A long red tongue dragged up the ball of mint ice-cream, Nigel’s own chocolate one starting to melt in his armoured hand while it sat ignored.
Chrysalis paused before going in for another lick, one eyes raising up while she glanced at him. “Something the matter?”
“Not at all,” he quickly replied before taking a lick of his own. “Just… thinking about stuff, is all.”
Chrysalis remained staring for a moment before seeming to dismiss it, returning her attentions to her treat without questioning it further. Nigel glanced around the table to take his mind off of… things, all of the nobles happily enjoying their own ice-creams without any talk happening at all.
The café they were sitting outside was still quite busy despite their presence, although there were plenty of stares and hasty diversions around them. Bat ponies of all ages stopped to stare at the strange group, but none were game enough to ask questions or even whisper to themselves within earshot.
Nigel’s free hand tapped the helmet that was resting upon the wooden tabletop, his mind once again wandering back towards Chrysalis and her ice-cream. He was just quick enough to catch her intercepting a stray line of melted ice-cream that was just about to drip off the bottom of her cone, his own cone noticeably cracking in his clenched hand.
“Um, Nigel,” Chrysalis asked with the drop of green icecream still on her dainty tongue. “Are you sure you’re okay?” He watched while the solitary drop was withdrawn back into her mouth along with her tongue, before glancing down at the shattered remains of his own treat. He smiled at the entire watching group even while chocolate continued to smear down his armour, and he gave a shrug.
“Yeah, I’m fine. It was… a computer malfunction, that’s all.” Before they could question him further, he shook his hand off towards the side and engaged them first. “So, what’s the verdict? Pretty good, huh?”
There were nods all around in reply, Chrysalis finishing hers with a final crunch of her jaws. “It was satisfactory.”
“I like mine,” Reflection answered while still working on strawberry-flavoured one.
“Me too,” admitted Cupid. She was devouring the same flavour as Chrysalis, and surprisingly wasn’t as hostile compared to normal. “Why don’t we have this back at the hive?”
“It requires milk, a method of freezing it, and all the other ingredients,” Chrysalis answered. “As well as a recipe and changelings decimated to food preparation.”
Nigel shrugged again, waving a hand. “Piece of cake. I can easily make some solar generators, a freezer, and even a machine to automatically make it. All we’d need to do is steal some sugar and flavourings, teach a few changelings how to pour the stuff in and press buttons, then abduct some cows. Last part will be easy, I’m an alien after all.”
Buzz tilted his head, his mouth covered with chocolate. “Why cows? We’ll have pony mares that we can use.”
“Pfft, pony milk?” Nigel chuckled, shaking his head at the image. “Would that even work?”
Chrysalis stared at him. “Of course, where do you think the majority of Equestria’s milk comes from?” He was about to counter, but then she looked behind him and pointed a foreleg. “See?”
He turned in his seat, and laid eyes upon the blackboard that was mounted near the café’s entrance.
‘All ice-creams made from 100% local milk!’ it said in large white chalk, a drawing of a smiling bat-pony mare with noticeably large mounds under the barrel right next to it. He turned back around and took a lick of the ice-cream coating his armoured hand, brow furrowing and he moved his tongue around in his mouth.
“You know…” he took another lick. “I’d have thought that bat-pony-hybrid milk would have tasted a bit different…”He noticed Chrysalis roll her eyes, while the others just stared at him.
“Typical…” Still, Nigel didn’t miss the slight smile on her face. “You’re a fool.”
“You know it,” he smirked. Just as he was about to fire back with a very inappropriate quip involving the words ‘hotel room’ and ‘jester’s rod’, the sound of metal-shod hooves clacking on cobblestone came into earshot. Glancing to the left, he noticed two bat-ponies armoured in polished metal approaching their table, and so he opened a suit compartment and retrieved the first rectangular thing he could feel.
“So as I was saying, with the correct combination entered on this detonator,” he stated loudly, showing the black pistol energy clip to his companions. “The bombs explode. So if any of these ponies try any funny business…” He winked at Chrysalis, the Queen glancing at the armoured bat-ponies. Getting the hint, she made a very loud point of clearing her throat and nodding towards the oncoming soldiers.
Nigel put his hand down and turned to face the guards, a wide grin on his face. “Oh, hello there. My apologies, I didn’t see you approach.”
The guards glanced at each other, swords still sheathed at their sides, before facing him again.
“I’m Sergeant Charcoal,” the mare introduced with a stern expression.
“Corporal Lumin,” the stallion added afterwards.
“Supreme Ruler Nigel M Chalmers,” Nigel replied, holding out a chocolate covered hand. The two guards merely stared at it, so he withdrew it with a shrug. Instead, he began to gesture around the table. “The beautiful creature opposite me is Queen Chrysalis, and then it’s Reflection, Cupid, Buzz, Swissy, Holey, Sheen, Joy, Keith, and Chatter.”
No one else said anything in greeting, and it was Chrysalis that broke the silence a few moments afterwards. “What do you want, bat-ponies? Your leaders instructed you all to leave us be.”
At the reminder, Sergeant Charcoal’s mouth twitched. Nigel raised an eye at it, and the mare quickly and visibly got her anger under control.
“The Council ordered us to request something of you. They believe that while you continue to… stay, in the city, that you have an escort of two guards at all times to… minimise any issues.”
“No,” Chrysalis frowned. “We do not require some watchdogs.”
“Yes,” Nigel countered, earning a glare from Chrysalis. He ignored her, and focused on the bat-ponies. “I take it that you’re more for keeping the citizens away from us rather than vice-versa, correct?”
After a moment of hesitation, both guards nodded.
“Good, just one more thing then.” He paid particular attention to the mare, Nigel ensuring that he had Charcoal’s full attention. “You absolutely hate me, don’t you?” At first there was no answer, and so he continued. “Go on, tell it how you really feel. You have permission to speak freely, if you prefer me to put it that way.”
At that, Charcoal’s golden eyes narrowed. “Sir. You’re a evil, black-hearted, twisted creature.”
“Sergeant…” Lumen tried to warn, but was silenced with a metal-clad forehoof.
“You obviously don’t care about threatening multiple lives for your own benefit,” the Sergeant continued. “You’re selfish, your changelings aren’t much better if they’re willing to go along with you, and you’ve brought nothing but misery to this city. So yes, I hate you more than I hate pony-eating dragons and Diamond Dog raiders, you absolute flank-hole.”
Charcoal halted her outburst, breathing deeply as she caught her breath. Nigel merely smiled at her, ignoring that glares that Chrysalis and the firstborns were levelling towards the furious pony mare.
“Oh, this is going to be fun,” he chuckled, Charcoal only deepening her frown. Nigel glanced towards Chrysalis. “I think you’ve got some competition in the ‘insulting me’ contest, Chrissy. I don’t remember you calling me a ‘flank-hole’ either. Returning his gaze to Charcoal, he couldn’t resist a smirk. “Tell me then, Sergeant. Since you hate me so much, what are you possibly going to do about it?”
His words only pissed the mare off more, but she managed to hold in her venomous outburst.
“Nothing,” she admitted through gritted teeth.
“Good girl,” he said with a wave of his hand. Doing a check around the table and finding that all ice-creams had been finished, he lifted his helmet up with a hand and made to stand. “Now with that out of the way, I’d appreciate it if you and your Corporal could kindly escort us back to our hotel room. We’ve had a weary morning, and I’m sure that many of us would appreciate some time to relax.”
They all left their seats, the changelings and bat-ponies sharing distrustful glances while they prepared to leave. Nigel put his helmet on and paused at a tap on his leg, Keith standing next to him. Rubbing the back of his head and looking up, Keith cleared his throat.
“Uh, so yeah. This afternoon…”
It took Nigel a second to remember, but when he did he clapped his hands together. “Ah, yes. Of course, but unfortunately you may have to take one extra bat-pony along with you.”
“What?” Chrysalis inquired while they started to walk.
“I’ll remind you back at the hotel.”
“You know, we’ll probably get *gulp*, in a lot of trouble for breaking those orders of ours.”
Beams glanced over from her short sword towards Bites, the stallion next to her flicking his head to toss the last morsel of his breakfast into the air. The unidentified toasted sandwich corner was snapped up and swallowed mid-sentence, Beams going back to her polishing without even muttering a slight reprimand.
Currently, she was far too caught up with different things.
‘This is all my fault,’ she frowned. Her polishing efforts increased in intensity, Beams putting all of her anger and self-loathing into preparing the weapon. ‘I’ve failed the city, I’ve failed the Princess, and I’ve failed my squad.’
“Yo, Sergeant Major?”
Beams halted and looked up, the squad looking at her with tilted heads. The five of them were alone in the guard tower overlooking the cave entrance, the harsh sun having driven the regular city guards down to the lower levels.
“I think the sword is polished,” Belfry said with a nod. “We should be good to go, Sergeant Major. Me, Sweeps, and Dream packed extra rations and water, so we probably will only need a few rest breaks on the trip.”
Bites gave a flick of his wings. “We should be able to reach the Princess by midnight tonight if we leave in the next five minutes, so do you…”
The sword was sheathed and Beams trotted past him, heading for the window. Giving her wings a few warm-up flaps, she took a moment to glance behind her at the squad. Thankfully they had gotten the hint, bags already strapped shut while wings began to beat. Satisfied that they were all ready, she propelled herself forwards and out of the window. She didn’t need to look back to know that the others were following.
The warm air made climbing a piece of cake, and soon they had a nice speed going thanks to a favourable wind. Still, their good fortune had no effect on Beams’ mood.
“Curse that biped,” she muttered to herself, before she put it out of her mind and tried to concentrate on her flying.
Twilight knocked on the door to her parents’ house while readjusting the saddlebags on her back, the bustling Canterlot street behind her flowing with the late afternoon rush. Patiently waiting, she took the time to give her childhood home a nostalgic examination.
The large double-story home was as pristine as she remembered it, with not even a weed to be seen in the well-kept front garden. The large windows were free of grime, and the white brick walls sparkled in the sunlight. Her eyes drifted onto the large glass dome on top of the house, a smile brightening her face as she recalled the long nights spent with the expensive telescope in her father’s miniature observatory.
Belonging to a family of nobility certainly had its perks.
Her patience was rewarded with the sound of approaching hooves on oak floorboards, and it wasn’t long before a latch was undone and the heavy wooden door swung open inwards.
“Twilight, darling!”
“Mom-“ before she could finish, Twilight found herself embraced tightly.
“It has been far too long, you need to visit more often.” Velvet released her, and Twilight smiled.
“Well, I do live in another town after all.”
“I know dear, it’s just different not seeing you around the house.” Velvet’s smile faulted. “And to make matters worse, Shining’s been sent off to investigate some city to the north. Who knows how long he’ll be gone for.”
That caused her to tilt her head. “Who sent him off?”
Velvet glanced around, before gesturing with her head. “Let’s go into the house, I’ll put some tea on.” Turning, Velvet trotted back inside without another word and waited at the door. Without many other options, Twilight supressed any additional questions and followed her in.
Her mother shut and latched the door behind her, Velvet leaning in close after she had done so. “Princess Celestia ordered it,” she whispered with a knowing look. “And Cadence went along with him. All I know is that whatever Celestia told him made him nervious.”
Twilight leaned in closer.
“Nervous?”
“He came home to pack a few things,” Velvet nodded. “He tried to hide it behind his ‘big strong guard Captain’ look, but a mother always knows. Whatever they’ve gone to face, it must be something terrible.”
A shudder ran down Twilight’s spine, even while they both headed through the family living room towards the kitchen. The numerous smiling portraits of the family and the familiar warm red rug under her hooves did nothing to prevent the sudden chill she could feel.
“Wouldn’t the Princess have sent me and the other Elements? We did defeat Discord.”
Velvet chuckled at that. “You are not the only hero in the family, Twilight. Shining and Cadence did defeat the Changeling Queen, so I wouldn’t count them out yet.”
‘I didn’t think about that,’ Twilight thought while she hummed in agreement. However, her mother’s words did remind her of something. They both entered the well-furnished kitchen, Velvet trotting over towards the stove with her magic levitating a kettle.
“Is it something to do with that bipedal creature?”
“I wouldn’t be able to say. However, between you and me, I doubt it. The Princess has had me looking through the Canterlot records for a time well after that particular menace was locked in stone. In particular, for references to a pony named ‘Sombra’.”
That caused her to glance out into the dining room, Twilight following her gaze and eyeing the huge pile of rolled-up parchment that was sitting on the large mahogany table. Twilight furrowed her brows in thought, but was unable to remember such a name. It was an odd request, after all she was well versed in all of the important ponies of Equestria’s history.
“Anyway,” Velvet continued while reading a set of tea cups on a tray. “You and I are needed elsewhere. Princess Celestia asked me to show you the family home in Manehattan, as there are some things that you need to know. Your father is working on a project for Princess Luna in the Canterlot observatory, which I must admit is a good thing.”
Twilight tilted her head. “We have a family home in Manehattan? You’re glad that Dad isn’t going to be coming with us? Princess Celestia herself asked you to do this? Why? How am I-“
“Twilight, Twilight,” Velvet chuckled while raising a hoof. “Please, calm down. Trust me, there are going to be endless questions during the next few days.” The tray containing the cups, boiled kettle, and all the tea condiments needed was levitated up from the marble bench. “For the first, yes we have a family home in Manehattan. It’s been in the family since the very founding of Equestria, and it’s a very lovely home as well. Come, let’s sit down.”
Both trotted into the dining room and picked their seats, Twilight sitting down on a cushioned stool next to her mother. There was no more talk for a few minutes while they both poured their tea and prepared their beverages with the appropriate amounts of sugar and cream. Finally, after the drinks were made, Velvet continued her explanation.
“The second and third questions actually are answered by the same reason.” Velvet paused, taking a dainty sip of her tea before she set the cup back down on the saucer. “Twilight, what do you know of our family history? Specifically, of the Sparkle family name?”
Twilight’s eyes lit up, and her tail gave a small swish.
“The Sparkle family is an oddity, considering that it is one of the few families that shares a common name among its members. In addition, Sparkles throughout history have always been close to Princess Celestia and the Royal Court.
There was Sea Sparkle, the famous stallion admiral who served under Celestia three centuries ago. Moonsong Sparkle, who was the most favoured court entertainer four hundred years before that. Then there was Princess Celestia’s chief inventor, Sprocket Sparkle, notorious for an incident involving a Griffon diplomat, a hotel room, and a hamster…”
She paused and blushed when she saw the amused smile on Velvet’s face. “Oh, I’m sorry. I went on a tangent didn’t I?”
“It’s alright dear, I know how excited you get.”
Twilight nodded, before continuing. “Right, yes. So we have a line that shares a family name, are often in powerful positions, but we also aren’t really well-known unlike the Blueblood or Rich names.” She held up a hoof, remembering another point. “Oh yes, and the line is mostly comprised of unicorns who possess above-average magical abilities.” She looked up to the ceiling in thought. “There were also a number of Sparkles who were magically powerful enough to be picked as students by Princess Celestia, but I can’t remember their names…”
A chuckle from her mother halted her attempts to retrieve the information from her mind, and Twilight looked back towards her.
“Very good,” praised Velvet while taking another sip of tea. “Now Twilight, what about how our line began?”
“Oh, that’s…”
Twilight frowned, before staring down into her tea. Frowning, she furrowed her brows for a few moments before looking back up. “There was something to do with an abandoned foal that was raised by a noble family, wasn’t there?”
Velvet nodded. “That’s partly true, but it’s far from the full story.” The tea cup was emptied, and placed back on the tray. “There’s more to the story than what they’ve written down in the history books, Twilight. It’s a part known to less ponies than you have hooves, Twilight, and is the reason that you couldn’t even bring Spike along with you.”
Twilight’s interest was well and truly peaked. Spike was like another son to Velvet, and she knew that her mother always adored the company of the young drake. The explanation not only reminded her of the specific request of secrecy that had accompanied her mother’s letter, but also served to draw her deeper into the mystery.
“What is it?”
At the query, Velvet paused. The smile momentarily faltered but quickly recovered, and the older mare left her seat to pack the tea set away.
“That is a question that will be far easier to answer once we reach Manehattan,” Velvet answered softly. “I’ve already packed a bag for you, dear. Our train leaves in a few hours so we better get a move on.”
Twilight stared, a small quiver shaking her body.
“Just one little bit, a hint?”
Velvet’s sad smile took her by surprise, her mother letting out a weary sigh.
“Let’s just say, Twilight, that our family has had a far greater impact on Equestria than you could ever imagine.”
“So, it’s just you and me now…”
Nigel slicked back his hair, left eye winking as he stood completely naked.
“I know what you’re thinking. ‘My, look at the incredible hunk of man just standing there. He is a perfect image of the male virility that deserves to be worshiped by all.” He did a turn, one hand smacking his left arsecheek. “Oh yeah, just like that. You like that don’t you? Yeah you do, you’re nothing but a filthy, lust-driven-“
“Nigel, who are you talking to in there?”
Whirling around from the bathroom mirror, Nigel looked towards the closed door. “Um… no-one at all, Chrissy. It was just all in your head.”
There was a moment of silence.
“If you say so.”
Smirking while wrapping a towel around himself, he opened the door and stepped out. Chrysalis was lying on the bed, and so he slandered towards her with a grin.
“Well, our conquest of this city has gone well. Care to celebrate?”
Instead of the Chrysalis that had almost bounced on her hooves on their way back to the bedroom, he was met with one that seemed to be staring off into space. Bending down, he waved a hand in front of her eyes but still got no response. “Yo.”
He tapped her on the snout, the touch jolting her out of her stupor.
“I…”
She trailed off, Nigel rolling his eyes before he sat down on the bed next to her. Still lying on her side, Chrysalis didn’t even react when he reached out a hand and rubbed her side.
“Chrissy? Come on, don’t tell me you’re not in the mood after this morning? I know how you like the whole melodramatic villainy thing.” He tilted his head. “Was it the explosions?”
“No, I just… hold on for a moment.”
She sat up, and her horn began to glow a sickly green. The magical light caused the candles in the room to flicker, and Nigel didn’t say anything while she did… whatever it was that she was doing.
‘Not what I was expecting,’ he silently grumbled.
After a few moments the glow died out, and Chrysalis stared off towards the left wall of the room.
He couldn’t take it anymore, a tinge of irritation creeping into his voice. “Chrysalis, what is the matter?”
The shudder that ran down the Queen wasn’t missed.
“I can feel it,” she whispered with a frown on her face. “To the north. Such…” Chrysalis turned to look at him, eyes heavy with concern. “It’s as if a sudden burst of sorrowful emotion just appeared. There’s sadness, hate…” she turned away again. “I haven’t felt so much negative emotion for centuries that wasn’t my own, and yet I can’t remember exactly what it was.”
“Huh?”
She turned around again, this time with evident frustration. “Nigel, there’s something evil that’s just appeared to the north. Very evil. We would do best to avoid whatever it is, anything powerful and hateful enough that generates negative emotion that I can feel despite it being that far away is very bad news.” Her frown increased. “As much as I detest admitting it, perhaps it would be good if the Princesses and their precious Elements are preoccupied with such a threat. It will allow us to strike at them when they have exhausted themselves.”
Nigel nodded at the explanation, deciding to skip over all the questions about the ‘emotion sensing’ and other such oddities. Instead, he was solely focused on her assessment of the threat.
“I understand,” he told her. “Don’t worry Chrissy, it’ll be fine.”
She didn’t seem convinced, but it wasn’t long before she let out a sigh. “I suppose.” Shifting closer, a small smile began to replace the frown. “Well, with that out of my mind, what should we do now?”
He leaned in close towards her, the Queen letting out a happy hum when a hand went for and rubbed her right ear. “I think we both know what needs to be done now, hmm?”
“Oh yes,” Chrysalis cooed. “At right now seems like the perfect time to… Nigel?”
Standing up and rubbing his hands together, Nigel walked over towards the bathroom with a confident grin.
“Yes?”
Chrysalis was staring at him. “Where are you going?”
He did a double take. “Why, to put my armour on of course.”
There was a moment of silence, Chrysalis twitching her ears as if she had misheard him. “Why? Wouldn’t that just make things… more difficult?”
“Ha!” he snorted, while walking into the bathroom. “Silly changeling. If we’re going to go and pick a fight with that big scary thing up north, then I’ll need to able to fly or else it would take ages.” She didn’t reply, and when he glanced back she was staring at him with disbelief. “Don’t just sit there, we should leave as soon as possible. Imagine the embarrassment if these ‘Elements’ you were talking about get to this big bad first! Me and you are the top dogs on the evil pile, we can’t have some bloody upstart draw all the notoriety away!”
With that he entered the bathroom and headed over towards where his armour was waiting in a neat pile, completely oblivious to the look of horror in the Queen’s eyes.
“Yeah, so my dad works for the council and that means that we’re not that badly off. I really just work in that hotel because I want to pay my own schooling fees. Still, I guess it’s really not much of an achievement in comparison to you coming all the way out here with your Queen.”
“Uh, I wouldn’t say that…” Keith rubbed the back of his head, not really too keen to describe the circumstances around his trip to the bat-pony opposite him at the cafe. Whisper just took a drink of her smoothie, before nodding.
“But still, thanks for taking me out. It’s been ages since I’ve been on a date with anyone.”
He smiled, his own mango smoothie sitting ignored on the table. “It’s cool. Sorry for the, uh…”
They both glanced towards the third member sitting at the table, the solitary city guard staring straight between them with a blank expression.
“I understand, I won’t hold it against you at all. I guess he’s here to protect you after all.”
Keith looked over towards the guard, the armed stallion giving him a brief glance in return. Returning his eyes towards Whisper, he silently reminded himself that the city’s forces wouldn’t try anything after what Nigel had done.
Surely.
‘I guess now is not the time to point out that he’s here to make sure I don’t do anything.’
“Yeah, that’s right. I mean, not that I really need protecting after all.”
“No,” Whisper giggled. “I guess not. I just love your confidence in yourself.”
Keith didn’t fail to miss the slight hardening of the guard’s frown, but that was forgotten once he noticed the smile that his date was giving him. Whisper did seem to be having quite a good time, and considering the signals he was getting…
Smirking, and deciding to go for broke, Keith leaned back in his chair and pretended to examine his own forehoof.
“Oh, well it helps to be able to do some pretty cool stuff as well.”
A flash of green drew the attention of several onlookers, and the guard beside him jolted in his chair.
Keith looked away from his grey-furred hoof and back towards Whisper, the mare’s eyes wide with wonder. It was no surprise, considering the rather handsome bat-pony stallion that was now sitting opposite her. It was merely another time that he could thank the blessing of having two top-notch infiltrators as parents, the transformation having gone better than expected.
He made a show of spreading his sizable dark-grey wings and blew a strand of midnight-blue hair from his eyes, before flashing his transformed fangs in a smile.
“Oh my…. By Luna…” Whisper gave him a very noticeable look-over, her blush giving away that she liked what she saw. “Now that’s how you catch a mare’s attention during a date.” She was paying particular attention to his wings, Keith noticing that the city-guard was instead warily watching him. Then, Whisper cleared her throat and lowered her voice. “Not that I didn’t like you as you were before that is, but… wow. Can you… what exactly can you, well, change?”
‘Ah, so she’s wondering about that.’
He leaned forwards over the table, his voice almost whisper quiet.
“A form that’s easy like this? For a noble-blooded infiltrator like me, I could change any part I wanted to.” Going all in, he winked at her. “Any part at all.”
Whisper’s smile vanished, and Keith was caught off guard. ‘Was it what I said? It couldn’t be, she was totally asking about that and-‘
In a single moment, his question was easily explained. Keith shot up straight when he felt cold metal envelop his right shoulder, and when he turned around to look one of the last things he wanted to see during his date was standing behind him.
“Sorry for this,” Chalmers apologised, Chrysalis and the others standing behind him. “But we kind of have to go. As in, go pretty much now.” The fact that he was in full armour with his helmet on only caused more concern, Keith still trying to puzzle it out while Whisper managed to get a question out.
“Is… did something go wrong with the Council?”
“Why, far from it,” Chalmers answered. Somehow knowing, Keith figured that underneath the helm was a large smile at the question. “Your Council has been very helpful, and the guards as well.”
Keith looked over towards his guard, finding that the stallion and the armoured mare from the morning were whispering to each other.
“Sergeant, what’s going on?”
“I don’t know, but for some reason they’re just upping and leaving…”
“Anyway, I must apologise for cutting your date with Keith here short,” continued Chalmers without any apparent mind being paid to the guards. “Something important has come up a fair distance from here, and we must attend to it with all due haste.” Keith noticed Nigel glance at him. “Did you two have fun?”
‘Not as much as I was hoping for…’
“Yeah, it was good…” Whisper sighed, her disappointment evident. “I guess that you’re all important though, so this thing is probably more important than one little date.” Her eyes turned to him, and she gave him a slight smile. “Bye Keith, it was certainly interesting to meet you.” Leaving her seat, Whisper nodded towards her finished smoothie. “Thanks for the good time, if you somehow ever come back here…”
“I’ll certainly ask you out for another one,” he reassured. Still, he couldn’t help but feel that it wasn’t exactly likely. “Babe.”
Whisper smiled at that, and with a wave of her wing she went to turn and leave. “Goodbye, then.”
He returned the gesture. “Yeah, bye.”
Watching her trot away, he actually surprised himself when he sighed. Dropping his bat-pony form with a flash of green, he turned and made to follow the rest of the group. Looking up and briefly noticing the apprehensive look that the Queen had about her, he sided up towards Reflection and Cupid.
“So, what’s the rush?”
“We don’t know,” Cupid muttered. “He stormed into my hotel room and pulled me out of the bath, rambling about something to do with the north and ‘pissing in other people’s sandpits’, whatever that means.”
“That’s all I got,” Reflection added, before glancing back behind them. “So, what’s up with you? You obviously like her considering you’ve never actually talked that long to a female without rutting them before.” She gave him a smirk. “Although, I have to admit that the bat-pony disguise was pretty good.”
“Just forget about it,” he brushed off, focusing instead on moving with the group.
“Hey all, just hold up for a sec. I gotta do something.”
Keith paused and sat down on the rocky floor while Chalmers went off to do whatever it was he wanted them to stop for. Resting his head in his forelegs, he stared at the ground and sighed again while his two sisters beside him did the same except without the self-pity.
They all missed that Nigel was heading right for the departing bat-pony behind them.
“Hey, wait up.”
Nigel walked up to the bat-pony while she stopped to look at him, the street that had already been relatively quiet empting even faster once bat-ponies noticed the heavily armoured human. He paid them no attention, although the mare in front of him continued to stare while he knelt down on a knee.
“Now, Miss. Once again I’m sorry that I ruined your afternoon, and I promise that I’ll bring Keith back here once we’re done with our business up north.”
“It’s fine,” she replied with a honest attempt to form a smile. “As I already said, I know that it must be important. It’d hardly be something that you’d stop just for a waitress.”
Sighing, and possibly over-exaggerating just a tidge, Nigel met her eyes through his helmet optics.
“I didn’t really want to bring this up at the table and worry you, Miss, but I must admit that I wasn’t entirely truthful with my promise.” Before she had a chance to question him, he raised a hand. “You see, we aren’t leaving just for a fancy party or a meeting, we’re in fact going to be placing ourselves in great peril.”
The waitress shuddered, and glanced behind him at the group of changelings off in the distance. “Great peril?”
“Indeed,” Nigel nodded solemnly. “We leave to combat a great foe and a villainous threat, and I fear that I understated the danger. You see, I need Keith to accompany the group as he is one of our most skilled fighters.”
She looked at him with wide eyes. “Really?”
“Yes, so good in fact that he sometimes gives even me a run for my money.” Another nod, and he continued the lie. “Quite the changeling, is he. Out of all the nobility, I have to say that he is indeed the one we need the most when it comes to the matters of facing grave danger and perilous evil.”
“I… I didn’t know.”
“However,” he reached out with a hand and gently placed it upon her left shoulder. “That also means that he will be at the forefront of any conflict that breaks out, and… well, there’s always a chance that things will go wrong.”
A forehoof went to her mouth, the mare’s eyes beginning to water.
“What? No, you’re not saying…”
“Miss,” he went to finish. “All I’m saying is that it’s a slim chance, but it’s there. If you wanted to say anything before we interrupted you two, then I’d suggest that you go say it now.”
He took his hand away, and he stood up.
“I… I will,” she nodded, before galloping off towards the group. Nigel watched her go, confident that he had done the right thing.
‘Sure, I may have embellished it a little,’ he admitted to himself. ‘But at the end of the day, not much harm is really done by it, is there? I mean, I’ll be there with Keith and everyone knows that I’ll easily beat the crap out of any poser that tries to start something. Seriously, it’s not even going to be a feasible-‘
“Um, I’m terribly ashamed to ask this, but…”
Nigel was broken out of his thoughts at the query, and he glanced down to see that the waitress had returned. Her face was red, but not enough time had passed for her to have spoken to Keith for her to have actually confessed her feeling for him. When she didn’t finish and refused to make eye contact, he clued in and looked over towards the group of changelings.
“Second to the right, between those two smaller ones.”
“Thank you,” the waitress mumbled before darting back off again. Smiling, Nigel watched while she closed and drew the attention of the group. Then, as soon as she had tackled Keith into a hug and begun to give the noble-blooded infiltrator a very intense goodbye-kiss, he started to walk back towards them with a content sigh.
“Kids these days,” he mused, making a note to certainly return to the bat-pony city in the near future.
Beams barely slowed when she entered through the main doors of Canterlot castle, her squad right behind her as they flew past a pair of their very surprised fellows standing guard. Her shoes clacked down onto the stone floor when she landed, her sights set on the large wooden double-doors that led to the castle throne room. An additional four night guards stared at her warily from their positions beside the doors while they waited for an explanation, Beams able to hear the rest of her squad land behind her as she quickly trotted forwards.
“Let us enter at once!” she ordered, only stopping when she was almost snout-to-snout with the stallion on the left. “We have urgent information for the Princess, and need to deliver it immediately!”
Thankfully, the guards knew better than to refuse her order. Whether they heard the urgency in her voice or recognised her higher rank, it mattered not as they all moved to open the doors to allow entry.
Beams strode forwards as soon as there was a wide-enough gap for her to fit though, and she burst out into the throne room before the doors were even hallway apart.
The sound of her armoured hooves clacking on the stone echoed around the nearly-empty room, the Night Court about as busy as she always remembered it. Still, the complete lack of occupants save for Princess Luna and the six guards around the room certainly made things far easier than if it had been full of civilians.
Beams did not miss the slightly surprised look from the Princess at her approach, but didn’t pause until she was at the base of the throne and bowing before her monarch.
“Forgive me, Princess,” she began. “But I’m afraid that I bring terrible news.”
“Rise,” Luna answered, Beams doing as she was told. Without even glancing back, she was able to tell that her squad had done the same a little ways behind her. “Make your report, Sergeant-Major.”
“Your Highness, I’m afraid that I must report a failure for our mission. Even as we speak, our home city is…” Beams struggled to maintain a straight expression. “Under the sway of the foe you assigned us to observe.”
“What!?” Luna’s reaction sent a shiver down Beams’ spine. This wasn’t going to be easy to explain. “How could that be? Explain this occurrence at once with due haste!”
Beams swallowed the lump in her throat. “I will keep it short, Princess. My Squad and I was following the creature as you asked, and we tracked it to the changeling hive. After a… disastrous incident with our water supplies, we had no choice but to change our plans and attempted a diplomatic interaction while disguised as passing diplomats in the service of the bat-ponies.”
“You made to barter for water,” Luna guessed. Beams gave a short nod, aware of the inquisitive stare. “You were of course aware that they were likely to just imprison you?”
“We were,” she confirmed. “That or worse. Still, my Princess, we had little options left and I decided that it was the best at the time. It was during said negotiations that we met the target face-to-face.”
Luna leaned forwards, eyes glinting with a dangerous light. “And? How did the monster act? Did it try to rip you in twain for your trespass?”
Beams shook her head, her stoic tone faltering somewhat during her explanation. “Not quite, Your Highness. While the Changeling Queen was set on cocooning us for sustenance, the creature seemed to hold sway over her and secured our freedom and water in return for us to act as guides. It was obvious that he had quickly embedded himself in a position of power within the Changelings and he… well, was surprisingly… nice.” Her ears flicked a little out of instinct. “It is a small detail, but he also considers us to be rather cute.”
“I see.”
“We led him. The Queen, and ten of their nobles towards the city. We had little choice as to refuse would break our cover and likely result in our capture, but I must admit that I now doubt that we had ever tricked him. He was talking about gaining favour with the Council over our return, in a bid to buy cooperation against Equestria.”
“Ha!” Luna snorted. “My bat-ponies are far too loyal to give in to such wicked demands.”
Beams nodded. “They were.”
“But, Sergeant Major, that still leaves the question as to how the city has fallen.”
“Our trip was uneventful, save for a pair of dragons that aimed to rob and eat us,” Beams continued on, leaving out the other implied threats that Belfry had faced. “The creature and the Queen dispatched them however, and after a brief… retrieval of the stolen goods, we reached the city.”
She hung her head, heart heavy with guilt. “I must apologise again, Princess. I was foolish enough to think that the forces of the city would be enough to trap and detain the creature and his allies.”
“Do not be sorry,” Luna said, continuing to stare down. “It was a sound plan. The strength of the biped is his magical ability to construct and control automatous mechanical devices. A surprise attack would rob him of that advantage,” she narrowed her eyes. “What went wrong?”
“He…” Beams sighed in defeat. “He found out before the trap was sprung, and reversed it upon us.” She looked up to meet her ruler’s gaze. “The entire council chambers was wired with explosive devices that blinded and deafened all during the meeting. He then used his advantage to subdue the guards and Council.”
“How many are dead?” Luna’s expression was stoic, but the Princess couldn’t help but show a small quiver of her mouth. “That monster has proven quite able to kill before.”
Thankfully, the answer wasn’t so bad. “None,” Beams replied. Luna visibly relaxed, so she continued. “There were some minor injuries, but the worst part is to come. The entire Council has been infected with miniature explosive devices that the biped can detonate on command.”
Luna turned a shade lighter. “They what?”
“I am unable to verify if it is indeed the case, as I was unconscious at the time,” Beams admitted. “But apparently there was a demonstration of the devices, thankfully not involving a council member or any other bat-pony, but we must assume that it is the true. As such, the Council fear for their lives and are unwilling to disobey him, although I was permitted to seek help from you under the condition that it was done without drawing attention.”
Beams had to scramble back all of a sudden when Luna flared her wings, the Princess getting to her hooves and leaving her throne. The guards around the room all glanced at each other, Beams shrinking slightly as the monarch towered over her.
‘Yeah, she’s really, really mad.’ Swallowing another lump in her throat, she looked up at the fuming Princess and tried to think of something intellegent to say in an attempt to defuse the situation.
“Uh…”
“Sergeant Major,” Luna cut her off. “The news you have brought is dire indeed. The threat faced is more pressing than I once thought when assigning this mission to you, and now it is evident that we must make haste in rectifying that mistake in judgement.”
Luna’s horn glowed with a dark blue aura, Beams feeling a tingling feeling run through her. “There,” Princess Luna continued while the tingles died out. “You and your fellows are refreshed and rejuvenated. Replenish your supplies from the kitchen stores and meet with me in my tower in no more than ten minutes!”
Beams shook her hooves with mild surprise, finding that her weariness from the earlier flight was indeed gone. In fact, it was if she had just awoken from one of the best sleeps in her life. She snapped back to attention when Luna hurried past her, the Princess moving towards the back door of the throne room.
“Yes, your Majesty!”
There was no reply, Luna already having left the throne room without another word. Quickly, Beams turned and faced her equally surprised squad.
“You all heard the Princess, get ready to move out.”
“Um, Sergeant Major?” Dreams spoke up while the others darted off towards the kitchens as ordered. “Is the Princess mad at us for failing our mission, or not? I couldn’t really tell.”
Beams paused for a second, not quite sure of the answer herself.
“Whether she is or not doesn’t really matter at this time, Corporal,” she answered, moving past Dream and making her own way towards the kitchens. “Somehow, I think her anger is much more focused on someone else at the moment. Let’s just hope that by the time this is all over, that anger will have been spent.”