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// What Was Said 
// Story: The Strangers in Ponyville 
// by PhycoKrusk 
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After Twilight Sparkle became both an alicorn and a Princess, it was decided that homey as it may have been, the Golden Oaks Library was not an appropriate venue to receive dignitaries or host state functions. A series of discussions and compromises led to the addition of five new oaks around the library, expanding the grounds to combine royal estate with public park. Although four of the five oaks had been enchanted and hollowed, only one served as the barracks for Ponyville’s single Guard cohort, and it sat largely empty: Three of the four sections composing the cohort were still conducting interviews out in the streets, while the fourth was patrolling the Golden Oak Royal Estate grounds on the lookout for further trouble. The infirmary, located in the same tree, was hosting six ponies and two changelings. Lastly, Rye Mash’s office hosted Twilight Sparkle and Bon Bon, the former shutting the door while the latter took a seat at the desk and observed her surroundings.

The number of accoutrements was more or less what Bon Bon would have expected, given Mash’s personality: A desk with a dip pen and ink well but no visible documents, which were most likely locked in the heavily secured cabinets lining the wall to her left, two bookcases across from them, filled almost completely with books on military tactics and history and various Equestrian justice codes. An Equestrian flag and a few framed photos hung from the walls, all showing ponies that looked to be immediate and extended family, including more than one of his wife and son. A half-filled blackboard and well-kept ficus completed the otherwise spartan picture.

Bon Bon turned her attention to Twilight as the alicorn walked around the desk and took a seat opposite her.

“Now, I’m sure you’re concerned about Lyra’s whereabouts, and I promise we’re going to do everything we can to find her,” she said.

“Not particularly. I’ve done my own investigation already,” Bon Bon said.

Twilight’s brow jumped up over wide eyes, but settled back down after a moment. “Oh,” she said. “Well, alright then.” She looked at the blank pages she’d brought out, shuffled them into a different order, and laid them down straight again. “Any information you might have would be likely be tremendously helpful to —”

“The injured changeling you presently have in the infirmary is Lyra Heartstrings, and has been Lyra Heartstrings since she first came to Ponyville, the Fourteenth Day of Last Leaf, Anno Concordia Twenty Sixty Two. A complete backtrace shows uninterrupted residency in Canterlot since her birth, documented officially as the Third Day of Sun’s Ascent, Twenty Forty Three. No documented behavioral changes or generalized strangeness, including the recollections of several friends gathered during personal interviews.”

Twilight stared at Bon Bon, then shook her head vigorously. “What?” she asked. “That… no, you’re mistaken.”

“I most certainly am not,” Bon Bon replied. “I’m also not deaf, or belligerently unaware of my surroundings, so given that I very clearly heard you start to lose your mind before Sapphire Sky intervened, I don’t feel particularly inclined to tell you anything else until I have some sort of assurance that you aren’t planning to lock Lyra in a cell as soon as a doctor rules her fit enough to be locked in one.”

Twilight stared at Bon Bon, then drew in a deep breath and briefly shook out her wings before folding them again. “I really don’t want to do this to you, Bon Bon, but I am a Princess of Equestria. I understand that you’re upset about this situation, but you need to tell me what else you know. I’ll make it an order if I have to,” she said.

“In that case, Princess, I can’t tell you anything else.”

Twilight stared again, mouth agape. “What do you mean, you can’t tell me anything else? You clearly know something else, so why exactly can’t you tell me?” she demanded.

“Because all additional details of that investigation are considered secret, and are sealed pursuant to Article Three, Section Two of the National Secrets Actions. NSA protocol stipulates that any such secrets can only be unsealed by Princess Celestia, and names her specifically. You’re not her, so I can’t tell you anything.”

Twilight glared at Bon Bon, who scowled back at her. “Alright, fine!” Twilight said as she leaned forward on the desk, wings unfurled at her sides. “I don’t need secrets! You said you’ve known Lyra was a changeling since she first moved to Ponyville. Why didn’t you report her to the mayor or the sheriff when you knew something was wrong?”

“With respect, Princess, there was nothing wrong. She answered my want ad through proper channels and comes by her bits honestly. What exactly should have I reported?” Bon Bon asked, her scowl deepening.

“That she was a changeling who replaced somepony! What else would have needed?!”

“Actual evidence of a crime.”

“She’s a changeling!”

Bon Bon did not reply, still scowling at Twilight, whose own expression shifted from rage, to shock, and then to horror. “I didn’t mean that,” she said quickly. Bon Bon still did not reply, merely standing up, turning and walking towards the door.

“Bon Bon! I didn’t mean it!” Twilight said with frantic conviction.

Bon Bon stopped and looked back over her shoulder. “You still said it,” she said, and she faced forward again and left Twilight behind.