Lyra: Welp! Here it is, Drops! Raindrops: Please don’t call me that.
Lyra: Here it is, Rains!
Raindrops: Oh my. That’s disturbing.
Lyra: Yeah, definite changeling error. But thankfully it was just a reformed changeling trying to blend in. Funny enough, there was also an alicornoperating landing lights at the airport. Didn’t get a picture of that one, but another false alarm.
Raindrops: I see. Is this why you left so suddenly?
Bon-Bon/Lyra: No!
Bon-Bon: We were just- Lyra: It was a-
Lyra: Contest! Bon-Bon: Vaca- Yes! Contest!
Raindrops: Ah-kay. At first I thought maybe it was ‘cause of your birthday.
Bon-Bon: It was! Lyra: Yes! Bon-Bon: Birthday Contest! Lyra: Grand prize! Bon-Bon: All expenses paid! Lyra: Just not for very long! Bon-Bon/Lyra: Haha!
Raindrops: Oh… Ah-kay.
Octavia: Vinyl-… Vinyl if you-… If you could just slow down a tad-! I can’t see a thing when you zoom the vision around like that! … Oh haha. Very funny.
Lyra: It all just looks like a lot of dreamscape nonsense. How does Princess Luna actually go in there?
Octavia: Different spell, different properties, I imagine.
Bon-Bon: Even when she holds it still I can’t make out anything. Lyra: It’s like watching one of those time-lapse videos, through a telescope, from a foot away. What are we even looking for? Octavia: Bare in mind I’ve only read about how this works when changelings are involved. Not much opportunity to practice it.
Raindrops: Woah. Bon-Bon: Everything went dark. Lyra: Did it break? Octavia: Changeling dreams. Inky, amorphous blobs that draw in anything healthy and absorb it. They can fool us in the real world, but they can’t hide the darkness in their hearts.
Lyra: So it is changelings. That’s a relief. [Pause] I mean, at least we can fight back without hurting the ones we’re trying to save. Right? Octavia: I’m not so sure. We’re three against seven. And that’s being generous. Raindrops: Don’t you mean five against seven? Octavia: I’m not counting ponies that can’t defend themselves. Raindrops: That’s… That’s fair.
Bon-Bon: So what do we do? Round up as many ponies as we can and rush them? Octavia: Ponyville ponies? If this were Cloudsdale or Manehattan perhaps. But Ponyville has about the meekest residents in Equestria. Lyra: What about Zecora? Bon-Bon: This is the last time we need somepony to get lost in the Everfree Forest. Raindrops: So what do we do?
Octavia: I’m afraid I don’t have the answer… The only way S.M.I.L.E. could have been compromised is if the Seeker Network was taken down. And if the changelings got that far… They must have the princesses as well. Which means they have control over the entirety of the EUP. Even CUE… Whatever course of action we take had better work… Because we may be Equestria’s last line of defense…
Octavia: Bonnie. Bon-Bon: Octavia. She checks out then?
Lyra: Her and Vinyl both.
Bon-Bon: Whatashame. Octavia: Likewise. Is this all you’ve managed to gather?
Bon-Bon: Of course not. It’d be too suspicious to have everypony together, so we- Octavia: Sent everypony away, to be prayed upon individually. You no longer have any indication they are or aren’t reliable. Possibly compromised any passcode distributed as well. Raindrops: Oh no… Octavia: Still haven’t taken any lessons from the past, Bonnie? Bon-Bon: Hey! We saw something you didn’t! Octavia: You acted first. I try to take a more informed approach. We no longer have that option.
Lyra: Stop it! Both of you! Whatever we’re up against; they took Spike! A baby! So unless you can clap your hooves and make it better- Octavia: No qualms with targeting children… Given their selective approach it sounds like changeling tactics to me.
Bon-Bon: I thought so too, but Lyra brought up mind control as a possibility.
Octavia: I can’t think of anything capable of that on so specific a scale. Targeting some but not others. At least, nothing with a motive. But it is something we can test for. Even changelings have to sleep.
Bon-Bon: Nyx Eye… But that’s a fairly advanced spell. We don’t have time to- Octavia: I think our DJ friend here can handle it, if she remembers how.
[Pause]
Octavia: Maybe after a quick refresher.
Lyra: Nothing?
Bon-Bon: … I wish… Somepony answered, but it wasn’t who it should have been.
Lyra: Do they know that we-? Bon-Bon: No. I mean, they might be suspicious but I gave no indication. What about you? Lyra: B won’t answer no matter what I do. Usually I barely breathe and he’s there. Bon-Bon: Okay. Not panicking. The Elements of Harmony, and possibly the entirety of Equestria’s security forces, have been compromised. We are the only two we know of that aren’t Changelings- Lyra: Or worse…
Bon-Bon: What could possibly be worse? Lyra: They could still be themselves but mind controlled?
Bon-Bon: … Yeah, I guess they could be… Darn. That is a lot worse. Any ideas? Lyra: Cry?
Bon-Bon: Maybe something you aren’t already doing? Lyra: Cry harder? Bon-Bon: Lyra- Lyra: Bon-Bon I’m really scared! Bon-Bon: So am I! But if they replaced everypony in Equestria they wouldn’t have left us. This has got to be some kind of stealth insurgency plot; turn Equestria into a puppet state. That means most ponies should still be themselves. We have numbers. We’ve just got to find a way to rally them without being discovered…
Bon-Bon: Lyra, did you notice Fluttershy and Rarity acting strange today?
Lyra: No, but Twilight and Applejack seemed… off somehow. Like, distant maybe?
Bon-Bon: I wonder if its some kind of Harmony crisis.
Lyra: Maybe they’re just stressed. Or, ha! Maybe its Changelings!
Lyra: Hey, no problem. Somepony had to, uh, deal with that stranded cargo. And one of us just had to be there. And I know that Liza wanted to watch the show, so it only made sense. I’m just glad that thing was so agreeable. Seemed like they were willing to forget the entire incident.
Bon-Bon: I’m sure quite a few ponies will be happy to hear that. Things cleaned up pretty nicely on my end as well.
Lyra: Nice picture by the way!
Bon-Bon: Thanks! It’s a gift!
Lyra: Great! We’re doing great! Everything is great! Yep, everything is- Nothing is broken.
Bon-Bon: Are you seriously doing that right now?
Lyra: What? I’ve had this question for like a week. Which is about how long we’ve been sitting here.
Bon-Bon: Oh my gosh…
Lyra: So yeah! We’re doing great! Great to hear from you! Thanks for aski- [Thunderous Boom] [Eldritch screech from a distance] Bon-Bon: Let’s move! Lyra: I’m on it!
Lyra: Holy [omitted], Bon-Bon. I mean… Holy [omitted], Bon-Bon!
Bon-Bon: I didn’t think they’d be paying both of us separately…
Lyra: I mean, we’re still in debt-
Bon-Bon: Obviously.
Lyra: But a few more of these and we won’t be!
Bon-Bon: Lyra, money does not just appear out of thin air. Ponies can’t know about this. It has to be… normal. Gradual.
Lyra: Which means we need some kind of cover for how we got this. O-or are getting these! This is fantastic! When’s our next assignment?!
Lyra: … to… ert Agent Furlong immediately! There’s no way we can do this alone!
Bon-Bon: That’s… That’s not true. I could take a changling alone. Out here, with nopony around? And with how obviously it was Cripsy- we’d have been dealing with a fool. It would have been easy. Barely even worth reporting. … But her? Hiding in the light? Talk of the town? If we even tried to take them down the whole of Appleloosa would come to their defense. This one’s good. Too good.
[Hoofsteps] [Static]
Bon-Bon: Message to Agent Furlong. Are… ou…
[Heavy static]
Lyra here! Saw that filly Applebloom with one of these and thought it was pretty rad. I probably won't get the kind of following she has, but whatevs.
I've been asked if I'm a wizard and that somepony I don't know loves me. That's kinda cool, I guess.
Here's all the Drawings I've done so far (not that they're very good)!
