The sun was beginning to rise once more over Ponyville, stretching its warm rays across the landscape. Familiar scents hung in the air; smoke from a chimney somewhere in town, the morning dew evaporating in the heat of the sun, the sweet smell of baked goods from Sugarcube Corner...

...and then there were the two fugitive ponies passed out in the middle of Twilight's library, oblivious to all of it. After all the stress they had been under and the obvious danger of going back to Bon-bon's house, she decided to let them sleep here. After they had settled in, she quickly retreated to the warmth of her own bed, eager to get some sleep as well. It wasn't often she got a good night's rest, even less so when she had various ponies pounding on her door in the middle of the night, which happened much more often than one might expect.

Lyra was the first to wake, some time around nine-thirty, slowly opening her golden eyes to meet the day. She found herself momentarily confused by where she was and how she had gotten there, but the memories came back quickly. She wished they hadn't; not remembering yesterday's events would have been so much more comfortable. The Inquisition had taken her best friend, and now they would come after her again. She had no idea what they planned to do to her if they managed to capture her, but it was certainly not as bad as what would happen to Taylor.

She craned her neck, looking back at the silver pony lying nearby, covered in bruises and gashes, his face still noticeably swollen on the side where the Inquisitor had struck him repeatedly. She felt so guilty for what she had put him through; bringing him to Equestria for her own selfish reasons, making him a target of the Inquisition, allowing him to be beaten so badly that he had to struggle just to walk. Worst of all, he hadn't complained, hadn't berated her, and didn't even seem to resent her in the slightest for what had taken place. Even after his run-in with the Inquisitor, he still managed to remain in good spirits. He had smiled - not for himself, but for her, and called her his friend. All of this, when he should have been blaming her as much as she blamed herself, if not more.

The sound of another pony moving about caught her attention. While she had been lost in thought, Twilight had made her way down to the kitchen and, ever the gracious host, was putting together an extra two plates of breakfast for her guests. It reminded her of the mornings Bon-bon would make breakfast for her and then tease her about food being the only thing that would get her out of bed before noon. Lyra carefully stepped over Taylor, following Twilight into the adjacent room.

"Good morning." Twilight said pleasantly as she was joined by Lyra. A magenta glow surrounded the plates as she levitated them over, setting them down gently.

"Mornin' Twilight" Lyra responded before eagerly devouring her breakfast. Even thought the lavender unicorn wasn't very good at cooking, Lyra was still grateful for the food. She had worked up an incredible appetite after all the running around she had done the night before. In no time at all, her plate was spotless.

Twilight levitated it away, then leaned in close to Lyra, lowering her voice to a barely audible whisper. "Before he wakes up, we need to talk." She poked a hoof in the direction of the upstairs balcony. Lyra shrugged, obediently following her host.

The climb to the upper level of the library seemed to take forever. Lyra's mind was racing with possibilities; what could Twilight want to talk about that had to be kept from Taylor? Was it good news? Bad news? Were they in danger again? What if-

A sudden wave of cool air broke her train of thought as Twilight opened the double doors to her balcony. She inhaled deeply, enjoying the morning breeze that gently tousled her dark mane. She seemed different from her usual self; a bit less uptight and reserved. She turned, gesturing for Lyra to close the doors behind her.

"I want to be sure this is between the two of us only. It's important that you don't let your," she paused, looking for the right word, "friend know about this, no matter what."

Lyra nodded, suddenly much more apprehensive about whatever it was that Twilight needed to say. Her whole body was tense, and Twilight took notice.

"Relax, it's not bad news. I just want you to be aware of some history. About the ponies that have been chasing you, about Celestia, and about me."

Cerise was so giddy, she felt like skipping all the way to the holding cells. After Bon-bon's interference with her operation several months ago to stop Lyra's research, she had been waiting for an opportunity to get a little payback. When she found out that Bon-bon was locked away by the Grand Inquisitor, she just had to see it for herself. The look on the little cream-colored pony's face was sure to be priceless.

She intentionally clacked her hooves on the stone floor loudly as she walked down the hall toward Bon-bon's cell. She was followed closely and wordlessly by Adrastos. To anypony else, his blank expression would have made him seem indifferent to the situation, but Cerise knew better, having spent most of her life in his company. He didn't see any value or enjoyment in salting Bon-bon's wounds, but it also wasn't his place to question a superior. This was one of the few times when Cerise would have pulled rank on him, and they both knew it, so he remained quiet.

Her head held high, Cerise stopped before the solid stone cube that housed Bon-bon, turning slowly and dramatically for effect. Bon-bon was lying on the floor with her back facing the cell door. She didn't bother to turn her head to see who had come down to taunt her. She already knew.

"My my, what a pathetic sight you are. You look so devastated, but I guess that's to be expected when you've been branded a failure and thrown in a cramped little cell by your own father. I almost feel bad for you. Almost."

Bon-bon didn't respond. Trying to defend her actions would be pointless, as would retaliating against Cerise. There was nothing to do but lie there and take it. Her inaction coaxed a vicious sneer from the pink unicorn. "Oh come now, that's not like you at all. You're usually so eager to hand out excuses for your behavior. I'm sure you still have a few good ones you haven't used yet. Why not give it a try?"

Even if she wanted to respond, hours of crying had left her throat too raw to speak. She was exhausted, both physically and mentally, and all she wanted was to be left alone. The gentle rise and fall of her chest was all the response she would offer, which only served to provoke Cerise even further.

"Truly pitiful, Bon-bon. You had a good thing going. Being the daughter of the Grand Inquisitor was a golden opportunity for you, and you could have done so much with that power. Instead, you chose to throw it all away to protect your little friend and that abomination of hers." Cerise paused for a moment to indulge herself with a condescending chuckle, "I wouldn't worry too much. No matter what you've done, you're still his daughter. I'm sure he'll let you go after we capture Lyra and the human. He might even let you watch."

Bon-bon flinched at that last word. She knew what the Order was capable of behind closed doors. They were fond of magical experimentation, especially on their prisoners. The thought of what they might do to Lyra completely shattered her resolve in an instant. A barely audible whimper escaped her throat before her muffled sobs filled her cell.

Satisfied that she had broken Bon-bon, Cerise turned up her nose and trotted back down the hallway, clearly pleased with herself. So much so that she didn't even notice that Adrastos hadn't followed her this time. He waited until his superior had left the hall before lightly tapping his hoof against one of the bars, though 'lightly' for a stallion of his size was a fairly solid strike. Bon-bon turned toward the door, staring up at the towering figure.

"I'm sorry."

Though brief, his sincerity was apparent. For a moment, there was even a hint of sadness in his eyes. He quickly turned to leave, hoping to catch up to Cerise before she realized he had gone missing.

Bon-bon rested her head back down on the cold floor of the cell. She choked back another sob just long enough to silently whisper her gratitude to Adrastos.

Less than a minute later, sleep had taken her.

"You almost joined the Inquisition?!" Lyra sputtered.

"The whole reason we came up here is so that other ponies wouldn't hear this conversation. Try to keep it down," Twilight said, annoyed. "They invited me back when I was still a filly. I guess they saw what happened during my entrance exam and realized what that much power could do for them, but the Princess got to me first."

Lyra cocked her head to the side. "So, they invited you to be a part of a dangerous shadow organization?"

"Not exactly. They hide behind the Canterlot Academy of Magic. It's run almost entirely by the Inquisition, and they do teach young unicorns, but they're always looking for the ponies that they believe they can coax into their order to further their goals. I don't know what those goals are, other than stopping any study of humans."

Lyra's inquisitive nature as a unicorn was filling her mind with questions, but she restrained herself, allowing Twilight to continue.

"Celestia has been keeping an eye on them for a long time. Hundreds of years, actually. She said she's waiting for something, but she wouldn't say what." Twilight turned her gaze on the door behind her. "When you put it together, it makes sense. Given what the Princess said, and what we know about the Inquisition, I think she's been waiting for him. Somehow his presence is vital to Celestia's plan."

"For what? Why would she be waiting for a human to suddenly pop up in our world?"

"You'll have to ask her when you see her. I've told you everything I know."

There was a long period of silence between the two. Lyra was deep in thought, trying to piece together what she had learned. Bringing a human to Equestria was obviously a big deal, but she didn't think it had such a far-reaching impact. The inexplicable obsession she had with humanity couldn't possibly have had this much effect on her world, could it? More importantly, why was this such a big secret? Nothing she had been told seemed to be sensitive information.

Twilight stepped around Lyra to open the door. The two unicorns exited the balcony and headed back downstairs. Spike had woken up and was already in the kitchen, shoveling his breakfast into his mouth, and then the contents of the other plate.

"Spike, that was for our guest!" Twilight hissed.

"I told him he could have it. I'm not hungry." Taylor croaked, half asleep. He was lying on his side, shielding his eyes with a hoof. "When we see Celestia, I'm going to have a little chat with her about the sun, and how bright it is in the morning."

"Speaking of Celestia, I'm a little surprised we haven't heard anything back from her." Twilight said, sounding concerned.

Spike hopped down from the chair in the kitchen. "Don't worry, Twilight, I'm sure Celestia's just busy. She'll write back as soon as-" he was interrupted as he tripped over a stack of books, landing hard on his belly. As he hit the floor, he belched a wave of green fire, launching a scroll neatly bound with a red band and the Royal Canterlot Seal across the room. It bounced off of Taylor's nose, spun several times in the air, and came to a rest in the center of the library.

Taylor briefly removed the hoof from his face to see what had hit him, hiding from the sun once more after he had confirmed it was the scroll. Twilight scooped it up quickly, unrolling it with her magic.

"The Princess wants to meet us in Canterlot as soon as possible. She's sending a team of chariot pegasi right now," Twilight paused for a split second, doing the math in her head, "so we have about fifteen minutes to get ready."

Taylor rose slowly from the floor, stretching. "Ready."

"You're going to meet the Princess like that? You haven't even brushed your teeth." Twilight grimaced.

"I guess I forgot to pack a brush when I was pulled through the frick'n cosmos to hang out in another world. Given the circumstances, I don't think your Princess is going to fault me for poor oral hygiene."

Twilight rolled her eyes, but conceded the point.

The Grand Inquisitor strode through the halls of the Sanctuary. If he felt anything for throwing his daughter in a cell, he didn't show it. As he rounded a corner, he found himself nearly nose to nose with a light gray mare. Her robe was almost identical to his own, but without the golden embroidering. Two small braided ropes looped neatly over her left shoulder, one red and the other black, marking her as a very dangerous member of the Order.

She took a step back and bowed before her superior. "We've gotten word from the castle. The Princess is sending two pegaus chariots to the library in Ponyville. They have been ordered to safely deliver three ponies to Celestia. Lyra and the human are among them."

The Inquisitor considered this for a moment. "Let them go. It's to our benefit if they make it to Canterlot."

The mare looked up at him, confused. "Sir?"

A grin slowly spread across his face. "When the human realizes how he fits into Celestia's plans for us, I believe he will seek us out. Why chase your prey when you can simply wait for it to come to you?"