The whistling of the kettle alerted Lyra, letting her know that her tea had finished.

Rising from her seat, the mint-colored unicorn pony trotted over to the kitchen and, on reflex, stretched out her mind. A field of energy flickered around the kettle as it was lifted telekinetically from the stove, steaming as its whistling noise dimmed to a stop. Gently, she set the kettle down and peeked through the curtains, more out of habit than out of anticipation. She was getting better at guessing James's schedule. It was roughly time for his next visit.

In the back of her head, Lyra doubted that James would show up. He didn't last time. She just assumed that he was busy; off somewhere in Equestria, looking for those shards he often talked about. Still, every time he didn't show up, it worried her. The worry often passed when nothing came up in the news, but still…

A gentle knock at her back door nearly made Lyra jump. She didn't see James sneak up through her backyard; he had been getting steadily better at moving around unseen and, coincidentally, she was getting harder to startle. Taking only a moment to pour herself a cup of tea, Lyra went to the door to greet her friend.

One of the first things that Lyra noticed about James was how much he had changed since they had last met.

First of all was how tall he had gotten. Sure, Lyra herself had grown quite a bit, but James's head was an inch from the ceiling when he stood upright. His face, which might have looked handsome once, had a sizeable scar arcing from his right eye across his nose, and it was clear he needed a shave. His hair had grown into a wild, shoulder-length mess, and in general he looked filthy and unkempt. Aside from that, he hadn't changed much; his clothing was still the same beat-up jacket and thick pants, although he had patched up some holes in the fabric and he wore a heavy scrap of cloth which he had fashioned into a hooded poncho of some sort to keep warm in the cold winter months.

For about a minute, the two of them greeted one another and sat in silence drinking tea. Eventually, Lyra decided to start up a conversation.

"…So," she asked, "How have things been? It's been so long, I haven't seen you in almost a year."

James grinned. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that," he replied. "I've been up to stuff lately. There were… difficulties, but I've managed to get past them. What have you been up to lately? How's Bon Bon, is she doing okay?"

Lyra nodded. "Same old things, probably not as dangerous as what you put up with daily. Bon Bon's okay, too; she had to go get groceries, so she couldn't show up unfortunately."

"Oh, sorry to hear that," James said. "Well, tell her I said hi, at least."

"Will do. You're out of tea there, Jim, would you like more?"

"No thanks. But, uh, do you have any apples?" James asked this because he typically steered clear from the Apple Family Farms in lieu of past experiences, and as such he only ever came across them in the wild, few and far between.

"Sure," Lyra told him, "They're in the cupboard over there, help yourself."

As James got up to grab an apple, Lyra decided to talk about what had been going on with him recently. "So, how's the treasure-hunting thing going?"

James leaned against the counter and took a chomp from a sizeable red apple. "You mean looking for the metal shards? It's a slow process; very dangerous, lots of close calls. But, that hasn't stopped me before."

"Close calls? Like, the kind of close calls that almost kill you?"

"Like the kind of close calls that almost get you arrested and imprisoned, but yes, those too. I've counted three times, at least, that the Equestrian Royal Guard has gotten within a hair's breadth of getting me."

Lyra paused, eying James curiously. "And… those close calls were about…?"

It took a moment for James to process that Lyra wanted to hear what he had been up to lately in detail. "So, you're looking for stories, yeah?" he asked her. "You sure you want to hear about it? It's not all sunshine and rainbows, you know."

Lyra seemed to consider it for a moment before nodding eagerly. "I think I can deal with that."

"Okay then," James replied. "But you gotta make me a deal, okay? I tell you what my recent shenanigans were about, and you have to tell me what's been going on in Equestria for the past… let's say three years? I've been away for way too long, and I'd like to know everything."

Lyra agreed.

The rest of the day, the two of them played catch-up, drinking tea and talking. Lyra informed James of the major events, cutting out most of the less interesting or impactful stuff. She told him about the wedding between the Alicorn Princess Cadence and the former Captain of the Equestrian Guard, Prince Shining Armor, and the attempted invasion by the Changelings which was quashed before it even began. She told him about the return and subsequent reformation of Discord, an otherworldly creature that could warp reality, by Fluttershy, which James listened to with interest and a surprising amount of concern. So the stories went on; the Breezies and their migration, the battle between Twilight and the destructive Lord Tirek, the discovery of a village ruled by a pony with misguided dreams of equality, and the close call with Yakyakistan.

In return, James told Lyra about his travels. He started off by telling Lyra about the recovery of a metal-shard from Horseshoe Bay, where the Equestrian Guard had been constructing a prison to hold survivors from the Incident, and how he hijacked a merchant ship from Saddle Arabia and escaped. He told her about the time he had to sneak into Griffonstone and search for a rumored metal-shard there, and how he failed to reclaim the shard in Canterlot and ended up walking away with a broken, useless telescope. As for the Yakyakistan red alert, James had known about that as well; he had to cross the Yakyakistani border for a metal-shard that landed there too. And then there were the multitude of encounters and run-ins with the law (and a few people not under the law), which James skimmed over. These stories took up the entire day uninterrupted by anyone save for Bon Bon, who showed up at noon after all, until finally the sky began to darken once more and James felt that it was time to leave.

Rising from his seat, James downed the last of his tea and stretched. "You have no idea how great it is getting off my feet for once in a while and just… talking to someone, you know?"

Lyra smiled. "I'm happy to have you as a friend, Jim."

"We both are," Bon Bon added.

However, as James prepared to leave, the two of them stopped him. "Are you sure you can't stay longer?" Bon Bon asked him.

"I'd love to," James replied, sliding on his jacket, "But you know the rules. As much as I hate to say it, I've already overstayed my welcome. The longer I stay here, the more crowded it gets, the riskier it is to get out of dodge, especially since the clouds cleared up this afternoon and gave way to broad daylight."

Lyra paused. "Are you sure you want to leave now?" she suddenly asked, a sly grin on her face. "Because, it just so turns out that there's supposed to be a meteor shower tonight. And, you know, when there's a meteor shower, people around here tend to gather outside under the sky and watch very closely for anything that might turn up…"

James stopped, turned and stared at her for a moment. Then he shook his head, grinning. "Extortionist," he scoffed jokingly. "Alright, okay, two more hours. Then I'm over the hills and far away. Deal?"

Bon Bon and Lyra exchanged looks. "Deal," they agreed.

Luck was with them that night, as it turned out that the sky was clear for once in weeks of cold, cloudy autumn evenings. With Luna's moon hanging above, the stars glinted down on the world and gave a good view to the people below. Because of the impending meteor shower, the town had mostly gone dark to provide a better way to see everything. The night air was cool, but nobody seemed to mind much. Lyra and Bon Bon found a nice spot to sit on the back porch of Lyra's home; James, on the other hand, crouched in a shadowed corner nearby.

Around eight o' clock it began. The sight of the Equestrian night sky never ceased to amaze James, who often looked up to it when he was alone. It was clear, relatively free from the pollution of industry or civilization. Glittering stars carved a path though the sky, the tendril clouds of an ancient galaxy that had been around since before the planet was cosmic dust. Like a great pearl amongst and ocean of shining jewels sat the moon, radiant and full. Alone, it was enough of a sight to behold, but with the shower of comets streaking across the sky, creating a pattern of blazing lights in the heavens that burned brightly then went away forever. It was beautiful, in an unsettling, almost apocalyptic way.

When the meteor shower began to dwindle, everypony had gone inside but the trio, who stayed back in the cricket-broken silence under the light of fireflies from the Everfree nearby to say their farewells. It had been a good day, a nice rest for James's weary feet and a once-in-a-blue-moon chance to see a long-absent friend for Lyra and Bon Bon. With the last goodbye said, Bon Bon struck out for home and Lyra walked James to the edge of the forest, where the human stopped and turned back to overlook the town one more time. His gaze was fixated on the crystalline tree-palace in the distance.

"So what I heard was true," he sighed. "The rumors of a coronation were correct; Twilight Sparkle is a princess now."

Lyra was taken aback by the comment. The only thing she could think of to say was, "Yes, Princess Twilight Sparkle. That happened a while ago, it was such common knowledge I thought you'd know it by now." Lyra studied the concern in her friend's face. "Jim… what's wrong?"

James shifted his gaze to her. "So much has changed recently, Lyra. I can't say I like it that much. Look," he said, gesturing to the barracks near the train station, "They've put up military installations, not just here, either. They built a prison in Horseshoe Bay. The Equestrian Guard's numbers have never been higher. And now… what with Twilight being a princess… and an Alicorn—"

"Jim, you really don't think that all this is because of you, do you?"

"Of course not," James answered. "To say that all of this is my doing is extremely arrogant. It's just that, well, Twilight doesn't like me that much. In fact, I doubt anyone besides you and Bon Bon like me that much. I've got a list of enemies as long as my arm, and, well… I don't like the idea of another adversary gaining this much power."

Lyra stared right in James's eyes. "I want you to listen to me right now, Jim," she told him. "Twilight is not your adversary… or your enemy, for that matter. She's Princess of Friendship; whether you like it or not, because we're friends, that technically puts you under her domain."

"Domain," James replied darkly, "Is much different than control."

"Did I say she controlled you? I never said she controls you! I—" Lyra suddenly noticed something, a reddening and sunken look in James's eyes. "Have… have you been getting enough sleep?" she asked warily.

James suddenly couldn't look her in the eye. "I'm fine," he insisted. "I need to go."

As he turned to trudge back into the forest, Lyra called after him. "Jim, wait."

James turned around and decided to listen to her.

"Look, I understand that what you're doing isn't the most honest line of work," she said. "I understand that it's dangerous for you, and I understand that it's caused a lot of distrust and rumors to be spread around. But… can't you just… maybe stop for a while? It doesn't have to be forever; just for a few weeks, so you can at least rest properly."

James shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably. "Lyra, you know I can't do that. Every day I'm not out there brings who-knows-what closer to finding those pieces of metal, and if even one of those shards falls into the wrong hands—"

"Then someone will make certain it's retrieved, so that no harm can come of it," Lyra interrupted. "You're not the only one who thinks those shards are dangerous, and despite your own opinion, Celestia's not the villain here. Besides…" Lyra paused, thinking of what to say. "It's been almost four years," she reminded him finally. "Don't you think that, if it was going to happen again, it would've happened by now?"

James looked around, as though trying to find a way to escape the question. He sighed. "I can't stop," he told her. "I can't explain it either, I just… feel like I have to reclaim all of them. I'm…" he trailed off.

"…How many shards have you found?" Lyra asked him.

"Five, for now," James said. "Five out of an estimated thirteen. The Equestrians have three, and one's at the bottom of the ocean, so that leaves four unaccounted for."

Lyra regarded him. Finally, she gave him a melancholy grin. "Okay, Jim. Do whatever you feel is right. But, please, be safe. And at least consider taking a vacation." She grinned wider. "You can't be everywhere you know."

It took a moment for James to smile back. "Alright. I'll consider it. Stay out there, Lyra."

"Stay out there, Jim."

With that, Lyra turned and started back towards her home, and James stalked into the Everfree towards his hideaway in the firefly-lit darkness. Indeed, it had been a good day.

Peace and quiet had settled over Equestria, the populace asleep in their beds as the night ran its course. Only the large cities, like Manehattan or Phillydelphia, were still bustling through the darkness, as those cities were so large and so densely populated that they never really slept. And, after the meteor shower had ended and all seemed to have stopped, no more eyes were cast upward to watch as the earth seemed to stand still in time.

And then, when all seemed at harmony at the latest hour of night, one last comet came hurtling from the cold dark. But this one was different from the others. It appeared from a flash in the atmosphere, a bright white halo of light pulsing outward like a stone skipping across a stream. Downward it plunged, beautiful and illuminating, streaking through the air straight towards the tallest mountain in the kingdom; the towering spire-mountain upon which was the Equestrian capital city, seat of power for the twin Princesses of the sun and moon. Canterlot.

The comet seemed to careen down to the mountain city, where its speed should have caused it to collide and explode on the slopes. Instead, it fizzled out right at the summit of the mountain and all was quiet again. Yet the phenomenon was not yet done. Another comet blasted from the heavens, this time speeding to the far north, where it once again disappeared over the frozen countryside.

This event was interesting, unique in that it had happened long after the meteor shower from before had ended. And yet, for something so spectacular it lasted only a moment, and no-one was around to see it transpire. Which was ironic and unfortunate, really.

Because if someone had seen it, Equestria could have avoided the great calamity that was to follow swiftly on its heels.