Princess Twilight’s eyes never left the Agent as she sat down. This world’s government, or at least this particular country’s, had never attempted to initiate contact with her before. Given that this world had originally lacked magic, Twilight hadn’t believed that they even knew about her.

“I’m sure that this is a surprise of sorts to you,” Agent Berrytwist began.

“It’s certainly a surprise to me,” Celestia cut in.

Agent Berrytwist nodded. “Indeed. We have taken pains to avoid letting anyone know that we are aware of Equestria’s existence, but I assure you that we have been aware for quite some time.”

Twilight wasn’t sure whether to be surprised or suspicious. “Alright, Agent Berrytwist. What do you want to talk about?”

“Several things. But perhaps it would be best if I brought you up to speed, first,” Agent Berrytwist replied. “The government has suspected the existence of a parallel reality for decades. There are odd sites all around the country; places where equipment, animals, and even the occasional over-adventurous tourist goes missing. When they returned, those tourists always spoke of a terrifying forest full of darkness and bizarre creatures.”

“The Everfree Forest,” Twilight supplied without thinking.

Agent Berrytwist cocked her head to the side. “Interesting. It seems there are more parallels than we suspected. Anyway, until a few years ago, the government was content to simply cordon off these locations and label them as nuclear waste storage facilities, or the site of terrible chemical accidents. The people who returned were compensated and convinced to remain quiet.”

“What changed?” Twilight asked curiously.

“Sunset Shimmer did,” Agent Berrytwist said flatly. “Having a young teenage girl suddenly appear in our city out of nowhere and start trying to make a life for herself certainly raised some eyebrows, especially among the police and social services.” She smiled sardonically at the surprised looks on Twilight and Celestia’s faces. “We may not be perfect, but we do pay attention to things like that. The government kept a very close eye on the portal outside this school after that, but since no-one else came through, we decided that there was no particular threat. We tried to enrol Miss Shimmer in the fostering system initially but, as she was vehemently opposed to the idea, we arranged an apartment and benefits for her. An agent in the guise of a social worker also made periodic checks on her until she was old enough to fend for herself.”

Celestia frowned and tapped the desk absently. “I knew that Sunset was an orphan, but I didn’t realise that the government had been so heavily involved in her case. It certainly makes sense though, given her background.” She looked over at the Agent. “Is that when you learned about Equestria?”

Agent Berrytwist shook her head. “Not exactly. Miss Shimmer’s arrival provided proof that there was a parallel world, but we didn’t intend to press her for specifics of it. So long as there was no credible threat to the public, we were content to sit and watch.”

“That seems astonishingly blasé,” Celestia said suspiciously.

“Perhaps, but we were also aware that we could be dealing with a veritable hornets’ nest. No-one had died or been seriously injured by the portal, so we decided that monitoring it was a better idea than poking it with a stick,” Agent Berrytwist replied. “Plus, the more attention we pay to it, the more likely it is that someone will notice and either panic, or try to exploit it.”

That seemed fair to Twilight. It was certainly how the other Princesses had operated on occasion in the past. Naturally, it didn’t always work out, but there were plenty of instances where leaving something well enough alone would have saved a lot of trouble. Twilight was sure that she’d never forget the havoc that Rarity had caused around Ponyville thanks to a cursed book.

“What about the Fall Formal?” Celestia put in. “Why didn’t you get involved then?”

“At first, we didn’t quite know what was going on,” Agent Berrytwist admitted. “Miss Shimmer suddenly began taking several short trips through the portal, on what we now believe were reconnaissance missions. Only a day or so later, your crown was spat out of the portal, followed by Miss Shimmer, and then you yourself, your Highness.” The Agent nodded to Twilight. “You already know what happened after that. By the time we realized that there was a problem, you and your new friends had already dealt with it.”

Celestia crossed her arms and gave Agent Berrytwist a skeptical look. “What about after the Fall Formal? Surely you should have kept a closer eye on things after everything that had happened?”

Agent Berrytwist slowly arched an eyebrow. “We did. The building crew you hired to help repair the school entrance certainly arrived quickly, and they were remarkably cheap, weren’t they?” She smirked at the stunned look on Celestia’s face. “Not to mention the extra janitor you hired in the aftermath. He’s very efficient, isn’t he? Well, it turns out he’s also very good at installing hidden cameras in the corridors and, say, lab rooms that contain certain unusual machines.”

The trio of little revelations left Twilight and Celestia reeling. Seeing that they were too shocked to talk, Agent Berrytwist continued, “We have been keeping tabs on everything that happened since. Every time a problem has arisen involving magic, we made preparations, but sat in the shadows and waited to see if it was something you girls could deal with yourselves. That way, we save on resources, we pick up new data about magic and Equestria, and we are able to come up with extra backup plans we hadn’t considered before. All we have to do is handle social media so everyone believes that the incidents are merely the work of talented film students, then subtly influence the locals to keep their little open secret, and we have perfect plausible deniability if everything goes public. After all, who would ever believe that magic was real?”

Celestia sighed and massaged her temples. “I can’t tell if that’s genius or just insane.”

“That would depend on who you ask. Personally, I’d say that it was both,” Agent Berrytwist said with a humourless laugh. “We did actually try to intervene with Wallflower Blush, but between the Memory Stone and her natural knack for avoiding attention, we were unable to help in that situation.”

“I suppose that’s fair,” Twilight conceded. “Why get involved now, though? Is it because of the new portal? Or is it Mandible?”

Agent Berrytwist couldn’t entirely hide her grimace. “We have been doing all we can to catch the changeling ever since she arrived.” Her lips curled as she said ‘changeling’ as if the word itself tasted foul. Twilight suspected that the woman hadn’t appreciated having her identity borrowed. “We’ve been observing the Sirens and the native human Sunset Shimmer, but the changeling hasn’t been back yet. So far, the little wretch has managed to evade us entirely, but for the moment she has become a secondary concern.”

“Is this because of the disappearance of my sister and the other students?” Celestia asked calmly.

“Partially,” Agent Berrytwist replied with a nod. “I had severe concerns when the Rainbooms went missing, but was ordered to stand down as they were the most qualified people to handle it, and they already had the best assistance from Equestria. The disappearance of an unrelated teacher and student, however, is something that we cannot ignore. On top of that, our hidden cameras and sensors we installed detected a surge of ionising radiation during the brief period the portal was opened earlier today.”

“Radiation?!” Celestia yelled. “Shouldn’t we be evacuating the school?! Why would you wait until now to mention that?!”

The Agent held her hands up in a placating manner. “The radiation only lasted for a moment, and Miss Blush has already been directed to her doctor for what she believes is a checkup after exposure to some suspect plants at the gardening show she attended. It’s only as a precaution,” she added quickly at the looks on the others’ faces. “The dosage and time of exposure were both too small to have any affect on her health. Between the disappearance of other members of the public and the potential for more outbreaks of radiation, we can no longer turn a blind eye to what occurs here. We respectfully request that Equestria continue providing as much assistance as it can, but as of this moment, the government will be officially taking full control over the Geode Diviner.”

Next Chapter: Chapter 138 - Trixie's Resolve Estimated time remaining: 13 Hours, 16 Minutes