//------------------------------// // The M.I.B. and Headquarters. // Story: Mares in Black // by MrAquino //------------------------------// Lyra woke up. She found herself in a near pitch-black room with only a lightbulb swinging slowly over her. She was sitting on a chair with a table in front of her, luckily, her hooves weren't tied up to anything. Her head was throbbing a bit; the impact from that weapon really hurt her head there, if it were any harder, she may be in a coma or worse. A flaw of blue light came and, on the table, and was a very tasty looking daisy sandwich. Lyra was confused for two reasons: 1) they knocked her out and 2) was this an apology? She looked at it for a while: nothing seemed weird. She took a few whiffs at it: it had the classic scent that flowers can only make. The door opened and Princess Luna came inside, sitting on an opposite chair in front of her. "Princess Luna!!!" Lyra yelled "Thank Celestia you're here!!! You're not going to believe it: there's a secret group of ponies, called the M.I.B. (whatever that means), where they use an illegal mind erasing spell and use technology that is WAY beyond ours and they-" Before the unicorn could finish, Bon-Bon entered in a suit that matches the other ponies, complete with sunglasses. Lyra's pupils went small while her eyes went large: not only was her filly hood friend a member of these ponies, but Luna was in it as well!!! She began to switch looks at both Bon-Bon and Luna, not sure what to say now. "I'm quite fascinated about how much and so little you know about us." Luna commented, ending her silence. "Files, Bon-Bon?" Without any word, Bon-Bon pulled out a folder from her suit and gave it to Luna. Luna opened the file and began to read the papers aloud to Lyra. "You are Lyra Heartstrings: citizen of Equestria, currently live in Ponyville with my agent, Bon Bon. Cutie mark is a Lyre, work as a musician, criminal records are all trespassing accounts, but other than that, nothing else seems wrong. Oh! This sticks out the most: Lyra has no official M.I.B. training, yet knows about Homo Sapiens, a.k.a., Humans. You were caught by some of our agents as you snuck inside entrance #092, the Vending Machine. Truth be told, we were wanting to have the vending machine close faster. Perhaps you can place the blame on Agents 107 and 873 for this one, as they didn't take notice of the pony in the large jacket with fedora following them." Lyra began to sweat hard, still unsure on what to say. "Well go on. Got anything to say?" "...Who are you?" Lyra simply asked. Luna got off her seat. "Who are we? I made this group as a way to aid my sister without her knowing. She was always the one to show everypony what's happening, but I know that what we see, no pony should ever have to encounter. My sister sees everything in plain sight, while I look at the things no pony ever takes notice nor thinks of. Lyra, we're not alone: We're one of the infinite universes that exist. We watch whatever comes inside our universe, protecting everypony without them knowing and stopping huge, life threatening disasters that come every day! We are the first, best, and only line of defense against the scum from every known universe. We... are the Mares in Black." "...Mares in Black?" "It much better sounding than 'Ponies in Black'." Bon Bon commented. "Right. Is that why one of you had to knock me out?" "Yes." Luna answered "But there's something else." "That is?" "We want you to join us." "...seriously?" "That, or you can go home." "That sound preferable." "Right after we erase your memory of ever being here so you can go back to your normal, human hunting life with our agent resuming her post to be your 'best friend'." "Whoa!!! I want neither, okay?" "Alright then. Bon Bon?" Bon pulled out one of the weapons, which was glowing red, held it in her hooves, and aimed it at her friend. "Sorry Lyra," Bon Bon said without showing any emotion "but, it was nice knowing you." "WAIT!!!" Lyra yelled "WHOA!!! You're saying I have three choices here? Either join you guys, go back to my regular life with no memory, or die?" "Precisely!" Luna answered "...ok, that is just wrong!!!" "What will it be?" Lyra looked back at Bon-Bon: she was still aiming at her, patiently waiting for her answer. Lyra thought to herself about what she should do. She took a deep breath. "Alright. I've made my decision." "Yes?" "I'll... join you." "Can you repeat that?" "I'll join the Mares in Black. I want to see more of this, still have memory, AND live!!!" "Excellent!!! Lower your weapon." Bon Bon lowered her gun, as it's humming went off, saying it had shut down. "Follow me!" Luna seemed to skip her way out of the door. Lyra followed, shivering a bit when she passed her would be killer, who followed her as they exited. They exited the room and found themselves in the white hallway where Lyra was knocked out at. The black door was at the end, giving Lyra the same feel of opening it before her encounter. Luna stopped at the door. "What's wrong?" Lyra asked "Nothing," Luna replied "would you like to open it?" Lyra's eyes and pupils widened! She looked back at Bon Bon. She simply shrugged. Lyra reached for the door and opened it: it made a creaky noise, as the three saw it was an elevator. Really? An elevator? The three entered the elevator, with an annoyed looking Lyra, as she stood in between the two other ponies. For some weird reason, only Lyra turned around to face the door, Luna & Bon-Bon kept facing the wall. The elevator ride seemed to be a couple of seconds of awkwardness. "Ladies?" Lyra asked "you know this is a one door elevator, right?" No answer. "Ladies? What are you looking at-" She turned around and saw what they were seeing: Hundres of unknown creatures and ponies, working in a large area that, just like the hallway, was clean white!!! Everywhere, there were M.I.B. agents working with these... creatures, all different from the last: Some were clearly human, other looked similar to humans, but had larger heads, fingers, claws, eyes, ECT, and others that had the shape of ponies, but were clearly not! Lyra was too dumfounded to even move: it was like nothing she ever seen in her life. "Don't take in too much." Bon Bon simply said "keep following us and don't interfere with other M.I.B. agents. Doing so will interfere with business, kill you, other, or a bit of all." "What is this place?" Lyra asked "The M.I.B. Headquarters." Luna answered "I remember when this was merely a small cave with only 10 of us. Ah... those were the slow days." The elevator landed on the floor. Luna began to walk to where, presumably, is her office in the exact center of the area. Lyra followed, still awestruck on what's going on around here. They went on a staircase that went in a circle, leading into her office. "So... what do you do?" Lyra asked "Did you forget?" Bon Bon asked "I know the defend Equetria thing, but what do you do with those that don't pose a threat?" "Those guys?" Luna responded "Well... they live with us. We use our technology & magic to help them look like any other pony, or, at the very least, something that would be normal in Equestria." "Like what?" "Minotaurs, trees, rocks, anything that would be considered normal without spreading much worry to anypony. Of course, they do have to follow our rules." "Like what?" "Stay in selected areas," Bon Bon answered "what types of foods they should & shouldn't eat, never reveal their true identity to the public, answer to us when demanded, the usual stuff." "Here we are." Luna said. They entered her office. The sound outside was muffled when they entered & the door closed right behind them. Her desk looked much more important than the ones the rest used, with some books there, her own chair, and there seemed to be a possum sleeping on the desk. It woke up and jumped in a happy way, seeing Luna again "Tiberius!!! Did you miss me?" "You bet I did!" the possum replied in a squeaky voice. Lyra stopped and stared. "Who's the new mare?" "Oh. Tiberius, meet Lyra, our newest agent." "Hey! Name's Tiberius: I'm sorta new here in Equestria. Luna found me in the Everfree forest and, after a while, I sorta became her pet." "And one that I love!!!" Luna picked up the possum and snuggled with it. "That's... interesting." Lyra replied, unsure whether to think it's cute or weird. "Don't worry," Bon Bon whispered "Tiberius usually acts as a paper-colt, delivering whatever is needed to the boss." "And speaking of," Luna said. "Bon Bon, help the new Rookie the stuff. Show her the essentials. Start with... the... presentation." "Presentation?" Lyra asked "Don't worry," Bon Bon replied "It's just a video from one of THE original members of the Mares In Black nearly 2000 years ago." "2000 YEARS!?!?!?" "Come on, it won't be so long." Lyra followed Bon Bon back to the noisy headquarters. They went inside a back room, where it looks as if a couple of more ponies could sit down with her to watch the 'presentation'. "Now, I'm just gonna leave you here and let you watch. When it's over, we're gonna get you in M.I.B. proper attire with equipment. Equipment? You mean something like that weapon she pulled on me earlier? The film began to play.