catch, although intellectually a bit dim, Snips had pretty much remained as he was in middle school. "Where is Snails, by the way?"

"Trying to convince his 'marefriend' to show up," the small, plump unicorn grumbled before gulping down the rest of his cider. "As if she would. I've been telling that idiot she's just using him, but does he listen? Nooooo way! It's like he's on the moon or something."

Tell me about it. Twist smiled sympathetically. This reminded her too much of her failed romance with Truffle. It had started wonderfully, when they were younger, but gradually, Twist had started to ask herself questions. Both their cutie-marks were food related, so that was a plus... unfortunately, as they grew older their common interests became less and less. Truffle wanted to become a famous chef, Twist had started exploring the Web. He loved hiking, she preferred indoor sports. She loved music, he preferred radio shows. At one point Twist had gathered the courage to tell him things weren't working between them and that she was willing to make some changes in her life, so that their relationship went back to what it was before. Much to her shock, Truffle had beat her to it, only to announce they were breaking up. As far as the world was concerned, Twist had taken it quite well. Deep inside, though, she had hurt for months, crying when no pony was watching.

"So, I take it he won't show?" Twist offered Snips to refill his cup with juice.

"Hay if I know," he shrugged, levitating his cup away. "I've known him my entire life, and still, the moment he gets a letter from her he ignores me completely. Thank Celestia she's one of those who refuse to use the Web."

"Right."Definitely sounds like a real piece of work. I really feel for you, Snips. When Apple Bloom started spending more time with the CMC than with me, I felt quite rotten. "If you ever want to talk to anypony about it, I'm always here."

"Thanks, Twist, but no thanks." Snips bit into his zap apple sandwich. "I'll just make fun of that knucklehead when he arrives alone." With that, he moved away.

Another complicated situation. Twist sighed. Somehow she remembered parties being much more fun. True, there were far less tears than years ago, but a lot less genuine joy also. At least Apple Bloom seemed to be hitting it off. Thanks to Sweetie Belle, who had done wonders to her mane, and Scootaloo who had been persuaded to send a Web-scroll to her Bolt rivals to join the party, Apple Bloom was now happily flirting away with quite the catch.

Sweetie Belle's song ended with a round of stomping, along with a rather intense kiss from Button Mash. She did manage to pull away, though, to mention that the song was dedicated to Twist from her special somepony. As fun as it was to have a wave of "woooo"s come from all her guests, it was a bit too much. Finding a suitable excuse, Twist sneaked out of the house for some fresh air.

"So much for school parties," she said out loud. Maybe this wasn't the best idea? Or maybe she really did need to get drunk and go wild?

"Tough day at school?" a voice asked. Turning around, Twist saw a slender unicorn she didn't know. Judging by his vest, he had to be a Bolt player. Probably one of Scootaloo's friends.

"Something like that," Twist smiled. "I take it you had a rough day as well?" The unicorn looked at her puzzled. "The tournament. The Boomdrops won, and since you are not a Boomdrop..." The sentence remained unfinished.

"Ouch," the stallion laughed. "And I was hoping you would be impressed by my gamer credentials."

Not a bad opener, although he wasn't exactly Twist's type. To be honest she wasn't sure what her type was. Nevertheless, it did feel nice to be noticed... especially out of the Web.

"Incandescence," the stallion introduced himself. "Nearly pro-Bolt champion."

"Twist." she waved her mane. "Quite the flashy name you have there. Or is it your Bolt nick?"

"Sadly, no," Incandescence sighed. "I blame my mother. Always had a too high opinion of me. Leave it to her to convince you I'm the creator of the game and am only playing to inspire others. Or something like that, at least. I bet you are a straight A student, am I right?"

"Something along those lines," Twist answered vaguely. Get yourself together, filly! I am single, alone, at a party, and standing in front of a dazzling unicorn. There's only one way things should continue from here on. For once, I should forget the Web, my job, and the ghost stalking me and take advantage of the situation! "Sorry. I'm usually not this boring. Final year of school has me thinking more than I should."

"Can't blame you for that." The unicorn moved closer to her, to the extent their shoulders touched. Twist was conscious of his advances, yet chose not to resist. "Earning silver in a tournament of two is no fun either."

The joke was stupid, but made Twist laugh.

"Well, Sweets is a merciless captain," Twist added and instantly felt like biting her lip. I'm an idiot! How could I mix up Scoots and Sweets at a time like this? Now he probably thinks I'm some stupid redmane whose job it is to smile and look sexy!

"Our captain isn't exactly a Princess either," Incandescence jested. It was an innocent phrase, something anypony would have ignored, yet to Twist it didn't sound right.

He didn't correct me, she thought. I said the wrong name and he didn't correct me. Even if he was looking for a good time he should have. Pro-gamers, even stallions, would never let that slide.

"Well, you can always pray to Arête." Twist suggested, deliberately brushing against him.

"The Mother of Hackers?" Incandescence laughed. "Somepony knows quite a lot about Web lore. Been to many Bolt tournaments?"

"A few." Twist made a step to the side. "Enough to know that Bolters never mistake the names of their captains. Who are you, really?"

Twist was expecting some sort of explanation — an elaborate lie that would attempt to brush away his mistake to something trivial. She didn't get anything of the sort. Instead a magic force-bubble formed around her restricting her movements.

"Shame," the unicorn said. A flash of his horn and Twist fell the bubble start to shrink, choking her. "I kinda liked you," his accent changed, acquiring the specific Crystal Empire intonation. "Sadly, the King stands above all others. I'll miss you, redmane."

Twist tried to shout, but force bubble had already wrapped itself tightly around her body like a daily membrane. The only thing she could do was watch helplessly, as it crushed her. The unicorn, whoever he was, just stood there, looking back. No pity could be seen in his eyes. No hatred either, just as if her death was a trivial necessity.

I can't die yet! Panic overwhelmed her. There are so many things I haven't done. I haven't even managed to find a coltfriend, for Celestia's sake! Please don't let me die crushed at my own party!

"Don't struggle," the stallion sighed. "It only makes it more painful. Just close your eyes and—"

A loud thud followed. Within instants Twist felt she could breathe again. Regaining control of her body, she did her best to remain on her hooves, while hungrily gasping for air.

"Close call there." A pink earth mare with ponytails approached, lifting the unconscious unicorn with one hoof and placing him on her back. "Are you okay, Twist?"

"Lily!" Twist managed to say, still trembling from the experience.

"Come on." Lily put a hoof around her shoulder. "Let's get you somewhere to calm down."

* * *

Winter wrap up was underway with full force. The majority of the adult population was out doing their part to ensure the changing of the seasons. Usually Twist would join them. Her mother never allowed her to take part, mostly out of fear Twist might hurt herself, but that never stopped the filly from joining in the fun and songs. Today she was going to have her first official meeting with Silver Spoon instead.

It had been a while since Twist had accepted to work form the Starswirl Conglomerate. The time had been spent in her learning everything she possibly could about the Web. Silver Spoon had provided every book imaginable on the subject, including several marked confidential. The books were simply amazing! They contained more than code, more than history; if the Web ever wrote a diary, they would be it. Everything from Princess Twilight's code principles to advanced Starswirl sector creation was there.

A lone grey pegasus split the sky above Twist, hurrying north. The filly smiled.

"Hello, Mith Ditthy!" She waved cheerfully. Much to her joy, the pegasus waved back.

Maybe this was a good omen? Twist considered. She knew, of course, that omens didn't exist, but needed a boost in courage. Although she wasn't in bad relations with Silver Spoon, the grey filly made her feel uneasy. The huge imposing mansion Silver lived in didn't help either.

A servant greeted Twist at the door. A quick "You are expected, Miss" before she could even say hello, and he took her along a long corridor to Silver's room. There he excused himself and abruptly left.

This is even scarier than the Conglomerate office. Silver swallowed, then gently knocked on the door.

"Come in, Twist." Silver Spoon's voice sounded from within.

Taking a deep breath, Twist obeyed. She didn't know what to expect of her classmate's room. What she saw, however, definitely surprised her. The room was... cheerful? Shelves of neatly arranged toys, large colourful paintings of fairytale scenes, placed upon pink walls with dancing princesses motifs... even the huge bed was more akin to a giant macaroon than a bed.

"I'm so glad you managed to make it," Silver Spoon said from her desk. "I would have chosen a better time, but—" she stopped, seeing how Twist was gawking about. "What are you staring at?"

"Your room." Twist smiled widely. "Itth beautiful!"

"Well." Silver Spoon blushed. This was the first time Twist had seen her do so. "I have taste too, you know," she said defensively, clearly uncomfortable. "I'm a filly too, you know. And would very much appreciate your discretion on the matter."

"Thorry." Twist looked at the floor.

"No, it's okay. Just... not many ponies know about this, and I would like to keep it that way."

"Doeth that mean we are friendth?" Twist beamed.

"Err no, just co-workers." Silver adjusted her glasses. "I don't have friends, Twist," she added. "I cannot afford to."

"Diamond Tiara ith your friend," Twist countered.

"Diamond is a special case. Besides she is a friend. I said I didn't have friends, plural." The grey filly frowned. "Anyway, how goes your exploration of the Web? Enjoying it so far?"

"Very!" Twist started hopping in place. "There are theethe hidden partth, where you need to use thpethial protocolth to enter. At firtht I thought it wath a bug, but then I checked the travel logth and thaw—"

"I haven't given you access to the travel logs yet," Silver said surprised.

"Thorry?" Twist smiled sheepishly.

"Twist!" Silver Spoon sighed. "Please stop doing that. Just because you are a Starswirl intern doesn't mean you could go poking around everywhere. There are rules to be followed. My idiot brother is already breathing down my neck for having a division of my own. Others find it amusing, but if you continue showing what you are capable of, they might start taking notice as well!"

"I know. It jutht wath so interethting!" Twist tried her best to look innocent. It was unlikely the act would work in front of Silver Spoon, but there was nothing lost in trying.

"It always is," Silver rolled her eyes. "So, what did you find?"

"There'th thith hacker group called Luna'th army," Twist started enthusiastically. "They are really good. No one knowth who they are exactly, but they attack Thtarthwirl cluthterth and—"

"I am familiar with Luna's Army," Silver Spoon interrupted. "I doubt there is a soul in the Conglomerate that isn't."

"Well, their attackth are not random." This caused the grey filly to pause. Leaning forward her intense glance unmistakably said Go on. "They are interethted in the Intrusion Countermeaureth Division. FLT even wrote in a log that... Thilver Thpoon?"

For some reason Silver's expression had frozen. Without a word she closed the book in front of her, then without a word stepped from behind her desk, so as to be a step away from Twist.

"Are you sure?" she whispered.

"Yeth?" Twist replied hesitantly. Did I do something wrong, Silver? I didn't mean to. I just tracked some deleted logs in some forums. I'm sure I didn't get anypony in trouble...

"I think we should pause for a bit," Silver said. "ICE Division isn't something I'm comfortable poking. They have support of the Star Chamber. Not even the board of directors can hold them accountable. If there is a war between them and Luna's army..." She waved a hoof in the air. "For now let's start with smaller fish."

"The thon of media relationth is having partith in hith mother'th offith," Twist offered tentatively. The change of topic brought a smile to Silver's face. Surprisingly it even caused her to laugh.

"There you go!" She shoved Twist. For a moment she was almost behaving like a normal filly her age. "That's something we could use to ridicule him, if nothing else. Just keep it small, for now. I don't want you to get hurt plunging in the depths."

"Aww," Twist smiled widely causing Silver to feel uncomfortable again. You really don't have many friends, do you, Silver? Your behaviour at school, the way you talk, that's not an act. You really are this way.

"Stop that!" Silver snapped, but part of her good humour was still visible. "Anyway, since it's obvious you can't stay out of trouble, I've decided to invite somepony else to join our team."

"Rumble?" Twist quickly asked.

"No, it is not Rumble." Silver Spoon gave Twist a deathly glare. "It is somepony you know, though."

Going to her bed, Silver Spoon pulled on the servants rope. Moments later there was a discrete knock on the door, followed by a maid entering along with another filly. A nod from Silver Spoon and the maid was gone. The filly, however, remained.

"Twist, you remember Lily Longsocks from class," Silver said casually. "She's agreed to help keep you safe in the real world."

* * *

"Number two spot, ten months running. Think you could do any better, jelly hooves?" Scootaloo shouted, her forelegs crossed. With Sweetie's song over, her shouting match with Diamond Tiara had resumed, shooing every other pony out of the kitchen.

"Who's number one? A one-legged mule?" Diamond yelled back. The amount of stamina the two invested in their interaction was astonishing. "If I decided I bet I could sweep the floor with you, micro-wings!"

Usually, Twist would find their "talks" amusing. At present they were giving her a headache. Her legs were still shaking, despite Lily being right next to her. Kill me. Somepony tried to kill me! she couldn't stop thinking. No demands, no negotiations, just a quick spell. If it hadn't been for Lily, he would have succeeded.

Doing her best to maintain a somewhat happy smiling appearance, Twist sat in one end of the kitchen. The table, chairs and most utensils had been moved to the living-room, making the area seem somewhat deserted. Maybe it was for the best. This way nopony could see her in such a pitiful state.

"Where do you keep your tea?" Lily asked, placing a hoof on Twist's shoulder.

"Top shelf," Twist replied. Calm breaths. Calm breaths. It is over. I'll push through this.

"Gotcha." Lily nodded, then casually trotted there, passing between Scootaloo and Dioamond. "Hey, girls. Who's losing?"

"She is!" both shouted simultaneously, only leading to a more furious argument. Despite everything, for a split second, Twist felt a smile. You did that on purpose, didn't you? Just like your father — clumsy, crude and stupid on the outside, but in effect you know exactly what you are doing all along.

That was Lily — tough as nails and strong as an ox. She definitely had it hard growing up; that's probably why she was probably better equipped to deal with life than anypony else in class. When first she came to class she kept to herself. She never talked about her family, or what her parents did, or even anything remotely related to her. The reason — she was an unplanned child, born when her parents were in their late teens. Naturally, it was Diamond Tiara who first discovered Lily's secret, and naturally shared it with Silver Spoon. It was years later that Twist learned about it, approximately six months before Lily herself came clean in front of the entire class — she was the love-child of Cherry Berry and Bulk Biceps.

"Want some tea before round two?" Lily asked taking a pot of tea leaves from the shelf.

"No!" Both Scootaloo and Diamond shouted.

"Great!" Lily ignored them. "I'll just go to the living-room to get—"

"Stop!" Scootaloo screamed in terror. Everypony in the kitchen, Twist included, stared at her. "Sweetie is there... and she has combs and brushes."

Silence followed. For several seconds nopony budged a muscle. It took a while to understand what Scootaloo meant. Just as much, to register it as a threat. Thanks, girls. Just by hanging with me you make me feel better, Twist thought.

"Oh, for goodness sake!" Diamond Tiara stomped towards the living-room door. "Give me this!" She snatched the pot from Lily's hooves. "I'll go make your stupid tea! Some mares you are! Can't stand up to one stupid unicorn!" Raging, she left the room.

"Well..." Scootaloo said after a few moments. Even she could see Twist wanted some privacy. "I'll go make sure she doesn't mess it up too much. Cool seeing you, Lily."

"Thanks, Scoots." Twist kept her smile a few seconds longer, then, when the pegasus left, exhaled deeply. This definitely wasn't how she imagined her party.

"I sent a scroll to Silver." Lily started going through the cupboard. "She should be here soon. Who was that guy?"

"No idea." Twist started trembling again. "A cultist, I think." He said as much. "The King stands above all others" is quite difficult to mistake for anything else. How did they find out about me so fast? I was careful! I was so very careful and still—

"Drink this." Lily gave Twist a small flask, stopping her train of thought. "You'll feel better."

Without hesitation, Twist obeyed. The taste was nastily sweetish. The liquid was warm, warming Twist's throat and stomach as it passed down. Definitely not alcohol. Probably something medicinal, or a herbal tonic of some sort?

"There you go." Lily took the flask back. "So you think it's connected?"

"I don't know what to think anymore. Three infected sectors, a hacker that ends up Dreamlocked, a ghost that dedicates a love song to me, and now this... I really think we are in the hay now."

"Which you wouldn't be, if you weren't so reckless all the time!" Silver Spoon said from the back door. "How many times have we been through this? Play it safe! Safe doesn't mean roaming the Web like a madmare searching for a ghost!"

"Hey, Silver," Lily greeted. "The stallion is in the basement if you need to pick him up."

"I'll have somepony deal with it." Silver Spoon said icily, entering the kitchen. For several seconds she looked around, as if searching for a suitable place to sit. I the end she remained standing in the middle of the room. "How bad is it?"

"I'm just a bit shaken," Twist lied. "He used magic, so no permanent damage. I'll be fine in a few—"

"You'll spend the rest of the night with Lily," Silver ordered firmly. "I don't care how well you think you know the ponies at your party. If it happened once, it could happen again. At some point you'll find a likely excuse then go to your room with Lily. You'll get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow both of you will skip school. I'll think of some official excuse. Once I finish school, we'll discuss this. Understood?"

Both other mares nodded.

"Good." Silver adjusted her glasses. "I'll probably have to talk to mother regarding the bundle of fun you captured," she sighed. "Which means we're unlikely to learn anything that comes from his interrogation. I find that annoying, but—"

Without warning Diamond Tiara burst in from the living room.

"Here is your stupid tea!" She growled and was about to toss the thermos she was holding at Twist, when she noticed Silver Spoon. In less than a second, her expression changed, transforming from the epitome of crankiness to one of utter joy. "Silver! You made it!"

"I certainly did, DT," Silver smiled back. "Couldn't leave you alone in a place like this, even if it is Twist's party."

"I'd certainly hope so!" Diamond tossed the tea thermos to Lily. "You have no idea what I've been through! The wingless freak brought all her Bolt friends! She's absolutely insufferable! And don't get me started on—"

"I'll join you shortly, DT." The smile never left Silver's face, but the message was clear. "It's business."

"Fiiine!" Diamond rolled her eyes. "Just don't take forever!" She trotted out.

"Seems like I'll spend some time here, after all," Silver said displeased. "Lily, if you need anything, just send a Web-scroll. And please try to keep Twist out of trouble."

"Sure thing." The pink mare nodded. Apparently that was enough for Silver, who probably left for the living room.

Twist remained in her place for another ten minutes, until the tea and whatever Lily had given her managed to calm her enough to walk without trembling. Equipped with enough courage, and Lily by her side, she returned to the heat of the party. Things had definitely gone wild in her absence. The ponies had definitely loosened up, including, to Sweetie's great embarrassment, Button Mash. It was no secret he could hardly keep his liquor, and while the cider Apple Bloom had brought wasn't strong enough to get him drunk, it had definitely made him more than a bit tipsy. A few other couples had formed, discretely and not so discretely kissing in various parts of the room. If only it hadn't been for the Incandescence incident, this would have ended up being quite the party. Of course, life would never let me have things my way, Twist thought bitterly.

Around one o'clock, Twist excused herself and quietly made her way to her room. Dinky had left a hoof written note thanking her for the party and apologizing that she had to leave early. Quite nice of her, considering she didn't have one ounce of fun.

"I'll just check my scrollbox and a few forum boards," Twist said, putting on her Web-gear. "Shouldn't take long." Lily just shrugged.

You're a good friend, Lily. Silver might have my best interests in heart in the long run, but I really need this. Right now I need to feel somewhat powerful.

The Web seemed as vibrant as ever. Avatars roamed about, going in and out of neon blue glistening buildings. Statistically, four dozen of them would get hacked before the night was over. Twist's scroll box had eight new messages, all inconsequential. No new hints about Clairvoyance's identity, no messages from the ghost itself. The forums were of little more use. Someone was clearly flooding them with speculation about the Sombra virus. Mostly the posts were wild baseless speculations written by absolute idiots. The Everfree forum was a bit better, although not by much. All in all there was nothing that would merit Twist skipping sleep.

Might be just as well, she thought. Tomorrow was another day, after all. Who knows, maybe Silver would manage to get some info on the matter. She had her ways, after all.

Suddenly several of Twist's automated alarms went off. Three aether windows popped up in front of her — one of her data wells was being hacked.

Author's Notes:

Intrusion Countermeasures Division - (a.k.a. ICE Division) one of the major Starswirld Conglomerate Divisions, responsible for Web security. All ICE development, production and deployment is handled exclusively by members of ICE Division.

Confidential
No investigation into ICE Division operations are to performed unless by express order of the Star Chamber. Any information regarding their activities is on a need to know basis.