Quantum Gallop

by Goldfur

Chapter 10 - School Days

“Are you nuts?!” Pif protested. “How are we supposed to avoid making unnecessary changes to history for ten months, especially if we have to take jobs?”

Lucida grimaced. “It’s not like we have any choice.”

Blue’s expression clouded and he gave Lucida a glare. “We should have had a choice! I kept telling you that Cinder was close to laying her egg… eggs. I might not have anticipated this exact situation, but I feared that something could go wrong.”

“We still needed to understand how history went so bad, so we could look out for other problems,” Lucida insisted.

“No we didn’t! We knew the final result, and we could guess at reasons, but the exact causes weren’t important enough to risk Cinder and the eggs! We could have gone home ages ago, but no, you had to satisfy your curiosity.”

“Blue’s right,” Pif interjected. “We had enough information to perform a perfectly surgical operation that we pulled off without a hitch and the absolute minimum of interference with History, but that all could be ruined if we have to stick around. We should have done this after the first check jump.”

“It was a calculated risk…” Lucida started.

Blue snorted, his ears lowering in anger. “Risk?! You talk about risk when you’re talking about my mate and children?” He came up to Lucida and started poking her in the sternum with a hoof. “Your first and most important consideration is to family. Once we knew how to save Cirrus’ parents and catch the agent, our next priority should have been getting Cinder home. Anything else should have been secondary to that.”

Lucida slapped away Blue’s hoof. “Don’t lecture me! I never forgot about Cinder. I just overestimated the time we had to spare. She should have laid the eggs at least another week away.”

“And what makes you such an expert on dragon pregnancies? What do you know of the effects of time travel on her? Did two eggs cause a premature laying? Did the stress of this situation have anything to do with it? I didn’t know. Cinder didn’t know. How in Tartarus did you think that you could know any better?!”

“I… I… couldn’t.” Lucida hung her head in shame. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry isn’t good enough, Lucy,” Blue said, his anger easing off. “Figure out what to do about this mess. Now everyone leave this room. Cinder and I need time to ourselves.”

Lucida nodded and headed for the door. The rest of the team followed suit, leaving Blue alone with his mate. He went over to the bed and climbed up next to Cinder. Unlike the wariness she exhibited a short time ago, she welcomed him, spreading a wing over Blue to draw him closer in a protective snuggle around the eggs.

“Thank you, Blue. I hope our children have your strength of character.”

“I hope they are as beautiful and precious as you, my love.”

They nuzzled and admired the eggs, neither admitting to the worries that the situation had caused.

# # #

Everyone trooped into Lucida and Sterling’s room. As soon as the door was closed, Lucida spoke up.

“I know we have a difficult situation to sort out, but first I think we had better deal with the changeling agent. We paid a price for this information, so it had better answer a lot of our questions. Pif, can you bring it forward, please?”

Pif instructed the changeling agent to stand in the middle of the room, surrounded by all the others. It stood there utterly quiescent until addressed.

“Is he completely under control, Pif?” Lucida asked.

“Who do you obey, agent?” Pif asked.

“You, your siblings, and friends, Queen Epiphany.”

“You have met them all now, agent. No others may give you orders that override mine. Do you understand?”

“I understand and will obey, my Queen.”

Pif turned to the hippogriff. “Satisfied, Lucy?”

Lucida nodded. “For now. Time for answers. Agent, what is your name?”

“I am called Zark.”

“Zark, who sent you to take Cirrus?”

“Queen Chrysalis.”

“Well, that’s hardly a surprise,” Citrine muttered loudly.

“Not now, Citrine. We need to be thorough, even if we think we know the answers. Zark, what were you supposed to do with Cirrus after you abducted him?”

“Cirrus is Princess Gossamer, daughter of Queen Chrysalis who wanted her returned to the hive and into the Queen’s care. My task was to take Gossamer to the hive by any means necessary.”

“Why did you intend to kill Thundercloud and Zephyr instead of just abducting Cirrus?”

“Queen Chrysalis wanted her daughter’s relationship with her foster parents completely severed so that she would not desire to return to them. Death was the simplest solution.”

Destined snorted in contempt. “Once again, Chrysalis shows how little she understands griffons and ponies. That was never going to work the way she intended.”

Lucida shrugged. “She probably thought that since Cirrus was really a changeling, he would not react as he did, but we all know that Papa Free has always had more in common with his griffon parents than his changeling heritage. Perhaps it’s part of his mutant nature, or perhaps it’s because of how deeply loved he was by Grandpa and Grandma. Maybe both. Anyway…” She turned back to Zark. “How were you going to return to the future?”

“I cannot return to the future.”

“What?! Do you mean that you were to take Cirrus to the present-day hive?”

“Yes.”

“Have you ever done previous time-jumps?”

“No.”

“What were you supposed to do once you brought Cirrus to present-day Chrysalis?”

“I was supposed to connect to the Queen’s old network, explain how I came to be here, and stand by for further orders.”

Pif said, “As far as Zark is concerned, past-Chrysalis and future-Chrysalis are the same Queen, and he’s essentially right. Our Chrysalis doesn’t need to fetch Cirrus back to the future to accomplish her plans.”

Lucida nodded. “Zark, are you aware of other agents performing time-jumps?”

“I know nothing of them.”

“What do you know of Chrysalis’ plans?”

“I only know what Queen Chrysalis told me for this mission.”

“What of the other drones? What are they doing?”

“I don’t know.”

Lucida was getting a little frustrated. “Why not?”

“I was given the information needed for my mission while I was being educated over the network as a nymph. As soon as I changed into an adult drone, I was sent on the mission.”

“Sheesh! This drone’s barely more than a foal!” Silk exclaimed.

“That’s not all,” Pif said. “It sounds like Zark was bred specifically for this mission. He might not know anything of use to us.”

Lucida shook her head. “No – you’re forgetting that future-Chrysalis instructed Zark to tell her past self how he came to be there with Cirrus. Zark – pretend Epiphany is Chrysalis of this time, and tell her what you were instructed to say.”

Zark turned to face Pif and began reciting, “My Queen, I am special agent Zark, sent by your future self to correct wrongs done to you in the future. I have returned your daughter, Princess Gossamer, for the glory of the hive. Within my mind is stored all the knowledge that will enable you to conquer Equestria. I am at your command.” The changeling stopped abruptly.

“That’s all?” Lucida asked.

“Yes.”

“What is the knowledge that you were to give Chrysalis?”

“I do not know.”

“How could you not know?”

“I have been mind-locked.”

“Oh, Sweet Celestia!” Pif exclaimed. “She didn’t!”

“Didn’t do what, Pif?” Lucida asked with a frown.

“The only reason to put a mind-lock on a drone is if there’s too much for the drone’s mind to contain. Chrysalis must have poured a significant portion of the hive’s knowledge into Zark and then locked it off so his brain would not burn out.”

“So if Chrysalis was to access it?”

“She would drain everything into the hive’s network, but Zark would not survive the process.”

“That’s cold,” Destined said with a shudder.

“Since when did Gramgram ever care about what happened to her drones?” Pif asked with a snarl.

“And the side-effect is that he can’t give away any secrets,” Lucida said with frustration written on her face. “He only knows what he needs to accomplish the mission, and no more.”

“Are you sure about that, Lucy?” Destined asked. “Zark, where is future-Chrysalis?”

“I do not know.”

“How did you get to the past?” Destined persisted.

“Queen Chrysalis took me to a room where several zebras were seated in a circle. I was placed in the middle of a pattern of stones inscribed with runes. A fire burned in the center, and an old zebra threw something on the flames that filled the room with sweet smoke. The zebras started chanting, and a shadow grew out of Queen Chrysalis to surround the old zebra. I became dizzy and found myself endlessly falling until I emerged in the Canterlot Gardens.”

Destined looked at Lucida. “Are you thinking of Zebrican shamans too?”

“Their rune and potion magic is so much more different from pony magic, it’s not hard to believe that they have a way of time-travelling that we haven’t discovered. What I find interesting is that there were so many of them. I have never heard of more than two outside of their lands in any one place.”

“Sounds like there’s a strong possibility that Chrysalis fled to Zebrica and found allies.” Destined turned back to Zark. “Is Chrysalis’ new hive in Zebrica?”

For the first time, Zark hesitated before answering. “I have heard the name mentioned while I was nymph, but I do not know if that is significant.”

“Buck!” Pif swore. “Well, at least we still know more than we used to.”

“Could you tap Zark’s knowledge, Pif?” Lucida asked.

“I could if I had a network to work with. If I tried to take it all just by myself, I probably could, but it might be too much for me also.”

“So if you had access to the Chrome Hive’s network, you could get that information?”

“Easily, but Zark would still burn out.”

“You seem awfully concerned for a drone that would have killed Cirrus’ parents without compunction,” Lucida said with a frown.

Sterling spoke up for the first time. “Zark was apparently programmed to do a task from nymph-hood. He knows no other way of doing things. Queens can do that, but only Chrysalis practices that abomination.”

“How would you know that they don’t, Sterling?” Lucida asked.

“It is one of the Rules of the Forbidden that every 'ling knows, and to which all the Hives subscribe, excepting the Blue Hive apparently since Chrysalis stopped attending the Council of the Queens.”

“What other rules are there?” Silk asked curiously.

“Do Not Impersonate Royalty, for example,” Sterling replied.

Destined snorted and said, “That makes Chrysalis zero for two so far.”

“Really? You need to tell me about it.”

“I’ll tell you about a certain wedding later. Any other rules?”

“Plenty. Live and Let Live – do not interfere with another hive’s harvesters, or else they might interfere with you.”

“I don’t think I heard of her doing that.”

“We are Changelings, Not Animals – do not forcefully drain emotions like parasites.”

Pif laughed derisively. “That one’s such a big fail, it ought to count as two strikes.”

“Do not Dishonor the Queens – you do not have to follow their orders, but you should respect them, lest your Queen be disrespected by others.”

“I’d say that rule went out the window after Chrysalis went bonkers,” Lucida commented.

“We are felt but never seen – Every 'ling leaves their mark, but make sure yours is unseen.”

“Ooh! What’s that swarm of bugs?” Silk said melodramatically as he pretended to observe the Canterlot invaders. The others chuckled at that.

Sterling smiled too before saying the next rule. “Do Not Soil the Well – if another Harvester is collecting there, move on. His harvest will be richer, as will yours when you choose new territory.”

“Chrysalis wanted it all,” Destined commented. “However, I think we’re getting off subject here. What are we going to do about getting at Zark’s knowledge?”

Silk said, “Guys – I think you’re overlooking something else that Zark mentioned. What about that shadow that he said came out of Chrysalis? Is that significant?”

Destined screwed up his face in perplexity. “Yeah, that doesn’t seem to fit with anything we know about either the zebras or Chrysalis.”

Pif said, “It seems that Chrysalis is doing a lot of odd things lately, and this is just the latest. I’m going to guess that she’s found something new to augment her power though. Time-travelling is no easy task.”

“I suppose that’s one more thing that we won’t understand until we unlock the knowledge that Zark is carrying,” Lucida said as she turned to face the quiescent drone once more. “So much is tied up in this one changeling; perhaps even the way we can end this time-war forever. Looks like we’re going to have to wait another ten months before we can find out though.”

Pif cleared her throat, drawing the attention of all. “Well… not necessarily. If I can get hold of enough drones to build a mini-network, we can access it much sooner.”

“And how do you propose to do that?” Sterling asked. “I can’t even contact my own hive because of this situation, so how are you going to get some drones, and Blues at that?”

“We know that in this time period, Chrysalis had already gone mad and had started her plans to take over Equestria. She was placing infiltrators in various positions to help make that easier. I have no qualms about taking them out of the picture, just like we did with Zark.”

The Red Changeling frowned in thought before responding, “Of course we’ve noticed Blue Changelings before, but always passed them off as Emotion Harvesters. This is a perfectly normal thing, as we’ve always ignored them as we have all the other hives’ Harvesters.”

“Probably most are just that,” Pif agreed. “However, a significant number are actually sleeper agents.”

“So you’re suggesting that we hunt them down, Pif?” Lucida asked.

“Yes. At worst we won’t lose anything by trying, and at best we can learn a lot more a great deal sooner.”

“You can’t just snatch the disguised drones!” Sterling said. “Their absence will be noticed, and won’t that cause a lot of disruption to History that you’re trying to avoid?”

Pif grinned smugly. “You’ve never met my lab assistants. I have a dozen drones that used to be part of Chrysalis’ network, but who now are faithful to me. I’m a Queen, Sterling, and I can swap those infiltrators to my network because even though I’m a mutant, I’m still a Blue. I’ve found that most drones will willingly work with me because, unlike Chrysalis, I treat them with respect. Once I have their cooperation, I can send them back to their assumed lives and they can continue doing whatever they are supposed to be doing. They just won’t respond to Chrysalis when the time of the invasion comes around, and by then it will be too late for Chrysalis to do anything about it.”

Sterling nodded thoughtfully. “I see what you mean. That sort of thing would not have occurred to me because utter loyalty is a hallmark of Red Changelings, but Chrysalis’ aberrations are an entirely different situation.”

“How do you intend to tell the Harvesters from the Infiltrators?”

“Oh, I have an idea. I’ll just ask them to report.”

Sterling blinked in confusion. “Report? What do you mean by that?”

“It means that I know my grandmother pretty well.” Magic fire swirled around Pif, and in her stead stood Queen Chrysalis. She now towered over Sterling, and she leaned down and said in exact imitation of the Queen’s imperial voice, “Drone – report your status!”

Sterling took a reflexive step backwards, and his jaw worked soundlessly for a few seconds before he shook his head to clear it. “Amazing! In spite of the fact that you’re not my Queen, I almost responded to your command.”

Pif laughed in Chrysalis’ evil manner before shifting back to her normal guise. “Exactly. The drones will report without even realizing that I’m tapping into them. If they’re normal Harvesters, I will tell them to carry on and to forget that I had been there. However, if they’re Infiltrators, they will reveal themselves, and I will take control of them like Zark. Once I have them debriefed, I will send them back to their normal pony lives, only they’ll be part of my mini-network from then on.”

“That sounds like a good plan,” Lucida declared. “Go ahead and do it, but please take utmost precautions, and try to let me know before you snatch any of them.”

“Why? You think I don’t know what I’m doing?”

“I’m just trying to keep this situation under control, Pif.”

“Yeah, we found out how well that worked out last time, didn’t we?” Pif replied snarkily.

“Are you going to keep nagging me over one mistake?”

“One huge mistake, and yes – I’m not happy at all to be stuck here because of it.”

“At least you’re stuck here with me,” Citrine said with a grin and a cuddle for Pif, trying to lighten the situation.

“I think we’re all frustrated due to this situation,” Destined said. “I suggest that we all take a break for now; perhaps get a start on finding a job. Anything to get our minds off this for a while.”

“Great idea, Des. Let’s go, Citrine.” Pif inclined her head towards the door and her companion took the hint.

“What about Zark?” Lucida protested.

“He’s not going to do a thing!” Pif shot back before she pointedly slammed the door.

After the couple had left the room, Destined said, “I’ll get back to you later, Lucy. Silk, how about we go out for dinner? We haven’t had a chance to… have a date… since we’ve been here,” he added shyly.

Silk brightened considerably. “Don’t mind if I do, Des! Thanks for asking!”

The two quickly followed in Pif and Citrine’s hoofsteps.

Lucida’s shoulders slumped when the door closed behind the two stallions. “The team’s falling apart, and it’s my fault,” she said morosely.

Sterling came over to the hippogriff and put a reassuring arm around her. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. Take it from me – a commanding officer is never going to be perfect, and as your team’s leader, you will inevitably make mistakes like this time. You have to own those mistakes, learn from them, and move on.”

“But I’ve lost their confidence! They’ve all just walked out on me!”

“Take it from a Red Changeling – you haven’t lost the loyalty of a single one of them. They’re just angry, but I’ve been with this group long enough now to know that they’ll get over it. Trust in your team members’ judgement and cut them some slack. Know when to command and when to let them do their own thing independently. You have family, not drones.”

Lucida sniffled a bit as she laid her head against his neck. “Thanks. Now I know why your alternative history self was so instrumental in pony-changeling relations when you started going about undisguised. You really understand us.”

“Comes of emulating a pony for so long. Still gives me the creeps thinking about walking around in public in my natural form though,” he added with a chuckle.

Lucida giggled. “You would survive it, just like I’ll survive this incident.”

“That’s the spirit. Now, I reckon Destined had the right idea. Let’s go find some comfort food.”

Lucida gestured at the silent changeling drone. “What will we do about Zark?”

“He’s enthralled to Epiphany, and under orders to obey you. Do whatever you wish.”

Lucida went over to Zark and pointed to a corner of the room. Go over there and sit down. Don’t do anything until I return.”

Zark walked over and sat down without a word.

“That’s just a little bit unsettling,” Lucida said.

“If it makes you feel any better, I find it disturbing too. Still, he’s harmless for now. Let’s go eat.”

“Lead the way!”

# # #

All of the couples went straight back to their respective rooms that evening, and Lucida decided to let them sleep on the problem for now. She was happy to see them all gather as normal in her room the following morning, with the obvious exception of Cinder. When Blue arrived, Lucida gave him a questioning look.

Blue gave a deep sigh. “Look, I’m still annoyed by what you’ve got us into, but what’s done is done. It’s time to deal with this new situation and move on. Don’t try to talk to Cinder for a few days though. You should know by now how long it takes for dragons to calm their anger.”

“Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind, Blue. Now, before we go to breakfast, has anyone come up with anything new that’s relevant to this situation?” Lucida looked hopefully at Destined.

The alicorn shrugged. “Yes and no. I wracked my brain last night, but there’s no way that I can think of avoiding a ten-month stay short of forcing Cinder to come back with us. Stop glaring at me, Blue! I’m not proposing that we do that. Just saying, is all. However, if changing History is our sole other major problem, I’d like to point out that after the eggs hatch, we can jump back in time to just after we had caught the agent, and start a new History track that omits whatever we do in those ten months. We can then jump forward to our proper time.”

Lucida nodded. “If that’s the best you have to offer, then I suppose we will have to go with that. Anyone disagree?” She looked around at the others’ faces, but they had nothing to offer. “Okay, let’s go get breakfast before we talk about what we’re going to do for the best part of the year.”

# # #

“For now, I’m going to keep a watch on Cirrus,” Sterling declared when they had returned from breakfast for a team meeting. “If he was a target for Chrysalis now, it stands to reason that she could try again.”

“That’s a good point, Sterling,” Lucida said with a thoughtful nod. “In fact, that gives me an idea about what I could do for a job if I can pull it off. Seeing as Cirrus is going to school now, it would be good to have someone on the inside there to watch him during school hours. I’m going to apply for a teaching job.”

“Are you sure, Lucy?” Destined asked. “I know you’ve taught a few classes for our House, but those were all older students.”

“Not all of them. Parents have been enrolling their foals and chicks at much younger ages nowadays as House Path’s prestige has grown. Admittedly none as young as Cirrus, but at least I have had some experience with youngsters.”

“If you reckon you’re up for it, then I say go for it. As Sterling said, Cirrus could be targeted again, and it would save us a lot of trouble if we can deal with it immediately rather than go about it the long way again.”

“I’ll check it out this morning. Anyone else have any ideas about what to do to earn some money?”

“I’m going to check out any spas and such to see if I can put my skills to work,” Silk said.

“Aren’t you concerned about standing out too much?” Lucida asked.

“Look, I know thestrals were rarely seen in Canterlot before Luna returned and brought in some for her Lunar Guard, but we aren’t a complete anomaly like an undisguised changeling would be. I’d like to get back into my profession again.”

“Fair enough, I suppose.”

“And I am still prepared to do evening shifts watching over Cirrus. Sterling doesn’t have to do all the work.”

“Thanks, Silk. You’ve really become a useful member of this team, even if you came by accident.”

“Don’t mention it, Lucida. Believe it or not, I’ve been enjoying myself. Worse things than being stranded with your coltfriend,” he added with a wink at Destined who blushed furiously.

Lucida came to her brother’s rescue. “So, Des, have you thought of something to do?”

Destined shook his head. “I’ve been too preoccupied with our predicament to give it much thought. Maybe I’ll do the same as you? I’ve always been in an academic situation, and seeing as this is a primarily unicorn city, perhaps I could teach elementary magic?”

“That would certainly be your forte. Let’s go together and apply this morning.”

“Umm… do you realize that a hippogriff teacher would tend to stand out in Cirrus’ memory as he grows up? Wouldn’t he find it strange that Lucida Path looks exactly like a former teacher?”

“Well, we should be going back to the future before we cover that time track again, but you do have a point, Des. Could you do a disguise for me with your illusions?”

“I could, but you do know the limitations of them? They require constant upkeep, and there’s always the possibility of being seen through, especially in the long term. I do have an alternative to suggest though.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s a spell that I have concocted that combines transmogrification with illusion that will have a permanent effect until the spell is used again. I designed it specifically with our missions in mind, but up until now, such a drastic spell hasn’t been needed.”

“What’s the drawbacks? Any side effects?”

“Oh no! I’ve thoroughly tested it in Mom’s laboratory. She helped me tighten up the formula, and has approved its usage.”

“Oh. You had me worried there.”

“Yeah, there’s absolutely almost no chance of me turning you into a chicken,” Destined said with a wink at the others.

Lucida glared at Destined as everyone chuckled. “Alright, smart-ass. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

Destined smiled confidently as Lucida placed herself right in front of him. His horn lit up as he wrote the spell in his mind and funneled mana into it. A beam of magic enveloped Lucida, and when the glow died, a very different hippogriff now stood before him.

Lucida looked at herself and noted the bright white feathers of her griffin half, and the golden coat of her pony half. “Hmm, so much different from my normal looks. I like it! What about my cutie mark though?”

Destined shrugged. “Cutie marks have their own special magic, and Mom advised me to never meddle with them. Yours isn’t so unusual that it will stand out too much anyway.”

“Okay, I can live with that. What about you and your wings though?”

“Maintaining an illusion on myself is a lot easier, but I do have another idea. Seeing as a large proportion of Canterlot ponies prefer to wear some form of clothing, I’m thinking of getting some sort of coat to keep my wings covered. Not only would I look more professional, the extra bulk would also make me look a bit more solidly built.”

Sterling said, “Take it from me – subtle changes like that make very effective disguises. You will still have to control your reactions though. Pegasi and alicorns tend to be expressive with their wings.”

“Yeah, that’s going to be the hardest part. Anyway, that’s my plan for now. Anyone else?”

Blue said, “I’ll be wanting to spend a lot more time with Cinder, but I’m thinking that a good part-time job for me would be as a courier. Even without stretching my super speed, I can navigate the streets of Canterlot as fast as a pegasus, and get into more awkward places. It’s the kind of job that I don’t have to be doing all day, so it would give me flexibility.”

“That leaves Pif and Citrine,” Lucida said. “Any ideas, girls?”

Pif snorted. “Oh, yeah. I came up with the perfect idea last night. Remember how I was so pissed off with that institute that orphaned Cirrus was put into? Well, I’m going to do something about that.”

“But if we go back to the future after looping back in time, anything that you do there won’t happen.”

“Don’t care, Lucy. I’m not going to spend ten months here knowing what’s going on in there, and not do anything about it.”

Lucida held up her talons in surrender. “I won’t stop you. In fact, I’m not sure if I wouldn’t let you even if we weren’t going to cover our tracks later.”

“Thanks. If nothing else, I might know what to do about it when we get back to our own time. I’ll also be keeping a watch for Blue Changeling infiltrators.”

Lucida looked at Citrine. “That just leaves you. Got something in mind yet?”

The crystal pony looked thoughtful for a moment. “Remember that griffin tavern we went to the other night, Pif?”

“The Broken Beak? What about it?”

“I saw a sign that they’re looking for bartenders.”

“Are you kidding me? That’s the roughest and rowdiest bar in Canterlot, and maybe one of the worst in Equestria! Why do you think they’re looking for staff? Because they don’t last in a place like that!”

“Think I can’t handle myself in there?” Citrine asked with a confident smirk.

Blue said, “You’ve seen her fight, Pif; Citrine’s a brawler without peer. I think she’ll be able to hold her own in there.”

Pif nodded reluctantly. “Just be careful, okay?”

Citrine grinned and hugged Pif. “I’ll always be back for snuggles at night.”

The way she said snuggles left no doubt in the minds of all the others that she had something else in mind.

# # #

The big hawk-faced griffin threw back his head and screeched in laughter. “You? A little pony bartending here? You wouldn’t last five minutes!”

Citrine gave the bar owner her biggest and most confident grin. “Try me! If I can last a shift, you hire me full-time. If I don’t, you don’t have to pay me a single bit. Whaddya say?”

Garth chuckled some more. He had to credit the pony’s audacity, and he was curious enough to see what happened. “Deal. See Gail behind the bar. She’ll show you the ropes.”

Citrine headed off to the bar, and Garth watched with a grin. He noted one of his regular customers and equally regular trouble-maker had already noticed the pony. “Five minutes?” he murmured. “She’ll be lucky to make it to three!”

Sure enough, even as Gail was showing Citrine the various liquors that they had available, the golden eagle/leopard-spotted griffin that Garth was watching meandered up to the two. He put his talons up on the bar and loomed over them. “What the fuck is a pony doing in here?” he growled.

The griffin was easily almost double Citrine’s size, but she grinned up at him undeterred. “I’m the new hire. Can I help you, sir?”

“You can help me by getting your puny pony ass out of here!” he roared in her face.

“Sorry – not going to happen. Can I interest you in a drink?”

Gail was trying hard to stifle a laugh at Citrine’s impudence, while the customer’s face was starting to grow darker with anger.

“I’ll drink your blood!” the griffin screamed, reaching for the irksome pony.

A minute later, the griffin found himself outside in the street, sprawled upside down among the planter boxes decorating the road, blood dripping from a smashed beak. “Wha… what happened?” he asked dazedly.

“That’s why they call this place The Broken Beak,” Citrine informed him cheerily before going back inside.

Garth stared at the pony incredulously. He had seen it all happen with his own two eyes, and still couldn’t credit how the pony had so effortlessly dealt with one of his worst customers. He didn’t care if she was the worst bartender in history – he had just found his new bouncer!

# # #

The school principal looked at the odd pair seated in front of her. “Brother and sister, you say?”

“Same father, different mothers,” Lucida explained.

“Obviously, Miss Lightgiver. You’re only the second hippogriff that I have ever seen, but I do know how it works. Anyway, this is most unusual as we have already started the new school year. However, due to an unexpected retirement of one teacher, and another having been called away to tend to a very ill father, we have found ourselves a bit short-staffed.” She shuffled the papers that they had given her for references. Destined had enchanted them with a spell that made her see what she expected to see in those documents. “Your details seem to be in order, and I believe we can take you on. I am particularly pleased that you have indicated that you enjoy working with young foals, Miss Lightgiver, as we have a class full of them that have need of your skills. Instructor Lengthy Numbers is a little out of her depth,” she added with a wry smile.

Lucida chuckled dutifully.

The principal then looked at Destined. “As for you, Mr. Fate, while you indicate that you have degrees in advanced spellcasting, I hope that you will be able to assist in teaching the fundamentals to the young unicorns also.”

Destined a.k.a. Inevitable Fate smiled at the principal. “All advanced knowledge is built on a firm foundation of basic magic theory. I would be happy to teach that as well, Miss Chalkboard.”

“Excellent! It’s almost time for the lunchtime break, so I will be able to introduce you to the other members of the teaching staff, and we can devise a new schedule to fit you in. You can both start tomorrow morning. Welcome to Canterlot Junior School.” She stood up and shook hooves with both of them.

# # #

The despatcher blinked in disbelief. “You’re back already?”

Blue passed the receipt to him.

The pegasus stared at the proof, then looked back up at Blue Streak. “You’re hired!”

# # #

Pif nodded politely as she was introduced to her new co-workers. She had almost not gotten the job, and it had taken the application of a bit of changeling magic to get the boss to change her mind. Pif did not intend to tell Lucida that she had temporarily enthralled the boss to get the position though, but this was too important to her for her to be prevented from helping the powerless children in the institute’s care. She had taken on the responsibility of righting a wrong, and if she had to be a bit pragmatic about how she accomplished that, then so be it!

# # #

Silk glared angrily at the sign in the spa’s window that advertised for staff. At least the manager had been honest about it, unlike all the other places that he had tried.

“Nobody is gonna want a creepy bat-pony putting their hooves on them,” the manager had told him bluntly.

Silk knew that attitudes towards thestrals had improved a lot over the years, but until now he had no idea how badly they were regarded before Luna had brought them back into the community. Now he wasn’t sure what he was going to do if that was the kind of response he was going to get from all potential employers. He had to think about the situation more.

The thestral spread his wings and flew off to somewhere secluded, and considerably more shaded, to ponder his dilemma.

# # #

That afternoon before they went out to dinner, they gathered as usual in Lucida’s room. Sterling was the last to arrive, having waited until Cirrus was safely at home with his parents, plus a bit more time after that. Lucida addressed the changeling Guardsman as he entered the room.

“Looks like you and Silk are the only ones not to get a job.”

“Funny that you should mention that,” Sterling replied. “I can’t rejoin the Royal Guard because they don’t know me at this time, and I’m too old to be accepted as a new recruit, but seeing Zephyr reminded me that the City Guard could use somepony with my experience, so I went by Zephyr’s watch house to check out the possibility. They’re having a recruitment drive next week, and I believe I can get a position there.”

That sounds good, although it isn’t really necessary. Enough of us have jobs now to cover our costs with a bit to spare.”

Sterling frowned at Lucida. “Do you think I would shirk my duty just because of these unusual circumstances? I swore an oath to the Crown that I would protect the princesses and the people of Equestria. If I can’t do that as a Royal Guard, I will do it in whatever other way that I can. The money is irrelevant.”

“I didn’t mean to imply that, Sterling. You’ve done and are still doing lots for the benefit of Equestria.”

Sterling shook his head. “No, I’m sorry. I overreacted. It hasn’t been easy for me being disconnected from my hive and my career.”

Pif said, “I know exactly how you feel. I’ve had more practice with it, and I still hate it.”

Silk sighed. “I don’t know about hive-networks and such, but I am feeling a bit isolated too. I’m the only thestral here, and I’m pretty much unwanted.”

“That’s because you’re looking in the wrong place,” Citrine said with a smirk.

Silk gave Citrine a hard look. “What do you mean?”

“I know a place where they won’t give a damn what you are, as long as you can hold your own.”

“And that is…?”

“The Broken Beak Tavern, of course. Bar of choice for some of the rowdiest and liveliest griffons in Canterlot. Only took disposing of one obnoxious griff for me to get respect there. I’m gonna enjoy that job. So can you if you want. Garth was advertising for more than one new bartender, and he still needs someone for the evening shift. Think you can handle it?”

Silk smirked. “Well, I know my way around a bar. I didn’t exactly grow up in the lap of luxury, y’know? Life was tough for many years, and I had to be tougher.”

“That explains how you were able to fight so well when we were dealing with Queen Gossamer’s minions,” Blue commented. “I didn’t catch much of it due to being enthralled at the time, but I noticed you came through unscathed.”

“Yeah, I’ve had my share of fights when growing up. I also have my secret weapon.”

“Secret weapon? You never told me about that,” Destined said with curiosity written on his face.

“Believe me, you don’t want me to demonstrate,” Silk said with a smirk.

# # #

Garth stared at the odd bat-winged pegasus for a long time before saying, “It must be my day for getting surprises. Okay, why do you think you’re good for the job?”

“Yellow Quartz sent me. She said the job would suit me,” Silk replied with a grin, name-dropping Citrine’s alias.

The pony had fangs! And Quartz recommended him? This he had to see for himself. “Okay, pal, I’ll give you the same deal that I gave Quartz. If you last a shift, you’re hired. If you don’t, I won’t pay you a single bit.”

“Sounds good to me. Want me to start right away?”

Garth gestured toward the bar. “Go see Giselle. She’ll get you up to speed.”

Silk nodded and headed to the bar.

Garth surveyed his customers. As it happened, he didn’t have any of his rowdiest customers here at the moment, but that would change soon. He noticed that his current clientele were giving the bat-pony cautious looks. Considering his odd appearance, they didn’t know what to make of him right now. That would quickly change, especially when a couple of his evening patrons turned up. Garth found himself unexpectedly looking forward to that. For now though, he turned back to the actual business of running the bar.

It was about half an hour later when a grizzled griffoness entered the bar. She wasn’t as big as the cock that Quartz had thrown out of the bar, but she was easily the worst of his customers to ever cross. She hated anyone not a griffon, and not a few of those too. Garth constantly wondered what kept the hen in Canterlot; sheer stubbornness he supposed. She regarded the tavern as a sanctuary against all she despised. Garth put aside his work and propped up his head on one taloned hand to watch the entertainment.

The griffoness stomped up to the bar, and then froze when she spotted the bat-pony. Her hackles rose and tail lashed, and she hissed in anger. “Shards! What the fuck is this thing doing in here?!”

Silk turned to the griffoness and smiled. “This thing is here to bartend. How can I serve you?”

She smiled nastily. “You can serve me by letting me work out my frustrations on you.”

“Wouldn’t you prefer a nice strong drink instead?” Silk suggested, his smile only slipping a little.

“Fucking smart-ass!” The she-griff grabbed Silk by the jacket that Giselle had given him that had the tavern’s logo stitched on it. It was meant for a bigger griffon and not for a small pony, so there was plenty of slack for her talons to latch onto. She hauled Silk over the bar and her other arm swung back to rake him with her talons.

Silk opened his mouth wide and emitted a super-high-pitched screech.

Garth slapped his hands over his ears in pain, as did the rest of the customers in the bar. However, the screech was focused on Silk’s aggressor, and she screamed in agony, dropping the bat-pony and covering her ears also. The damage was done though, and she stumbled away from the bar, extremely dizzy. She fell over and tried to get back up again, but fell over once more, groaning in pain. Try as she might, she could not get her balance.

Silk walked around the bar and hooked a foreleg around the griffoness’ tail. He then dragged her to the entrance as she screeched in pain and frustration. Garth and the customers heard him loudly speak to her, presumably to get past the ringing in her ears.

“Come back when you’re ready to order a drink, and not give me attitude!”

The bat-pony then strolled back into the tavern and looked at the stunned griffons. “Sorry about that, guys. Some griffs just don’t wanna behave themselves though. Personally I would have settled for an Eyrish whiskey, but if it’s a fight she wants….” He shrugged.

He let the sentence hang, and the clientele got the hint – don’t mess with the bat-pony!

Garth chuckled. He hoped that the griffoness would be back – she was always a big spender. This day’s entertainment had been priceless though. “I wonder if Quartz has more surprising friends?” he muttered before getting back to work.

# # #

The team soon settled into a new routine. Sterling successfully applied for a position in the City Guard and soon made himself popular by taking the undesirable evening shifts. That left him free to watch over Cirrus during the daytime while the others worked. While Cirrus was at school, the main responsibility fell on Lucida and Destined until school was done for the day, and then Sterling resumed his watch until Cirrus had his dinner. Then one of the other team members would take over for the evening watch until midnight while he went to work. He would come back to Lucida’s room in the early hours to curl up on her sofa to sleep for a few hours until it was time to get up and start all over again.

One morning, Sterling woke up to see Lucida watching him with concern.

“Is something the matter?” he asked.

“I’m worried about you, Sterling. You work long hours and barely sleep any.”

Sterling smiled reassuringly. “Changelings don’t really need much sleep. As long as we have sufficient positive emotional energy to keep us going, then we’re able to go on with only an hour or two of sleep at most. Pif is really spoiled in that regard. Or maybe Queens need more sleep than drones? I really don’t know, but I assure you that I am fine.”

“But are you really getting enough energy? You don’t have a partner like Pif does.”

“For starters, as a Harvester, I usually have to drain off a large proportion of the emotional energy that I gather so that it can be sent to the hive. Cut off from my hive like I am, I get to keep all that energy for myself, and believe me, with all the love and loyalty this family of yours has leaking from them constantly, I am very well fed.”

Lucida looked relieved. “That’s good, but surely that sofa isn’t the most comfortable bed?”

Sterling laughed. “I admit I’ve slept on far better, but it’s okay.”

“Well, I won’t mind if you use the bed. It’s more than big enough for the two of us.”

Sterling raised an eyebrow that he didn’t have in his natural form, but couldn’t help using in his unicorn guise. He opened his mouth to taste the emotions in the air – admiration… dedication… attraction? He didn’t know how he should take this. He was significantly older than her, and of a totally different time. They were thrown together by circumstance rather than as a consequence of socializing, but they worked together well. She was with her family and yet still alone while the others had partners. Should he encourage this, or gently steer her away? It was not as if he needed her affection – as he had told her, he was well fed. A relationship would only complicate his work. And yet the idea was appealing, and she would not have to be alone. He decided that he would take this one step at a time, and see what developed.

“Thank you. I think I’ll take advantage of that offer.”

Lucida smiled happily. “Good. I’ll go make us some breakfast.”

Sterling watched her go, enjoying the sweet happiness that she had exuded. This was a nice start to the morning. He looked forward to seeing what happened in the coming days.

# # #

Pif discovered her first Blue Changeling that morning, but was disappointed to find out that it was an ordinary Harvester. A little ashamed of having terrified the innocent drone, she erased the incident from its mind before sending it on its way. As she made her way to the Displaced Foundlings Institute, she pondered her technique. She had to be extremely careful not to alert the current-day Chrysalis to her presence, and impersonating the Queen focused the drone’s attention on herself rather than the real Chrysalis’s presence on the hive network. However, she had not anticipated the level of fear such a confrontation would cause. She had only ever known what it was like in Chrysalis’ new hive built after her defeat by House Path, and she did not have normal Harvesters anymore. No wonder Elusive Clue and Whirring Cogs had defected from the Blue Hive after the Canterlot Wedding disaster. Pif decided that she would have to try to be more subtle next time.

As Pif mounted the steps of the DFI, she shuddered at the foul taste of the emotions leaking from within. She took a deep breath and braced herself to endure it for the day. “Nothing worthwhile is ever achieved without some sacrifice, Epiphany,” she reminded herself as she opened the doors and stepped within.

# # #

Lucida spent the morning familiarizing herself with the pupils. Her first class did not include Cirrus or Long Path, but giving lessons to a slightly older group of foals helped settle the butterflies in her stomach. The second class was the first-grade students, and as most, if not all, of the students had never seen a hippogriff before, Miss Chalkboard introduced her to the foals first. As Lucida had expected, she had spent that initial period talking more about herself, although she had to concoct a few stories to cover the parts she could not tell them. By the time that she was done, virtually all the students had gotten comfortable with their odd new teacher, which was exactly as Lucida planned. This was going to work out beautifully!

# # #

This was a disaster! She never knew what a bunch of brats so many unicorn foals could be! They were never this bad in Ponyville! Lucida had always thought that her parents had exaggerated the degree of snobbery that the Canterlot unicorns exhibited, and surely foals this young would not be affected? Lucida groaned. It seemed the teacher was the one learning the lesson today. Her plan had backfired mightily. They had gotten so comfortable with her that they did not respect her authority. She was not a unicorn, after all. If it got any worse, Miss Chalkboard might suspect her supposed love of teaching youngsters. Now what would her parents do in this situation?

Then Lucida recalled some of the delegates that she had negotiated with. Despite their greater age, more than once she had mentally compared them to bratty children, and she had to play to their foibles to reach mutually acceptable agreements. This time she had actual children, but would the same techniques work with them? She shrugged. If they were this class-conscious at their age, they were probably susceptible to the traits that went with it. It was certainly worth a try.

“Attention, class!”

It took a little while to get the foals quiet enough for her to continue, but eventually they settled down.

“Who hopes to go to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns one day?”

Every unicorn foal stuck up a hoof, and Lucida grinned to herself. Of course they all did. They were perfect and talented foals – their parents said so! Of course they were going to Celestia’s school. The fact was that many of them could not even levitate anything as yet, and few if any would make it that far. They did not have to know that however.

“Miss Chalkboard has asked me to look out for particularly talented foals to recommend for extra training to help them get into Princess Celestia’s school.” Lucida put on a sorrowful face. “I’m so sad that I have not found any yet. All I seem to have in this class are naughty fillies and colts who are not interested in learning and becoming great unicorn mages.”

That was laying it on a bit thick, but it seemed to be doing the job. Several of the foals were already protesting that they could too be great mages.

“Well, if you really think you can do it, then you had better show me that you know your numbers and letters first. I won’t recommend any foal who can’t read or add and subtract at the end of the year.”

That did the trick. Those who genuinely believed that they were good enough for Celestia’s school immediately started paying more attention. Others who were not so confident, but who would not be caught dead looking as if they anything but the best, also began to take things more seriously. Lucida heaved a sigh of relief. She had them under control for now, but tonight she was going to talk with the rest of the team and get their input on how best to handle young students. This was not going to be easy, and she was going to need all the help that she could get.

# # #

Recess came as a relief to Lucida in spite of the attitude improvement, and she sighed as she sat down to watch the foals at play. Soon she was joined by a blue stallion with a white mane.

“How’s it going, sis?”

“Just be glad that you’re a unicorn, ‘Fate’,” Lucida replied. “At first I was a curiosity, but then I became one of the lower-class species who could be ignored. I reckon that if I wasn’t half pony, they wouldn’t have paid any attention to me at all. What do these Canterlot unicorns teach their foals?!”

Destined put a reassuring arm around the hippogriff. “It’s just your first day, and those foals are still feeling you out to see how much they can get away with. I think you lack that experience, whereas I got to grow up with more ponies, so I remember what it’s like. First time it has been an advantage for me being the younger brother though.”

Lucida chuckled. “I suppose you’re right. I think I have them under control for the moment, but I’ll be wanting to have a family chat about this tonight. I could use some of your insight into…”

BOOM!

“What the…?” Destined gasped.

They looked to the right in the direction of the noise and saw a rapidly spreading ring of rainbow colors.

“Sweet Celestia!” Lucida gasped. “That’s today!” She leapt into the air, spread her wings, and rapidly headed towards the castle.

All the students were distracted by the rainboom, and Destined ducked back into a doorway, shucked his coat, and switched illusions to show him as a pegasus instead. Intense training enabled him to do all this in mere seconds, and he was quickly in pursuit of his sister. He had almost caught up to her when another noise was heard.

CRASH!

Lucida had not been heading towards the castle itself, but a building adjoining it – Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. A dragon’s head had just burst through the roof and rubble was showering down the sides. Fortunately no pony was close enough to be harmed, but it sure was attracting attention. Destined spotted a white alicorn heading towards the source of the disturbance and entering the building. He joined Lucida who was now hovering over the hole in the roof where the huge but youthful-looking dragon was sitting quietly. They could clearly see through the gap where a very small purple unicorn was glowing with immense power, power that she clearly could not control.

“That’s Mom!” Destined said with astonishment.

“Yeah. This is the day that Celestia takes her in as her personal student,” Lucida replied.

They watched as Celestia approached Twilight and placed a hoof on the filly’s shoulder, calming her down. The immense aura of magical power faded and the various effects of it reversed. The dragon suddenly shrank down to the baby that was Spike, and they had an even better view of the events. They were too high to hear Celestia ask Twilight to be her protégée, but they knew exactly what she said, and what would come next. Celestia pointed at Twilight’s flank, and suddenly the filly was bouncing around the alicorn in joy at the discovery of her cutie mark.

After Celestia led off Twilight along with her parents, Lucida said, “We’d better get back to the school.”

Destined nodded as he turned to follow her. “I never thought I’d get to see that moment in Mom’s life.”

“Me neither. I never thought I’d be thankful for Chrysalis’ time-meddling, but for once it’s brought something positive into our lives.”

“Yeah. No wonder Mom became the Avatar of Magic and an Element Bearer. I never did anything like that as a foal.”

Lucida giggled. “No, you only teleported between continents when you were just twelve years old, and can manipulate time without a spell. Momma Twilight never did that. I reckon you could be a great Avatar of Magic.”

Destined snorted. “What? And go around with Mom’s friends using the power of Harmony against Equestria’s enemies? Yeah, sure! Besides, Sunset Shimmer has the backup Avatar position sewn up, and Starlight Glimmer has got to be another potential Avatar Mom’s age.”

Lucida swung close by to punch Destined in the shoulder. “Stop putting yourself down. Who says it has to be Mom’s friends anyway? In theory, it just takes six ponies with the required attributes.”

“All I’ve got is smart-ass siblings,” he replied with a smirk.

Lucida would have retorted to that, but they reached the school grounds then, and had to discreetly rejoin the foals. The task was made a lot easier by the number of other pegasi who had left to gawk at the spectacle, and served as a distraction. Destined was able to resume his Inevitable Fate guise without a problem just as the end of recess bell rang out.

“Well, let’s see if the rest of the day is half as interesting,” Destined said as he left for his class.

“I’d settle for calm and uneventful,” Lucida muttered as her foals headed in her direction.

# # #

“I brought home steaks!” Pif announced. “Who wants one?”

There was a chorus of replies in the affirmative. Because meat-eating ponies stood out too much when they were trying to be unnoticed, the steaks were a rare treat for most of those who enjoyed the odd inclusion to their diet. Both Cinder and Lucida needed some meat regularly, but the others had no such excuse.

“What’s the occasion, Pif?” Blue asked.

“Well, I could say that it’s to celebrate Momma Twilight getting her cutie mark today, but really it’s because I felt like some comfort food. I had a rough day.”

“Sorry to hear that, sis. Want to talk about it?”

“Not really. You’ve already heard what I discovered about the DFI. Now I have to worm my way into that mess. The sooner that I expose the corruption in there, the better. Right now though, I want something special to take my mind off it all.”

“Want me to cook them up for you?”

“Thanks, Blue. I know you’re the best steak chef among us.”

“And I know all your preferences too. Did you get an extra marbled one for Cinder?”

“Of course. The butcher was rather surprised that I wanted so many lean steaks though. I couldn’t tell him that most of them were going to be eaten by ponies. I was in griffon guise, of course.”

Blue headed off to the kitchen with the steaks while Pif settled with a sigh of relief on the sofa next to Citrine. The crystal pony put an arm around Pif and kissed her.

“Need a recharge, love?”

“You know it, hon.” Pif returned the kiss and carefully extracted the love energy that Citrine freely offered. The crystal pony sometimes seemed like an unceasing font of love and joy, and the changeling blessed the day that she had come into her life. Pif could not understand what about her had attracted Citrine, but she now felt the same way about this pony, and would never harm her. She drank enough of emotional energy to deal with the effects of the negative emotions she had endured all day, and then kissed Citrine some more with passion rather than thirst.

“Hey, you two! You have your own room, y’know?” Lucida scolded, but with humor in her voice.

Citrine grinned unapologetically, and Pif leaned back into the sofa with a contented sigh. “Ah! Much better!” she announced.

“Good,” Lucida said with a nod. “While Blue is cooking the steaks, I’d like to have a family discussion. Silk has to leave for work straight after the meal, so I’d like to get this done now.”

“Probably a good idea,” Pif agreed. “I’d like to spend the rest of the evening not thinking about what happened today.”

Lucida told them all about her experiences with the young foals that day, and then asked for comments and suggestions. Silk proved to be surprisingly helpful because of his own experiences, although from the perspective of the student rather than the teacher.

“I grew up in a rough environment, and the teachers had to be tough to do their job. Let me tell you about my favorite ones.”

By the time that Blue served up the steaks along with vegetables that had been prepared earlier, Lucida had been able to formulate a few strategies to deal with her students. Tomorrow was looking a lot more promising.

# # #

Blue Streak had saved up the large marbled steak for preparing later when he went back to the room that he shared with Cinder. He cooked it up along with a lot of mushrooms in a pepper sauce that she liked, and served it up at the table.

“Come and get it, Cinder!” he called.

“I’m not leaving our eggs!” she called back.

Blue went into the bedroom where his dragon mate still lay coiled around the two eggs. “You know, you can’t spend the next ten months like that.”

“I can, and I will,” she retorted firmly.

Blue chuckled. “Even dragons need to use the bathroom occasionally.” He climbed onto the bed next to Cinder. “Here, let me protect them for a while,” he said earnestly.

Cinder lifted her head from where it had lain on top of the eggs. She gazed into his eyes and smiled. “My warrior. My mate. Protector of our children.” She leaned forward to kiss him. “I trust you.” She uncoiled from around the eggs and slid off the bed.

Blue arranged himself around the eggs as best as he could, not possessing a dragon’s flexibility. It earned a nod of satisfaction from Cinder though, and she left the room to enjoy her meal.

This was the first time that Blue had gotten so intimate with the eggs, and he felt a sudden upwelling of emotion. Despite their plans, he had never felt as much of a father as at this moment. Two lives conceived by him, and now dependent on him to protect them until they hatched. It was humbling and uplifting all at the same time.

Blue noted how much warmer the eggs were than him, just like Cinder, and he began to worry if he was keeping them warm enough. Maybe if he did a super-speed gallop, he would be hot enough to make up the difference, but he couldn’t leave the eggs to do that. Then he recalled an incident on a camping trip when he had nearly set fire to the tent as he had idly vibrated his hoof on some firewood. At his abnormal speed, those vibrations generated enough heat to cause the branch to burst into flame, and he had flung it away in surprise, landing right next to the tent flap. A swift response had saved their tent, but it still earned him a scolding. However, with some care, he could put that experience to use today. He carefully vibrated his limbs around the egg, and felt the heat being generated. When Cinder returned, the eggs were nicely toasty warm. Unlike tents, dragons and their eggs were fireproof, so at least Blue did not have to worry about overdoing it.

Apparently Cinder found the scenario very hot in more than one way, because what followed was some awkward but passionate love-making. Sometimes Blue wondered what it was like for normal ponies, but he decided that he didn’t care enough to find out. As far as he was concerned, this was perfect.

# # #

Sterling came home that evening and hung up his cape, using the Blue Changeling agent like a coat rack. Since it had been told to stand in the corner and await further orders, the enthralled 'ling had stood there unmoving, and it amused the Red Changeling to put it to practical use. Sterling was not concerned about its welfare – there was enough ambient love to sustain the agent indefinitely.

Lucida walked out of the bedroom and said, “Welcome home. Do you want something to eat?”

“That would be nice, thanks.”

“I’ll cook it up right now then. Give me ten minutes.”

“I’ll have a shower while you’re doing that.” Sterling headed for the bathroom. Upon his return, Lucida was just serving up the food. “This looks great. I hope you don’t think I expect you to do this for me every day though?”

Lucida giggled. “Not really, but Pif brought home steaks, and she brought enough for you too, so I wasn’t going to let someone else snag it first.”

“I see. Well, I’m grateful anyway. However, I’m a little surprised that a noble of your stature can cook so well.”

Lucida passed the salt shaker to Sterling and replied, “Neither of my dads started as nobles, and Mama Twilight didn’t start as a princess either. All of us kids got a very down-to-earth education, and we all can cook a little bit at least. Washing the dishes instead of the House staff was a favorite punishment. Consequently none of us are too proud or incompetent to do ordinary stuff like this.”

Sterling chuckled. “I commend your parents. Anyway, how was your day?”

Lucida sighed. “I’d rather not talk about it anymore. Let’s just say that it was a learning experience, and I expect tomorrow to be a lot better. How about you?”

“Uneventful; just the way I prefer it. I saw you take off after that rainbow explosion this morning. Naturally I stayed to watch Cirrus.”

“I figured you would still be playing guardian despite him being at school with us.”

“Neither you nor Destined will be his teacher for every period, so I will still be on watch at those times.”

“You are amazingly dedicated, Sterling.”

“I am a Red Changeling – that is what we do.”

Lucida shook her head. “Even for a Red, you’re exceptional. Your alternate history self was remarkable also, so I think you’re being a little too modest.”

Sterling smiled slightly at that. “Perhaps, but it makes me happy to do my duty.”

“And it makes me happy to reward you just a little for doing that,” Lucida replied before she yawned widely. “Pardon me – it’s been a long and difficult day for me. I’ll be getting off to an early start tomorrow so that I can make some preparations before class, and I’m going to head off to bed now.”

“Rest well, Lucida.”

The hippogriff paused before the bedroom door. “Remember, you can share the bed with me if you wish.”

“I remember,” Sterling said with a reassuring smile.

The Red Changeling finished his meal and took the dirty plate and cutlery into the kitchen where he washed them and put them in the rack to dry. He then turned off the light in the kitchen and the living room before heading for the bedroom. A small nightlight showed Lucida apparently asleep already on one side of the large bed, and he paused to watch her for a moment. Sterling had known fellow Harvesters to take on pony partners, sometimes even going so far as marrying them. He had never considered that option for himself, instead choosing to focus entirely on the Royal Guard to extract the most positive emotion out of that career and his fellow Guards. Looking at Lucida right now though, he wondered if that had been the best alternative. He felt comfortable with the hippogriff and her family, and his current situation showed that it would be anything but boring. He drew a deep breath and let it out slowly, calming his thoughts. They had ten months of this to look forward to, and he would decide by then whether a permanent change of lifestyle was called for.

He pulled back the covers on the empty side of the bed, and slid in with care not to disturb Lucida. He had just gotten comfortable when the hippogriff shimmied over and put an arm around him, snuggling up close. She emitted a soft purr, and the burst of half-asleep contentment was like a sweet kiss goodnight. He smiled and relaxed. Yes, he could get used to this.

# # #

When Silk Touch came home from his shift at the tavern after 1:00 a.m., he had not expected to find Destined up and about, but he gave the stallion a kiss and a hug anyway.

“Why are you up so early in the morning, Des?” Silk asked as he nibbled on the alicorn’s neck.

Destined shivered in pleasure before answering. “I figure that if you’re going to be away most evenings, I might as well go to bed straight after dinner so that I can be awake when you got home. Then you can go to sleep only when I have to go to work. That way we can have plenty of time together.”

“So you’ll go nocturnal for me?” Silk asked with a smile that showed off the tips of his fangs that thrilled Destined.

“I’m still discovering what it’s like to be in a relationship with somepony, and it would be hard to keep it up if one or the other of us is always either at work or asleep,” Destined replied with that touch of shyness that Silk adored.

“You’re taking this very seriously,” Silk observed.

“Am I doing it wrong?”

The thestral shook his head. “No, I think you’re doing just fine. Let’s snuggle on the sofa and I’ll tell you about the fun I had this evening at the tavern. Maybe even give you a massage if you like? I need to keep in practice, after all.”

Destined thought that was a great idea, and their time together passed so quickly that it came as a surprise when Destined’s alarm clock told him that it was time to get his work day started.

# # #

As usual, the team gathered at Lucida’s room for breakfast, sans Cinder of course. Pif and Citrine were the last to wander in, and Blue gave his sister a curious look.

“Rocking the stallion look this morning, Pif,” he said with a grin.

Pif paused in surprise and looked back at herself. Although in the usual unicorn guise, Pif was most definitely male. “Oops!” she said before shifting form back to female.

Citrine, who had been following close behind, laughed as she headed to the table, walking a little oddly.

Blue’s grin widened. “No need to ask why though.”

Pif blushed, but kept her mouth shut.

“Whose turn to make breakfast?” Citrine asked. “I’m starving!”

“Silk volunteered,” Blue replied. “Worked up an appetite already, Citrine?”

“In the best possible way!” the crystal pony replied, utterly unabashed.

“Stop teasing Pif,” Lucida said sternly, although she was secretly amused too.

There was laughter all around, but they let Pif off the hook and settled down to eating as Silk started bringing out the food. The acrimony and frustration of a couple of days ago had all gone by now, and the team had pulled together once more. It was going to be a long ten months, but they would get through it united as family.

# # #

Fortified with her game plan, Lucida quickly gained control of her class over the next few days, and the lessons flowed well from then on. It enabled her to spare more time watching Cirrus and Long Path as was her original intention. Although she tried to involve them in the classroom activities, anything social in nature saw them snubbed by the unicorn foals, just as they had told her it was like when she was growing up. She was ever so grateful that she had been raised in such a loving and nurturing environment, and it hurt to see how different it was for her two dads.

Recess time was especially sad as she watched the normally excited and playful griffon-changeling get constantly ignored by the foals, and excluded from their games. Meanwhile, young Path sat quietly playing by himself. Lucida could see now how he managed to grow up into an unassuming university professor in another timeline. Perhaps they were destined to get to know each other eventually, but she could not see a reason to put off that meeting much longer.

When lunchtime came around and the unicorn foals tore out of the classroom, Cirrus started forlornly following them until Lucida called out to him.

“Yes, Miss Lightgiver?” Cirrus asked.

“You’re having problems with the foals, aren’t you?”

Cirrus hung his head. “They’re mean! They don’t like me 'cause I’m a griffin.”

“Yes, I’m afraid that many of these unicorn foals have had a bad upbringing, and the rest just go along with the crowd. Don’t think that all foals are bad though.”

“But they are all like that!” Cirrus protested.

Lucida shook her head. “No, other ponies can be treated badly too. You just happen to be the easiest target, so you don’t see it happening to others.”

Cirrus looked at his teacher quizzically. “What do you mean, Miss?”

Lucida steered Cirrus around to point at the one foal who had not left the room with the others. Path was quietly playing with blocks at the back of the room, unnoticed by all but Lucida. “Long Path is the only earth pony in this class, and one of the very few in this school. He not only gets ignored like you, but he also gets teased as being a mere mud pony. That can be very hurtful to young foals, and he could do with a friend.”

Cirrus looked at Path hopefully. “What should I do, Miss Lightgiver?”

Lucida smiled. “Why not try offering to share your lunch for starters? See how things go from there.”

Cirrus’ smile returned, and he said, “Alright!” He walked over to Path and sat beside him. “Hey! Wanna eat lunch with me? Mom made me some great sandwiches.”

Path looked at the griffin with surprise. He was the first person besides his teachers who had ever tried to talk with him at school, and his curiosity was aroused. “Okay. I’ve only got some grain bars and fruit though.”

“Hey, I like them too. Do you like ham?”

“Dunno. Never had it. What’s ham?”

“I’ll let you try mine. Let’s go!”

The little griffin excitedly started tugging Path, and the foal came along. Lucida followed them as they went to their lockers to fetch their lunch boxes, and then to the lunch room where the other foals were eating. They found a table for just the two of them even as the unicorn foals stared at the odd pair. Cirrus took a thick sandwich out of his lunchbox and held it out for Path who took it and sniffed at its contents.

“So, this is ham?” he asked.

“Yep! Try it!” Cirrus said, quite aware that he had been told that ponies did not eat meat. He loved its taste though, and was sure Path would too!

A gasp came from the nearby table as a filly apparently recognized what ham was. Path took no notice, and he took a bite out of it. He chewed it thoughtfully, swallowed, and said, “I like it.”

“Yes!” Cirrus said with glee. “I knew Mom was wrong when she said that ponies wouldn’t eat it.”

There was a strangled cry from the filly who knew what Path had eaten, and she got up and raced out of the lunchroom to find the bathroom. A few more at the table who had heard Cirrus mention meat grew aghast as Path happily took another bite of the sandwich. The two started chatting, blissfully oblivious of the chaos that they had started among the foals.

Lucida watched with a smile plastered on her beak. She had witnessed the start of a relationship that would grow into one of the strongest in Equestria, and she was proud that one would someday be her sire, and the other her second father.

# # #

Six weeks later…

After Silk turned up to relieve her at the tavern, Citrine headed home feeling pretty good about the day. She’d had two new customers today who had not met her before, and tried to assert their dominance over her. She had introduced them to the pavement outside. Then they came back in and bought her a drink. Nice guys!

As she entered the apartment that she shared with Pif, she was greeted by the concerning sight of her marefriend slumped on the sofa with her eyes closed, with an undisguised changeling drone looming over. She immediately thought that Chrysalis’ agent had broken the enthrallment and had attacked Pif.

“Hey, ugly!” she shouted, leaping at the drone.

The Blue Changeling turned to look at her with a mixture of confusion and shock just before Citrine’s hoof connected with its cheek and sent it flying across the room.

Citrine was about to press her attack when a commanding voice yelled out, “STOP!”

Citrine turned to see Pif glaring at her, and it was her turn to be confused.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Pif asked her.

“Umm… rescuing you?” the crystal pony replied uncertainly.

Pif rolled her eyes. “You just pounded my newest acquisition. Spark, come over here and introduce yourself.”

The changeling twitched and groaned.

Pif sighed. “Oh, great. I hope you haven’t broken her. I was making some nice progress when you interrupted.”

Citrine shrugged and gave her a half-hearted grin. “Maybe you can explain while she’s recovering. I don’t think I broke her too badly.”

“I suppose that’s best. This is Bright Spark, or at least that’s her pony name. She’s my first infiltrator. I was feeling depressed after another bad day at the DFI and thought I’d get myself cake and coffee to tide me over until you got home. Imagine my pleasure when I detected a Blue drone coming into the café just as I had finished my treats. I latched onto her and took control as soon as I realized that she was an infiltrator rather than just a harvester. I brought her here to try a trick that I have been working on. Rather than the rather blunt method that I originally planned, I was using her as a Trojan Pony.”

Citrine tilted her head and frowned in puzzlement. “A what?”

“Oh. I’ll explain that later. What I was doing was connecting to Chrysalis’ network via Bright Spark. That way, if any of my enquiries were noticed, they would be traced back to her instead of me. As she has legitimate access because of her task, she would then be ignored. I’ve gotten access to a lot of the Queen’s network with no trouble at all. I had to put my full concentration into it though, so I made myself comfortable on the sofa while I scanned the network.”

“You realize that it looked completely different to me?” Citrine protested.

“But she’s an infiltrator, not a harvester! Can’t you tell the difference?”

Citrine looked hard at the drone who seemed to have started recovering. “Umm… no?”

“She has a notch in her horn! Harvesters don’t have notches!”

“How was I supposed to know that?”

“Didn’t I ever show you?”

“I’ve seen all the notches and twists in yours, but I don’t know what difference it makes.”

“Oh. Apparently the more power that changelings have, the more convoluted the horns get. Infiltrators are one step above harvesters.”

“I’ll have that cappuccino now,” came a strained voice from the direction of the drone.

“Go help her up, will you?” Pif asked.

Citrine helped the drone to her hooves. “Sorry about that. I thought you were attacking Pif.”

“S'alright… Protecting your Queen… Gotcha,” Bright Sparks replied as she wobbled unsteadily. Then she focused properly on Citrine and she looked surprised. “You’re not a changeling.”

Citrine grinned. “Nope.”

“Then why…?”

“She’s my marefriend.”

“You’re Her Majesty’s consort?”

Pif spoke up. “No, Spark. I’m not like Chrysalis or the other Queens. I’m in a real relationship with Citrine.” She looked at Citrine and her eyes shone with affection. “In fact, when we eventually get home, I… I'm going to marry her… if that’s what she wants?”

Citrine gasped and her eyes widened. She pounced on Pif and started kissing her madly. “Yes!” she cried between each kiss.

Pif was nearly overwhelmed by the love that flowed into her, washing away the malaise of the day spent at the DFI. She started kissing Citrine back until they eventually parted, panting.”

Bright Spark watched with bemusement until they were done, lapping up the overflow of love energy. “Congratulations on the engagement, my Queen.”

Thank you, Spark. Are you feeling good enough to resume your disguise?”

By way of an answer, green magic fire engulfed the drone to reveal a yellow unicorn mare with a silver mane.

Pif nodded. “Good. We’ve done enough today, so let’s go out and I’ll buy us all a coffee. I believe I owe you a cappuccino, wasn’t it?”

“My Queen, you don’t need to give me anything!” Bright Spark protested.

“Lesson number two about Chrome Queens – we do a lot of things differently from what you might expect. My drones are my friends, not merely servants. I don’t desire blind loyalty. My drones stay with me because they want to, not because I order them to. If I want to treat a new friend, I will do that too.”

Bright Spark looked a bit dazed. “I… suppose so, Queen Epiphany.”

“Pif. Friends call me Pif.”

# # #

After being on the job for a few months, Lucida decided that she was almost getting the hang of dealing with young foals. They in turn had gotten used to having a hippogriff teacher, and a reasonable balance was reached between them. Today was one of the better days so far though. Nightmare Night was fast approaching, and the class art project was to design and make costumes. While it certainly wasn’t something that Lucida had trained for, she had always greatly enjoyed the Nightmare Night festivities, and she was happy to help the foals have fun with it too.

She had just finished helping a filly fasten her costume together when two very familiar voices called for attention from behind her.

“Miss Lightgiver, our costumes are ready,” Cirrus announced.

“Yeah, how do you like them?” asked Path.

Lucida turned around to look at the boys, and her heart nearly burst with the cuteness she beheld. Path had cardboard wings fastened around his barrel with feathers crudely drawn on them, and a cardboard beak held in place with tape. Cirrus had his paws and talons stuck inside four large tin cans, a cardboard muzzle with brown crayon coloring to look like a pony’s muzzle, and a red cape covered his wings. The friends had swapped species!

The two struck a heroic pose and simultaneous chanted, “Never fear! We are here!”

Then Path said, “I’m Captain Cluck!”

“And I’m Commander Trotty!” Free immediately followed on.

Then together they chorused, “We are the Champions of Canterlot! Ta-daaaaaaa!”

When Lucida managed to suppress her giggles, she asked, “Aren’t your paws hurting like that, Cirrus?”

“Commander Trotty!” he insisted. “My hooves never ache!”

Lucida supposed that could even be true. Although Cirrus would not discover what he actually was for several years yet, he could still be unconsciously using his shape-changing ability to make his paws fit better inside the cans. Lucida smiled, knowing that one day Cirrus would be able to give himself real hooves, and Path would have his magitek wings, but they were never going to be as cute as they were now.

“It’s an honor to meet the world-famous heroes of Canterlot,” Lucida said.

“Call us if you are in peril!” announced ‘Captain Cluck’.

“We’re off to protect Canterlot!” declared ‘Commander Trotty’.

The pair turned and galloped off to do their duty, the tin cans on Cirrus’ paws making a mighty racket.

‘Just wait until I tell the others about this tonight!’ Lucida thought with a giggle before turning to the next foal looking for her help.

# # #

The rest of the team certainly got a chuckle out of Lucida’s description of Cirrus and Path’s costumes, but it was not until the class photographs had been developed and printed that they got the opportunity to actually see them for themselves and the hilarity was renewed. Lucida did not need the photos to remember though, because even after Nightmare Night had come and gone, Commander Trotty and Captain Cluck still made frequent appearances at school over the following days. Some instances were more memorable than others.

Lucida was on yard duty this particular lunchtime, and her attention was being drawn to a commotion in one corner of the play yard in the shelter of some trees. She walked over to investigate and the students parted to let her through. Her eyes widened in shock when she spotted Cirrus tied up in a rope and hanging upside down from a tree branch.

“Cirrus! What in Equestria happened? Why are you tied up like that?” She reached up to untie the griffon.

To her surprise, Cirrus just grinned and said, “I’m bait.”

Lucida blinked uncomprehendingly. “You’re what?”

Suddenly, a form fell from above and landed on Lucida’s back, and she squawked in surprise. Limbs wrapped around her neck and torso, clinging tightly.

“I have you now, villain!” shouted a familiar voice. “Nopony expects Captain Cluck!”

Lucida looked back to see Path in his costume. “What?! How did you get up into that tree? Earth ponies can’t climb trees!”

“Captain Cluck is the master of all things! Caw!”

The hippogriff decided to roll with it. “You’ve got me, Captain. I surrender.”

“YES!” Path yelled before jumping off Lucida’s back. “Once again, Captain Cluck is victorious over the forces of evil!”

The small crowd of foals around them cheered.

Lucida finished untying Cirrus, and he hoof-bumped Path before they charged off on their next adventure, followed by their entourage of followers.

Another teacher walked over with a disapproving look on her face. “I saw all that. You really should have scolded them and gave them detention.”

Lucida scowled at the unicorn mare. “I most certainly will not, Lengthy Numbers! Those two have blossomed ever since they became friends, and they’re the happiest and brightest of my students. But that is far from all that they have achieved.” Lucida gestured in the direction of the departed group. “Look at all the foals that look up to them. Before they became friends, none of the unicorn foals wanted anything to do with them, either through prejudice or peer pressure. One by one, they started joining in with the fun that those two were having, and now most of the class are their friends also. They might be a bit rowdy sometimes, but they’ve been an enormously good influence on the students. Just you watch – one of these days, they’re going to do great things.”

Lengthy Numbers sniffed condescendingly. “Foals should be taught discipline and respect, not allowed to run rampant.”

“They are foals, Lengthy. This is when they should be learning to socialize, as well as words and figures. They will respect you if you respect them and let them grow to be themselves and not a reflection of what you want.”

“Humph! On your head be it. They’re your problem.” The mare turned and stalked off.

Lucida shook her head sadly at the aged unicorn’s old-fashioned attitudes, and then she went to watch over whatever Cirrus and Path were doing now. As much as she had defended the two, she still had to ensure that the dynamic duo did not go too far. Everyone had their limitations, and it was up to her that they learned them without being hurt doing so.

She groaned a little at the mild backache that she had gotten from Path jumping on her. She also had to try to not let others get hurt either. And to think, she still had over half a year of this to go! She chuckled to herself. ‘I hope I survive!’

# # # # # # # # #

Author's Note:

Believe it or not, this is really only part of what I had intended for this chapter, but I got this far and I still have several way-points to reach. This was a logical place to end this chapter though in view of what the rest will address. It's already the second-longest chapter in this story, and would have been far longer if I had continued.

I've put to rest the theory that one of the eggs was Spike, although that was pretty far-fetched anyway. It certainly was close enough to Twilight's test though.

If you enjoyed this chapter and haven't already done so, please give me a thumbs-up and fave.

Art by Kat Miller a.k.a. Foxenawolf
I'm still looking for donations for art money. Christmas is rapidly approaching, and I need to tighten the financial belt somewhat. You can donate to my Paypal account . Every bit helps!

Comments

[TheStratovarian]

This was cute, and adorable. A fun chapter of backstory that brings a happy smile to things for a breather. So well, wham chapter is next eh?

[Da Fennec]

Waiting for Destined and Lucinda to deal with sparks that seems all too common with teaching basic magic to foals

[Boulder]

You have now met them all now, agent.

now repeated?

Garth chuckled some more.

Garth the Griffin, as in Garth Chooks? Does he occasionally perform on stage?

Garth put aside his work and propped up his head on one taloned hand to watch the entertainment.

media.gettyimages.com/photos/singersongwriter-garth-brooks-laughs-as-he-attends-a-news-conference-picture-id542857404

“Commander Trotty!” he insisted. “My hooves never ache!”

Was going to say 'clip clop clip clop' but 'cling clang cling clang' is more appropriate and his trusty companion Captain Cluck cardboard carton crusader.
Wonder if their roles will reappear now in the future, as a nightmare night tradition for them?

[JediWyrm]

Lucida laughed in Chrysalis’ evil manner before shifting back to her normal guise

Think that is supposed to say Pif.

Pif brought home steaks, and he brought enough for you too,

She brought enough...

Wonder, when they do the reset will Celestia gets an anonymous letter describing what goes on in the orphanages.

[Goldfur]

7733567

You have now met them all now, agent.
now repeated?

Yep. Fixed, thanks.

[Goldfur]

7733672
Double oops! Both fixed now, thanks.

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

AAAWWWW but it was such a good theory considering how much this group already influenced the timeline.

[Zilverfoss]

You know you've messed to much around with time, when your solution to a time stuck, is to go back when unstuck to undo the time stuck

That poor clueless tavern owner, I wonder if they'll ever come by that place again.

I owe you a Cappuccino

I know this place..

I have but two plot holes for this chapter.
Though, while I get Silk, why doesn't anybody question the Crystal pony in the room?
How often do People rent hotelrooms, for ten months on end?

Got to admire Cinder here, I'd go bunkers if I was stuck that long in one place

All in all a neat chapter, looking forward to the next serving

[Emtu]

Geez, Des is cracking out all the Doctor's tricks now, isn't he?

Destined had enchanted them with a spell that made her see what she expected to see in those documents.

Psychic paper!

[admkline]

7734063 Damn! You said it before I could. :D

[Alyeskabird]

7734015

Because the crystal ponys kinda gotta be activated to go crystal. At lest thats how I remember it. I beleave that answeers the first plot point, for the second, people rent hotel rooms like that all the time, spec in the low rent sort of places. People with unsure income often live in places like that, and when thay have extra money thay pay up extra time on there place so that thay know thay got a place to crash even if thay busted. Poor people live a totaly diferent life than you think thay do. Take it from someone who had to live in there car for a year, its not fun.

[Goldfur]

7733901
When you suggested it, I thought about it for a couple of seconds, but it really didn't fit the story in any way. Still, it would have been cute.

[Goldfur]

7734015
Alyeskabird pretty much answered those plot points correctly.
Crystal ponies are not crystalline all the time. That has been seen on the show, and Citrine looks like an earth pony normally.
As for accommodation, I described it as a boarding house, not a hotel. Long-term accommodation is fine.

[Kevin Lee]

7733567

Wonder if their roles will reappear now in the future, as a nightmare night tradition for them?

Lucida will no doubt remind them when they all get back to their own time period--after all, she now has pictures
Long Path: "Holy--! I thought we chased down and destroyed all those copies! "
Free Agent: "Except we never did find Miss Lightgiver"
Lucida: "You have now. "
Long Path & Free Agent: "

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

7734656 Not to mention the mindblowing for both Twilight and Spike, oh well. But nice to see Lucida get called on her move. She went overboard when they had a time crunch.

[Zilverfoss]

7734688
7734551
Your car? That sounds rough

I stand corrected,
keeping track of what works how in whose cannon can be a bit confusing at times.
As for the Boardin house, I just assumed it worked similar to what we call: "wander home" (which is remiscent of a nice motel, minus the car part)

[Frostgear]

7734703 please let something like that happen, it would be hilarious

[Salen]

Of course... the "earth pony" is the bait and the "griffon" is the hero.

But the most important thing I can say is... "D'awwwwwwwwwwww!" They're so cuuuuuttteee!

[Ocean Mist]

Is there a hive that feeds off cuteness; because if they were anywhere near Canterlot at the time they would die from overload.

[DaJoesefMan]

I don't think I have ever daaww'd so hard in my life. Little Path and Cirrus... so cute!

[Midknight Defender]

‘Just wait until I tell the others about this tonight!’

You'd better keep those pictures.

Mama Twilight would never forgive you for not bringing them back for her to preserve for posterity!

[Atom Smash]

Garth chuckled. He hoped that the griffoness would be back – she was always a big spender. This day’s entertainment had been priceless though. “I wonder if Quartz has more surprising friends?” he muttered before getting back to work.

Oh you have no idea. Would you like to meet your future prince who can navigate space and time with ease or the queen changeling of a hive that doesn't exist yet? The rest aren't exactly commok either.

[Atom Smash]

They looked to the right in the direction of the noise and saw a rapidly spreading ring of rainbow colors.

I know this one! AWESOME!

[Atom Smash]

Lucida swung close by to punch Destined in the shoulder. “Stop putting yourself down. Who says it has to be Mom’s friends anyway? In theory, it just takes six ponies with the required attributes.”

That is a fair point, and you already have a few in your group who positively radiate loyalty...

Not to mention Pif's newfound kindness

Let's see where this is going.

[Atom Smash]

Cuteness overload!

[Teraunce]

Those costumes were Dawww...

[Avatar Sprite]

If Chrysalis had been a competent villain here, Lucida's actions would have likely been justified. Send back a team not just one, so there can be multiple chances to mold "Gossamer".