//------------------------------// // Chapter 9: Secrets And Lies // Story: Deus Ex: Equine Revolution // by Melon Hunter //------------------------------// Deus Ex: Equine Revolution By Melon Hunter Chapter 9: Secrets And Lies Bon Bon found herself in a cafe in the shadow of the Canterlot mountain. She was huddled over a cup of coffee, trying to calm herself after nearly being roasted alive by Chaosfire. On her way through the district, she’d purchased a new holoscroll to replace the one she’d torn apart in anger a few days before. Her gaze flickered across the surface as she read the news from the past few days. The clinic invasion, the ongoing efforts to capture the perpetrators, the large explosion at the research labs earlier…         However, she found herself unable to concentrate on the flickering images in front of her, her mind electing to obsess over the events of the past few days instead. Bon Bon rubbed her forehead. She couldn’t quite make heads or tails of any of it; so many extraordinary events strung together, with her at the centre of them all. She pondered Twilight’s discovery of Rarity and Fluttershy’s contact, Trixie’s shock at being implicated in the raid on the clinic, Poster Paint inadvertently leading her into a death trap and destroying the possessed stallion’s body.         Either somepony knew about and had orchestrated everything that had happened, or a lot of ponies thought they did and kept accidentally clashing with one another. Bon Bon didn’t know which prospect was more terrifying. One way or another, she was developing a nasty habit of being the spanner that jammed somepony else’s gears.         Bon Bon let out a small sigh as she felt a mental pressure from her Hydra, before frowning in confusion. It wasn’t somepony she’d been contacted by before, that much she could tell. She frowned, trying to reach out and open the mental link to the unknown pony. Momentarily, she looked down and gave a start as she saw the news on the holo-scroll had been replaced by Rarity’s face.         “Wh-What? How did you do that?” Bon Bon said.         “You bought the holo-scroll on company expenses, my dear. It was hardly difficult to find out to whom it belonged to, and it’s important we’re able to keep in touch.” Rarity examined her forehoof. “I mean, it has been a good half-hour since you purchased it.”         Bon Bon rolled her eyes. “Did you forget about the Hydra?” she asked irritably, tapping her horn. “Or is an entirely confidential, uninterceptable communications system not enough of a challenge for you?”         “Well, while I do prefer face-to-face conversation over a voice in my head, this isn’t down to my personal preferences. It’s more a matter of me not abusing my position of trust with you,” Rarity said. As Bon Bon frowned in confusion, she continued, “It’s just a little matter of etiquette. Inexperience with the Hydra is notorious for letting stray emotions through.”         “And I’m sure you’d just hate to know what I was really thinking,” Bon Bon said flatly.         “Indeed.” Rarity raised an eyebrow and placed a hoof against her chin. “In any case, I wanted to ask your consent before mentally linking to you. I wanted to give you a lesson with your new social aug, along with a couple of other things, but I’d rather let you decide whether you want to see them first.”         Bon Bon narrowed her eyes behind her dark lenses, already feeling a knot of anxiety forming in her stomach. “Go on…”         “Firstly, when you activated your STARE aug earlier, I trust you found it rather… overwhelming to use?” Bon Bon nodded. “As I thought. I could give you some subconscious pointers as to how to ease its use. I realise it’s not much, but I’m sure you know as well as I do that the mind learns best from example when it comes to controlling augmentations.”         “I’d appreciate that,” Bon Bon said. “Although, what are the ‘other things’?”         A flash of concern crossed Rarity’s face. “Ah. Well… As I’m sure you’re aware, every one of the Element bearers—aside from Fluttershy, of course—will be in attendance today. Now, we all agreed to arrive a little earlier than you in order to have our own little chat.”         “So, it’s a meeting between friends? I can hardly begrudge that,” Bon Bon said. “What’s that got to do with me trusting you?”         Rarity sighed and rolled her eyes upward in thought. “Because anypony with a Hydra—such as myself—can transmit what they’re seeing and hearing to another user. I think we can both agree that if you’d already let me establish a mental link, your ability to consent to me then opening my senses to you would be somewhat diminished, yes?” Bon Bon nodded. “So I wanted to ask you in this fashion instead: do you wish to see what happens at the meeting before you arrive?” Bon Bon stared at the holo-scroll for a moment, stunned into silence. “You’d… you’d breach the trust of your friends that easily?” She dropped the device onto the table, her lip curling. “What is this, some sort of sick test?” “N-no, of course not,” Rarity stammered, eyes widening. “Rarity, I’m not going to pretend that I’m ignorant of the Rose Garden. If ponies go there, it’s because they don’t want to be overheard,” Bon Bon said. “And I’m supposed to believe you’re just going to casually break that confidentiality for some of your closest friends?” The exasperated exhalation that came from the holo-scroll was loud enough to disturb the ponies on the next table. “This isn’t an offer I’m making lightly, I admit,” Rarity said. “The problem is… well, I fear everypony in that room could use you as some sort of political hoofball. Bear in mind that Twilight will present you as her top agent to a group that includes Equestria’s most outspoken opponent of augmentations and a pony who has been close friends with Fluttershy since she learned to fly.” “I’m really that provoking?” Bon Bon asked. She looked down at her artificial hooves and slid back her lenses, before letting out a mirthless chuckle. “Who am I kidding? Of course I am.” Her gaze flicked back up to meet Rarity’s. “So, this isn’t a test, it’s just you being devastatingly cynical,” she growled. “They all want you to succeed, I’m sure, but I believe Twilight may provoke the others to make it apparent that she is the only pony—and faction—that you can trust.” Rarity placed a hoof beneath her chin. “Her actions recently have been worrying. I believe she’s driving you far too hard, far too soon. No offense meant to your achievements, Bon Bon, but to me it seems that she is using you less for your abilities, and more your symbolism as a phoenix rising from the ashes of that dreadful night.” Bon Bon stood in silence. She shuddered, running a hoof over her body. So many augmentations and implants… enough to bankrupt many companies, let alone an individual. Her training, her rehabilitation, every single instance of danger she’d been sent into… Had that all been Twilight trying to resurrect the Deep Labs through her miraculous survival? “That.. that’s not…” She clenched her eyes shut. “I’m not her attack hound,” she insisted. “And I agree completely,” Rarity said softly. “Which is why I want to try and reduce her influence over you a little and let you make your own observations. It doesn’t help one bit that every time she’s sent you out, you return with another piece of information that furthers erodes her faith in the world around her.” “The mail exchange with Fluttershy, huh?” “That was my fault. I should have been more forthcoming with Twilight.” Rarity sighed again. “But that dragon has long since flown from its cave…” She gave Bon Bon an even look. “In any case, this is the reverse of me being cynical. Primarily, I want you to see that, beyond all the pomp and circumstance of our public expressions, we do still care for each other deeply as a circle of friends.” A faint sadness entered her blue eyes. “I am truly sorry that your arrival later will change their tone.” Bon Bon simply grunted. “I’m used to it. I guess it’ll be worth it to hear what everypony really thinks of me before meeting them.” She narrowed her eyes at Rarity. “Of course, you’ll have the advantage that you know I’m listening in, don’t you?” Rarity gave her a sly smile. “Honestly, I’d be supremely disappointed if you hadn’t picked up on that, Bon Bon.” She slid her gaze to one side in thought, rubbing her chin with the back of a forehoof. “Perhaps it’s not ‘everypony for herself’ out there, but I’m pleased to see you have a healthy amount of skepticism in you. So yes, I’m offering you this opportunity, and it stacks the odds in my favour. Whether you think that’s an acceptable price to pay, or indeed whether it’s something I would actually deploy against my oldest friends… well, that decision is up to you.” There was a faint snick as Bon Bon’s lenses slid out to cover her eyes again. She took a long, deliberate swig from her coffee. Much as she wanted to pretend she was mulling over her decision, Bon Bon knew she would be a fool to pass up Rarity’s offer. But, a fool she would have to be. “Then my answer is no.” Not a flicker of surprise crossed Rarity’s face. “May I ask why?” “Because I’m not stupid, Rarity. Twilight may be using me as a tool, but I have my own reasons for taking her jobs, too,” Bon Bon asserted. “I owe her my life for giving me these augmentations. Of course I don’t blindly trust her, but I at least have some respect for her for bringing me back to the world of the living.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “And also, Rarity, your friendship with these ponies is strong enough to activate the Elements. I appreciate your concern, but I’m really supposed to believe you’d pick me over them? No. It might be useful to know what they’re really saying when I’m not there, but I’m not going to sacrifice my integrity just so I can get a leg-up on some other ponies. I can trust my own judgement on this one.” Rarity gave her a half-lidded smile and nodded. “Wonderful. And you didn’t even have to mention the Rose Gardens’ Hydra scrambling.” She sat back. “I thought that if you were offering it, you’d had some sort of upgrade to break through the magical hardening,” Bon Bon said. “Unless you really were arrogant enough to believe it wasn’t able to restrict you.”  Rarity shrugged. “Well in any case, it seems your self-conviction is intact. Good! I’d be afraid if you trusted any of us too much. In any case, I think we’d better cut it off here; you need to get going to the tearooms, and I’ve got all I need to know. Ta ta!” “Wait—” The image on the scroll winked out, with the news replacing it once more. “Great…” ‘All she needed to know’... Rarity had played her like an instrument! She let out a growl of frustration as she rolled up the scroll and placed a couple of bits as payment on the table. She quickly trotted out of the cafe and onto the road leading to the Rose Gardens, imagining she could feel the ever-increasing number of puppet strings gently tugging on every aspect of her life. “Well played, Rarity,” she said to herself. Bon Bon stood outside a large white marble building positioned against the mountainside. Countless rose vines climbed trestles carved into the outer walls, and rose bushes populated the borders of the gardens around the property, filling the air with a heady floral perfume. A waterfall fell from on high and forked into two as it struck the roof of the building, twin streams flowing down and around the field, forming a natural moat. Tables were artfully placed amongst the pristinely kempt lawns, ponies sat at each one, sipping tea. She began walking forward, crossing the moat over a small wooden bridge. A waiter bobbed his head to her as the unicorn passed. A group of graphs and charts sprang up over the other pony, causing her to grunt in annoyance and turn off her STARE aug. No need to have things distracting her now. “Ma’am?” Bon Bon jerked and turned to face the speaker. A suited unicorn stallion stood to attention beside her. “A pleasure to see you. My name is Silver Service; I was told you would be arriving soon. Please, follow me.”   “Uh… sure. Thank you.” She trotted behind the stallion as he opened the tall mahogany doors to the tearooms with a flourish of magic. The main atrium of the building was circular, with a large structure of glass capping the roof. Sunlight, refracted by the waterfall outside, fell within the chamber. There were yet more tables of quietly gossiping ponies within the dimmer room, each furnished with steaming teacups and silver frames of tiny cakes and sandwiches. In the very centre was a crystalline fountain, water trickling down the bowls in an imitation of the falling streams outside. However, Bon Bon focused upon the ornately carved doors lining the edges of the chamber. Silver Service stood outside one, waiting alongside a cream-coloured earth pony. She scrubbed a hoof through her dark red mane and smiled in greeting to her, before her face dropped slightly. “B-Bon Bon?” she stammered. “Roseluck.” Bon Bon trotted over to the stricken mare. “You… run this place?” “Never mind that.” Roseluck ran forward, throwing her forelegs around her. “I’m… I’m so sorry,” she murmured. “About Lyra. And what happened. I… I should have…” She let out a loud sigh. Bon Bon shook her head. “Don’t even go there, Roseluck.” She returned the embrace. “Thank you so much for your words, but… don’t beat yourself up over something you couldn’t have possibly stopped. I’ve done enough of that myself.” Roseluck grimaced. “I know. I know.” She backed away a little from Bon Bon. “It’s just that I haven’t kept in contact with anypony from Ponyville except Colgate, and that’s only because she keeps trying to break through the magical network hardening here.” She let out a half-chuckle, half-sob. “Such a stupid thing, really. But, then I heard about the attack on your labs from her. I’m sorry I wasn’t… around after that.” “Rose, it took months for me to keep my head around anypony I used to know,” Bon Bon said. “I... had a lot of things to work through.” She unfolded a hoof and flexed her digits. “In more ways than one. But, at least I’m alive. And at least I’m around to do something about that attack. I didn’t lose Lyra, or Dawn, or nearly everything else just to let the people responsible get away.” Rose nodded and gave a brief smile. “Well, I’m glad you’re still standing after all this time, Bon Bon. You’re made of stronger stuff than most.” She flicked her head to the nearest door. “I’m sorry. I must have been keeping you. Just… well, if you need a place to come and reflect, or an old friend to talk to, I’m always here.” “I appreciate it.” “Least I can do.” Rose cleared her throat, before walking over and placing a hoof on the door, causing it to slide open. “Now, there’s a little antechamber in here. You’ll get sealed in there before the door to the interior opens. Once you’re in, there’s no piece of information that can get in or out, okay?” “Okay.” Bon Bon stepped into the antechamber, before casting her gaze back at Roseluck and retracting her lenses. “And, Roseluck? Thank you,” she said, as the door slid shut behind her. She took a deep breath as the antechamber fell silent for a moment. Her hoof tapped against the floor, the only external indication of the knot of anxiety in her stomach. What had Twilight and her friends been talking about in there? And what exactly would her arrival set off? There was a hiss and the door to the interior opened. Bon Bon stood, immobilised, as five smiling heads turned to face her. Each pony was sat around a circular table in the centre of the windowless chamber, with a pot of tea in the centre. Twilight was sat directly opposite the entrance, with Rarity and Pinkie sat on her left. And on the right was an earth pony wearing a Stetson hat, and a hologram of a rainbow-maned pegasus. Applejack and Rainbow Dash. “Bon Bon!” Twilight exclaimed. “You’re right on time. Come in!” Bon Bon walked forward slowly, taking a seat at the empty space between Pinkie and Rainbow. She simply nodded in greeting, catching a knowing smile from Rarity as she sat down. Applejack took a great intake of breath. “Well, Ah’ll be,” she said slowly. “Ah didn’t think… well, Ah’d never have guessed it was you Twilight was talking about.” Rainbow gave a derisive snort. “Is that the best you can do, AJ? C’mon, she saved all those ponies in the MANE clinic! That’s all kinds of awesome!” She tried to slap Bon Bon on the shoulder, only for her ethereal hoof to pass straight through. “Aww, dammit. I keep forgetting I’m not in the same room as you guys.” Bon Bon’s lips twitched in the smallest semblance of a smile. “Well, it was just my job,” she said quietly. Her eyes flicked up to Twilight. “So, what do you need me for?” “Ah suppose we all wanted to meet the pony who’s been sortin’ most of Twilight’s problems this last week,” Applejack said, pushing back her hat. “Ah had no idea who it was! And Ah didn’t know… well…” “How much I’d changed?” Bon Bon said. She flicked her horn with a hoof and smiled sardonically. “Yeah, took me a while to get used to it, too.” “Not to say Ah don’t appreciate all that you’ve done so far. Rainbow’s right; there’s more than a few ponies who owe their lives to what you did,” Applejack admitted. “It’s just that some of us around this table disagree on a few parts of your ‘job’. Ah’m not sure Ah want to leave the safety of Fluttershy in the hooves of one pony. Too much pressure and too little support. Ah think we should leave this to the appropriate authorities.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “As if that’s going to help!” she said. “The ‘authorities’ were quite happy to sequester away most of the evidence from the MANE clinic and go looking in completely the wrong part of Canterlot for the soul gems!” She waved a hoof across the table. “Bon Bon, on the other hoof, has already located not only the soul gem cache, but a vital piece of evidence, too.” Applejack gave a cursory glance to Twilight, before looking in askance at Bon Bon. The augmented unicorn levitated the teapot towards her and filled the empty tea cup in front of her, letting AJ stew for a moment. She gave an involuntary twitch as she felt Rarity mentally prod her through the Hydra link, before letting her in. Rarity remained silent, instead driving the dormant STARE aug, giving her promised lesson. Bon Bon had a feeling of understanding come over her. Under Rarity’s mental instructions, she suddenly realised quite how to apply the right graphs and charts to the ponies sat in front of her. It was like successfully tying a bow for the first time: easy to repeat, harder to put into words, and impossible to perform if one put conscious thought into it. She drove the aug to focus on Applejack, teasing out new information on her… and herself. Too many ponies had been defeated by AJ because of a lost temper. “Do you doubt Twilight?” she said calmly. “Well, no, but Ah—” “So I don’t understand what the problem is,” Bon Bon said. “I did what Twilight claims I did, and I certainly wouldn’t have been able to do those things unaugmented.” She looked up at Applejack. “Is that the problem here? An Aug—Celestia forbid—being able to do more than other ponies? An Aug helping you of all ponies?” Pinkie gently elbowed her side and shook her head. “Don’t keep prodding her!” she whispered. “Everypony’s not been arguing for so long!” In Bon Bon’s augmented vision, STARE demanded she do the opposite and keep wearing her down. AJ gave a long sigh. “Y’know what? Yes. Yes it is. You’ve done some brave things so far, but Ah can’t see this go on any longer. Not now Ah know about it. You’ve been through enough already, sugarcube.” “Because you’re so concerned about Augs?” Bon Bon let out a derisive snort. She held up a hoof to silence Applejack’s protest. “Don’t get coy, Applejack. I’ve worked in augmentation R&D for years, and nearly every day I had to put up with seeing articles and poorly-researched papers from you or your Apple Corps lackeys, deriding everything we did, and trying to paint everypony with an augmentation as some kind of ticking time bomb.” She let out a long, slow breath. “Now, I’m not going to rise to the bait and get angry. And you can speak straight to me; nopony outside this room will ever hear it, anyway.” Rainbow let out a low whistle, and the faintest flicker of a smile appeared on Rarity’s face. “She’s got you beat, AJ,” the pegasus said. Applejack scowled at Bon Bon, before throwing her hooves up and sighing. “Fine. Forgive me for not bein’ completely straight with you. Ah don’t think it’s right to have Twilight give you task after task where it’s you versus the world. Aug or not, Ah can’t even begin to imagine the sorta pressure that puts on you! It’s been only half a year since you nearly died and had your body cut to ribbons. What kinda let-up is that?” More than you might think… Bon Bon jerked as she realised that Rarity would have heard her thoughts. However, the other unicorn gave no indication of reception, instead resting her head on a forehoof, watching the debate with lazy interest. “Trust me, it’s better than sitting and moping at home.” “And in any case, what right did Twilight have to do this to you?” “I let her.” Applejack gave a choked gasp. “Pre-emptively, that is. Were I too badly injured to give consent, I signed a contract giving permission to install augmentations that would save my life, were that the only option. Given that I was missing a significant portion of my body parts after that night, this was all necessary.” Bon Bon spread her forelegs wide, causing her longcoat to open slightly and show the scars on her chest. “You weren’t a unicorn back in Ponyville, Ah remember that much,” Applejack growled. Bon Bon smiled and tapped her horn. “I agreed to try out the prototype not long before… well… everything changed. As far as we’re aware, I’m the only pony in the world who can use this particular piece. Why waste it?” Applejack began to grind her teeth. “Rainbow, you got anything to say?” “Hey, leave me out of this!” Rainbow said heatedly. She shrugged her shoulders and sat back slightly. “Just because I wouldn’t stick any implants in me, doesn’t mean I judge others for doing so.” “That’s your job—” “So? Everypony in Equestria know the ‘rivalry’ between the Wonderbolts and the Shadowbolts is a load of acting straight off’ve Bridleway,” Rainbow said, wrapping the appropriate word in air quotes. “Captain of the Wonderbolts or not, I don’t get to tell any ponies who want to upgrade themselves what to do unless they’re in my team. In which case, they stay natural. Keeps it fair; you want augs, go to the Shadowbolts.” Applejack rolled her eyes. “Fine. You keep yourself outta this, like you always do.” Twilight cleared her throat demurely. “Applejack, I think that Bon Bon has already proved that she is perfectly willing to take on the sort of tasks she already agreed to. I personally believe she is more than physically capable of succeeding, and—” She cut off with a squeak as an orange hoof slammed into the table. “That’s just it!” AJ cried. “All of you aug supporters are the same! You think you can fix everything; a new leg here, an upgraded eye there, and then everypony’s better!” She crossed her forelegs, an anguished look crossing her face. “You ignore the ones who can’t upgrade, even if they wanted to. You never account for the veteran mercenary still havin’ nightmares, nor the ponies who ruin themselves tryin’ to pay for their soul gems. Have you seen the sorta lengths some people will go to to keep themselves from aug rejection?” Bon Bon raised her hoof, eliciting a frustrated snort. “Still. You can fix the body with your fancy augmentations, but you can never heal the mind with them. You just tear it further apart.” She narrowed her eyes at the others. “And Ah will not apologise for thinkin’ that way.” One of Bon Bon’s hooves unfolded and gripped the edge of the table tightly. She felt a comforting hoof from Pinkie on her shoulder, and Rarity shifted herself slightly in her chair, taking a sip of tea. Don’t rise to her, Bon Bon. I wasn’t going to. I just want her to stop picking a fight with me. It’s her way of testing you. You just need to make her snap first. What? Since when would that help? Trust me, it’s her method of debating. Let the other sabotage themselves—first to fall loses. I’ve lost count of the times she’s conceded to somepony after being broken down by them. Applejack and I are rather close outside of our stances on augmentation; we tend to appreciate one another’s methods of getting under ponies’ skins. Only difference is, she respects the ones who defeat her. I just come up with new methods of retaliation. You don’t say. I do! And I’m sure you know the perfect thing to cut her down with. I don’t think I do… Bon Bon looked up. “So, you’d just leave some ponies crippled, hm?” “No. But Ah most certainly wouldn’t give ‘em out to perfectly healthy ponies,” Applejack said. “That is what the Apple Corps wants: replacements, not augmentations. No fightin’, no takin’ augmentations off’ve ponies who already have ‘em, but some kinda sane end to this trend. We’re too far down this road already; every Apple wants a peaceful end to it.” Every Apple? What about… oh! Oh… There you go, Bon Bon, Rarity said triumphantly. Bon Bon knew she was a toy in Rarity’s hooves by now. As if enraging the head of the anti-aug movement would solve anything at this stage. And yet, all of Applejack’s veiled insults had combined with the latent anger she had felt since the day she’d woken up in the hospital, new limbs attached and new life coldly dealt to her. She wanted to lash out at another with a painful past, just to make somepony else hurt for once. It was a terrifying feeling, and she couldn’t possibly stop. “Really? What about your sister, Applejack?” The earth pony’s head jerked back and she glared at Bon Bon suspiciously. “What did you just say?” she said, her voice dangerously quiet. “It’s just that I had a run-in with Black Dawn at the MANE clinic, and it reminded me—” “That filly is dead to me!” Applejack cried. “She is not my sister! Not after she put that mask on! Don’t you dare insinuate that Black Dawn has anything to do with mah cause, you… you…” She let out a quiet sob, the others around the table shocked into silence. Oh, bravo, Rarity stated. Like a red rag to a bull. Bon Bon simply stared at the mortified Applejack, letting the deluge of guilt wash over her. Rarity, if I make a mortal enemy today, I will be unloading every last gem from my stun gun into your flank, she shot back. I doubt that will be an issue, my dear. Just wait… A few moments later, with Rainbow and Twilight trying to calm her down and Pinkie wrapped around her in a comforting hug, Applejack finally ran out of steam. She hung her head, taking deep breaths. A wave of self-disgust hit over Bon Bon. What had she done? “I’m… I’m sorry, Applejack. I shouldn’t have mentioned—” “No. Don’t apologise.” Applejack looked up at her. “Ah’m the one who should be ashamed. Ah can’t even imagine what you’ve been through—losing Lyra, the rest of the labs or your augs—but Ah couldn’t help but try and push you over the edge.” She let out a loud sigh. “And yet, you managed to stay standin’.” Barely, Bon Bon thought. “Ah can’t say Ah’m entirely happy with what you’re doin’; this is one of mah oldest friends you’re responsible for bringin’ back, after all,” Applejack continued. “Besides, you’re pretty much everythin’ Ah’ve ever stood against. Ah can’t begrudge the implants that let you live a normal life, but you weren’t built to just be normal.” She rubbed her eyes with her hooves. “Not gonna sugarcoat that.” Bon Bon shrugged. “No need. And no, I wasn’t returned to my past form. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Like I said, a lot of what I’ve done in the past few days would have been impossible without my augmentations.” She fell silent for a moment. “I wouldn’t have asked for this, but it’s a responsibility I don’t mind having. I want to help—I want to find out who took Fluttershy, and who attacked our laboratories.” She looked down at her artificial hooves. “It’s the least I can do, given who I am now.”  Applejack gave a curt nod and kicked back in her chair. “Then that’ll be that. If this really is your choice, then Ah’m satisfied with believin’ you. And, as much as it pains me, Ah can’t accept responsibility for what Black Dawn does, or any of their extremist ilk. But Ah can try to keep the ponies Ah do influence in line.” She flicked her gaze up to Bon Bon. “Just, please keep what Ah said in mind.” As good as you’re going to get if you want approval from her. I’ll take it. “Then, thank you for the vote of confidence,” Bon Bon said. She looked at the hologram next to her. “Which just leaves you, I guess.” Rainbow nodded. “I haven’t got anything against you. The sooner you’re out looking for Fluttershy, the better. I’ve been going crazy here in Manehattan—how am I supposed to practice or manage the team when one of my best friends has been foalnapped?” She rubbed the side of her head. “Got too much to think about right now, and there’s way too many things I’m worrying over I can’t do anything about. It’d make me sleep a little easier if we’re one step ahead of the curve in finding ‘Shy and bringing her back. I’d leave and come and help you, but—” “Don’t be silly, silly!” Pinkie said. “You have your own friends in the Wonderbolts to take care of, as well. There’s nothing wrong with what you’re doing—they need you too! Just like we’ll be helping Bon Bon!” She put a foreleg around the augmented unicorn, nearly crushing her with a tight hug. Rainbow’s ears drooped slightly and the corners of her mouth turned down slightly. “I guess… Still, it’ll be good to see all you guys in the flesh again at AugCon next week.” “Hoo boy.” Applejack grinned. “Reckon you’re ready to square off with me at the convention centre again, Rares?” Rarity gave her a wan smile. “Oh, I look forward to it every year! I’ll be sure to make up for my debacle last time.” “And the week-long ‘Bolts shows,” Rainbow said. “You’re all invited, remember.” She turned to Bon Bon. “And that includes you. I doubt you’ll be in Manehattan any time soon, but if there’s anything I can do to help if you are around, come and find me. There’s certain connections you get as Captain, y’know.” “I appreciate it,” Bon Bon said. “Okay…” Rainbow looked over her shoulder, a nervous expression on her face. “Oh, geez… I gotta run,” she said quickly. “See you guys real soon!” Her hologram winked out as the rest of the ponies in the chamber bid her farewell.   Applejack cleared her throat. “Ah think we should call it there. Ah think things got a little heated, and Ah need to make another meetin’ later today.” She grimaced. “Sorry to bug out on y’all.” “It’s alright, Applejack,” Twilight said. “I think we all know we’re a bit too busy compared to our Ponyville days. We’ll see one another soon enough.” Her horn lit up and the door to the antechamber began to open. “I think we should make sure we all plan out our timetables at AugCon; it’ll be good to spend some real quality time together, rather than the one meeting every once in a blue moon.” The other three friends agreed and began to exit the chamber, Bon Bon joining them. As the outer door slid open too, she heard Twilight speak behind her. “Is this what I gave it up for?” Bon Bon turned around to see Twilight stood alone in the chamber, shoulders slumped. “What do you mean?” “The alicornification, the princess status… my destiny, some might say.” Twilight bit her lip and turned away. “I gave it up for this company. To prove that anypony could ascend to a higher level of being, not just somepony lucky enough to be taken in by Princess Celestia. I thought it was the right thing to do—the only thing to do. But all it seems I’ve done is driven my friends against one another.” “No, you haven’t.” Twilight chuckled and shook her head. “There’s no need to mince words, Bon B—” “I mean it. They all care. They care about different things… and maybe those things come into conflict sometimes. But they all want to make the world a better place, somehow.” Bon Bon smirked. “Even Applejack. They all want harmony, in the end.” “Yes… Yes, I suppose we all still feel the same, deep down.” Twilight sighed sadly. Bon Bon fell silent for a moment, before tentatively asking, “Could you ever… revert that spell again? Become an alicorn once more?” “Well, were there to be another extraordinary event of unity between the six of us… Should I ever help to overcome our differences, then perhaps I can return to that state. Until then, I shall remain humble in my physical form.” Twilight smiled ruefully. “But maybe the world’s just grown too complex for a simple thing like harmony to mean anything any more.” “Maybe. Doesn’t mean you can’t do some good though.” Bon Bon felt a pang of warmth inside her as she remembered her talk with Plum Pudding, disarming the bomb collars, retrieving the soul gems… “It’s what’s keeping me going right now, anyway. Crazy as that is, considering I was nearly immolated a couple of hours ago.” Twilight blanched. “Don’t look that worried, boss. I’d rather nearly get killed and feel alive than stew in the past.” “I see. And on that note… Colgate tells me you found a biological sample?” Twilight asked hopefully. Bon Bon grimaced, before reaching into the inner pocket of her coat and pulling out the unicorn’s horn, wrapped in paper towels. “Um… yes. I grabbed what I could before the body was destroyed. This was already taken off when I got there.” Twilight’s own artificial hoof unfolded and she gingerly took the wrapped package, placing it on the table and gently prodding away the paper. “Oh, yuck!” She backed away from it. “That’s… well, actually quite useful for analysis. Well done. I’ll have the labs analyse it; hopefully we’ll be able to get some information about who was manipulating this pony.” “No problem.” Bon Bon tapped her hoof against the floor. “How… long will that take?” “Probably a couple of days. Why?” “I just… don’t want to be left hanging. Past few days, I’ve been running too fast to keep dwelling on the past.” Bon Bon rubbed the back of her head. “I’m kinda scared about what’ll happen if I slow down again.” She twitched as Twilight walked forward and placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Then I’ll find something for you to do,” Twilight said quietly. “If it’s bothering you, I’ll give you a task to tide you over.” “That… would be appreciated. Thank you.” Bon Bon said. She hesitated for a moment, before asking, “You know, your friends seemed pretty… talkative today, Twilight. I’m honestly kind of surprised you’re as close as you still are.” Twilight grinned and shrugged. “When you’re not trying to manage an image, you tend to be a lot more open,” she said. “I guess I’d forgotten what would happen if I brought a new pony into that little circle, but I’m glad I did. I just wish we hadn’t let Fluttershy slip through the net…” “She had her reasons, boss. I don’t know what they were: frankly, I’m convinced that she was being coerced by somepony. But I’m pretty sure it wasn’t you.” “Thanks.” Twilight took a deep breath and sighed. “Well, I guess I’d better get going with the rest of them. Head home for now; I’ll be in touch once I have something for you.”         “Hnngg…” The stack of papers hit the floor with a loud thump. Bon Bon wiped her brow with a hoof, before pushing the door shut. Attempting to levitate an object several times heavier than she’d ever lifted before had perhaps been a little foolish, but she couldn’t help but push herself. She needed some sort of challenge in her downtime.         She looked around her apartment, softly illuminated in orange light as the sun set. After finally awakening from her darkness, Bon Bon had made an effort to clear up a little. She’d put away some of the more painful reminders of the life she’d never returned to; thrown out the mould-stained bowl that had contained her last meal before the end, washed some of the clothes she’d left dirty, even gone out and replaced her mirror. Once more, she had a proper reflection to look at.         It felt strange. After all, it wasn’t as though her days hadn’t been filled before the attack on the clinic. And yet, before, it was all training and simulations, something to keep her occupied and to give her a reason to exist, preparing her for some undefined event at some point in the future. Now, she was doing something for real. It was a reason to live. And even better, she could avenge her beloved Lyra. For the first time in a long time, she could look at the lyre in her apartment and feel something other than soul-crushing grief.         Twilight had made good on her offer of a task while the horn was analysed. She had asked for some research on any anti-aug strife in Canterlot leading up to the clinic attack, although—as Bon Bon had quickly found—there was enough material on the subject to drown in. To that end, she’d set up a few wooden noteboards along one wall of her apartment, bought several sheep’s worth of coloured wool, and started setting up an ever-growing network of copied newspaper articles, obituaries, research papers and opinion pieces, all connected by a psychedelic spider web of wool. It had become her own little project; trying to nail down something, anything, that could link to either the attack on the clinic or her own labs. Bon Bon sat down and frowned, looking up at photos of Fluttershy from before her withdrawal from public life, fuzzy shots of unicorns suspected to be some of those in the clinic in the demonstrations that night. She had the entire corporate history of Sparkle Industries up there; even Twilight’s personal fortunes and misfortunes. She grimaced at one article from three years ago; after producing a wildly popular new set of augmented eyes to the market, Twilight had nearly been assassinated by an anti-aug extremist. He’d come at her with a sword steeped in a zebra poison with a truly evil effect: one that would cause wounds to never stop bleeding when infected with it. A photo on the article showed Twilight being taken away just after he’d swung at her, slicing through her knee instead of her neck. She’d survived, although the artificial ebony leg she wore to the present day was a result of it.   What chilled Bon Bon was that, for all the panic in the faces of the crowd around her and the remnant of her foreleg being hastily wrapped in her coat, Twilight’s expression was stone cold, all her attention on the pony being dragged away by the police. How had she been able to maintain that level of calm? Especially when the revelation of Rarity’s and Fluttershy’s secret communications had thrown her so badly? Still, that was only one facet of her investigation. Bon Bon went between her new copies of information and the board, trying to tease out a new link. There seemed to be a tantalising trace of something bigger behind the various strings; ponies and organisations rising up to a point, before being cast down again by some sort of mishap or accident.  Various trends of societal unrest and inequality leading back to before even the invention of augmentations. She couldn’t put her hoof on it, but it felt as though she was able to draw connections between far more things than she would have predicted. A laugh escaped Bon Bon’s lips. Either that, or she was turning into one of those dishevelled ponies insisting a shadowy order was out to control everypony. She always had wondered how a person would draw that conclusion… She was jerked out of her reverie by a tone from her holo-scroll. Bon Bon magically pulled it to her from across the room, thrilled to see how her levitation skills had improved with her paper-hauling. She tapped the device, causing Colgate’s face to appear on screen. “Hey, Bon Bon!” she said. Her eyes flicked up and to the right as she saw the board behind the augmented pony. “Whatcha doodlin’?” “Modern art project,” Bon Bon deadpanned. She lifted the scroll around to give Colgate a better look. “I needed something to keep me occupied; thought I’d at least make myself useful. I wanted a better understanding of what might have prompted an attack on a clinic, but… I don’t think I’m getting anywhere.” “Damn. Well, at least we know nopony could’ve saw this coming, huh?” “I… I don’t know. I suppose things always look different in hindsight.” Bon Bon frowned in thought as she turned the scroll back to her. “What did you need? Did the horn analysis come through?” “Yup. Might want to sit yourself down for this one, ‘cause it isn’t pretty…” Colgate said. “What do you mean?” Colgate scratched her head. “Well, first things first: the guy from the Analysis Labs was right: there’s some incredibly weird stuff jammed in there. Nopony here has the faintest clue what it is, and for some reason it appears to originate in the blood. We don’t know if this was the method whoever was controlling used to dial themselves in, but it’s not so much unconventional as unprecedented. Blood-borne augs don’t exist.” She suddenly raised her hooves. “Now, we’ve ruled out all infectious magical diseases, so don’t worry about having handled it yourself!” Bon Bon snorted. “Isn’t that a relief?” “Isn’t it just?” Colgate poked out her tongue. “So, anyway, that’ll be keeping a few ponies scratching their heads for a while. We did successfully pull the magical signature from him, though… and that’s where things get a little hairy.” “Just ‘a little’ hairy, Colgate? I was expecting at least moderately hairy if I had to sit down.” The unicorn in the scroll scowled and drummed her hooves against the desk. “Bon Bon, are you going to let me finish, or am I going to have to come over and wring your neck first?” “My neck’s just fine.” Bon Bon waved a hoof. “Carry on.” Colgate rolled her eyes. “Right. Well, as we suspected, there was some magical connection to his horn, a bit like when I transferred the files from the Analysis Labs through you to me the other day. It’s pretty textbook; which makes the unknown magical traces we found in the horn even weirder. They don’t seem to have much to do with any known connection protocol, at least. As for the connection itself, it’s rock-solid.” She rested her chin on a forehoof. “You need a special variant of Hydra to connect to another pony like that, and it doesn’t come cheap. You and I have them, but most ponies—especially the criminals who’ll usually use these to hack into networks without leaving a trace—can’t buy them. At least, not legitimately.” “So there’s a few hackers out there with these special Hydras?” Colgate nodded. “Though what’s stopping the authorities just monitoring who has them installed?” “They do. But remember there’s a big black market for these sorts of augs—proxy implants and the like—as well as bootlegs that exploit security flaws that aren’t yet patched.” She shrugged. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” “And I guess they must charge accordingly.” “Yup. So, normally, you only have one or two ponies bridging a gap somewhere between your computer and the target’s, acting as living proxies,” Colgate said. She levitated up a pad and pen, drawing out a rough diagram in explanation. “If you follow the trace, you can get the magical signature of the pony who’s bridging from the computer they connected to, but you’ll be damned if you can find that pony from the signature alone, unless they’ve gotten in trouble before and the police have it on record. And then if there’s another pony attached to them, you have to somehow tease their magical signature out too, despite it being obscured by the first sig. Hydra connections are horrible to try and analyse.” Bon Bon chewed her lip. “And this one?” “The entire connection is organic. Every last one a living pony, and there’s dozens of signature traces to find in that one horn. Whoever did this didn’t ever want to be found, and they paid millions of bits to make sure of it.” “Damn it.” She rubbed her face with a hoof, before raising an eyebrow. “So, that’s not even the worst of it?” Colgate shook her head slowly. “The magical signature of the next pony along the chain from this guy is on record. That is, Sparkle Industries records.” “A disgruntled employee?” “A close relative of a board-level employee, actually,” Colgate said slowly. “Sweetie Belle, in fact.” Bon Bon blinked, before scratching her head. “What? Since when does a famous singer work on breaking into secure communication networks?” Colgate grinned nervously. “Actually, when the technological boom began, she was one of the spearheads of breaking cyber security. Not that I got involved in that or anything…” “I’m more interested how you knew it was Sweetie Belle, if I’m honest.” Bon Bon leaned forward a little. “Seeing as—from what I hear—illicit hackers don’t like giving out details about the pony behind the screen name.” “Well, you get to know a pony’s mannerisms if they spend their childhood tearing around your home town,” Colgate said with a giggle. “I think we both knew who the other was online, even if we never admitted it to one another explicitly.” She tapped her forehooves together. “Admittedly, it was more curiosity that drove her, from what I could tell, rather than profiteering or a misplaced sense of justice, but she dropped out of the hacker communities in the end anyway. Probably didn’t want to torpedo her livelihood by getting caught breaking into to a system she shouldn’t have been in.” “I see.” Bon Bon snorted. “I suppose this happened at about the same time Rarity helped found Sparkle Industries?” Colgate nodded briefly. “I guess she didn’t want any guilt by association if her little sister was branded a criminal. And holding the magical signature record as a way of ensuring Sweetie stuck to her reformed ways… how very much like Rarity.” “You’re telling me.” Colgate frowned and leaned back in her chair, staring at the ceiling for a moment in thought. “Although, if you ask me, none of this makes sense. Why would Sweetie Belle suddenly return to hacking? She’s certainly not in any need of money, and she’s an outspoken supporter of augmentation, so her wanting to get back at MANE for something is out, too.” “Maybe she didn’t know what she was getting into?” Bon Bon asked. Colgate gave a single laugh and smacked her forehead. “Oh, sure!” She poked her tongue out at Bon Bon. “Might as well stick your hoof in a food processor while you’re at it, just to see if it still works. Connecting to a daisy chain of organic links without knowing what it was for—willingly—is out of the question for somepony as seasoned as Sweetie. You wouldn’t know what information you might be channelling, and something as rare and shady as that chain sure isn’t going to be handling anything wholesome.” Her mouth twitched. “The only reason you’d accept that offer is if you were desperate for money, or were confident you wouldn’t get caught and didn’t care what cause you were helping. With her magical signature on record, she fits neither description.” “Mmm…” Bon Bon looked up at her board of connections, trying to find anything regarding Rarity or Sweetie Belle. Most of it simply referred to Rarity’s roles in Sparkle Industries and Sweetie’s defences of the aug industry, and even that was sparse. She tapped a hoof on one article, showing the two sisters smiling as they both cut the ribbon for a new shelter for Augs made homeless by their treatment payments. “They both have a big stake in keeping augmentations favourable in public opinion… and now one sister can be implicated in a brazen anti-aug terrorist incident,” she said quietly. She fell silent for a moment, before quietly asking, “Colgate, this is going to sound crazy, but do you think she may have been… coerced into this?” There was a brief pause as Colgate slowly returned to her sitting position and leaned in close to the camera on her scroll. “That… might explain her doing this, but… why? Who would stand to gain from this?” She ran both forehooves through her mane. “I mean, it’s likely the magical analysis of the chain to the possessed stallion would have ratted her out in time, but given all the funny business with his body, it looks like somepony was trying to stop that analysis from happening. So… is there another group trying to keep Sweetie safe or something?” She buried her head in her hooves. “It makes sense in a way, but I don’t want to believe it’s true. That’s some scary levels of string-pulling.” “We already know that different ponies were told different things when participating in the MANE raid from Trixie,” Bon Bon said, beginning to pace back and forth. “So presumably someone was trying to engineer that situation and sow confusion amongst the participants. Then there was the unknown—and unseen—assailant that murdered the stallion in the police station, and then his body was kept locked up in the Analysis Labs, waiting to be destroyed by Chaosfire if anypony broke in.” She bit her lip. “Poster Paint mentioned to Fluttershy he had no idea what he was dealing with when analysing the body…” “...so the only useful bit of information those schmucks would get was Sweetie Belle’s involvement in the hacking link, same as us,” Colgate said, completing her thought. “Which would then be released to the police, most probably.” Bon Bon stopped in her tracks. “So she would have her fall from grace, along with her campaigns and—most probably—Rarity. More fuel on the fire for the anti-aug types, and right before AugCon, too. And I guess the stallion was murdered to ensure he didn’t reveal anything to the police.” She looked apprehensively at Colgate. “Right?” Colgate held up her hooves. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, here. Might just be jumping at shadows…” “I need to talk to Sweetie Belle,” Bon Bon said. “Somehow.” “Then you’re in luck,” Colgate said. “Remember all that excitement a few months ago about DJ-PON3’s tour partnering with Sparkle Industries? It just turned up in Canterlot, and Sweetie Belle is the headline singing act. She’s right here in town.” “Then I’ll need to find a way to get to wherever she’s staying and—” Bon Bon stopped as Colgate waved a hoof. “What?” “No need. For one thing, celebrities know better than anyone to defend themselves against fans breaking in to have a little ‘chat’ with them backstage,” Colgate said. She began to grin. “Now, as a connoisseur of electronica, I’ve been paying extra-special attention to how our sponsorship deal with Ms. Scratch has been progressing. And as it happens, my diligence has been rewarded.” She levitated up two long pieces of glossy card. “Me and a plus one get to see the show in the hippest nightclub in all of Canterlot—the Flux Pavilion!” She squashed her cheeks between her forehooves. “VIP access!” “What?!” Bon Bon glared at her colleague. “I’m trying to perform a serious investigation, and you’re more concerned about some concert you’ve wrangled your way into?” She let out an angry snort. Colgate quickly waved her hooves and shook her head, eyes widening. “Hear me out. VIPs get to meet the stars after the show—including Sweetie Belle. If you wanna talk to her, then here’s a way to have her delivered to you on a silver platter.” Bon Bon gave a sigh, before nodding. “Okay, okay. I’m sorry for shouting. That’s… actually not the worst idea I’ve heard.” She frowned anxiously. “Although, what’s stopping her from being pestered by the other fans? Or her getting security to throw us out?” “It’s not the most foolproof plan, I’ll admit,” Colgate said, gaze flickering away for a moment. “Worst case scenario, you get nothing out of her and it’s back to the original plan of breaking into her room. Might as well give the easy option a go.” She looked back up at Bon Bon, anguish colouring her gaze. “Besides, I just… I just want to see you when you’re not exhausted, or on a mission, or fearing for your life. Just a few hours to unwind and have some fun?” “I dunno, Colgate.” Bon Bon sat down on the floor, pursing her lips. “I don’t think I can really justify a night on the town during an investigation…” She gave a sigh and gave her friend a small smile. “As long as you promise not to have too much fun?” she gibed. Colgate pulled off a military salute. “One mediocre night out, coming right up!” she exclaimed. “Call it a date. I’ll come and meet you about seven tomorrow evening. Until then, I think we’ve both got some work to be doing…” She peered past Bon Bon at the boards. “Or, at least, one of us working and the other scrapbooking.” “Very funny, Colgate.” “Oh! And I’ll get in touch with Rarity—you’re gonna need to look the part for the Pavilion! Watch this space,” Colgate said. “Wait—” Bon Bon grunted in irritation as the scroll’s connection ended. “Why do I keep letting ponies do that to me?” she muttered, before looking back at the pile of paper she had dropped. Time for a new focus, then. “Let’s hope there’s not too many skeletons to find in Sweetie Belle’s closet…” Augmentation Activated         Horn: Intermediate Telekinesis As an artificial horn continues interfacing with the user’s arcane biology, it is expected that an augmented unicorn’s magical strength will grow with practice, just as a natural unicorn’s will. Due to the experimental nature and high specialisation of this aug, it is not currently known whether adult magical strength will be attained as quickly as the aug’s integration completes, or whether a more complex growth curve will be observed. ------- Many thanks to Faindragon and John Colt for pre-reading, and to KibugamiKenzo for the incredible cover art. Questions, comments, critiques? Get in touch at melonhunter42@gmail.com