Chapter Eleven: Reminding Me of So Many Other Nights
“Mommy?” Anna heard her daughter’s voice and walked into the room. It was a stormy night, and storms meant lightning. Lightning, of course, meant thunder and that was something that Daisy Jo was frightened of. In a sense, it was understandable: she was just six and still not used to the ways of the world. Maybe somewhere in the mind of the child, she knew that she’d arrived into their lives at the same time as a storm and was afraid she’d leave the same way.
Anna sat down by the side of the bed, reaching over to stroke her daughter’s head and ears. “Yes, honey?”
“I’m scared,” Daisy Jo said.
“Your father and I are here, sweetheart,” the human replied. “And we wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”
“You promise?” she asked.
Anna gave her little girl a soft smile. Daisy Jo was still too young to realize what was happening to her, about the political, ethical, philosophical and just about every other sphere of influence that she was disrupting. And why should she? She was just a little girl – slightly different than others, but still just a little girl. She had no idea of what was to come; neither Anna nor her husband did either, admittedly, but it would be easier for them to imagine the gauntlet than it would be for their eldest child.
Anna stayed there, singing a lullaby until Daisy Jo fell asleep. And though the rain continued to fall hard, there would never be another thunderstorm like the one-in-a-million one that brought her into their lives – and if both Anna and Matt had anything to say about that, the possibility of losing her to something else would be just as remote.
“Oh God, it's raining
But I'm not complaining
It's filling me up
With new life
“The stars in the sky
Bring tears to my eyes
They're lighting my way
Tonight
“And I haven't felt so alive
In years….”
A furred arm reached a hoof – or a hand, if the owner was to be believed – over and tapped the snooze function on the cellphone. Depeche Mode might not complain about rain, but DJ Martinez was sure as hell going to complain about being woken up at three in the morning. Bleary, exhausted eyes opened, as her body felt the aches and pains of her ordeal just a few hours ago. Stretching, she yawned, chastising herself for not making sure that her phone’s apps completely moved over to AE-Eastern Standard Time from HE-Singaporean Standard Time.
At least I’m glad Elusive suggested this hotel, she thought, noting her room at the Ponyville Westin. And I’m glad they had a few human-standard rooms; pony rooms are a little too low to the floor for my tastes. Stretching again, she decided that the best way to work the kinks out would be a nice hot bath.
Sure enough, fifteen minutes of bubble bath bliss later – if bubble bath foam came standard in Equestriani hotels, maybe pony life wasn’t so bad after all – the heat and steam had worked out all the knots and she was ready to head back to bed. She had just toweled herself off when she passed a mirror and an odd thought popped into her mind.
For the first time in her life, she dropped to all fours in front of a mirror and looked at herself, surrounded by the natural environment of ponies. For the first time in her life, DJ saw herself not as who she was, but as Sandalwood, the pony she was supposed to be. And as she stared at the very large pony in front of the mirror – thanks in no small part to a human diet, even in four-wheel drive she was only slightly smaller than the average stallion, certainly larger than the average mare – it was a disorienting experience. Who was Sandalwood – or rather, who would Sandalwood have been? Considering that names tied into many ponies’ cutie marks, what would she have been? A perfumer? An aromachologist? Maybe an incense maker or a beautician? She knew that sandalwood was used in all of those, as it wasn’t a lumber wood. Or maybe, considering her biological pedigree, the daughter of a duchess, member of the Royal Family and – as much as DJ didn’t know what to do with it, a countess in her own right – would she have grown up to be a vainglorious, spoiled brat, the kind that she hated so much in high school?
Would she have been any of those? Or something else entirely?
DJ found herself shaken by those thoughts – genuinely unnerved. Standing back in her normal posture, she still felt the slight shift in her muscles as two legs took the place of four, a reminder of her personal choice in her humanity as she told herself she wasn’t Sandalwood – she would never be Sandalwood. She wasn’t a pony, not really; she was a human being – in mind, if not in actual body. She was Daisy Jo Hikaru Martinez-Hengst, and the person that DJ was, was an individual that was more than just what could be defined by a mere cutie mark. She wasn’t limited by one; no, she was free of that slave’s mark, because she was human and no human had one.
Just keep telling yourself that, Sandalwood, a sinuous voice wafted from behind her. You know this is all just a lie, anyway. You’ll wake up soon and find that “DJ” is nothing more than a dream, a somnolescent bit of fiction from an imagination gone astray. DJ could suddenly feel hot breath on the back of her neck. You do know the truth about yourself, right? Why won’t you just admit it, Sandalwood?
“My name is DJ,” the humanized pony said aloud, though with the way she was standing – didn’t she just go back to her normal posture a second ago? – wasn’t the norm for humans, but the standard quadruped stance of a pony.
“My, how you’ve forgotten, haven’t you?” Nightmare Moon strode from behind her, a bedroom look in her eyes. The black alicorn seemed to then walk in circles around DJ, though how that was possible in the confines of a small bathroom was beyond the latter’s guess. And each circuit she made somehow seemed to make her look less imposing and more…well, normal: her inky black coat suddenly appeared a mere sable; her storm-born mane seemed to be nothing more the same billowy blue strands as Luna’s. Even her alien, reptilian eyes had seemed to appear as nothing more than cyan-hued jewels filled with concern.
“You really don’t remember me, my love?” Nightmare Moon spoke to DJ, her voice normal and filled with worry on the verge of serious concern.
“Excuse me?” DJ said, half-wondering if she was imagining all this. “I don’t know where you came from, but you can just go take the middle-finger monorail back to Psychobitchyland!”
But Nightmare paid her no heed, instead looking more and more like a darker version of Luna. “I think I’d best call the doctor again – you’re having a relapse, love.” She strode slightly away, as if lost in thought. “Or maybe Twilight could help, since she did say to send her a message if needed.”
“What is your major malfunction?”
“It’s okay, Sandi, just – calm down,” the black alicorn pled. “We’ll get through this.”
DJ turned, the look in her eyes angry. “I don’t know what your problem is, bitch, but get. The fuck. Out!”
The look of concern suddenly became one of pain and sorrow. “Sandi…you…you really don’t remember who I am?” Nightmare Moon gasped as she said, “It’s me! It’s Nightie! It’s your wife, Night Moon!”
DJ arched a brow, looking at the other mare as if she’d lost her mind. “Uh, yeah.”
“Look…you’re…um…you’re having another episode.” Now Nightmare Moon seemed far less a threat and more like an alicorn version of Cinnamon. “Okay, do you remember what today is? No? Okay, I’ll let that one go, then – I was hoping we could have a nice night out together for our fifteenth wedding anniversary but….” The black alicorn sighed in a very agitated way. “I’m going to teleport you to the hospital and then call your parents. I’m sure we don’t want to worry our foals unnecessarily.”
“Foals?”
“Oh, this is a bad episode, I can already tell.” Nightmare reached out and placed gentle forelegs on DJ’s withers, rubbing gently. “Look: you’re Sandalwood, oldest foal of Rarity and Silversteel. You’re a perfumer and chandler and we’re here in your mother’s old hometown of Ponyville so we can buy a house here, since I can do my job as Alicorn of the Stars just as easily from here as I can from Canterlot.” The sable mare gave a fond smile as she added, “We met when your parents first moved to Canterlot and we fell in love almost instantly, though we had to wait for you to grow to adulthood before we could marry. We have two adopted foals, fillies who love both of their mothers very much, though you wanted to see if we could adopt a colt once we settle in town.” Gently, Nightmare Moon leaned in and kissed DJ, who twitched; this had to be a nightmare, both the metaphorical kind as well as the literal.
“Listen, bitch,” DJ snarled, “my name is DJ!” But as she said it, she felt as though she was slipping underwater, gasping for air, swimming through syrup. Something felt wrong, and she couldn’t even bring it to mind.
“Dr. Sanemind said that this happened now and then since you were hit by that lightning bolt as a newborn – I wish I could have been there to stop it, but there was no way to know,” Nightmare said, sitting down and a worried look still on her face. “He said that you’re mostly well, but that you have…what was the term he used? Oh yes…‘dissociative identity disorder’, a split personality, if you will. Sometimes you think that you’re a…well, I know this sounds odd, but…well, you think you’re a human named Daisy Jo.”
“I am!” DJ retorted, though she felt as though she was swimming against the tide.
“No, love, you’re not. Humans are a myth – they don’t exist. There’s no way you could be,” Nightmare Moon reminded her.
That was more than enough for the humanized pony. “Look, I don’t know what your fucking game is, Nightmare Moon, but I am not playing it!” She pushed the alicorn back, snarling, “My name is Daisy Jo Martinez. I am married to Lt. Commander Michael Hengst, US Navy. I have two sons, Stuart and Tyler. I have parents, Matthew and Anna. And despite how I look, I. Am. HUMAN!”
“Please stop this, beloved, you’re just hurting yourself,” the sable alicorn murmured. “Humans don’t exist – and even if they were real, they certainly wouldn’t look as marvelous as you,” she added, gesturing towards the mirror. There, in the reflection of the looking glass, was a soft, gentle, Lunaesque alicorn, with eyes that looked at DJ with both love and desire.
But it was the reflection of herself in the mirror that gave DJ pause. Looking at herself in the mirror, she saw herself in four-wheel drive mode, but smaller, tinier, about the size of the average mare. And most of all, on her flank was a perfume bottle superimposed over a sprig of wood. She knew that sprig, because she hated what it represented: Santalum ellipticum, Hawaiian Coastal sandalwood, the rarest of the sandalwood varieties and what she presumed was the origin of her birth name.
But humans didn’t have cutie marks – certainly, at the very least, she never had one.
But now she did.
“NO!” she screamed, turning and bucking the mirror as hard as she could. And as the mirror shattered into a million pieces, it suddenly dawned on DJ that she’d never bucked a single thing in her life before.
DJ woke up in the dark, screaming. Her fur and hair were soaked with sweat, and now that she was awake, she checked everything. She was still in the hotel room, and a quick check of the glowing clock on the nightstand said it was 2:59 am. Hopping out of bed, she raced to the bathroom, still in her undergarments since she didn’t have anything to sleep in otherwise, and thankfully they were still on. Now in the smaller room, she looked at the towels, at the bathtub, and any sign of what had just happened, but fortunately found nothing.
But it was as she turned to step back out that she found the shattered mirror, its remnants lying on the floor in a thousand sharp shards of silver and glass. Quickly she turned, looking in a panic for a piece of the mirror that had hopefully remained intact. Finding it, she turned to check her hip for something that shouldn’t have been there. Much to her relief, however, her hip was as blank as the day she was born – something she intended to keep that way.
Sighing in relief, she looked at the glass on the floor. Seven years of bad luck, so the saying goes. I think I’ve more than made up for that in as many days, she mused. Realizing that she was going to have to pay for the mirror, she groaned and turned to head out of the bathroom, flicking off the bathroom light—
—only to run into a dark alicorn.
“Are you okay?” Luna asked, having just arrived and immediately having sensed the danger. Not sure if she was safe, DJ’s immediate response was to rush back into the bathroom, locking the door. “DJ, it’s me, it’s your aunt Luna,” the dusky alicorn replied, more worried about DJ than ever. The Nightmare had been here, having used the moment to strike hard at DJ and make her afraid of Luna, just as she said she would. It was beyond abominable, and Luna added it to her mental list of things she would never forgive.
“How do I know it’s you?” came the muffled response through the door. “And don’t try to break it down: I have nine millimeters of painkillers ready for your head if you do!”
“DJ, for one, you don’t have anything like that because my sister wouldn’t let you bring one. Secondly, Nightmare Moon departed the moment you broke free of her bewitchment. I got here as fast as I could.”
“How do I know it’s really you?” DJ asked from her place behind the door. She wanted to trust, but she had almost no experience with magic, so it could be that freak trying to imitate Luna.
“We traded a bunch of music while you were in the hospital in Singapore. You even downloaded a Yes album from Amazon.com for me.”
“Gonna have to be better than that,” DJ retorted. “Everyone knows my taste in music!”
“Fine,” Luna spat before sighing. “His…his name was…is…Robin. We were only together for three months, but by the time we separated, he loved me like no man ever a woman and I him like no mare a stallion. He wanted to marry me, and if it weren’t for our respective duties…I would have been content to spend the rest of my life in human form as his wife.”
The door opened and DJ peeked through the crack. “Really?”
“He’s married twice since; neither marriage lasted. But his only child – a daughter – has my name: Luna,” the alicorn said, the look on her face sad and wistful. “And I…every year, I take a couple of weeks of vacation to watch him from afar. He and I can never be together, Celestia insists, but I know she’s doing it to spare me the heartbreak. And yet through all these years, his feelings for me have never changed, nor have mine for him.” The moon princess closed her eyes and in a flash she changed into her “Cyndi Hanover” form. “I’d give up everything for him, and to be honest, I’m a little jealous of how you and Mike have lasted through everything. I know that sounds melodramatic, but it’s true nonetheless.”
A second later, DJ opened the door and came out, wearing a bath sheet around her waist. She reached over and embraced her transformed aunt, seeing the lonely look on the transformed alicorn’s face. “What are you doing here? Not that I’m complaining,” DJ asked.
“The Nightmare has targeted you for some reason, DJ. I know she was here, I know what she tried to do to you. She did the same thing to me – with success, sadly – over a millennium ago.”
DJ gave Luna a lidded look. “A millennium?”
Luna smiled sadly as she reverted back to her normal form. “I think you forget that alicorns are ageless. I assure you, I wish I could forget that as well.”
“I’d always thought that was an exaggeration.”
“It isn’t.” Luna then changed the subject slightly. “A thousand years ago I fell under the thrall of the Nightmare, and she did…things…to me, things that nearly destroyed me, almost broke my mind and spirit and brought me to the point of madness. Things that should happen to no being, no matter who or what they are.” Luna turned to prevent DJ from seeing the tears forming in her eyes, but instead thought better of it; far better for the humanized pony to get a fuller picture of what happened. “When Twi and the others freed me, I swore that I would never let any being suffer the same fate I had, and that if the Nightmare chose to take a new host I would fight her with every fiber of my being.
“But I failed whomever the current host is,” Luna admitted, “And now she’s made this personal by going after you. And I can’t abide that, DJ. I can’t. I won’t.” Luna leaned forward and nuzzled the humanized pony; the fact that DJ did not react negatively was either a growing moment for or sympathy from the latter. “I’ll sacrifice my life before I let her get her hooves on you – or any of our family.”
“I’ll be fine, Luna, really.” DJ didn’t care for the nuzzling, but she knew her aunt needed the comforting more than she did. “Takes a lot to scare me.”
Luna then looked DJ right in the eyes, and the sorrow was replaced with a mixture of disbelief and annoyance. “No, you don’t understand. I know what it’s like to be taken by her, to lose yourself to her.” Luna began shivering and took DJ a few seconds to realize that the shuddering wasn’t a reaction for her sake – it was for Luna’s. “You do not understand what it’s like to be turned against everypony you love and care about and to do it screaming in horror from within your own body as she laughs!” Luna embraced the younger pony harder, almost frantic in her promise to protect her. And in those words DJ understood something was seriously amiss – if something was horrific enough to reduce the powerful alicorn to tears, what chance did a regular person like DJ have against her? It was like a boxing match between the average person and Cthulu.
But now wasn’t the time to think about that stuff. Instead, DJ yawned out, “I think I need some sleep.”
“I’ll stay with you,” Luna insisted. “Local Army garrisons and the Guild have already responded and are taking over the search-and-rescue in Cloudsdale, so all I’d be doing is getting in the way if I went back.”
“Uh, in case you didn’t notice, the bed’s a bit too small for an alicorn,” DJ stated, but Luna quickly fixed that by shifting back to her human form. She was now wearing a pair of deep-blue cotton pajamas, festooned with little stars, moons and chibi versions of her.
“I, um, didn’t exactly need these for sleeping before,” Luna said with a slight blush, “but I’m sure you won’t mind.”
“I’d insist,” DJ drawled before adding, “Conjure me a pair, wouldja?” A second later, there was an additional pair in her size.
“I’m going to freshen up,” Luna added as she headed towards the bathroom while DJ climbed into bed.
“There’s a mirror there that I—” DJ began
“I’ll fix it,” Luna promised before she closed the door. The moment she was in, she immediately started casting wards. She didn’t want DJ to be freaked out by the additional protection, but safety was paramount and Luna would take no chances.
You can’t stop me, the Nightmare’s voice said from behind Luna. I’m sure she tastes far sweeter than you.
You won’t harm her, monster, Luna seethed within her mind. I’ll never let you harm anypony again!
Big words for a small princess, Nightmare cooed softly. But you can’t prevent me from taking her, no more than you could stop me from taking you. Luna turned and burned the air with blue fire as flames hit nothing there. Instead, the Nightmare’s laughter spiked through the air as she departed with a final Why don’t you start on her for me? I’m not one to complain about picking up the pieces….
Luna finished the remainder of the seals, then headed towards the bed, knowing what the Nightmare wanted and how much she would rend and kill to get it. Luna had no idea why, and she was sure DJ, who was already asleep, didn’t have an answer either.
Remember the riddles, Luna, Discord’s voice suddenly rang in her mind. Solve the riddles and save every soul and everything.
There was no other avenue left to her, she realized. So as the moon princess climbed into bed, instead of going to sleep, she instead entered the Dreamlands.
Frantic, Bon Voyage flew into Manehattan, beelining towards a particular address, her flight more agitated than normal. She hadn’t seen her lookalike cousin Bon-Bon in few weeks, but they were very close, so it was absolutely strange that she couldn’t get a hold of her. Then again, most methods of communication might be down at the moment, considering what had just occurred in Cloudsdale – rumors ranged from a changeling invasion to an attack by humans, but it was confirmed as an attack. While BV didn’t live anywhere near this part of the country she and her husband thought it prudent to evacuate from their home in Cirrusburg, just in case. That said, she knew she could stay at Bon-Bon’s; they were more like sisters than cousins, as they looked alike with BV’s wings being the only thing physically differentiating them.
Finally, she landed at the house Bon-Bon shared with her spouse – one of their few other differences; BV was married to a stallion – and started knocking on the door. A few minutes later, BV gave up. Where was Bon-Bon at this hour? Soft Breeze would be along soon with the foals, and this was no time to be outdoors!
“BV?” The pegasus turned and faced her almost-twin, walking down the street looking worse for wear. “What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you almost the same thing, BB,” BV said with a grin, causing Bon-Bon to smile; her cousin was the only one who called her “BB”, much preferred over the human nickname she somehow acquired. “I’m surprised you and Wai aren’t home.”
“Well, Wai got called in for some sort of emergency – apparently it was big,” Bonnie explained. “And I was working really late tonight anyway, since I’m developing a new sort of candy for dragon clients. Unfortunately, I got a bit scorched in the cooking process,” she said, gesturing towards her tattered look. “After getting singed one too many times, I just decided to come home. And not that I mind, but what are you doing here at this hour?”
“You don’t know?” When Bon-Bon shook her head, BV launched into a quick explanation as the pair went into the house. A few minutes later, the pegasus finished up with, “And Softy should be here in a few minutes with Tulip Bloom and Pepperlime.”
“Well, let me go set up the guest bedrooms for you all; you’re welcome to stay as long as you need to.”
“You sure we won’t be a problem?”
“You’re family,” the earth pony replied. “Of course you’re not going to be a problem.”
“Thanks.” She was able to relax now that she was safe. “So, what do you think about all this? Just before they left for Las Pegasas, my neighbors said that it was changelings.”
The look on Bon-Bon’s face was one of barely-controlled rage. “It has to be humans.”
“You positive? What about Fillyd—”
“No doubt,” Bon-Bon retorted, cutting her cousin off. “All they do is destroy and ruin – all they are, are monsters.” As BV watched the angry look on her cousin’s face present itself, she opted not to say anything further. It was clear that something had happened to her in the recent years after her medical issues and subsequent reunion with Lyra, but BV thought she should just let the sleeping diamond dogs lie. It was probably safer that way.
With a sudden start, Rarity came to. The first thing she felt was pain, all-encompassing; she forced down a scream as it ripped through her body, and thankfully the searing jag of agony departed as quickly as it had arrived. Feeling weary, her eyes happened to catch her reflection via an ill-placed mirror on the other side of the spell-warded part of the room. Even in the dim lights of the quarantine facility, she knew she’d seen better days.
My beautiful visage, she moaned inwardly as she inspected her reflection. Her mane had been cut woefully short and her coat was ragged and unkempt, covered here and there via bandages, many of which were stained with the faded brown of dried blood. Her once-luxurious tail had been cut almost down to the base, with more gray hairs showing than her normal violet. All in all…, her thought began.
“—you’re not looking your best,” a familiar voice croaked. The white unicorn turned to see Twilight sitting there, in a meditative posture, her horn blazing like a star, enough to have been the dim light with which Rarity had seen her reflection. The lavender unicorn looked even worse than Rarity, if that was possible. The scars and wounds on her were far more pronounced and she burned with magic.
“Twilight,” Rarity whispered, reaching out towards her dearest friend and sister royal.
“I’m…okay….” Twilight gasped, her lie obvious. “I’m…just a little…exhausted from trying to keep the curse at bay while I figure it out. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before. It’s kind of like a puzzle, a conundrum wrapped in an enigma placed in a riddle and shot to the moon and then….”
“Twilight dear, you’ll wear yourself out before you even finish that sentence,” Rarity interjected mildly.
“True,” the unicorn mage said with a smile. “But needless to say, it’s well above even my skills. Truthfully, Celestia or Luna should be working on this, but to do so might expose them to it and we can’t afford that.”
As Twilight’s horn flared from magic, Rarity noticed something curious: magic burned off energy just like any other action; perhaps moreso than heavy physical exertion. Yet Twilight had no IV, no clear sign of nutrients going in, and she looked very much like a shell of herself. While Rarity wasn’t a mage herself, she knew enough Guild members to know how Twilight was accomplishing all this. “Twilight, I may not know much about advanced magic practices, but I know a pra…prae….”
“A praecantavitus spell, is what you’re asking about?” Twilight replied. “Yes, I’m using one on myself.”
“Are you insane? You’ll kill yourself!” Praecantavitus spells were designed to create an emergency resource for magic if no other one was available; by drawing on the mage’s own soul, it allowed them to fuel incredibly strong spells. However, there was a very dangerous side-effect: extended use of such spells were almost always fatal for the user, and it was theorized that only the alicorns had a large enough natural magic reservoir to be able to use said spells safely. It certainly wasn’t the case for Star Swirl the Large, the seventh one to bear the name, who had sacrificed his life to use such a spell in order to single-hoofedly defeat a massive gryphon invasion centuries in the past. The only reason they weren’t outright banned was due to their usefulness, but even still there were numerous restrictions on their casting.
“I’m the most expendable, Rarity.” The tone in Twilight’s voice indicated that she’d put some thought into what she was going to say – and if it was like anything Twilight did under stress, common sense likely wasn’t a factor. “I’m not married, and probably never will be. I don’t have any foals of my own. And the Guild and Knights can survive without me. And since I’m honor-bo—”
“How is sacrificing yourself for us any sort of honor?” Rarity retorted. “How do you think that killing yourself will make any of us happy, Twilight? What will that accomplish?”
Twilight looked as though she was about to say something, then stopped just short. Instead, she took a breath before replying with, “I didn’t say I was out to kill myself, Rarity. I’m only underscoring who should be the pony to draw the short straw should it come to that.”
“And who gave you that right?” Rarity snarled before she winced as a stitch of pain raced up her side. Ignoring it, she gnashed her teeth and grunted, “Who said that any of us would be happier without you? We are all sisters – family. It is not your decision to make for us.” Rarity moved over to the other unicorn’s cot and wrapped her forelegs around Twilight. “If someone has to go,” Rarity said, “It should be me. I’ve lived a happy life. Sweetie will be married to Pip any day now and Elusive’s foals will be born. And if my daughter and her family are gone, I….”
“And that is not your choice to make,” Twilight replied, a soft smile clambering onto her face. “She’s back.”
“But Minty wa—”
“No, Rarity. She’s back.”
Rarity suddenly froze. After a few seconds, she said, “I…I don’t know who you’re referring to, Twilight. All I have are Minty and Elusive, though,” she added as her ears flopped, “I haven’t been the best mother I could for them.”
“And you’re proving that by spurning DJ,” Twilight stated. “She’s your eldest – doesn’t it matter to you what’s happened to her in all these years? You’d be so proud of her – I know I am.” Twilight paused, drawing from memory. “She’s married, happily so for a decade now to one of the humans that was here with her. They have two children together, both boys. She’s a successful author and very well-traveled and cultured. She’s led a wonderful life and she’s the absolute pride of her adopted parents. But she wouldn’t be any of that if it wasn’t for the life you and Silversteel gave her.”
“She…she had foals?” Rarity said with confusion, the first acknowledgement of DJ’s existence she’d made in nearly two decades. But then common sense set in and she shrugged it off. “Oh, you mean adopted, of course. I….” When the fashionista saw the look on the face of the mage, she became even more confused. “Wait – she actually foaled? Who was the sire?”
“Her husband, of course,” Twilight said with a slight grin.
“But you said she married a human!”
“And I see you forgot all that work I did a decade back, didn’t you? I created an improved version of the old amniomorphic spell that lets species with compatible DNA have offspring. Stuart and Tyler – those are their names – are as much DJ’s children as they are Mike’s. In fact, you can see their pony heritage just by looking at them, even though they look human for the most part. For example, Stuart’s got purple eyes, just like his mother and Silver’s sister, if I recall. Purple eyes are extremely rare for humans, so they likely didn’t come from Mike’s side of the family. Plus, Tyler has his grandfather’s bluish-gray hair—”
“‘His grandfather?’ How could you insult my Silver like that?!”
That hit a nerve with the unicorn mage. “How could you deny your grandson like that?” Twilight snapped. “Rarity, you’re a sister to me, but you’ve gone on with your blind denial for far too long. It’s disgusting. Whether you like it or not, those two boys are your grandchildren – how long are you going to deny them because of DJ?”
“We named her Sandalwood,” Rarity responded with equal bile, “and she abandoned her name as though it meant nothing to her! If you want to talk about grandparents, she was named after Silver’s mother!” Rarity huffed for a few minutes before nickering and saying, “Both my parents and his…you don’t understand, Twilight. When we thought she’d died after that storm…. It wasn’t just my tragedy, Twilight. When my parents and Silver’s both heard about the loss of their precious grandfoal, they took it hard and never recovered. They were gone by year’s end, and my parents not much beyond that. Neither my parents nor his lived to see the births of Minty or Elusive – my foals have never known their grandparents.”
“I know,” the lavender unicorn said, wondering if she’d unintentionally broached a position she hadn’t meant to.
“But it’s more than just that. I’ve never been particularly close to my parents, Twilight, you know that. But Silver adored his, and when Sterling Silver and Sandalwood passed, I have never seen my husband so reduced to tears. As long as I’ve known him, he’s only been driven to tears three times in his life: when we first lost Sandalwood, when his parents passed away, and then when….” Rarity paused as if gathering some measure of courage to speak the next words. “And when Sandalwood betrayed us.”
“But DJ never betrayed you, can’t you see that? Why can’t you accept that after being raised for fifteen years by two humans who loved her more than anything, that she’d be loyal and love them just as much? Both Matt and Anna have told me a million times that they never cared about where she came from or what she looked like, only that she needed somepony. They reached out to her and she reached back, because the only other option she had was oblivion – and they wouldn’t accept that. To them she is their daughter just as much as she is yours, and if anything, you betrayed her by spurning her family. She came to you with open arms that day—”
“She doesn’t have arms!” Rarity nearly shouted. “She’s not a human! She’s a pony and she needs to behave like one!”
“So this is about her behavior? About how she was raised? And what would you have done if you’d found a human baby that you didn’t know was named Daisy Jo? Would you have turned her over to the authorities and let them decide her possibly less-than-kind fate? Or would you have taken her in and raised her as your own?”
Rarity nickered again. “You know quite well what I would have done, Twilight.”
“Even if you’d never seen a human before and wouldn’t know how to raise one at all?”
“Well, naturally I would raise such a foal in a manner befitting gentility and finesse – as a pony, quite obviously.” When Twilight looked at the fashionista weirdly, Rarity added, “What, did you assume that because Sandalwood was raised human that I should excuse that? She’s no more human than your hypothetical human foal would be a pony. But you must agree that our way of raising young is nigh perfect – after all, your younger brother is a testament to that, is he not?”
Twilight bristled at Spike being thrown in her face as an example. “But if Spike had been raised by humans, what then? He’d be the same way, and you would still spurn him. In fact, all I see right now is somepony acting no better than Garble did back then. At least he grew out of it!”
The two looked at each other angrily for countless minutes before Twilight sighed. “Rarity, just promise me that when she comes to visit, you’ll give her a chance. I’m sure the others in our family have been asking her to do the same. Please, end this farce and just accept her for who and what she is. Accept that she’s now and always DJ, but that doesn’t mean you’ve lost Sandalwood; she’s just a little different now.”
“Twilight, I—”
“If our long friendship and bonds as sisters means anything to you, promise me you will.”
“I’ll…try,” Rarity said in a voice that indicated she was hardly convinced.
It was close to 3:30 in the morning when Star Swirl finally made it home. She was exhausted after that ordeal, and…well, that was for later. But for now, it was time for sleep. She managed to get no farther when she saw a large dragon sitting in the living room – and to her surprise, it was somepony she hadn’t expected. “Spike?” she asked. “What are you doing here?”
“Caramel had a problem with the usual Ponyville panic mode,” the drake explained. “Since I was easiest to get a hold of with all the mages tied up, I came as fast as I could. Ended up saving your next door neighbors and Spines from an unruly mob led by Salad Toss – you might want to have a talk with that stallion next chance you get.”
“I will, thanks. Look, I’m sorry if Spines was giving you any particular amount of….” She stopped when she noticed Spike’s pointing. Looking at the couch, Star saw Spines fast asleep, nestled in between her fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders Buttercup and Sugar Sprinkle. A soft, motherly look etched itself on the unicorn’s face, and she couldn’t help but smile.
“She cried herself to sleep, she was so scared,” the dragon explained. “The girls decided to spend the night. Sugar Sprinkle in particular wanted to make lots of hot chocolate – to sleep better, she said. I guess she’s just like her mother that way, though I haven’t really met Twist’s husband.”
“Mocha Mix is a pretty nice stallion and he and Twist are great for each other,” Star said, though the tone in her voice carried the slightest hint of jealousy.
Spike looked at the clock and said, “Well, since you’re back home I guess that’s my cue to leave.”
“It’s pretty late. You’re welcome to stay, and you know where the guest room is. And I know Spines would be thrilled to see you under better circumstances.”
“You mean she’d be happy to propose to me at breakfast like she does whenever she sees me,” Spike chuckled.
“I suppose. But I thought dragons didn’t really worry about age in relationships?”
“Maybe, but you of all ponies should know that both she and I were raised as ponies – and there is that age of majority thing,” he pointed out.
“Maybe. And maybe someday she’ll win your heart. Then maybe I can start focusing on my own life.”
Spike caught that undertone. “You make it sound as though she’s a drag on you, Star.”
“No, I didn’t mean it that way, I just….” Star groaned. “Look, I’m tired from having gone through the whole Cloudsdale issue right now and…. Just, please don’t ever doubt that I love Spines. She’s just as much family to me as Twilight is to you, and…well, I’m sure you get the idea.”
He had the grace to look embarrassed. “Sorry if I misunderstood.”
“Probably my fault for being too tired to explain what I mean. We can talk about it in the morning.” Flaring her horn once more, she picked up the two foals and the baby draconess, ready to cart them off to Spines’ bedroom. “Good night, Spike.”
“You rang?” Luna stated the moment she appeared before the draconequus, still trapped in his bonds in the Dreamlands.
Seated amongst his prismatic chains, he gave the moon alicorn a wry grin. “I would have called, but I don’t have one of those wonderful little communication devices that the humans are so fond of.” From out of nowhere, he pulled out a plastic-and-metal slab with a blinking eyeball, which focused and stared at Luna. Discord drolled, “I believe they call them EyePhones, do they not?” He then threw it over his shoulder, where it sprouted wings and flew off into the distance before exploding in a shower of sparks and confetti.
“Cute,” Luna said tritely, “but unless this is urgent, I have other things on my mind that are of greater import.”
“Yes, I’m quite aware of that. You might not believe me when I tell you this, but I understand your predicament,” he said as he produced a small snack, a devil’s food cupcake seated on a pristine white plate. “Would you care for a cupcake? Never cared for them myself – too bloody.” When she shook her head, he unzipped a hole in space, placed the cupcake inside, then zipped the rift shut as if it never existed. “In any case, you are barring her from what she desires and covets most, and knowing quite well what she wants, you intend to ensure she never gets it, no matter what the cost.”
“But to do that, I need to prevent the Nightmare from taking the dream paths,” Luna replied. “She has too easy an access to them.”
“I wouldn’t know, as that’s not my specialty,” he said, leaning forward with a Cheshire Cat’s grin. “Isn’t the realm of dreams your balliwick, Night Alicorn? Just merely shield the way with your divine power and thus and so.”
“I’m no deity, Discord, any more than you are—”
“I would normally beg to differ, but I will admit that – sigh – factually, you are correct,” he said, leaning back into the chains as if they were a recliner. “We are but avatars, embodiments, parts of what we represent, but not what comes above them. Oh, how I am loathe to admit that I am but a player on the stage and not the stage owner, as it were.”
Luna rolled her eyes and said, “I don’t have time for this, Discord. Tell me why you called me here.”
The avatar of chaos looked at the avatar of the moon and absently scratched his chin. “You know, you’re really taking the wind out of my sails here. I’m supposed to be a chaosbringer, pure disorder. I’m not supposed to help you protect your darling little niece.”
“H-how did you—”
“—know that it was she you were protecting? Or that I know at all?” he asked, grinning widely. But the grin was not in his usual beguiling manner, but instead something that she was long unaccustomed to seeing on his face: true, genuine emotion. “Things are changing, Nightbringer,” he said. “The sides are shifting and the end of everything you have ever known is coming. I presume you’ve been delving into the riddles?”
“I don’t have time for your rid—”
He practically jumped forward to get her attention. “You must, even if you must make time for them. The fate of everyone – excuse me, everypony – and everything depends on it. My duty was to pass the riddles onto a mind capable of comprehending their worth. And the only clue I can give you – and perhaps even this may be too much – is that you want those riddles solved just as much, if not more, than the Nightmare wants them thwarted.”
“Why?”
“When you solve them, everything will become clear. And I daresay that the riddles are more important than even saving your wayward niece.” The look on his face was suddenly studious, as if he’d suddenly turned into a scholar passing through a college town and being surprised to find somepony who hadn’t finished anything beyond the most basic of education.
“Then to hell with your riddles, Discord!” Luna snapped, but the anger passed just as quickly as it arrived. “Of course, I should know better: you’ve no concept of family or love – how could you, when they are alien concepts to you?”
Discord sighed. “I am…not unsympathetic to your plight. This is me, the mask removed, me speaking as myself, not as my station. You are frightened about what the Nightmare did to you – quite justifiably, of course – and you fear it happening to her, do you not?” He waved a lionpaw before his face, adding, “I…may be able to assist you in the near future. But I want a bargain, tit for tat – I want to be released from my prison.”
Luna shook her head. “I can’t do that. Celestia would—”
But Discord wagged a finger in disagreement. “If the Nightmare wins, it won’t matter a bit what Celestia thinks. And all the chaos in the world I could think of won’t matter in the slightest if it goes completely smashed to bits a second later. I am an artist of chaos and disarray is my canvas…but I cannot do that if somepony else has the chance to break it well before I even start. That is why your geas is to solve the riddles, Moonwarden.”
“The riddles are that important?”
“Think about all the hell you went through while under the not-so-tender mercies of the Nightmare. Now imagine her doing it to all of ponykind, humanity and all the other species out there. And in the center of that damned spider web is your beloved little DJ, the absolute plaything of that creature.” Though Discord’s words weren’t meant to provoke an emotional response, Luna’s sudden gnashing of teeth and flattened ears indicated a sudden surge of anger. “I see I got my point across,” he said in a wary and delicate tone.
“I’ll work on your freaking riddles, but I will also discuss the situation with Celestia,” Luna promised. “I cannot ensure she will listen – I cannot even guarantee she will even try – but I will do what I can.”
“I know you will,” he said with a bow, “and for that you have my gratitude, Princess.”
It was nearly time for sunrise when Champagne Dreams headed towards her personal bedchambers. She’d been working a little private project of hers lately and…wait, is that laughter? Coming onto the balcony, she found the site of the two men in her life, her husband and her son, both completely drunk out of their minds.
“Ah, my beloved!” Blueblood slurred as he barely held onto a glass of wine in his telekinesis. “We’ve much to celebrate!”
“Yesssh, Moth’r,” Silver Platter slurred from his place on the floor. With him were two mares from the housekeeping staff and for a rare moment their attentions were focused on him and not her husband. Seeing that, Champagne Dreams knew her son had likely used a little magical “persuasion” on the two. “We’re shelebratin’a victery.”
Champagne sniffed the air; she knew that her husband had been drinking for longer than her son; also, for many things that Silver Platter was, able to hold his drink was not one of them. “Explain yourself,” she said to him. “But before you do that,” she turned to her son and added, “take them to your chambers and do so quietly. I don’t care what you do with or to them, but I expect you to be quiet, understood?”
He didn’t answer his mother, instead, saying, “C’mon, ladiessssh!” and with a blast of lime-green energy, teleported away.
As the trio – soon to be a threesome – disappeared, a look of irritation crossed Blueblood’s face. “And here I was hoping one would bide her time with me.”
Champagne ignored the statement, pouring herself a glass of wine. “You can either have experienced joy, my dearest husband, or you could have the fumbling and stumbling of a drunken maid who will be mindwiped in the morning. Take your pick.” She took a sip from the glass, then smiled slightly. “Ah, one of your better vintages – this truly was a moment. So, need I guess as to what this sobriquet involved?”
He grinned. “I take you’ve heard about the attack on Cloudsdale?”
“I have.” The merest hint of a smile flitted across her face as she brought the glass to her lips once more. She gave him a sideways glance as she added, “And I’ve made a few…other…arrangements that will be beneficial for our side in the near future.” She set down the glass and then gave her husband a knowing look, the kind that said much yet revealed nothing; he found that look to be very enticing. “I will explain later, but for now, I think we need to celebrate.”
“Indeed, my dear, we do,” he said as he sidled closer to his wife. In turn, she wrapped a foreleg around his and teleported them back to their own personal chambers. There would be more drinking yet to go on there, accompanied by a few other things.
Laying on the bed of the yurt in her human form, Blue Velvet gave a soft grin. While she knew there was something special about her newest assignment, it hadn’t been until she’d spent time with him – the kind of time she preferred – that she learned exactly how special. Funny, that so many of her siblings, and possibly even her mother, thought she typified lust incarnate; but what they didn’t understand was that sometimes those desires were merely gateways to other goals and plans. Velvet used them often to further her own plans, or assist Blood Armor in removing the undesirable members of Mother’s forces, and if she had fun while doing it, what was the harm in that?
But this new assignment was like nothing she’d ever experienced before – and she knew she was going to enjoy every moment of it. As she stretched again, she heard Ghino’s voice say, “Sleep well?”
“Like a princess,” she cooed. Looking up, she found him, already dressed and at a table, poring over documents. “What’s that?” she asked.
“Reading a report that your mother had prepared regarding our use of proxies against Cloudsdale. It seems that things went far better than expected.”
Rising from the bed, she materialized a set of clothing similar to his around her body. While she didn’t understand the human need for them, it was clear that the humans placed certain cultural value around their use; she’d have to look into it and see how she could potentially exploit it for her needs. “Do tell,” she said, leaning against him.
“It seems that they were able to make Khalid and a few of the other pilots surrender and they’ll be interrogating him soon enough. If he’s willing to abide by our agreement, we can use that to our advantage and have him make it appear that his former government will have declared war on Equestria with the intent of complete xenocide. After all, he and his men were willing to accept our pay, so they have no great love for the Revolutionary Council.”
“And if he isn’t?” Velvet wondered. Granted, she understood none of this; human politics were not her specialty. But manipulation was, and so this much intrigued her.
“Considering that our part of the bargain involves letting their families live only if they succeed in their mission, I think changing the parameters and getting a little more of the deal would be beneficent,” di Tacco answered. “Of course, I’ll need someone of sufficient skill to go in there and apprise our friends of the plan….”
“Kindly or otherwise?” she asked, batting her eyes coquettishly.
He flashed her a grin. “I like how you think, Velvet. A simple suggestion spell should do it, though nothing too obvious or else it could come back to haunt us.”
“I’ll talk to my brother Overcast Night about it. He’s good at mental spells, so we can sneak in and deal with it. I take it you’ve cleared this with Mother and Nightmare Moon?”
“Let’s call this…forward thinking,” he said, “and see where it goes from there.”
“We could also call it insubordination and grounds for them to kill us all.”
“The bold move faster than the weak,” he countered, and gave her a look that was very different from the suave, carefree visage he normally wore. There was something deep in that simple glance, frightening and worrisome. And yet in that glance, there was something that Velvet found intriguing. Enough so to go against her instincts.
“Mother said to serve you, and that is my duty,” she said, “and my desire.”
“Then let us go over the plan with Overcast Night first thing in the morning,” he said. “The sooner our plans are in motion, the sooner we have and retain the advantage.”
There were times, Paul Phillips noted, that being married to a diplomat had huge disadvantages. This was one of them – this, meaning being up at four in the morning, with the three TVs in the kitchen all set to the news channels for a change instead of the soccer channels. And him making a huge batch of coffee, in a portable thermos mug, knowing full well that it wasn’t going to be enough. And having to explain why the house was ruckus and ramble at a time of morning when nobody was ever awake.
Footfalls sounded in a descent down the stairs and a mare who looked barely awake walked into the kitchen. She’d thrown on a sports coat, button-up shirt and slacks, but didn’t go for the full nine yards. “Dear Celestia on Her Throne,” Lyra said, rasping, “I swear I feel every bit of my age right now.”
“You’re still just as beautiful as the day we met,” Paul replied, handing her the mug. “Here. I hear this stuff turns piles of mush back into coherent ponies again.”
She took a sip and a wide, lazy smile came onto her face, even as she could barely open her eyes. “Ah, coffee – proof that any species that knows how to make it is clearly sapient,” she mumbled as she reached for some Pop Tarts Paul had just pulled out of the toaster.
“Lyra,” he said, “you’re barely awake and I don’t feel confident about you driving to DC right now. Hell, Terry must be barely conscious and he’s gotta drive from Reston to come get you, right?”
“Don’t worry,” she answered, waving an arm in front of him. “There’s an emergency protocol for these things. Leesburg PD’s going to pick me up and drive me to Leesburg Exec, then State will fly me to the embassy in a helo. I won’t be behind the wheel at any given time, I promise. I’ll be too busy….” she said, her voice suddenly absent.
“I know,” he said, reaching over and giving her arm a comforting squeeze. “I mean…wow. As an American, I’m used to reading about wars in our history. But for someone to bomb Cloudsdale?”
“I don’t know, and I won’t get into that conjecture,” Lyra responded, slipping into neutral voice. But Paul had known his wife long enough to know when something deeply bothered her, and if there was anything, this had to be it.
“Family in Cloudsdale?” he asked.
She nodded. “My aunt Skylyre. My parents said that me and Harper look a lot like her and, yeah, same coat and mane colors and all. And we were never really close – as you could tell, she didn’t come to our wedding. But Serenade’s family’s also from Cloudsdale and….”
“I’ll call Harper as soon as the sun rises. I’m sure he and Serenade are in a panic right now.”
“I appreciate that,” she said, looking up to her husband. In the front window of their home, though no sound came, the blinking of red and blue cherry lights could be seen. “That’s my cue, hon. Take care of the kids and tell them I’ll be home soon.”
“Tonight?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I might need to fly to New York to assist AC, or worse, head to Canterlot, and….” She shook her head, just as much to dispel the gnawing worry in her heart as to reassure him. “I’ll call as soon as I have an update.” And before he could say anything else, she walked out of their house, headed for the biggest crisis she’d ever seen as Equestria’s Ambassador to the United States.
If there had been any downsides in his life of being married to a member of the Orange branch of the Apple clan, Antiquity had never found them. Despite her accent, Apple Cobbler had been a city mare, born and bred, and only a peripheral part of her family. So when those skills came time for her to be called up as a member of Equestria’s diplomatic corps on Human-Earth, in AC’s case, as the Equestriani Ambassador to the United Nations, he knew that she’d fit in easily on Human-Earth. But he had no idea for himself when they moved into their current residence.
He needn’t have worried. New York, it turned out, was the pony equivalent of Manehattan, a town they were already living in when Twilight asked AC to join the search for Rarity’s then-missing daughter. And as AC slid effortlessly into her current position here, Antiquity also found himself faring just as well: New York was, as expected, one of humanity’s cultural capitals; and as a pony whose cutie mark indicated the skillsets of working with museum pieces and priceless artifacts, he’d been a very in-demand individual. In fact, he’d enjoyed a very comfortable last five years in his position of assistant director at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. His dream had always been to work Manehattan’s Royal Museum of Classical Art, and to land a prestigious position at the human equivalent, well….
But now he was finding that life wasn’t all about his dreams. Sometimes it was also about his nightmares. Or worse…his wife’s.
“Look, I’ll call Jean-Claude and let him know I’ll have to cancel my business trip to Paris,” he said, as he brewed her up some coffee and threw a couple of bagels in the toaster for her. “I’m sure our contacts at the Louvre will understand.”
“Ah know y’ wanted t’ go, sugarcube,” she said blearily as she slipped on a sportscoat over her turtleneck. She’d somehow managed to make herself presentable without being completely awake. “An’ Ah promise when w’ git th’ chance, we’ll go.”
“It’s not that, love,” he said, smiling. “It’s…we’re at war—”
“Not yet,” she countered. “Ah dun see no paperwork says we’re a’fightin’ just yet.”
“AC, you know that doesn’t work with me. It’s just…war is something we’ve only read about in the history books. Yeah, sure life in Equestria isn’t the idyll paradise that the Tourism Bureau spins it out to be, but it’s not far from the mark, either.”
“Hun, not every human likes us. Some are still ‘fraid of us, an’ Ah’ll never understand why,” she said, sadly, as she reached over to take a bagel. “Some even hate us. Thankfully, most people accept us f’r what we are, and treat ponies no differently than themselves.”
“But you think something’s different this time, don’t you?” Antiquity inquired. Apple Cobbler said nothing at that point and he knew his wife’s silence well enough to discern she was saying something while voicing nothing. “I see,” he said.
The doorbell buzzed; a sign that her ride was here. Rising from her chair, she said, “Maybe Lyra’s got some brilliant idea o’ how t’ fix this. Or maybe Curry Spice does – he’s our ambassador to Iraq an’ oversees the countries we don’ have relations with in th’ Middle East.”
“Or maybe Cadance has some way to fix this?” Antiquity asked, an edge of frustration to his voice. If the situation developed into war, it wouldn’t just be a tragedy for humanity, but instead for both their shared futures on both worlds. But as AC kissed him goodbye on the cheek and promised to call him as soon as she had some free time, the bole-hued earth stallion knew something was going to be different this time. He just wasn’t sure what.
The group of ponies sat in the waiting room at the flight terminal of US Naval Air Station Sigonella. The REN had a small support facility on the US base, mostly to ferret Equestriani military personnel in and out of this portion of Europe. Due to the geopolitical commitments that Equestria had agreed to over the years, it had become one of their most significant facilities in this portion of Human-Earth, and there had been talk about the REN outright taking over the former USN facility at Souda Bay in neighboring Greece in order to expand their NATO commitments.
Seated in one of the plastic chairs right now, staring at the flightline, Rumble wondered if anything he was doing now was making his country safer. He now knew where those fighters he’d spied on had gone and it tore a wound in his heart. Not only had he, his fellow Seaponies and their SEAL allies failed to correctly track the aircraft, but to find out they’d been used on Cloudsdale! It made his heart sink. Sure, he was from Ponyville and had only visited family in Cloudsdale a handful of times, but the hundreds of civvies that were now casualties of the whole thing didn’t ask for what they’d received. They didn’t ask to be bombed, they didn’t intentionally put themselves in harm’s way as Rumble and his troops had so often done.
And yet in the final calculus, it was Rumble that was going home on leave for thirty days, and there were innocent ponies who would see nothing ever again.
“Rumble, it wasn’t your fault. I don’t know why you’re blaming yourself,” a voice responded. The pegasus stallion looked up and saw CAPT LaChance Goode, CO of SEAL Team NINE, and a close friend of the pony.
“Chancey, I got your guys and mine shot up and for what – so the fuckin’ Iranians could bomb one of my country’s major cities,” he told the human. “I dunno about you but I count that as a loss in my book.”
“And I already heard the debriefing Admiral Himura gave you,” Goode replied. “And he’s right. Rumble, you are wound up hard. Maybe that’s just the difference between the REN and the USN, or cultural differences between people and ponies, but…remember Alex? Back in Little Creek?”
Rumble nodded. CDR Alexi Mikoyan was the XO of SEAL Team EIGHT and a part of their circle of friends. SEALs in general had small, tight groups, and as closely as the Seaponies operated with their American counterparts, it was only natural that they’d fall in those same circles.
“He just put in his paperwork to retire,” Goode said. “He’d wound himself up so deep that he’d lost it while investigating this lead the CIA had on this small group of terrorists they call the Republic of Pirates. Don’t know how that turned out, but someone maneuvered them into getting into a firefight with Ukranian organized crime. The Ukranian government covered up everything, claiming it was just attempted criminal activity by Chechen rebels or some bullshit, but the long and the short of it turned out that it was entirely blamed on Alex. They said he’d been so wound up and focused on his job, he wandered into a trap without paying attention. And you know as well as I do that’s fatal in our occupation.”
“Look, Chancey, that shit’s not going to happen to me,” Rumble insisted. “My ponies rely on me to be the leader and that’s what I have to do. I can’t afford t—”
But Goode tapped his friend on the shoulder. “And that’s where you’re making the same mistake Alex did. You’re forgetting that you’re only human…er, pony, whatever. You’re a living, breathing, individual and living, breathing individuals make mistakes. But if you think you’re beyond that, you’re not going to make a mistake – you’re going to cause a catastrophe. You need to unwind, go find yourself for a bit, then come back and continue doing what you’re doing.”
“You think so?”
The human turned his left hand, revealing a weathered wedding band. “How do you think I met Stacy? It was because I got the same lecture years ago when I was just a young turk of an El Cedar, in charge of my platoon and could do no wrong. Thankfully my skipper straightened me out at the time, because if he didn’t, I don’t know what kind of person I’d be right now.”
Rumble nodded. “Well, hearing you say that makes a hell of a lot more sense than what Himura was trying to tell me.”
“It’s all about the right frequencies for the message,” Goode laughed. “Now, c’mon, the O-Club is open and that’s plenty of time to go bullshit and down a few beers amongst friends. Unless you actually planned to sit here and stew in your own juices for the next six hours, waiting for your flight?”
“How’d you…?”
“Rainydays saw you get here an hour ago. He ran into me and told me that the REAF flight isn’t due until the afternoon. Man, if there’s a pony who’s due for a promotion, it’s him. Maybe you should think about that.”
“Well, nothing I can do,” Rumble replied, “but I can hint in the right direction.”
The warmth of soothing sunlight rested gently on his face, and Mike involuntarily stretched, yawning as he came to. He felt sore as hell all over, though that was to be expected considering the ordeal of last night, an—
Wait…where am I?
Blinking his eyes to dispel the last vestiges of sleepiness, he looked around the room. It was, quite honestly, the most ornate and beautiful thing he’d ever seen, clearly a room fit for a king. The chamber – because it really couldn’t be called a mere room – had walls of marble, the room filled with metalwork of the finest gold. A beautiful spectrum of pastels brocaded the chamber, including the bed that he was asleep on, which felt as light as a cloud, certainly better than the bed he and DJ had purchased from the NEX last year. In truth, he could barely feel the sheets against his skin, and….
Wait, he thought again, the repetition in his mind almost comical had the situation not been so weird. Why am I naked? He looked down into the sheets to confirm and…. Oh, shit….
He had a sudden, sinking feeling of where he was now, and his mind fought down panic. But his fears were confirmed a second later as he turned to find a woman not much younger than he asleep next to him. His mind put two and two together, coming up with a sum he’d rather not have: he was naked, next to a woman who he knew he wasn’t married to, and a quick peek under the sheets indicated she wa….
Oh, fuck. Or rather, I sure as hell hope not! He was so focused on his own situation that he hadn’t noticed that his bedmate had stirred, entering consciousness alongside him.
“Morning,” she said, stretching in what seemed like unfamiliar directions. He focused on the face and recognition came to mind: it was Celestia, the only difference being that she’d let her natural haircolors come through this time than the strawberry-blonde she’d used prior.
“I…um….” Mike was, without saying, lost for words. In his mind, he easily envisioned his marriage imploding at that very moment; a grand irony considering that he’d told DJ just days ago that if she didn’t straighten up and fly right, their marriage would be in trouble and now….
“Mike, are you feeling well?” the Princess of the Sun asked, worry clear in her eyes. She decided to get up and move over to his side of the bed to check on him. Standing up, she stretched again, giving him a centerfold-perfect image of her form, and needless to say, she had the kind of body a Brazilian bikini model would kill for. None of this, of course, gave Mike any sort of ease whatsoever.
“I…uh….” He was probably jabbering like an idiot at the moment, but what could be said? Finally, summoning the strength of will only a married and faithful man could, he pointed at her, hoping the motion would explain everything.
“Oh.” Suddenly realizing she was out of sorts as well, she shifted back to normal. Tossing her mane back, she allowed herself a complete blush as she said, “Mike, I’m sorry about that. I…well, my normal form is a bit too big to share the bed with, so I had to shift to one of my human forms and I….” She laughed slightly and nervously. “I guess I’m just babbling, aren’t I?”
Still covered by the sheets, he looked at her as his marriage had just gone into terminal meltdown and that it was no big deal to her. “Celestia, please – let’s take this from the top. Why am I here, and why am I naked?”
“Oh, that. Well, if you want the truth….” she began, her eyes showing embarrassment.
“Celestia, please.”
“Mike, it’s not that I don’t want to tell you – it’s just that it one of those ‘truth is weirder than fiction’ issues.” The alicorn sighed, then continued. “I got notification that Cloudsdale was under attack and left here at supersonic speeds. By the time I got to Cloudsdale, though, you were moments from death and I had to react. Both you and I were moving so fast that your clothing was pretty much friction-burned off you by the time I got there; I had just enough time to wrap a protective spell around you and start healing what damage had already been done to you. When we got here I asked my private physicians to look at your condition and it was safer not to have to constantly dress and undress you.” The look in her eyes was the embarrassment of someone – or somepony, in this case – who meant well, but had compounded action upon mistake upon action in a huge jenga tower. “As for me, it was like I mentioned earlier: there wasn’t enough room on the bed for both of us while I was in my normal form, so I shifted to my human form to sleep. But it had been a long day for me and DJ notwithstanding, ponies usually don’t sleep in nightwear of any kind, so I’m honestly sorry about that.”
The gears in Mike’s mind turned; as far-fetched as it seemed, it did make sense. But one thing still stuck in his mind. “Um…just before I passed out while falling, I had the image in my head of an angel catching me, then kissing me before everything blanked out. Was that you?”
Now it was Celestia’s turn to give him a weird glance. “Mike, I caught you less than four feet from the ground. Given the speed involved, do you think I really had time to change into something else before catching you? I was lucky to have saved you at all!” Finally on his side of the bed, she sat down next to him. “Plus, based on what I know about my wings and the human form? It wouldn’t be easy to do, unless you were used to flying like that, and let me assure you, I’ve never done so.”
“So you didn’t….”
“Remember what I told you in Singapore? That kiss was heat of the moment, and I can’t apologize enough for that. I would never endanger your marriage with DJ, ever, I promise you that. You two are perfect for each other and even if I wanted to – and again, that’s not the case – she’s my niece and I couldn’t live with myself if I did.”
“Thanks,” he said, unsure of what else to add. He was sure that he was leaving something unspoken, but he wasn’t about to press her for details. She was, after all, the leader of another country and his wife’s aunt. But he did add a, “So we’re even then, right?’
That made her laugh before she added, “If you insist, though you’ll have to forgive me if I still think you took the bigger risk than I did.” Her horn glowed with an aqua hue and a small stack of clothes landed by the table. “I hope they’ll fit; they’re a rough approximation of your size, and obviously a closer measurement would be awkward.”
He grabbed the first one, a t-shirt from the Royal Canterlot Athletic Club. “Thanks again.”
“No problem. I’ve got to go attend some meetings now, but stay and rest as long as you need to. I’ll inform my housekeeping staff to ignore my room for the day. Just head back to Twilight’s place when you have the chance; I’m sure DJ’s very worried about you right now.”
“Celestia, about last night…thank you,” he said to her. “I would have died last night if it wasn’t for you.”
He could practically hear her smile in her response. “You’re family, Mike. You’re not left out—”
“—because I’m a different species,” he answered, laughing. With that, the sun alicorn stepped away and departed her bedroom, leaving the human behind.
As she stepped out of the room, she noticed two of her maids arriving, right on schedule. They bowed to her as one, and she returned it. “Good morning, Sugar White and Bahia Bliss. Aren’t you two supposed to be taking care of other duties?”
“Yes, your majesty,” Bahia Bliss began, “but we decided to cover Sparkling Ice and Heatherglen. They were worried, since their families are from Cloudsdale, and….”
“But don’t worry about it, Princess, we have everything under control!” Sugar White chirped, her voice as sweet as her name. “All ready for your room to be cleaned?”
Celestia shook her head. “Actually, I would prefer that my chambers be left alone today. I have….” The two ponies leaned in closer, as if expecting some scandalous secret to be shared. The sun alicorn sighed; this was going to be hard enough as is and no use hiding it. “I have a…guest…asleep in my chambers right now.”
Bahia Bliss arched a brow in curiosity, but then quickly recovered as the sand-hued earth mare replied, “We’ll keep this a secret, your majesty, but congratulations! I can’t speak for the rest of the fillies, but I know I’ve always hoped you’d find your special somepony someday.”
“But he…no, you misunderstand,” Celestia said, feeling a headache coming on. “It’s my niece’s husband. He was one of the non-pegasi under attack at Cloudsdale, and had to be rescued immediately.” The two mares became overcome with embarrassment as their ruler mentioned the attack. “He’s still somewhat dazed by the ordeal, which is why I insisted he continue to sleep before meeting with his wife at Twilight’s home. Trust me, ladies, there’s nothing exotic going on in the least.”
“Poor stallion,” Sugar White pouted. “I hope he’ll be okay.”
“So do I,” Bahia nodded in agreement. “But as you wish, we won’t touch your room for the day, your majesty.”
“Thank you,” Celestia sighed in relief, standing there as the two mares walked off, giggling in a foolish manner. Wouldn’t it be interesting, they said aloud when they thought she was out of earshot, if she was actually up to something? Sure, there was a chance Celestia’s outlandish story was true, Bahia pointed out, but considering how well-concocted it was, her majesty was entitled to keep her trysts in secret, the pair decided.
Sure that issue was now solved, Celestia moved on, her own mind an actual stew. She now had in her mind of what Mike looked like as she removed his ruined clothing from him and slipped him into her bed. His body, not surprising, was in peak condition for the human form, as befitting a military man, and there was something about the elegance of his body’s lines and his general nature reminded her more and more each moment of the stallion she’d loved and lost so long ago.
She was now ashamed to admit it, but she could have conjured up a second, smaller bed for him and placed him there if she truly cared about his well-being. But instead, she’d slept in her human form – the more attractive one – for a reason. But as expected, he only had eyes for his wife and would never look at her the same way he did DJ – and for the first time in her what felt like forever, rejection cut Celestia deeper than any knife drawn across her heart.
“I would be his mare, if he’d let me,” she said, the words tumbling out unbidden.
“You’d be whose mare?” a new voice asked. The Princess of the Day looked to her left and found Cadance standing there, her son asleep on her back.
“I…um….”
“We were going to meet for breakfast, if I recall correctly,” Cadance began.
Celestia blushed furiously. “Well….”
The Princess of Love sighed. “I think we need to have a talk,” was all she said.
DJ yawned as she awoke to the morning, feeling refreshed. She knew – felt it on an instinctive level – that it had only been because of Luna that she’d been saved.
“Feeling better?” Luna asked. The Alicorn of the Moon had already risen, changed back into her normal form and lowered the moon, most likely.
DJ nodded. “Thanks, Luna,” she said.
“We’re family, DJ. You know I—”
“I bit off more than I can chew this time, I know that now,” DJ said, a rare admission for her. “I have this thing that looks like you but isn’t you gunning for me and I have to ask myself why I shouldn’t just head back home right now and forget the portals to here exist.”
“Because you’re a braver woman than that,” Luna answered with a smile. “And because Twilight needs you right now. Will you let her down?”
The humanized pony wordlessly shook her head. “Never,” she finally answered. “Not a chance in hell.”
“Then let’s get going,” Luna said, offering a foreleg to help her niece out of bed. DJ smiled and reached out with her arm to take her aunt’s, and start the day anew.
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But they're not like tonight.
Is this supossed to be in the middle?
Is. Is this a rewrite? Because I'm almost certain most of this has already happened.
cant see much of a difference from what was here before the rewrite.
I'm trying to remember what was changed...Nice to see you alive though.
Calling it now: Rarity is Nightmare Moon's current host.
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I thought you updated the chapter but it seems like you deleted your old one and replaced it with another "updated" version. The changes that I've noticed is that there are more character being involved in this chapter more than ever. Like how Lyra is preparing to go to Equestria and Bon-Bon reunion with Bon-Voyage for example. There's also a scene with Blue Blood that's new as well. There's a lot of extra content and characters here now and I think some of it it's supposed to throw some people off and make more guesses as to who the host Nightmare Moon is controlling. I'm hoping these characters will show up in future chapters now that you've taken the effort to delete this chapter to place them in this chapter.
Aside from more descriptive language and some rewordings I don't see any differences that will break anything
I do despise the rewrites solely because they delete the original comments. I had a couple real nice comments like why Celestia has a thing for Mike.
Shouldn't that be "human equivalent"?
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Unlikely, considering her current state.
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I don't think so -- it's possible, but in Chapter 2 they were seen at the same place at the same time, when the Mane 6 were on a helicopter that Nightmare Moon brought down.
2660124 Unlikely. If you weren't aware, the identity of the new Nightmare Moon was essentially narrowed down to five lesser characters in Shinzakura's 500 subscription blog post from a few months back and is slowly being explored in the side stories. You should really go check them out if you haven't already, they tie in greatly with the main story.
Terminal velocity for a human is about 124 miles per hour. I'm pretty sure Celestia was fibbing when she said Mike's clothes burned off, because heat from friction wouldn't have been anywhere near high enough.
iambrony.dget.cc/mlp/gif/217564__safe_oc_animated_ask-pun_pun-pony_rimshot.gif.gif
3754050 You forgot to add her speed into the equation. He was at terminal velocity and ten feet from the ground and she saw him as a speck from Canterlot. she couldn't stop immediately or they would die from the decrease. He could have very well have had his cloths burned off.
But DJ did just punch out Cthulu.
Lyra's human husband's last name is Phillips. From the name Philip, which comes from the Greek for "Horse lover".
It's kind of funny how DJ spent the night sleeping next to Princess Luna and Mike spent the night sleeping next to Princess Celestia.
I believed Celestia's cockamamie explanation. And then it turns out she parts of what she did kind of as a result of this weird infatuation she's got going on. Really Celestia. Really.
I see what you did there
Celestia needs a boyfriend. A Not-Mike kinda boyfriend.
[Every time I try to post this I get Bad Gateway errors. Apologies if has been accidentally posted five times]
4034971 yep this author is really good at given nods to other story's with out it screening hay here a cupcake reference or oh and look here a rainbow factory nod.
meant to say this for a bit now love how the author is handling the military part on the pony side when it comes to naming their ships instead of just making up names they are using names from the show like how we use presidents they got pansy one of the first six and so forth.
What. What? WHAT!
So this Alex character went up against the RoP and got hosed. Who wants to bet he didn't do a damned thing wrong?
Oh, and I can't help but visualize Jean-Claude as a foppish vampire. Does that mean that I have been reading the wrong kind of authors, or the right ones?
Why are so many of the Ponies so racist? It's like thay're all violently bipolar, switching between pacifistic and murderous.
That said, this is one of the top 10 best written stories on this site and one of the top 25 I have ever read. The racism just bugs the hell out of me because it is so stupid. It's fine to hate a society and how it teaches its people how to handle things, but people are people, no matter what they look like.
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Well take it from Pandemic
Some people and ponies are asses!
in both sense of the word!
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God damnit
ugh fine ill take the Cupcakes cupcake
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That ma---...ehhh screw it that partial is going places...wait would partial be the right word?