The three ponies arrived outside Lyra and Bon-bon's home, which was a relief to Taylor. He had felt very uneasy for most of the walk, but couldn't quite figure out why, chalking it up to having eaten far too much earlier. The sun was slowly setting, casting elongated silhouettes of every building to paint a surreal picture across the landscape.

Taylor held the door for the other two ponies, a habit he'd practiced for as long as he could remember, following closely behind. For the first time, he noticed that the knob on their front door didn't turn. It would have been an insignificant fact were it not for his hooves, which he doubted very much would have been able to grasp the knob without some overly-complicated maneuver. As the door closed behind him, he turned to find Lyra's face barely an inch away from his.

"Hi there, Lyra." He said flatly."I assume what you're doing right now has something to do with you ignoring everything I said about cars being dangerous, and you still want me to teach you about them."

She nodded, an overexcited, almost manic smile on her face.

"Bon-bon, this is the look she gets when she's not going to let something go, right?"

She gave an amused snort. "It's the look she got when she started reading about your kind. I think that speaks for itself."

Taylor smirked. "Well, my knowledge about this particular subject might not be what you expected."

Lyra's smile began to fade. "What do you mean?"

Taylor walked over to a nearby chair, taking a seat in Lyra's preferred fashion. "This is one of my favorite stories from my school years. See, I had the opportunity to learn, or at least I was supposed to. I don't know if you have the equivalent of a high school here in Ponyville..." he trailed off, looking to Lyra for confirmation, who stared blankly back at him.

"Doesn't matter. Anyway, the school I was going to offered a lot of technical courses. I wanted to get into automotive tech, which is a class dedicated entirely to learning about how cars work. Unfortunately, that never happened for me."

Lyra seemed anxious for him to continue, clinging to his words as if he were the most important pony in Equestria. He would have been lying if he'd said he didn't like it.

"On the day of the sign-ups, I had intended to go straight over to get my name on the list for the class before it could fill up. The previous two years, it was already capped out before the end of the first period, so I had to get in there fast. Wouldn't you know it - that's the day that I get dragged to the office. Not even two steps inside the door and they tell me I need to go talk to the principal."

He twirled his hoof in the air, rolling his eyes. While Lyra didn't quite understand the gesture, she took it to mean that this principal wasn't a very well-respected human.

"Well, I sat there in the office for almost half an hour waiting for him to get done with whatever. Finally he calls me in and it's some crap about how many days I missed school that month. Long story short, he takes almost an hour to get done venting. By the time I got out of there, the auto class was filled up. As you would expect, I was rather upset by that, and I made sure he knew it too, with a few choice words later that day. I ended up taking a different course, which turned out to be pretty fun, actually."

He locked eyes with Lyra, smiled broadly. "Machine tooling. Instead of learning how the puzzle fits together, I learned to make the pieces. Catching my drift?"

It took her a moment for the full realization to hit her, but when it did, her eyes became wider than Taylor thought a pony capable of. She managed to stammer out something about notes as she dashed up the stairs.

Of course she knew what he was getting at; her mind worked just like his. Who is more intimately familiar with the machine, the man whose effort puts the parts together, or the man whose effort birthed those pieces in the first place?

Bon-bon, who had stood silently for the duration of Taylor's story looked on disapprovingly. "You're not really going to help her build one of these things, are you?"

"Oh hell no, at least not like the ones from my world. They're way too dangerous, and I seriously doubt that anyone in Equestra has the tools necessary for the job. Even if they did, it takes a lot of time to put something like this together, so I likely wouldn't be around to finish it. Not that I haven't enjoyed myself here, but I want to go home as soon as possible."

Bon-bon nodded solemnly, which caught Taylor's attention.

"What's the matter? Not gonna miss me, are you?" A playful grin spread across his face, but Bon-bon said nothing. Her expression was serious, with a barely perceptible twinge of sadness. She stared back at him wordlessly for a brief moment, then turned away, headed for the next room. She closed the door behind her with a gentle nudge from her rear hoof.

"That was so uncomfortable."

Taylor decided to follow Lyra up to her room, hoping she had some idea of why Bon-bon was behaving so strangely. At the top of the stairs, he found pages littering the floor, to the point that whether or not a floor actually existed beneath them was uncertain at best. Lyra was sifting through several stacks of material, visibly distressed.

"Looks like Katrina in here. What happened?"

Lyra had no way of knowing what Taylor meant, which he figured was probably for the best. She didn't seem too concerned with an explanation anyway. "I can't find my notes. They're gone!"

"If I were to venture a guess as to why you can't find them..." he gestured toward the pages scattered everywhere.

Lyra was not amused. "I know it's a mess, but it's a mess I made, and I do know where things are in here. I'm missing a lot of pages, and the ones that are here are out of order."

"You think someone was in here?" Taylor asked, eyes scanning the room. If Lyra answered, he didn't hear it. His attention had already been focused elsewhere, on one paper in particular. It was blank, save for a few scattered scribblings. What made it stand out was the obvious hoofprint on it. He picked up the page, struggling a bit to grasp it.

"Lyra, you might want to look at this." He walked over, offering her the sheet.

The hoofprint was bigger than what any of the three ponies in the house could have produced. Lyra's brow furrowed, scrutinizing every detail. Taylor continued looking for clues around the room. By chance, a shadow outside the window caught his eye. It was the figure of a pony, covered head to hoof in what appeared to be a dark red robe. He thought little of it, until he noticed there were others spread around the area, all dressed identically. In total, he counted four, with the largest of them looking like he could have easily been the source of the mysterious hoofprint.

Taylor had not yet made it obvious that he had seen them. He slowly moved away from the window, pretending to be distracted by something on the floor.

His voice was thick with tension. "Lyra, there are four ponies out there in red uniforms staring directly at this house. If that's not ominous, I don't know what is. Any ideas?"

Lyra dropped everything she had been holding, staring back at him with her face frozen. She peeked around the edge of the window to see for herself. "That's the Canterlot Inquisition!"

"I didn't expect that," Taylor mused, though the joke clearly lost on Lyra, not that this was a time for jokes. "Do you think they'll try to get in?"

"I think they already did, and they took a stack of notes that proves I was researching a way to get a human to Equestria. They have all the evidence they need..."

"...to take you away. Or more likely, both of us." Taylor finished, grimly. "So how do you want to deal with them?"

Lyra sighed softly, as if she had already resigned herself to her fate. "What choice do I have? I'm going to go explain myself and let them take me to Canterlot. Nothing in the missing notes connects you to any of this, so they won't look for you."

Taylor placed himself between Lyra and the staircase. "You think they brought that many ponies to deal with just you? They know about me, and I'm pretty sure they brought that big one to handle whatever threat they think I could pose. They came here to bring the both of us back with them, Lyra."

Her jaw tightened. Taylor's explanation made a lot of sense, and she cursed herself for not even trying to hide her notes. "You're right... I'm really sorry I dragged you into my mess, Taylor. When we go out there, I'll try to explain that-"

Taylor scoffed, interrupting her. "We're not giving ourselves up. If they want us, they're going to have to work for it."

Lyra's mouth hung open in shock. It was absolutely unheard of to run from authorities in Ponyville, not that there was ever much call for their intervention, since almost everyone adhered strictly to the letter of the law.

"But, if we don't give ourselves up..." she trailed off, trying not to think about the consequences of resisting them.

Taylor's expression was one of resolute defiance. "Lyra, I don't know how things work here, and I don't really care. I'm not letting them take me away, and I won't let them take you either. Whether or not you like it, we're making a run for the woods. It will be easy to hide there until we can figure out what to do next."

Lyra peered out the window again. The four ponies had already begun move, surrounding the front of the house. She looked back to Taylor, uncertainty in her eyes. She just needed another push to convince her, and Taylor knew where to strike.

"Did you think about Bon-bon? We don't know if they're going to take her too. It's not like they don't have the numbers to do it. From what I've heard, the Inquisition's not something to fool around with. You can be sure that if they want to stomp out any trace of humans, they're going to be thorough about it."

It was a bluff. He had no way of knowing whether or not they'd actually take her, but it seemed to be just the right motivation. Lyra's expression had changed drastically in a fraction of a second, from fear to determination.

"I think I just found the spinach to her Popeye."

"Still want to give up?" Taylor asked.

Lyra simply walked past him, a fire in her eyes. Her actions would be her answer.

"Good."

They dashed downstairs as quickly as possible. While Lyra ran to explain the situation to Bon-bon, Taylor surveyed the back of the house through the window. One of the red robed ponies was standing guard several feet from the door. Or perhaps it was a fifth. He had no way of knowing, they were all dressed identically.

Bon-bon and Lyra emerged from the side room. It couldn't have been more than a minute since Lyra went in there to fill her roommate in on what was happening. Taylor found it odd, but he guessed that Lyra had avoided going into detail for the sake of time. He motioned her over.

Taylor took another peek out the window. "There's just one outside. It shouldn't be hard to get past him. Her. It. Whatever, they're all in robes. I'm ready to move when you two are."

Lyra was tense. "Bon-bon's not going. She says she won't run. I tried to convince her, but..."

He should have anticipated this. Of the three, Bon-bon was certainly the most likely to give herself over. She was innocent, and she knew it. Taylor just hoped that the Inquisition would see it the same way. "We don't have time to try changing her mind. We either make our escape right now, or we take a ride with our new friends outside."

Taylor glanced at Bon-bon. She didn't seem the least bit nervous about what was about to happen. In fact, she was eerily calm. "You intend to hold them off for us, or are you just going to play this as neutrally as possibly?"

Bon-bon nodded her head. "No offense, but I want no part in this. I've done nothing wrong, and don't intend to start now."

Taylor gave her a knowing look. "Understandable, and I don't blame you in the least."

He took a position several feet back from the door, preparing himself. He raised a hoof, then struck the floor, the sound echoing through the house, and charged. Lyra, who had been standing ready, rapidly pulled the door ajar, allowing Taylor a clear path to rush the Inquisitor. She followed close behind.

The red-robed pony had been caught off guard, giving Taylor the edge. He slammed his shoulder into the Inquisitor full-force, and they both fell hard, with Taylor landing roughly on the mass of red cloth. He managed to get to his hooves first, galloping away as fast as he could, trying to catch up to Lyra, who had already pulled ahead by several hundred feet.

By now, the rest of the Inquisitors were in pursuit, with the largest in the lead, and rapidly gaining ground on Taylor. He was still adjusting to this new body, having to retrain his muscle memory to accommodate four legs. Needless to say, this was a terrible time to have to learn.

In spite of his best efforts, the Inquisitor was right on top of him. He was a lot bigger than Taylor, so it was only logical that he would have a much harder time changing direction due to his mass. With no other options, Taylor gambled on it, turning sharply to the left. The Inquisitor, who was not expecting the move, had a very difficult time keeping up, his hooves digging deep into the soil as he struggled to stay upright.

"Sir Isaac Newton, you magnificent bastard, I owe you big time."

He repeated this tactic every time the Inquisitor would get close, easily avoiding him. He would be at the forest in a few more seconds, after which the danger of being captured would vanish. There's no way a pony that big could maneuver through the forest as fast as Taylor.

Once more, the Inquisitor had managed to catch up to him. He started to run right, but a sudden impact on his back brought him down, sliding several feet across the ground. The Inquisitor had predicted the move, putting all of his weight into tackling Taylor. They both came to a stop less than ten feet from the treeline.

The others had closed in, surrounding him, making escape impossible even if he could manage to wriggle out from under the horse-shaped mountain of an Inquisitor.

"Well, it took you long enough to catch me." Taylor remarked condescendingly. Pissing them off probably wasn't a very good idea, but there wasn't much else to do. If he was getting dragged to Canterlot, he'd be loud and defiant the whole way.

A hoof struck his jaw with an audible crack. Taylor gritted his teeth, fighting back the pain. That one was definitely going to hurt for a while.

"We know what you are, human. This disguise does not fool us." It was the big one speaking.

Taylor grinned viciously. "If you know what I am, then you know what I'm capable of. I should point out that I haven't had any meat since I got here, and all this running around's got me hungry. You'd better hope I don't get free or I'll be having horseburgers tonight. I think I'll start with the small tender ones and work my way up to you."

Another hoof to the jaw. The pain was significantly worse than the first one, but it was well worth it. Two of the Inquisitors had backed away from him. What better way to rattle the enemy than to make them believe you're an absolute monster? If he did manage to get away now, he could count on those two being hesitant to attack.

"Be silent. You're in no position to make threats."

"You think so? It must be nice to be as oblivious as you are. You haven't even noticed the other two humans standing right over there in the woods, just waiting for you to slip up."

The other Inquisitors were visibly shaken, looking all around the forest's border for any sign of a human. They wouldn't find any, because it was all a bluff, but it seemed to be working on everyone but the big guy.

"There are no other humans! Calm yourselves! Do not let this one's lies frighten you!" He shouted at the other red-robed figures, frustrated by how gullible his backup was. Their attention turned back toward Taylor, though they were still shifting uncomfortably, stealing glances toward the forest's edge.

The big one leaned in closer to Taylor. "You do not need to make this difficult on yourself, human. The one who brought you here - where is she?"

Taylor turned his head to one side, glaring up at his captor. "Don't know. I was too busy dancing around your graceless ass to see where she went."

Another hoof impacted his head, this time it was right in the eye.

"Why do you continue to provoke me when you know the consequences?"

Taylor laughed through the pain. "Because I'm just bait. While you've been sitting here wasting time on me, the one you're really after got away. It must be embarrassing for you to have been outplayed by such a simp-"

Another blow to the head interrupted him. This time Taylor couldn't hold back a cry of pain. It was getting progressively more difficult to resist this kind of interrogation, but if there's one thing he was good at, it was being stubborn. His jaw would break long before his will.

"Tell me where she went and I will stop."

"How about 'fuck you'? I'm not telling you anything." Taylor hissed.

He braced himself for the next strike. There was a loud crack, but he felt no pain. The massive weight that had been pinning him to the ground vanished. Through his good eye, he was able to see several Inquisitors standing around, staring aghast at something behind him. Lifting himself off the ground, he turned to find the large Inquisitor lying still on his back, two very distinct hoof prints in his face, and a familiar seafoam green unicorn standing over him. He was still breathing, but appeared to be unconscious.

"Well, it's about time the cavalry arrived. You couldn't have come back before he beat me shitless?"

Lyra looked back at him. Her expression was apologetic, which was good enough for Taylor. At least for now. He shook himself off and limped toward the treeline. Lyra caught up quickly, then slowed her pace to stay in line with Taylor before they disappeared into the forest. None of the Inquisitors made a move to stop them, choosing instead to retreat.

"To be expected when you watch your leader get one-shot by a little green badass."

The two ponies walked in wordlessly for nearly an hour, slowly making their way through the woods. Thin rays of moonlight filtered in through the canopy, illuminating their path with a soft white glow. It would have been relaxing, were it not for the incredibly stressful circumstances they were under.

The Inquisition had a much better idea of what they were up against now and would likely want to extract a little payback for tonight's events, Bon-bon's whereabouts and status were anyone's guess, and Taylor wouldn't be very useful for several days. Everything seemed to be working against the two of them.

Taylor's injuries were catching up to him. Nearly every part of his body hurt, his breathing had become labored, and his already slow pace was grinding to a halt. Lyra took notice, breaking the silence. "We should find a place to rest. We're far enough in to be safe, though I doubt they're looking for us. Or at least not very hard."

Taylor just nodded, having no desire to do much of anything else at this point. He followed Lyra into a dense thicket, and collapsed against a tree, inhaling sharply as the pain in his leg flared up.

"They beat you up pretty bad, huh?" Lyra asked gently, taking a seat next to him.

"Yeah, you could say that," he replied. It was painful to speak, a fact that he was trying very hard to conceal.

"I'm sorry I didn't get to you sooner. After I got to the bushes, I hid and waited for you, but when I saw what happened, I just... froze up. You wouldn't be in this condition if I-"

Taylor put a hoof up, interrupting her. "Shit happens. Try not to worry about it. At least you got to me before they broke anything important."

Several minutes passed before Lyra spoke up again. "I heard what you said to them. All of it. You let this happen to help me get away."

It was agonizing, but Taylor managed a weak smile. "To be fair, that big one was really fast. I didn't exactly let him catch me."

"Not that. I mean, you could have easily told them where I was going and saved yourself from all of this," she gestured to his numerous cuts and bruises, "but you protected me instead."

"I don't think I avoided anything. In fact, I might have gotten off easy. Think about what they might have done to us both if I sold you out. Actually, you're probably better off not thinking about that."

Neither of them had any way of knowing for sure, but the Inquisitors certainly didn't seem like they favored the diplomatic approach.

"Why did you do it, though? Why would you put yourself through that for my sake? You've only known me for a few hours."

Taylor tilted his head back against the tree, gazing up at the moon, considering his answer. "Well, the way I see it, I'm probably not going to get back home without your help, so your safety is much more valuable than my own."

Lyra wasn't buying it. "You'll have to try harder than that, Taylor."

He grinned. "Oh, you wanted the reason, not just a reason? Alright, I did it because I consider you my friend, and I care about you enough to do something reckless and stupid."

Lyra feigned an exasperated sigh, wrapping her forelegs around him and planting a quick kiss on his cheek. "That was such a cheesy answer, but thank you anyway. Oh, and Bon-bon never hears about this, okay?"

"Wow. Uh... yeah, sure," Taylor stammered awkwardly, taken aback by the sudden display of affection. "Wait, are you two....?"

"I'm not answering that," Lyra said playfully. "Now I think we should both try to get some sleep. It's been quite a night."

She shifted her position to recline against the tree, falling asleep within minutes. Taylor envied her being able to drift off so easily. With everything that had happened and everything that still needed to happen before he could go home, his mind was far too busy for sleep.

It took several hours for him to finally settle his mind and get some well-deserved rest.

[Author's Note: I know what you're thinking and the answer is NO. A thousand times no. There is not going to be any shipping. Stop thinking about it right now, dammit.]

[Note 2: I know what I said a while back about the Canterlot Inquisition not being "bad" - well, I lied. I've been known to do that from time to time. There's no danger in an incompetent strictly-nonviolent antagonist, which means no fun. At the very least, they aren't murderers, if that makes you feel any better.]