The streets were all-but deserted as the rain lashed down throughout the town. Window shutters were closed, orange light leaking out from behind them, and smoke rose from chimneys into the cold air. Great black clouds rolled overhead, blocking out the afternoon sun.
Glancing out from under the umbrella, it was one of the most beautiful things Retcon had ever seen.
She stuck close to Bon Bon as the earth pony lead her through the town, with its huge grassy roads and tidy wooden houses, and past a great water fountain near what might on better days be a marketplace. The sodden grass squelched as she walked, but she didn’t care. The place was wonderful.
She briefly stepped out from under the umbrella as Bon Bon stopped abruptly. Bon Bon transferred the umbrella from her mouth to her hoof. “Here we are.”
Retcon blinked up at the house in front of them. She thought it looked huge, but who was she to say how big a house should be? It was as big as any other house they had passed after all. There were lights on inside. Her breath caught in her chest.
“Before we go in…” began Bon Bon, glancing over with a serious expression, her voice low. “Two things. Obviously, remember your NDA. But more importantly, don’t bring up changelings or the Invasion around Lyra, okay?” She shook her head lightly as she spoke. “She… got caught up in all that in Canterlot, and she doesn’t like talking about it. We good?”
Putting on an equally serious expression, Retcon nodded firmly.
“Okay…” Bon Bon, seemingly relieved, closed the umbrella down and made to open the door. She paused with her hoof on the handle. “Oh, fair warning, she can be a bit exuberant.” With that, she opened the door, and the two of them stepped inside from out of the rain.
The first thing that hit the changeling was the smell; light and warm, she couldn’t place it. It wasn’t something she could remember having smelled before, and it wasn’t like anything she could recall. The smell of a home.
The door shut behind her, and along with it the cold and the sound of rain, muffled against the walls and windows of the building.
She found herself in a small hallway, with wooden walls and floor. There was a lamp and a collection of all sorts of things she couldn’t name on top of a wooden sideboard stacked with drawers.
Her attention was drawn to the thumping of hoofsteps coming from upstairs, growing less-muffled as they approached. A mint-green unicorn appeared, calling out as she descended, “Hey, Bonnie!”
While on the outside Bon Bon only smiled, Retcon could sense a pulse of joy coming from her as the unicorn spoke. “Lyra, this is who I told you about this morning.”
Grinning, Lyra stopped in front of her and extended a forelimb, which Retcon met. “Hey there! I’m Lyra!”
“Retcon.” No alarm. Nothing other than the weirdly-high levels of good cheer. The energetic unicorn was actually delighted to meet her. Retcon couldn’t help but return a smile.
“So Bonnie says you’re staying with us ‘til you get your own place.”
Retcon took a sip of the mug of hot chocolate in her hooves, being careful not to burn her mouth. Between the hot drink and the crackling fire, she felt like she was melting into the sofa. “Um, if that’s okay, that is-”
“‘Course it’s okay!” Lyra chirped. “You can stay here as long as you need.”
“She’ll only be here a month or so,” said Bon Bon lying on the same sofa as Lyra. “Just until her own place is ready.”
“Ooh, where’re you moving?”
“It’s one of those new builds, just off Narrow Street,” Bon Bon replied. “I can show you around the neighbourhood tomorrow if you like,” she added to Retcon, who nodded back.
Lyra hummed. “So what brings you to Ponyville?”
“I… reckon I could do with a fresh start,” Retcon said smoothly. “I wanted to move somewhere quiet to… heh, it sounds cheesy but, to find myself.” She glanced at Bon Bon, who was sipping her tea contentedly. “Bon Bon was kind enough to offer to help.”
“That’s my Bonnie! How’d you meet, the Confectioners Conference?”
“She’s a friend of Amethyst Star’s,” Bon Bon explained. “She wanted to help out, only she’s not got the extra room at her place, and Retcon needed somewhere to stay for a month. And, well, I just mentioned we had the spare room.”
“Ah, better than couch-surfing.” Lyra smiled. “So what do you do?”
…’Do’…?
“Do you have a job lined up yet?” Bon Bon added quickly, before the silence could drag.
Oh! “Um, no, nothing yet. I was going to ask around and see what options I have.” And, well… I’m not sure about Sky’s offer yet.
“Fair, there’s always something in town, I’m sure you’ll find something no problem.”
No matter how hard she focused, Retcon couldn’t sense a single drop of suspicion in the room. This is going better than I’d hoped.
“Where’ve you moved here from?” Lyra asked, horn aglow. A duvet floated gently in front of her as she guided the cover over it.
“Do you want any help with that?”
“Nah, I’m good.” As the golden aura vanished, the duvet dropped on top of the bed. “Don’t worry about it, it’s easier with magic,” she said with a grin.
Retcon nodded. Maybe so, but I can get by without, I reckon. “I’m from Witherby,” she stated, recalling her debriefing with Sky.
“Witherby? Not heard of that.”
“Most ponies haven’t.” Retcon shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s pretty out the way. I hadn’t heard of Ponyville either.”
“Ah, that makes sense. Ponyville was a pretty sleepy place before the Coronation. Well, as sleepy as it gets near the Everfree, y’know?”
Coro-… ‘The ceremony of crowning a sovereign or a sovereign's consort’. Oh, Princess Twilight Sparkle was recent, wasn’t it.
“I’m from Canterlot, myself,” Lyra continued merrily, smoothing out the bed. “I moved down here when I met Bonnie. You ever been?”
“Oh, um, just the once. Wasn’t there long.”
Lyra gave her a slight look. “You okay?”
With a start, Retcon realised she was staring off into the distance. “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just Canterlot is a lot different to Ponyville.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Lyra’s ears pricked up, her expression one of sympathy. “It wasn’t during the Invasion, was it?”
Retcon blinked. I thought I wasn’t supposed to mention that! “Uhh… No, it was a lot more recent. I wasn’t there… then.”
“Ah, alrighty then.” The unicorn appeared relieved. “I thought for a sec I brought up some bad memories. Speaking of,” she glanced over Retcon’s shoulder towards the door, then lowered her voice conspiratorially. “Don’t mention the Invasion or changelings around Bon Bon. She gets all weird when I bring it up. Deal?”
“Uh, okay,” she nodded. But that’s what Bon Bon said.
“Thanks.” Lyra smiled. “I dunno why, she wasn’t even there! Bonnie had a work do that day so she couldn’t come, but how that was more important than a freaking royal wedding is beyond me. I was there though,” she added with a smug grin. “Bridesmaid to the Princess, thank you very much! Plus I got mind-controlled by the bug queen herself! Kickass or what?”
“What?” WHAT!?
Chuckling, Lyra’s expression dimmed slightly. “Well to be honest, it wasn’t all that great, the Invasion and all that. I thankfully missed all the bad stuff because I was bewitched most of the time, but a lot of ponies had a very not good day. Still! Makes for a cool story. Silver lining and everything.” She tilted her head toward the door. “But yeah, don’t say anything to Bonnie. She gets all evasive, so I stopped bringing it up.”
“Understood. Thanks.” Chewing the inside of her cheek, a thought came to mind. “What do you think of the changelings? Since you were there, I mean.”
“Hmm…” Lyra stared off into the distance. “Probably… about an eight outta ten on the badass scale. Love the magic evil bug aesthetic. Their eyes actually look like they glow, so that’s super cool! They’ve got massive fangs.” She began talking while baring her teeth, “You’d ‘hink ‘heir hrunt ‘heef hould ged in ‘he hay. I dunno how they can get their jaws shut.”
“Not as hard as it looks. Probably.”
“Yeah, probably. But, they’re also pretty gross up-close.” Lyra blew a raspberry. “The cheese legs give me the heebies.”
“…Cheese legs?”
“Y’know.” She lifted a mint forelimb. “All the holes, like cheese.”
“Oh, right. No idea what that’s all about.”
Lyra shrugged. “Me neither. I heard it was something to do with soaking up love. Like a basking shark moseying about with its cakehole open.”
Retcon absently scratched her chest. “I dunno. Maybe?”
“Eh. Oh, Bonnie’s told you about the Everfree, right? Since you’re from out of town.”
“Yep,” she nodded. “Don’t go in, but Whitetail is okay.”
“Okay.” Lyra smiled. “Well, welcome to Ponyville I guess! Come find us if you need anything.”
With a farewell and an assurance Retcon would join them for dinner, Lyra left her to her new room. It was cosy, slightly smaller than her old room back at the Institute, but in a comfortable way. The walls and floor were made of wood rather than solid concrete, with a nice rug at the foot of the bed. The window was larger, though she couldn’t see much through the late-afternoon rain.
With a deep exhale, Retcon slipped the satchel over her head, setting it down on a chest of drawers. Twisting, she flopped onto the bed on her back, her wings spread wide behind her, and stared up at the ceiling.
She breathed.
There was a distant muffled clanking come from downstairs in the vicinity of the kitchen. The occasional rise of voices too, though even without the gentle tapping of the rain on glass, she had no hope of catching what was being said. Even her emotion sense wasn’t registering anything.
She felt like she was sinking into the duvet. The very air around her felt fresh and alive.
She blinked as her eyes began to mist up.
What did I do to deserve this?