“Ow, what did I do last night?”
Reflection groaned and lifted her head off the pillow, her head thumping with pain. Everything was hazy, and her mouth was incredibly dry. Braving the light, she blinked open her eyes and searched for a source of water.
She froze when she noticed the surrounding room; the entire place looking like a tornado had torn through it. The empty wine bottles heaped on the bedside table hinted to the cause of her suffering, Reflection putting two and two together.
“Just how much did I drink?” she grumbled, before getting out of the bed to search for her Emperor. As her hooves hit the floor and a particularly nasty throb of agony hit her mind, she struggled to remain upright. Right then she vowed to never drink as much as she had the previous night, even if she couldn’t remember exactly how much that was.
Reflection made her way out of the wrecked room, intending to head to the kitchen to quench her thirst. She was trying to block out as much light as possible, and she nearly ran into an opening door because of the distraction.
“Oh, sorry about that,” a human with brown coloured skin apologised when he walked out of his room and noticed that he had almost hit her. “It’s one of those mornings, is it?”
“It is,” Reflection answered while trying to remember which human this one was. He wasn’t talking into a glowing thing about everything he saw, he wasn’t Nigel, and he definitely wasn’t the short one. She still didn’t even know what Orthodox was supposed to be, and to be honest she didn’t really care after his treatment of Nigel. That left only one human, and she struggled to remember his name.
“Janes?” she asked hesitantly, receiving a sigh from the man.
“James,” he corrected, placing his helmet on his head and completing his armour. “It’s okay; I can understand that after the party you may not be able to function for a while.”
“I didn’t go to the party,” she replied, the human leaning forwards to take a closer look at her.
“I thought that every- ah, I see now. You’re Chalmers’ new girlfriend, aren’t you?”
Reflection smiled at the reminder, her hangover temporarily forgotten. “That’s me.”
James didn’t say anything for a few moments, before he shook his head and muttered to himself.
“Is something wrong?” she asked, puzzled.
“No, it’s nothing,” he quickly reassured. With that, he made his way towards the staircase a few doors ahead. “Any surprise concerning Chalmers disappeared long ago. I suppose I better go and make sure that Orthodox and Elijah haven’t destroyed everything. See you around Reflection.”
Slightly surprised that he had remembered her name, Reflection shook her head and watched him leave. She made to follow, but a sudden wave of nausea hit her. Figuring that finding Nigel and then throwing up on him wasn’t the greatest idea, Reflection headed back to the room in a slight detour. Quickening her pace as the feeling of sickness increased, she raced to the bathroom and prepared to have her morning ruined even further.
Nigel reached down and plucked another handful of berries from the crystal bowl, the doomed fruit being devoured with a rapid pace. He paused only to take a gulp of water before continuing, yet more fruit disappearing down his gullet. Spending a month in Tartarus, living on nothing but cave fungus and the occasional demonic insect, worked wonders in helping him get over his dislike of Crystal berries.
Beside his throne sat another bowl containing a small amount of cheese. He would have had more, but with the current supply issue he thought that it would be wise to not eat more than he needed. With the dome restored the crops would have a better time, but still the next few months would be hard for all of his subjects. He mulled over asking Elijah if he knew of anyway to accelerate the growth process, only the possibility of the scientist somehow making things worse holding him back.
While chewing, he glanced around his empty throne room. Morning court was supposed to have started an hour ago, but no-one had turned up. He wasn’t surprised; his subjects had partied all through the night in celebration after all. It wasn’t a big deal, although he made a note to make today a public holiday as well. Perhaps something like ‘Viva La Crystal Empire Recovery Day’ or along those lines would work.
Chalmers smiled to himself, six guards entering the throne room and taking up positions alongside his throne. He had missed the main festivities, but spending the night with Reflection had more than made up for it. Instead of waking her when he had, Nigel had decided to let her sleep on without him. Reflection didn’t have a great track record with alcohol and she had drunk a fair amount, so he though it prudent to give her as much rest as possible.
Armoured footsteps drew his attention, Nigel glancing to the right and spotting James walk up to him from the direction of the staircase.
“Morning,” the psionic greeted, Nigel returning the greeting while offering the bowl of berries.
“Morning, want to try some berries?”
“No thanks,” James answered with a raised hand. “I already ate.”
“I still don’t call supplements and protein gel eating,” Nigel replied before taking another handful of berries. “You might as well eat while you have the chance.”
James grunted and pointed at Chalmers, specifically at the black dress uniform that he was wearing. “Nice suit.” Nigel, with a mouthful of berries, nodded and gave a thumb up. James stared at the gesture before looking away, the armoured soldier examining the crystal pony guards who returned the gaze. Nigel put the empty bowl down on the side table, drumming his fingers on the armrest of his chair. His guards and James continued to exchange looks, neither comfortable with the other.
“Did you enjoy the party?” Nigel questioned to break the silence, James shrugging and walking over to examine the main doors.
“I didn’t really go. Those parties aren’t really my thing.”
“I’m sure the nobility would enjoy your presence at one of their dinner parties,” Nigel smirked, knowing that James wouldn’t be able to resist the bait.
“Where did that even come from?” James complained. “Just because I have slightly more class than the rest of you three, and don’t like booze-fuelled parties, doesn’t mean that I enjoy rubbing shoulders with nobles.”
“You wore a suit to a bar,” Nigel deadpanned, James about to defend himself. “Multiple times, and you refused to take it off even when those ladies asked you to.”
“I would hardly call the women in your usual haunts ladies,” James muttered, Nigel raising his eyebrows at the reply.
“And what does that mean?” he questioned, the six pony guards equally confused and amused at the conversation.
“Never mind, just stop perpetuating the idea that I lack the capacity to have fun. Orthodox is already bad enough without you adding to it.”
“Speaking of Orthodox,” Nigel moved on. “Where is the little bundle of joy? I haven’t seen him at all this morning.” James scoffed, returning to the throne and looking around for another seat. Seeing that there was none, he just picked a spot against the wall and sat down on the floor.
“He’s probably asleep on a park bench with a bottle or a female. I hope you told all of your subjects to lock up their daughters, you know how he gets when he drinks.”
“I sure do,” Nigel tittered. “He transforms from a self-obsessed, loud-mouthed idiot into a self-obsessed, loud-mouthed idiot with a silver tongue. I would think that he would at least have the decency to be somewhat subtle.”
“Orthodox? Subtle?” James started, Nigel rolling his eyes.
“Yes, I realised it as soon as I said it,” Chalmers answered with a sigh. “I guess that at least we can count on Elijah to maintain some dignity. He’s probably off examining a rock and writing an essay on the local geological formations and their potential use for science.”
Chalmers scratched his chin and glanced at his guards. “Say James, would you mind going over some basic combat drills with the guards this afternoon? I have to organise a few things and after a month they’ll need to get back up to speed.”
“Uh,” James hesitated while looking at the waiting guards. “Are we allowed to teach them combat techniques?”
“Just basic stuff, like tactics to use against a generally peaceful, quadruped nation who utilise magic and ancient weaponry in their wars. I’m not suggesting that we teach them how to operate UIP weapon systems or deciphering secure military communication codes.
Besides,” he glanced at his guards once again. “I highly doubt that teaching a non-space travelling civilisation how to use halberds and swords against another, non-space travelling civilisation is going to be a major threat to the UIP, especially when they just had an all-night party to celebrate my return. You’ll soon see that loyalty is a common trait here.”
The guards straightened with pride at the praise, only further proving the point. James kept on staring at them for a few moments, before he uttered a sigh of defeat which brought a smile to Nigel’s face.
“Fine, I guess it can’t really hurt. Don’t expect me to know the exact details of pony-on-pony mortal combat.”
“That’s okay sir,” one of the guards spoke up to reassure James. The bronze mare tilted her head at Chalmers and received a nod to continue. “Emperor, just a quick question, how should we address the three soldiers you brought with you?”
“This here is Agent James,” Nigel introduced, the guards nodding. “Since he’s in a different department of the UIP, I technically don’t have control over him, but I was his old squad leader when he was serving in the Internal Security Agency with me. Still, he’s second in command and he knows his stuff so you can rely on him to be an effective leader. Researcher Elijah, that’s the nerd in the white armour, is after James and Agent Orthodox is after that.” James stepped over and looked down at the mare who had asked the question.
“Don’t listen to Orthodox though. He’s a Prick.”
“Is that what species he is?” a male guard asked, Nigel and James struggling to hold back laughter.
“Yes, yes it is.” James’ delivery was emotionless and convincing, the guards accepting that Orthodox belonged to the species of Prick and that for some reason that meant that they were to not listen to his orders.
“If you six could please locate Agent Orthodox and tell him that I wish to see him,” Nigel asked, the guards eagerly following his orders. James and Chalmers waited until the room was empty of ponies, before letting out the laughter that had been building up at Orthodox’s expense.
“Oh, that was golden,” Nigel chuckled while shaking his head.
“I can’t believe that they thought I was serious,” James agreed, for the first time on the planet feeling genuine mirth. “Maybe they won’t be as boring as I first thought.”
“They’re good guys and gals,” Nigel defended lightly. “It’s understandable that they haven’t been exposed to all of our swears and insults. Also, the Crystal Empire has been gone for one-thousand years on this planet as it is, so they’re even behind the other nations.”
Nigel stopped laughing as soon as he thought of just how Orthodox would react if a naïve pony called him a ‘prick’. “Listen, James,” he addressed. “Do you mind catching up with the guards and letting them know it was a joke? If they ask Orthodox what his species of ‘Pricks’ are like…”
“Yeah, we’ll probably need all of the soldiers we can get,” James agreed before moving to pursue the guards. “Having Orthodox start killing friendlies is not the ideal situation.”
“Amen to that.”
Nigel leaned back after James had left, and he soon began to tap his hands on the armrests.
“Well, this is boring,” he remarked, regretting his choice to send all six guards and thus losing a chance at conversation.
His boredom was soon lifted however; when the tapping of hooves on the Crystal floor approached him from behind.
Reflection stumbled over to the throne, her stomach still churning.
‘Never. Drinking. Again.’
Her head still pounded with every hoofstep, and the journey to the throne seemed to take an eon. It was worth it however; as soon as she made it to the seated Emperor a direct flow of emotion began to steady stream to her. She didn’t know if it was a side-effect or not, but her headache seemed to lose some of its edge.
“Good Morning,” Nigel greeted with a grin. Reflection didn’t reply immediately and instead opted to attempt to climb up onto his lap. She struggled, but after a brief chuckle from Chalmers two hands assisted her in her goal. Reflection sprawled herself sideways, resting her pounding head on the cool armrest of the chair as she received a soothing head rub.
“There’s nothing good about it,” she complained with a groan. “My head hurts, I feel sick, I can’t remember anything past when I had the first glass of wine and it’s gotten worse since I woke up.” Reflection frowned when he laughed, not finding the humour in the situation.
“I told you to go easy on the alcohol, but you didn’t listen,” Nigel reminded her. “It’s your own fault.”
“That doesn’t help,” she grumbled. “Why didn’t you try harder to stop me?”
“I tried, but when I took your glass away you started to drink from the bottle.” There was a brief pause, Reflection not able to see thanks to her closed eyes but it felt like he was looking around to make sure no-one was in earshot. “Also,” Nigel continued. “We were focused on other matters, remember?”
“No I don’t-“ Reflection began to reply, before her eyes snapped open and she sat up to face him. Her head protested, but the pain was ignored as she figured out what he meant. “Wait, you mean that we…?”
“We did,” he confirmed, Reflection’s heart sinking.
“But I can’t remember it!” she lamented. “I waited more than a month, and I can’t even remember what happened!” She received a reassuring pat on the back, and she found herself pulled into an embrace.
“It’s no big deal,” Nigel tried to tell her, but Reflection didn’t feel that way.
“It is to me.” Her bad mood lifted slightly when she felt a hand begin to massage her back, her headache dulling further with a surge of love. Nigel clicked his tongue, and Reflection nuzzled her head into his shirt with a pout.
“We’ve got plenty of time to make up for it later,” he told her. “Besides, you should remember everything a little later on. That’s what happens when you drink as much as you did, especially when you’re not used to alcohol.”
“I don’t need a lecture,” she replied with a sigh. “I already know that I made a mistake, okay? Just… don’t let me make it again.” No reply came, but she didn’t mind that much. Her body shifted so that she could return the hug with her own forelegs, her mood improving as they sat there in silence.
He was right, she realised. They did have plenty of time and opportunities, and it wasn’t as if it was a one-time thing that she had missed. It’s wasn’t like anything major had changed, so she was probably just blowing everything out of proportion.
“What do you have to do today?” she questioned hopefully, sneakily aiming to convince him to spend some more time with her after his long absence. Her hopes were dashed when he raised a hand with five fingers raised, Nigel beginning to list off his duties.
“Well, first off I have to find the subjects who fled the city into the caves. After that I need to take stock of our supplies. Thirdly, I need to make sure my three comrades don’t destroy everything. After that I need to go around and do some courtesy visits.” One finger remained up-right, Chalmers grinning as he looked down at her. “And lastly, I thought that I’d try and see how the pub fared in my absence. I wonder if they still do those pies…”
Reflection smiled, knowing what he was saying. Going out to dinner would be nice, and a pub would mean that she wouldn’t have to worry about acting all fancy and noble-like. She nodded her head at the suggestion, shifting again so that her back was pressing into his chest and her head was resting up against his shoulder.
“That sounds good, no drinking though,” she added, her head offering a dull reminder of her record with alcohol.
“I can live with that,” Chalmers replied. Both glanced out over the empty room, Reflection closing her eyes again.
“Don’t you have work to do?” she asked, her mind now set on looking forward to the coming dinner.
“I do, but court is still in session for another hour.” The head rub resumed. “I guess we have to stay here in case someone comes looking for an audience.” Reflection cricked her neck, settling back in relaxation.
“I don’t have an issue with that,” she murmured, receiving a hum of agreement soon after.
“Mister, are you okay?”
Orthodox opened his eyes at the young voice; however he still was unable to see anything but brown. He tried to tell the child to bugger off and leave him alone, but it came up as an intelligible grumble. Orthodox could taste dirt, leading him to the conclusion that he had woken face-down on the ground.
Just like training all of those years ago…
And last Friday.
In an attempt to solve his problem, Orthodox rolled over onto his back, keeping his armoured tail out to the side. He tried again, opening his eyes and blinking against the sunlight. With a wince he turned his attention to the direction that he thought the voice had come from, being met with an empty park bench and a row of houses.
“Over here.”
Orthodox turned his head to his left, finding two young ponies and a smaller version of one of the black bug things staring at him. Grumbling to himself about Nigel and teleporters, Orthodox felt around him for a much needed object. Finding his helmet lying on the ground near his legs, he grabbed it and retrieved the half-full bottle of wine from inside of it.
“Why are you on the ground?” the bug asked, Orthodox searching his memory while taking a swig of wine.
“I could have sworn that I collapsed on the bench last night,” he informed them, before sitting upright. “I probably just fell off in my sleep.”
“You slept on a bench?” the female pony with an azure coat questioned with a strange look on her face.
“Yeah,” the silver colt added. “Why didn’t you sleep in a bed?”
“All of these fucking questions, in the morning as well.” The two ponies drew back at the swear, the changeling nymph confused at their reaction. Orthodox didn’t pay attention, too focused on trying to stand up with the aid of his tail.
“You said a bad word,” the filly whispered, slightly awed that the light-orange dragon swore just like a pony. Well, just like bad ponies according to her parents.
“I say bad words all the time,” Orthodox informed the trio. “It’s part of the job.” The nymph and foals watched on intrigued as he staggered to his feet, the children coming up to his waist. He searched around the area while patting himself down. He laid eyes on what he was looking for, Orthodox walking over to the edge of a fountain and grabbing his energy rifle from the crystal ledge. His weapon secured, he turned his attention back to the youngsters. “What are you kids doing out here anyway? You should be in school.”
“No-ones there,” the colt told him with a grin. “All the adults are asleep, so we came out to play. Harmony is my younger sister and we’re in the same class as Switch. We’re all going to play tag, do you want to join?” Orthodox stared at the three, guessing that Switch was the bug horse considering the facts that he was male and a different species to the ponies. He took another gulp of wine and shook his head, giving a mighty belch and then wiping his mouth with the back of his armoured hand.
“I can’t, I have to go and do stuff. Nigel’s going to be making me do things around this city and I’m going to be honest. Even if I didn’t have to help him rule this place, I still wouldn’t play. I’m likely older than your parents, after all.” His slight insult was ignored by the children, their eyes widening at the mention of helping Nigel rule the city.
“You know the Emperor?” Harmony breathed in awe, her fellows equally amazed by the revelation. Orthodox nodded and shifted his helmet under his arm, taking another sip from his bottle. He frowned and examined the green container, almost down to the last drops.
“He’s not that special, I still don’t see why all of you ponies and changemings-“
“Changelings,” Switch corrected with a huff, narrowing his solid blue eyes at Orthodox, a correction that was waved away by the uncaring alien.
“Whatever. Why you almost seem to worship the ground he walks on is just impossible to figure out.”
“He defeated Sombra, and turned him into a rug!” the colt cheered while rearing up and waving his hooves.
“He made the Heart work again!” Harmony added, adding to the posing with her older brother.
“He didn’t kill us!” Switch tried to join in, however he received shocked looks from his friends. “What? It’s true!”
“Kids these days,” Orthodox mumbled before draining his wine and heading off to search for more. “Now the castle should have some, I only have to find out where it is…” Orthodox looked up, the crystal fortress a few streets away. It towered up over the city, the top almost touching the bottom of the shimmering dome. “Well, that was easy.” He continued walking, not noticing the hurried hoofsteps clacking on the stone road behind him.
“Wait!”
Orthodox sighed, briefly considering turning around. He didn’t, instead he hoped that if he kept on walking then they would leave him alone. The ponies didn’t let up, and it was only seconds before Harmony and her equally annoying brother were on his left and right respectively.
“Can you take us to meet the Emperor?” Harmony asked excitedly. “Glaze told me that he fought off fifty-hundred Diamond Dogs by himself!”
“I don’t think so, I’m probably in enough trouble as it is without the whole ‘Hey Nigel, guess what? I woke up on the ground and thought that I’d bring you three small children to annoy you. Surprise!'”
‘Hang on a second,’ Orthodox thought as soon as he replied. ‘Where’s the third one?’
His question was answered with a buzzing of wings and a thump to the back of his head. Orthodox stopped dead in his tracks when two small hooves desperately grasped him around the face, a set of hind legs banging down against his back.
“You better have a damn good reason for attaching yourself to me,” Orthodox stated slowly, Harmony frowning at his use of another bad word. He glanced down as the black, hole-covered hooves gripped him around the neck, the hind hooves going around his torso. Orthodox silently cursed his short form, his lack of height obviously the reason why these children treated him with such little respect.
“Sorry,” Switch spoke up from behind him. “I’m still trying to get used to flying and I panicked.” Orthodox didn’t buy it, but that didn’t solve the issue of the creature hitching a ride.
“Fine, get off me then,” he ordered. The nymph quickly buzzed his wings again and landed on the ground, the changeling receiving unamused looks from his ground-locked friends.
“I said I was sorry,” Switch muttered. Orthodox rolled his eyes and continued on, the topic of the three meeting Chalmers thankfully dropped. Or so he had thought.
“So…” Harmony began after the pause, the children matching his pace. “Can you at least get us into the castle?”
“Do I look like a tour guide to you?”
“You look like a dragon, an orange one,” Switch answered, stopping Orthodox in his tracks. “But… are you a ‘tour guide’? I don’t know what that is, or what one looks like. I know Emperor Chalmers is a ‘Human’, but I’ve never heard of a ‘tour guide’ befor-“
“Kid,” Orthodox uttered dangerously as he turned around slowly to face Switch. “The people I work for don’t have the phrase ‘War Crime’ in their vocabulary. I suggest that you stop talking, or I might have to smack-“
“Orthodox!”
His threat to ‘smack you into the next plane of existence’ was halted by a shout from James, saving Switch from the unpleasant experience. Orthodox spat on the ground before turning back around to see James flanked by six armed and armoured pony guards.
“What? Can’t you see that I’m in the middle of something here?” The six guards halted, gazing at the three children in befuddlement while James merely shook his head.
“Orthodox, it’s not play-time now; Nigel wants you to see him so he can give you your animal crackers and juice-box.” James finished his taunting with a gesture to the foals and nymph. “Seriously though, I don’t trust you with children.”
“I wasn’t doing anything, I swear,” Orthodox lied, James’ blank faceplate holding an unbroken stare. Orthodox shifted uncomfortably.
Ever since his old squad mate had been snapped up by the Psionic Warfare Unit, Orthodox had been wary around him. He’d heard stories of mind-readers and mental controllers, so he couldn’t be sure just what James was able to do. The black man had never really discussed his abilities or their limits, but Orthodox didn’t want to test them.
“What does Nigel want me for anyway?” Orthodox asked in an attempt to divert the subject. It worked, James switching his attention to the new topic.
“He didn’t say, but I can tell you it’s nothing about you sleeping on the ground.”
“Stop that! Stop using your witch powers on me to read my mind!” Orthodox demanded, James pausing before pointing out the obvious.
“Orthodox, you’re covered in dirt.”
“Oh,” Orthodox responded, looking down to find that his armour was indeed rather filthy.
“Besides,” James continued. “I prefer novels, not single articles from lewd magazines.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Orthodox hissed, his hand edging towards the knife hidden in his waist armour. He couldn’t see James’ face due to the reflective visor, but he knew that the smug bastard was grinning underneath it.
“Nothing at all, forget I said anything,” James answered with no sign of fear. “You better run along, you wouldn’t want to keep Chalmers waiting.”
“I’ve been out from his command for years now,” Orthodox muttered, before walking past the group with a sneer. James moved over to the stunned children, while the pony guards gazed judgementally at him with disapproval. “What are you looking at?” After his loaded question, Orthodox winced when a small pebble fell out of the sky to hit him square in the middle of his hairless head. He glared at James, the psionic waving at him innocently before turning back to the three young children.
“Wanker,” Orthodox muttered, still able to feel the stares of the pony guards upon his back as he continued on to the castle.
“Subjects appear to be in an extreme state of fatigue, and Pegasus named ‘Rainbow Dash’ is currently baring her teeth in what is possibly an attempt at intimidation.”
“You’ve been watching us all night, you creep!”
Elijah looked up from his notes, Rainbow Dash glaring at him from her cell. He frowned and glanced at the time display inside his helmet, finding that it was indeed in the morning according to local time.
“Huh,” he voiced before returning to his notes. “Time sure flies when you’re having fun. Anyway, back to the topic, red or blue?”
“None of them!” Rainbow yelled, her eyes bloodshot. “Leave us alone!”
“Nonsense, science never rests, come rain, snow or hail. I shall find the answers, without fail. Red or Blue is what I ask, answering it a simple task-“
“And now he rhymes!” Rainbow Dash threw up her hooves and moved to the back of her cell. Elijah stared at her, wondering why she was getting so worked up over a simple question. The other five ponies had been good and quiet, with the occasional complaint against the forced imprisonment. It was expected, however he had thought that they would have been more willing to answer basic questions given that they didn’t have much else to do.
“I fail to see why you’re so irritated,” Elijah changed tact, hoping that conversation would calm down the subject so that the inquiries could continue. “Would you like to talk about your irritation?”
“Just leave me alone,” Rainbow muttered from the corner, Elijah rolling his eyes at her refusal.
“Be that way then, I have five other subjects after all.” While he stood up, Rainbow violently threw herself against her cell with a crash.
“You leave them alone!” she ordered, Elijah ignoring her in his eagerness to interrogate another pony. While Rainbow banged her hooves against the bars, he turned and stared down at the purple unicorn. The pony was watching her rude friend with a concerned expression, an expression that doubled when she noticed the scientist advancing towards her.
“Please,” she tried to reason. “I’m a scientist too, well, in a way. If you let us get some sleep, I’ll tell you everything about ponies that you want to know. I promise.” Her attempts at bargaining failed, Elijah crouching down and preparing his recorder and data pad.
“Name?”
“Twilight Sparkle,” the unicorn answered hesitantly.
“Element?”
“Magic.”
This caused Elijah to pause and tilt his head. Intriguing, Chalmers had mentioned that the horned ponies and changelings were able to conduct magic so this ‘Twilight Sparkle’ would likely prove to be a valuable source of information. He decided to press on.
“When you say magic, what does that describe to you? Do you believe it to be a mystical force or a mental ability for example?”
“I can’t… argh! Look, I can’t think properly without sleep!” Twilight took some calming breaths before forcing a smile and gazing up at him. “If you let me and my friends out, and take off this magic inhibitor then I’ll… I’ll tell you anything you want to know.” Elijah sighed, yet another attempt to escape. At least they could not treat him like an idiot while trying it.
“That is not going to happen,” he told her, an eye twitching when he saw the lack of worthwhile notes on his pad. “Now, answer my question.”
“Breakfast.”
“For the love of science,” Elijah muttered before turning around, three pony guards wheeling in a small cart the source of the interruption. “Do you have to do this now? They can go without food for at least another three days.” He gestured back to the cells, the occupants fixing him with horrified stares.
“I’m sorry sir, but the Emperor ordered it,” the lead guard apologised, Elijah taking note of the rank markings indicating that he was a sergeant. The other two ponies removed plates containing fruit and bread, beginning to pass them through the bars to the thankful captives within. “He also requested your presence in the throne room.”
“You do realise, Sergeant, that starvation and sleep deprivation are very effective methods of information gathering? The same methods that you have just effectively ruined in one swoop, all my hard work wasted?” The guard shifted uncomfortably, his two subordinates sharing a glance before continuing to pass out water and food.
“I’m just following orders, sir. Besides, why are you trying to torture them? The Emperor ordered that they be treated well-“
“Nigel is often incapable of seeing the big picture,” Elijah retorted with a finger wave. “Believe me, if you ponies actually spent more than a few months around him, then it would be apparent.” He went to continue the lecturing of the guard, but the stressed look on the pony’s face stopped him. Elijah lowered his finger slowly. After all, this guard was only doing what Chalmers had ordered.
If Elijah wanted anything to change, then he would have to talk to Nigel directly. Maybe then he would get somewhere with his research.
“Actually, I believe that I am done for now,” Elijah stated, surprising the guards with his sudden change of heart. He turned around to fix Rainbow Dash with a glare, the pegasus returning it with her mouth full of bread. She was his nemesis, and Elijah swore that he would break her and get her to tell him the answer to ‘red or blue’.
“I’ll be back,” he farewelled, strolling past the guards with his nose in the air.
“Creep,” Rainbow yelled after him, earning the displeasure of the guards at the disrespect. Elijah ignored it, having grown used to such weak insults. If only Rainbow Horse knew just how many other methods of interrogation that he knew and had used before. If it wasn’t for Chalmers’, admittedly sensible, plan to hold them hostage, then he would have broken out the batteries and electrical wire long ago.
He smiled to himself while he walked up the steps, remembering that Nigel would likely be with that changeling of his. The changelings and crystal ponies were fascinating, far more worthwhile test subjects than the ‘normal’ Equestrians. Alleged shape-shifting and a crystalline appearance beat ordinary, if sapient, ponies any day. Maybe he would be able to bargain with Nigel, and convince him that asking Reflection numerous questions was a good idea.
His grin remained in full force when he exited the guarded doorway of the dungeon staircase and emerged in a hallway. Waving merrily at the changeling and pony guarding the stairwell, Elijah continued on to the throne room. Pausing briefly to note down the increased numbers of guards around the area, Elijah strolled through the door and headed towards the throne.
Thanks to the facing of the throne and the placement of the door, Elijah was able to walk up unnoticed by the seated Chalmers. He received glances from the ten halberd-armed guards arrayed around the room, before the changelings and ponies went back to staring at the walls. Elijah noted that the guards were staring at everything but the throne, the scientist curiously walking up to peer over the back.
Chalmers and Reflection were enthusiastically exchanging saliva, the changeling squirming on his lap. Elijah took a brief note of the fact that Nigel was wearing a suit that looked surprisingly like an ISA dress uniform, before a plan formed in his mind. Switching his data pad to record visual data, Elijah angled the camera so that it was fixed firmly on the couple. Waiting a few seconds to ensure that he got ample footage, he initiated phase two of his plan.
“Seen here, ISA Commander Nigel M Chalmers is currently testing the romantic capabilities of the changeling species.”
The two stopped, a silence descending over the room. Reflection, looking up thanks to her position, slowly opened her eyes to spot Elijah before she drew her head back and broke the kiss. Chalmers remained still for a few moments longer, until he slowly rotated his head and shifted on his chair.
Elijah ensured to keep recording while Nigel stared at him, the scientist ignoring the blushing changeling who was currently burying her face into Nigel’s chest.
“That… is so many levels of disturbing and immature that I cannot find words potent enough to express my opinion,” Nigel remarked blankly. Elijah gestured around to the multiple guards, the recording continuing on.
“You seem to not mind your local guards witnessing your romantic actions. How am I, a close friend of yours for many years I may add, any different?”
“They’re not recording it,” Nigel replied while pointing at the data pad. “Also, they’re not making pointless remarks that only serve to incite trouble.”
“Recording?” Reflection whispered, raising her head up before her face morphed into an expression of anger. “You better not have! Get rid of it now!” Elijah chuckled when she jumped up, placing her forehooves on the back of the throne. This had the unfortunate effect of placing her navel right over Nigel’s face, provoking a muffled grunt from Chalmers.
“Changeling known as Reflection is annoyed and is demanding deletion of vital research material. Judging from the buzzing of wings, narrowed eyes and baring of fangs, one can see that she is disapproving of the scientific process.” Reflection’s scowl increased, prompting Elijah to smirk. “This evidence of aggression with little to no provocation leads to one, vital conclusion. The theory that Commander Nigel M Chalmers enjoys fiery romantic partners has been proven as a fact.”
“Why you!” Reflection growled while attempting to leap at him. She was stopped when two hands grasped her around the forelegs, the changeling being pulled back down to Chalmers’ lap. Elijah continued to record Nigel holding her to his chest and stroking her mane, the actions seeming to calm the changeling down. Pausing to catalogue the new information, Elijah was unprepared for Nigel to swipe the data pad from his grasp.
“Hey!” he protested once he realised what had happened. “Give me back my research!”
“No,” Nigel answered bluntly, tapping on the pad and erasing the captured footage of Reflection and him. “You’re deliberately trying to provoke reactions from people, I know how you work.” Elijah frowned and snorted when Chalmers tucked the pad into his suit. “You can have it back when you complete a task for me.”
“What task?” Elijah inquired, ignoring the glare that Reflection was sending his way. He needed his data pad back, how else would he record Rainbow Horse’s anguish?
Nigel beckoned a guard over, the nervous changeling not entirely sure how to act in the situation. “Private…”
“Ploy, Emperor,” the soldier answered, earning a hum for Elijah.
‘Interesting name, once again,’ he thought, before Nigel broke him from the thoughts.
“Yes, Private Ploy.” Elijah gave the guard a glance while Chalmers continued. “Elijah, I want you to go with Private Ploy to the Crystal Caves to help Captain Strategy search for my missing subjects. The cave system is extensive, which is why it’s used as an emergency fall-back point, and I suspect that your inbuilt sensors will be of great help.”
“Why me?” Elijah complained with a huff. “Can’t you send James or Orthodox? I have work I need to do and-“
“James is currently finding Orthodox for me, and after that Orthodox is receiving a special task that will hopefully distance him from the city for a while.” Chalmers grinned lightly. “Did I mention that the missing subjects include the last surviving members of the Crystal Unicorn race, and that they are the primary source of knowledge regarding those magical gems I told you about?” Elijah seized his chance, holding up an armoured hand.
“Three things,” he stated abruptly. “One, I get access to study the gems. Two, I get my data pad back. Three, you allow me to question a number of your subjects.”
“No harassment or personal questions about ‘sexual practices and reproduction methods’ like that time on Pavlona Four. I’m still not allowed within ten light-years of that Queen thanks to you.” Elijah nodded eagerly.
“Deal,” he agreed, smiling to himself.
‘There are many ways to ask a question,’ he mentally laughed, his own cunning still surprising. His grin increased when Nigel held out his pad, Elijah grabbing it and rushing to the main doors.
“Elijah,” Nigel called out, causing Elijah to pause and turn around. Chalmers was pointing down at Private Ploy, the changeling guard shifting in his armour. “You forgot Private Ploy, your guide.”
“Oh, how could I forget,” Elijah laughed before giving Ploy a wide grin. “I have questions to ask on the way to our destination, and the good Private will be a great help. Many questions.” The Private gulped, before he swallowed the lump in his throat and raised his head high. He steadily walked towards Elijah, earning sympathetic looks from his comrades.
“Behave,” Nigel lectured, before returning his full attention to Reflection.
“I always do,” Elijah replied, before he walked straight out of the throne room and into the castle entry hall. He glanced down at the changeling beside him, Ploy glancing up with worry evident in his solid blue eyes.
“So Ploy,” Elijah began merrily, his pad in his hands. “Red or blue?”
“I don’t like your friends,” Reflection muttered while she watched the scientist leave. “They’re strange.”
“Strange friends are better than boring friends,” Nigel answered. Reflection was going to tell him that there was a limit on the amount of strangeness, but a head rub silenced her. She huffed, slightly annoyed that a simple massage could hold so much power over her, but at the same time it was relieving to feel after her time spent alone in prison. She stared up at Chalmers while he gazed at the main doors, her eyes furrowed.
He hadn’t told her anything about what he had gone through, and he seemed to have taken her absence far better than she had taken his. She was conflicted on how to feel about this, his cheerful recovery was welcome but raised unwanted questions about her worth to him.
“You look a little down.” Reflection blinked, realising that he was looking directly into her eyes with a smile on his face. “Did Elijah really bother you that much?”
“N-no,” Reflection scrambled for an answer. “I was just thinking about… things.” His gaze remained on her for a few moments before his grin widened and the head rub intensified. Thankful that he had bought it without further questions, Reflection sighed and nestled into his chest. If she had her way, then she’d never have to leave the spot. However, just as she achieved perfect relaxation, her least favourite friend of Nigel’s walked into the room.
Well, more like staggered into the room.
Orthodox stared at the pair, the guards at the door glancing at him with concern. Reflection shifted on her seat so that she was facing him, and bared her fangs in warning. Orange eyes gazed at her, unamused.
“Nice try,” Orthodox stated, before he opened his own mouth. Reflection jolted back, the creature’s mouth filled with rows of pointy teeth that made her primary fangs look like harmless pony teeth. His eyes narrowed, and Reflection felt her heart jolt in fear.
“Orthodox, stop.”
Chalmers’ voice was calm, but Reflection could hear the edge to it. An arm went around her, the hug helping to banish the terror plaguing her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and when she opened them again Orthodox had closed his mouth. Reflection breathed out a sigh of relief, making a note to not challenge Orthodox like that again. Just the thought of him disturbed her, the way he acted towards his supposed friends leaving her puzzled as to why they put up with him.
“Your pet started it,” Orthodox both accused and insulted, Reflection feeling her anger boil over.
“I’m not his pet!” she yelled, glaring at him with her previous fear forgotten. “I mean more to him than that!”
“Sure you do,” Orthodox replied with a smirk. “That’s why you’re sitting in his lap like one.” This caused Reflection to glance down, her resolve wavering as she considered his observation. He was right, she realised. How could she expect people to take her seriously if she was always fawning over him? Also, was her own affection making the Emperor look unprofessional in return?
Hesitantly, Reflection glanced down at the floor, weighing up whether she should just sit next to him like she had done when she was just an advisor.
“You’re cheery this morning.” Nigel’s words and cold tone broke Reflection from her thoughts. “I love that you feel the need to make my girlfriend feel like utter crap for no reason.” As he said this, his hand began to rub her back, Reflection’s wings buzzing and her previous thoughts about sitting down on the floor were forgotten.
“You try waking up in the dirt, with annoying children pressuring you to take them to meet their ‘strong, capable, brilliant, wonderful, amazing, faultless and super-tastical Emperor,” Orthodox complained. “That’s all I hear, that’s all I’ve ever heard. ‘Oh Orthodox,’ the Assistant Director says to me. ‘Your old Sergeant, Commander Chalmers, is doing such a good job. You should be more like him, he doesn’t burn down entire cities for fun’.” Orthodox drained the last of his bottle, Reflection and the guards flinching when the glass was flung at the floor and shattered.
“Well that explains it,” Nigel observed with his coldness gone. Reflection tore her eyes away from the fuming orange alien and looked up at him. She traced his eyes to the broken glass on the floor, his small smile surprising her. “How much did you drink last night?”
“Not enough,” Orthodox grumbled, wiping his mouth and looking around. “You got any more lying around?” His sudden lack of venom and anger was the reason that Reflection’s jaw dropped. He was just complaining about Nigel before and all of a sudden they were best friends again?
“Not up here, much to my disappointment,” Chalmers joked, only heightening Reflection’s confusion. “I may have some in storage; however I need you for a special job.” Orthodox was about to complain, but Nigel cut him off. “A job that I think you’ll love. Hear me out.” Reflection waited curiously to find out just what Nigel was going to trust Orthodox to do.
No explanation came, the front doors being pushed open before a galloping of hooves drew near. Reflection turned around in time to see Sparking Scroll, Chalmers’ assistant from before he was banished, race past a surprised Orthodox. Nigel chuckled when Sparkling reached the throne, the cream-coated mare standing up on her hind legs to wrap both the Emperor and Reflection in a hug.
Normally, Reflection would have reacted badly to someone other than Nigel touching her like that, but as she was sandwiched between the joyful Emperor and her old friend she didn’t feel any anger. Granted, her face was currently buried in white chest fur with the only other thing she was able to see being Sparkling’s ruby red mane, but she still remembered when the mare had visited her in prison.
“I’m so sorry,” Sparkling began to apologise. “I heard that you were back, but I didn’t believe it until I saw you on the balcony. Then with the party I got caught up, and I slept in this morning, and I missed most of Morning Court-“
A chuckle from Nigel cut off the apology, Reflection taking a welcome fresh of air when Sparkling withdrew and sat on the ground in confusion.
“It’s okay, Sparkling,” Chalmers answered with a wave. “I didn’t exactly seek you out either, which I should have done. I’m glad that you’re back, and full of health as well.” Sparkling beamed up at him from her spot, Reflection looking out and noticing that Captain Strategy had also entered with her. The Captain was currently engaging in a staring match with Orthodox, the crystal stallion armoured in his full armour and armed with his sword in its scabbard.
“Well, Strategy looked after me once we were moved in together, so that helped me with everything.”
“I’m sure Chatter helped as well,” Nigel smiled, before nodding towards Sparkling. “Speaking of Chatter, where is the good Corporal? He still owes me a drink from that time I helped him bust out of hospital.” Reflection froze, remembering the news that Sparkling had told her about the changeling that had been set on winning her heart. How had she forgotten to tell Chalmers? She glanced up at Nigel; however he was focused on Sparkling.
The advisor was sniffling, Captain Strategy and the surrounding guards wearing sombre expressions while shifting on their hooves awkwardly. Orthodox and Nigel looked around puzzled, missing the implication of the mare’s emotions.
“Chatter, he…” Sparkling started, before sniffing and staring at Nigel with tear-filled eyes. “I’m sorry, Emperor, but Chatter died after the Elk attack. He was injured in the fighting, and he was found dead after the battle.” An uneasy silence descended over the throne room, ponies bracing for the Emperor’s reaction.
“How did he die?” Chalmers inquired calmly, seemingly unfazed by the news regarding the death of one of his friends. Captain Strategy stepped up, bowing his head respectfully.
“He died of blood loss, sir, from multiple wounds.” Strategy raised his head, the Captain scowling. “Apparently, it took a while, long enough that he would have been found and saved if the entire city wasn’t in an uproar with Equestrians patrolling the streets and detaining our soldiers.”
“We don’t know that for sure,” Sparkling tried to defuse the situation, her eyes watching the unmoving Emperor. Her attempt failed, one of the door guards snorting and drawing attention to herself.
“Of course it’s true,” the mare spoke up, after a nod of permission from her Captain. “My brother died in the same battle. He was still alive when we found him, so I at least got to say goodbye, but he died from internal bleeding not long after. There was talk that because of the Equestrians’ rush to secure all of us to make sure we wouldn’t ‘kill every elk we could find’, that they also accidently arrested medics. Equestrian medics tried to help, but they seemed just as confused as we were about the situation.”
“They had no clue,” Strategy agreed. “They didn’t know who to heal or who to arrest, all because their precious princess wanted to stop us from killing some elk.” Murmurs of agreement rose up from all the guards present, the ponies and changelings firmly remembering their own experiences that day.
Reflection lowered her head, having missed most of this information thanks to her incarceration. She looked up at Nigel, placing one of her hooves on his arm. She started to rub, knowing that Chatter had been a good friend of his.
“Are you okay?” she asked, mentally kicking herself at the pointless question. Of course he wasn’t going to be okay, what was she thinking? Reflection was taken by surprise when instead of shouting, or crying, Nigel merely smiled and rubbed her hoof.
“I am, don’t worry about me,” he replied. “Thanks for the concern though.” The lack of reaction shocked the majority, with the exception being Orthodox. The ISA agent was observing the proceedings silently, his tail waving in the air behind him. “Thanks to all of you, I know it must have been hard.” Everyone nodded, Chalmers focusing on the female door guard.
“Soldier,” he addressed, the mare nodding at him. “What was your brother’s name?”
“He was Private Break, sir.”
“You seem to be taking it well, considering,” Nigel continued, earning a nod from the mare.
“He died for his city, something that I honestly thought I was going to do that day,” she replied. “Our parents were some of Sombra’s victims, so it was only me and him. The Guard has helped me with it though, and I didn’t walk away unscathed either.” The mare turned around so that her left side was facing the Emperor. With a hoof, she pulled back the light armour covering her rump; a long scar ran downwards along the cyan fur of her left buttock. “I got that from one of those elk when I was defending in the line.”
Reflection furrowed her brows when Nigel let out a low whistle. Sure, the guard was showing off her scar, and her tail was still in place, but she still felt uncomfortable with Chalmers admiring the rump.
“That’s certainly an impressive scar,” Nigel commented, Orthodox walking over and examining it.
“It’s decent,” he admitted before turning back to Chalmers. “At least your guards have some combat experience.”
The mare smiled at the praise, dropping her armour back and returning to her position. The mood of the room lifted slightly, the guards latching onto one positive thing.
“At least with the Empire back under our control, those deaths mean something.” Strategy voiced for all of the guards. “It’s ours, and we’ll fight for it to stay that way.”
“A noble line of thinking,” Orthodox spoke up, silencing the room. He walked up to Strategy, the Captain attempting to remain stoic. “However, I wonder how you’ll see things if the UIP wishes to claim your planet? Will you fight then, Captain Strategy?” Orthodox chuckled and walked back to his original spot at the left side of the room. His comments earned him glares, Reflection wondering if the agent was trying to make as many enemies as possible.
“Agent Orthodox,” Strategy called out, stopping Orthodox in his tracks. “Emperor Chalmers serves the UIP, is that correct?” Orthodox smiled and faced the stallion.
“He does, not nearly as highly ranked as an Emperor, though.”
“Higher ranked than you, Agent Orthodox,” Nigel rebutted, Orthodox raising his middle finger of one hand in a gesture that Reflection didn’t understand.
“So,” Strategy continued while ignoring the exchange between the two. “That means that the UIP would likely pursue diplomatic options first. We all respect the Emperor, and we have no issue with your empire. If they want this planet, then I doubt we could stop them, but at least we would be looked upon favourably.” Strategy and the guards glanced to Nigel for confirmation, Sparking and Reflection also joining them.
“The Crystal Empire would certainly come out of the situation without any negative repercussions,” Nigel informed them. “I do have some political pull after all.” The guards collectively let out a sigh of relief at the news, their faith in the Emperor strengthening after hearing it from him personally. Reflection felt him put his hands on her stomach, and she looked down with a slight blush when they began to rub. “Besides, how could anyone take over the city when they see how adorable some of its inhabitants are?”
“Ugh,” Orthodox commented with an eye roll, before he locked eyes with Reflection and smirked. “I wouldn’t get your hopes up, changeming-“
“Changeling,” Reflection and the two changeling guards corrected.
Orthodox muttered under his breath before giving Reflection a mischievous grin. “As I was saying, don’t get your hopes up. He says stuff like that to women he picked up in bars, don’t think your special.” Nigel was about to defend her, but Reflection silenced him with a look and a hoof over his mouth. She glared at Orthodox, before her frown turned into a smile.
‘If he wants to play it like that,’ she thought. ‘Then he should be damn sure that I can play like that too.’
“I think you’re just jealous that Nigel’s got so much adoration,” she taunted, gaining an encouraging grin for Strategy while Orthodox raised an eyebrow. “He’s got an Empire, as well as me.” Her smugness faltered when the alien laughed, Orthodox miming wiping a tear from his eye.
“I’m going to be honest,” he chuckled. “If I had done everything that he had, and no doubt could have had the pick of the litter, then it wouldn’t have been you.” Reflection scowled at him, before she looked to Nigel for support. He gave her a wink, before smiling and continuing to watch Orthodox. The lizard pointed a finger at Sparkling, the advisor still sitting on her rump in front of the throne. “It may just be my hard-on for redheads, but I’d have picked someone like her.”
“Enough,” Nigel ordered, stopping all arguing and insults. The guards all stood straight, with the exception of Strategy who moved closer to Sparkling. Silently, Reflection wondered just how close they had come.
“You can’t order me anymore,” Orthodox informed with a cross of his arms. “I moved out from your direct command years ag-“
“I can still arrange to have you reassigned to the most boring, war-free listening station in the deepest area of dead space,” Nigel interrupted, drawing all attention to him. “I may not be the most popular with the brass, but who do you think they would prefer to see away from anything important?”
Orthodox scowled but remained silent, knowing that Nigel had him.
“Now, if you behave and stop insulting my subjects, then I might just tell you something you’ll want to hear.”
“I doubt that,” Orthodox huffed. “What is it? Going to play nice with the ponies and changelings to make up for my mean wor-“
“I want you to go to Equestria, and cause as much damage as possible.”
Everyone was stunned at the order. Orthodox himself was left in the middle of his sentence where Nigel had interrupted him.
“Really?” he replied. “You really want me to go to a rival country, a country of more colourful horses I might add, to cause trouble? You want me to kill, steal, burn, crush and insult as much as I deem appropriate?”
“I do,” Nigel answered with a nod. “With a few conditions. You are not allowed to go after the Princesses, they’re mine. You’re not allowed to kill Shining Armour, he’s a cool guy. You are to follow the basic rules of the UIP. You must inform any changeling you encounter of the Empire, and let them know that they are welcome. We need as many soldiers as we can get after all.”
“Emperor,” Strategy asked while walking up to the throne. “Is this a good idea?” He glanced towards Orthodox, the alien’s eyes wide and full of joy. “As much as I… disagree with Agent Orthodox, we do need all of the soldiers we can get. Once the Equestrian prisoners we released reach their lands, they are bound to send a force to retake the Empire and punish us again.”
“Think about it this way, Strategy,” Nigel tried to explain. “With Orthodox causing chaos, and trust me, he can cause a lot of chaos, the Equestrians will be forced to commit troops to defend against him. In true ISA fashion, Orthodox will target supplies, troop commanders, and important leaders with the aim of creating as much fear as possible. Equestria from what I’ve heard and witnessed during the Gala, is unprepared for such warfare. A single trained and experienced agent undermining their morale and will to invade us can cause far more damage than an actual assault will.”
“He is capable of remaining unseen?” Strategy questioned, earning laughter from the target of the conversation.
“Unseen?” Orthodox chuckled before putting on his helmet, all eyes in the room examining the complete set of black armour. “It’s evident that you don’t know about the ISA, pony. We don’t really do unseen, unless we want to be boring.” Orthodox un-holstered his rifle, the ponies and changelings all eyeing the strange weapon. “No, the point is for the enemy to know exactly who is after them, and then watch as they figure out that knowing that information is useless. They’re dead either way.”
With that, Orthodox eagerly moved to the main doors, whistling a merry tune. He passed stunned guards, the menacing alien almost appearing to skip with joy.
“Orthodox,” Nigel called out. “Focus on military targets, no robbing jewellery stores this time if you can help it.”
“But my bling,” Orthodox protested lightly, giving Reflection the opinion that he was going to rob a store anyway. Why Nigel had to advise him to not rob stores she didn’t know, but it meant that Orthodox would not be in the city. That would also mean that she could spend more time with Nigel uninterrupted by the rude alien, a fact that brought a smile to her face.
“And do you even know where Equestria is?” Nigel followed up, Orthodox waving an armoured hand as he left through the main doors.
“I’ll find it,” he reassured, Nigel and Strategy shaking their heads as the doors closed behind him.
“Strategy, do you mind?” Chalmers asked, his Captain nodding an affirmative.
“I’ll try and point him in the right direction,” Strategy answered with a salute, before he left the room in pursuit of Orthodox.
“Is this really a good idea?” Reflection inquired, her ears twitching at the belly rub.
“Oh, it’s going to end terribly,” Nigel chuckled. “The question is who it’s going to affect worse.”
“So you head out south, and you should reach the border of Equestria within a day if you’re quick. Are you sure you don’t need supplies? Food is short, but you’ll need something-“
“My suit will handle it, thank you Captain.” Strategy frowned when Orthodox cut him off, granted the Agent’s previous spite was gone but it was still rude. The edge of the dome shimmered when Orthodox stepped through into the frozen wasteland outside. Strategy glanced down at his armoured hooves, the snow still melting with tufts of grass pushing their way up. He looked back to the Agent, one question still on his mind.
“Agent Orthodox,” he asked, the alien turning around to step back through the dome.
“What is it? I have a country to terrorise.”
“It’s about Emperor Chalmers,” Strategy stated with a glance around to check that no-one was in earshot. He was met with empty fields of snowy grass, not a pony or changeling in sight. “You probably don’t know this, but Corporal Chatter was a pretty good friend of his. The Emperor found out that he was dead and just-“
“Remained his normal, cheery self?” Orthodox finished, Strategy nodding hesitantly.
“I just find it strange that he’s not… well, acting like he’d been banished only to return and find out that his friend is dead. I was there when the city was attacked, both by Diamond Dogs and the Elk. He was in a good mood then as well, but he was also killing at the same time. Now, he’s just sitting there like nothing changed.”
Orthodox chuckled, Strategy noticing that it wasn’t mocking like the alien’s usual laughter, but somehow cold.
“Oh, pony,” the alien replied before turning around in preparation to walk back out of the dome. “That man laughs hardest when he’s trying to hide things. I advise you to not let his calmness fool you, he may act like the friendly joker that you ponies see, but he didn’t thrive in the ISA because of kindness and mirth.”
With that, Orthodox left the dome again, heading south towards Equestria. Strategy sat down on the snowy grass to watch him go, ignoring the chill in his rump. He had been left with more questions than answers, and the alien’s words made him wonder about his friend and his true motives. Just what was Chalmers planning to do, and how far was he going to go?
After a few minutes, Strategy looked up from his hooves. Orthodox had disappeared into the distance, a light snowstorm building up outside the dome. The new visitors were also an oddity, and Strategy glanced over to the east of the city. On that side were the Crystal Caves, the hiding spot for any other crystal ponies that had fled the Equestrians.
He stood up and shook the snow off his body and hooves, taking a second to straighten his helmet before he began the long walk to the caves. He had some citizens to find, and maybe one of the other humans would provide some more coherent answers to his concerns.
“Emperor Chalmers has returned, you’re not just trying to trick us?”
Elijah sighed, the voice hidden in the darkness still not accepting that he wasn’t a ploy made by the Equestrians. He took another step forward, regretting that he had snuck off into the caves while the guards were still preparing search teams. No doubt the presence of armoured crystal ponies and changelings would help him in convincing the hidden creatures to come out.
“Look at me,” he pointed out, raising his arms out to his sides. “I’m a human, see? I’m one of Nige- Emperor Chalmers’ friends. The Crystal Empire is no longer controlled by Equestria, and your crystal heart has been restored.”
“Or you’ve been sent here by the Equestrians!” a difference voice called out, the echoes hiding the position of the voices. Or normally, they would have. Elijah was wearing his helmet, and his armour’s sensors were picking up a group of forty-one ponies and changelings to the left of him.
“What would they gain, really?” he asked, aiming to gain their trust through logic. “Why would the Equestrians make an apparition of a human in armour, send it in here and then try to talk to you to lure you out? For starters, why would they only have left it to now? The reason I’m here is because I’ve been sent to tell you that everything is safe, and I knew that you were hiding in these caves because the Emperor and Captain Strategy told me.”
“Hello? Human?”
Elijah rolled his eyes at the Captain’s voice, the stallion obviously having forgotten his name and title.
“It’s Lead Researcher Elijah, and I’m over here.” Elijah held his ground when armoured hooves approached him from behind, a squad of guards led by the Captain moving beside him.
“Have you found them?” Strategy asked, prompting a hidden voice to call out.
“Who’s there, Equestrians!?”
Elijah made to step forwards, but Strategy held out a foreleg to halt him. The Captain moved up, his sword still held in its sheath.
“This is Captain Strategy, the Equestrians are gone and the Emperor has returned.” Elijah shook his head. Why did the pony think that would work when he had tried the exact same thing himself?
“Strategy?” A male voice asked, a form moving out from the hidden group. Elijah huffed before turning around with the guards, a lone crystal pony walking out from the gloom.
“Head Blacksmith?” Strategy inquired back, earning a grin from the rust brown stallion that appeared.
“Yes, it’s me,” the blacksmith cheerfully replied, before he stopped laughing and walked up to Strategy while keeping a wary eye on Elijah. “Is what this alleged human saying true?”
“It is,” Strategy confirmed with a nod and smile. “Lead Researcher Elijah here helped the Emperor return to the city, it’s safe to come out.”
“That’s a relief; I’ll go and tell the others.”
Elijah’s eyes twitched under his helmet, a little ticked that these ponies didn’t believe him. He was interrupted from his brooding when Strategy cleared his throat, Elijah glancing down at the stallion to find the soldier looking up at him hopefully.
“Lead Researcher, if I may ask you a few questions in private?” Elijah hummed in thought, deciding to seize the opportunity.
“You may, however I wish to ask some in return,” he negotiated. Strategy nodded, bringing a smile to Elijah’s face. “Great, I have already found out so much about changelings from my guide on the way here, but my knowledge of crystal ponies is limited. Chalmers has been rather… hesitant to allowing me to question ponies and changelings.”
“I see,” Strategy answered, the two watching as a line of ponies and changelings filed out from their hiding place. Elijah leaned forward when he spotted the equines with horns on their heads, the alleged magic users that were in charge of enchanted gems. The boxes and bags on their back perked his interest even more, his sensors picking up strong energy readings from the containers.
The ponies and changeling all stared at him when they walked past, the guards that had accompanied Strategy directing them to the exit. Elijah stared back, although they couldn’t see it thanks to his visor. He couldn’t wait to corner a few of them and find out all of their secrets, such gems could possibly drive his research forwards in leaps and bounds.
“Lead Researcher?” Strategy inquired, Elijah biting his lip and giving the unicorns and their cargo a final, longing glance.
‘I got plenty of time,’ he reminded himself. ‘Plus, I’ve got a willing pony to answer questions now. Unicorns and gems can wait, and Nigel did promise that I would have access to them.’ He smiled down at Strategy, forgetting that his helmet hid his face.
“Well Captain, let’s get to questions then.”
“Not here,” Strategy told him, tilting his head at the other guards. “My questions are not really for other ponies, or changelings, to hear.”
“Very well,” Elijah replied. Maybe his choice to stay with the Captain was going to be interesting after all. They began to move back out of the cave, navigating the twisted tunnels with their way marked by the groups of guards stationed along the route. Upon reaching the entrance they emerged into the warm sunlight, the caves still located inside of the dome. Strategy led him towards a supply cart, the wooden wagon loaded with crates.
“I want to ask you about Emperor Chalmers,” Strategy started once they were hidden behind the cart. “Specifically, why is he acting so calm and cheerful, even after he found out that one of his friends died?”
“A friend of his died?” Elijah asked, receiving a nod from Strategy.
“One of my soldiers, a changeling. The Emperor was fairly friendly with him, and this morning he mentioned that they had been planning to share a drink some time.”
“How did he die?”
“He was wounded in the same battle with the Elk in which Chalmers was banished.” Elijah continued to examine the Captain as Strategy’s face lowered in a frown. “He died from his wounds after, apparently he could have made it if our medics were allowed to attend the wounded, instead of the confused and ill-prepared Equestrians. Some of the changelings that were also wounded are claiming that the Equestrians shied away from them out of fear.”
“We shouldn’t jump to conclusions like that without proof,” Elijah warned while glancing up over the cart. No-one was near them; however the citizens that they had found were being guided back to the city by most of the guards. “Still, from what you have said, Nigel might already have adopted that point of view.”
“That’s bad?” Strategy inquired.
“In a way,” Elijah replied with a sigh, before he sat down on the ground against the cart. Strategy followed him, sitting down on his rump next to the human. The pony jolted when an armoured hand placed itself on the armour covering his shoulders. “Chalmers is probably the most stable out of us.”
“Really?” Strategy asked incredulously. “Don’t get me wrong, he’s kind to us, but the way he acted when fighting was-“
“It was like he enjoyed it?”
“It… it was,” Strategy admitted. Elijah sighed again, never in his life having expected to have to give this talk to a four and a half foot high pony.
“It’s part of the job,” Elijah informed him. “You can either let it get to you, or you can choose to go along with it. In the ISA, there are… special cases, and myself and Nigel are included in that.”
“You’re ISA?”
“I was ISA; I’m R and D now.”
“I know,” Strategy explained. “I still can’t see you or Agent James working for the ISA. Agent Orthodox I can understand, after all he seems to fit what I have been told about the ISA, but you other three seem like normal soldiers.”
Elijah smiled slightly, and turned so that his visor faced Strategy.
“Did Nigel tell you what my role in our old squad was, Captain?” He received a head shake from Strategy as an answer. “Well, it was scouting, sniping and interrogation.”
“Interrogation?” Strategy asked, electing a low chuckle from Elijah.
“Indeed, and trust me, if you knew what methods we used and still use, you would not believe me to be ‘normal’.” Strategy lowered his head in thought, the Captain staring down at his armoured hooves. “The ISA loves hiding things behind distractions and masks, so that the enemy never knows what is really going on. Take Chalmers for example. He acts like a fool, but he’s managed to thrive in one of the most brutal departments in the UIP. You don’t get there from being stupid.”
“I know he’s not as stupid as he sometimes seems,” Strategy agreed, looking up. “He rebuilt the Empire after all, managed to incorporate the changelings, taught us how to build better weapons and he’s loved by the citizens. I never once thought of him as stupid.”
“Then what is it about him scares you?” Elijah dived in, keying in on Strategy’s main concerns. The pony squirmed on the spot, before he found the courage to ask the question that he had been dreading.
“What’s he going to do? To Equestria, I mean. He acts calm, but I get the feeling that he hates them.”
“Oh he does, he hates them a lot from what I can see,” Elijah answered. “After what you told me about his dead friend, I wouldn’t be surprised if he wants to burn the country to the ground. He’s rather sentimental like that.”
“Oh…” Strategy replied, Elijah guessing that he felt unsure on how to feel about that goal. He knew that most of his guards wanted revenge, but he assumed that they hoped that their Emperor would hold back against Equestria. The Captain seemed loyal, so Elijah wasn’t certain about the pony’s willingness to command the forces if Nigel decided to really punish Equestria. Still, the concerns of the ponies and changelings weren’t his; he had other things to worry about.
“Now, can I ask my questions?” Elijah inquired, Strategy taking a second before standing up.
“Sure, we did make a deal after all,” the Captain answered while he watched Elijah get up. The stallion and human glanced around, finding that they were the last ones left. The cart was still there, Strategy sighing before walking over to the front harness. Elijah watched on with interest while Strategy hooked himself in, the pony pulling forward and moving the cart with him.
“Need some help?” Elijah asked out of courtesy, the Captain shaking his head.
“No, I’ve got it. Do you mind me answering your questions while we walk back to the city?”
“Not at all,” Elijah told him as he matched his walking pace with the movement of the cart. “Now, Captain Strategy, red or blue?”
“So are the Equestrians coming back?”
James exaggerated a hum, the young colt sitting in front of him looking up in worry.
He had made the mistake of giving in the demands of the three children he had rescued from Orthodox, leading to the situation he was in now.
Spending his morning sitting on a park bench, surrounded by ponies and changelings of all ages, was not his idea of a good time. The changeling ‘nymph’ lying across his legs had refused to move, James absentmindedly having removed the armour from his hand and begun to scratch the creature behind the ears. As much as it pained the trained killer to admit, the subjects that Nigel had managed to take over were almost sickening in their cuteness. Even the adult ponies and changelings were adorable, James unable to put his finger on the reason why.
“They might try to come back,” he told the young child, the crowd of ponies and changelings murmuring and whispering to each other. “But your guards will be ready for them this time, and I’ve been told that your guards are decent fighters.”
“They fought off the Elk!” a young filly chimed in, James nodding at her.
“They sure did. Also, you’ve got us here now as well, and your Emperor has told me to help train the guards even more. Isn’t that right, Sergeant Blitz?”
“It is,” the diamond-coated mare standing next to the bench replied, the guard apparently another friend of Nigel’s. She had been assigned to escort him around the city, the pony proving to be an adept guide and thankfully better with children than he was.
“How will we fight Celestia though?” A changeling stallion spoke up from the back of the group, James remembering that the changelings had adopted the gender labels of the crystal ponies. “She managed to banish the Emperor.”
“I can’t tell you the plans for security reasons.”
‘Also, I don’t happen to know them myself.’
“But I can say a few things that Nige- Emperor Chalmers told me. Celestia needed the help of her sister, Luna, to perform the banishment spell. However, that still doesn’t mean that she’s not a potent magical force. Luckily for us, the other human you may see walking around, Elijah, studies magic with other things. So, with the help of your unicorns and changelings, he could come up with a defence against Equestrian magic.”
In truth, James had no idea if Elijah was even capable of such a thing, but the crowd relaxed at the news. James looked around at the smiling faces, the sun shining down through the dome and lighting up the park they were in with warm light. He had to admit that Nigel’s citizens did seem happy, even with the events that they had gone through. James still couldn’t believe that Chalmers had it in him to successfully organise something, but apparently he could.
“Switch, come on and leave the human alone.” James glanced down, a changeling mare prodding the nymph lying on his armoured lap with a hoof. Switch grumbled, before reluctantly getting up and jumping to the ground.
“But it feels so good!” he protested, before the adult changeling, who James assumed was the mother, frowned down at the nymph.
“It looked like it does, but Agent James must have work to do with the guards. Just because school isn’t on doesn’t mean that you can run around annoying humans. Why don’t you go and play with Harmony and Glaze?” She looked up at James with an apologetic smile after Switch had huffed and run off. The rest of the crowd had begun to disperse, shops and stalls opening up around the park for the lunchtime business. “I’m sorry about him; nymphs can be a bit of a hoofful sometimes, especially with all of the positive energy in the air.”
“It’s no problem, really,” James reassured with a wave of his hand. “I’m sure Sergeant Blitz shares my opinion.” He turned to look at the Sergeant standing on his left, the armoured mare nodding her head.
“That’s right, I don’t mind either. Besides, I have a foal at home so I know how it can be.”
“Oh, what’s their name?” the changeling asked, Blitz smiling at the question.
“It’s Flora, she was one of the Equestrians that we found in the Diamond Dog den after the raid.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” the changeling murmured. “I… arrived in the Empire after that, but I heard that it was pretty brutal.”
“It was, I was one of the guards leading the counterattack by the Emperor’s side,” Blitz told her while straightening with pride. James sighed and stood up from the bench, the two females continuing their conversation.
“I see, do you think your Flora would like to come and play with Switch and his friends? I’ve been asked to watch them this afternoon.”
“They probably know each other from school, so I don’t see that as a problem,” Blitz answered enthusiastically. “Flora has been a little shy, for understandable reasons, so some more friends will be good for her.”
“This is wonderful,” James cut in. “But we do have commitments this afternoon, Sergeant.”
“Oh, I forgot,” Blitz muttered before looking apologetically at the changeling. “Sorry, but I have to go to training this afternoon. Flora will probably need me to introduce her, but thanks for the offer-“
“We can drop off your… filly before the training, Sergeant,” James sighed, hating to put the pony under pressure. “I was planning on getting some lunch anyway, and we still have some time before we are supposed to be at the training field.” He was rewarded with a happy nod from the guard, James glancing away from the shining blue eyes.
“Thank you sir!” she acknowledged, before turning back to the changeling. “Now, what time and where do you live?”
“I’ll be over at the food stands,” James told her, keen to get a move on. The guard nodded at him and went back to her conversation. The agent rolled his eyes under his helmet and moved towards a sandwich stall, one thought about the situation moving to the front of his mind.
‘It could be worse; at least Orthodox and Elijah are off somewhere else.’
Strategy eagerly made his way through the city, heading to training grounds. After answering Lead Researcher Elijah’s many, many questions, he had grabbed some lunch at the castle before leaving to attend the afternoon training session with Agent James. Strategy was looking forward to what the human could teach them, and it would be good for the morale of the troops. Granted, after the liberation of the city from the Equestrians, the troops were already feeling great.
Strategy himself also felt elated, the Captain merrily trotting down the cobbled road of the city. The snow was almost completely melted, and ponies and changelings were out in force during the nice day. A few of the adults still appeared to be recovering from the celebrations, but overall the city seemed to be one thing that it had been missing for a month.
Happy.
He grinned to himself, his sheathed sword clinking against his armour while he walked. Despite the threat of an Equestrian attempt to retake the city and his questioning of the Emperor’s character, Strategy felt calm and at peace. Who knows, maybe the Equestrians would just give up and leave them alone? After the hostility they received, they might just decide that holding the Crystal Empire would be too much trouble.
With these, slightly positive thoughts on his mind, Strategy continued on his journey to the far west of the city. The crowds thinned when he entered the military district, less residential housing and more armouries and smithies. They lacked a barracks, guards traditionally living in their own homes, but Strategy was considering asking the Emperor for one.
He passed a squad of guards, the mix of ten ponies and changelings saluting him as he passed. He nodded and smiled at them in return, pleased to hear them joke and laugh after he had passed. Strategy was proud of his troops, and the speed at which they had bonded together. Whether changeling or crystal pony, all had become stronger after the occupation and he was incredibly proud of them for it. When he died, at least he could have the knowledge that he had served adequately as a Captain.
The amount of guards increased as he moved closer to the training field, all of them on their way to train. Strategy spotted something in the distance, over near the memorial cemetery that they had made for the military. He changed his course, moving closer while guards filed around him respectfully. As he closed, he picked up a conversation between two changeling soldiers in their plate armour.
“They’ve been there for an hour now.” One of them, a male, mentioned to his fellow.
“I think it’s sweet of them,” the other, a female judging from the voice, answered. “It’s good to see that they bothered to take the time to visit.”
“I know that, Shift, but don’t they have more important things to do? The Equestrians could attack at any time; the prisoners we released would have made it back by now.”
“What’s going on, soldiers?” Strategy interrupted, the two Privates whipping around and saluting.
“Captain, we were just commenting about the Emperor, sir,” the female that Strategy recognised as Private Shift answered. Curious, Strategy moved in-between them, looking around until he spotted the target of the conversation.
Sitting down side-by-side on one of the benches in the cemetery, was Emperor Chalmers and Advisor Reflection. Strategy, having memorised all of the different names engraved on the thirty-two headstones, realised that they were sitting in front of the grave that belonged to Corporal Chatter.
He stood in silence for a few moments, debating on whether he should join the pair or not. On one hoof, he himself had spent hours in front of the graves kicking himself for not being good enough to save his soldiers. Spending some time remembering with the Emperor might get rid of that guilt. On the other hoof, it was probably a good idea to let Chalmers and Reflection spend some time alone together, even if it was in front of the grave of their dead friend.
“Is something wrong, sir?” Corporal Shift asked, Strategy breaking out of his thoughts with a shake of his head.
“It’s nothing to worry about,” he told the two soldiers before trotting off towards the training field. “Now come along, we have training to attend.”
Chalmers tapped his left hand against the armrest of the bench he was on, a light breeze blowing through the cemetery. His other hand was stroking Reflection’s back, his advisor silently sitting on the bench beside him. He was ignoring the guards moving around behind him, his focus set on one thing.
A single square headstone was in front of him, the headstone itself actually made of a transparent crystal. Chatter’s name and rank was inscribed on it, the date of his death below. Nigel had already visited the other graves, having saved Chatter’s for last.
“I’m sorry for not telling you earlier, I… I forgot with everything and you found out in a really bad way.” Reflection lowered her head, staring at her hind hooves with her forelegs in between them. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault he died,” Nigel told her, continuing to rub her back. He sighed, leaning back on the bench as he did so. “And it’s not your fault I didn’t find out; this is one of the first things I should have checked up on when I returned. Instead I acted irresponsibly. So don’t blame yourself, it’s my own fault.” He felt a head rest upon his shoulder, and a foreleg lay against his back.
“Hey, you were acting irresponsibly with me, so it’s not that bad.”
Nigel chuckled at Reflection’s attempt to lighten the mood, while it didn’t really help, he appreciated her trying.
“You know that’s going to change, don’t you?” he told her. She sighed, nodding her head on his arm.
“You’re going to have to work all the time, don’t you?”
“I will,” he answered regretfully. “No more strolling around the city I’m afraid. It’s going to be organising and planning day in, day out.” He turned his head, glancing down at Reflection while she rested on his arm. “I also won’t be able to spend as much time with you.”
“That’s not true,” Reflection answered, still keeping her head where it was.
“It isn’t?”
“No, and I’ll tell you why.” Nigel was surprised, two lime eyes turning to look at him. “You have to work; when we first started like this you told me that. I used to think that you meant that you’d be away for a long time, working in the city and things like that. But I just realised something. You have to work, but it doesn’t mean I can’t spend time with you.” Reflection grinned at him, the sombre mood lifting. “I’ll help you work! I’ve got to learn about ruling anyway, because I haven’t exactly been the busiest advisor. It’ll be fun, and after we finish work we still will have some time to spend by ourselves.”
Nigel wasn’t too sure about what to think. It wasn’t that he questioned her ability; after all, Reflection had managed to keep the initial group of changelings alive to make it to the Empire. She was determined, intelligent and while rash was capable of thinking ahead. It was more to do with the fact that having her around would be a distraction, and there was always the risk that she would get hurt.
“Are you sure?” he asked her, deciding to trust her on this. “You know we’ll both have to act a little more professional than we have been so far?”
“I’m certain,” she answered with a determined nod. Reflection grinned at him, placing her free foreleg on his right leg. “Besides, we’ll still eat and sleep together. We can be unprofessional then.”
Nigel chuckled at her boldness, one of the traits that he loved about her. He stood up from the bench, stretching his back while Reflection also got down.
“Well, it’s not time for goofing off now. I was planning on overseeing the training session, so now I guess that it means we’re going to see it.”
“That’s right,” Reflection agreed as she playfully bumped her side against his leg. “I promise to behave.” Nigel snorted at this, Reflection rolling her eyes and holding out a foreleg.
“Do you ever behave?” he teased, taking her hoof in his hand, before they walked out of the cemetery gate into an empty military district. As Nigel shut the iron gate behind them, he spared a second to look back over the graves. Instead of guilt or sadness, he felt pride for his dead soldiers. Despite being primitive and weak when he had found them, they had served better than he had ever thought possible. Briefly, his eyes wandered over to the large space of grass next to the graves.
He hoped that the space would never need to be filled.
“Come on,” Reflection told him with a tug. “We’ll miss the training, and I want to see what James will do.”
“Okay, let’s go,” Nigel gave in, letting her pull him towards the training field. “I think I’m already starting to regret this ‘bring your changeling to work’ thing.”
“Oh shut up, you love it,” Reflection dismissed, increasing her pace. Chalmers shook his head with a laugh when she bumped against him again.
‘Well, she’s right.’
“Shining Armour!”
Shining looked up from his steaming mug of tea at the voice of Princess Celestia, the troops beside him doing the same when the Princess herself walked into the town hall of Hayseed. It had been a long and cold journey to the northern border town, but they had all made it there alive. A messenger from the town had been dispatched to Canterlot, requesting Celestia and more guards.
“Princess,” he greeted, taking a welcome sip of tea. He was surprised when Celestia rushed over to him and wrapped her wings around him in an embrace, the mayor of the town and Celestia’s guards just as shocked.
“What happened Shining, to the Crystal Empire?” Shining winced at Celestia’s question, knowing that she wouldn’t like his answer. The form under the blankets next to his shivered, Celestia glancing towards it when he stroked it with a hoof.
“The Emperor has returned.”
Celestia froze, the roomful of guards watching her with worry. Shining felt a chill run down his spine when he saw her eyes, the normally warm orbs cold.
“Impossible,” Celestia whispered, more to herself than to anyone else. “The only banishment spell that is more powerful is the one I used on Luna; there is no way that he could have escaped.”
“He… he got thrown out,” Shining started to explain, Celestia’s eyes widening.
“What?”
“He told me, after he had taken back control, that he had been thrown out.” Shining shivered again, and not from the cold. “He had three other creatures with him. Two were more humans, but the third is more like a small dragon. They captured Cadence and I, as well as Twilight and her friends. The Emperor then threatened to have the other humans kill us if the guards didn’t surrender, and they meant it.”
Celestia didn’t interrupt, everyone in the room listening to the retelling.
“After they found out that Twilight was an Element Bearer, and that they had all six, Chalmers let me, Cadence and the guards go.”
“What about Twilight and her friends?” Celestia asked with visible concern. “Surely he didn’t-“
“He kept them,” Shining nodded sadly. “He told me to tell you that they would be treated well, but if Equestria attacks then they’ll be executed.”
“Execute them…” Celestia mumbled, her calm façade dropping for a second. She looked back up at him, stepping back to give him some room. “Is it that bad? Surely we can negotiate, and get them released in return for leaving the Empire alone?” Celestia brightened a bit, nodding her head. “At least with Chalmers returned, we can hope to solve this peacefully. Now that he’s no longer banished, I can apologise to him and the citizens of the Crystal Empire for my mistake.”
Shining grimaced, Celestia gazing at him with her hope dropping. She took another step forward, although she refrained from touching him with her wings.
“What’s wrong Shining? Emperor Chalmers did often act with rationality, so it’s not that far-fetche-“
“There’s no way this will end peacefully,” Shining interrupted with a shake of his head. “The Emperor and the Crystal Empire hate us, and he told me that he was coming for you.”
“I refuse to give up,” Celestia told him, raising her head. “I already failed him, the Crystal Empire, my own sister and myself with my rash actions. I will not let violence break out, I will solve this even if it takes years.” Looking up at her, Shining hated to do what he was about to do. Celestia seemed so determined to set things right, to repair her mistakes.
“That’s not going to happen, Princess,” he informed her hopelessly. While Celestia stared at him, waiting for an answer, he nudged the mass of blankets beside him. “Cadence, show her.”
Celestia and the new ponies that had entered with her gasped when the pile moved, Cadence standing up silently from the floor. A dirty pink muzzle with tearstains poked out from the coverings, Shining standing up with her. Gently, and murmuring words of encouragement to her, Shining slowly removed the mass of blankets bit by bit.
Guards looked away, while Celestia’s eyes were locked on Cadence’s shaven form. Shining put a foreleg over her withers and led her forward, towards Celestia. Cadence’s head was bowed, not saying a word while Celestia’s eyes read the message that had been left on her. After she had finished reading, Celestia was silent for a few moments.
Once again, Shining found white wings wrap around him, this time they covered Cadence as well.
“I’m so sorry that this happened to you,” Celestia mumbled while she embraced them. “This is all my fault, and you two got caught up because of it.” Cadence let out a sob, sitting down on the ground and pushing her head into Celestia’s chest. Shining hugged her tighter, none of the other ponies daring to interrupt the moment between the three.
“What’s going to happen?” Cadence wearily asked between sobs, shaking when Celestia nuzzled her.
“I don’t know,” Celestia replied. “Hopefully Emperor Chalmers will see reason, and accept my apology.”
“If not?” Shining sighed, feeling the exhaustion of the journey catch up with him. Celestia pulled them both in closer.
“Then I shudder to think of what he will try to do to us.”
“I’m going on a pony hunt; I’m going to catch a lot of them!”
Orthodox sang to himself as he followed the mass of faint hoof tracks in the snow. Thankfully the snowfall had been light and his armour’s sensors where able to pick up the remains of the tracks. He eagerly jumped from track to track, taking his time and enjoying the solitude. His mind was filled with images of burning buildings, gold and jewels, alcohol, and lifeless bodies.
All of them brought him equal amounts of glee.
“Tis the season to be jolly,” he changed songs, twirling his rifle as he danced through the snow. “Celestia is full of folly.”
With his free hand he brushed over the multiple knives hidden in his armour, until it landed on another compartment. Pulling another weapon from the hidden internal holster, he briefly turned the gauss submachine over in his armoured hand to examine it. Debating whether it would be funnier to use solid rounds or energy, he twirled around on the spot with the dark grey weapon grasped in his left hand.
“Tra-la-la la-la, la-la la, la!”