Shadow of the old empire

by Bronycommander

Chapter 3: Let me tell you about Abacus

Scootaloo and Co woke up again some hours later. It was unknown how long they had rested for, but they felt it had to have been at least seven hours. After yawning and stretching, Scootaloo rose up from her sleeping bunk. Dinky, Pipsqueak, Ray, Keen Eye, and Lily Pad got up from theirs soon after, yawning and rubbing the sleep out of their eyes.

“Morning, guys.” Scootaloo said.

Ray rubbed his eyes. “Hey, Scootaloo.”

“How did you guys sleep?” Scootaloo asked.

Lily Pad sighed. “Not that well.”

“Me neither.” Keen Eye said. “I had a nightmare about Mom and Dad, and they were fighting a bad stallion-”

“-In golden armor?”

“Huh?” Keen Eye turned to Lily Pad at her interjection. His look was one of confusion and surprise at what his twin sister had asked. “How…how did you know?”

“I had that same dream too.” Lily Pad said.

Keen Eye blinked at what his twin sister had just said. “You did too?”

“Of course, we all did.” Scootaloo said.

Pipsqueak spoke out. “We saw those two ponies fighting those royal guards and golden armored stallion. And there was a dog operating that chicken walker contraption.”

Keen Eye and Lily Pad blinked, unable to find any words. They could not believe that everyone else had same dream as them. After a moment, Dinky spoke out.

“I know it’s a shock, but we all had the same dream.” Dinky suddenly paused for a moment, as if she just realised something. She then turned to Scootaloo, Ray, and Pipsqueak. “Come to think of it, I just noticed a strange pattern. Whenever we travelled to different places, we each had dreams like that.”

The observation that Dinky had noticed made Scootaloo and Pipsqueak blink with their mouths hanging slightly open. Dinky was quite a smart, and observant filly after all, a trait she inherited from her father.

“Hey, you might be on to something there.” Scootaloo said.

“But what does it all mean?” Pipsqueak asked.

Dinky rubbed her chin with her hoof. “I don’t know. But what I do know is that it usually happens every time we, or at least one of us, suddenly leave home on the first night. It’s too much to be a coincidence.”

“That is strange. I wish we knew what it could be linked to.” Ray then turned to Keen Eye and Lily Pad. “Although what I also want to know is about those ponies in that dream.”

“Yeah, I remember you mentioned that two of those ponies were your mum and dad.” Pipsqueak said.

The twins nodded, as Lily Pad spoke. “Yes. That’s what our parents look like.”

“You should know our parents.” Keen Eye turned to Scootaloo. “Especially you, Scootaloo. You, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Princess Twilight, and her friends are friends with them. Everypony in town knows them. Even your aunts Lofty and Holiday, and your dad, Mr Storm Dasher.”

Lily Pad spoke to Pipsqueak. “And your uncle, Southern, is good friends with Mom and Dad, since he’s part of Ponyville’s police station.”

Pipsqueak tilted his head with a confused look on his face. “Uncle? Southern?” Scootaloo, Dinky, and Ray turned to Pipsqueak with a supressed worried looks. “But I don’t-”

Before Pipsqueak could finish what he was going to say, Scootaloo quickly nudged him with her for-hoof, grunting as she did so. Pipsqueak glanced briefly at Scootaloo, confused by her nudging him, until instantly remembered about what they had discussed privately. Instantly getting the message, Pipsqueak quickly turned back to the twins.

“Oh-yes. My Uncle Southern is the best uncle ever.” Pipsqueak put on an innocent smile, with the twins looking on with a confused look at Pipsqueaks answer.

The children’s conversation was interrupted with their quarter room door suddenly opening. The children turned towards the door, where a familiar dark-skinned, muscular, adult, human male walked into the room. It was Harmon. Although they noticed that he was wearing a tight, dark coloured suit that covered his body, minus his head, and hands. It was a suit that Ray recognised as sleep wear similar to ones that Imperial Officers wore when sleeping.

“Good morning, children.” Harmon said.

The children greeted back smiling. “Morning, Harmon.”

Harmon smiled back. “It’s good to see you’re all up. Come to my quarters for some breakfast, and we can talk.”

“Sure.” The children said.

The officer led the children out of their quarters, and into his own private quarters. Once the door closed, they sat down on the same sofa suite, as Harmon went to a machine that resembled a large food and drink dispenser.

“What would you like to drink for breakfast?” Harmon asked.

Pipsqueak requested first. “Can I have some tea, please?”

Harmon nodded. “Certainly.” He then turned his attention to the others. “And for the rest of you?”

“Ray, Dinky, and I will have some juice, thanks.” Scootaloo said.

“Us too.” The twins followed.

Harmon nodded at the children’s requests. Pressing a combination of buttons on a dispenser, several cups and small, wrapped food packets came out. Two cups got filled with fresh hot tea, while the other five cups filled up with cold juice. After the cups were filled, Harmon put the drinks and wrapped food packets on a tray along with a jug of cream, and bowl of sugar. He soon carried it over to the children sitting around the sofa suit, and placed it on the table.

The children reached and took their drinks, and a food packet each, as Harmon sat down and took his cup of warm tea. Pipsqueak poured some cream in his tea to cool it a little, before taking a sip. His eyes blinked at the taste of the tea, it was unlike any tea he had ever tasted before.

“Wow, this is tea is so good.” Pipsqueak said.

Harmon smiled. “I’m glad you like it. That is Gatalentan tea, one of the finest teas in the galaxy, from the Gatalenta system.” He then pointed out the juices and food packets. “The juice you have is made from the exotic shuura fruit. And the food packets contain a loaf of freshly made mealbread, one of the main foods the First Order serves, mainly to our troopers.”

Keen Eye and Lily Pad, curious about the juice and mealbread, decided to try it. Keen Eye opened his food packet that contained the mealbread. Lily Pad took a sip from her cup. “Mmm…tastes so juicy and sweet.”

Keen Eye took a bite of the mealbread. The bread tasted fresh, like it was just made, and taken out of the oven. He then took a sip of juice, to find that his twin sister was right about it being juicy and sweet. Scootaloo and Co soon began to eat and drink, enjoying the taste of their breakfast.

Harmon blew on his tea before taking a sip. “Now then. Since you seem more relaxed now, I’m curious to know how you children got aboard my ship?”

Harmon’s sudden question caused the children to pause eating and drinking. They looked up questionably at Harmon, food and drink still in their mouths.

“I know I should’ve asked you about it last night, but given how you children were confused and unsettled, I decided to save it for now.” Harmon said. “So, if you’re okay to talk, how did you get aboard?”

The children thought for a moment, before they gulped down their food and drink still in their mouths, and agreeing to talk.

“Sure thing.” Scootaloo said. “I guess that’s fair.”

Ray spoke out. “Well, it all started when we all went to the meadows just outside of Ponyville. We were having a picnic out there, as we were waiting for our other friends, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, to join us.”

“There was another human with us.” Pipsqueak quietly glanced at Keen Eye and Lily Pad, remembering that he would have to choose his words very carefully. “A human girl named Lucy. She’s another friend of ours. Then suddenly a vortex thing appeared in the sky, and it sucked us in.”

“It was some kind of wormhole.” Dinky said. “A hole in the fabric of space and time. Only Lucy was spared. We, however, were not as lucky, as we got pulled in by its gravitational force. I just hope that she had gone to get help. When we came to, we found ourselves inside the store room on your ship.”

“And that’s pretty much when you and your troopers showed up.” Scootaloo blinked as she suddenly remembered, and pointed towards the twins. “Oh, and we also found these two as well. It seems we’re not the only ones who got in there.”

“I see. Interesting.” Harmon turned to Keen Eye and Lily Pad. “Did you two get caught by this wormhole as well?”

“Well, my sister and I were coming home from school.” Keen Eye said. “We took the rout that goes through the park, and over the bridge that crosses Great Valley River. Our parents, and our dog Rex would always meet us there to walk us home.”

Lily Pad took her turn at talking. “Lock Down would meet us too because his daughter, Cutie Cream would always walk with us. However, she wasn’t with us because she’s sick with a tummy bug. As we were crossing the Great Valley River bridge, a blue coloured, swirling vortex thing appeared in front of us. It looked like water going down a drain, only it was bigger and horizontal. There was a loud “bang” when it appeared. It sucked us in. We couldn’t get away.”

“And when we woke up, we were in that dark room. We had no idea where we were.” Keen Eye lowered his down in sadness and worry. His twin sister followed. “We want to go home. Mom and Dad, Rex, Nana Mare, everypony must be so worried about us.”

Scootaloo and Ray, who were once again sitting on the same chair, felt sorry for the twins. They placed a gentle hand and hoof on each of the twins, trying to comfit them. Although, the twins were sad and worried, they were at least not crying.

“It’s okay.” Ray said. “Remember what I said earlier. Don’t panic, and be positive.”

Scootaloo nodded. “Yeah. Exactly.”

Dinky placed her cup of shuura juice. “I’m sure that when we get back to Equestria, the ponies will help us. And I’m sure my mother and father are still alive.”

“That’s right. Your dad is the scientist, Doctor Whooves.” Scootaloo chuckled. “Even though he’s kind of a bit weird sometimes. And your mom, Derpy, don’t get me started on her and her love of muffins. –No offence.”

“None taken.” Dinky said. “But if my father is still around, he could be our best chance of getting home.”

“What?”

Scootaloo, Dinky, Pipsqueak, and Ray turned their attention to where the question came from. It turned out it was from the twins, Keen Eye and Lily Pad, as they were looking at them, particularly at Dinky, with a look of great confusion.

“Your dad is Doctor Whooves?” Keen Eye asked.

“And Derpy is your mom?” Lily Pad blinked. “But that’s not right. Your mom is Millie.”

“Yeah. And your dad was a unicorn stallion who had multiple sclerosis, and died of Corhoovavirus when you were two. You and your mom told us yourself.” Scootaloo and Co began to feel nervous, with beads of sweat forming on their foreheads as Keen Eye continued to speak. “And Derpy is married to Mr Rehab, the deputy chief and watch house keeper of Ponyville police station. And she’s pregnant with their first child.”

“…uh…I…” Dinky stammered. For that brief second, she did not know what to say about the twins’ observation. Before Dinky could speak, Scootaloo cut her off.

“We knew that! We were just kidding about that.” Scootaloo laughed nervously while scratch the back of her head with her hoof, and trying to act innocently as possible.

Keen Eye and Lily Pad each raised an unconvinced eyebrow at Scootaloo and Co’s answer, making it clear that they did not believe them. Scootaloo and Co were lost for words. They did not expect to make a mistake like that, and did not think that Dinky’s family was different from these foal’s universe to their own.

“What’s going on?” The twins asked in unison.

Noticing Scootaloo and Co’s mysterious behaviour, Harmon spoke out. “Scootaloo. If you and your friends are hiding something from these two children that they should know about, I think it’s best if you tell them.”

Ray placed a hand on Scootaloo’s shoulder, getting her attention. “Harmon’s right, Sis. I think we should tell them.”

Scootaloo then looked at Pipsqueak and Dinky, who both nodded to her, agreeing with Ray. Knowing that there was no use in hiding it any longer. Scootaloo was concerned. She knew that the twins would most defiantly not like what they were going to tell them. The others felt the same way, but they all knew that they now had no choice in the matter.

Scootaloo sighed as she faced Keen Eye and Lily Pad. “Okay. I think it’s time we told you guys the truth.” She thought hard of what to say. “Well…you see…the thing is…”

“We’re not who you think we are.” Dinky said bluntly.

The twins tilted their heads in confusion at what Dinky just said, while saying “Huh?”

Pipsqueak spoke out. “Well, we are, but at the same time, we’re not.”

“What are you talking about?” Lily Pad asked.

“Yeah. What do you mean by you are and aren’t?”

“Well…” Scootaloo carefully chose her words carefully. “It’s complicated, and it’s going to be a bit shocking, unbelievable, and even sound pretty crazy for you two, but we will explain it the best way we can. But you both have to promise not to freak out at what we’re going to tell you. You promise?”

The twins nodded to Scootaloo, agreeing to the promise to stay calm, or at least try to. With that confirmed, Scootaloo and Co thought for a moment, figuring out the best way to explain the situation to the twins, and Harmon.

“Okay.” Scootaloo scratched her head. “What’s the best way we can explain this?”

After a moment, Dinky spoke out. “Have you ever read books or watched movies about ponies that travel through time or to another dimension?”

“Please Celestia, make them at least have those in their universe.” Scootaloo thought.

Keen Eye and Lily Pad thought for a moment. “Well, there’s the story “The Stallion Who Folded Himself” by Pencil Mural. Miss Cheerilee read it to the class a few months ago.”

“And there’s this true story of the time the unicorn, Starlight Glimmer tried to destroy Equestria by traveling back in time.” Keen Eye said. “Princess Twilight was able to stop her, and taught her about friendship. And now she’s the headmare of the School of Friendship.”

A sense of relief came to Scootaloo and Co, realizing now that such stories did exist in their universe. They were also thankful to find out that the events that transpired with Starlight Glimmer in Equestria in the twins’ universe was similar to their own, or at least for the most part. Knowing this information would make things a little easier for them to explain.

“Why do you ask?” Lily Pad asked.

Pipsqueak took a sip of his tea. “Well, let’s say that it’ll be easier to explain.”

“What we’re trying to tell you two is…” Scootaloo thought for a moment. “To be blunt with you…You’re in another universe.”

“What?” The twins asked with surprise.

“Another universe?” Harmon repeated, turning his head towards the twins, and then back at Scootaloo and Co incredulously. “These two children are from another universe?”

Scootaloo and Co all nodded as she spoke. “I know it sounds pretty crazy, but it’s the truth.”

“Yeah.” Pipsqueak said. “We all have seen and have been to these alternate universes ourselves. It’s how I met the humans, Lucy and Thomas. Lucy became my adopted sister, and Thomas lives with me and my mother.”

Scootaloo pointed towards Ray. “And it’s how Ray became my adopted brother. His family stays with me and my family.”

“From all this, we have made human friends and even adopted families from all sorts of universes and timelines.” Dinky sipped some of her juice. “On the subject of families, you have just noticed that my family is different to the one you know of. My mother is Derpy, and my father is Doctor Whooves.”

Scootaloo nodded. “Yeah. And my family is different too. My father is called Blizzard Storm who works as a royal guard, and my mother is called Misty Breeze.”

“And I confess too.” Pipsqueak said. “I don’t have an uncle called Southern. I have a mother named Nancy, and a stallion named Patch who is a close friend of my family that I call an uncle.”

“So you see, we’re are who we are, but not the same ones you know in your universe.” Scootaloo rubbed the back of her head with her hoof. “In fact, us being the same age as you two, and what we told you last night should’ve been a give-away of that. I guess you were too shaken-up to notice, and probably thought we were taken from the past of your world, huh?”

Both Keen Eye and Lily Pad sat there. Their eyes wide and blinking, and the expressions on their faces were a mix of shock, confusion, and disbelief. Neither of them knew what to say or think at what Scootaloo and Co had just told them.

“So, if what you children say about time travel and alternate universes is true, how did these two come into this universe?” Harmon asked, breaking the silence.

“I’m not sure,” Dinky said. “But my theory is that the portal that brought us here must have not just ripped through time, but somehow between universes too. I don’t know how or why though. But that is only a theory.”

“A Dinky theory.” Scootaloo chuckled until she noticed Ray, Dinky, and Pipsqueak giving her a serious look that caused her to stop. She cringed embarrassedly as she said, “Sorry.”

Dinky shook her head playfully at Scootaloo, knowing that she was only joking to lighten the mood, if only a little. Sometimes others need a laugh, even in the darkest of times. Scootaloo and Co then turned their attention back to the twins, who were still as shocked and unsure as they were. After what seemed like a long time, Keen Eye and Lily Pad spoke to Scootaloo and Co.

“So…is it really true?” Lily Pad asked. “You’re really all different?”

“And we’re in the future in an alternate dimension?”

Scootaloo, Dinky, and Pipsqueak nodded. “Mm-hmm.”

Keen Eye and Lily Pad blinked, not knowing what to say. They were not sure what to think. But somehow, it all made sense. The fact that the three ponies they thought were the same ones they knew were not the one and the same that were with them now. How the twins knew them, but they did not know them. How they were the same age as them. How there was creatures called humans present with them. What is more, the twins were in the future in another universe. It all was all too unbelievable for the twins to imagine, but they knew they were not lying.

“…You…You really don’t know us?” Lily Pad asked.

Scootaloo and Co shook their heads, looking remorseful as Scootaloo spoke. “Sorry, we don’t. And we’re sorry we lied to you both.”

“You’re not going to get distressed again, are you?” Pipsqueak asked.

Both Keen Eye and Lily Pad shook their heads slowly at Pipsqueak’s question. Lily Pad spoke out afterwards.

“We don’t blame you for lying to us. You were just trying to make us not worry.”

“Although, we’re curious.” Keen Eye said. “You mentioned about multiple ponies existing in multiple universes of Equestria. If what you say is true, do our parents exist in your world? Do even my sister and I exist in your world? And can we even get home to our world?”

There was a pause, as Dinky thought of what to say. She then sighed. “I’m sorry, but we don’t actually know. As far as we know, we don’t know of anypony in our world with names like yours or your parents. It’s possible that you both and your parents don’t even exist here. But, like I said, we don’t really know. The same goes for if you can get home to your universe. We don’t know.”

“But there is a chance, right?” Ray asked.

Dinky turned to Ray. “Maybe. But it’s unsure.”

Harmon took one finishing sip of his tea. “Well, I promise to do whatever I can to help.”

“What have you planned for today?” Scootaloo asked as she was finished eating.

“Not very much at the moment. My ship is currently patrolling. After it’s done, I was planning to get some rest at one of the worlds of the First Order, but we’ll see.” Harmon put his cup down as he rose from his chair. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to take a shower to start the day. I suggest you children do the same. It might relax you.”

The orange pegasus filly nodded. “Of course.” She turned to the others. “Come on, guys.”

The children got up from the sofa, and went back to their quarters to give the grand admiral some privacy. Harmon watched as the children went out the room, before entering into the bathroom shower unit. He undressed, and switched on the water before stepping into the shower. The warm water washed the remaining slumber from his shoulders and down his body.

Harmon stood there processing what was discussed previously with the children. The whole thing of time travel and crossing over between universes and dimensions was a lot from to take in. The thought of it all sounded crazy to the average person to comprehend. In an effort to distract his mind, he pushed a button on the side of the shower wall that switched on the radio to listen to the morning’s announcements. Thinking the news and music might give his mind a break.

“Good morning, citizens of the First Order! This is First Order news. Some minor reports of strikes and riots on some of our planets, but we have troops and negotiators to restore order as we speak. So, let’s get to work, shall we?”

The radio announcer cut out, and alien pop music began to play in its place on the radio. Normally Harmon would soon find himself jiving to the tunes. Singing and dancing in the morning shower to the tunes on the bathroom radio was something he had inherited from his mother. However, he only found himself dancing as he washed parts of his body with soap.

Inside the bathroom of the quarter across the hall, Scootaloo and Co were getting prepared for having a shower. Ray pushed a button on the cabinet on the opposite side of the bathroom from the shower unit. The cabinet opened to some shelves, each was filled with fresh linen.

“I found the towels.” Ray said.

Ray reached in, and handed out a towel to the others. Each towel was dark grey colored, and each one was engraved with a red First Order insignia on the bottom-right corner. They each took one.

Scootaloo tossed her towel over her back. “You can go first, Ray.”

“Thank you, Scoots.” There was a pause. Everyone stood there looking at Ray. His expression soon became one of unease. “Um, could you please…”

Scootaloo blinked in confusion briefly before quickly realizing what Ray was asking. “Ohh. Sure thing, Ray.” She then turned to the others. “Come on. Let’s give Ray some privacy.”

Ray watched as Scootaloo and the others turned around and exited the bathroom. When they were out, he walked towards the control panel on the inside of the bathroom. “Thanks. I won’t be long.”

With that said, Ray pushed the button on the control panel, and the doors to the bathroom closed, with the red light of the electric lock turning on. Keen Eye and Lily Pad turned to Scootaloo, Dinky and Pipsqueak.

“Do humans feel shy without clothes, like some ponies do?” Keen Eye asked.

Scootaloo chuckled. “Yeah. Most of the time. We have actually seen humans, including Ray, without clothes sometimes, like when they’re getting dressed, but we do still respect their wish for privacy.”

“Although, there are some humans that choose to go without clothes like most of us pony folk.” Dinky said. “Nudist and Naturist, I think they call them.”

“Really?” Lily Pad asked.

Keen Eye raised a curious eyebrow. “What do humans look like without clothes?”

Scootaloo’s expression was one of unease. “Well…it’s complicated. And kind of awkward to talk about. But you’ll probably see when Ray gets out, but wrapped in a towel.”

“But we do have human anatomy books back home.” Pipsqueak said. “Maybe we’ll show you when we get back home.”

After several minutes of waiting, the bathroom door opened revealing the human boy wearing a towel around his lower half. All this made it clear that Ray was done showering.

Ray sighed with refreshment. “You can come in now, guys.”

The others came inside the bathroom, as Scootaloo spoke to everyone. “You guys can go before me. I don’t mind having my shower last.”

“Okay.” Dinky then turned to Keen Eye and Lily Pad. “You two can go before use, if you’d like.”

The twins nodded at Dinky in agreement. Lily Pad went and cleaned herself in the shower first, then her twin brother went next, followed by Dinky and Pipsqueak respectively. All this happened in a span of half an hour, until finally, it was Scootaloo’s turn to wash.

Just then, the children heard the sound of the doors to their quarter open. They turned to see Harmon enter the room, and he was not alone. Following behind the grand admiral was a service droid carrying some items.

“Oh, hey, Harmon.” Scootaloo said.

Harmon noticed the children standing in the bathroom. “Sorry, am I interrupting anything?”

Scootaloo shook her head. “Nah. It’s fine. We’re almost done showering. I’m just about to have mine.”

Keen Eye pointed at the service droid behind Harmon. “What is that thing?”

“Hm?” Harmon noticed the droid. “Oh, it’s just a service droid. I took the liberty of ordering it to bring Ray a fresh pair of clothes.”

“Thanks, Harmon.” Ray walked up to the droid, and took the clothes. “And thank you too.” The droid responded with in a strange alien language of chirpy beeps.

Keen Eye and Lily Pad tilted their heads. “Droid?”

“What’s a droid?” Lily Pad asked.

“It’s a kind of robot.” Dinky noticed the twins blinking in confusion, and quickly thought of the best way to explain before they could question what a robot actually was. “It’s a machine that is intelligent, technically advanced, and can be built to perform many different tasks.”

The twin siblings understood Dinky’s explanation by saying in unison “Oh.”.

Harmon pointed out Ray’s old clothes on the bathroom to the service droid. “Take these boys clothes down to the laundry bay, please.”

Responding to the grand admiral’s command with affirmative beeps, the droid retrieved Ray’s old clothes from the bathroom floor. After picking up the clothes, it turned and went out of the bathroom, through the living quarter, and out the door to do its commanded task.

Right after, Ray went out of the bathroom to the sleeping bunks with the clean set of clothes. He turned around to the others saying, “Don’t look please. I’ll be a minute.”

“Don’t worry, we won’t.” Scootaloo said.

Everyone did as Ray requested, and waited for Ray to change into the new clothes. A few moments later, Ray called out “Okay. You can look now.”, and they turned to see him wearing the light grey pants of the clothes. They watched as Ray was soon dressed into the rest of his new clothes. The new clothes looked to be a uniform. It had black boots and gloves, and a white and grey uniform top with a red and black First Order insignia on the left shoulder.

Ray did some final adjustments to the uniform. “How do I look?”

“Wow, Ray.” Pipsqueak said. “You look amazing.”

Ray came back into the bathroom, and looked at himself in a large mirror. “Wow. It reminds me of the uniforms Stormtrooper cadets of the Empire wear.”

“Indeed.” Harmon said. “These are what First Order trooper cadets wear, based on the Stormtrooper cadets’ uniforms of the old Empire.”

“Well, you look pretty cool in it, Ray.” Scootaloo then turned towards the shower unit, and hung her towel on a rack next to the shower. “Well, I should have my turn in the shower now.”

“Oh.” Harmon cleared his throat. “Then I shall excuse myself and give you privacy.”

“Nah, it’s fine.” Scootaloo lifted the synth flesh off the base of her cybernetic wing as she prepared to remove it. Although she was told that it was completely waterproof, she preferred to remove it while she washed. “After all, it’s not like we always wear any clothes all the time.”

With an audible “click”, Scootaloo’s right wing prosthesis came off from her stub. Just as she turned to place her prosthesis on the floor, her ears perked as she caught the sound of two gasps. She turned around to the direction where the gasps came from, where she met the sight of Keen Eye and Lily Pad looking at her with shocked, frightened expressions. Harmon raised a surprised eyebrow at the pegasus filly’s cybernetic prosthesis.

Lily Pad pointed at Scootaloo’s cybernetic wing while still keeping her frightened expression. “Y-Your wing….”

Scootaloo cracked a small, playful, amused smile at the twins’ reaction to it. This had been the reaction of many ponies at first. It was another reason why he kept it, as she sometimes found the reactions amusing at times.

“Yeah…It’s a prosthesis.”

“How…” Keen Eye mumbled.

Scootaloo sighed. “Well, it was when I was with Forren. The Stormy was to meet up with another cruiser, until pirates attacked. They got on board, because they were after me. I got kidnapped by them and…they…”

Scootaloo winced, as she could not bear to finish her explanation. The memories of the pain and torture she suffered at the hands of those space pirates caused her some distress. Although she had received counseling from that incident and got better from it, it still affected her to some degree.

Before the pegasus filly could answer the last part, she suddenly felt two sets of limbs wrap around her. She opened her eyes to see Keen Eye and Lily Pad hugging her, having figured out quickly what happened to Scootaloo.

“You poor thing!” Lily Pad said.

The orange pegasus blushed in embarrassment. “Eheh…”

Keen Eye spoke as he hugged Scootaloo. “No, really. We understand. They did horrible things to you. A similar thing happened to our dad.”

After a short moment, the twins let go of Scootaloo, and allowed her to wash herself. Scootaloo then stepped into the shower unit, and switched on the water. The others were intrigued at what they heard the twins say, especially with what they said about their father.

“Your dad.” Ray spoke out, as Keen Eye and Lily Pad turned to him and the others. “Did you say he got tortured too?”

“Yeah.” Pipsqueak said. “What happened to your dad?”

Both Keen Eye sighed. “Well, it’s a long story.”

Dinky raised an eyebrow. “Can you share it with us?”

“Are you sure you want to hear this?” Lily Pad asked.

“Of course.” Everyone turned to Scootaloo, who was standing in the shower rubbing soap on herself, as she spoke out. “We wouldn’t ask otherwise. Besides, we need to know as much as we can about you two, if we’re to help you get home.”

“Scootaloo’s right.” Ray said. “Please tell us.”

The twins nodded and sighed, as Keen Eye spoke first. “Okay then. We should tell you the whole story from the beginning. As we mentioned last night, our mom and dad’s names are Lawful Eye and Abacus Sum. Our mom is detective-chief of police in Ponyville, and she’s also does work as an attorney sometimes. Our dad is an accountant and tax agent. We also have a dog, Rex. He’s a German Shepard, and is not just a family pet, but is also a police dog. And there is also our grandma, Nana Mare, who is the mayor of Ponyville.”

Pipsqueak blinked. “Nana Mare? Mayor of Ponyville? Your grandma is Mayor Mare? Wow!”

Lily Pad nodded. “Yes. Although, she’s not our maternal grandma, but of one from our dad’s previous marriage before he and mom got together. In fact, our parents’ pasts are connected to this pony. A unicorn mare named Tiger Lily.”

“Tiger Lily?” Dinky asked. “That’s a pretty name.”

Lily Pad smile fondly. “I know. Our parents said it that was where they came up with my name, as Lily was the pet name our parents used to call her when she was married to Dad. Mom and Dad told us the story about her, and how they all met. They said that mom met her while she was in foster care, after her parents died from a horrible accident. When mom’s grandparents took her in, she asked if Tiger Lily could stay as well, and they became foster sisters. They then met Dad in the school playground in kindergarten. Dad was being picked on by a bully colt, when Mom came to his aid. After fighting off that bully, she and Tiger Lily invited Dad to share their lunches with him.”

“After that, Mom, Dad, and Tiger Lily became very close friends. They did all sorts of things together. And our dad and Tiger Lily fell in love with each other, and eventually got married, and moved to Ponyville. Mom stayed in Fillydelphia due to her working as a private-eye detective, but she always kept in touch with them, and she always saw them when they made trips to see Dad’s mom, Nana Arithma.”

“Although, Mom never visited them in Ponyville because of her work.” Keen Eye said. “And as for Nana Arithma, she always made trips to visit Dad and Tiger Lily in Ponyville.”

Lily Pad took over again to explain. “While in Ponyville, they said that Tiger Lily was quite special, as she was so kind, and caring to everypony. She helped out other ponies in town while she owned and ran the flower shop with anything they needed. She even helped with organizing events in town. Dad helped out in ways he could too. He helped with financing other businesses, and with the taxes of the ponies in town. They both were loved by everypony in town.”

“Wow.” Scootaloo switched off the shower, stepped out, and grabbed her towel. “Those seem like they were the perfect couple.”

“They were.” Lily Pad said.

Scootaloo dried herself off as she spoke. “So what happened to Tiger Lily?”

Ray nodded. “Yeah. If your mother is Lawful Eye and not Tiger Lily, what happened? What became of her and your dad?”

“Did they get a divorce or something?” Pipsqueak asked.

There was a pause. The twins closed their eyes, and dropped their heads sadly, as Keen Eye says, “She’s no longer with us.”

“She’s in heaven with Nana Arithma.” Lily Pad said.

“Oh.” Harmon mildly shook his head with pity at the twins’ words, as he understood what their words meant. “My condolences to you and your father.”

“What happened?” Dinky asked.

Keen Eye sighed. “Well, our friends and family have told us that she was tragically killed in a house fire. They said that the fire was caused by the power socket they replaced in the kitchen late one night when they were in bed.”

“Dad managed to get out. But Tiger Lily, she didn’t. They said that as they were escaping, a large roof beam fell, and trapped her before they got to the door. Dad tried to free her, but he was unable to as he was all alone.” Lily Pad sadly paused for a moment. “Then before the burning roof collapsed, she shoved Dad out the door, and sacrificed herself for him.” She sighed sadly. “Poor Dad watch her die.”

“Oh, my gosh!” Pipsqueak said.

Dinky frowned. “That’s so sad.”

“We know. Dad lost everything from that house fire. And what’s worse, Tiger Lily was also pregnant with her and Dad’s baby at the time.” Keen Eye groaned sadly. “That was about twelve years ago, in our universe.”

Pipsqueak frowned. “That’s so tragic. I know what it’s like. I lost my dad before I was born.” He then suddenly blinked, as he just realized something. “In fact, I wonder whether my other self in your Equestria had the same happen to him?”

Dinky turned to Pipsqueak. “I don’t think that’s really important right now.”

“Dinky’s right, Pip.” Scootaloo said, before turning her attention back to the twins. “So what happened to your dad after that? And how did your mom and dad marry?”

“Well, they said that Dad suffered so much trauma from what happened that he went away, and vanished. Until Mom found him and began dating him about two years later. Mom always had feelings for Dad, but never told him out of fear that it would cause friction in their relationship when Tiger Lily was alive. Then months later, they got married, and we were born not long after.”

Keen Eye took over talk after Lily Pad. “Or that’s what Mom, Dad, our friends, and everypony in town told us. There was so many things that was strange.”

Scootaloo picked up her cybernetic wing, and reattached it to her body. “Strange? How strange?”

“Well, our parents are somewhat famous, and very wealthy, rivaling even Mr Filthy Rich.” Keen Eye said. “Although, we live like we’re not for the most part. And they are friends with quite a lot of famous celebrities, like Sapphire Shores the pony of pop, Rad Ballad the voice of Equestria, and even the four alicorn princesses. And every so often, Dad goes to different parts of Equestria to give talks of some kind. It was clear that they were hiding something.”

“We were curious about how, and what happened to dad during his disappearance, but nopony would tell us. One time, Dad got very upset when we kept asking. Mom told us that we will know when they feel we’re ready to know. Afterwards we never asked again, seeing Dad so upset like that.”

Lily Pad took over. “But then, six weeks ago, we found finally out about our parents past, especially Dad. It was when our dad did one of his talks, that previous one was in Canterlot. We were playing in the park one day, when some students we’re friends with from the School of Friendship came up to us. Apparently, they had gone to the talk in Canterlot to see it too.”

Six weeks ago (Keen Eye and Lily Pad’s alternate Equestria)

The local park of Ponyville was peaceful, as the twin sibling foals of Abacus Sum and Lawful Eye laughing and playing together. The sky was clear of clouds, with the sun shining bright for the summer season. Keen Eye and Lily Pad played together until they noticed a group of creatures making their way towards them. They comprised of four creatures.

The first was a teenaged pegasus colt with a moderate amber coat, a mane that was patterned with vivid vermilion and vivid orange, opalish gray eyes, and a cloud with fire streaks behind it as a cutie mark. The second was a female teenage dragon that had pale light grayish magenta scales, with a light fuchsiaish gray underbelly, grayish fuchsia spines, and light amaranth colored eyes. The third was a male changeling with a light brilliant gold chitin and carapace, a pair of insect-like wings that were a mix of light brilliant harlequin and luminous vivid harlequin, and luminous vivid cornflower blue reflection-less eyes. The last was a female azureish black griffon, with moderate purple head feathers, and pale, light grayish azure colored wings and tail feathers.

“Yo, Keen, Lily!” The teenaged pegasus colt said.

The foal siblings waved back to them, as they were individuals that they were friends with. They were students of the School of Friendship in Ponyville. Pyro Cumulus, a pegasus teenaged stallion from Cloudsdale. Kindle, a female teenaged dragon from the Dragon Lands. Incus, a young male changeling from the Changeling Kingdom. And Gracie, a young female griffon from Griffonstone.

“Hi, Pyro!” Keen Eye waved at the Pegasus, before waving to the changeling. “Hi, Incus!”

Lily Pad waved at the griffon and dragon. “Hello, Gracie! Hello, Kindle!”

“What’s up, kiddos?” Gracie asked.

“We just got back from our trip from Canterlot. You two are really something.”

Keen Eye and Lily Pad tilted their heads at what Incus said, as Keen Eye asks, “We are?”

Incus nodded. “Yeah! To hear your father’s life story. And you being the offspring someone who suffered from being accused and imprisoned for murder was so unbelievable.”

The twins were taken back at what the young changeling had just told them. They both blinked as they processed two certain words that was mentioned.

“Murder?” Lily Pad asked.

Keen Eye stammered. “Imprisoned?”

“Yeah,” Kindle said. “Your dad is Abacus Sum. He’s the pony that got locked-up for murder. Don’t you two know that?”

The four friendship students were puzzled as they notice the shocked expressions on the twins’ faces. There was a moment of silence, until Pyro’s eyes widened and blinked as if he had just realized something.

“Oh no.” Pyro then turned to his three friends, giving them a look of concern. “Um, guys?” The others turned their attention to him. “I think we’ve made a big mistake.”

“What do you mean?” Kindle asked. “Keen and Lily’s dad is Abacus Sum, the same pony from the talk.”

Pyro shook his head. “No, that’s not what I mean. They don’t seem to know about their father’s past. In fact, I don’t think anyone has ever told them.”

The others took a moment to process what their pegasus pony friend had told them. It did not take them long to figure it out, as Incus spoke out.

“What? Are you saying that their parents, or any creature have never told them? Like they were never supposed to know about it?”

Pyro nodded in response to Incus’s question. “Yeah. Or at least not yet. And I think we had just revealed it by accident.”

“Uh-oh.” Gracie said.

The four friends turned to look at Keen Eye and Lily Pad, who were still very shocked at what they had just discovered about their father.

Back in the present

“Wait a minute!” Pipsqueak said, interrupting the twin’s story. “Murder? Are you saying your father was a murderer? As in a criminal?!”

“Well…not exactly.” Keen Eye answered.

Pipsqueak tilted his head. “Huh? But didn’t you just say that your friends from the School of Friendship told you-”

“Maybe we can find out, if you don’t interrupt them.” Dinky commented, her voice was one of slight annoyance.

Pipsqueak dropped his head with shame and embarrassment. “Oh. Sorry.”

Dinky sighed, as she turned to the twins. “Sorry about that. Please continue.”

“It’s okay.” Lily Pad said, as she continued their story. “It was shocking to hear what Pyro, Incus, Kindle and Gracie told us.”

Keen Eye nodded. “Yeah. In fact, our reaction was just like Pipsqueak’s.”

Six weeks ago (Keen Eye and Lily Pad’s alternate Equestria)

“Murder?” Lily Pad stammered.

Keen Eye spoke out. “Dad was a murderer?! What do you mean? Who did Dad kill?”

Pyro looked worried, as he hesitated to tell the foals anymore. His three friends shared the same feelings. “I…uh…I don’t know. I don’t think it we should…”

“Please.” Keen Eye said. “You guys don’t understand. We know about how our dad is well known, and goes to different places to do talks, but him and Mom don’t tell us about it.”

“And when we ask about it, Dad gets so upset. And we even asked everypony around town we know, but they won’t tell us either. They say that “they can’t tell us”, or “We’ll know when we’re ready”, or “We don’t want to know”.” Lily Pad gave Pyro a pleading look. “Please, Pyro. We must know.”

The teenaged pegasus stood there, hesitant and unsure of what to do. A lot of things were conflicting in his mind. His friends felt the same way. Pyro and his friends had no idea the twin children were not supposed to know about their father's past, or at least not yet. But, then again, since they only known them for a couple of months since enrolling and studying at the School of Friendship, how were they supposed to know?

After a couple of moments of silence, Pyro suddenly felt the scaly hand of Kindle place on his shoulder that got his attention. He turned to the teenaged drake, as she was looking at him with a reassuring look.

“Pyro,” Kindle said. “I think we should tell them.”

Incus nodded. “I agree. These foals have a right to know the truth. Remember our lessons in honesty classes, and how it’s sometimes wrong to keep secrets from others of things they need to know?”

“Incus has a point.” Gracie nudged Pyro with her elbow. “Besides, they already found out about the imprisoned for murder thing because of us anyway. So it’s no use keeping it from them anymore. And they could get the wrong idea, if they don’t get their facts straight. Might as well spill the beans.”

Pyro took a moment to process everything, knowing the facts that Keen Eye and Lily Pad already now found about some of the secrets already because of them, that they did not know the whole story, and that it was wrong and pointless now to avoid the truth from them, like his friends pointed out. Weighed down with an impossible situation, Pyro sighed, and nodded to his friends, agreeing to tell them about their father’s past, at least what they know.

“Celestia. Don’t make us regret this.” Pyro prayed in his head, before he spoke out to Keen Eye and Lily Pad. “Okay. I guess you have a right to know. And to answer your question, your dad didn’t kill anypony.”

The twins tilted their heads in confusion at Pyro’s answer. Before they could speak, Gracie spoke out. “To put a long story short, kiddos, your dad was imprisoned for a murder that he didn’t commit, nor never happened to begin with.”

“What do you mean?” Keen Eye asked.

Incus thought for a moment. “Well, do you know of a pony named Tiger Lily?”

The twins nodded as Lily Pad spoke. “Yes. She was a unicorn mare that Dad was married to before married Mom.”

“And what else do you know about her?” Kindle asked.

“Well, Mom and Dad told us that they were best friends since they were in kindergarten when they lived in Fillydelphia. Dad didn’t have many friends, because of his autism, so she and Mom were the only true friends he had. He fell in love with Tiger Lily when they got older, and they got married. They then moved here to Ponyville, where they did so many great things in town.” Keen Eye rubbed his chin. “Well, mainly Tiger Lily did a lot of organizing of events and things in town, while Dad helped out when he could while doing accounting and other ponies taxes.”

Lily Pad took over talking. “And then one day, Tiger Lily was pregnant with Dad’s baby. But then some months later one night, their house caught fire while they were in bed. Dad managed to get out, but she didn’t. She got trapped. Dad couldn’t get her out, so she pushed him out before the burning house collapsed on top of her. Our parents and ponies in town tell us that she sacrificed herself to save Dad life.”

“That was about twelve years ago. That’s what our parents, friends, and everypony in town have told us.” Keen Eye suddenly blinked, as if he just had an epiphany about something. “Wait! Are you saying Tiger Lily has something to do with it?”

All four of the friends nodded as Pyro spoke. “Yeah. I’m afraid so.”

Lily Pad put a hoof to her face in shock. “It can’t be true!”

“It is, Lily.” Gracie said. “They may have told you two all about that of Tiger Lily. But what they obviously never told you is that your dad was accused of murdering her.”

“So Dad was accused of murdering Tiger Lily?” Lily Pad asked. “That’s horrible!”

Keen Eye blinked looking bewildered. “Why would anypony believe Dad would do something like that? It must have been a huge mistake.”

“I guess it would seem like that,” Incus said. “However, the story is much deeper, darker, and more sinister than you realize.”

Pyro nodded. “You see, while your mom tried to find anything to get your dad out of prison, she discovered something far bigger at play. In fact, it was dad’s mom, or your grandmother, that discovered it first, and brought it to her. It turned out that your dad was framed by none other than the very ponies that were called to investigate the cause of house fire.”

“What’s more,” Kindle said. “Those investigators, and the prison your dad was sent to, were secretly in league and conspiring with numerous criminal operations in a crime ring. Particularly, an illegal slave trafficking ring.”

“And in addition, the crooked investigators also took the money from anyone they framed. In your dad’s case, the one-million-bit life insurance payout from Tiger Lily’s death was an opportunity for them. They were as greedy as dragons.” Gracie quickly glanced at Kindle. “No offence, Kindle.”

Kindle turned to Gracie. “Um, if I remember correctly, griffons were just as greedy.”

Gracie paused, as she was unable to make a comeback remark, until she shrugged and chuckled in defeat. “Touché. Can’t argue with that.”

“So that’s why they framed Dad for murdering Tiger Lily?” Keen Eye asked. “For his money?”

“Well, that, and revenge.” Gracie said.

Lily Pad tilted her head. “Revenge?”

Incus nodded. “Yeah. There was a pony named Rotten Eggs, who was a bully to your dad in his childhood, and he later committed horrible crimes of rapping numerous mares, and got locked up for it. He secretly got recruited into the crime ring at the very prison that was part of the whole thing. It was your mom that caught him, and he vowed to have revenge on her. And when finding out about your dad being the next target, he took his vengeance out on him, not even giving a thing about the money.”

Keen Eye and Lily Pad were both shocked at what they were hearing. The story their resent friends from the friendship school was hard to believe for them both, but they could tell that they were not lying about it.

Lily Pad stammered. “I…we don’t…”

Pyro nodded, understanding what the little earth filly was trying to process. “Yeah, we can imagine what a shock it is. But it’s all true. My dad is a high ranking police sergeant for Cloudsdale, and he had never seen or heard of a crime in Equestria as bad as that. It was recorded as one of the most horrendous crimes ever recorded in Equestria’s history, as that crime ring went on for about a decade. So hidden that not even Princess Celestia was aware of it. It was only when after Princess Luna returned did she become aware.”

“Although, if you want to know more about all of it, it’s written in your dad’s autobiography,” Incus said. “There is also a movie based on it too, but the book has a bit more detail.”

“There’s a book and a movie about Dad?” Keen Eye asked.

“That’s right, kiddo. I guess your parents and friends never told you that either. In fact, you know that song “Live to Tell” by Muledonna and Sapphire Shores?” Both twins nodded at Gracie’s question. “Well, that song was the main song for the movie.”

Incus presented a book. “And we also each have a copy of his book.”

“You do?” Lily Pad asked.

Incus nodded as Pyro, Kindle, and Gracie each showed their copies with him. “Yeah. We bought them while at the conference. They had a stock of them there, and they’re also each autographed by your dad.”

Keen Eye and Lily Pad looked at the books more closely. Each were brown and grey in color. The front cover was of a shadowed figure of an earth pony sitting in a depressed posture inside a barred prison cell in a dark background. There was also flames faintly seen with other numerous shadowy figures looming around, and had the title “Abacus: The Scum That Never Was” written on it.

The twins were surprised, as they had seen that same book among other books in the bookcase of their living room, or at least the edge of it. However, they never paid it much mind due to it being in the highest shelf of the case. They then glanced at each other, as a thought came to them. Knowing what the other was thinking, the twins nodded to each other seriously, as they both knew what they needed to do. All before turning back to their friends from the School of Friendship.

“Is it alright if we borrow one of your copies?” Keen Eye asked.

“Huh?” Pyro blinked as he glanced at his copy of Abacus’s book. His friends did the same. “You want to borrow one of our copies?”

Kindle raised an eyebrow. “Why? Doesn’t your mom and dad have a copy laying around somewhere?”

Lily Pad nodded. “They do.”

“Well, why not just read that one?” Kindle asked.

“We can’t.” Keen Eye said. “It’s in the highest shelf of our living room bookcase, so we can’t get it. And even if we could get it, our parents would notice, get suspicious, and most likely get upset with us reading it.”

Incus understood what Keen Eye was pointing out, since his changeling kind were masters of deception. He then turned to the others, while commenting, “He has a point. If they borrow one of our copies, it’ll be less suspicious of their parents finding out.”

“So will you let us borrow one of yours?” Lily Pad asked. “Please?”

“Well…” Pyro quickly glanced at the others, and their copies of Abacus’s book. “Sure, okay. I guess we can lend you one of ours.” He offers his own copy to Keen Eye and Lily Pad. “Here. You can borrow mine for a while. Just be careful not to lose it. Okay?”

Keen Eye took Pyro’s copy offered to him and his twin sister. “Thanks, Pyro.”

“And we’ll be careful with it,” Lily Pad said. “We promise.”

“Oh! One other thing we forgot to mention.” Incus turned his copy of the book around, and pointed to something on the back of the book. On bottom corner was an insignia. “Your dad’s book also raises money for the Help Abacus Foundation.”

Keen Eye flipped the book around, as he and Lily Pad looked at the insignia on the part of the book that their changeling friend had pointed to. From closer inspection, they saw that it was a wooden abacus counting frame with five rods, each having a different colored set of beads on it in an ordered row. Blue, red, yellow, green, and purple. The twins recognized it as their father’s cutie mark, and it also had Help Abacus Foundation written below it.

“The Help Abacus Foundation?” The twins asked in unison.

Incus nodded. “Yeah. It was a charity foundation that started in Ponyville to raise money for your dad. It was how the house you live in was built. Afterwards, it was turned into a foundation to raise money for the other victims of that crime ring, and their families. Half of the profit your dad’s books make goes to that organization.”

“It makes you think,” Gracie said. “Your dad would be twice as rich if he would’ve kept all the money for himself.”

Kindle turned to Gracie. “True, but he seems too humble to do that. Something we’re learning in our lessons in generosity classes.”

“Anyway,” Pyro said. “Just be careful, you two.”

Keen Eye smiled reassuringly at Pyro. “Don’t worry, Pyro. We’ll be careful with your copy. It won’t get a scratch, or a smudge, or even a crease.”

Pryo shook his head. “No, That’s not what I mean.” He continued in explaining as both twins raised a confused eyebrow. “I mean that you should be careful not to let your friends and parents see both of you with it before you finish with it. I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

“Don’t worry. We won’t let anypony or any creature know about this.” Lily Pad began to feel a slight hint of guilt. Her twin brother felt the same. “Normally, we wouldn’t do something so secretive like this, but we don’t have a choice.”

Keen Eye nodded in agreement. “That’s true. But it’s like what Uncle Lock Down told us once: There are times when the heart must rule the head.”

“That’s true,” Pyro said. His face was shown that of mild guilt. “It’s why any of us were reluctant to even tell you two, and even lend you a copy of your dad’s book.”

Lily Pad, noticing the guilty look on Pyro’s face, walks closer to him. Her brother, Keen Eye, joined her as they both placed a comforting hoof on his chest. “It’s okay. We understand. You’re concerned for us. You care about us. All of you do.”

“Yeah, Pyro. We’re glad you told us. We wanted to find out for ourselves for a long time.” Keen Eye pointed to Pyro’s copy of their dad’s book in his other hoof. “And now we’ll finally get to know the whole truth. And after we’re finish reading it, we’ll returning it.” He glanced at Kindle, Incus, and Gracie, while speaking to Pyro. “You guys are good friends. You all won’t regret it doing this, we promise.”

“We hope not.” Pyro said. He put on a hopeful smile at the twins, although a hint of concern was still lingered with him.

Back in the present

Back in the present, in the alternate universe, Scootaloo and Co were speechless at the twins’ story as they continued to listen. Harmon listened to the twins’ story too with interest, along with a hint of pity about their father.

“After we borrowed the book from Pyro and his friends, we secretly brought it home, and hid it in our room.” Keen Eye said. “We read it secretly each night when going to bed, and sometimes, we’d read it during the day, out of sight from others. It wasn’t easy, but we eventually read the whole book within about five weeks.”

Lily Pad took over talking. “And when Mom and Dad left us with Lock Down and Sugar Dough while they were away for a week, we got further information from them, and others in town about it all. We even asked you and the crusaders, and even the princesses.” She sighed taking on a sad tone. “It turned out what we read, and what they told us about Dad’s past… It was all true. Everything.”

“So your dad really was framed for murdering Tiger Lily?” Pipsqueak asked.

Both twins sighed and nodded slowly, as Lily Pad continued to explain. “That’s right. From what we found out, Dad was indeed framed. When Tiger Lily died in the house fire, Nana Mare and Lady Gaval called upon investigators from Canterlot to investigate to confirm Dad’s story on what happened. The investigators were named Blue Ward and Cover-Up. But the investigators were members of a very big crime ring with secret criminal organization, and targeted Dad for his money, and later as a favor for Rotten Eggs to have revenge.”

“They created and planted false evidence to make it look like Dad had set the fire himself, and murdered Tiger Lily for the life insurance. It was a very big life insurance that she legally organized with Mom and Nana Arithma without Dad knowing. And they were able to keep Mom away too. She was in Manehattan working on a case at the time, and they had connections there with the crime ring intercepted all mail to her to prevent her from knowing about what was happening to Dad until it was too late. Nana Arithma and Dad were left to this alone. At the end of the trial, Dad was found guilty of arson, and first degree murder.”

Dinky blinked. “Wow. That’s awful.”

“And that was just the beginning. The ponies in town were shocked by the evidence against Dad, and most of the town believed Dad was guilty. Dad was sentenced to spend the rest of his life at Hoofstrong Prison Centre, the very prison that was part of the crime ring.” Keen Eye cringed. “And that’s when Dad’s true nightmare began. The investigators revealed the truth that they framed Dad, and showed off the real evidence case file, before destroying it in front of him.”

“What?” Scootaloo face was of shock, before shifting to one of outrage. “So they gloated and rubbed it in his face! Those bastards!”

“It gets worse.” Keen Eye said. “They locked a steel collar around Dad’s neck called a Steelectric collar. Collars enchanted with an electrocution spell that are used to shock, stun, and even incapacitate them with a painful shock of electricity by the magic from unicorn members of the prison security. But they used them purely as a means to torture the victims, including Dad.”

Lily Pad winced. “They did such repulsive, cruel, and horrible things to him. They tortured him, beat him, and even raped him. A lot of the torture they did to Dad was sexual, and they did that to Dad almost daily. The things they did would make the most horrible nightmares seem like nothing. Rotten Eggs, Armstrong and his men were monsters!”

“Armstrong?” Harmon asked.

Keen Eye nodded. “Yes. He was the evil minotaur warden of Hoofstrong Prison Centre. He was a real sadist. And the guards were not just royal guards, but they were also criminals secretly recruited. It’s how Rotten Eggs got into it. And there weren’t just ponies, but also griffons, and even a few zebras. Dad saw so many terrible things. Like how they forced ponies inside to make babies with mares to sell as slaves. But if any of the babies had heath or physical problems…” He shuddered. “They would kill them, and feed them to Armstrong’s vicious dog. And if the ponies they had framed and imprisoned were pegasi or unicorns, they would amputate their horns and wings.”

“That’s terrible!” Ray turned to Scootaloo. “That sounds like what happened to you with those pirates, Scoots.”

“Yeah.” Scootaloo glanced at her cybernetic wing prosthesis. “If Captain Ian hadn’t have come, who knows what else they would’ve done to me.” She shivered. “Just thinking about it all is terrifying.”

“We know.” Keen Eye said. “And those are just a few examples of what they did. If we told you half of the things we found out they did, you’d get nightmares.”

“But how did your dad get out?” Pipsqueak asked.

“Well, about a few months after Dad was convicted, Mom came back from Manehattan, and Nana Arithma told her what happened. She even showed her the response letter that Mom sent her, and revealed how the fake letter caused her suspicions.”

Lily Pad took over talking from her brother. “Nana Arithma knew the response letter was fake, because of how her and Mom always referred Dad as his pet name “Abi” when writing letters to each other, even if they were formal letter. She had no choice, but to wait until Mom came back. Mom was so heartbroken of hearing the death of Tiger Lily’s death and of the wrongful conviction of Dad. But she quickly had to swallow her pain, as she needed to find a way to get Dad’s name cleared and get him out.”

“She spent months trying to find something to help free Dad.” Keen Eye said. “But what she didn’t know was that the things she was doing with the courts was being monitored by corrupt officials who were with the crime ring, and informing the investigators of the case against Dad. And they told those of Hoofstrong prison to kill Dad when she did find anything.”

Scootaloo and Co blinked with shock, as Scootaloo spoke. “They were going to kill your dad? Like holding him hostage?”

Both twins nodded in response, as Keen Eye continued to explain. “In a way, yes. It was what they did to all ponies that investigators like Blue Ward and Cover-Up who were part of crime corruption ring. When the friends and family’s hired investigators and find something to possibly exonerate them, they would kill the prisoners before they were due in court. It was to insure that they could not reveal what was happening. It was even worse since no one, but specific official ponies, could ever visit the prison.”

“And I guess those specific official ponies were corrupt members of that crime ring too?” Dinky asked.

“That’s right.” Lily Pad winced. “They were ready to kill Dad, and Rotten Eggs was going to do it personally. And they knew about Mom reputation of being a private detective investigator and attorney, so they knew that she would possibly find anything. And she did find something. But before she could issue another trial, somepony secretly warned her of what was at stake. It was a unicorn stallion named Turncoat. He was part of the corruption ring, and was Armstrong’s right-hoof.”

“He warned her by using a telepathy spell, and he arranged on a note to secretly meet with her in a lowly part of Fillydelphia. He then told her about what was going on, and even presented the true case file of Dad’s case he had managed to save.”

Scootaloo tilted her head. “I don’t get it. How did Turncoat get the real case file? I thought you said Armstrong and his goons destroyed it in front of your dad.”

“Yeah.” Pipsqueak said. “And I thought he was one of the bad guys. Why was he helping your mum and dad?”

“Well, from what my sister and I read in the book, and from what some have told us, he didn’t want to be part of the crime ring, but was forced to be in concern of his own life. He pretended to be on their side, and had to wait for the right chance. So he learnt an advanced duplication spell that was very hard to learn, and also studied teleportation. It took about two years for him to learn them both. And he also figured out how to use both spells simultaneously without being noticed. In addition, he created a secret cellar to stash the real case files he managed to save for eight whole years of the decade. And he saw his right opportunity when he read into Mom’s background.”

“While looking into her background, he discovered something that others failed to notice.” Lily Pad said. “As a policemare and detective with the Fillydelphia police department, she worked with Under Cover, and policemare who later became a Detective Inspector for the FPI in Sydneigh on the island of Horstralia. After that, Mom ceased her issue for a retrial, and made it seem like she failed to find anything, and saving Dad’s life. She then took a zeppelin to Sydneigh, and went to the FPI office to see Under Cover. She then told her about Dad’s conviction, Turncoat, and everything he told her.”

“At first, Under Cover was unsure. Until she brought it to two other FPI agents she worked with, Open Case and Tough Job. Those two gave Mom’s story, and requested to meet with Turncoat in secret. When Turncoat presented evidence, they then secretly formed a task force that they called Task Force River. They also received help from other FBI offices, and from the secret services in Trottingham, as they had connections with them.” Lily Pad sighed sadly. “But as all this was happening, Nana Arithma developed terminal stomach cancer, and died five months after.”

“That poor mare.” Scootaloo said. “That’s a horrible way to die.”

Ray shook his head sadly. “And she never got to see your dad again before passing. I’m so sorry you two.”

Both twins gave a small smile at Scootaloo and Co’s sympathy, as Keen Eye spoke. “Thank you. Even though we never knew her, it’s still sad. Lily and I sometimes wish we did know her.”

“Nana Arithma did have one dying request.” Lily Pad said. “She requested to be buried next to Tiger Lily in Ponyville. And she rewrote her will to have everything she owned go to Mom, since Dad was imprisoned. Although, she need to have the money to help fund the task force, and for Dad’s retrial when he was out of danger. So she had to sell Nana Arithma’s apartment, as well as her own apartment to get the money. Then she put everything else into storage.”

“After that, Mom, the FPI, and the Trottingham Secret Service all began to come up with a plan to put an end to the corruption crime ring, with the permission from the princesses, Celestia and Luna. The FPI offices in other parts of Equestria were all made aware of this, and put those involved with the crime ring on twenty-four-hour surveillance, including Blue Ward and Cover-Up. During that time, the task force and Trottingham Secret Service made plans to send a secret agent into Hoofstrong to infiltrate as a criminal, and report their findings.” Keen Eye turned his attention to Pipsqueak. “And the agent was Southern, your uncle, Pipsqueak. Or the you in our world. And he later joined the Ponyville police force.”

“Really?” Pipsqueak asked. “So my unc-- Uh, the uncle of my other me in your world was a secret agent in Trottingham? Wow!”

Lily Pad nodded. “That’s right. He was deemed by the Trottingham Secret Service to be the best agent for the job, and it was to be his last job before he retired as an agent. So then they sent him to Hoofstrong Prison Centre to go undercover as a violent criminal being transferred from another prison. He spent eight months undercover, and his findings were all true as Turncoat had told them. And the numerous surveillance teams all found corruption happening among the different police forces, and other things around Equestria, even the royal guards. That was when they decided to make plans to make arrests, and raid Hoofstrong Prison with the royal guards selected by the princesses themselves, with Prince Shining Armor leading.”

Keen Eye took over. “Although, only Shining Armor knew where they were raiding, and keeping the royal guard battalion’s in the dark about the location until the last minute. It was to ensure that they could find any corrupt guard members. With Turncoat and Southern helping with the layout of the prison, and shutting off the securities, they managed to raid it successfully. And they were just in time to save Dad too. Because, at the same time, Dad finally fought back by biting Rotten Eggs’s penis off as he raped him orally.”

Pipsqueak and Ray winced while saying, “Ooh!”

“That would hurt!” Ray then glanced in between his legs, and briefly shivered at the thought of how really painful something like that would have been. “It hurts just thinking about it.”

Scootaloo scoffed. “Well, severed him right for raping your dad.”

“I know.” Keen Eye said. “And it was even the first time Dad showed his developed violent mental rage. After he injured Rotten Eggs, Armstrong unleased his dog on him to attack and kill him. It bit Dad on the left side of the face. That was when the Royal Guards came, and they killed the dog, and captured and arrested every one of the guard personal there. And conveniently, Blue Ward and Cover-Up were there at the time as well. So they arrested them too.” He winced. “But Dad still suffered a life-threatening injury, as the dog had ripped his face open and tore an artery.”

Lily Pad winced. “Dad would’ve died, if the Royal Guards didn’t come in time. Dad was taken to the hospital in the nearby city Carriageston. Others from Hoofstrong went there too, but because of prison policy, there was limited time at hospitals. Dad was the same, as they only barely had enough time to fix the torn artery, and do minimal surgery on his face, like skin and flesh grafts. The hospital staff at Carriageston were also ordered to secrecy from the FPI and royalty.”

“And they took pictures of Dad’s injuries, and the injuries of all the other prisoners. We saw some of them ourselves as they are shown in his book.” Keen Eye shuddered. “They were some of the most graphic, horrible pictures we ever seen. Anyway, Dad was released from the hospital, and sent back to prison a few days later. The infirmary at Hoofstrong would have to do treatment care for his injury, even though it was under strain from all the other prisoners needing treatment.”

“The Royal Guards had taken charge of the prison, and Mom finally got to see Dad for the first time in over two years. It was also the day she met the new warden, Rehab, and Lock Down, who was a prison class royal guard at the time. Both of which also too work as police officers back home in Ponyville. With Dad and the other prisoners saved, Mom was able to organize Dad for a retrial within three months’ time, this time at Equestria Supreme Court in Canterlot. All while the F.P.I. and the Trottingham secret service tried to capture all those involved, including the ones in charge of the secret criminal organization responsible for the crime ring, and to save all the slaves. Although, they did succeed everything else, they failed to capture the ones in charge of the criminal organization, as they discovered that they had taken their lives by suicide pills to avoid capture.”

“When the three months came by, Dad has his retrial. He was found not guilty, and was ordered to be released the day after. But he was to testify against Blue Ward, Cover-Up, and all those at Hoofstrong.”

Lily Pad sighed as she took over. “But Dad ran away on the day he was released before Mom could pick him up.”

Dinky raised an eyebrow. “Your dad ran away?”

“Yes,” Lily Pad said. “Lock Down told us that Dad ran away because of how he felt he had nothing. And he knew about Nana Arithma dying, while everypony else lied, telling him she was alive. And he found out from Armstrong and his guards mocking him about it, as they discovered from outside sources telling them. That’s why Dad away. When Mom got to the prison and found out, she was so worried, and tried to find him. But by then, Dad was already so far away. Then the next night after…” Lily Pad winced. “…He tried to take his own life by hanging himself.”

A gasp escaped Scootaloo and Co at hearing what they heard, as Scootaloo spoke. “Your dad tried commit suicide?”

“That’s right.” Keen Eye said. “But he failed, thanks to the tree branch braking, and sparing him. Although, it did knock him out when he fell down a hill. That was when he had a dream. It was of Nana Arithma telling Dad that she was buried in Ponyville. And that’s when he made the long journey to go there to find her and Tiger Lily’s graves.”

“At the same time, Mom, and the F.P.I. decided to find him by posting Dad’s release and disappearance in the newspaper. But they had to do it without revealing anything about the crime ring case and that he was framed, as they were still locating and capture the rest of all the ones involved of the crime ring, and rescue the remaining ponies sold into slavery. When Ponyville found out about Dad’s release, most of them were angered and frightened about it, as they still believed in his guilt.”

Dinky raised an eyebrow. “Most? So there were at least some ponies in town that believed your dad was innocence?”

“Were any of us three some of them?” Scootaloo asked.

Lily Pad took over, as she pointed out Pipsqueak and Dinky. “Well, from what we found out from asking ponies in town, Pipsqueak and his mother were on vacation during the time, and the events of what happened with Dad and Tiger Lily were before they moved to Ponyville from Trottingham. You and your mother knew about Dad, and believed in his guilt as your mother always told you to stay away from him.” She turned her attention to Scootaloo. “However, you and Apple Bloom had a quite a part, from what you two in our world told us.”

Scootaloo raised an intrigued eyebrow. “Really? We did? How?”

“Well, about a week later, Dad made it to Ponyville.” Lily Pad said. “Or he got to Sweet Apple Acres. It was night time, and there was a summer storm. So Dad took shelter inside your clubhouse to get out of the storm. And that’s where you and Apple Bloom encountered him.”

“Only Apple Bloom and me?” Scootaloo asked. “What about Sweetie Belle?”

“Well, Sweetie Belle wasn’t around because she went with her parents on vacation in Hawhinny. Anyway, you and Apple Bloom told Lily and I that when you saw Dad, you thought he was burglar, and tried to capture him. Dad ran away spooked, but not before you got hurt.”

Scootaloo blinked at what Keen Eye said. “I got hurt? You mean your dad hurt me?”

“Not exactly.” Keen Eye said. “From what you in our world told us, you were pulled along quickly as you held the rope use to try and capture him, which caused you to hit your head on the clubhouse door, giving you a black eye.”

“After that, you mention it to ponies in town about it, and the whole town thought and believed that Dad attacked you, instead of it being an accident.” Lily Pad paused for a brief, as it was painful to talk about. “They got very angry, and some of the town went to go find him at Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack and Big Mac found Dad hiding in their barn in the early hours of the morning, and got her friends to help. And that’s Mom came to Ponyville after having a dream of Princess Luna telling her that Dad was there.”

“For nearly two weeks, you, Apple Bloom, Mom, Twilight, and her friends tried to help Dad, but the ponies in town still believed in his guilt, and believed Dad hurt others, and was dangerous. They even called Dad the hurtful name of Abacus Scum. The ones who believed in his guilt the most was Lady Gaval, Tall Order, and our nana, Mayor Mare.”

Pipsqueak blinked. “Lady Gavel and Tall Order? As in the town’s court judge, and lawyer and prosecutor?”

“And your grandmother?” Dinky asked.

Keen Eye nodded. “Yeah. That’s right. It upset my sister and I from the stories we heard from other ponies in town.” He glanced at Scootaloo. “Even your Dad in our world, Storm Dasher had a part of the ponies against Dad. But there were those in town that believed in Dad’s innocence, like the Apple family, Miss Cherrilee, Dr. Stallion, Cranky and Matilda, the Cakes, and Derpy. This caused the town to be sort of divided.”

Scootaloo tilted her head questionably. “Don’t get it. Why did they still believe your dad was guilty? Didn’t they tell them the truth about what happened with him being framed, and everything else?”

“Nana Mare and Lady Gavel told us about that.” Keen Eye said. “When Dad told them his story of what happened on the night Tiger Lily died, they were suspicious that he might’ve had something to do with her death. They also had other reasons due to events of their pasts. Blue Ward and Cover-Up took advantage of these to manipulate them into believing the false evidence they fabricated against Dad. And Mom couldn’t tell anypony about Dad being framed, the corruption ring, or the secret criminal organization, since it was still top secret for that time being, which made it all worse. Although, she could mention about prison abuse within Hoofstrong, which is technically not a lie.”

Lily Pad sighed as she took over talking. “But all that was not much help, and it soon became too much for Dad. That was when he tried to take his life a second time, by jumping off of Ghastly Gorge. But not before exposing the truth of what had happened to him, and the corruption ring. Fortunately, Mom, Princess Twilight, and her friends managed to save him from doing it. Princess Luna came in time to help too, since she had been watching over him from the dream realm. And it was there where Mom confessed her love to him. They also had a plan to help the ponies in town see Dad in a different light. And it was to have him in the local newspaper with the Pony of Pop, Sapphire Shores.”

“Wow.” Scootaloo said. “THE Sapphire Shores?”

Lily Pad nodded. “Mm-hm. During those two weeks, Apple Bloom won a contest in a Pop Pony magazine, winning two VIP tickets to Sapphire Shores concert in Manehattan. But before she got to go, she caught chickenpox from touching our Dad’s head that had shingles. So she gave the tickets to you and Rainbow Dash. When you went to meet Sapphire Shores, you told her about what happened with Apple Bloom, and she made arrangements to stop in Ponyville to visit her. And that’s when Twilight came up with the idea to have Dad in a picture with her to make the front page. So they got the picture, and Princess Luna got in the picture as well.”

“Afterwards, Princess Luna returned to Canterlot with Sapphire Shores, taking Dad with her.” Keen Eye said. “Dad felt so angry, sad, and betrayed from the treatment he got from the ponies in town. That’s when the Princesses decided to make a trip to Ponyville to resolve the stigma against Dad, and reveal the truth to the whole town. They did it by showing them the memories magically extracted from Dad, Blue Ward and Cover-Up, and Turncoat. And they also had Blue Ward, Cover-Up, Armstrong, Rotten Eggs, and Turncoat confess to everypony about framing him. In addition, they had three of the main F.P.I. investigator agents of Task Force River, and Southern to confirm it as well.”

“That was when the whole town realised that they were wrong about Dad, and they were tricked by the very ponies who investigated the case. Their hatred they had for Dad switched to them. Nana Mare and Lady Gavel were angered most of all by this, but they were also filled with great guilt, sadness, and shame for their part in dad’s suffering.”

Both Keen Eye and Lily Pad sighed sadly, as Lily Pad took over talking. “But the damage was already done, and Dad vowed to never return to Ponyville again. He even hated most of everypony in Ponyville, even when they apologized to him either by letter or in person.”

“Well, who could blame him?” Scootaloo asked. “It’s no surprise, after the way Ponyville treated him, and everything he suffered.”

Keen Eye nodded. “Yeah. When Nana Mare and Lady Gavel took up the courage, they came to visit Dad in Canterlot. They tried to apologize to Dad, but he was still cold, bitter, and angry towards them. It was there that they revealed that they had suffered horrible things involving stallions. Lady Gavel suffered from abuse from her abusive father that caused the death of her mother.” He glanced up, looking troubled. “But it was Nana Mare’s story that was the most revealing. And it was shocking for us too.”

Dinky tilted her head. “And what was that?”

“She revealed to be Tiger Lily’s birth mother.” Keen Eye said.

Pipsqueak blinked. “What? Are you saying Mayor Mare never told anypony about Tiger Lily being her daughter? And what happened with her? Did it have something to do with Tiger Lily’s birth father?”

Lily Pad nodded. “Nana Mare revealed that when she was about seventeen, she was kidnapped, held prisoner, and raped by a stallion that was a close friend of her family.”

“He was a unicorn stallion named "Aster".” Keen Eye said. “A florist in Canterlot, and was autistic like Dad. But, unlike Dad, was socially peculiar. The Canterlot police and royal guards were able to save her, and capture Aster, but Aster never faced justice. He committed suicide before he could be convicted. Nana Mare got pregnant from Aster’s rape, but her father wanted her to have an abortion since it was from Aster.”

Lily Pad sighed. “Nana Mare couldn’t do that, so she went away, and had Tiger Lily in secret. After she gave birth to her, she left her wrapped in a blanket in a box on the doorstep of a foster carers home. She also left a note with her date of birth, a promise that her birth mother may try to find her someday, and a plastic tiger lily flower.”

“As time went on, Nana Mare became the mayor of Ponyville. She sometimes thought about her, and wondered if she was happy. But she was unsure if her daughter wanted to ever meet her. The only pony she ever told about it was Lady Gavel. Many years later, Dad and Tiger Lily moved to Ponyville, and Tiger Lily mentioned her past to Nana Mare one day on one social visit. And it was one month before she died. This aroused her suspicions of Tiger Lily being her long lost and only daughter. So she secretly took some hairs from Tiger Lily’s hair brush, and used them in a DNA test. It came back as a match, and she planned to surprise Tiger Lily and Dad to reveal herself as her long lost birth mother.”

“And she died before she had the chance to do so?” Ray asked.

“Mm-hm.” Both twins nodded at Ray’s question. Keen Eye spoke out. “Hearing about this made Dad more enraged with them, and he said never wanted to see them ever again, and that he’d never forgive them.”

“Dad spent over eight months in Canterlot to get therapy from the best psychologists in Canterlot. And he was slowly getting better. And consider returning back to Ponyville after Mom was offered by the princesses to be police chief investigator of the new police station being built there. And the princesses also managed to use ancient alicorn magic to resurrect the spirits of Tiger Lily and Nana Arithma to convince Dad to return to Ponyville, and so that he could see them one last time.” Lily Pad sighed. “But he still refused to forgive. But then some ponies from the church of Lady Faust were teaching him about grace and mercy. Telling him that holding a grudge and refusing to forgive is like drinking poison, and waiting for the other pony to die.”

“This helped Dad into learning to forgive. And he called upon Nana Mare and Lady Gavel to meet them at the Canterlot palace chapel. It was there Dad found the strength to forgive them both, and the whole town. And soon had plastic surgery to correct the scarring on his face, before finally returning to Ponyville at the opening ceremony of the new police station.”

“Then a few months later, Mom and Dad got married.” Keen Eye said. “And then both of us were born soon after. And…that’s the whole story of our mom and dad in a nutshell. That’s what they, and everypony and every creature we now have been keeping from us all these years. And after we found it all out, Mom and Dad came back from their trip. And we were planning to talk with them about it after we got home from school, and…well…I guess you know the rest.”

The children were amazed, shocked, and sympathetic after the twins’ story. Scootaloo now understood what the twins meant when they said that they understood her trauma and pain from her kidnapping. Harmon felt the same at what he heard.

“It’s unbelievable!” Pipsqueak said. “So your dad really did suffer being framed for murder by crooked police ponies that were in league with a criminal organization? Blimmy! That’s horrible.”

“Well, it’s no wonder nopony ever told you any of this.” Scootaloo glanced at her wing prosthesis, mildly shuddering at remembering her own pain and trauma. “And I thought what I went through was horrible. I’m lucky that I didn’t experience it for as long as your dad did.”

“That’s an interesting story.”

Scootaloo and Co turned towards Harmon, who had spoken to the twins. They had been so focused on the twins’ story that they had almost forgotten that the Grand Admiral was there.

“From how much he pulled through after suffering so much. Your father sounds like someone I would admire, for his strength. His inner strength mostly.” Harmon raised a curious eyebrow. “Though, I’m curious to know. What became of all the ones involved in this criminal organization, the ones sold to slavery, and the innocent lives that got falsely imprisoned?”

“Well, from what we found out, the foals sold to slavery were all rescued. After that, they reverted them all into babies with their memories erased, and either sent to the families of the victims or put up for adoption. As for the innocent ponies falsely convicted, the ones that survived were released and acquitted by royalty soon after.” Lily Pad sighed sadly. “But most were too psychologically damaged that they had to have their memories erased.”

“As for the whole criminal organization and crime ring,” Keen Eye said. “It was revealed to all of Equestria, and the trial of everyone involved in the crime ring began. It was held in Canterlot with Princesses Celestia and Luna serving as judges, and it was magically shown around all parts of Equestria. Our dad testified against them, along with Turncoat. In addition, all those involved were fitted with special steelectric collars that shocked the ones wearing them if they lied or refused to answer. With all the evidence against them, it was easy to deliver a guilty verdict, and they were all sentenced to be executed by turning them to stone, and grinding them to sand and dust.”

“Although, we found out that two of them didn’t face being turned to stone. And they were Armstrong and Cover-Up. Cover-Up committed suicide by hanging himself in his cell. And Armstrong died of a heart attack a couple of years later, on the day before he was to be turned to stone.”

Scootaloo, Pipsqueak, and Dinky’s eyes rose wide with shock at what the twins had said. From what they knew, the punishment of being turned to stone was considered the harshest punishment royalty could ever do to someone so evil in Equestria. However, being grinded down to sand and dust afterwards was a fate worse than death. It was also so rare, that the last recorded pony to ever receive a punishment like that was a century before Princess Luna was banished to the moon.

Ray spoke out. “Whoa! Turned to stone, and grinded to dust? That sounds as bad a death. At least it’s not as bad as being cast into a sarlacc pit.”

“It’s no surprise,” Harmon said. “There is no other penalty worthy for such sick horror. Without a doubt, they’d have the death sentence on almost every system in the galaxy.”

Lily Pad sighed. “So now you know about our parents, and what we know. I just hope we can tell them, if we can get home.”

Harmon walked over to the twins, and kneeled down to their level. Keen Eye and Lily Pad looked up as the Grand Admiral placed a gentle hand on each of their shoulders.

“And you will, little ones. Like I had said to you: I will do what I can to try and help get you children home.” Harmon smiled. “Your parents are lucky to have children like you.”

Keen Eye and Lily Pad were touched by Harmon’s words. It was what everyone else in their Equestria had always told them. It was one of the many positive outcomes from what their father went through.

After a moment, Harmon rose up, and turned to the others, as he asked, “Well, how about a tour of my ship?”

Everyone nodded at Harmon’s offer as they walked out of the bathroom. At that same moment, Ray’s eyes blinked open, as if he had just remembered something. The young boy spoke up.

“Harmon?” The Grand Admiral turned his attention towards Ray. “You said your mother knew my father. Who was she?”

Harmon cracked a slight smirk of pride. “You must have heard of Rae Sloane.”

In response, Ray lowered his head. “Ah, yes. Sorry, I forgot.” He looked up again. “What happened to her?”

He gestured him and the other children to follow. “Allow me to show you.”