Duskfall was nervous. There was no getting around that fact as she walked up to Lyra and Bonnie’s place. She had, of course, seen the pair while helping Luna with her science project gone wrong and two days ago on Nightmare Night. Yet now there was a feeling of trepidation in her Heart.

Well, there was no helping it now. Duskfall had arrived at the door of the two secret agent’s shared living space. Duskfall knocked on the door before she could wimp out.

“Coming!” A muffled voice called out and a moment later Bonnie opened the door, “Duskfall! Come in!” Duskfall was quickly ushered into the house.

“Alright, Dusky, I’m sure you’ve had an idea as to why we’ve called you here,” Lyra began.

“I did ask you to teach me sex things, so yeah, I had an idea,” Duskfall snarked.

“Well, luckily for you, we’ve decided to go above and beyond the call of duty,” Bonnie smirked.

“Since you have zero dating experience-” Lyra started to say.

“Actually, Tom dated for a couple of months…that ended poorly. OK, zero experience,” Duskfall pouted.

“Lyra and I are going to teach you how to form a relationship and date and all that jazz,” Bonnie promised.

“Oh…should I go get dressed up? Are we gonna have dinner and a movie?” Duskfall wasn’t sure if she liked where this was going, but she was willing to find out.

“I know dinner and a movie is stereotypical first date stuff, but honestly, that’s more like, fifth or sixth date material. Bonnie and I both agree a first day should be more one-on-one focused, or in this case two-on-one. Instead of a dinner date at a restaurant and all the pressures that come with that, we were thinking more a nice picnic where we can talk about our day and share our interests and stuff. Just a low key getting to know each other a little better,” Lyra explained.

“That sounds really nice, actually,” Duskfall admitted.

“Yeah, I think going to the movies as a first date is a bad idea for two reasons. Firstly, you can’t talk during the movie and a first date is a bit fast for hoof holding and/or kissing. Secondly, it puts a lot of pressure on the person picking the movie. Will the other person like the movie? What if I like it but the other person hates it? What if it’s the opposite? Can we talk about the movie like civilized people afterward? Will we talk about it at all? That’s not even considering the inevitable question of who’s paying, which is also a problem with a dinner date. I’ve heard of more than a few arguments starting over who’s going to pay,” Bonnie sighed.

“Which is just silly, I think. When Bonnie and I were just starting to date, we agreed to take turns paying for the date, if it wound up being something that needed to be paid for. I know here in Equestria it’s usually considered the mare’s duty to pay or in the Griffon Empire it’s the stallion or cock’s duty to pay, but that always seemed kinda sexist to me,” Lyra remarked.

“Well there’s a parallel I recognize from Tom’s home. In those couple of months he was dating, he was always expected to pay for everything,” Duskfall observed.

“Yeah, it works fine for some couples, but I’ve always thought that if relationships are supposed to be partnerships, then it doesn’t make sense for one party to always be the one paying. For as long as I’ve known the Cakes, they’ve just avoided the issue completely by having special baking dates where they’ll choose a recipe they haven’t tried before and make it together,” Bonnie revealed.

“That sounds really sweet, no pun intended,” Duskfall opined.

“Yeah, it really is. But that the point we’re trying to make here is that the first couple of dates should be as low stress as possible. Dating in and of itself can be stressful enough. A lot of people get stressed over money, so avoiding that as much as possible is a good idea, in my opinion,” Lyra stated and Bonnie nodded in agreement.

“So where are we going for this picnic?” Duskfall asked.

“Whitetail Woods seemed like a nice, out of the way spot where we can enjoy ourselves without too much risk of being interrupted,” Bonnie replied.

“I avail myself to your superior dating knowledge,” Duskfall said with a smile. Lyra floated a picnic basket out of the kitchen and they were soon underway.

“So, Duskfall, how have you been since Nightmare Night?” Lyra asked.

“I have nothing particularly interesting to report. I just feel like my research has hit a dead end. I can’t help but get the feeling there’s some core concept we just don’t understand that’s keeping us from making that final breakthrough,” Duskfall sighed.

“Would you like to try and explain? Sometimes all you need is a fresh perspective, even if neither of us are experts in the field,” Bonnie offered. Duskfall turned the problem around in her head for a bit, trying to think of a good way to explain it.

“Well, Equuis has known about Souls for almost as long as sapient species have practiced magic of any kind. I just can’t shake the feeling that there’s some function of the Soul that no one has realized yet,” Duskfall made her best attempt at an explanation.

“Well, a Soul is a Soul, isn’t it? It’s a metaphysical entity tied to the Body that plays a large role in dictating who we are as people. What more could there be?” Lyra questioned.

“That’s just it. Fragments of Souls have been taken from people to little appreciable effect and I’m a conglomerate of two Souls. Common logic would dictate that I would be an exact copy of all of Twilight and Tom’s personality traits. I have inherited a lot from them, but there are also things that are unique to me. Just for an example, Tom and Twilight were both great with kids. I’d rather shoot spit wads at the little twerps,” Duskfall answered.

“I dunno if you’re being completely honest on that one, Dusk. You did help Diamond Tiara quite a bit from what I’ve heard,” Bonnie protested.

“There’s a difference between actually being a responsible adult and just pretending to be one. If Diamond had come up to me and tried brown nosing like she did with Tom and Twilight, I would’ve probably dunked her head in a toilet and given her a swirly,” Duskfall said casually.

“If you say so,” Lyra clearly wasn’t buying it.

“Anyway, there’s clearly something afoot that we don’t understand. I wonder if this is how Einstein felt before he discovered the general theory of relativity?” Duskfall mused, “How have you two been doing recently?”

“I’ve been trying to incorporate a few new flavors into my candy shop,” Bonnie reveled.

“And as taste tester in chief, I can say they’ve mostly been successes,” Lyra piped in happily.

“Yes, mostly,” Bonnie giggled.

“We don’t talk about the black licorice taffy,” Lyra tried to frown, but couldn’t quite manage it.

“You tried to use black licorice? And I thought you were a proper candy maker Bon Bon,” Duskfall teased. Bonnie swatted Duskfall with her tail.

“Oh, hush you. Luna likes my black licorice lineup and so does Chrysalis,” Bonnie huffed as they arrived at the spot in Whitetail Woods and began to set up the picnic.

“Yeah, well, Luna and Chrysalis are both weirdos,” Duskfall shrugged.

“I dare ya to say that to their faces,” Lyra challenged.

“I will, but you’ll have to pay for my hospital bills,” Duskfall quipped.

“Deal,” Lyra accepted.

“No trying to get each other killed,” Bonnie said in a put upon voice.

“Yes Mom,” Lyra and Dusk chorused. Bonnie just rolled her eyes.

“So what’s new with you, Lyra?” Duskfall asked.

“I’ve started getting back in practice with my lyre. Vinyl, Octavia, and I have been getting together to jam every now and then. It’s been really nice,” Lyra admitted. Bonnie moved to nuzzle Lyra.

“I don’t tell you enough how much I appreciate you helping me run the shop,” Bonnie said lovingly.

“Why wouldn’t I want to spend more time with the smartest, kindest, most drop dead sexy mare on Equuis?” Lyra flirted as she leaned in for a quick peck on Bonnie’s lips.

“Lyra!” Bonnie squealed cutely. Duskfall would be lying if she said she didn’t want a little of what Lyra and Bonnie had for herself. They were just so sweet. The best she could do would be to set up something for Tom and Twilight when she got them back, so no change in plan there.

“So, Duskfall, what do you do for relaxation?” Lyra asked as she plucked a sandwich out of the picnic basket and started eating.

“I’m not really sure. All my time has been devoted to research,” That wasn’t entirely true. There was one activity Duskfall had taken to doing when no one was around to blow off steam. She just didn’t want anyone else to know about it.

“You’re going to burn yourself out if all you ever do is study,” Bonnie warned. Duskfall stopped herself from saying the first thing that popped into her head.

“I’ll be sure to find something. Maybe I can try baking with Pinkie? Isn’t the ability to cook a desirable trait?” Duskfall asked flippantly, “Tom and Twilight were not great in the kitchen.”

“If that’s what you want,” Bonnie said neutrally. It was clear she was not a fan of Duskfall’s reason for wanting to learn to cook.

“You should do something because you enjoy it, not because you think it’ll make you more attractive to someone. That’s kinda the whole point of doing something for relaxation,” Lyra pointed out.

“Bettering myself is relaxing,” Duskfall said stubbornly.

“OK, five things that you like about yourself,” Bonnie ordered.

“Now you sound like a therapist,” Lyra and Bonnie both looked expectantly at Duskfall, “Fine! I like how purple I am… I guess I like the sound of my own voice, even if it isn’t my voice…I’m working with Rainbow to get in shape, so I like I’ve been sticking with that…Being an OP Alicorn is pretty cool…I’d say my friends, but honestly they’re Tom and Twilight’s friends who are taking pity on me, so…I like my sense of humor, even if it sounds egotistical to say I make myself laugh.”

“I feel a sudden, overwhelming desire to hug you,” Lyra stated just before she glomped onto Duskfall.

“I share this sudden inexplicable desire,” Bonnie said before she joined in the hugging. Duskfall knew she wouldn’t escape, so surrendered herself to the feels trip.

“OK, since I had to suffer through my damaged self-esteem, you two have to as well,” Duskfall insisted as she telekinetically lifted and peeled a banana.

“I like my musical talents, I like my minty green goodness, I like my ability to make Bonnie happy, I like being able to give fair and constructive criticism, and I like that I was finally able to tell my parents where they can stuff it,” Lyra quickly rattled off.

“I like the work I do as a secret agent, I like being able to share sweet treats with everyone around me, I like being able to make Lyra happy, I like my ability to keep an open mind, and I like my ability to keep a level head,” Bonnie replied just as quickly after Lyra had finished. Both mares smiled up at Duskfall.

“Well, I think I hate both of you now,” Duskfall grumped. Both Lyra and Bonnie smirked.

“It isn’t a crime to have a healthy self-esteem,” Lyra chuckled.

“My first decree as pseudo-princess, all the lunatics happy in their own skin shall be banished to the moon!” Duskfall tried to sound cross, but couldn’t quite pull it off around the grin fighting to appear on her face.

“Hey, Bonnie, doesn’t a vacation to the moon sound nice?” Lyra asked sweetly.

“Hmm, we could pretend to fly in low gravity and you could pretend to be as strong as an Earth Pony. Sounds like an interesting getaway,” Bonnie mused.

“Don’t make me use my considerable brain power to think up a truly horrible punishment,” Duskfall threatened in her best menacing voice. It lost what little effect it would have had given she was currently being snuggled to death by two adorable mares.

“Aw, Dusky, you wouldn’t want to get rid of us, would you?” Bonnie asked in a jokingly pleading tone.

“Who else would you get to teach you the ways of the world?” Lyra taunted.

“I could always ask Cloud Kicker,” Duskfall suddenly found herself pinned to the ground.

“No,” Lyra said simply.

“Absolutely not,” Bonnie agreed.

“Kicker would chew you up and spit you out,” Lyra warned.

“OK OK, I was only joking!” Dusk yielded immediately. Honestly, she had already deduced from asking around town that Kicker would take great pleasure in throwing Duskfall into the deep end and watching her sink or swim.

“Alright, we’re going to let you up, but only on the promise that you speak not of such foolishness again,” Lyra said with a pointed look.

“I promise I shall never speak of Kloud Cicker again,” Duskfall swore.

“I suppose that’s the best we’re going to get,” Bonnie sighed dramatically before she and Lyra allowed Duskfall to return to a sitting position.

“Now, I say we finish off this picnic before it gets too late. What say you, my lovely companions?” Lyra asked.

“Sounds good to me,” Bonnie said agreeably.

“I’ve certainly had enough depressing introspection for one night,” Duskfall quipped. Lyra and Bonnie rolled their eyes and the rest of their picnic date was spent in companionable silence.

Author's Notes:

My only excuse for this not being up yesterday is because I somehow got 18 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Although that isn't that uncommon for me. I tend to subsist on a couple of hours a night for a few weeks and then completely crash. My current record is going a month and a half with 2 or so hours of sleep a night before crashing for a whole 36 hours.

Anyway, I thought this chapter was pretty cute. Feel free to roast me mercilessly in the comments on how you think Bonnie and my own thoughts on what a first date should be like are completely and horribly wrong and that everyone's first date should be taking a girl to prom because it isn't like prom night is stressful or anything!

Take this with a grain of salt. Again, I have zero dating experience. For all I know dinner and a movie is a perfect first date and I'm talkin' outta my ass.

In other news, I've kinda been wanting to write a Displaced fic. Which is odd considering I don't particularly like the genre. It's not that I hate the concept. Truthfully I really like the concept, it's just the Displaced genre seems to attract lazy writing...maybe that's not the best way to put it. There are themes that could be touched upon that are just kicked out in the cold. It's fine when not every idea is explored fully, but dangling a buffet of potential themes before my eyes and saying I can't eat is torture.

There's so much potential in the concept, yet my favorite Displaced fic is pretty much Displaced in name only. The Mare of the Stars by XYZDreadnought if anyone is curious. I don't hate most of the Displaced fics, they just don't grab my interest like I feel they could do, if that makes sense? I have also yet to come across a Displaced fic where the main character is happy to be in their new life. Like, I can understand wanting to say goodbye to friends/family and missing aspects of your old life, but moaning about it for more than a chapter feels like overdoing it. I fully accept that I am super biased on this, but you just got turned into a fictional character with varying levels of badassery. Do you know how fucking overjoyed I would be to go to a con and get Displaced? I could be Displaced as Darla Dimple, one of my most hated characters, and I'd still be fairly happy. I fully admit to having a few screws loose.

Maybe I just haven't come across the right kind of Displaced fics. Maybe that's why I want to write my own? I mean, I probably wouldn't write a "real" Displaced fic because I honestly don't want to bother with arranging crossovers with other people and the mess of pseudo-lore those lunatics have to adhere to, but the general premise would be the same.

I think I might just write a couple of chapters and if I feel inspired to continue I'll start posting it. I do know what character I'd want my Displaced to end up as, but I'm not entirely sure what kind of long term plot I'd want to go with. I'm not even sure on whether I'd want to use the anthro tag or not. I mean...I could just make it a silly rom-com...nothing wrong with a bit of fluff to offset the normal doom and gloom of my writing. A silly, slice of life rom-com with no higher stakes than anything that happens in the show and who winds up married to who...

Something to consider during the downtime between Shattered Souls and Book 3. Fair warning, if I do go for a rom-com I'm an absolute sucker for 'everyone got to be with who they wanted' endings. Usually known as the harem ending.