> Best Friends for Life
>  by SuperWriter2329
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

20 minutes after the wedding ended...

Lyra and Bon Bon finally arrived home after giving Cranky Doodle and Matilda a congratulations on their wedding.

"Whew, that was a fun wedding, wasn't it, Lyra?" asked Bon Bon, closing the front door behind her.

"Yeah, I know, right?" answered Lyra, who was sitting on the couch in the living room, munching on some hay fries she had decided to take home from the wedding banquet earlier. "Um, Bon Bon?"

"Yes, Lyra?"

Lyra then asked Bon Bon a question that has been bugging her for quite a while after she found out that she was a secret agent, "Yeah, about the whole secret agent thing, what do you think will happen if you had accidentally blown your cover and your agency found out?"

Bon Bon knew this question would come up so as she gave her best friend a sad look, she said, "Well, I would probably get relocated someplace far away, but that probably won't happen as long as I keep this a secret." She then gave Lyra a stern look. "You promise to keep my double life a secret?"

"Of course! I would never do that to my bestest best friend in the whole world! Even if you are a secret agent, that will never change my opinion on you. So, cheer up, okay?" Lyra answered with a huge smile plastered on her face.

Bon Bon's expression changed a bit as she breathed a sigh of relief, "Okay, I trust you, Lyra. Now if you excuse me, I need to go take a shower. It's getting kind of late."

It was then that the mint unicorn noticed that the sky outside is really dark. "Oh yeah, I need to shower too, but you can go first if you want to, Bon Bon."

"Aww, thanks, Lyra! You're the best!" exclaimed the earth pony, walking up to Lyra and hugging her before making her way upstairs to the bathroom to get herself cleaned up.

Unbeknownst to any of them, an unknown pony was peeping outside from the kitchen window since the living room and the kitchen are joined together. The pony then gave a huge grin on her face as she slides away from the property and headed off to make the preparations needed to finally get hold on Lyra as her new girlfriend. It may take a while but it will all worth it in the end.

"Just you wait, Lyra. Soon, we will be together forever after you leave your so-called best friend behind and replace her with me."
> Secret's Out
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two weeks later...

It was around 7:30 a.m. when Lyra woke up. She was usually an early riser so she was able to get breakfast done before her girlfriend sauntered down the dining area an hour later. Bon Bon never starts her day without having breakfast. Halfway through, however, there was a knock on the door. Lyra didn't notice it until the third knock rang into her ears.

"Who could that be at this hour? I'm trying to cook here," mumbled the unicorn before answering, "Okay, I'm coming!" When she opened the door, she saw two earth pony stallions, both had brown coat and jet black manes, dressed in black suits with black sunglasses by the porch. "Um, can I help you, sir?"

One of the ponies raised a hoof, seemingly wanted to shake Lyra's. "Good morning, ma'am. Is this where an earth pony named Bon Bon lives?"

"Uh, yeah, this is where she lives. I'm her girlfriend, Lyra Heartstrings but you can call me Lyra," answered Lyra and introducing herself to the ponies. "Who are you guys, anyway? And what do you want with her?"

The pony from before then said, "Whoa there! Patience, Miss Lyra. One question at a time. But if you must know, just call me Agent F and this is my partner Agent G. We are from the anti-monster agency that was situated in Canterlot. And also-"

"Wait, wait, wait. Did you say the anti-monster agency in Canterlot?" interrupted Lyra, who was currently the only mare in the room since Bon Bon hasn't awoken yet.

"Yes, we are. Why do you ask?"

And then Lyra remembered something. Something that her girlfriend told her during the preparation of the wedding two weeks ago.






Flashback... (Two weeks ago)


A bugbear suddenly showed up in Ponyville while the preparations for Cranky and Matilda's wedding was still underway. Inside the town hall where the wedding took place, Lyra and Bon Bon was decorating the top floor when they also heard the creature attacking the town.

"What was that?" asked Bon Bon.

"There's some monster attacking Ponyville or something," answered Lyra, sounding like the occurrence has happened a lot of times in the past.

"What is it this time? A creature from the Everfree Forest?"

"Uh, I think it's some sort of bugbear," the unicorn said, laughing.

Her answer shocked the cream earth pony. She turned to Lyra and asked, "Did you say bugbear?" She then ran towards the curtains overlooking outside and shouted, "It found me!"

Lyra turned to face her friend. "What are you talking about, Bon Bon?" she asked, not sounding too happy about her attitude.

In her head, Bon Bon was struggling with herself. If she told Lyra the truth about her being a secret agent, their friendship could be in jeopardy. In the end, she decided to tell her instead.

With a sigh, the earth pony explained, "My name isn't Bon Bon. It's special agent Sweetie Drops. I work for a super secret anti-monster agency in Canterlot. Or at least I did until the bugbear went missing from Tartarus a few years back."

The unicorn was confused on what her friend was saying. She asked again, "What are you talking about?"

The secret agent went on by taking out a briefcase that was hidden in one of the boxes and said, "When it escaped, we had to shutter the whole agency. Every last shred of evidence of the organization's foundations was destroyed. Celestia demanded complete deniability." As she explained, she opened the briefcase and took out a grappling hook attached to a rope.

Despite the explanation, Lyra was still confused and asked, "What?"

The earth pony explained again, "It was me who captured the bugbear. I had to go deep cover here in Ponyville and pursue the name Bon Bon. I'd never thought that it'd be able to track me, but now it has."

It was then that the lyre player snapped. "Are you saying our whole friendship was based on a lie?!" Lyra shouted.

"I'm sorry, Lyra. I couldn't tell you for your own protection," Bon Bon apologized.

"B-b-but the lunches? The long talks? The benches we sat on? None of that was real?!" stammered the mint unicorn before tearing up.

"It was all real. You're my very best friend," said Bon Bon, using her hoof to lift Lyra's chin and smiling at her.

Lyra smiled back.

However, the moment was cut short when the bugbear roared again. The agent then went to the nearest window, opening it and said, "I gotta go find a crowd to blend in before I put you in danger. I'll see you at the wedding," before using the grappling hook to hoist herself down.

"Fine, but we're gonna talk about this later!" Lyra shouted as her best friend reached the ground and blended in with the nearest crowd.


End flashback...






Lyra remembered that moment when her friend revealed her past to her. Sure, she was pissed, but she forgave her in the end. A few days later, they decided to make it official and declare themselves girlfriends and went on their first date, doing a lot of things together like having lunch with their back legs entwined with each other and enjoying the sunset at the park. That was the greatest time of her life.

"Um, ma'am?"

The unicorn snapped back into reality, stammering, "H-huh, what?"

Agent F asked the same question, "I said why do you ask?"

"Oh, it's just that-" Lyra wanted to tell him but snapped her mouth shut in fear of angering the agents.

The lead agent then said, "It's okay, you can say whatever you want. We're all ears."

Feeling a little relieved, the lyre player told them the truth. "Okay, so it started about two weeks ago..."





"So what you're saying is that she had to tell you the truth about her double life because of the same bugbear that caused our agency to be shut down?"

"Yes, that would be it," Lyra confirmed.

"And are you certain that the girls had the bugbear defeated?" asked Agent F.

"Bingo."

The two agents glanced at each other before nodding. "Okay, now that we got that out of the way, could you please get Miss Bon Bon down here?"

"Um, Lyra? Did somepony called my name?"

The pony in question froze. She had forgotten that her girlfriend was upstairs.

Bon Bon was walking down the stairs before stopping in her tracks. She had encountered two ponies she never thought she'd see again. However, she quickly recovered and said, "Agent F? Agent G? What are you two doing here?"

"Ah, perfect timing. We actually came here-" said Agent F before giving her a stern look, "-to get you relocated."

"Wait, what?!" exclaimed both mares, one in disbelief and one in shock.

"Yes, you heard what I said. Miss Sweetie Drops, you have to be relocated."

"W-w-why? I never did anything to blow my cover!" Bon Bon defended herself before glancing at her girlfriend. "Lyra?!"

It was Lyra's turn to defend herself. "Don't look at me! I didn't blow your cover, I swear!"

Agent F smirked. "Well then, how would you explain this?" he said before showing them a newspaper. The mares' faces went pale as the newspaper showed a picture of Bon Bon with a headline titled "Bon Bon: Secret Agent or Normal Pony?"

"B-b-but how?! Who could have taken this picture of me?!" the mare in question shouted, not believing her eyes at that moment.





Meanwhile, a mysterious pony was watching the scene unfold using her binoculars. She smirked as her plan to get rid of Bon Bon was slowly becoming successful.





Back at the house, the girls are at a complete loss of what to do now. Bon Bon teared up, feeling that her worst nightmare has finally come true. She exclaimed, "B-b-but I can't leave Ponyville! This is my home! This has to be a mistake! It has to be!"

"I'm sorry but there is nothing we can do right now. But luckily for you, only the ponies from this town has known your secret. But only time will tell," said Agent F.

Lyra interjected. "Sir, please! You have to believe her! Someone must have overheard us talking and that's how he or she knew that she is a secret agent!"

"How will you prove it, then?"

"Please, give us time to find the culprit, I promise we will get him or her red-handed," said the mint unicorn.

The agent thought about it for a while before answering, "Fine, I will give you a month to find whoever is responsible for this. But if you did not find this pony before the time, we will have no choice but to relocate your girlfriend."

Lyra really wanted him to give them more time so she asked, "Just a month? Please give us more time, at least one more week. Just please." She then saw her girlfriend about to cry so she decided to comfort her as a sign that she needed more time.

"Okay, fine. Five weeks. And then relocation after the time has passed. Final deal," Agent F said.

The unicorn sighed in relief. "Okay, good enough for me."

"Okay then. Have a nice day, girls. Come on, G. Let's come back five weeks later," the lead agent said before the two of them walked out of the premise, leaving the mares behind.





The mysterious pony went wide-eyed in disbelief. "What?! They let her stay until they found me?! Damn it. I need to be more careful or else I will get caught." The pony then walked away, planning out what to do next.





Back at the house, Lyra was still holding her girlfriend, who was still crying on her shoulders. "Hey, it's okay, Bon Bon. You're not gonna leave yet."

With tears in her eyes, Bon Bon exclaimed, "Okay? Okay?! How am I gonna be okay in this situation?! I'm about to be relocated! I-I don't wanna leave you alone!"

The unicorn started tearing up as well. "Don't worry, I'll think of something. But for now, I'm gonna hold on to you until you calm down, okay?"

The earth pony said nothing as she cried on her girlfriend's shoulders again. The lyre player then cried as well, holding her girlfriend close as if not wanting to let her go. Lyra mentally said, "Don't worry, I will always be by your side. Always."

There were a lot of questions running through both of their heads right now as they held on to each other and cried. Who would try to frame Bon Bon? Who was the pony that overheard them a fortnight ago? And more importantly, who was going through a lot of trouble just to get the loving couple to be apart from each other? All of these questions will go unanswered, but for now, they decided to keep each other company until they either find the criminal or be apart from each other forever.
> Trying to Find the Truth
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After Bon Bon managed to calm down, her girlfriend Lyra helped her up to the dining table and prepared her a nice and healthy breakfast of daisy sandwiches and orange juice.

Taking a sip from her drink, the earth pony said with a smile, "Thanks for the breakfast, Lyra. It's really delicious."

"Anytime, Bonnie. Anytime," replied the unicorn, also with a smile on her face.

"Hey, Lyra?"

"Yeah, Bonnie?"

"I...uh..." started Bon Bon, but the words she wanted to say just wouldn't come out for some reason.

"What is it?" asked the lyre player, getting impatient at first but soon getting the idea of what her girlfriend wanted to say. "Is it about your cover suddenly being blown?"

Bon Bon said nothing but nodded all the same. She then said, "What am I gonna do, Lyra? I feel like I'm not gonna be able to show my face in public again." She then started crying again.

Seeing this, Lyra scooted over to the earth pony, wrapped her left forearm around her, silently wishing that had helped calm her down. Minutes later, the secret agent calmed down again, giving Lyra a reassuring smile and said, "Thanks again, Lyra. I don't know what would happen if I didn't have you in my life. Err, I mean my double life."

Smiling back, the unicorn said, "No problem, Bonnie. No problem." They soon hugged each other, smiling and feeling really warmer on the inside every passing second.





Sometime later, Lyra decided to take a morning walk without Bon Bon this time in fear of being shunned by the entire town. She has a lot of questions going through her mind right now. One of them would be who would make her girlfriend move out of Ponyville for finding out her secret life? As she was contemplating on that very question, she nearly passed by Sugar Cube Corner and decided to take something home for her girlfriend.

As the unicorn walked into the shop, she noticed that there weren't a lot of ponies inside. She even spotted Pinkie Pie by the counter, tending to a pegasus customer. She then sat by one of the tables, still thinking over the same question that was ringing in her head. She was so into it that she did not notice the pink pony hopping towards her table. She did hear her loud voice shouting, "Hey, Lyra! How was your day?"

Lyra was startled by the hyperactive pony's voice. "Gah! Pinkie, you startled me!"

"Oh, really? I'm sorry, Lyra. So, what got you down? And where's Bon Bon?" asked Pinkie, completely oblivious.

The lyre player was internally shocked when the pink pony did not know the news that was spreading around Ponyville right now. Still, she answered, "Oh, uh, there was something that was bugging me. It was-"

"About your girlfriend who was actually a secret agent but she had to get relocated in five weeks if you did not find the pony responsible for blowing her cover and you would have to live alone forever and ever?" asked Pinkie, all in one breath.

Lyra was dumbfounded over how the party pony could have known everything if she was not even in the scene in the first place. "Uh, yeah, how did you know all of that?"

"Just a hunch," was all Pinkie said.

"Okaaay, then. But yeah, what you said earlier was all true," the mint unicorn said.

"Oh, su- Wait, what?!" shouted the party pony, maybe a little too loud as everypony in the premise was looking at their direction right now.

"Pinkie, keep it down! Pretty much everypony in Ponyville knew about it right now!" whispered Lyra.

"Hehe, sorry," sheepishly apologized the earth pony. "So, what do you want to do about it?"

As the crowd dispersed, the lyre player shrugged. "I don't know, Pinkie. It feels like my worst nightmare is becoming true."

"I'm so sorry, Lyra. I really do. But who do you think wanted Bon Bon to leave Ponyville? I swear, if I find the pony responsible, I'm gonna make him or her pay!"

"Honestly, Pinkie, I don't know. Everypony could be a suspect right now. I just don't know where to start looking for clues."

"Well, if I were you, I would think about it later. By the way, what brings you here?"

It was then that Lyra remembered that she wanted to get some desserts for Bon Bon. "Oh, I actually wanted half a dozen cupcakes to go for my girlfriend."

"Okey dokey lokey! I will have your order done in no time!" said Pinkie before speeding towards the kitchen.

Left alone again, the unicorn went back to thinking over who could be the main suspect. It didn't last long as a sound of a bell and a murmuring voice rang in her ears. She looked up and saw Princess Twilight walking into the shop, obviously looking for Pinkie.

"Excuse me, is Pinkie around?" asked the princess to the crowd.

"Did somepony call my name?" Lyra could hear the pony in question from the kitchen. A second later, Pinkie ran towards the counter, trying to look for the source of the voice. Her eyes soon lit up as she saw her best friend right nearby. "Twilight! You're back!" She then ran towards Twilight and trapped her in a hug that could have crushed her. "Oh, I'm so happy that you're here again! Does that mean the whole princess business in Canterlot is done?"

"Y-yes, Pinkie. Now could you please get off of me? I c-can't breathe!" wheezed Twilight.

The party pony then realized she was hugging her too hard and lets go of her. "Oops, sorry, Twi! I didn't mean to crush your ribs!"

"It's okay, Pinkie. I'm not mad at you. Oh and by the way, I wanted some cupcakes to eat."

"Okay then! Let me get the order for some other pony done first and then I'll get on with yours! Have a seat if you wanted to!" said Pinkie before speeding towards the kitchen again.

The alicorn just shakes her head and murmurs, "Huh, the same old Pinkie." She then went off to find a place to sit, finding in the form of Lyra sitting alone without her girlfriend next to her. "Huh, that was odd. Usually Lyra and Bon Bon would sit together. Why is today different?" Figuring that she would not get the answer by just standing around, Twilight went off to sit right next to Lyra.

"Hey there, Lyra! Mind if I sit here?" asked the princess to Lyra.

"Huh? Oh, princess! I didn't see you coming here! Sure, this seat's empty anyways."

"Oh, please, just call me Twilight. No need to be formal with me. Also, thanks for the seat," said Twilight before sitting down. "So, how are you doing right now?"

Lyra just shrugged. "I don't know right now. How about you, Twilight?"

Feeling that something is wrong, the lavender princess dismissed it for a while and answered, "Oh yeah, I'm doing just fine. Having to stay up for three days straight just for a princess summit has really taken a toll on me. But I managed to get a good rest, only to wake up to have a number of ponies getting angry at me for unknown reason."

"Oh, really? What happened?" asked the unicorn, wanting to know what had happened at the summit.

"Well, apparently Spike, my dragon assistant, has been making decisions without consulting me, resulting in disastrous calamities all around Canterlot that ended in the destruction of a statue made out of gemstones from different cities all across Equestria," explained Twilight.

"Oh, that was...something all right," said Lyra, completely shocked over the story that the alicorn was telling her right now.

"Yeah, I know. But in the end, Spike managed to fix the whole thing up with the help of the delegates, me and the other princesses as well, so all is well," said the princess, ending her story.

"Okay, good for him," concluded the mint mare.

"Now that I have told you my story, tell me about what happened to you right now?"

"Well, it started out like this..."





"...and now I'm completely stumped as to who could have done it."

The princess just sitting next to her, completely shocked and jaws open so wide it might have ended up on the floor.

"So did all of that really happened?"

Lyra sighed. "Yeah, it's all real. And no, I'm not making it all up."

"Okay, that could be a problem. If you didn't figure out who could have known your girlfriend's huge secret in five weeks, she has to get relocated?" asked Twilight.

"Yes, but I have no idea as to who could've known it," said the mint unicorn before asking the princess, "Could you help me, Twilight? Please?" Lyra looked up with sad eyes on her face, looking like she was about to cry.

Twilight is really in a pickle right now. She really wanted to help her on finding the culprit but at the same time she has a lot to do on finishing her princess duties. But then again, Lyra seems really desperate. Plus, she only has five weeks to find the responsible party or she has to say goodbye to Bon Bon forever and she really didn't want that to happen. If that happens, it would feel like her duties as the Princess of Friendship has failed.

With a sigh, she said, "Okay, Lyra, I will help you in any way I can."

Lyra looked up, feeling really hopeful now that she has a huge backup on her hooves right now. "Really?"

The princess simply nodded.

"Oh, thank you thank you thank you! Oh you would have no idea how relieved I am!" exclaimed the mint unicorn, hugging Twilight in the process.

"Okay, okay, that's enough, Lyra. Everypony's looking at us right now."

Looking around, Lyra did see that they have attracted an even bigger crowd than last time. She then sheepishly stepped back to where she was before she hugged the princess. "Hehe, sorry. I can sometimes get carried away."

"It's okay. Don't apologize. I get it a lot," said Twilight.

"Wait, I just realized something. How are you gonna help Bon Bon and I find the culprit?" asked the lyre player.

"Well, lucky you, I have read a lot of mystery novels to know that this whole news was actually a fake to get rid of somepony and get a hold on somepony else."

"So, what you're saying is that somepony is getting jealous of me having a girlfriend and decided to get Bon Bon relocated so that she can be my new girlfriend?"

"Exactly," said Twilight.

"Wow, this is actually groundbreaking. So, will you help us?" begged Lyra.

"Of course, Lyra. I just need to get back to the castle to get everything I need."

Nearby, unbeknownst to them, the mysterious pony was wearing a cloaked hood so that she would not be seen. Unfortunately, she had overheard the princess' theory. It was exactly the kind of thing she is doing right now. "Grr, damn you mystery novels! Now the princess is clearly one step ahead of me right now. I can't mess up or I might blow my cover." She then simply walked away from the sweet shop completely unnoticed by the two ponies.

"Okay, who ordered some cupcakes?" they heard Pinkie said. They turned their heads to see the pink pony balancing their orders on her head. Even to this day, they are still amazed by how she was able to balance the whole thing on her head while moving so fast and not spilling a single thing.

"So, who ordered the dozen cupcakes?"

"I did," said Lyra.

"Okay, here you go, Lyra. So that means the cupcakes to eat are for you, Twilight."

"Yep. Thanks, Pinkie. You're the best," said the princess.

"Anytime for my best friend in the whole wide world!" exclaimed Pinkie before running off and tending to another customer.

"So, one of your friends, huh?" asked the mint unicorn.

"Yeah. Also, I'm not sure how I am gonna keep up with her antics though. There was this one time where I was first encountered her Pinkie Sense. Trying to find a solution and all but in the end, I decided to let it go and believe in the Sense instead," explained Twilight.

"Wow, that's the exact same thing that happened to me years ago," said Lyra. "So, when are you available to help, Twilight?"

"Well, probably after I had my helping of cupcakes and then I will be available to help," said the alicorn.

"Oh, great! Thanks, Twilight! You're the best!" said the unicorn, hugging Twilight and getting up to leave. Before she left, however, she looked at Twilight again and asked, "Hey Twilight, where should I meet you to get things started?"

"Just meet me in front of the castle in an hour and we can get started."

"Great! Thanks again, Twilight!"

"Anything to help a friend in need."

Lyra gave one last nod before finally leaving Sugar Cube Corner with the goodies held in her aura. With a big smile on her face, she couldn't wait to tell Bon Bon the exciting news about having Princess Twilight on their side right now. She then skipped happily towards her and her girlfriend's house that they shared together. Maybe luck will finally be on their side once again.
> Gathering the Group
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Back at the Heartstrings residence, Bon Bon was still at the couch thinking about her current predicament. She has a lot of questions running about through her head right now. What if the pony actually wanted to be Lyra's new girlfriend by getting rid of her? What would happen if they never find the culprit in time? Would she have no choice but to leave Ponyville and her girlfriend alone? These questions keep coming back and forth as Bon Bon tried finding solutions but failing each time.

It was at this time when Lyra burst through the front door with a smile on her face whilst shouted, "Bon Bon!"

"Gah! Lyra, you startled me!" exclaimed the earth pony.

The unicorn realizes her mistake and smiled sheepishly. "Hehehe, sorry Bonnie. Didn't mean to scare you."

*sigh* "It's okay, Lyra. I understand," said the cream earth pony. "So, what's all the excitement about?"

"Oh yeah. I actually got something to tell you. But first, I got you a few cupcakes from Sugar Cube Corner. Enjoy!" said the mint unicorn, handing the treats to her girlfriend by magic.

With a smile, Bon Bon took the cupcakes from her friend's magical aura. "Thanks, Lyra. You're the best."

"You're welcome, Bonnie. Hope you like it."

The secret agent gladly devoured one of the cupcakes her girlfriend gave her. With a big smile plastered on her face, she told her, "Wow, no matter how many times you brought me cupcakes from Sugar Cube Corner, it never bores me from eating them. Thanks again, Lyra!"

"Oh, don't mention it, Bonnie. Honestly, this is the least I can do as of now," exclaimed Lyra.

Bon Bon smiled as she enjoys her cupcakes. Then, she remembered something that the unicorn wanted to tell her. "Hey Lyra, you said you had some news for me earlier. What is it?"

"Oh yeah, I remember now. So, earlier today at Sugar Cube Corner, I was talking with the princess whilst waiting for my order and-"

"Wait, wait, wait. A princess? As in Princess Twilight?" interrupted the earth pony.

"Uh, yeah, her. So anyways, she said that she is willing to help us with our current predicament today."

"Wait, really?!" said the secret agent, eyes filled with hope.

"Yeah, really. She will help us by meeting her at her castle in an hour's time."

Tears are beginning to form in Bon Bon's eyes. She could not believe her luck. With some help from the princess, they might be able to find the pony responsible for making her move away from Ponyville after all! She then hugged her girlfriend tightly just as the first tears fell from her eyes, causing Lyra to tear up as well.

"Shh, it's okay, Bonnie. Everything's gonna be fine. I promise."

The two just sat there, hugging and weeping on each other's shoulders.





Meanwhile at the Castle of Friendship, Twilight was prancing all around the throne room, waiting for her friends to show up. She had sent Spike as her messenger, telling him to gather up her friends and meeting her in the throne room. She was still thinking over the conversation she had with Lyra not too long ago at Sugar Cube Corner. Was the true news about Bon Bon being a secret agent was actually a ruse to drive her out of Ponyville? If so, who could have done something like that and why?

"Oh, this is bad. If I fail to find the pony responsible, my duties as the Princess of Friendship would be for nothing because I failed to keep a strong relationship intact."

She keeps pondering about it as her pacing comes to a stop.

"Okay, calm down, Twilight. Panicking is not the answer here. Just relax, take a deep breath," she paused to take a breath, "and let it slowly." She exhaled slowly, eventually calming down. Just then, Applejack and Rainbow Dash burst through the door of the throne room, quickly followed by Spike and Rarity. Pinkie and Fluttershy were the last ones to arrive.

"Howdy, Twilight. How was Canterlot?" asked Applejack.

"Oh, it was fine, actually. Well, not until Spike here managed to mess things up while I was there."

"Oh dear. What did he do, Twilight?" asked Fluttershy.

The princess then told the same story she told Lyra back at the sweet shop earlier today. As soon as she finished, Rainbow started laughing over Spike's poor luck.

"Oh, sweet Celestia, did that actually happen, Twilight?"

"Yes Rainbow, it did," said Twilight. This causes Spike's cheeks to turn red from embarrassment.

"Well, that happened, right girls?" asked the shy pegasus to everyone else. They all nodded.

"Now that we got that out of the way, I wanted to tell you why I called you girls here," started the princess.

"Yeah, why did you call us here, Twilight?" asked the cowgirl.

Twilight then told the girls the same story that Lyra told her earlier.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. So you mean to tell me that the news I read today was a fake?" asked the weather pony.

"Well, apparently it is, Rainbow," answered the lavender alicorn.

"Oh dear, that is terrible news! Poor Lyra. She and Bon Bon are always together. Why, they have officially became girlfriends just one and a half weeks ago! Who could have done something like this?" pondered Rarity, who was clearly upset over the news.

"Yeah, that pony was nothing but a mean meaniepants to those two! They did not deserve this kind of treatment at all!" shouted Pinkie, voicing her agreement to Rarity's statements.

"Yeah, that I have ta agree. Who in the hay does he or she thinks they can separate those two apart?" Applejack asked with hatred and disgust in her eyes.

"That I don't know much about. What I do know is that based on the mystery books I've read, this was all because of jealousy on one pony towards the other, which I believe is the very case of Lyra and Bon Bon," explained Twilight.

"So, you mean to say that whoever did this was jealous of Lyra and Bon Bon?" asked Rainbow, wanting to make sure she heard it right.

"Well, at least of one of them but yeah, that's pretty much it."

"So, what are we gonna do about it?" asked Fluttershy, who has been quiet since the start of Lyra and Bon Bon's unfortunate story.

The lavender alicorn then proudly said, "Luckily, I have read enough on what to do in these situations, which reminds me, the girls should be here any minute now. Spike, do you mind having a lookout on them, would you?"

Spike, who has been quietly listening to the entire conversation, perked up from his seat at the Cutie Map and said, "Okay, Twilight. I'll be sure to let them enter." He then ran towards the front door to do just that.

"So Twilight darling, is there anything you wanted us to do while you help those poor girls?" asked Rarity.

The princess thought about it for a moment before coming up with a solution. "Actually, there is something that I wanted you girls to do. So here's my plan..."





About an hour later...

Lyra and Bon Bon slowly walked towards the huge castle on the edge of town where Princess Twilight lives. They have been silent for the entire journey, but as soon as they reached the front door of the castle, Lyra said to her girlfriend, "Well Bonnie, are you ready to find out who's causing this madness?"

Bon Bon looked up to her and said, "To be honest, I'm a bit nervous. But we've seen the princess for nearly five years now and even then she was a unicorn when we first met her. So, yeah, I think I'm ready."

"Good," was all the unicorn said before knocking on the front door.

A few seconds later, the door opened, revealing Spike, who was tasked with waiting by the door for their arrival. As soon as he saw them, his face lit up. "Oh! Hey there, I'm Spike, Princess Twilight's dragon assistant. Are you the two ponies that she was waiting for?"

Both of them nodded in agreement.

"Well, that's great! Now, follow me to the throne room. Twilight wants to meet you there," said the young dragon before letting the mares enter the castle.

Once inside, the two girlfriends were mesmerized by the interior of the castle. There were crystals adorning every hall, room and passageway they see as they made their way to the throne room. The sheer amount of crystals makes them wondering how did Spike managed not to eat some of the crystals as that was his main source of food. They quickly glanced at each other before continuing on their way.

After about a minute or two, Bon Bon became impatient. She then said to Lyra, "Honestly Lyra, this castle looks a lot smaller on the outside rather than the inside."

"Yeah, I know, right? Just look at all of those rooms and hallways. I wonder how many of them are there," wondered Lyra.

"Hey Spike, are we there yet?" asked the secret agent to the dragon.

"Oh, right. Well, as a matter of fact, we're actually here," said Spike, pointing to one of the large set of doors next to him.

"Oh," was all the earth pony said.

"Okay, so I need you two to stay here while I get Twilight. And when the time comes, I'll let you two in. Got that?" explained the young dragon.

Again, the two nodded.

"Great. Be back in a minute!" said Spike before disappearing into the room.





Meanwhile, back inside the throne room, the six friends are still discussing about Twilight's plan when Spike entered the room, getting all of their attention.

"Twilight, the girls are here," was all he said.

"Excellent," said Twilight, turning to her friends next. "So girls, you know what your roles in this plan will be?" The girls then stated their roles one by one, starting with Rainbow Dash.

"I was supposed to be on a lookout for any suspicious activity around Ponyville," said the weather pony.

"I need to tell my animals to be on a lookout by the Everfree Forest as well, just in case," mentioned Fluttershy.

"Ah need to make sure I was ready fer combat, just in case the pony suddenly attacked any of us," said Applejack.

"And Pinkie and I will scour the entire town for any possible suspects capable of doing this," explained Rarity.

"Yepperooni! Rare and I will do our best, trust me!" said Pinkie, eager to get started on this mission.

"Great. Spike, you can let them enter now," ordered the lavender princess.

"Okay, Twi," said Spike, heading towards the door where the girls are waiting.

Seconds later, Lyra and Bon Bon entered the throne room, who are quite nervous about having to meet the saviors of Equestria. Each of the girls were seated at the Cutie Map, currently deactivated, by the crystal thrones that each adorned their cutie marks, except for the smaller, non-adorned one next to Twilight's, obviously a seat for Spike. They all met the two with smiles on their faces, especially Pinkie, who was actually one of the first ponies besides Rarity to learn that they have become girlfriends days after the wedding. She was also the first to greet them.

"Hey, Lyra and Bon Bon! How was your day today?"

Lyra answered for both of them. "Well, to be honest, not so great since my girlfriend here has to leave Ponyville because her cover has been blown."

The smiles gradually disappeared one by one.

"Yes darling, we've heard from Twilight. I'm so sorry for it. You two seem perfect together, not until this whole love triangle thing came upon you," exclaimed the fashion designer.

Bon Bon sighed. "Yeah, I still can't believe somepony else was-" She then stopped abruptly, thinking over what Rarity had said earlier before speaking again. "Wait, what do you mean by 'love triangle'? Are you saying that pony was interested in Lyra?"

"Yes, but do not worry, girls. Twilight here was actually a really great detective. Once, she managed to solve a mystery involving an eaten cake called the Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness, or the MMMM as the Cakes said it," said Rarity.

The mint unicorn could not believe her ears. "The princess used to be a detective? Well, no wonder she wanted to help in the first place," she mentally exclaimed. "So, who was the culprit?"

The purple maned pony blushed when "culprit" was mentioned. That did not go unnoticed by the lyre player.

"Sweet Celestia, was it you?!"

"Well, to be honest, it was me who ate the cake," Rarity admitted before continuing, "but so did Dash and Fluttershy."

"Hey, I heard that!" The pony in question shouted from behind. The other one just hung her head down, covering it with her pink mane, trying to hide her beet red face.

"Yeaaaah," was all Lyra said.

"So, anyways, if you wanted to keep your girlfriend, Twilight here is the best at solving mysteries," said Rarity.

"Oh, Rarity, stop. You're making me blush," sheepishly said the princess, fluttering her wings from blushing too hard.

"Wow, that's actually really great! That could be really helpful!" exclaimed the lyre player.

"Okay, let's get down to business, ponies. So girls, you know what to do, right?" said Twilight, managing to calm down some time ago.

Her friends nodded.

"Okay, great. Let's go, everypony," said the lavender alicorn to everypony present in the room before exiting it herself. The others quickly followed.

After noticing Spike isn't following, Lyra asked, "Hey Spike, why aren't you coming with us?"

"Oh, Twilight said that I need to stay here in case that pony tried breaking in here," answered the young dragon.

"Oh, okay then. See you later," was the unicorn's last words before finally exiting the throne room and catching up with the others.





Unbeknownst to any of them, however, the mysterious pony had secretly followed the two lovebirds since they left their house, trying not to get spotted on the way. When she reached the castle, she had to try to find a window that shows the throne room since they had entered before she even reached the front door. Luckily, she had found one not too far away and had secretly listened to their conversation as well as the six friends' plan to find her. That had made her blood boil.

"Great, just great! I had to be even more careful now that they had decided to do a lookout and suspects interviewing, which means I need to act as casual as I possibly can or I risk of being found out!"

After a quick monologue, she then slipped away from the window and trotted towards her house which was fortunately quite close from the castle as she tried to figure out on being even more careful.





As soon as they exited the castle, everypony began to separate in order for them to begin their duties, except for Rarity, who has to finish a customer's dress by the end of the day. However, she promises to be on duty for tomorrow, so that leaves Pinkie Pie with the duty given to her. Afterwards, only Twilight, Lyra and Bon Bon remain at the castle as the princess starts questioning them.

"Okay girls, where should we start first?" asked the princess.

"Well, the whole thing happened because of a news article, so maybe we should start there?" said the unicorn.

"True, but unfortunately, there aren't any newspaper companies that had resided on Ponyville so we are currently at cold here," wondered the former unicorn before realizing something. She then summoned one of today's newspapers with her magic and examined it carefully. When she saw "Foal Free Press" written on the front page, she knew exactly where to start.

All the time, the two girlfriends watched with patience as Twilight came to a conclusion. "Lucky for us, we actually got a lead! See the front page?" said the lavender alicorn, showing them the newspaper. "This is actually a school paper being distributed to everypony in Ponyville!"

The two could not believe their eyes. Their first clue! And it was being directed to Ponyville Schoolhouse! But, why would this pony ask a bunch of fillies and colts to write something they never thought would be real and then sell it to everypony else? However, this question will have to be put on hold for a while.

"Well then, what are we waiting for? To the schoolhouse!" shouted Lyra, running towards the school which was currently on session right now, quickly followed by Twilight and Bon Bon. Maybe finding the culprit won't be that hard after all!

Anyways, next stop, Ponyville Schoolhouse!
> Searching for Clues
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Ponyville Schoolhouse was the only place where fillies and colts get to learn new stuff and uses them in everyday life. It has a variety of young students ranging from nerds to divas to group friends as well. It was currently lunch time at the schoolhouse and all the students are either enjoying their lunch or playing by the playground, which was exactly what three certain fillies are doing right now after finishing their lunches. The Cutie Mark Crusaders, which consists of Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, are currently playing hide and seek with Scootaloo as the seeker. The three was well known in Ponyville for causing havoc just because they desperately wanted cutie marks so that the Rich daughter Diamond Tiara and her friend Silver Spoon would stop teasing them by calling them 'blank flanks' too often.

As the orange pegasus was wandering about the playground area searching for her friends, she spotted three mares walking towards the schoolhouse. She recognizes one of them immediately as Princess Twilight, the same one that had taught her on fixing her own scooter during every session they like to call 'Twilight Time' every Wednesday after school. Well, that was until good old Tirek destroyed the Golden Oak Library, the place that served their Twilight Time sessions together, which also served as her home. They had stopped doing Twilight Time since then, but the three tried improving their work separately over time; Apple Bloom on her potion making with Zecora's help, Sweetie Belle on improving her magic, and Scootaloo on fixing her scooter in record time.

The other two, however, Scootaloo has known from Rainbow Dash that they have became girlfriends one and a half weeks ago, but she also heard that one of them was secretly an agent in hiding since she also read today's Foal Free Press newspaper not too long ago with her adoptive sister. Figuring that her friends can wait a little longer, she nervously approached them, wondering if the news was actually real or not.





Twilight, Lyra and Bon Bon have finally reached the schoolhouse some time later. Judging by the students running about by the playground, they figured it must have been lunch time when they arrived. Twilight then turned to the two girlfriends, saying, "Okay, here we are. So who do you guys think we should ask first?"

Lyra thought about it for a moment before answering, "Maybe we should ask one of the students. It was their paper, after all."

"Well, that's true, but who should-"

"Um, excuse me?"

The princess was suddenly interrupted by a familiar voice from behind her. She turned around and her face lit up when she saw Scootaloo coming towards them.

"Oh, it's you, Scootaloo! How are you doing?" asked Twilight.

"I'm doing fine, thanks. My friends and I are playing hide and seek when I saw you guys coming this way. What are you doing here, anyway?" asked the flightless pegasus.

"Oh, I was here to check about this front page news. Do you know about it?" asked the alicorn, showing her the article about Bon Bon.

"Yeah, I heard it from Rainbow Dash. What about it?"

"Well, apparently this news had caused her fellow agents to come to her home and asked her to move away."

"Wait, what?!" shouted Scootaloo, obviously shocked by the revelation.

Just then, however, another familiar voice shouted in a strong Southern accent, "Scootaloo, what in the hay is taking ya so long ta find us?!"

That shout made the poor pegasus jumped. She then turned around to find an angry Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle standing behind her.

"Uh, oops. Sorry girls, I got distracted. I was talking to-"

The young unicorn gasped upon seeing Twilight in front of her. "Twilight!"

"Hey there, Sweetie Belle. How are you doing?" asked the lavender princess.

"I'm doing fine, actually. Hey Twilight, watch this!" persuaded Sweetie, wanting to show her how her magic has improved by lifting up a nearby broom. After the broom was enveloped in a yellowish aura, she tried her best to lift it. Seconds later, she managed to do so. The alicorn smiled upon seeing that Sweetie's magic has improved, showing that she had learned a lot possibly from Rarity.

"Wow Sweetie, nice job! You have made quite an improvement since the last time we had a session together. You should be proud of yourself," praised Twilight to the young unicorn.

"Aww, thanks Twilight. Rarity practically beamed with joy when I showed her. She then nearly hugged me to death and saying the same thing as well," said Sweetie.

"Okay, okay, enough about that. Why are ya here, Twi? And are those two with you?" asked Apple Bloom, pointing to Lyra and Bon Bon.

"Yes, Apple Bloom, they're with me. We were wondering if you knew about this," said the nerdy princess, showing her and Sweetie Belle the news article.

"Yeah, ah heard it from Applejack. What about it?" asked the young farmer.

When Twilight explained the true story behind it, the other two fillies' eyes were wide in shock.

"What?! You mean ta tell me that the news from the Foal Free Press was actually a ruse to kick Bon Bon out from Ponyville?!" exclaimed Apple Bloom.

The three mares only nodded in agreement.

"No, she can't leave Ponyville! Lyra would not be perfect without her!" said Sweetie Belle, running towards Bon Bon and hugging her forelegs. "You just can't leave! Please tell me you're not gonna leave!"

Bon Bon, who has been quiet the entire time, finally spoke. "Don't worry, I'm not leaving. But I had to unless I can find the one responsible for doing this to me. So, don't be sad, okay?"

The curly maned unicorn nodded, saying, "Okay, I won't. I promise." She then let go of the earth pony's forelegs, allowing her to rub Sweetie's head with it.

Just then, another voice appeared, this time from the front door of the schoolhouse. The voice said, "Oh, Princess Twilight!"

The pony then turned to the source of the voice. It was revealed to be Cheerilee, the schoolteacher. "Hey there, Cheerilee! How are you doing today?"

"I'm doing fine, thank you. What brings you here?"

"Well, I was here regarding this actually," said Twilight, showing her the newspaper article made by her students.

"Oh, this? What about it?" asked the teacher.

The princess then explained the situation to her.

"What?! The article was a fake?!"

The alicorn nodded.

"But that can't be! The students never sent out a fake article as far as I know!" explained Cheerilee.

"That's why we're here. So, do you mind telling me who was the editor-in-chief for the papers?" asked Twilight. The Crusaders listened intently as the two are having a conversation.

"Oh, that would be Featherweight. Before him, Diamond Tiara used to claim that title, but after the whole 'Gabby Gums' incident," said the earth pony teacher, pausing to look at the Crusaders before continuing, "I had to strip her of that title and gave it to Featherweight instead. He has been the editor-in-chief ever since."

"Huh, it's a wonder why the Crusaders did what they did. I never would have thought it was Diamond who had decided to put them in such position that causes them to get shunned by everypony, even me," thought the lavender princess. "Okay, that was to be expected. So, you don't mind if we see him and ask him some questions?"

Cheerilee thought about it for a while before nodding. "Sure thing." She then turned to the Crusaders. "Girls, do you mind finding him and tell him that someone wants to meet him? Hurry back though, because lunch time is almost over."

"Okay, Miss Cheerilee!" said all three in unison, running towards the playground to go get Featherweight.

Minutes later, the Crusaders came back with Featherweight running behind them. Upon close inspection, he actually lives up to his name, since he was really skinny for a regular colt. He even has ears that are bigger than his eyes. Even his cutie mark was a single bird's feather. Despite the appearance, he was actually really nice, possibly even nicer than Diamond. As he approached the group, he was shocked to see when it was actually one of the princesses who had wanted to meet him. And Princess Twilight, for that matter! When he finally reached the group, he immediately bowed in front of Twilight.

"Princess, it's an honor to meet you in person again," said the pegasus.

"Well, thanks for that. But please, just call me Twilight," said Twilight.

"Of course, Pri- I mean, Twilight!"

"There, that's better. Now, do you mind if I ask you some questions?"

"Oh no, not at all! Go ahead."

"Okay. Do you know anything about this article being sent to your desk?" asked the princess, showing Featherweight the article regarding Bon Bon.

Meanwhile, Lyra, Bon Bon and the Crusaders are talking somewhere else nearby.

"Honestly, it feels great being back here again after a long time, right Bonnie?" asked Lyra to Bon Bon.

"Yeah, this place really brings back memories," answered Bon Bon.

"But, if ya didn't find the pony who had the guts ta do this, ya had to leave this here place with only yer memories, right?" asked Apple Bloom.

"I guess," was all the secret agent said.

"Aww, don't be sad, Bon Bon. Twilight here was actually-" said Scootaloo before getting cut off.

"A really great detective?" asked the mint unicorn. When she saw the 'what the hell' face from the young pegasus, she snickered and continued, "Yeah, I heard from one of her friends. Rarity was the one who told us, if I'm not mistaken."

Sweetie Belle's ears perked up upon hearing her sister's name being said. She then told her, "Rarity?"

"Yeah, her. You know her?"

"Know her? She was my sister, of course I know her."

"Really? No wonder you and Rarity had the same fur color, when I look back."

The young unicorn just smiled. Just then, the school bell rang, signaling the end of lunch break.

"Okay everyone, lunch break is over! Everypony back to your classes, please!" ordered Cheerilee.

"Well, ya'll heard her. Let's get back to class or we'll be in trouble," said the young farmer before heading back to her class.

"Yeah, come on Scootaloo. Let's go!" ordered Sweetie.

"You two better find the pony so that I can tell Rainbow Dash to kick his or her flank for doing this to you, okay?" asked the flightless pegasus to the two girlfriends, who nodded in return. "Great! See you two later!" was Scootaloo's last words before she went running to her class.

They also saw Twilight waving to Featherweight as he too went back to class before walking towards them.

"So Twilight, you got anything?" said Lyra.

"Well apparently two weeks ago, a weird pony wearing a hooded cloak was the one who gave him the article to feature it into the Foal Free Press, but was ordered not to look at it's contents at all costs. The pony even told him to post it today in order not to get suspicious," explained Twilight on what Featherweight told her.

"Did he said anything about the pony's features?" asked Bon Bon next.

"He said that he didn't recognize the voice, but he did know that it was a female's voice so we can rule out all the possible male suspects. I was able to narrow the list down even further when he said that he saw a horn protruding slightly from the top of the hood so the only possible suspects who is a female unicorn that I know of are Amethyst Star, Electric Sky, Cherry Spices and Sea Swirl," the princess said, even listing down the names of some of the unicorn mares that resided in Ponyville.

"Wait, what about Vinyl Scratch? She is a unicorn too," wondered the mint unicorn.

"Well, she doesn't talk and always wears headphones, so she doesn't count."

"Oh," was all the lyre player said.

"Okay, well I think that's all for today. I need to go and tell Pinkie Pie about what I have discovered and maybe she and Rarity can interrogate them some time tomorrow, but for now we should probably get back to town. Hey, why don't I treat you for some lunch?" exclaimed Twilight.

The two girlfriends glanced at each other before smiling.

"Sure, we'd love to, Twilight," said Bon Bon.

"Great! Now come, I'm sure we are all hungry after all of that talking," gestured the lavender princess.

With that, the three walked back towards Ponyville with smiles on their faces as they had a huge lead ahead of them. The only question is, who, between the four unicorn mares - Amethyst Star, Electric Sky, Cherry Spices and Sea Swirl - is the true culprit?
> The Interrogation Begins
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Three days later...

Rarity and Pinkie Pie had decided to meet up at Sugar Cube Corner for a little bit of breakfast together before heading off to interrogate the first suspect of the day. After having to complete a total of six dresses for the past three days, Rarity really needed a break from all that sewing. Luckily, she didn't have any clients for the day, so she was able to finally being able to do this with Pinkie. From what they have gathered from Twilight, all four possible suspects are unicorn mares, where one of them is possibly jealous of Lyra and Bon Bon.

Just a few blocks east from the town hall, Rarity and Pinkie had finally arrived at the house. After knocking on the door, they waited for a few seconds before a pony answered it. She had a brown coat, a red mane and tail, almost a similar shade to Apple Bloom's, and gorgeous green eyes. For a cutie mark, she had two cherries stemmed together. When she get a good look at her visitors, her eyes were wide in shock, as she knew who the two ponies were.

"Um, Rarity, Pinkie? What are you two doing here early in the morning?" the brown pony asked.

"Well darling, we are looking for a pony named Cherry Spices. Are we talking to her right now?" said Rarity.

The pony, now identified as Cherry Spices, gave a nod. "Yeah, I'm Cherry Spices, but you can call me Cherry."

"Okay then, Cherry. Mind if we come in?"

"Oh yeah, come on in! I just finished making breakfast myself," said Cherry, inviting her and Pinkie inside her house. The layout of the house is like any other house in Ponyville; a living room with a worn out couch by the front and a kitchen and dining area by the back with a staircase leading to the second floor, separating the two rooms apart. Rarity and Pinkie had seated by the couch when the brown unicorn said, "Uh, do you guys need anything? Like an apple or something?"

"Why, thank you for the hospitality, but Pinkie and I already had our fills at Sugar Cube Corner so no thanks," said the fashionista.

"Oh, okay then," Cherry said before walking up and sitting across from them. "So, what do you guys want?"

"Nothing really. I just wanted to ask you some questions regarding the newspaper that came out three days ago."

"Really, just that? Sure, why not?" said the brown pony before continuing. "What about it anyways?"

"Well, we were wondering if you had also read an article about Bon Bon being a secret agent in that same paper as well," said Rarity.

Cherry thought about it and remembered that very same article that she had read days ago. "Yeah, I did read it. Well, I never would have thought that she would be an agent of some sorts. And she was hiding in Ponyville, no less! Am I right?"

"To be honest, you are correct up until a certain point. However, that very article is causing a lot of distress on her and Lyra as of late," the generous unicorn said.

The brown unicorn's expression went from pure happy to concern as she asked, "Um, I'm afraid to ask but what did happen between them?"

"Well, to put it briefly, Bon Bon had to be relocated to someplace else because of her cover being blown thanks to that same article," explained Rarity.

"Wait, what?! That article has caused that much distress on her?!" shouted Cherry.

As she and Rarity are talking about the article, Pinkie, who was tasked with looking for any signs of nervousness while the suspects were being questioned, looked thoughtfully at Cherry. She tried to find any signs at all, but she found none. No sweats, no rapid eye movements, nothing that could make her a possible main suspect. She then glanced at Rarity, who briefly glanced back, and slightly shook her head, a sign that says "she's not the one we're looking for".

The fashion designer then said, "Yes, I'm afraid that was true, darling. Believe me, I wish it was a joke, but it's not. We even had reasons to believe that this pony was jealous of them as well."

"Oh dear, I feel terrible for them! She and Lyra looked so perfect together! I even saw them having lunch together just last week! Who in Equestria would do something like this to them?! And why would he or she do it if they knew they would be jealous of them?" asked the brown unicorn, clearly upset by this sudden news.

"No, I'm afraid not, darling. I thought you knew about it."

"What? You think that I would do this? No, never! Not in a million years!" denying Cherry. A raised eyebrow from Rarity however, causes her to wilt slightly. "Well, I had to admit, I was a bit jealous, but I would never do this! Even if I'm extremely jealous to them!"

"Yes, my apologies. I didn't mean to make you upset," said the fashionista.

"It's okay, Rarity. I know you didn't mean to. So, did you find anypony who might have done this?"

"As of now, not quite. But we do know that the pony who did this was a unicorn mare, based on an eye witness, who happens to be the editor-in-chief of this certain paper."

This however, caused the brown pony to reach her forehead with her hoof to feel her horn.

"But now that we also knew that it can't be you since you also disapprove of the news I gave you earlier," implied Rarity.

"Oh," was all Cherry said. She then put her hoof back down.

"Do not worry, darling. I promise you that we will find the guilty party for doing this kind of hatred act. For now, Pinkie and I need to go someplace else. I must say, thank you for your time, Cherry," said the fashion designer.

"No problem at all, Rarity. Happy to help. Oh, and also, do you mind telling Lyra and Bon Bon that I'm really sorry for this to happen to them? I really don't want them to feel discouraged."

"Sure thing, Cherry. I well tell them if I have the chance. Well, if you excuse me, my friend and I will head out for now. Come along, Pinkie!" exclaimed the generous unicorn.

Pinkie, who has been surprisingly quiet for the entire time, perked up from her seat. "Okay Rarity, I'll be right out!" was all she said before disappearing through the front door, leaving the owner with her thoughts alone.

"Poor Lyra and Bon Bon. They look so cute when they are together. Who in their right mind would wanted to break that strong bond?" wondered Cherry. "Hopefully whoever did this better get ready soon or they will be in hot water after this," Suddenly, she remembered something. "Shoot, my breakfast!" She then went to the dining area to find that her breakfast has unfortunately gone cold. "Aww... Oh well, I can always reheat it." Cherry went off to do so.





Pinkie and Rarity then went off to two more houses, one that was just three blocks away from Cherry's house and the other was on the other side of town, which belonged to Electric Sky and Sea Swirl respectively. Electric had a light yellow coat, with a two-tone blue mane and tail with blue eyes as well. For a cutie mark, she has three light bulbs. Sea, on the other hoof, has a lilac coat, an iris colored mane and tail with a light glaucous streak in the middle, and gorgeous raspberry rose eyes. For a cutie mark, she has two different colored dolphins encircling each other. And like Cherry, both mares are unicorns.

When they were greeted by the two friends, both are equally shocked to see them and in different waking conditions as well; Electric had just woken up when Pinkie and Rarity arrived, whereas Sea was just about to do the dishes after finishing her breakfast. Needless to say, both of them knew who their visitors are and invited them inside.

When the questions began, both of them had their eyes wide in shock when they were told that Bon Bon had to be relocated because of her blown up cover as a secret agent. Of course, they even have different other reactions as well; sadness for Electric and anger for Sea. Rarity even had to console poor Electric, who had started crying for such a predicament to happen to Lyra and Bon Bon. After she had calmed down, she had decided to get some water before they continue.

When they were asked if they knew about it, both strongly denied that they have anything to do with it. Pinkie was able to see through them that they were actually telling the truth, also showing no signs of nervousness from both of them. As soon as they were done, both of the unicorn mares also wanted them to give Lyra and Bon Bon their regards as well.

After leaving Sea Swirl's house, Pinkie and Rarity had decided to make a quick stop at Sugar Cube Corner to re-energize after interrogating three different ponies. About ten minutes later, they head off to the last house of the day, which belonged to Amethyst Star.

On their way, Rarity asked Pinkie, "So then, I take it that you knew Amethyst's house as well?"

"Duh, of course I do! In fact, her house is right near Twilight's castle!" exclaimed Pinkie.

She was right though. Amethyst was one of the few ponies lucky enough to live near the Castle of Friendship, which appeared right after Tirek was defeated and re-imprisoned back in Tartarus.

As soon as they arrived on Amethyst's house, Rarity knocked on the door. Moments later, the pony came out. Amethyst is actually very pretty in terms of color coding of her body. She had a purplish coat, about one or two shades lighter than Twilight's, a violet mane and tail with a floral lavender streak and sparkling amethyst eyes. Three brilliant-cut diamonds made up as her cutie mark, making her living up to her name even more. From the appearance of her body, it appears that she might have just woken up from doing housework, because it looks like it hadn't been washed for days. She then rubbed her eyes before looking to see who her visitors are. Upon catching a glimpse of white and pink standing in front of her, her eyes shot up in response.

"Oh my! Pinkie, Rarity, what are you guys doing here?" asked Amethyst.

"Not much. We just wanted to ask you some questions but it seems like you might have been in a war with dust bunnies," judged Rarity.

Looking back at herself, the purple pony chuckled and blushed. "Yeah, I was just cleaning up the attic of my house, that's why I got really dusty."

"That's okay, darling, I understand. Mind if we come in?"

"Oh sure, why not? Get yourselves comfortable. I just need to clean myself. Be back in a few minutes!" said the unicorn before heading upstairs to get herself cleaned.

As soon as they have settled down on the couch at the living room, Pinkie said to Rarity, "Hey Rarity, did you notice anything odd about Amethyst just now?"

"Well, I can see that she has become more cheerful since Cranky and Matilda's wedding, but other than that, I didn't see anything odd," said Rarity.

"Nothing. It's just that she had become so much cheerful that it seems faked and forced. I think I need to get a closer look while you question her, okay?" asked the party pony.

The fashionista nodded just as Amethyst came down the stairs, looking even more refreshed than before. "Ah, much better! Feels good having a nice bath after a balanced meal." She then made her way towards the living room, where Pinkie and Rarity are waiting for her. After settling down, she asked Rarity, "So, what did you wanna ask me about?"

The fashion designer cleared her throat before started speaking. "Well, I was wondering if you knew about the news article about Bon Bon being a secret agent."

"Uh, yeah, I did read about it. Why?"

"Actually, we had reasons to believe that the news was a fake in order to kick her out of Ponyville."

"Hold on, what?! How did that happen?"

"You see, a few days ago, some agents that worked with the same agency as Bon Bon had asked her to get relocated because somepony other than Lyra, her girlfriend, knew about her secret identity. They even did this because of jealousy towards them," explained Rarity.

Amethyst's eyes twitched a bit upon hearing "jealous" being said. Rarity failed to notice it, but not Pinkie. She even saw signs of nervousness being displayed without her knowing; the sweating, the rapid eye movements, sudden body shifts, everything that could make a pony look suspicious without even realizing it. Pinkie glanced at Rarity, who briefly glanced back, and gave a tiny nod before pointing her head towards Amethyst, a sign that says "we found the guilty pony".

Looking back, Rarity continued, "Do you knew anything about it, dear Amethyst?"

"Uh, n-no! I didn't know who you are talking about! I-if you're talking about the guilty pony, then I knew nothing about it!" Amethyst said, stammering for a bit.

The two friends glanced again. They have definitely found the main suspect. However, they can't just accuse her without anything that can make her to spill the beans, so the fashionista just said, "Well then, it's okay if you don't know about it. We were just wondering, that's all."

Breathing a sigh of relief, the purple unicorn said, "Oh, okay then! I really thought you were gonna accuse me or something!"

"Oh, you have no idea," thought Pinkie and Rarity simultaneously.

"I suppose that's all the questions we have for you. Have a nice day! Come along, Pinkie," said the generous unicorn.

"Right back at ya, Rarity!" said the pink earth pony before following her friend after Amethyst says goodbye to them.

The two walked away from Amethyst's house a bit before stopping to talk. "To be honest, Amethyst is creeping me out back there," said Pinkie.

"I know, right? It was as if she knew about the article but denying it," said Rarity.

"And her eyes twitched a bit when you said "jealous" to her. She's even sweating a lot, her pupils wandering all over the place and she keeps shifting her body. Those are the signs that told me that she is the main suspect."

"While all that is true, we can't just downright accuse her without anything that can make her being truthful whether or not she's the one that knew Bon Bon's secret, darling. We need more evidence."

Pinkie thought about it before nodded. "Well, maybe you're right. Why don't we talk to Twilight about it after we had lunch? Sounds good?"

"Yes, actually. I had to admit, I am getting really hungry. Why don't we head off to Sugar Cube Corner for lunch?" asked the fashionista.

"Sure thing, Rarity! Don't worry about money, it's all on me," said the party pony.

"Oh, Pinkie, thanks for the hospitality! Come along then," implied Rarity before she and Pinkie headed off for lunch after a really long day of asking questions and walking all over the place. Perhaps a little break was all they needed before they went to tell their dear friend Twilight about what they have gathered so far. And maybe they might be able to crack this mystery once and for all.

Little did they know that an unknown pony was watching their every move shortly after their departure from Amethyst's house, lurking in the shadows before retreating towards their house for the next move.
> The (Possibly) Last Birthday Bash for Bon Bon Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Four days later...

Lyra woke up early in the morning for the biggest day that she usually celebrate with just Bon Bon: her birthday. But this time, since she might be moving away in the next month, the mint unicorn had decided to celebrate it with the Mane Six as well. The reason she did this is because she wanted her girlfriend's birthday to be a bit bigger this year around, so she had decided to bring in more guests, the ones that she has known for the past week, trying to help them to find the pony responsible for trying to send Bon Bon away from Ponyville. She had even learned from Rarity that the pony in question was in fact Amethyst Star. To hear the name that she trusts for her whole life was indeed shocking to Lyra. She never would have thought that she was actually jealous of Bon Bon. However, they said that they don't have enough evidence to outright accuse her for doing this, which is actually the right call in her opinion.

Pinkie: Uh, excuse me?

Gah! Pinkie, what are you doing here?! I thought I told you to wait for your queue at Sugar Cube Corner!

Pinkie: Yeah, you did, but you were taking too long talking about Amethyst. Can you please hurry it up?

Ugh, fine. But if you interrupt me again, I'm not talking to you for the rest of the day.

Pinkie: Hehe, okey dokey lokey! See you later!

Ugh, I really don't understand her sometimes. Anyway, where was I? Oh, right.

After sneaking out of their bedroom without Bon Bon noticing and having a light breakfast, Lyra then made her way to Sugar Cube Corner to talk to Pinkie Pie on organizing her girlfriend's birthday party. On her way, she tried to come up with various ways to make sure Bon Bon stays away from their house long enough to set everything up and surprising her. That includes giving her a nice present that she had came up with for the past few days so that she can remember her for the rest of her life.

When the mint unicorn arrived, however, she was surprised to see a huge crowd of ponies lining up inside and branching out a little outside the sweet shop. "Huh, there must be either a sale going on, or that there was a new dessert that Pinkie had managed to create without burning the whole thing down. Still, I really need to talk to her," thought the lyre player as she lined up at the back of the row, waiting to just go inside.

An hour later, Lyra finally managed to get to the front counter. She then found out that Pinkie had indeed created a new dessert; she had called them "puff cakes" which is a combination of a cream puff and a common cupcake. Seeing that new pastry made Lyra's mouth salivate because from the looks of it, the dessert is something to die for. She had been mentioned that it had become the new crowd favorite just yesterday and clearly everypony enjoyed it. She was then greeted by Pinkie, who had been panting from making the new dessert and attending a customer.

"Hey, Pinkie, how are you doing today?" asked the mint unicorn.

"Huh... huh... doing... fine... Lyra. What brings... you here?" panted the party pony, clearly getting tired from doing two things at the same time.

"Oh, I just wanted to make an appointment. Is that okay?"

"Well, is there anypony behind you right now?"

Glancing back on her shoulder to make sure nopony else entered before her, Lyra said with a smile, "Good news, Pinkie. I'm your last customer."

"Oh, thank Celestia!" said the pink earth pony, collapsing behind the counter before continuing, "You know, making new desserts and showing them to everypony was a bad idea after all!"

"Yeah, I notice," was all the unicorn said with an eye roll. She then continued, "So, why aren't Mr and Mrs Cake helping you?"

"Well, unfortunately Mrs Cake and one of the twins, Pumpkin Cake has gone sick so Mr Cake had to take care of them all by himself," the party pony explained.

"Oh dear. Poor Mrs Cake and Pumpkin. I hope they get better soon."

Composing herself after a few minutes of rest, Pinkie asked, "So, what do you want, Lyra? Wanting to surprise your girlfriend with a birthday party?"

This actually came as no shock to Lyra. She and practically everypony else knew a lot about Pinkie's antics; how she knew everypony's name, how she made a welcoming party to a new pony that came to Ponyville, and even how she knew everypony's birth date, including Bon Bon's, which was of course today by default.

The lyre player then said, "Yeah, it's about her birthday party. I actually wanted to do it in a bigger scale this time."

This, however, came as a shock to Pinkie, because the unicorn always celebrate her girlfriend's birthday party alone. Still, she then said, "Ooh, a bigger birthday party? Sure thing, Lyra. Where do you wanted the party to take place?"

"Well, I was thinking Twilight's castle. Is that okay?"

"Oh, sure! I just need to get Twilight's permission to do the party there and we're all set on the location. How many do you wanted to attend since you wanted to do it big this year?" asked the party pony.

"I actually don't care how many. You can invite the whole town if you wanted to. Oh, and I wanted to invite you and your friends as well, if that's okay with you," answered Lyra.

"Oh goodie. I get to invite more ponies this time! Sweet! And I take it you want the same flavors for her birthday cake?"

The unicorn just nodded.

"Okay then, I need to get started right away! Why don't you go and make those invitation letters? That way we can save more time."

"Oh, no need for that. I already made a whole bunch yesterday. I just need to make the finishing touches to the rest of them and then I can send them to you," explained the lyre player.

"Wow, Lyra. You're one step ahead of me. A bunch more time has been saved thanks to you!" said Pinkie.

"It's okay. Just tell everypony the party's tonight and we're all set."

"Uh, what party?"

Lyra and Pinkie turned towards the source of the sound and spotted Rainbow Dash standing behind the former.

"Oh, it's you, Rainbow! We were just explaining about Bon Bon's birthday party," said the pink earth pony to her friend.

"Sweet! Can I come?"

"Sure, I was going to invite you, anyways! Oh, and do you mind helping Lyra here with the invitation letters?"

"Eh, why not? So, where are we doing it?" asked the weather pony.

"At Twilight's castle. Can you tell her that we're doing it at her place?"

"Okay, after I'm done sending the letters, I'll go and inform Twilight about the party. And do you wanna invite our friends as well?"

"Of course! The more the merrier!"

"Also, do we need to keep an eye on Amethyst? She's obviously gonna come to the party as well," exclaimed Rainbow. She had been told by Rarity a few days ago that they had found the main suspect to Bon Bon's predicament while she was patrolling the area and keeping check of the weather as well.

"Oh yeah, about that, I think we really do need to keep a close eye on her, but we need to do it one at a time though as to not get her uncomfortable," said Pinkie.

"Well, that's great! Maybe we can do that right now! Come on!" said the weather pony before heading outside. Right before she reached the front door, however, she then felt her tail being pulled back, not by somepony's teeth but by magic.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold it, Rainbow! I need to make sure that Bon Bon is outside of the house and then we can get started on those letters, remember?" said the mint unicorn, letting go of Rainbow's tail from her magic's grip.

"Oops, nearly forgot about that. Sorry," the pegasus meekly apologized.

"It's okay, I understand. Now, come on, we need to get going. I'm assuming that she would be awake by now for the past half an hour. Oh, and by the way Pinkie, could you make, like, ten dozen of that new dessert since everypony's coming? Thanks! Come on, Rainbow, let's get a move on!" the lyre player explained before trotting out of the shop with the pegasus in tow, leaving the earth pony alone with her thoughts. Also with her jaw nearly on the floor after hearing Lyra's request.

"What?! She wants me to make ten dozen of those puff cakes, on top of making Bon Bon's birthday cake?! Ugh, no fair!" thought Pinkie, moaning all the while before continuing, "Never mind. I'll just get started right away. Huh, just another day in the life of me." She then made her way back to the kitchen in order to make the huge order in time for the party.





After a few minutes of getting Bon Bon to where she wanted her to go, Lyra and Rainbow finally got started on the invitation letters. It was currently eleven in the morning when Lyra came back. As it turns out, Lyra had managed to make an appointment at the Ponyville Day Spa as Bon Bon's birthday present yesterday. She told the Spa Twins that she wanted to give her girlfriend the most relaxing treatment they can give her until she came back to pick her up.

"Okay Rainbow, these are the ones that I have already done," said Lyra, pointing to one of the two piles of letters by the kitchen table, the one that was neatly stacked, "and these are the ones that still needs to be done with," continued the unicorn, pointing to another one of the piles, this one being in a complete mess of envelopes and invitation cards.

"Okay, so what do I need to do?" asked Rainbow.

"Well, since you're the fastest, maybe you can help me with these," exclaimed the lyre player, referring to the messy pile.

"Oh, that's it? I can do that. Do I need to put the letters in the envelopes?"

"Yeah, some of them I have already done but the others, not so much. I still need to put the location of the party in the ones that weren't done yet."

"Do you need any help with it? Well, after I'm done with the others of course."

"Sure thing, Rainbow. I could use the extra hoof," said the unicorn before she and Rainbow got to work on the letters.





About 45 minutes later, Lyra and Rainbow have finally sealed the last two envelopes, allowing them to take a sigh of relief.

"Huh, finally! I never thought doing this would be very exhausting until you tried it out for yourself," said Rainbow.

"Yeah, doing this alone does get you tired easily, unless you had a clear mind like me," exclaimed Lyra.

"Whatever," was all the pegasus replied to with a subtle eye roll. "So, can I send these letters now? Cause I really need to stretch my wings after not being able to use them for a while."

The mint unicorn just giggled. "Okay Rainbow, you can send them now."

"Sweet! Oh, and don't worry, I'll inform Twilight about the venue of the party. See ya!" said the weather pony, grabbing the bag full of letters and zoomed outside to deliver them to everypony in Ponyville.

"Okay, while that is done, I need to go check on Pinkie to see if she has done with her part of the work, alongside getting something to eat since it's nearly lunch time," exclaimed Lyra, before heading off to Sugar Cube Corner to get an update on her request.





Meanwhile, at the Ponyville Day Spa, Aloe and Lotus Blossom are still pampering to Bon Bon, the birthday girl. Currently they were polishing her hooves after she was done with a nice half an hour of steaming in the sauna and a fifteen-minute long mud bath.

The cream earth pony then asked the twins, "So, how long does this usually take, exactly?"

"Well, for a normal visitor, we only do it for an hour and a half, but since you were our special guest, we are doubling the time just for you to relax," explained Aloe.

"So does that mean I got to spend three hours here for this treatment? Nice!" said Bon Bon, getting back to closing her eyes to enjoy the treatment.

The sisters just giggled at her reaction before resuming their work.





When Lyra reached the Sugar Cube Corner fifteen minutes later, she was pleased to find the shop to be less crowded after the whole ordeal Pinkie has to go through alone after she presented those puff cakes to the crowd earlier in the day. She then went straight for the front counter to find Pinkie there.

"Hey Pinkie, done with the order I gave you earlier?" asked the unicorn.

"Yep yep! I still got the last dozen of those puff cakes in the oven to be baked and now, I'm waiting for them to be done. For the birthday cake, I already made them yesterday to save time," explained the pink earth pony.

Again, the lyre player was not surprised to hear that news. Pinkie was also well known around Ponyville that she can make desserts anywhere from an hour to a blink of an eye without any flaws to be found on them. No matter how big the order is, she always get the job done before anypony could say "I want...".

"Well, that's great Pinkie! You really outdone yourself!" praised Lyra.

"Aw shucks, it was nothing!" said Pinkie with a small blush on her face.

"Anyways, you wanted to do the decorations for the party at the castle? As soon as Twilight gave permission, that is."

"Oh, don't worry about it. Twilight always lets us borrow her castle for certain events. I'm pretty sure she will say-"

"Hey, guys!"

Both Lyra and Pinkie screamed in shock as Rainbow flew towards them quite suddenly.

"Rainbow! Next time, try saying that quietly. We nearly got a heart attack from that shout, okay?" said the mint unicorn.

"Eh heh, oops, sorry. Didn't mean to scare you guys like that," the pegasus apologized.

"It's okay. So, any news from Twilight?"

"Oh yeah. Well, great news! She said that she is willing to lend her castle to serve as the venue for the birthday party!"

"See? I knew she would say yes!" exclaimed Pinkie.

"Yes Pinkie, I know. Anyway, I'm also here because I wanted to give Bon Bon her second part of her birthday party, so do you mind if you can make a really nice lunch spread for Bon Bon and I when I went to pick her up soon?" asked Lyra.

"Sure thing, Lyra!" was all the pink earth pony said before zipping towards the kitchen in a blurry haze.

"Well, that's that. Now Rainbow, could you maybe help me with making sure this next part went well?" said the unicorn.

"Oh, uh, I don't mind but after this I'm gonna take a break from all of this, okay? Don't worry, I'll be at the party," answered Rainbow.

"Great! Now come on, the twins should be done with Bon Bon by now," said Lyra before heading outside towards the direction of the spa where her girlfriend is to pick her up with Rainbow in tow.





It was about 12:45 p.m. when Lyra arrived at the Ponyville Day Spa to pick up her girlfriend. When she opened the door, she was greeted by one of the twins, Aloe, who was walking back towards the back rooms where Bon Bon might be. She then called her to get her attention. "Um, excuse me, Aloe?"

The bubblegum pink earth pony stopped in her tracks and turned around to find Lyra standing by the door, her eyes lit up all the while. "Oh, Miss Lyra, it's you!"

"Yeah. Is Bon Bon ready yet?"

"Don't worry, we're almost done. We just need to make the finishing touches and she's all done," explained Aloe.

"Well, that's great! I'll just be waiting here then," said the mint unicorn.

The earth pony nodded before walking away. Lyra then went over to one of the benches set up inside and wait for her girlfriend to show up.

About five minutes later, Lyra heard the distinctive sound of hoofsteps approaching. When she looked up, her eyes were wide in shock and her jaw dropped. Her girlfriend is barely unrecognizable. She looked cleaner, her fur was trimmed to perfection, her mane and tail was groomed and shined, but most importantly, her face was covered with possibly the cutest combination of makeup she had ever seen; with peach eye shadow and coral colored lipstick, Bon Bon looked even cuter than before. This managed to make Lyra melt when she saw Bon Bon in that makeup as she trotted towards her and said, "Wow Bonnie, I have a feeling you look really cute and you are."

The cream earth pony blushed. "Really, Lyra? You mean it?"

"Of course I do! It's a wonder I became your girlfriend in the first place. Now, I can finally see that you are cute in your own way."

Bon Bon's face turned an even brighter shade of red after hearing that compliment and smiled whilst saying, "Thanks, Lyra. I'm glad I became your girlfriend as well."

"You're welcome," the unicorn said before turning to the twins and saying, "Girls, thank you so much for making my girlfriend even more beautiful than before."

"Anything for you, Miss Lyra," both of them said at the same time.

The lyre player nodded. She then turned back to Bon Bon. "So, are you ready for the second part of your present?"

"Wait, you mean there's more? Sure, why not? Come on, Lyra, let's go!" the earth pony excitedly said.

"Okay Bonnie, follow me then," said Lyra, turning to the front door and walking out of the spa with her girlfriend walking behind her. "Goodbye, and see you girls again later!" was all they hear from the Spa Twins before disappearing from the door for them to head towards Sugar Cube Corner.

To be continued...
> The (Possibly) Last Birthday Bash for Bon Bon Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lyra and Bon Bon walked down the street from Ponyville Day Spa after picking up Bon Bon, and they are currently on their way to Sugar Cube Corner for Bon Bon's second part of her birthday present. Along the way, when Bon Bon would not notice, Lyra couldn't stop looking at her girlfriend, who was practically glowing in her eyes as she walked. When she did notice, however, the unicorn just keeps looking at her with a smile on her face. Minutes later, she felt like she could not take it anymore and said, "Lyra, could you please stop looking at me like that? You're starting to make me feel uncomfortable."

The lyre player realized that she must have staring for far too long, causing her to blush and said, "Sorry Bonnie, I really can't help it when you look really cute and all."

Now it was the earth pony's turn to blush as she said, "Oh Lyra, stop it. You're making me blush."

"Well, it's true. That makeup along with your groomed fur, mane and tail really makes a perfect combination, you know."

That compliment only makes the cream pony's cheeks to turn an even darker shade of red before saying, "Thanks Lyra. I'm really glad you're my girlfriend."

"Me too, Bonnie. Me too," was all the mint unicorn said before slinging one of her forelegs around her girlfriend's shoulders to embrace her in a sideways hug, Bon Bon doing the same as they walked.

Soon, they arrived at Sugar Cube Corner, where Pinkie, who had dressed up as a waitress sometime during Lyra's departure, was waiting for them outside the sweet shop which also served as a cafe. With a wide smile, she greeted them, saying, "Welcome to Sugar Cube Corner, ladies! Table for two, I presume?"

Lyra and Bon Bon mentally rolled their eyes. "Yes, please. And make it extra special because it's my girlfriend's birthday today," Lyra mentioned, playing along with the pink pony's role play.

Pinkie turned to her fellow earth pony, saying, "Oh, it's your birthday today? Sure, come on in!" the party pony exclaimed before stepping away to allow both mares to enter. Once they were inside, the atmosphere changed into a more romantic setting. The whole shop was deserted and all the tables have been moved away, save for the one that sat at the middle of the room, with a lit candle and a vase of roses at the middle of the table. The setting was also completed with an orchestra, who was playing a slow romantic song at that time, that Pinkie had managed to gather in such a short amount of time. Not to mention that the entire floor of the dimly lit room was covered in petals of roses, except for the area where the table sat, which was also big enough for two ponies to sit at.

Lyra and Bon Bon was mesmerized at how fast the party pony was able to set this whole thing up really fast. Then again, she does like making things really fast, including parties.

Pinkie: You said it, mister!

Gah! Pinkie, again?! Also, how did you- You know what, never mind. Now, could you please go back to where I told you to stay and for once, don't interrupt me while I'm narrating! One more time and I swear, I will make you pay, understand?!

Pinkie: (nods fearfully and runs back to where she came from)

Ugh, I really need to lock my door from now on. Anyways...

The two girlfriends then turned to Pinkie, who they saw was completely out of breath as if she had entered a marathon. Lyra then said, "Wow Pinkie, you've really outdone yourself! How did- Are you okay?"

The pink earth pony tried composing herself, taking deep breaths before saying, "Oh, just checking on the food, that's all."

The unicorn just rolled her eyes as she led Bon Bon to the table, saying, "After you, milady."

Bon Bon chuckled at her girlfriend's moves and gently nodded before sitting down on her haunches gently, Lyra doing the same seconds later on the opposite side.

Pinkie then moved in between the two lovers, taking out her notebook, pencil and two simple menus from her poofy, yet hammer space-like pink mane, causing more eye rolls from the other two. They then took the menu and glanced the contents of it. It said:


TODAY'S MENU
Entree: A plate of hay fries with some seasoning
Main Course: Daisy sandwiches
Dessert: Apple fritters


"Well, this is a nice spread, isn't it Bonnie?" the lyre player asked.

The not-so-secret-anymore agent nodded.

"Now, I would like to ask you girls, what would you like to drink on this fine and lovely day?" the hyperactive pony asked.

At the same time, as if reading each other's minds, the two lovebirds said, "Orange juice, please."

Pinkie jotted down the drinks with her notebook being held by one of her forelegs and her pencil by her sentient mane. She then said, "Okay then! I will be right back with your drinks and your first meal really soon!" The party pony then zipped towards the kitchen, allowing the two girlfriends to talk to each other.

"Wow Lyra, this is actually really nice of you, planning this romantic lunch just for the two of us," Bon Bon started.

"Thanks Bonnie, but it was actually Pinkie who did all of the work. I just merely told her what I wanted to do and she delivers it like it was nopony's business. I also did this to show you just how much I really cared about you," Lyra answered.

"Really? You cared about me?" the earth pony asked, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"Of course I cared about you. Having to see you go away after your cover has been accidentally blown makes me feel really sad, so I wanted to give you something to remember me if you had to go away in the end," the unicorn exclaimed, tears formed in her eyes as well.

Both of them could no longer hold it in anymore as they reached out with their forelegs and hugged, tears streaming down their cheeks in each other's embrace. They completely feel like this would be Lyra's last present for Bon Bon before she had to be relocated, never to see each other again. They decided to savor this moment together, never wanting to let go. However, they can't stay like that forever as Pinkie came back with a tray of food and drinks to them, smiling all the way.

"Hey girls! Here's your entree and drinks!" the party pony said, being oblivious as usual as the two girlfriends pulled away from their hug and wiped their tears away. She then placed the dishes in front of them along with their glass of orange juice before heading back towards the kitchen to make the finishing touches on their main course.

"Well Bonnie, enjoy the meal," was all Lyra said before munching on the hay fries, Bon Bon doing the same, chatting along the way.





After the apple fritters has entered their bellies, Lyra and Bon Bon said thanks to Pinkie and headed out. Bon Bon then asked, "Lyra, where are we going now?"

"Now, we have a little walk at the park, talk a little bit and maybe we could lay down by the grass, cuddling each other," Lyra said with a small blush on her face.

The cream earth pony blushed as well as she said, "Oh Lyra, you're such a sweetheart, you know that? But we can do that. Maybe we can enjoy the sunset as well?"

"Sure, why not? Come on!" exclaimed the unicorn before heading towards the park, her girlfriend right behind her.

Meanwhile, back at Sugar Cube Corner, Pinkie was waiting for Rainbow Dash to come by and help her to move all party supplies to the Castle of Friendship where the big birthday party was to be held. Seconds later, the pegasus was spotted headed towards her way from the same direction as the two girlfriends walked towards earlier, possibly making sure that they didn't get interrupted when decorating the castle.

"Hey Pinkie! How's it going here?" the cyan pony asked.

"Oh, everything went well, Dashie. I managed to give Lyra and Bon Bon a really romantic lunch just the two of them inside," the party pony answered before continuing, "Say, do you wanna help me with moving the supplies and party treats to Twilight's castle? We have a lot to get ready before sunset."

"Well, you asked the right pony for the job! Just tell me what to do and I'll do it in ten seconds flat!" Rainbow exclaimed.

"Great, let's go then! We're really falling behind now," said the pink earth pony before heading inside to gather the party supplies with Rainbow in tow.





Since lunch, Lyra and Bon Bon spend at least three hours doing exciting activities that was around the Ponyville Park like a photo shoot, getting balloon animals or just simply have a conversation about life and everything they can think of. They even made a pit stop at an ice cream parlor nearby, getting each other's favorite ice cream flavor; chocolate chip for Lyra and mint for Bon Bon. Afterwards, they cuddled up on top of one of the small hills that can overlook all of Ponyville, even as a perfect viewing spot to watch Celestia's sun go down the horizon so that Luna's moon can take its place in the sky.

"Oh Lyra, this is the best birthday I have ever had in all my life. Thanks for making it really special," Bon Bon said.

"You're welcome, Bonnie. I'm just glad you really like it," Lyra said.

"Um, Lyra?"

"Yeah, what is it Bonnie?"

The earth pony hesitated before saying, "Well, it's just that, do we really have to be apart in the next month? Because I really don't wanna be with anypony else except you, Lyra." As she said it, she wrapped her forelegs around her girlfriend, hugging her as tears starts to form on her eyes again.

The mint unicorn was a bit wide eyed from hearing that. She then grabbed her by her shoulders and said, "No Bonnie, don't ever said that! I don't wanna be with anypony else either, but you can't just give up on me like that!" Lyra's eyes also began watering up as she said, "Please Bonnie, let's just forget that for a while, okay? I'll always love you no matter what."

Bon Bon could no longer hold in her tears as she hugged Lyra tightly and said, "I love you too, Lyra."

The two ponies stayed like that for a few minutes, crying on each other's shoulders until the secret agent wiped her eyes with her foreleg. Seeing this, the lyre player did the same before both of them looked at each other's eyes, slowly closing the gap between the two before their lips met in a passionate kiss. Both weren't expecting it because they have been doing it for a few times since they started dating, but this time, however, they felt like the kiss was even more romantic than the previous ones as they soon melt again into each other's embrace and held like that for a solid twenty seconds before parting to get some fresh air. Neither spoke for a while before Lyra said, "Wow, that was really good, Bonnie."

"Yeah," was all Bon Bon said with a small blush on her face.

The two lovebirds then turned to see the sun beginning to descend beyond the horizon, making the atmosphere even more romantic than before. The earth pony then told her girlfriend, "You know Lyra, the sun looks really beautiful today."

"Yeah, I know, right? Just like you, Bonnie," the unicorn exclaimed, making Bon Bon blushed harder.

"Oh Lyra, stop it. You're making me blush, again."

"Sorry, but I can't help it with all that makeup on you, alright?" Lyra admitted.

"Well, at least you're being honest."

No more words are being said as they laid down on the grass and snuggled into each other for a while and savoring this moment together.





It was now 6:30 p.m. when Lyra and Bon Bon walked back towards the town. However, the entire place seems weirdly deserted as if everypony has abandoned their houses when an apocalypse is nearing. This did not go unnoticed by the birthday girl as she asked her girlfriend, "Um, Lyra, where is everypony? Why did the place seem deserted like nopony lived here before?"

"Hm, I don't know exactly," Lyra answered with a small hint of sarcasm in her voice, this one the earth pony failed to notice. "Who knows, they could be hiding from something."

"But from what exactly?"

"Well, it's more of a whom actually," mentally thought the unicorn, but she didn't voice it. She then quietly giggled to herself as she lead her girlfriend towards the Castle of Friendship, pretending to look for the townsfolk as well.

About fifteen minutes later, they finally ended up at the castle after failing to find a single pony during their walk across town. Bon Bon then said, "We still didn't find anypony else and this is the last stop. Maybe we should check inside?"

"Yeah, I'm feeling really fatigued after all that walking. Maybe we can take a break here and then go back home, what do you say?" Lyra asked.

"Sure," was all the earth pony said before stepping inside to find that the place is unnaturally dark for some reason. "Uh, Lyra, what happened to all of the-"

Suddenly, the room was filled with light before an ear splitting shout of everypony inside saying, "SURPRISE!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY BON BON!!!"

The secret agent was speechless upon seeing everypony, including the Mane Six was there to celebrate her birthday. She then looked at Lyra, who had a big smile on her face.

"L-L-Lyra, you did all of this, for me?" Bon Bon stammered, disbelieving everything that had just happened.

"Yes Bonnie, I planned all of this but I can't do it alone without Twilight and her friends though," Lyra said. At the same time, the six friends walked towards the two lovebirds before engaging in a group hug, Pinkie delivering the hardest.

A few minutes later, the group dispersed from the hug and explained what they have been doing in order to execute Lyra's plan: Rainbow tells Twilight about wanting to use her castle for the birthday party and she agrees to it, Pinkie decorates the castle and doing the party snacks with Applejack pitching in to create some apple related desserts, and Rarity and Fluttershy managed to get everypony to stay silent while they made their way to the castle with some of the townsfolk carrying different presents for the birthday girl.

The cream earth pony's eyes watered up again for the third time as she greatly hugged her girlfriend and the Mane Six, saying, "Oh thank you guys, thank you so much! This is the greatest birthday I've ever had in my entire life!" She then burst into tears as the others replied by hugging her as well.

This sight causes everypony to go misty eyed as they have been told earlier that this party will be the last one Bon Bon will possibly celebrate with them before she had to be relocated in a month's time due to her identity being blown. When they heard of such news, they suddenly felt guilty for trying to get rid of the secret agent for who she really is. Plus, with how much she has turned Lyra into the happiest pony in Ponyville as her girlfriend made them feel even more sorry for the unfortunate couple to be treated this way.

Dissolving from the group hug again, the eight ponies then decided to get the party started - with DJ Pon-3 taking charge of the music as usual - for the greatest birthday party anypony has ever been into.





Two hours later...

Lyra and Bon Bon finally reached home after a really long partying they had at Twilight's castle. The birthday party went off without a hitch. While the two lovebirds enjoyed the party by opening the presents the guests had brought with them and played some party games, the Mane Six had tole them that they will be taking turns keeping an eye on Amethyst Star, the main suspect who was at the party as well. However, throughout the party, she doesn't seem like she wants to do anything to intentionally harm the birthday girl, which gave them a little sigh of relief and decided to enjoy the party as well.

Without saying anything, the two girlfriends simply have a quick shower together before falling into the bed side by side. It was then that Bon Bon said, "Lyra, thanks again for giving me the greatest birthday party ever."

"You're welcome, Bonnie. You're welcome," was Lyra's last words before sleep finally took over the unicorn.

As the earth pony lay there with her girlfriend sleeping beside her, she thought back of when they first met. It was her greatest moment in her life upon laying her eyes on Lyra. Now, however, it was as if fate had other plans for her as she had to be relocated if they were unable to find the pony besides Lyra that had managed to know about her secret identity. For now, she has decided to let it go for a bit as her eyes starting to close as she finally fell down into a really deep and calm slumber for the first time ever.
> Who Did It?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was currently night time. Sitting alone in her living room in the dark really helps her to think about her next move. So far, she has not been careful enough to hide the fact that she is the one trying to get rid of Bon Bon in order to be Lyra's new girlfriend. To make matters worse, during Bon Bon's birthday party that she had attended last week, those six friends that had helped the two girlfriends to figure out the true culprit to their current predicament had been keeping an eye on her throughout the entire party. Luckily for her, she has managed to keep a low profile until the party was over. Thinking this over, she needs to start acting in order to stall them for more time. With three weeks left before Bon Bon had to be relocated, she had finally thought of a way for her to get those precious time: attacking somepony.

Thinking back yesterday, she saw Princess Twilight was in a hurry to leave her castle. She overheard something about making amends with her old friends in Canterlot, so she was out for the count. With that in mind, she has decided to eliminate their greatest and strongest ally of their group.

Applejack...





Lyra woke up felling a bit happier but sore than yesterday. It has been a week since her girlfriend's big birthday party back at Twilight's castle. Overall, she was truly happy with the results that turned out in the end. Being careful not to wake up Bon Bon, she slowly made her way to the shower to clean herself before preparing breakfast for the both of them, a simple daisy sandwich.

Moments later, she heard hoofsteps coming down the stairs, revealing Bon Bon with a tired look in her eyes. Looking at Lyra at the kitchen, she smiled and said, "Hey Lyra, good morning."

"Good morning to you to, Bon Bon. Wanna have some breakfast?" Lyra asked.

The earth pony nodded as she walked towards the dining area where the nice, simple breakfast was placed. As usual, it was really delicious as she said, "Oh Lyra, don't stop making this because this is really good."

"Hehe, thanks. It's the least I can do for you."

As Bon Bon savored through her sandwich, she then remembered something. She then turned to Lyra, asking, "Say Lyra, yesterday I saw Twilight was in such a hurry wanting to leave her castle with Spike on her back, carrying her luggage. What was that all about?"

The unicorn's ears perked up upon hearing the question. She turned to her girlfriend and said, "Well, I did get in touch with her briefly yesterday and..."






Flashback


Yesterday...

Lyra was wondering around the marketplace, wanting to buy groceries when she saw Twilight flying, who looked like she was in a hurry. Seeing this, she called, "Hey Twilight! Where are you going in such a hurry?"

Stopping in her tracks, the lavender alicorn looked down and saw Lyra, her childhood friend down at the streets of the marketplace. She then swooped down to greet her briefly. "Hey Lyra, I'm fine. It's just that I wanted to go to Canterlot to make amends with our other old friends."

Thinking back on who their friends are, Lyra, wanting to get confirmation, asked, "Oh, you mean Lemon Hearts, Twinkleshine, Minuette and Moondancer, right?"

The princess chuckled and blushed with embarrassment, saying, "Yeah, them. Is that okay with you? That's because I might stay in Canterlot for a few days, at least so I might have to put this investigation on hold."

"Oh. Well, that's okay. Take all the time you need. After all, you still have me as a friend."

"Thanks, you're the best. See you later, Lyra!" was Twilight's last words before taking off into the skies for the tall buildings of Canterlot.


End flashback






"...and then she went off to Canterlot to make amends with our other childhood friends," Lyra finally finished the story.

"Oh, that's why she was in such a hurry yesterday. She won't be called the Princess of Friendship if she can't reconcile with her old friends, right?" Bon Bon asked.

"Yeah, you're probably right, Bonnie. I really should know better."

"Aww, don't say that. No matter what, you two will always be friends," the earth pony reassured.

Her girlfriend smiled as she said, "Thanks Bonnie. You're the best." The unicorn then hugged her before heading towards the front door. She then remembered something and looked back at Bon Bon. "Say Bon Bon, do you wanna have a little walk today? You know, to clear your head for a little bit?"

The secret agent pondered about it and then shook her head, saying, "Nah, I'm good. Plus, I really need a shower after this. You go on ahead, Lyra."

"Okay then. See you later!" was all Lyra said before heading outside for a short walk and a breath of fresh air.





After a few minutes of walking and getting some fresh air as well, Lyra felt even better than before. For the past two weeks, she had been dreading so much that she can't get a single night's rest. When she did go to sleep, she was constantly been having dreams about on the day of Bon Bon's relocation day, where she keeps on crying every single night. However, on the night of Bon Bon's birthday, the dream had stopped coming, but only for a night or two. And last night, she finally got a good night sleep when Princess Luna had appeared and assured her that everything will turn out better in the end.

Which is why she has a smile on her face when she walked on a random path from her house, not knowing that she was walking towards Sweet Apple Acres because she was so happy that she didn't see or hear what was going on around her. What she did notice, however, was a hooded figure about her size galloped on her direction. In fact, it looked like they were about to collide with each other! Luckily, the hooded figure screeched to a stop just a feet from where Lyra was standing frozen, unable to get her mind straight.

The two stayed like that for a while before Lyra managed to get her head cleared up, again. From the looks of the pony in front of her, she saw a horn protruding from the top of the hood, indicating that this pony was her fellow unicorn mare, because of the pony's size comparing to hers. However, that was all of the details she managed to capture before the mysterious pony sprang up and galloped away from her.

Looking back, Lyra was still contemplating over what had just happened for the past minute or so before getting up and started walking again, forgetting that the event had ever happened. She then saw Sweet Apple Acres at a distance and decided to visit Applejack for a while.

Little did she know that making this decision will get her one step closer on finding the true culprit on the attempt of Bon Bon's relocation...





The moment Lyra stepped into the Apple Family homestead, she was shocked to find a few furniture received minor damages. It looked like the house has just gotten attacked by a wild boar. Fortunately, everyone in the family, except for Applejack, was unharmed; Big Macintosh was still working in the west orchard when the commotion happened, Apple Bloom was with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo for their usual Cutie Mark Crusaders meeting, and shockingly, Granny Smith was napping in her bedroom despite the commotion happening in the living room, which was near her room. Applejack only suffered a deep cut on her left foreleg, showing that she was the one who fought with someone else earlier.

The apple farmer was resting on the couch of the living room, wanting to rest up after such a long fight. Lyra saw her condition and said, "Oh my gosh! Are you alright, Applejack?"

Seeing the unicorn's concern over her, Applejack answered, "Oh sugarcube, this is nothin' at all. Ah have suffered a lot more than just a knife cut."

"Still though, who did this to you? As far as I know, trying to fight you would be like the worst decision anypony could've made."

"Yeah, the moment they decided ta fought me, they would feel like they will lose from the very first second. However, I'm a mite surprised that the pony could hold on fer longer than Ah thought they could last," the cowgirl explained.

"Applejack, do you mind telling me what happened?" the mint unicorn asked.

"Well, earlier today, Ah wanted to get some chores done before Ah went outside for some work at the orchard. Then..."






Flashback


An hour ago...

Applejack, who has already woke up early in the morning, has finally got a nice breakfast spread for the rest of the family before she could get some work done by the orchard. Seconds later, the other Apple Family members, Big Macintosh, Apple Bloom and Granny Smith, have finally came from their rooms to enjoy the breakfast which consists of apple fritters, apple cobblers, hay fries and some orange juice. The smell alone managed to get everypony's mouths to water as the youngest Apple sibling said, "Wow Applejack, this is a really spread ya got here. Thanks!"

"Eeyup," the oldest of the siblings agreed with a nod.

"Yeah sonny, you really outdone yourself in this one," Granny Smith said.

The orange pony blushed as she said, "Aw shucks, this is nothin', fellas. Ah'm really pleased to do this for ya."

"Hey Applejack, can Ah go to the clubhouse after this? Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Ah had another meeting comin' up," Apple Bloom said.

Applejack rolled her eyes, saying, "Alright Apple Bloom, ya can go. But after ya clean up after yourself, okay?"

"Fine," the earth filly said. With that out of the way, the Apple family sat down at the dining table to enjoy the breakfast.

Half an hour later, once the dishes were set aside after getting them washed, everypony went about to do their respective activities. Applejack decided to stay for a while to use the bathroom to brush her teeth and rinse her mouth. Then, she went back up to her room to grab her stetson, which she had left behind to prepare breakfast earlier before finally went outside to do some work done around the farm. However, before she even made it to the front door, she froze. She didn't know why, but she felt like somepony was watching her from a distance.

Turning around, Applejack shouted, "Who's there? Show yourself!"

Suddenly, in a speed that nearly matched Rainbow Dash, an unknown figure leapt from a window by the kitchen to pounce on the apple farmer. Unfortunately, Applejack sensed the incoming attack and swerved out of the way just in time, causing the pony to crash into the living room couch. For a second, Applejack had a shocked look on her face because somepony was actually dumb enough to attack her, as she is the strongest pony in Equestria. However, she regained composure before lunging at the mysterious pony, only to stop in mid air. She was shocked at first, but soon relaxed after seeing a distinctive sign of a horn protruding from the top of the hood.

The pony, now identified by Applejack as a unicorn, threw the cowgirl across the room before making a break for the kitchen to grab a kitchen knife by their magical aura as a means to defend themselves. Then, the two fought it out for a while until a few more furniture became a minor victim to their assault. Every time, Applejack managed to dodge the incoming knife, despite the other pony's skills in magic. In the end unfortunately, the assailant's hood accidentally came off, giving Applejack a clear look on the pony's face.

Applejack was, in a word, stunned upon seeing her assailant. It was a pony she recognized seeing each other from time to time and she knew the face pretty well; pinkish face, violet mane, amethyst eyes.

It was none other than Amethyst Star.

"A-A-Amethyst?! That was you the whole time?!" Applejack stuttered, clearly not believing what she had just witnessed. She was so stunned that she didn't see the knife sailing in her direction from its place at the floor earlier. Before she could gain composure again, she felt something sharp in her left foreleg and screamed. She then saw the same knife Amethyst used that was now wedged into her leg, causing it to bleed profusely.

Deciding not to stay any longer, Amethyst covered her face again and trotted out of the farmhouse, hoping that she did not get seen by anypony else.


End flashback






Lyra could not believe her ears over what Applejack had told her for the past few minutes. She could not understand why Amethyst would do such a dumb decision of attacking Applejack, the strongest pony she ever known. She has got to have a motive on doing so. Unless...

Lyra's eyes widened on the realization of the whole situation. She then said to Applejack, "Applejack, maybe she is the one behind all of this!"

Applejack tilted her head in confusion. "Of what, sugarcube?" It then dawned on her on what she is trying to say. "No. You're not saying that she is the one who tried to get Bon Bon relocated, are ya?"

"I wish it's not the reason, but I really can't think of anything else other than that."

"Huh, that's somethin' you don't hear everyday."

"Yeah. So, what should we do now?"

Applejack thought about it before answering, "Hmm, Ah don't know yet. Ah think it's best if we let Twilight know about this. Oh, and yer girlfriend as well."

"Okay, I'll tell her about it. But are you sure you don't wanna get a checkup for you injured leg?" Lyra asked, pointing to Applejack's bandaged foreleg.

"It's okay, I've had worse cuts than this one right here, so ya don't need to worry about it none."

"Well, if you say so. I'm gonna go now. Are you sure you don't want me to do anything right now?"

"It's alright, Ah need a break from apple bucking anyways. By the way, why are ya here anyway?" Applejack asked.

"Oh, just wanted to check on you, that's all. Oh and I really wanted some of your apple pies, if you have any," Lyra answered.

"Just that? Sure, why not? Also, Ah didn't make any pies today, but if ya help me with it, I'll gladly gave ya a whole tin of it to take home fer Bon Bon to enjoy."

"Aww, thanks AJ! I appreciate it! Now come on, let's make those pies!" the unicorn said before running towards the kitchen. But then she realized that Applejack was currently injured, so she came back with an embarrassed look on her face. "Hehe, oops, sorry AJ, I forgot that you got injured. Here, let me give you a helping hoof." She then extended a foreleg so that the farmer can walk at least.

"Thanks, sugarcube. Ah really appreciate the help," Applejack said.

"It's okay. Now we can finally make those pies!" Lyra said with a little hint of enthusiasm in her voice. Applejack just chuckled at the unicorn's reaction.

However, hidden away in their minds, Applejack and Lyra could not help but wonder how in the world did Amethyst knew about Bon Bon's secret? Did she eavesdrop on them while they were talking about it? But more importantly, why did she decide to act now instead of just hiding in the shadows and then strike when the prey wasn't ready for such an attack? All of those questions might haunt them as they decided to let the whole thing go for a while. Hopefully when Twilight came back from her stay at Canterlot, she had all of the answers for it.
> The Perfect Plan
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lyra and Bon Bon were on their way to Twilight’s castle once again. This time however, it was on a more completely different agenda as they knew who the true culprit is. When Bon Bon was informed of the pony responsible for her predicament, she was completely shocked when it was the pony she also knew all too well. Now, it has been a full week since the incident that had transpired at Sweet Apple Acres. She heard that Applejack got injured trying to fight Amethyst, but luckily it was not that severe as it was a minor cut on her left foreleg.

Still though, she would not have expected such a pony she believed enough to be her best friend to betray her like this. She and Amethyst had known each other ever since Bon Bon moved to Ponyville after the agency she worked for in Canterlot got shut down. However, she had to keep her identity a secret, yet she had known about it even though she was not around at that time.

This is exactly what Bon Bon is thinking about while she and her girlfriend are on their way to the Castle of Friendship. If she wasn’t around when they were talking about her double life, that means…

When she saw Bon Bon suddenly stopped, Lyra asked, “Bonnie, what’s wrong? What was on your mind right now?”

“Lyra, remember back during Cranky and Matilda’s wedding night when we talked about my double life?” Bon Bon asked.

“Yeah, what about it?”

“Maybe Amethyst spied on us while we were talking about it and we didn’t know she was there!”

Lyra was a bit stunned upon hearing that sentence. Amethyst was there and she didn’t know about it?!

“Oh, that’s how she knew about your secret identity! But, where was she at that time?” Lyra asked.

“She’s probably spying on us while we were talking about it. Now, come on, let’s get to the castle. Everypony’s probably waiting for us,” Bon Bon said, galloping towards the direction of the castle.

Lyra just shook her head and smiled before following her girlfriend.





Meanwhile, inside the Castle of Friendship’s throne room, Twilight and her friends, sans Spike, are now talking about their collective plan. Applejack was there as well, despite her small injury from her fight with Amethyst. However, she has been healing pretty well from doing minimal work at the farm, but her foreleg is still bandaged, so it’s a wonder she was able to get to the castle without anypony’s help.

Applejack has informed her family members about what had happened last week when Amethyst tried to attack her. Of course, she had expected an angry feedback from Granny Smith. Her siblings seem angered as well, but nonetheless happy that she is mostly unharmed. So do her friends, for that matter.

While they were still briefing about the plan, Spike burst into the throne room, panting along the way. He then said, “Twilight, the girls are here. Should I told them to get inside?”

“One moment,” Twilight said. Turning to her friends, she asked, “So, do you girls know what we are supposed to do?” With a nod from her friends, she turned back to Spike, saying, “Okay Spike, you can bring them in.”

The young dragon nodded and ran back towards the huge doors of the room, gesturing for somepony to get inside. A second later, Lyra and Bon Bon emerged into the room, this time with a different kind of air hanging around the area.

“Hello, darlings. How are you girls doing today?” Rarity asked the new incomers.

“Doing fine, thanks for asking,” Lyra answered. Her girlfriend then suddenly nudged her side, prompting her to say something else. Rolling her eyes, she continued, “Well, we actually have something else to say before we start.”

“Really? What is it then?” the princess asked next.





A few minutes later, Lyra finally finished talking about the conversation she and Bon Bon had earlier on their way to the castle. Everypony else that was present was speechless upon hearing Lyra’s story.

It was Rainbow Dash who soon broke the silence when she said, “Okay, I know eavesdropping is bad, but listening in on somepony’s secret is just plain wrong, coming from me.”

“Huh, you and Ah both. Ah wonder if that’s how Amethyst came to know about Bon Bon bein’ a secret agent and all,” Applejack agreed.

“Okay then. Now that we got that out of the way, we can finally get down to business. For Lyra and Bon Bon, we had a plan to lure Amethyst into forcing her to tell the truth weather or not she is the one who was jealous of watching you two together that she decided to get rid of one of you after knowing about your secret,” Twilight explained to the two lovebirds, mostly on Bon Bon.

“Okay, so what’s the plan then?” the mint unicorn asked.

“Basically, I need you two to go to Amethyst’s house just for a simple chat between friends, but I want you to bring up the topic about Bon Bon’s current predicament and relocation that was supposed to happen in the next two weeks. From what I gathered from Rarity and Pinkie Pie, she gets flustered when such topic came up to the point she was sweating profusely,” the lavender alicorn explained.

“Okay, sounds easy enough. What happens then?” Bon Bon asked next.

“In the meantime, my friends and I will set up a trap around her house. Don’t worry, I will use a soundproof barrier spell as well as an invisibility spell around the perimeter of her house so she wouldn’t suspect anything. I will also make it look like she saw nothing when she decided to check outside, but you two will. Anyways, about the whole setting up traps around her house thing, it would only happen should she choose to exit her house if you provoke her hard enough with the topic I asked you to come up in the conversation.

“We need to set up a few traps for good measure if one of them fails or doesn’t work. Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie will set up traps at the front of the house while Rarity, Fluttershy and I handle the back. We even agreed to do different traps based on our specialties, right girls?” Twilight asked to her group of friends.

“Ah made a lotta traps mahself, but my most successful trap by my account would be the hole in the ground trap. Rainbow and Ah would work together on diggin’ up a hole big enough but not deep enough ta get her trapped forever. Ah know cause it happened ta me once,” Applejack exclaimed with a shudder on her body.

“I would get my party cannon like always and modify it into a booby trap when she would get near it. I’m gonna put a net, complete with a hook on each corner so that she can’t escape. How I would get it to trigger is a seeecreeet,” Pinkie explained her plan, earning an eye roll from everypony present from Pinkie’s over the top antiques.

“Anyways, I will help Fluttershy on getting her animals to work together as a team to get dear Amethyst cornered so that she could not make her escape. It took her a while to convince her to do it, but she agreed nonetheless. Is that right, Fluttershy?” Rarity explained, asking the question to the shy pegasus.

“Um, yes. I really don’t want my animals to be allowed in such a state, but I’ll do it for you girls and I really wanted you to feel safe with each other as company,” Fluttershy said with a small smile on her face.

“As for me, I’ll just do a simple binding spell if she managed to break free of Fluttershy’s animal barricade. I’ll even modify it a bit to ensure that the more she tried to wiggle out of the spell, the more the spell binds her body together so that she could do nothing but squirm in place,” the princess explained her part of the plan.

As she and Bon Bon listened to the plan, Lyra can’t help but smile wider then ever because the plan seems foolproof enough that Amethyst would be too late to notice it happen right underneath her nose.

“Anyways, earlier today, I managed to get in contact with Princess Celestia about the events that had transpired in Ponyville for the past three weeks. I was expecting a reply from her soon enough.” As if on cue, a flash of light appeared above them before a scroll containing Princess Celestia’s insignia materialized in front of Twilight. “Ah, perfect timing.”

“Ooh, a letter from Princess Celestia? What's it say? What's it say?” the party pony asked repeatedly. With a chuckle, the other princess reads the letter out loud.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

In your recent letter to me, I was told of such an unfortunate event that has transpired in Ponyville for the past three weeks. I still would not believe a fellow citizen in Equestria would do such things for trying to get rid of somepony in order to be that pony’s other girlfriend. You also mention the pony responsible for committing such an act. From the descriptions of the pony, I find it really hard to believe that she is also a Ponyvillian and that she is becoming jealous of Lyra and Bon Bon spending their lives together as girlfriends.

Anyways, you also requested two of my guards for the process of trapping dear Amethyst into making her admitting her mistake. Since you also said in your letter that you only have two weeks left before poor Bon Bon is relocated, I wholeheartedly approved of your request. Two of my best guards should be arriving shortly after you receive this letter.

If you have time, send my regards to Lyra and Bon Bon. Tell them that I sympathize them for such calamity to happen to them. I hope that you are able to capture Amethyst really soon for committing a terrible crime.

Your fellow princess,
Princess Celestia

After Twilight finished reading the letter, everyone was silent for the entire time Twilight read that letter. Seconds later, it was Rainbow again who broke the silence.

“So, now we got some royal guards in on this as well? Nice!”

“Well, Ah gotta say that if all of our traps fail, havin’ the guards at standby would be a fine last minute ditch if ya’ll ask me,” Applejack said.

“Yippie, with all the help we got, we will definitely have any means of getting Amethyst to surrender. I really hate somepony who has decided to just ruin other ponies’ life,” Pinkie agreed.

“Yes Pinkie, and I think the guards should be here any second now. Spike, could you go and check if they have arrived? If they did, tell them to come to the throne room. I will be waiting for them here,” the princess told her number one assistant, who has been quiet the entire time.

“Okay, Twi. I’ll be back in a sec,” Spike said before disappearing from the throne room.

Minutes later, Spike came back with the two guards that Celestia sent to her. One was an earth pony mare with pale gray fur, a cobalt blue mane and tail and beautiful amber eyes. The other was a pegasus stallion with white fur, also with a blue mane and tail but a shade darker and gleaming blue eyes. Both of their cutie marks were hidden underneath all of the armor the two currently wore on their bodies.

Twilight got up from her seat at the Cutie Map and trotted towards the two guards with a smile on her face. She stopped in front of them and the mare said, “Good evening, Princess Twilight! I’m Captain Diorite and this is my partner, Chert. It is a pleasure and an honor to temporarily serve you in order to bring justice to an innocent life.”

“Diorite and Chert, huh? Are you two related or something?” the princess asked upon realizing that the two names are actually rock types.

The earth pony guard, now identified as Diorite, answered, “Yes, we are, your highness. In fact, we are cousins, right Chert?”

The pegasus, Chert, then said, “Indeed we are. May we see who is the distressed pony we are to bring justice to?”

“Sure thing. One second,” Twilight said, turning back to gesture Lyra and Bon Bon to come over to greet the two guardsponies. They stopped beside her and introduced them directly. “Fellas, this is Lyra,” Twilight said, pointing at the unicorn with her hoof, “and this is Bon Bon,” Twilight continued, now pointing at the other earth pony present. “They have officially became girlfriends for the past five weeks, but due to certain unfortunate events, one of them has to be relocated when her cover as a secret agent has been unintentionally compromised.

“However, we now know who the pony responsible for the attempt of Bon Bon’s relocation; a unicorn mare by the name of Amethyst Star. She made a terrible mistake last week by trying to attack my friend Applejack right at her own house at Sweet Apple Acres. However, she did get a lucky hit on her when she used a kitchen knife to hit her left foreleg, causing it to be rendered useless for a while,” the lavender bookworm continued before stopping as Diorite raised a hoof.

“Pardon me your highness, but where do we have a role in capturing this Amethyst?”

“Good question there. I was just getting to that. So, here’s the plan I have in mind…”





“...and that’s when you two come along. Chert, I need you to place this inhibitor ring,” Twilight said, showing a ring that was specified to stop any unicorn’s magical flow, “on top of Amethyst’s horn. This way, she won’t be able to use her magic to defend herself.”

The white pegasus saluted, saying, “Sure thing, Princess Twilight! I will not fail you!” He then took the ring and placed it somewhere in his armor.

“As for you, Diorite, how good are you at tying stuff up with ropes?” Twilight asked the other cousin.

“Well, I have been practising on my own and I think I can tie up something really nice and tight. Why do you ask?”

“Perfect, because you will help Applejack, who was also good with ropes, to tie up Amethyst once the inhibitor ring has been placed. Got that?”

“Hmm, this is a huge task for me, but I will do my best, Princess!”

“Excellent! Now, do you two have anymore questions before we call this a day?” the princess addressed the two guards before Diorite raised her hoof again.

“Well, this may sound absurd but, since we will be staying with you for a while, is it okay if we have a place to stay?”

Twilight chuckled, knowing that this question will come up. Still, she calmly said, “Do not worry, I have two spare guest rooms prepared for your arrival. I will have Spike escort you to your rooms, if you’d like.”

“Sure thing, Princess! Also, if you haven’t noticed, your highness, this castle of yours is bigger on the inside rather than the outside.”

The lavender alicorn chuckled again. “Yeah, I noticed,” she said. She then turned to Spike, saying, “Spike, could you please bring these two to their guest rooms for a rest?”

Spike, who was having a conversation with the other girls, turned his head around when he heard his name getting called. “Oh, sure thing, Twilight!” he said, getting off his small seat and heading towards the other group of ponies. “Come on! Please follow me to your rooms.”

The earth pony guard nodded. “Sure thing. Spike, was it? We will follow you soon,” she said before addressing Twilight one last time. “Princess, we will not fail to do our respective duties! Just one last question. When will you initiate the plan?”

“Next week. That means you will have one whole week to prepare for the upcoming fight. If you need practice, I had Applejack and Rarity to help you with it.”

“Sure thing, Princess. We will need all the training we can get, which will start tomorrow, I presume?” Chert asked.

Twilight nodded.

“In that case, we will take our leave now. Come now, cousin, let’s get a rest. We have a long week ahead of us,” the pegasus told his earth pony cousin.

“Sure thing, let’s. Lead the way, Spike!”

The young dragon nodded before exiting the throne room with Diorite and Chert in tow.

“Okay, that’s all everypony. Remember the plan and stay safe! Dismissed!” the princess ordered before her friends, including Lyra and Bon Bon, departed from the throne room to go about on their daily lives.





Lyra and Bon Bon had decided to get some lunch at Sugar Cube Corner, so they followed Pinkie towards the sweet shop after asking her to let them follow her there. Once they arrive, they asked for the usual before Pinkie went to the kitchen to prepare lunch.

While they wait for their order, Bon Bon asked her girlfriend, “Lyra, are you sure that Twilight’s plan will work?”

“Well, I don’t see any flaws in it. If there were any, I’m sure she would notice,” Lyra replied.

“Hopefully you’re right. I mean, Amethyst definitely won’t know what hit her next week, now that we got some royal guards on our side.”

“I know, right? Also, who would have thought that two ponies from the same bloodline work side by side as guards like… like… uh, do you know their names, Bonnie?” the unicorn stuttered.

“Who, Diorite and Chert?” the earth pony answered.

“Yes, them! Who’d have thought about it, right?”

“Well, what about Cloud Chaser and Flitter? They are on the weather team and they are sisters, no less.”

Lyra blanked out for a while before saying, “Oh yeah, I nearly forgot about those two. Guess the world was a lot smaller than you think, huh?”

Bon Bon chuckled. “Yeah, it probably is.” She then snuggled next to her girlfriend, resting her head on Lyra’s shoulder. That didn’t last long, however, because Pinkie finally came back with their order.

“Hey Lyra and Bon Bon, here’s your order! Say, do you mind if I sit with you? There aren’t a lot of ponies today,” the party pony requested.

The two lovebirds glanced briefly before Lyra said, “Sure Pinkie, you can sit here with us.”

“Yay! Hold on, I’ll be right back!” the hyperactive pony said before disappearing and reappearing in less than a second, with a plate of sandwiches on her head when she came back.

“Oh Pinkie, never change,” was all Lyra said before the three ate their meals happily.
> Let The Training Commence!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A lone pale gray earth pony was making her way across town in order to get to Sweet Apple Acres for her training with Applejack, but she became lost since she wasn't born in Ponyville. With that, she just wanders around the small town until she can find somepony to show her the way. She already had her breakfast with her cousin Chert, Princess Twilight and her assistant Spike, who made the breakfast that consists of delicious pancakes.

Diorite remembered quite well what had happened back at the dining area. It was there that Twilight managed to get a glimpse of the cousins' cutie marks. As she had expected, the marks were depictions of their own names. Still, she can't control her excitement before she ran out of the room without finishing her breakfast.

Diorite was still thinking about the event that she didn't notice that somepony's scooter was heading towards her way. However, she did hear somepony yell "Look out!" Unfortunately, she didn't have time to react, causing the two to collide with each other.

Seconds later after the dust cleared out, Diorite shook her head in order to get the adrenaline out from her body.

"Ow, my head hurts..."

She then heard the same voice from before, causing her head to turn to the source of the voice. Diorite soon laid her eyes upon a pegasus filly with orange coat and magenta colored mane and tail, with a scooter laying beside her. Despite the crash, Diorite did not suffer any injuries due to her earth pony heritage.

Feeling concern for the filly, she then said, "Are you okay there, young one?"

The young pegasus looked up to see a pale gray earth pony mare standing beside her. She then said, "Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine! Just a little headache, that's all."

"Okay then. Hey, do you know how to get to Sweet Apple Acres from here?"

"Sweet Apple Acres? Yeah, I know! In fact, I was just heading there! Want me to show you, miss..."

"Oh, Diorite. Just Diorite," Diorite introduced herself.

"Miss Diorite. Cute name," Scootaloo said, causing the older mare to blush.

"You think so?" the earth pony asked, getting a nod from the pegasus. "Hehe, thanks. You know, ever since I was into the royal guard, nopony ever called me cute before, what with the whole stern attitude and all."

Upon hearing that Diorite was part of the royal guard, Scootaloo's eyes were wide in shock. Still, she soon let out a squeal of joy as she said, "Woah, you're a guard? Awesome!"

"Yeah. Hey, you haven't told me your name yet."

"Oh yeah, whoops. I'm Scootaloo and I'm a huge Rainbow Dash fan! I take it you knew her as well?"

"Of course, and Princess Twilight and the rest of her friends as well."

The filly's eyes went wide before feeling sceptical as she asked, "But, how did you know the others?"

"Well, I know them since yesterday. Plus, I now lived at the castle but only temporary," answered Diorite.

"Oh, okay then. So, do you wanna go to the apple farm or not?" Scootaloo said.

"Oh yeah, that. Lead the way, then."





About twenty minutes later, Diorite and Scootaloo finally made it to Sweet Apple Acres. Along the way, Scootaloo explained that she wanted to meet Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, whom Diorite learned was Applejack's and Rarity's younger sisters, at their clubhouse nearby. She also explained to the older pony that she and her friends have been trying and failing to get cutie marks ever since they formed the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

When they arrived by the gates separating the house and the farm, the two part ways with Diorite heading towards the farmhouse. She then knocked the front door and seconds later, Applejack answered the door with a smile on her face.

"Oh, howdy there Miss Diorite! How did you know where the farm was?"

"Well, a filly came by and showed me the way. Uh, what was her name again? Scootaloo?" Diorite said, trying to remember the pegasus' name.

Upon hearing Scootaloo's name, the cowgirl's eyes twitched a bit, which was unnoticed by her fellow earth pony. She then sighed and said, "Huh, Ah knew it when Apple Bloom ran out o' the house without finishin' her breakfast. Speakin' of which, have you had breakfast yet, Miss Diorite?"

"I have, but please just call me Diorite. I'm currently off duty right now," the guard said.

"Oh, sorry there, have been quite used to royalty for a while since my friends and Ah were friends with the princesses and all."

"Yeah, I noticed. So, can we get to that training now?"





Meanwhile, around the same time at the Castle of Friendship, after seeing his cousin Diorite take off to Sweet Apple Acres, the pegasus Chert was currently in the backyard of the castle with Rainbow Dash and Rarity. The reason is that he wanted to get started with his training in placing an inhibitor ring to a unicorn's horn, ensuring that they are unable to use magic.

For Rarity's part, she didn't really like having her magic blocked. However, she was willing to be the guinea pig for Chert's training for Bon Bon's sake.

As of now, Rainbow was showing her fellow pegasus the basic ways in subduing Rarity in order for him to place the ring on her horn. They even showed him a number of situations that might happen when he tried to do the same to Amethyst. Currently, he was shown a situation where Amethyst might be using sharp weapons like knives to defend herself.

"Okay, so here's what you should do when a unicorn was using deadly objects that might kill. Obviously you need to get rid of the knives, but how should you do it when there's magic involved? Let me show you, and then I need you to do it, okay?" the speedster explained, which Chert nodded.

Then, Rainbow and Rarity engaged in a fight with Rarity using magic to float some knives to defend herself. Rainbow swooped in to grab hold of the knives, but nearly missed the incoming counterattack.

"See that? If you just swoop in like that, there's a chance that you might end up injure yourself. Got that?" Rainbow asked.

"Uh huh, I get that. Swooping in, bad idea," Chert said.

"Okay, now here's how you should do it. Watch and learn."

After that, the cyan pegasus went over to her unicorn friend and engaged again. Over and over, she managed to block every single strike that Rarity gave her. However, Rainbow managed to get her foreleg right underneath her, causing Rarity to lose concentration and balance, forcing her to drop the knives. Rainbow then forced the inhibitor ring on Rarity's horn the second she was lying down.

Chert saw everything that happened and took note of it. After a while, he nodded with a grin on his face.

Rainbow came towards her fellow pegasus and asked, "So, did you get on how you should do it?"

The white pegasus nodded. "Yeah, I think I can do it."

"Well, hopefully you can, darling, cause getting your magic blocked every time is really tiring, you know?" Rarity said, panting from all of that sparring.

"Yeah, I still can't believe you volunteered to be subdued by that ring on your horn," the pegasus guard pointed out.

"Well, to be honest, I didn't want to do this, but for Bon Bon, I have to do it for her sake."

"Huh, your element could have been Loyalty instead of Generosity if you keep up like this. Then I'll have to find another element to inherit," Rainbow said jokingly.

With a roll of his eyes, the only stallion of the group said, "Okay then. Can I have a turn now?"

"Oh no, not again," the fashionista whined.

"Hey Rares, don't worry. This will be the last one and then we take a break, alright? Plus, I already showed him all five possible scenarios what a unicorn might do to defend herself," the speedster exclaimed.

"Fine, but just this one last time, okay?"

"Well, you heard her. Show us what you learned."

The white pegasus needed no more encouragement as he, after taking the ring back from Rarity's horn, started engaging in the fight, as usual Rarity using knives to defend herself. Using the technique Rainbow used, he managed to get the ring placed onto her horn after a minute of scuffle.

"Wow, not bad. You managed to finish in about an hour," Rainbow said.

"Thanks. I am a fast learner, after all," Chert exclaimed.

That statement received an eye roll from the two friends as the cyan pegasus mentally said, "Heh, just like Twilight, but as a stallion and not a bookworm."

"Alright then, darlings, how about that break we intended to do?" Rarity said, taking the ring off with her hoof since she can't use her magic while the ring was in place.

"Okay! But, I was wondering how Diorite was doing with her part of the training?"





Meanwhile, back at Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack and Diorite was currently by the backyard to do the training. So far, Diorite has shown Applejack how far she has gotten into her self taught tying lesson and had pointed out the pros and cons of it; the most obvious con was that the knots were too loose that will result in the easy escape of the culprit.

With that, Applejack finally showed her the greatest way of tying up a pony with Pinkie Pie's help. Like Rarity, she was also willing to be the decoy in order to get Diorite in shape for the main event next week.

"Alright, so now do you know how to do it?" Applejack asked.

Diorite then saw how intricate the knots that she has done to the party pony, who was tied up to a chair as of now. She had her forelegs tied behind her back by looping the rope on each leg and securing it with more rope down in the middle. Any excess rope was looped around her body tightly and efficiently, which was easily over four feet remaining.

"Wow Applejack, you really know your way with this thing. You do this every time there's danger or is it something else?" the gray earth pony asked.

"Nah, it's not every time that Ah got to use my talent for helpin' other ponies," the cowgirl said.

"Yeah, Applejack really does know her way around this. She is the best of the best!" Pinkie exclaimed, still quite tied up at the moment.

"Also, I thought you were quite hyperactive for doing this thing, Pinkie," Diorite said.

"Yeah I would, but I don't want Bon Bon to be all frowny like. You know how much I hated ponies not smiling, especially if it involves couples like Lyra and Bon Bon. I saw how happy they were when they started dating, but for Amethyst to do such a thing that's gonna end their relationship is just wrong," the party pony explained.

"Applejack, does she really like doing long speeches?" the guard asked her fellow earth pony.

"It's alright, she does this all the time every day, it's pretty much the norm right here in Ponyville, includin' when she and Rainbow Dash went off to Griffonstone for the very first official friendship problem," Applejack said.

"Okay then. So, can I have a turn now?"

"Sure. Just do exactly as Ah did and it will all paid off in the end," the farmer said as she untied Pinkie before handing the rope to Diorite.

About ten minutes later, Diorite finally get the hang in tying up Pinkie because when she finished, it looked exactly like it was supposed to be, forelegs tied behind her back and her body tightly secured with the extra rope.

Applejack, for her part, was amazed how Diorite was able to pick up quickly and said, "Wow, are ya sure you're not Twilight's long lost sister or anythin' cause ya learned really fast there, Diorite."

The guard giggled. "Oh, I can assure you that Princess Twilight and I are not related in any way at all."

"Uh, alrighty then. Oh, it's nearly noon. Diorite, do you wanna have lunch here?" the cowgirl proposed.

"Sure, why not? I am getting hungry, by the way. Let's go then!"

"Uh guys, can you at least untie me before you leave?"

The two other earth ponies looked back to see Pinkie still tied up to the chair that she was sitting on.

"Oops, sorry Pinkie. Let me help you out," Diorite said.

After that, she, Pinkie and Applejack made their way to the dining area for a nice lunch together.

"Applejack, do you think I did well earlier?" Diorite asked.

"Are ya kiddin'? Ya did really well! A few more practices and you will tie up Amethyst like a turkey wrapped up in a blanket," Applejack said.

That compliment made the earth pony guard blush slightly as she said, "Okay then, I'll try my best!"

After that, they, alongside her cousin Chert and his companions, finally have lunch at the same time before resuming their training.
> The Final Confrontation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A really intense week has passed. As of now, Bon Bon only has one week remaining before she has to be relocated by her fellow agents. Throughout the week, cousins Diorite and Chert have been working their hardest training under the eyes of Rainbow Dash and Applejack; Diorite being taught on tying up properly, and Chert getting better at blocking a unicorn's magic using an inhibitor ring.

And now, the guards, Lyra, Bon Bon and the Mane Six have gathered at the throne room for one more quick check of the plan. About ten minutes later, they are finally off to Amethyst's house to enact the plan.

When they arrived, everypony went into their respective stations of action. Lyra and Bon Bon will go inside and have a conversation with Amethyst, the cousin guards will help the Mane Six into setting up traps, with Diorite helping Applejack and Chert helping Fluttershy, and Twilight setting up the spells needed so that the purple unicorn cannot see and hear what the others are doing outside. However, the girlfriends will notice, but they will try their best to ignore the sounds.

Once everything is set, Lyra and Bon Bon have been given the green light to proceed with the plan by the princess. Lyra then knocked on the front door after a few seconds of hesitation with her right hoof. More seconds passed before the door opened to reveal Amethyst with a smile on her face.

"Oh, hey girls! What brings you here?"

"Nothing, just wanted to have a little chat between friends, that's all," Lyra said.

"Oh, okay then. Come on in! Would you like something to eat while you're here?" Amethyst offered.

"Sure, why not?" her fellow unicorn said before she and her girlfriend went inside the house, signaling the others to come out of hiding and starting to prepare the traps.

They had to work quickly and swiftly because Twilight only gave the lovebirds five minutes upon entry before they finally spilled the beans on Bon Bon's current predicament. With that in mind, all eight ponies broke off into two teams of four to set the traps. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Diorite and Pinkie Pie did the front of the house, while Rarity, Fluttershy, Chert and Twilight did the back.

Back in the house, Lyra, Bon Bon and Amethyst finally settled down in the living room. Then, Lyra started the conversation.

"So Amethyst, anything interesting happening to you in the past month? Of course, you remember going to my girlfriend's birthday party, didn't you?"

"Oh yeah, I remember! I gotta say, Pinkie threw the liveliest of parties, didn't she?" her fellow unicorn asked.

"Yeah, she can get a little bit overboard when it comes to parties sometimes."

"Hehe, yeah. So anyways, what about you? Weeks ago, I saw you and Princess Twilight talking about something. What about it?"

"Oh, that? Nothing, just catching up with recent events. After all, we did used to be friends before she moved to Ponyville."

"Really? What happened?"

"Well, it goes like this..."

Meanwhile, back outside, the others gave their all as they frantically tried to finish their traps. Applejack and Diorite have finished digging the hole while Rainbow grabbed every leaf and branch she could find on the outskirts of the Everfree Forest. Pinkie, on the other hoof, went about on working on the finishing touches on her modified party cannon to serve as a net slingshot (don't ask on how she came up with that name).

At the back of the house, Fluttershy had just came back from her cottage to gather as many animals as she can, flying and ground alike, to help with the capture of Amethyst. At first, the animals didn't seem to cooperate well, but after a little bit of encouraging, they finally agreed. Then, she had Rarity and Chert to get her animals in place where she would like them. Twilight, meanwhile, was focusing on the spells that she had learned for the past week that allows her to bind Amethyst and causing it to tighten should she tried to struggle.

Back inside, Lyra was finishing up the story about how she and Twilight didn't meet again.

"And Pinkie told me that she was asked by Twilight to help set up the same party that Moondancer had made for her but didn't attend. She did yelled at Twilight for missing it, but in the end, the two finally make amends."

Amethyst was nearly misty eyed from hearing the story. She then said, "Wow, that was the deepest story I've ever heard in my life."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Bon Bon agreed.

"Okay, I think I'm gonna take a bathroom break. Do you mind if I..."

"Oh sure, go ahead. We'll wait for you," the mint unicorn said.

"Okay then! See you later!" the purple unicorn said before leaving the other two to head to the bathroom.

While they wait, Lyra checked on the progress of the trap setting. So far, she can see that Applejack and Diorite have finished digging the hole and are now in the finishing process of covering it with sticks and leaves. Pinkie was of course ready with her party cannon that was modified so that it shoots a net out, but she only has one so she had to make it count.

Looking at the back, the others seems to have finished with their traps, Fluttershy getting her last animals in place for the ambush. She then saw Twilight, who gave her a nod, signalling that it's time to spill the beans.

Acknowledging the nod, Lyra and Bon Bon nodded back, just in time for Amethyst to came back from the bathroom and sitting back at the couch in the living room.

"Whew, that took longer than I expected. I could've swore that I ate anything that would do this to me. Anyways, do you guys need anything?"

"No thanks. I was just wondering if you heard about my relocation that will happen next week if I failed to find the pony who tried to frame me," Bon Bon started, commencing their part of the plan to begin.

With an eye twitch that was unnoticed by the other two, she said, "Wait, really? Oh dear, I'm really sorry that happened to you. Did you find out who did it?"

"Well, I was hoping that you knew who was the pony responsible," Lyra retaliated.

Another eye twitch, this time the one that was noticed by the other two. Still, she said, "What? No, I have no idea who could have done this. I swear!"

"Really? Then how come Applejack told us that you tried to fight her and causing her left foreleg to get injured?"

"What? She knew that Applejack got injured because of me? That means..." thought Amethyst before realizing that Lyra and Bon Bon have been kept on tabs that was happening all around them.

Without saying anything, she tried to run out of her house, unaware that the front and the back of her house have been booby trapped with various traps. The moment she stepped outside by her front door, she suddenly fell down a hole that was covered by the sticks and leaves, courtesy of Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Diorite.

Seeing this, Lyra shouted, "Hey guys, come to the front! Alpha is down! Repeat, alpha is down!"

That was actually a code that Lyra has been given to say if a trap have been sprung. In no time at all, Rarity, Fluttershy, Chert and Twilight have appeared at the front yard, Fluttershy appearing last because she had to tell her animal friends to call it a day and letting them return to her cottage.

Looking down, Amethyst had seemed to hit her head on the way down, because when the princess brought her out, her eyes seemed to spiral from a concussion. This makes it easier for Chert to place the inhibitor ring onto Amethyst's horn and securing it before Applejack and Diorite tied her up and brought her back inside. At that point, she was already unconscious.





Half an hour later, Amethyst finally woke up after getting her head hit by something. She tried to get up, but found that she was tied up. She tried loosening it up with magic, but her horn seemed to flicker for a while before her magic died completely. Then, it felt like she had been hit by a train as she realized that her horn had an inhibitor ring, making her unable to use magic.

She tried to struggle, only to hear a distinctive, yet familiar sound said, "Hey everypony, she's awake!"

That sound actually came from Pinkie Pie, who had been tasked on keeping an eye on the purple unicorn until she had awaken, which she just did. Then, Amethyst felt like her body is being lifted by the magical aura of another unicorn, or rather an alicorn as Twilight forced her to sit upright on the couch in the living room.

Seconds later, Amethyst was flanked by the cousin guards, Diorite and Chert, who were wearing their usual guard armor, while the Mane Six and the girlfriends surround her on all sides, waiting for her to finally speak the truth.

At long last, Amethyst finally relented. With tears in her eyes, which garnered a surprised look on everypony's face, including the guards, she said, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have been so jealous of them."

Twilight stepped forward and asked, "So I was right. You are jealous, but to whom exactly?"

"Of Bon Bon. She was so perfect, so mature, and she... she... she took Lyra away from me! I was supposed to be her girlfriend, because I have been having a crush on her for quite a while, but never had the chance to tell her. And when Bon Bon took her, I... I... I was so angry! Because of that, I had to do something! So when I overheard about Bon Bon's secret identity, I had to take action."

"While this is true, why did you wait for two weeks after the wedding for you to strike, if you could have just told everypony the truth?"

Sobbing a little bit now, Amethyst continued.

"I-I wanted to make sure that they enjoyed their new lives as girlfriends, so t-that's why I asked Featherweight not to submit the story immediately so that everypony, i-including Lyra and Bon Bon, didn't get suspicious of it."

"And about when you said that you saw Lyra and I talked, did you mean that you saw us at Sugar Cube Corner, or is it something else?" the lavender princess asked.

"Well, it was at Sugar Cube Corner that I saw you and Lyra talked. I was wearing a hoodie so ponies didn't know who I am," the purple unicorn answered.

"Wait, that was you in the hoodie? I really thought it was somepony else travelling," Pinkie pointed out.

"Hold it! Pinkie, how did ya know about it but didn't told us right away?" Applejack asked.

"Well..."






Flashback, one month ago...


As usual, Pinkie took her place as the cashier while Mr and Mrs. Cake worked at the kitchen. It was still early in the morning, and she had the feeling that Twilight is gonna come back to Ponyville after her princess business in Canterlot is done.

It was currently eight in the morning, when she was greeted by her first customer. This pony was wearing a hoodie, making it's face and other features unseen by Pinkie. When the figure spoke, Pinkie knew immediately that it belonged to a female when the pony said, "Can I have a few of your best cupcakes, please?"

"Okey dokey lokey! I'll be right back!" Pinkie said, disappearing and reappearing in about a second with a plate of cupcakes balanced on her head. Then, she set it down before asking, "Say, are you new here?"

"Oh no, I'm just travelling around. You know, seeing the sights and all. Also, I'm actually from Fillydelphia," the mare said.

"Oh, okay then! What brings you here anyway?"

"Nothing, just taking a break from travelling. In fact, I'm actually staying at a friend's house for the week before I head out again."

"That's great! Can I show you the way?"

"Oh no, that's okay. She told me her address and the directions on getting there."

"Okay then. That'll be ten bits for the cupcakes, please."

The mare then handed her fifteen bits, saying, "Here you go. The rest is for your tip."

"Really? Thanks a bunch! Hope you have a great day in Ponyville!" Pinkie said before the mare bowed and took her order and sat at one of the tables to enjoy her treats.


End flashback






"And that was the last time we met. But I have no idea that was actually Amethyst under that hoodie," Pinkie finished telling the story.

Throughout the story, Amethyst was sweating profusely and her heart was beating rapidly. However, she managed to said, "I-I have nothing to do about this. I didn't even know anypony that was so secretive!"

"Sorry Amethyst, but the whole story actually checks out on my opinion. You have nowhere to turn now," Twilight said.

Upon hearing that, Amethyst had no other choice but to finally turn herself in. With tears in her eyes again, she said, "Okay. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for everything that has happened. It was wrong of me to do so. I... I should have been happy for you two. But instead, I tried to pull you girls apart. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!" With nothing left to say, her shield finally died down, causing her to cry her heart out and letting her tears flow.

Despite her confession, the sight before them is hard for everypony present, including the guards, to watch as Amethyst turned into a sobbing mess in front of them. Then, Lyra and Bon Bon walked forward to meet the sobbing unicorn.

Seeing the two in front of her, Amethyst said, "G-girls, I'm really sorry. Please forgive me. It's okay i-if you didn't, but please give me a second chance to redeem myself. Please... Please..." She then continued her crying as she had her head down, letting the tears fall freely down her cheeks.

As of now, Pinkie, Rarity and Fluttershy have tears in their eyes as well, with Pinkie's hair deflating and losing a little bit of color. Applejack had her stetson hat on her chest as a sign that she felt genuinely sorry for her as well. For the others, Diorite and Twilight had shed a few tears, Rainbow tried to keep her cool attitude but ended up crying as well, whereas Chert managed to hold on longer than Rainbow.

For the two girlfriends, they are a bit conflicted right now. On one hoof, Amethyst tried to pull them apart. On the other, she was now a sobbing mess and tried to apologize for what she has done. In the end, they finally decided on something.

Amethyst was still crying when she felt two sets of hooves hugging her and, at the same time, surprising her. She opened her eyes to see Lyra and Bon Bon around her. "Girls?"

"It's okay, Amethyst. We forgive you," was all Lyra said.

With that confirmation, Amethyst finally smiled. But, being unable to hug back due to her hooves getting tied up, all she can do was laid her head on her fellow unicorn's shoulder as she and the girlfriends cried tears of joy for the forgiveness that was traded between them.
> Epilogue: The Great Wedding
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another long week has passed. Today was the day that agents F and G came by to pick Bon Bon up for the process of her relocation.

For safe keeping, the Mane Six have decided to be there, alongside the cousin guards, Diorite and Chert, and the true culprit of the crime, Amethyst Star, who was currently tied up with ropes and an inhibitor ring placed on her horn.

However, Bon Bon was still unable to stand still due to her fellow agents coming back after five long and exhausting weeks of tracking and containing Amethyst. Well, except when Lyra threw her girlfriend a birthday party, which was still the best party that Pinkie Pie had ever thrown in her life.

Lyra saw the anxious look on her girlfriend's face and said, "Bonnie, please. You're gonna make a hole in the carpet if you keep pacing back and forth like that."

"I know that, but I can't help it! I'm scared, Lyra," Bon Bon admitted.

"It's okay, Bon Bon. Amethyst is caught, so there's nothing to worry about."

"Yeah, you're right. Sorry about it."

With that, the cream earth pony finally sat down next to Lyra and the tied up Amethyst, waiting for the agents to come by the house.

Not long after, the agents finally arrived with a carriage, presumably for Bon Bon to get her relocated. However, when they saw Amethyst tied up, alongside with last week's newspaper that showcased a letter article about Amethyst's crime confession, that was enough to make them believe and finally deemed her relocation forgotten and that she was allowed to stay in Ponyville with her girlfriend.

Upon hearing that news, Bon Bon had tears in her eyes as the others, even the guards, cheered for her good luck as she tightly hugged Lyra as tears finally flowed down each of their cheeks.





Six weeks later...

Lyra and Bon Bon walked to Ponyville Park with smiles on their faces. After the whole ordeal that they had to face for the past near three months, it had made them stronger than ever when they realize that they can fight for whatever life throws at them. Now, Lyra had other plans for her girlfriend.

After a long walk, they finally stopped at a clearing. They had decided to do a picnic earlier because Lyra was holding onto a picnic basket with her magic. However, she had other things in mind.

After the picnic blanket has been spread and the treats set up, Lyra and Bon Bon settled down to enjoy the sunset together. However, throughout the entire picnic, Lyra's heart was pounding in her chest on figuring out how to tell her girlfriend that she no longer wanted to be one but decided to take a step in their relationship further. After a while, she sucked it all up and finally asked Bon Bon about it.

"Hey Bonnie, can I ask you something?"

"Sure thing, Lyra. What is it?" Bon Bon said.

"Well, we have been girlfriends for like three months now and we have been through a lot now, which it was considering that Amethyst had to do some community service thanks to what she did to us."

She is not wrong on that account. Amethyst was brought to Canterlot for her trial for a really treacherous crime that she did for trying to get Bon Bon relocated due to her jealousy. But, as the Princess of Friendship, Twilight managed to persuade her fellow princesses, Celestia and Luna, to give Amethyst a small punishment rather than putting her behind bars. Instead, she was forced to stay in Ponyville and making sure that she did every task that her fellow residents ask her to do for the next six months.

The other Ponyville residents, however, did not take it lightly as they are completely angry at Amethyst for trying to separate Lyra and Bon Bon. So, they gave her really hard tasks to do, despite her futile attempts on apologizing to them.

This continued for at least three weeks until a fire broke out on one of the houses with a four year old filly trapped inside. Despite the dangers, Amethyst braved herself to save the filly and after three minutes, she came out with the unconscious but breathing filly on her back. After that, the residents finally saw that Amethyst was truly sorry for her previous behaviour and they finally forgave her and she was heralded as a hero for saving the filly from a burning building.

The following week, Amethyst was asked by Mayor Mare to receive an award for saving a young life whilst risking her own. And now the residents helped her in any way they can when she wanted to complete whatever task she was asked to do.

Bon Bon was still thinking about the event and said, "Yeah, she really wanted to change her ways after what she did. Good thing the others finally see it after they gave her nothing but hard labor."

"Hehe, yeah. But anyways, I was wondering if we can have her as one of your bridesmaids?" Lyra asked.

"Sur- Wait, what?"

With shaky hooves, Lyra reached down to the picnic basket and took out a small ring box and presented it to Bon Bon.

"Lyra?" Bon Bon asked with wide eyes.

"Bonnie, I feel like we should continue our current lives together because I can't spend another second without you by my side. Thinking about you leaving is the worst thing that could've happened, but at least it didn't happen. So, I need to ask you one question," Lyra said, opening the box to reveal a shimmering ring that was attached to a string. "Bon Bon, will you marry me?"

The earth pony was stunned when her girlfriend wanted to marry her. Still, with tears in her eyes, she nodded. "Yes. Yes, I'll marry you!"

With that being said, the two lovebirds, now soul mates, hugged and shared a passionate kiss with each other.





Three weeks later...

Today was the greatest day Lyra and Bon Bon ever had because it was their wedding day. They can still remember what they had told the Mane Six about when they wanted to get married, in which of course they received mixed reactions from each of them.

Pinkie Pie was of course the happiest of the six when the news was dropped on them. She then went on to throw them a 'Congratulations on Getting Married' party (again, don't ask). Rarity nearly fainted after hearing the news, but she managed to keep it together whilst at the same time sheds a few tears for the newlyweds alongside Fluttershy.

Applejack was ecstatic about the wedding because Lyra wanted her sister, Apple Bloom, to be one of the flower girls alongside the other Cutie Mark Crusaders and with her as one of her bridesmaids alongside Amethyst. Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof, has decided to spread the news all over Ponyville, including asking Mayor Mare on having another wedding. However, she didn't have to worry, because Twilight had stepped in to officiate the wedding vows instead of the mayor.

Back to the present, as of now, Rarity was putting the finishing touches on Bon Bon's wedding dress, complete with a veil and a bouquet of flowers. It was a good thing too, because Lyra opted to be the one to wear a tuxedo for their wedding day, which makes it easier to do her job.

Five minutes later, the fashionista stepped back to admire her work. Bon Bon was indeed a beauty. The dress itself was made from silicon and it was very mobile as well. With all of the lacing that she put into the dress, it makes the wearer to be even more beautiful, not to mention the makeup that she had; with her green eyeshadow paired off with pink lipstick, the combination actually suits her with the wedding dress that she wore.

Upon seeing the bride like that, it made Rarity teared up because the wedding dress alongside the makeup makes her really beautiful. She then commented, "Oh Bon Bon, you look stunning! Lyra is really lucky to have you as her soul mate, darling."

Bon Bon blushed brightly from hearing that comment. She then said, "Thanks, Rarity. I appreciate it."

"Why, you're welcome. But the wedding starts in ten minutes. Enough for last minute looks on your makeup. Come along."

The wedding was to be held in Ponyville Town Hall, where Cranky and Matilda's wedding was previously held. The main room was filled with ponies and in the center of it all, stood Lyra in her tuxedo with Princess Twilight officiating the wedding. Amethyst was standing on the bride's side with some of the other Mane Six. Only the earth ponies out of the remaining five that was standing. Rainbow Dash was the only one out of them sitting on one of the chairs, while Fluttershy having her choir birds did the wedding tunes.

Lyra was sweating profusely, waiting for Bon Bon to come in so that the wedding can start. Twilight saw the anxious look on her face and said, "Hey Lyra, are you feeling okay?"

"Well, to be honest, no. I'm really anxious right now, I might explode from all of the attention," the mint unicorn admitted.

"It's okay, Lyra. You're gonna be fine, trust me."

"I sure hope so."

About five minutes later, the shy pegasus was given the green light to make the birds to start singing the wedding chorus. As soon as it started, the huge doors on the other side of the aisle opened, firstly revealing the Cutie Mark Crusaders hopping down the aisle whilst scattering flowers all around before revealing Bon Bon in all of her beauty. Upon seeing her, Lyra was stunned because her girlfriend, now soon-to-be wife, is even more beautiful then before.

After she made it to Lyra's side, they briefly looked at each other before turning to Twilight, signalling for her to start officiating the wedding.

"Mares and gentlecolts, we are gathered here today to celebrate these two ponies standing before you. To be honest, as the Princess of Friendship, I could not have felt more love than these two could have omitted than any other pony that I have met in the past and have finally decided to tie the knots right here, right now.

"For the past four months, these two have been in a really tight situation where the bride has to be relocated by her fellow agents due to her secret cover being blown. The culprit was none other than Amethyst Star, who was standing before you as one of the bridesmaids due to her jealousy of the groom. But like most ponies, she was forgiven for all of the mistakes that she has done.

"And now, we have more important things at hoof as we finally bring these two together after three months of being girlfriends who had faced a lot together."

Twilight then turned to Lyra. "Do you, Lyra Heartstrings, take Bon Bon or Agent Sweetie Drops as your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

With a smile on her face, the mint unicorn nodded. "I do."

The lavender princess then turned to the bride. "And do you, Agent Sweetie Drops, take Lyra Heartstrings as your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

The secret agent also nodded. "I do."

"Well then, Spike, can we have the rings, please?"

Spike, who served as the ring boy, bring two rings on a pillow, where one of them was attached to a string to serve as a necklace for Bon Bon. The alicorn then levitated the rings and placed the stringed one around Bon Bon's neck and the other non-stringed one on top of Lyra's horn. Once that was done, Twilight said the last words.

"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you lovely wedded wives. Lyra, you may now kiss the bride."

The second the words left Twilight's lips, Lyra and Bon Bon passionately kissed each other, while the guests cheered for the happy couple.





Later that night...

Still wearing their tuxedo and wedding dress, Lyra and Bon Bon finally made it back to their home sweet home after a really long wedding party and an after party afterwards (okay, that's a lot of afters. Curse you, Pinkie!). Without changing out of the outfits, they had decided to just sleep in with them. However, they were still awake as they are still remembering what had just happened.

"Hey Lyra, what do you think is gonna happen next now that we are married?" Bon Bon asked.

"Hmm, I guess we just face whatever life threw at us. Can you do that for me, honey?" Lyra said.

With a smile on her face, her wife said, "Sure thing, honey."

With that confirmation, the two newlyweds finally closed their eyes after fatigue settled in whilst wrapping each other with their hooves into a really warm hug, hopefully with some wonderful dreams and hopes in the future.


THE END