Dexter's Lab: Equestria

by RenegadeAlias


Defiant to the Sun (Part 2/2)


The battle continued for hours. Celestia had redoubled her strength, holding the sun directly overhead as it fueled her magic and body. But Dexter and his robot were not showing any signs of slowing down. More craters and gouges in the earth littered the landscape, as spells, missiles, lasers, and blasts occasionally missed their mark.

When the titanic machine exhausted its supply of ammunition, it switched over to energy weapons which seemed unlimited to Celestia.

Dexter opted to stay outside of his titanic creation for the duration of the fight, favoring the quick responsiveness that the time dilation device in his suit gave him as a counter to Celestia's supernatural speed. Unfortunately, that meant for the colt that one hour of battle was really several. He quickly found his own body starting to tire, and began contemplating the use of stimulants to keep him going.

Quadraplex didn't like that idea.

A turning point in the battle came when Celestia finally realized something. The magic dampeners that the giant robot used were similar to that which Dexter had in his suit. Its ability to dampen magic was designed as a form of protection, a barrier between itself and any spell cast from the outside.

However, magic that was already on the inside would still be effective.

That's when Celestia turned herself into a missile, and repeatedly threw herself at a single spot in the robot's armor. After the eleventh blow at supersonic speeds, she managed to defeat the armor of the gigantic robot and force her way inside its chassis.

She immediately proceeded to cast every offensive spell she knew, while tearing and bucking at everything within reach.

"Warning, Dexter.” Quadraplex's voice rang through his helmet. "Celestia has destabilized Robo-Dex's primary fusion core. Core detonation is imminent."

Dexter cursed very loudly, with words that would get him grounded had his mother heard him. "Jettison Robo-Dex's A.I. module, and using the remote pilot activate its thrusters to make it ascend into orbit."

"Jettison is in progress," Quadraplex declared. "When the core explodes, it will generate an explosion of 100 million degrees centigrade. Do not be present when it goes. I will teleport you to a safe location."

"No," Dexter declared, wanting to curse at himself for letting this happen. With a neural command he activated his time dilation device, slowing the world around him until it seemingly froze still. "A nuclear explosion of that magnitude would wipe out Ponyville, and spread fallout to many others further away. I cannot let that happen."

"Not even your suit will protect you from a point-blank nuclear explosion." Quadraplex countered. "You must withdraw."

"I. Said. No." Dexter declared. "My fate will be the same as Ponyville’s. Wait... can you lock onto the fusion material inside the core and teleport it into space?" 

"With the magical interference created by Celestia, along with the destabilizing reactor, I cannot get a lock specifically on the fusion material. I would have to teleport the entire compartment."

"Is it the compartment that Celestia is in?"

"Does that matter?" However, it was all the answer Dexter needed.

"I'm going to get that idiot." Dexter pointed toward where Celestia punched through into the gigantic robot. "I don't know if a nuclear explosion can kill her, but I do not wish to put it to the test. With her power being derived from the sun, solar-nuclear fusion is likely the source of her power. A nuclear fusion explosion just might be enough to kill her.  "

"On what grounds do you assume this?" Quadraplex asked as Dexter began to scale the side of his giant robot. With it frozen in time, it felt as though he were simply climbing a statue.

"A hunch," Dexter admitted, beginning to climb. "With magic involved, I don’t know enough to guarantee anything."

When Dexter finally made it inside the robot, he found Celestia in the middle of bucking a portion of the robot's support frame. A blast from her horn was in the middle of slicing through power conduits lining the robot's walls.

Dexter grimaced as he tried to figure out how he was going to get the oversized alicorn out of his robot. His first instincts were to simply kick her as hard as he could, and allow the sheer force of his strikes to throw her clear of the robot. Unfortunately, the armor of the robot was just as good as keeping things in as they were at keeping things out.

He quickly deduced that he would have to reason with her. 

"I'm going to regret this..." Dexter surmised. “Quadraplex, can you extend my suit's time dilation field to encompass her?"

"Yes, barely. You will have to get your center of mass as close to her center of mass as possible." Quadraplex answered. With a grumble, Dexter climbed onto Celestia’s back before clinging to it   His forelegs firmly wrapped around her neck. "I will also extend the magic dampening field in order to block the spell she is casting."

"Alright, I’m ready. Do it." Dexter slowly felt Celestia begin to move, as though she were a statue coming to life. He increased his grip around the diarch's neck, which quickly became a bone crushing grip with the help of his suit.

"Celestia, stop, or you'll kill everyone in Ponyville..." Dexter said, starting to repeat himself as Celestia seemingly came to life. “Celestia, stop, or you'll kill everyone in Ponyville...” He chanted. 

With the sudden sensation of a vice around her neck, and the loss of her magic, Celestia froze in place. She quickly heard the colt's repeating words, and craned her neck to spot the armored colt on her back. 

She had to fight back the instinct to attack him immediately, hesitating long enough for the colt to repeat in warning once more.

"Explain," Celestia hissed. Her tone promised she had more than enough fight and anger in her to continue the battle. 

The colt looked up, the relief on his face was hidden by his new helmet's visor. "My gigantic robot is powered by nuclear fusion, just like your sun is." Celestia raised an eyebrow. "When you penetrated its hull and started attacking it from the inside, you destabilized its fusion reactor. That fusion core is now going to explode with enough force and energy to wipe Ponyville off the map, which is only thirty miles north of here."

"Can it be stopped?" Celestia replied, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. She couldn't help but think that this was all a ploy.

"I..." Dexter began, emphasizing the word at her exclusion. "Already have a solution that will guarantee Ponyville's safety. I just need you to get out of the way; by leaving the robot. Your magic is interfering with my attempts to remove the fusion core to a safe location."

"And why should I believe you? How do I know this isn't some sort of ploy to undermine me now that I have the advantage?" Celestia accused.

Dexter sent a neural command to his suit, causing his visor to become transparent enough for Celestia to see his face. "My actions speak louder than words, Celestia. I was the one who teleported us both away from Ponyville in order to initiate this fight." Dexter countered. "I did it to keep Ponyville safe. If I wasn't trying to keep the other ponies safe, I would be using them as hostages against you. You can rest assured; I wouldn't lie to you about this.” 

Celestia's eyes narrowed again. However, after a moment she began approaching the hole she had punched in the wall in order to gain entry. After pushing some of the metal out of the way with her hooves, she was able to squeeze through the hole and into the open air outside, despite the colt still on her back.

"What... is this?" Celestia asked, noticing how the world around her had seemingly frozen. She was also getting the strangest sensation of vertigo. With her connecting to the sun, she could always sense the flow of time. However, now time did not seem to flow at all.

"Time dilation, princess." Dexter answered curtly. "I can slow the passage of time for myself, and those in close proximity. It allows me to do everything from react to your attacks more quickly, to take a much needed break from combat to rest up. Now, please land us at a safe distance from the robot." When Celestia touched down at the edge of the field, Dexter spoke into his ear piece again. "Alright, Quadraplex, we are clear."

"This is impossible..."

Dexter ignored Celestia. He slid off Celestia's back as he deactivated the dilation field. No sooner had he hit the ground did Quadraplex's response arrive through his ear piece. "Teleportation complete, fusion reactor core is in LEO at an altitude of approximately 500 kilometers, south-southwest of your current location. Degradation from extreme long range teleportation has destabilized the core further. An explosion is imminent, initiating electron-cascade E.M.P. counter-measures"

"Look," Dexter pointed to the southern sky. Tracing the colt's hoof, Celestia caught the explosion just as the core went off. For a few brief moments, Equestria had a second sun. It was enough to get her jaw to drop. She missed the sight of Robo-Dex tumbling to the ground in a titanic crash. The last of its power finally died. 

Dexter let out a sigh of relief as fatigue from the fight started to catch up with him. "Celestia,” Dexter turned to look up at the alicorn, meeting her eyes as she tilted her head toward him. Her posture was tense, but he could tell the battle had worn out parts of her as well. “Whatever happens, even if you end up killing me here today; please, just promise me you won’t tell anyone where that explosion came from. Pretend it was an asteroid or something, or even claim it was your own doing…” 

Celestia turned; lowering herself into an aggressive stance while charging her horn. However, she held back. Something in the tone of his voice, a level of sincerity, caused her to hesitate. 

Of everything he could have hit her with, his request caught her off guard the most. 

“Please...” He pleaded. “Millions could die.”

After a long moment of silence, Celestia eventually released the charge in her horn. The glow of her magic disappeared as she slowly raised her head back to a standing height. “Explain…” She ordered sharply. 

“I can’t…” Dexter shook his head. “It’s not safe.” 

She regarded Dexter silently for a moment, before looking back up at the sky where the explosion had occurred. “How big was that explosion, exactly?”

“Big enough to kill off the entire population of Manehattan if it occurred in the heart of the city.” 

She turned back to eye the colt sharply, trying to discern if the colt was lying though his helmet. “Please, Princess. You can go ahead and do your best to kill me. But please, pretend you never saw that explosion. Act like it never happened…”

And for a moment, Celestia seemed to genuinely contemplate his words, allowing her gaze to wander from the colt for a moment. However, it didn’t last long. Her eyes snapped back to the colt as her frown returned. “Perhaps I would have entertained your request,” The charge in her horn returned. “But you murdered the one of the few ponies that was a daughter to me. I am not inclined to believe anything you say.”

“If” Dexter began again. He raised his voice just enough to get Celestia to pause for a moment longer. “If Twilight’s life is enough to make you reconsider trusting me on this, then I have good news. Twilight’s alive.”

Celestia glare at Dexter deepened, as she regarded him coldly for another several seconds in complete silence. “This better not be another one of your sick little games.”

“Well…” Dexter hesitated. “Twilight’s alive.” He turned away, motioning with a hoof. “Computer, hologram.” The image of Twilight Sparkle fazed into existence. 

“What you saw was an illusion.” The hologram declared in a perfect replication of Twilight’s voice. “The actual Twilight Sparkle had teleported away several moments before what you saw.” 

“I told Miss Sparkle to teleport both herself and Luna to a safe location, both of them are fine.” He assured. 

Celestia took several steps back, seeming to stumble as an unseen weight was lifted off of her. She lowered her head while pressing a hoof to her chest, taking several deep breathes. A single tear escaped her now closed eyes. 

Dexter decided to remain silent, giving Celestia a moment. However, she stood silently for over a minute before she managed to recompose herself. 

“How… could you do such a thing?” Celestia eventually asked, her fury had returned but it was nowhere near as intense as it was before. “Do you have any idea what your treachery has done to me?” 

“Psychological warfare.” Dexter replied curtly. However, his explanation felt like a poor excuse. He was intelligent enough to know the type of wounds his methods dealt to Celestia, and they wouldn’t heal for a long time. 

 “You… deceived me into believing my student… was dead” She seethed. “You… made believe I had watched you murder her in cold blood…” 

He stood silent. 

“I… wanted to kill you.” She declared through gritted teeth, still trembling. “I wanted… I was looking for an excuse to kill you. 

“Your… tricks would have turned me into a…” The fire like essence aspect of her mane momentarily pulsed brighter. 

The sentiment wasn’t lost on Dexter. Turning Celestia into something she both abhorred and reviled would be a terrible thing to do to an being cursed to live with themselves for an eternity.

“If it makes you feel better, you never stood a chance at killing me.” Dexter shrugged. 

“Everything you do is a lie or a deception.” Celestia declared. “You can’t be trusted.”

“Million could die, Celestia.” Dexter repeated. “And that isn’t a lie. You’ve seen proof now with your own eyes, so I don’t have to lie about it.” He motioned upward toward the still dissipating explosion. “Put your rage aside, and think clearly.”

“You will explain yourself, once I have you in chains.” The charge in Celestia horn returned as she lowered back into an aggressive stance. 

“Back to killing each other, I suppose." Dexter reached for the hilt of his plasma saber, which was currently hanging from the side of his chest.

However, Celestia hadn't let her guard down, and was much quicker to react than Dexter had expected. Dexter swiftly found himself pinned by the larger alicorn once again.

"No more. You are defeated, Dexter." Celestia declared. "Your titan lies in ruins, your weapons have been crushed. You're in no position to keep this fight up. Surrender, and despite everything I will be lenient."

"Please, Princess." Dexter scoffed. "I could build two giant robots in the time it takes for you to take out one. I have not yet begun to fight."

Celestia lifted him up before slamming him into the ground again. Alarms flared in his suit. “SURRENDER" She demanded. However, that piercing narrow beam of magic erupted from her horn again; intent on peeling his armor away. 

Dexter reached toward his other side, pulling up a cylindrical object Celestia hadn't seen him use before. He pulled the pin on it before the handle seemingly launched itself away with a loud ping.

"Drop it, Dexter, and give up already..." She eyed the object.

"I'll drop it..." Dexter said, motioning to the now silent device in his hoof. True to his word, it dropped to the ground beside them. However, not a second later it exploded with enough force to throw himself and Celestia several meters.

When Dexter came to a stop, he immediately activated his suit's cloak. His form rippled before coming completely invisible.

"Have you prepared contingency four?" Dexter whispered into his helmet, earning a response in his ear piece.

"Yes, but are you sure you wish to do this? Contingency four could kill her." Quadraplex answered. "You just risked your own life on the chance to save hers, and you can still simply retreat."

"I will be careful." Dexter declared in response. "Aim every magic dampener at her body, we will have only one chance at this..."

The explosion had come as a surprise to Celestia, momentarily disorientating her. However, she was back to her hooves instantly, turning toward Dexter just to catch a faint ripple in the air as he disappeared.

Scowling, her eyes pulsed, as she began to scan the area around her. "You hold far more power than I expected, Dexter."

"Does that mean you'll leave me alone?" A disembodied voice replied, causing Celestia's gaze to snap in its direction. Her horn glowed, covering the area in her aura.

"It means that I cannot afford to. You are too dangerous to let roam this world free of a leash." She replied, scowling as she scanned. "Please, Dexter. You can still be reformed if you just submit. If it is true that Twilight is alive, I will make sure you’re well taken care of.  It is not too late for you, you demonstrated that by your willingness to trust me long enough to save Ponyville. I don't want to hurt you!"

"Wrong answer, Princess," Dexter said, much closer now. "Quadraplex... mark."

For a split second, the magic in Celestia seemingly vanished, being drawn away by the same unseen force pulling at her from all sides. It seemingly weakened the glow hugging to Celestia's form. In that same moment, Celestia felt something stab into the nape of her neck. She looked down to see some sort of syringe plunging into her, as Dexter's form reappeared in a ripple at her side. He held a dart gun at point blank range.

Celestia didn't wait to swipe at him with her forehoof, sending him careening across the blackened earth of their battlefield. She sent a pulse of magic after him for good measure, despite predicting it would likely do nothing.

She looked back down at the dart, summoning her magic to pull it out. However, her golden aura seemingly slipped off the dart as though it could not take hold of it. Quickly, she yanked it out with a hoof before tossing it to the ground.

'"What. Did. You. Just. Do?" She hissed, looking up in the direction she had sent the colt hurtling in. When she spotted him pulling himself up off the ground, she teleported over to him; pulling him up by the neck. She then slammed him into the ground beneath her. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!"

A compartment in Dexter's armor opened, from which he extracted a steel blade. He swiftly stabbed it right into Celestia's foreleg.

Celestia merely winced, before pulling him up and flinging him across the charred field, slamming him through a half burnt tree. The tree exploded into a shower of splinters. 

"Was it another attempt to hurt me? Poison perhaps?" Celestia again teleported to Dexter. "I cannot be poisoned, Dexter. There is no wound you can inflict upon me that will last. That is the reason why you will lose this fight; and why mortals will always fail at any contest with an immortal. I’m immortal, so I can always outlast you."

Dexter pushed himself back to his hooves, wobbling slightly from the impact. "Are you so sure?" He challenged, bringing the steel blade up to eye level. It was covered in blood. "You're still bleeding." He motioned toward her foreleg.

Celestia's eyes traced to where he was pointing, finding the wound he put into her leg moments ago.

To her horror, he was right. She was still bleeding. The wound had not healed. It should have healed by now.

Celestia merely continued to stare at her leg, eyes wide. The gold disappeared from her eyes as the original magenta returned, accompanying the unadulterated terror that shook both her eyes and her soul to the core.

She could feel the magic leaving her body, as her usually unshakeable connection to the sun seemed to dull and fray. 

She felt as if ice had been poured directly into her heart, as an uncontrollable tremor started to work its way through her hooves.

That's when the ethereal nature of her mane vanished, replaced by a natural pink mane which could have been found on any oversized mare.

"You asked what I just did," Dexter went on, dropping the knife. He noticed the glow that had surrounded Celestia diminish. "I ended this." He declared. "If it bleeds, you can kill it." He declared. “You’re mortal now.”

"Dexter wait-"

With a neural command, Dexter again slowed time. He leapt at Celestia in a blur, lashing out an amplified punch straight into her barrel. The blow sent Celestia careening into the ground, where she toppled over herself before scrapping to a stop on charred dirt and rock. Her coat was now bloodied from a myriad of small cuts she had sustained from the landing.

Dexter briefly activated his time dilatator. In an instant, he was standing over her.

"Dexter!" It wasn't the first time Dexter recognized true terror in the alicorn's voice.

He brought down a hoof onto Celestia's foreleg, breaking it just above the fetlock. She screamed in pain before swiping at him with the unbroken one. He caught it with ease, as his armor amplified his strength, before bringing his free foreleg down on it. The second leg snapped like a twig, eliciting another shriek of pain from Celestia.

For Celestia, before the bite of pain was rather dull; but now its fangs were sharp and went deep. 

The alicorn summoned her magic, only for her spell to fizzle against his armor; earning her nothing but the equivalent of a backhanded swipe from the colt against her face. Every subsequent attempt to cast a spell fizzled out uselessly.

For some reason Dexter couldn't explain, he was enjoying this. Far more than he should have. He had to fight to keep from grinning. 

But he wasn't doing this for fun. He couldn't allow himself to lose sight of his goal: ensuring the safety of the world from an immortal alicorn's reckless ambition.

However, that didn't stop Dexter from slamming down on each of Celestia’s hind legs. They snapped just like the others.

He had to fight the urge to break her ribs, by doing so he would be putting her in direct danger of death.

Dexter backed away from the alicorn mare, both to prevent himself from doing any more damage to her; as well as stop her from attempting to strike him back in any way.

The moment he had stepped away, Celesta pulled forward her wings to hide herself behind them. It was, in his opinion, a pitiful final effort to protect herself.

"Look at me, Celestia..." Dexter sneered, earning no response from the quivering alicorn before him. "Look. at. me. Or I'll break your wings too."

Shakily, Celestia lowered her wings. She was now bleeding from her nose, more so on the side of her face where Dexter had stuck her. Her pink mane was disheveled and matted with dirt, and her coat had ash and mud smears across her formerly pristine white coat.

However, her eyes were pinpricks. She stared forward as though she were being greeted by death himself.

Dexter reached up, and pulled off his helmet. The blood around his lips had long since dried, turning an off brown color. He locked eyes with Celestia, though he intentionally forced the sneer from his grimace.

"Do you feel that, your Majesty?" Dexter spoke calmly and firmly, making sure the alicorn could hear every word. "Do you feel the slow trickle of life abandoning you?" He motioned toward the knife wound in Celestia's foreleg, which was now starting to pool blood in the place it limply hung at a disjointed angle. "Every mortal knows it by instinct, it’s the sensation of dying; and we mortals live in its shadow every day. 

"I felt it just three days ago, a thousand years ago from your perspective, along with countless others. And why did we suffer this?” Dexter motioned again. “For an indulgence. To buy you a few moments to try to bargain with a lunatic, when you should have instead been fighting her."

"But despite what you suffer now, you should count yourself lucky.” Dexter motioned to her broken limbs, and the blood flowing from the cut in her leg and pooling beneath her. "Your victims, the ponies you sacrificed while you tried to talk Nightmare Moon down, had it worse. For when they suffered this; it was often while trapped in the dark, often while trapped in the cold, and more often than not - alone. 

“And you offer to reform me? What a joke. You chose not to act, in the past, because you valued the company of your sister over the lives of your subjects. Yet in the here and now, you’re willing to tear apart a family, tyrannically oppress an entire town of innocent ponies, and magically rip apart the mind of a child – simply to get something that you want. You haven’t changed, the only thing that has changed is what you want.

"You said your body doesn't bear scars, but does your heart? Let the memory of what you feel here be the next scar, and bear it forever. Let it remind you of a plain and simple truth that you never knew, or had somehow forgotten in the course of your long life: 

"You are not a god, Celestia. So don’t play one."

Celestia's terrified grimace remained solely locked on the colt the entire time he spoke, even as her breathing became labored. He tilted his head away from the broken alicorn, asking for Quadraplex to scan her.

"Her condition is stable for the moment; however, she does require treatment if she is to make a recovery." Quadraplex answered, eliciting a nod from Dexter. He turned away from the alicorn to reply. “She is going to pass out soon.” 

"Good, prepare the recovery chamber for her. I do not wish to leave anything to chance at this point." The colt turned back to Celestia to find the alicorn still regarding him as though he were the incarnation of pure terror. "Don't look so horrified Celestia. If you were permanently mortal, you'd get used to it..." Dexter shook his head. "But fortunately for you, this state of vulnerability is only temporary."

“Hypocrite…” 

“Excuse me?” Dexter scowled toward Celestia. 

“Hypocrite.” She accused again. Celestia's voice was hoarse and ragged. However, she paused to take a few more labored breaths. “I was wrong a thousand years ago, but now I do what I must for the good of my subjects. Yet you… you won’t help save your fellow pony from the changelings; because you value your secrets more than your own kind.”

“I am not–,” Dexter started, but he caught himself. His scowled turned into a full-blown sneer, and for the first time he wanted to tell her the truth if not to prove her wrong. “…going to explain it anymore… you saw the danger with your own eyes.” 

“I did change,” Celestia countered shakily. “I sent the elements, to do what was necessary to stop Luna… on her return.” Celestia quivered. “I wanted her back… but I sent them, knowing the elements could have killed her… if the prophecy was wrong…” 

Dexter turned away from Celestia. "The substance I injected you with is a synthetic agent that disrupts magic at the molecular level. It’s a liquid form of the metal you use to create inhibitor rings for unicorns that you want to block the magic of." Dexter explained. "Originally I intended on using it as a means to prohibit changelings from altering their form.” He turned his head back toward the broken alicorn. “However, Quadraplex decided to repurpose it as a weapon against immortal alicorns, should one go crazy for a second time and try to bring about an unending night. Her theories were sound, since your immortality and ability to heal is inherently rooted in the magic..."

"The hard part was finding a way to formulate it into a compound that your body would absorb, but not permanently retain." Dexter casually continued.  "You'll eventually expel it from your body harmlessly by sweating it out. If you live long enough that is. When that happens, your body's magic will reassert itself, and you'll be just as immortal as you were before."

"I... won't die?" Celestia hesitantly asked, lowering her head slightly.  

"You'll live." Dexter declared. "But I cannot take all the credit for that. Quadraplex had to run non-stop simulations since I got back to discover the exact formulation that would spare you. Though, if she had her way, the non-reversible version of it would have been used on Luna already. Quadraplex threaded the needle for me, so to speak.”

"W-why?"

"Spare you?" Dexter raised an eyebrow. "Aside from the obvious moving-the-sun issue, making you permanently mortal would be the equivalent of killing you; and as a rule: I don't kill." He finished, letting his words hang. " Twilight’s alive, you idiot. I’m the good guy here, now take her away Quadraplex."

A flash of white light made Celestia disappear. 

"Make sure she's comfortable, and give me an estimate on her time to recovery once you have it." Dexter let out a tired sigh. The weight of his armor seemingly doubled as he turned around to survey the battlefield scene behind him. His giant robot still lay where it had fallen.

It was quite the mess to clean up.

But it wasn't anything Dexter had not seen or done before.

"All I want is to go home..." He muttered to the empty air.

---

Luna awoke from her induced slumber. The dullness of the magic that had pulled her away from the waking world was slowly draining away. She could recognize the sensation of someone dispelling Celestia’s magic, removing the wait on her consciousness that had forced her into a dreamless, thoughtless, sleep. 

At first, Luna couldn’t remember the events that led to her slumber. She instinctively tapped into her connection with the moon, trying to glean a sense of how long she had been asleep. It had only been a few hours. 

Pushing her mind a little further, as the weight on her mind continued to recede, she began to remember. Luna remembered Celestia was close to her, whispering an apology to her in her ear; promising to talk with her when she awoke. 

Then she remembered Dexter, standing defiantly despite offering a hoof in her direction. 

With the sight of the colt fixed in her mind, the dam holding back her memories broke; instantly forcing her to recall everything. 

With a sudden, almost violent burst of will and energy, Luna’s eyes shot open. She rolled off her side and onto her hooves before nearly jumping to a standing position. Her sudden movement caused the surprised purple pony standing over her to let out a startled “eep” before being flung off the lunar alicorn. 

Twilight had been standing over Luna, dispelling the powerful sleeping spell Celestia had cast when Luna suddenly and violently shot upright. The suddenness of the motion, along with the healthy nudge Luna delivered to Twilight, caused Twilight to  fall flat on her haunches. 

“Princess! You're awake!” Twilight said, rubbing the pain from her nose where Luna had run into her. However, Luna didn’t respond. Instead the alicorn’s gaze shot around the room before she jumped to her hooves. “Princess?”

A quick scan around the room let Luna know she was in a hospital room of some kind, probably the Ponyville Clinic. The room was well lit, and the bed she had occupied was the only hospital bed in the room. Two lunar guard’s flanked the door, who seemed to watch on the scene before them with relief. They were obviously glad to see their leader back on her hooves. 

“Princess, we need your help to—” Luna pushed past Twilight without a second thought, opening the door to the room with her magic. She stepped out into the hall, sweeping it for her target.  Much to her disappointment, the hall was empty. That’s when the alicorn turned back to the room, finding Twilight staggering back to her hooves. 

“Where is he?” Luna demanded. 

“Princess we need you to—”

“WHERE IS DEXTER?” 

“He got into a fight with Celestia and disappeared!” Twilight blurted back. “We haven’t seen him since.”

“Celestia is fighting him? Why would she- Celestia must cease, I will not let her bring harm upon him. Where is she?” Luna turned away, walking quickly for the door. 

“But- Dexter attacked her!” Twilight answered after her, hurrying to follow. “Princess, wait! Please!” She caught up just as Luna had exited through the hospital room’s door. “We need you to lower the sun!” She asked, almost pleading. “It’s almost time for nightfall, but the sun has been locked overhead in the position of high noon for the past several hours.”  Luna stopped, in place, again surprising Twilight who had to stumble to avoid running into the alicorn. Luna could sense that Twilight was right, it was just about time for the day to end and for night to begin; yet the sun was way out of position. She turned back toward Twilight. 

“You are, of course, correct. Thank you, Twilight Sparkle. I shall set the sky right.” Luna frowned, looking up to see the pair of guards following from the room. “You two, who is in charge of the troops occupying Ponyville.”

Both of the guards bowed before the one with the higher rank spoke up. “That would be Captain Stout Valor, Your Majesty. However, she is currently leading the search effort to find her Highness Celestia.” The unicorn stallion in blue armor explained quickly. “She ordered us to relay a request to you. She wanted to forego lowering the sun for as long as possible, as night would make our search for her majesty Celestia more difficult.”

“Relay my apologies to the Captain. I cannot forgo lowering the sun, not after it has been fixed in the position of high noon for eight hours. I will lower the sun immediately. However, tell her she has new orders. No harm whatsoever is to befall the colt named Dexter should she or her troops find him.” Luna declared, her eyes narrowing. “If he is harmed by the guard, we shall have Captain Valor’s head. Make that clear to her, understand?”

The guards, taken aback, hesitated before saluting. Before the guards could say or do anything else, Luna turned back toward Twilight. The purple mare also seemed surprised, if not worried, by Luna’s behavior. “Twilight, you will tell us everything that has happened while we were asleep.” A wave of blue magic from Luna’s horn washed over the two, depositing them on the roof of the clinic.

From the roof they could easily see over a large swath of Ponyville. The once peaceful town was in sheer chaos as a surplus of guards moved too and frow, searching every building, alleyway and even dumpster in the entire town. Flights of pegasi stretched across the sky from horizon to horizon, forming a search pattern intent on scanning every inch of the town and beyond.

“Princess,” Twilight began as an aura of blue magic enveloped the alicorn. “Only your guards can see in the dark, can you at least lower the sun to the horizon? Otherwise the pegasi search parties will have to wait until morning before resuming their search from the sky.”

“I am afraid not, Twilight. Not after eight hours of high noon.” Luna began. Immediately the sun began to sink as the moon rose from the horizon. “While the weather may seem peaceful here, the unending sun would have generated storms elsewhere in the world. The damage suffered by others elsewhere cannot be understated should we permit the sun to stay above us any longer. This has to be done now.” The sun sank out of sight just as Luna finished. 

However, the moon now shone brightly overhead, illuminating the young night with a pale glow.

“Now please explain, Twilight. What happened while I was asleep?” 

“Dexter attacked Celestia.” Twilight repeated. “He just pulled out a weapon of some kind and shot her with it. At first it had no effect, but the second shot caused an explosion that blew apart the second floor of the library-” She stopped when Luna put up a hoof. “That’s when I blacked out.” 

“Do not worry, Twilight. Your mentor, my sister, is immortal. I doubt Dexter has the… unique weaponry that could truly harm her.” Luna said, seemingly trying to placate Twilight’s emotions.

“But, she didn’t lower the sun.” Twilight replied, fear evident in her voice. 

“My sister is strong, it would take much to truly harm her. Trust me… I know.” Luna reassured. “But please continue. I do not need a step by step account of what happened right now, just the major details.”

Twilight shook her head. “Dexter let me go after attacking Celestia. But from what Applejack told me, he created an illusion of… killing me…” Twilight shifted uncomfortably.  “Apparently, he wanted to convince Celestia that he killed me, to push her into a rage. From what we gathered, he succeeded. Then she attacked.”

“What?” Luna asked almost breathlessly, turning away from the moon and back toward Twilight.

“They then disappeared in a flash of white light.” Twilight nodded. “From what I could sense, the way Celestia’s magic presence disappeared, I think it was teleportation. They were both taken somewhere, and I think it was Dexter. Over the next hour we heard the distant sounds of battle coming from the far south, somewhere very deep within the Everfree. Captain Valor sent pegasi guards. To my knowledge we haven’t heard anything back yet.”

 “Then south we go,” Luna declared. “Gather your friends. I doubt we shall have need of the elements, but we should be cautious.” 

---

 

A chilled gust brushed against Dexter’s armor before sweeping across his uncovered face, rustling his main slightly and causing the colt to shiver. He grimaced before looking across the desolate and windswept landscape that was the badlands. The sun had gone down hours ago, letting the dessert bleed its heat into the sky and drop to frigid temperatures.

Despite the discomfort, Dexter left his face uncovered intentionally. He wanted those who could see his approach to know who he was, and hopefully discern that he had no aggressive intentions. Of course, he kept access to his helmet and weapons; just in the event that hostilities did erupt despite his efforts. His armor still bore all the marks from the battle he had with Celestia only hours before, and the saddlebags he carried on his back did nothing to cover up the battle damage. 

Tilting his head, Dexter eyed the distant full moon. The moon’s rise several hours ago was all he needed to deduce that Luna had finally awoken from her magically induced slumber. Yet its continuing presence felt ominous somehow, acting as an ever-present sign of an alicorn who was undoubtedly hunting him that very second. 

He shook his head, disdainful of the thought that he now lived on a world where the moon was dragged across the sky by a magical talking pony. To him, it cheapened the beauty of it somehow. Rather than be a natural satellite whose motion was determined by a delicate and magnificent dance of gravity and kinetic energy set in motion billions of years ago; the moon’s position, phase, face, along with everything else about it was all determined by the whims of a lunatic who tried to kill him.

Dexter was exhausted from his fight, and the weight of that exhaustion tried his resolve. He was tempted to lie down and sleep for days in the safety of his recently relocated laboratory. However, this was something he needed to do, and the best chance to prevent a war would be for him to strike while the iron was hot.

Which is why he was now walking toward the changeling’s central hive.

If it weren’t for the information Quadraplex was displaying onto his glasses, the rocky outcropping and musty cave before him could have easily been mistaken as unremarkable.

What appeared to be the main structure to the changeling hive rose well out of the ground just over a mile north of Dexter, seemingly trying to pierce the sky with its jagged edges. The moonlight it reflected was the only thing that made it stand out from the dark, as if the ominous citadel were a predator hiding in the dark. 

However, like most things made by the changelings, the structure was an illusion. It was probably a decoy, meant to distract or trap anyone who attempted to assault the changeling hive directly. The real changeling hive was here, and well concealed underground.

As Dexter approached the cave, an indicator in his glasses highlighted several rocks on the dusty path before him; revealing them to be more than the simply lifeless stones they appeared to be. 

He stepped up to the closest rock before clearing his throat. The rock was easily twice his size, and featured nothing to stand out from the landscape.

“Hello,” Dexter started. “The changeling Queen sent a messenger to me, indicating that she wanted to speak to me.” Dexter shifted underneath the saddlebags, finding a more comfortable hold. “I have come to answer her request.”

A pair of dull green eyes seemingly opened on the side of the rock; locking onto Dexter. The sight almost caused Dexter to stumble backwards, as he didn’t expect a rock to sprout eyes; despite knowing the true nature of what was before him.

A green flame flashed over the rock, instantly replacing it with a changeling that quickly stood up. Flashes of green nearby revealed more sentinels watching over the cave entrance.

“Your name?” The changeling before Dexter asked. She was taller, and stronger built, than the other changelings Dexter had observed. She also bore more scars than most, yet the holes in her legs were less prominent. Dexter took it as a sign she was better fed.

“Your Queen will recognize me.” Dexter asked, motioning toward the cave.

“I didn’t ask you if the Queen would recognize you,” She took a step toward Dexter. “Your name?”

“Dexter.”

The changeling didn’t respond, staring at the colt for several unmoving moments.

“Umm-“ Dexter started, only to get shushed by the changeling.

A few more awkwardly silent moments passed with the changeling just staring at him.

“Are you going too-“

“Shh.” The guard hushed again.

Dexter raised an eyebrow, but otherwise said nothing. A whole two minutes of complete silence went by with the changeling before him doing nothing but seemingly stare at the colt.

He was about to speak up once again when the changelings surrounding him seemingly all relaxed at the same moment, before sharing glances with each other. The changeling right before Dexter even tilted her head slightly, giving away traces of suppressed confusion.

“The Queen shall see you.” The changeling frowned, her tone was almost that of a question. “Follow me. No sudden movements, do not wander off, and do not attempt to go anywhere unescorted. Do not approach the Queen to a distance within fifteen lengths, unless otherwise bidden. Do not cast magic of any kind. Any violation of these instructions and you will be killed immediately. Understand?”

“Understood.” Dexter pointed a hoof toward the cave. “After you…”

The cave network of the hive was much more intricate than Dexter would have guessed at a mere glance. There were hundreds of tunnels, corridors and chambers which extended underground for miles; and it was positively alive with countless changelings. However, Dexter would have observed none of that if it weren’t for the data Quadraplex was feeding him through his glasses. The route the changeling guard before him took him through empty and barren corridors, which were completely pitch black except for the occasional orbs of green magic. His ability to see and navigate were preserved by his glasses, which he had shifted over to a night-vision mode. After ten minutes of walking silently through unlit and barren tunnels, the pair emerged into an area where the tunnels were shaped and carved. The walls no longer bore natural earthen colors, but rather an obsidian black which dully reflected light in a way similar to the chitin of the changelings themselves.

The pair eventually came upon the threshold of a large chamber, where two changelings in blue armor flanked the entrance. They glared daggers at Dexter, seemingly eager to attack should they find even the slightest thing amiss.

The chamber itself was large, with a ceiling that stretched up several stories. However, what caught Dexter’s attention was the apparent throne in the center of the room. Atop twisted and jagged rock sat a large bowl-like structure. It was made of a type of stone Dexter had never seen before, yet it was a fitting black with green tones. The backrest of this bowl-like chair stretched upward, flaring out into points. Several more guards flanked the throne itself.

However, sitting atop the throne was the largest changeling Dexter had ever seen; and this was the first time he saw her in her native changeling form. Like the other members of her species, she was completely black with green tones, and her legs possessed holes and gouges as if they were logs half eaten by termites. However, unlike her kin, Chrysalis’s insect-like wings were whole and appeared healthy; while the horn in the middle of her head was longer, jagged, and sharper than that on the other changelings. 

“To think, the last time we met I tried to learn your name, yet I was so frustratingly denied. I have to admit, after all this time, finally wrestling it from you brings… a rare satisfaction. Even if it came at the price of letting you into my home.” The changeling monarch greeted. Her welcome wasn’t one of warmth as much as a grim respect. “Dexter.”

“Consider us even then, I finally get to see what you look like without a disguise on.”

“Oh, our debts are far from balanced, Dexter. There is much to discuss in that regard.” Chrysalis stood up from her throne, taking to the air to fly over the jagged outcrop of rocks beneath the throne. She landed a number of feet away from Dexter, turning to the changeling that had escorted him. At the response to a wordless command, the changeling bowed deeply before backing away and eventually leaving. “For starters, could you have picked a less… horrendously awful hour to answer my summons? This has been the first time my underlings attempted to wake me at this time in centuries.”

Dexter raised an eyebrow before tilting his head. His instinct was to look toward the sky to guess the time, but then he remembered he was underground. “Time?” Quadraplex responded by displaying the local time on his glasses. It read as 3:40 am. “Apologies, Queen Chrysalis. I wasn’t entirely aware. Things have been moving quickly in the past twenty-four hours. I lost track of time.”

“Still have a mysterious friend?” Chrysalis pressed. “Do I get to meet her this time? This Quadraplex?”

Dexter shrugged. “She is not exactly in an amicable mood at the moment. I think my… disagreement with Celestia has her on edge.”

 “I heard about that. Celestia has disappeared.” Chrysalis began to circle around Dexter, securitizing him as though he wore a disguise she was trying to see through. “I take it you won? She is finally dead?”

“Yes, I won. No, she is not dead.” Dexter confirmed with a short nod, tracking Chrysalis with his eyes as she moved. Weary of her, he wanted to warn her out of trying anything. “Though she came close, however I decided to spare her.”

“I predicted as much,” Chrysalis scoffed, suppressing a laugh. “The fool is a pushover. I easily defeated her in combat not but a year ago. Simply scorch her horn, and break her connection to her magic, then she folds like a leaf. Her nation along with her.” 

“It would seem she has learned to put up more of a fight since you've fought her.” Dexter turned his head to the other side of his body to keep eyes on the changeling monarch as she passed behind him. “Or perhaps she wasn’t as emotionally involved in your fight. That brings me to a topic I would like to discuss with you. However, since you called this meeting, I suspect you have your own concerns which you want addressed first.”

“Indeed, I do…” Chrysalis’s tone shifted toward an icy cold. “I wanted to know where we stand. You have had ample opportunity to expose us, and to teach your means of detecting us to the ponies. Yet you do not. What do you intend?”

“I recognize and respect that changelings have every right to live, even if it involves feeding off of the magic and emotions of other creatures.” Dexter replied curtly. “Consider it an understanding from one predatory species to another.”

“So what then?” Chrysalis scowled. “My species' way of life is preserved by some nebulous sense of commiseration from a wayward child?”

It was Dexter's turn to frown. He didn’t take his eyes off of Chrysalis, and not just because he didn’t trust her. He knew trying to read her expressions was probably useless, but then again he had a knack of noticing things others didn’t even think of. “It doesn’t take a genius to know your species is on the brink of starvation, Chrysalis. Exposing you, or otherwise impeding your ability to feed would push your kind over the brink, resulting in your extinction. Such would be tantamount to genocide.” Dexter paused, grimacing as he recalled the darker portions of human history. For the first time he took his eyes off the Queen. “If you knew the history of… suffice it to say I won’t let myself be guilty of that.”

Chrysalis continued to frown at the colt, openly displaying her lack of confidence in that answer. “Yet you violated the terms of our deal. You built a device that could reveal us and left it where the ponies would find it! And just today, you revealed to the ponies what they did not know, that we could take on the form of objects not just ponies!”

“Both of those… were accidents.” Dexter rebutted. “There were mitigating circumstances. At the time I built the device I thought I was crazy, and from my perspective we hadn’t even made the deal yet. Besides, you managed to destroy it before they could figure out how it functioned. I also had no clue the ponies were so stupid they didn’t bother to check if your species could transform into objects.”

“Excuses!” Chrysalis hissed. “We had to rectify your failures, at the risk of my infiltrators! You also fought and injured several, leading to their capture. I expect recompense for these transgressions!”

“Recompense? You violated the terms of our agreement first.” Dexter bite back, pointing a hoof at the queen. “Or have you forgotten? I agreed to keep the secrets of your detection so long as you and your changelings behaved!”

“And we have!”

“What part of attacking Canterlot could be considered ‘behaving?’” Dexter challenged, causing the Queen to fall silent. “It would seem that you have abrogated our agreement first. Now I have just as much reason as you to regard our agreement as abeyant, and we could choose to abandon it; or we could put these mistakes behind us and reestablish it.”

Chrysalis continued to scowl at Dexter, a feature which the guards around the room shared. Clearly on edge, they were ready to attack Dexter the instant their queen commanded.

However, Dexter already knew the answer the Queen would provide. It was the only answer that truly served their interests.

“Our invasion wasn’t by choice. We were forced to attack Canterlot.” Chrysalis finally continued.

“Oh really?” Dexter offered, openly feigning surprise.  

“That business with Cadence and Shining Armor was merely a ruse. The princesses had unknowingly found a way to detect us.” Chrysalis finally admitted. “Princess Luna’s ability to access a pony’s dreams while they slept offered her a way to detect changelings by directly reading their memories from their dreams, especially if they dreamed of the hive or our native forms. My agreement with you would have done us little good if the ponies could discover all of us overnight.”

“And how does invading Canterlot solve that problem?”

“If we could have captured and podded Princess Luna, or found a way to block her dream magic by severing her connection to the dreamscape; it would have solved the problem entirely. Unfortunately, she wasn’t there. So we enacted our contingency plans and retreated by feigning defeat.”

“Wow, that’s some story.” Dexter nodded in feigned realization. “Now do you mind telling me the truth?” He asked without changing his tone.

The nature of Dexter’s mocking wasn’t lost on Chrysalis. “Remember where you are, insolent child.” She sneered. “You’re in my hive, my home. I will not be disrespected so blithely here.”

“Okay...” Dexter dropped the cheeky tone. “I was under the impression that your changeling infiltrators were trained to self-hypnotize their subconscious each night before they went to sleep. By self-hypnotizing their own subconscious, they could effectively program their dreams to correspond to the persona of their real-life disguises, while also preventing nightmares completely.

“A genius solution, really, because it plays into a changeling’s strengths as proficient practitioners of hypnosis; helps hide your identities from Luna while dreaming; and also prevents the sleep-related troubles that would invite Luna’s attention and scrutiny in the first place.”

Dexter looked back up at Queen Chrysalis with a smile, only to find her staring back at him with an expression that slowly morphed from contempt to dumbfounded surprise. “Of course, if that were true, then invading Canterlot to capture Princess Luna wouldn’t make any sense for the reason you claimed.”

Chrysalis slowly opened her mouth before slowly speaking. “How in the…” Chrysalis cursed. “do you know all that?”

“You said I should remember where I am. Allow me to reciprocate the advice. You should remember who you’re dealing with.

“I don’t! And that’s part of the problem!” Chrysalis stomped in frustration before making a sweeping gesture with her hoof. “I have no idea what you are!”

“Respectfully, your majesty, does it matter at this point?” Dexter gave a tired sigh. “Do names you won’t recognize, and information about a species you will never encounter, matter? Especially when your only source of that information is a person whose word you won’t trust on the topic to begin with?”

“I suppose not.” She growled. “Very well; the real reason we invaded Canterlot was to secure Princess Luna. It was no coincidence that we revealed our existence to the world within a few short years of her return, despite having been content to live in the shadows for all of recorded history. We had to probe Luna’s mind for remnants of Nightmare Moon, to make sure she had no chances of relapsing. I impersonated Cadence to get access to Canterlot and ultimately Luna, and once Luna was hypnotized we were able to test her for any traces of Nightmare Moon; while the rest of Canterlot was none the wiser. Unfortunately, despite the smooth start to the operation, it didn’t stay that way. I had to continue the operation at all costs, as testing Luna took days. That business with Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor was only a ruse to coverup everything else.

“Nightmare Moon was a threat to all life on this world, and if she were able to spread and manifest in ponykind, we would have starved anyway. Which is why the entire endeavor was worth exposing our existence to the world.” She turned back to Dexter. “Satisfied?”

“I recognize the threat that Luna’s psychosis represents.” Dexter nodded. “With that said, I am willing to acknowledge that your attack on Canterlot may have been warranted if your goal was to ensure the planet’s safety from Nightmare Moon. As such, you didn’t abrogate the underlying principle of our agreement.”

“So, you’re willing to recommit to our agreement?” Chrysalis asked, betraying a hint of hope in her voice.

“Of course,” Dexter replied, nodding again. “However at this point,” he sat on his haunches before turning to reach into his saddlebags. “I have a few more questions. Certain matters need resolving.”

Immediately the guards in the room surrounded the colt, getting between him and their Queen.

“I mean no harm,” Dexter raised a steady hoof. It wasn’t enough to placate the guards, however they received a nod from Chrysalis before backing off. “It’s not a weapon.” Eventually he managed to pull a case out of one of his saddlebags.

“I have been looking into your food problem, in an attempt to find a permanent solution. However, I discovered something rather confusing.” Dexter began. “When you were in Canterlot, you were feeding off of Shining Armor’s love, correct?”

Chrysalis gave a curt nod. “His love was as delicious, despite the captain being an absolute fool.”

“How is it that the love of a single unicorn, albeit a powerful magic user, provided you with enough power to defeat Celestia readily; yet your species is still starving?” Dexter asked, pointing out to what he clearly thought of as an inconsistency. “From one individual you had enough to take down Celestia, but not to feed yourself? Was his ‘love’ better than anyone else’s? Why couldn’t you find any other love-sick pony and derive the same levels of power from them?”

 “What are you getting at?” Chrysalis asked impatiently. Dexter noticed she didn’t answer any of the questions. 

“There is an entire continent filled with ponies out there.” Dexter pointed to the cave behind him. “If the love of one stallion was enough to empower you to defeat Celestia, and another was enough to help you stand up to Nightmare Moon a thousand years ago, then the millions of swooning ponies out there should be an ample supply of food, you should not be starving. I decided to investigate why, and after examining your species’ DNA, I made a rather startling discovery regarding the changeling metabolism and—”

The hostility in Chrysalis’s glare returned with a fury. Before Dexter could continue with his lecture, the Queen turned to the other changelings in the chamber. They cringed before the Queen even spoke, as though some unspoken connection allowed them to sense the coming fury of their monarch. “Out, all of you.” She hissed, loud enough it caused Dexter’s ears to fold instinctively. “NOW!”

“My Queen, we cannot leave you unguarded with the interloper, he may—“

“NOW, OR I’LL SKIN EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU!”

That caused the changeling guards to flee from the room as though it were on fire, leaving Dexter behind with a fuming changeling Queen.

Dexter, who was now standing frozen in place, slowly took a step away from the Queen. “I’m sorry, did I do something wrong?”

“What, exactly, did you… discover?” Chrysalis demanded through clenched teeth. Despite the question, Dexter had a feeling that she already knew where he was going.

“I discovered that… the average changeling body seems to be locked into using a highly inefficient set of metabolic pathways. That is to say, your bodies seem to be locked into a state where they waste a large majority of the energy you consume, even if you’re starving. This allows a changeling to utilize only a tiny amount of the energy he or she absorbs.” Dexter explained slowly. “Less than one percent in some extreme cases.”

Chrysalis continued to glare at Dexter, neither confirming nor denying his analysis.

“It explains why your changelings are stuck in a starvation state, despite having an ample supply of food.” Dexter went on. “Upon further inspection, I discovered that the changeling body has another metabolic pathway which is entirely more efficient. So efficient in fact, it would allow most changelings to survive off of ambient magic caused by general emotions, without the need for direct feeding off of ponies. Its seems that shifting to this alternative metabolic pathway should be part of a natural metamorphosis for your species and—”

Dexter was cut off as Chrysalis hissed again, sounding like a horse sized viper threatening a hated foe. It was loud enough to partially deafen him, genuinely startling the colt into taking a step back. 

“You. Will. Never. Tell. Anyling. Ever.” Chrysalis seethed, barring her fangs. “Especially my changelings. Or I promise, I’ll find a way to kill you.”

Dexter couldn’t help but take a step back. The queen could be quite terrifying in her appearance when she wanted to be.  It took him a few moments to recompose himself; which was just in time to see an alert pop up on his glasses. “Stand down, Quadraplex.” He looked up to the Queen. “There is no need for threats. Believe it or not, I am trying to help; and I would think a changeling of all creatures would welcome change, especially since it would stop your kind from your perpetual state of hunger?”

“I know of the metamorphosis you’ve discovered, and it’s not what you think.” Chrysalis hissed. “I suppressed knowledge of it within the hive intentionally, at the cost of changeling lives. One of the key factors in stopping that metamorphosis from taking places is for my changelings to not know about it.”

“What, Why?” Dexter frowned, his scientific curiosity now piqued. “You can’t enjoy starving. Why would you want to stop it?”

Chrysalis turned away from Dexter, pacing about the chamber several times before. Dexter decided to wait, hoping the Queen would give him an answer; if just for his own curiosity about the changeling species. 

Internally, the changeling Queen was debating what she wanted the colt to know. However, she quickly decided that Dexter would find out the truth of the matter on his own eventually. It would be better for her goals if she made her will on the subject clear to the colt, to prevent him from accidentally spreading knowledge about what he discovered.   

Chrysalis turned to the colt, seemingly having made up her mind. “The metamorphosis is the start to the final stage of a changeling’s life cycle. The beginning of the end, so to speak.”

“You don’t want your drones to reach the final stage of adulthood?” Dexter tilted his head.

“Not adulthood; the last stage of a changeling’s life. It’s the end point of our life cycle.” Chrysalis hissed. “It is when a changeling begins to truly age.” She shook her head. “Tell me, do you know how sophisticated our shapeshifting abilities are?”

“Yes, actually.” Dexter adjusted his glasses. “I consider your species one of the greater scientific curiosities I’ve encountered in my time here. You seem to be able to manipulate your form down to the cellular level, at will. Sometimes down to the chemical level, given your ability to emulate a target's scent.”

“For a race with such mastery over our bodies, how exactly do you think we age? How do we grow old? Why not always transform into a more youthful version of ourselves whenever we start getting old?”

Dexter grimaced in thought. The idea of how a changeling aged had not occurred to him, he was too busy studying their abilities and the topic had gone completely unnoticed. “I don’t know…”

“You don’t know something? That’s a first.” Chrysalis scoffed, though after a moment she raised an eyebrow. Chrysalis sensed a chance to test the colt’s intellect. “Take a guess.”

Dexter raised an eyebrow. “Well for most creatures there is a definite difference between the young and the elderly in terms of metabolic activity, cellular efficiency, and rates of energy consumption. If I applied that to a changeling, I suspect the aging process would have to include a diminished ability to shapeshift; eventually preventing them from simply repairing the damage of old age by morphing into a younger version of themselves.” Dexter frowned, further contemplating what he had gleaned of changeling physiology. 

“So far, you’ve guessed right.” Chrysalis tilted her head, squinting at the colt. “You know, you’re so intelligent it’s dangerous.”

“I reluctantly have to agree.”

“But you’re correct. One of the biggest signs that a changeling has begun to age is a change in the color of their carapace. However, that isn’t all of the changes they would experience” Chrysalis hesitated for a moment, clearly uncomfortable with an outsider knowing these details about her species. “Ultimately the specifics aren’t important. The point is that once a changeling undergoes the metamorphosis, they begin to truly age. Normally, they won’t notice it for a few decades; but ultimately, they become unable to shapeshift with the efficiency required for them to rejuvenate themselves. They’ll be unable to repair the damage to their bodies caused by aging; they won’t be able to maintain a youthful form. Their fate is sealed, they will die from old age; just like you ponies.” 

Dexter studied the changeling Queen for a moment, trying to detect the faintest hint of a lie. Truth be told, he had not studied changeling aging enough to know if she was telling the truth at this point; however he had no reason to deny her claims. There was a certain logic behind her words, changelings had to age somehow after all. 

“So live in misery and starvation forever, or have a full belly but die slowly of old age?” Dexter summarized. “I’m not sure you’ve made the right choice on that front, an eternity of torment by hunger?”

“Or what? Death? I make no apologies. Your princess Celestia would pay the same price if it meant keeping those around her alive and youthful.” Chrysalis snapped. 

Dexter stared at her for several more moments, continuing to scrutinize the oversized bug. “Celestia is not my princess.” Dexter reminded her. “I do not have enough information to verify your claims…” Dexter started. “But you can be sure that I will certainly investigate. If what you say is true, I may have another solution. One that allows you to keep your youth and not starve.”

“I would prefer if you kept out of matters of my species.” She snorted. 

“Sorry, your majesty.” Dexter chided. “You presented me with a scientific curiosity about changeling physiology. Now I cannot turn away even if I wanted to. But for the sake of my curiosity, how long have you been preventing your subjects from undergoing this ‘metamorphosis’. How long can a changeling live like this?”

“Thousands of years, longer than Celestia’s and Luna’s reign. None of my brood are older than that, so I don’t know how long I can keep this up. I’ll let you know when I find out.” Chrysalis shook her head. “Though, consider the guard that escorted you in here. I never told the hive guard to expect you; I didn’t think you’d show up on my doorstep. The only reason they didn’t attack you on sight was because the guard you spoke to recognized you.”

“Wait…” Dexter hesitated for a moment, however his eyes eventually lit up in surprise. “No way, really?”

Chrysalis nodded. “From a thousand years ago, he was with me when you and I hatched our plan to confront Nightmare Moon.” She grinned. “He was one of the first brood, hatched after the fall of old equestrian and the last hive-kingdom. He is neither royalty nor special, and yet he hasn’t aged a day.” She huffed, still smirking. “Beware, if you cause the metamorphosis in any of my changelings, it will be the equivalent of killing them.” Chrysalis warned, the unspoken promise of retaliation hung behind her words unhidden.   

“I see…” Dexter looked at the case he was carrying, before pushing it toward the queen. “Mind destroying that for me? It contains an enzymatic compound that would induce this ‘metamorphosis.’ I don’t think I want to give it to you anymore.”

Instantly the changeling queen seized the metallic case in a green aura, as if her restraint had suddenly snapped. Dexter watched as it seemingly imploded, acting as though it were inside an invisible trash compactor. It then burst into green flames, melting to slag in midair before eventually disappearing in a flash of green light.

“As for our agreement. I am willing to renew it.” Dexter declared, causing the queen to nod again. “I will not provide anyone with the means to detect or capture you, nor will I aid anyone toward that goal. In exchange, you will continue to behave yourselves.”

“Within certain reasonable bounds.” Chrysalis added knowingly. “I reserve the right to act in ways that preserve my hive and our way of life.”

“Such is your right.” Dexter accepted.

“But I wish for you to know one more thing,” Chrysalis added with a tone of warning. “The last time the changeling species nearly died out, the world fell into disaster. It was our absence along with the rise of the wendigo which nearly caused the ice age of the last age, which your ponies remember in their hearts warming eve story. Consider that, if you’re ever tempted to side with the ponies.” 

Dexter eyed Chrysalis for another moment. “Mind if I let myself out?” 

She nodded, and in a flash of light he was gone. 

---

 

“Princess Luna is there,” A unicorn in blue armor pointed his hoof toward the diarch in question, directing Twilight’s gaze in Luna’s direction. “Though, I don’t think you should disturb her now. She is focused on coordinating the search, and anything distracting her from that might not be welcomed.”

“She sent for us,” Twilight answered, nodding. She too wanted to be searching. “About an hour ago. She may have found a way for us to help.” She tilted her head toward the five friends behind her. “Girls, are you all set?”

Her friends, the Elements of Harmony, responded with a chorus of affirmations. Despite the hour, they were all alert.   

The group approached the princess, who was standing outside a tent that was hastily setup next to one of the many craters in the surrounding field. Four guards stood around her in a small perimeter facing outwards. A fifth guard was before the princess, pointing at a map on a table between the two of them. Twilight and her friends stopped just inside earshot of the pair. 

"I refuse to believe that the solar guard is this incompetent, Captain." Luna snapped at an underling in golden armor with red trim. "You're telling me that, in all this" She motioned to the devastation around them. "That the only thing you've found after searching the area for two hours is bits of metal slag, and a few pieces of my sister’s regalia? Yet not a clue as to where Celestia or Dexter may have gone?" She motioned toward a large chunk of warped and scorched metal, beside it were a few golden bits that were clearly parts of Celestia’s tiara. 

It did not take long for the guard to find the charred battlefield from Celestia and Dexter’s fight. Small guttering fires still littered the devastated forest. Several of the flames were reduced to smolders, but a few were still bright enough to stand out in the night, allowing a flight up pegasi to spot them from a distance. 

However, it wasn’t until Luna flew directly over the battlefield that she understood the shocking amount of collateral damage. Almost in a daze of disbelief, she landed on the charred earth; scanning the devastation with her eyes. Despite the darkness of the night, she could see with ease. 

The guard had arrived shortly before her, a number of pegasi pulling carts carrying their non-flying peers. They immediately began searching the area for any sign of princess Celestia. 

Luna knew they wouldn’t find her here. She would have sensed Celestia’s magic upon her arrival. But for good measure, she let them search. Luna had also cast a search spell with Celestia as its target. Even though it covered several miles in every direction, the spell did not find the older alicorn.

However, Luna didn’t share that with the guards. She wanted them to search anyway, hoping that they could discover a clue that would lead them to either Celestia or Dexter. 

"Your majesty, if there is something out here to find, we will find it." The guard replied resolutely. Unfortunately for them, they found little more than shattered earth, charred forest, and metal shrapnel from the various missiles and devices that had exploded during Celestia and Dexter's duel. “But, finding Celestia’s regalia helps us confirm that she was here at one point.” 

“Obviously she was here, Captain. Her residual magic is everywhere; and who else could have wrought this devastation upon this forest? We don’t need confirmation that she was here, we need to know where she might have gone.” Luna drew a breath in frustration. She was ready to continue the berating when she noticed the presence of Twilight and her five friends. “That will be all, Captain.” She abruptly dismissed, much to the captain’s relief. “I want another update on the search within the hour. Inform me immediately if you find anything significant.” The officer saluted before leaving. 

Luna turned toward the group of six friends. “Good evening girls, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie.” She greeted each by name, locking eyes with each one when she said their names. "I wanted to thank you girls for your willingness to lend a hoof in the search, but I believe there is little you could do to add to the search that the guard isn’t already performing." Luna began. "Furthermore, the wilderness here is dangerous. I do not wish to put you six in jeopardy." 

"There must be something we can do to help, Princess." The first to speak was Rarity, as she rose from a bow. "Princess Celestia is our friend too. I think I speak for everypony when I say we want to stay and help."  

Luna nodded. "I appreciate your dedication; however, I summoned you here for another reason. I have questions about what has happened, and I need you six to answer them." Luna glanced between Twilight and the elements, before landing on Applejack. “I need you all to tell me everything you have learned about Dexter in your time with him.” Luna glanced back at Applejack. “And when you learned it.” 


Applejack frowned, breaking eye contact with the princess.

“Well, everything I knew was written in the reports I sent to Princess Celestia.” Twilight began, taking a moment to reflect. “I can’t think of anything else of note at the moment.” 

“I know, I was able to read it. I wish we listened to your suspicions sooner.” Luna didn’t take her eyes off the farmpony. “Though I doubt anypony could have predicted what Dexter was capable of; even so, I am grateful you didn’t hold anything back from us. You should be commended for being so reliable and honest, Twilight.” 

“Thank you? Your highness,” Twilight replied befuddled, tilting her head. Luna didn’t offer a reply to Twilight’s confusion, despite the unicorn not catching onto the barely hidden meaning behind Luna’s choice of words.  However, it was not lost on Applejack, causing the orange-yellow earth pony to deepen her frown. 

There was a long silence between the princess and the elements; Luna was silent, even after Applejack raised her eyes to lock eyes with Luna.

However, after a few more moments Twilight’s eyes lit up with realization. She stepped toward Applejack. “Applejack, Dexter said… that you are released from your promise; that you can tell us everything.” She fought back a frown of disappointment, hoping there was a good explanation for what felt like a betrayal. With Celestia missing, Twilight felt no shortage of anxiety; and the temptation to be furious with Applejack wasn’t easily pushed aside. 

“Ah learned late last night, or real early this morn’n, that you were right about Dex, Twi.” Applejack admitted, looking to Twilight. 

“Right about what?” Luna asked sharply. 

“For jus’ about everything.” Applejack answered, turning back to Luna. 


“You knew for a whole day?” It was Rainbow Dash’s turn to interrupt. The pegasus flew to hover above Applejack. “And you didn’t say anything? What the hay, Applejack?! Why?!”

“’Cause Ah made a promise!” Applejack countered, scowling up at the hovering mare before shaking her head and turning back to Twilight. “An’ ta be honest, a part of me agreed with em’ and his reasons fer want ta-” 

“I know Twilight told you what was happening,” Luna finally interrupted again. “You knew what the stakes were. What did he offer you, to purchase such an oath of silence? One which required you to turn your back on your friends, your princesses, and your country? What was the price of your honesty?” 

“Ah never lied!” Applejack snapped back. 

“A lie of omission is still a lie.” Luna countered. “So I ask you again, how were you bought? What did he offer, such that the pony who bore the element of honesty would swear an oath to lie to her friends?” Luna demanded. Truthfully, she wasn’t exactly interested in Applejack’s motives for keeping Dexter’s secrets. However, Luna hoped that impugning Applejack’s character would motivate the farm-pony to be more forthcoming.

Given that Luna had at once bore the Element of Honesty, she knew very well that such a tact could easily work. 

“It wasn’t a lie!” Applejack seethed. “An’ if you knew tha circumstances you’d understand that!”

“Then explain, Applejack.” Twilight stepped forward, raising her voice enough to stop any of the others from interjecting. “From the beginning, and tell us everything.”

“Fine,” Applejack agreed. “At first when Dexter came under ma care, Ah’ knew he was keeping something a secret.” Applejack began to explain through her lingering scowl. “However, at first Ah’ thought I should wait ta gain his trust. I wanted ta make him my friend, like Ah do with everypony; thinking he would open up ta me eventually.” Applejack’s gaze drifted as she went over her memories. “We even argued about it once or twice, but Ah didn’t force the issue ‘cause Ah didn’t think… Ah didn’t think you were right, Twilight. The idea that Dexter, an eight year old foal, could built some fancy changeling-detecting device in a single night at the hospital was… outlandish.”

“You know,” Twilight started, after feeling something in the back of her mind snap. Her mounting anxiety and anger threatened to boil over. “I’m supposed to be your friend, it would be nice if you didn’t doubt me on everything.” 

“Ah don’t doubt everything you say, Twilight, I jus-“

“Just the things that matter.” 

“Twilight.” Luna interrupted, silencing the unicorn with a glance before turning back to Applejack. “Continue.” She instructed.    

Applejack hung her head before continuing. “I only did what I thought was right.” She shook her head. “When Ah’ found out about Dex’s broken ribs, that somepony had kicked him, I finally made it my business ta get an answer out of him.” Applejack paused, looking toward Luna. “He told me that you, Princess, or maybe Nightmare Moon, had tried to kill him.” The alicorn’s gaze finally waivered, softening. Though she motioned for Applejack to continue. “Ah’ knew he was telling the truth. I was so confused, I didn’t know what was going on. Then he promised to tell me the truth, about everything; but only if Ah’ didn’t do anythin ta reveal his secret.

“Ah’ knew he was manipulating me, but Ah’ had to know. Ah’ had ta know if somepony was trying to kill him.” Applejack explained. “Or if you had... turned back inta–”

“I understand, Applejack.” Luna said, the harshness in her tone was now long gone. “You’re not to blame. He manipulated us all.”

“Why would you believe him over us?” Twilight replied, still confused but now dismayed. “Why would you even think that the Princess could do such a thing?” Twilight motioned toward Luna. “She would never do something so horrible, despite how terribly Dexter had treated her.” Twilight shook her head. “Applejack, you know he is a liar!”

“You do not understand, Twilight.” Luna replied before Applejack could. “Applejack was right to believe Dexter because she knew he was telling the truth.” Luna nodded toward Applejack. “As the bearer of the element of honesty, she can tell when those close to her, such as her friends, are lying. It’s not an ability meant to pry the truth out of others, nor to uncover their lies, but meant for the element bearer to know when she has earned the trust of those to be her friends, through the fact they’ve stopped lying to her.”

Twilight tilted her head, both surprised and curious. How long had her friend been able to tell to deduce the honesty of her and her friends on a whim? How accurate was this sense? 

“Trust is the basis of every friendship.” Luna smiled slightly, remembering the part of her life when she wielded the elements. “And while your element of magic may be the rarest and most difficult to find; the element of honesty, the source of trust which all friendship is built upon, is the most important. All the other elements follow from it.  

“Hence, Applejack is not to blame. She knew Dexter was telling the truth, but she didn’t know he wasn’t telling the whole of it.” Luna turned back to Applejack. “Of course, he omitted the fact that my attempt on his life occurred a thousand years ago. In the face of such knowledge, without the critical context, your confusion and alarm were justified. Dexter has proven yet again how manipulative he can be.” Luna nodded. “Please continue, Applejack”

“An’ once Ah promised him, he told me everything.” Applejack continued. “Princess,” The farm-pony shook her head in equal parts dismay and exhaustion. “He has a ‘secret laboratory’ filled with Ah’ don’t know what.

“He told me you were right, Twilight.” Applejack shifted back to the unicorn. “About everything. Dexter knows a way to detect changelings. It was him who fought the changelings at the bakery last week, an’ it was him who tipped off the guards to save Cheerilee.”

“How?” Twilight asked. 

“He didn’t explain that far. But he knows a lot more than just how to find changelings…” Applejack shivered, remembering what Dexter had claimed that his lab contained.  Her shift in tone caused Twilight to tilt her head. “I don’t know Twilight. Ah’m afraid ta say. Ah’ think… fer everything that’s happened, it might be best just ta get Celestia back and then… leave Dexter alone? At least fer now…” 

Twilight had rarely ever seen Applejack spooked, and normally the farm pony didn’t spook easily. 

“Do you know where this laboratory is?” Luna pressed, paying no heed to Applejack’s mood.  

“Ah… have an idea. Yeah.” Applejack paused, shivering for a moment as she remembered Dexter’s rant about how dangerous his lab could be in the wrong hands. “But, Ah’ really think we shouldn’t go lookin’ for it. Ah’ll admit, a part of me agrees with him that his secret lab should… well, remain secret. From what he told me, it’s dangerous, for everypony.” 

Luna raised an eyebrow, however it was Twilight who spoke up first. “Applejack, Princess Celestia could be there! And who knows, maybe Dexter is hurt. We need to find them both, right now!” 

“You don’t get it Twilight…” Applejack hesitated. “If you knew-“ 

“What she knows doesn’t matter,” Luna cut in. “The decision isn’t hers to make. It’s mine. Right now, one of the only two ponies in the world responsible for raising and lowering the sun each day is now missing. My sister’s recovery is paramount, for the safety and security of all who rely upon the sun. If there is a chance we may be able to find her there, then there is no other choice. Now tell us where this ‘secret laboratory’ is.” 

Applejack gave a reluctant nod. “Ah don’t know exactly, Ah now it’s underground. But Dexter said it was within a ‘stone’s throw’ from my back yard.” Applejack answered. “So, it’s somewhere underneath the farm.” 

Luna turned away, summoning one of the nearby guards before turning back to the elements. “Thank you Applejack, you and Twilight are to come with me. We will start a search of your orchard immediately. The rest of you, I ask that you return to your homes.” Luna ordered the summoned guards to escort the element bearers, minus Twilight and Applejack, back to their homes for the evening. 

Applejack and Twilight waited silently as Luna summoned a number of officers, and began briefing them on their new mission of searching the orchard. “Ah’m sorry, Twi.” Applejack finally broke the silence between them, speaking quietly. 

“Let’s focus on finding the princess, Applejack.” Twilight hesitated before frowning, adopting the same low tone. “I’m really worried about the princess. We can sort everything else out later.”

“Princess Luna seemed confident in Celestia though, how bad can it be?”

Twilight frowned, biting her lip. “Celestia’s residual magic is everywhere.” Twilight shook her head. “I’ve never seen anything like this, it’s almost as if this entire part of the forest is on fire with her magic. I know Princess Luna is confident in Celestia’s but… I just have a really bad feeling about it.” 

“Have you tried to send her a letter by Spike’s dragon fire?” Applejack offered. 

"It was the first thing I tried; and I have kept trying it every hour. The parchment merely reappears in front of Spike; something is blocking the magic. Princess Luna is also using her magic to continuously try to message Celestia as well, and she's patrolling the dreamscape should either of them have fallen asleep." Twilight motioned to the dark alicorn who stood several feet away. Luna's horn was glowing a soft blue, however her eyes were glowing as well. 

"Should have guessed you already tried that..." Applejack shrugged, kicking at some of the charred dirt in the ground beneath her. 

Applejack sat in thought for a few moments, concentrating on everything she knew about Dexter. She knew he was a good pony at heart, but her assurances would do little to comfort her friend. On top of that, she couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that she was forgetting something. However, after a few more moments of pondering, Applejack’s eyes lit up. 

"Dex gave me a gadget ta talk to him!" Applejack started. 


“Wait, What?” Twilight turned. “Why didn’t you say something sooner?!” 

“Just remembered, Ah-“

“Where is it? Do you have it?” Twilight pressed. 

“Yeah, it’s in mah’ ear an-“ Applejack reached up with a hoof, however her attempts to retrieve the earpiece was interrupted when Twilight’s magic grasped Applejack’s head and turned it to the side. After a moment, her magic had extracted the ear piece.

The small white disc that made up the earpiece appeared to be unremarkable at first glance, appearing as if it were little more than a miniaturized featureless plate with a gray metallic vent on the inward side. However, with the most minimal diagnostic spell Twilight had started to analyze it, she could sense a lot more to the device underneath it’s surface.

“How would you contact him with this?” Twilight looked up to Applejack. 

“He said ta put it in my ear and press it, then he’d be able to hear me and Ah’d be able to hear him.” Applejack rubbed her ear. 

“What is this, have you found something?” Luna interjected, turning away from the guards she was briefing and approaching the two mares. Applejack repeated what she had told Twilight as Luna took the earpiece in her own magic, looking over it. “Interesting,” Luna held the ear-piece toward Applejack, levitating it toward her. “Contact him.” 

"Let’s see if…" Applejack returned the ear-piece to her ear before pressing it with her hoof. It responded with a chime only she could hear. 

"Hey uhh, this thing working? Ah don’t know if it- Oh!” Applejack paused, still holding her ear. “Yeah, Ah want to talk to Dex."

Luna shot a glance toward Twilight, wordlessly issuing a command. Twilight immediately picked up on the princesses wishes. She lit up her horn to engulf Applejack in a purple glow. It was a tracing spell meant to sense and follow any magic coming off of Applejack.  

"Whadda ya mean he's 'unavailable?’" Applejack frowned. "Busy!?" She scoffed in disbelief. 

"There ain't nothing in this world that makes him too busy to talk ta-"

"Did ya even ask him?"

"Dex said, I'd be able to talk to him using this thing. Yer not gonna make him out as a liar are ya?" 

"His... failings with honesty aside, he said he would an- Dex! Where are you? Are you okay?"

Luna and Twilight shared a glance. Twilight sensed nothing with her spell, silently shaking her head toward Luna. 

"Ah want tah see you, right now, Dex. Ah need to know yer alright..."

"No, face ta face!” 

“That ain’t true, I ain’t asking just so the princesses can catch you. Ah'm worried about ya." Applejack glanced at the other two mares. "We all are." 

"Speak'n of Celestia, where is she?" Applejack shifted. "The guard are going crazy look'n fer her an’…" 

After a moment Applejack looked up toward Twilight, than toward Luna. “Dex says Celestia is okay an-“ She paused, eyes darting toward her side. “Er, he says ‘mostly okay… YOU WHAT?!’”

That got Luna and Twilight to share a glance.

“Yeah, Ah’m here with Twilight and Princess Luna.” Applejack continued. "I want to talk to ya. Face. To. Face. NOW."

“Ah ain’t taking no fer an answer, Dex, Ah-“ She frowned, listening to a longer reply from Dexter. “There isn’t anything Ah can say ta get ya to come around?” 

…  

“Yer in your lab? And where is that?” Applejack looks up to Luna. “An’ Celestia is with you?” 

“Ah’m on my way there now, you stay put.” 

“No, Dex. Jus-“  Applejack cuts off abruptly, sighing before hanging her head and letting her hoof down from her ear.  The device in her ear went silent. However, she couldn’t help but to feel relieved at the fact that Dexter and Celestia were apparently okay. "He's fine, an’ he says Celestia is fine too." She turned to princess Luna. "Though he claims the guard won't find anything useful out here."

"Where are they?" Luna’s eyes were locked on Applejack. 

"They’re in his lab, both him and Princess Celestia.” Applejack shook her head. “He says he took the Princess ta heal her. He also said there is a way into his lab through my basement, an’ explained to me how to find it. Ah can show you.” 

"Heal the Princess?" Twilight asked, worried. "Is she hurt?"

"I don't know, he claimed he defeated her."

"Unlikely. My sister is immortal." Luna looked into the distance, toward Ponyville. "I doubt she truly needs tending, it’s probably a ploy to keep his attention without resorting to violence. Finding my sister is still paramount, but capturing Dexter remains a top priority. We leave immediately.” 

---

 

“Dexter, be advised: Princess Luna, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, and five dozen guards of both branches have teleported onto the orchard.” Quadraplex’s voice announced through an earpiece in Dexter’s left ear. 

“Huh,” Dexter looked up toward the ceiling of his lab, as if he could spot the ponies who were deposited on Applejack’s lawn by a blue flash of magic corresponding to Luna’s aura. “Faster than I expected.”

Dexter was standing atop a large device, the size of a small structure. It was actually a chamber currently housing Equestria’s older princess. Dexter dropped from the top of the chamber, the four-meter fall onto the metal floor was absorbed by the powered suit of armor he was still wearing. His helmet was missing. 

“Given your instructions to Applejack, I predict they will find and access this facility in approximately five to seven minutes.” Quadraplex declared. 

“Celestia’s status? She’s still asleep, correct?.” Dexter approached a panel on the side of the chamber before pulling it open. Inside there was a canister with a small glass window, containing what appeared to be a metallic liquid. 

“Scan’s indicate she has been fully healed. After approximately forty percent of the nullification compound was removed from her system, the magical portions of her physiology took over and she began to heal rapidly” Quadraplex answered. “She is simply asleep. Brain activity indicates low probability that Luna has interacted with her dreams, however that is likely a result of the dreamless sleep induced by the anesthesia I administered upon her arrival.” 

“How much of the nullification compound has been extracted?” 

“99.99% of the compound has been retrieved, and scans indicate no presence of the linked radioactive isotope present within her body. It is safe to assume the unaccounted-for remainder was expelled from her system through blood loss during the battle.” 

“Excellent.” Dexter reached into the chamber where he had removed the panel, pulling the canister from the tubes it was attached to. “I don’t want the ponies to get their hands on the nullification compound, lest the alicorn sisters try to kill each other with it one day.” He eye’d the metallic liquid in the canister before magnetically fastened to his side via his armor. He then unfastened his helmet from his chest and slid it onto his head. “Have we forgotten anything?” Dexter asked, looking around the massive room. It was completely empty save for a number of devices collected in a small pile beside the chamber.

“All devices, tools, and assets have been accounted for. The only remaining technology is with you.” 

Dexter glanced up toward the ceiling, then down the row of LED lights which stretched on for over half a kilometer. He knew they were now being powered by what amounted to a large battery, one which would only burn itself out in twenty-four hours and become useless. 

The colt closed his eyes, shaking his head before frowning. A quick mental check on his own let him know everything from his lab had been successfully moved, save the few devices with him now. Yet, he could not shake the feeling he was leaving something behind; something important. 

A knot of hopelessness had formed in his chest. Whatever he was leaving behind, he knew would never be replaced. 

“Applejack has accessed the basement entry point. Thirty seconds.” He wanted to stay and explain to Applejack, to apologize, or at the very least say goodbye. “Ten seconds.”

Abhorrent ponies. Stupid mindless animals all!

Dexter shook away his thoughts, fighting to keep his voice level. “Quadraplex, initiate.” He commanded. The devices around him disappeared in white flashes before he too vanished from the shell that was once his secret laboratory. 


Post-Chapter A/N:
Hi everyone, so what did you think? Leave a comment below, I really like seeing what you guys pick up on. (Of course, I’ve hidden stuff again in these chapters and I would love to see what gets picked up on.)

Also, anyone remember the strawpoll I posted 5 years ago? Here are the results:

Winner: Option A with 47% - Dexter gets caught and his secrets revealed, but he manages to escape! - You just read how that happened!

Option B with 36% - Dexter gets caught and does NOT get away. Imagine how differently the fight would have gone if this option won out?

Option C with 17% - Dexter doesn’t get caught, and his secrets remain hidden. This was the interesting option, which involved Dexter paying Celestia a visit after introducing another one of his inventions from his own show.

If you all want it, I can give a synopsis of what would have happened for those two losing options had they played out. But I would put it in a blog post. Though, if you want, check my profile for a link to a discord just for this story; its fun to chat with you all!

Thanks again guys for being such an encouraging group of readers. I’ll try to get on writing the next chapter for another update, hopefully I can get it done soon.