The Adventures of T.O.B.O.R.

by The EnderPony Master

Software Branding (Part 1)

...Last time on The Adventures of T.O.B.O.R...

"That must be Derpy's heat signature! I need to get there before it's too late!"

====================

"Now can you beat it kid? I'm busy."

"Dang, if you wanted me to leave, you could of said so. You don't have to be so uptight about."

"Well, the thing is, I don't care. Now, as I said before you little runt, BEAT IT!"

====================

"Who told you about me and my friends."

"Uh, I cannot reveal my clients' identity. It's goes against my job as a reporter."

"Oh, well, okay then. Well, it's really a long story-- I'm sorry, but who are you?"

"Well, my name is...Notebook."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Notebook. My name is Twilight Sparkle."

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Now, about that story?"

====================

"I'm going to ask again. Where. Are. The. Elements?"

CRASH!

"LET MY FRIEND GO!"

===================

"Do you really think you caught me?"

"You might of win this round, Twilight Sparkle. But you and your princess can't stop Morcubus. He grows more powerful each day. All of you miserable horses will rue the day you got in the way of MorcuCorps!"

====================

"DERPY!"

"T-TOBOR?"

"What happened to you?!"

"I went to go get the Southern birds for Winter Wrap Up, but I didn't realize I went to the wrong direction. I have bad vision."

"It's alright, Derpy. We all make mistakes, but I want to know how did you ended up like this."

"...I didn't mean to. I was flying over the plain when the storm started to pick up a bit. I couldn't fly straight enough and I crashed landed on the side of this mountain."

====================

"...Thank you, my friend..."

"I heard all of the noise back in the cave. I saw the whole thing when I got out to investigate. That was amazing of what you did back there. I didn't know they were following me."

"I'm just happy to help."

====================

"Say, I know this may sound rude, but what are you? You almost look like a pony, but what's with those... holes in your forelegs?"

"Well, I am indeed not a pony."

"I'm a Changeling."

---

The Adventures of T.O.B.O.R.

Software Branding

(Part 1)

Ponyville

Flutterhy's Cottage

TOBOR just can't get a break. When he thought things couldn't get more crazier from Twilight's snowplow incident, he was clearly proven wrong. After Cave and his men came to pick up TOBOR, Derpy, and the mysterious white Changeling, they all went back to the Twin Sisters Castle. Apparently, Cave spent the last 3 weeks rebuilding the old place and turning it into a base. The castle looks good as new from the outside, but it was more futuristic from the inside. Cave explained that in the meeting he had with Celestia, the last time TOBOR saw him left, they made a deal on using the old castle for the Galaxy Core.

Anyway, it turns out that Derpy was going to make a full recovery to TOBOR's relief. In fact, she would be back to her old cheerful self the next day. TOBOR was amazed by how advanced the Core's medical technology is. Though, he should of figured that they are already advanced anyway. Heck, Cave was technologically more built than TOBOR.

Speaking of tech, Cave decided it was the best time to give TOBOR a few new upgrades. Cave installed a Thermal-Adjusting chip into TOBOR so his robotic frame can adapt to any environment it is not used to. From the frostbitten cold to the scorching heat. Not only that, but now TOBOR has another new feature. His robotic frame can now match the color-pattern of whatever terrain he's in. TOBOR felt giddy about it as he feels like a robotic chameleon.

Right now, the metal Pegasus was currently spending some time with Fluttershy at her cottage. It was already night time as most of the animals were somewhere sleeping, aside from the nocturnal ones of course.

"-it took me awhile of practice, but I was finally able to understand Mr. Suckers' language." TOBOR spoke. "For a giant squid, he can sure spark up a conversation."

"Oh, that sounds wonderful, TOBOR." Fluttershy says before taking a drink of her tea. "How did you learn to speak to animals?"

"Well, I can't really speak with all animals. I can only speak with Mr. Suckers. However, I couldn't of done it without Clara's help."

"Clara? Who's that?"

"She's one of the local beachgoers." TOBOR explains. "Her and her friends go over to The Boardwalk every day. She tutored me when we both go to visit Mr. Suckers for our daily tea parties."

"That's really sweet of her."

"That she is."

Fluttershy looks out the window. "Oh, it's getting really late. I need to go to bed. I have to go visit Mrs. Blue Jay tomorrow."

"Oh, well I hope you have a good sleep, Fluttershy." TOBOR said as he gets up from his seat.

"If you want, you can stay here for the night." Fluttershy offers.

"I want to, but I got to go and check on my restaurant. Besides, I still have plenty of power in me. So I can't go into Sleep-Mode yet."

"Oh, okay. Well, I guess I'll see you sometime tomorrow then."

"Sounds like a plan."

Before Fluttershy can get up, TOBOR scooped her up and gives her a hug. This surprised the shy Pegasus as she lets out an 'eep' in response.

"Stay safe tonight, Shy." TOBOR said.

Fluttershy blushed from the sudden affection, but she too returns the gesture with a grin.

"I will, TOBOR." Fluttershy said.

With that moment done, both organic and non-organic ponies said their goodnights before they went on their separate ways. TOBOR was trotting towards Ponyville instead of flying. He wanted to take the scenic route and enjoy the company of the full moon.

"Alright, first things first, I need to make a quick stop."

With that being said, TOBOR went onward to his first destination, the Golden Oak Library.

---

Bad Lands

Morcubus' Hidden Lair

Morcubus was definitely not in good mood. Thanks to Esma's little 'plan', he lost some of his men to both royalty and the damn Galaxy Core. While he was impressed that Esma obtained some rather interesting intel, he was still furious with her. So as punishment, he assigned Esma to the Forbidden Jungle where another hidden base was being constructed. Knowing her, she will definitely have a terrible time there.

Anyway, Morcubus was in the Control Room where many of his goons were keeping everything running and operational. Now, he may not be much of a man/stallion of science, but can be intrigued by some of his employees' work in progress.

"Sir, are you definitely sure you want to go through with this?" One of the nervous scientists asks. "I'm sure there are other solutions to-"

"Are you questioning my decision?" Morcubus glared at the goon.

"N-no, Sir!" The scared goon stutters. "I-It's just..."

"Just. What?" Morcubus hissed.

"Well... one of the members of the Scouting Team is my brother-in-law and..."

"You know what you all signed up for when joining my organization. I will not tolerate failure without punishment. And what those idiots gotten themselves into will expose our secrets."

Morcubus looks over at a large computer screen on the wall. It showed every goon that was captured by both the Core and Royalty. The one stallion goon was locked in a cell within a dungeon while the rest were in a more futuristic cells, possibly within the Galaxy Core Base somewhere.

"To be honest, I don't like wasting any of my workers. However, I can't let those galactic pests interfering my plans." Morcubus looks back at the scientist. "It's already too late to plan a 'Search and Rescue' operation. By now, they must of told those Core members about the mountain base. Which reminds me..."

Morcubus' horn glows before a walkie-talkie appeared out of nowhere. It floated within unicorn's red aura.

"Alpha Team, have you completed your task yet?"

"Affirmative, Sir. We are just about done. All we need to do now is seal off the entrances."

"Perfect. Report back to base when the job is done."

"Yes, Sir. Over and out."

This has gotten one of the scientists' attention.

"Uh, Sir?" Another scientist asks. "What was that all about?"

"Oh, that's right. I haven't told you all yet."

"Told us about what?"

"Well, in the risk of those Core members tracking us down from the mountain base, I sent a team to destroy every machinery and tech that was within the mines."

"You what?!" The scientist goon exclaims.

"As I said you simpleton, I cannot risk having the Core discovering this base. We already lost those bases, I can't lose this lair. It will throw off everything we worked on."

"But we could of brought back the equipment!"

"We wouldn't have enough time to anyway. I'm not taking any chances."

"This is an outrage! I personally spent days calibrating and setting up those damn equipment for your sorry-ass 'employees' and now-"

SLAM!

THUD

The rest of the scientists gasped as the arguing goon was hit hard with an office chair. The said chair was now slightly bent as it floated in midair.

"I am your boss!" Morcubus yells loudly, startling the nearby goons. "You will speak to me with respect! Don't you EVER question my leadership!!"

The fallen goon groans in pain as a response. Morcubus sighs irritably as he drops the chair and brings up the walkie-talkie again.

"Security, I need you to send over assistance to the Control Room."

"We're on it, Sir."

Morcubus looks back at the others.

"Does anyone else have anything to say?"

All the scientists stayed silent in fear of being next.

"No? Then back to work!!" Morcubus turns to the leading scientist goon. "Now, I want you to proceed with the Failsafe. The sooner it is done, the better."

With that, Morcubus turns around and leaves the Control Room, passing by the medic he requested earlier. The leading scientist stares at where his boss went before sighing.

"Alright folks," He said. "Let's get this over with."

---

Twin Sister Castle, Core Base

Prison Cells

The leader of the Scouting Team felt like a failure. Ever since him and the rest of his crew were captured, those Core members have been interrogating him for the past 3 hours. He might of held his ground and kept his lips sealed for the most part, but sadly, he eventually cracked after being beaten and revealed the location of the bases within the mountain. For a bunch of so called 'heroes', the Galaxy Core can be ruthless. Then again, the other 'operations' MorcuCorps have committed would be considered extremely illegal. Just enough to get the Core's attention.

"When did I go so wrong?"

CLICK

The goon looks up to see a Core guard unlocking his cell door.

"Alright, prisoner." The guard said. "My captain wants to have another talk with you."

The goon growls in response.

"Look, pal." The guard sighed. "I've dealt with your types so many times before you. Why don't you make this one easy and cooperate with me?"

The goon stays silent as he continues to glare at the guard.

"So that's how it's going to be, huh? Well, tough luck, bub."

The guard then pulls out a metal baton as it began spit out bits of spark at the tip.

---

The scientists within the Control watched the large screen as they see the guard about to attack the defenseless goon. The leading scientist goon from earlier sighs before looking at his other fellow goons.

"Alright, proceed with the Failsafe."

The others nodded before they started typing in their stations. Soon the screen showed profile images of the captured goons. One by one, the profile images were marked with large red X's and labeled 'DECEASED'.

"It has been an honor working with you all."

---

The guard was only a feet away from the stubborn goon. He had his baton in his hoof, ready to deal with the prisoner. However, just before he can start swinging, the said prisoner drops to the ground holding his stomach tightly as he groans in pain. The guard seizes his aggressive approach and looks at the goon in confusion.

"Uh, what are you doing?" The guard asks unsure.

Though, the goon didn't responded with words. He starts to cough and gasping for air to the guard's surprise.

"What the hell?" The startled guard said. "What's wrong with you!?"

The goons continues to cough violently and gasping for air. Before the guard could do anything, the goon stops moving and lays motionless on the ground. Soon enough, black liquid was starting to spill out of the goon's mouth. The guard panicked as he runs to the fallen goon.

"Hey! Snap out of it!" The guard hits the goon in the face, but the said goon still doesn't respond to his words.

A moment later, the guard starts to hear more violent coughing nearby. Fearing of what it might be, the galactic guard ran out of the cell and went to the other ones. When he gets there, he sees to his horror that the other prisoners were doing the same thing as the first goon did. One by one, each goons were dropping to the ground with more of the dark liquid coming out of their mouths. The guard franticly gallops over to a button on the wall outside the cells and pressed it. Alarms went off as the room the guard is in starts blinking red. He lifts up his hoof and touches the side of his helmet.

"Red Alert!" The guard yells. "We have an emergency down in the prison-hold! I'm requesting backup and medical assistance!!"

"Copy that. Help is on the way!"

The guard looks back at the open cell. The last of the goons fell to the ground as more of the black liquid formed a large puddle around the remaining bodies.

"Oh... fuck... Captain Cave is so going to be pissed."

---

Canterlot, Castle

Dungeons

It was late at night when the Nighttime Guards switch shifts with the Daytime Guards. The usual white and gold ponies were replaced with grey and blue ones for their shifts. These night guards are Thestrals, also known as Bat Ponies. Anyway, walking down the stairs to the dungeons tonight was a Bat Pony mare. She was in her usual armor with her bat wings resting on her back. Though, what's new was the brown sack she was carrying in her mouth. It swayed back and forth as the mare continues to walk down the stairs.

'Oh, I can't wait to meet the new inmate.' She thought. 'It's been almost 4 months since we had another pony down here. Maybe I can be friends with them. I know it's against the rules, but who's going to know?'

The mare finally makes it down to the bottom of the staircase and makes her way to the upcoming cell.

'Even if they don't want to be friends, I can probably sway them with my charms.'

The mare looks down at the sack she was carrying.

'And if that doesn't work, then maybe some tasty treats will work. I mean, what pony doesn't like chocolate chip cookies?'

A moment later, the mare finally reaches to the occupied cell. She puts down the sack of cookies before addressing to the prisoner.

"Hello, there." The guard says with a smile. "Welcome to your first night in the Canterlot Dungeon. Not sure how long you're going to be here, but you better get used to seeing me here."

There was nothing but silence in the dark cell.

"Aw, come on now. There' no need to give me the silent treatment."

There was still now response.

"Well, if you're going to be like that, then I guess you don't want any yummy treats from me."

Yet again, nothing but silence. Though, before the mare can say anything, she suddenly felt her hoof become moist. She lifts it up to see it smeared with a strange black liquid. She gives it a quick sniff.

"Is this... ink?" She asks herself.

The guard opens up the cell door and looks inside. What she saw made her gasp in fright. Within the dark cell was the inmate, but the pony was laying on the ground motionless with a lot of ink pouring from their mouth. That night, everypony within castle range heard the loudest terrifying scream.

---

Ponyville

Golden Oak Library

TOBOR stared at the library before him. The entrance to the treehouse was wrapped in police tape.

"This is just not my day." TOBOR sighed.

Earlier in the evening when TOBOR came back from the Galaxy Core Base, he was surprised to see the Royal Guard all around the place. When he found Twilight, she filled him in on what happened. He was shocked to know that Twilight, Spike, and Rainbow were attacked by a few of Morcubus' goons. Though, he was relieved to know they were alright aside from a couple of bruises here and there, he was a bit upset that he let his guard down. He knew Morcubus would try something, but he ignored his instincts.

So, as a safety precaution, Twilight and Spike were sent to Canterlot with Shining Armor, which he found out that he was Twilight's big brother after a quick introduction. The purple duo will be spending a couple of days in the castle. TOBOR offered to protect the two, but Shining didn't see how one Pegasus was going to do it. This annoyed TOBOR as he was tired of ponies not believing in his words of capability. However, Shining held a higher authority than TOBOR, so he had to back off and couldn't argue.

Anyway, TOBOR looked around before he spotted a small box. He lifts it up and opens it. It reveal a set of silver keys with a fork tag connected to the ring of the two keys. TOBOR grinned a bit as he remember his dream restaurant was just a day away from opening. However, his grin disappeared as he also remembers his financial problem. He had only 500 bits left from all the expenses he had paid for. It might be enough pay for 1 or two 2 employees for at least a week. Hopefully, he could pay somepony in minimum wage until he can get more money if his business starts booming.

"Alright, let's head out."

With that, TOBOR turns around and starts heading his way to his restaurant. As he trots, he sees that the streets where empty. He wasn't surprised as it is already close to midnight. Everypony was already in bed by now. This was starting to bother TOBOR each night. Since he wasn't organic, he doesn't require sleep as very often the organics do. He might go into Sleep Mode when he's charging his battery, but ever since Cave upgraded his Power Core, he is more active.

"Maybe I can have Cave install a Dreaming Chip into my system." TOBOR said to himself.

"Dreaming Chip?"

TOBOR was startled by the new voice. He turns around to see a familiar white Changeling.

"Oh, hey, Mist." TOBOR greeted. "I didn't think I would see you again."

"Well, normally I would of moved on and continue on with my life, but I decided that I would rest for awhile." Mist sighed.

TOBOR nodded. "If that's what you want to do."

"However, I was wondering if I could ask you a favor."

"Well... sure, I guess." TOBOR raised a brow. "What favor do you have?"

"Well, this is a little embarrassing, but... is there a place where I can sleep for the night?"

"Oh, well I guess you can sleep in the library." TOBOR offered. "Nopony is going to be entering it anytime soon. It was marked off from the Royal Guard. I'm sure my friend Twilight won't mind."

"That is very generous of you, TOBOR." The Changeling thanked. "I don't have anything to repay you with right now, but I will when I get the chance."

"You don't need to pay me." TOBOR waved off. "However, if you really want to repay me back, you can start by telling me more about you."

Mist nodded. "That sounds fair enough. Although, can we talk about it someplace private?"

"I was about to head over to my restaurant to check on inventory. You can come along with me."

"That will work."

With that said, TOBOR and Mist went on their way to the restaurant.

---

Twin Sister Castle, Core Base

Briefing Room

Cave had faced many situations that put a hole in his missions before. However, losing the only people who had extremely valuable information was something he was definitely not happy about. Before the incident happened, Cave made a request to have another talk with the leader of the other prisoners. He knew it will take a while because the said prisoner was too stubborn to cooperate with the guards. So, he decided to kill some time and have a talk with Derpy Hooves in the Medical Bay. He had to admit, the mail-mare can really strike up a conversation. Cave shared some of his stories of his time in the Core, and Derpy asked questions ranging from 'What's it like in space?' to 'Do aliens like muffins?'.

Anyway, they were startled when the alarms went off. The guard that sounded the alarm told Cave everything that happened in the prison-hold. Cave was pissed. After giving out orders, him, along with the guard who witnessed the incident went to the briefing room for questioning.

"Alright..." Cave sighed irritably. "Can you please tell me again what the hell happened?"

The guard from earlier saluted before speaking.

"Yes, Sir." The guard said from across the long table. "When I went to get the prisoner you requested, he wouldn't cooperate with me."

"Hold on," Cave said. "You were going to escort a prisoner... on your own?"

"...Well, I didn't think it would matter at the time as I was sure I could of handled the bloke." The guard answers sheepishly.

Cave sighed again. "...Just continue."

"Yes, Sir. Anyway, just when I was going to force that bastard out of his cell, he started to cough. At first, I thought it as probably a joke to lower my guard. However, the prisoner started to cough more violently and soon enough, some of that weird black liquid starts to pour out of his mouth before he collapsed to the ground motionless. Then--"

"And then, the other prisoners started to do the same thing as well?"

"Affirmative, Sir. I don't know what the hell happened, but I have to say that will scar me for a week."

Just then, the sliding doors that leads into the Briefing Room opened, revealing another pony. The said pony was a mare in scientific attire.

"Captain," The mare said. "We've done the autopsy on the bodies."

"What did you find?" Cave asks.

"Well... it's kind of hard to explain, Sir."

"What do you mean?"

"Sir... the strange liquid that were in the prisoners was ink."

"Ink?" Cave questions.

"Yes. Although," The scientist pulls out folder with files in it and puts it on the large table. "We found something odd."

"Odd?"

"Indeed, Captain. We did some research and discovered that the ink, to our surprise, was previously blood."

"What the hell?" The guard says uncertain.

"From what we can piece together, every blood cells within the prisoners somehow turned into ink. Thus, suffocating the victims."

"How is that possible?" Cave asks in seriousness.

The mare was hesitant to speak, which was not a good sign for the large white android.

"Well... it's just..."

"Just what?" Cave pressed on.

The mare sighs. "We did some further research on the substance and found something... unusual."

"Well, what is it?!" The guard yelled.

"Stand down, will you?" Cave ordered before facing the mare again. "What else did you found?"

"Well... Captain. We actually found traces of the virus within the ink, Sir."

Cave's eyes widened. "You found the virus? The ones that were stolen?"

"Not exactly, Sir." The mare sighs again. "While the virus we found does share the same structure as the ones that were lost, we discovered that it was tampered with."

"Yes, we already know that our wanted suspect can somehow change them to his likes. There were already a couple of incidents that happened with my colleague."

"That's the thing, Sir. This time, the virus we found is... artificial."

This got Cave's attention.

"Artificial? What in Galaxy's name are you talking about?"

"From what we know, the original virus was unstable and can only be handled by top professionals. The previous viruses you acquired from the other incidents were rigged to have a longer duration outside of containment. This current virus on the other hand, is rigged to be more lethal. What's more surprising is that it can be somehow triggered. Meaning that our wanted criminal can activate it just from the safety of his hideout."

Cave is starting to get even more stressed by the new information. It was bad enough that Morcubus can change the effects of the deadly virus, now the bastard can fully control it and trigger it at anytime. What is this corrupted man up to?

"Is there anything else I should know about?" Cave asks irritably.

Suddenly, the sliding doors opened again to reveal another pony. This pony was a stallion wearing the same thing as the guard-pony in the room, but instead of white armor, it was blue.

"Captain Cave," The stallion saluted. "Our Recon Team returned from the mission."

Cave's eyes lit up. Maybe his luck is coming around.

"Excellent work, Lieutenant." Cave said. "Did you find anything?"

"Negative, Sir."

Welp, so much for luck.

"What?"

"We have found the hidden base our prisoners informed us, but when we arrived, the hole structure was completely buried. We did a bit of salvaging, but every equipment we recovered is badly damaged. Even the data within the computers are erased. I'm afraid we can't track them down. The trail has gone cold."

"..."

"Sir?"

"..."

"Captain--"

Cave gets up from his seat and starts heading to the sliding doors.

"Captian? Where are you--"

"I'm going to my quarters. I've had enough of this cluster-fuck for one night. Lieutenant, you'll take it from here. Come and get me in a few hours."

Cave left the room. Leaving the three ponies by themselves. A moment of silence later, the Lieutenant spoke.

"Well, that went better than I expected."

"Indeed." The scientist mare added.

"..."

"So... what are our orders?" The guard asks as he too gets up.

"Hmm... Well, I want you to head back to your post."

"Yes, Sir." The guard said as he left.

"What about me?" The mare asks.

"We are going to need more information on this 'Artificial Virus' thing you mentioned."

"We'll try our best."

The mare picks up the file from earlier and heads for the doors.

"Hold on!" The Lieutenant halted.

"Yes?"

"...Do... Do you got any plans after your shift?"

"..."

"..."

"...I might make some time."

"W-Well, that's great... See you then?"

"See you then..."

The sliding doors opened as the mare heads out.

"Lieutenant~"

Now, the stallion was by himself. He blushed as he gives a sigh.

"What did I just got myself into?"

---

Ponyville

TOBOR's Restaurant

TOBOR and Mist are outside of the establishment. So far, nopony hasn't seen the two as they were still asleep in their houses.

"So this is your restaurant?" Mist asks. "It looks really nice."

"Thanks, I was aiming for a more modern theme to it." TOBOR replied. "

"Impressive."

TOBOR trots up to the double doors and pulls out a key.

"Just to imagine that I will open a restaurant in another world."

TOBOR puts the key into the lock and opens the doors. It was dark inside the establishment.

"You don't mind if we keep the light off do you?" Mist asks. "I don't want ponies seeing me through the glass outside."

"But they are already in bed a long while ago. Why would somepony be out in the street at this time of night?"

"You never know. Ponies are just strange these days."

TOBOR lets in Mist before closing the doors.

"Sure, but can you even see in the dark?" TOBOR asks.

"I'm a Changeling. We have night vision."

"Oh, that's good to know."

Mist takes a seat on one of the stools near the mini-bar as TOBOR goes into the kitchen. TOBOR's digital eyes glow a bright pale-green light as he looks around the cooking station.

"So..." TOBOR calls out from the other room. "Can you tell me what exactly is a Changeling?"

"Well, we are race of shape-shifters." Mist began.

"Shape-shifters?"

"Yes. My kind has the ability to take the appearance of another being. Whether it be a pony, a griffon, or a diamond dog, we can turn into almost anything we want to."

"What about dragons?" TOBOR asks as he looks through the large cabinets. Taking inventory with spices and etc.

"Well... technically we can, but it requires a lot of magic to change into something that large. We could change into young drakes, but something big like an Alpha is mostly for advanced shifters."

"Wait, why couldn't you just turn into something else to blend in if you didn't wanted to be seen?"

"...I can't..."

"What?"

"I can't change forms." Mist groans in frustration. "I was hatched with an extremely rare defect."

"Defect?" TOBOR asks as he trots out of the kitchen.

"Yes. I don't have enough mana to shape-shift. That's why I had to wear a cloak everywhere I go."

"How come you're not wearing it right now?"

"Why should I?" Mist shrugged. "Nopony is out tonight."

"Fair enough."

"Anyway, let's get back on topic." Mist levitates a small bottle of whiskey from the shelf of the mini-bar. "Say, you don't mind, do you?"

"It's fine." TOBOR waved off. "I don't think ponies are into drinking that much."

"You'd be surprised." Mist opens the bottle and takes a quick drink. "Anyway, as I was saying, Changelings may be able to blend into our surroundings, but we are not perfect."

"How so?"

"Well, our diet is mainly the problem. We don't eat regular food like other species."

"Then what do you eat?"

"Love."

"..."

"Yes, you heard me. Love."

"You're species have to ability to consume emotions?" TOBOR asks in genuine fasciation.

"Technically, yes. We can eat other emotions, but Love is a lot more filling and delicious."

"That's amazing. Say, how do you get love anyway?"

Mist looks away as he mumbles something.

"...We had to impersonate family members."

TOBOR's digital eyes widened.

"You what?!"

"It wasn't always like that!" TOBOR flinched from Mist's outburst. "Normally, we can be able to absorb Love energy when we are at close range of either couples or family members."

"Then why did you guys changed?"

"We had no choice. Our queen is really ruthless when it comes to leading."

"Queen?"

"Yeah. Changelings don't have towns like the ponies do. We build hives."

"And when there are hives, there are queens."

"Exactly."

"Are there more queens in Equestria?"

"...Well... there used to be... a long time ago."

"What happened?"

Author's Note: Just to let you readers know, I'm making things up as I wrote this part of the chapter.
So, try and go along with this. Even though it might be cliche.

For over the past hour, Mist told TOBOR about the history of Changeling Hive. It turns out, a long time ago, there were 2 Changeling rulers known as Queen Chrysalis and Queen Gloria. At the time, they were sisters as they ruled their own
hives in separate parts of Equestria in secrecy. Queen Chrysalis' hive was deep within the Everfree Forest while her sister's was in the Bad Lands. No other race knew of their existence. That is, until one day, Queen Gloria's hive was attacked by a fierce dragon. The Queen, along with the majority of her subjects, were wiped out.

Without a home, the remaining surviving Changelings took refuge in Queen Chrysalis' hive. Chrysalis was devastated that her sibling was dead and decided to house her sister's subjects. However, as time went on, the hive started to have a big problem with food shortage since the new Changelings moved in. So, in an act of desperation, Chrysalis decided that she would have to reveal her race's existence and seek help at a nearby town known as Ponyville. Though, just before her Changelings can set hoof into the settlement, the ponies panicked and attacked them out of fear. The Queen managed to escape, but the group she brought along did not make it.

Soon, news of the 'Attack on Ponyville' spread throughout the kingdom. Everypony now saw Changelings as dangerous creatures. Ponies, and surprisingly Griffons, went searched everywhere for the bug-like freaks. Fearing for the safety of the hive, Chrysalis and the rest of her subjects journeyed their way to the Bad Lands and rebuilt the destroyed hive.

"Wait," TOBOR spoke. "So Ponyville is the reason why everyone don't like you guys?"

"Yes. Those ponies are the ones who ruined us. We were forced to go into hiding all because we looked different!"

Mist takes another drink of whiskey, but a little more forceful.

"Since everypony was on edge, it became even more difficult to acquire food for the hive. So, in order to keep the hive alive, Queen Chrysalis sent out more Changelings than before. Though, instead of gaining love in a light approach like we used to, we started kidnapping ponies and take their place in their everyday lives without anyone noticing."

"Really?" TOBOR was shocked. "What do you guys do with the captives while the fakers are getting food?"

"We put them into pods where we absorb any love energy within the ponies. We couldn't take them all the way back to the hive, so we had to make secret hideouts to put them in."

"And what do you do when you guys get enough love?"

"Once we acquire enough food, we carefully switch back the captives and head back to the hive with whatever we gain from each mission."

"Don't the ponies report something about this?"

"No. When we put the into pods, they are put into magically induced sleep. When they are put back into their place, they will only think the whole thing was just a nightmare and won't remember a thing from what they've went through."

"Isn't that kind of risky?"

"It is, and really is not efficient." Mist takes one last drink of the whiskey bottle. "We had to use half of our mana for the sleeping spells."

"Must be a tough life?"

"That's just how it is."

Mist gets up from the stool and heads for the doors.

"Can we head back to the library? It's already so late, and I'm getting tired."

"Yeah, alright." TOBOR said. "I'm already done checking out the place anyway."

After locking the place down, TOBOR and Mist started walking down the street as they head their way back to the library.

"Hey, Mist?" TOBOR said.

"Yeah?"

"I know it's none of my business, but how why are you out here by yourself? I mean, from what you said earlier, you guys travel together, let alone stay in hiding."

Mist paused for a moment, trying to find the words to respond with.

"...It's complicated..." Mist sighed. "I don't feel comfortable telling others about me. I hope you can understand."

"It's fine." TOBOR nodded. "Like I said, it's not my business, and I will not prod any further."

"Thank you, TOBOR."

A few minutes of trotting later, both organic and non-organic made it to the Golden Oak Library. Mist walks halfway through the broken doorway before turning around.

"I would like to say thank you for letting me sleep here tonight, TOBOR." Mist thanked. "It has been a long time since I've actually talked to somepony in peace."

"Your welcome, Mist." TOBOR turns around to leave. "Am I going to see you again in the morning, Mist?"

"I'm afraid we'll not."Mist sighs. "I cannot risk having these ponies discovering me."

"I'm sure they forgotten about you. All that happened a long time ago."

"And if they haven't?"

"Uh..." TOBOR was uncertain.

"I know you want to help me, but this is a problem my brothers and sisters must deal with alone."

"You don't have to be alone. I can help you."

"I really appreciate it, really I do, but I don't want anyone else getting involved in this. Please, let it be."

TOBOR wanted to protest, but he knew he can't convince the white Changeling.

"Alright, Mist. I'll let it go." TOBOR frowned. "But just so you know, if you ever need me, I'm always here to back you up."

Mist was surprised by the level of generosity this pony was showing. "We've only met each other a couple of hours ago, and you want to help? Just like that?"

"I know how it feels to be treated as a third-rate civilian, Mist. What your kind have endured is not right and should have never had to go through that. I might not offer much, but I will do whatever I can to help a friend in need."

Mist was touched by TOBOR's words. He never had a friend before, especially one so loyal.

"...Thank you, TOBOR. I am very grateful for this."

"I'm glad to hear that." TOBOR activates his booster and starts to take flight. "Goodnight, Mist. If you're gone in the morning, just remember, my offer still stands."

Mist nods. "I will, and have a goodnight to you too."

TOBOR waved goodbye before soaring off into the night sky.

---

TOBOR flew smoothly through the sky as the full moon shines above him. Though, as he flown, he still can't get Mist of his mind.

'I wish I could help, Mist.' TOBOR thought. 'However, Mist had a point, I only met the guy earlier in the evening, and yet I suddenly became friends with him.'

TOBOR didn't know why he was questioning his own action. It's always good to have friends, but was it normal to call someone a friend after just meeting them?

'You know what? It's fine.' TOBOR shrugged to himself. 'I mean, what bad thing will come from making fast-friends?'

Suddenly, TOBOR's HUD appeared on his screen.

---

---

~High levels of magical energy detected~

---

---

TOBOR raised a brow at the text in his view. What could be giving off that much power? TOBOR's sensor traced the energy reading to a hill a few feet away from him. The robot could see a silhouette resting on top of the hill. It was hard to tell, but it appeared to be a pony. A unicorn to be specific.

"Who is that pony?" TOBOR asks himself. "And why are they out here at this time of night?"

Feeling curious, TOBOR gently flies down from the sky and back onto the ground. Though, as he landed, TOBOR gives away a metal thud, which startles the pony in front of him.

"Who goes there?!" The mare, by the sound of their voice, demanded as they get into a defensive stances.

"Wait, wait!" TOBOR waved his metal hooves around. "I don't mean you know harm. I come in peace."

TOBOR mentally facepalmed himself for that super cliche line. However, it seem to calm the mare a bit as she slowly let's down her guard.

"...We are glad that thou is not a foe, but please We wish for thee to not do that again." The mare said as she sits back down on.

"I'm sorry. It happens when I land." TOBOR said.

"Tis fine."

Both organic and non-organic ponies continue to stare at each other. The mare seems to be examining TOBOR, but the robot himself was starting to feel awkward from the silence. The mare spoke again.

"We are quite interested in you."

"Uh, thank you?" TOBOR replied uncertain. "You look really lovely as well."

TOBOR held back the urge to cover his mouth. Why did he said that?! The mare was a little surprised by the compliment.

"Er... We thank you for thy compliment." The mare regains her composure. "We are wondering, would thou be the pony name Sir Toby?"

TOBOR flinched from his nickname.

"U-Uh, no!" TOBOR said a little louder than he intended. "My name is TOBOR. Toby is a personal name of mine."

The mystery mare nodded. "We apologies, Sir TOBOR. We must of misheard of what your friend, Twilight Sparkle has told us."

TOBOR was surprised that this mare knew Twilight.

"You know, Twilight?"

The mare nods again. "Indeed We do. She is Our sister's loyal student."

'Sister's student?' TOBOR thought to himself. 'Princess Celestia is Twilight's teacher, and Celestia mentioned before about having a sister. But if that's the case, then does that mean...'

"Are you Celestia's sister?" TOBOR asks.

"Thou is correct." The mare flares her wings that TOBOR did not notice. "FOR WE ARE PRINCESS LUNA! AS WE ARE RULERS OF THE NIGHT!

It was a good thing TOBOR's audio sensors were instant-auto, or he would of blown a circuit from the sudden volume. However, he still flinched a little from the force of the voice.

"Well, it is an honor to meet you, Princess Luna." TOBOR gave a little bow to be polite.

"The feeling is mutual, Sir TOBOR." Luna settles down again. "We have never met a being from another world."

"Yeah..." TOBOR decided to change the subject. "Say, what brings you out here to Ponyville?"

"We originally came to meet thou after hearing Our sister and her student."

TOBOR's digital eyes widened a bit. "You came all the way from Canterlot to see me?"

"Indeed. However, We were not able to find thou in the dream realm. Not only that, but We couldn't find your aura."

"Dream realm?" TOBOR repeated. "What do you mean? And what are you talking about my 'aura'?"

"We have the ability to enter another pony's dream. Not only do We control the night, but we also watch over Our subjects during their slumber."

"Wow... that's amazing."

"And as for your aura, every living creature has magic within them."

TOBOR suddenly remembered something. He quickly looks into his data banks and remembered what Twilight told him back when they were investigating the break in at the Mayor's office. Every living thing in this world apparently had in them, even if it's not much in some creatures.

"Oh yeah," TOBOR said. "Twilight told me about it awhile back. And I guess I can see why you weren't able to see any magic in me."

"Perhaps being from a different world, you body is having a hard time adjusting to Our land. Tell me, does thou's world have magic?"

"Well," TOBOR shifted a bit. "I'm not entirely sure. Long ago, I always thought magic was make-believe, that it was just smoke and mirrors. However, after dealing with a madman with a thirst for would domination, I'm not sure anymore."

"Ah, yes. From what We have heard, this 'madman' you speak of is the one they call, Morcubus? Our new friend, Captain Cave Johnson has told Us that this villainous pony had a dark artifact of some kind?"

"Yes, he gotten his hands on something called 'The Crown of Nightmare'." TOBOR shivered at the memory. "It has the power to open a portal to another realm known as the 'Nightmare Realm'. A place where all of your worst nightmares come to life."

"Have thou ever been to this realm?" Luna asks.

TOBOR sighs as he sits across from the lunar princess.

"I have, and it was the worst thing I've ever experience."

"We wonder why such a place exists."

"I don't know. Cave didn't tell me much about it last time we spoke."

"Thou seem to be close to Captain Cave. Any reason why?"

"Well, I wouldn't say we are the best of friends, but yeah. He's a really good friend. He has something that I really admire."

"Which would be?"

"Respect." TOBOR said. "Even though he's an android, his other fellow Core members look at him like he's a hero. People never thought of me like that back in my world. I would be ignored and be told to get back to work."

"We can agree that Captain Johnson is an inspiration. He reminds Us of Our previous Captains of the Royal Guard." Luna smiled.

TOBOR smiled back. He is really enjoying the princess's company.

"Yeah."

For the past hours, TOBOR and Luna were getting to know each other. They shared stories from parts of their lives. Some were funny, some were heartwarming, and some were... sad. Yes, while it was difficult, Luna told TOBOR of her time on the moon. The metal Pegasus felt sorry for the mare. No one should ever had to go through something like that.

Anyway, negativity didn't last long when TOBOR started to talk about his friends from his world. Luna was fascinated with these friends TOBOR mentioned. Though, while she isn't one to pick favorites, but Luna likes DJ Candy the most. This human friend was a night owl as she loves to spend the nights having a great time from what TOBOR said.

"We like to meet this DJ Candy someday." Luna said.

"I'm sure Candy would like to meet you too." TOBOR replied. "There aren't a lot of people back home that can stay up with her. You two can get along just fine."

Luna grinned, but it falters TOBOR's confusion.

"Sir TOBOR, as much as We have enjoyed Our time of getting to know one another, We bare bad news." Luna sighed.

"What? What's wrong?" TOBOR asks.

"Our sister and Us have done everything we can to see if there was a way to return thee to thy world."

"...Okay?" TOBOR was getting that same feeling again from long ago.

"However, we could not find anything to assist thy predicament as we salvaged through the Archives. We-... I'm afraid there is nothing we can do to send you back to your home."

TOBOR took a moment to process at what he just heard. A short time of silence later, he spoke.

"...Oh... that's...." TOBOR barely spoke as he hangs his head.

Luna saw this before she shifted closer and wrapped a wing around the artificial equine.

"We understand if thou feels upset on the matter." Luna said as she nuzzles TOBOR. "If thou needs time by thyself--"

"It's fine." TOBOR suddenly said.

"What?" Luna blinked.

"I said that I was fine. I will admit, a small part of me is sad that I can never go home, but the bigger part of me knew it wouldn't be possible to go back anyways. I've come to accept the fact that Equestria is my new home, and I am prepared to keep moving forward."

Luna smiled as she was glad that her friend made acceptance with their situation.

"We are happy to know thou is taking this well." Luna lets go of TOBOR. "If there is anything thou need, just let Our sister and Us know."

"I don't know..." TOBOR rubs one of his forelegs. "I mean, you two went through the trouble of finding a way home. I don't want to burden you--"

"Nonsense! Thou are Our friend, and We will help thee to settle in our kingdom." Luna smiles.

TOBOR was surprised by the sudden generosity, but felt grateful anyway.

"I'm very thankful, Princess Luna." TOBOR said.

"Please, you can just call Us Luna. No need for formality."

"Alright the... Luna."

---

The two unique ponies spent the remaining hours talking to each other. However, Princess Luna soon had to leave to get some sleep as she was nocturnal. After lowering the moon and saying goodbye, the Alicorn took flight and started heading back to Canterlot. TOBOR was once again by himself as he watches Celestia's morning sun rise from the horizon.

"Well... that was sure an interesting night." TOBOR said to himself.

While TOBOR had a good time with Luna, now he had nothing else to do as the ponies in Ponyville are still asleep in their homes. It is still a bit early to wake up anyway.

"I guess I could check on Mist."

With that, TOBOR activated his boosters and took flight. A moment later, he was back at the Golden Oak Library.

"Hello?" TOBOR called out. "Mist?"

There was no sound as the library remained silent. Before TOBOR can enter, he spots something in the corner of his visors. On the ground was a letter with a 'T' written on it. Curiously TOBOR picks up the letter and opens it.

Dear TOBOR,

I was thinking of what you said to me last night, and I'm still grateful for you offer. However, I still feel it is better to keep myself hidden. I hope you can understand. I'm not sure when we will meet each other again, but I want to let you know that I'll be looking forward for it someday at a later date. Until then, I wish you luck on you good luck on your journey to success with your restaurant.

Sincerely,
White Mist

P.S. Those 'Mr. L' comics are really interesting. You should invest in making your own series.

TOBOR folds the letter back up and pixels it into his Storage Unit. He was a little disappointed that Mist left, but he did understood that it was the Changeling's decision.

"Well, now that Mist is gone, what am I suppose to do now?"

The android pony didn't want to bother anypony at this time of morning. However, he didn't like being bored. Suddenly, a thought came to him.

"There's only one pony I know who would wake up this early."

TOBOR once again activates his boosters and take flight towards Sweet Apple Acres.

---

Canterlot

Dining Hall

Celestia always liked the morning sunshine she brings every morning, however this morning was not one of her favorites. She was awaken in the middle of the night by the sounds of screaming. It certainly startled the sun goddess from her slumber. After a while of settling everything down, she had her guards get to the bottom of the situation. When they reported back to her, she was shocked when she was informed that the goon they locked up was brutally murdered.

Right now, Celestia was sitting tiredly on a large pillow in the Dining Hall drinking her morning coffee. The poor dear was only able to to get a couple of hours of sleep before she had to raise the sun.

"It's times like this that I wish I could use my 539 vacation days." Celestia sighs.

Suddenly, large double doors opened, revealing a familiar lavender unicorn.

"Princess Celestia," Twilight greeted with a smile. "Good morning."

Celestia smiled at the sight of the unicorn. She was always in a good mood to be with her student.

"Good morning to you too, Twilight." Celestia replied. "How was your morning?"

Twilight yawned softly. "It's good, but I'm still a bit tired from last night."

"I'm sorry you were awaken so late last night." Celestia took another sip of her coffee.

"What did happened last night? Me and Spike heard somepony scream last night. I wanted to go out and see what was wrong, but the guards kept telling me to stay in my room."

"I told them to keep you occupied, Twilight." Celestia sighs. "As for the screaming, something terrible has happened."

"What's wrong?" Twilight asks concerned.

"Do you remember the stallion we locked up in the dungeons?"

"You mean one of Morcubus' goons?"

"Yes. We are not sure how or why, but somehow... he was murdered."

Twilight gasped in shock.

"M-Murdered?!"

Celestia nodded. "I'm afraid so. When the royal scientists did an autopsy on the victim, they couldn't find couldn't find any magical traces that would lead to that unfortunate event."

"What are we going to do?"

"As of now, I'm afraid there's isn't much we could do at the moment. I will have to send a message to Captain Cave about this. Hopefully, he can help us decipher this mysterious tragedy."

At that moment, the double doors opened once again to reveal Princess Luna and Shining Armor.

"Shining!" Twilight said, past fear gone.

"He, Twily." Shining said.

"Luna," Celestia greeted. "It is nice to see this morning."

"As it is to you as well. However, greetings aside, We have just been informed by Captain Shining Armor that something urgent had transpired while We were absent?"

"Something did happen, Luna." Twilight said. "The MorcuCorp member we captured was killed in the dungeons."

"How did this happened? Were there anything we can find?"

"We already checked the entire crime scene, your highness." Shining explained. "They only thing we know is that the victim died from suffocation. Somehow, every ounce of blood that was inside the victim was turned into ink. The liquid was toxic as it filled the victim's lungs, heart, stomach, and pretty much the rest of his body."

Twilight's eyes widen.

"Wait... did you say... ink?" The lavender unicorn asks.

"Uhh, yes. It may sound strange, but that's what ponies back at the lab said. Why do you ask?"

"It's just," Twilight spoke almost uncertain. "Back at the library, when me and my friends were attacked by that mare--"

"You mean Notebook?" Shining snorted.

He started to hate this certain MorcuCorp member when Twilight told him of what the Earth Pony mare did to her. Nopony lays a hoof on his little sister unless they want to be in a body cast.

"Yes. She had some sort of bomb of some kind that splattered a ton of ink all around the library and me before she vanished."

"Twilight... you don't think..."

"That this Notebook pony was the one to do such a horrendous deed to the ex-prisoner? Her own fellow member no less?"

"It could be a possibility." Celestia rubbed her chin in thought. "She could of killed him to keep him quiet."

"I don't think that would be possible." Shining said. "There were no tracks found in the cell if the victim was pouring ink everywhere. Not to mention, our witness should of been able to see somepony coming her way. There's only one exit in the dungeon."

"Speaking of witness, who was it? I didn't get the chance to know who saw the incident first."

"It was a Thestral guard named, Wing Beat. She recently became an official Royal Guard about a week ago. When I heard that we were going to keep our... previous guest in the dungeons, I assigned her to be on guard duty with the inmate."

"Where is Ms. Beat now?"

"Well, she is not available right now. Wing Beat was kind of traumatized from the brutal sight she witnessed. So, I decided I would give her some time to herself."

Celestia nodded. "She deserves to unwind a bit. After all, a crime such as murder hasn't been committed in Equestria for a long time."

"So... what are we going to do?" Twilight asks.

"I don't know yet my little pony, but we will get to the bottom of this." Celestia finishes her cup of coffee before standing up. "I am going send an urgent message to Captain Cave about this."

Celestia's horn glowed as a bright light flashed. Not a moment later, a shiny disc appeared right on the dining table.

"Your highness," Shining spoke. "What is that?"

"This is a communications devise, Shining. Captain Cave gave it to me so I can be able to talk to him."

"You can be able to communicate with other ponies with that?" Twilight asks in awe. "How does it work?"

"I'm not entirely sure how the mechanism works, but Cave has already taught me how to use it. Perhaps he can give you more information the next time you two meet."

Celestia horn glows once again as she levitated the disc off the table in her golden aura. She straightens herself out as she's about to make the call.

---

Twin Sister Castle/Galaxy Core Base

Cave Johnson's Quarters

It was a rough night for our large, stressed unicorn android, but he managed it through with self-reassurance and determination... a maybe three bottles worth of wine. After waking up from his sleep, Cave made himself presentable for the day after a quick armor polishing. Right now, our inspirational commanding officer of the Galaxy Core Base was currently sitting in his desk working on some really important documents.

"Oh, Galaxy Bright! It has been so long since I have talked to you."

"Indeed it has, your highness. Would you like to help me make a snowman on Hoth?"

...And by working on important documents, I mean he was playing with a plushy version of his younger-self and Princess Celestia. Oh how inspiring indeed from this galactic role-model.

"As nice as that sounds, I'm afraid that will have to wait."

"Why? What's the problem?"

"It is a disaster, Galaxy! Lex Luthor has stolen 40 of my precious cakes!

"Don't you worry, my dear. This Jedi will take back those pastries."

"Please save me and my sister from starvation. Help me, Galaxy Bright. You're our only hope--"

INCOMING CALL...

"Gah!"

Cave's little... activity was interrupted by his communicator's sudden notification sounding off. Cave knew immediately who was behind the other line. He gotten up from his desk. The little lightbulb on his electronic horn glowed as Cave franticly lifts up the two plushy and throws them into his closet. Not a moment later, Cave's communicator activated as a life-sized white holographic Celestia appeared in front of him.

"Captain Cave," Celestia greeted. "I hope was not interrupting anything."

"Uh, no! It's fine." Cave said sheepishly. "I was just... doing research."

Cave was so glad that he was non-organic, or he would be sweating right now.

"But enough about me, what can I do for you?"

Celestia sighed. "As much as I would like spend our morning having a nice chat, I'm afraid I have some urgent news."

"Oh?" Cave raised a brow.

"I am not sure if you know, but yesterday in the afternoons, a few Morcubus' members made an assault in Ponyville."

Cave was surprised by this.

"The goons? What happened?"

"Three Earth ponies in unusual black and red suits showed up to my student's home."

"Is Twilight Sparkle okay?"

"She is fine." Hologram Celestia nodded. "Her horn might be a bit aching, but she is fine nevertheless."

"Her horn?" Cave questioned. "What did they do?"

"From what Twilight has told me, out of the three of the goons, an Earth Pony mare by the name of Notebook started asking--"

"Wait, hold on." Cave interrupted. "What was her name?"

"I said her name was Notebook. Why do you ask?"

"Because all of Morcubus' members were humans before they arrived to this world. They would of kept their original names."

Suddenly, a purple holographic Twilight appeared besides Celestia.

"So the name 'Notebook' is not common for humans?" Twilight asks as she writes down in her notepad.

"Yes. Human names are normally plain or simple, while you Equestrian names are rather... unique as I would put it. Anyway, by any chance, do you remember what this mare was wearing when she was questioning you?"

"I think so." Twilight said uncertain. "The clothes she was wearing was unique. It's almost similar to the clothes the nobles were, but it was red with pads on her shoulders. Along with golden linings and a black belt with her boss's symbol on it."

Cave sighed. "I know how she really is."

"You do?" Celestia asks.

"Yes. From the criminal data our friend TOBOR copied for me, this mare was actually named Esma."

"Esma?"

"She is one of Morcubus' top members in his company. Whenever Morcubus' busy, she would carry out any tasks she would be given."

Cave turns his gaze back to Twilight.

"She would only be out in the field for important errands only. Do you know why she came to you?"

"Well, Notebook-- er... Esma told me she was a reporter for the Canterlot Press, and she wanted to know how me and my friends defeated Nightmare Moon."

"If she was just questioning you calmly the first time, then what made her turn the situation aggressive?"

"After a while of the interview, she started asking me more detailed questions. At the time, I was starting to thing of something suspicious about her. I was right too because she soon asked about the Elements of Harmony. Nopony other the me, my friends, and the Princess know about them."

"And that's when she let go of the nice mare act?"

Twilight winced as she rubbed her horn a bit with her hoof.

"One of the other goons held onto to me, and Esma grabbed my horn before she threatened me to tell her where were the elements at."

"However, Rainbow Dash bursted into the library and stopped Esma's advance" Celestia added.

"Unfortunately, she too was caught by the other goon. Esma asked her too about the elements, but Rainbow refused."

"Something tells me that beating was involved?" Cave asks.

"Yes, Esma gave her a black and a couple of bruises. How do you know?"

"Uh... past experience." Cave coughed into his hoof. "But anyway, how did you two get away?"

"Well, just when things were about to turn more ugly, Spike came in and knocked out the goon that was holding me."

"Spike did what now?" Cave asks in surprise.

"I was just as surprised as you. When nopony was looking, Spike snuck up behind the stallion and hit him in the head hard with a frying-pan."

Cave puts his hoof to his chin in thought for a moment.

"Cave?"

"Oh! Sorry about that. I was just thinking of something else for a moment. Anyway, is he okay?"

"He's fine, but he's still a bit shaken from yesterday."

"I wouldn't blame the lad. To watch his own sister get man-handled and partially violated in their own home might of been traumatizing."

Suddenly, a white holographic Shining Armor appeared besides Twilight.

"I don't want to be rude, but can we get back to why we called you, Captain Cave?" Shining asks.

"Right, right. So this goon you caught, how was he murdered?"

"Well, from what our scientist found when they did the autopsy on the body, the discovered that every blood within the victim's body was suddenly turned into ink. Thus suffocating him with the toxic liquid within his lungs."

Cave's eyes widened before he lets out a frustrated sigh.

"You guys too?"

Once again, another pony appeared out into the holo projector. It was a blue hologram of Luna.

"What does thou mean?" Luna asks.

"Well, the other day, I too have caught aa couple of Morcubus' goons."

"You found more?" Celestia asks.

"Yes. Our friend TOBOR went far North into Frozen North to retrieve a missing Pegasus named Derpy Hooves. However, they were attacked by Morcubus' members."

"Is Derpy alright?" Twilight asks. "I know TOBOR can hold his own from what I've seen him do, but what about Derpy?"

"She is fine. She is actually still here in the Core Base recovering. I will personally escort her back to Ponyville in a little while."

"Your going to Ponyville?"

"Yeah. I wanted to see TOBOR's new restaurant open."

"Sir TOBOR is opening a restaurant in the town of Ponyville?" Luna asks.

"Indeed he is, Lulu." Cave winked. "He's been spending weeks getting the place ready."

"Perhaps we could visit him and his establishment sometime."

"You could," Cave coughs a bit. "Er, why don't we get back on topic, shall we?"

"Right, our apologies." Celestia said. "Now, you said you also acquired the criminals as well?"

Cave groans. "Well, we did, but they too have died last night within our holding-cells."

"How could this be?"

"We actually found the cause of their death, Tia."

"You have?"

"Yes. From what we have dig up in our little investigation, we have found traces of the deadly virus within their cells."

"You mean the same virus you told us about?" Twilight asks.

"Well... sort of."

"What do you mean sort of?" Shining asks.

"While we did find small traces of the virus that went missing, the whole structure itself is actually artificial."

"Artificial virus?"

"I'm afraid so. This new nasty little bugger is different from the original ones. While the old ones caused long-term aggression to whatever they get into contact with, the new ones are actually controlled directly to be triggered at any time, but only temporary."

"That could lead to a disaster!" Shining said alarmed by the situation.

"It will, which is why now is a good time to have a talk to you, Celestia." Cave said as he turned towards said princess.

"What is it that you need to tell me?" The Sun Goddess asks.

"As we all know now, Morcubus is certainly not playing games here. Hell he went as far as killing his own men just to keep his secrets safe. Not to mention, he somehow figured out how to manipulate the deadly virus to his whim. Threat levels are rising, Tia."

Cave cleared his throat before speaking again.

"So, I have a proposition for you."

"What is it you are proposing, Captain Cave?" Celestia asks.

"I am proposing that for now on, the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony will have a separate bodyguard for each of them. In exchange, I will train your Royal Guards to advance levels of strength, speed, endurance, and importantly combat."

This certainly surprised everypony who were in the hologram.

"This is a rather big offer, Cave." Celestia commented.

"I know you want the girls to live in their carefree lives in Ponyville, and they will. My men will be ready for combat if something like yesterday happens again."

"Well... I don't know." Celestia said uncertain about the sudden decision.

"Sister," Luna started. "We believe that this is an excellent plan. Besides, Sir Cave has a point, Tia. Morcubus is becoming more dangerous each day. The bearers are too important and they need protection in this time of disaster."

"Even if we do, Princess Luna," Twilight spoke. "I don't think my friends are going to like having military ponies keeping an eye on them 24/7, specially Rainbow Dash."

"You won't have to worry about that, Twilight." Cave said. "My men are quite familiar with living as everyday civilians. They will be more like roommates rather than stereotypical bouncers."

"Besides," Shining spoke. "While I don't want to admit it, the Guards might need to learn how to fight better. I could even learn a thing or two from this space veteran."

"Hey! I'm old, but not that old, boy."

Princess Celestia rubs her chin in thought. She will have to admit, it would help raise her guards' defensive abilities a lot higher than normal, but she wasn't sure if she feels comfortable having other ponies other than her own guards keeping an eye on the Elemental Bearers.

"...Captain Cave... I accept your offer." Celestia said.

"Why thank you, Celly--"

"However," Celestia interrupted. "Under two conditions."

Cave raised a brow. "Err... sure, I suppose. What would they be?"

"One, I would like to meet these bodyguards before sending them to my little ponies."

"Understandable. What else?"

"Second, I want my student to keep tabs on each of your guards." Celestia sighed. "I'm sorry for these precautions, Cave, but--"

"It's fine, Tia." Cave waved off. "I understand and I won't hold it against you. I would do the same thing if we switched positions."

Shining had to hold back a snicker from that little comment.

"Then it is settled, then." Celestia said. "When will these ponies of yours will arrive?"

"I'll send them to at a week's notice. I still need to inform my Commander about the whole incident. Not to mention requesting for extra soldiers."

"Very well, then."

"Err, can I ask a question?" Twilight asks.

"You just did." Cave smirked.

This made the lavender unicorn huffed adorably to the android's amusement.

"I'm just joking, Twilight." Cave chuckled. "Anyway, what is your question?"

"Well, I was going to ask, what are we going to when we run into Morcubus' goons again? Even if we manage to catch them, Morcubus will just... kill them again like the others."

"Let me take care of that sweetie. You shouldn’t get yourself into business like this."

"I think it's too late for that." Twilight deadpanned.

"I meant any further that what you are already have." Cave sighed. "Look, I'll take care of this. So will TOBOR. For now, I'm just asking you and the rest to be safe. All of you are way too important for something bad to happen to you."

Knock Knock

The conversation was interrupted by the sound of knocking. A second later, a familiar bubbly mare steps into the room.

"Hey, Cave." Derpy greeted. "What are you doing--"

Derpy the saw the life sized holographic ponies in the room.

"Oh! Princess!" Derpy quickly bowed. "I didn't know you were in the Cave's home too."

Cave chuckled.

“The princesses aren’t really here, Derpy. They are just talking through holograms from Canterlot.”

“Ohh... what are holograms?” Derpy asks getting up.

“I’ll tell you about it some other time. Anyway, how are you feeling?”

“I’m feeling really great. Like a fresh batch of chocolate muffins!”

“That’s good to hear. Are you ready to go home back to Ponyville?”

“I’m sure am! I need to go and pick up my little muffin, Dinky Doo from her sleepover. She must be very worried.”

Cave turns to the holographic ponies. “We’ll discuss some other time. I got a nice mare to escort. Feel free to come over to Ponyville if you want to try out TOBOR’s restaurant.”

“TOBOR has a restaurant?”

“I’ll explain on the way.”

With that, Cave’s robotic horn glowed as the holo-ponies disappeared from sight.

---

As the holographic Cave Johnson disappears, Twilight fiddles with her hooves.

“Celestia?” Twilight asks sheepishly.

“Yes, Twilight?” The princess replied.

“Does this mean me and Spike are going back to Ponyville?”

“Indeed, as I said before. I need you to keep an eye on these new ponies that Cave will be sending for you and your friends.”

Twilight smiled as she gets to go back to her friends.

“So, what do we do now?”

“Now,” Celestia smiled. “We get to order our breakfast. That conversation actually perked me up a bit, and I am in the mood to eat with my little ponies.”

“Well, We hope you all have a good meal.” Luna yawned. “For We will be returning to our quarters for the day.”

“I will see you in the evening, Luna. Have a good-day’s rest.”

Luna nodded as she turns and leaves the dining hall.

“Well, now that everything is out of the way for now, I guess I’ll leave you guys to your meal.” Shining said as he was too about to leave.

“Nonsense,” Celestia stopped him. “Why don’t you join us for a meal?”

Shining smiled. “Oh, why thank you, your highness.”

Celestia turns to Twilight.

“Perhaps Spike would like to be with us as well.”

“I’ll go and get him. I'm sure some breakfast will help clear up his mind about what happened yesterday.”

Twilight trots her way out of the room and heads back to her room for her little reptilian brother.

---

Spike’s POV

When I’m stressed out, I usually go and read my Power Ponies comic book by myself, or go and grab a few gems from my secret stash in the library. However, I can’t do any of that as because I’m in Canterlot with Twilight. Then again, I don’t think any of that will help put my mind at ease. So many things happened yesterday. From selling out Twi like a big jerk, to getting assaulted by those goons.

Speaking of goons, I can’t believe I knock that stallion to the ground. Not push them, or trip them, but actually hitting them. Ever since I learned how to speak and walk, I never once hurt another pony. Well, maybe when I was gnawing on Twilight’s tail or accidently setting her mane on fire when I was growing up. Though, those were normal circumstances, what I did to that goon from yesterday was different. When I saw Notebook and those other ponies hurting my friends, everything felt like a blur for a moment. As if what I did was out of... instincts.

This is just so hard to understand. Why would I try to fight them? At that time, a part of me just wanted to go back upstairs and send a letter to Princess Celestia an emergency message, but the other part refused. Not just from my half, but something deep within that other half. Something that gave me both the courage and the strength to actually... fight. Was hurting that pony was the right thing to do? I know Twilight said it was alright, and that I was just protecting her and Rainbow Dash, but... couldn’t of been another way?

It doesn’t matter, what’s done is done. I officially took down a full grown stallion-- with just one hit too! That moment will never be forgotten from my memories. And maybe, I shouldn’t forget it. As of now, things are looking really serious all of sudden. Last night, me and Twi were woken up by some loud screaming. When Twilight was about to go out and check, the Royal Guards wouldn’t let us leave our room. Twilight tried talking them into letting her go, but they refused.

Eventually, Twilight gave up and went back to bed with me. I think it was for the best. She needed some more sleep anyway. Although, this morning was nearly quiet. I still heard guards and other maids and butlers doing their duties. However, after Twilight left to see Celestia about what happened last night, I overheard what they guards outside of our room were talking about. Apparently, the same pony goon that was part of the incident the other day was... murdered.

What a crazy day and night, huh? Get harassed and suddenly hear about a pony getting killed. Why am I so calm about this? I should normally be intimidated considering it was probably Notebook’s or Morcubus’ doing. Though, instead of being my normal self, I’m actually... frustrated. As if a part of me didn’t like what happened. Not out of fear, but out of... well, I just can’t explain it.

“Maybe it’s just nothing.” I said to myself. “Maybe I’m just overlooking into this.”

But if that was the case, then why am I still thinking about it?

KNOCK KNOCK

I was startled from my thoughts as two knocks sounded off. A second later, I see Twilight coming into the room with a smile on her face.

“Spike, I’m glad you’re awake.” She said to me. “Princess Celestia invited us to have breakfast with her.”

“That’s great, Twilight.” I said neutrally.

This seem to got her attention.

“What’s wrong, Spike? You’re usually so excited to have breakfast with the princess.”

My stomach instinctively growled at the mention to food to my embarrassment.

“I’m fine. I just not that hungry right now. I’ll probably get something small when we get there.”

Twilight didn’t seem too convinced, be she accepted my words anyway.

“Well, alright then.” She said as she walks out. “I’ll meet you in the dining hall whenever you’re ready.”

I watched as Twilight walks into the main castle. While I am hungry, I can’t get my earlier thoughts out of my head. What am I going to do? Something tells me that yesterday’s incident won’t be the last time that will happened. And will I be ready for it? I just don’t want to see that look on Twilight’s face when she was... scared. That look will haunt me for who knows how long.

Maybe I can talk to Shining Armor about it, or Celestia. Though, for some reason, I think other robot pony, Cave will be a better choice.

“Alright, When I get the chane, I’ll talk to Cave.” I said to the myself once again as I walk out the door.

Hopefully, Cave can help me with this problem if he has the time.

Author's Note:

Hello, everypony! It’s me, Writer Page. Also known as, The EnderPony Master.
I just wanted to say that I’m really sorry for taking too long on the chapter. I had a lot of stuff do to for my graduation. Which now, I’m officially a free adult!

Yay!

Thank you, Fluttershy. Also, thank you readers for the support on this little series. I’ve been getting a lot of PM’s about when the chapters will be posted. I know some of you readers are eager for some reading, but you just got to be patient.

Anyway, now that me and Cherry are out of school, well until we get to college, we will have some more time to work on the story.

So, that’s it for now. See what happens next time on... The Adventures of T.O.B.O.R.!

Writer Page, OUT!

And have a great late graduation high school students!!

Comments

[Galaxy of Equestria]

8391907
those plot hole in story.
will filled out later in the story.