"Twelve bits, please." "Thank you! You look great today, by the way." "Aww! Thanks!"
Karma absentmindedly fished into her coin pouch for a hooful of golden bits, passing them over the counter and happily taking the fruit cup from the pink-furred girl running the register. Heading for the nearest booth, she took a seat and began chowing down.
Is that fruit?
Karma smiled, hearing her sister's voice in the back of her head as she finally woke up.
"It's healthier." She silently thought back.
We are at a bakery and you're getting a cup of fruit. I've never been so disappointed in you, Kar. Give me the controls, we're getting a Breakfast Muffin.
"I am not putting you in the driver's seat if you're just going to go complain to the nice lady up front."
You should have thought of that before taking advantage of my nap to get us rabbit food. It's my body too, you know.
"What does Apathia want?"
She's not up yet. Or maybe she is, and she's just so free-natured that she's literally evolved beyond thinking. Who knows.
There had been no rest in the family since the day they had moved into Ponyville the previous day to research recent magical anomalies for the newspaper Karma worked for. The town and surrounding wood was no stranger to headline stories, but of course she had only been assigned to a report of increasing Timberwolf populations in a wood already filled with Timberwolves. Despite incessant complaining on this from Dissentia, she had happily taken the job.
The train ride had sufficiently exhausted her enthusiasm however, and she had decided to graciously let Dissentia take over the body while she slept in the back of their head. One day later, she was yet again clamoring like a sibling who wanted a turn on the NES.
Please. Just for a few hours, then I'll be out of your hair for the entire week.
"This isn't just some dumb feud about the fruit, is it? What's going on, Dis?"
Just give- Oh, Celestia.
Karma's hooves suddenly grabbed the underside of the table and pulled the rest of her under. Before she could voice a complaint, she felt herself being yanked backwards into her head. At once, her mane and tail shifted color and the fur on her flank shifted to flip the mark adorning it upside down and change it's hue. Dissentia awkwardly crawled out from under the table, dusted herself off and dashed to the front door.
"Hey! Minty!"
Karma watcher through eyes no longer her own as an Earth Pony with namesake green fur and pink hair turned to Dissentia, having just walked in. Her face lit up and she trotted over.
"Hey! I was worried you wouldn't make it this early."
"Oh, it's fine. I woke up hours ago."
Karma's anger subsided as she curiously watched them chat. As far as she could remember, Dissentia enthusiasm to control had largely resulted in her ticking someone off, which had led to their mutual agreement that they would pretend to be different people to all but their closest friends. How she was carrying on a conversation this enthusiastically was lost on her, but she was happy.
Eventually, Dissentia guided Minty to the booth they had been at before excusing herself to the restroom. Ducking into a stall, she gave Karma control midway through a sheepish smile.
"Sorry."
Dis! You got a girlfriend!
"It's not that big of a de-"
It's a huge deal! Did you meet yesterday? What's she like? Ca-
Both minds were silenced by the sudden ringing of a cell phone from deep in the Saddlebags lying on the tile floor. Karma scrambled for it, briefly panicking over whether she should mimic one of her sister's voices as she answered.
"Um..."
"Are you there? What are you doing?" The voice of Karma's employer blew back into her sensitive ears. "You're supposed to already be over at Sweet Apple Acres for the Timberwolf report!"
"I..."
"You have five minutes! We are not making a fool of ourselves here!"
He hung up, and Karma gulped as her hair shifted back to blue.
---*---
"Ah'm so glad y'all reporter folk are here. This infestation is only getting worse! Just the other day mah sister was-"
"I'm sorry, will you excuse me for a second?"
Karma quickly took advantage of her boss inspecting a nearby pigpen to stop the orange farmpony and duck behind a barrel, teleporting and simultaneously throwing the mental baton back to Dissentia. They arrived directly behind the bathroom doors, throwing them open and teleporting again into their booth.
"You took a while. Are you okay?" Minty cocked her head in worry.
"I'm fine." She quickly assured, out of breath.
"Alright then. Hey, why did you come to the bakery and then just get a fruit-"
"You're right! I need to go change my order! Be right back!"
Dissentia teleported back onto the farmland, tossing the baton to Karma and flipping their mark directly under her bosses nose. She avoided eye contact as she ran back to the farm's bewildered owner, huffing and puffing and looking over the notes she had stealthily used Dissentia's hoof to write under their table.
This is going perfectly. Dissentia piped up in the back of Karma's mind as she looked over the chickenscratch on her paper.
"Sorry, could you repeat that, miss?"