Celestia’s mind was in two places that day. Her first focus was on her students. Equestria’s most magically gifted were nearing the end of their lesson. The rest of her mind was focused on her private lesson coming up next. She looked to her students.
“...and that will be all class. You’re free to go.”
She had finished her explanation on how magic works for unicorns, and why their horns are so important for channeling the magic. She looked at her class before letting out a small sigh. None of them were leaving. Of course not. Why would they? They wanted to see the human! She made a huge mistake in telling one of her students that she'd personally train him. The training had only started a week ago, and they only learned a few days ago. Word spread quickly through the kingdom.
“Alright. You may only stay if Cody is comfortable with it. This is his private lesson after all.”
As soon as Cody recovered from his kidnapping, Princess Celestia had decided to train him. The first human to have magical abilities. He needed to master his power. He was able to open a portal large enough to engulf Force Wind, who was still missing. He had so much potential for so much power. She wondered if he would eventually be able to open a portal to his home world.
“Your highness?”
“Yes Twilight?”
“May I ask what Cody’s training is about today?”
“Simple practice Twilight.”
There was a knock at the door. She magically turned the handle, and opened it. It was her lieutenant.
“Yes Lieutenant?”
“Cody is here ma’am.”
“Wonderful. Send him in.”
As the lieutenant left to retrieve Cody, Princess Celestia turned her focus to her class.
“As you may all know by now, I will be helping a human train his powers. Yes, the very same you saw in the newspaper some days ago. I need to ask all of you to treat him with respect. Humans are no longer food. They're to be treated like any other Unicorn, Pegasi, or Earth pony. I will not tolerate any of you doing or saying anything harmful to him. Do you understand?”
---
Cody had started out fairly relaxed. Then the lieutenant told him that he heard Celestia’s students were going to watch his lesson. He had never used his newfound talents in front of an audience. Only in front of her highness, Mocha, and Ivory. He sat there on the lieutenant’s back, nervous as he approached the door. The guard levitated him to the ground, saluted, and walked away.
“Good morning Cody.”
“Good morning your highness.”
“As you can see, my students wished to observe your lesson. I can dismiss them if you feel uncomfortable.”
“It's fine. They can watch.”
Cody took a step forward, but was levitated back to the doorway. Princess Celestia shook her head. She pointed her hoof at her desk.
“Why don't we start out with trying to teleport to my desk?”
Numerous ponies looked from above. They all sat at their desks, waiting to see his abilities in action. Cody took a deep breath, and another. He stared intensely at Princess Celestia's desk. He tensed his torso. He felt the burning in his stomach. The glowing white light swirled in front of his stomach. It slowly spread across his body like sunshine on all sides of him. He felt the warmth spread to his shoulders, neck, then face.
Like jumping from the hot tub to the pool, a sudden chill covered Cody. He felt like he was floating. Everything went dark, and he was on his back. He could hear voices, but they were muffled.
“Woah.”
“He did it.”
“Where is he?”
The darkness around Cody shifted a bit, revealing some light. He saw a shade of purple fur. He tenderly pressed his hand against the soft surface, and it shifted again. Then, he heard a muffled squeak. The mass suddenly moved, and light flooded Cody’s face. He looked around, seeing he was in a giant chair. Looking to his left, he saw a purple alicorn. Said alicorn had a very red face. It took Cody a moment, but he realized what had happened. His face became just as red.
“I’m so sorry! I swear I didn’t mean...I would never...”
Snickering was heard throughout the room from the the students. Cody saw a purple glow surround him. He was levitated up, and onto the desk. The purple alicorn sat down, glaring at Cody. Cody turned around, seeing a slightly shocked Princess Celestia.
Pointing at the desk with his right forefinger, a white sphere of light shot out of it. The sphere ended up in the middle of Princess Celestia’s desk. It expanded into a vertical disk that matched his height. Another white sphere shot out of his finger, and another vertical disk appeared in front of him. He stepped through it. He looked up to Princess Celestia, who had glared the class into silence.
"Well...um...it seems we still need to practice your teleportation. Your portaling skills are still superb."
Next Cody was pointed towards a small glass of water only a little taller than him. Princess Celestia wanted him to try and teleport the object. Any direction he wanted. He pointed at the glass, letting the energy build into a sphere the size of a grapefruit. It shot forward and struck the glass, making the whole thing glow. When the light was gone, the glass was still there. It seemed he didn’t teleport anything.
A splash. A few drops fell on Cody. He looked up, and realized that he managed to teleport the water inside the glass. Teleported it above Princess Celestia. As she glared down at him, he could hear the clattering of many hooves. Students rushed out of the room. The princess lowered her head to be at eye level with him. Her face melted into concern.
“Cody, I can not help you if you are not honest with me. The first few days of your training were going so well, but now it is like your mind has no focus here.”
Cody sat down. It was such a stupid thing to be thinking about. It was throwing his focus off worse than he thought. He needed to tell her. He needed to tell someone.
“Your highness, I’ve been bothered because-.”
“Your highness! Numerous ponies have broken into the human quarters!”
The lieutenant had burst into the room with his message. Princess Celestia gave her head a quick shake to get some water off, and quickly followed her lieutenant out. He vaguely heard her tell someone to come in and watch him for his own safety. He laid down on his back. It was probably a guard.
“Cody?”
Looking to his left, Cody saw her approaching. The purple alicorn from earlier. She wasn’t as upset as she seemed earlier. He saw a bit of a smile. He waved her down, then she approached the desk. The desk was high, so only her head and neck were visible. She was so close to him. It reminded him of his first encounter with Ivory.
“I’m Princess Twilight Sparkle, but call me Twilight.”
“Well Twilight, I wish our first encounter was as professional as this.”
Twilight thought for a moment before blushing extremely hard. It seemed the princess was not used to these types of encounters. She had the same mix of curiosity and joy almost every single pony Cody had met. He sat up.
“I do apologize for what happened earlier. I’ve been a bit distracted.”
“Distracted?”
“Yeah. My birthday is coming up in two days and I don’t want it to be a big deal.”
Cody was half lying to Twilight and himself. His birthday was coming up in two days, but he didn’t want to celebrate it. His first birthday not on his home planet. The idea of it bothered him a lot.
“If my girlfriend ever finds out, she’ll make a huge deal out of it.”
“You mean Ivory Swirl the human expert right?”
Cody sighed. Despite efforts of Princess Celestia, many newspapers still found out about his relationship with Ivory. Ivory faced some ridicule from Canterlot’s elite, who still held the belief that humans were lesser beings. After the Force Wind incident, humans were declared equal members of society. This Princess Twilight seemed to mean well, despite a rough first meeting.
“I’m sorry, was that too forward?”
“No. It's fine.”
“I can't imagine how tough an interspecies relationship must be. You must really love her.”
“With all my heart.”
"That...that is very nice. I can see you're being honest with me, and she is a lucky mare. She has someone that really cares about her. This is so interesting. There's so much about the humans that I still don’t know. I’ll have to see if I can get my hooves on Ivory's infamous notes. She's fairly secretive about them."
“I'll ask her for ya.”
“Really?”
“Well I can try.”
---
Even with his new powers, Ivory still worried about her sweet Cody. She used an observation spell to listen in on the castle guards from time to time. As soon as she heard about the human addicts breaking into the castle, she was on the next train to Canterlot. Princess Celestia never had a guard away from Cody, but she needed to be sure. Since he sent Force Wind into that portal, she’s heard nothing from her highness. That’s what worried her the most.
She sat in her seat on the train in silence. She felt the glares of numerous ponies on her when she boarded. For some, her relationship with Cody was taboo. Most of the ponies went back to their conversations, which Ivory couldn’t help but listen to. Two unicorn mares in particular.
“Small and pathetic creatures, they're nothing but snacks! Why should we even treat them with respect? They're useless!”
“I heard Prince Blueblood hired a dozen humans to massage him every day. A dozen!”
“What will happen to the rest that don’t get jobs? I don't want them free around town! They'll steal our food!”
“Did you hear about the human village construction Princess Twilight is overseeing in Ponyville? Houses smaller than a foal!”
“A village? Well I do love my snacks free range.”
The two mares began to laugh. As the train stopped, Ivory exited with a face of disgust. These humans were intelligent creatures capable of amazing feats. Yet these ponies were speaking of them as if they were mindless insects. It seemed most Canterlot ponies didn’t want to let go of the notion that humans were lesser beings.
She was barely halfway to the castle. The two mares from earlier had seemed to get ahead of her. They had sneering looks. She knew what was going to happen. Somepony always does it whenever she's in Canterlot.
“Hey Ivory! Where's your insect of a boyfriend?”
“I'm hungry, think I can have your lover for a snack?”
“Maybe she already has.”
She quickly trotted to the castle. The insults bothered Ivory a lot at first, but she began to ignore most of them. The only thing that bothered her more than what Cody called ‘uppity snobs’ was what laid ahead at the castle entrance.
Camera after camera, flashing. Numerous journalists from all over. When they weren't trying to get pictures of Cody, they were trying to get to the human quarters.
She kept her head down as she pushed her way through the crowd. She gave the guard a glance, and he let her through. She was quickly past the doors. She trotted through the main hall, and went over to the lieutenant. He was stood outside the human quarters.
“Lieutenant! I heard about the break-in. Is Cody alright? Were any humans harmed?”
“Cody’s safe ma’am. He's in the classroom. Princess Twilight is watching over him. As for the other humans, we’re still counting to see how many are missing.”
“Those poor humans. I better check on Cody. Thank you Lieutenant.”
Ivory quickly made her way down the hallway to her right. She saw a couple of young unicorns milling around in the hallway. If her memory was correct, they were Princess Celestia’s students. A mare and stallion were having a good laugh about something.
“Did you see Twilight’s face? I’ve never seen it that red before!”
“I know right? I can’t believe she actually sat on that little human.”
“I’m surprised he wasn’t flattened.”
She walked into the classroom, prepared for the worst. Instead, she saw Princess Twilight. Her head was on the desk, mere inches from Cody. She was laughing with him. Ivory approached the desk to a slightly surprised boyfriend.
“Ivory! Um...you're here.”
“Yes dear. I heard about the break-in. I came to check on you.”
Ivory turned her head towards Princess Twilight. She seemed a mix of happy and nervous.
“Your highness. I am thankful you watched over my dear Cody.”
“It was wonderful meeting him.”
“I do have one small question for you Princess Twilight.”
“Yes?”
“Why did you sit on him?”
---
Awkward situations wasn’t Cody’s area of expertise. Neither was dealing with a giant upset girlfriend. Princess Twilight acting guilty didn’t help much.
“He just teleported there! I didn't mean to do it! He got himself there! And I couldn't move much so I just got up and-!”
“Sweetheart. It was an accident.”
Ivory rested her head right in front of Cody. Her subtle anger subsided. He rested his left hand on her right cheek.
“It was?”
“Yes. Teleporting under Princess Twilight's butt was an accident. Would you feel better if I teleported under yours?”
Now it was Ivory's turn to feel awkward. She pouted and stuck out her lower lip.
“No...maybe.”
Cody planted a quick kiss on Ivory's cheek. He took a few steps back, and tensed his lower torso. He focused on where he wanted to go. His vision went blurry. The light swirled around him. The warmth spread, and a chill came just as quick. His vision came back into focus. He sat down on the plush fur of his girlfriend's back. Twilight took a few steps towards him.
“Amazing.”
“Yeah, he is.”
The three made their way through the castle, and into the main hall. Cody noticed Ivory and Twilight completely avoided talking to the Lieutenant. He was still guarding the human quarters. Ivory stopped, as if she knew he was staring.
“You haven't even tried talking to them, have you?”
“You know I can't do that.”
“Can't, or won't?”
Cody didn't answer. As the three walked, he thought about what Ivory said. He hasn't spoken to a single human in all the time he's been here. A part of him just wanted to avoid humans overall. Another part longed for human contact. One of those desires would have to win out.
Soon.
---
Twilight was taking careful notes with every question she asked. The three were waiting while the guards were trying to disperse the journalists. Her and Ivory sat on a small couch by the door. Cody sat between the two.
“How do you focus your magic without a horn? I’ve never seen a creature without a horn do magic.”
“I focus with my hands.”
“But when you teleported before, you weren't using your hands.”
“If I see where I'm going, I can teleport there.”
“Fascinating.”
Twilight took down more notes. It was near impossible to talk to Cody this in depth. Princess Celestia practically kept the human away from everyone. He was a magical marvel, but she was actively hiding him from the world. This alicorn was still kicking herself for not shifting her research to humans when she had the chance. Every other pony was playing catch up to Ivory. Her desire to research these interesting creatures was at an all time high.
“Hey Cody.”
“Yes?”
“Do you think you could ask Ivory about what we discussed earlier?”
“Ask me what?”
“Oh yes. I almost forgot. Dear, Princess Twilight was hoping to get a look at your notes.”
Ivory raised a hoof in protest, but Cody’s practice paid off. He teleported to the top of her hoof as it passed in front of her face. Twilight was impressed.
“It's Princess Twilight asking. Who else is more trustworthy than a princess?
Before Ivory could respond, a guard came by to lead the couple out. They had managed to distract the journalists by having the Lieutenant talk about the break-in. Twilight followed, as she wanted to catch the next train to Ponyville as well.
“May I ask why the guards go through so much effort to keep the journalists away?”
“Celestia insisted. Said that Ivory and I deserve privacy.”
The three had walked outside. The train station wasn’t too far away. All the journalists were talking to the Lieutenant, looking away from them. It was strange. Princess Celestia was doing all these things for this small, small creature. When these humans were first discovered, Twilight distinctly remembered she had little interest in the humans. Even when they were a health issue for ponies, her concern was only getting the humans away from everypony. It was a complete turnaround when this Cody showed up.
As they walked past the journalists, one of them stopped taking pictures. He let his camera hang from his neck as he sniffed the air around him. His head snapped in their direction.Twilight shook her head, hoping he would ignore them. One after another, the journalists circled Ivory and Cody. Twilight was cut off by numerous journalists trying to get a picture of the human. She was outside the circle as many cameras flashed. They spouted off numerous questions
“Ivory! How does Cody use his magic? Does it hurt? Does he feel tired? Can he use other spells? How powerful is he?”
“Uh...”
“What about his relationship? Did he have someone back home? How does it feel dating another creature? Is this relationship based on politics?”
“Um...”
“Cody! Why did you pick Ivory? What about the size difference? Are you still scared that somepony could eat you or crush you? What about other animals?”
“I...”
“Have you interacted with other humans? Are all humans able to use powers?”
“No I-.”
“No? Why you? Does magic exist in your world?”
Twilight watched in silent shock as Cody was bombarded with questions. The flashing of cameras was a lot for the little one. As more and more questions piled on, he answered less. He pressed his hands on both sides of his head. He closed his eyes, and fell to his knees.
It was obvious he was being overwhelmed. They continued to take pictures. The familiar white glow began to emanate from his hands. Cody looked down at his hands. He was scared. He had the fear of a caged animal.
"Ivory! I-It's happening again! Get them away from me!"
Twilight heard the rumors. Both hands glowing was a lead up to how Force Wind disappeared. Ivory’s horn glowed bright as she tried to levitate Cody away. As he rose above the group, his hands glowed brighter and brighter. The journalists stopped taking pictures. Everypony took a step back. The area went quiet.
It was like an explosion. The glow from the tiny human’s hands expanded rapidly. A glowing sphere enveloped him. Ivory was enveloped by the light second. As Twilight backed up, the journalists were enveloped as well. Before Twilight could react, the warmth of the sphere took her as well. All she could see was white. She saw the others floating in the sea of white. The sight of Canterlot quickly disappeared.
---
A week. Mocha managed to go a week without something happening to Cody. She was just leaving for the market when a pile of ponies fell out of a fairly large portal that appeared in front of her house. Most of them were journalists, and they all ran away screaming. The infamous Princess Twilight who looked genuinely terrified, ran off in silence. Then there was Ivory, who was levitating an unconscious Cody.
So now they sat in the waiting room of the Ponyville hospital. Mocha and Ivory were hoping for good news. One of the doors opened. It was Princess Celestia, followed by Nurse Redheart.
"Princess Twilight sent an urgent message, but she wasn't very clear. I came here as soon as I could. It seems that he's stable, but he's still unconscious. What exactly happened?"
"It was the journalists! They didn't stop asking him questions and taking pictures. They treated him like some kind of object, they wouldn't leave him alone! Cody couldn't take anymore and his powers kicked in...but it was too much for him."
Ivory hung her head low, tears streamed down her face. Mocha wrapped her forelegs around her friend and brought her close. As she cried, she kept mumbling how she failed Cody. Nurse Redheart took a look at her clipboard before stepping forward.
“His current situation is worse than his previous. His magical exhaustion is the worst I’ve seen in a long time, ponies included. According to Ivory’s notes on patterns of human unconsciousness, he should be awake by tonight at the latest. He should be able to go home tomorrow if he recovers. However, I have one thing I must ask you Mocha.”
“What is that?”
“You are the closest he has to a primary caretaker. I would like your permission to place an inhibitor ring on him. Temporarily shutting down his magic would be best for his-.”
“No!”
Ivory shot up from Mocha’s embrace. She marched over to Nurse Redheart, and gave an intense stare.
“My love is not a criminal and he does not need to wear the ring of one!”
“I only mean to protect him.”
“Next you’ll say he needs to be caged up for his own protection!”
Mocha stood up and walked over in front of Ivory. Her love for Cody was clearly clouding her judgement. He had a power none of them completely understood. He was in a hospital bed, unconscious from using it.
"Ivory, listen. You just saw what happened. He can't control it yet. He needs this to keep himself safe for now. What if he accidentally teleports somewhere else and we can't help him? Anything could happen to him if we don't keep an eye on him! This is for his own safety!"
Her anger seemed to lessen. Ivory was not happy by any stretch, but she took a few steps back from Nurse Redheart. Mocha looked over to the nurse.
"Go ahead Nurse. Just do anything you must to keep him safe."
The nurse nodded, and gestured for them all to follow. Ivory followed, then Mocha. She turned to see that Princess Celestia stood still.
“You’re not coming your highness?”
“I am afraid I must go. I will have a guard sent to watch over him during his stay. I will be speaking with the newspapers, and make sure their journalists do not make a repeat of this incident.”
Mocha nodded as the princess left, then trotted to catch up to her friend and the nurse. The nurse walked behind a counter, and reached below. She brought up a small gray box that she held between her hooves. She gingerly opened it, revealing a few inhibitor rings. Both Mocha and Ivory took an instinctive step back. It didn’t matter if you were a unicorn or an alicorn. If that ring landed on your horn, your magic was completely shut down until it was removed. It was reserved for criminals, under normal circumstances.
“We rarely use these on patients. Usually, my unicorn assistant applies these. Unfortunately, she’s out for the day. Seeing how important Cody is to you, would either of you help me apply it to him?”
Ivory immediately levitated a ring out of the box. It floated next to her as she walked ahead of them, into the room where Cody slept.
“I need to do this. For him.”
---
It was dark. She stood outside the hospital. He was inside. Thanks to one of her children disguised as a journalist, they learned from the nurse he was wearing an inhibitor ring. She could sense one of her children approaching, and turned to them. It was the failure that couldn’t capture her destiny before.
“Why do you bother me?”
“My queen, I wish to retrieve the human for you.”
“Retrieve? He is useless in his weakened state. I have no need for him yet.”
Queen Chrysalis took a deep breath, as she let the familiar green energy wash over her. She had not used her shapeshifting abilities in quite some time, but she knew she still had it. The nurse had already gone to bed. She looked up to Force, who was now a bit taller than her. It was difficult becoming a smaller pony, but she managed.
“However, I would like to have some fun.”
Queen Chrysalis walked towards the hospital. It was late. Residents of Ponyville were all asleep. As she walked through the halls, she sniffed for his scent. His room was the only one with a guard at the door. Most likely had the orders to let no one inside. Said guard however, was fast asleep on the floor. She chuckled softly as she slipped into the room.
It was a little adorable. Such a small creature in a massive bed. Most of his tiny frame laid against the pillow. As she approached the side of his bed, she saw it. His inhibitor ring was still on him. The dark gray metal sat around his waist.
The future. Her path to ultimate power. The salvation of her children. All of it, sleeping in a hospital bed. She didn't want him in her possession. Not until he was at his full power again.
For now, it was time for some fun.
---
Odd feeling, waking up at night. The last thing Cody remembered was floating above a bunch of journalists. He only hoped no one was hurt this time.
“You are awake.”
To his right, it was Nurse Redheart. She had a soft smile. The moonlight gave the room decent light.
“Did I hurt anyone?”
“Bumps and bruises, nothing else. However, we inhibited your magic for the time being.”
Cody looked down at his waist. A large band of metal wrapped around. It felt admittedly odd, being stripped of his powers. Nurse Redheart seemed to notice his confusion.
“It will feel odd. No magic will feel like losing a part of you.”
“I feel, weaker.”
“The all powerful Cody feeling weak? How ironic.”
To Cody’s surprise, Nurse Redheart climbed onto the bed, and rested her head right next to his feet. He tried to back up, but her weight on the bed caused him to slide down. She would inhale deeply through her nose, and he would feel his clothes lightly pull towards her. Her exhales washed him in hot breath. If the inhibitor ring wasn’t stuck, he would’ve made his way as far away as possible. He couldn’t. He was helpless. He was trapped with a nurse gone crazy.
Nurse Redheart shifted her mouth forward, and pinned Cody’s legs under her powerful lower jaw. He desperately tried to push her, despite knowing it wouldn’t work. She chuckled.
“Nurse Redheart, stop! You’re scaring me!”
“Small. So pathetically small and weak.”
Her mouth opened wide. Cody could see every detail of her mouth. The dripping saliva. Her teeth were almost as big as Force Wind’s. He heard a deep gurgling erupt from her mouth. He was frozen in fear. Her breath continued to wash over him.
“What can do to stop me, little bug? You’re nothing without your power.”
When Nurse Redheart lifted her jaw, Cody immediately stood up. She pursed her lips, and blew a strong breath. He was knocked back down. She brought her left foreleg forward, hoof side up. She pressed it into the pillow, and scooped him up. She brought up her right hoof. Cody found himself pressed between hooves as big as he.
Cody was up to his shoulders in giant hooves. The crazy nurse wasn't pressing hard. It seemed she was getting a feel for how comparatively soft he was.
“Oh, it'd be so easy to crush you right now. You humans are so weak. I could squeeze the life out of you with no effort. But alas, we have plans for you and your fellow humans.”
The nurse’s eyes began to glow a dark green. She pressed Cody between her hooves with more pressure. He felt all the air leave his lungs.
He blacked out.
---
As Mocha walked with Ivory down the hallway to the front desk, she remembered the time Cody told her about a liquid his kind invented for stress relief. With word of another incident, that liquid sounded like a great idea. The two approached the desk where Nurse Redheart was going over paperwork. She seemed a bit stressed. She glanced up.
“I apologize for being blunt, but please get Cody out of here.”
“What’s happened with my sweetheart?”
“Well...”
“Nurse he’s runnin’ again!”
“Get back here!”
Two other nurses ran into the room. A small ball of white light kept darting around the room. It appeared on Ivory’s back. The light faded, and they saw Cody. He crawled under her long brown hair. He looked absolutely terrified. Mocha turned to Nurse Redheart. Ivory glared at her as well.
“What in Celestia’s name have you done to him?”
“Yes. What have you done to my poor little Cody?”
“He claims I attacked him last night. He managed to get his ring off, and was teleporting around since this morning.”
“He would never lie! You must have done something to upset him!”
“Ivory, please calm down.”
“You need to do a better job!”
“Ivory!”
One of the few times Mocha ever raised her voice. Ivory looked over to her. Cody was so wrapped up in her friend’s hair, it was almost impossible to see him. The last thing she wanted was to scare him. She took a deep breath.
“Please take Cody outside. I need to talk to the nurse.”
Ivory was cooing at Cody as she walked out, hoping to calm the both of them down. She looked over to an exasperated Nurse. The other two nurses left the room to resume their duties.
“Nurse, what happened?”
“The guard assigned to him had left for the castle when I arrived. I checked on Cody right after my morning cider. His bed had been disturbed by something larger than him. My unicorn assistant lifted his shirt, and we did see some bruising. We removed his ring to check his neck, but he woke up and was teleporting around for the past two hours.”
“Is he hurt at all?”
“Besides a bad reaction to grumpy nurses, he’s fine. You can take him home.”
“Thank you Nurse.”
Mocha turned around, and made her way outside the hospital. She walked up to her friends, who were under a tree. She looked over to Cody, who was still cuddled up in Ivory’s hair. He seemed to be a lot more calm.
Before she could open her mouth, Mocha could see a familiar mare approaching out of the corner of her eye. It was Princess Twilight. With what just happened, the last thing she wanted was to have Cody be berated by more questions. She looked over to Ivory.
“Ivory, why don’t you take Cody back to the house? I’ll catch up in a bit.”
“Alright. See you soon.”
As Ivory walked away, Mocha saw Twilight begin to follow them. She couldn’t exactly tell a princess no, but she needed to do something. She trotted over to the princess and stood in front of her path to Cody. Both seemed nervous about something.
“Princess Twilight.”
“Mocha. I was hoping we could talk.”
“About what?”
“About Cody. I’m concerned about him.”
Mocha calmed herself a bit. Twilight seemed genuine about her concern. The least she could do was listen to the princess. She just hoped it wouldn’t be another request to talk to Cody.
“Concerned?”
“He was able to teleport eight ponies from Canterlot, to Ponyville in a matter of seconds. Last night, I read every book I have on teleportation. I couldn’t find a single record of a pony being able to do that, not even Princess Celestia or Princess Luna.”
“I see.”
“Cody is able to do something no pony ever had the power to do. What he learned in a week will take me a lifetime to even begin to understand.”
“Thank you for the information princess.”
“There is one more thing I wanted to speak to you about Cody. It is minor in comparison, but so very important.”
Now Mocha was confused. What could be more important than Princess Twilight of all ponies being concerned, and albeit a bit scared of Cody? Did she learn something about his powers? Was there some sort of weird prophecy about him?
“He confided in me. His birthday is tomorrow. I thought you should know.”
---
Cody often wondered if he was just a magnet for trouble. He wondered if the stress of Equestria was getting to him. He sat on the counter in Mocha’s shop, sitting against the register. Her and Ivory went upstairs to talk about something. Since they left the hospital, he was a lot more relaxed. The counter wasn’t as sparse as usual. The counter had a stack of white boxes that took up most of the space. On top of the stack was a corner of a piece of paper.
After ending up on the floo, Cody managed to get on top of the box via teleportation. It was Mocha’s writing on the paper. It listed two chocolate cakes, and a dozen chocolate cupcakes. It was totaled at sixty bits for the Leaf brothers. He figured it was a pickup order. There was also a box labeled for two dozen chocolate chip cookies, and another for a dozen chocolate muffins.
As if on cue, the front door swung open. Cody looked up from the paper to see two ponies enter. Two unicorn stallions, both light green with a dark shade of green for hair. They were twins. As they approached the counter, he couldn’t help but notice something. Both ponies were a bit chubby. Not by much, but noticeable nonetheless with slightly swaying bellies. Mocha was still busy with Ivory. He figured it was time to put his old job experience to work.
“Greetings gentlemen! How can I help you today?”
The stallions looked around before Cody waved them down. The twins looked over to him, and became floored with excitement. Standing on top of the boxes roughly put him at eye level with the two. The one on the right was the most excited.
“Oh my gooooooodness brother! Isn’t he simply adoooooooooooorable? Seems Mocha hired a little helper!”
“I’m Cody. Are you here for your order?”
“Why yes we are. My highly excited brother and I are picking up our order. I believe it's under the Leaf brothers.”
Cody glanced over the list again. The stack of three boxes were tied together with twine. As he climbed down using the rope, he would check each box’s contents. All was accounted for. As he looked up at the brothers, he felt fairly relaxed. Working in Mocha’s shop felt familiar. It was nice.
“A dozen cupcakes, and two chocolate cakes. Your total is sixty bits.”
The quiet brother removed a bag from his satchel, and let it float next to Cody. It was about as big as a large garbage bag. It was filled with a lot of small gold coins. He smiled up to the customers.
“Alright. Everything seems set. Anything else today?”
“Wellllllll, I was hoping to try one of those deliiiiiiiicious cupcakes before leaving.”
“Brother, must you be so impatient?”
“It’s ok. I’ll get it for him.”
Pointing to the bottom box, Cody took a deep breath. A white light shot out of his finger, and penetrated the cardboard. Another light appeared in front of him. It expanded into a disk. It was darkness for a split second before the natural light flooded the portal inside of the box. The talkative brother was shocked.
“My gooooooodness brother! He’s that maaaagical human we’ve read about in the papers!”
Cody smiled to himself as he walked through the portal into the cupcake box. These Leaf brothers seemed to mean well, if albeit a little excited to see a human. He carefully moved past a cupcake, then braced himself against it as he pushed. He pointed at the portal with his finger, then spread his hand. The portals expanded enough to fit the cupcake. When the cupcake went through, pushing on the smooth wood surface was a lot easier. He looked over the side as he pushed, and stopped at the edge. A green glow immediately surrounded the dessert, and levitated towards a very excited stallion.
“Ohhhhhhhhhh this is going to be deliiiiiiicious!”
The brother opened his mouth, and bit into the cupcake. His bite was enough to take out a large chunk of the dessert. The icing on the cupcake slid a bit with each bite. As the last bite was taken, some icing hung on the lower lip. Cody looked up. The icing fell off the stallion's lip. Before he could move, everything went chocolate brown. Cody wiped some icing from his eyes.
“Ewwww. Not again!”
“O-Oh my.”
Cody looked up to the loud brother, who was now relatively quieter. As a bit of drool dripped from his mouth, a familiar look of hunger was in his eyes. As he licked his lips, the quieter brother shoved his way between Cody and the hungry stallion.
"Brother no! Remember what the doctor said!"
"B-B-But he looks soooooooo deliiiicious!"
"No humans! They're friends, not food! We're doing fine brother, we'll just eat more sweets!"
The brother levitated their stack of boxes, and took the other three boxes as well. A bag twice as tall as Cody landed next to him.
"Here, don't say anything!"
He kept pushing his brother that kept licking his lips at a very confused chocolate-covered Cody.
---
“Why my darling told Twilight before us still eludes me.”
“I’m sure he had his reasons.”
Ivory knew Cody had something bothering him lately. She pestered herself for not remembering how important it was to celebrate human birthdays. She was going over birthday details with Mocha. She needed to keep her sweetheart out of the house while her friend prepared tomorrow. Since it was the early afternoon still, she would go to Princess Celestia and see if she would permit him to miss his lessons tomorrow.
“Cody! What happened to you?”
“I’m fine. Don’t worry.”
Ivory turned to see Cody at the top of the stairs. A white light shot towards the bathroom door, and another appeared in front of Cody. The two made their way over to the bathroom door in a couple steps as he stepped through his portal. He stood at the entrance to the bathroom, and looked up to his roommate.
“Mocha, could you please open the door? As you can see, I need to clean up. The sink should do for this.”
Mocha opened the door, and Cody immediately teleported up to the sink edge. Ivory’s icing-covered boyfriend stood out amongst the white porcelain. She turned on the sink, then left to get clothes and a towel for him. The drain was covered, so there was no concern when he slid in. He stood under the water, and began to rinse off the icing.
“Are you sure you’re ok honey?”
“I’m relatively fine.”
“Cody? Did you serve a customer?”
Mocha had come back with clothes, a human-sized towel, and two small bags, both filled to the brim with bits. Ivory knew she had an order, but not one big enough for that many bits.
“Yeah. The Leaf brothers came by for their order. You two were busy, so I handled it.”
"Why did they give you this much? This is well over two hundred bits"
"They...really liked me?"
Mocha left the towel and clothes on the sink’s edge. She gave her little human brother a lecture on not serving customers while she’s not around, and left to put the bits in the safe. Ivory turned off the water when Cody stepped out from under it. A quick flash of white, and he was on the sink edge. He pulled off his wet shirt, and Ivory took a step towards the door.
“I will leave you to change.”
“You don’t have to.”
Ivory turned around, and smiled. She walked up to the sink, and leaned down to kiss Cody. She could still taste a hint of chocolate.
“Remember the last time your sister caught us?”
“Didn’t stop us before.”
“Very true.”
---
Mocha was angry with herself. With her desperation to organize a birthday party, she left Cody alone! She was still impressed however. Whatever happened, he managed to get two hundred bits from the Leaf brothers. The thought of him working the register seemed nice. His job back on his homeworld was most of the training covered. His teleportation made things even easier.
No. He needed to be safe. The little brother she never had, has been in so much danger. Almost eaten, nearly stepped on, kidnapped, and a girlfriend a hundred times his size. There was also the time he accidentally teleported into Mocha’s morning cider and was almost drank by her. She still kicked herself for that, despite him apologizing.
After counting the bits, she placed them into the safe. She walked out to see Ivory coming downstairs, Cody in tow. Mocha walked over as the two kissed. Dating over a week, and they still don't kiss outside her house. It was understandable, given all the recent incidents. She really needed to stop treating him like a glass doll. He wasn’t exactly helpless.
“I must go my dear, but I still have a surprise for you tomorrow. Be dressed before noon.”
“Yes dear.”
Cody teleported to Mocha’s back, then Ivory left. The two went to the counter. After accidentally teleporting onto the floor, he managed to get onto the counter. She walked behind the counter as he sat against the register.
Before she could say anything, a customer walked in. Mocha exhaled through her nose sharply. It was Perra Putan. A yellow unicorn with unbelievably pink hair. She was a semi-frequent customer, always wanting a fresh baked batch of cupcakes every other week. Back when most of the customers wanted humans added to their desserts, she didn’t. In fact, she hated humans. One of the more hateful of humans among Cantherlot’s elite. Now here she was, while Cody was in the same room. She looked down at him with her grim guise, which turned to a look of disgust.
"Ugh. You let vermin work here now I see."
“Will that be a problem?”
"No, but he better be clean. I don't want any diseases on my cupcakes."
“He may not have hooves and a horn, but Cody is just as good at this job as anypony else would be.”
“Well, I need my dozen cupcakes.”
“Twenty bits please.”
“Twenty? I should get a discount!”
“Why is that?”
“I should never pay full price for a pony that lets disgusting creatures walk freely around their establishment.”
Now Mocha had enough. She put up with Perra before because she was a repeat customer when things were slow. With her business booming, she didn’t have to put up with this treatment. She pointed her hoof towards the door.
“Perra Putan. I will not allow myself or Cody to be spoken to in such a way. Please leave now.”
“How dare you! I happen to know Princess Celestia, and she would not appreciate me being treated this way!”
“And?”
Despite Mocha’s handle on the situation, Cody piped in. He had already teleported on top of the register. He was staring down Perra intensely.
“I know Princess Celestia and Princess Luna personally. You’re not special. Now leave, or I’ll open a portal and make you leave!”
---
“The prophecy comes to fruition, and you simply stare at the sunset?”
Princess Celestia turned to see her sister. She took one more look at the kingdom before coming back inside from the balcony. A certain human to cause her a fair amount of stress lately.
“He gained his powers and fell in love. That is all that has happened Luna.”
“I can sense her coming for him. I know you can too.”
“I can. I only wish we reacted faster when we first found Cody.”
“We need to send these humans home like we-.”
“No! Portals to Earth take so much power, even for us. We can not use Cody to open a portal. I will not risk him being harmed.”
“Then we need to protect Cody ourselves. Not let him live in the house of a common baker.”
Before Princess Celestia could respond, there was a knock at the door. Her horn glowed, and the door opened. It was her lieutenant. He walked in, followed by Ivory Swirl.
“Thank you Lieutenant. How can I help you Ivory?”
“Your highness. I apologize for being here so late in the day. I have a humble request.”
“What is your request?”
“I ask that Cody be excused from his training tomorrow. It is his birthday tomorrow, and Mocha wants to surprise him with a party. Mocha and I are all he has. We want tomorrow to be special for him.”
Princess Celestia thought for a moment. This seemed very important to Ivory. Her concern for Cody’s well being was one of the many reasons she was the expert on humans. Her desire to learn so much about humans was respectable. She smiled to her sister before looking back to the unicorn.
“He is excused. There is one condition however.”
“May I ask what that condition is your highness?”
“My sister and I get to attend the party.”
Ivory’s eyes lit up akin to a sunrise. She rambled on her thanks, said when the party was, then ran off. She looked over to her sister, who chuckled.
“She came all the way here just to ask you that. She really cares about him.”
“She really does. Which is why we shall tell them of the prophecy tomorrow. No more secrets. Lieutenant!”
“Yes your highness?”
“I require the best clothing designer in the kingdom immediately.”
“I will need the best craftspony available.”
“Yes your highnesses! It will be done!”
---
It was a grueling week of hard work, but it paid off. Every single human not under Princess Celestia’s personal protection, was here. There were also a couple dozen or so from the castle break-in she organized. A little over a hundred of the little things. Deep in the cavern was a mostly dried up lake bed. It wasn’t very deep. For the humans however, it was enough to keep them from escaping. They would occasionally throw them some oats they stole from Ponyville.
Queen Chrysalis stood before the gathering of humans. They were huddled in groups. They truly feared her. She could make them do anything she wanted. If they weren’t such delicious balls of emotion, these humans here would make fantastic subjects to rule over. However, they wouldn’t be lasting for very long. Soon she would have a world of these creatures to rule over. Their emotions gave her a surge of power. It made the love of ponies feel like nothing. Just a few humans made her feel like a one pony army.
“Don’t be scared little humans. Your lives will serve a great purpose. You may not understand, but you will give us the power to make your world ours.”
Some of the humans argued, but she didn't bother to listen. She turned to her children. They stood at the edge of the lake bed. They were hungry. She stomped her hoof, and they all stepped back. Not yet. One more night. One more night of waiting.
“Tomorrow is the day of our destiny. Tomorrow, we will tear Ponyville apart to find the human that will bring us to their world. Tomorrow you shall feed upon these humans, and have power you have never felt before. So sleep my children. For tomorrow, will lead us to a never ending feast!”
---
“Oh goodness I hope my hair is perfect. I should check the food again.”
Ivory was nervous as she stood outside Mocha’s house. She was taking Cody on a date. Their first lunch date outside the house, as a couple. The two had eaten together plenty of times, but never in public. She had rebrushed her hair at least half a dozen times on the way here. She took one last deep breath before raising her hoof and knocking on the door. After a moment, Mocha opened the door.
“Hey Ivory! Ready for a lunch date with my little brother?”
“About as ready as one can be.”
The two walked upstairs. Cody was sitting at his dining table on top of the regular table. He was sipping some cider when he turned to see the two of them approaching. Ivory leaned over to kiss him, and got butterflies in her stomach when he kissed her back. He wore his usual attire of shorts and a shirt.
“You’re here early.”
“Well darling, I wanted to surprise you.”
“A surprise?”
“You and I are going on a date. A picnic at Ponyville Park.”
Cody had managed to stand up from his chair right before he was levitated onto Ivory’s back. She was nervous, and he wasn’t ready. All three of them walked downstairs. Mocha gleefully waved from the door as the two walked out.
“You two have fun!”
Ivory had Cody sitting on her back, so she levitated the picnic basket in front of her. Ponyville Park wasn’t too far. Seeing Princess Twilight was a possibility. Since the construction of the newly announced human village was overseen by her. The area had gotten busier with excited ponies wanting an early look.
“Any particular reason we’re going on our first date in public?”
“Cody dear. You’ve been cooped up inside so long. Things are a lot safer for humans since you first came here. Despite how nervous I am, I want to try and be more public with our relationship.”
The walk wasn’t too long. The park was in view. There was a small crowd of ponies by a spot just off the usual walking path. About a head taller than the crowd was the top of a wooden wall. It wasn’t very large and could’ve been easily looked over by a pony as tall as Princess Celestia. From first glance, it was about the size of a small bedroom. Two guards stood at the front to keep most of the crowd back. Ivory had heard Princess Twilight had requested the humans’ village be built near her old home. Ivory had no qualms about it. She was glad the humans had a place to call their own, rather than a big room in a castle. Humans did prefer to live in open spaces after all.
“Sweetie. I have to stop at the humans’ village for a moment.”
“Oh?”
“Dropping off my notes for Princess Twilight. I just want to be quick and hope the crowd doesn’t see you.”
Ivory glanced at the guards, who let her pass through. A few ponies got excited at the sight of Cody, but the guards held them back. Twilight was looking over a few notes. When the princess turned around, she had a massive grin on her face.
“Ivory! Cody! So glad to see you!”
“You as well your highness. I brought something for you.”
Ivory levitated a stack of papers out of her picnic basket, and let Princess Twilight grab them with her magic. Her eyes went wide, and her mouth hung agape.
“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! The notes of Ivory Swirl. The greatest source of information on humans in the whole world! This will help me make sure the village is perfect for the humans!”
“Now if only my dear Ivory would publish her notes.”
“In due time sweetie. We must be going your highness. A lunch date awaits. Feel free to hold onto the notes until you are done reading them. Just drop them off at Mocha’s house when you finish.”
“I’ill take care of them well. I hope you have a pleasant picnic together.”
---
Sweetie Belle and Applebloom were very excited. The two had heard rumors of a village just for humans being built right by the park. They had squeezed their way past the older ponies to watch the construction. It was exciting to see the tiny buildings they would bring in, and funny to see the adults try to put down the houses without breaking them. The two were hoping to see some of the cute humans. After a bit of waiting, they left the crowd into the open area.
“I don’t think they’ll bring out any humans today Sweetie.”
“It seems so. We should-.”
Sweetie Belle! Applebloom!”
Scootaloo came running from the park. She was giddy with excitement. She was eagerly pointing towards the park.
“I saw him! I saw Cody!”
“Scootaloo, are you absolutely sure it was Cody?”
“Yeah! He’s on a picnic with Ivory Swirl!”
“What are we waitin’ for?”
The three ran off towards the park. Seeing a human village was an exciting thing. Seeing the magic human however, was a rare event indeed. He was almost never seen outside his house. The three fillies saw Ivory under a tree, and they darted into a bush. She was having a picnic. With a bit of squinting, they roughly saw where Cody was. He was sitting close to her, eating something.
"He's so tiny next to her! The humans are really cute!"
“Well, I wanna say hi to ‘im.”
“Me too.”
“That would be rude. He’s busy with his lunch.”
“But I really wanna see ‘im!“
“Yeah! We may not get another chance like this!”
Scootaloo and Applebloom argued with Sweetie Belle. The two really wanted to see the magical human. Sweetie wanted to respect his privacy.
“Remember girls. He’s not an object to be paraded around for our enjoyment.”
“But Applebloom and I want to meet him. He’s so cool.”
The three continued to argue. They didn’t notice that Ivory began to chuckle. A small ball of white light hovered right above them. They looked up in silence. The ball expanded into a disk. It dropped down before any of them could react. The three fillies floated through a seemingly endless expanse of white. Then just as quickly as it happened, they were back the park. However, they were now standing in front of Ivory. She was looking over at Cody, who was laughing.
“Cody, why would you do that to these young fillies? They must be terrified.”
“It was your idea since they were staring at us.”
Ivory stood up while Cody continued to eat a human-sized sandwich. All three fillies were fascinated at the sight of him. This was the first time they had been this close to a human that didn’t run away.
“I apologize for my dear Cody. He does not like being stared at by those he does not know.”
All three hung their heads. They were so excited to see Cody, they didn’t bother to think about his privacy. They looked at each other and realized how they could fix this.
“I’m Sweetie Belle!”
“I’m Scootaloo!”
“I’m Applebloom!”
Cody had just polished off his sandwich, and stood up. In a small flash of white, he was suddenly standing on Ivory’s back. All three stared in awe. Sweetie Belle was the first to talk again.
“Cody, sir. I was wondering if you were excited about the new village?”
“I am indeed. I think it’s great my fellow humans are being treated with such equality.”
“Will you ever move there?”
“Me? Well...Um...”
“Cody has considered it, but he’s quite happy living with Mocha Sprinkles.”
“Yes. She’s like the big sister I never had.”
“Cool! I may have Applejack and Big Mac, but I wish I could have a little human brother.”
“When I learn how to fly, I wanna take humans flying! Too bad they’re all at the castle.”
Cody teleported from Ivory’s back, to the ground in front of the three fillies. They lowered their heads to the ground so they could look at and hear him.
“Well, not all humans are at the castle. Some of them are hidden around Equestria, brought here before the portal closed, and now abandoned. Many right here in Ponyville. Lost and scared.”
“Humans?”
“Lost?”
“Scared?”
“Yes. Somepony needs to find them before they get eaten, or worse!”
Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Applebloom looked at each other. This was a serious problem. None of the adults would notice a small human running around. Those that do would want to eat the poor things! They knew what they had to do. They looked back to Cody.
“No job is too big, and no human is too small! The Cutie Mark Crusaders will find these humans and get them to safety!”
---
An actual date out in public with his girlfriend. It was nice. It was a short picnic, but it was still enjoyable. They were already heading home.
“Those fillies really seemed to like you.”
“I’m a magical human Ivory. It might have something to do with the that.”
“Nonetheless, I think you inspired them.”
“I just wanted to finish our date. Figured catching humans would keep ‘em busy.”
The house was just in sight. There were a few ponies around the area. There was a journalist, snapping away with his camera. Since the accidental teleportation a few days ago, just about every journalist kept their distance. Still, they were annoying.
“Ivory sweetie?”
“Yes Cody?”
“What do you think it’ll take for those journalists to leave us alone?”
“A picture to put on their front pages most likely.”
“Well then, let’s give ‘em one.”
Ivory stopped in place, and levitated Cody in front of her. She had a look of concern. If they were to do what he was thinking, it would the first time they did it in public.
“A-Are you sure?”
“Trust me. I love you Ivory. So much.”
As Cody’s face was pressed against Ivory’s lips, the area went silent. The only sound being the snapping of the camera and a few ponies saying ‘awww’. After a moment, he was pulled away. He saw his girlfriend in a slight daze as he was placed on her back again. She resumed walking. He could hear a few ponies make comments.
“That was so cute!”
“They’re so adorable together!”
“Now I want a little human!”
The adorable responses were expected. The middle class ponies of Ponyville seemed to like the social aspect of humans when they stopped eating them. Most of the hatred for humans came from the upper class after all. Cody hoped this trend of liking humans stayed strong.
Ivory approached the house, and levitated Cody next to her head. Through the window of the door, it seemed all the lights were off. He wondered if Mocha went out to the market early. As they entered, he wondered why there was no sign on the door. Suddenly, the lights flashed on. Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Mocha were standing in front of the counter, shouting in unison.
“Surprise! Happy birthday Cody!”
It was pure shock. Streamers hung around, and his name hung from a homemade sign. It was a sight to behold. Cody was quickly levitated to the counter, where four ponies stared down gleefully. He was genuinely taken aback. Mocha lowered her head to lay on the counter in front of her shocked little brother.
“H-How?”
“Princess Twilight told me. As your big sister, it was my duty to make this happen.”
Cody teared up. He hugged Mocha’s muzzle. She did so much. She made all this for him. He was nudged into a chair by her. His table and chair from upstairs was already brought down.
“Don’t get all sappy on me yet. I have my next surprise for you. It wasn’t easy to pull off. Took me a couple tries.”
From behind the counter, Mocha produced a cake. This wasn’t a cake meant for the ponies. It was a cake for his size! It carefully floated down to his table. It was a small, round cake. Single layer, chocolate all over. Rather than a candle, there was a sliver of a wood in the center lit at the top. All four ponies looked down with excitement. Mocha’s grin was massive.
“Go ahead bro! Make a wish!”
---
Some days she envied the other ponies. Whenever they hungered, they ate food. When they thirst, they drank water. Queen Chrysalis had no such luxury. Her children as well as her, could only live off of emotions. The love of ponies could only sustain them for so long. When humans were first discovered, one of her undercover children had eaten a human. He later told of how his stomach was filled with so many delicious emotions. How he felt more power than the love of a pony could ever provide.
As she towered above the crowd of small humans, she looked back to her children. She could hear the groans from hunger. Her horn glowed, and a ball of light appeared high above. It flashed to view Cody eating cake, then to the house he was inside.
“This is who we must find my children! This is our savior! He who will lead us to salvation! He who will take us to a world where we shall rule all!”
The queen looked towards the humans, who all huddled in a small crowd. She stepped down into the open area in front of them. Whimpers were heard. Their fear was delectably intoxicating. The glow of her magic surrounded a few humans, and she brought them through the air to her awaiting lips. Two males, and a young female. All three were scared.
“Shhh. Be calm little ones. You will become part of something great.”
Before the humans spoke, Queen Chrysalis magically tossed the three humans in her mouth. She chuckled as they feebly pushed at her cheeks and lips in hope to escape. She could almost taste their emotions as they screamed in terror. She simply tilted her head back, and let the humans rest at the back of her throat for a moment before swallowing. After they ended in her stomach, she could feel the energy of their emotions surge through her body. Her horn glowed even brighter.
She turned to her children. She smiled, and pointed her hoof to the humans. They descended upon the screaming humans. One after another, the little creatures were eaten. Her children had not had any emotions to truly feast upon in so long. The muffled screams of terror were music to her ears.
“Feed my children! Feed so you may have the power to tear Ponyville apart! Feed so you can find Cody, our hero! Feed!”
---
It was a sight to see. Cody had already eaten his cake. Ivory and the other ponies brought their presents forward. Mocha said the cake she made for his size took an enormous amount of effort. Princess Luna produced her present out of the box. She got him a new bed, and it was the same circular shape as Mocha’s.
“A good night’s rest is a requirement for good dreams.”
The present from Princess Celestia was a much smaller box for Cody. He laid it out on his table, and it took up all of the space. He opened it, and lifted out a very nice suit. It was all black. The black tie went down to the waist. Ivory imagined him wearing it while they went out to a fancy dinner. It made her realize she did not own a dress herself.
“The clothing designer had never made a suit for a human before, so I hope it fits you.”
Ivory was up now. From behind the counter, she levitated her present next to Cody. It was a long, wooden box. It was painted a metallic gray, and it had a human-sized door on the side. It took him a moment to realize what it was.
“Is...Is this what I think it is?”
“A replica of your house? Yes.”
“How did you do this? I thought the portals to Earth were permanently closed.”
“A lot of details came from Mocha. I have been working on it since we first met.”
Cody opened the door, and walked inside. Mocha and Ivory walked up to the counter. They lifted the roof, and it turned on its hinge. As it rested upright, they watched him traverse the replica. It was not easy getting all of the details of his old trailer. It was all from Mocha’s memory, and careful questioning of Cody.
“Seems empty, but you got almost everything right.”
“The plan was to move your current living space into this. That way, you can feel more independent. I am still working on the running water situation.”
“Ivory, this is amazing.”
Cody milled around his new house. While he was doing that, Ivory could hear the two princesses whispering to each other. They seemed concerned about something.
“Sister! You must tell them!”
“But Luna, look how happy they are. I could not bring myself to ruin this moment.”
“The prophecy!”
How did they know of the prophecy? Her highness said no one would know of the prophecy. She said she removed the prophecy from the old scroll before allowing it to be discovered. Ivory turned around, but couldn’t even get a word out. The door had burst open. It was Princess Celestia’s lieutenant.
“The changelings are tearing Ponyville apart! They’re coming here! We need to-!”
The lieutenant was cut off as a blast of sickly dark green energy hit him, and he was knocked out of the doorway. A changeling swooped into the bakery, but was quickly blasted out by all four ponies. Ivory quickly shut the roof to Cody’s house. She was finally coming for him.
All their horns glowed bright, ready to defend themselves. A dark green energy surrounded them all, and forced them the the ground. Even Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were overpowered by this energy. All four of them were stuck flat to the floor.
She walked in. If the lights were still off, she could have lit up the whole room herself with how bright her horn was glowing. She did not show any struggle to restrain two unicorns and two alicorns. How did Queen Chrysalis have so much power?
“Greetings. I am here with a simple request. Give me Cody, and I will leave.”
Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were struggling to stand up, hoping to break free of the hold the queen had on them. It was futile, her new power was too great.
“We will never hand him over! Luna and I will not allow it.”
“Right dear sister! He is not yours to have Chrysalis!”
“I believe otherwise.”
Queen Chrysalis had made it clear that she had no intention of leaving without Cody. Ivory only hoped he was still hiding inside his new house. If he stayed out of sight, maybe they all had a chance.
“Oh Cody darling? You might as well come out. I would hate to harm anypony here out of anger.”
Silence. Ivory wanted to breathe a sigh of relief. Cody was still hiding. When it was apparent the queen was frustrated, Queen Chrysalis stood before her.
“Perhaps hearing somepony you care about in pain might change your mind.”
Ivory felt the queen’s energy wrap around tighter than before. Tighter and tighter. An immense force compressing around her. She tried to keep quiet. She tried to bite her tongue. Any sound of pain, and Cody would beg her to stop. He did not know why he had to hide from her. He had no clue what was at stake. She felt a sharp pain in her midsection. A yelp of pain slipped out before she could stop herself.
“Stop!”
“Cody no!”
The one thing Ivory wanted to avoid. Cody must have ran out of his house. Queen Chrysalis almost completely loosened her grip on her. She looked up to see her staring down at him.
“If I come with you, will you leave them unharmed?”
“Yes of course. Just one small thing to do.”
Ivory saw her produce an inhibitor ring. A very small one that was cut in half. She heard the two halves clack together, and saw a levitating Cody with it around his neck. Queen Chrysalis had gone through the trouble of creating a special inhibitor ring just for him.
“Thank you for cooperating. Now, my new kingdom awaits!”
A blast of green energy was the last thing Ivory saw before being knocked out.
---
“Wake up my little Cody.”
He shook his head, still a bit groggy from the energy blast. It was a cold, yet well lit cavern. The cave had a few crystals in the walls, lighting up the cave with a sky blue glow. Cody found himself still levitating next to Chrysalis. To the right, it was a mostly dried up lake bed. To his left was a mostly flat area. As far as caves go, it wasn’t very impressive. He was finally placed on solid ground. A few bumps, but mostly flat.
“A pleasure to finally meet you Cody. I am Queen Chrysalis, the true ruler of Equestria.”
This was the first queen Cody had met in person. She was mostly black. Her hair was a kind of dark sky blue. It had holes throughout. Her eyes were a bright green that felt familiar. Her horn was akin to a twisted burnt stick. She had wings, and he had no idea how she could fly with them. They were like bug wings. She even had holes in her legs. He saw fangs when her mouth opened. This Queen Chrysalis was strange.
“Do you know why I brought you here?”
“You tried to harm the love of my life.”
“Ah yes. Ivory Swirl. The supposed love of yours.”
“I do love her!”
She gave a hearty chuckle. It was as if Cody had told a joke. Either the notion of a human and pony dating was hilarious to her, or she thought he was pathetic.
“That is adorable.”
“What do you mean?”
“I find it entertaining that you think your relationship with her will last.”
Before he could respond, the rustling of a dozen ponies echoed into the cave. They both turned to see a flurry of ponies fly into the cave. Light blue eyes with no pupils, holes throughout their bodies, white fangs, all black bodies.
“Wonderful, all my children are here! They can keep you company while I get prepared. I must look my best for my new kingdom!”
Without a second thought, Cody found himself levitated in the air. He was placed down in front of Queen Chrysalis’ ‘children’. They stared down at him, twisted smiles all around. He looked back to the queen, who had walked out of sight. Looking back to the ponies, one of them licked their lips.
“I wonder what it tastes like.”
“Let’s squash it like the bug it is.”
“I wanna hear it scream!”
Cody felt the same fear from when Force Wind tried to kidnap him. What sent a shiver down his spine wasn’t the thought of what was going to happen to him.
It was that he was on his own this time.
---
It had been awhile since the home was silent. Mocha was so used to coming home to Cody. Whether he was going around the house, talking to a customer, or being with Ivory. The house was rarely quiet. She didn’t realize how much of a difference it made until now.
Princess Luna had left to interrogate captured changelings. Princess Celestia left to check on the human village. Mocha stood at the front door, hoping someone would come back with good news. She looked back towards Ivory. After they all woke up from the blast an hour ago, she had been silently staring at Cody’s tiny table on the counter. Mocha walked over, and gently pressed her head against Ivory’s.
“I was going to ask him to move in with me Mocha.”
Mocha wrapped her foreleg around her friend. While she would jokingly refer to Cody as her little brother, Ivory’s relationship with him was much deeper. Her friend was much more distraught then her.
“They’ll find him Ivory. I know it.”
“It is all my fault this happened.”
"It isn't! We simply couldn't do anything to stop her. We'll find him, and we'll get him home!"
Ivory pushed Mocha away and stared at her, tears streaming down her face. It was the most upset she had ever seen her.
“Cody is in danger! The queen only knew of him because of me!”
“W-What?”
“I can not keep this secret anymore. It was a week after the portal first opened. I was experimenting human durability, when she came into my house. Queen Chrysalis said unless I wanted to become a changeling, I had to do as she ordered. I was to inform her on every human I met and studied. I was told if I ever met a shirtless human named Cody, I had to take him to her.”
“W-Wha?”
“Falling in love with him was not part of the plan and-.”
“Plan? He loved you!”
“I know. I wish I said no to her.”
“You betrayed him! Betrayed me!”
Furious didn’t describe how she felt. The mare she had known since she was a foal. Cody was scared and alone. Mocha felt an anger she had never felt before. There was a knock at the door. Both took a few deep breaths. Things were very tense. She magically opened the door. It was Princess Celestia.
“Your highness. How is the human village?”
“The village is partially destroyed, but the humans were still at the castle during the attack. It seems most of the attack was focused here. Many of my guards are injured. Queen Chrysalis used all of her resources, just to capture Cody.”
“Why would she do that? What does she have to gain from Cody?”
“She wants to invade the human world.”
Princess Celestia and Mocha turned to Ivory. The princess stepped forward. The tears were gone, and her face showed little expression.
“I am a traitor your highness. I betrayed Equestria and-.”
“I know.”
“You knew?”
“Yes. Your endangerment of humans and your fellow ponies is a discussion we will have later. For now, tell me what you know.”
“Cody can open portals. With a location and observation spell, you can use Cody’s powers to open a portal to anywhere. That includes the humans’ world. What makes this a problem, is what humans do to the queen and her children. All those emotions in a body small enough to be swallowed whole. The power a changeling gets. The power the queen gets from eating humans. Unlimited power. If we do not find Cody, things will get very bad very fast.”
---
A massive hoof had him pinned to the cold stone floor. Cody could feel the weight pressed down on him. He attempted to sneak away when the changelings started to fight amongst
themselves over him. A changeling had caught him just as he had made his way past the crowd.
“Who said you could leave?”
The hoof was removed, and Cody rolled over. He was looking up to the changeling that stopped his escape. He seemed familiar somehow, despite how he looked like all the others.
"You made me a failure in the eyes of the queen. I'm going to enjoy hurting you."
The hoof raised over him again. Everything below his neck was under the hoof. The two locked eyes. Cody could see the hoof shift, and then he felt the pressure. He knew what was about to happen. He wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of him crying or begging. He took one last deep breath. He closed his eyes.
He didn’t feel crushed, nor did he feel harmed. Instead he felt like he was floating. Cody opened his eyes, and saw he was floating high above the changelings. Looking behind him, he saw Queen Chrysalis. He was levitated towards her, and she looked at him with an endearing look.
"It's okay dear. I will not allow my children to hurt you. I will keep you close, and safe."
The queen then stared at her children with a furious stare. She bared her fangs. They all backed up a few steps. Seeing this anger from her sent a chill down Cody’s spine.
"How dare you! Fatal harm of Cody was forbidden. You failed me again. As punishment, you will stay behind."
The changeling had no response. He hung his head as the queen walked away, taking Cody with her.
They went farther into the cave, out of sight from the others. There sat a few stalactites with flattened tops, and Cody was placed on top of one. The towering queen sat down on the stone floor. They were now at eye level.
“Just because you got me away from them, doesn’t mean I trust you.”
“Why would you not trust me? I saved you.”
“Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were willing to fight to keep me away from you. I trust them in their judgement.”
“You think Celestia and Luna were protecting you? They do not care about you, or any human. They only care about their own kind. I care about you Cody. I need you.”
Now Cody was confused. Why would this all-powerful queen need him? Did she want a magical pet? Did she want his powers to herself? She could most likely see his confusion, and showed a soft smile.
“I need more humans dear. You all are so small, so...full of emotion. The power you creatures give me...it's unlike anything I have ever known in all my life. I never want that feeling to end my sweet Cody. That is why I need you. That is why I want your world, to be mine.”
---
The silence was deafening. Ivory was glad the door opened, and Princess Twilight walked in. Princess Celestia was not happy to see her however.
“Twilight! You are supposed to be at the hospital for your wounds!”
“It’s only a few bruises your highness. I heard of Cody’s kidnapping from the guards. I wanted to see how Mocha and Ivory were holding up.”
“Mocha and I are fine. I just wish we could find Cody.”
Princess Twilight rubbed her hoof against her head, as if trying to think of a solution. If anypony could figure out how to help, it would be her.
“Have you tried a location and observation spell?”
Ivory had never smacked herself with her hoof as hard as that moment. All the self-loathing from not protecting Cody had blinded her to the simplest solution.
“I am such a fool. I should have thought of that ages ago.”
“You’re stressed Ivory. If Queen Chrysalis abducted somepony as close to me as Cody is to you, I would feel just as distracted.”
“You are right. Thank you Princess Twilight. We should get started on the spell.”
“But Princess Twilight will be heading to the hospital. Now.”
It was clear Princess Twilight wanted to help, but Princess Celestia was firm on her statement. With a nod and a mention of good luck, Princess Twilight was off to the hospital. Mocha immediately spoke up.
“I can do the location spell. I’m well practiced with it.”
“Very well. I will check on the injured soldiers at the hospital.”
Princess Celestia left, leaving the two alone. Mocha walked up the stairs. She was gone for a moment, but came back down with her enchanted mirror. She sat against the counter with the mirror in front of her.
Ivory couldn’t think of much to say. Just a few moments ago, she told her best friend and the princess that she was a traitor. Her boyfriend Cody was the captive of the evil queen.
“Mocha, I-.”
“I need silence to focus.”
---
“Why won’t you help me Cody? I will give you anything!”
“I won’t do it!”
"Everything you could ever ask for can be yours!"
“No!”
Cody had repeatedly denied a request from Queen Chrysalis. She wanted him to open a portal. She said it was all she needed, and she could use her magic to make it a portal to Earth. After what she said about human emotions giving her power, he couldn’t do it. Enough people had to endure what these giants did to them. No more.
“What do you owe to the other humans? You do not need to deny my simple request.”
“For the two months I’ve been here, Mocha and Ivory kept me pretty sheltered from this world. However, I knew what was happening to my fellow humans. I remember the day I watched a human be devoured, and I couldn’t do anything to help her. On Earth, I was so apathetic to my own kind. That followed me to Equestria. Two giants took care of me at a time I was barely taking care of myself. They reminded me how to care about others. Now that I have the power to make the world a better place for humans, I have a choice. A choice no one else in this world can make.”
There was a brief silence. Cody had never given a speech before. A small part of him regretted the speech. He was on top of a rock high off the ground. Staring at him was a smiling queen. Why was Queen Chrysalis smiling?
“You want choice? I can give you choice.”
She stomped her hoof three times. After it echoed, the clatter of a dozen hooves could be heard. Three changelings quickly walked in. Cody looked over to the queen.
“What is this?”
Queen Chrysalis said nothing. She stomped her hoof three more times. The three changelings were suddenly enveloped by a green energy. After a brief moment, the energy dissipated. The changelings were gone. In their place was Mocha, Ivory, and Princess Twilight. All three had mischievous grins. Every part of him wished it was them, but he knew it was a lie.
“Look at them Cody. I can have my children be whomever you desire.”
“But Ivory…”
“You don't need her anymore. You have me. If I rule your world with you by my side, I could give you anything you wanted. No need for friends, or family. Just desire.”
Anything he wanted. All he had to do was open a portal. Did he truly mean anything he said? Cody’s mind swirled with thoughts of having these shapeshifters at his beck and call. Did he really owe anything to his home planet? All he had was a trailer, family that never talked to him, and a dead end job.
He thought of Ivory. He thought back to when they first met, and how weirdly obsessive she was about helping him. He remembered the times he would visit her, and how she would stay up late working on her research. The lunches they would share. He thought of their first kiss. He almost shedded a tear.
“I can’t do it. I love Ivory, not an imitation of her.”
Queen Chrysalis stomped her hoof, and the changelings left. Before he could say anything, a ball of light appeared in front of him. It expanded into a disk. On the disk, a picture appeared. It was Mocha, Ivory, and himself sitting on the couch. The three of them looked happy. The picture blurred for a moment, but came back into focus. The spot where he was in the picture was now taken by a pony. This stallion had fur that matched his skin tone. Hair that shared the same color as his. On his hind was two white ovals. The back half of a pony was sticking out one end, and the front half was sticking out the other.
“Is...Is that…?”
“With one spell, I could make you a stallion. You wouldn't be so small or weak. You wouldn't need anypony to take care of you! How much safer would you feel if you weren't so different?”
Cody didn’t respond. He had no idea how to answer that. All he could think of, was how easier life would be in Equestria if he was the same as them. The image faded away, and the queen sat down.
“This is not an opportunity to take lightly. I will give you a moment to think.”
---
“The answer is no Lieutenant.”
“But your highness, I-.”
“You can barely stand. You will stay at the hospital.”
The lieutenant nodded, then he was walked away with the help of a nurse. Princess Celestia sighed deeply. Many soldiers came to the bakery when the attack began. Most of the soldiers were injured from the attack. The rest were too busy helping around. The attack made a rescue effort very difficult. Cody wouldn’t last very long if the queen got her way.
After a short walk, Princess Celestia was back at the bakery. She was hoping Mocha was successful with the spell to find Cody. She slowly opened the door. Both ponies turned to her.
“Did you find him?”
“It took some time, but we found him. The queen is holding him in a cavern east of here. The cavern is based in a small mountain range.”
“I thank you for finding him Mocha. As soon as the soldiers recover, I will mobilize them.”
“Based on what I saw, she wants to open the portal today.”
“Hmm. Ivory, is it possible for Queen Chrysalis to force Cody to open a portal?”
“With the difference in size, yes. Her magic could easily overpower him.”
“Time is of the essence then.”
The door opened again. Princess turned around to see her sister. She was hoping for some more good news. From behind her sister, Princess Twilight. That mare can be so stubborn sometimes. Her heart is in the right place, but she really needed to prioritize her health.
“Twilight. I told you to go to the hospital.”
“I tried to go your highness, but I couldn’t shake this feeling that Cody needed my help.”
“I had the same feeling as well sister.”
Princess Celestia was quiet for a moment. Everything was coming to fruition. She needed a plan. She needed something. The prophecy said he would be saved by those he affected. Would the five of them have to take on the queen alone? Before she could say what was on her mind, a sudden chill came over the room. A white disk rapidly expanded under all their hooves. Before any of them with wings could fly up to safety, they fell in. She had never went through one of Cody’s portals before. It was dissimilar to flying. She felt nothing pulling her in any direction. Just floating in a white space that was the same shade as her fur.
The scenery changed in an instant. The five ponies dropped onto a cold, hard surface. The white portal above dissipated. In front of them, Princess Celestia saw Cody. Something was off however. He was surrounded by green energy. He was floating, and he was unconscious.
“How silly of me. I made the portal too big.”
A portal enveloped the three princesses before they could react.
---
It was a dingy cave, lit up with a few crystals dotted about. Mocha stood up and saw the white energy come off the floor. It floated back towards Cody, and dissipated with the green glow surrounding him. He was completely unconscious, only being held in the air by the magic of Queen Chrysalis. He was inside a glass vial with a metal cap. The inhibitor ring around his neck was by his feet in the vial. The green glow disappeared, and the vial hung from the queen’s neck. It was an unsettling sight.
“What did you do to him?”
“I decided I no longer needed to ask for his help.”
“You...You monster!”
Mocha looked over to see Ivory had stood up. She had a few tears going down her face. She was clearly distraught seeing Cody like this. Changelings came into where they were. They stood in front of the queen.
“You can not just use Cody as a living conduit to open a portal! The effects on him could be devastating, even lethal!”
“The only one to blame here is yourself Ivory. I offered him the world, but all he wanted was you. Love, such a useless and distracting emotion, now that I have his kind.”
“Why did you bring Ivory and I here?”
“Oh Mocha. I wanted the two of you to be the last thing he saw before he went home.”
“His home is with me!”
“Some tiny furniture on a windowsill for two and half months? He was on his home world for well over twenty years. I will be doing him a service.”
“By conquering his world?”
“You see a world of innocent creatures. I see a world where my children will never starve again. Now if you do not mind, I have a portal to open.”
---
Kevin’s tiny, rickety, rusty gray car sputtered on the highway. He was on his way to his new job in New York City. On the highway, he could see the city in the distance. Skyscrapers that lived up to the name. Millions of people in that one city, and he was gonna join them. Today was the start of the rest of his life.
Ahead, all the cars weren’t moving. Kevin grumbled at the sight, and stopped his car. Ahead of the cars, was a bright light. People were getting out of their cars. He got out and followed the crowd. A few car lengths ahead the light got brighter. There were no cars where the light was. People kept their distance. It was a white sphere with rainbow swirls, and a reflective silver circle moving around the surface. They all recognized it as the sphere from a couple months ago that made people disappear.
A deep crackling sound was heard from the sphere, and everyone backed up. It crackled more, and stretched into the air. The sphere expanded into a disk. It almost took up the width of the four lane highway. There was a strange low pitch sound coming from the other side of the white disk. A few people inched around the disk to see what was going on. Kevin stayed behind it, not knowing what could be coming out on the other side.
Before he could run and go to the safety of his tiny car, Kevin felt the ground shake. The people on the other side gasped, and he heard a few run. His curiosity got the better of him. He carefully peeked around the disk to see what happened.
It was a sight no one would ever believe. It was a horse, and an unfathomably large one at that. It was all black, and fifty feet tall at the least. Kevin almost missed the horn and wings because he was still mentally registering the size of the horse. Her voice was soft, but sent a chill down his spine.
“Greetings humans! I am Queen Chrysalis. I come from a far away land. I am here to inform you that your world is now part of our kingdom. Do not fear, for I am a peaceful ruler. I only ask for two things. The first is your loyalty.”
After she spoke, a massive dark blur shot out of the white disk. Suddenly, there were more black horses. They were a bit shorter. Thirty feet tall give or take. There were a few dozen of them at the least. It was a brief uneasy moment when they all licked their lips while looking at the people.
“The second is a difficult, but necessary request. Offering yourselves to feed my children.”
---
When Cody gained consciousness, he wished he didn’t. It was a horrifying sight. He was back on Earth. He was in the glass prison Force Wind once held him in. Looking around he saw he was now hanging from Queen Chrysalis’ neck. Through the air holes of the metal lid, he could hear screaming. Her children were running about a highway, trying to get people out of their cars. The few people who were outside the vehicles, were all herded together in front of the queen. He could see absolute fear in their eyes.
“I want to thank my dearest Cody. If not for this human, I would not be in your world. I have him to thank for all of this.”
Cody shut his eyes. He couldn’t bear to look at all the people. They knew it was his fault. The fall of Earth was his fault. Humans being reduced to sentient food, was his fault. His inhibitor collar was off, so he could teleport away. It didn’t matter anymore. She won. Queen Chrysalis won. He couldn’t stop her. He curled into a ball. Tears streamed down his face. He failed.
“I can’t do it!”
Cody opened his eyes. He was floating in a strange fog. A small hole in the fog was showing himself. He saw himself standing on Princess Celestia’s desk. It was a memory! He remembered it was the day after he got out of the hospital. It was his first training session with the princess. They had tried for a half hour to get his powers to do something, anything. His past self threw up his hands in defeat. The princess gave a soft smile.
“Cody, I can show you why it is not working if you are willing to listen.”
Without another word, the princess raised her left hoof, and tried to stomp on Cody. His past self was gone in a flash of white, and reappeared on the other side of the desk, unharmed. Princess Celestia smiled, and lowered her left hoof.
“Your powers are just like that of any other pony. Your instincts will control them until you are ready. If you truly want to control your powers, you must do more than just thinking and focusing. Now try again.”
After a brief silence, Cody watched his past self stand back up. Clenched his fists, and took a deep breath. He glowed white, and was gone. He then reappeared on the other side of the desk. His past self jumped and cheered. Princess Celestia lowered her head to his level.
“Believe in yourself Cody. You have more power than you think. When you are ready, your abilities will have no limits.”
The fog lifted, and Cody was back in the glass tube. Princess Celestia was right. He needed to stop the pity party. He had to believe in himself. He had to believe he could stop the queen. He took a deep breath.
His vision went white.
---
Ivory sat in silence alongside Mocha in the cave. The portal had closed, and they were alone. One changeling that was there for reasons unknown had left. The two friends simply sat in the cave, and stared at where the portal once was. Ivory turned to her friend.
“Mocha. I wish saying I am sorry could make up for what I did. Cody is gone, his world is doomed, and it is all my fault.”
“Ivory, I-.”
A flash of light, and Mocha disappeared into thin air. Ivory stood up and looked around. Did Cody do it somehow? As her vision turned white and she felt a floating sensation, the question was answered. When she felt like she was back on solid ground, she saw she was no longer in the cave. The land around her was unfamiliar. It did not look like anywhere in Equestria she was familiar with.
The grass under her hooves was unbelievably short. Was that Manehattan in the distance? There were strange objects lining an elevated road of some kind. The road came up to her neck. There were humans inside them. Everything felt so, small. The objects the humans were inside looked like the ‘cars’ she had heard about from other humans in her research.
Ivory was on Earth! Her mind was aflutter with a dozen ideas, but her thoughts were cut short. The road was swarmed with changelings, all trying to get into the cars. To her right, two of them were trying to get to one dark green car in particular. An adult male, an adult female, and a young boy. One changeling was laying down in front of the car, and the other stood above it. The one laying down was licking its lips.
“I want the small fry in the back. Bet he tastes better.”
“You might as well eat ‘em all. The last family wouldn’t give up their kids either.”
“Then let’s scare ‘em a bit before I eat.”
Ivory watched in horror as the standing changeling raised his hoof, and pressed it down on the car. They were gonna crush those little humans! The glass windows of the car shattered under the weight of the hoof pressing down. She could hear them screaming!
“Leave those humans alone!”
Almost instinctively, the unicorn blasted the changeling that had his hoof pressed on the car. He fell off the road, and hit the ground with a light thud. The other changeling stood up to defend himself, but he was blasted as well. Both changelings ran off. Ivory walked up to see if the humans were okay, but they ran past her towards the city before she could.
Looking around, she saw numerous changelings chasing around humans. Farther down the road, Ivory saw a wandering Mocha. She ran over to her.
“Ivory! Where are we? There’s humans everywhere!”
“Can you not recognize it? We are on Earth! The human world Mocha!”
---
The human world looked much larger through the enchanted mirror. It felt strange almost everything being smaller than her. Mocha looked over to Ivory, who was a bit excited. While the presence of changelings made for a tense situation, she couldn’t deny the excitement. Both of them had an interest in the human world, and being here was a dream come true.
Their mesmerizing was cut short when they heard a loud boom. They both looked up, and saw a portal open in the air above them. They took a step back, and watched as three ponies came through. It was Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Princess Twilight! They managed to land on top of each other. They quickly stood up, and looked over to Mocha and Ivory.
“Are you harmed Luna?”
“I am not dear sister.”
“I trust you are not harmed Twilight?”
“No your highness. You and your sister made for a soft landing.”
“Very well then. Now to figure out where we are. Mocha?”
“We are on Earth, the human world. Ivory told me shortly after she found me.”
Princess Celestia opened her mouth to speak, but all five ponies were blinded by a flash of white light. They found themselves still on the ground. They were a bit separated now by the elevated road. Queen Chrysalis stood in the middle of them. The road had collapsed, not being able to hold her weight. The vial that held Cody was on the ground, and the inhibitor collar was as well. Her horn was glowing bright, but not as bright as earlier in the day. The humans she ate were wearing off. She was shaking, struggling to hold onto something with her magic. Above them was Cody, but something was much different.
His eyes were glowing! The spheres of light in his hands were normal for Cody, but the glowing eyes were new. Mocha could swear she heard screaming. It was like his voice was mixed with electricity. It sounded painful, and it was hard to watch. Ivory stepped towards Queen Chrysalis.
“Your highness, you must release Cody. He is trying to use his full power, and that is something no pony can contain. He-.”
“I control Cody now. I do! His power is nothing compared to mine.”
”You do not know what he is truly capable of. Nopony knows.”
“I..vory.”
Mocha looked up to see that Cody had his eyes locked onto Ivory. Queen Chrysalis tried to tighten the magical energy that contained him, but it was in vain. He vanished in a flash of white, and reappeared in front of Ivory on the ground. The glow in his eyes lessened. It was a brief moment of calm. Then Queen Chrysalis walked up behind him.
“Just because your friends are here, does not mean you may leave.”
Cody didn’t speak. He slowly turned around and looked up. The glow in his eyes had brightened again. He bared his teeth, and held a blank expression on his face. This was something Mocha had not seen before. Something in her little brother had broke. He wasn’t himself.
“You belong to me human!”
Queen Chrysalis shot a beam of energy from her horn at Cody. In the blink of an eye, he opened a portal, and another one opened behind her head. She was struck by her own energy, and fell to the ground in front of him. All five ponies were frozen in shock. He just took down the queen by himself in one move. A feat no pony in history could ever claim. A small white disk lowered onto her horn, which made it disappear.
“Move an inch and no one will see you ever again.”
---
Twilight was in shock. Cody. This sweet male human. Always smiling the few times they would see each other. Despite everything happening back home, he would always take things in stride. As he held a portal enveloping Queen Chrysalis’ horn, it was clear something was different. Maybe being on his home planet changed the situation. Even Ivory, the one he was closest to, was at a loss for words. Twilight stepped closer to him.
“Cody. You removed her horn. She’s not a threat to anypony now.”
“She is a threat Twilight. A threat to every human here on Earth. A threat to every human on Equestria.”
“If we imprison her-.”
“Every pony is a threat Twilight!”
“What? No!”
Cody stared at her, fury in his glowing eyes. It was clear to Twilight. His full power had awakened before he was ready. He was not in control. He was running on instinct and subconscious thoughts. He needed to calm down before he did something drastic. Even with the knowledge of Ivory’s notes, human anger of this level was still somewhat unpredictable. She let him continue, hoping that all this talking would help him calm down.
“With one step, a pony could crush any human! Even a foal could swallow a human with no effort! You really mean to tell me that my kind are safe in your world of giants?”
“We treat humans as equals now Cody.”
“Because of me! Celestia wouldn’t have lifted a hoof to help us if I never got my powers. If I never became a threat! Now I’ll get rid of this threat, and all the others like her.”
Cody raised his hand towards Queen Chrysalis, and a white sphere emanated from his hand. The queen’s look of defiance was gone. All ponies knew Cody was serious. Right before the sphere left his hand, a metal clack was heard. Everypony looked towards Ivory, who had placed the inhibitor collar on Cody. The queen’s horn came back, and the glow in his eyes was gone.
Ivory dropped to the ground as Cody turned around. He looked at his hands, shaking. He dropped to his knees, and she pushed her snout forward as he grabbed onto it. Twilight heard a faint sobbing.
“I’m sorry Ivory. I don’t know what came over me.”
“Your power tried to control you dear. I am sorry I had to use the collar.”
“This is far from over!”
A furious Queen Chrysalis stood up. Before they could react, a strong blast of energy from the queen knocked all five ponies to the ground. They watched as Cody was rapidly levitated towards the queen’s face.
“If I cannot have you, nopony can!”
Her jaw opened. The ponies stood up as Cody was forced inside the queen’s mouth. Twilight saw her teeth slam shut with such force. She could hear his muffled screams through the queen’s mouth.
“Ivory! Help me-.”
---
Princess Celestia had seen humans devoured dozens of times by her subjects. It was disheartening, but it was something that happened. Even after her declaration of equality, she knew deep down it still happened. However, she had never felt so affected by it as she had right now. Queen Celestia was flying off to the city, with a powerless Cody in her stomach. The changelings were still loose on the innocent humans. If Cody wasn’t saved from her stomach, they would all be trapped in the human world forever. She looked over to Ivory. She was inconsolable, despite Mocha’s best efforts.
“I lost him! I lost him again! My fault! All my fault!”
“Ivory!”
It had been awhile since the princess had to raise her voice at somepony. It seemed to do the trick, since Ivory calmed down relatively. All the other ponies were looking at her. The humans on the road were still being attacked by changelings. They needed to save Cody. They needed a plan. She took a deep breath.
“Mocha, Ivory, and Twilight. I need you three to get the humans on this road away from the changelings. Get them to safety. Luna and I will go to the city and retrieve Cody from Queen Chrysalis. Time is of the essence!”
With a few strong flaps of their wings, Celestia and Luna were in the air. They looked ahead to see Queen Celestia had made it quite a fair distance into the city. She seemed to have made it to a large grassy clearing. Surrounded by trees and buildings, it made her stand out quite easily.
“Sister, what is our plan? We cannot simply attack her without risking harm to Cody.”
“I know Luna.”
“If we do not act however, we could lose him to digestion with her next spell.”
“I know. Once we restrain her, we will have to figure out a solution as fast as we can.”
---
It was warm, wet, and dark. This was the second stomach Cody had been inside. It was the first time he was calm inside one. He assumed it was the shock that was keeping him calm. He sat close to the hole he came in from, his back against the fleshy wall. A slight burning sensation filled his nostrils. There was no light, but it could be heard. The sloshing of stomach juices. A little bit of it splashed onto his legs, but it didn’t burn horribly. It was more of a strong tingling sensation. It seemed giant pony stomachs couldn’t immediately handle a human body. He knew it didn’t mean he was safe. It only meant he had more time than a chewed up carrot would.
The metal collar wasn’t a help either. Despite feeling it all over, Cody couldn’t find a single part. It was smooth all over, despite being in two parts originally. He figured it was sealed with magic. That meant he needed help to get out.
“Two princesses chasing me down for one little human?”
Queen Chrysalis’ voice echoed into the stomach. Cody could vaguely hear more voices. The others came to help!
“If he is gone, we will all be trapped here!”
“I fail to see the problem with that Celestia.”
“This is their world Chrysalis, not ours!”
It was Princess Celestia and Princess Luna! They found him! Before he could shout for help, the floor of the stomach rose below him. The roof of the stomach quickly approached. It was within arm’s reach for him.
“I think I can still feel him in there. If I do not use any spells, you might have a chance to save him.”
---
Most people expect to be late to work from something like heavy traffic. Some are late to work from medical problems. A few are late from family emergencies. Kevin wasn’t sure if being trapped in a dome by a thirty foot purple unicorn with wings while two other equally giant unicorns fought off other giant black horses counted as a reason to be late.
Within the dome was almost everyone off the highway. Every few minutes they would bring a few more people. It was nearly enough people to fill a lecture hall. Everyone huddled away from the giant purple unicorn. Everyone else in the dome didn’t know which giant ponies to trust. Kevin was the only person in the dome that was close to the giant black pony queen. These colorful ponies wanted to help. The guy the queen had in her necklace was probably important to them. If all this was for one guy, he must’ve been real important. He took a few steps forward, away from the crowd, and towards the purple unicorn. There were some murmurs from the crowd. He was visibly nervous.
“H-Hello?”
The giant purple unicorn turned around, and looked straight at him. The crowd behind him backed up even more. A hole opened in the dome. The unicorn lowered her head, and it still hovered above them. Kevin’s nervousness was turning to fear. She opened her mouth, and spoke in a soft, caring tone.
"I know you're all scared and confused. I promise, my friends and I are not here to hurt you. We're trying to stop these other ponies from conquering this world. Please trust-."
“Twilight look out!”
A blast of green energy struck the purple unicorn, and she fell to the ground with a shaking thud. She was knocked out. The dome disappeared. A black horse was fast approaching. With nowhere to run, everyone hid behind the purple unicorn. Kevin ran to the front of her head, hoping to wake her up. He looked at her flow of purple hair. He grabbed a tuft in his hands, and gave a strong yank. It seemed to have worked. The purple unicorn giantess lightly shook her head. As she quickly raised herself off the ground, Kevin was swept off his feet. As he was raised into the air, everything went purple. His foot was caught in her hair!
Kevin tried to call out, but her hair kept getting caught in his mouth before he could make a sound. He saw the large black horse that was approaching, run away. No one in the crowd of people looking up could see him. He saw the two other unicorns approach. One was a brownish pink, while the other was a dark turquoise.
“This is the last of the humans.”
“Great Mocha. Now we need to get to the city. Hopefully Cody is safe by now. I’ll fly ahead. You two take the humans.”
As he felt the giant unicorn lift herself off the ground with her wings, Kevin hoped holding on to the hair would be safe. He gasped when he looked down. He wasn’t a fan of heights.
“Hm?”
It was hard to describe the shock Kevin had when he started floating in the air. It was even weirder when he found himself in front of the purple unicorn’s face.
“How did you get in my hair?”
“My um...foot got stuck.”
“Terribly sorry. I’ll let you down in the city when we get there.”
At least his problem had a peaceful resolution. He just hoped his boss would understand why he was late.
---
Stressed wouldn’t describe it. Ivory’s feelings at the moment were much more than that. Mocha was back at the edge of the city, making sure the humans got to safety. This mare was trying to walk in the city without stepping on anything. The road was wide enough for her, but it was littered with cars. Most abandoned after she appeared. She would occasionally levitate a car or two for room to walk. She wanted to run to get to where the queen landed. Unfortunately, this human city was not built to handle a running pony. So she had to walk.
The princesses were in sight. There was a grassy clearing just ahead. She maneuvered her way there. Princesses Twilight, Luna, and Celestia were standing together across from Queen Chrysalis. The queen noticed her approaching, and gave a light chuckle. She rubbed her stomach with her right forehoof as Ivory stood by the princesses.
“Ivory. Here to see your boyfriend disappear?”
“Cody! If you can hear me, everything will be okay!”
“Oh my dear Ivory. You really need to stop keeping promises you cannot keep.”
Princess Celestia stepped towards Queen Chrysalis, but stopped when her horn glowed. She stepped back with the others, and the glow subsided.
“Do not test me Celestia!”
“This is not our world. We never should have opened portals here.”
“Well I...ugh.”
Ivory watched in shock as the queen that held back four ponies by herself, was now struggling to stand up. Her legs were shaking. She took a few steps forward, but stumbled and fell with a hard thud. Queen Chrysalis was slumped on her side. A sickly green energy covered her body. The energy dissipated to reveal a very pale gray queen. Her tattered hair looked even worse. It took a moment to realize what was going on. Ivory called out to Princess Celestia.
“Your highness! Her human addiction! It’s weakened her!”
“Then now may be our only chance!”
A beam of energy shot from Princess Celestia’s horn. It slid into Queen Chrysalis’ mouth. She didn’t fight back or struggle. It seemed she was too weak. Ivory watched in quiet fear. Even Mocha was silent as she walked up beside her. A sound akin to suction was heard. A saliva drenched Cody appeared, levitated by the princess. Ivory and Mocha sprinted forward, a few trees shaking as they did.
“Cody!”
“Sweetheart!”
---
The split second after Princess Celestia removed the collar, Cody found himself mashed between the cheeks of two ecstatic ponies. Ivory and Mocha would not stop rubbing their faces all over him. Joyful couldn’t describe it.
“My love you are never leaving our side again!”
“You’re never leaving the house!”
Cody found himself being levitated and kissed all over his face by Ivory. He went from being coated in saliva, to having lip marks all over his upper torso and face. He was sure it looked weird to the few people around. As he was placed on her back, the reunion was cut short.
“I...can...still...”
A worse for wear Queen Chrysalis desperately tried to stand. She was now a pale gray, and looked like some of the addicted ponies he saw once in the castle. A green glow emanated from her horn, but it dissipated when a clack of metal was heard. The very collar that restrained his powers, now restricted that of the evil queen. Princess Celestia steeped between the queen and the others.
“It is over Queen Chrysalis. We will make a portal to our home, and you will face charges for your crimes against humans.”
“Never...Never!”
To all their shock, Queen Chrysalis reared back, and slammed her front hooves to the ground with a loud boom. There was a strange silence. Then it could be heard faintly. The flapping from dozens of wings. They all looked up to see an army of changelings coming down from the sky. The queen cackled with an exasperated breath.
“Destroy him!”
Cody saw Mocha move closer to Ivory’s side. He looked around. Five ponies, three of which were princesses, came to another world. They did it to save him. He felt it was time to return the favor. He looked up at his girlfriend’s horn. He had a plan. It was a long shot though.
”Ivory. When I tell you, location spell on the cave we were in earlier.“
“What?”
“Trust me!”
A deep breath. Another. Focus. He couldn’t let his emotions cloud his judgement anymore. Cody felt the warmth of his power come to his hands. He could see the white energy come to the edges of his sight. As the changelings came closer by the second, he knew he had one shot. The open palms of his hands were pointed to Ivory’s horn. Two sphere of white, one target.
“Now!”
The two white spheres left his hands as a turquoise energy appeared around Ivory’s horn. When they struck her horn, it turned into a glowing white. The energy blasted upward, and expanded. Before they could stop themselves, the changelings all funneled into the portal. The few who tried to fly away were shot into the portal by the princesses. It was over in seconds Cody’s arms dropped to his sides.
“Well, that’s the hard part done.”
---
Mocha still felt a little bad, leaving the human world so abruptly yesterday. Princess Celestia did say she and her sister would come back on more diplomatic terms after they took care of the queen. Though it would be nice to go back soon. Ivory mentioned wanting to go back to the city they were at. One couldn’t deny how fun it was to be in the human world. Maybe one day.
The shop was closed for the day. There were no pickups today either. Ivory and Mocha were laid on the bed. They were watching Cody move his stuff around his new trailer. Yesterday was nothing but the trial for Queen Chrysalis, so he was doing it today. They both insisted on helping, but he refused.
“I can handle moving this stuff. You two have helped me plenty.”
Mocha was about to protest, when there was a knock at the door downstairs. There was a muffled shout of it being the castle guard. Mocha and Ivory got off the bed, with Cody teleporting onto his girlfriend. They went downstairs, and opened the door. It was two stallion unicorns, donning the usual armor of the castle guard. The one on the right opened a scroll.
“Cody, you have been summoned to castle. We have numerous humans requesting to return to Earth. You have also been asked to help bring the remaining humans to the new human village.”
Mocha looked over to see Ivory giving Cody a kiss. It never got old to see.
“I will see you at the village dear.”
“Can’t wait.”
Cody teleported onto the back of one of the guards. He held out his hand, and a ball of energy shot out behind them. Mocha blasted it with a location spell, setting the portal for the castle. The three were quickly gone, and the portal dissipated.
“Ivory, could I join you at the human village?”
“Of course!”
---
It was nice. The humans that wanted to go home were gone. There were still a decent amount that wanted to stay. They all had a consensus of wanting to start new lives. The others didn’t know much about Cody and his powers, except for what little they heard in passing from guards. So it was a bit weird for them when he opened a portal. Princess Celestia had the portal set for the village.
After the last human walked through to the village, Cody closed the portal. His arms fell to his sides. He was exhausted. Princess Celestia smiled as she looked down at him.
“Thank you for your assistance. This was much faster than our original plan.”
“Always glad to help.”
“Since you are much too exhausted to make another portal, would you like to fly with me to the commencement celebration of the new human village?”
“I would love to, but I would like to take another look at the scroll if you have it.”
“Cody. You have looked over that scroll two times. My experts have gone over it almost a hundred times. We do not know if the scroll will ever tell you about your powers. Since you insist however...”
In a flash of light, Princess Celestia produced a torn, frayed sheet of extremely yellowed paper. She held it in front of him, letting it levitate just off the ground. Cody stared at it for a moment.
“We have done everything short of striking it with your magic.”
“If this doesn’t work, I’m out of ideas.”
Though being a bit exhausted, Cody struck the scroll with a small sphere of his power. The text lit up.
---
A small creature will have great power
He will find love in a dark hour
His weakness, his greatest strength
To save his kind, shall go any length
From royalty, he must be protected
He will be saved by those he affected
Cody.
You’re not alone.
Find us.