Cimmerian was in the middle of enjoying something called a hayburger (which bore a striking resemblance to a hamburger, and he'd quickly asked for cheese on it, to the cook's confusion) when a decorated griffon approached his table.
"So you're the alicorn. Cimmerian, right? Somehow I was expecting bloody fangs, or an alicorn that absorbed the light around him with how much you've been talked up lately," the griffon joked, taking a seat across from the stallion. "Base Commander of Freeside, Captain Hackett."
Swallowing his latest bite, the stallion took a sip of cream soda, the first carbonated beverage he'd tasted since his imprisonment and release, and coughed to clear his throat.
"The red stuff on the fangs is ketchup."
"Ha! Finally, an alicorn who isn't a stick in the mud!" the griffon barked with laughter. "I heard Celestia would sometimes play pranks, but when you talked to her, she would be all business. Her sister was even more stiff, but she was getting better before all of this manure started to fly. I saw who you have over there, the flappin' mares, half of them are heroes. The other's an immortal alicorn, there's some changelings, and a pluckin' dragon. You said you're headed to Zarris right? We're sending some supplies their way, just got word that they fought off some weird strike force of kamikaze drones, and they're asking for a few unicorns to analyze the arrays on the one or two they managed to kill without the blasted things exploding. We can get you on that ship, I'm sure. The higher ups want you to keep causing problems for the pony queen, and Herrick's given a request to provide any aid to your cause while you're out and about. The enemy of my enemy and all that.
"I know normally he's a stickler for the rules but something's got him worked up, and he's shared it with the other commanders. Any idea what it is that could make that griffon turn a new leaf?"
"Likely the fact that the nightmares have tried this before, and they won't stop until the world is dead, devoid of life?" the alicorn deadpanned. "The creature holding Queen Twilight is the same type of creature that caused Luna to attempt to plunge the world into eternal night so many years ago. The first failed, and now a second nightmare is using a different route. With the information of what caused its predecessor to fail, the nightmare took out all of its enemies beforehand. My interference was unaccounted for. Now it's panicking, and the minotaurs and griffons can fight back without horrible losses. I'd be happy to help you guys more, but right now I need to oversee my own people. I've been gone for too long. Besides that my wife is pregnant, and I don't want to be away from her any longer than I have to be."
"Ah. I heard Herrick had seen Cadance at some point, gonna be popping out even more alicorn's?"
Cimmerian shook his head. "Cadance only came up to my shoulder last time I saw her. Maybe when she's fully recovered she'd be pretty enough for me to think of her that way, but right now it's more of a 'she's cute, in the way a teenager can be cute'. Besides, her husbands still walking around, even if he's not all there. She should at least have a chance to burry her husband before someone else asks her out, if what Celestia told me is correct. The nightmare has him still walking around but his mind is, gone for lack of a better word. For all intents and purposes, the Mad Queen's captain is a walking corpse."
"If it's not the alicorn then, the changeling?" he asked, looking over to Zelus.
"Not that queen, no. Pandinus is the name of my wife, and she stayed at the Temple to watch over things while I was gone," the stallion said, finally giving up and lowering his burger. "Her pregnancy has been... I'd call it normal by mammalian standards, but changelings are normally egg layers. She's probably still worried about it, and she'll probably jump me the second I reach the Temple. I miss her too, as strange as it feels. Changelings, they can be extremely affectionate. They can tell when you're agitated, or sad, or moody much easier than anyone else, even if they don't quite understand the details. She's kept me going though some hard times."
The griffon blanched at the thought of such an odd pregnancy.
"Wait, she's an egg-layer and she's having a live-birth? Oh geeze, Kass would kill me if I did that to her. How does that even work, anyway?"
"I have no idea, my best guess would be that alicorn's are naturally close enough to changelings to allow some bleed-over, while changelings are extremely adaptable. That, or it's more magical bullshit i don't understand. Din's been doing very well changing herself in other ways as well, though. She's linked to another queen now, and normally they don't share hives; two queens would apparently do everything in their power to kill each other. This mess hasn't been kind to changelings either, and we only have three changeling queens that are aware of themselves. The rest may very well be beyond saving.
"I think that's why Din's been so willing to adapt and listen to my requests," the stallion said, staring at his plate. "Dammit, now I feel bad about being so squeamish about being intimate with her. Her species is facing extinction, and she's found a male that was willing to protect and feed her. Of course she'd want to lock me down, it's survival at this point."
"You've already gone through that kind of thing though, right? So what's the issue? I mean, it's not like you haven't already accepted her as your mate," the griffon said, taking a swig from his mug.
"I know, but I'm kinda worried about how, how much she's taking this talk of looking to the future. She's accepted other queens into her hive, and depending on how the pregnancy goes..." the alicorn trailed off, looking to the the table currently occupied by a changeling queen.
"You think she may want to invite others into the relationship? What's the issue with that? I mean, I thought most ponies were okay with that kind of thing." Hackett said, giving Cimmerian a curious stare.
Cimmerian ruffled his wings, shaking his head in irritation.
"It's something from, before all of this. You could say I was raised differently. I know it seems fine here but, it's just odd. I mean, I feel odd about it, but in this case the queens are literally looking to keep their species going. Din trusts me and I trust her, but Zelus? Zelus knows Din trusts me, and because of that, that queen over there has no issue with me helping her clean her wings or lay her eggs. Things she doesn't let anyone outside her hive near her for, hell she almost lashed out at Scoo-Eloise when the queen had her wings open. It's just, I feel like I don't deserve that kind of trust, and yet they seem completely okay with it. Just, trusting me with everything like that."
Hackett chuckled at the stallion's frustration.
"So you feel like you'd owe them to allow such a thing. I guess I can see how that would be an issue in some ways. You shouldn't let them pressure you though, 'specially considering all the things you've done for them so far. You're already pulling them out of the fire, right? Gave them a place to sleep, eat, and grow safely? I usually have tom's complaining about the opposite, you know. 'My hen doesn't want another female, doesn't want a flock, how can I convince her to try it?' or something like that. I say get to know the other hen a bit first. Talk to her about it instead of avoiding the subject, otherwise it will just fester. Your wife wants your love, in this case more than a normal hen would as it is literally her sustenance. Just remember, marriage is compromise. Not just on your part, not just on her part. If you're not sure about it, ask her to hold off. Maybe you'll end up changing your mind later, maybe that other queen will find another creature to pursue. That's just how life works."
"You're married?" Cimmerian asked, lifting his own glass for a drink.
"Happily, for about twenty years. Had a second hen join us for a bit, though it was a friend of Kass' who was going through a rough patch. She'd just broken up with another tom and things were just a mess for the poor girl. It was more of a matter of support than anything sexual. I honestly don't remember if we even ever made it official, but I also don't remember ever spending time specifically with her. It was more along the lines of her finding comfort with a stable family while she found herself. You may be able to convince Pandinus to try that first. Find out if the other one's compatible before you allow her into the bedroom. It may be odd, but I'm sure you could find a way to meld your ideas of dating and find something that-what's so funny?"
The stallion was striking his chest, having choked on his drink from laughing so hard.
"You, you think the changelings have, have dating rituals? Din didn't want to be my mate, she wanted to screw me so she could have more powerful hatchlings! Changelings don't have dating, they don't even normally keep a mate! Oh my god, man, she literally referred to it as harvesting from a male, that's how little emotional connection they usually develop with the father of their clutch. The only one in this relationship whose culture has dating practices is me, and It's kind of hard to take Pandinus out for dinner and a movie when dinner involves her eating my emotions, and the closest city doesn't even have a theatre. I don't think that poor lady's ever even seen a play before, and it's possible the first fictional story anyone ever told her was the one I was telling some foals."
"I...see. I guess I failed to take into account the, the changeling thing. I really don't know much about them," Hackett said apologetically.
"It means they were doing a good job. That's where they put most of their effort, apparently. Not being seen, not leaving any traces, I'm pretty sure they plugged any leaks as well, maybe even took out a few individuals that became suspicious. That or did something to discredit them. So I gotta ask, what's a griffon do to invite a hen out? Is there something special, do you need to ask the family, what?"
"It depends on the age of the couple. A tom or hen who are fully independent can request to enter a courtship attempt at any time, but if the griffon is still living with the parents, the parents are the ones who receive the request. After that, it's the usual dates. Going to a city fair, a hunting trip, perhaps they'll challenge each other in a test of strength, agility, or speed. You know, find out if the other griffon is worthy of joining blood with.
"If both parties are satisfied, they invite family as witnesses, and depart on the Wild Rite. The couple will spend a week in a heavily forested area, living off of their kills. It's actually a bit tricky here, because while some see this as an opportunity to consummate the relationship, there are predators in those parts. I've heard of a few anxious toms getting hurt because they and their mate were too exhausted to fight off a wildcat or something. That ends up being a smudge on ones honor. If you can't defend your mate during the Wild Rite, then are you truly loyal, are you strong enough to defend them and your cubs? Thus most put off any sexual contact until afterwards; it's the way to go, trust me. By the end of it you'll be all over each other, and you can do it without having to worry about wild animal attacks. Joining a pre-existing flock's a bit easier, as there's no major rites, but you still have to offer some sort of tribute. In the case of my wife's friend, it was simply three hundred gold coins. If the couple find the tribute acceptable, the new member is welcomed into the family."
"That, I don't know if my people had anything like that. The first part, asking the parents if the couple was young was considered good manners. As for date venues, the most popular were fancy restaurants or places of entertainment. I think there are a lot of people who would be insulted if you tried testing them during a date."
The alicorn had finished most of his burger during the explanation, and took a long pull from his glass.
"As for the actual marriage, there are plenty of ceremonies based on where you lived. Some were heavily ritualistic, but the one I'm most familiar with was a religious marriage. It was done by a higher member of the religion, everyone dressed up, the priest conducted the ceremony, vows were exchanged... 'for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until in death do we part.' It was always just one male and one female for those in my country, and in many others. None of this, 'flock' or 'herd' business. Sure there were guys who dreamed of such things, it's a common teenage fantasy when the testosterone first starts clouding your head, but in actuality? I don't know if I'd survive two of them."
"I guess I can see that being strange if you weren't raised around it, though that only raises more questions. Oh, we also had something called war-flocks during long military campaigns. An already established flock would allow pairs to join in, then those pairs would break off afterwards. In combat it's not an issue, but doing so in times of peace is considered cheating, and pretty dishonorable. Even the flock who sponsored the new couple could end up facing shame, allowing such an undercutting of tradition to take place."
The griffon chuckled, shaking the memories away.
"But then you have ponies. On the one talon, you had some ponies that were pretty clear and open about such relationships. It's not common knowledge, but there was this one earth pony town, Sunnytown I think it was called. They had a fertility festival. A crazy sight from what I heard. On the third day everyone would go out into the sunflower fields and pick a partner. Couples usually stayed together, but otherwise it was a free-for-all. There's even tale of one of the alicorns, the blue one, taking her beau to that festival and donning a disguise. If the stallion could find her and spend the night with her, she accepted him as her consort.
"Then you have the other side of the spectrum. Most of the ponies in Canterlot are pretty uptight about bloodlines and heritage, but some are monogamous by choice, not heritage. This one couple, Fancy Pants and Fleur de Lis, were like that. Oh, they allowed ponies to try and join them, but they found other ways to drive the interlopers away pretty quick if they didn't like the new ponies. Like pulling out the ball-gags on the end of the first date. Turned out they were both incapable of having kids, too, which is a shame. Fleur is one of those unicorns who could even cause griffons and diamond dogs to choke on their drinks."
A griffon came up to the table, whispering something into the captain's ear even as Trixie rushed over to the table, a jittering white alicorn bouncing on her back and giggling the whole way.
"Cimmerian, we have a problem."
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The stallion and the griffon captain left the galley and walked to the front gate of the city, seeing a veritable tide of ponies that were all looking to escape the Mad Queen's wrath. Beyond the walls of the encampment though, were about twenty or so royal guards, all keeping their distance from one another and watching those around them carefully. With a squint, Cimmerian was able to make out why they were all so cautious.
'More of those damned arrays, but they look like they're in control of themselves. Silver Spoon mentioned something about reports from her friend that the ponies that were controlled moved like zombies, really jerky and not all that aware of their surroundings.'
With a quick flare of his horn, the dark alicorn stole Trixie's passenger, setting Celestia on his own back.
"What are you doing, Cimmerian?" the white mare asked in curiosity.
"I need a reason for them to listen to the strange dark alicorn, and you're going to be my reason," he answered, motioning for Trixie to follow him before trotting out the front gate amid the gasping and pointing civilians.
"Alright, listen up," he shouted to the soldiers, drawing a few strangled yelps and some wide-eyed stares "My name is Cimmerian, Lord Cimmerian of the Temple of the Shadows. You lot have just escaped by the skin of your teeth and now hear the control arrays, even if they don't have a grip on you, right?"
A few stallions nodded, their eyes zipping from the dark stallion to his passenger in awe.
"In that case, I have a solution. One that Celestia endorses, and one that a fellow soldier has already gone through. Zelus?" he called back, soon seeing the shape shifter trotting out into the sunlight.
A few ponies screamed, a few more fainted, but most of the guards were busy staring at the stallion walking beside her, the array on his cheek no longer glowing a sickly green like their own but a light blue, the same color the guards then noticed on the chitin-bearing blue unicorn sitting beside the larger alicorn. The soldiers traded a few whispers, never getting too close to each other for fear of their arrays linking as the queen took in the sight before her.
"Let me guess, you want them linked?" the queen said with a tired sigh. "You know this is exhausting, not just forming the link, but calming them down as well. The pony here has had two panic attacks in the last hour, both of them from looking at me while daydreaming."
"I'll put it this way, Zel. Each one you nab is one we won't have to fight later." Cimmerian explained to her, followed by a poke by Celestia.
"They're as close to a family as I have right now Zelus," the white alicorn said softly. "Can you please help them?"
The changeling queen rolled her eyes before approaching a single stallion, causing him to tense up despite Celestia's constant reassurances.
"Watch closely, watch his array and you'll see the Pony Queen's claim to him fade," Zelus announced, touching her horn to the unicorn's forehead. The shaking stallion seized up on the contact, the only thing keeping him from bolting being the reassuring grip of the alicorn mare's hooves on his own leg. After about thirty seconds, the green glow faded from his cheek, replaced by the ashen blue that filled the arrays of both Trixie and the pegasus stallion. The unicorn staggered before falling forward, his exhaustion finding a hold on him now that the voices were silenced. Several of the other guards made for weapons, others made to flee, when the soft sound of snores reached their perked ears.
Cracking her neck in anticipation of a long day, the changeling queen looked over the crowd of stallions with an impassive expression.
"So who's next?"
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Cimmerian was reclined comfortably in the grass, allowing a flow of gratefulness and pride to flow to the changeling queen at his side. Celestia was on her other side, watching each soldier that was being pulled from madness and allowing her gratefulness and happiness to be channeled at the source of this miracle. Zelus had long since given up trying to link with each soldier individually, using several unicorns to perform the links instead. It saved her own magic, and allowed her to multi-task in the claiming of the guards. Many were wary of the offers, even seeing the sleeping guards all dozing on mats in a large tent, but speaking to a few of the others that were now in full control of their faculties seemed to help.
Trixie and the first guard, Cool Breeze, had taken to training the new inductees in their new telepathy, the unicorn mare reveling in having so many eyes on her. It was funny, seeing the mare so animated about such a thing as the mental link, but it was more likely that she was just happy to be able to speak to large groups of ponies again. The other mares were once more dozing about the emptied wagon they'd been transported in, curled up around each other while Big Mac was running a hoof through his sister's mane and humming a soft tune. Apple Bloom and Silver were talking in hushed voices across the way, while Scootaloo was speaking to Hackett, likely telling him everything about what happened in the Everfree that Apple Bloom had filled in for the orange mare during the trip to Freeside.
A griffon nudged the dark alicorn, waking him just as he was dozing off in the grass.
"Lord Cimmerian, the airship to Zarris will be taking on cargo and passengers in about ten minutes. It will be leaving in about an hour after that."
The stallion nodded, picking himself up off the grass and stretching, feeling a few pops as his joints were moved for the first time in several hours. Looking over the ponies being inducted into the link, he saw the queen's unicorns resting and gave her a shove.
"We're going to be leaving Zelly, you want to stay here and continue this, or what?"
The queen blinked coming out of her hive-trance and looking around. She attempted to rise, but just stumbled a bit, causing the alicorn to laugh and levitate her onto his back.
"Well, shall I carry you to the airship, or will you stay to work on those who are still arriving?" Cimmerian asked once more.
"I, I don't know, I mean I'd like to go, but I can't just-"
"Go, I will do this," Heart answered, riding atop the drake's head. The bandages had mostly been removed from the purple dragon, though his left eye still seemed glassy.
"I will help, for my, for..." the queen slowed, looking to Zelus nervously.
"I will prepare your own chambers in the hive, sister," Zelus responded with a warm smile. "I'm sure that within a few days of Pandinus getting her hooves on Cimmerian, they will start producing a surplus of love again. Once you come home, we will help you grow back into a full queen before too long."
"Thank you, sister," the proto queen squeaked, a stray tear falling from her muzzle. "I will not let you down, I promise. I will keep a few of the pony soldiers here for protection, but send most of them to the Hive. Between two squads of the soldiers, the griffons, and Guardian, I should be fine."
Cimmerian nodded at the queen before focusing on the drake.
"Keep the little lady safe, okay Spike?"
The drake blinked, focusing on the alicorn with his good eye. His gaze then wandered to the sleeping mares, before returning to Cimmerian.
"Protect...friends?"
"With my life," the alicorn said, putting a hoof across his barrel. "I will explain a few things when next I see you, so take care of Heart. She may not know how to express it, but she loves you."
"Promise," the drake rumbled, moving his arms in a slow version of the Pinkie promise. He deftly avoided poking his own eye, but Cimmerian assumed it was only from growing up with the originator of the strange oath.
The alicorn bowed respectfully and the drake stared curiously for a moment before repeating the gesture, nearly losing a giggling proto-queen with the speed of his bow. Goodbye's said, Cimmerian gathered his group and made for the airship.
'The Bearers of Harmony, the actual elements themselves, Celestia, Trixie, some nice armor and weapons I picked up in the Castle, a few pony guards, a trio of troublesome mares, an apple farmer, and oh, can't forget the eggs. Heart and Spike will head home once the flow here stops, but I don't know how long that will be, may have to send a jar of love out here via the Talons for her. Yea, I'd say the trip went pretty well. Considering I've never touched politics, or fought in actual combat before, or even traveled half this far from home before all this shit.'
Laying down in the cargo area of the airship, the group all curled up and made themselves comfortable for the long journey. It wouldn't be long now, home sweet home was just a day or two away, from what Hackett said about this speedy little ship. The stallion blinked as he was laying down, the oddity of what he'd just thought nearly making him laugh.
"I'm going back to the Temple, back to Din, back to my family. It really is home at this point, isn't it?" he muttered, using a wing to pull a passed out Celestia closer to his side.
"I can't reach my old family, so I'll just have to love my new one all the more."