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// A bacterial infection is the likely reason there are only two sexes in animals and plants. 
// Story: I Blame You, Too 
// by Whitestrake 
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$%$%$% Amos's POV $%$%$%

Princess Cadence set us up with a nice hotel suite until I felt like flying to pick up the Medic, which meant I was bunking with Taylor and the Ripper until I felt I could press foot pedals with one foot. Dahl was smart enough to shoot me in the leg I used to control the landing gear and hover jets, as much as I hated to admit it. But, I really couldn't complain; we hadn't lost anyone who wasn't a changeling, and Dahl and Ophidia would face justice at the hands of the Inquisition. The Ordo Malleus would love to get their hands on them.

Jacques's stubs were sealed properly, but there was still a risk of infection. On the opposite side of the room was the Pyromaniac, who had suffered what was perhaps the least serious injury ever inflicted by a melta weapon. Taylor was by the door, and only his breathing hinted that he was alive. He was also the only one of us who had a nurse regularly check on him, which was completely necessary. He lost consciousness shorty after his armor came off, but he was expected to survive long enough for me to fly to Canterlot and back. Well, to be honest, he would live regardless of what I did, or so Twilight said.

The servo-skull floated in the corner, keeping me in the loop about everything being said, but only if I wanted to listen to it. I really only used it when the Pyromaniac or Ripper wanted to talk to me, which was a lot, surprisingly. I learned quite a bit about the two, and a little more about Taylor and Chrysalis. Apparently, Jay and the orange pony, Applejack, were a couple and had a son, Candied Apple, who was genetically engineered by Taylor. Candy, which was apparently the colt's nickname, and young males are called colts, had a thing for Scipia, who was the daughter of Chrysalis and Taylor. She, however, was completely natural; no tampering was involved in creating her.

The only times I had seen more heresy in one room was when Dahl and I found a Slaaneshi pleasure cult, which had about everything those four had going on, plus Chaos. This, however, seemed pretty harmless against the Imperium as a whole; just two cases of xenophilia resulting in viable offspring on some barely-civilized world outside Imperial space. Hell, those four have aided the Imperium more than most citizens willingly do, whether it be killing the Chaos Marine or keeping an inquisitor and his retinue fed and sheltered. As much as I hated to say it, this crime was, in my opinion, excusable so long as it helped prevent larger crimes against the Imperium from occurring.

But that was not my place to decide. The Inquisition would find out about it as soon as Dahl and Ophidia were interrogated. Yeah, they would probably throw the rogue psyker, power armor wearing pyromaniac, and an entire world full of aliens who didn't even have mechanized flight figured out, to the fire, and enjoy it. All I really needed to figure out was how much I could lessen the damage. Once they found undeniable proof that Taylor killed a member of the Black Legion, they may hesitate in killing him and destroying the planet. No, that probably wouldn't work. Something like this would have the attention of all three Ordos.

Deathwatch Space Marines would no doubt be there, as well as Sister of Battle. I've no idea if the Ordo Malleus would have their chamber militant present or not, if they wanted to give Taylor at least a shot at earning his life. This wasn't the time to dwell on it; there was an entire ship we needed to clear of genestealers before we even had a chance at Warp travel. I wrapped a new layer of bandages around my leg, and pressed my call button so Twilight knew to pick me up.

$%$%$%$%$%$%

“I'm telling you, Taylor said this was big, really big.” Shining Armor was not a stallion prone to overreaction, but recent events had forced him to be a little more cautious of what happened in the Crystal Empire. If there really were millions of those giant humans, and he only knew they were giant because he was looking at the autopsy photos as he spoke, then Equus was in serious trouble, especially when one managed to cause the damage it did. “He said we couldn't survive this alone.”

“Nations rarely go to war alone, dear.” Cadence was wracking her head looking for a way to pay for all the damage without asking Equestria for money, and completely emptying the emergency coffers. Really, she wasn't paying much attention to her husband at the moment. The one part she caught was surviving alone, and she naturally assumed he meant in a war. If, for some reason, the Crystal Empire found itself in armed conflict, Equestria was there to answer the call.

“That's just it; I think he meant the entire planet.” At that, Cadence looked up, shooting Shining a look of disbelief. He looked at her in kind, like he expected that reaction. In the ten years Taylor had been their sort-of friend, they had never really understood much about him. Jay had always been a bit easier to get along with, but only because Cadence had an interesting time when both he and Applejack were in the same room. “Think about it; these guys show up with tech we haven't even thought of, like that spaceship thing Amos flies, and Taylor doesn’t even bat an eye.”

“And you think it means he knows more about this than he's letting on?” Really, that was expected of him. Ever since he was made the head of Celestia's secret police, he'd been gathering information from as many sources as possible. He had dirt on the leader of every nation that maintained an Inquisitorial Temple, including Celestia and Luna. Odds were he knew more about Canterlot politics than the nobles who were always complaining, and he never attended court. “This sounds like something out of a science fiction novel.”

“I know, and that's what's so strange about all this.” Shining put the photos down, making sure to keep the blank side up. He avoided looking at the shots of the Marine's armor; something about it just made him uncomfortable on a deep level. “I'd just feel better if you'd talk to him or Celestia about it; he'll listen to both of you more than me.”

“Dear, you realize you could always just get him drunk, right?”

$%$%$% Amos's POV $%$%$%

Mach one was a fairly comfortable speed for only having one leg available, even if we had flown at this same speed earlier to avoid scaring the ponies inside. Twilight, however, couldn't shake her fear of flying in the strider, or even understand why something that didn't walk was called a strider in the first place. For me, everything was in slow motion, a side-effect of constant flight and the heightened reflexes I'd developed over the years. It was a shame they only worked in regards to piloting, otherwise I'd be pretty deadly in combat, not that I wasn't a decent shot.

“I'm really surprised you guys don't have atmospheric ships yet.” I knew Twilight and a number of the ponies I met had wings, but they were hardly as fast as my strider or any Imperial ship capable of operating under atmospheric pressures. “I haven't seen a single factory since I've been here.”

“Most factories either produce munitions or building supplies, and the princesses don't want to bother anypony with them, so they're mostly where most ponies don't live.” That made sense, I guess. The pieces were falling into place right about then, all the little bits of information I was absorbing over time. At first, Princess Celestia, from what I'd heard, sounded like an okay ruler, better than some governors I could name. But, you know, as time went on, my opinion started to change. She had her own Inquisition, which functioned as a secret police; she kept the factories out of sight in the name of keeping the landscape beautiful, but she could have easily meant to keep her subjects from seeing poor working conditions or some such. The diarch Twilight called a peaceful ruler could have very well been a viscous dictator. “Just about everything else is made by hoof. Except medical supplies, those are made by trained professionals in labs near Manehatten.”

“I just realized something.”

“What?”

“Delphine is going to be pissed when she finds out about Dahl. Really, really pissed.”