‘Don’t you burn us.’

Parker’s words echoed through Scamp’s mind as she paced her home office, chewing her lip. Parker and her team were supposed to show up soon with the two Bronies.

She was nervous. Nervous for what she’ll learn from the pair, and nervous about her team's opinion of her after today.

This is what she’s been working towards all these years, and now that she’s found two Bronies from the book who actually know Lance, she should be excited. Instead she felt reserved.

The ring of her doorbell caused her to snap back to reality and she moved for the front door. Upon opening it she was greeted with Dew and Dribble, both sporting weary smiles.

“Hey, Scamp,” Dew greeted, walking in followed by Dribble.

“They here yet?” Dribbled asked as Scamp closed the door.

“They should be here soon,” she answered.

The three stood in silence for a bit, not sure what to talk about at that moment.

After a few minutes there was a knock at the door.

Scamp opened it to find Parker and Jace, the two Bronies behind them.

“Sorry it took so long, it’s not easy moving wanted fugitives through the city,” Park said as they all entered the house.

As she closed the door she saw Calypso walking towards the door, so she held it open for her as well.

Calypso only offered a nod as she entered.

A sigh escapes Scamp’s lips as she closed the door and walked into the living room with everyone else.

“So?” Jace asked, looking unsure. “Now what?”

Scamp gave a wave and headed for her study, “we’ll talk in my study.” She walked down the hallway and paused at the door, “just don’t judge me for it.”

She’d never let anyone into her study before, scared she’d be looked at as an obsessed mare. Which she was if she was being honest.

Upon entering, Parker cursed under his breath and Jace made a face.

Dew and Dribble stared wide eyed as they entered.

Calypso paused as she entered and sighed, “oh no.”

“Holy fucking shit!” Greg exclaimed as he entered.

Shadow Breeze didn’t react as he entered.

Scamp stood in front of them with a dumb smile on her face.

There was a moment of silence before anyone spoke, everyone just looking around them at the madness.

Finally, Dribble spoke up. “I knew you were serious about all this, but damn, this is a bit above too much.”

Scamp chuckles nervously as she rubs the back of her neck, “Yeah, I can’t deny that.”

Calypso holds up a hoof to get everyone’s attention. “Let’s skip all the shame and get to the main point of business.”

“Yeah,” Greg said loudly. “Like for starters, what is all this and why is there a picture of me and my friends on that book over there?”

Scamp looked to the book in question, Lance’s book. He had drawn a picture of all his friends and himself on the front cover.

“Well,” she began as she stepped over to it and lifted it. “This book was written by Lance, and is the only reason I know about his past and you two.”

“Lance wrote a book about us?” Shadow Breeze asked with a smile.

“Well a book about his adventures from his point of view. He includes a little too much in some parts and doesn’t make sense sometimes, but it’s all important because it’s his past.”

“Wait wait, why do you have all this? And know so much about us and Lance?” Shadow Breezed suddenly asked.

“The question of the century,” Dribble joked dryly.

Scamp nodded at this, ignoring Dribble’s comment. “When I was a young filly, my mother was the lawyer that represented Lance in court. Before the court case, I read through his case and his book, and there was just something there. Something that urged me to look deeper.”

“Why was Lance in court?” Greg asked in confusion.

Scamp and the others looked at him, like he should already know this. Then a thought hit Scamp as she glanced at her large map with pins in it.

“Where have you two been this whole time? You’re the only two from the book that have never been found.”

Shadow Breeze seemed to study her before answering. “Well you see, we’re actually not from this dimension. Our friend Ominus helped get us here so we could find Lance and bring him home.”

“I knew it!” Scamp exclaimed, excitement plastered on her face. She composed herself quickly when she received a few looks. “Sorry.” She looks back to the Bronies. “Well if you two aren’t from here, then there’s a lot of things you need to know.”

“Let’s start with why the police tried to arrest us,” Shadow Breeze said with a hint of worry.

“Because you’re unbranded and claimed to be friends with the most hated Brony to ever live,” Parker deadpanned with a straight face.

“Okay but why is he hated?”

“I think it’s best if I describe it this way,” Scamp says as she steps over to her desk. “I’ve put a lot of work and thought into this whole thing. Our world is nothing like your world, for example; Bronies in your world are seen as equals and loved. But in ours, they’re seen as vermin and are barely tolerated.”

Before they could ask why she continued, “this all stems from two events, I believe. When Lance arrived here, he tricked Cody into killing Fredric. He then killed Twilight’s lover, James Wash.”

“Can’t blame him there,” Greg said with a shrug.

“Well,” Scamp continued, “that even caused Twilight to hate all Bronies and she spent years pushing for new laws and regulations to be imposed on them. Then she dethroned the Princesses and named herself Queen, which spelt the end for Bronies rights.

“Lance ran off and started a new life, but was caught when he wrote this book and read it to others.”

“Sounds like Lance,” Shadow Breeze said with a shake of his head.

“The Queens Enforcers arrested him and put him up on a mock trial. My mother fought her tail off for him, but the final say was the Queens, and she sent him to a maximum security prison to rot. Nothing but manual labor all day and night.

“After the trial, the Queen used his book to hunt down and arrest anyone mentioned, no matter if it was true or not.” She patted the book, “luckily for me, I had kept the original and swapped it for a copy when my mom had it as part of evidence.”

“So wait, they arrested all of our friends in this world?” Greg asked, sitting on his flank.

“Most of them,” Scamp answered as she lifted a notebook and flipped through it. “Most were arrested, but Zorrow was killed in a no knock warrant, Annabel was frozen in stone with the Elements, Alexander was killed by Fluttershy’s husband when he appeared on their land without warning, David was hit by a carriage, and Malbatorus the dragon was hunted down and slain by a group of Bronies for fun.” She flipped the page and added, “Oh, and Louie the dog was kicked to death by James.”

“Jesus fucking Christ!” Shadow Breeze exclaimed, eyes wide in shock. “… wait! Who married Fluttershy?!”

“Another Brony named Walter Pinkman, real piece of work. I’m pretty sure his marriage to Fluttershy was against her wishes, but I have no proof.”

“Ima kill ‘em,” Shadow Breeze said in a low voice.

“Don’t worry, he died years ago due to diabetes. Their son on the other hand, just like his father.”

“You can say that again,” Dew said with a shake of his head.

“What about my wife?” Greg asked, stepping forward.

“Pinkie Pie?” Scamp checks her notes. “OD’d twenty years ago while at a human party. Her death was the start of a lot of pushing to regulate Bronies.”

“Fuck this is a dark timeline,” Greg muttered loudly.

“So,” Shadow Breeze started, “what’s happened to the Bronies still around today?”

“They’re all mostly staying in a few shanty towns around Equestria. They used to be allowed to enter pony towns and cities to work or shop, but new laws are slowly banning them from ever setting hoof anywhere near pony owned property.”

“None of this really matters to us though, all we need to do is break Lance out of prison and teleport back to Ominus’s dimension,” Greg said confidently.

“Yeah good luck with that,” Dribble interrupted. “That place is where the Queen sends the Bronies she wants to suffer. She and her guard personally watch and run that place. Ain’t no way you can just break him out.”

“Very true,” Scamp said slyly as she turned around and pulled out another book. “But I have a plan for that.”

“Of course you do,” Parker said as he facehoofed.

“We just need to track down a few ponies and gather some info, and we’re golden!” She says with absolute glee.

“It sounds so simple and easy when you say it like that,” Dew sighed.

Scamp looks at her friends, her ears laying flat. “Guys, I’m really sorry about all this.”

“No,” Parker shakes his head. “This is exactly what you’ve always wanted. We just got mixed up in it.”

“And basically lost our jobs,” Dribble added.

“Strawell will make sure of that,” Dew rubbed his face with an exasperated sigh.

Scamp looks to Calypso, who hasn’t spoken a word about any of this. “Cal?”

Calypso closed her eyes and exhaled. “If you’re asking my opinion, I think we, the rest of Echo, should take a step back and let you do whatever you think you need to do.”

This hit Scamp hard, as she thought her team would back her up on this.

“I’m sorry,” Jace said with sad eyes. “But I agree with her, this isn’t Echo Team business and never involved us. We just got caught in the crossfire.”

“I’ll probably be demoted for today’s events,” Park remarks. “I want to help, I think we all do, but we all have too much to lose. We support you one hundred percent, Scamp and you’re always going to be apart of the team, but this mission you’re embarking on, will have to be a solo endeavor.”

The emotions work their way over Scamp’s face. “I understand.” She straightens up and puts on her trademark smile. “Honestly, I’d have done this alone anyways if you all had been able to avoid getting caught up in it.”

Parker nods, smiling a bit. “Good. With that, I say we take our leave. Scamp, I will see you at the morning briefing,” he said in a way that implied all was forgiven as long as they went back to normal.

“Yes, sir!” Scamp responds.

Everyone slowly files out of the room, saying their goodbyes as they did. As Calypso left, she gave a nod to Scamp and the Bronies.

“Don’t get caught,” was all she said as she left, leaving the three alone in the study.

An awkward silence fell between the three as they stared at each other.

Greg was the one to break it. “Question; can I read the book?”

Scamp stared at him for a few moments before nodding.

“Sweet!” He grabbed the book with his magic and opened it to the first page.

Shadow Breeze watched him read and turned to Scamp. “How long will this plan take?”

“Depends, I guess,” Scamp shrugs, sitting down and rubbing her face. “A few months, a year at minimum.”

Shadow Breeze kind of hissed at that, “ehhh yeah, what if I said we were on a time limit? And the longer we’re here, the higher chance of the Watcher finding us is?”

“Fucking great,” Scamp said in a snide tone. “Need a new plan then.” She jumped up and headed for the door, but stopped and turned to him. “I’m sorry, I’m not trying to be an asshole.”

“I get it, you’re under a lot of stress right now,” he said in complete understanding. “We’ll get this worked out.”

“We sleepin’ here?” Greg rudely interrupted. “Or do we get a bed?”

Scamp eyes him with mild content. “The couch in the living room folds out.”

“Nice,” Greg said as he went back to the book.

Scamp looks back to Shadow Breeze, who just smiled sheepishly and raised a hoof as if to say sorry.

She left the room and entered her own, stripping her uniform off as she made her way to her bed. She flipped down and groaned into the pillow.

“I’m stuck with an idiot and a polite shy guy. Fuck.”

The day's events played back in her head, keeping her from relaxing. This was exactly what she’d dreamed of happening, but it wasn’t going the way she’d hoped it would.

Parker’s words hit her again, sending her mind down a rabbit hole of possibilities. Sleep would not come easily.

Next Chapter: We’re gonna be OK Estimated time remaining: 40 Hours, 58 Minutes