//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4 - Rogue in the Net 
// Story: The Rogue Stallion 
// by darkangel_31314 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 4 - Rogue in the Net

Twilight sipped her tea thoughtfully, staring at the flames flickering in the fireplace of the old farmhouse.  This... this just wasn't a situation that could be carefully analyzed like it was in the past.  No matter how many times she turned it over in her head, a solution to the puzzle refused to reveal itself.  It was frustrating.

Unlike in the past, she didn't go nuts over it.  Her hair remained as perfectly combed as ever, her eyes fixed and focused on the flames in the fireplace, and her mouth in a thin line.  Beside her, Moonlight slept peacefully with Spike protectively wrapped around his baby sister.

It was that unicorn foal that kept her sane.

Or was it something else?  Something buried deep in her mind during her year imprisoned... wherever it was?

"Twilight?"

She blinked and turned toward the front door, where a perfectly dressed white Unicorn smiled.

"There you are, darling.  How is the little one?"

"Sleeping.  A rarity during this time of day."  She giggled quietly at her little joke.

"And here I am!"  The appropriately named unicorn giggled in turn, giving her friend a hug.  "Oh, darling, I met this nice unicorn stallion today!"

"Did you?"

"Oh yes.  A scholar from Canterlot.  He was in the library doing research on powerful unicorns, and your name came up."  She sat beside Twilight, straightening out her skirt.

"Really now."  Oh yes, it was obvious what this was.  "What did he look like?"

"Oh, darling, really, just had a foal and already looking for a daddy for her?"  She giggled.

Twilight blushed.  Well... she already had a daddy in mind for Moonlight.  Granted, he might have to do the job in a cell in Canterlot Dungeon, but what the hay?  "Come on, Rarity..."

"Okay."  She watched as Twilight poured her a cup of tea.  "Well, he was about our age, probably slightly older."  She took it in her telekinetic field, recalling all the details.  "His cloak could have used some work, but it was clean.  His coat was a nice nighttime blue.  His mane, from what I could see, was a silvery color with a streak of royal blue in it.  I couldn't see his cutie mark."

Twilight nodded thoughtfully.  Another piece of the puzzle... "It was a white six-pointed star with a golden key laid diagonally across it..."  She spoke softly.

Rarity nearly spat out her tea in surprise.  "How... how do you know?"

"Because he's Moonlight's father.  Showed up yesterday afternoon, ran when Rainbow Dash's guards gave chase."  She sipped her tea.

Rarity stared, open mouthed in shock.  It took several moments for her brain to restart; "How can you be so calm about this?  What if he's here to hurt Moonlight?"

"I don't think he is.  The Nightmare programmed us to protect Moonlight at all cost..."  She eyed Rarity.  "... all cost..."  She shook the dark thoughts from her mind, the implications that she would have probably just as easily turned on her friends as much as the Princesses.  "... I... we... don't know why he's here.  If he broke out on his own and is just following the programming, or if the Nightmare deliberately released him."  She set her cup down.  "I need to find out."  She stood.

"What do you mean?  Twilight?"

"I'm going to find him.  You said he's in town, right?"

"What about Rainbow?  And the rest of the Royal Guard?"  Rarity watched, wide-eyed as Twilight used her horn to scribble a note to leave behind.

"Princess Luna is probably already on her way.  They're more interested in removing him as a threat than finding out why.  He did attack the Princess, after all.  But there's something about him, something about the way he spoke to me last night when I tried to confront him."  She left it tacked to the carpet where Spike would see it when he woke up.  She then paced slowly back and forth.  

Rarity stared in mild horror as the purple mare's hair started to come undone.  "Twilight, please be reasonable.  What if something happens to you?  What would become of Moonlight?"

"I won't let it.  I have to-"  She cut herself off and shook her head.  It was still there, the brainwashing in her mind.  Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie have worked long and hard these last couple of months to help her try and remove it, but there was a good chance that the mental trauma would always live with her.

Might as well use it.

"... I have to protect her, Rarity."  She stormed toward the front door, snatching up a cloak.  "... even from her father."  

Rarity could only stare as she draped the cloak over her form.  "Rarity... look after Moonlight until I return..."  She then vanished in a flash of purple light.

.....

"Fancy meeting you here."

He turned at the sound of that soft, melodic voice, to regard the figure who simply walked up and sat beside him without pretense.  She had found him sitting on the edge of the statue in the center of town, and she smiled that wonderful smile.  Twilight's smile.

"Indeed it is."

"I hear you've been reading up on me."  She smirked.

"Seemed prudent."  He shrugged non-committal

"I would like to know your name."

"... Janus.  Janus Key."  He answered with a moment's hesitation.

"Ah."  She looked thoughtful.  "Gateways."

He nodded.  Smart, just as he thought she was.

"You know your stuff.  To have taken down an Alicorn like that in Canterlot.  I'm guessing military training?"

Again, he nodded.  "I was a city guard in Marelin."

"Germane?" She smiled.  "Ach. Dann sprechen Sie Deutsch?"

"Natürlich."  He smiled in turn, turning to face her.  "Sie sprechen es sehr gut."  He chuckled.  "Of course, I should suspect no less from such a learned student as yourself."

"Probably why she selected me.  Most powerful unicorn in Equestria and all that.  My brains and sheer magic power, combined with your strength and abilities. Moonlight will definitely be a potent unicorn when she grows up."  She smiled at him.

As he looked back, he found himself looking into those pools of magenta.  Her eyes stared right into him, but not with fear or hate.  There was feelings there.  Desire, perhaps?

He was tempted.  So very tempted to lean forward, kiss her, and take her.  But he couldn't.  The Nightmare was still out there, and would seize control of her.  Then... no shot whatsoever at a normal life, not for either of them, nor their daughter.

He forced himself to turn away.

"Janus... "  She spoke, worry in her voice.  "Why are you here?"

"You know why.  To protect you."  He looked at the rounded cobblestones underhoof.  "To protect our daughter.  The Nightmare wasn't very pleased when you broke loose of her control.  I can understand... you were so far under, even I had thought that you couldn't do it.  But you did, and you had our daughter."  He shook his head sadly.  "I jumped at the first opportunity to get out of there.  I had hoped to find you, our daughter..."

"Then you learned that my memory had been wiped."

"Made things complicated, yes, but not hopeless."

She placed a hoof on his shoulder.  "There's still some of her programming in my mind.  My friends are helping me to overcome it.  I should be with our daughter right now, but I'm here, looking for you.  A lot of ponies think you might be a threat to me or her, but seeing you like this... I don't think you are.  I think you're fighting the same problems I am."

He pushed her hoof off him.  "She didn't have to do much to me.  I was always a thorn in her side... that's why she used you, controlled you directly to do the deed."  He punched the edge of the statue's base under him.  "No more.  I'm not going to let her ruin your life any more than she has."

"Its going to be hard, Janus, for her to do so.  She's still weak after me and my friends blasted her with the Elements of Harmony."

"She was weak, but determined to get back at you."

"Princess Luna says she's still up there."

He blinked, and looked at her.

"You... didn't know...?"  A look of worry came over her face.

"Know what?"

A flash of gold caught his attention to the northeast.  They both turned to see a group of Royal Guard flying in formation with the darker Night Guard.  A familiar black chariot occupied the middle of the formation.  The wing-units broke off to flank the town from the east and north.  His eye easily picked up the encirclement maneuver.

As they stared something appeared to click in her mind.  "You thought it was Nightmare Moon... sweet Celestia..."  She breathed.

"What?"

"Janus... you didn't attack Nightmare Moon during your escape.  You attacked Princess Luna!  They think you're under the Nightmare's Control!"

The guards fanned out, some moving toward Sweet Apple Acres, the others spreading out to land in groups on each road leading out of Ponyville.  They were closing the place off, knowing he was somewhere in the town.

He was trapped.

"... oh boy..."

.....

Two sets of hooves trampled on the road at full steam toward the south side of the city.  Having more experience navigating the streets of Ponyville, Twilight led the way, careful to stay close to the taller buildings to avoid detection from units in the air.

"They're gonna send flankers out."  Janus warned.  "They'll be expecting us to slip out the back side."

"We just got to get close to the Everfree Forest."  Twilight fired back, taking a shortcut under a cart and into an alleyway.  "It nearly presses up against the southeast side of the city.  That's a ninety-degree turn, and I can blink us from there."

"Blink?"

"Teleport.  I got some pretty good range, and being laid up recovering these last few weeks my mana stores are pretty full."

Damn she was sexy when she was smart.  Of course, staring at her plot as she led the way through the town wasn't helping his libido.  The threat of capture and adrenaline was keeping him focused, however.

She suddenly slid to a halt and peered around a corner.  At the end of the road leading toward Fluttershy's old cottage, a pair of Pegasus Guards stood, scanning the nearby buildings for their quarry.  Unlike the normal blue-trimmed golden armor worn by them on ceremonial duties, they wore a more full-body covering of enchanted steel plates, wingblades, and one held a spear.

"Wow.  They're not pulling any punches, are they?"

"Considering what Nightmare Moon has done in the past, are you surprised?"  Twilight fired back.  She glanced over their shoulders.  "I think I can reach the woods from here.  There's a small stream that leads past a cottage on the outskirts of the city, used to belong to my friend Fluttershy.  A low ridge can hide us while we make our way into the woods..."

When she frowned, Janus caught on.  "... but if we use magic, they'll spot us."  A beat.  "Then we need a distraction."  Janus looked around them, and smiled.  He tore down a clothesline strung between the two buildings they were hiding between, then scrounged up a bucket, and plucked some cobblestones from the edge of the road.

"What are you doing?"

"Jury-rigging a distraction device."  He grinned.

He broke the bucket for the planks, creating a ramp upon which the stones were stacked end-to-end.  She watched him then loop the rope and tie it in place around a drainpipe and quickly got the idea when he suspended the ramp level braced against a nearby dumpster.  "Ah..."  She could only grin at his ingenuity.  She lit the rope with a small candle flame, working the magic to keep it from growing as it consumed the threads.

As the rope burned, the ramp would lower slightly until the stones began to fall onto the pavement rapid-fire like a set of running hooves.

"Smart."  She grinned, then went back to the corner, looking for a nice spot that would accept both of them.  "Okay, I got it."  She locked onto a spot just under the small rise in front of the cottage.  "Here..."  She held out her hoof toward him.  When he took it, she activated the spell, teleporting them both right on target.

Right on cue, the rope began to unravel, and combined with the flash of her magic discharging, caused the two guards to look into the town rather than out of town.

The two ponies slipped effortlessly past the cordon and into the Everfree Forest.

.....

She broke a branch with her magic, checking its length, before allowing it to join a growing collection of others at her feet.  Behind her, Janus arranged a circle of large rocks in a small clearing not too far into the Everfree.  It didn't take long to get the fire going, and soon the two were lounging on the ground.

"How long do you think it will take for them to realize we're not in town?"  She asked, looking up at him.

"Town that size... probably will take awhile.  They won't send all the Guard to search building-by-building - they'll need to leave a cordon to keep us from escaping."

"Keep you from escaping, I wonder if they even know I'm gone yet."  She smiled.  Then sighed.

"Why did you leave?  You should be with her right now, protecting her."

"In a way, I am protecting her.  From you.  I had my doubts, you know."  She levitated a narrow stick up and poked the fire.  "My friend Rainbow Dash came down early to guard me, make sure me and Moonlight were all right.  Brought an entire squadron with her."  She paused a moment.  "None of us knew your intentions.  We didn't know if the Nightmare allowed you to escape, or even sent you to take her from me."

"Neither is true, you know."  He shook his head.  "She kept me merely as a donar.  Selected me for my abilities..."  He grinned.  "... and I'd like to think for my good looks."

She smiled at him, giving a soft giggle.  "Can't fault her for that."

There was another long pause before he spoke again.  "She kept me locked up in my room, leashed to the wall by a chain and collar around my neck."  He went on.  "She'd have you sitting at her feet as she described every way she wanted us to do it to maximize the chances of you getting pregnant."  A soft sigh escaped him as he lay before the fire.  "Sometimes you'd be yourself, blushing, looking away in shame.  Others... you'd have a glassy-eyed look on your face, especially when she had to force you to do as she wanted."

She could only stare at the fire as she listened.  The memories were there, buried in the fog of the trauma, but they were there.  She simply knew it was all true.

"I honestly preferred the times when she didn't have to force us.  We were allowed to talk afterward."  He continued.  "It's how I learned your name.  You couldn't tell me more, some sort of spell or even shame, I couldn't tell.  Those were actually the better months."

She forced her gaze from the low flames to his face.  "What about afterward?  When we knew I was pregnant?"

He shook his head.  "I'm not sure.  Perhaps she wanted to have a daddy?  A backup plan in case something happened?  Or perhaps she simply just forgot about me.  I didn't give her time to figure it out.  When you defeated her, she was weak enough that the enchantments on my collar faded and I was able to break them.  I escaped the moment the opportunity presented itself."

She smiled and slid over beside him, placing a hoof on his shoulder.  "I can't blame you, Janus."

He smiled in turn.

Twilight forced herself to turn away, she could feel the blush on her cheeks.

Silence reigned as he turned away in turn.  Sneaking a peek toward him, she could see a similar blush on his cheeks.

"This... you still feel for me, don't you?"  She hesitantly asked.

He cleared his throat, politely coughing into a hoof.

"You do, don't you!"  She giggled.

"Well, when you're locked up with a pretty mare for almost a year..."  he shrugged.

Twilight couldn't help but laugh now.  It actually felt good to laugh.  She leaned on him, giggles flowing like the dam had broken.

"I'm so glad I could make you feel better, Twilight."

"Me too, Janus."

"Yeah, well, need to figure out the next move.  I have my doubts Princess Luna would listen were I to explain I thought she was the Nightmare whom had been holding us prisoner."

"Probably."  She sighed.

"Well... we'll figure it out in the morning."

She was already asleep.

.....

Twilight was awakened by the sun shining down through the edges of the trees, right on her eyelids.  	Dear Celestia, can't you let me get any rest?  She thought inwardly as she yawned and stretched.

She paused, feeling something pressing against her back, and a hoof holding her down.  It took several moments for her to remember last night.

Thoughts were instantly put on hold when her neck was nuzzled.  It was... rather nice.  Yes, right there... mmm that feels good!  Well... he did have some time to explore her body!  She giggled.

"Awake already?"  He murred in her ear.

"Well, Celestia is rather punctual with her sun this morning."

"Quite right my little ponies..."

The two immediately bolted upright, turning toward the source of the dark voice.  The Mistress of the Night had used her powers to conceal their approach, and now the two were surrounded by two dozen angry Royal Guards, and their even angrier Princess who glared at them with dark intent in her eyes.  The look everyone was giving her, Janus could only think of one word to sum up his thoughts on the situation:

"... damn..."