---

Snow fell onto Ponyville in light, small flakes, covering the already snow covered ground with another thin layer of white. Unlike most years, the snowfall around the destroyed town turned refugee camp had been lighter than usual since most of the town was staying in tents with a smaller portion staying in the Castle of Friendship.

Lyra Heartstrings was one of the former. She and her best friend Bon Bon had been staying in one of the two-pony tents that had been rolled out from the Crystal Empire three months ago. The light mint colored unicorn was holding her instrument, an old gold lyre handed down from her family since her great grandfather had commissioned it by one of Canterlot’s lead instrument crafters back in the day. Whenever she’d had a particularly taxing day, she would pull it out and play it. It had been shipped to her from her mother in Canterlot along with a few of her other belongings that she’d left behind in storage when she’d moved to Ponyville. Her mother had sent a note with it explaining its origin and how it was now hers.

She continued playing it, strumming a slow song which filled the tent with the melancholy tune. Across from her, lying on one of the cots, Bon Bon stared up at the ceiling, simply breathing in and out as the music continued to play. Lyra watched her best friend and roommate as she took in a deep breath, then closed her eyes and rolled over, pulling the blanket over her tightly.

Eventually, Lyra finished the song, one she’d written herself but hadn’t come up with lyrics to, yet. She was planning on writing a song about the destruction of Ponyville, but also of the tragedy that had been Jason Wright’s treatment by nearly everypony in Ponyville. Even she’d taken part in it, her and Bon Bon. They’d shouted at the human when he’d come to town, they’d thrown garbage and rocks at him, and Lyra had even shot a beam of magic at the poor human, catching a portion of his already destroyed clothes on fire while he fled.

And now, she, Bon Bon, and the entire town were paying for their transgressions. She put down her lyre on a nearby folding table and lay on her side, leaning on one of her front hooves, closing her eyes and trying to hold back the tears. Not the tears of loss, but the tears of guilt and shame at her behavior. Bon Bon was facing her, eyes still shut. When the two had heard the story about what had happened from Roseluck, her friends and a few other ponies who had been in Canterlot during Jason Wright’s trial of the Elements of Harmony, something inside them changed. They understood at that moment that they had betrayed everything that they claimed they were.

And it was because of this realization that Lyra had been stewing and thinking about an idea. Something she could do other than mope and feel sorry for herself. However, she’d not had the courage to say anything or even ask her friend for her help until now.

Making her decision, she turned to her friend, “Hey…Bon Bon?”

Bon Bon slowly opened her eyes. “Hmm…?”

“I…well…could I…ask a favor?” Lyra asked nervously.

Bon Bon’s eyes widened in concern as she slowly sat up in her cot. “Lyra? What’s wrong? You look like you’re going to throw up.”

In truth, Lyra did feel more nervous than she had in a while. She was about to probably break a few dozen rules that her best friend had to follow by asking, but she still knew she at least had to try. She swallowed, trying to keep herself from upchucking. “It’s just…it’s about your…previous job.”

Bon Bon’s eyes hardened and she immediately sat up, looking Lyra square in her eyes. “Go on,” she said stonily.

Lyra took a deep breath, then exhaled. “I know you said you were part of some…some secret organization, so that means you’ve had access to restricted books and stuff, right?” Lyra waited for a reply in either the affirmative or negative, but Bon Bon, or rather, Special Agent Sweetie Drops, didn’t reply. Lyra gulped and continued. “I…want to do some research. Some research on humans.”

“Why?” Sweetie Drops asked.

Lyra took a now shaky breath. “W-Well, remember how I said that while I was in Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns that I dabbled in non-pony biology?” All Sweetie Drops did was nod, so Lyra continued. “Well…I was hoping…I really wanted to try and find out more about humans. Especially with what happened. All I know about them is what Princess-what Twilight said about them. I mean…if she knew about them, then maybe there’s something about them that’s been kept hidden.” There was silence once more as Sweetie Drops continued glaring at Lyra. The mint colored mare grew even more nervous and she almost squawked, “Come on, Bon Bon! Is it really that bad of a request!? I just want to know about them and-!”

“You’re asking a very big favor, Lyra Heartstrings,” Sweetie Drops said with a serious tone. “If there are any records of humans, they’ve been sealed away in some restricted corner of Canterlot. Do you honestly think that I’d have any access to that information? You forget, I’m not an agent anymore. I don’t have the authority or clearance I once did. I’m just Bon Bon now.”

“But you could talk to Princess Celestia!” Lyra said, now feeling a bit bolder since Sweetie Drops namedropped her alias. She jumped up and walked over to her earth pony friend. “You can ask her about this! Bonny, you know me! I wouldn’t ask this just for some sort of personal gain! Everypony in Ponyville fu-screwed up big time.”

“You can say it, you know,” Sweetie Drops said. “We all fucked up. Every single pony did. Even if half the town is still too foolish to see it even now.”

Lyra’s ears flattened and she nodded. “That’s…that’s one other reason why I wanted to…wanted to look up anything on humans…so we don’t make the same mistakes-”

“Don’t sugarcoat it, Ly-Ly,” Sweetie snarled. “It wasn’t a mistake! It was far worse!”

“I-I…yes, you’re right.” Lyra agreed.

Sweetie Drops sighed, then looked up at the mint colored unicorn with tired eyes. “I can’t help you, Lyra. I’m sorry…”

“Are you sure?” Lyra asked, trying once more. She wasn’t sure why she was insisting on this.

“Ly-Ly…” and with that, Sweetie Drops was gone, and Bon Bon was finally back. The earth pony mare walked over and put her hoof on Lyra’s cheek. “I can’t help you like that. Please understand…I’m not able to do that for you.”

Lyra slowly deflated, but nodded. “I…I understand,” she said, “and I’m sorry…sorry for asking such an impossible request.”

“It’s okay,” Bon Bon said softly, giving her best friend a warm nuzzle. “You mean well…but this is just something I can’t do. Please understand that.”

“I do,” Lyra said as she nuzzled back before the two broke apart.

“Thank you. Now, I’m gonna head to my shift early,” Bon Bon said as she slowly walked towards the entrance to the tent. “See you tonight, Ly-Ly.”

“See you then, Bon Bon,” Lyra said. “I’m gonna go out for a little walk.”

“Sure,” Bon Bon said, “you don’t work today, right?”

“Not today.”

“Alright. See you tonight.” And with that, Bon Bon headed out of the tent.

“See you later, Bonny,” Lyra said as she grabbed her scarf and snowcap before she walked out of their two pony tent into the mid morning cloud filled day.

Taking a right, she walked down the street, losing herself in her thoughts. Ever since she’d watched her and Bon Bon’s house (the first level of which had doubled as Bon Bon’s candy shop) being burned down by the changeling army led by the human that the entire town had shunned for the crime of being different. She sighed, watching her breath in the icy cold air as she trudged down the snowy temporary road. She passed a few other ponies and a handful of foals who were playing what looked like a game of tag. She envied them their innocence and youth. Foals always had a way of bouncing back faster than a full grown adult pony. Probably because their mind wasn’t filled with all the shit adults had gone through yet. Or the prejudices and fears which had led to this catastrophe.

She sighed and turned left down a small intersection in the temporary tent town. She knew she couldn’t rely on her best friend for help. Not that she blamed Bon Bon, of course. The two had talked long about the sweet maker’s former occupation after the wedding of the two donkeys who had quickly left Ponyville about a few days after Jason Wright’s invasion force had left the ruined town. In fact, almost all nonponies had left the tow, either out of guilt at how they’d treated Jason or out of fear of the terrified ponies in the town itself.

She found a small tree near a grove of pines which had been missed by the fire that had destroyed her hometown. She sat against it, leaning back and closing her eyes. She let her tears flow once again. She couldn’t believe how cruel she had been to Jason. It was like she was in some kind of hateful fog whenever she saw the human coming into town. Like some kind of switch had been thrown and she’d turned into some kind of monster. And it was because of ponies like her that he’d become so spiteful and destroyed everything she’d known.

She wasn’t sure just how long she’d been there, but something behind her snapped. Stiffening, she froze and listened. She was near the White Tail Woods at the moment, but even so, she couldn’t be sure that those rumors about changelings living in the Everfree weren’t true. A minute passed, and when she heard nothing she was about to stand and walk back to the camp when she heard another rustling of noise. She froze and went prone, listening for any sounds of monsters roaming through the forest.

Instead, what she heard were three sets of voices.

“Were you followed?” the first voice, a deep male voice, asked in a soft whisper.

“You know I’m the stealthiest pegasus around,” a female voice whispered back a bit louder.

Lyra heard somepony smack another pony upside the head. “Hush,” the third voice, another female, whispered, “For the stealthiest pegasus around, you’re really loud.”

“Enough, both of you,” the male said in a stern voice. “Well, what do you have to report now?”

The second voice spoke again. “One of the ponies in Griffonstone wrote to me about a week ago. You know that zebra that was living in the Everfree Forest? The one we chased away? Well, she’s apparently living in a small town near there now.”

Lyra was confused. Who would want to chase a zebra-?

She froze in realization. Zecora…she hadn’t been in town ever since the changeling invasion. She felt sick that anypony would chase her out of her home. She strained to listen.

“So what? At least that enchantress is out of our manes,” the third voice said dismissively.

“Well, that’s not all. Get this, there’s another human on Equus. And it’s living in Griffonstone. Close to that zebra. Get the picture now?”

Lyra froze. Had she heard right? Was there really another human on Equus? And how did they know this?

“Another one of those things? How did it get here?” the third voice asked in alarm.

“My contact didn’t say, but apparently this human is now a member of the Griffonian government,” the second voice said.

“Is that so?” the male voice asked. “And you got this a week ago? You couldn’t get away from your cushy home in the clouds to get down here and tell us this?”

“It’s not my fault. I couldn’t get out here because I was ordered to help the Appleloosan weather team take care of their winter snows that same day.”

The male voice sighed, then said “Fine, whatever. But what does that have to do with us? If they’re in Griffonia, why should we care?”

“Yeah, what’s the big deal?” the third voice asked. “Just as long as the humans stays far away from us, I say let it.”

“And what if that zebra tells the human about that Jason Wright? And if he is in the Griffonian government, what if he tries the same thing that Jason did to us?”

There was silence now. Lyra strained more to listen. About ten seconds later, the male voice said, “You’ve got a good point…”

“We should have been more permanent with that zebra…” the third voice said in a snarl, sending shivers down Lyra’s back.

“It’s too late to think about that now,” the male said. “You need to write back to your contact and have them try and find a way to get close to the human.”

“I already asked a group to go investigate the human,” the second voice said.

“And just how did you pay for that?” the first voice asked in a warning tone.

“That’s the thing! I didn’t! I told my uncle in Canterlot about this and HE hired them to go investigate. He promised me he’d get me the details of their report first.”

“Your uncle? Really?” the third voice groaned. “We already owe him thirteen hundred bits as it is!”

“Shush,” the male voice said again.

“Hey, he promised to extend the deadline for our debt by another three months for this information,” the second voice exclaimed. “I didn’t have time to come down here and ask. He said it was a take it or leave it deal.”

There was silence for a bit, then the male sighed. “Fine, I guess that’s worth telling him about it…”

“Do you think we should go there now that the travel ban has been lifted?” the second voice asked.

“No, we’ll let whoever your uncle hired deal with it,” the male said. “Who did he hire?”

“He didn’t say, only that they were the best at their job,” the second voice replied. “That’s all I needed to know. But I really have to go. My break is almost over and I could get fired.”

“Yeah, I need to go too,” the third voice said. “When should we meet next and where?”

“I’ll let you know. Dismissed,” the male voice said.

Lyra tried to get a look at whoever had been talking, but whoever was leaving had gone the other way to avoid being spotted. That, and she heard the casting of a teleportation spell and a white flash from the grove. She didn’t more, didn’t even dare to breathe as the two remaining ponies left the grove. She heard the flutter of wings asa pony lifted off and headed into the sky. The last pony continued walking away until she could no longer hear them. She waited an agonizing ten more minutes, silently counting the seconds before she finally slowly stood. Lifting her horn, she cast her own teleportation spell. In a golden flash she was back in her tent, dizzy from the use of her magic. She’d never been the best when she’d been at Princess Celestia’s school, but she hadn’t been a slouch. Teleportation had never come easy to her, not even after she knew how to do it. Not like…well, not like Twilight Sparkle.

Despite Lyra’s conflicted feelings towards her former friend, even she had to admit that she was proficient at magic. She remembered the few study sessions she and her old friends from Canterlot had when they were fillies. Twilight was always glued to a book with a very serious expression on her face.

She brushed aside those memories as she ran out of her tent and rushed towards the place where Bon Bon was working. She needed to tell her friend about this.

For the first time, she felt a bit of hope rising in her. Maybe she couldn’t fix what had happened to Jason, but she could help this apparent second human.

And for that, she’d need Bon Bon’s help.

---

---

Luna sat on her sister’s throne, listening for what felt like the thousandth time to complaints from the Canterlot nobility. She maintained her regal demeanor as she tried her best not to tune out the drone of whiney spoiled bitches below her as well as the sounds of pencil on paper as Raven Inkwell, her sister’s personal secretary, hastily scribbled down everything that the noble, a green and white furred unicorn with an ugly orange combover named Cash King, went on and on about the reversal of the border closure which Luna, with Celestia’s authorization, had reversed a day prior.

For the past day and a half, she had been hearing the same story over and over again from the nobles. She’d listened as they told her how bad of an idea it was to reopen the borders so soon after the invasion of the Changeling hoard. After all, who knew what kind of dangerous creatures could come spying out the land for their rich resources or even, perhaps, to enslave ponykind.

“I’m telling you, Your Highness,” the snooty noblestallion was saying as he held up his hoof to accentuate his point, “reopening the borders at such a time is not a good idea, especially with other creatures looking to take jobs from good, hardworking ponies. Equestria is at the peak of civilization, and other creatures would absolutely love to move in and benefit from the work us ponies have put into the land.”

“Equestria is meant to be a place of harmony and friendship,” another pony, who Luna quickly identified as Fancy Pants, said as he stepped forward from the side, stamping his hoof to accentuate his words. The tall and well dressed stallion glared at Cash King as he continued: “Have you forgotten the admissions of that Roseluck mare?”

Cash just scoffed at that. “So a few ponies bullied that human. He went completely overboard by destroying an entire town!”

“Bullied? Mister King, that was not bullying, it was full on abuse! And it wasn’t just a few ponies. It was the entire town!” Fancy shouted angrily.

Cash grit his teeth and was about to retort when Luna, having had enough of this bickering, stood, spread her wings, and bellowed in the Royal Canterlot Voice “ENOUGH OF THIS POINTLESS BICKERING!” Both ponies who had nearly been ready to exchange blows stopped, backed away from each other and bowed to Luna, trembling just like nobles of old had trembled whenever Luna or Celestia had used the Voice on them back before Luna’s banishment. After the sound of the echoes died away, she returned her wings to their normal state, then spoke in her new normal voice. “Cash King, I have heard the same arguments for the past day. Your points have been taken into consideration, but this is a decision that my sister and I have hoofed down. It was a mistake to close the borders. Do you know how other nations view Equestria now because of it?” She glared at Cash King, waiting for an answer. However, the now nervous unicorn was now tongue tied, which satisfied Luna quite well as she answered her own question. “Other nations are putting us under a looking glass, nonponies are leaving the nation in droves, and there has been a steady decline of exports of Equestrian products to foreign nations. Any imports are becoming more expensive. Our economy might not last too much longer because of what your short sightedness has wrought! Mr. Fancy Pants is correct! We are meant to be a nation of peace and love and harmony, and yet the more I learn about our treatment of nonponies, the more I wonder how true that is!”

Luna just then felt a hoof on her leg. Looking down, the furious alicorn saw a worried Raven looking up at the lunar princess. “Your Highness, please take a few deep breaths,” she whispered. “Perhaps it’s time for an early lunch break?”

At the mention of lunch, Luna realized that she hadn’t eaten anything since seven in the morning. She took Raven’s advice and took a deep breath, returning to face the nervous unicorn. “The decision to reopen the borders is final. My sister and I won’t hear another word about it. Is that understood?”

There was a flash of anger in Cash King’s eyes, but he simply bowed in acknowledgement. “Understood, Princess.”

“Good. Everypony is dismissed until one o’clock this afternoon,” Luna said. “I will hear the rest of you then.”

As the pony nobles filed out, Luna stood from the throne and headed down towards the door at the lefthoof side of the room, followed close behind by Raven. Luna was tired. She was really tired. It hadn’t been too long since Celestia and the Elements of Harmony, along with Spike, had left the kingdom to head to Griffonstone, of all places, but Luna was already exhausted from having to deal with the petty desires of the nobility. She would much prefer to not deal with them at all.

She missed the old times. Things were simpler then. Yes, she could appreciate some of the modern wonders of this day and age. Indoor plumbing and the modern power systems were something she now knew she couldn’t really live without. However, Luna missed the times when her sister and her could make decisions alone. There were nobles in her time, of course, but they actually knew what they were doing and had the interests of the ponies in mind. She did, however, like Fancy Pants, who could only be a descendent of Duke Smarty Pants, the pony who had helped to found the first city aside from the city around the Castle of the Two Sisters. The founder of Manehattan.

She’d always been fond of Smarty Pants. True to his name, he’d been one of the most intelligent nobles, and according to modern day historians he’d been ahead of his time. He built his fortune on imports from other nations, such as lumber and metal from the metal rich countries around Equestria. She would have given anything to go back in time and watch her old friend pioneer the now modern metropolis.

“Princess Luna? Where are you going?” Raven Inkwell’s voice snapped Luna out of her reverie. “Aren’t you going the wrong way?”

Luna stopped and looked around. She was, indeed, heading the wrong direction, automatically heading back to her private quarters. She cleared her throat. “Ah, yes. Apologies, Miss Inkwell,” she said as she turned and headed back down the hall towards the private dining area that was reserved only for her, her sister and any guests they wished. As she did so, she looked down at Raven, noticing that the unicorn was looking a bit nervous. “Is there something on your mind, Miss Inkwell?” Luna asked, raising an eyebrow at the light gray furred and brown maned unicorn.

Raven jumped a bit, but then exhaled deeply before she looked up at Luna. “Your Highness, I know that taking your sister’s job is stressful, but I hope I can make some suggestions.”

“I’m all ears,” Luna said, turning both of her ears towards the unicorn to emphasize her point.

Looking surprised, Raven relaxed as she continued. “I know the nobleponies are a pain to deal with, but they control a lot of the nation’s wealth. Cash King and his twin Cash Cow both own the Maremart franchise store.”

Luna thought back to some of her early lessons with some of the castle ponies in her early days after her return from the moon. She recalled Maremart being a large company that had stores in Detrot, Las Pegasus, Sea Saddle, Manehattan and Mareami Beach along with other smaller stores in smaller cities throughout Equestria. It was a major retail center where ponies could buy more for less, according to the Maremart logo: Get More. For Less. “What are you suggesting, Miss Inkwell?” Luna asked, more curiously than before.

Raven pulled out a few pieces of paper from her saddlebags and floated them in front of both of them. As Luna looked at the papers with a confused expression, Raven pointed to them. “You said it earlier, princess. The Equestrian economy is in trouble. Even if less than half of our money comes from exports, with less foreigners buying Equestrian goods those bits won’t be flowing through the economy. This means less for tax revenue, and less to help improve Equestria or rebuild Ponyville. And if we lose the support of the rich nobles, that could very well be another blow to the economy.”

Luna groaned. She hated dealing with monetary matters. She never had the mind for it, anyway. But she knew that Raven was better suited to understand it. “Forgive me, Miss Inkwell, but I am not accustomed to dealing with monetary issues. I am afraid I can only understand some of what you say.”

Raven nodded as they reached a set of double doors, each guarded by two gray pegasi guards, who opened the doors for them. They entered the private dining area where she and her sister would share some of Celestia’s famous pancakes with faces on them for breakfast and where Luna would prepare some of her famous three cheese gratin for dinner for her and her sister. Now, it seemed empty without Celestia sitting at one head of the table.

As they walked in, the unicorn explained, “The kingdom needs money to survive, that’s economics 101. We tax the populace a small amount and businesses a bit more according to a percentage decided by our Economists. We put those tax bits to work on improving infrastructure around the country, paying government officials like the Royal Guard and so on. Are you with me so far?”

“That I am,” Luna said as she sat down at the head of the table where Celestia normally sat. Turning to one of the mare maids, she said, “Tell the chef that I require a most nutritious meal. With extra cheese. And to drink, some of the apple wine from the cellar. Miss Inkwell? What will you be having?”

Raven, who had sat on Luna’s right, looked up. “Huh? Oh, just a garden salad for me and water.”

“At once, your Highness,” the maid said as she spread her wings and flew into the kitchen.

“Now then, you were telling me, Miss Inkwell?” Luna asked. Before Raven could say anything, however, there was a knock at the door. Luna cursed herself mentally for not instructing the Royal Guards to insist on no interruptions, but she straightened and called out. “Enter!”

The guards opened the door, and a third pony, this one a dark blue earth pony wearing a well pressed black suit and tie, quickly trotted in with a strangely black scroll in his magical grasp. He placed it down in front of the princess, then bowed. “Apologies for interrupting, your Highness, but this was a matter that could not wait.”

Luna looked at the unusually dressed pony briefly before shaking her head. “Thank you.” She lifted up the scroll and opened it. And what she saw stunned her completely.

Dear Princess Celestia,

You might not know me, but I was once known as Special Agent Sweetie Drops. I was a part of the Secret Monster Intelligence League of Equestria many years ago before we were shut down. Please forgive me for using this old channel to reach you, but I felt like this couldn’t wait.

A friend of mine overheard three individuals who they believed to be ponies talking about a letter they received from a pony who is now living in Griffonstone. According to what this friend told me, these three are aware of a second human on Equus, and apparently this human is a high ranking member of the Griffonian government. Not only that, but these apparent ponies were responsible for chasing out a zebra who had, for years, lived in the Everfree Forest and lent her aid to the ponies of Ponyville.

My friend also overheard some plot of theirs to have this human investigated by an as of yet unknown group of individuals. From what this friend of mine described, it is unlikely this group has any noble intentions in regards to this human.

I just wished to let you know, Princess.

Bon Bon, formerly Agent Sweetie Drops

Luna reeled at the massive amount of information that she was still trying to process. Another human on Equus was news to her. She suspected that Celestia already knew about this already, but since Luna had no time to check in with her sister after her brief message to Luna, A.K.A. Reopen the fucking borders!

She wasn’t trying to dismiss the other parts of the message, since she knew about said zebra from Celestia. From what she’d been told, said zebra was a very kind and caring creature who had been sadly initially feared by the ponies of Ponyville before it was revealed she was just a potion crafter who lived in the Everfree because it provided her with access to free ingredients for her brews. But it seemed as if the paranoia had returned. Something was telling Luna that there was more to this letter. Turning to the well dressed pony, she said, “I take it you know what this letter says?”

The pony saluted. “Yes, your highness,” he said.

“Then I wish to submit a reply to this pony who wrote this,” Luna said. “Instruct whoever this pony is to bring their friend with them to Canterlot immediately.”

"I’ll have them here within the hour." With a professional salute, the suited pony rushed out.

When the door closed, Raven looked up at Luna. “What was that all about, your highness?”

“A matter that is far more important than any of the petty noble complaints in that court,” Luna said. “Miss Inkwell, cancel the meetings for today. I fear I will be indisposed for the rest of the day.”

Raven nodded and pulled out a pen and paper to write it down. Luna leaned back in her sister’s chair and sighed. Today just got a whole lot more complicated…

---

---

Summer vacation was in full swing the students in Canterlot City. The weather forecast from Canterlot News Channel 8 was nothing but sunny skies and warm temperatures for the foreseeable future, meaning that places like local pools and water parks would be packed with students out to beat the heat. Either that, or they were heading to local ice cream shops or restaurants to enjoy a cool beverage or ice cream.

The former was where a group of seven friends were currently headed. Sweet Snacks Café was one of the more popular hangouts for modern day teens in Canterlot City. It’s older theme and cheaper prices than most other places, minus The Sweet Shoppe run by the Cake family, was a huge plus for students who wanted to get more bang for their buck. That, and the large portions were major pluses for teens who were still growing.

Among the seven teens was a fiery haired teenage girl who was walking a bit behind everyone else. She was smiling in anticipation, looking forward to eating her favorite dish there since she had never tasted anything like the food in Canterlot City back where she was from.

Which so happened to be Equestria. Or at least it used to be.

The former unicorn turned human Sunset Shimmer slowly lost her smile as she remembered her old home. No, her former home, she reminded herself. The only link back to Equestria that she had was the portal that was somehow still journal that she used to talk to the young dragon Spike, the only one in that world who she really thought was a decent person. Especially since it was him who had told her, albeit accidentally at first, about what had happened to that human who’d come to Equestria and his abysmal treatment by her friend’s pony equivalents.

She also knew she needed a day like this especially since the thought of what Spike had told her brought those feelings of utter rage and betrayal from a pony who she had once thought of as a friend back up to the surface. Feelings she’d tried very hard to work through on her own. She hated to bother her friends about this, but there was always that fear inside of her that they might leave her if they ever learned the truth. She hated herself for thinking that as it felt like she was betraying them by even thinking so little of them, but that fear was still there. She sighed and shoved her hands in her jacket pockets, looking down at the asphalt sidewalk.

She was so lost in thought that she didn’t hear or see the person walking up next to her and tap her lightly on her shoulder. “Sunset?”

Sunset jumped a bit, then turned to see Twilight Sparkle walking on her right now, a concerned look on her face. Sunset smiled a bit “Oh, hey Twilight. Sorry, I was just thinking about some stuff.”

“Like what?” Pinkie asked, bouncing back over to her.

Automatically, she lied and said, “Oh, just about that weird archaeological discovery in the papers a few days ago. You know the one I’m talking about? The one in the mountains?”

Twilight’s eyes brightened. “Those weird winged dinosaurs, you mean? That’s so exciting! A new species of dinosaurs!”

“Ah know that ain’t what’s bothering yah, Sunset,” Applejack, the Stetson wearing cowgirl, walked up to Sunset’s left, putting a concerned hand on Sunset’s shoulder.

“Ever since you got back from Equestria a couple months ago, you’ve been really super duper sad,” Pinkie Pie said, her poofy curly hair bouncing as she walked over to her side as well along with everyone else. “I should know. That smile hasn’t really reached your eyes in weeks anymore. Come on, Sunset! Share your troubles! It just might help soothe those stressed nerves.”

“What happened over there?” Fluttershy asked, her look of worry bigger than the others. “You’ve been acting more nervous than usual.”

“Darling, you’re our friend,” Rarity said reassuringly. “Let us help you.”

“Out with it, SunShim,” Rainbow Dash said, smacking Sunset on the back a bit too hard, earning her a glare from Sunset. The prismatic teen removed her hand and gave a sheepish smile. “Oops, sorry.”

Sunset’s glare slowly vanished and she sighed. “It’s really nothing I can’t handle, I promise,” she said.

Out of Twilight’s backpack, Spike the dog came up and looked over at Sunset. “Have you thought about asking that Princess Twilight?”

Just the mention of her former friend made Sunset pause and tense up before she could say or do anything about her reaction. However, it was too late to hide it since Applejack’s grip on her shoulder only got a bit harder. “Ah know that look, sugarcube,” the human Element of Honesty said before putting her arm around Sunset. “Somethin’ happened over there.”

“You haven’t mentioned my counterpart much since you got back,” Twilight said, “and you keep avoiding the subject, and me sometimes…”

Sunset’s heart sank when she saw how hurt the bespectacled Element of Magic looked. She looked down at the ground guiltily before she took a deep breath and sighed. “Have I really been that bad?” she asked, looking up at her friends guiltily.

“You haaave been kinda bad, yeah,” Rainbow said, arms crossed. This earned her a smack on the back of her head from Applejack. “Ow! Well, she has!”

“There this thing called tact, Rainbow,” Applejack said with a frown. “Use it.”

“Is it something you can’t trust us with?” Fluttershy asked.

Those words hurt Sunset even more as she swallowed the lump in her throat. She held her arm with her other hand. “It’s…it’s not that,” she said hesitantly. “It’s really complicated.”

“How complicated?” Rarity asked.

“Complicated enough that I’m afraid to talk about it,” Sunset finally admitted, holding her arm with her hand nervously.

That stunned the six teens surrounding the former unicorn. After a few seconds, Fluttershy came up and said, “Sunset, you taught me that it’s okay to be afraid, but not to let it get me down from talking to my friends about it.”

“Whatever’s bothering you, we’re willing to talk to you about it,” Rarity said.

“Yeah, you just need some ice cream in your belly!” Pinkie said with a wide grin before grabbing Sunset’s wrist and pulling her towards their destination which was only a block away.

Sunset couldn’t help it. She smiled as she let herself be pulled there by the happy-go-lucky pink haired teen. She quickly fell into step with the fellow lover of PostCrush. “Alright, alright, you convinced me Pinkie, but you don’t have to hold me that hard, you know?”

Pinkie released Sunset and smiled wide, squeeing at the same time. “Come on! I know just what you need! A triple decker grilled cheese should really help!”

“Actually, Pinkie, I think I’d like something else this time,” Sunset said. “Something I rarely eat, but I really could use one today.”

“Oooh! Changing things up, huh? Kinky! What do you want?” Pinkie asked expectantly.

Sunset grinned. “A triple bacon cheeseburger with the works.”

That stunned the other girls. They knew that Sunset was a vegetarian, especially since she’d explained that many sources of meat in the human world were actually able to talk and reason back on Equestria. Even though the animals on this side of the portal were not sapient, just the thought about eating one had initially made Sunset queasy. She had tried some meat products, like bacon, a few pieces of popcorn chicken, and a few bites of a cheeseburger that Rainbow Dash hadn’t been able to finish a while ago. Fluttershy walked up to her side and put a hand on her shoulder. “Sunset…are you sure you’re okay? You hardly ever eat meat.”

“Yeah…I know,” Sunset said, “but I’ve noticed lately that taking supplements to maintain this human body just doesn’t really do the same thing as actual meat does. I really need this right now.”

“Well, if you’re sure,” Fluttershy said with a reassuring smile.

“Then let’s get going! I’m starving!” Rainbow exclaimed, rushing to the diner and leaving a rainbow in her wake as she opened the door and waved at them. “Hurry up, slowpokes!”

---

An hour later, the teens were all sitting around a booth eating their dessert. As promised, Sunset had gotten the triple cheeseburger with the works and had eaten it with surprising gusto. Now, after finishing it, the fries and her soda, she and her friends had all pitched in for the massive Ice Cream Extravaganza. Even though it was her day off that day, Pinkie still had convinced her boss to let her make the I.C.E. for her friends.

She was eating some of the mint chocolate chip when Applejack, who was sitting next to her, put a hand on her shoulder. “Are yah feeling ready tah tell us now?” she asked.

Sunset slowly put down the cone in one of the metal ice cream cone holders provided for them. She grabbed a napkin and wiped her mouth before taking a sup of the water she’d ordered along with the ice cream. “Yeah…I guess so.”

“Take your time, Sunset,” Twilight said reassuringly. “We’re here for you.”

Sunset nodded, then reached into her backpack, pulling out the journal to Equestria. This was the second one she owned, one that had been delivered to her by Spike the dragon when she’d gone back through the portal during the incident with Juniper Montage. He’d been the one who’d saved her and the other girls while they’d been stuck in that mirror dimension and had convinced Juniper to release them. Seeing him meet his dog counterpart had been amusing, and Sunset had taken the Equestrian Spike in for the next couple of days. She’d even snuck him into the premier of the new Daring Do movie.

Opening the book, she reached the page where Spike had accidentally written into it about what Twilight had told him about the human Jason Wright. She began turning it towards the girls, but hesitated. Doubts began seeping into her mind. What if they thought less of her because of this? Frowning, she pushed those doubts aside. Despite their rocky instances in the earlier stages of their friendship, like Anon-A-Miss and how they kept her at arms length for a while until after the incident with the Dazzlings, she knew that they were true friends to her. Slowly, she turned the journal around. “A couple of months ago, I was streaming some video games at home when the journal began glowing. I thought Princess Twilight was contacting me about some new magic that was loose in our world. But this was what I got instead.”

The girls went silent as they all read the initial journal entry by Spike then the conversation that followed between him and Sunset. Thanks to their access to Equestrian magic, all six human girls and Spike the dog could actually read Equestrian along with English. Sunset watched their faces for their reactions. Their initial curiosity turned into confusion, which quickly turned into horror (and in Rainbow Dash’s case, disgust especially when she learned about what her counterpart had done). Spike reacted by whining and snuggling closer to Twilight, who held her pet and friend close.

The conversation between Spike and Sunset had been a long one. Not only had Spike told Sunset about what had happened with Jason Wright, but he’d also begun venting about how he had been treated by the ponies who claimed to be his friends. He’d described how Twilight would always leave him behind to do chores while she and her friends went off on adventures, how he had pined for the pony Rarity only for her to use him nearly quite literally as a pincushion, how Rainbow Dash would play pranks on him that were more abusive than anything, how Pinkie Pie had forgotten him many times whenever there was a party, and how Fluttershy had treated him more like another animal. That, and she was only nice to him because he was a baby dragon. There were even patches of the ink that looked smeared as if by water, or more likely tears.

Finally, everyone had finished reading the practically five pages of conversation between Sunset and Spike. When Fluttershy finished reading last, everyone turned to Sunset. Taking a deep breath, Sunset explained what she’d done after the conversation, how she had let her anger take control of her. How she’d headed through the portal and pretty much punched Princess Twilight out of pure rage. That, and how she’d pretty much cut all ties with her and her friends. “But, I still talk to the other Spike over there,” she finished as she closed the journal and put it back in her backpack.

“…That’s…awful!” Twilight said, clinging tightly to her Spike.

“I know I can be reckless and all, but I didn’t think my pony self could be cruel!” Rainbow Dash said, a fire of anger in her eyes. “I have half a mind to go through the portal and punch that bitch!”

“Simmer down there, Sally,” Applejack said, kicking Rainbow Dash’s leg gently under the table, “Ah’m madder than a puffed toad here too, but we can’t just go flyin’ off the handles here.”

“Are all ponies like that?” Fluttershy asked, looking uncharacteristically angry herself.

Sunset sank back into her seat, looking up at the corner where ceiling and wall met. The wavy neon lights in one corner were surreptitiously flickering, possibly meaning that they needed to be replaced. The other teens in the café were all talking and/or dancing to the song currently playing in the jukebox. Ironically enough, they were playing a Rainbooms song that Pinkie Pie wrote called Coinky Dink World. She looked back at her friends and sighed. “Ponies…well, I’ll admit, they’re more nervous around anything non-pony for the most part. They are lower on the food chain, metaphorically speaking. I’m not saying this to defend what happened to Jason Wright, but ponies do tend to be scared of other races. When I first came here all those years ago, I was terrified of humans before I began my research into this world. With a few differences, I realized that humans and ponies aren’t all that different. I guess that so called Princess Twilight didn’t see that when she came here.” Sunset clenched her fists angrily. “At least I know why she never visited this world unless absolutely necessary…”

“This is really botherin’ ya, ain’t it?” Applejack asked.

Sunset sat forward and put her head in her hands. “How could it not?!” she shouted bitterly. So loud, in fact, that a few neighboring teens paused what they were doing to look over at the corner booth with concern. Sunset realized how loud she must have been and held up a hand. “Sorry, everyone.”

“Well, I can certainly understand your anger, darling,” Rarity said, arms crossed and a scowl on her face. “I certainly can’t imagine doing anything so cruel.”

“I can,” Fluttershy said with a soft voice. “Remember Anon-A-Miss, girls?”

The mood at the table darkened and five of the six teens looked down at their ice cream in shame. Only Twilight looked confused as she looked at them, then back at Sunset. “What’s that? Anon-A-Miss?”

Sunset looked around at the girls and raised her hands. “Girls, girls, it’s alright. You more than made it up to me by buying me that Torque T-150 truck, remember? And you apologized so much I had ‘I’m sorry’ coming out of my ears. It’s really okay. I forgave you.”

“Ah appreciate yah sayin’ so,” Applejack said as she looked up at Sunset. “It’s still somethin’ that bothers me from time tah time.”

“Yeah, same here,” Rainbow Dash said. “I mean, I know we’re cool and all, but there are some days where I remember what we did…”

“What’s Anon-A-Miss?” Twilight repeated.

“Oh, it was a MyStable account,” Sunset said before she proceeded to explain the entire story to a stunned Twilight. “But that’s all in the past,” she finished. “Things are better between all of us now, and I’ve worked hard to make sure people know I’m not the same girl I was when I came here.”

“Boy have you!” Pinkie giggled.

“Wow…that’s quite a story,” Spike said. “Well, all of them are. That other me is probably super depressed.”

Twilight hugged her Spike close to her, looking down at him with a warm and tender smile. “I won’t let that happen to you, Spike,” she promised.

“Actually, the dragon Spike told me recently that he’s begun hanging out with foals his own age,” Sunset said with a smile. “He’s spending more time with the Cutie Mark Crusaders and a couple other fillies. In fact, I think I’ve been getting hints that he’s got a crush on the pony version of Sweetie Belle.”

The girls, save for a stunned Rarity, all went “Ooooo!”

“Really? The dragon me is crushing on a pony?” Spike asked curiously.

“Don’t be getting any ideas, Spikey Wikey,” Rarity said with a frown on her face.

“Um, I’m a dog,” Spike said.

Rarity’s frown turned into a playful grin before she reached over and ruffled his fur. “I’m just teasing, darling,” she said.

“Are you sure you’re gonna be okay, Sunset?” Twilight asked with concern.

Sunset took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. “Yeah…I feel a lot better after having told you girls. I’m sorry it took so long.”

“Aw shucks, yah ain’t gotta apologize tah us,” Applejack said. “Ah know how yah feel, not wantin’ tah burden yer friends. But it’s okay tah be honest with us.” With that, her human ears vanished, replaced with pony ears and her hair extended.

“We’re always here if you want to talk about whatever’s bothering you,” Fluttershy said. Her own ears transformed into pony ears and a pair of wings spread from her back while her hair extended.

“We wanna see you smiling again!” Pinkie Pie said, and her hair and ears changed as well.

“I’ll give up any time for you, darling,” Rarity said as her hair and ears changed into her pony up form.

“You’re our friend, SunShim! We won’t leave you hanging!” Rainbow said, her wings spreading as she hovered above the table while her ears and hair changed to match the others.

Twilight leaned forward, taking Sunset’s hand in hers. Her ears changed and the alicorn wings spread from her back as she smiled sincerely at the former unicorn. “Sunset, you’re not alone. Please let us in.”

Sunset could only stare in awe at the ponied up versions of her friends. She smiled after a while, feeling herself too pony up as she wrapped her hand around Twilight’s own. “Thanks, Twilight. Thank you, everyone.”

Pinkie then gasped loudly as she pointed to Sunset. “Your smile reached your eyes! YAY! You’re back to your old self again!”

Sunset chuckled, putting a hand to her mouth. “I do feel a lot better.” She smiled gratefully at all of her friends before she cleared her throat and clapped her hands. “Well, why don’t we change topics for a bit, huh? Who’s ready for that cruise next week?”

“I am! It’s gonna be sooo much fun!” Pinkie said excitedly.

“It better be,” Rainbow said. “We couldn’t go that one Spring Break because we didn’t get the funding to pay for it.”

“Well we got it now thanks tah Twilight here,” Applejack said, patting her on the back with a grin.

Twilight blushed before she pulled out a pamphlet and opened it. “I got this pamphlet from the company who runs the cruise. Listen to this: ‘Welcome aboard the Luxe Deluxe, where you’ll set sail for a full week of luxurious luxuriating on our most deluxe luxury liner’!”

Fluttershy looked over. “Oooh, sounds…luxurious,” she said as she gave Twilight a knowing look.

“The Luxe Deluxe has everything,” Twilight said, turning the pages of the pamphlet. “A petting zoo, an all you can eat dessert buffet you can eat all you can eat…at…hehe…”

As the girls continued talking about the upcoming cruise, Sunset watched them with a smile on her face. She didn’t know just how she’d gotten so lucky to have so many amazing friends in this world, but she was grateful to have them. She wouldn’t give them up for the world.

---

---

General Nictis, the changeling in charge of the spy network that was continually spreading across the world, rushed through the new changeling location with purpose, a report in his magical grasp from their spy network. All around him, the walls moved and holes opened and shut in random locations. At least, they would be random to anycreature who wasn’t a changeling. The massive fluidic spires of the once abandoned fortress were busily being restored and regrown on the orders of the Emperor himself. He had placed Duchess Chrysalis in charge of everything regarding the construction. When the Emperor had received that letter from their enemy while they had been positioned in the Duchess’ former castle closer to Equestria, he ordered the best changeling historians, under the supervision of the Emperor’s personal secretary with that annoying nasally voice Histus, to scour all of the records for references to the old fortress of the changeling hoard before it had to be abandoned. It was Histus himself who found the ancient scrolls with the location of the fortress. The emperor then ordered fliers to scout the location. This included Nictis. He was the one who first spotted the old ruins and reported it back to the Emperor.

With the exception of the majority of the Empire’s spy network (which had remained behind in their former headquarters on the orders of their Emperor), Emperor Wright and Duchess Chrysalis led the changelings to the old fortress and began to rebuild the ancient structure. The builder drones were still at work around Nictis as he walked towards the throne room. Some were patching up holes in the interior while others were creating defenses on the outside, such as a deep moat and spikes that could be launched into the air at incoming aerial assaults.

Nictis reached the throne room and rushed in, looking up at the throne. Unlike how it had appeared when they’d first got there, now it had been reshaped to better fit the Emperor’s unusual bipedal form. Only the Emperor himself wasn’t sitting in it. Instead, he saw that two guards were standing in front of the meeting room’s location. He galloped over and nodded at the two guards who saluted. Nictis held up the piece of paper and said “I have a report from our Griffonstone agent that need to be hoof delivered to the Emperor himself. Is he in there?”

Both guards looked nervously at each other before turning back to him. The guard on the left held out a hoof. “I will deliver it to the Emperor himself,” he said. “He is in a strategy meeting.”

Nictis shook his head. “No, Private. I have to hoof deliver this to the Emperor personally. His orders.”

The private retracted his hoof and straightened, grasping his musket and facing ahead. “Understood, General.”

Nictis nodded then walked closer to the portion of the wall which led to the large new meeting room. The wall opened up as he approached and he stepped through, catching the back end of his fellow General Pharynx as he said, “…telling you, my liege, Zebrica and Farasi are ripe for the taking! We can swoop in and topple their tribal leaders with ease!” Pharynx was in charge of the changeling army and had always possessed a more militaristic mind, unlike his soft hearted brother Thorax who was on the stealth team.

Cheery, the seductress changeling who had kept the Crystal Empire from interfering in the Equestria Venture, only glowered at Pharynx. She was sitting next to the empty chair where the Emperor normally sat. Nictis knew that she was actually a skilled enough negotiator that the Emperor had given her special status as head of the foreign affairs department. In fact, there were rumors that she had shared the Emperor’s bed, but Nictis was a practical changeling and didn’t accept rumors as fact unless there was cold hard evidence to back it up. “Phary, Phary, Phary,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hoof, “You’re missing the point! We can’t just invade any country we feel like! Besides, Farasi and Zebrica are way too far away!”

“We should really focus on domestic affairs first,” Minister Proboscis, the changeling in charge of the changeling empire’s internal affairs, insisted, putting his hoof down hard on the table. “The love we received from the Equestria Venture will not last forever.”

“Why do you think we’ve rescheduled the feeding schedule, Minister,” Chrysalis, who sat close to the Emperor’s empty chair, leaned forward and stomped on the table. “We have at least another month or two if we stretch.”

Nictis stepped closer in and the wall behind him closed. This earned him the attention of the council, who all turned to face him. He straightened and held out the report from the agent in Griffonstone. “Forgive me for interrupting, but I have a report from Griffonstone for the Emperor.”

“It couldn’t wait, General?” Chrysalis asked with narrowed eyes.

“I was told to report to the Emperor personally,” he replied, standing up more defiantly. It was no secret that Chrysalis strongly disliked Nictis, especially since during Emperor Wright’s rebellion against Chrysalis, Nictis had been there with him as his second in command. He’d been rewarded by becoming one of his generals and being placed in charge of their new stealth force, a job he took seriously. Especially ever since the junior Agent O in Griffonstone had discovered the presence of a second human in the world.

“Duchess, enough,” the deep, gravely voice of the Emperor said from deep in the shadows. Walking out of the shadows, Nictis caught a brief glimpse of his Emperor before he bowed in respect. He was clad in brown slacks, a black tunic and cape, and was wearing his gas mask, making him a formidable figure who seemed to tower above the changelings there except perhaps Duchess Chrysalis.

The aforementioned of which immediately bowed to him. “My apologies, my liege.”

“What do you have to report?” the Emperor asked, and Nictis was surprised to hear the fatigue in his voice. He was used to the fire in his Emperor’s voice. It was what made him so loyal to him. The determination in the strange otherworldly being’s attitude. His drive too. Now, the Emperor just seemed to be growing more and more tired, making him concerned. He resolved to at some point talk to the Emperor about it.

“Sir, our agent in Griffonstone delivered this comprehensive report to her captain just a few hours ago,” he said as he floated the piece of paper over to the Emperor.

Emperor Wright took it in his hands, then slowly opened it up and looked down at it. He couldn’t see his eyes behind the two thick and tinted eyeholes, but he could tell that he was drinking in the words on the page. While this was going on, Nictis took the time to open his senses to detect what the human was feeling. There was a hint of jealousy at first, but that was quickly overshadowed with a feeling of worry. Worry directed to the new Chancellor of Griffonia, he knew. Nictis could also feel a sense of rage mixed with what tasted like guilt.

Ever since the Emperor had heard about this second human who had arrived in the world, he’d taken a special interest in his fellow human. He’d actually almost wanted to send a squad of changeling infiltrators to keep a protective eye on the human, but had chosen instead, on Nictis’ suggestion, to leave everything to the prodigy who had kept an eye on the city ever since he’d taken over the changeling empire.

Young Ocellus, now known as Agent O, was one of the best agents who Nictis had ever trained, after all.

“General Nictis,” the Emperor said, and Nictis could taste something he hadn’t tasted from his Emperor in a while: that same drive to protect those important to him, only now he suspected it was directed at this new Chancellor.

“Sir?”

“Have you dispatched another more experienced agent to Griffonstone?”

Nictis nodded. “Yes, sir. I sent Agent T.”

Pharynx stiffened and glared at Nictis. “Seriously?! All those top notch agents, and you send that weakling!?”

Nictis whirled on Pharynx. “Agent T is one of my best,” he retorted angrily. He hated Pharynx, especially since during Emperor Wright’s rebellion, they had been on opposite sides. However, he had to admit that Pharynx was definitely a better general of an army than he was. Nictis was always more for stealth than full on assault, something Pharynx excelled at.

“Enough, you two,” the Emperor commanded. Right after both generals straightened and saluted, Emperor Wright faced Nictis. “Do you trust this Agent T to keep a close watch on the new Griffonian Chancellor with Agent O?”

Nictis nodded. “Agent T is perfectly capable, sir. I trained him myself over these past few months.”

Emperor Wright nodded as he took a seat at the front of the table once more. Nictis didn’t miss the slight movement from Chrysalis and Cheery as both females scooted ever so slightly closer to him in their chairs. Both females had their own emotions closed off, so he couldn’t sense what they were feeling. He could guess, however. He suppressed his suspicions as the Emperor continued, “Then I trust you to keep a close eye on him. If the Equestrian Solar Princess and the Elements of Harmony are there, danger normally follows them.”

“Understood, my liege,” Nictis said. “Is there anything else?”

“Keep your best agents on standby just in case events in Griffonstone change,” the Emperor said, a wave of protective rage flowing out of him despite the calmness in his voice.

“Understood, my liege,” he repeated.

“You’re dismissed, General,” the Emperor said.

With a salute, Nictis turned and headed to the wall, which opened. Spreading his wings, he flew out towards the exit. For the first time in months, he felt somewhat relieved. The Emperor he’d gotten to know when he was only High General was still there, he was sure of it.

His old friend.

Unnoticed by him, Nictis’ wings seemed to glow slightly before returning to their normal hue. With one exception: a single spark of light at both tips of his wings.

Next Chapter: 23: Sun And Stone Estimated time remaining: 14 Hours, 3 Minutes