"I always knew that you were one for exciting adventures, 007, but, I admit, that sounds a little far fetched."
Bond shot a look towards Q, who shrugged and pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. "Well, obviously it sounds far fetched. I mean, Christ, I thought I had been drugged when it first happened. But just look in front of you." He pointed through the window that looked into the interrogation room beyond. Twilight and Rainbow Dash were alone at the moment. He watched as Dash looked around warily, however Twilight stared through the one-way mirror, somehow locking eyes with him despite the fact that she couldn't see him. At least, he assumed she couldn't.
Q followed his gaze, and inspected the mare. "So, she's the one who helped you?" Bond nodded. "Well, we haven't exactly given her a warm welcome in return, have we?"
"At least none of you shot them or anything." Bond smirked. "And no pens exploded."
"We still don't go in for that," the younger man replied, picking up a mug of tea and taking a sip. "Still, none of this is my area of expertise. I mean, this is extraterrestrial life on Earth we're dealing with, Bond. The Prime Minister will have to know, for starters. And then, well, it probably won't stay a secret for long."
Bond looked over at him and smirked again. "Not exactly your typical little green man, is it?"
Q smiled and shook his head. "Not in the slightest." He looked back through the window, and continued. "Still, I'd say its best if you stay with them both, for as long as you can at least. You're the one who knows them, after all."
"Yes, I think you're right." Bond nodded. "You know Mallory isn't going to be happy. He's got enough on his plate as it is without all of this going on too."
Q chuckled. "Well, when is Mallory ever happy, hmm?"
"That's a good point," James chortled. "He'll be here any minute too. I hope that you're ready to face the music."
"Hell hath no fury like a bureaucrat scorned."
"Especially one who spent three months at the hands of the IRA." Bond smirked. "I bet he thinks he's seen everything there is to see."
Q took another swig of his tea. "Well, he's obviously wrong."
"Yes, obviously." The two of them turned to see that the man they had been talking about was now stood in the open doorway, a tired expression on his face. "Bloody hell Bond, you've got some explaining to do."
James stood up to face him, as Q stood behind still sipping his tea. "Let me go in and talk to them, sir. They know me, so I can probably figure out what they're doing here."
Mallory groaned. "Oh, this shit is ridiculous," he muttered under his breath, before addressing him. "Okay, fine, I'll give you a few minutes. Are you armed?"
007 raised an eyebrow, before nodding.
"Good. You never know, just in case. Always be prepared, and all that."
Bond rolled his eyes and walked past him, grabbing the keys to the next room as he went. Just when I thought all of this madness was over, he thought cynically. He stopped at the door to the interrogation room, mentally preparing himself. "Let's see what happens this time," he murmured under his breath, twisting the key and pulling the door open. He stepped inside, letting the door close behind him, and looked Twilight in the eye.
"Wings," he commented, looking at her. "Those are new. You didn't have wings before."
She gave him a glare. "James, I need to know I can trust you. Can I?"
He sighed. "I'm doing my best for you two, believe me."
"You didn't answer my question."
Bond stared at her for a second, before relenting. "Of course you can trust me. I haven't forgotten how you helped me before." He pulled up a chair and sat down in front of them. "You have to understand, though, that you being here will lead to some serious repercussions, perhaps more so than when I showed up in Equestria. Here on Earth, we can't just write you off as some strange creature from an uncharted land."
"We understand that," she told him. "We were just expecting a slightly warmer reception."
"Like not being thrown into a cell the moment we get here," Rainbow Dash cut in.
He glanced over to look at her. "This isn't a cell, and you're not prisoners. It's just that... well, let's just say you caused quite a stir when you arrived right in the middle of a laboratory in Q Branch."
She seemed slightly relieved that they weren't being held captive. "There aren't gonna be any creepy scientists who want to experiment on us, right? Or even dissect us?" Twilight rolled her eyes, and Bond merely smirked.
"You've been reading too many science fiction novels, Dash," the alicorn groaned.
007 shook his head. "No, there won't be. Though I'm sure there will be a few curious scientists who will want to know more about you, maybe some scans or something. Nothing harmful though, believe me."
Dash yawned and took to the air, gliding around the room while stretching her wings. "So, are we going to be kept a big secret, or something? I really don't want to be cooped up in a room like this for too long."
"I'm afraid you will be, for now. Until we know exactly why you're here, at least." He turned his attention back to Twilight. "Which is why, incidentally, I'm here. The best way to find out is to simply ask, after all."
Twilight stood up and began to pace, either stressed out or tired from simply sitting on her flanks. "After you left Equestria, Princess Celestia came clean to everypony. She told us all that you were an alien from another world. Naturally, some ponies, including herself, were curious. Rainbow Dash and I are here to learn, nothing more."
James raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Learn what, exactly? Some may assume you're here to learn things that you're not meant to."
She groaned. "Please, James. We aren't here for that, and you know it. We are here to know and understand more about your people, your culture, your history. Everypony in Equestria knows about this life from beyond the stars, and I'm guessing that pretty soon everyone here will know about us too. This is simply an opportunity for our two civilisations to share our knowledge and culture, for the betterment of both parties."
"Well, that's noble," he commented. "And you're probably right. As much as my superiors will want you to be, you can't stay a secret forever." He turned to the one-way mirror on the wall beside them and smirked, knowing that Mallory was grimacing in the room behind it. "If it means anything, I believe your intentions are nothing but pure."
The alicorn smiled warmly. "Thanks, James. It means a lot, actually."
He nodded and smiled in return. "Don't mention it. So..." He paused for a second. "Do all ponies magically grow wings at some point in their lives?"
She chuckled slightly, a shook her head. "No, surprisingly enough. I... well, I became a princess of Equestria."
He gave her a warm smile as she giggled again. "I'm guessing that took some doing."
"I think it's what Princess Celestia wanted for me all along, actually." She glanced back as she stretched out one of her wings. "Heh, these are taking some getting used to, that's for sure."
"I don't doubt it."
Rainbow Dash stopped gliding around and flew up into Bond's face. "So, when are we gonna get to go and see the sights, huh? Come on, I bet you've got some amazingly cool stuff here on your planet!"
He pushed her away gently, standing up out of his chair. "Not yet, but hopefully soon. If our government announces that we've made contact with an extraterrestrial species, then the eyes of the world will be upon us. Everyone will start asking questions. 'What are they? Where did they come from?'" he told them both, listing a few examples. "So, if all that is going to happen, then I'm sure you'll understand that it will take some preparing." He smirked slightly. "Not to mention there'll a mountain of paperwork for my boss."
"You'll probably have to give them the full story of what happened to you in Equestria, as well," Twilight pointed out.
With a nod, he grimaced and replied, "Yeah, that too." There was a knock on the door, and he excused himself to answer it. The two mares watched as he spoke with someone outside, before he stepped back in again, with another man in tow. This man looked to be older than Bond; he was dwarfed by the taller man beside him, and what little hair he had on his head had turned grey long ago. He took off his glasses and cleaned them on the side of his suit before putting them back on again.
"This is Doctor Moore," Bond introduced him. "He's just here to ask a few questions, none of which you should feel obliged to answer. Nothing invasive though, don't worry. I'll be next door." He turned to leave, then chuckled slightly and turned to the older man. "Just don't give them any word association crap, alright?"
The doctor smiled at the joke. "I wouldn't dream of it, 007."
James nodded. "Good, thank you. Wouldn't want to waste their day now, would we?" He moved past and closed the door behind him, heading into the room next door. He was greeted by a tired look from M, and a nod from Q.
"Well?" he asked, joining them in watching the doctor talk to their two guests. "I've spoken to them, and you know that they're just here to learn. Now what?"
"I've had the Prime Minister on the phone," Mallory told him, still watching. "He thought that I was pulling his leg, of course. I managed to convince him otherwise, though." He looked over at James. "To be honest, he's as stumped as we are. Far as I can tell, he wants to know as much as possible about them before we even think about going public with this."
"Isn't that what we're doing right now?" he asked, pointing at the room on the other side of the mirror.
Mallory raised an eyebrow. "When he said everything, I think he meant it quite literally, Bond."
He got a glare in reply. "Don't even think about trying to get the labcoats to perform some dodgy experiments on these two." Bond looked in, watching Twilight answer one of the doctor's questions happily. "They may not look like much, but believe me when they possess skills far beyond our comprehension."
His superior gave him an inquisitive look. "And what do you mean by that, 007?"
"Well, let's just say it wasn't their technology that allowed them to appear right in the middle of Q Branch," he explained. "Their natural talents are powerful, especially Twilight's."
"Which one's that again?"
He sighed. "The purple one. Look, all I'm saying is that we shouldn't take advantage of their peaceful nature. Antagonizing them would be a very, very bad idea. Trust me, I'm the one with first-hand experience."
"Alright, Bond. I'm going to trust you on this one," Mallory told him. "However, seeing as you are indeed the only one with first-hand experience, I think it would be best if you were the one to, well, look after them, for lack of a better term."
He nodded. "Alright. So, what's the first thing we do?"
Mallory nodded towards the two of them in the interrogation room. "Once they're done in there, I think we should set them up with some decent accommodation. We have a few furnished cells in the basement that haven't been used in a while. For those we needed to interrogate, of course. They have everything they could need; a couple of beds, bathroom, hell, even a television. It should be adequate."
James smiled. "That sounds a bit better. Okay then, I'll get that sorted out."
***
With a slight chuckle, James pushed open the door to the ponies' new accommodation, leading the two of them inside. "Uh, do you remember what I said earlier, about you being kept in a cell?"
Twilight rolled her eyes. "Oh, ha ha, very funny, James." She looked around the room alongside Dash. Two medium sized beds were pushed up against a wall, with a bedside table slotted in between them. On the opposite wall was a strange looking device that Bond had called a 'television', while to the side of the room was a door that led to an en-suite bathroom. "Well, it certainly beats where we were before," she commented optimistically.
Rainbow Dash seemed satisfied too, even if she was annoyed at still being caged in. She flopped down on one of the beds. "Hey, at least these are kinda comfy. Didn't realize you guys treated your prisoners so well. Bad guys in Equestria just get tossed into the dungeons."
"Yeah, we used to have those," Bond told her. "Fairly sure they're a couple hundred years out of date by now, though."
Twilight noticed a pile of newspapers and magazines on the bedside table, and picked one up with her magic to read. "This is remarkable," she murmured to herself. "Both of our languages are near identical, James. What did you say yours was called again?"
"English," he answered.
"It's almost indistinguishable from Equestrian," she said to them both, looking up from the newspaper. "Is that a coincidence, or could it be something else?"
Rainbow Dash giggled and rolled her eyes. "I don't think you should think too hard about it, Twi."
James smiled. "I think you should listen to Rainbow Dash. Be glad that you didn't have to overcome any kind of language barrier."
"Yes, you have a point." Her horn lit up and the page flipped over to the next. "Still, this is an excellent way to learn about what's going on around Earth right now."
"Well, you're not wrong," he told her, before checking his watch. "Even better, it's six o'clock, which means..." He picked up the remote to the television and pressed a button, pointing it at the screen. "It's time for the news."
The screen lit up, displaying the logo of the television's manufacturer for a few seconds. This caught the attention of the two ponies, who sat up and watched intently. Bond pressed a few buttons on the remote, flicking between channels until he caught the right one. A familiar tune came through the speakers, and he set the remote down.
"This is exciting," Twilight said to them both. "What better way to learn about current culture than a news broadcast?"
"Quite," he agreed. "I'll see if I can find some history books for you too, or if I can set up an internet connection down here."
Dash titled her head. "Internet?"
"Ah, I'll explain later," he told her, shaking his head before settling down to watch. The title segment faded away to reveal the presenter, who began to speak.
"Good evening, I'm Fiona Bruce." James noticed Twilight bursting with excitement beside him, and simply chuckled to himself. "In breaking news, an anonymous secret service agent has made claims that MI6 made contact with extraterrestrial beings inside their headquarters." A blurry photo, depicting Twilight and Rainbow Dash lying in a heap in the middle of Q Branch, appeared on screen as she continued. "The agent, who asked not to be named for personal reasons, claimed that the two beings mysteriously appeared in the middle of MI6 offices with a flash of light, and is adamant that the photo you are seeing is not doctored in any way, shape, or form. The BBC is currently attempting to contact the head of MI6 for comment."
James' smile faded instantly. Looking to the two mares beside him, he found them wearing similar expressions. Dash looked dumbfounded, while Twilight had raised a hoof to her mouth in shock, her ears folded back against her head. He simply sighed in frustration as the news program droned on in the background.
Well, shit.