//------------------------------// // Prologue—Assignment // Story: Cutie Mark Crusaders Fantasian City-State Historians, YAY!!!!!! // by Dragonborne Fox //------------------------------// A warm afternoon had started making its gradual descent into a quiet evening, and through the windows of the Ponyville Schoolhouse's classroom, the students could see a nearby planet so close they could see continents and any possible storms roiling on its surface. Some darted to look at the close-yet-so-far world, and others kept their noses in their school textbooks as the teachers droned on with their lessons. A few misbehaved, but unfortunately for school, that was par for the course. A particular trio in one such class glanced between book and window, each frowning sullenly and watching the other world with longing gazes. The teacher took notice and trotted over to one of them. "Apple Bloom?" she asked. Apple Bloom looked back to her teacher, one Cheerilee, and sighed. "It's just… I wonder… is my sister going to be okay?" she asked quietly, her pink bow faltering as though it could sense her distress. Cheerilee affected a smile. "I'm sure she's alright, Apple Bloom." When Apple Bloom didn't respond to that, her smile faded, and she put a hoof on her withers to garner her attention. Cheerilee shifted to lean so they were eye to eye without bumping up against the desk as she added, "I'm sure it's nothing more serious than what Discord did—she'll take care of herself. She'll be fine." Sweetie Belle proceeded to start rubbing her hoof against the back of her mane and causing some pink and purple strands to fray out of place. As she did so, she piped up, "Still, Miss Cheerilee… Rarity and the others have been gone for weeks now, and for what? Some mission to Fantasia?" "Yeah," Scootaloo added, wings shifting dejectedly at her sides as a shade of worry passed over her face. She looked longingly at Fantasia and sulked. "Just a few nights ago, we saw some dark storm brewing over on its surface. And I could tell it didn't look friendly." Cheerilee turned to Scootaloo, frown deepening at this news. "Do you know… how unfriendly it looked?" she pressed. "Red, yellow, angry, but it looked like a normal thunderstorm at first." Scootaloo shuddered, wings drooping at her sides. "And it had… like an alphabet going on, in a circle—an alphabet I couldn't read." "Ya think that might be a Fantasian dialect language?" Sweetie asked, turning to her friend. Scootaloo shook her head. "I dunno…" Her face paled at the recent memory, and her ears decided to flag downwards. "But… just looking at it… it felt wrong and…"  "Unnatural?" Sweetie proffered. Scootaloo shakily nodded, swallowing a lump in her throat. She turned to one of her classmates, a red-maned filly with purple glasses. "You saw it too, Twist, didn't you?" she pressed. "Yeth, I’ve theen it. I wath frightened jutht looking at it," Twist answered, turning to look at Scootaloo with a pale face of her own. A brown-and-white pinto colt tossed in his two bits, "And when it cleared… it looked like… like part of Fantasia had scars on its surface." He pointed outside, and Cheerilee looked as closely as the classroom window would allow. Indeed, on an ashen part of Fantasia, there were scars visible from the window, and if she peered very closely, she could see that some glowed ominously. "That… yeah…" Cheerilee paused, scrounging for words. "Pipsqueak… that…" "Doesn't look okay?" Pipsqueak offered, garnering a slow and hesitant nod out of his teacher as an answer. "It wasn't even like that yesterday, either…" "Yeah," Cheerilee agreed, trotting back to the front of the class to glance at the chalkboard a little more closely to take her mind off of the horrible sight that blighted Fantasia's surface. Whatever caused that mess didn't affect Equestria in any way… right? She worried and gnawed on her lower lip as she considered that Celestia would have probably seen the scarring on Fantasia too, along with the nobles in Canterlot—all but certain now, seeing as they had the highest possible vantage point in the land on ground level. That… well… Cheerilee shook her head, deciding to take that up with Luna in the dreamscape later. Assuming, of course, Luna had time enough for her ears to listen to her concerns. Then she glanced at the clock—drats, it was almost time to herald the end of the school day… Yet her mind could not help but flit back to Fantasia's scarred surface. Just what in the name of Faust had caused that to happen? She hoped Discord wasn't responsible for it... She turned to the schoolfoals as they began to exchange chatter amongst themselves. "So, are we gonna go Cutie Mark Crusading during autumn break?" Apple Bloom asked, looking to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle for confirmation. At the question, Sweetie wilted, causing the other two to look at her in concern. "I don't think I'll be able to crusade during the break…" Sweetie muttered dejectedly, offering no further explanation when Scootaloo reached over to prod her withers with a hoof. Two fillies snickered at this development, causing Apple Bloom and Scootaloo to glare at the source of the giggling. Two posh, snide-looking foals with a purple-white mane and silver-braided mane grinned cruelly. "What's the matter, Sweetie Blank? Afraid to upset mumsy and dadsy again with your uselessness?" the purple-maned filly jibbed, her grin widening as she turned to her partner in crime. "Oh wait! They go on trips all the time and ignore her like the little blank flank she is, and her sister threw herself into Fantasia just to get away from her; isn't that right, Silver Spoon?!" Silver Spoon cackled with glee, causing Sweetie to further shrink in on herself. "That's right, Diamond Tiara! Her parents ignore her worthless flank, unlike ours!" The howling ceased when Cheerilee lifted a ruler and sharply slapped her desk with it to get their attention. "That is quite enough, the both of you," Cheerilee said a mite sharply, but besides a few more ill-meaning and ill-mannered snickers, that got the two bullies to hush their gums for now. She glanced to the clock again to gather her thoughts, taking a moment to sort herself amidst the silence of the schoolchildren. Then she glanced at Fantasia once again, and a lightbulb went off in her head and started doing a short-lived tinny. She grinned and turned to her wards, with precious minutes on the clock remaining. "Alright, children… even though you have autumn break, I think I'll assign you a group project for you to do during it," she said in a sweet voice, causing everypony to collectively groan at the news. "Now it'll be a simple one, something that you should all do with flying colors." That made the kids perk up a bit, and even Sweetie lifted her head. Cheerilee composed herself. This was the big moment. She inhaled deeply, though whether to sort herself again or seem dramatic was lost onto the foals. "Let them wonder," her consciousness said in her head as she spoke out loud once again. "Do some research on one of the neighboring lands," she began, turning to the chalkboard and taking a moment to erase it clean with an eraser. Once it was blank, she wasted no time picking up some chalk with a hoof to start writing her plan out. "Griffonstone, Yakyakistan, the Minotaur Lands…"  Those were written out in short order, "and the Crystal Empire to name a few." After listing the examples, she wrote TEN PAGES IF GROUP, FIVE IF SOLO next to the list, followed by: "What I want to see on your assignments: Introduction to the country," "how it was formed," "notable ponies/creatures of province's history," and "sources." Next to that, written neatly was, "include pictures of the area and notable ponies/creatures! Evidence is as important as sources!" The kids nodded, and glanced at each other. Their attention went back to the board in short order, however, when the words EXTRA CREDIT were written opposite of the pre-made list that Cheerilee had written, some jerked up in curiosity. Heads leaned forward, eyes were glued to the chalk board as Cheerilee angled her body in a way to obscure the words she was writing beneath EXTRA CREDIT. When she was done writing it out, she turned around, body still angled, to face the classroom with a warm smile. "Now the extra credit will be a bit more difficult, but I can assure you… if you do it well, you'll ace this assignment," she said cryptically. She nodded to Apple Bloom as soon as the filly raised her hoof. "Is it some country we've never heard of before?" Apple Bloom asked. That got a rather slow, but well-meaning nod, from her teacher. Cheerilee stepped to the side, and the jaws of the kids collectively dropped when the words FANTASIAN PROVINCES/COUNTRIES were revealed with her motion. That got the foals clamoring, sharing glances, and looking to the sister world with wide eyes and shrunken pupils. Eventually, Bloom raised her hoof again and hushed the clamoring with her question of, "But how are we gon' get there when the barrier just broke months ago?" Cheerilee answered, "I'm sure you'll find a way if you set your mind to it." With that, the bell rang, and the kids got up to rush out the door after grabbing their saddlebags, the whole lot of them still jabbering as they went. Cheerilee smiled as they departed, though she couldn't help but wonder how the foals would manage the extra credit assignment, if indeed they took on the challenge thereof at all. Then she grinned once more. Maybe a certain someone could help with that… ~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~ Apple Bloom and Scootaloo trotted around their clubhouse a day later, frowning as they glanced between Fantasia and each other. Since this morning, the scars over Fantasia had mysteriously healed; the ashen part of the land was now a vibrant forest green that could not be mistaken as anything other than healed land. Even so, though, the scars' disappearance had them uneasy. Eventually, the fitful glancing ceased as the two emptied their saddlebags onto the floor and sat down before the contents. "So what should we do?" Scootaloo asked, rubbing a hoof against her other foreleg as her wings snapped open, only to close seconds later. "About the homework?" Apple Bloom asked, garnering a nod from her companion. She leaned back a bit, contemplating the question for a few moments. "Well… I was considering making it a group project between us Crusaders, but…" Her ears and hairbow both drooped when her mind flitted to Sweetie Belle. "That cranky old mare that shouldn't be foalsitting?" Scootaloo asked, getting a hesitant nod out of Apple Bloom. Scootaloo wilted and sighed, using a hoof to lazily part a pencil from the unsorted paper. "Yeah… I don't know what Sweetie's parents thought was good foalsitting material, but that wrinkly hag ain't it." "Reminds me of the stuffy Canterlot types that Applejack don't like," Apple Bloom muttered, further drooping when her mind changed gears to think about her sister. "Ever since the foalsitting began, none of us have been Crusading like we usually do…" Scootaloo felt her wings shudder as an autumn chill wormed its way through the windows of the clubhouse. Some of it stirred the papers, though not enough to be an immediate concern. "We're telling Rarity about it as soon as we can, because this bites," she grumbled, turning to her friend again. "I feel sorry for the cat too…" "When the cat don't like the foalsitter, then send the foalsitter on 'er way," Apple Bloom said, before shaking her head to try and cast as much of her concerns out of her thoughts as she could. "So… looks like it's just us on this…" She waved a hoof absently at the papers on the floor. "What country should we do for our assignment?" Scootaloo picked up the pencil and tapped her chin with it, grinding its eraser below her bottom lip as she considered the list of example countries written earlier yesterday. "I dunno… and we didn't check with the other foals to see who claimed what, and Cheerilee didn't say anything about not doing a country somepony else has claimed…" Apple Bloom nodded as she took that into account. "How about the Crystal Empire?" she proposed. Scootaloo shook her head. "No, it's only come back… last year or so? We don't have enough to work with, even if we got Twilight Sparkle's help on it…" she trailed off, letting the unspoken hang in the air. "And I don't think Sparkler knows that much about the Empire either…" Apple Bloom sighed. "The Minotaur Lands?" Once more, Scootaloo's head shook. "Nah. Too boring." "Griffonstone?" Another head shake. "Haven't heard from them or Yakyakistan in forever." Scootaloo huffed. "I'd be surprised if there's a Centaur Empire somewhere." She looked to Fantasia again and puffed out her lower lip in a pout. "How are we gonna get to Fantasia anyway?! We'd need an airship, a driver, and directions at least!" She stomped a hoof before calming down and sulking again. "And it wouldn't be as fun without Sweetie Belle anyway…" Apple Bloom reached over and wrapped her friend in a hug. Scootaloo returned the gesture, and both snorted simultaneously. "I miss hearing Rainbow's awesome stories… maybe she'll have more when she gets back from Fantasia…" Scootaloo muttered. "And I miss Applejack waking me up every morning… just isn't the same when Big Mac's doing it, y'know?" Apple Bloom replied, shivering with her friend as another chill filtered into the room. The two parted and trotted to a window to poke their heads out, seeing a cream-colored pegasus in a purple sweatshirt with a cerulean striped mane exiting the barn. At her side was a cream-colored earth pony with an orange-red streaked mane in a sky blue scarf with a sailboat as her cutie mark. "I'm surprised your aunts agreed to spend the night here with you." Scootaloo nodded. "They're probably coming to get us for dinner," she noted, seeing the pair make a turn towards the clubhouse instead of continuing past the gate that led out of Sweet Apple Acres. Her brow rose when Big Mac also left the barn to trot after the pair, and within moments the three were at the ramp leading to the clubhouse proper. "Is it dinner time?" Big Mac shook his head. "There's someone who wants to see y'all. Get yer saddlebags," he called, his face neutral and his tone calm, if raised in volume to let the fillies hear him. "He says it's something important." Scootaloo and Apple Bloom glanced at each other. "Ya sure, Big Mac?" Apple Bloom asked as soon as she turned back to her brother. At his nod, and those of the mares with him, the pair shrugged. "We'll be down in a few!" With that, the fillies parted from the window and moved to stuff their saddlebags with their contents. There wasn't time to sift through whose was whose; at the end of the day, it was just pencils and paper anyway, and Big Mac looked like he had something weighing on his mind. When the packing was done, they zipped down the ramp of the clubhouse and ran to the barn, finding the adults halfway ahead of them. When they caught up, they slowed down to a more sedate trot just fast enough to stay with the herd. Apple Bloom looked at her brother with a puzzled frown. She wanted to ask, but couldn't figure out what to ask, and decided to keep her mouth shut to see whoever else decided to visit the Acres for herself. As they were nearing the barn, they heard a dog barking up a storm. Scootaloo piped up about it, "Winona's fussing? Is she hurt?" Big Mac shook his head. "Eenope. Just barkin' cause this guy showed up out of the blue," he answered. "She ain't biting him on his plot, though… least I hope she ain't…" With that, they continued in silence, with only their hoofsteps and Winona's barking to fill in the silence. Big Mac opened the door when they arrived, and Apple Bloom's brow climbed higher up her forehead when she saw a certain draconequus sitting upside down on the kitchen ceiling, his tail stretched so it could swish around the floor. Following his tail was a brown and white border collie, who was wagging her tail as she gave chase to the prehensile limb. Discord smiled. "Hello Crusaders," he greeted with a wave of his paw. "I filled in your brother and aunts on everything." "On what?" Scootaloo asked. Discord chuckled. "Well…" Discord vanished off the ceiling, and reappeared before the herd in an explosion of confetti that sprouted pegasus wings and flew out the door quacking. He scooped up Apple Bloom and Scootaloo into his arms, looking pointedly at Big Mac as he did so. "He didn't tell you?" "Eenope," Big Mac confirmed with a blunt nod. "Thought they should hear it from the draconequus's mouth." Discord grinned. "Fair enough," he said, and with that, he vanished in a puff of smoke with the Crusaders in tow. The two mares looked at Big Mac, then each other. "Are you sure it's a good idea, Lofty?" the earth pony mare asked with a frown. Lofty nodded. "He said he'd keep an eye on them to make sure no harm came to them," she confirmed with a small smile. ~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~ Sweetie Belle trudged home later that day, opened the door, and closed it behind her with ears flattened against her head. "I'm home…" she called dejectedly. She glanced around for a bit, before finding a unicorn mare on the stairs glaring at her through an upturned snout. The mare was pea-soup green, with an oatmeal-colored mane done up in the tightest bun she had seen since Twilight went to the Grand Galloping Gala. Her ice blue eyes pierced her, almost scrutinizing her soul for any smudge it could find. The wrinkles decorating her face and body seemed carved into rivulets, making her seem as ancient as Granny Smith. "Good," the mare hissed, coming down the stairs. "You didn't get up to that crusading balderdash, did you?" Her voice did not invite warmth nor comfort; it was as spiteful as they could come, and sent chills running through the hapless child. It did not help that she might have come from another era, if Sweetie knew better. "No, Miss Stern Lecture… Just came straight home after going to Golden Oaks to see if something was there. It wasn't," Sweetie replied, still looking dejected even as Stern Lecture trotted over to usher her further inside with her horn aglow and a sinister smirk curling her lips. "What seems to be the matter?" Stern Lecture asked as Sweetie trotted upstairs, some contempt hiding away to let sickly, poisonous sweetness take the spotlight. "Don't want to spend time with your foalsitter?" "I have homework," Sweetie answered, keeping her voice flat but also truthful. She marched to her room and closed the door before Stern Lecture could get in another word edgewise, and trotted to the desk opposite her window and closed toy chest. She threw her saddlebags onto the desk and proceeded to empty its contents; a notepad was pushed to the side, a pencil leapt over the edge and rolled to the bed, and loose papers were pulled out and stacked neatly to the other side. Once the saddlebags were emptied and strung to the bedpost, Sweetie lit her horn and magically lifted the pencil all the way back to her desk, and when it landed on smooth wood she buried her head in her hooves. A low groan resonated in her throat, halting when a soft mrrow hit her ears. She turned to her bed and saw Opalescence emerging from beneath the covers, looking at her with something of a worried face. The cat hopped off and made her way over, jumping up onto the desk to rub her cheek on Sweetie's foreleg. Sweetie Belle sighed. "I know… I miss Rarity too," she muttered. She didn't jump when she heard faint hoofsteps, but the cat did, and made to rush back under the bed and out of sight. She buried her head in her hooves again, sighing as she wracked her brain for ways to start the assignment alone, and on what. Alas, her brain drew blanks on both fronts, and stayed firmly within those blanks as hours uncounted passed by. As the sun set, it felt as though Sweetie still hadn't the time to muster anything up as the sound of hoofsteps started to permeate from outside, halting just right outside the door. "What kind of homework is it?" Stern Lecture asked, her voice sounding as though the door could not keep her from glaring at her charge. Sweetie straightened herself and prepared for the worst. She turned and answered, "Group project for research on neighboring lands, but it can also be done alone," she said. She flinched as the door swung open and the self-proclaimed foalsitter marched up to her with narrowed, withering eyes. "And why should you partake in that rubbish? Non-Equestrians do not need the time of day from corruptible foals like you," Stern Lecture said admonishingly, before donning a cruel smile and wrapping a hoof around Sweetie, who flinched out of her grasp. "And in a group? I'll hear of no such scatterbrained poppycock; you can do the homework alone, or simply ignore it and start paying attention to my lessons instead." "But if I don't do it, I'll fail the assignment!" Sweetie Belle protested, turning to her desk to reach for her notepad as if it could save her. "Nonsense! Back in my day, a growing mare didn't need to finish school to succeed in life! If anything, you should write a report instead about how mares need to return to the olden days, where they were ladylike and always serving of their husbands unque—" The declaration died in her throat as the bedroom window burst open, and a multicolored, mismatched beast rushed in with a saddlebag-toting pair of Apple Bloom and Scootaloo in his paw and claw. He stood proudly on his legs, wings flapping as the cat rushed to him with a yowl and clambered up his body with her eyes wide and pleading. "Oh Sweetie Belle~" the beast sang, before noticing the cat scurrying into his arms. "Oh? It seems the hairball wants to come with us too." Before Stern Lecture could say another word, Discord's tail whipped to the side and rushed to wrap around Sweetie's midsection and pluck her from hoof-grabbing range. When the tail retracted and brought her into his arms, he then grabbed her school supplies and saddlebags, putting the former in the latter as he added with an especially cold and narrowed glare leveled at Stern Lecture, "Sorry to cut your boring drivel short, love, but the cavalry's here and they've got places to be."  When the foalsitter opened her mouth to protest, she was grabbed by that same tail and promptly hurled out the window, where she landed in a giant marbled cheesecake that wasn't outside the Carousel Boutique just a few moments ago. Discord snickered and flew out the window, making sure to close it and lock everything in the shop behind him as he went. Stern Lecture emerged from the cheesecake, sodden and screaming. "Celestia should have obliterated your statue when she had the chance!" she yelled, causing most passersby in town that were passing the scene to level their own withering looks her way. Discord paid the promise no heed, and turned to the fillies and cat in his grasp as he meandered his way out of Stern Lecture's sight. "Your teacher told me everything," he said with an enigmatic smile. Scootaloo squealed. "Y-y-you mean…" Apple Bloom stammered. Discord's grin widened as he heard Stern Lecture protesting something fierce in the distance. "Yes I can," he said bluntly. He turned to Sweetie and added, "And ever since your parents hired that foalsitter, I've been keeping some… extra tabs on her. What better way to make her livid than let her shoot her mouth off and interrupt?" Sweetie grinned, eyes sparkling with a fragile hope. "Does that mean… I can see Rarity again?" Discord's eyes gleamed in delight. "Oh yes it does, deary~" he cooed. "You can tell her all about the foalsitter once I put you three on Fantasia." His tail-hairs formed a hand and snapped their digits in a finger-like manner, and before him a plaid-lightning portal opened up to show a mountain with a city on it and a ring of steel beneath it. He turned to the cat. "And you wish to see your master too?" Opalescence meowed with a purr, grinning slightly as she did so. Discord set the foals down onto their hooves, and the cat on Sweetie's back as he saw the portal's overhead view move to one of the ring's spokes, facing outward as an airship touched down and several familiar faces stepped out. Discord chuckled as he saw the still-drenched Stern Lecture galloping around the corner, only to slip and fall on her face. After waving at her mockingly as she raised her head to see the priceless look on her face, he ushered the children through the portal before going through himself. And besides, the look on a certain General's face would also be so worth it. ~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~ The guest room that Sweetie and Rarity were sharing was surprisingly posh, as lavishly decorated as she would have expected a guest suite in Canterlot Castle to be. Sure, she found the hues of sunset reds and navys odd, but for the moment she was more concerned with just spending time with her big sister. Opalescence was cradled in Rarity's forelegs purring a mile a minute, and all three of them were plopped on a large star-decorated bed whose frame had runes carved into its wood.  "I'm surprised Natalie knew what Opal liked," Sweetie said, noticing the cat had the happiest grin on her face since she was a kitten. "I am as well," Rarity said with a grin, leaning over to nuzzle the kitty's head for a moment before then turning to Sweetie Belle. "I am very surprised about the military's taste in decorations; I'd have thought them… bare and basic in such matters." Her grin turned warm. "And that Burning Frost Special was surprisingly delightful, once the burn went away." The two shared a giggle, and then nuzzled each other. "That aside…" Rarity's voice lost all warmth when they parted from the nuzzling. "What else did the foalsitter do?" Sweetie wilted, but found her gumption when Rarity parted a hoof from her cat to wrap around her withers. "Well… Discord said he was watching her ever since she began foalsitting me…" she began. Rarity's brow furrowed, but only slightly. That news was disconcerting enough without factoring Discord into it. Sweetie looked at her expression and could tell she was being patient for her sake, but probably with a side of violent, violent thoughts. She wasn't sure if her foray in Fantasia changed her or what, but some part of her was glad to not know the answer either way. "She's been trying to make me more and more ladylike… by yelling at me and getting too close to me." That… made anger flash in her sister's eyes, but Rarity quickly reigned it in when she saw Sweetie flinch. "Go on," she said in a subdued voice. Opal meowed and shifted to rub her head on Sweetie's fetlock. At the encouragement, Sweetie went on, "She thinks I just need to find a husband and obey him to get anywhere in life… and that schoolwork's meaningless. Rarity, why are there ponies still like that in Mythos?" Rarity shook her head and nuzzled Sweetie consolingly. "Dear, I know you don't accept that poppycock—you live with me more than Mom and Dad, almost," she said. "And sometimes… sometimes even I ask myself that." "So you don't know the answer either?" Sweetie frowned glumly at Rarity's slow, sour nod. "I do, however, have a menagerie of guesses as to why. I just… don't voice them out loud because it would be impractical with my line of work," Rarity replied, sighing tiredly as the door to their guest room was knocked on. Both siblings turned to the door. "Yes?" The door opened, and a mulberry-eyed changeling in black garb poked his head in. "Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear everything. Since I heard your sister came in through a portal, should we watch for the foalsitter too?" he asked. Sweetie and Rarity shared glances. Then Sweetie turned to the changeling and replied, "If Discord throws her here through a portal, yeah, tell everybody you can." The changeling sighed. "Alright," he said, and with that, he retracted his head and shut the door. Sweetie looked at Rarity again. "So why did Lance get angry?" she asked. Rarity wilted a bit. "Fantasia… is not a very safe place for children," she said with no small amount of regret. "Irongrey Aerie's the only place that's even remotely alright for them, especially if they want to stay children." Sweetie tilted her head, somewhat confused and curious. "If they want to stay children?" she echoed. "Like… do they grow up faster here?" "In ways they shouldn't have to," Rarity replied, frowning. "That's… that's why Maria hasn't been allowed to, er… hang out with you and the other Crusaders. She knows things she honestly shouldn't." She huffed and looked to the door as if it insulted their mother. "I'm starting to suspect the same is true of a certain teenage soldier, though so far I don't have many things I can prove my suspicions on that's concrete." Her brow furrowed, as if the door decided to insult her method of business handling. "And recently… we came upon another foal forced to grow up far too soon for anyone's liking." Another knock, and the changeling opened the door and poked his head back in. This time, he was accompanied by Pinkie Pie also sticking her head in. "Hiya girls! I have a few extra cupcakes that didn't get eaten, and I really need to get them eaten before I make the next batch tomorrow." She lifted a hoof into the doorframe, and sitting on it without tipping over was a round gray serving tray beset with some chocolate-iced confections sprinkled with caramel drizzling and gleaming pieces of candy shaped like stars. Rarity grinned, and magically took a cupcake with a flick of her horn. "Why yes, we could use a few cupcakes. Thank you Pinkie Pie," she said. "Thanks," Sweetie said, lighting her horn up to follow her sister's motions. Pinkie grinned and giggled before letting the changeling take a cupcake and pulling her head, her hoof, and the serving tray out without dropping a single morsel. "No problemo!" Pinkie chirped, bouncing off to see if anyone else wanted a sugary treat to brighten their night. When she departed, the changeling entered the room and sat down on the other side of the door. "Why'd you come in?" Sweetie asked, causing the changeling to blush sheepishly. "Can't eat on the clock, and if I do it can't be on camera." The changeling grinned and shoved the whole treat into his mouth, chewed without letting a single crumb get away, and swallowed it before licking his lips to dispose of any evidence that might have smeared itself across his face. The sisters took bites out of their treats, chewed and swallowed, shared looks, then turned back to the changeling. "Does Lance get upset over that?" Rarity asked before taking another dainty bite. The changeling shook his head. "Nope. It's the colonels who like to raise a fuss about it. I'd rather not get my rank demoted over that," he said, still grinning. "Especially over a treat like that. They get really crotchety when the lower ranks enjoy something they crave." Sweetie polished off her cupcake and wiped her mouth with a hoof, though fortunately there wasn't an icing smear to contend with. "Are most of the soldiers here like that?" she asked. The changeling's grin faded. "Not a whole lot, but the ones who do behave like that happen to be extra grumpy to compensate for their few numbers. Though sometimes, even they do something stupid enough to get Lance to start breathing down their necks more often," he said. "But I'm also sure Lance'll keep you away from those types, unless they try to get in your face or something." With that, he got up and turned to return to his post. The door clicked shut as he went. Sweetie frowned, and watched as Rarity finished her treat before procuring a hanky from the ether to wipe her face clean. "So Irongrey's run by a military?" she asked. "Unlike most of Mythos, yes. Though I don't know how much of Fantasia the Aerie controls," Rarity replied, turning to nuzzle her sister. "I do know, for certain, they at least control the region of Greenwood unofficially, though." Sweetie perked up a bit. "What happened for that to go down?" Rarity chuckled ruefully, but the sound was oddly devoid of joy. "Well… I don't have all the details, but I was there when… the survivors were more or less rounded up and relocated." She turned to her baby sister and shook her head. "I'll tell you when all this is over, dear." She clutched Sweetie in her forelegs and hugged her tight. "But… not now. It's just a bad time to be even speaking about it." Sweetie returned the hug. "When I'm older?" she guessed. She felt Rarity nod against the top of her head. "That too, at least, for some of the more… iffy details," she confirmed. "But for now... tell me some more little bits about the foalsitter." Sweetie nodded, and obliged. The more Rarity heard, the deeper her scowl became. But she dared not act on her anger; after all, what better way to channel it than on the pony responsible? That could come some other day, she hoped, out of Sweetie's sight and in full view of their parents. So went that hope, anyway.