"...Lyra."
"...Bonbon."
"...Been a while."
"...Yes. Yes it has."
"...So. First of all... I... I'd like to say I'm, uh... sorry."
Lyra almost snapped. Almost. She took a breath, and let it out slowly. "I... ugh. Bonbon, I want to forgive you. I really do. I'm just... still angry that you'd pull a stunt like that."
"I was... I was just trying to get closer to you, to, um, understand your hobbies."
"You sure went about it the wrong way," the unicorn grumbled. "I mean we were arrested for Celestia's sake!"
"I swear, I didn't have anything to do with the fire!"
"And the aquarium?"
Bonbon winced. "I... panicked. And it's not like any of the fish died, right?"
Lyra glowered at her.
"...I really am sorry," Bonbon mumbled. "I know what I did was wrong..."
"...you know, it wasn't really what you did," Lyra replied. "It's the way I responded, that's what got between us. I shouldn't have--argh." She punched a wall. "This is so frustrating! Why am I so angry?! Why am I doing this, this isn't... this isn't what I want! I want us to..."
She sighed.
"...so. I just... why are we here?"
"Oh! Oh, that's right, um... you see, the boss has new orders for us."
Lyra blinked. "The boss?"
"You know. The boss. The big boss. The one that runs the thing that we're a part of?"
"...Not... ringing a bell."
Bonbon rolled her eyes. "Baker's Dozen?"
"...OH! Oh, the Baker's Dozen--wait, that's still a thing?" Lyra chuckled. "I haven't thought about them in years! But yeah, sure. What's the Baker's Dozen got for us?"
Bonbon rubbed the back of her head. "Um. You see... we're supposed to, uh... we've got a target." She coughed. "We need to... how do I put this... well... You know Octavia?"
Lyra frowned. "Whoa. No no no. Not her. She's one of us! She's part of the--look, that's not a good move!"
"It's not like we have to kill her or anything," Bonbon pointed out. "We just have to drench the audience of her next orchestra in twenty three gallons of slime and assorted pastries."
The unicorn tilted her head. "Only twenty three?"
"Budget issues."
"Ah. Still, though, this is ridiculous. Baker's Dozen has had us do some crazy things, but sabotaging Octavia like that--She's an artist! We run on public opinion!"
"I'm not fond of the idea either. But you know what Baker's Dozen will do to us if we fail in our mission!"
Lyra's eyes grew distant, her mind wandering through long buried and horrific memories. "I... I know." She sighed. "Alright, alright. I'll do it, but... Bonbon, if we do this, we're going to need to have a serious talk with the boss after all this."
Bonbon nodded. "Good. Now.... how do we get out of here again?"
The two of them looked around the dark room they were standing in, taking in the snarling statues and the various bits of bone. There were no visible windows or doors, only odd tiles here and there that could, in theory, be hiding an entryway that a mouse could get through.
"...Come to think of it," Lyra replied, "how exactly did we get in here?"
"The usual way," Bonbon pointed out, already feeling up the walls. "We were knocked out and woke up here."
"Well, yeah, obviously, but haven't you ever wondered where 'here' is? I mean, Baker's Dozen can't have just made this room out of nothing." Lyra kicked at one of the bones. "It's, like... what if we're in the Crystal Empire or something?"
"Don't be ridiculous, the Crystal Empire didn't return until after Baker's Dozen hired us."
"Nonono, what I mean is, what if this room is outside time, like the empire was? Or outside space? Or both?!" Lyra gasped. "WHAT IF BAKER'S DOZEN ARE ACTUALLY TIME TRAVELERS TRYING TO RESTORE THEIR FUTURE?! THAT'S WHY NONE OF OUR MISSIONS MAKE SENSE! We can only see it from our perspective!"
Bonbon rolled her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous. Why would time travelers be interested in us? I mean, Twilight and her gang are the most interesting figures in the local history."
"That means too many ponies are watching them," Lyra countered. "Us, native Equestrians to the timeframe, we're not historically important, so we can do things without being noticed. It all makes sense!"
Bonbon turned to look at Lyra. "You've met the boss. You know exactly who she is. Do you really think she's the front for a time-travelling conspiracy?"
"It's always the ones you least suspect," Lyra said gravely.
For a moment the earth pony just stared at her. Then she let out a little chuckle. "...I missed you, Lyra. I really did."
Lyra smiled back. "And I missed you. Can we just go back to being friends now?"
"Yeah. Best friends. That'd be great."
"Yeah."
The two stared deep into each other's eyes.
Then Lyra shrugged. "Screw it, we're not going to find our way out anytime soon." She lunged forward, wrapped Bonbon in a tight embrace--
Suddenly the screen went dead. The watcher whirled around, just barely deflecting a sword swing.
"I'm sorry dear," the attacker hissed, "but we can't let this go on."