//------------------------------// // 53 // Story: Seven Lights // by Fresnor //------------------------------// “Ugh, finally we are done for the day. If I had to sit through one more pony whining about how few bits are being spent on them I would scream.” Rainbow Dash planted her head onto the table of the private eating area while her friends followed in behind her. Taking their seats at the table, the other alicorns sighed as they gave their food orders to the nearby servant. “How about another little song? You seemed to really enjoy that part of the day.” The cyan mare turned a deep crimson as she remembered what had happened near the start of their time sitting in the Day Court. vvvvvvvvvv “Wild thang! You make my heart sing!” Six of the seven alicorns in the throne room held back chuckles of amusement at the face of the seventh as it turned from its usual cyan color to a cherry red as the stallion serenaded her. As the song progressed she was soon slamming her head into the floor in front of her. “Oh, please just kill me now.” ^^^^^^^^^^ “Did you have to bring that up, again! That was just so embarrassing, and he wasn't even that good of a singer. Why would he have thought that doing that in front of everypony was a good idea? He was still just a colt, too!” Aegis Flare shook her head as she leaned back. “Well I did warn you about what would be happening before. I'm just surprised that you were the first one that someone blatantly did something like that with. I would have thought they would have tried something dramatic with Rarity or Fluttershy instead.” Fluttershy ducked down under the table as her cousin gestured over towards her while Rarity just rolled her eyes. Clearing her throat, the shy mare spoke up quietly. “Um, well, there have been a few ponies that have approached my home, but Angel had Harry politely ask them to leave.” At the thought of Angel asking politely, most of the mares winced as they had been on the wrong end of the bunny's temper. Out of them all, only Fluttershy and Aegis Flare didn't notice anything wrong with his attitude, the former due to her just being Fluttershy, and the latter as the bunny could tell that she was family somehow. “Ehem, well as lovely as it is to hear about Rainbow's and Fluttershy's suitors, what is everypony planning to do once we get back to Ponyville for the next couple days? As much as I enjoy the spas here, I miss seeing both Aloe and Lotus back home.” Despite the eyerolls from the others, they have to agree with Rarity about the trip back to Ponyville despite her priorities. “As much as I'm missing my sister, I promised her that I would look something up while I was here in Canterlot. Scootaloo already has a few sleepovers planned with her friends until I get back.” Rainbow Dash nods add this while the others frown sadly at not traveling back with their friend. “Yeah, I finally managed to get in contact with Spitfire so I'll be staying, too. I've been thinking a lot about what Luna said about the Wonderbolts and how, while I can't fly with them like I wanted, I'll pretty much be in charge of them. While I've been in charge of the Ponyville weather team, the Wonderbolts are something completely different so I'm going to be talking to her about the differences. I also plan on asking her what the buck was going on when they screwed up so badly with Spike and the other times you all mentioned.” The others nodded, though were rather surprised that the cyan mare was actually admitting to needing the help which showed how much she was affected by the news of her dream being impossible now. Her usual cocky expression came back quickly though as she looked at her friends that weren't staying. “Of course just because I'm not going to be there doesn't mean that you all can just slack off. I expect all of you to at least fly back to Ponyville and not take the train, though you all are certainly better than a certain somepony who still can't seem to make the flight without help.” All attention turned to Aegis Flare as she lightly blushed at being a worse flier than even Fluttershy. “What? These things aren't as easy as yours are for longer flights. There's something I'm missing so that I don't wear myself out so fast, but I don't know what. At least I'm not floundering around like I used to.” The other alicorns chuckle at their friend's pointing out of the bright side, though Rainbow Dash had to get in the last word on it. “Well you better find it out or else your sister sill become a better flier than you are. She's already getting the hang of getting in the air and landing and she'll probably be flying faster than you soon.” While Rainbow Dash's jab was meant to try and get the bat-winged alicorn to try and improve, all it did was put a smile on her face as she remembered the first time her sister had gotten into the air under her own power. vvvvvvvvvv “I *pant* made it.” Scootaloo looked around at the alicorns gathered on the cloud platform outside of Rainbow Dash's home. The fact that she had gotten up to it without any help from any other ponies was still starting to hit her. “I did it? I did it. I did it! Yesyesyesyesyes!” Aegis Flare looked on as her sister bounced around the cloud as her eyes started to tear up at seeing the young filly finally reaching a goal she had been trying for to the point that she was starting to think she would never fly. The only thing that could have made this moment better was if their parents could have been there to see this moment as well. ^^^^^^^^^^ Aegis Flare shook her head as their meal was brought out for them. Little was said during it and as they finished the seven alicorns soon split up to their various destinations. The orange mare herself headed first to the room reserved for her whenever she was in Canterlot, her friends each having their own, to remove her jewelry she had worn throughout the day. As she removed the crown, torc, and decorative hoofguards, she looked over the silver used in them and the topaz gems. Her friends had the same regalia for when they were in Canterlot as well, but with the gem colors swapped out for the one matching the Element of Harmony they once held. She had been taking better care of her own set recently, after having stepped on them one too many times in the morning, but she still felt that they just did not fit her well. After she finished freshening up, she made her way to the Royal Archives where the records she was looking for were being kept. Unfortunately, when she arrived she reached a little snag in her plans. “Wait, what did you just say again?” “I said that only the princess is allowed to see these records. You'll have to talk with her if you want to get in.” Aegis Flare blinked a couple time before she shook her head and smirked. “Who do I have to go and see?” The guard rolled his eyes before repeating himself. “I said you'll have to go talk to the... princess...” He trailed off as the alicorn started poking at her horn with a hoof while extending her wings. With a groan the stallion brought a hoof to his face as he realized just who he was talking to. He mentally cursed himself for not clarifying with his superior just which princess they meant instead of just assuming it was Princess Celestia. “*sigh* Go right ahead, your highness.” Aegis Flare's eyebrow rose once again at the unprofessionalism from the guard, but only shrugged as she entered the room. Inside she looked around at all the scrolls, gems, and other miscellaneous objects that were stored inside before she frowned and looked resolute. “Finally, now let's see just what has been going on.” It was there that Princess Celestia found the younger alicorn late the next morning as she pored over the various documents and records that were stored there. The larger mare looked at the back of the younger princess, taking in the sight of the cup of coffee that smelled remarkably like what her sister would drink before shaking her head with a small smile as she remembered her former student spending sleepless nights doing her studies. “I was wondering when you would find your way here. Of course, I would have thought you would have been here as soon as my sister told you that the Black Guard files had been found.” She watched the orange mare for a moment waiting for a response, but when one didn't seem to be forthcoming she frowned. Moving forward she looked over Aegis Flare's shoulder to see what she was so focused on. Reading over what had her attention, Celestia's eyes slowly widened as she read over what the younger princess had been writing down the entire night. “Wh-what is all of this?! How did you find all of this overnight!? I've had teams of trusted ponies going over this and they have trouble getting past the magical encryption on most of the important parts!” Aegis Flare glanced back at her before she sighed in annoyance at seeing her. “Well most of it they already translated, but the parts that they didn't weren't encrypted by Manifest Destiny, and were the original Black Guard records which even he didn't get into. It turns out that the one protecting my parent's journals work with them as well. But all of this I found after going through it all along with his financial records. A lot of this was pretty obvious with even minimal experience with accounting systems, and I'm sure an expert would find things that even I would miss.” Celestia snatched up the scroll in her magic as she took a closer look at it in horror. Her gaze traveled down it until she spotted something that made her freeze up and look down at the other mare. “The funds set aside for the surviving black guard members or their families were never sent out!? But I was assured that it was taken care of! Why was I never told about any of this!?” Aegis Flare just shrugged as she passed over a few other forms. “Well, I'd guess that none of them actually knew something was supposed to be sent, I know I didn't. But that actually lead me to all these companies that were owned by that stallion, or ponies that were in his pocket. In fact I'm wondering why he was even put in charge of all of this in the first place since he was high on the Black Guard's watch list.” Celestia frowned at this as she thought back to when she had shut things down. “Actually, I have been wondering that myself. I had put a stallion named Coin Counter in charge of all of this when I disbanded the black guard. Strangely enough, he has vanished without a trace and nopony seems to know when it happened.” The younger mare frowned for a moment before she shuffled through the piles around her before she pulled out the scroll she was looking for and read through it quickly. “I thought I recognized that name. It was buried in a load of other trivial details, but it seems that Manifest Destiny had him 'dealt with' so he could get control of all of this.” On hearing this, Celestia's face turned from worried to anger. “That stallion has so much to answer for. Even if half of this is true it will take years for the courts to go over everything. I can not believe that he had his hooves in so many parts of the government that will have to be dealt with.” Aegis Flare just nods as she takes another sip from her coffee and winces at how bitter it was, even though it kept her awake. “Unfortunately, there was nothing about my parents in any of this, though I think I might have a lead after finding some of their personal logs, as well as part of why that stallion took control of all of this. It turns out that not all of the Black Guard was disbanded. Manifest Destiny was in contact with an Agent X, or at least receiving messages from him though he tried to find out who it was. There were warnings years ago from him about the Changeling queen, as well as a few other issues that he took advantage of to profit himself from. In fact... Is something wrong?” She had stopped speaking as Celestia's face turned to one of shock and horror at hearing the name of the still active agent. “How did you find out that name? The only ones that should know it were myself, and your parents. Anything that they would have had on him would have been encrypted in such a way that only they could access it.” With a frown, Aegis Flare reached over to a small black book. “It was all written down in this. And it wasn't that hard to read since I used a trick I found for their other journal using one of my sister's feathers. Who is this Agent X?” The elder princess sighed as she looks towards the nearby door. “He was part of a measure that I took so that if anything happened to me like what happened with Luna, there would be an agent that I knew little about in case it was needed. The captain of the Black Guard was to be the only one that knows who they were, and the latest one was Agent X as they preferred to be known as.” “So he reported directly to my parents? Now I really want to find him, which should be easy once I finish reading through this book for the right pass-codes. It would be nice to have somebody that might be able to help set up a new Black Guard again.” Celestia blinked a couple times before she frowned before eventually sighing. “I want to try and talk you out of it, but after reading all these problems that Agent X as been reporting on I am afraid it might be necessary. Your parents always did say that I was always too soft to run the Black Guard, though it was always Luna that was in charge of those kind of things. I hate to admit it, but she always was better than me about the more underhoofed side of running things. But are you sure that you are up to running an organization like that?” Aegis Flare just looked thoughtful for a moment before shaking her head. “Probably not, but that's for in the future and if your sister ran it then I'll definitely ask her for help. First though, I need to find this Agent X.” Princess Celestia nodded as she started to pore over the records with the other princess. ---------- “So this is where he is hiding? Well I guess it takes all kinds.” Aegis Flare looked at the door inset into the side of a hill. With a shrug she knocked on the door and waited for an answer. “Who is it?” Her eyebrow rose at the voice of an elderly old mare sounding through the door before she shrugged. “I am the terror, that flaps in the night.” There was a long pause as she waited for an answer and was surprised when the voice changed. “I am the gun that sticks to your shoes. What took you so long?! I've been waiting for contact from the captains for years now! What kind of... wait, when did an alicorn join the Black Guard?” The alicorn blinked as what she presumed to be Agent X opened the door and was something she wasn't expecting. “Huh, I didn't expect Agent X to be a changeling. Well this ought to be interesting.” The changeling blinked at her as he cocked his head to the side in confusion. “Well this is going to take a while, but you are needed back in Canterlot so I'll have to explain it all on the way.” On board the train back to Canterlot, Aegis Flare sat in a private car with the changeling, now disguised as a crystal pony stallion going by the name Crystal Hoof, as she explained just what was going on. When she had finished he looked downcast at hearing about the disappearance of her parents. “So they haven't been heard from since?” Aegis Flare just shook her head which caused the changeling to frown. “Well that's odd then. I had sent word back that Chrysalis had been targeting Black Guard members, though it must have been after they vanished, and if she had actually caught them then she would have either captures them and taken their place, or left their bodies somewhere where some other group would take the blame.” He looked thoughtful for a moment before he brightened up a bit. “If that's the case then maybe they are still alive somewhere! Your parents were the first friends that I had ever made and to hear that they vanished... But if there has been no sign of them then they must be out there somewhere!” The alicorn could feel herself get caught up in the changelings excitement, though she held herself back from celebrating just yet. “I really hope that that's true, but right now I'm trying to rebuild the Black Guard. I need to know everything that you know about how it was run.” The changeling nodded as he began explaining the workings that he knew of, as well as giving her the names of some others that could help as well. Unsurprisingly she recognized one of the names, but she expected that Bon Bon wouldn't want anything to do with the group anymore. Still it gave her a lot to think about as she hadn't realized just how much her parents had dealt with even while taking care of her and her sister. The two arrived back in Canterlot late in the day and they entered that castle near the end of the time for evening court. They made their way to the throne room, after a short detour to the alicorn's room to retrieve her regalia, where they found Princess Luna, along with Rarity and Rainbow Dash holding court, though there were few ponies waiting for an audience. “Ahh, Princess Aegis Flare, I presume from the presence of your companion that your trip went well?” Aegis Flare nodded as she stopped in front of Luna and gestured to the disguised changeling who proceeded to bow to the trio on the dais. “It could have been better since I didn't accomplish my main goal, but he did give me at least some information that...” She was interrupted as a flash of green blazed up from her side and she sighed as the room erupted in panic. “Changeling!” The orange alicorn sighed as she tossed a glare at the unrepentant changeling before throwing up a shield between him and Rainbow Dash, wincing as the cyan mare splatted against it. Shaking her head, Rainbow Dash glared up over at her friend next to the changeling. “Hey! What gives!? Why are you protecting that thing!?” “As I was about to say, this is Agent X, the last remaining active member of the Black Guard, and someone that could easily deal with an amateur attack like that, let alone the guards that think they are sneaking up on him. Though I will admit that it might be enough for one of the common members back in the day, but not one of the elite.” She tossed a glance back at the guards, one being a now Corporal Steel Wall who stared back at her in embarrassment, before turning back to the other princesses. Rainbow Dash was still glaring at her, but Luna was looking interested while Rarity seemed a bit put off. “Interesting. How is it that we knew nothing of the changelings if there was one in the Black Guard all this time?” The orange mare opened her mouth to respond, before shy frowned in thought as she hadn't noticed that little issue before. As she considered this, the changeling cleared his throat and looked embarrassed. “Actually, the only ones who knew what I really looked like where the two captains. They found me when I was exploring outside of the hive without permission and became my first friends. They always assumed that I was an odd sort of pony and I never bothered to correct them. It was only after they disappeared that I sent information back to them when I heard about the false queen's plans to attack Canterlot but I only recently found out that none of it reached you.” Luna frowned in thought before she brought a hoof up to her face in realization. “Of course, Manifest Destiny had everything by then, didn't he? My sister made so many mistakes in the recent years with what used to be my organization, but at least she remembered to keep that one operative that she has no control over. But what do you mean by false queen?” The changeling frowned he realized his little slip before shaking his head with a sigh. “I used to follow her before the captains found me and they showed me how much she was lying to me and her subjects. She always claimed that ponies would destroy us if we were found, and she was the only one that could protect us. I later found that she was really an outcast from the changeling society that was spread across the continent. Eventually things became too much and I spoke up against her and was banished, I still never found out why she is like this but she seems to have a grudge against ponykind.” The princesses frown at the news of there being other changelings leaders that they knew nothing about. Rainbow Dash eventually shook her head and frustration and glared once again at the changeling. “How do we even know that he is telling the truth. Are you sure that he isn't a spy, Flare?” The changeling blinked in confusion before tilting his head to the side. “Um, but I AM a spy.” At his answer Rainbow Dash froze up for a moment before she flew up right into his face. “Ahha! I knew it! Who are you working for!?” The look on the changelings face didn't change as he somehow looked even more confused. “Um, I work for you?” His answer caused Rainbow Dash's jaw to drop while Aegis Flare chuckled at the answer, dropping the shield in the process since there was no threat to the agent any more. She cyan alicorn recovered quickly and let out a cry off annoyance. “All right, that's it! You're coming with me!” Grabbing the now unprotected changeling, Rainbow Dash flew out of the room with him, leaving the other princesses to stare after her retreating form. “Um, should one of us go after her?” Aegis Flare shook her head at Rarity's question before sighing. “I don't think she's going to do anything too rash. She doesn't handle frustration well, and I bet I can guess where she is going considering the direction she went, and the challenge I accidentally gave her earlier.” She looked over in that direction again as she thought about who may be at the guard's training ring right now. “We can talk to him later though, I actually needed to talk with both of you about something I was planning that Celestia agreed with. I was wondering if you both could help me with restarting the Black Guard.” Hearing this, Princess Luna's eyes lit up while Rarity just looked confused. Before either of them could reply, the door to the thrown room was thrown open and a voice that none of them wished to hear at that moment rang out. “Auntie Luna. I was wondering if I might have a moment of your time.” With a sigh and a roll of her eyes, the Princess of the Night responded. “Fine. But please do not ask me about building you yet another statue as the answer is still no.” Prince Blueblood just smiled sweetly as he moved to stand before the throne. “Oh nothing of the sort, this is much more serious than a trivial token such as that. You see I have been asking Auntie Celestia for years to reinstate a certain group that has been vital to the safety of Equestria for centuries. Today has been the first time that she has told me anything other than no, yet I am still unsure as to why I am to ask you about it.” Rarity bristled at the disrespectful tone that the prince spoke in, but on hearing the question she turned to look at the other princesses to find Luna with a sneaky smile. “Well nephew, you happen to be in luck. We were just discussing how we were going to restart the Black Guard.” The prince only half listened to her as he was running off a script of how he believed the conversation to go. “Now I know that you don't know much of the modern times, but this group is essential to... Wait... What did you just say?” Rarity had to restrain herself from giggling while a white figure sitting with the small group of courtiers brought her claws up to her face. “I said that we were just starting to plan out how to restart the Black Guard. In fact, Princess Aegis Flare here had just finished retrieving the sole member of the previous group that had still been active and outside of my sister's control.” Hearing this, Blueblood froze up in shock before he started lightly bouncing on his hooves in excitement as he turned towards the orange alicorn. “You mean you actually found Agent X!? I've been trying to find him ever since auntie shut down the Black Guard! Where and who was he!?” The princesses were surprised about the prince's change of attitude and were slightly taken aback. Shaking her head, the orange mare recovered from her confusion. “Well you'll probably hear about it soon, but it turns out that he was a changeling that was banished by the Queen that had attacked Canterlot for speaking out against her. It turns out that she was an outcast from her kind and not a good representative of the race, but we haven't figured out what to do with this information yet. We still have to decide more on how to proceed before we can say just what we will be doing.” She paused before narrowing her eyes at the prince as she started to suspect something that was linked to something odd she had found before. “Actually, do you happen to have any ideas that may help us in restarting the Black Guard? I doubt you would be bothering your aunts if you didn't have ideas yourself.” The prince jumped slightly in surprise as he realized just how he had been acting and took a moment to compose himself. He looked at the younger princess and saw something that caused him to speak a bit more respectfully. “Ah yes. Well previously the Black Guard would induct members from sources outside of the normal guard. One of the prime ones happened to be the prisons scattered around Equestria, some of which are now strained for resources as they hold more inmates than they can handle. In fact you may find that there are many that should have been released years ago as a certain stallion you may be familiar with has been rather busy interfering with the courts.” The stallion levitated over a scroll which Luna quickly opened to see a familiar name that had been a thorn in the royal's side recently. With a growl she passed it to the other princesses as she turned back to her nephew who continued to speak, but back in a tone she was more familiar with. “Of course, with the prisons requiring less funds I'm sure some could be spared for another statue dedicated to me, hmm?” The princess refrained from rolling her eyes at her nephew before she let out a sigh. “We shall see, nephew. I'm sure we can find something to thank you with for your assistance in this matter.” With a nod, the stallion walked towards the door he had entered from, and the mares thought they saw a bit of bounce in his steps as well. Once he had exited the room, the four princesses turned to look at each other. “Well darlings, that was rather unexpected. I was expecting him to be less helpful than he was and more of a jerk. Was that really the same Prince Blueblood from the Gala?” The other two princesses shrugged at Rarity in response as they weren't quite sure as well. “Still, I have to ask why you think that I would be able to help with this Black Guard idea?” “Well you are actually perfect for dealing with the diplomatic side of the Black Guard. Most only think about the spying and assassination part of them, but the higher ranked members also have to be skilled diplomats as they are encouraged to try for non-violent means first. I plan on talking with the others, but the three of us should be able to deal with the important parts. Rainbow Dash being here would have just been convenient since she was trying to work with the Wonderbolts.” Rarity nodded to Aegis Flare for her explanation before looking thoughtful. The sound of a throat clearing at that moment pulled the attention of the three alicorns before the conversation could continue though. “Excuse me, your highnesses. But I would like to apologize for Prince Blueblood, there aren't many that he feels that he can trust to show his true self around.” The three princesses looked up to see an albino gryphoness approaching the dais. Aegis Flare's eyebrow rose as she took in the pure white, falconesque form, white cheetah-like posterior and red eyes of the female. “Ah, Lady Gwenda. Is is always a pleasure to see you. Yet I do not understand why you feel the need to appoligize for our... nephew.” Luna let a small bit of distaste enter her voice, which caused the gryphoness to sigh and shake her head. “He really can be one of the most aggravating and insensitive stallions out there, but also has a side that he doesn't show to many outside of his home. I presume that Princess Celestia has yet to inform you of the code words that they use since he has been complaining about opportunities being missed to help the city. He always gets really emotional when he misses an opportunity, but that is why I love my husband.” The three mares blinked in confusion for a moment before her words registered to them. “Wait, Prince Blueblood has been married this whole time!? How come I never heard about this before!? And why did he never say anything when we first met at the Grand Galloping Gala!?” Lady Gwenda blushed as she remembered that day as she wasn't proud of what had happened. “Well, you see, when we first met I was going through a hard time. When the wedding came about we agreed not to publicize that it had happened and only our closest compatriots and the guard knew about us. I have to apologize to you for that day as it had become a habit for him to do what he could drive away those that he perceived as gold-diggers who only saw him for his position and not who he truly was.” Hearing this, it was Rarity's turn to blush as she had been thinking more about what the stallion was at the time, and not who he was. “Well darling, he may not have been completely wrong at the time. I may have been thinking much as he expected, though I was also expecting him to be more prince-like than he portrayed at the time. How did you two even get together?” The gryphon got a dreamy look on her face as she thought back to the days they had first met before shaking her head. “I was born in one of the more distant gryphon kingdoms but due to my condition, as well as my mother's, we had to flee for our very lives.” She looked down at her pale white claws before continuing. “Many gryphons back there are not tolerant of anything different, and being an albino was no exception to that. When I was a teenager we finally moved here to Equestria, and it was in Cloudsdale when I finally was able to start feeling good about myself. There was a pegasus stallion that did a lot to help me, but it was Blueblood that I fell for while he was visiting the city for a political event. It took many months, but I managed to meet with him in private to speak with him. Over the course of the night we got to know each other and things just progressed from there.” Rarity had a dreamy look on her eyes as she heard the story, but Aegis Flare had another question. “What about your mother? You said there was a reason for her to leave as well.” Lady Gwenda looked over in the direction that Rainbow Dash had gone before she sighed. “I wouldn't be saying any of this, but after seeing that changeling walking in here openly like that I feel I can trust you with this. You see my mother is a changeling.” Her statement caused a pair of raised eyebrows on both Luna and Aegis Flare, as the latter lit up her horn to cause a wave of energy to flow across the room as she expanded a shield through it. Her eyebrow rose even higher as the shield passed through the gryphon, yet nothing happened to her form after the contact. For her part the snowy gryphon looked confused for a moment before she realized what had happened and shook her head. “This really is my true form. There is much more to changelings than you know or could even guess.” The orange alicorn nodded as she looked thoughtful while Luna made a comment. “That is true. Learning that there is a whole society of them hidden from us, and that this Queen Chrysalis is really not a queen at all but an outcast is unsettling. We really should get in contact with the real leaders so that something can be worked out between us.” The other two princesses nodded along with her as the wife of Blueblood continued. “As you saw, changelings can change shape, but what you saw that day was only the simplest change they can do. With enough love and energy they can change their bodies in such a way that they are indistinguishable from the real thing. While in that form, any children will be of that race, though they will often have some problem like my albinism. The only time that their forms can be revealed is upon death, they change themselves again, or during childbirth. It was that last one that forced my mother to flee as my sire found out about her.” The three princesses winced as they could imagine how things may have gone in an intolerant society that was described. “When the rogue changeling attacked with her swarm, mother was worried about what might happen because of her actions. My husband has known of her and they have been working to convince the other changelings to step forward and start negotiations with all of you but there are many voices cautioning against it still.” Luna frowned in thought as she considered this information. She wasn't given much time though as an explosion rocked that palace, causing Aegis Flare to sigh and bring a hoof up to her face. “Now what is Rainbow Dash doing?” <><><><><><><><><><> Minutes Earlier... “So why did you grab me and drag me out here?” Agent X looked over at Rainbow Dash as she paced back in forth on the other side of the courtyard that she pulled him to. Listening closely, he could hear the cyan mare muttering something to herself. “Think I can't beat him, do you? Think a changeling is all that? Well I'll show you.” Without any warning, the cyan mare turned and charger at the Black Guard changeling with her hooves outstretched. If he hadn't seen her speed before he might have been hit, but considering he had seen it once before he was ready for her as she charged at him. Moments later Rainbow Dash was upside down and blinking in confusion against the wall while the changeling was unmoved from his position. “What the buck just happened?” “What? You haven't seen the Light Hoof fighting style before? It's standard for most unicorns that are part of the Black Guard. I think Princess Aegis Flare knows some of the basics of it from how she moves.” Rainbow Dash just growled at his non-nonchalant attitude before righting herself and charging at him yet again. Before she hit him she stopped and started unleashing a flurry of punches and kicks which he effortlessly brushed aside with minimal movement. “That's it? I would have thought that you would have at least known the Steel Wing style, and not something worthless like karate.” Rainbow Dash growled as she backed away to catch her breath for a second. “What do you mean worthless? I spent two years earning a black belt in karate. And what the buck is Steel Wing?” Agent X just chuckled as he cracked his neck and transformed into a pegasus form. “Well it's not bad if you enjoy dancing, as for Steel Wing...” He proceeded to demonstrate the style as he charged Rainbow Dash and caught her in the breastbone with an outstretched wing, causing her to rear back in pain. With her wide open he spun around to catch her in the stomach with his other wing, but as he moved to throw a buck at her she flew up into the air and out of his reach. “Ouch, what the buck are your wings made of? A hit that hard should have broken your wing from the impact, or at the very least hurt it more than you hurt me.” The changeling smirked as he shifted into his Crystal Hooves form as he stood up on his rear hooves and rubbed his front ones together. “That's the point of the Steel Wing. At least these sparring grounds are warded to prevent any major injuries as a hit like that could have split you in half. I would have thought you would have heard about it as it is a major pegasus technique and even the Wonderbolts are trained in it. Also you really shouldn't just hover in place like that, even against an earth pony.” Rainbow Dash looked confused as the changeling brought his forehooves back towards his side as he concentrated for a moment. As he thrusted his hooves towards her, Rainbow Dash's eyes widened as she watched a wave of distorted air begin to fly towards her, and when it reached her her wings trembled from the vibrations as she started to lose altitude. “And the is the earth pony Quake Hoof technique.” Before she hit the ground she managed to recover and gain altitude once again before she glared at him with a growl. “All right, that's it! You may think that your little tricks are so special, but wait until you see this!” With a hard flap of her wings, Rainbow Dash took off upwards into the air rapidly. The changeling watched in confusion and wondered just what she was up to as she stopped high in the air, just barely visible with his enhanced night-vision as it was starting to get dark out. Soon the alicorn began plummeting right towards the changeling who only sighed as he braced himself to use the Light Hoof style once again, thinking that she still hadn't learned. As a pressure cone began to form around Rainbow Dash, the changeling frowned in confusion, but when she punched through that barrier in an explosion of color his eyes widened as she reached incredible speeds, causing him to brace himself for her attack. <><><><><><><><><><> “Now just what have you two been doing out here!?” Aegis Flare glared down at the alicorn and changeling that were laying sprawled next to each other in the guard sparring arena. The changeling only groaned as he was still recovering, though Rainbow Dash just lifted a hoof in his direction. “Heh, just getting to know this guy. I guess he isn't half bad if he can stay conscious through a Sonic Rainboom to the face. And you thought that I couldn't take him.” The orange alicorn just groaned in annoyance as Rarity patted her on the shoulder. With a sigh the mare looked skyward before looking back at Rarity and Luna. “I was expecting her to try something, but I didn't think she would go this far. At least we don't have to worry about how badly the others will react since she at least seems fine with him now.” Luna just shook her head as she looked up towards all the faces in the windows of the palace. “I guess I should go and let 'Tia know about what has been going on as well as the rest of the guard. After that half of Canterlot is probably wondering what is going on.” Hearing this, Rainbow Dash just chuckled in embarrassment as she flopped back down in exhaustion at the little sparring match that just occurred.