> The Sun's Knight
>  by Lucky424
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 01
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The guards thudded down the halls after the strange creature in a vain attempt to catch it. Their last attempt at a barricade was a colossal failure, the fur-less looking earth pony leaping up and running along the wall at an upright angle, jumping off and rolling under the guards on the other side, easily evading them. This confused them, as it clearly wasn't a pegasus, due to the lack of wings, and not a unicorn due to no horn.

The human male managed to get himself into a closed room, catching his breath. There was a flash of light from behind him, and he tried to open the door to escape, but a white furry hand pushed back, keeping the door closed. He slowly turned, looking into the beautiful light magenta eyes of a very strange creature. His eyes roamed over her figure, starting at the ground.

On her feet were gold high heeled sandals, and he let his gaze linger on her long, slender legs for a moment, before they disappeared under a thigh length purple skirt. Her stomach was covered by the bottom of a yellow tank top, and his gaze settled on her ample chest for a few moments. He kept moving upwards, seeing the two wings on her back, a gold necklace with a purple gem in the shape of a diamond around her neck. Once he reached her face, he noticed the several inch long horn on her head, a crown matching the necklace on top.  She also had a small muzzle, which was a little out of place at first. And then he noticed her hair of four different shades, floating on a unknown breeze, and her whole body was covered in white fur. “Hello.”

He backed away from this... thing, spotting an open window and running towards it. A gold sparkle appeared on the upper window, sliding it down. It left him just enough gap to jump through, and he smiled to himself, glad that he had been free running for the past ten years. “No, wait!” He didn't look back, leaping from the window sill to a drainpipe next to it.

Down wasn't an option, as he had come out above a waterfall, and couldn't see the bottom, so he went upwards. A room four stories higher had a light on, so that's where he headed. He slipped in the open window, seeing a roaring fire, and a large four poster bed, it's blanket with a large motif of a sun on it. He went to the door and cracked it open with a smile... which dropped as he came face to face with the creature again, surrounded by those soldiers.

He attempted to run towards the window once more, but stopped as he saw more of those things outside, hovering in the air. He heard movement, turning to find some of them heading towards him, but with a wave of the female's hand they backed away, slowly leaving the room and closing the door. A glance out the window showed the skies clear once more. “Please, don't run, I only wish to talk with you.”

Still he said nothing, watching as she sat on a large red velvet couch, in a position that he'd only imagined women in back on Earth... the thought made him look at her, not having even heard of such a creature before. It was clear he was no longer on his planet. “You must be thirsty after all that running. After all, you were going for a good six hours. You must have looped the castle five times, and piqued Luna's curiosity as well.”

A bottle floated over to him in a golden aura, and he noted that her horn was glowing the same colour. He tentatively reached for it, the aura tingling as his hand touched it. He glanced at the label, 'Sweet Apple Acres Cider' across it with the picture of an apple orchard. He gave it a sniff, then shrugging his shoulders took a sip. And then a whole mouthful at the taste. And then the running caught up with him, causing him to sit on the edge of the large bed.

Celestia watched as he pitched backwards, quiet snoring soon following. She gave a glance out the window and noted the position of the moon. Well, it's a little late to get the staff to prepare a guest room, I guess he can just stay here... She lifted him up using her magic, setting him down on her couch, gently placing his head on the cushions. She turned around and stripped off, quickly getting into her night clothes, and climbing into her bed. She gave on last look over to make sure he looked comfortable. Perhaps he would be willing to talk in the morning.






        Gray slowly awoke, eyes opening enough to see he wasn't in his room, but he didn't remember going out that night. He craned his neck up as the door opened, eyes not focusing properly yet, meaning he could just see a blur. A woman's voice then hit his ears. “Well good morning Princess! Come, up! It may be the weekend, but that doesn't mean you can sleep past eleven in the morning! Now up!”

The curtains to the side were drawn back, and he found himself staring at a similar creature to the one in his dreams. This one looked relatively normal, no wings or horn, and was wearing what was obviously a maid's uniform. She looked the bed over and then smirked at him. “Uh... go away, Fair Heart. Twilight deals with this stuff on Saturdays!”

“Now now, none of that! You have a guest here it seems.” Celestia sat up, looking over towards the couch, where Gray was staring right back at her. He looked over and saw the door open, sprinting out of it, ignoring the pleas to stop. He blasted down a set of stairs, surprising the guards stood there momentarily, and then they gave chase. A glance out of a window revealed him to be on the ground floor, and he merged on to a corridor full of these strange creatures. There were guards, cleaning staff, political looking ones. And they were all staring at him.

There was a twitch from some of the guards, so Gray took the opportunity to run through the crowds towards the large open doors. The things standing there provided a good shield from the soldiers, and he ran out in to a massive garden, so he kept going, only slowing when he made it out of some gates and a few blocks over.

Ducking into a side alley, he climbed up to a balcony two stories high, hiding from the guards that followed. After a few minutes of fruitless searching, they gave up and moved out. Gray let out a breath of relief, turning to find the window open. Looking for a place to rest and for cover, he walked inside to find the furnishings of an amateur music studio. What he didn't noticed as he turned to close the window was the vase balanced precariously on the edge of a desk, which he sent crashing to the floor.

He heard a door open, and realised he was not alone, even before the female voice caught his ears. “Really, Vinyl, can you not use the front door like a normal pony? What were you doing using the baclco... WHAT THE HAY ARE YOU?” He turned around to see another of these creatures, again without wings or a horn. He took one step forward and she fled, slamming the door hard. The sound of clapping made him look at the window, where another one was waiting. Are they all just going to keep popping up like this? Seriously, it's annoying.

“We must commend you on your marvellous athletic performance, but next time it is probably best not to scare the lead violinist of the Canterlot Orchestra, hmm?” Yet another female, which Gray noted he had seen more of than males, stared at him. She was like the first one, but her fur was a shade of dark blue, her midnight blue hair floating on the same unseen breeze, and her piercing blue eyes seemed to stare at his soul.

Man, this one really likes blue. Wonder what that's all about. He gave her another look, this one being more modestly dressed in a simple suit. There was also a crown on her head, jet black, matching the necklace she wore, which had a small pearl jewel in the shape of a moon on it. He then noticed the things hovering out the window, and knew there must be more waiting outside. “Come, Our sister wishes to speak with you.”

“No, I'm not going anywhere with you!”

“Oh really?” His skin began to tingle as a blue glow wrapped around his waist, pulling him closer to her. “And what made you think you had a choice in the matter? We certainly did not say so.”

“I think it will be fine here, Luna. Please, let him down.” They turned to see the white one in the room, the grey one with black hair peeking out from behind her. It was then that Gray noticed they had tails as well, and his brain finally sent him the signals he was waiting for.

The guards outside heard a filly-like scream, rushing inside only to be met halfway by Celestia and Luna as they carried the unconscious creature between them. He was transferred over and they followed the two mares back to the castle, ignoring all the stares of interest. They had just made it inside the gardens, preparing to close the gates when a young mare's voice, which most of the guards recognised, came through. 

“WAIT!” There was a lavender blur as Princess Sparkle shot through, wearing her trademarked (not really, it's what the guards called it) librarians uniform. She shot over to the guards carrying it, a notepad and pen floating alongside her. “Ooh, a new species! I can't wait to study it!”


> Chapter 02
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        “So...”

“No Twilight, you can not see it.” Celestia rubbed her head in an attempt to stop the coming headache her student was bringing. She had been hanging around asking for a good two hours now. “Once he reawakens, we shall try to communicate with him again. But I will not allow you to 'study' him without permission.”

“Fine. I have some paperwork to do anyway.” Celestia gave a grateful sigh as Twilight walked out of the room, resting back against her throne and pulling her table over. She had her own things to do, and the incident yesterday had set her back a bit. What she didn't see was the smile on Twilight's face as she left.

The doors closed behind her, and the guards outside came to attention, bringing their spellguns to the present arms position, making Twilight blush a little. Having only recently become a princess, she was still unused to the action being done to her. She took a moment to look at the weapons, marveling at their simplicity and their function. It had been her father’s idea, to infuse magic into the weapon, and they had a self powering crystal inside.

Short answer, they could fire almost two hundred shots before they ran out of ammunition, and they would stop working for a while as they overheated. Shaking her head, Twilight turned away and walked off, greeting those that stopped to talk to her. After around twenty minutes she had made it to the infirmary, where a squad of guards were waiting.

It was an even split, five unicorns, five pegasi, and five earth ponies. One of Celestia's elite Solar Guard squads, who were regarded as the best by all... except Luna's Midnight Guard, who had a vicious but friendly rivalry with them. It was well known that earth ponies were the best shot, the pegasi could spot targets miles away, and the unicorns could over charge the spellguns. 

They each had their own weapons of course, and just one group of three could easily best a griffon or minotaur platoon. And had done so many times. How they hadn’t managed to stop the creature was anypony’s guess, but it had been attributed to the shock of it appearing so suddenly, and the fact they didn’t know how to deal with it. Plus the fact Celestia had ordered it not be injured when they first gave chase.

The guards went to stand at attention but stopped with a wave of Twilight's hand, and she carried on into the room behind them. Not one guard challenged her, so it was obvious that Celestia's orders hadn't reached that far yet. She pulled out her notepad and began to write, dictating to herself. “This creature is unlike any seen in Equestria before, and there is no references to it in any history books. Judging by what Celestia told me, I believe it is not of this world. How it came here and why is a mystery, but one that I will solve!”

“Now, first observations. The creature is approximately six hoofs tall, and only has a small mane, but no fur. There are small hairs on the skin, but other than that, nothing to keep it warm.” She slowly peeled the blanket down halfway, letting out a gasp at what she saw. “There is a large scar on it's torso, coming down from the left pectoral area, finishing on the right side of it's stomach. It also has a startling physique, indicating it may be an athlete, or even a soldier. It certainly shows a level of intelligence.”

She pulled the blanket all the way off, starting at it's lower portion. “It's legs are much like that of a pony, but with less muscle upon them, but much more toned. The legs are a bit hairier than the torso, possibly because they are exposed to the elements more often. In between the legs is a third limb, which looks like a stallion's... oh my.”

She froze in fear as it twitched, one of it's arms beginning to move.







        Gray slowly woke up to a chill, reaching down for his blanket, but finding no such thing on him. He opened his eyes slowly, meeting with shimmering pools of lavender. "Interesting, it seems to be trying to cover it's body. It would make sense, as it has no fur and only small tufts of mane on it's head and between it's legs. I have also concluded that 'it' is a 'he', as the evidence is irrefutable."

His gaze moved from the floating notepad and down to his crotch, the colour slowly draining from his face. He brought his hands over for cover, the purple creature letting out a gasp. "'He' seems to have a sense of modesty, as if it's wrong for 'him' to be naked. It is also important to note that there is no sheath, and 'his' reproductive organs are readily on view."

"Stop talking about my junk!" The notepad and pen hit the floor, the creature's mouth dropping open in shock. He gave this one a look over as she seemed to stop working mentally. She was smaller than the last ones, but had wings and a horn. She wore a simple white shirt with a woollen purple vest on top. Next came a pair of rolled up jeans, complimented with knee high white socks, and that was as far as his gaze could go due to the bed being in the way.

There was a gasp from her and Gray looked up, meeting an intrigued gaze. The notepad and pen once more came up and she continued her dictation. “The subject can speak, which will make things much easier, and he seemed to inspect me as well. Now he is awake, I can see his eyes, which don't seem to have coloured irises, just white with a pupil. I am also going to attempt an exchange with him.”

“You know, you don't have to talk when you write. Now, who and what are you, where am I, how did I get here, and when can I go home?”

“Well, I am Twilight Sparkle, and I am an alicorn, a mix of all three pony races. Um... I'm a female, we call ourselves mares, and our males are called stallions. You are currently in the country of Equestria, on the world Equus. As for your other questions... we should probably ask Princess Celestia.”

“Mare... in Equestria. Explains the ears. Okay, I'm ready to wake up now.”

“But you are awake. Here, let me show you.” She began to lean forward, gently placing a hand on his exposed arm. “See, I am just as real as you.” Gray gave a weak smile, matching the soft one she gave him.

“Princess Sparkle, please step away from him.” She whipped her head round to see Luna's personal bodyguard in the door way, hand resting on his spellgun. Gray stared as well, this being the first male he had encountered properly. He stood nearly a head taller than 'Twilight', and only had wings, which seemed to be bristling as he stared back.

“Captain, it's fine. He won't hurt me.”

“And how do you know that? You went against Celestia's orders, so I must ask you to leave.”

“But... “ This didn't gain any reaction from him, his gaze not leaving the bed. Twilight huffed in annoyance, gathering up her things and walking away. “Fine.”

“Uh... could I get dressed now?”

“Oh... your clothes? We sent them to be cleaned, I'll check on their progress for you.” She nodded once and then swept out of the room, glaring at the guard. He strode forward, standing at the foot of the bed, fingers tapping against his weapon.

“I'll be watching you, so don't step out of line... human.” With that he turned and marched out, letting the door slam shut in his wake. Gray's eyes followed him in shock, trying to work out just how he knew what he was, and yet the mare didn't know. She seemed to be the more intelligent of the two, so he hoped that she would be back before anyone else.








        Twilight looked up from her desk, scowling at the pony who had just entered. He ignored this and calmly walked over to a seat, taking a relaxing posture in it. She waited for him to speak, but it was clear he was letting her go first. “So, captain... why did you pull me out of the room?”

“It's an... unknown, which means it's dangerous. So until I am proven otherwise, only Celestia and Luna are allowed in. With escorts, of course.”

“And what if I go in with an escort.”

“Did you not see his reaction to your... 'research'? You overwhelmed him, which is not a thing to to do to a visitor from another world.” Twilight cocked her head this, curious as to where he was going.

“And how do you know how to treat one? Have you met one?”

“... sort of. Good day, Princess Sparkle.” With that he stood and saluted, walking out the room as if the conversation never happened. Briefly wondering if Luna knew, she stood and strode over to her balcony, staring up at the tower that had a flag with the Lunar Princess' moon sigil hanging halfway up it.

A light switched on near the top floor, so Twilight spread her wings and flew up, alighting on the balcony. She gave a few taps on the window, rewarded with Luna opening it up, allowing her entry. “Good morning, Twilight Sparkle. What brings you up here at this early hour?”

“Something your guard said to me.”

“Alec? What has he done this time?” Twilight swallowed nervously, if Luna knew then things would be fine, but if she didn't...

“Well, I know I shouldn't have been in the infirmary, and he told me to leave, rightly so. But he just came to see me, and told me that it isn't the way to treat a visitor from another world, and stated he had 'sort of' met one before. Do you know what he's talking about?”

“No... no, I do not. But we shall find out together. Where is he now?”

“I... have no idea.”







        The door slammed open and Gray looked up, just in time to be hit in the face by some fabric. A quick glance down revealed it to be his clothes, and he got dressed as fast as possible. Once more bringing his gaze to the door, he saw the same male from earlier waiting, beckoning him forward with a hand. Gray walked out of the room and followed, being surrounded by other guards, all with weapons in hand.

The group walked along empty corridors for about twenty minutes, before a door on the right was opened and he was ushered in. Two seats around a desk were placed in the centre, and Gray was motioned to one of them. Upon sitting in it a light was shined on his face, the pony in charge sitting opposite him. “Begin.”

“Begin what?”

“Firstly, tell me why you aren't a threat, human.” Gray sat there blinking, wondering once more why this one seemed to know about his race, and yet the others didn't have a clue. There was only one reason he could think of.

“How did you do it? How did you make them think you were one of them?”

“I didn't. I was born in Cloudspire, twenty seven years ago. Now, let's start this off simple. Name?”

“Gray, Gray Heartbelle.” There was a snort of amusement from the other side of the desk. “Something funny?” If there was, he didn't show it.

“Age?”

“Twenty two.”

“Occupation?”

“What's that got to do with anything?”

“Just answer the damn question, what was your job on Earth?” Again Gray was struck speechless once more by his knowledge, and it was clear that other things were happening. A voice from the door made them both tear their gazes away from each other, staring at the blue female, who was backed by guards.

“That is true, his job has no bearing on this. Why he is even in here I do not know, but I would like to know how you know where he is from. Guards, take his weapon and escort him to the dungeon.”

“Luna...”

“Do not resist, or they will use force. At this point I doubt even your name.” He gave a sigh, placing his weapon on the desk and standing, nodding once and then leaving the room. The blue one left with the guards, leaving Twilight in the doorway.

“I apologise for this, he was not told to do so. Please, if you would come with me, Princess Celestia would like to talk to you.” Gray was left with the choice of remaining in the room or following, so he chose the latter, recognising the corridors as the ones leading towards where he arrived.

The guards that were stationed there gave him glares as they passed, their hands gripping their weapons tightly. Twilight noticed this and cleared her throat, gaining their attention. With a shake of her head they visibly relaxed, once more going to their expressionless statue imitation. With one more turn they arrived in front of the throne room, where the doors swung open in a golden aura. Gray was led over to the side of the room where a small table was set for two, the white female already seated in place. She smiled up at as they approached, and gestured to the one opposite her.

With a quick glance to his side, Gray saw that Twilight had at some point abandoned him, and that they were the only ones present in the room. Nervously he sat down, meeting the soft gaze she was throwing at him. “Uh... hi?”

“Hello once more, my friend. I believe we should introduce ourselves properly now, no? I am Princess Celestia, co-ruler of the land of Equestria. To whom am I speaking?”

“I am Gray Heartbelle, and it is a pleasure to meet you, your majesty.” Celestia giggled as he bowed slightly, finally seeing him smile since his arrival. “So uh, this is real right? Not a dream?”

“You would have to ask Luna, she specialises in them. Now, I am afraid I must ask this, but how did you get here?”

“To be honest, I don't know. There was an incident, and I was accused of a crime I didn't commit. Foolishly, instead of explaining myself, I ran, which made me look guilty, so the police chased me. I tried to cut across a beach but a hurricane suddenly sprang up. I saw a flash of light and felt wind. The next thing I know I'm staring up at you on the throne. Wish I knew more.”

“I see. Well, at the very least we can see about trying to get you home, but first... you must be hungry. It is time for breakfast.” With a tap of silverware on her glass, a door to the side opened and a trail of servants came out, each one carrying something that smelled heavenly, and Gray wasted no time in settling the growling that came from his stomach at their approach.







The door to the dungeons creaked open as Luna waked in, following the jailer to the more secure cells. After all, Alec had helped design them, so he would have been out of the standard ones in a matter of minutes. Coming to a stop, the outer door was opened not to a desperate pegasi ready to plead for release, but the strained breathing of one doing wing ups with the bed balanced on his back. “Alec, stand and face this way.”

He did a few more reps before doing as asked, not even have broken a sweat. He cracked his neck and let his wings flutter to his side, walking over to the bars and smiling at her. “So, what do you want to know?”

“Who are you?”

“Everything you know about me is true... I just didn't tell you everything.”

“I see. Well then, please inform us of anything you wish to add.” He stepped back, righting the bed and sitting on the edge. Luna motioned one of the guards to provide a seat for her, which was in the form of a barrel.

“Where to begin... well, I suppose it's obvious that 'Alec' is not really a pony name. In truth, it is the name of the human who's memories I have. I really was born in Cloudspire, but I had these jumbled up thoughts as a foal, daydreaming of another world. It wasn't until high school where we had psych evaluations that I found out they were another's thoughts, not mine.”

“But how do you know of these... humans? And how did you get them?”

“In one session, I was hypnotised. The report states that I said 'I was on holiday with my family, when a hurricane hit, but it was mixed with an electrical storm'. Turns out that some of the lightning killed the human 'Alec', but transferred his memories to me. It's why I've managed to do things other ponies haven't, because I had two ways of looking at things.”

“If that is the case, why didn't the other become a pony? And how do you feel about... other stuff?”

“Maybe he didn't die... maybe the lightning didn't hit him, I don't know. And I feel the same as last night and this morning. Anyway, that's everything. Can I come out now? It's getting a little boring now.” He watched as Luna had a hushed conversation with the jailer, and then all the guards left, leaving the pair alone.

“No, I do not think so, not yet. You should have told us everything in the first place, and now you must be punished.” Before he could ask her, Luna pushed the barrel back a little, turning around and slowly sliding her trousers down her legs...


> Chapter 03
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        After the breakfast was cleared away, Celestia motioned Gray to follow, leading him to a side room. He happened to notice two of the guards shadow them, but they didn't enter the room, instead taking up positions outside the door. A quick glance revealed it to be a larger than average sized office, the large window at the back giving a view of the city.

Gray ignored the seats and strode over to take in the vista, glancing to his side as Celestia came next to him. “This is Canterlot, the royal city of Equestria and my home. I would say that it is the most hospitable place on our world, but that title goes to Ponyville. Anyway, may we talk?” She turned and sat with her back to the window.

“Uh... sure.” Taking one last gaze out the window, he spotted one of the ponies with wings flying through the air close to the castle. It stopped for a moment and then waved in his direction with a smile, to which he returned, staring at the rainbow coloured mane whipping around in the wind. “Yeah... that's a dye job.”

He sat opposite Celestia, tapping a finger on the arm of his chair. A stack of papers and pen appeared on the desk, the mare taking the writing implement in her hand and leaning forward. “Now then, Mr Heartbelle, I would like to know more about you and your kind. Let's start out easy, what are you?”

“Well... I would've thought you'd ask that guard, he knows.”

“Which guard?”

“The one that speaks to the blue one like a bickering old couple.”

“Oh... you mean Alec? Well, he would be like that with Luna, as he is her partner. But I have heard nothing of this yet. So...”

“Ah... well I'm what's called a homo sapien, or human for short.”

“Interesting. How many more of there are you?”

“Around seven billion, I think. But that's just an estimate.” The pen in Celestia's hand clattered to the desk as she stared open mouthed at him. “Uh... did I say something wrong?”

“Are you sure you do not how you got here?”

“If I did, then I could go home. Why?”

“I take it there are... guards on your world?”

“Well, some are. I mean, we have different branches of military, but my country does have a National Guard, which supplements our Army. But we call our regulars 'soldiers'.”

“And how much of your population are soldiers?”

“My country? Around a million and a half, but I don't know about others around the world. Why?”

“Because they overshadow the total population of Equestria, which is only around a million strong. If a portal to your world were open permanently...”

“Well, if it was, I wouldn't be the first human here, as far as we know. Plus you guys seem to be pretty technologically advanced. I'm pretty sure that would beat any numbers game.”

“What technology do you speak of?”

“You have teleportation tech, which my world is trying to get to work. How else would you have gotten that stack of papers to appear out of thin air?”

“Them? Magic, of course. What else would I use?”

“Magic isn't real, it's just sleight of hand and light tricks. Nothing more.”

“Is that so? Please remain seated.” Gray gripped the armrests as Celestia's horn began to glow, a flat white aura widening to the side of the desk. He saw Twilight sat at a desk in another part of the castle, and she looked up with a smile, which turned to slight surprise as she saw Gray staring back. “Twilight, Gray here doesn't think magic is real. Would you come to my office please?”

“Of course, princess, I was just finishing this report anyway.” Twilight stood from her seat and walked around the desk and grabbing a purple sweatshirt, tying it around her neck, and heading towards the portal...

“You know it's going to take her awhile to get here, right?” …stepping through it and standing in front of Gray, whose mind ground to a halt at what he saw. “But... how... you were there... now you're here! What the fuck is going on?”

“It's a simple portal spell, which Celestia summoned to get me over here to prove to you that magic exists. Even a filly or colt can do it once they know the spell. So, what would you like to know about magic? I've read hundreds of books on the subject!”

Gray didn't know whether to scream, faint, or just laugh at Twilight. Either way, he hoped his meds would soon kick in and he'd see a padded room...







        Four mares sat outside a cafe on Canterlot's main thoroughfare, two staring up at the castle walls, waiting for their friend to return. The white unicorn picked up her cup of chamomile and maple tea, taking a dainty sip, much in contrast to the orange and pink earth ponies sat opposite, who were trying to outdo each other blowing bubbles in their sodas. “Really, must you insist on being uncouth wherever we go?”

“Well shucks Rare.. it's jus' a friendly competition. There ain't nothin' wrong with that.”

“Yeah Rarity! We're not doing anything wrong!” Applejack and Pinkie Pie both looked at her with a grin, forcing Rarity to give a smirk of her own, even if she didn't want to.

“True, but could you please refrain from doing so whilst we are in Canterlot? It would be greatly appreciated by yours truly.”

“Does that mean no more yer fancy schmancy dresses fer a while?”

“And a really big, really uncouth party?”

“I... suppose so, but not too uncouth please?” There was a gust of wind that blew the hem of Rarity's dress around, and she gripped her well oversized chapeau, glaring at the pegasus mare that just landed. “Really Rainbow Dash, did you have to land in the middle of the street so brashly?”

“Well yeah, it is because I'm awesome! Anyway, I think I know what Egghead got us up here for now.”

“Um... what is it?” They all turned to Fluttershy, who sank down in her seat. “That is...if you don't mind?” She turned her head slightly, hiding behind her long pink mane.

“It's okay Shy, I'm gonna tell you guys. Remember when Big Mac fell asleep in the bar, and we just happened to be near a set of mane clippers?” There was a round of snickers from the mares, except for Fluttershy, who shrunk even further into herself. After all, she was the one that shaved him. Everywhere. “Well, I saw something that looked similar in Celestia's office, so unless she's going around shaving ponies, I think that's it.”

“Excuse me ladies...” Their attention was drawn to the teenage dragon that had approached their table with a smile. “... but would I be able to join you?” Rarity immediately scooted over on the bench so he could sit next to her, but stopped his movement with a held up hand.

“Of course you may Spike, but first you will sort out your clothing. We are in Canterlot, not some back street of Fillydelphia. Straighten yourself up this instant!” With a grumble he pulled his jeans up so that they actually sat on his waist, tightening the belt. He then fully untucked his t shirt and bend down to do the laces up on his trainers. He stood still whilst Rarity appraised him once more, and then leapt up next her as she nodded.

“Much better Spikey-wikey. Now then, do you know what exactly it is Twilight dragged us up here over the weekend for? Not that I mind darling,” Rarity said as she waved to a few passing ponies that were looking pointedly in her direction.

“Sorry, but I've only just left her parents house, haven't seen her since yesterday. She did want me to take you all to the castle when you're ready though.” There was a grunt from the other side of the table, and Spike looked across at Applejack with a bemused face. “Something wrong AJ?”

“Well, we would be in t' castle if them damn guards would let us in, but apparently there's some big important thing goin' on inside! How can we get t' Twi if we can't get in?”

“Easy... you use the side entrance. That's what happens when the castle goes into lockdown. If they turn everypony away at the front gate, then others won't try to get in. But if you know where the guards go in and out... they'll let you in.” With a quick fluid jump, Spike landed back on the street and bowed forward. “If you ladies would please follow me, I would be honoured to show you the way.”

A round of nodding signalled their meal was finished, and Rarity went to settle the bill, knowing the owner personally, so she could get discount on it. Spike's vision was quickly covered over by a set of blue hands, and he whipped around to glare up at Rainbow Dash. “Hey, what gives?”

“Come on lover colt, we're in Canterlot. Don't show Twilight up by staring at a mare's flank like that. Even if she'd relish in the attention.” She smirked as a blush started to form on his face, which only worsened as Rarity came back and ran her hand through the spines on his head, causing him to stiffen.

“Well then, shall we be off?”







“Twilight, perhaps we can hold off until he feels comfortable about the subject? After all, he has only just learned it exists.” Twilight worked her mouth a few times, trying to think of something to say, but instead agreed with a nod, quickly stepping back through the strange portal.

“I'll see you guys at lunch then. Bye for now.”

“Goodbye, Twilight Sparkle.” The white edges slowly collapsed into nothing leaving just Gray and Celestia in the office once more. She picked up the pen and drew a line under the first bit of information given, smiling over to the young man sat opposite her. “Now we have the basics out of the way, let's go a bit more in depth. What was your form of employment on your world?”

“Uh... well, I was a PMC, a Private Military Contractor.”

“I do not understand that term. What is it exactly?”

“They are more commonly known as mercenaries, but not the same. A mercenary would normally do anything for money, whereas a PMC has rules... most of the time.”

“I... see.” There was a flourish of movement as she wrote more information down, then took a deep breath as she looked back up. “Have... you killed?”

“Only once... and I had to.” He noted that a short sentence had been written down, and decided to expand on the statement. “I was doing some freelance stuff for a group called the United Nations, a... peacekeeping force made up of different nation's militaries. Anyway, my role was to provide protection to a important member of the group whilst he toured a refugee camp. That went fine until we had to leave... and we came under attack. I saw someone pointing a gun at the VIP, so I did what I could to save his life, which meant taking that of another.”

The pen had been placed down and Celestia stared on with interest, but a knock on the open door way caused her attention to shift, smiling when she saw the pony standing there. “Luna, come in. I was just having a nice chat with Gray here. Gray, this is my sister, Princess Luna. Luna, this is Gray Hearbelle.”

He turned his head, eyes going wide with fear as he saw the blue female that had managed to stop him the other day entering, but she ignored this, turning to the pony behind her instead. “Wait out here, I shall call if needed.” He caught the movement of someone nodding, and then they turned, Luna coming into the room. “We trust that thou are not going to run this time?”

“Uh... no?”

“Good, We tired of chasing thou the other day. So sister, what has thou learned so far?”

“That you can't help but slip into the old speech when we have guests.”

“We merely... excuse me, I... oh what's the use? It doesn't impress anypony any more!” Celestia handed her the bits of paper, which Luna took a few moments to read over, eyes going wide at one section. “Sister, we must prepare! If we start now, we may be ready for when more come!”

“Calm yourself Luna, no more will come. Gray is here because of an accident, nothing more. I would however, like to know about this crime you are innocent of, if you please?” The door swung shut in a blue aura, thus preventing anyone else hearing the conversation. “Thank you Luna. Now, Mr Heartbelle?”

“It was a murder, simple as that. But it was using my gun from the office where I was employed at the time. The police tracked it's registration number to my apartment, and when they came for me I asked for a few moments to get ready. Instead I escaped out of the fire exit and ran across the beach nearby, hoping to evade their cars. That's when the storm hit, and then I ended up here.”

“Two things... how can we be sure you are telling the truth, and what is a car?”

“A car is simply a machine for travelling from one place to another...” He spotted a puff of smoke in a distant part of the city. “... much like a train, but smaller, and more personal. As for the truth or not, I guess a polygraph test would prove it.” Luna crossed her arms and furrowed her brow at this suggestion.

“Pray tell, what is a... poly graph?”

“It's a lie detector, don't you have those?”

“A thousand years ago, that would have been a red hot poker to your flank. But somepony got rid of that practice long ago.”

“It was no longer needed, Luna. We now have other methods, to which I understand Alec is quite capable of performing?”

“About him... we need to talk, in private.”

“Very well, we shall do that. Would you mind if I just step out with my sister for a moment, Gray?”

“Oh course not, your majesty.” With a smile Celestia rose, leaving the room with Luna. He heard a hushed conversation at the door but ignored it, choosing to once more look out the window. He was trying to see the flying one from before, and he managed to spot her just entering the castle gardens with five others, who all looked up towards him. There was no reaction from the group, so he summarised that they couldn't see him. “Oh yeah, that's not natural. How can she keep the different colours from mixing?”

“You can try to use dye remover like I did.” Gray jumped back, spinning to see the one who had questioned him before, this 'Alec', looking the same direction. “But I'd advise against it. It's all natural, and whatever you do, do not call her 'skittles', she'll kick you flank. Take a seat.”

Doing as asked was easy, and Gray relaxed a little as this time he seemed unarmed. “Look, whatever I did to you...”

“I'm sorry.”

“What?”

“I said I'm sorry, human! What I did was wrong, but having the memories of one of your kind in my head... I know what your race is capable of, and I wanted to make sure you were safe first.” The pegasus picked up the stack of papers, reading them thoroughly. “So... a merc? See much action?”

“No, that was my first tour. I spent three years with the company as a bodyguard to actors and singers, things like that. Then an overseas position took it and my family told me to apply for it. And my name is Gray, not human.”

“Yes, I know that. Now... this murder with your gun. Why did you run from them?”

“I... don't know. It's not like I can do anything to get back now and sort it, is there?”

“Princess Sparkle is working on that, and thinks she has a theory. She's a bright one, that's for sure. So you've only killed once, in defence of others. Hmm... okay, Celestia can decided on the amount of freedom afforded to you. At least I know you're not a threat to us.”

“Not a threat to you? I'm probably a better shot then you.” The pony's visage finally cracked into something Gray thought he'd never see from him. The cold, calculated pegasus was grinning.

“Really? Well why don't we put that to the test?”







        “So... what should I do with him?”

“Well, he is your partner and bodyguard, Luna. You decide his punishment. Why are you blushing?”

“N-N-Nothing! I mean, I'm not. Anyway, I will decide that later... what's going on over there?” They both looked over to Celestia's office, where Alec had popped his head out and taken the spell guns off the two guards, one teleporting away. They got up and walked over, hearing the end of a brief explanation.

“…anyway, if your arm starts to get hot, put the damn thing down. Now, you ready?”

“Yes sir... but what's the target?”

“You'll see... and there is a reason I set these to non lethal.” Upon entering, the two mares found Alec and Gray standing near an open window, spell guns in hands and looking down into the gardens. A flash of light lit up from Alec's gun, quickly followed by Gray's. Luna walked over and had to stifle her giggles as the males continued firing, causing Celestia to approach with trepidation.

It soon turned to mirth as she watched Prince Blueblood dive around the garden, trying to avoid the beams of magical energy aimed for him. One struck the shoulder and Alec let out a triumphant cry. “Ha, I got him first!”

“Yeah, but he's not down.” Gray fired once more and the whole group erupted with laughter as his beam hit the egotistical stallions's flank, knocking him to the floor. “I believe that was the bet, first one to knock the target down.”

“You know, you're all right... for a human.”





> Chapter 04
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The sound of joyous laughter came up from the edge of the gardens, and the four gathered around the window, looking down to see the white unicorn mare down below having to be pulled along by her friends, whilst she was in hysterics with a hand pointing at the floored prince. The group watched as Twilight teleported out there and helped him to his feet, pushing him in the direction of the infirmary.

She let her magic flow and appeared in a flash behind the group in the room, glaring at the pegasus now holding two spell guns. He was picked up in a lavender aura and floated across the office. “Captain, why did you shoot Prince Blueblood?”

“Why not? All I asked for was a target, and I got one!”

“Who did you send?” Alec seemed to ignore the fact he was upside down, and just shrugged at her.

“Dunno their names, just know their ranks. Good luck finding them. Now, shall we talk about your apology?”

“Apology for what exactly?”

“Treating Mr Heartbelle like a science project?”

“But... I... he... what about you? Treating him like a prisoner!”

“I've already apologised.” Twilight gave a huff of annoyance, and let her magic stop flowing, causing Alec to drop to the floor with a pained grunt. Gray walked over and offered his hand, helping him back up. Before he could speak, Celestia stopped him with a wave of her hand.

“Twilight Sparkle, for what you did... you are not allowed to ask Gray anything of his world until he says so.”

“But...”

“Further, you are not to ask anypony who has spoken to him what they have learned until that point. Do you understand?” Twilight worked her mouth open and closed a few times, before crossing her arms and nodding. “Good... now, go gather your friends, I'm sure they'll want to meet Gray soon.”

Twilight's mood instantly swung around, and she happily walked out of the room, almost with a skip in her step. The other four were about to follow when there was a bang followed by a shower of confetti, momentarily blinding everypony's vision. Gray blinked a few times and when he tried to look again his vision was filled with the most impossibly wide grin and shining blue eyes, encompassed in a pink face.. “HI! I'm Pinkie Pie, who are you? Where did you come from? Where's your fur? Have you ever had sex? What was it like? Does the light stay on when you close the fridge door? Do you like cupcakes?”

He didn't have a chance to answer any questions as a pink-frosted cupcake was mashed into his open mouth, Pinkie having taken this as an invite to give him one. He couldn't complain too much, it was a little too sweet for his tastes, but it was still good. Gray finally swallowed his mouthful and took a step back, nodding to please the crazy lady. “It was okay, I guess...”

“Only okay? But... that was your first cupcake from me.” Her pink bubbly hair seemed to lose its fizz, falling straight down around her shoulders. She gave a weak smile to the group and turned around, starting to walk towards the door. “I guess we got a mean-meanie-pants instead of somepony fun!”

“WAIT!” The mare stopped, looking over her shoulder with one eye. “It's not that I didn't like it... it was just a bit too sweet for me. If I had a sweet tooth, I probably would have enjoyed it more.”

“Really?” Gray nodded, then winced as her expression flipped, her hair tail looking like they were in a wind tunnel as they went back to their usual bouncy state. Pinkie skipped over and pulled Gray into a hug, which he slowly returned, she then grabbed him by the hand and dragged him out into the throne room. “Girls, look! I got a new friend!”

He was brought out to find another three women waiting for him. Mares, dammit, they're called mares!! The first one to approach was the one Gray had spotted flying out the window, her wings now tucked against her back. She offered her hand, which he slowly shook. “Hey, I'm Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer in Equestria, and future Wonderbolt!”

“Is your hair really natural?” The way her face went from smiling to glaring, and her grip tighten like a vice, he knew he had said the wrong thing. Gray knew he had to salvage the situation, but Dash pulled away with a huff and walked off to the side. His hand was then taken it the lightest grip he could imagine, and Gray turned to the butter yellow mare hiding behind her pink mane. “Uh... hello?”

“H-h-hello... my name's F-f-fluttershy.” As quickly as she appeared, the mare backed off, leaving the orange furred one until last. His arm was then given the hardest shake he'd ever felt as she smiled at him.

“Well howdy there, Ah'm Applejack, an' it's a pleasure t' make yer acquaintance.” The handshake kept going as the mare smiled eagerly at him.

“Uh... hi, nice to meet you.” There was a commotion near the door, and they turned to see the fifth member of the group, a white unicorn mare, enter with a well dressed white unicorn stallion, his blue mane combed immaculately. She looked over to a group and stopped her conversation with a gasp, the stallion chuckling and whispering a goodbye, walking out of the room

"Uh oh" Gray turned to look at Alec, who was backing away with an awkward smile.

"What do you mean, 'uh oh'?"

"Darling, whatever are you wearing? It is simply ghastly! We must sort this terrible occurrence out at once!" Gray found himself being dragged towards the throne room doors, the rest of the group laughing at her antics. “We will have this sorted out pretty quickly, we'll use Fleur's, she won't mind at all!”

“CAN SOMEBODY STOP THE CRAZY LADY?” The pair stopped walking, and the mare turned with a glare, stalking right up to Gray's face.

“Crazy lady? I am Miss Rarity, one of the leading fashion designers in Equestria! And your clothes are an affront to all things fabulous! WE are going to sort that out right now, whether you like it or not!” A blue glow appeared around her horn, and then an aura of the same colour around Gray lifted him into the air, floating him along behind Rarity. “I shall return him soon, Princess.”

Twilight went to stop her, but Celestia's raised hand bid her stop. “It is okay, Twilight. I'm pretty sure Rarity will take care of him. Besides, Fleur's boutique is opposite the eastern entrance, I'm sure they'll make it with no...

“PRINCESS CELESTIA, WE HAVE AN EMERGENCY!”

“...interruptions.” She turned as a guard ran up to her, bowing forward, both as a sign of respect and to catch his breath. “What is going on?”

“There is a hostage situation, in Ponyville!”

“Do we know who is involved?” The guard pulled out a piece of parchment, scanning over the details.

“Yes, your majesty. It is the stallion Big McIntosh, and the mare Granny Smith. It was the filly Applebloom who raised the alarm. There is a strange creature that looks like a... 'shaved pony', and is apparently armed with a spell gun!”

“I... see. Alec?”

“I'm on it, send word help is on the way.” He turned back to Celestia's office, diving out the window and heading in the direction of the village. Luna let her magic flow, teleporting alongside him. She flew in front and passed him his personal spell gun, which he forgot in his haste.







        The scene in the farmhouse was eerily peaceful, a fact that went unnoticed by the three occupants. Big Mac sat at one end, with Granny Smith pulled close to his side. Opposite him sat... something, a smaller version of what looked like a spell gun in it's hand. No words were exchanged as they simply sat there, giving the stallion time to reflect on his morning so far...

Big Mac looked out the window from his breakfast of oats towards the barn, swearing under his breath as he knew what was coming. Ah'd rather be at t' town park, watchin' all those mares... Sunday, being the slow day it was, was his only opportunity to do inventory of the farm's back up stock, especially with the winter on the way, though with the (fairly) recent addition of the apple cellar, the products kept longer. And his sister had skipped out of her chores the day before, all because Princess Sparkle invited her to Canterlot for some reason or other.

His ear twitched as his younger sister finished the telling of her latest adventure with her friends, and he looked down at her with a smile. “...an' as we swung from t' tree, the branch snapped! We went flyin' through the air and landed in the branches off another one, falling t' the floor! We were covered in tree sap when we hit t' ground. Why it's always gotta be try sap, Ah don't know. Did you ever get covered in sap as a colt, Big Mac?”

He thought for a moment as he reminisced about his childhood, and all the times he and his friends got in trouble for doing stuff that they shouldn't... like peeking in the mare's changing rooms during the summer at the outdoor swimming pool. “Eeyup, 'appened more that Ah'd like. Now why don't ya run along, Ah'm sure you've got a lotta crusading' t' do today.”

“Are ya sure y’all don't want mah help in counting the stuff in the barn?”

“Nah, Ah'll be fine. In fact, Ah'd best get started. Make sure you're home for supper, understand?”

“Yep, Ah'll see ya later!” Applebloom leapt out of her seat, darting out the door and causing Mac to chuckle. Finishing his meal, he quickly washed the dishes, then headed into the study. With a heavy sigh he picked up the farm's records. Once outside he took a deep breath of fresh air, the smells bringing a happy smile to his face. Opening both of the barn doors for light, he decided to start with the hay, still nicely wrapped in bales.

Pulling a stray strand out, he put it in his mouth and started chewing on the end. Now came the boring stuff. Taking out his pen, he started to count the bales down the right hand side, then the back wall, and back down the left... Something caught his eye, one of the bales had been disturbed. Big Mac climbed up where the top bale should be, staring at the vaguely pony shaped depression where somepony had spent the night. Dropping back down, he spat the stalk of hay out and looked around the barn. “Now look 'ere, Ah don't mind folks stayin' the night in mah barn, but ya could at least tell me first! Now come out an' let's 'ave a look at yer!”

His ear twitched, catching the creak from the upper floor, and he lifted his gaze. He barely dodged the bale that came slamming down to the ground where he was standing a moment ago. Standing back up, he turned just as... something dropped down, pointing a spell gun, or something similar, at Mac's chest. The weapon, which Mac was sure it was, was waved towards the door, so he began to walk towards it. The... thing pointed in the direction of the house, telling Mac where he wanted to go. Neither of them noticed the filly watching them from afar. She turned and ran towards Ponyville as fast as her legs could take her...

So here they were, sitting at the table, nothing being said as it had gone all morning. Granny Smith stood up from her chair, the weapon tracking her movements. Mac put a worried hand on her shoulder, trying to stop her, but she just shrugged it off. “Granny, don't...”

“Ah'm hungry, an' Ah bet you are too. Even that fella over there must be wantin' fer food. So Ah'm getting' some lunch.” Mac saw something out the window, flying past the barn and landing behind it. The pony that slid around the shadows was one he recognised, and the glint of reflected optics informed him that the situation would soon be under control.

There was a flash of light, which broke the kitchen window, the beam impacting whatever it was sat at the table. It fell to the floor, the weapon knocked from it's grip. It looked around for it, crawling towards it as the main house door slammed open. The pony from outside charged in, spell gun glowing. Alec stuck his foot across it's back, gun aimed at it's head. “Don't move, human. Hey Mac... got any Pink Lady's?”







        The jingling of a bell roused the mare from her doze, and she rose from her seat, walking into the main room. “'allo, and welcome to Fleur's. 'ow may I be of AAHHH!” She stood stock still upon seeing the strange creature stood in the middle of her store, who stared at her unblinking.

“Oh Fleur, there you are darling!” Rarity came rushing over from the side, pulling the modelesque pony into a tight embrace, which was slowly returned. “Pardon the intrusion, but I simply had to do something about his clothes! They're absolutely dreadful, wouldn't you agree?”

Stepping away, Fleur gave her... guest a look over, and she nodded to Rarity, signifying her agreement. Slowly walking over with a model's gait, she stopped in front of Gray and gave him a meek smile. “'allo, I am Fleur De Lis, proprietor of Canterlot Fashions, welcome to my store.”

Gray, however, was stood rooted to the spot. Even if they weren't completely human, he could still appreciate beauty when he saw it, gently grabbing the mare's hand, and bowing down to kiss it, causing her and Rarity to start giggle. Then reality caught up, and Gray stood up straight, his cheeks now a delightful shade of pink. “Uh... sorry a-a-about that.”

“Miss Rarity, I did not know 'e was such a gentlecolt!” Gray returned her smile, noting that her accent seemed to be similar to French. With a tug on his arm she pulled him deeper into the shop, into a private area. She stopped briefly at the doorway, calling up a set of twisting stairs. “Fancy Pants! Miss Rarity is 'ere with a guest! I will be taking 'is measurements in the back!”

“Thank you Fleur, dear, I'll be down in a moment.” Came a male voice, and as the lithe mare pulled him deeper, Gray got nervous about being alone with her when what sounded like her partner was upstairs. Especially as he sounded quite big, judging by the thuds. Within moments of going through the portal, his jacket was pulled from his shoulders and thrown into the corner. He then felt his belt buckle start to unlatch. Looking down he saw a pink glow around it, the same as the one on the mare's horn.

His hands grabbed the waistband as soon as it came undone, keeping his pants from falling. Fleur gave a little huff, trying to pull them away, but Gray kept a nice tight hold on them. With a growl she strode out of the room, returning moments later with Rarity trailing along behind. “Now then, why are you not complying... you know, I never even got your name before I dragged you away from the castle?”

“I noticed.” Rarity pouted at his unamused tone and slight glare he was giving her. “My name is Gray. Now, as to not taking my clothes off... yeah, where I come from, guys measure guys, girls to girls.”

“Well, it sounds like my assistance is needed after all.” Gray visibly paled as the unicorn he had seen Rarity enter the throne room with appeared through the doorway. His gentle looking features betrayed the fact he was huge, seemingly bigger than the guards. “Now then, my wife is a professional. Nothing untoward will happen, trust me on that. Or, I can hold you still if you wish?”

Gray's hand let go of his trousers, and they fell to the floor. Before Fleur could forcefully remove any more clothes, he pulled his t-shirt off and threw it to the corner with his jacket. He heard the three gasp as they looked upon the scar that ran the length of his torso, smaller ones dotted across his body. Shaking off her shock, Fleur moved in and placed a tape measure on his inside leg, gasping as she felt something extra. “Oh... my.”

“What? What is it?” Rarity leant forward, eager for some gossip.

“'e seems to like dressing up! Coming unsheathed just by stripping!”

“Uh... unsheathed? What does that mean?” Rarity picked up a sheet of fabric, holding it around his waist.

“Well... you know. When a stallion likes a mare, his body starts to...”

“Hold up now!” Gray's exclamation and raised arm bid Rarity hold what she was saying, confusion clear on his face. “Are you telling me... that your males have their parts... inside?”

“Well... not quite. We do have our... parts, as you say, on display, but the majority of it is internal until we have use of it. Is it not the same for your kind?” Fancy Pants came closer, intrigue stamped on his muzzle

“Uh... no. And I rather not talk about it in front of those two, if you don't mind.” Gray returned the glare that the mare's were throwing his way, clashing with the chuckling stallion.

“My dear colt, I knew I would like you when I saw you in the castle. For now, a compromise. Why don't you hold one end of the tape where you feel uncomfortable for Fleur to do so.” With a nod of his head, Gray stood still as she took his measurements, assisting when she did his inside leg. Once done, Fleur and Rarity went further into the store, where the sound of machinery being started up came from. “They are begininng. So, tell me Mr Gray, where are you from?”

“Uh... you wouldn't believe me if I tried.” Fancy Pants started to chuckle slightly, which then soon turned into a booming laughter.

“My dear colt, I have travelled the lands of all of our allies, and have never seen your kind once. Therefore, you must come from lands quite a distance away. Unless you were going to tell me you're from another world, or some ridiculous thing like that!” His chuckling then taped off as he noted the blank stare from Gray, and the way his head was cocked. “You mean, you're... an...”

“Hi, I'm Gray Heartbelle, from the planet Earth, somewhere up in space.” The stallion's jaw dropped open at the same time as his monocle popped out from his left eye. And then he fell to the floor. Gray swore under his breath as he checked for a pulse, and upon finding it, he put the stallion into the recovery position. Hearing the door move behind him, he stood up and backed away. “It's not what it looks like!”

“I know, I was watching, Mr Heartbelle.” Gary froze, he knew that voice. Turning around, he once more found himself in front of the blue one, Princess Luna, whose eyes were tracing over his body. “It seems I have an advantage. How many more?”

“Uh... how many more what, exactly?”

“How many more of your kind came through?” She started to circle him, running her hands over the tables and other items at the edge of the room. “It is clear that there is another human down in Ponyville, so you are not alone. I will ask once more, how many more did you bring?”

“I didn't bring anyone, I swear! If were really were going to invade, they wouldn't send two people! THIS city would be a burning pile of ash by now, you and your sister mostly likely already dead!”

“So... you have enough forces to take the city. That is good to know.”

“From what I gleaned in the conversation with Celestia, we would need only half of them.” Luna's wings shot out as she tightened her hand on the chair she was holding, staring at him with a regal glare.

“THOU WILL REFER TO OUR SISTER AS HER TITLE COMMANDS, PRINCESS CELESTIA. DOES THOU UNDERSTAND?” Gray had begin to visibly shake as she shouted at him, the Royal Canterlot Voice being enough to draw Rarity and Fleur back into the room, both confused as to what was going on.

“Luna? Whatever are you doing down here.” Luna waved an angry arm at Gray, whipping round to face the two mares.

“He has brought another with him! They are down in Ponyville as we speak, holding Big Macintosh hostage! He lied to us!” Rarity stepped around from Luna and walked right up to Gray, staring into his eyes.

“Is... this true?”

“No, I swear! I don't even know how I got here, but at this rate, I want to leave soon!” The argument was soon overshadowed by Luna collapsing with a gasp at the same time as Fancy Pants coming back to the world. Rarity was instantly by her side, supporting her.

“Luna, what's wrong? Luna?” The alicorn mare placed a hand over her left breast, pulling it away to reveal blood. After a quick check, Rarity discerned it wasn't hers, but that beg the question as to whom it belonged. “Luna... what's going on?”

“Alec... he is hurt, badly.”



> Chapter 05
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        PFC Dean Hollis stood over the creature that had replaced him on the floor, one hand over the bullet hole on his chest. He hadn't aimed there, but in the melee that followed when he feigned a roll to his left, going right and grabbing his M9 from under the table... there wasn't much he could do. He glanced out of his eye as the farmers, which was pretty clear that was their job, stood huddled together on the other side of the room.

Pointing his pistol in their direction, he bent down and picked up the rifle looking object up off the ground. With a final glance at the two standing, he turned and fled towards the front door, ignoring the red one's pleas for help as he went to assist the injured one. He spied a town in the distance and a rather threatening looking forest to his right. To his left was a slightly more welcoming forest, so he made for that.

One satisfied he was deep enough in, he took a moment to examine the weapon, noting its similarities to the one's he had trained with. Pulling it up to his shoulder, he smiled when he looked down the scope and the forest around him changed. He could actually see the animals in the forest in a red glow. He tracked one as it got closer, lowering the weapon to see a deer emerging from behind a tree.

Thermal through solid objects? Picking up a small stone, he wedged it onto a fallen log, moving over to the other side of the clearing. Looking at the side of the weapon showed three markings with a catch. The first was a circle with a diagonal line through it, the safety catch. The next two were the rate of fire selectors. Under them was a little button, currently glowing a faint green. Pressing it turned it red, and then back again. He left it set to red.

Tucking the rifle into his shoulder, Hollis thumbed the safety catch off, taking aim at the rock and squeezing the trigger. The flash of light almost blinded him, and once he had his vision back... the log, let alone the rock, was obliterated. He spent the next thirty minutes examining the weapon more thoroughly, and he was just about to test it again when a little girl's voice caught up to him. “Are you sure this is where it came from? We're getting awfully close to Diamond Dog territory.”

“Yes, I'm sure. There's no way those dog brains would be around after a spell gun had gone off! Now quit stalling Sweetie Belle, we're almost there!” The name registered in his brain as a little weird, but before he could move, two of the creatures entered the clearing so he pointed the rifle at them. He didn't pull the trigger once they were clear of the bushes.

Like the farmers, they were covered in fur and had tails sticking out of their backs. One was wearing sneakers, shorts and a tank top, and had a set of wings sticking out of it's back. It's fur was a shade of orange, it's hair a purple colour. The other one was wearing a pink summer dress with sandals. It's white fur showed easily against the foliage, it's pink and purple hair styled into curls. And then he noted the horn on it's head. Judging by what the red and beige ones back at the farm looked like, he surmised that these two were female. The trio stared at each other until a new voice broke through, the accent making Hollis' eyes widen.

“Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo! Where y'all at? Ah can't find ya!”

“Stay back Applebloommppph!!” Quick as a wink he had closed the distance, covering the creature's mouth and pointing the rifle one handed at the other. It didn't stop the bushes rustling once more as a third one came in, wearing kid's cowboy boots, denim coveralls and a chequered orange shirt covering her yellow fur, a pink bow adorning her red hair. She looked around and her eyes settle on the scene, before she turned and ran screaming towards the town.

A flash of light overhead and an explosion of the tree in front of her knocked her to the floor. Standing, she turned back to see Hollis pointing his gun in the general direction of the other two. Under normal circumstances, he would never, ever do this... but these were most certainly not normal circumstances, and he'd need to do anything to survive in the unknown, and quite possibly hostile, terrain. I feel like a damn terrorist, doing something like this.

Waving his hand for direction, he brought the run away back. He then pointed in the other direction, and gave her a little shove when she didn't move. Reluctantly they started to trudge on, and ten minutes later they emerged on what surmounted to an old quarry. It was here that they stopped all movement, refusing to go any further. Hollis soon found out why as four big creatures burst from the ground, looking to his prisoners with glee.

They jumped forward and grabbed them, turning to head to a massive cave opening. Oh hell no! They are my collateral! Raising the spell gun, which he had set to the 'green' mode, he shot the empty armed creature staring at him. It dropped to the floor from the impact, but it wasn't dead. Shifting his aim, he fired at the three others. The young girls were dropped to the floor, and sprinted back over to Hollis, using him as a shield and shaking lightly.

Turning his attention back to the other creatures, he saw that they were climbing back to their feet, growling loudly. Clearly these were the Diamond Dogs that the girls were worried about. Setting the gun to red, he aimed at the closest one and squeezed, ignoring the flash and watching as the beam of light cut a hole right through it's chest, the rocks on the other side of the canyon behind him exploding.

The other three paused for a moment before continuing their approach, albeit much slower. Hollis didn't even think twice as he took down two more. The last one looked up as he shifted his aim, but turned and fled. Hollis went to guide the girls away, but the ground started to rumble. Looking over to the cave, they saw a mass of dogs running towards them.

The three girls had already turned and ran to the nearest tree, attempting to climb it, but failing in their haste. Sprinting over, Hollis picked up the orange one and threw her onto the lowest branch. The other two waited as he did the same to them, and managed to climb up himself just as the dogs got to the bottom of the tree. They climbed up a few more levels to ensure they were out of range of their spears.. but then it became the waiting game.

After two hours of waiting, Hollis racked his brain, trying to work out why they hadn't just cut the tree down by now, but then he noted their weaponry. It was just spears, with stone heads, not metal. It would take them awhile to do so. Getting bored, he picked up the rifle and sat on the edge of the thick branch where he currently was.

Setting the selector for what he believed to be auto, he didn't even bother aiming as he fired, sending beams of light through the crowd. He lost count of how many shots he took, but eventually it stopped firing, a panel opening on the upper right side, and a glowing red cylinder flying out. It landed on one of the dogs under them, causing it to scream as it burnt through it's clothes and set them on fire.

Not bothering to watch it run off for water, he closed the panel, squeezing the trigger once more. Nothing happened. He set it to safe and then to fire, from red to green and all sorts, but it wouldn't fire. “You ain't from around here, are ya?” Hollis turned his head to look at the bow-topped girl.

“Not really, no.”

“Well then, that ain't gonna work again. Ya need another magic core to get it workin' again.”

“Magic core? What the hell is that?”

“A special gem that's infused with magic, and used to power multiple things, including that spell gun. It needs another one.”

“So they act like magazines?” The dogs below had stopped running, now standing and looking at them whilst laughing. Hollis pulled his M9 out and shot the nearest one between the eyes. “At least I still have this.” He pointed his pistol at another dog, but they moved away, not liking the weapon that fired something they couldn't see.

He noted that as he swept across them, they each flinched. Climbing down to the ground, they kept their distance. He waved the girls down, and they slowly backed to the nearest canyon wall, Hollis stopping to collect a pile of rope from a dead body. The dogs kept their distance still, not coming too close. The stopped their pursuit as their quarry made it to the tree line.

The three girls turned to run, but he jumped in front of them. The stopped short as he pointed his smaller weapon at them. Guiding them along the nearby rocky walls that turned to cliff faces, they found a cave to enter. Hollis pulled out a flash light from his pocket, sending the girls in before him. Once satisfied it was empty, he grabbed the rope and cut three lengths, binding the girl's hands behind their backs. He then sat them down on the floor and bound their ankles in one big tangle of limbs ensuring they had no escape, moving away and placing himself between them and the cave entrance, then clicked his flash light off.






        The ponies in Ponyville's town square quickly moved to the sides of the streets as Princess Luna strode down the street, twenty heavily armoured Lunar Guards following... along with a strange looking creature. The whole group came to a halt moments later though. “STOP... WHATEVER YOU ARE!!! YOU'RE UNDER ARREST!!!!”

The glare that Luna gave the approaching local guard made him think twice, before she walked right up to his face. “Report.”

“Uh... nothing has happened in the past few hours, no new sightings, until now. May I ask, what's with the large contingent, your majesty?”

“The guard I sent down is capable of holding his own against six squads of griffons. He has never reported in later than three hours after heading to Ponyville. He left eight hours ago. We are heading to Sweet Apple Acres.” With that, she turned and walked off, the others following. It only took them half an hour, and the guards waited outside as Luna and Gray went in.

The human suddenly felt himself short of breath as a crimson juggernaut wrapped his hands around his throat, lifting him from the ground and squeezing tightly. “'ow dare ya show ya bucking face around here again!! Ah'll kill yer for what yer did, but not before Ah find out what you did with mah sister!” Gray tapped feebly against the muscular arm to little effect as his vision started to fade. It wasn't until a green fist smacked the red face he was finally let go, slumping to the floor in a coughing fit, looking up to see his saviour.

“Big Mac, Ah am ashamed o' you! This ain't even the same fella! Now you git outta here before Ah smack you again!” Thoroughly cowed, the massive stallion slunk off, slamming the door behind him. “That colt's going get in a lotta trouble with that temper o' his. Here, let's get you up youngin'.” Surprised by the strength in the elderly mare's body, he gave a relieved sigh as he was now safe. He then noted Luna was not with him, and the mare next to him pointed towards the kitchen.

Upon entering he found her sitting on the kitchen floor with Alec's head in her lap, running a hand through his mane as he lay there unconscious, a bandage placed over his chest. Luna then spoke, not looking up once. “What... what happened?”

“Somepony like this fella showed up and kept me and Mac in t' house. Alec came by and managed to get him on the ground. Ah ain't sure what happened next, 'e managed to get 'is gun. Alec tried to fight 'im, but that fella was trained different. 'e then took off running towards Whitetail.”

“Why is he unconscious?”

“Our pain medication weren't enough for him, so Mac had t' smack him under. Tenacious bastards took five punches to the jaw before he didn't open 'is eyes again!”

“That sounds like him. Granny Smith, I have a favour to ask. Can you look after Alec whilst we go and... 'look' for the other human?”

“A human... that's what you fellas are called, huh? Yeah sure, I'll watch him for yer. I'll even give him a whack fer comin' on 'is own, no matter how good 'e thinks 'e is!” With the utmost care, Gray helped Luna carry him into the front room, lying him down on the couch. They left the house and prepared to move when a flash made the guards raise their guns. They lowered them slightly once they recognised the pony. Only it wasn't a pony.

Gray stared slack jawed at the new creature, it's body the same shape but it seemed to be covered with some kind of chitin, it's legs having holes through them, and reptilian eyes. She gave Gray a curious look over as she approached Luna. “So... what did you call me all the way out her for? You may have bested me, but it doesn't mean you can dictate what I do!”

“Oh I know that, this is for our mutual benefit. Then you can go back to your whorehouse. What, no retorts?”

“Let's just get this over with.”

“Fine. Chrysalis, this is Gray. Gray, Chrysalis. Now that's done, can you transform to look like him?”

“I will need some DNA to get it to work properly.” Gray then spent more attention on the conversation.

“DNA... what do you need that for?” The strange mare didn't answer, instead forcing him into a kiss, forcefully slipping her snake like tongue into his mouth. After a minute of muffled protest, she pulled away with a smile.

“For this, silly.” Her body began to glow, the chitin slowly changing colour. It the became softer and smaller, turning into skin. Gray found himself staring at a naked human female. With a flash from her eyes clothing appeared on her, making her seem like any random person you could meet on the streets.

“Couldn't you have used a hair or something?”

“Yeah, but this was more fun.” Gray glared at her whilst Luna briefed everypony present on her plan.






        Their tears had ran dry a couple of hours ago, not knowing whether they were alone or not in the darkness. Now all that could be heard was the sound of struggling, the three fillies trying to get free of their bindings. They couldn't even call for help, their throats hoarse and dry from already shouting. They had even tried to roll out in a bundle, but they just ended up further in the cave, where it was nearly pitch black.

The sudden light shone on their faces made them shut their eyes. Being the closest, Applebloom felt somepony sit her up, and felt something pressed against her lips. She jolted back as she opened her eyes, looking up fearfully. “It's just water, I promise.” The sloshing of water in the canteen was too tempting pass up, so she pressed forward and drunk as much as possible.

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were next, and then they were plunged into darkness once more. They struggled again, but still to no avail. Sweetie Belle turned around as best she could to what she thought was the cave's entrance. “Why are you doing this?”

“Insurance. As long as I have you and no one knows where you are, I'm safe.”

“How long are you going to keep us here?”

“As long as it takes.” That was it, the damn walls broke once more, the three fillies bursting out in tears. If it affected him, he didn't show it, but it really tore him up inside. He couldn't let them go, not until the uproar from what he did died down. After around twenty minutes, his ears perked, hearing a noise from outside. “Shh, I hear something.”

“Hello? Anyone there?”

“We're lost, we don't know how we got here or where we are. Can somebody please help us?”

He got up and they heard him walk away, then silence once more. Five minutes later they heard a boot hitting the cold stone floor, but this one had come from behind them. Three red dots appeared from the darkness, and they closed their eyes, waiting for the strike.

It never came, their bonds being cut instead. Opening their eyes revealed two more sets of dots, before a glowing object appeared, getting slowly brighter. Once at a sufficient level, they made out the uniform of three Lunar Guard pegasi, who removed their night vision goggles. Contrary to popular belief, their eyes were just the same as any other pony's, and the dark affect them just a much. The three fillies, now that they were free, jumped around the neck of the pony closest to them.

The pegasi slipped their goggles back on and began to walk out, turning them off as it got brighter. They slipped to a pre planned position and watch as Gray and Chrysalis walked around a clearing, then stopped and looked to their side. Another human male appeared, carrying a customised spell gun. He looked around at first and the moved clear of the trees. 

And that's when their counterparts struck, surrounding the human with their guns drawn. The unknown human took in the situation and gripped his rifle tighter... then dropped it. Luna walked out from behind him, staring into his eyes. The guards had to stifle their laughter as she punched him in the face.

Ten pegasi surrounded him and carted him off to the local cells. The three guards that had the fillies made their way down, stopping in front of the princess. Luna immediately bent down and hugged them all, making sure they were all right. They backed away as Gray came over, but he stopped when he saw their discomfort. “Girls, it's okay, he won't hurt you.”

Leaning around her side, they watched as he approached the guards that had picked the weapons up... or were going to. Having never seen a human weapon, they were a little reluctant to pick it up. Gray didn't have a problem, and a couple of guards gripped their rifles tighter as he did so. He ejected the magazine and pulled the slide back, a single round dropping out. He then pointed it at the ground and pulled the trigger, a click going off and he clicked the safety on afterwards.

To the group's surprise, he passed it to one of the guards, hand grip first. “There, it's safe now. It won't go off.” The guard took the pistol and shoved it into his sack, then approaching Luna and passing her the spell rifle. She looked over it intently before gasping.

“This is Alec's!” The fillies perked up then, excitement in their faces. Luna turned towards the tug on her trouser leg, finding Scootaloo looking up at her.

“Alec? Is he here?”

“Yes, he's over at Sweet Apple...” That was enough, they tore off in the direction of the farm, and with a sigh the three pegasi guards took off after them. “...Acres. Hmmph. Chrysalis, you can go. Thank you for your help.”

“You're welcome... maybe you could send that stallion of yours by some time...” Luna didn't have a chance to respond as she transformed into a small bird and flew away.

“We should go too, Alec's not out of danger yet.”

“What do you mean?”

“The bullet could still be inside, we need to get it out.” Luna's eyes went wide, and she took the same option as her guards, flying towards the farm. Gray started to walk back, but gave a surprised shout as he felt arms wrap around his chest, one of the pegasi taking off with him to speed things along.







        “It's good job your armour is enchanted up to Tartarus, or this could've been much worse. As it is, this... thing went in only a few centimetres.” The mare dropped the metal object into a tray set out on the couch next to Alec. “Any deeper and it could've punctured a lung.”

“Yeah, yeah. Can I go now, Redheart?” Pulling the bandage tight and making him wince, the nurse glared at the pegasus, and then stepped away.

“Yes, you can go. But you are not to go tracking that thing, especially as it got your gun!” Alec jumped up from the chair, running into the kitchen to check.

“Dammit, how am I supposed to sort this mess out now?” Before anypony could reply to him, the door slammed open and a multicolour blur smacked him to the floor, revealing a giggling pile of fillies, none of which noticed the pained expression on his face. “Ow.” Luna had caught up, and was standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips.

“Girls, please leave him be, he is injured.” They backed away and said sorry as Alec got to his feet, a pained smile on his face. They were further disappointed as she continued to speak. “A visit will have to wait, for now we need to return to Canterlot.”

> Chapter 06
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        “Let's see here, bank card, driving licence, library card... Yes Twilight, they have libraries on Earth. What else... credit card... hello, what's this?” Celestia and Luna looked over to the table at the side of the room, where the captured human's things were being investigated. Alec was currently going through his wallet, Luna wanting to keep a close eye on him, just in case. That, and the doctors had grounded him due to injury, but that had never stopped him flying before. “I think I know why he managed to escape.”

“And why is that?”

“He's a Marine.” Gray, who was sat to the side of Celestia's throne, under a light guard, twisted his head round in shock.

“A Marine? Who's?”

“One of yours, US Marine Private First Class Hollis, D.” With a nod from Celestia, Gray approached the table, taking the ID card and inspecting it.

“But that doesn't make sense, why would a Marine kidnap three girls?”

“Dunno, but I'm going to find out.” With a wave of his hand, four of the Lunar Guards fell into step behind Alec as he left the throne room. The sound of someone clearing their throat caused Gray to turn back to the dais, where Celestia was now alone, a few Solar Guards lining the walls. He walked back up the steps and took his seat, looking over to the mare.

“So then, I understand you met Chrysalis. How did that go?”

“uh... she... well, she kissed me.”

“SHE WHAT?!” Celestia's face changed to one of anger, but it was quickly replaced by a blush as she looked way. "Sorry about that, we have rules on what she can and cannot do.”

“What is she?”

“A changeling, creatures that feed on love. They are... how to put this? They invaded Canterlot, and if not for my niece and Twilight's brother, we would not be speaking now. They are now... I would not like to say slaves, but the rules that we use to govern them are almost the same.”

“Isn't that a little... harsh? I mean, from what I've seen, this place isn't one to take slavery lightly.”

“After the invasion, we had them hunted down. Shining Armour, Twilight's brother, took charge personally, saying it was to ensure Equestria's safety, but he lied. It was simply for revenge. Had Alec not been there, one of my own family would be guilty of attempted genocide.”

“Those things... are that bad?”

“They are ruthless and deceitful, doing whatever it takes to complete their task. Had Alec not have mutinied against Shining Armour's command... the whole race would be gone.”

“Did he go unpunished?”

“Who, Armour? Nay, his wife saw to that. I believe he is still sweeping the streets of the Crystal Empire, even today.”

“No, I meant Alec. In my country you'd probably get shot for desertion.”

“No, because his reasons were justified. How could I trust one of my guards, one of my family, if they had the audacity to kill that many creatures with no remorse? Alec was reprimanded, yes, but he was also rewarded for holding up the very values Equestria is based on above revenge for personal reasons. He hates changelings more than anypony I know of.”

“How come?”

“Follow, I will show you.” Celestia led Gray to a corridor behind the dais, one hidden behind a large wall rug. The walk was silent, except for their footsteps... and those of the four guards trailing behind them. After twenty minutes they emerged into a room with a balcony that overlooked the waterfall and the castle, a secret little getaway. “I must apologise for everything Alec has said or done to you since your arrival.”

“Look, it's fine. I'd probably reacted the same way if a unknown creature suddenly appeared and I knew what they are capable of. Especially my race.” Celestia opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again. With a wave of her hand, and some concerned looks, the guards swept out of the room, closing the door behind them.

“It is not fine. This is his personal area, all he asked for when Luna chose him for her bodyguard. He comes here to think sometimes, but there is something I would like to show you.” She fumbled around on a desk in the corner for a few minutes, and then placed a frame on top. “Come, look.”

Gray did as asked, picking it up to reveal a family picture, one featuring a younger version of the pegasus stallion, and he was smiling. Stood next to him were an older couple, and a pegasus mare, all mirroring his expression. In the mare's arms was a small bundle that he easily recognised, a baby “I... don't understand. Why show me this?”

“To explain why he is so cold to you. Changelings... they take the place of a loved one, steal the love meant for them, and return the real ponies once their target was completely drained. By then it was too late... the targeted pony would die. Alec saw through their ruse... they had his whole family.”

“The changelings... killed them, didn't they?”

“Yes.”

“Was... Chrysalis one of them?”

“Chrysalis was the one who gave the order. So when he came back with both her and Shining Armour as prisoners, you can imagine my surprise. Of course, they attempted to break their queen free, but we expected that. We easily captured more than half of their force, and had to remove the others. By the time the confusion had ended, we rushed back to the cells where a scream had come from.”

“What happened?”

“Alec gave into his rage. Even against Armour's magic, he managed to get into Chrysalis' cell. She now, and forever more, bears the mark of her crime. If not for Luna stepping in... I do not want to think about how dark things would have become.”

“What exactly did he do?”

“He... carved the names of his family into her chitin, their natural form. An attack like that holds a very deep, very old kind of magic, one that I was not aware he knew of. He destroyed the enchanted blade after he realised what he had done. We tried to remove the scars, but could not do so.”

“Damn... I need to buy him a drink for going through all that.”

“Please do not bring it up with him... Luna and I helped him fight down his rage, and to hold onto the good memories. Besides us, you are the only other that knows about his family. Please... don't...” Tears had started to form in her eyes as she strode over to the balcony, refusing to look Gray in the eye. He was unsure what to do, but one thing was for sure, she needed comfort.

Celestia looked around as she felt a hand on her shoulder, finding Gray standing next to her with a soft smile on his face. He slipped his arm around her her, pulling her into a light embrace. It was too much for her to take, and she began to openly weep into his shoulder. The nearest guard to the door took one look in, saw the scene, and closed the door again, returning to his vigil on the corridor.







“What's the matter, monkey? Got nothing to say to us, eh? Just wait till Cap gets down here, then you're going to have some fun!” The guards assigned to the cell threw another cup of water through, laughing as it hit the floor, the contents spilling out. “You're lucky we don't come in there and have our own fun with you!”

“Why don't we? We've got the keys. So maybe we can...”

“You can what exactly, private?” The six stallions snapped to attention, sweat starting to drip down their muzzles.

“Sir, it's sergeant, sir!”

“Really? I'll deal with you later, all of you. Dismissed.”

“Sir?”

“I SAID GET THE BUCK OUT OF HERE!” The group didn't need, nor want, to be told twice, leaving the dungeons as quickly as they could. The new group approached the bars and stood still, unblinking eyes staring at the wall. The human sat inside looked them over, his own eyes going wide when he saw the one he shot. “Stand, approach the bars and turn around.”

As he stood, the two guards at the edge aimed their rifles at him. Once there he felt shackles placed on his wrists, and then the door was opened. One of the guards pulled him out, and they formed up around him, following the unarmoured one. Their route took them out of the dungeons and up a set of stairs, where the group entered a room with two blank walls, a mirror, and a window overlooking the city.

The guards placed him on one of the chairs set at a table, attaching his shackles to a chain, which kept him seated. They then left, leaving one other in the room with him. “Let's start this off simple. Who are you?”

“Hollis, D, Private First Class. 3040696.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Hollis, D, Private First Class. 3040696.”

“Cut the crap. I know this is how you have been trained, human. This will be easier for all of us if you just give me the information we seek. How did you get here?”

“Hollis, D, Private First Class. 3040696.” Alec leant forward, leaning his elbows on the desk and placing his hands into one another, a smirk on his face.

“You do know that you're on another world, right? I mean, that much must be obvious. As such, the Geneva Convention does not exist here.” It was slight, just a small widening of the eyes, but he had a reaction. “There we go, you do have a brain, you're not just a mindless killing machine. Of course if you were, there would be a few less ponies at the farm.”

“Hollis, D, Private First Class. 3040696.”

“And saving three fillies from the Diamond Dogs? Why not just let them go? What use were they to you?”

“Hollis, D, Private First Class. 3040696.”

“This is getting old, or is your vocabulary really that limited?”

“Hollis, D, Private First Class. 3040696.”

“Fine. I'll be back later.” He didn't move his head as the pegasus stood and walked over to the door, knocking on it three times. It opened and closed, then there was silence. And then a woman walked in front of him. A human woman.

“Why don't you just tell them what they want to know? It could earn your freedom.”

“Hollis, D, Private First Class. 3040696.”

“What's a little info for being able to move around freely? And you could be rewarded handsomely. Speaking if handsome, you look pretty hot.” She moved the table out of the way, straddling his lap. Leaning forward, she traced her tongue over his lips. “I could help, you know? All we need is a few teeny bits of information. What do you say?”

He tilted his head up, looking into her eyes. “Hollis, D, Private First Class. 3040696.” The woman huffed in annoyance as she stood and left the room. He lost track of how long he was left alone, and his gaze slowly shifted from his reflection to the window, where what looked like a perfect day was entering its zenith.

On the other side of the mirror, three ponies and one changeling watched him for a while, before a fist slammed down on the desk. “Dammit! They're trained to withstand this kind of thing! He's never going to talk!”

“Aw, what's the matter? Is the the big, bad stallion being bested by a hairless monkey?” Chrysalis backed away in absolute fear from the rage filled gaze being levelled at her.

“Push me one more time, bitch, I dare you. I'll finish what you started. I'll even give you more names.”

“Alec, leave.” The stallion remained glaring at the changeling ex-queen, until Luna stepped in front of him. “Not now, we have much more important things to deal with. Please, leave.”

“I'm not leaving either of you two here with her.”

“Fine, be that way.” Luna turned her back to him, facing Chrysalis with her arms crossed. “I think it is obvious he did not accept your way. A guard will show you to a guest room where you can stay for now. Do not try anything... or I might just forget where my bodyguard's location is.”

Chrysalis swallowed nervously and then walked out of the room. No way she wanted him to come hunting for her. Luna turned back to Alec and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, which he shook off, returning his gaze to the other room. “I think you need some time alone. I'll take my turn now.”

“Thank you, Twilight Sparkle.” The younger princess nodded, and cast one last concerned look at the angry pegasus stallion, before she gently closed the door. “Alec...”

“Later. Let's just get this done.”

“No, now. It is time to let go of the past. Nostalgia is a good thing, but not when you let it consume you.”

“It'll stop when that bitch is dead, no sooner.” Luna pushed his hands from the desk, slipping in front of him and nuzzling under his chin.

“Remember how we deal with this? Don't forget them, but don't dwell on them either. Come to the now, with me.” Alec relaxed with a sigh, returning her nuzzle. They both looked through the glass as Twilight entered the room. “The intimidation, which you have got to work on as you've gone soft, and the seduction route did not work. Let's see if the intelligent one will.” Luna flicked on the magic speakers as Twilight moved the table back into position and sat down, summoning a stack of writing materials and setting them down.

“My name is Twilight Sparkle, may I have yours?”

“Hollis, D, Private First Class. 3040696.” She grabbed a quill and started to write.

“And what is your mission here?”

“Hollis, D, Private First Class. 3040696.”

“You really want to play this game with me?”

“Hollis, D, Private First Class. 3040696.”

“Fine, Sparkle, T, Princess. Twenty three.” They just sat staring at each other for ten minutes, and then Twilight's ear twitched. “Come on, just give me something!”

“Hollis, D, Private First Class. 3040696.”

“UGH!! Humans are bucking impossible! One doesn't like his body looked at, and the other doesn't want to talk! What the hay is wrong with you ponies?”

“Hollis, D, Private First Class. 3040696.”

“I won't let you beat me. Sparkle, T, Princess. Twenty three.”

“Hollis, D, Private First Class. 3040696.”

“Sparkle, T, Princess. Twenty three.”

“Hollis, D, Private First Class. 3040696.”

“Sparkle, T, Princess. Twenty three.”

“Hollis, D, Private First Class. 3040696.”

“Sparkle, T, Princess. Twenty three.”

“What the hay is she playing at?”

“She's trying to get into his mind, but he's trained to resist. I think Mr Heartbelle could be of assistance here.” Alec removed himself from Luna's embrace, but a tug on his shoulder bid him pause. “I will do my best to stay away, so don't worry. I'll be behind the throne room if you need me.” With that he set off to look for the other human.






“So... if he's Luna's bodyguard and partner... why does he have this place as his own?” Celestia and Gray were sat on a bench on the balcony, the mare pressed into his shoulder. He was a little hesitant at first, but she had insisted he remain seated.

“'tis simply a place for him to relax. He can get to Luna's room in no time from here. Look, the tower over there.” Gray let his gaze follow her outstretched arm and noted the second closest tower, adorned with a banner fluttering in the small breeze, a moon sigil upon it. “He can keep watch on her chambers from here.”

“How does someone like that go from angry to loving?”

“He hasn't, not much. Luna was the one that stopped him, prevented the encroaching darkness from reaching his heart. It was several months after she had chosen him as her bodyguard that they became lovers. Even with me, and I'm his boss, he is cold, his replies terse. And he will never show any affection for my sister in public. But enough about him, I... want to thank you for the kindness you have shown to me this morning.”

“I was just...” Celestia placed her hand over his mouth, pulling away with a smile.

“I would like to invite you to dine out with me tonight.”

“You want me to go outside the castle?”

“You will be fine, there will be no problems as long as you are...”

“Celestia.”

“...with me.” She turned her head, finding the pegasus stallion they were talking about moments before stood behind them, a picture frame in his hand. “Alec, how may we help you?”

“I need Gray to go talk to the other one. But first... did you tell him?”

“Please, understand...”

“Get. Out.”

“Alec...”

“I SAID GET OUT!!” Celestia stood, pulling Gray with her. Together they left, the human turning for one last look, before closing the door gently. They had made it maybe twenty metres when the group stopped, an uncharacteristic look in the guard's eyes. Fear. “ARRGGHH!!” The sound of things crashing caused one of them to wince, making Celestia speed up.

They eventually reached the interrogation room, entering the annex to find Luna sat down, watching through the window. “Hollis, D, Private First Class. 3040696.”

“Sparkle, T, Princess. Twenty three.”

“Hollis, D, Private First Class. 3040696.”

“Sparkle, T, Princess. Twenty three.”

“Hollis, D, Private First Class. 3040696.”

“Sparkle, T, Princess. Twenty three.”

“Hollis, D, Private First Class. 3040696.”

“You know what, you win. I think we've been at this long enough to know that you'll never give us what we need. Even if I am trying to figure out a way to get you home.” Twilight smirked as he didn't reply, standing and leaving the room. She made her way to others with a grin on her face. “Told you I'd beat him! But then again, he still hasn't said much. I assume that's why you're here, Gray?”

“Yeah... Alec asked me to... talk to him, so here we go.” Gray walked out and was about to enter the other room when a beige blur shot past, locking the door from the inside. He ran back to the window to find Alec now inside the room, and he had snapped the key in the lock. Luna began to pound her fists on the window. “Can't you just, like, portal into there or something?”

“No, it is shielded from magic! ALEC, LEAVE THAT ROOM NOW!” He ignored them, walking up to their prisoner and slamming his head forward onto the table, a sickening crack coming through the speaker. “ALEC!”

“PRIVATE HOLLIS, YOU WILL TELL ME WHAT I WANT TO KNOW!”

“Hollis, D, Private First Class. 3040696.” A slither of motion was all the warning he got, one of Alec's wings whipping out and impacting his face, the sharp primaries slicing into the skin.

“HOW DID YOU GET HERE?”

“Hollis, D, Private First Class. 3040696.” The first strike was followed by a punch to his nose, so hard that blood instantly burst forth.

“WHAT IS YOUR MISSION?”

“Hollis, D, Private First Class. 3040696.” Another punch, this time to the stomach, causing the human to grimace. Alec gave him two more jabs and then stepped away.

“WHY ARE YOU HERE?”

“Hollis, D... Private First... Class. 3040... 696.” Alec whipped round and punched his jaw, knocking from the chair to the floor, his arms still secure. The sound of banging hit his ears from the doorway, where the other guards were trying to force their way in. He suddenly found himself lifted from the ground by the scruff of his clothes, the shackles pulling his arms downward. He looked into the eyes of the angry pegasus with defiance. “Hollis, D, Private... First Class. 3040696.”

Alec brought his face dangerously close, a low growl escaping his throat. “I... don't care any more. This is for the fillies.” He reared his arm, and Hollis took his chance, swinging a leg and aiming for between the pony's own. It was just a guess on the anatomy, but he was right, as Alec dropped to the floor clutching his groin. The door finally gave way, four Lunar Guards surging in and removing the chain attached to his shackles, dragging him out of the room. Outside, Luna stood waiting with eight more guards.

She moved closer and took one look at Hollis, then spoke to the guards. “Infirmary, now.” Ten of them left, the other two going to enter the room, but were stopped by a wave of Luna's hand, entering herself, and kneeling down next to the groaning stallion. “That will teach you a lesson, a creature is more dangerous when threatened. Why?”

“I... couldn't help them back in Ponyville. I couldn't be there when they needed me...”

“Alec, it wasn't your fault...”

“...I couldn't save Dawn...” Luna pulled his head against her chest as he began to weep.







        Gray looked himself over in the mirror and couldn't help but smile. Rarity had stopped by with a selection of outfits a while ago, each one she said would 'compliment his unique eyes', even though he didn't want the attention. It was even worse when he let slip that he was visiting a restaurant outside the castle, Rarity standing open mouthed in shock. And then she pulled him into the bathroom and called for the castle stylist, masseuse and more.

Gray had to laugh at the treatment he had been given, be he certainly felt a lot better. And he was standing in a beautifully crafted suit, one made for him. After his outfit was sorted out, Rarity had run off, spouting something about ensuring Celestia's clothes didn't clash with his. Straightening his tie and slipping into his jacket, Gray slipped out of his guest room door, the guard nodding and guiding him along the corridors.

Along the way he saw Alec in what appeared to be a family room, holding a larger picture. He chose not to take any action, leaving the stallion in peace. They eventually made it to below the main staircase at the front doors of the castle, and Gray suddenly found himself alone. And then someone above and behind him cleared their throat, and as he turned his heart almost leapt up his throat. “Take care of my sister tonight, Mr Heartbelle, or I'm sure you know what will happen. Now Celestia, you are to be on your best behaviour. I am going out with Alec tonight.”

“I saw... uh, him. In a room. With a picture.” All through his messed up speech he couldn't take his eyes from the Solar Princess, who started to blush. Sure, that Fleur one was beautiful... but with the way Celestia was presenting herself now...

“Oh... I know where he is. Do not dwell on it, just enjoy your night.” With that she gently pushed Celestia forward and walked away. The nervous mare carried on down the stairs, albeit very slowly, until coming to a stop next to Gray, refusing to meet his gaze. She felt a hand grab hold of hers, and he slipped her arm into his.

With a nod of her head the guards opened the doors, the two of them walking out towards a waiting carriage. Acting as footmen... ponies, Gray quickly reminded himself, were guards decked out in gleaming gold armour, similar to that of the Lunar Guard. He correctly surmised that these were Celestia's counterparts to Luna's personal guards, and then found the Lunar diarch's concerns for her sister little to worry about.

After helping her climb in, he followed, sitting on the other end of the seat from her. He felt the heat begin to rise in his cheeks as she suddenly moved closer, resting her head on his shoulder. Tonight is going to be... interesting, I think.
> Chapter 07
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Hopping down from the carriage, Gray favoured the two ponies stood menacingly at the door to a rather lavish looking building with a smile. They tensed up as he walked over, stopping around a meter away and bowing his head. “Good evening gentleman, I believe there is a reservation for two under royal business?”

The burly earth pony snorted in amusement as the unicorn let his gaze drift over the carriage. “I don't care what kind of... royalty you are, we don't want... whatever you are here. Move along.” He moved closer and prodded Gray in the chest, catching a whiff of alcohol on his breath. “Much less one that's drunk.”

“Ah... I see. Well then, my dinner companion will be most disappointed. She was really excited to show me this place. If you don't want our business, I guess we'll go somewhere else.”

“Yeah... you do that.” The snarky doorpony was suddenly punched in the arm by his colleague, and he turned to glare at him. “What the hay did you hit me for?”

“Dude, shut up! Look at the bucking carriage!” He did so, letting his eyes take in the features. The front was standard of the Canterlot Elite, as small magic core powering a small motor on each wheel. There was a unicorn driver sat up front, decked out like most servants, but a bit more full of himself than usual. The passenger compartment was covered over by a thick sheet of fabric, one of the more expensive convertible models now coming out. Other than that, there was no difference.

And then he saw them. Armour that was both lighter and bulkier than the standard Royal Guard issue, not one letting their gaze be distracted, and upon their breast plates... a sigil of a fiery sun. Princess Celestia's personal Honour Guard. The stallion shot forward in the hopes of stopping Gray, but didn't stop him from speaking to the other occupant. “...so, they don't want us to visit. Is there anywhere else you'd like to go?”

“I think I shall have to talk to Fancy Pants about this... he own this restaurant after all.” The doorpony stopped cold, instantly recognising the Solar Monarch’s soft voice. “Well, we will not be dining 'fancy' tonight it seems. I know somewhere where we will both be welcome.” Gray climbed back into the carriage, the door closing behind him. “Driver... to Donut Joe's please.

As it began to move away, the stallion just watched wide eyed. Gray made sure to smirk in his direction as he looked out the window, even the two guards standing at the back chuckling quietly to themselves. The earth pony's jaw worked itself up and down, until his fellow doorpony's hand fell on his shoulder. He finally found his voice, and could only say what was on his mind. “...I am so fired...”

Inside the carriage Gray was smiling. Not because of the fact the being with Celestia had made that pony panic... but since then she had acquired a most dangerous fit of giggles, having to look away if she so much as glanced at him. They had only been out for an hour, perhaps more, and the dealings of the past day had already vacated their minds. Of course, the fact the her carriage was stocked with chilled bottles of cider wasn't helping.

Gray had taken to sitting on the opposite seat to Celestia, as she had developed a tendency to wave her arms around whilst talking, most of which was simple mumbles about the nobles being jerks. A sudden lurch in the journey made him slip from his bench to the one at the back... landing right on top of the giggling mare, and he opened his eyes to find himself face to face with her... assets. The door to the carriage suddenly swung open, a white gloved hand being offered. “We have arrived at our destina... Ahem, perhaps her majesty can eat something, or at least return to the palace, before carrying on with this activity?”

With some degree of trouble, Gray and the driver managed to get the tangle of limbs that was a laughing princess out of the carriage, where the cool breeze clashed with the heat in her cheeks. She began to walk up to an unassuming building, little in the way of decorations except for a sign with a doughnut upon it. What made Gray curious was the fact that it seemed shut. It didn't stop the mare from banging on the door quite hard.

He saw a light switch on above the shop, and a shadow in the window, and could hear a male voice coming through. “We're closed, go away!” Instead Celestia just banged harder. “For Faust's sake, don't you listen?” More banging. “Fine, but you'd best be gone by the time I get down there!” The shadow was now gone, but Gray could see a dim light through the window, smirking as it approached the doorway, where the sound of a lock being undone came from. “Right then, this better be good or Princess Celestia herself won't be... able... to... come to my store after closing time?”

“Good evening Joe, nice to see you again. I know this will sound like an unusual request, but could you possibly allow my companion and I to purchase some fine items from your establishment?” The unicorn stallion nodded dumbly as he moved from the doorway, allowing them to enter. “Now then, we won't keep you too long from your rest. What do you have that we can take away?”

“Give me a minute your majesty, and I'll throw something together for you.”







        “Alec, you have hardly touched your glass all meal. What's wrong?” The stallion took a sip of wine and glanced around them room, then looked into Luna's eyes.

“Nothing... yet.”

“Are you worried more humans made it through?”

“Possibly.” His ears perked as Luna stood, walking around the table. The restaurant was one of their favourite places in the capital, very popular but never crowded. Of course, being a princess meant she could get a table whenever she wanted, but she would never press that advantage.

With a nod of her head to the pony leading the small symphony, Luna grabbed his hand and began to pull. Alec then knew what her intention was, and skipped his glass for a massive swig from the wine bottle, causing the mare to smile. She knew he hated dancing, but would do it for her. In the middle of the massive building was a rather impressive dance floor, currently unoccupied.

There was a little resistance from him as he saw this, but with a nuzzle to his chin they carried on to the centre, and the music began anew. It was a piece they both loved, and they lost themselves to the music as they seemed to drift across the floor. Slowly more ponies joined in, those that had finished their meal. After a rather passionate dip, Luna found Alec to have a scowl on his face as they continued. “What's wrong?”

“King dickwad, three o'clock.”

“You mean...” Her question was interrupted as the band was forcibly brought to a halt, a white unicorn stallion with a blonde mane looking at them all disdainfully and full of arrogance.

“We can not believe our eyes! Royalty cavorting with a mere guard, no matter how high he is! We demand to speak with you at once!” The crowd parted as Alec approached the stage, head cocked towards the smug pony. “You are to leave, and never be around Our family again!”

“Prince Blueblood...”

“How dare you speak to us? Very well, we shall give you a chance, what?” Alec let a small smile play across his face as he glanced at Luna, who was cupping her hands in worry as he leant closer to the prince.

“I am... fucking your auntie.” There was a chorus of gasps at the coarse comment, but it soon changed to laughter as a beige pegasi fist met with a white unicorn muzzle, the prince pirouetting in place before falling from the stage, being caught by some of the security staff. Alec calmly made his way back to Luna, smiling down at her and nodding to the band. “Now... where were we?”

All she could do was shake her head as the dance began anew, pressing herself against his chest, and resting her head on his shoulder. “That won’t get you back into Celestia’s good books.”

“Still think I should do the country… no, the world a favour and just shoot him.”

“Which is why you have been temporarily relieved of duty. Until you can control your rage, you are just… my…” Luna leaned up and blew hot breath into his ear, smirking as he stopped moving for a few seconds and followed it up with a whisper. “...buck toy.”








        Meanwhile, in a barn on an apple orchard...



        "Whoa, these things are amazing, they turn everything green!"

"Really? Let's see!"

"Okay, sure." Scootaloo took of the strange goggles and threw them to Sweetie Belle, but the unicorn filly failed to catch them, the trio staring unblinkingly as they dropped from the upper level to the gravel floor below, a shattering sound following soon after. "Sweetie Belle! They looked expensive!"

She gave a little chuckle, holding her hands behind her back with a sheepish smile on her face. "Hehe... oops? What else is in there?”

“A knife... a pretty big one! Ah think this can go in the 'don't touch' pile.” Applebloom carefully set the sharp shiny blade down on the second level floor, amongst other stuff. “Huh, why does it feel like 'e’s got rocks in 'ere?” She pulled out a round green object, with a bit sticking out of the top and a ring hanging off the side. She grasped at the ring with her fingers and pulled it loose, waiting for something to happen.

“Well, that's boring if it doesn't do anything! Throw it out the window and look for something cool!” Applebloom gave a shrug and followed Scootaloo's suggestion. She had just put her hand back into the bag when there was an explosion outside, and they climbed onto the hay bale next to the window and looked out.

There was a new crater on the farm, and part of the barn wall was burnt to a crisp. And then they quickly ducked as they saw the farm filly's older brother sprinting over. “Applebloom, what the bucking hay are y'all doin' in there?”

She had gotten hold of another of those objects, all three of them looking at each other warily, before Scootaloo showed something she never usually did. Level headedness. “I don't think we should... let's just tell Big Mac what we found and let him take it.”







Private Hollis scrunched his eyes up as the first thing to register was a pounding headache. Next came the pain in his stomach and on his nose. He opened them a little when whoever it was finished cleaning him up. With the blurry field of view he could make out the standard white walls and ceiling of a sterilized hospital room. He winced and shut his eyes once more as they roamed across the lights. “Ugh... that's the last time I drink on exercise. What I wouldn't give for an aspirin right now!”

“We don't have anything called... 'aspirin', was it? Perhaps if you tell me it's effects, I can see if we have something similar.” What the... what kind of hospital doesn't have aspirin?” Slowly opening his eyes once more, he let his gaze focus on the figure stood next to the bed, which revealed itself to be another one of the creatures, dressed like a nurse.

Hollis tried to get out of the bed, but found his shackles had been chained to the railing on either side of the bed, resulting in the metal links clanging together. This made the door burst open, four of the guards entering and aiming their weapons at the bed. Hollis stopped his struggling when he saw them, the nurse turning around with a scowl on her face. “Did I give you permission to enter? Get back outside, now!”

“But... he could hurt you, he's dangerous!”

“And so would I be, if I woke up chained to a bed after being savagely beaten! Now get out, or I shall tell Celestia that you are aggravating my patient!” Thoroughly cowed, the stallions backed away and closed the door behind them, leaving the mare to massage her temples with a sigh, before turning back to the bed. “You have my apologies about that, they are... overzealous. There is a temporary position that they are all vying for. So then, what about you?”

“Hollis, D, Private…”

“... First Class, 3040696. Yes I know, I read your very small file. I also don't care, you are my patient, not my prisoner. If it were up to me, those shackles would not be there, but I was not allowed to treat you without them. I understand that this must be very strange for you, as much as it is for us.”

He said nothing, just lying back and looking once more at the white tiles overhead. His eyes shifted as he heard the nurse come closer, stopping next the bed and looking at him with a soft smile. “I'm going to give you a mild sedative for the pain. You need to rest. If you wake and need anything, just pull this cord.”

He felt said cord draped over his hand, and then felt a needle pierce the skin on his upper arm. But the only thing he could focus on was the mare's hand, which was softly stroking his own, her caring gaze having never left his face.







        After their impromptu evening picnic in a small garden overlooking the fields below the mountain, Gray and Celestia walked arm in arm through the mostly deserted Canterlot streets. Of course, with two of the guards following. They had come across a few ponies, whose reactions were to panic and then relax as they saw the whole contingent. And now here they were, stood outside a simple building, where music was coming from.

Upon entering the establishment, Celestia stopped walking when she spotted the centre of the room, where her sister was engaged in dancing. The biggest surprise was the genuine smile on Alec's muzzle as he stared at the mare held in his arms. The other couples surrounding them on the dance floor began applauding as they finished in time with the music with a passionate kiss, before walking back towards their table, tails entwined in one another.

With a tug on his arm, Celestia led him over to the table, smirking as Alec instantly set his face to stone, not one hint of emotion upon his face. “Good evening sister, and how are you?” Luna had been trying to work out what was wrong with her stallion, so the way she seemed to jump in the air a little was not really surprising. “Come now, it was just a simple question.”

“W-what are you doing here, Tia?”

“We simply decided to take a stroll through the city, and I guess the music drew us in.” Luna finally looked around, seeing Gray standing there and favouring him with a smile. “It seems your... sabbatical is working wonders for you, Alec.”

“It's fine.”

“So that kiss...”

“I was in a good mood, then I got interrupted, Princess.” Much to his and Luna's consternation, Celestia sat on the seat next to her sister, motioning Gray to take the one opposite her. A waiter came over and they ordered some drinks, a bottle of red, white, and rose wine each being supplied. “So... what have you been doing?”

“We had a picnic in one of the gardens overlooking the lowlands, and a relaxing walk. And so much for no public display of affections, huh?”

“Fuck you... ow!” Celestia started to giggle as Alec whipped his head round to glare at Gray, who had struck the stallion on the back of his head. “What the hell do you think you're playing at?”

“Dude, they're royalty, have some damn respect.” Both Luna and Celestia burst out with laughter at the statement, coming from one that was not even of their world. The sound of music drifted through the air once more, and Alec leaned across to have a whispered conversation with Luna, the pair nodding before pulling away. “I don't like the look of your smiles...”

“Good, because we've got a good idea. Get your ass up and onto the dance floor.”

“No way, I don't dance!”

“Neither do I, but it's up to you to prove to me, Luna, and the whole establishment that Celestia's a better dancer than her sister. Are you up to it?” Gray looked around at the other ponies staring over with interest, the orchestra looking really excited. With a shake of his head, he stood and offered the Solar Princess his hand, which she took with rosen hued cheeks.







         “What a night, huh?” Gray turned his head away from the roaring fire and over to the pegasus stallion rummaging around behind a bar. “Gotta say, Celestia seemed really happy. Good job you've got some muscles there!”

“Please don't remind me!” Gray replied, covering his face with a hand. It turns out that Celestia wasn't a very good drinker when it came to wine, and it made her very sleepy. After a good two hours of dancing, Alec and Luna had cinched the deal when they added their wings into the mix, taking their routine into the air above the dance floor.

Gray had been left at the end of the night to carry the dozing Celestia back outside where her carriage was waiting for them. The only problem? The only way he could pick her up made it look like something out of a old romance film, one arm supporting her back and the other under her knees. To make matters worse, she had decided in her hazy state to wrap her arms around his neck and snuggle against his chest.

He certainly couldn't complain, it was just... different. He also had to sit with her on his lap the whole way back due to the fact she refused to let go. If not for the giggling Fair Heart assisting with the hardest part of the night, he was sure he would've been used as a breathing teddy bear that night. “Oh come on, I saw you trying to catch a peek.”

Gray could feel the heat starting to form in his cheeks, so downed the last of the whiskey in his glass, which Alec was currently looking for another bottle of. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“Celestia, after Fair Heart had pried you from her grip. There's no way that mare would allow her to go to sleep in that dress, and you saw it being undone.”

“I... I..”

“Hey, I'm just messing with you, nothing serious. Well, looks like we're out of whiskey. Now we've got two choices: move onto something else, or go look for some...”

"Nah, something else is fine. Hey, can I ask you something?"

"You just did. But seriously, what's up?"

"Well, after tonight... I thought you'd be with Luna. So why are you staying here?"

"Oh... that. Yeah, I'm pretty sure you've noticed some similarities between us and the equines of Earth, right?"

"It's kinda obvious. Strange you've got wings and horns though." Alec stood up with a laugh, another bottle of alcohol in his hand.

"Yeah, did a number on me when I flew for the first time. But there's more going on then just physical appearance. Right now... Luna is in heat."

"Heat, as in..."

"Yeah, and after the first heat with... Sonata, I couldn't walk straight for a week."

"Sonata, who's tha... oh."

"Yeah. That's how we got Dawn. Sonata conceived in this room." The pegasus smirked at Gray's raised eyebrows, shrugging with his wings. "She's... was a maid here at the castle during my guard training. The mares can get... a magical jewel, which removes the effect of their heat, but Sonata's broke. She grabbed me on one of my patrols and dragged me in here."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." Alec sat down on the couch with a heavy sigh, pouring the brown liquid into Gray's glass, but kept the bottle in his grip and took a swig out of it.

"It's fine, the shrinks and Luna think I need to... 'talk' it out with somepony, even if I don't want to."

"What was she like?"

"Sonata? Amazing, her smile was infectious and her laughter always cheered others up. Besides Pinkie Pie, I don't think you couldn't ever meet a happier mare. And then that bitch Chrysalis..."

“SIR, come quick!” There was a unicorn guard in the doorway, breathing heavily. “You are not going to believe this!”







        The first thing to register was the fact that the headache was almost completely gone, and the swelling on his nose had gone down. With a small movement of his left wrist, Hollis found that he was still restrained. And then came the sound of a mechanical lock being undone, followed by another. He opened his eyes to see the nurse next to the bed with a set of keys in her hand.

Pushing himself up, Hollis leant back against the pillows and let his gaze roam around the room. It was standard hospital décor, white walls, ceiling, cupboards and countertops. His vision fell upon a tray of silver instruments, one in particular standing out. Before he knew it, his hand was almost ready to pick up the scalpel, but the soft, furry pink hand resting upon his made him stop, turning back to the nurse. “Please... don't. I... don't want to see you hurt again.”

Reluctantly, he pulled his hand away, but the mare kept hers resting on his. It was the first kindness he had really been shown, and something about this mare was just... trustworthy. “What... do you people want from me?”

“Ah, so he can say other things? Easy now, I jest.” Hollis stopped his fidgeting, returning his gaze to the one that still had his hand in hers. “Why don't you tell me what happened, and we can try to get you home?”

“I... don't know. I was on a training exercise when a storm hit. The last thing I remember is lightning striking the ground near me, and I end up near a farm in the evening. It made sense to get some rest and work out where I was the next day.”

“A lightning storm? Interesting, that's how the other one got here.” Neither one of them noticed the flash outside, and they were still until the door burst open. Then there was a blur of motion as his hands worked in unison, one grabbing the mare and spinning her round, holding her close. The other went for the scalpel, which was placed under the mare's throat as Hollis stared at the one who had now attacked him twice.

“How the buck did he get free?”
> Chapter 08
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


A/N: I know the tag ins't there, but the end of this chapter goes a little into dark territory,
with what Gray finds and what he does about it.






        “Let her go, Private.” The two humans stayed still, the four ponies mirroring them. With a wave of his hand, the three guards backed away and closed the door, leaving Alec and Gray in the hospital room. The pegasus stepped forward, but Hollis just moved the scalpel closer to the mare's throat, making the stallion stop in his tracks. “Okay... how about putting that down for a start? You won't be harmed, I promise.”

“Like that means anything coming from you.” To Gray's immense surprise, Alec let loose a small chuckle, which turned into a full blown laugh. “I'm not joking. You're going to escort us to somewhere I can make contact with my country, and you're going to help me get back.”

“You want me to get you somewhere so you can contact the US, and then send you home?”

“I don't know how you know where I'm from, or why he isn't helping me,” Gray noted the glare being thrown in his direction, and leant back against the wall with his arms crossed. “But yeah, that's what you are going to do.”

“Fuck this, I'm going to bed.”

“Good, that's what I... wait, what?”

“I said 'I am going to bed'. Right now, I've had a bit to drink, my mare is spending the night alone, and I am not happy about that. You want to stand there all night? Go right ahead, I don't give a shit. Gray, you coming?”

“'Uh... yeah, sure. My room is on the way.” With that the pair walked out and shut the door behind them, where they had a muffled conversation with the guards. Hollis couldn't move. Not because he was worried, but confused as to what the hay just happened, not noticing that his hand with the scalpel had dropped.

“Okay, I'll just take that.” At least, not until the nurse took it from him and set it on the side. Taking his other hand from around her chest, she guided him over to the window, opening it up so he could get some fresh air. “Unless you're going to grow wings or a horn soon, the only way out is through that door.” Looking over the city and then below them, he saw that they were a couple of hundred feet above a castle courtyard, and he pulled away form the gap. “Now, get back in bed, you need your rest.”

Grateful that the she didn't hold his recent actions against him, Hollis climbed back into the bunk with a satisfied sigh. He may have had a tough training process, but it had been a long time since he had received a beating like that. The scent of something cooking drifted through the window, causing his stomach to rumble quite loudly. “When was the last time you ate?”

“Uh... how long have I been here?”

“A little over two days, as I understand it.”

“Then a little over two days it is.” The nurse got up with a smile, taking hold of his hand and squeezing gently.

“You just rest, I'll go get you something.”







Gray was in that muzzy state between drunk and tired. The annoying thing was he didn't feel the effects of either, but his judgement was impaired, which was why he decided to leave his room. Nonchalantly waving to the Lunar Guardspony, who regarded him with confusion, Gray didn't even know where he was going but he kept walking anyway.

Pushing through a large set of double doors, he entered the large room and walked up the dais, taking a seat on one of the thrones. It was strange that there were no guards following him, but his brain over wrote that thought as he spotted one of the wall rugs was hanging limp, a candle lit hallway behind it.

With a shrug he stood up and began to walk down the corridor, slowing as a voice drifted through the open door. “...oh you naughty mare. You are most definitely getting a spanking next time we're alone... You're doing this on purpose, aren't you, trying to distract me from... her?”

Gray wandered through the door, seeing Alec sat on the bench and looking through a telescope, which was pointed at the tower he was shown earlier. The pegasus stood with a sigh, walking over to a table where there were three glasses filled with an amber liquid. “Guess it's that time of year again, huh Sonata? Sometimes I wonder what things would be like if you were still... here. Anyway, it's time.”

The sound of another glass being placed by the others caused him to look round, finding Gray standing there, a weak smile on his face. Alec wordlessly poured a measure of the amber spirit into it, then looked at a clock standing over the fireplace. Letting his gaze drift around the room, Gray's eyes settled on an old, faded calendar. After a closer look, he realised what was happening.

The clocking began to chime midnight, and he joined the pegasus on the balcony. Once the chiming finished, they both raised their glasses and looked out over the city, Gray taking the lead. “Happy Birthday, Sonata.”

“Happy Birthday, my love.” With that they took their drinks, and Gray was about to leave the stallion in peace, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. “Could you... do me a favour?”

“Sure.” Picking up the other glasses, Alec handed one to Gray and pushed his out over the waterfall. “What are you doing?”

“A drink for Sonata, and a drink for Dawn, that's why one is a smaller measure.” He understood then, and wordlessly extended his arm as well. They both tipped the glasses at the same time, the liquid flowing out and mixing with the cascading water. “Thanks Gray... it was... nice to share this with someone, even if you didn't know her.”

“Any time for someone I'd like to call a... friend.” That caused an awkward moment between the males, before Gray changed the subject and walked over to the telescope. “So, what were you looking at?”

“Huh? No, wait, don't...” it was too late, Gray had put his eye to the eyepiece, letting the picture come into focus. There was light, which unblurred to show a window, just as Luna walked over and stopped, looking in his direction... in her underwear. And then her arms began to move from their crossed chest position, one going behind her head whilst the other slowly travelled lower...

…Gray jumped back with heat in his cheeks, worried about what was going to happen, but relaxing when he heard a chuckle. “Don't worry, she thinks it's me. Now, I've got my serious stuff sorted out, how about some fun?”

“What did you have in mind?”

“A bowl of water and Celestia's hand.”

“Let's do it!” The two snickering males left the room, Alec resetting the wall rug once they reached the throne room. He guided Gray into the kitchen where he selected a bowl, and then slipped on some gloves and picked up a bunch of blue flowers. “What's with the plants?”

“Thought we might pay a visit to Blueblood as well. This is something called Poison Joke...”







        The two guards in the corridor outside Celestia's chambers tensed as they heard footsteps come from around the corner, but relaxed when they saw who it was. There was a second pony behind them, a mare with the most luscious flowing mane, reaching right down to her supple... “Stop staring at me, I'm a bucking stallion!”

Upon looking at her face, they noted some similarities to Prince Blueblood, and saw the blue flowers sticking out of Alec's pocket. They all shuddered as the temporary mare strode past and towards his bedchambers. “Uh, what are you doing?”

Celestia's door had been opened, and Alec just smirked at the guards, closing the doors on them. Inside the room was a sound that the pair had a hard time not laughing at. Celestia was snoring. And not the dainty type of snoring you'd expect, but the kind when a stallion comes back after a heavy night of drinking. “Well, I'm in enough trouble as it is. You can do this one.”

“Wait, what?” Gray was passed the bowl of water before he could protest, Alec backing away to the door. Very carefully, he sat on the edge of the bed and placed the bowl next to Celestia. He was just about to grab her hand when she rolled over, knocking the bowl to the floor. The sound of the impact upon the stone floor caused her to crack open an eye, which stared at Gray. “Uh... hi?”

Her arms shot up, causing him to fear for his life, but he grew even more scared as she pulled him into a lying position, snuggling up against his side. The sound of snickering came from the door, where Alec had produced a camera. There were three or four flashes, and then the door was opened. “Dude... don't leave me here... please?”

“Er... no. Have a good sleep, Gray... you're going to need it when she wakes up...” The door clicked shut, bringing total darkness to the room. The long day finally caught up, and he stretched as he yawned. Slipping out of Celestia's grip, he stood next to the bed and removed his shoes, socks, jacket and shirt. He was about to remove his trousers, but remembered it wasn't his bed.

Upon returning to the bed, he found Celestia had lifted the covers, awaiting him. With a shrug of his shoulders, he climbed in and lay on his back, letting her get comfortable in the crook of his shoulder. She rolled over onto her front, straddling one of his legs. Meaning to bring an arm around her back, he instead placed it on her flank. He tried to work out how he had miscalculated so badly, but his brain was dominated by one single thought. There was no fabric, and he was in bed with Celestia... naked.







        The slamming open of the door caused Celestia and Gray to jump awake, looking over to see Luna stride in, her face furious. “WHERE IS HE?” Turns out furious was an understatement, she was pissed. “TELL ME NOW, WHERE HAVE YOU SENT HIM?”

“Luna... be calm. Who is missing?”

“Don't act like you don't know!” A scroll was thrown onto the bed, Celestia quickly reading it, then setting it aside and floating a robe over to the bed, climbing out to the side.

“Excuse me, Gray, I have something to discuss. I will return shortly. Luna... let's go into the hall.” After the mares left, he picked up the parchment, eyes going wide at what he saw.


Luna,



Had to go away for a while.


Don't know when... or if I'll be back.


There are some things I need to take


care of, for some closure.



See you around... or not.



Well, that explained why she was so pissed. Getting out of bed, Gray quickly dressed and picked up the parchment, then walked to the door, where he caught the tail end of their conversation. “...so you didn't tell him to leave?”

“No Luna. In fact, he escorted Gray here last night. They were both giggling up a storm for some reason.” He pushed the door open all the way, causing the mares to cease their talk and look round. “Is there something we can do for you?”

“Uh... I think so. Where did he live with Sonata and Dawn?” The shock was clear on the princesses faces, the guards, and on Fair Heart when she walked around the corner as he said those names. “He... told me last night.” With a wave of nod of her head, Celestia silently bid Luna goodbye, and the Lunar diarch left the corridor. Gray was then ushered back into the bedroom, Celestia slamming the door shut and covering it with magic. “Did I say something wrong?”

“It is a soundproofing spell, nothing more. What did he tell you?”

“Pretty much everything.”

“So you know today is...”

“Yeah... we shared a drink for her before coming here last night. I think that's where he's gone.”

“They lived in Cloudsdale, a pegasus town in the Ponyville district.” Gray remembered his conversations with Celestia the day before and recalled the other mares he had met lived in Ponyville, with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash coming from Cloudsdale. “I will send a friend of his down there, see if he is about.”

“Um... Sonata and Dawn, I know what happened to them... but did you find... their bodies?”

“I am afraid not, and Chrysalis will not divulge that information.” The door swung open and Luna came back in, a large case in her hand. Celestia recognised it, but she didn't want to believe it. “Luna, what is that?”

“It should be Alec's spellgun.”

“Should be?” She opened the case to find it empty, the spare magical cores being taken as well. The only thing in it was a note stating it would be returning soon. “I do not like this. Gray, you seemed to have befriended him. I have a favour to ask of you.”

“Uh... sure.”

“Excellent. I shall arrange an escort for you. It would usually be a cheerful visit, but I fear it will not be.”

“What would?”

“Going to Ponyville properly for the first time.”







           PFC Hollis sat on one of the chairs in the centre of the room. He waited patiently whilst his shackles were removed, the guards lining the walls aiming their weapons at him. Once his escorts had backed far enough away, the others lowered their guns but kept their fingers on the triggers, the one's who had horns had them glowing. The door opened and the purple one from before entered, followed by the nurse.

They sat down on the chairs opposite him, the purple one opening a file up, then looked at him. “Hello again, Private. I don't know if you remember, but my name is Twilight Sparkle. Now, I think we got off on the wrong foot last time, and what Alec did... anyway, enough about that. What do you want?”

He had to blink at her a few times, as this was the first time they had actually asked. “I... would just like to go home. I don't know what kind of drugs I took for this, but I don't want it any more.”

“Oh, no drugs, you really are on another world.”

“Well... shit. Err... how are those... three?”

“Ah, that. It seems they found some of your gear in the barn at Sweet Apple Acres. That's the farm by the way. Do you recognise one of these?” She produced a small green spherical object, one that he easily recognised.

“Did anyone get hurt?”

“Only if you count the barn wall. I have been researching how to send you home, and think I have a way to do it. It'll take me a couple of days to finalise my calculations, and in the meantime you have been placed into the care of Nurse Openheart. You can move around the castle freely with her, but will have two guards as escorts at all times. This is not negotiable. Do you accept these terms?”

“Yes ma'am.” Twilight then smiled at him, passing the folder to the other mare and standing, heading towards the door. She stopped with her hand on the frame and turned back to the centre of the room.

“Oh, and one more thing. Welcome to Equestria, Private.” Some of the guards filed out behind her, and Hollis noticed that they had a purple star emblazoned on the shoulder parts of their armour, leaving him with two others, one with a sun and one with a crescent moon, and the mare.

“Well then Mr Hollis, shall we start the tour of Canterlot Castle?”

“That sounds... nice. And please just call me Dean.”

“Dean... that's a nice name. You may call me Joy.” The pair smiled at each other whilst the guards just rolled their eyes. What had they done to get dicked for babysitting duty they didn't know, but they certainly weren't going to do it again!







         Ponyville was a nice, quiet town. Well, discounting the almost annual disasters that occurred there it was quiet. So when something they had never seen before, they reacted in the traditional Ponyville way. There were two of them. If somepony level headed saw a new comer first, they would approach and greet them. If, however, one of three certain over reactive mares saw them, it resulted in mass panic.

Gray face palmed as a crème coloured on with a maroon shaded mane saw him first. “A MONSTER!! EVERYPONY RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!” The two guards behind him snickered, having seen this reaction multiple times. Within thirty seconds the streets were emptied, and a blue blur shot down, her back to the trio.

“Where's this monster? I'll buck it good!” She looked around, and waved to the group. “Hey Gray, you seen a monster around her... oh, this is good! They think you are a monster!” She dropped the the ground, rolling around with rib busting laughter.

“Laugh it up, Skittles.” This caused the guards to burst out with laughter as the pegasus mare got up and glared at the human, who just shrugged her off. “Anyway, I need to find Alec. You seen him around?”

“Uh... yeah. I don't think you should go there right now...”

“Why?”

“Drunk stallion with a spell gun on what would have been his deceased wife's twenty fifth birthday. Sure you wanna go see him?”

“I've got to, it's a favour for Celestia.”

“Heh, wonder what favour she'll do for you in return. Anyways, you're looking for a small two storey cabin near Whitetail Woods, over that way. Just don't uh... use the front door. He's probably booby trapped it again.”

“Again?”

“To keep Pinkie Pie out. Every door, every window, even the chimney. So one day she just put down a chair and waited for them to come out. She overwhelmed Son... somepony that he cared for.”

“It's okay Ms Dash, he has told me.” Gray noted the way her cheeks turned slightly red when he called her Ms Dash, and she flew away grumbling something. A door to the group's side cracked open slightly, one of the younger ponies stepping out. She looked around and then slowly made her way over, tugging on Gray's sleeve, and he looked down with a smile. “Hello there, how can I help you?”

“Are you really a monster?”

“No, I'm what's known as a human, and as far as I am aware, there are only two of us on your world.”

“Oh, you must be very lonely. Would you like to come in for a muffin? My mommy makes them."

“Dinky!” A pegasus mare shot out and scooped the filly into her arms, baking away from Gray. “Please... forgive her, she didn't do anything wrong! Punish me if you are going to punish anypony!”

“Punish? I'm not going to do anything of the sort. I'm actually here on business for Celestia.” The mare's eyes seemed to drift apart, only one remaining focused on him. “I don't suppose you have seen Alec recently?”

“Oh... I made him some muffins! He loves blueberry ones! Can you deliver them to him for me?” Not giving him a chance to answer, the mare shot back into the house and returned with two large bags, which she passed over. “Is that okay? You're on your way over, and I promised my muffin that we'd go out for the day.”

“Yeah sure, I can take them. See you around...?”

“I'm Derpy, Derpy Hooves, and this is Dinky.”

“I'm Gray.” The trio smiled to each other and separated, the other ponies having come back out of hiding and watching with interest. Gray and the guards turned to the direction Dash had indicated, and after about twenty minutes came across their destination. “Okay... how do we get in?”

The repetitive sound of a stallion snoring drew them around the back, where they found their quarry sleeping in a chair on the rear decking, facing away from them and out onto the open fields beyond. The two guards backed away whilst Gray shook Alec, trying to get him to wake up. The empty bottle of spirits on the wooden floor panel proved it would take a while.

Giving up, he looked at the stack of papers on the table, and gave them a look over. There was a map of known changeling hives, three of which had crosses through them. Gray correctly surmised that they had been destroyed. There was a single sheet of paper on it's own, and he picked it up, eyes going wide and turning to hide it from the guards, all because of it's title.


Changeling hives: Still no sign of any bodies.


My hunt continues.


Gray realised what the note meant when it said 'take care of some things'. Looking back to the map, he noted that one was quite close, near a town called Appleloosa. They were set out in a grid like fashion, equal distance apart from the next one. If they hadn't found any bodies at any of the hives, it stood to reason that they placed them somewhere else. Eight hives, in three rows. The only place equidistant from all three was... right in the middle.

Another paper was in the pegasus' lap, and Gray leant over and saw Alec had come to the same conclusion. He glanced around and saw his escorts had left him alone. He took one look at the spell gun and spare cores, then made his mind up.







        Alec stood munching on his muffins, the two Solar Guards almost wetting themselves as he stared at them. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were bouncing around him happily, as the stallion had informed them about the device they found, and explained the other similar objects they discovered. He also may not have given them suggestions to use them against Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, but the jury was still out on that. “So... you were supposed to be watching the human... and now he's gone?”

“Uh... yes sir.”

“With my gun.”

“That is correct, sir.”

“Dude, Celestia is not going to like this. So we just have to hope he comes back.” They had been waiting almost all afternoon after searching Ponyville in the morning, until Pinkie mentioned he left on the train somewhere without even visiting her. So when a whistle sounded from the tracks, all three jumped up and ran towards the station. They got there just as Gray stepped off, and Alec marched right up to him. “Where have you been?”

“Doing you a favour.” He motioned the trio to follow, leading them to the baggage compartment. Gray picked up the spell gun first, passing it to the guards, as well as two empty magic cores. It was then they noticed the splatters of green blood on the bottom of his grey slacks. He ignored their raised eyebrows and turned back inside, emerging with a small wrapped package. One of the station attendants appeared with a large package, both of them approaching the pegasus stallion, who went to open the smaller one first. 

“Before you do that... there is something you should know. There is a mass grave exactly where you thought it was, must have been a good two hundred skeletons there. I couldn't identify any of them... except two. They were... preserved in some way... and strung up, as a warning of some sort.”

Alec unwrapped the highest part of the package, keeping his eyes locked with Gray's. He then looked down, lip starting to quiver as he stared at the face of his five year old daughter. He wrapped the package up, and then took the other one from the attendant, remaining silent. Gray and the guards followed as he walked away, and two hours later found themselves on a plateau in the mountains, overlooking Ponyville from high up.

It was here that anypony could see evidence of the two freshly dug graves, flowers placed upon them. Gray approached Alec as he stood looking out to the sky and towards a large cluster of clouds. He placed a hand on the pegasus stallion's shoulder, who responded with a sigh. “This place has many memories with Sonata. It was where we went for our first date. Heh heh, I was fumbling around so much, and all she did was giggle at me, flustering me even more.”

“It's a nice place.”

“Yeah... it's also where I proposed after that day... and night. Of course, she accepted. I guess it's appropriate that my relationship with her finally ends here. And Dawn can rest with her mother.”

“I'm sure they'll be happy, being here together. I'm also sure Celestia can arrange some sort of memorial to be placed here.”

“Got them already, on the off chance I found them. They're stashed in our... my house. But I gotta ask... did you attack the changelings?”

“Well, they didn't want me to take their... trophies. Nice gun by the way. And I think I've started an interplanetary war with them now.”

“Heh, I'm pretty sure that if more humans got here, or they made it to Earth, it would be a one sided fight. You'd just nuke them.” The four males chuckled at that, the guard with two spellguns passing the custom one back to the pegasus.

“Yeah, we probably would. They'd starve anyway, there seems to be more hate on our world than love when I last took a look at everything going on. Anyways, we'd best get you back to Canterlot, although we may have to do it covertly.”

“Why's that?”

“Luna was pissed about your note.”

“Well... buck.” The two guards burst out with laughing, but soon shut up as Alec glared at them. “Fine, let's go. Oh, and you'd best say hello to Pinkie Pie before we leave, it's creepy when you ignore her.”
> Chapter 09
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        'SLAP' The crack echoed throughout the throne room as Luna turned and strode out, leaving the pegasus to rub his reddening cheek. They had only just gotten back, and she didn't even wait for an explanation, the guards lining the walls snickering to themselves. Gray approached Alec and put a hand on his shoulder. “When the lady is angry, it's the guy's duty to go and submit to her. Think you need to chase her down, dude.”

“Yeah... you're right for the most part... but unless I want to spend the next five years on the moon, I need to let her have some time to cool off. Anyway, I need to put this back in the armoury, so see you in a bit.” He started to walked away, but stopped and looked over his shoulder again. “Oh, and Gray? Thanks again.” With that he left the room, glaring at the two guards who had 'escorted' Gray to Ponyville.

“Now that is dealt with...” Gray turned back to see Celestia waving him over, gesturing to a chair next to her throne. He walked up the dais and took a seat, smiling over to the mare. “...what exactly happened out there? I haven't seem him smile like that since... well, you know.”

“I... found them for him, and brought them back to Ponyville.”

“Really? Thank you very much, you have done him a great service.”

“Yeah... for him maybe, but not for your country.”

“What do you mean? Gray?” The way he was looking around the room told her it needed to be a private conversation, and with a nod of her head the guards slipped out, her horn glowing to seal the room. “There, we are alone. Now, what is wrong?”

“The... changelings... they didn't want to give up their trophies. I was left with two choices, turn around and head back... or go in and get them.”

“But how did you survive?”

“I had Alec's gun.”

“What? You mean you killed them?” All she got was a nod, Gray refusing to meet her gaze. She quickly wrote something down, rolled up the scroll and sent it away via magic. “Then there is only one thing for it.”

“I'm sorry. I place myself in your custody.”

“My custody? Gray, you misunderstand me.” The door swung open and five figures entered. Four were in the armour of the elite Solar Honour Guard, and the fifth was the changeling mare, Chrysalis, who Celestia was glaring at. They stopped at the bottom of the throne, and the chitin covered mare crossed her arms over her chest. “Chrysalis... I have more than once asked you for the location of where you stashed your victims, and each time you refused.”

“I fail to see why you brought me here for this again. I will never tell you!”

“I see. Gray, would you like to inform her?” It was then he realised what was happening, and he gave her a curt nod, turning with a smile and walking up the changeling leader.

“Your secret is out. I found the graves... and Sonata and Dawn were returned to where they belong. Your... trophies are no longer there.”

“You took them? But... there were fifty of my best guards there!”

“Not any more.” Her eyes drifted down to where he was pointing, seeing the remnants of dark green changeling blood. “They wouldn't let me take them... so I did what I had to do.”

“You... attacked my family! I WILL DESTROY YOU!!” Her horn sparked, sending Gray tumbling against the steps. She started to advance forward, ignoring the orders being shouted at her from the guards and Celestia, but she was halted by neither of them. A sandy coloured blur had shot in and wrapped his arm around her neck, beginning to twist her head. “What a-a-are you doing? Y-you had your r-r-revenge!” The pegasus stallion was half dressed, his exposed arm rippling with muscle as he started to choke her.

“This is not for Sonata and Dawn. This for the other hundreds of families.” With one final push, Chrysalis' eyes bulged and there was the sound of bone snapping. Alec released her and let the body fall limply to the floor, the neck at an unnatural angle. “Promised I'd be the one to kill you, bitch, and I keep my promises.” The four guards we unsure what to do, elated that one potential threat had been removed, but kept their weapons pointed at the other potential threat in the room.

Alec ignored them and walked to the steps, helping Gray back to his feet. “Guards...” They tensed up, trigger fingers ready to stun the the stallion, but her orders were not what they were expecting. “...remove that filth from my throne room, and then send out word to the guard. I want that grave removed, the bodies identified as best as possible and returned to their respective families.”

Two of the guards passed their guns to the others and picked up the body between them, walking out of the room. Alec suddenly went weak at the knees, and fell to his flank with a thud, Celestia and Gray immediately asking if he was okay, and he just smiled up at them. “Yeah... I think I will be. I... need to... actually, no I won't be. That was my driving force, to push myself until I could confront her. Now what do I do?”

Celestia didn't have an answer for him, and she felt completely unhelpful right then. Sure, she was the one that interviewed him when he applied for the Royal Guard, had been the one to marry him and Sonata, and had recommended him to Luna's collection of choices for a personal bodyguard. She was even the one that gave her sister the little push to randomly kiss him on the cheek one night during a stroll through the gardens. And yet, despite all that, she realised that she hardly knew anything about the broken stallion seated in front of her.

Gray, however, knew what it was like to have a driving force behind your actions. His was to make the world a better place, one way or another. So when he sat down and put his hand on the stallion's shoulder, Celestia backed away, content to let events unfold. “You've got another thing to drive you, Alec. You said you need to give her time... but I don't think that's the case. I know how happy she makes you, so go see her. It'll be fine, I promise.”

“You... yeah, you're right I guess. I think I will go see her. At least I know she'll take this latest development well. Thanks again, Gray.”

“Hey, you just saved my life, it's the least I could do for a friend.” Celestia had to withhold her grin as Alec cracked a rarely seen genuine smile as they both stood up, Gray's hand still upon Alec's shoulder.

“Yeah, well... you just saved my soul, friend.” With a nod, he turned and began to walk out, stopping to glance at the Solar Princess. “Celestia... I am going off duty. I'll be with Luna if you need me.”

“Alec, two things. Firstly, you are off duty anyway at the moment. Secondly, how many times do I have to tell you you can just call me Tia? You call my sister Lu.”

“That's what a friend would call you, and you're my employer. Yeah, I'm her bodyguard, but you're the one that pays me. It's never good to mix personal lives with professional lives.”

“Oh really? And that telescope just happens to look at her tower for what reason, exactly?” Alec gave her a smirk, and raised an eyebrow at her.

“Like I said, you pay me to be her bodyguard... the rest? Perks of the job.” He then carried on walking, closing the door quietly and leaving the pair alone once more. Celestia gave a small to chuckle which complemented Gray's growing amusement, but that soon changed to confusion as she pulled him close and hugged him.

“Thank you, Gray. You have done a truly wonderful thing today, bringing peace to a heart that was tearing itself apart.” He slowly brought his arms up and returned the embrace. He could feel her wings under his hand, and for some unknown reason, he began to stroke them. Celestia let out a surprised gasp as her wings shot out, and she looked up into Gray's eyes, her cheeks now covered with a rosen hue. “At least buy me dinner first, Mr Heartbelle.”

He was completely confused by what she meant, and even further surprised as her hand came up and pulled his head down, Celestia suddenly kissing him. He got lost in the moment and closed his eyes, holding the mare against him. Neither of them noticed to door open, nor the pegasus sticking his head back in. “Oh, Celestia, one more thing. Where's Private... oh. Uh, I'll just put the 'do not disturb' sign on the door.”

He was gone before either of the pair with glowing red cheeks could say anything, still wrapped in each others arms, Celestia's wings still spread wide. With a giggle she rested her head on Gray's shoulder, whilst his brain tried to process what the fuck just happened.







        “And this here is Princess Luna's tower. I have scheduled a meeting with her in about ten minutes, so we'd best head on up.” Dean followed Joy as she began to ascend, and then shook his head as he realised he was watching her hips sway as she walked up the stairs, wiggling her hips in that cute little uniform... he shook the thoughts from his head once more and decided to walk next to her instead. Five minutes later they emerged onto a corridor lined with guards, but they were all snickering at something. They approached the door marked with a crescent moon, but Joy stopped with her hand raised to knock as a crash came from the room, followed by a panicked male voice.

“LUNA! THAT CHAIR WAS SENT TO YOU FROM SADDLE ARABIA!”

“I DO NOT CARE, I AM STILL GOING TO BEAT YOU WITH IT!” The sound of more crashing and pained yelps came through, as well as more shouting. “A MEASLY NOTE! AND ONE WITH LITTLE INFORMATION! YOU EVEN SAID YOU MAY NOT RETURN! NOW STOP RUNNING!” The door rattled a little, but then burst open as Luna had jumped at Alec, pushing them through and onto the floor, Luna sat upon the stallion. “DO THAT TO ME AGAIN AND I'LL MPPHHH!” She had been cut of by Alec pulling her into a deep kiss, one that he only did in private.

It served his purpose, calming the mare down. He helped her stand up, and when she opened her eyes, she wished she hadn't. Her cheeks were red and her wings spread, all in full view of her guards, Nurse Openheart, and Private Hollis. She turned to the pegasus stallion that had let go, and saw him standing near an open window. Her horn sparked but he was quicker, jumping out and flying away. “That stallion is so dead when he comes back.” Turning back she glared at the guards, then glanced at the other two. “Let's just get this over with.”

Upon following her into the room, Dean thought he had walked onto a battlefield. There was a couch with it's top wooden beam broken, a shattered mirror, a table whose legs had given out underneath it, and Luna was righting a chair near the door. She glanced around the room, looking for a place for them to sit, but gave a shrug and pulled some cushions from the couch, sitting on the rug in the middle of the room and motioning for the pair to join her.

Doing as asked, Dean sat opposite her with Joy to the side. He looked from the princess to the nurse, who encouraged him to open with a nod. He took a deep breath and turned back to the one watching him intently. “Er... hel...”

“'tis customary to allow the host to open pleasantries, is it not?”

“Er... sorry. Won't happen again.”

“Doth thou know not how to converse with royalty?”

“Not really, no.”

“Then whom holds power in thine country?”

“Elected officials, who represent each state.”

“Oh, We... oh buck it. Interesting, but that can hold off for now. Tell me about yourself, Private Hollis.”

“Well, what do you want to know?” A flash of her horn, and Luna had a stack of papers in one hand and a quill in the other. She smiled at Joy and then over to Dean, placing a pair of glasses over her eyes.

“Everything.”







        He looked out from under the hood of his cloak, ensuring that no-one was following. Upon turning around, the unicorn stallion's lantern revealed a pair of soulless eyes in his path. The changeling drone blew the candle out, plunging the pair into darkness. The unicorn's horn glowed green, and with a burst of flame changed to almost exactly the same as the other, with the exception of a missing eye. “You've finally arrived, sir. We can begin now.”

“Lead the way.” They stepped from the path and into a cave, which opened out to a large cavern, the walls covered by a slick black substance. They walked over to a large circular table, where more changelings were waiting. They each took a seat, the largest one that resembled a throne remaining empty. One of the others stood and was about to speak, but the latest edition cut him off. “Shouldn't we wait for mother?”

“Prince Metamorphosis... your mother, our queen... she is dead.”

“WHAT? WHY AM I ONLY HEARING ABOUT THIS NOW?”

“You had already left before we could send word out. You are her oldest child, so her crown falls to you now, King Metamorphosis.” He got up from his chair and approached the one to his left, hesitant to use it. “There is no mistake, our source in the castle confirmed that Chrysalis is no more.” Sitting down, the newly crowned changeling looked around at his subjects, and bid them sit with a wave of his arm.

“Who is this source?” One of the changelings stood, pulling out a folder from his cloak. Metamorphosis let his horn glow green, and pulled the file open. He examined the photo and description of the pony. “Are you sure we can use her?” The changeling who had produced the document was bathed in green flame, turning into a pegasus mare.

“Yes, she'll be very useful. Trust me, Fair Heart and I have got a lot in common. And her tongue does nice things.”

“What about him?”

“Temporarily suspended. He's still around the castle though, and seems to be getting in trouble with Luna a lot.”

“Have this Fair Heart suggest that she takes him away for a few days, we need him to be distracted. Then it is just Sparkle we need to ensure will not stop us.”

“Stop us do what, sire?”

“They took our ruler away from us... so we shall take theirs. Soldier!” The mare stood straighter and looked Metamorphosis in the eye. “When will she be most distracted?”

“In two days, sire. They are going to try send those two things back to their world, and that will be the perfect time to start.”

“If I may, sire, I think we have a way into the castle.” Metamorphosis raised his eyebrows at the one who had declared him the new king, and nodded to him. With a flash of his horn, some of the cocoons in the ceiling drifted down. The changeling popped the top off of one of them, and reached inside. “We use these.”

He pulled up the head of a Royal Guard, who coughed and spluttered as the liquids left his system. He looked around at his captors and began to struggle. “You'll never get away with this! When Celestia finds you, you'll....” The guard was pushed back into the fluids and the lid was replaced.

“I see. Have those that have come copy them. We will march into Canterlot Castle and take it from within. You have two days to prepare.” The gathered changelings bowed, then backed away to issue their subordinates with orders. Metamorphosis leaned back in his seat and looked up to the cocoons above him. “With the Equestrian royalty out of the way, we can gather their forces and march upon the Crystal Empire. Mother's plan will still happen, and we will have revenge upon that bucking couple.”







        “...that's pretty impressive. And all in the past three years?”

“Yes. If I hadn't sent Twilight to Ponyville, who knows what Equestria would be like?” Gray held the door open for Celestia, letting the mare walk through first, he followed and found himself on a balcony at the top of the highest tower of the castle. “And now she is devoting all of her waking time trying to find a way to get you home. Look, there she goes, back to the castle library.”

Gray looked over the edge of the railing, and could just make out a small object moving through the gardens. He couldn't tell if it was Twilight, so he just assumed Celestia knew who was in her castle. Turning back around, he saw a table set for two, the mare already waiting. As soon as he sat down, a servant appeared and served them dinner, the smell of which caused Gray's stomach to rumble. “Is that...”

“Yes, meat. Alec has told Luna about your species, and took extra care to mention this. We keep a small amount of Lagomorpha around for when the griffons visit.” Gray stopped with the fork just outside his mouth, his eyes wide as he stared at her. “Is something the matter?”

“Uh... two things. Are you really okay with me eating meat? And what the hell is a lago-whatsit?”

“Yes, I am fine with you having such sustenance. And it's common name is rabbit. Do you not have them on your worl..” He wasn't listening anymore, and was instead gorging himself on the platter set out for him. With a small grin, Celestia picked up her fork and began to eat her salad, chewing slowly in stark contrast to Gray, who was eating like it was his last meal.

By the time he had finished, Celestia was halfway through her food, so he set down his cutlery and sat back against his chair. There was a hint of amusement in her eyes as she watched him look out over the city's rooftops. Upon her last mouthful, she nodded to the side and the servant returned, clearing this dishes and replacing them with two glasses and a chilled bottle of wine. “Gray, would you like a drink?”

He drew his eyes back to the table, seeing what was on it and giving the mare a nod. She reached for the bottle, but he beat her to it, pouring a glass for the mare first. She took it with a smile, then turned her head as a clock started to chime. “Now that's weird...” She cocked her head, wondering what he meant.

“Gray?”

“Well... apparently it's nine in the evening here... my watch says it's just after eight. So... weird.”

“Hmm, yes that is stran... wait, nine o'clock? I need to get to work. You are very lucky, being the first visitor from another world to see this.” After taking a sip of wine, she stood from the table and approached the balcony. Gray watched as her wings spread wide and her horn began to glow with the intensity of the sun, almost over the horizon. And then the impossible happened.

The sun began to move, almost as if by Celestia's will. He saw a dimmer glow to the side and turned towards it, seeing Luna's tower, and the glow coming from her balcony. Once the sun had disappeared to the west, the moon appeared quickly in the east, and then stopped. Celestia's horn stopped glowing, and there was a flash from Luna's horn. The moon then began to slowly move of it's own accord. “What... the hell just happened?”

“Simple. I lowered the sun and my sister raised the moon.”

“Okay... again, what the hell just happened?”







        “So let me get this straight... you control the moon, and Celestis controls the sun?”

“It's Celestia, and yes, we have been doing it for years.” Dean had watched something that had to be a scientific impossibility, with this... pony moving a celestial body that should be controlled by gravity. “It is easy to understand. Our world... I really should find out what it is called these days... anyway, it is an anomaly. It sits equal distance from our sun and moon, whose mass is the same. Therefore, we need to use magic to move them, or one side of the world is in permanent days, the other nights. Because of the distance and mass, the gravitational pull does not result in systematic orbit, so we do it ourselves.”

“And you know this is an anomaly because...?”

“Twilight Sparkle, she is an accomplished astronomer. She has studied far worlds and discovered they have moons that orbit them, and they orbit our star as well. But they are too far away to influence us.”

“That's... pretty cool. Anyway... I think I've taken up enough of your time now, and I'm pretty sure you've got things to do...”

“Yes, hunt down that moron of a stallion, but go on.”

“...and I've got to... think about some things. But a quick question. That town... I'd like to go... apologise to that family. Would that be okay?”

“The Apples? I am certain that will be fine. Nurse Openheart can take you on the evening train.” The other mare, who at this point had been in a trance like state, snapped her head round to the pair standing near the balcony. “That is, of course, if she can stay awake that long.”

“Uh... I think I can, your majesty.”

“Good. We will see you tomorrow at some point then. Good evening Joy, Dean.”

“Your majesty.”

“Miss Luna.” The pair walked towards the door, and Dean held it open for the mare. She gave him a smile as she walked out, and he turned back to Luna and gave her a nod. Upon going to leave he stopped moving, eyes wide. Then his balled fist came up and struck something on the other side of the doorway. There was the sound of a chuckle, and then another male voice.

“Guess I deserved that, and more, huh? Where you going?”

“That town, to apologise. Want to stop me.”

“No, but you will be escorted.”

“Fine.” Dean the walked out of the door, Luna's face having turned into a scowl. Her eyes narrowed even further as Alec walked in. He ignored her searing gaze and strode right over to her. She was about to speak when he cut her off with a deep kiss, Velvet Bow walking in with two trays. The mare set them down on the table and left, closing the door behind her. Alec finally pulled away and Luna opened her eyes, following his arm to their meal.

She lifted the lid up and smiled, then turned back to her stallion and kissed his cheek. “Fried daisies and haycakes... my favourite.”

“That's not all.” He nodded towards her open window, and she walked over to it. Her brows furrowed when she found nothing, and turned back to her chambers confused. The confusion remained as she beheld her stallion, standing next to the table. He pulled out a chair and beckoned her over. “Enjoy your meal, milady.”

“But what of you? And why are you doing this?” Things like this only happened when he knew he had screwed up... and it was more than just the note.

“Well, firstly to say sorry, and secondly to preserve my flank. Oh, and I've already eaten.”

“Why?”

“Well... you know poison joke requires a certain type of bath?” The mare nodded as she began to eat her food. “Turns out that some of the ingredients are sold out, and can't get here for a few days. So your nephew is currently still your niece.”

“You didn't...”

“Yep, we did.”

“Hmm... maybe it will teach him to respect mares. He can stay like that for a while.” Alec turned towards her wine cabinet, but stopped when a hand grabbed his tail. “I have an idea. Rarity is still in town... so why don't we send... princess Blueblood to Fluer's? I'm sure she would love to see him like this.” Giving a small chuckle the stallion turned away again and selected a bottle, pouring the mare a glass and waiting to the side of the table to get anything else she wanted.

...although, with the way she kept glancing out the corner of her eye, it was obvious. Thank Faust my heat has gone...
> Chapter 10
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Where is he? I demand that you tell me where he is this instant!” Gray and Celestia looked up from the table where they were eating their breakfast. A female white unicorn had slammed the throne room door open, and was glaring at the alicorn. Gray noted that she was quite attractive, wearing a simple but fashionable dress, make up not overly done. And then he had a sudden flashback from his night of drink with Alec.

“Good morning, nephew. Whom are you looking for?” Well, that confirmed it, this mare really was Blueblood. The nonchalant way with which Celestia was talking to him showed that she knew exactly what he wanted, and that she didn't really care. “I cannot give you information without knowing the situation.”

“That bucking stallion that Aunty Luna is so enamoured with!” Gray had to stifle his laughter, knowing full well that Alec was not the one responsible for the prince's current predicament. He looked up, seeing the smirk playing at the corners of Celestia's mouth. “He will pay for this! I rank higher than him!”

“Alec is not here, he and Luna left this early morning. I cannot tell you when he will return, so you will have to wait.” The prince scoffed, turning around and striding out, slamming the door again. Celestia picked up her cup and took a dainty sip, smiling over at her companion.

“More coffee, Gray?”

“I would love some, thank you Tia.”







        Dean looked around the town from the fountain in the centre, every one of the ponies staring at him. It made him nervous, but the escort of six guards meant nothing would happen to him... or at least he hoped it wouldn't. The feeling got worse when Joy came back from one of the market stalls, where he had seen the massive red stallion stare at him. “Dean, Mac said we can speak with him in a few minutes, he's not ready to open yet.”

“Uh... okay.” He sat down on the wall, the mare joining him. Here and there ponies were stopping to point at him, slowly getting closer. He could see three of the smaller ones eyeing him carefully, and he instantly recognised them. They nodded to each other and then disappeared into the shadows, leaving Dean to wonder what they were up to.

A dull thud made him look at the floor, where a grey cylindrical object had landed. He had but a few seconds to pull Joy's head down and press her face against his chest, covering her as best as possible as the item exploded in a bright flash and high pitched whine.

Dean then felt himself tackled to the floor, and then rope wrapped around him, pulled tight. Once he could open his eyes, he found the three fillies standing above him, looking down triumphantly. Their stone faces dropped to a grin as they started to skip around, shouting out at the same time. “CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS CRIMINAL CATCHERS, YAY!”

“GIRLS, let him go this instant!” They stopped moving, and looked over at Joy, who was fumbling around in her bag to find something to cut him loose. She didn't need to however, as Dean felt himself lifted up and the ropes simply ripped off him. He turned to thank his helper and then stopped, eyes going wide with fear.

“T' nurse said ya wanna speak to me. Make it quick, Ah gotta stall to run.”

“Um... I'd like... apologise for my actions the other day. I... um... this is going to sound crazy.”

“Trust me, in this town, ain't nothin' gonna sound crazy.”

“Well, in that case... I'm from another world and over reacted to being sent here. I'm sorry for what I did, and would like to make amends.” The stalk in the crimson juggernaut’s mouth rolled from side to side as he weighed up Dean's words, before he gave a shrug and stepped away.

“Whole 'nother world, huh? Ah can accept that. See ya.”

“Wait... that's it? You're not going kick my ass?”

“Why the hay would Ah kick yer donkey? Ya don't even have one! An' you've said yer piece, ain't much more than that to do. Now Ah got a lotta work today, seein' as mah sister is still enjoin' the high life in the city. So, again, see ya.” Dean watched with an open mouth as the stallion simply returned to his stall, flipping the sign from closed to open.

“An' what the buck about us, huh? Tyin' us up an' leaving us in the cave! Ain't no words gonna make up for that!” Dean looked down at the trio, who were glaring at him for having escaped their arrest, the one with the bow having her arms crossed as well. “Well then, what are ya gonna do?”

He looked up as he caught movement out of the corner of his eye, seeing Alec and Luna walk past. The stallion was pointing over to a building that looked like it was out of Hansel and Gretel, and soon had the three fillies following him towards it. Upon opening the door, he found it to be a bakery, and walked up to the counter.

No one was there to serve him, so he went to ring the bell, but some... thing popped up between him and the counter, two bright blue orbs and a massive smile contained in a face with too much pink. “HI! I'M PINKIE PIE, WELCOME TO PONYVILLE!!!”







        Lightly slapping his arm, Luna giggled at Alec as they walked through the town. There had been a change in the stallion in the past few hours, and she was enjoying it. Their next destination came into view as they left Ponyville proper. “That was cruel.”

“What was?”

“Sending him to Pinkie Pie. I'm not sure if doing that or giving him a beating is worse.” He just grunted and unlocked the door, allowing the mare entrance. She looked around at the small house, every bit of furniture covered with a white sheet. She ran a finger on the mantelpiece, and it came back with thick dust. “Alec, when was the last time you came in here?”

“Just before Dawn, I wanted to make sure it was ready. Didn't really have much use for it afterwards.”

“Well, we need to get it cleaned up. Come, back to town.” The couple left arm in arm, leaving the door unlocked, neither one of them noticing the creature watching from the tree line. It's horn glowed with a sickly green, sending a message to the rest of the waiting changelings. King Metamorphosis and his commanders would remain near Ponyville for the first part of the plan, whilst the majority of those still loyal approached the train station, ready to hitch a free ride to the capital.

The drone slipped into the light for but a few seconds, quickly slipping through the door. It carefully scrutinised every area of the house, looking for surveillance devices and traps, but it found none. What it did find was a secret cupboard near the front door, which housed a spell gun with a shortened barrel. The drone quickly gathered up all the magic cores and slipped them into it's pack. With one final look and the layout memorised, it slipped back out and towards the Everfree Forest to deliver its report.







        Gray sat in the corner of the throne room, a guest as Celestia went through the trials and tribulations of the daily court. He thought his government were a bunch of idiots, but they had nothing on the nobles of Canterlot. He rubbed his temples as the latest pair started shouting again, some silly argument about a family heirloom. The most stupid thing was that the two stallions were brothers.

A large clock chiming signalled that it was midday, so Celestia rose and halted proceedings, saying that they would resume in the afternoon. The ponies bowed respectively and left the room, still bickering like children. With a sigh she walked over to Gray, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Perhaps it would be best if you went for your talk with Twilight about your world now. I fear that this will go on till the end of court. Fair Heart will show you the way.”

“Uh... sure, guess I can do that. I'll try not to keep it going past dinner.” Gray stood and smiled to the giggling mare, walking over to the maid. The walked wordlessly through the corridors to one of the smaller towers, making it halfway before somepony with a stack of books in front of their face bumped into them. This caused the pile to drop and started sliding down the stairs, Gray looking up to the groaning mare. “Sorry Twilight, didn't see you there.”

“Gray? Oh, no, I just wasn't expecting anypony to come up here! I'm pretty much the only one who does nowadays. Were you looking for a book?”

“No, I was coming to tell you about my world.”

“Now?” Gray stepped back a little as her eye twitched, and she pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. “But lunch with my parents! Versus unknown knowledge... what do I do? Think, think, think... ah ha! I've got it! Fair Heart, I'll take him from here.”

“Of course, your majesty.” The mare bowed and walked away, disappearing down one of the side corridors. Twilight bent down and gathered the books back up, smiling as Gray took half of the pile. She nodded down the stairs, and he followed her, raising an eyebrow as they walked out of the main entrance to the castle. He noticed that during the intervening walk between the doors and main gate, several guards had taken up a phalanx formation, mingling with the crowd around them.

Twilight led him through the busy market place, and after around ten minutes of walking they emerged into one of the residential areas. The crowd had thinned a lot, just the odd pony here and there. Gray recognised two of them from the clothing store as they waved from an upper class looking restaurant, returning a nod in greeting. They turned from the main road into a side street, which began to look familiar. He sifted through his memories and the... “YOU BROKE MY VASE! THAT WAS A GIFT FROM MY MOTHER!”

Hey jumped back as a mare with no wings nor horn stood in his path, arms crossed and a face of thunder. She had a long, straight jet black mane and tail, her fur a shade of dark grey. She was wearing a simple dress, one that accentuated her shape. Gray looked into the stormy light purple eyes, and swallowed nervelessly. “Um... sorry.”

“SORRY? IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY? DO YOU KNOW HOW OLD THAT WAS?”

“Uh... it was just a vase...”

“JUST. A. VASE?” Gray stepped back as her rage grew, but it was quelled as Twilight stood in between the pair. The mare immediately calmed down and bowed, shaking lightly. “Your majesty, please forgive my outburst.”

“Of course, Miss Octavia. I'll be sure that you get reimbursed for any damages he caused. I can't wait to come see your performance this weekend!”

“Oh... oh thank you, your majesty. I hope you enjoy it.” The mare glared once more at Gray, then turned and strode back into her house. Now wonder the street looked familiar to him. With a giggle Twilight started walking one more, leading him to a rather lavish house surrounded by a high hedge. He let her go first and closed the gate behind them, slowly going towards the door, which was just opening for the mare.

There was a sudden blur as two unicorn stallions ran out at him, the white one with a blue mane lighting his horn and lifting Gray off the floor, causing him to drop the books, whilst the other one hefted a spell rifle and aimed it at his head. There was a flash as Twilight teleported in front of them. “Shining Armour Sparkle, put him down right now! And you! Stop pointing that at him, or I'll...”

“You'll what?” Both stallions replied at the same time. Twilight looked behind them, and then crossed her arms, a smirk on her face.

“I'll tell mom.” Gray felt a thud as his ass hit the floor, the two stallions turning around and trudging into the house. A older unicorn mare came over and helped him to his feet, and Gray couldn't help but marvel at how much she looked like Twilight.

“I apologise for my husband and son's actions. They're not used to Twiley bringing company home. I am Twilight Velvet.” She glanced out the corner of her eye at Twilight, smiling at Gray. “So... how long have you two been together?”

“MOM!”







        With a bag of cleaning supplies and fresh food, Alec and Luna entered Ponyville town square. The (usually) peaceful area was a hive of activity, centred around the town bakery. The townsponies were all trying to push through, shoving each other out of the way. Driven by curiosity, the couple approached, but could not get anywhere near. “MAKE WAY!” The crowd parted from the shout, bowing as they saw who was behind them. “After you, princess.”

“Thank you, Alec” The entered the bakery to find a state of chaos, two of the tables overturned and forming a barricade of sorts. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were behind the counter, consoling a crying Pinkie Pie, whilst Nurse Openheart was crouching down in front of a gap in between the two tables.

“Come on, you can come out now.”

“No, not until that pink demon has left!” A fresh wave of tears burst from the mare as she looked on, leaving the two newcomers to loon on confused. Joy tried to pull the tables apart, but a furless hand came out and held them in place. “NO! No one is safe out there!”

“Dean, that's just Miss Pie, she's like that.”

“It's not natural...”

“Dean, get out here now and stop being silly! You're on another world and you think that she's the only thing that's not natural?” A couple of minutes went by with nothing but the sound of Pinkie's sniffling, and then the table moving a little, Dean emerging and looking a little sheepish. He glanced a Joy briefly and then walked around the other side of the counter, crouching in front of the baker.

“Um... sorry.” He gave a cry of surprise as she suddenly smiled and leapt at him, wrapping her arms around his back. He just remained in that position, eyes wide towards the other adults in the store.

“Don't worry about it, you silly-billy! I should've known you would react a bit like Gray did!” His arms slowly came up and returned the embrace, and before he knew it, he was once more stood at the counter with the mare on the other side. He shook his head to try and ignore the break in physics, and the mare spoke again. “Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie, and welcome to Sugarcube Corner! What can I do you for? Wait, don't tell me! Some cakes as an apology for being a meanie grumpy mean-meanie-pants towards the girls?”

“Uh... yeah, that's the one...” Pinkie rushed into the back of the store, banging and clattering coming from the back, before she reappeared at the counter holding a large box, of which the most delicious smells were coming from. “That's... a lot of cakes.”

“One of every and all types in the store!” She turned to the cash register and hit some of the buttons, Dean's eyes going wide at the numbers that popped up. “That'll be three hundred and seventy two bits please.” His expression dropped, not having a clue what the hell she was talking about. Surely she didn't mean that's what their currency was, because... “Wait, you won't have any bits yet, you don't have a job!”

“I'm not going to be here long enough for a job.”

“Hmm... maybe you can pay them off in other ways...”

“Miss Pie, he is not well enough for any kind of work!” She pouted as the nurse glared at her, reaching into her pocket and pulling out her purse. She pulled out a small book from it and wrote out a cheque, handing it to the grumpy earth pony. “That will cover the costs. Now, I think we should leave her in peace now, don't you Dean?”

“Uh.. yeah, sure. One sec though.” He turned back to the fillies and crouched in front of them. “I'm sorry for holding you against your will like that. I know it's not much, but that box is for you.” After receiving hugs from them in thanks, he followed the three others back out, staring at the gathered crowd. “So... what now?”

“We'll go back to Canterlot, see if Princess Sparkle has made any progress.” Dean smiled over at Joy, who quickly turned towards Luna. “That is, of course, unless you want us to stay longer, your majesty?”

“No, you may take your leave. But you'd best visit your sister whilst in town.”

“Good idea. Come then, Dean. I'm sure you'll like her.” 







        After two hours of hard scrubbing, Alec's house looked brand new. He stood in the lounge, looking around at how it was laid out. Luna grew confused as he reached into his pocket, but smiled when he pulled out a picture. She took it off him with a grin, setting it on top of the mantelpiece above the fire, right in the centre.

Smiling at them from behind the glass were two pegasi stallions and two mares, a foal held in the younger one's arms. Luna stepped back and wrapped her arms around Alec's neck, smiling up at him. “They are where they belong, a loving home.”

“Yeah, and peacefully as well. Listen, I'm going to head out and get some firewood, we're going to need it.”

“Alec, that sounds a little... romantic.”

“Whatever. I'll be back in about an hour.” She pulled him into a deep kiss, the kind that leaves a stallion wanting more. He cleared his throat when she pulled away, nodding and walking out of the door. Luna sprang into action, dashing to the kitchen and quickly preparing the food. It was going to be a simple salad, so no cooking involved. A glance at the clock showed she had a little over fifty minutes left, so she darted upstairs.

She stopped at the top of the stairs as she heard what sound like a chain of small explosions, but she shrugged it off. Forty five minutes later she emerged from the bedroom, her mane brushed out straight and wearing a tight, short black dress. The last step was turning the lights off in the kitchen, lighting the candles, putting the wine in a bucket of ice, and returning to wait on the couch.

She didn't have to wait long, the door cracking open and her stallion walking in. But something was... wrong. “Alec, where is the wood?” He walked over and surprised her by returning her kiss, pulling away and stroking her cheek.

“Changed my mind, we're going to be plenty warm.” She stood from the couch, leading him by the hand to the kitchen. She had forgotten the glasses, so opened a cupboard for them. A strange sensation went over her, as if somepony was using magic, but he didn't have a horn. “Alec?” Her eyes widened as she turned and came face to face with a changeling drone. 

She then noticed the bottle coming towards her fast, and her vision exploded with stars as it impacted the side of her head. The changeling bent down to the prone form of the mare, checking to see if she was alive. He nodded to the window in the kitchen, more drones entering through the back door. Some carried large metal bars, and the last few picked Luna up, heading towards the cellar.







        Alec had found a fallen tree in a clearing about two hundred metres into Whitetail woods. He checked it to ensure it was mostly dry, smiling as he took out his axe. 'Alec, that sounds a little... romantic.' The thought ran through his head, and with a grunt he took the first hit, a loud crack resounding throughout the wood. Heh, maybe I am going soft. I need something to make me angry in life.”

After a good ten minutes of chopping, he had a decent sized pile, so pulled out some rope and bound it all together, ready to drag it back when something made his ear twitch. He stood and turned around, hand inside his jacket. “Hmm, not enough room for a spell gun.” He turned to his left, frowning in the direction of the voice, which had a strange echo to it.

A twig snapped behind him, and he spun round, Dean's M9 in his hand. More twigs cracked around the edge of the clearing, and shadows came forward. It was easy to recognise the black chitin of the drones, and he waited for them to get a little closer before he opened fire. A double tap to the chest was enough to put them down, and he exhausted the clip of it's remaining bullets. None of the drones that had approached moved, so he relaxed a little.

Then he heard a chuckle laced with an echo behind him, turning to find a good twenty more drones stood there. The one in the lead lowered it's hood, revealing the one eyed face of King Metamorphosis, who took a few steps forward. “Well, look who we have here. Are you lost, little pony?”

“I remember you. You took my daughter away, but all I got was your eye. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to get the rest of you.” Dammit, why didn't I bring the spare ammo?

“Really? My subjects, this pony thinks he can win against us. Shall we test him?” The group of drones began advancing forward. For the first time since he was issued his first spell gun, Alec felt fear. Not for his life, but if they got to Luna... with that thought to push him, He brought up his fists, sliding his right foot behind him into the hand to hand fighting stance taught to him during his guard training.

The drones screeched and ran forward, so he yelled back and charged himself, wings spread in anger.

> Chapter 11
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	After being led into the house by Twilight's mother, Gray was introduced to her father, who had kept hold of his spell gun. Next came Twilight's brother, and although not armed, was not very happy. He was then led into the sitting room where a fourth pony was located. It was another mare, an alicorn much like Twilight. Her fur was a light pink, and her mane was a mix of violet, rose and gold. “And this is Princess Cadenza.”

“Please, just Cadence is fine.” Gray dropped to one knee, taking a hand and kissing it, making the mare giggle. He also caught one of the stallions growling, but chose to ignore it, standing back up.

“A pleasure to meet you, your highness. I am Gray Heartbelle.”

“Oooh, he has manners. Twilight, I approve!”

“CADENCE!” Both of the elder mares began snickering, whilst the two stallions remained glaring at Gray. They were ushered out by Twilight Velvet, and Cadence motioned for Twilight and Gray to join her. Twilight immediately gravitated towards the large bookshelf, smiling as she looked over the many titles. Gray shook his head and sat opposite the other mare. “Hmm, you are very much like aunty Tia described. I can see why she likes you.”

“Um... what?” It was a fair question, they had only known each other for a few days, and the wink Cadence threw at him suggested something further going on. “She's a very nice woman... mare, sorry. Anyone that she classes as a friend should be grateful.”

“Hmm, yes, they should. Twilight tells me you're from another world. Is that true?” He just nodded in reply. “Amazing! Is it much like the one she has visited?”

“CADENCE!”

“It's not like it's classified or anything, it even made the papers. Anyway, it's inhabitants... she described them much like you. So I wonder if it is the same place.” Gray didn't know how to answer that. If Twilight had been to his world, then someone of her... physical characteristics and behaviour would easily stand out.

“No, I did not go to his world. If it were that simple, I would've suggested the mirror, but that is... different.” Gray felt his heart sink, for a moment he had visions of reuniting with his friends and family, and then it all went away. He sank back against the couch with a sigh, causing Twilight to look at him with concern. “Don't worry, I'm pretty sure I've got a way for you to get home... we can try tonight, if you wish.”

Twilight Velvet returned, informing them that lunch was ready. The trio followed her into the dining room, where the stallions already sat, on at each end of the rectangular table. Cadence sat down next to Shining Armour, Gray noting that she gave his hand a squeeze when he glanced at her. Twilight's mother sat next to her father, whom Gray still didn't know the name of, and gave his hand the same treatment.

The only seat left was opposite them, next to Twilight Sparkle, so he walked around the table and took his place. There was already a plate on the table, with a salad on top. A nod from the elder stallion and the rest began eating, Gray as well. The food was refreshing, seemingly divine... and then he hit something dry and coarse. He began to choke, and thumped his chest, his mouthful spitting across the polished dark word. Twilight's father stood up, shoving his chair back and glaring at Gray. “YOU DARE DISRESPECT ME IN MY OWN HOUSE, AFTER MY WIFE PROVIDES A MEAL FOR YOU?”

Gray managed to get his breath back, placing his hands on the table top and looking up at the stallion. “My apologies sir, but it appears there is something I cannot eat in the meal.”

“SO OUR LOWLY FOOD IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU, IS THAT IT?” Both Twilights and Cadence heaved a sigh, whilst Shining Armour watched on with a grin. To the surprise of all, Gray copied her father, standing and pushing his chair away.

“Okay, enough of this bullshit.” All three mares gasped, Twilight's eyes wide in shock. “I can tell you don't like me, both you and your son, but I don't know why. At first I thought it was because you thought that Twilight and I were involved. Well we are, in so much as she is the one helping me to get home, on another fucking world! So... you want a piece of me? You've got a pretty big garden, why wait?”

The tip of Twilight's father's muzzle twitched, and his ears flopped around. Then the most surprising thing happened. Both stallions began to chuckle, which turned into full blown laughter as the elder unicorn slapped a hand on Gray's shoulder. “Colt, you've got guts, make sure you use 'em. My name is Nightlight, and I welcome you into my house.” The three mares visibly relaxed then. “Now... what is it you can't eat? We'll see about getting you something different.”

Unsure of what to do, Gray's hands reached to his plate, rifling through the food until he reached whatever it was. He picked a piece out and held it up, a single strand of hay. Twilight Velvet immediately rose and took his plate away from him, coming back moments later and returning it. “I'm sorry, I didn't realise your species couldn't eat it.” The two males slowly sat back down and continued eating, whilst Cadence whispered into Armour's ear.

“Hmm, you're right there, sweetheart. Dad, now he has stood up to you, isn't it tradition that you offer your eldest daughter's hand in marriage?”

“SHINY! What is with you all, I can't marry him, no offence, Gray.” He just shrugged it off and continued his meal. “Besides, I already have a clotfriend.” Everypony present stopped and stared at her as she slapped a hand over her mouth, Nightlight growling slightly once more.







        Dean stared at the two mares opposite him in the train compartment, smirking at how much they looked alike. The main differences were that Joy's fur had a slight pink to it, and her mane was a dark red. The mare sat next to her had a white coat and light pink mane, done up in a bun. “So then Redheart, any more disasters in town?”

“Not really, but I had to attend to Alec the other day. That stallion, always getting himself injured in some way or another. I wish I know what that item was though, and how to treat the wound.”

“It was a bullet, from a gun.” Both mares turned to look at him, Joy placing a hand on her sister, whose anger was slowly building. “I shot him, but only in self preservation. I'm... glad that he survived.” Redheart slumped back against the seat of the train carriage, her arms crossed.

“Really? You injure him, and are glad that he is alive? I find that hard to believe. Joy, I'm going to get something to eat, do you want anything?” The other mare shook her head, Redheart standing and leaving the compartment, slamming the door behind her. Joy looked back over at Dean and smiled weakly.

“I apologise for that little outburst. She only gets that way when she doesn't know how to help ponies.”

“It's fine, I understand. So I guess things are going to get quieter for you now? I mean, Twilight should be ready soon, so me and Gray will be leaving. I assume it's just back to treating training injuries and such?” Joy stood from the seat, slowly walking over and sitting next to him, taking his hand.

“Most likely, yes, but these past few days have been interesting for me. Meeting a new species, learning about them... and meeting you as well.” Dean turned around to look at her, noting her slightly pinker than usual cheeks, and that is when she struck. He suddenly found his lips pressed against hers, the mare's eyes shut. After a few moments she pulled away and opened her eyes, then let out a surprised squeak and moved to the seat opposite once more. “I-i-i'm sorry, I don't know what came over me! Please, don't be angry.”

Dean twisted around so that he was facing out of the window, watching as they emerged from the tunnel and into the mountains, high above the rolling fields that led to Ponyville. “Joy... how long until Canterlot?” The mare leant forwards and looked out of the window, gazing over the scenery.

“About two hours, we'll go straight to Princess Sparkle. And then... you can go home.” They looked at each other, both noting something in the other's eyes. They lost track of time, neither one noticing that the door had reopened, nor the mare now stood looking at them.

“Always going for the exotic ones. You'll never change, Joy.”







        “Uh, that was horrible!” Gray couldn't help but snicker at Twilight as they waved at her family from the gateway. The guards had returned out of nowhere, two stood to either side of the street, and they matched the pace as the mare and human made their way back to the castle. “At least I kept his name a secret. It's nothing serious at the moment, anyway.”

“Yeah, sure, whatever you say, princess.” She just shot him an unamused glare, and ignored the snickers coming from the guards. She was the one that told them to relax around her afterall. Their route took them through the marketplace once more, which was busier in the afternoon. Gray noted more and more ponies looking at him, hushed whispers going through the crowd.

They eventually made it back to the castle entrance, at the same time as Joy and Dean, who both immediately bowed. Twilight giggled at them, and gently prodded their shoulders for them to rise. “Good afternoon, you two. Did you have fun?”

“Yes, your majesty.”

“Are you really friends with that pink demon?” Twilight giggled some more, then burst out laughing, fully understanding that Dean had met Pinkie Pie. She waved the guards away as they entered the castle, but they remained at their posts, causing the young alicorn to roll her eyes as she continued walking. Dean fell into step behind Gray and Joy, noticing one of the guards out of the corner of his eye. For a brief moment, he could've sworn that it changed to a pupil-less slits. He blinked a couple of times and the guard's eyes were back to the usual blue.

He shrugged it off and walked into the castle with the other three, Twilight leading them towards the throne room. Gray smiled as he noted that the court session had finished, Celestia slouched on her throne, with a hand across her face. “No, go away. Luna can deal with it when she returns.”

“Celestia, that is no way to treat your guest, is it?” The hand slowly moved, following the mare sitting up with a smile on her face. With a wave of her hand the guards backed away, and the group made their way up to the dais. There was a table with five seats ready, as if Celestia knew how many were coming, and they each took one. “So, I have some good news. With a little help from my brother and his shield spells, I think I can open a stable portal to your world. But... I don't know how much magic it's going to take.”

“Twilight, if you are not ready...” The younger mare shook her head, smiling over at Gray and Dean. “Very well. Are you both ready?” The pair looked at each other and nodded, so Celestia stood from her chair. “Twilight, if you would...”

“Okay, here we go.” She got up and walked to the centre of the throne room, closing her eyes and remaining still. Her horn began to glow, and a breeze started to form in the throne room, even though the windows and doors were sealed. “Dean, Gray, I need you both to think of home now!” The pair did that, and Twilight's eyes snapped open, a white glow emanating from them.

A white tear in the air of the room started to form, slowly getting wider, until it was large enough for easy transit. Dean and Gray looked on, trying to focus on the other side. And then they saw it, another world. After straining some more, their gazes drifted across a concrete structure and into a street, where more humans were walking around. “IS THIS YOUR WORLD?”

“Yes, that's Earth!” Gray stood from his seat, walking in front of Celestia and taking her hands in his. “Your majesty, it was an honour to meet you and your kind. I hope... that in time, in some way, we can meet again.”

“The same to you, Mr Heartbelle. I too hope we can rekindle our friendship in some way in the future.” She pulled him into a tight embrace, holding him for a moment before pulling away and kissing his cheek. He lifted her hands up and kissed the top one, pulling away and walking down the steps of the dais, turning towards Dean, who was saying his goodbyes to Joy.

“Dean... it was very nice to meet you.”

“And to you, Joy. I don't want to think where I'd be without you showing me any kindness. You even stood up to the guards for me. I'm... going to miss you, but if they ever find a way for us to return, I'll make sure I visit you.” She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he let his wrap around her back. He tried to pull away, but she held tight and looked up at him. He expected a kiss on the cheek like Gray, not the very passionate one that the mare drew him into.

She finally relented, Dean blinking his eyes open from the surprise. Joy smiled up at him and stepped away, leaving him to turn and join Gray at the foot of the steps, who had a massive smirk on his face. “So, meet anypony on your trip?”

“Ah, shut up. Let's just go home. I'm going be in the shit for going AWOL the past few days.” The pair walked towards the shimmering portal, slowing down as they noticed the room now full of guards, who were closing down on them. They could just make Twilight out on the other side, and saw one of the guards walk up behind her... and then strike her in the back of the head with his spell gun.

The portal flashed and distorted, then dissipated away as Twilight fell forwards, the two humans managing to catch her before she hit the floor. They looked up from the unconscious mare at the guards surrounding them, then to the dais as Celestia gave a cry of surprise, seeing some of the guards wrestling with her.

They managed to get her to the floor, one of them slipping a magic sealing ring over her horn as the others shackled her hands behind her back. Gray left Twilight with Dean as he tried to run up the steps, but one of the guards shoved him back down. A beam of light shot across the room and hit the fleeing mare. “NO!” Dean tried to get to Joy, but the guards had formed a solid ring around them, pushing them backwards.

The pair waited until they were very close and then acted, grabbing the spell gun of the nearest guard to them and opening fire. The guards backed away so that they had room to retaliate, the ones on the floor now revealed to be changeling drones. Gray and Dean stood back to back over Twilight, every guard with their guns aimed at them.

A gathering of light drew the entire room's attention, and they turned to see Celestia's horn glowing a bright gold. A beam of light shot out, the guards scrambling for cover... but it wasn't aimed at them. Dean and Gray had become enveloped in a gold aura, the guards laughing at them, and then they disappeared in a flash. One of the guards walked up to the heavily breathing mare, who had expended an enormous amount of magical energy to overcome the horn ring. “Who... ever... you are. You will... not get away... with this...”

The air around the guard started to shimmer, and a green fire surrounded him. Once finished the mare found herself staring into the soulless eyes of a changeling drone. More green flames made he look around the throne room, each and every guard inside now revealed to be a drone. She looked back up to the one holding her muzzle as it began to speak. “Really? Your sister is dealt with, none of your guards know we are here, and you have just sent your only hope of salvation to parts unknown. I think King Metamorphosis will be very happy with our progress.” Her vision finally went black as the magic expenditure caught her up.







“Rares, what are ya doin'?” The unicorn mare brought a finger to her lips, telling the earth pony to be quiet, then waved her over, and offered the eyepiece of a telescope. Applejack put her eye up to it and let it focus. “Ah don't understand. It's some mare... wait, Ah recognise that face... Rarity, what did ya do?”

“Moi? Why, I did nothing, that is the result of our friend Mr Heartbelle. A wonderful idea, don't you agree?”

“Rarity... Blueblood is a buckin' mare! What's supposed to be wonderful about that?”

“Oh Applejack... you really don't understand, do you. Very well, we shall leave it for now. Come, it is time for afternoon tea with Celestia.” The two left the balcony and out through the suite's inner door, where a group of ten guards formed up around them. “Oh wonderful, escorts! Don't you feel like a proper mare now, Applejack?”

“Whatever ya say, Rares. Ah wonder how long it will be before Twi can send those two hommpphh!”

“Applejack?” Rarity turned around to see four of the stallions had taken hold of her friend, and lit her horn to help. She gasped as her magic cut out, a ring being slid down to her forehead. Her arms were then grabbed and shackled behind her back, the same treatment being given to her friend. She went to scream for help but a hand came up and covered her muzzle.

The guards carried them down the steps, through a side corridor, and into the throne room, where they saw the prone forms of Twilight and Celestia at the top of the dais, adorned with shackles and horn rings. The pair were dumped down in the corner, next to the still body of Nurse Openheart. And then their 'escorts' were bathed in green flames, ten smirking changeling drones staring down at them







        Dean and Gray doubled over as they began to cough violently from their first experience of teleportation magic. It felt like their insides had been pulled out, twisted inside out, and shoved back in upside down. Dean managed to get to his feet first, his training having been more rigorous than Gray's, and he stumbled a few steps before dropping to his knees. “WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED? WHAT WERE THOSE THINGS?”

“They were changelings, a race of shapeshifters. Dammit, we have to get back to Canterlot!”

“And how the fuck do you plan on us doing that? We have no fucking idea where we are!” Gray raised his head, looking around at the small plateau on the side of a mountain. There were two stones sticking out of the ground, the dirt at the feet recently disturbed. He pushed himself to his feet, Dean doing the same, and they wobbly made their way to the cliff edge.

“I know where we are. I helped Alec bury his family here. Look, over there... it's Ponyville.” Dean let his gaze follow the outstretched hand, and sure enough he could make out the top of some buildings. Gray turned around and started walking towards a dirt path, stopping briefly at the grave stones.

“Where the fuck are you going? Gray...”

“I'm going to a house by the woods. We're going to need somepony who knows how to fight changelings.”

“But what if those thing are in Ponyville?”

“We've got weapons, I think we can take them. Now, are you coming or what?” Dean looked to the vertical stones, reading the inscription carved into them.


Here lies Sonata


May she find peace


in her heaven.



Here lies Dawn,


Daughter of Sonata.


May the sun always


rise over her soul.



“Dean?” He looked over the cliff edge once more, smoke stacks rising above the tree line, and gripped his spell gun tighter.

“Let's get this done.” Together they started to jog down the mountain, not knowing that right then they were Equestria’s only hope.

> Chapter 12
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Luna watched from her position in the makeshift cell. There was nothing she could do, her arms restrained behind her back, and a magic sealing ring around her horn. How the changelings had gotten the designs she didn’t know, but they would pay for this attack on Equestria. Several more entered the cellar, carrying a battered and bruised pegasus stallion with them.

He didn’t make it easy, blood dripping from his mouth and a gash over his left eye, the lid closed for protection, yet he still resisted. The five changelings in the room lit their horns, using magic to pick him up and slam him onto the table, and they strapped him down on his front, two pulling against his wings and spreading them out.

A larger changeling, different to the drones, walked in, eyeing the stallion with disgust and stopping in front of the mare's prison, a sneerful grin on his face. “Greetings Princess Luna, I am King Metamorphosis. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance at last.”

She walked forward towards the bars and spat in his face, glaring at him. “I have no need of your name. You will release us both, or face the consequences.”

“Face the consequences? What do you think this is all about? Did you really believe my mother could be killed without reprisal?” The changeling walked to the head of the pegasus, lifting it up so that the good eye could look at him. He then dragged his fingers across his muzzle, drawing more blood from the scratch marks. “We know he is the one, and his fate shall be the same.” He drew out a knife and placed the hilt on the stallion’s face. “Do you recognize this? You thought it destroyed, and now it shall be used on you.”

“If y-y-you harm L-l-l-una…”

“Harm her? My dear, misguided colt, I’m not going to harm her. I’m going to make you watch as I kill her, slowly.” The stallion began to thrash against his bonds, attempting to bite Metamorphosis. “Oh, some fight left in you still? Worry not, we will get there. But first…” He walked around the the left side, placing his hand on the wing to steady it, and the tip of the knife at the joint with the shoulder, right on the nerve.

Luna cringed and tried to close her eyes as the stallion’s pained screams echoed throughout the cellar, but the spell on her made her watch the torture. The knife was pulled away and all the changelings looked to the ceiling, hearing multiple thuds. The door to the cellar cracked open a little and four cylindrical objects were thrown in.

They looked at them for all of five second before they exploded with bright light and a high pitched whining noise. Luna’s ears recovered quickly, and she soon heard another high pitched noise, but with a different tone, one that she recognised as it repeated. Her vision returned just in time to see a beam of light sliced cleanly through the air where Metamorphosis’ head had been, the changeling having teleported away moments before.

The spell that restricted her vision disappeared, and she turned her head towards the door, relief filling her body. Gray and Dean entered the cellar, poking the bodies with the tips of the spellguns in their hands. Gray picked up a set of keys and worked on unlocking Luna, whilst Dean walked over to the table and released the stallion, who had fallen into unconsciousness from the pain.

As soon as she was released, Luna was over to the table, wrapping her arms around the stallion, tears falling from her eyes. She looked at where the knife had been placed and gasped, then looked up at the two humans. “A-a-a-are we safe?” Gray nodded to Dean, who went and stood near the door.

“All the changelings in the house are dead, don’t know how many more are in town.”

“G-g-good. I n-need to clean his wounds. Can you get me some supplies? T-t-they should be in the cupboard by the front door.” With a nod of his head he left, returning a few minutes later with a large case, which he set next to the stallion. Luna opened it and took out what she needed, wiping away the blood and starting to close the wounds.

She had finished with the ones on his head, shakily beginning to clean the wing. “What happened?”

“They attacked just as Twilight was about to send us home, over a hundred of them disguised as guards. Celestia knew we couldn’t do anything, and she teleported us to safety. We’re on our way back. I’m not leaving your home in their hands.”

“Was Twilight Sparkle successful?”

“I don’t know, but you need to leave him. We’re going to need your help.”

“I will only hinder you. I… have not fought for a millenia. I can get you into the castle, a way that we prevented magic from interfering by using magic. But I must stay with him.”

“Okay… you do what you have to do, we’ll secure Canterlot. Dean, you ready?”

“Yeah, the house is secure. I’ve got Big Mac upstairs with a rifle and spare ammo. There’s only one way down, and he’s in the way.”

“Good. Luna, send us.” She lifted up a hand and tugged the ring of her horn, gritting her teeth as it sent a painful response back, designed to stop just that. With a deep breath it slipped off, and she gathered her magic, letting it flow around them. With a flash of light they were gone, and she looked towards the knife trail, tears falling heavily as she stared at the name carved into Alec’s wing joint.


‘CHRYSALIS’







“AND WHAT THE FUCK ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO NOW?”

“I DON’T KNOW, JUST KEEP SHOOTING BACK!” For the past twenty minutes, Gray and Dean had been trading fire with the changelings down the corridor from Alec’s little hideaway. They couldn’t advance any further towards the throne room, but they were keeping the drones back. There were more drones out on the balcony, trying to blast their way in, but it seemed the windows were quite well protected.

A blast of light that didn’t come from them or the changelings shot over their heads, impacting the rocky roof of the corridor. There was a loud rumble as cracks formed, and then part of the tunnel collapsed, blocking that route off. They both turned to see what had caused it, looking to the owner of the spell gun that was glowing with heat in shock. “Sorry I’m late to the party… now, where’s the main dance floor?”

There was another flash from behind the pegasus, Luna appearing in the blink of an eye. She walked up to Alec and slapped him on the side of his face that wasn’t bandaged. He just shrugged it off, turning to look at the banging noises coming from the balcony. He cracked open a window just enough to put his arm through, grabbing hold of the nearest drone and crushing it’s windpipe, then letting the body drop. “Who’s next?”

The drones backed off, taking to the air, continuing to try and blast their way in. Gray and Dean relaxed a little, glad to have someone who knew the layout of the castle, but Gray already knew that there was only two ways out of this room, and both were blocked. They walked over to Alec after he got their attention, where he had pulled out a set of schematics, which showed different sections of the castle. Luna came over and highlighted some areas with her magic. “These locations are accessible to us, but none have a direct route to the throne room, which will is where Celestia will be.”

Dean turned around as the gun fire from outside stopped, watching as a larger drone than the others dropped to the balcony. The nine foot behemoth hefted a large mace, slamming it against the window. The only result was a small scratch on the outside. It just repeated it’s action, determined to break through. “We need to find Blueblood, without him, the whole plan falls down.”

Gray couldn’t believe his ears, that Alec was actually suggesting they needed someone like him to help them. Then again, he had only been there for a few days, maybe there was more to the prince that met the eye. A patch of the map representing the gardens flared up brightly, the pegasus giving a chuckle, and he tapped the glowing area. Luna’s horn flashed once, and several heat signatures appeared around another. The ones forming the ring tried to jump forward, but a funnel of heat blasted at a few of them, making the disappear in the flare. “Heh, tacmap spell, still awesome. Looks like we found our princess. Luna, he can’t keep that up. Get us down there and then get yourself out of here.”

“Alec…”

“No, you must stay safe.” She looked to Gray and Dean for their input, but they just nodded in agreement with the stallion, reloading their weapons. With a defeated sigh she charged her horn, closing her eyes. To her it felt like she was sending them to their deaths, to them… this is the kind of things they had trained for. She saw a crumpled note on the ground and picked it up, unwrapping it to find Alec's map of hives and the grave site. She concentrated hard, summoning as much magic as possible for long range teleport, whilst charging a spell to syphon magic from the natural world, and then she was gone in a flash.

With a flash of light the trio of males found themselves standing on grass, surrounded by a glowing gold shield. “BLUEBLOOD, CONCENTRATE ON DEFENSE!!”

The stallion, who had just flung another flame spell at more changelings looked around and nodded, the shield flaring intensely. “ABOUT BUCKING TIME YOU GOT HERE! CELESTIA’S IN THE THRONE ROOM, BUT I CAN’T GET THERE!” The three new combatants to the battlefield opened fire, each beam flashing towards the changelings opposing them. “YOU MUST GET TO CELESTIA!!”

There were multiple flashes around them, off duty guard squads teleporting into the garden. The unicorns immediately copied the prince and formed shields, the pegasi and earth ponies opening fire. There was no room to retreat, but no room to advance either. The changelings had taken refuge on the walls, and barricaded the entrances. There was only one way for the ponies to get in, a small service entrance for the castle staff.

The changelings switched tactics, concentrating their fire on one squad at a time. The force was too much for a single unicorn, even one with Royal Guard training, and the first shield failed, leaving the trio inside in the open. They made no noise as the beams of magic cut them down. This isn't to say it was a one sided battle, far from it. There were only fifteen pony squads, plus the four in the centre, and over a hundred changelings, but none gave up or fled.

Another shield collapsed, the unicorn and earth pony cut down, but the pegasus managed to escape, soaring high above the battle and dodging their enemy's fire. The four watched as her spell gun cleared a part of the wall, and she landed upon it. The changelings to either side screeched and charged at her, knocking her to the floor.

There was an explosion as her spell gun's magic core was overloaded, a good twenty meters of the wall crumbling away in the blast. The rest of the squads fell back, the shields converging on one another and forming a higher level of protection. Blueblood took a moment to rest, letting her horn stop glowing. “T-t-throne room. Must g-g-get to...”

“Fine, we'll get to her. You stay here with the ranks.” The mare's hand shot out and stopped Alec by the shoulder, Gray and Dean helping to hold him back. He tried to wriggle his way free, but was unable to do so in his weakened state. “LET ME GO! WE HAVE TO GET TO HER!”

“AND WE WILL, BUT TOGETHER! WE NEED TO GET ABOVE THE THRONE ROOM!” Alec ceased his struggles, raising an eyebrow at Blueblood. Sure, he didn't much like the stallion, but he certainly had a penchant for good ideas. Gray and Dean nodded, ready to go with the plan.

“WE’LL GO AS ONE! GRAY, DEAN, FORM UP ON BLUE!” They did as instructed, each one taking a position around him like a triangle. “ALL READY?” The two humans and unicorn nodded, tensing their legs. “MOVE!!!” The foursome began to march towards the castle, their weapons passing through the shield and contacting with the changeling drones, whose fire was simply being absorbed by the magical barrier.







        The thirty changelings left in the throne room looked to the doors nervously, glad that the sounds of fighting had died down. Those that didn’t have their guns pointed at Celestia and Twilight pointed theirs at the doors as they cracked open, a lone drone entering and walking up to the commander. “Sir, the ones assaulting the castle have withdrawn to parts unknown. We now number too little to try and find them.”

“Well, we’ll have to coax them out. The whiney unicorn first, I tire of her grating voice.” The drone smiled as it walked over to the corner, where two mares sat with their wrists shackled behind their backs. The unicorn had a magic sealing ring over her horn, and she glared at the drone as she was lifted to her feet.

“Unhand me, ruffian! This is no way to treat a lady! When I get out of thisspphh!” The changeling had slapped the mare across the cheek hard, a little bit of blood dripping from a new cut on her lip. She struggled for all she was worth as the drone dragged her to the centre of the room, forcing her to her knees. Rarity looked up and met the scared faces of Celestia and Twilight.

“NOW HERE THIS!” The four mares winced as the commander drone’s voice was amplified through magic, a way to get it’s message throughout the castle. “GIVE UP NOW, AND THAT WILL BE THE END OF IT! KEEP FIGHTING AND YOU WILL FORFEIT THE LIVES OF OUR PRISONERS! AS IT IS, YOU HAVE ALREADY LOST ONE!” Rarity’s eyes went wide with the realisation that this was it for her, and so did Celestia’s, who got to her feet and jumped forward, halted by the changeling drones around her.

“No, I beg of you! Take my life in her stead!”

“Do you think of us as stupid, pony? We know she is one of the element bearers, and without them you are defenceless. Now watch as I open your country to all those you have wronged.” A glow from high above drew the attention of the drones, and then the windows up there imploded. The changelings crouched for cover against the shards of glass, and four silhouettes dropped in via rope, then opened fire on the static drones. Angered by the interruption, the commander squeezed the trigger, just as the new unicorn mare looked over.

“RARITY!!!” She opened her eyes from the chaos as she recognised the voice. The beam of magical energy was interrupted a mere half a metre in front her, the other mare being hit in the chest. There was a flash as she fell to the floor, and the changelings were shocked to see Prince Blueblood lying on the red carpet in a short red dress.

The door burst open and the remaining changeling drones in the castle entered the throne room. They opened fire, managing to pin down the three remaining standing. The commander held up his hand for the firing to stop, and pointed his gun at the back of the crying mare’s head, who was crouched over the fallen stallion. “A valiant effort, but all for naught. Give up, and I shall let her live. Five… Four… Three…”

Three guns were thrown from around the pillars they were using for cover, and the trio walked out with their arms in the air. The changeling smirked as he recognised the pegasus, pointing his gun at him. There was a flash to the side, where Celestia had charged her horn with enough magic, releasing the spell which knocked the commander from his feet, his chitin smouldering a little.

He calmly stood, sauntering over the the mare and roughly raised her to her feet, dragging her towards one of the windows. He forced her head against the glass, and she saw the flashes of spell guns being traded throughout the gardens. “As you can see... you won't win.” She turned to find Gray hand managed to get closer, but so had the drone, who was now pointing his gun at Celestia's head. “One more step, hooman, and she leaves here with no brain.”

The man and mare just stared into each other's eyes, ignoring what was going on around them. A flash in the middle of the room drew the changelings attention, where Princess Luna had just teleported in, dressed in unusual armour and carrying a customized spell gun. He was further distracted as multiple squads of guards were teleported into the room with her, immediately opening fire on the drones.

His vision refocused on movement close to him, but he was too late to stop Gray from tackling him through the window, knocking Celestia from his grip, and out onto the balcony. They rolled over each other until they hit the wall, where the drone's spell gun fell to the gardens below. They both stood and the drone lit his horn, but Gray closed the distance and took a hold of it. It felt like bone, so with all his strength he started to bend it, the changeling screeching in pain.

Gray ignored the scratches that the drone was causing on his arms, stomach, chest, and face, concentrating on defeating his foe. There was a sickening snap as the horn broke clean off in his hands, the pair stumbling away from each other. Dark green blood ran down the changeling's forehead, and he reached behind his back to produce a long knife. “I'll... KILL YOU!!!”

The drone charged with the knife held high, whilst Gray lifted the only item he had left. There was the sound of a rough carapace cracking when they met, but the force of the drone's charge pushed them both over the railings, Celestia watching in horror as they fell. She ran over and looked down with fear, but felt relief wash over her. “OVER HERE, I NEED HELP!! GRAY, HOLD ON!” She took a step back as a camouflaged arm reached over from her left, accompanied by a bleeding beige furry arm from her right.

Working together, Dean and Alec pulled Gray back over the railings, and the trio fell to the floor in a heap. Celestia was worried for a moment until Alec motioned for her to turn around, where he unlocked her shackles with a key from his pocket. She stepped away and turned to view the trio, who were now resting their backs against the low wall. Alec's head tilted towards the humans, and all three looked at one another. “Guys... you look like shit. Guess I'm the only good looking one left now, huh?”

Celestia's expectations of what to come next never happened. Dean had directly insulted the pair, and even though Gray was from the same world, she thought there would be some anger. Instead, the trio just switched gazes from stone face to stone face... and then they all burst out laughing. Luna appeared next to her sister, pulling her into a tight embrace. “Hey... doesn't your stallion get any?”

“Looking like that, no, you probably don't. I think I've puked up better looking things than you.” The two mares stared open mouth at what Gray had just said to Alec, who weekly punched the man in the shoulder, both of them chuckling.

“Gray! Do not speak to him in such a way!” He just smirked up at Celestia, chuckling as the pegasus gave his reply.

“Eat shit and die, you cocksucker!” There was a slight echo as Luna slapped Alec once more, but he stopped her arm before she could do it again, pulling her into a deep kiss in full view of all the others. Back inside the throne room, the stench of burning chitin was rife. The guards were instantly upon the three other mares to release them, having to drag a hysteric Rarity away from Blueblood. The fourth concious mare in the corner approached, wrapping her friend in a tight embrace.

“‘e saved yer life, Rare. Let ‘im rest.” A guard with a red cross over his sun sigil approached the downed prince, rolling him over and checking the wound. Applejack held even tighter to Rarity as she tried to pull away when the stallion winced. His eyes fluttered open, and he met the gaze of the unicorn mare with a pained smile. They then shut again as his head thudded to the floor.

“You two, infirmary, now!” Two unicorn guards ran over and teleported away on the medic's orders, who then proceeded to check the rest on them for wounds. He made his way over towards the balcony when a wild eyed Dean ran past him, towards one of the corners. It was then that the medic noticed the prone earth pony, and had a quick glance around. Celestia was standing with her sister, Twilight was being help by a recent addition to the Canterlot Guard, a transfer from the Crystal Empire, so he followed the human. He rolled her over to see the scorch mark on her fur, and then lit his horn, scanning her with his magic. “It's okay, that was the end of the magic core. It's just a burn, and not very deep. She'll live, but only if she gets treatment right away.”

Dean remained silent, sliding one arm behind her back and the other under her knees, slowly standing with the mare in his arms. A guard tried to take her off him, but backed away from the glare he received. With an indication from the medic, two guards followed alongside Dean as he left the throne, guiding him towards the infirmary.







        “YOU FAILED ME!” The was a sickening sound as the blade sliced across the changeling drone's throat, and it fell to the floor trying to stop it's blood seeping out. It joined the pile of several bodies at the foot of the throne, and King Metamorphosis looked at the remaining soldiers in the royal chambers. The one he had just killed was the last one from the meeting, the rest were just following orders, and had done their best. “The rest of you, your new assignment. The drone who suggested using that mare to get the message to Sparkle... I want her found, and made an example of those that fail me. Now leave me!”

The drones bowed and filed out of the doors, a group stopping to pick the dead bodies. Metamorphosis turned and looked out through the highly viscous green substance that his race used as a glass substitute, gazing out over his hive. The last time he was it was a buzz of activity, and now he could barely discern any movement. “My son, you did well.” He spun around in shock, but found nothing in the room with him. “You did not take all the variables into account.”

“Mother, is that you?” The image of Chrysalis appeared in front of him, but when he put his hand up to touch her, it passed right through her. He managed to get his hand right to his muzzle, proving that she wasn't really there, frowning at the mirage. “How are you doing this? You are dead!”

“I do not have long, Meta. I used the last of my essence to put some of myself in the hive mind, but it won't last another hour. Listen to me well, my son. The hive mind is quiet, so quiet compared to what it used to be. Find these traitors to our kind. Find them, and kill those that refuse to return to our glorious race!”

“It shall be done, mother.” Chrysalis' image lifted her arms and wrapped them around his back, and he could 'feel' the embrace. His head was 'pulled' down and he 'felt' her kiss his forehead. He gave a sigh and 'pushed' her back so that he could look into her eyes. “Is there no way for you to stay?”

“No, this will be the last time I see you.”

“Mother... the one who killed you, he is still alive.”

“Worry not, you will have him in time. I must go now, see my other children. But remember,” She placed her hand upon his chest, a soft smile upon her muzzle. “I'll always be here, with you.”

“Mother, you are starting to sound like a pony.” The both chuckled at that, and smiled at each other.

“Goodbye, Metamorphosis. Hate your guts.”

“Hate your guts too, mother. Goodbye.” Her image slowly faded, and he took his throne with a sigh. He brought a hand up to his cheek as he felt something falling down it. He brought it up to his eyes and found it wet, his eyes going wide with shock. I'm crying?? But... changelings don't cry!!

...Do they?







        “Fair Heart?” The earth pony turned around to see a pegasus mare standing in the doorway, her face full of conflicting emotions. She happily skipped over and planted a wet kiss on the tip of the other mare's muzzle, but grew confused as it wasn't returned, and she was pushed away instead. “I'm... I'm leaving. You're in danger if I stay...”

“But Breezy Mint... what danger could come from the confectionery business? Especially when you've never actually gone to the factory where you work.”

“How do you know that?”

“I came to surprise you at lunch one day, and they had never heard of you. I... understand that you didn't want to tell me what you do, and wanted to wait for the right time. So... what do you do?” The pegasus led her over and sat her on the couch, standing near the door. Fair Heart noticed some suitcases in the hallway behind her marefriend, and looked up with tears in her eyes. A small green flame started at her feet, and slowly slid up her body, leaving a black chitin behind. It reached her head and the earth pony found herself staring at eyes that were pupil-less slits. “You... you're...”

“A changeling, yes. And I must leave, both for my part in the events today, and to keep you safe from my leaders. Goodbye, Fair Heart.” There was another set of green flame, leaving the orange furred pegasus mare once more. There was water streaks down her cheeks, and she quickly spun about, picking up her cases. She hadn't made it to the front door before Fair Heart grabbed her wrist and spun her around. “Fair, I need to leave.”

She was pushed against the wall as the earth pony pressed her into a deep kiss, pulling away with teary eyes. “You... are not going anywhere. I... can keep you safe. Come, let's go to the castle.”


> Chapter 13
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Dammit, where the hay is Joy? We need her, now!” One of the nurses rushed off to find the absent mare, whilst the doctor continued to work upon the guard lying on the gurney in the hallway. He glanced around the infirmary entrance, every space occupied by either a guard, servant, or medical personnel. The strike had come out of nowhere, the changelings already in the castle. There was still the occasional high pitched whine of a spell rifle from outside as the last few pockets of resistance were removed. “Nurse, tag him. Recovery room.”

The unicorn stallion stepped back and took a breather from using so much magic in such a short period, scowling as another trolley went past, this one with a black plastic bag upon it. That was the twelfth one since they had been coming through the doors, and Canterlot Castle's morgue had never seen so many bodies at a single point in recent history. He looked towards the door as the outgoing trolley was stopped, one of the incoming guards lifting the body away.

It was replaced by the still form of Nurse Openheart, set down gently by one of the human visitors. The doctor was over in an instant, Dean rolling the mare over do that he could see her injury. His horn was bathed in a yellow glow, which moved to his hands a he placed them over the scorched fur and cracked skin. The glow started to intensify, and two minutes later Joy shot up with a gasp, her eyes wide. She took one look at Dean then threw her arms around his neck, tears starting to wet his shoulder. “Nurse Openheart... we need you.”

She pulled away and looked at the carnage, comparing it to the usual happening of a training strain, nodded her head and hopped down from the trolley. She went to follow the stallion, but found herself held back by Dean's hand gripping tightly to hers. “Dean... I need to do my job. You need to let me go.” His grip slowly eased off, and the mare made her way over to the control point, which was the reception desk. “Okay, where do you need me?”

The doctor looked around, seeing that those who needed treatment were receiving it, but there was no order to things. “Triage, if you please.” With another nod of her head she made her way over to where the unprocessed injured were. She ignored the ones making noise for now, and started with the quiet ones. The first one she touched was cold with no pulse, and had been for a while, so she pushed the trolley to the side, moving to the next.

This one was alive, but barely. She'd need help right away if she was to survive. “Priority one, get her to a doctor right away!” She glanced out of the corner of her eye as she made the note on the tag, but found no orderlies waiting. They were all too busy already. The trolley started to move away from her, and she turned with a gasp of surprise, finding Dean at the foot of the bed. “Priority one, doctor, right away.”

He nodded and started to wheel the bed away, Joy watching for but a moment before turning her attention to the next. A quick check reveal both a pulse and an unblocked airway, and a further look revealed a magical burn to the knee cap. He'd live, but he may lose the use of that leg. She took up his tag, writing 'Priority two' on it, pushing the bed towards the end where the orderlies were collecting them from.

It didn't take her long to finish, and the stream of new injuries stopped coming. There were tears dripping down her cheeks as she looked toward the seven beds that she had left behind, and she turned when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She buried her head against Dean's chest as she began to sob, his hand coming up and stroking her mane. “JOY, I'M GOING TO NEED YOUR HELP IN HERE!” She pulled away and smiled weakly as he wiped her tears away and then nodded, standing back so that the mare could continue her work.







        “Stop the bleeding first, then we can see what needs doing. His heart is weak, so monitor that as well. JOY, I'M GOING TO NEED YOUR HELP IN HERE!” More orders, quieter than the first, drifted around. He was tired, so very tired. He just wanted to sleep. The sandmare's siren song was calling to him, a beautiful lullaby, but he couldn't get to them.

His vision flashed, an image from his childhood appearing. It was his first day of school, his mother kissing his forehead whilst his father hugged him. He was frightened, but he tried not to show it. The school bullies felt it though.

“Blood pressure is dropping!! Dammit, Openheart, we need Redheart's help!”

It flashed forward several years, a young teenage colt in a black suit, standing in front of two graves, his head turning as a hand was placed on his shoulder. The words from the Solar Princess were muffled to the numb colt, her promises empty and hollow. A terrible accident, is what the airship investigation team had ruled the event. There was hardly anything left for them to identify the bodies.

“The wound is closed, and blood pressure is rising once more. Time to deal with the magical after burn.”

Another flash and he was in high school, with some of the same ponies. A bulky earth pony's fist came up and impacted his jaw. He remained with his back against the wall and took the beating. This would be his eighth trip to the school nurse in half as many months. He didn't mind, the young mare being very friendly. He sat silently throughout dinner when he returned to the castle he now called home.

His aunt had tried to ask about his studies, both magical and academical, but still he refused to talk. There was a small smile on his face when her star student arrived and took all the attention away from him. Seizing his chance, the young prince sought escape, but was stopped by a guard outside the dining room. The then Captain of the Guard, Sir Nightlight, took him to the courtyard, where a training ring with dummy weapons was set up. He had gone to bed bruised and battered that night, but with new knowledge with which to defend himself..

“WHY WON'T HE AWAKEN?!?!?”

“Please miss, give him time. Being struck by a spell gun... his body will slowly heal itself after the jump start we gave him. But... it is up to him if he returns to us. Would you like me to get you an escort to a guest room?”

“No, thank you. I will be fine here.

“We can let you know the moment he...”

“I said; 'I am fine. Here.' What part of that did you not understand?”

Two months later, his bullies had him pinned against the wall once more, saying things about his parents. Normally he just shrugged it off, but when they said that his mother and father were better off dead, something snapped. For the first time since his enrolment, he was sat outside the principal's office that afternoon awaiting his guardian, nursing a cut lip, whilst five of the school's hoofball team were taken to hospital for serious treatment. It all changed for him then.







        “How's Dean?” Gray turned around to find Alec standing behind him, his gaze over the scorched gardens. None of the three had come out unscathed, and the young human had been informed by the doctors that he was not allowed to do anything strenuous. Which in this world meant anything for himself. A servant suddenly appeared and passed him the glass of water he was reaching for, and he sent his thanks with a grunt.

“Don't know... Joy said he hasn't spoken since the attack. She thinks that he's 'conflicted' about something, but he just sits there and stares at the wall. What about you, how are you holding up?”

“Can't wait to have my eye back, my depth perception is shot. Docs have grounded me until further notice. Oh, and for attempting to take on lots of changelings with just three others... I have to basically become Luna's bitch for a month.”

“So what's the difference between now and before we got here?”

“The difference, Gray, is that before you came here, I could join her in the bath. Now I can't.” He couldn't help but smirk at the most serious face he had seen Alec pull yet, and soon it cracked into a smile, both of them chuckling at his little joke. “Truth be told... I've got a big decision to make. Luna ain't gonna like it... but I think it's the right one.”

“Guess you want some time alone to think, huh?” Gray got slightly confused as the stallion sat in the chair next to him, wincing as his wing was pressed against his back, closing his uncovered eye with a sigh. “Or not. So what about Blueblood?”

“Still out, Rarity refuses to leave his side.” A small chuckle escaped the stallion as they heard shouting from an open window further down, the mare in question exploding once more. “Hell, she even scared me when I tried to get her to leave! You know, I've got a new respect for that stallion. I used to think he was just one of those 'born to royalty, so bow to me' sorts, but after last night... I have got a lot of apologies to make. To that end... I'm sorry.”

“For what?”

“Firstly, the way I treated you when you arrived, and secondly, dragging your ass into something that I should've finished years ago.”

“Dude... accepted. Now stop being so damn melancholic, it doesn't suit you. Anyway... what's with the big purple dome over the city?” The pair looked high above, where the sun's rays were coming down in a shade of violet, changing the colour of everything outside.

“Shining Armour. He did that when the changelings attacked last time, but they had an agent on the inside. This time they don't. His special talent is shields.”

“Damn... glad I didn't have to fight him now! You on any meds?”

“A few, nothing too strong. You?”

“Well, they gave me some stuff, but dunno if it works on us. Anyway... let's got to a bar.”

“Gray, Celestia has given the guards strict orders not to let us out of the castle grounds.” Gray turned his gaze back out over the gardens, slightly put off that she would do such a thing. He looked up as he felt a tug on his shoulder, seeing the pegasus nodding towards the balcony door. Alec silently led him through the castle's hidden tunnels, and they went through a small door to emerge on the streets of Canterlot from a random house. “Good thing most guards don't know of that escape route. Come on, the bar's one block this way.”







        “Dean, is there anything you need?” The human just remained seated, staring at the wall. Joy heaved a sigh, returning to reading over her medical journals. She had seen this before, a catatonic state after going through a life or death situation. He had woken up screaming during the night, but refused to talk about it. She had considered contacting her psychiatrist friend, but wanted to help him on her own. The itching between her shoulder blades started again, and she quickly slipped her blouse off.

She picked up the burn cream given to her, wincing as she tried to reach behind herself. The tube was taken out off her hand, and she felt the cream rubbed in gently. Afterwards the cracked skin was covered by a bandage, and her blouse was slowly slipped back up her arms. She took hold of the hand that rested on her shoulder, squeezing it gently as she looked up to Dean. “Thank you. How are you feeling?”

He said nothing, returning to the chair, gaze locked with her as he held his head up with a hand. She knew he was trying to think of something to say, but put it down to emotional stress. She glanced down at the book in her hand, trying to find a way to help. “I...” Her head shot up and she gave him her full attention, this being the first thing he had said since the previous day, and he carried on with a sigh. “I've... got a feeling... I won't be going home.”

“You're... welcome to stay here, I'd li... I have a spare room.” He slowly looked around the room, taking in everything he could as best as possible. Eventually his gaze made it back to the mare smiling at him, and he returned a small one to her.

“I'd... like that. Thank you.”

“I'm going to put some tea on. Would you like some?” Dean sank back against the cushions and closed his eyes with a deep breath, answering her with a nod. Joy got up from her chair and walked past him, placing a hand gently on his shoulder. His eyes cracked up open and he smiled up at her, and then she carried on to her kitchen, trying to understand the feeling in the pit of her stomach. I've known him for but a few days. I can't be feeling like this for him already... can I?







        Fair Heart and Breezy Mint walked towards the castle, the disguised changeling mare shaking nervously. The pegasus felt a hand take hers and squeeze gently, and with a deep breath they continued walking in the direction of the gatehouse. There was a new security check in place, where each and every visitor had to be scanned via magic before they were admitted. The pair watched through a window as a unicorn stallion passed through with no problems, but then it was their turn.

Fair Heart went first, and was soon on the other side. Breezy slowly stepped forward, wary of the guards watching her closely. She was soon into the small chamber, and a green glow washed over her. It made her skin tingle, and she closed her eyes as she felt the magic drop from her. “DON'T MOVE!” She knew that the game was up, and opened her eyes to find at least twenty guards aiming their weapons at her.

Two approached, holding shackles and a horn ring, and she placed her hands behind her back before they even told her to do so. She even titled her head down so that the magic blocking device could be put on easier. She managed one last look at Fair Heart before being escorted towards the dungeons, the other mare straining to get past the guards holding her back.

Once inside the prison, she found that there were thirty other changelings arrested, five to a cell. They all came the bars as she was led past them, bowing their heads. This caused the guards to pause for a moment, trying to work out why. They took her to the end and placed her in a cell on her own, believing it was for her safety from the others. They left the shackles on her as they locked the door and left, switching the lights off. “Major... how did you get captured?”

“I didn't, I gave myself up.” Outside the ajar door, the guard's eyes went wide. That was one of their leaders, and she just walked right up to them and surrender without a fight. They were even more surprised as Fair Heart was taken along the corridor with her hands shackled behind her back, towards the cells where they were placing those caught with a changeling, whether they were helping them or not.







“You stupid bucking colt! Why did you have to do it? Another bearer can be found... why risk your life to save me?”

The SS Cadence drifted smoothly into the airdock on the side of Canterlot mountain, a gangplank sliding out as soon as it was secured. A handsome unicorn stallion walked off, smiling at the mares gathered and all waving at him, kissing a few hands here and there. The deck hoofs started to unload the large amount of luggage, glaring at the stallion.

Meanwhile, the unicorn had forged onto the castle. After spending some time conversing with his aunt, he returned to his chambers to get ready for a night on the town, away from the castle. A look in the mirror revealed a stallion his parents could be proud of, and with that thought he left the room, smiling to a teenage Twilight Sparkle as her young dragon assistant trailed behind her, arms loaded with writing supplies whilst the mare had her muzzle customarily buried deep in a book.

“Why won't you wake up? Saving a mare's life like that, and then leaving. It's rude you know!”

“Rarity... Ah think ya need to get out fer a bit.”

“No thank you, Applejack. I am staying right here.”

“Well... no offence meant or nothin'... but you've been 'ere fer a whole day already. Ya stink.”

“But... what if he...”

“Ah'll stay with 'im, be sure to keep a close eye. The docs said ya can use t' shower across t' hall. Ah even brought ya a change o' clothes and some food. Ah'll come get ya straight away if he wakes.”

“Thank you, Applejack. Truly, thank you. How is Alec?”

“He... uh... You'll find out...”







“I’m so sorry, I really am, but when my head was hit, I sent out way too much magic. The link between your world and ours… it’s gone. I… destroyed it.” Gray and Dean slumped in their chairs, the revelation like a slap to their faces. Gray had a guard follow him everywhere after his little expedition with Alec, to which Celestia was not happy about. The situation about the chances of going home ran through their heads. Truth be told, they hadn't expected to get home again… alive anyway, after the assault on the castle. But to have it confirmed…

“Is… there no other way?”

“No, this was the only one. Again, I’m so sor..”

“Princess Sparkle…” They all turned to look at Dean, this being the first time he spoke to anyone else other than Joy since the attack was over. “...are you and your friends safe?”

“Yes, but…”

“Then that is all that matters. Nothing more needs to be said on the subject.” The doors creaked open and a pegasus stallion walked in, a black patch over his left eye, his torso and left wing covered in bandages. He dragged a pile of things behind him, taking it right up to the foot of the dais. With a quick glance, they spotted a spell gun and full set of armour, both items customized from the Lunar or Solar standard. The mare looked up into his eyes with a sad smile.

“Alec…”

“Your Majesty, I can’t even fly. Ever again. I can no longer carry out my duties. I am, in fact, both shocked and surprised that I have not been punished for most of my recent actions, and can only assume that you did not do so on account of my record. It is also my fault that some good ponies died.”

“Please, listen to me…”

“Having said that, either you’re going to fire me, or I’m going to be medically discharged, no option to continue as before. Therefore, I am officially tending my resignation from the Guard. I hope you find a suitable replacement.” His eye flicked over to the side, where the two humans were watching with interest. “Even… perhaps from your recently gained allies. I shall now take my leave for the final time.”

With that he turned and walked out of the throne room, closing the door quietly behind him. There was a flash of blue smoke as Luna disappeared, having given her sister a glare beforehand. The doors reopening drew their attention, four guards escorting Fair Heart into the room, tear streaks down her cheeks. The group stopped at the bottom of the dais, the mare refusing to look up. “Your majesty, the first of the changeling sympathisers.”

“Leave us, all of you. No, you four may stay.” The group at the side table glanced at each other, slowly sitting back down as the guards streamed out of the room. Celestia took her time to walk down the steps, raising the earth pony mare's face up with a hand, but she still refused to look the alicorn in the eye. “Fair Heart... speak to me, please.”

“My... marefriend is... she's a changeling! But she had nothing to do with this, I swear!”

“What is her name?”

“Breezy Mint, your majesty.” Celestia stepped back with a sigh, using her magic to float a piece of paper over, holding it in front of Fair Heart's face, who took a few moments to read it. “No.... no, that can't be true!! I don't believe it!! There has to be some other explanation!”

“Fair Heart, the changeling known as Breezy Mint has confessed to being the one that gave you the idea of Alec and Luna taking the small vacation. She also confessed to using you to gather intelligence on the daily going-ons of the castle. What would you have me do?”

“Let me talk to her, please! This has to be a mistake!” Celestia made her way back to her throne and sat down, indicating to the mare to turn around. Upon doing so she saw Breezy being escorted in, no fewer than five spell guns pointing at her. The changeling was brought alongside her and roughly pushed to the floor. “Leave her alone, she hasn't done anything! Right, Breezy? ...Breezy?”

She refused to look up, tears once more falling from the earth pony as she realised the truth. She then broke down sobbing, one of the guards coming to take her away, but she suddenly fell into a rage. “WHY? WE WERE HAPPY TOGETHER!!! BUT THAT WASN'T ENOUGH FOR YOU!! YOU WERE EVEN GOING TO LEAVE TO PROTECT ME!!” She tried to kick her legs at the changeling mare, but the guard had dragged her away from the changeling.

“ENOUGH!” The bellowing voice of Princess Celestia caused all others to shrink back in fear, eyeing her carefully as she walked down the dais and stood glaring down at the changeling. “Whatever your true name is, why did you do this?”

“I... they told me... they'd kill Fair Heart if I didn't provide them with information. I couldn't take that risk! Not... for the mare I love...” Breezy let her eyes drift over to her marefriend, who was staring back with her mouth open in shock. “I'd give my life for her, if that's what it took to keep her safe.”

“Your leader, this Metamorphosis, do you know where his hive is?”

“He was never my leader, not really, but yes I do, your majesty.”

“You will inform my guards as to it's location. Sergeant, escort them both... to Fair Heart's quarters. They have much to talk about.” The pair looked on in surprise as Celestia waved her hand across them with her horn aglow, the shackles on their wrists dropping to the floor. The earth pony mare was instantly next to the changeling, sobbing against her side, and they followed the guards out of the throne room side by side. The only ones that remained in the throne room with her were the two humans, Twilight, and Joy.

Gray stood and walked over, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. She turned around with a sigh and lit her horn, a bottle of wine appearing. “You sure you want to do that?”

“No, not really. But today has been a tough one. And unless you want to hold congress, I need something else to make me relax.”

“'Hold congress'? Do you mean that literally, or is it another name for something?” The wink she threw at him confused the man even more, and he just watched her with a raised eyebrow as she took a swig straight from the bottle. “Celestia, are you going to answer me?”

“Maybe... but not just yet.” She poked her tongue out at him and walked over to the table, pouring some wine into the waiting glasses, and passing them to the other mares. “You'll just have to find out on your own.” Gray looked over to his companion, Dean just shrugging at the comment.

“Don’t look at me, I haven’t got a clue!”






        “Your highness, one of the survivors from the attack.” The changeling bowed and left the room as Metamorphosis stood from his throne, approaching the drone the remained, walking around it. All across it’s body and head was a slimy green goo, slowly healing the multiple injuries.

“Speak.”

“We were attacked by a strange pony, it was furless and had a tiny muzzle. We didn't sense it coming, and it was in the centre of the base before it opened fire on us. It moved quickly, using our own tunnels for cover. It must be in league with the ponies, for the guards came a few days later.”

“Tell me, this ‘furless pony’, did it look like this?” The changeling king’s horn sparked with a green aura, summoning an image of his memory from the attack in Ponyville. Just out of focus were two creatures, both pointing spell guns into the room. The drone walked closer and took a good look, turning back to Metamorphosis.

“They look similar… is there any way to make this clearer.” The green glow grew brighter, the image becoming sharp, and the drone hummed thoughtfully. “Hmm, yes it did. I have no idea what those things are, but they are dangerous.”

“That I already know. I need to know more about them!” The drone looked at one of the creatures closely, rubbing the tip of it’s muzzle before it's eyes widened in shock.

“THAT ONE! That’s the one that attacked us!” The drone started to choke as Metamorphosis’ hand wrapped around his throat squeezing tightly. The image disappeared in a green flame, the changeling king snarling loudly. The drone dropped to the floor and gasped for breath when he was released, Metamorphosis walking back to his throne.

“You are lucky I need every drone I can get. Your new task is to find this creature, and kill it. Do not return without it’s head.”

“It will be done, your majesty.” The drone bowed low and then ran out of the room, leaving Metamorphosis to continue thinking of ways to get their hive back to full strength before his next assault.
> Chapter 14
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The Grand Galloping Gala, a normally dreary event, and he had grown tired of the shallow mares, not that he shied away when he got the chance. It worked both ways though, and he knew that his rather large ego needed curtailing. Tonight was going to be different, Twilight Sparkle attending with some of her new friends. Perhaps one would show some interest. He watched from the corridor above the entrance hall. He saw the mares approach, taking in all their features, but his gaze kept drawing back to the beautiful white unicorn mare. He managed to catch her attention in the dance hall, smirking as she followed him towards the gardens. “Well, hello. I am Prince Blueblood.”
        
“I am... Rarity. Oh my, what a lovely rose.”
                
“You mean... this rose? Thank you. It goes with my eyes.” Stupid, stupid stupid!!!!

        
“Miss Rarity! Stop!”
        
“Oh. Prince Blueblood! How chivalrous.”
        
“One would hate to slip.”
        
“Yes. One certainly would.”
        
“One's cloak should take care of the problem.” Why the buck did I not use mine? What the hay is wrong with me???
        
“Oh, of course it will. “


        A large apple cake sailed through the air, heading right for the stallion. His first instinct as taught to him by the now retired Captain Nightlight was to seek cover, but unfortunately he grabbed the nearest thing to him. The end result was the cake impacting Rarity, who turned upon him with a growl and a face red from anger. “You, sir, are the most uncharming prince I have ever met! In fact, the only thing royal about you is that you are a royal pain!”
                
“Ewww...! Uh, stay back! I just had myself groomed!” WHY AM I NOT ASKING IF SHE IS ALL RIGHT? Not that she will be, but still...

“Afraid to get dirty?!” The stallion ran as she began to shake her body, not stopping until he was safely back in his chambers, locking the door and leaning against it. He looked down at his stained suit and gasped. He had just been berated for being an ass in front of the Canterlot Elite, hundreds of guards, and the personal guests of Princess' Celestia and Luna. Being humiliated had never felt so good.
        
“Hi, Blue... it's been awhile since we last spoke properly. Celestia says we can't use magic to help you, not even me. Rarity's asleep on the couch right now, as it's three o'clock in the morning. I can't sleep, and needed somepony to talk to. You remember all those times we talked in the evenings, right?”
        
“Hmph, Ah still ain't forgiven 'im fer sayin' that 'orrible stuff about mah cooking!”
        
“You'll get your turn, Applejack, as soon as Rarity is through. It's been two days, Blue, and she won't eat unless we force her. She's waiting for you.”
        
The mare grumbled as she entered the store that one of the servants had given her directions too. Almost immediately two more mares appeared, the first tensing a little as she recognised one. They introduced themselves, and were soon taking her measurements. Rarity stood tapping her lips, causing the visitor to panic. “Is anything wrong, Miss Rarity?”
        
“I'm... not so sure... Prince Blueblood!” The stallion turned mare tried to run, but against two adept magic users he stood no chance. He suddenly found himself stripped of all clothing, both mares giggling at his new... assets. “Well then, it would seem some things have changed. We certainly cannot call you prince any more... so how about Princess Bluebell?”

“Fine, whatever. Have your fun and just let me leave, with what little dignity I have left. Which, before you say anything, is little indeed.” He was then led through the torture that anypony with a big sister knew of, hundreds of items of clothing floating around him in two auras as the first dress slipped over his shoulder.
        
He was forcibly dressed in everything from provocative lingerie to ball gowns, and everything in between. Come mid morning, Rarity and Fleur had reached an agreement, and even he had to admit that the short red dress he was now sporting fitted his new body well. He was about to leave for the castle when Rarity appeared with a box. She opened it to reveal a matching pair of red high heels, forcing them onto his feet. Fleur quickly came over and applied some make up, before they pushed him into the street and locked the door. They giggled as the male who was currently female shook his head to clear the disorientation, and then began to wobbly make his way back to the castle.
        
“Damn stallion. Why was I attracted to you in the first place? And why didn't you come talk to me when you were in Ponyville? I saw you watching the Boutique, but I was wary of your reasons. And your latest act, saving my life. Another bearer would be found... but why?”
        
“Because...” Blueblood's voice was hoarse and dry, the stallion giving a few coughs as Rarity went wide eyed with shock. His eyes fluttered open and he sat up with a wince, glancing down at his bandaged chest, then back to the mare. “...no matter if another bearer was found, and not even if it was the right thing to do anyway, you're worth saving, Miss Rarity.” She gave a cry of joy as she threw her arms around his neck, her tears falling to his shoulder.






        Gray and Dean walked down the corridors of Canterlot Castle, having vacated the throne room under advice from Twilight Sparkle. Apparently, once Celestia got in one of those moods, there was no getting anything out of her until the next morning. They were quite surprised to find they weren't being escorted, even more surprised when a random guard showed up and passed them a spell gun each, walking off with a nod. They had just turned a corner and saw Luna come running out of one of the rooms, sobbing. She took one look at them and then ran in the other direction, and the pair walked forward, slowing down as a voice drifted out of the door. “Issued... issued... issued, but I'm keeping it... mine... issued.”

They peeked around the door to find Alec had already gone through a desk, sorting out different items, and continued with different storage spaces. There was a small pile of personal effects, and another pile of items, which was larger. The pegasus had his back to them, rooting around in a closet. “And the rest can stay.” He turned around with a crate in his arms, sweeping the small pile from the desk into it, before he looked up and noticed his guests. “Gray, Dean. What can I do for you?”

The pair just looked at each other, Dean backing away and leaving whatever this was to Gray. “Uh... what are you doing?”

“This? Clearing out my office. Got no use for it now.”

“What about Luna?”

“Luna? Why, was she here? I'll go talk to her later.” Alec started to walk towards the door, slowing down as he noticed the weapons slung over the human's backs. “You two are armed.”

“Yeah, we were given them.”

“Hmm, fair enough.” He carried on walking and they followed, the pegasus adding the small crate to a pile by one of the service entrances. They noted the markings on the box, the word 'Ponyville' written on them. “Well, that's everything. Just gotta wait for the moving company.”

“What the hell are you doing?” Alec stood up and turned to Dean, raising an eyebrow at him as he pondered the question. “Why is all your stuff in boxes?”

“This? I'm going home. They don't need me here any more, and I haven't got any reason to stay... wait, you said something about Luna, didn't you?”

“Yeah, she just left your office, crying her eyes out.”

“Shit. I'll give her some time to calm down. Now, if you'll both follow me please.” They did as asked, Alec leading them back towards the throne room. It was surprisingly empty, and they were guided over to an office that was opposite Celestia's, a purple star upon the door. The pegasus stopped outside it and knocked on the wood.

“Enter.” The trio did just that, finding Twilight Sparkle sat behind a large desk, with two seats in front of it. “Oh good, you're here! Take a seat, please.” Gray and Dean shrugged, settling into the plush chairs after removing their guns. “Ah, I see you have your weapons issued. Now... I truly am sorry about not being able to send you home, but after a talk with Celestia before she got too drunk, we have come up with a solution. Alec?”

The pegasus walked forward and pulled out two brown envelopes from his jacket, passing one each to the humans. They ripped them open and pulled out the paperwork, eyes going wide at the title. They were then passed two pens, and Alec stood behind them. “You've both proven yourself trustworthy, and skilled. I know I initially showed hostility towards you both, and I am truly sorry. But... you need a job if you're going to stay.”

“To that end..” They looked up to Twilight as she continued, a copy of the papers spread across her desk. “...we have decided where it would be best to put somepony of your skill levels. For now, we would like you to assist with training of new Royal Guards.” She then smiled at them, motioning to the forms that said 'Application for Equestrian Military Service' across the top, and they glanced at each other, Gray, raising an eyebrow.

“Could... we have a moment to discuss this?” The mare nodded at them, and Alec followed her out, closing the door behind them. Gray started to look over the forms when he heard scratching on paper to the side of him, finding Dean filing the paperwork in rapidly. “Really? Just like that?”

“She's right, we need a job. What else are we going to do, become florists?” He considered this for a moment, before leaning forward and reading the document line for line, then going back to the beginning and filling in the required fields. He snickered as he came across the three check boxes for pony race, adding another one underneath and writing 'other' next to it. He was a quick writer, and both he and Dean finished with in moments of each other, the door swinging open again and the ponies returning.

Twilight gathered the papers up and read them over, Gray's first, stopping and looking at him with a slight grin as she noticed his extra option. Next came Dean's, and she stopped near the top with a sigh. “Mr Hollis...”

“Yes, your majesty?” She tried not to laugh at the grin on his face, the man having clearly worked out why she had stopped.

“For the option of 'sex', you ticked 'mare', and wrote underneath 'stallions don't do it for me'. You do realise that this is an official form, don't you?”

“Yep.”

“Fine. Everything else seems to be in order, I'll send these to processing. Alec if you could see them to your new office please.”

“New office? What new office? I just quit.” It was clear the pegasus was just as confused as the humans, his free eye going wide at the paper floated over to him in a purple aura. He tilted his head around the side of it, staring at Twilight. “You sure about this? Interpersonal skills aren't exactly my forte. You could scar them for life, you know?”

“Yes, well Celestia chose to ignore your resignation, and gave you this job instead. Now, if you could head to your new office, the next batch of recruits will be ready in a few hours.”

“Sure. Dean, Gray, grab your weapons and follow me.” The trio left the office, following the map that was at the bottom of the paper in the pegasus' hand, and ten minutes later they stopped outside a set of double doors. They pushed through them to find a office almost four times the size of Alec's previous one, with three desks evenly spread out. “Well guys, welcome to your new home for the foreseeable future.”

The pair wandered in, noting that the desk to the side had their names on small wooden blocks already, as if Celestia had this idea a while ago. Letting his gaze drift around the room, Gray noticed something strange, walking over to the other desk. “Hey Alec, weren't you a captain?”

“No, that was just a title whilst I was Luna's guard. I needed the same level of authority as them. Why?” He leaned over Gray's shoulder and gave a low whistle, taking the wooden block from the man. “Gunnery Sergeant, huh? Not too bad a drop from Sergeant Major. Right then, guess I better go tell Luna that I'm staying in the castle.” Alec walked over to one of the walls and tapped the map that was hanging there. “Familiarise yourselves with this, it's where you'll be working. I'll meet you in the recruit's billet in two hours.”

They nodded to him as they moved to their own desks, the pegasus leaving them to route through their drawers to see what goodies they had. About twenty minutes later they heard an explosion, and they rushed to the window behind Alec's desk. The started to chuckle as they noted smoke pouring out of Luna's tower.







Thirty two ponies of mixed race and gender stood in the wide hallway, staring at the wall opposite them. Their trainers were running late, but that was to be expected with the military. The door swung open and a unicorn stallion walked in, dressed in the red best of the Royal Guard, the crown insignia of a major on his lapels. “FACE YOUR FRONT!” They all whipped their heads away, now slightly nervous. “Gentlecolts, they are all yours.”

The doors swung open again, two... things walked in. They did their best not to look at them, but as they walked down past each recruit, the pony's eyes stole a glance at them. The pair took positions at the end of the hall, turning and standing straight. The door swung open once more, and a pegasus stallion walked in, saluting the unicorn, who nodded at him. “I AM GUNNERY SERGEANT DEADEYE, YOUR SENIOR DRILL INSTRUCTOR. 

“Deadeye?” Gray just shrugged at Dean, turning his head slightly so he could look at the other man.

“Dunno, never heard him called that before, I wonder what THE HELL WAS THAT?” The shout drew the room’s collective attention as their heads turned behind them, following the blur and impact noise, finding a knife halfway buried into a picture of a changeling soldier on a notice board, right between the eyes. They swallowed nervously and nodded back to the pegasus staring at them with a slight grin, Alec continuing with his ‘introductions’.

“THE TWO DOWN THE END THERE ARE SERGEANTS HOLLIS AND HEARTBELLE, MY ASSISTANTS. YOU C/O IS MAJOR BLUEBLOOD. FROM NOW ON, YOU WILL SPEAK ONLY WHEN SPOKEN TO, THE FIRST AND LAST WORDS OUT OF YOUR FILTHY SEWERS WILL BE SIR. DO YOU MAGGOTS UNDERSTAND THAT?”

“Sir, yes, sir.” Blueblood shook his head at Alec, showing his disappointment at the recruit's enthusiasm. The pegasus growled slightly, stepping forward a little.

“BULLSHIT, I CAN'T HEAR YOU! THIS GOES FOR THE MARES AS WELL, SOUND OFF LIKE YOU'VE GOT A PAIR!”

“SIR, YES, SIR!” Blueblood nodded this time, a small smile tugging at his lips as Alec just scowled at them.

“BETTER! Now whilst you are here, there will be no racial or gender bigotry. I don't care if you are an air head pegasus, a snobby unicorn, or a dirty earth pounder, mare or stallion, you are all equally worthless to me. You are nothing but unorganized grab-asstic pieces of griffon shit, and it's my job to change that.” Alec walked to the nearest recruit to him, his good eye staring at the pony. “So you think you're good enough to protect Equestria, huh?”

“Sir, yes, sir!”

“Bullshit, I can't hear you!”

“SIR, YES, SIR!”

“Better.” The stallion stepped away, a smirk on his muzzle as he nodded to Blueblood, standing to the side. The unicorn stepped forward, hands clasped behind his back as he walked past the recruits.

“Thank you, Sergeant. As you have been told, I am Major Blueblood. I am here to ensure your training goes as smoothly as possible. If you have any issues, then your first point of contact is the two sergeants, then Gunnery Sergeant Deadeye. If you can't find them, my office is just down the hall, and the door is always open.” He had made it back to the entry way, and checked his watch. “It has just gone sixteen hundred. Your first day starts at oh-five hundred, where you will be issued your kit. For now... go get some food and enjoy the evening. Dismissed!”

The ponies stood still for a moment, then turned and started to walk towards the door. The first ones stopped as they got a better look at the pegasus standing nearby, staring at the black patch across his left eye. His gaze narrowed at them, before he worked out what it was. “If you fillies survive my training, I'll tell you about it. Now buck off.” They didn't need to be told twice, streaming towards the mess.







        Gray and Dean followed the instructions on the piece of paper, emerging onto a large balcony. There were several tables set out with two chairs each, but there was no one else present. The were about to leave when Celestia appeared, followed by a few others. She motioned Gray over to a table and sat, the man sitting opposite her. Dean noted the the other tables were filled up by pairs, Luna with Alec, Blueblood with Rarity, and Twilight with an unknown pegasus, his coat orange and his blue mane flapping around in the breeze.

He felt someone next to him and glanced out of the corner of his eye, smirking as he came across Joy. She gave a gasp of surprise as he grabbed her arm, leading her over to the only empty table. She giggled as he pulled her chair out for her, taking a seat opposite the mare. The sound of small talk rose up, each pair trying to outdo the other. 

After a few moments, Celestia tapped her glass, bringing silence all round as she stood. “I have asked you all here tonight to officially welcome Gray Heartbelle and Dean Hollis into the Royal Guard.” There was a polite round of applause, which Celestia quieted down with a wave of her hand. “I know that some around the castle would see this decision from a different point of view, but the fact is that they saved the life of everypony here. So, if you could please join me in raising a glass to Equestria's latest heros.”

The pair shrunk back in their seats, trying to downplay their actions. Dean smiled sheepishly as Joy leant forward, squeezing his hand as it rested on the table. Her thumb started to stoke the back of his hand, and his smile got slightly bigger. “Now then...” They all turned to the Solar Diarch as she continued. “... we have all been busy today, and my nap this afternoon helped. So, it is time to eat.”

A door to the side opened, a conga line of servants bringing trays of food out. The started was a simple salad, which didn't last long. The main course surprised Dean, who hadn't had any meat since his arrival, but the cooked pieces of flesh on his plate made his stomach rumble, and the mare opposite to start giggling. The small talk continued, Celestia watching with a smile as she looked around at the peaceful setting. “Celestia? Who's that guy?” She turned to look at where Gray was pointing, smiling as she looked at the pegasus.

“That is Flash Sentry, a transfer from the Crystal Empire Guards. He is going to be working as Blueblood's assistant, so you will be seeing a lot of him over time. Do you like your new job?”

“Only had it an afternoon, but it's... going to be interesting. Tell me, what made you choose that?”

“Well, I could have have given you ambassador status, as you are visitors from a foreign nation. Anything you wanted would be paid for by the crown, me. Would you really want that?”

“No... no, I wouldn't. I couldn't scrounge off you for the rest of my life.” There was a tap on his shoulder, Alec motioning for him to follow. “Excuse me a moment, Celestia.” She gave him a polite smile as he walked away, being led over to where Blueblood, Dean and the other pegasus were standing. “Okay, what's up?”

“I'm going away for a while tomorrow. You guys are going to help Blueblood and Flash with the recruits for the next six months. Then... I should be back.” Alec glanced over his shoulder at Luna, who quickly averted her gaze, Gray noting that she seemed sad, “Anyway, this is more than likely the last you'll be seeing of me tonight. Luna and I are going to retire now, enjoy the rest of your evening.”

With that he walked away, taking Luna's hand and leaving the balcony. Gray turned and found that the rest of them didn't seem to know what he was on about, and each one left to go back to their mares. He chuckled as he thought that, taking a seat opposite Celestia. She gave a giggle as Joy pulled Dean back into the castle, followed by the others, leaving them on the balcony. “I assume you are tired after the past few days. Perhaps it would be best if you were to retire for the night.”

“Are you sure?” She gave him a small smile and nod, so he stood from the table, taking her hand and causing her to giggle as he kissed it. He then left the balcony, heading down towards the castle apartment he had been given. All of the items of clothing Rarity had supplied for him had been brought down from the guest room to his new home. He slipped out of the suit he was wearing, placing it over the back of a chair, and climbed onto the bed, closing his eyes. The was a flash of light and he felt someone lay next to him, causing him to open his eyes again. “Celestia?”

Her head appeared in his vision, a hand placed on his chest. He glanced down and noted that she was in her underwear, and that she was now lying against him, her face closer. “I never properly thanked you for saving my life.” She pressed closer, closing her eyes as her lips softly pressed to his. He pushed her away, a look of confusion crossing her features. “Do you not find me pleasing?”

“What? No! I mean, yes! It's just...”

“Do you... like stallions?”

“Oh, fuck no! I... like the mares. I... just think it's too soon.” Celestia pulled away and sat on the edge of the bed, her back to the human. With a sigh he sat up, putting his hands on the mare's shoulders as she prepared to stand, pulling her back down. “You can stay for the night if you wish.” Her horn flashed once, the covers being teleported above them.

Gray rolled over so that he was on his back, Celestia shifting until her chest was pressing against his side, wrapping one of her legs over his. She craned her neck up and kissed his cheek, then settled her head onto his shoulder. He brought a hand up and started to stroke her mane, hearing the mare gift out a soft sigh. Her arm wrapped around his chest as she settled in for the night.







        Gray and Dean sat in the shadows of the packed throne room. Half of the group were nobles and castle staff, the rest filled with guards. “So, you know what is this all about?”

“Don't have a clue, Dean. Celestia wouldn't tell me anything.”

“Heh, so you got some too, huh? Save a mare's life, and she'll fall at your feet.”

“No, we just shared the same bed. So you and Joy... had some fun, did you?”

“You bet! Man, I never knew how good they could control their tails! Just wait, you'll find it pretty fucking awesome, and...” The doors swung open, cutting off their conversation, a few guards walking with in a white crescent moon on a black patch upon the pauldron parts of their armour. The humans joined with the ponies in bowing as Princess Luna walked into the room, the pair noting she was wearing a blue outfit in the similar style of a British judge.

She took her place upon her throne, her guards lining the steps of the dais. She waved her arms out wide, the gathered crowd standing and then taking their seats. Her gaze moved around the room and finally settled on the two men. “Bring him in.” Their attention was drawn to the door, where four guards were escorting another pony. They easily recognised him by the black patch over his left eye, the group stopping by the dais and bowing. “You may rise.” The four guards did so, but Alec remained bowing. “I said; rise.”

“I do not deserve to, your majesty.”

“Very well. You have been brought forth to court on this day to answer the charge of grievous bodily harm against a detainee who could not defend themselves within the castle walls. How do you plead?”

“Guilty, your majesty.” There was a hushed whisper throughout the room, which Luna silenced with a wave of her arm.

“In light of your record of service to the crown, your punishment shall be...” Gray and Dean looked at Luna as her voice cracked, watching as she tried to get her emotions under control. Alec closed his eye with a deep breath, then opened it and locked his gaze with Luna's, nodding at her. “You punishment shall be six months of hard labour in the Gem Mines.”

“THAT IS BULLSHIT!! HE HELPED SAVE YOURS AND OTHERS LIVES!! YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO HIM!” A group of guards jumped in front of Dean as he tried to get up to the throne, scowling at Luna. “HOW CAN YOU DO THIS TO YOUR OWN LOVER?” This caused another hushed whisper to spread throughout the room, everypony focusing on the pair still staring at each other.

Alec stood and waited patiently as the guards shackled his hands behind his back, Dean still struggling to get closer. One of the guards gripped his arm, the stallion still staring at Luna, waiting for the final part. “You... will now be taken to the dungeons until your transport to the mines is ready. C-c-court is adjourned.” Alec finally let his gaze drop, hanging his head as the guards escorted him away.

Luna gave one last pointed look in the direction of the angry human, who ceased his struggling when he saw her eyes filled with tears, and the she stood from the throne, striding out of the room as regally as she could. The rest of the ponies filed out, none of them noticing the servant who was staring intently at Gray.


> Chapter 15
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Why you call us here?” Metamorphosis smirked at the creature sat opposite him, knowing that his plan was being set into motion. Its vicious looking guards were growling with every breath and drool dripped from their open muzzles and onto their gun metal grey armour. “We have things to do. So, why you call us?”

“Simple. You want ponies to mine for you, and I can help you get them.” The changeling king stood from his throne and threw a scroll over the large table, letting it unroll. “As you can see, the mountain under Canterlot is used as a gem mine. That is your way in, and I can hide you.”

“Why you help us?” The diamond dog sneezed, its mucus spraying across the room. It wiped its muzzle on the back of its arm, then looked back at the map. “Pony capital too hard.”

“Like I said; I can hide you. Using illusion magic, I can make you invisible, but I do not have enough power. I need more love energy, and I know your race has plenty.” The dog cracked its jaw a few times and then gave Metamorphosis a nod. “Excellent. Hold still, this won't hurt at all.” The changeling's horn glowed green,  the aura extending to the dog sat opposite him.

His eyes were shut for a good five minutes, and when he opened them again they were glowing the same green colour. Dropping the love draining spell, his body soon became surrounded by green flame. Once it dropped the changeling king was replaced by a large male diamond dog. The two guards started snarling at him, moving forward, but backed away as the one in charge growled at them. “Leave us, now!” The pair turned and left the room, the dog standing and walking around Metamorphosis. “Hmm, even smell is right, but too strong.”

The diamond dog flicked its tail across his longer than usual muzzle, and he finally took in its features. Even though it stood almost as tall as him, its body was slightly more lithe than his. He then noted its chest and facial features, smirking as the tail flicked up at him again. The changeling king stopped her walk by running one of his hands, now looking more like a claw, across the bitch's flank, and she gave a small whimper, pressing back against his chest. He used some of his magic to lock the throne room and open a curtain to the side, revealing his bed. He then turned back to the diamond dog bitch and offered her his hand/claw/paw. “I can see us having a very beneficial partnership.”

She walked over and moved his arm out of the way, opening her mouth over his neck. He felt her teeth sink lightly into his flesh, grinning as she dragged him back towards the bed. A very beneficial partnership indeed.







        Gray and Dean sat in the back of the medium sized briefing room, remaining silent as Blueblood continued with his arrivals briefs. They were quietly assessing the recruits, trying to work out who would be the trouble makers, but the morning was still fresh in their minds. Gray had tried to ask the other man about his reaction to Luna's judgement, but he had refused to talk about it. Their gazes drew to the stallion standing behind the lectern as he finished up. “... you will now go and receive your armour. Sergeants, could you show them the way?”

The stallion then slapped a hand over his face, shaking his head. “Of course, you don't know where to go yet, either.” He silenced the snickers from the front few rows with a glare, opening a folder on the lectern and waving the humans down. They felt the eyes of the recruits on them as they made their way down the stairs at the side of the room, climbing up onto the stage and standing next to the stallion. “In here you will find a map, use it to find the armoury.”

They nodded to Blueblood as he hopped down from the stage, and they looked down at the map. Jumping back down, Dean motioned for the recruits to follow, Gray bringing up the rear. After twenty minutes of walking through the corridors, the Marine stopped, looked at the map then scratched his head, then looked at the map again. “We are not lost!” It didn't stop the recruits from snickering at him as he tried to work out which way they needed to go.

“It's back here.” Gray turned around, his small grin changing for a frown as he raised his spell gun, aiming it at the changeling. She just shook her head, crossing her arms with a glare. “Fine, wander around for however long you like, the armoury is over here. Listen to me or not, I don't care, but that's where I work now, so...”

He lowered his rifle with a grumble, before nodding to the recruits to follow her. Dean came alongside him and shrugged, following the recruits through the door. After going down some twisting stairs they emerged into a warm corridor, a bright light coming out of a wooden door frame. Gray's face turned into a smirk as he recognised the voice that came out. “Next!” One of the recruits near the door entered the room. “Well? Come on zen, strip. 'ow can I take your measurements with your clothes on?”

Gray walked into the room with a smile, watching as the young stallion sheepishly stripped to his underwear. A tape measure was floated over in a pink aura, and the man turned to the side, finding the mare he expected to see. “Good morning, Miss De Lis.”

“Oh, Mr Heartbelle, what brings you here?”

“You're issuing the kit to my recruits. And we've got to get fitted for some armour.” He noted the confused look she was giving him, and turned back to the doorway. “Dean, come on in.” The other man entered, Fleur giving as gasp as she saw him. “Yeah, we need armour.”

“Very well. Go see Breezy, she iz doing zee armour for today.” The pair looked over to where the sound of metal being struck could be heard. With slight reservation they walked over, seeing the changeling hitting a large gold plate with a hammer. She glanced at the men then went back to her work.

After ten minutes of silence she turned around, motioning Gray over. He stepped closer, and she started by lifting up some of the plates in her magic, before letting them drift over to the man's body, wrapping them around him. He stood still as the plates were adjusted and clamped into place. Breezy Mint then took it off him and did the same with Dean, who was glaring at her all the time, but the metal she used was a very dark navy blue.

Five more minutes later she lay two sets of armour on the large table and stepped back. Gray picked his up, surprised at how light it was, and slipped into the torso portion of it. Dean then helped him with the pauldrons and greaves. Last came his helmet, fitted perfectly to his head. He stepped closer to the mirror and looked at himself with a smile. And then he saw the blazing suns upon his shoulders.

Dean came alongside him, the changeling having helped him into his armour. The style was slightly different, the lines more pronounced, with crescent moons upon his shoulders. They started looking over every inch, finding pockets everywhere. Two on the left of the stomach had holders for magic cores, whilst the rest could fit a range of things. They didn't notice Breezy still working away until they turned, seeing five sets of completed solar armour and four of the lunar armour. It was for the recruits.

They walked back out into the main area to find nearly all of the ponies in their underwear, lining up to a counter with an admittedly attractive young mare stood behind it. The first pony, a stallion, was leaning his elbow on the counter, muzzle in his hand. The mare was giggling at everything he said, until Dean walked up and shoved the stallion's head, knocking him off balance. “Get your kit and move to the next area.”

The mare just giggled whilst the stallion grumbled, picking up the uniform that had been placed on the front desk. The line then moved forward, and pretty soon they were all on their way back to the billet. Once inside the recruits placed their gear onto their bunks. “Okay then everypony, into your PT gear!” They all looked to the door in confusion, the pegasus stallion looking like he was ready to go in his own stuff. “Well, what are you waiting for?”

“You heard Lieutenant Sentry, get changed!” The recruits scrambled into the instructed clothes, filling out into the garden. To Gray's surprise, Dean had followed with them. He walked over to the door and watched as the group started their first run. The man chuckled, walking back into the billet and over to the area with a few ironing boards, spotting some examples of the uniforms and a booklet on one of them. 

“Hmm... 'Royal Guard's Guide To The Perfect Uniform'. Oh well, might as well teach them this when they get back.” He grabbed one of the white shirts and turned the iron on. “Have to teach myself how they do it first.” The man began to hum as he worked, not noticing the smiling alicorn at the door.






One week later



        Celestia looked up from her desk, mouth dropping open in shock. She shot up from her chair and ran over to the entrance, pulling her sister into a tight embrace. This was the first time all week that anypony, barring Velvet Bow, had seen the lunar diarch. “Luna... how are you?”

“I... am better than at the beginning of the week. What have I missed?” The elder alicorn couldn't help but snicker, her sister having taken a spell gun to the range and spent a night in there, so for her to be here now, it was a good thing.

“The changelings we had in the dungeons have been sorted through. Those who took part in the attack have been sent to The Crystal Empire, and have had their magic limited to only take in residual love energy.” Luna nodded, walking over to the window and staring out over the training grounds. “Have you seen Dean?”

“Yes, in the halls earlier. He wouldn't talk to me.”

“Strange how the one who was the victim did not agree with the sent...”

“Please, don't. I don't want to talk about it.” Celestia nodded sympathetically, sitting into her chair with a sigh. “How are the new recruits coming along?”

“For now, the usual. Their community project, which is this weekend, is to help clear one of the city's gardens that have fallen into disrepair.”

“I... I want to join them.”

“Luna...”

“I need to get out of the castle!”

“Okay... for now, let us have dinner.” The younger alicorn nodded, following her sister into the throne room and over to their dining table, their meals already laid out. They ate in silence, neither mare knowing how to start a conversation. Celestia knew what was on her sister's mind, but she had requested not to talk about it. The servants cleared the dishes away once they finished, and the Solar Diarch stood from the table, giving a weak smile to Luna as she remained seated. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, night court must resume. Good evening, sister.”

“Good evening, Luna.” Celestia knew it was going to be hard for her sister, Alec had been present at night court ever since the Luna Corps was formed when the younger alicorn returned. The elder sister left with a sigh, walking through the castle corridors listlessly, no destination or direction. So deep was she in her reverie that she didn't notice the other coming the other way around a corner, not until she fell to the floor in shock, snapped out of her thoughts suddenly.

“Well, that's one way to say hello.” She looked up at the hand being offered, then smiled,  accepting the man's assistance. Gray chuckled as she threw her arms around his neck. “Whoa, easy there. We're in public.” Celestia couldn’t care less about that remark, it had been a couple of days since she saw him after all.  Sure, after the attack he had said it was too soon, but a kiss here and there was okay with him.

Celestia giggled at him, took his hand tightly and dragged him down the corridor. It was one he hadn't explored yet, so he wasn't sure where she was leading him until they walked through a large set of double doors. The room was revealed to be a medium sized opulent bar, a pool table in the middle, and a few smaller bare wooden tables with seats placed around the room. The mare let his hand go and walked over to the bar, where there were hundreds of bottles. “So then, name your poison, Gray.”

“Whiskey and rye, if you please.” She smirked as she mixed his drink, then proceeded to make her own. He followed as she walked over to a large window, opening it and moving to the large balcony. Gray wrapped his arms around Celestia's waist as they looked over the city, the rooftops glowing orange in the slowly setting sun, the mare pressing back against his chest. “So, do you play?”

“Play what?”

“Well, that furniture isn’t for decoration, so wondered if you would like a game.”

“Very well, but how about we make it interesting.”

“How so?”

“I shall tell you after the first game.” He returned the grin she gave him, took a sip of his drink and made his way over to the table, setting up. After a flip of a coin decided the one to break first, and Gray made sure to stand behind Celestia as she bent over the table, his gaze nowhere near the cloth. Nothing went down, so he moved to take his shot, pulling back with his cue and getting ready to push it forwards.

He failed his shot, having felt a tail rub his thigh... on the inside of his leg. Damn, Dean was right! He gave a small glare over his shoulder at the mare, who just sipped her drink whilst looking at him from the corner of her eye. So that's how she wants to play it, huh? Celestia went to take her next shot, but Gray returned the favour, sliding his hand gently across her flank, causing her to hit the cue ball from the table. They eventually got to playing seriously, and after a few more drinks, the mare stood in front of the man with a smug look on her face. “Well then, your jacket, if you please.”

“What?”

“Take off your jacket.” Now Gray knew what she meant by 'make it interesting,’ and decided to step up his game. After a dozen or so rounds, he was stood topless and without his shoes. Celestia, however, was stood in just her panties and bra, a small blush on her face. She gave a small groan as he sunk the eight ball once more. By this point they had consumed quite a bit of alcohol, and their inhibitions had disappeared. They were also removing the other player's clothes.







        The light of the sun coming through the window fell upon Gray's face, causing the man to wake with a groan. He felt someone shift next to him, cracking his eye open to see Celestia's head resting on his shoulder, her back to him. He rolled around so that his chest was pressed against her, a hand slowly sliding across her flank. The mare gave a small moan, nuzzling under his chin, then went still again.

The man was content to stay there for the next few hours, but his eyes opened as the door creaked. He didn't have time to look up as three female voices hit his ears. “CUTIE MARK CRUSADER SLEEPOVER IN CANTERLOT, YAY!” He sat up rapidly, seeing the three fillies from Ponyville staring back in shock. The one with the bow in her mane stepped forward a little.

“Ah don't think this is Celestia's room, girls. We made a mistake.”

“No, you didn't, young Applebloom.” Celestia sat up alongside Gray, the sheets pulled up over her chest. The man grinned as their eyes went wide, and slipped his arm around her shoulder. “You are all old enough to understand we spent the night together.” He expected them to be disgusted, with either one of them, but instead they all let out girly screams and started skipping around the bed, chanting at the same time.

“Celestia has a special somepony, Celestia has a special somepony, Celestia has a special somepony!” Gray flopped back to the bed with a sigh and a grin, the mare following and kissing his cheek. He closed his eyes as the fillies kept expending their early morning energy.

“So, when are y'all having a foal?” The two adults burst out laughing, not seeing the hurt look of the earth pony filly's face. “What? Ah was serious! But... y'all gotta get married first, that's what AJ says!” Their laughter only got louder as Applebloom's face grew redder, until the other two skipped over to her and had a whispered conversation. Gray's eyes shot open as the trio screamed again.

“CUTIE MARK CRUSADER FLOWERFILLIES, YAY!”







        Dean grumbled as he followed Joy through the streets of Canterlot, many of the stalls still closed. The mare was the polar opposite of the man, all cheerful and smiles. She had told him she had a surprise waiting, which is where they were heading. Regardless of what was prepared for him, it was way too early for the man's liking. They left the downtown district and into one of the more well off areas, the houses steadily getting bigger. Dean gave a low whistle as Joy opened one of the gates, a pathway leading up to a veritable mansion compared to her apartment.

They made their way up to the door, where the mare knocked on the wood. To the man's shock, it swung open to reveal Redheart, who just smiled at the pair and stood to the side, allowing them entry. Joy slipped his coat from his back and put it on a stand, then took his hand and led him into a large lounge. Redheart followed and sat opposite them, a tray with a steaming pot of tea on a small coffee table between the couches.

The door swung open a moment later, a hushed conversation between a mare and stallion drifting in, until a unicorn appeared, looking at the trio with shock, before his mouth curled into a smile. An earth pony mare followed after, Dean noting how much Joy and Redheart looked like her. “So, you're the one that's been looking out for my little filly since the attack, huh?”

Well, that confirmed it, the stallion was Joy's father, the other mare more than likely her mother. Dean suddenly got nervous, having no way to defend against magic, and he slowly stood, offering his hand to the large unicorn. “Yes, sir. The name's Dean Hollis.”

“Interesting, I am Sky Vision, and this is my wife, Crystal Softheart.” Dean noted her last name was similar to her daughters, then saw the bottom of a nurse's uniform from under the mare's coat. “You are from another world, correct?”

“Yes, sir. I come from a world called Earth. I... couldn't even point it out in the night sky if you asked me to. But this is my home now.”

“I see. I must admit I am intrigued by that. You see, I am an astronomy teacher at the School for Gifted Unicorns. Please, sit, don't stand on my account.” Dean did as asked, Joy pressing close against his side, causing Sky to raise an eyebrow and glance at his wife. “I'm sorry, is there something I am missing here?”

“Dad... we're...well, we're past the dating stage.” Dean swallowed nervously, standing as the stallion made his way over, his face unreadable. He then found himself short of breath as he was pulled into a rib-crushing hug, released a few moments later and falling back to the couch, causing Joy to giggle as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Just ignore daddy, he likes practical jokes.”

“So did your ancestors. I've heard many a tale from Celestia about Starswirl and his... 'exploding cake' pranks.” Dean was shocked at how easily he had been accepted by the family, but if Joy had been telling them about him whilst he was at work... “Anyway, the best one of his? He sent the guard captain on an errand to find facetious items! The captain didn't come back for a week!”

“Finding the golden rivet, huh?” The stallion looked over to Dean, his grin growing even wider as he poured a cup of tea.

“So, you know some of them then. I think we're going to get along very well, Mr Hollis. We're going to get along very well indeed.” The two males chuckled together, Joy nuzzling against Dean’s shoulder, happy that her father accepted him so easily.
> Chapter 16
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Gray sat opposite the three fillies, doing his best not to worry about their plans. So far it was something along the lines of getting their cutie marks, and the man had shot down anything he thought was too dangerous. His concern grew as their whispering stopped and they glanced at him, then went back to their hushed conversation. Applebloom spun around in her seat as they reached an agreement, grinning at Gray. “Okay, Ah think we got it. We’re gonna be t’ pony rescuers, and yer gonna be t’ one that’s got a hold of them. Celestia can be t’ ponynapped one!”

He looked around as he heard the mare in question giggle, and she nodded her permission to the trio. “Very well, but you must give us five minutes before you come looking for me, understood?” They all nodded and she let her magic flow, teleporting herself and Gray to her room. He watched as she walked and lay on her bed, mocking distress by putting the back of her hand on her forehead. “Oh no, a wicked human has captured me, whatever shall I do?”

With a grin he sauntered over, sliding his hands up her legs, the mare giving a slight whimper as he began to firmly knead into her thighs. They both froze as they heard a commotion in the hallway, and then a mare’s voice drifted through the door, which was slightly ajar. “Good morning girls. Now what are you three doing up here?”

“We’re looking for Celestia, Gray has ponynapped her!”

“Gray… has ponynapped… Celestia?”

“Yep, and we’re the ones that are going to rescue her from his evil clutches!” Fair Heart appeared in the room, smirking when she saw the pair on the bed, still in a white robe each. At ten in the morning. The three fillies peeked in from behind her, then ran towards the bed.

“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS, PONY RESCUERS, YAY!” They charged towards the bed and leapt upon it, knocking Gray to the floor. Celestia shot up with concern, but a smile appeared on her muzzle when she heard the man burst out laughing, the fillies fervently tickling him.

They then jumped up with surprised squeals as he managed to break free, his arms shooting towards the nearest pony. Scootaloo began to giggle as his fingers ran over her ribs. Celestia went to assist the pegasus filly, but her friends had other ideas, and her own giggles joined the filly as they pinned her to the bed.

Gray stopped his onslaught, Scootaloo giving a few residual giggles, and the pair managed to stand. Celestia was doing her best to stay still as Applebloom and Sweetie Belle held her legs and tickled the soles of her feet, the mare panting for breath when Gray stopped them.

Her laughter filled the room once more as he gave her the same treatment as Scootaloo. She opened her eyes to see who it was, and then started flailing her arms to fend him off. The three fillies were instantly to his assistance, holding her arms still as his fingers danced over her sides. “I thought you were supposed to rescue the pony, not help in the torture of them?”

Gray and the fillies looked over to the smirking maid, who set a tray with a tea set on it on the table in the centre of the room, waving them over. The man remained sat on the bed as Celestia calmed down, the trio of fillies quickly sitting down and filling the cups. The giggling mare next to him managed to get up, wrapping her arms around his neck and turning his head so she could kiss him.

They pulled away smirking at the sound of ‘aww’s’ from the table, plus one instance of fake retching, even though when they looked Scootaloo was smiling as wide as her two friends. Celestia made her way over and joined them, smiling at Gray as he left the room.

An hour later he was walking towards the castle’s main entrance, dressed in the casual clothing of the Royal Guard. He would’ve preferred the jeans and t-shirt he had arrived in, but had learnt that ponies seemed to react to him much better in the uniform, and more pleasantly as well.

The three fillies were waiting for him by the large doors, with a few Guards stood waiting nearby. They snapped to attention and the man turned, smiling as he saw Celestia in her most casual outfit yet. The fillies were all giggles as she approached and slipped her hand into his, then nodded to the guards.

They opened the doors and the party walked out into the early weekend sun, Gray blinking as his eyes adjusted to the light. The guards had taken up a loose box formation around them, the man noting they were from Celestia’s Honour Guard. He gave a nod to one of the stallions as he turned to glance over the group as they left the castle grounds, the mare nodding to the ponies in the streets, all of whom bowed with respect to their princess.

Their path took them past many different places, and they only stopped when two of the three fillies began squealing. The guards stopped when they ran towards one of the stores, Scootaloo following almost reluctantly with her hands in her pockets. Gray and Celestia smiled when they saw the name of the establishment, the man holding the door open for the mare and fillies. “Oh, Mister Gray, what brings you ‘ere?”

“These four do, Miss De Lis.” The unicorn mare gave a giggle as Sweetie Belle and Applebloom darted over to a rack of dresses, searching through them. Before she could escape, Scootaloo was dragged over to the clothing, a yellow sun dress held up in front of her. From what he’d seen and heard about the filly, Gray couldn’t help but chuckle as her eyes seemed to light up, and she dashed over to a mirror whilst holding the dress against her body.

“On, no, no, no! Zis is not the right colour for you! Quickly, come zis way!” Fleur pulled Scootaloo towards the work room, groans of annoyance echoing from there soon afterwards. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were then joined by Celestia in perusing the store’s wares, whilst Gray just took to one of the plush chairs near the checkout counter. The two fillies and alicorn mare slipped off to the changing booths at the side.

Gray watched as the unicorn filly went first, exchanging her shorts and t-shirt for a light purple, knee length summer dress. The earth pony followed, her coveralls changed for her own version of Sweetie Belle’s outfit, but hers was a shade of orange. The curtain separating the work area slid open, Fleur walking out with a smile.

Gray smirked as she was followed by the pegasus filly, whose usually unkempt mane had been brushed straight, now reaching past her shoulders. There was nervous smile on her muzzle as she stepped out in a flowing, dark navy blue summer dress, slightly longer than the other twos’. “Now zen, how about you, your majesty?”

“Oh, no thank you, Miss De Lis. How much for the clothes?”

“Well, a filly’s dress is twenty five bits, standard, so that’s fifty. Custom for a pegasus is forty, so… a total of ninety bits please, your majesty.”

“I got this.” The five females stared at Gray as he stood and removed the coin pouch from his pants, starting to take coins out. It didn’t take him long, and soon he had laid the correct amount, smirking at Celestia as the three fillies hugged his waist. After saying their goodbyes and walking through the streets once more, they stopped at one of the cafés.

Gray was pleased with this, as he was now carrying multiple bags of shopping, most of which belonged to the fillies, and the rest to the alicorn mare. He could hear the guards chuckling as he sat down at one of the outside tables with a grateful sigh, glad to be off his feet for awhile.

Celestia came back with a tray of drinks floating in her magic, putting three of them one a separate table, where the three fillies were waiting with a smile. With a nod from their ruler, the guards all visibly relaxed and disappeared. “Don’t worry, they will remain nearby.” She sat down next to him and slid a glass over, taking the straw in hers between her lips.

Gray’s smirk didn’t diminish as she swirled her tongue around the plastic, all the while keep her eyes locked with his. He grabbed his drink with a shake of his head, liking the fruity taste of his soda. He looked to the side as the three fillies giggled loudly, and something crossed his mind, so he turned back to the mare opposite him. “Hey Tia, how old are they?”

“I believe they are all... let me see now, Twilight went to Ponyville between three to four years ago, and they were eight when she met them, so eleven to twelve now.” Movement at the edge of the tables caught his eyes, where a group of colts had started to gather. He followed their gazes to the three fillies, all of whom were oblivious to the attention. Until Scootaloo turned around, her smile instantly being exchanged for a frown.

“Hey, what are you staring at, huh?” The majority of the colts fled then, a few standing their ground as the pegasus filly walked right up to them. “Well? Are we some sort of sideshow for you?” All but one took an involuntary step back, and Scootaloo’s gaze settled on the one brave colt. Gray watched as the colt turned his head, following his gaze to a smiling unicorn stallion. From the filly’s reaction, the man guessed she secretly relished their attention. The idea was solidified when the colt nodded to the stallion, turned back to Scootaloo, took her hand… and kissed it

The filly pulled away and stared at the colt for a moment, before turning around and running back to her friends. Gray couldn’t help but chuckle as he noticed her cheeks blushing brightly, and turned back to the confused looking colt staring after her. The unicorn stallion walked over to him. Gray thought he’d best make it look like he was going to support the filly, so got up and approached them. “Excuse me, sir.”

“Yes? Oh, you’re one of those humans! I heard you saved our princesses, one of whom I notice is with you. Thank you for that, who knows what would happen without them.”

“No need to thank me, we just did what was right.” He crouched down in front of the colt, who used the stallion’s leg to partially hide. “And who is this little fella, your son?”

“Yes. I’m sorry about that, it’s just I’ve been teaching him to treat the fillies properly. He’s been a bit of a… hassle to them in school. Is… she with you and Princess Celestia?”

“Yeah.” Gray leaned to the side so that he could see the colt properly, smiling softly at him. “Hey there, little guy. Listen, don’t worry about her being upset. That’s just a sign that she liked it, okay?” The colt nodded in reply, and the man stood back up with a chuckle, looking to the stallion again. “Well, enjoy the rest of your day.”

“And you too.” Gray turned and walked back to his table, listening to the conversation among the fillies as he passed them.

“So Scootaloo, did you get his post address?

“When are ya’ll goin’ on a date?”

“I bet Rarity could make you a nice wedding dress.”

“An’ Ah’m sure ya could use t’ farm to get married.”

“Guys, shut up! It was just some silly colt kissing my hand! I mean, I know I’m awesome and all that, but I don’t need this getting out! Can you imagine what Rainbow Dash would say if she saw that?”

“I’d probably be asking the same questions!” The pegasus filly let out a small scream as she spun around, finding the mare in question standing just outside the café’s tables. There were several pegasi stood with her, mares and stallions alike, all wearing the same outfits. “Hey Gray, Celestia. Having fun with these three?”

“Heya Skittles! Yeah, they’re not too bad.” The rest of her group began snickering at the nickname, and the man ignored the glare being thrown his way. Choosing to ignore him, Dash walked over and sat next to Scootaloo, pulling her close.

“So, what’s the problem?”

“That… was so uncool… and you saw it!”

“I thought it was sweet. Scoots, you’re a very pretty filly, so use it. Don’t make me tell your parents instead…”

“NO! I’ll tell them!” Some of the group had followed her into the cafe, and Gray noted that one of the stallions kept his gaze on the pegasus mare. He waved him over and whispered into his ear, the stallion giving a chuckle and a nod. Dash finished her chat with the filly, gave her a small squeeze, and another glare at Gray as she left.

The group turned one of the corners, and the mare’s voice hit the man’s ears, her tone clearly angry. “NO, YOU CAN’T ‘TASTE MY RAINBOW!’ The sound of a slap echoing followed, as well as a large group of ponies laughing. Gray turned back to Celestia with a chuckle, who was staring at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Inside joke. Now then, what shall we do next with the fillies?”

“Well… we’ve gotten them some new toys and clothes… how about a new mane style, and perhaps some make up lessons at the city spa?”

“The Canterlot Crown Resort? Yes! I mean… uh, sure. Sounds fun.” All of the group turned and smirked at Scootaloo, who tried to pretend she didn’t say that. The guards, who had just returned at the right time, couldn’t help but chuckle at the pegasus filly’s statements. Gray looked at one of them and he nodded. They must have all been close enough to see how she had dealt with the crowd the trio had attracted.






 ”WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT? YOU CALL THAT IRONED? WHAT WITH, A BRICK? YOU ARE A DISEASE! WHAT ARE YOU?”

“A DISEASE, SERGEANT!” Gray couldn't help but chuckle at the way the earth pony stallion, much larger than Dean, seemed to cower from the man as he stood in front of him. Three days into the second week of their training meant it was time to step up their game. Flash Sentry took them on a several miles long run each morning, the Marine tagging along. He seemed to be getting faster each time as well.

“YES, A DISEASE! DO NOT TURN INTO A VIRUS AND INFECT THOSE AROUND YOU! SORT YOUR SHIT OUT!”

“YES, SERGEANT!” Dean stepped back from the recruit, shaking his head and moving to the next pony in line. They had a week to perfect their uniforms before this inspection, which dictated whether or not they would be going on leave for the weekend. So far, none of them were, but that was to be expected. Gray had already done the line of recruits in the Lunar Armour, Dean inspecting the ones in the Solar Armour.

It made things easier, inspecting the other half. The two men had spent the past Sunday getting used to the uniform themselves, after all, it wouldn’t pay to do an inspection with their own uniforms looking like a bag of shit, so they had to get theirs perfect. This was marred by being tasked with looking after the three fillies as well.

Hence why, that Monday morning, the two men were once more sat in the back of the briefing room, this time sound asleep, right up until lunch. Dean continued down the last few recruits, jotting down small items in his notebook. Once at the end he turned back and walked up to Blueblood, who was stood next to Flash and Gray, to deliver his report. “Not too bad, but a few of them need more practice. They could all do with it really, maybe a day's worth.”

The unicorn stallion nodded, Gray's report being quite similar, and with that he stepped forward. “Most of you are at an acceptable level, which is a good thing.” A small murmur ran down the line, stopping as Dean stepped forward slightly, Blueblood continuing. “That said, there are some of you that need the extra push. Therefore, your leave this weekend is cancelled. Now before you start griping, it is the recommendation of the sergeants that you only require one extra day of training, so do well and you can have Sunday off.”

“Right, Lunar Guards! Fall out to the classroom!” The line of ponies turned and ran towards the doors, Dean turning and following them. Gray's half turned and began marching towards the armoury, having their weapons lesson that afternoon. The man nodded to the two ponies and walked away, heading to the range. His gun was slung over his shoulder, as all active personnel had standing orders to be armed at all times.

The only reason the recruits weren't was because they hadn't passed their weapon proficiency tests. He planned to have them passed by Friday.







        Joy glanced around warily as she was escorted through the lower levels of the residential quarters belonging to the mine. She did her best to ignore the catcalls and wolf whistles, but some of the suggestions made her shiver. One of the guards slammed a truncheon against the bars of one cell as the pony inside tried to reach for the mare, so they hurried her away. She knew what these were, having never wanted to believe that such ponies could exist, even though she knew they did. Murderers, rapists... and worse, the lowest of the low.

Having seen her fair share of victims she was glad they were stuck down here away from society. Most of them would die down here, but she was with the majority of the Equestrians, believing that their punishments were justified. She shook the thoughts from her head as she and her escorts emerged into what was once a dining hall, a large area of the floor recently redecorated red. “Over there, ma'am.”

Joy looked over to where the lead guard was pointing, seeing why she had been summoned in the first place. Normally the criminals were left to suffer, but the one with his head resting on the wall, his one eye closed, was not like most of the other ponies in the mine. She walked over and set her bag down, clicking her fingers to get his attention. His eye flickered open and focused on the mare, before he gave a sigh. “I thought I said no to this?”

“I know, sir, but Warden insisted.”

“Hmph, I'll have a word with him later. Joy, you can go.”

“Go? With at least three deep cuts to your chest, two to your back, and one to your face?” Alec just raised an eyebrow at her, then shook his head. “I'm a nurse, remember? Now, hold still, this is going to sting.” The stallion winced as she placed a cotton swab doused in antiseptic liquid on his chest, rubbing it along his wounds. “What happened here?”

“A fight.” That was all he would say, so she glanced over at the guard, who nodded at her. Once cleaned, she bandaged the wounds and helped the stallion stand. He grabbed the spare shirt offered to him with a grunt. Joy followed him as he left the room, up several flights of stairs, and Alec slammed open a door to an office. The pony inside almost fell out of his chair as he gave a surprised yelp. “Why did you call for a nurse?”

“You’re injured, why wouldn’t I?”

“You don’t for the others.”

“Well, they’re criminals, and you’re…”

“Here as one of them. That means I expect the same treatment. Do you know what happens in prisons to those that receive special treatment from the guards?” The stallion behind the desk, whom Joy assumed was this ‘Warden’, shook his head, causing Alec to sigh. “I didn’t think so. Tell all of your guards this, I just want to serve my sentence.”

“Very well, sir. I just hope you know what you’re saying here…” Alec gave him a nod and left the room. Joy followed him once more, watching as he grabbed some tools and made his way to a rock with glowing green veins. He hefted a pickaxe and hit the hard surface, wincing slightly, and she was immediately by his side.

“I think you should rest fir…”

“No. Thanks, Joy, I’ll be fine now. Oh, and please don’t tell Luna about this. I don’t want her going back on my sentence.” The mare gave him a nod, then turned and walked up to the guards waiting to escort her back out. She gave one final glance over her shoulder at the stubborn stallion, shaking her head with a sigh as they began the walk to the surface.

She had to blink a few times in the evening light when she stepped outside, and a voice to her side drew her attention. “How is he?” Dean was waiting for her, leaning back against the wall. She walked over and took his hand, squeezing gently, and then tugged him to the mine’s exit. “Joy?”

She waited until they were clear of the large doors, before laying her head upon his shoulder with another sigh. “He’s fine, still as stubborn as ever. Dean, don’t say anything to Luna about this… please.” He stopped their walk and pulled the mare in front of him, wrapping his arms around her back and kissing her forehead.

“My lips are sealed.”







        “So… how does it work?” Metamorphosis chuckled as the diamond dog ran her claw through the fur on his chest. It made his entrance into their mines easier in this form, and of course, he was getting some love energy from the bitch snuggled against his side. And then something else crossed his mind. “We’ve been allies for almost two weeks now… what is your name?”

“Name is Dido. And it works well. We have more ponies now. Come, look.” Metamorphosis could only grin as she stood from the bed, her clothing remaining discarded on the floor, and walked over to a large window. He followed a moment later, wrapping his arms around her chest from behind and lightly nipping at the back of her neck, causing her to give a small yelp and press back against him. “Look, down there.”

His gaze followed her outstretched arm, where a group of clean looking ponies were being dragged along by a few of the guard diamond dogs. Their wrists and ankles were shackled, and they were led to an empty area. The lead guard thrust a pickaxe at the first pony, then pushed her towards the rock wall.

At first she refused, but the dog just ht her hard, causing the mare to fall to the floor, moving to the next one. He followed instruction with a bowed head, helping the mare to her feet as he passed. Soon the group was at work, two guards left to watch over them. “They look like city ponies. Did you get them on the road or something?”

“They city ponies. We walk into pony city, and took them at night. They will provide good labour.” She turned around and pushed Metamorphosis backwards, her claws around his waist, until he fell back down into a sitting position on the bed. “Now… you need more love.” She pressed forward and connected their muzzles, pushing him onto his back with a low growl.

> Chapter 17
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Gray walked along the line of Solar recruits, eyes roaming critically over their uniforms, Dean on the other side of the room doing the same with the Lunar recruits. After a month they expected them to be perfect, especially will all the extra ironing lessons. They met up at the end of the line and nodded to each other, then Gray waved to the door. Blueblood stepped forward with a pleased smirk, Flash Sentry just behind him. “You have done well the past two weeks. I have hardly seen ponies of your tenacity come through here, even those that fell upon hard times.”

A few of the recruits’ muzzles dropped a little, having had some trouble with their training, but the four instructors gave up their evenings and weekends to help them. The unicorn stallion lit his horn and raised them back up with magic, walking down the line as he continued to speak. “Your course is here at the perfect time. You may be wondering why you are dressed in your best, and why we asked for an update on your home addresses. You are all about to find out.” He gave a nod to Dean, who walked up and stood in the middle of the room, facing the doorway.

“Recruits, left turn! By the centre, quick march!” The two lines began to move, heading further inside the castle instead of outside, marching through the corridors. They left the recruit training station and entered into one of the long hallways near the main entrance. “Squad… halt!” The two lines stopped in position, and Gray motioned for the Solar recruits to follow. They used one of the service tunnels to get to the other side of the entrance hall, and their eyes went wide as they saw Celestia waiting for them.

Gray walked up to her and bowed his head, then the recruits’ mouths dropped open in shock as she openly kissed him. The man blinked a couple of times when she pulled away, then glared over at the recruits. “Form two lines behind us, and start walking when we do.” The order was quickly followed, and they looked across the hall to see Dean stood next to Luna. The two men offered their arms to the princesses, even though the blue alicorn was a little hesitant.

The sound of fanfare echoed from the throne room, and the two separate groups began to walk, forming four lines of fourteen ponies, even if two weren’t actually ponies. It was then the recruits noticed the other ponies in the castle, all wearing formal attire, and the sound of slow classical music hit their ears as they started to walked up the grand staircase.

The red carpet was clear for them as they entered the throne room, which was a bustling hive of activity. “Parade… halt!” They stopped moving, waiting as Blueblood marched his way to the head of the group, and bowed to the princesses, and the music stopped. “Your majesties, permission to dismiss the recruits.” The two alicorns gave him a nod and stepped away, leaving him looking over the ponies. “Phoenix and Barghest squads, you are hereby invited to join in with the celebrations of the Grand Galloping Gala. You may stay or leave with your family for the weekend, it is up to you, but we ask that you stay for some time. Dismissed!”

They quickly fell out and moved towards the crowds, where they found their families and loved ones waiting. Luna and Celestia moved up to their thrones and sat down. With a nod from the elder alicorn, the music sounded once more. The crowded ponies then spread out, mingling and chatting with each other. Gray smirked as he saw Princess Sparkle with her five friends. There were also a few stallions paying attention to Rarity in particular. 

Blueblood also noticed and walked over, tapping one on the shoulder and speaking to them. The group ignored him, so the he pushed his way through and offered his hand to the unicorn mare. She favoured her audience with a soft smile, then took the offered appendage, letting him guide her away and to the drinks table. Twilight walked away and met up with Flash Sentry, shyly placing her hand in his, glancing across the room.

The man followed her gaze and spotted Nightlight and Twilight Velvet chatting with a group of ponies, the stallion not noticing where his daughter was. Gray turned to his side as he heard Dean chuckle, and the other man made his way offer to the throne room doors, where he offered the mare who was stood there nervously his arm.

Joy took it with a smile and they headed off into the crowd, heading towards the group of friends still stood near the refreshments. “So you’re this human thing, huh? You and the other guy?” Gray turned to his side to find a yellow furred pegasus mare stood next to him. “We’ll catch up later. Right now, I’ve got somepony to talk to.” She walked away, her blue blouse and skirt hugging her figure well. With every step she took her skirt rode up a little, and he could see the tops of her stockings, her legs elongated by the heels on her feet.

“Forget it dude, she doesn’t swing our way.” Another pegasus, a blue stallion this time, had taken her place, wearing almost the same outfit but with pants instead. Then the man noticed the markings on his shoulders. “That’s Spitfire, captain of the Wonderbolts. I’m Soarin.” The pony offered him his hand, which the man took with a smile.

“Gray, Gray Heartbelle.”

“Well, like she said, we’ll talk later. We’ve all got ponies to see here.” The pegasus gave him a wink, then headed towards the same place as the mare. He felt a hand on his shoulder and found Celestia smiling at him, her flowing white dress hugging her figure nicely. She slipped her arms around his neck and pulled him close, whispering into his ear.

“Remember our bet?”

“Yes, and I think I’ve just won it.” Celestia turned around and met Luna’s gaze, and the younger sister quickly turned, slipping behind one of the tapestries with just the pair noticing. “Do you think we should…”

“No, she will want to be alone. All I asked of her was to enter with the recruits, and to stay as long as possible. I truly thought she would make it all night. I will speak with her in the morning.” She gave a gasp as Gray pulled her close, a hand placed on the small of her back. “Gray, what are you doing?”

“Can’t you hear it?” The music finally hit her ears, and she looked around, seeing other couples taking to the floor as well. She favoured him with a smile and nodded, allowing him to lead the dance. As they moved around the floor, the man noticed a brightly blushing Fluttershy pressed close against Soarin’s chest, whilst Dash was staring shocked as Spitfire had chosen her for a partner.

There was a purple flash from the side as Twilight and Flash Sentry quickly disappeared, but a brighter blue one brought them back. The shocked couple found themselves standing in front of the scowling Nightlight, whilst Twilight Velvet lay her head on his shoulder and smiled at them. The last thing he noticed was Pinkie Pie and Applejack still surrounded, by both mares and stallions.

From what he could tell, they were flirting with the other ponies, and Pinkie gave the stallion next to her a wink as she pulled one of the mares into a passionate kiss. 







By the time the last few guests had left, Gray was exhausted. All of the recruits had gone home, Blueblood had left halfway through with Rarity, and Flash Sentry was more than likely receiving an intense interrogation within the walls of the Sparkle household.

The man chuckled when he felt arms wrap around his chest from behind as he entered his room, taking one of Celestia’s hands and lifting it to his lips. She walked in front of him and moved her arms behind his neck, whilst his hands dropped down and rested on her hips. “So, how did you enjoy your first Gala?”

“Is Pinkie always that crazy? Other than that, it was pretty good. Could do with some more chairs in there though.” The mare just giggled at him and pulled his head down into a passionate kiss, humming into his mouth. She pulled away with a soft gasp, then frowned at the man’s grin. “I think it’s time for you to pay up.”

“And what do I have to do?” She caught movement to the side, where Fair Heart had just placed something on a chair. Gray guided her up over, where her eyes went wide upon seeing what it was. “You have got to be joking!”

“Nope. Twilight’s in charge on the weekends, right?” The mare gave him a slow nod. “Then it’s not a problem. You are going to put that on… and then clean up my room. Without magic. The forfeit if you give up… you have to wear that for the whole weekend, and can not cover it up if you leave the castle.”

“I shall honour our bet, and let you have this one.” She unashamedly removed her white dress and slipped into her new garment, the man zipping it up at the back. Then he slipped a white apron around her waist, tying it off tight. The new dress was just short enough to show the top of her stockings and the bottom of her suspenders, unless she bent over and revealed more. A small headdress took the place of her crown, and she took the feather duster from the side, purposely starting with the small coffee table.

Gray sat back into his chair and smirked at the view he was given, Celestia’s tight black panties framing her flanks perfectly.







        None of the guards on the walls of the castle saw him as he watched from the shadows. He was lucky to get into Canterlot itself, let alone this close to the castle. There was still a security checkpoint at each entrance, which meant that he would be caught if he tried to fly over the walls. He let out a echoey chuckle as his quarry walked into the streets, conversing with the guards for a moment and then resuming his journey.

It was too crowded on the streets at the moment, so he would have to follow until they were alone. He moved quickly across the rooftops, his black chitin camouflaging him against the slate. In his tunnel vision, he didn’t sense another following him until he stopped, the target below entering a shop. He then felt the subtle magic of his kind, realising that he would not have been sent alone.

Even if he did have help, the kill was his mission. He let another chuckle go as the feeling he got from the other was female, thinking he could have some fun when his task was done. The one below returned to the street with a few bags, waving to the pony as he left. A good hard look revealed he was not armed, making the task much easier.

It was still crowded here, so the assassin continued to stalk his prey. The other kept pace, but he ignored her, eager for some revenge and to get out of this hayhole full of ponies. Things got complicated as three fillies ran at the man, who bent down and hugged them all. Several mares appeared, and they all walked on as a group.

He growled a little, determined to do this even more now, and glad that he would have the opportunity to have witnesses. No creature had ever crossed his race and lived… twice. The group walked into one of the city’s large open parks, taking an open part and laying a blanket down. He recognised the signs of a picnic, and looked at his options, his current position having no way to get near without being seen.

He eyed the tree line, then quickly moved along the rooftops towards it, jumping across a small stream into the first tree, hiding amongst the leaves. He slipped to the floor and started to dart between the trees. He got pretty close, sensing the other near, but couldn’t work out where she was. A quick glance revealed just a single pegasus mare with her back to him, dropping some bread to a gathering of ducks.

He took his chance and sprinted to the group, aiming for his target as he jumped through the air. His arms snapped shut, but a high pitched scream revealed he had caught the wrong one. His arms tightened as he stood back up, turning to show the shocked group the unicorn filly in his grasp. “Easy now… let her go, and you can still walk away.” He just hissed as the human started to step forward with his palms showing, whilst the mares and other fillies watched on in shock. “Come on, you don’t really want her, do you?”

“No, I am here for you! Remove any weapons and kneel on the ground!” The man did as ordered, removing a knife from his waist and throwing it to the side, then dropped down. The changeling let his horn glow a sickly green, a thin beam of light aimed at the man’s chest.

“Gray?”

“Just… relax, Sweetie Belle. Everything’s going to be okay.” All he was doing was reassuring the filly, who had tears falling down her cheeks, not knowing if he could save her. “You’ll be eating lunch again in a minute.”

“Aw, so precious! Now, hold sti..” The drone started to cough violently and dropped the filly, Gray immediately pulling her to safety. The man turned back to the drone to see a pegasus mare stood behind him. She pulled a knife from his back, walking in front of the drone.

His eyes went wide as the feeling from the other was really strong now, and a green flash revealed a changeling mare from her disguise. “M-major?”

“The name is Breezy Mint.” With that she plunged the knife into his throat, twisting it around. She stepped away with a snort as the drone fell backwards, the body twitching. She turned around and took a deep breath, gasping when she opened her eyes and saw her audience. “Uh…” A white blur suddenly shot forward, Sweetie Belle wrapping her arms tightly around the changeling’s waist. “How do you get them off?”

Gray just chuckled and motioned for her to join them, Sweetie Belle sitting at what could be considered an uncomfortably close distance. The elder mares kept their distance however, slightly worried about what had just happened and what she was going to do next. There were several flashes of light as several guards teleported in, aiming their spell rifles at the group.

The man waved to them and then pointed to the body, and they relaxed, a few of them still eyeing Breezy warily. The group gathered the dead changeling up and returned to the castle, leaving the picnic to continue. Gray suddenly picked his knife back up as he saw another changeling, but this one quickly turned and fled.

It was gone too fast to do anything about it, so he just made a mental note to report it up the chain when he returned. That, and see how well Celestia had cleaned his room.







        The drone spat out some blood, then pushed himself from the floor. Almost immediately a fist collided with his muzzle once more, sending searing pain through his head. Metamorphosis was well past angry, he was downright furious. “You should have finished the job yourself!”

“But.. your majesty! There is more news!” The drone started choking as the king wrapped his hands around his throat, squeezing hard and leaning close with a low growl. “Major… Mirage was there! She… stopped him!” Metamorphosis dropped him with a snarl, then started pacing around the throne room. The drone coughed a few times and rubbed at his throat, then stood up once again. “I could not fight them both, she is far too strong for me.”

“Hmm… what of him? Was he there?”

“Nay, he has been sent to the mines for some reason. I did not see him the entire time I was there.”

“Then you may live yet. You were there that day, I remember what form you took. Can you still do it?” Metamorphosis closed his eyes as he felt transformation magic in the room, the drone being pushed to his limits as he had to do it from memory. The aura dissipated, and the king’s ears twitched as a new voice joined the conversation.

“Excuse me, can you help me find my daddy?” He turned around and found himself looking at a sandy brown pegasus filly with a flowing magenta mane and tail, then walked around her once. “Is this acceptable, your majesty?” He chuckled at that, the drone’s voice coming from her mouth.

“Perhaps you should add a few years.” She nodded back at him, a green glow surrounding her, and she started to grow a little. “There, that will do. We don’t want him to suspect something. Now, return to your true form and leave me, before I regret letting you live!” The drone did as instructed, keeping his head bowed as he backed out of the room.

Metamorphosis looked up at the liquid filled pods in the roof and summoned a random one, letting the pony free. The mare gasped for breath as she stood there, her wrists bound tightly behind her back by thick, sickly green goo. “Please… let me go.” He just hummed as he walked behind her, slyly flicking his tongue over her ear, making her shudder. “Please… I have a family.”

“Meta, what this?” The changeling looked over to the door, where Dido was now standing, a suspicious look upon her face. The mare started to sob as he placed a sharp knife against her neck, locking his gaze with the diamond dog bitch, and he licked his lips.

“The ponies took one of my kind from me.”

“No, please, no!”

“So, I will take one of theirs.” He dragged the knife across her neck, slicing deep into her skin, blood flowing freely from the open wound as the body fell limply to the floor. He stepped over her prone form and guided the bitch from the room, a small growl accompanying his voice as he spoke. “Now you see what happens when my subjects fail me, make sure that you never do.” She just nodded in submission, and the nearest drone snapped to attention as the king looked at him.  “Clean that filth up.”

> Chapter 18
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Breezy Mint, much to her surprise, enjoyed the day she spent with Gray, the fillies and the mares. The one she recognised as Princess Sparkle seemed the most hostile, but the feeling soon went away. The group was returning to Ponyville the next day, which is why when the man had disappeared for a ‘personal errand’, she walked back to the castle with them.

The six mares had then left her with the fillies, so here she was, sat against a tree whilst the trio ran around in the garden, attempting to get their ‘cutie marks’. Her head snapped round in panic as she heard a loud gasp, seeing them falling from a tree. She shot over in worry for their safety, but slowed down when the giggling hit her ears.

The sound of marching caused her to turn around, finding multiple squads of guards heading out of the castle with Shining Armour leading them. Fair Heart came out after them, waving the changeling over. “Girls, time to go in.” She averted her gaze from the pouts they gave her, walking towards the earth pony. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Celestia wants to see you. She’s sensed some strange magic, but can’t pin it down. She said the last time she felt it… it was Chrysalis.” Breezy’s eyes went wide, and she inadvertently stepped closer to the fillies, glancing around. “It was inside the castle, in the servants’ quarters.” The changeling gave her a nod, making sure the trio entered the safety of the castle. A guard was waiting to escort her to the throne room, where all four alicorns were waiting.

She left the three fillies outside with Fair Heart, walking to the base of the thrones and bowing low. “You may rise.” As she did so, Breezy noticed a few guards gripping their spell guns tighter, until an arm waved them away. She didn’t even notice Gray stood in the corner. “Breezy Mint, we require your assistance, if you would give it us.”

“Of course, you majesty. Fair has already explained the situation to me.” The mare sheepishly grinned as Celestia looked at the doorway, then pulled the fillies away so only mature ears would bear witness to the conversation. “I assume you wish for me to find the source of the magic?”

“If you would, please. But… there will be three guards with you at all times. I hope you understand we can not fully trust you as of yet. Help us now, and we will talk further.” Breezy bowed her head and turned around, walking towards the trio waiting for her as the Lunar and Solar alicorns turned to converse with each other.

“I know you’re escorting me,” she noticed the two mares and stallion tense up as she addressed them, but just supposed it was nerves. “But I need you to follow my orders, or we won’t find anything.” The unicorn of the group gave her a nod, and they soon entered the servants’ quarters.

Her horn flared up as she looked over the first few rooms, finding nothing, but stopped as she passed the utilities room, sniffing the air. She let out a hiss and stepped back, pointing at the door. The guards saw the sneer on her face, quickly realising that whomever it was, they were in there right now. They got ready to break the door down, not expecting three quick bolts from a spell gun to burst through as it cracked open.

Breezy Mint stepped back in shock as a unicorn stallion stepped out, dressed as a castle steward with his horn glowing a sickly green. “Yes, your highness, she is here. Of course, it shall be done.” She tried to use her own magic to stop him, but it just bounced away, a green shield surrounding him. “Really? Do you think King Metamorphosis would have me here without protection? Anyway, looks like this will have to be done the fun way, I haven’t got a spare core.”

The changeling’s back hit the wall of an alcove, nowhere for her to go as the stallion advanced closer and drew a large knife. She closed her eyes as he held it high, her thoughts focused on Fair Heart as she prepared for the end…

…an end that never came as the sound of grunting hit her ears. She opened her eyes to see the stallion now in a heap on the floor, Dean stood over him, a boot placed over the horn, whilst Gray cuffed his hands behind his back and then slipped a magic sealing ring over his horn. The two men lifted him to his feet and passed him to the group of guards waiting. “Celestia wants a word with you.”

The guards dragged the unicorn away, the men turning back to the changeling, whose face was flushed with relief. She stopped moving as there was what sounded like a crack of thunder, crouching down with her hands around her head. “Major Mirage, you disappoint me.” Gray and Dean looked at her in shock, her eyes glowing green and her mouth moving, but that was not her voice. “How could you betray your own kind?”

“I… I didn’t! You… are not my king!” The two men didn’t know what to do; clearly the changeling leader had figured out a way to take over her body, yet she was fighting it.

“Your life belongs to me, so why don’t you show some true loyalty? Kill them.” Breezy’s horn started to glow the light shining towards the pair, but her eyes snapped shut, and she took a deep breath.

“Loyalty? You know nothing of it.  My life, my… soul BELONGS TO FAIR HEART!” At the sound of her shout there was another crack, Breezy looking around with worry. The only others in the hallway were Gray, Dean, and the guards who had been shot, now stirring. “How… did he do that?”

The two men looked at each other and shrugged, then waved her forward, walking back towards the throne room. The trio of guards shook off their disorientation, then fell into step behind her. They were soon outside the throne room. where Breezy could feel strong magic at work. The group split apart as something came flying past in a golden glow, turning to find the unicorn stallion now in a mess of limbs at the bottom of the stairs. “You foalish colt. You really think he would have let you live?”

Celestia walked through the large golden doors, her mane and tail having taken features from the sun itself as she walked down the stairs. “Heh… unless you kill me, I’ll still be the one in charge once he’s done!”

“If that is what you wish… then so be it. Let us not take any chances.” A spear appeared in her hand, and she strode down the flowing staircase. He was pulled up by her magic and met her raging gave with a smirk, his own eyes going wide as the metal tip pushed through his chest.
He coughed and spat blood over her white fur, his own beginning to singe at her searing rage.

Once he fell limb, the mare turned around and looked to several guards, who had watched on in concern and dread. They immediately moved behind her and dragged his body away, their not so subtle actions informing the others that they wanted to be nowhere near her right now, then the alicorn turned her blazing white eyes upon Breezy Mint. “It is clear to me that I can trust none of you! You have even infiltrated my castle staff! Mirage, you will inform my guards as to the locations of all hives you know of.”

“Please… don’t call me that.”

“You will be then escorted to the borders of Equestria. If any of your kind return, they will be met with lethal force. This also goes for any changeling that refuses to go. If cohabitation is not possible, then the threat must be eliminated. I’m beginning to wish Alec had not stopped Captain Armour!” Gray and Dean just frowned at each other, nodding to the three guards behind them. Breezy shuddered as the two men walked off, whilst the guards remained around her.

Celestia was sat on her throne when they arrived, staring unblinkingly at the floor. Dean stood back as Gray stepped closer, lifting the mare’s face towards him. “Celestia?”

“I… I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this.”

“It doesn’t have to.” The mare gave him her full attention, and her mood calmed as he took her hand, guiding her over to the windows and out onto the balcony. Below them spread the large city of Canterlot, where they could see ponies moving through the streets. “How many of them are changelings? How many just want to live their lives? Whilst I’ve only met only friendly one, if there are others in the city, why not give them a chance?”

“What do you suggest?”

“Offer them refugee status, and for the ones that refuse your offer… well, a few days in the dungeon away from their food source, I think they’ll be a bit more willing to hear you out.”

“And what of Metamorphosis?”

“There’ll have to be screening of all of them. Send guards to check out the hives. And him… he’d better be praying that we never see him again.” Celestia mulled the idea over, her gaze drifting over the ponies far below. Gray was right, how many were changelings, and how many meant no harm?

“Fetch me both Mirage and Fair Heart. I wish to speak to both of them.” Celestia’s maid was already waiting in the throne room, and with a nod Dean summoned the changeling, who entered with a bowed head. With a wave of her hand Celestia sent all other occupants away, leaving just the three mares. Her horn sparked briefly and she returned to her throne, sitting down as Luna appeared in a blue flash.

“Sister, why have you summoned me?”

“I want you to be privy to this. Mirage!” The changeling visibly cringed at the name, Fair Heart noticing and taking hold of her lover’s hand. “As you are the highest ranking changeling that we know of in Canterlot, you will now be your race’s ambassador to Equestria.”

“Y-your majesty?”

“I am not finished. It has been pointed out to me that many ponies in the city could, like you, be changelings in hiding. I want them to reveal themselves, voluntarily or not. If they wish to remain within Equestrian borders, then they can ask for asylum. Otherwise they will be banished to their homelands forthwith.”

“We… no longer know where that is, your majesty. We left there centuries ago, we have no homelands.”

“I see… past the badlands is an as of yet unclaimed large area of land, which will suffice I suppose. For all those that refuse either option… lethal force will still be used. I will not stand idly by whilst the risk to my little ponies is still present. Tomorrow the Canterlot Daily will print that offer, and I will give them two weeks to come forward. If they have a pony that knows of them, they will be asked to come as well. This will be a trial run.”

Celestia turned towards Luna silently asking for her input. The lunar alicorn closed her eyes and thought, then looked at the pair waiting with hope at the bottom of the dais. “For the matter of any changelings within our borders but not in the capital, they will have two months, starting the day after the trial run ends. At that point any changeling caught will be treated as an enemy of Equestria.”

“I… understand, your majesty. Thank you for giving us this chance.”

“Do not thank me yet, Mirage. Think of it as a trial run. If met with success, then the offer will be opened to all changelings within our borders. Fair Heart!" The mare snapped her gaze round, "You are no longer my personal servant. The changelings will need a representative here. That task falls to you."

“But… your majesty, I…” She stopped at the frown being leveled at her, swallowed nervously and nodded. “Of course, your majesty.”

“I do not ask this lightly, but out of anypony I can think of that are present in the castle… you’re the most experienced with changelings.”

“Um… your majesty?” With a raised eyebrow Luna turned to Celestia as the changeling spoke, finding her sister’s usual poker face back. With a slight nod of her head, she allowed Breezy to speak further. “Could you please stop calling me ‘Mirage’? It’s… unsettling.”

“Very well… Breezy Mint.” Fair Heart felt her partner’s hand release its grip slightly, the changeling relaxing a bit. Celestia turned to Luna and had a whispered conversation with her, and the blue alicorn disappeared. The solar princess stood and walked over to her window, her arms crossed and a frown on her face. “Fair Heart?”

“Yes, your majesty?”

“The offices we recently refurnished, make your way there. I will send some ponies to assist you in setting up. Both of you.” The earth pony tugged on the changeling’s hand, pulling her out of the throne room. It was clear, after many years of service, to Fair Heart that Celestia wanted to be alone. Something that the two men still stood there either didn’t understand or didn’t care about.

“Can I make a suggestion?” Celestia turned around to see Dean had stepped closer, so she waved the pair over to the table at the side. He sat on one side whilst Gray sat next to Celestia, gently resting a hand on her shoulder. She glanced at him with a small smile, then turned to the other man as he continued. “Years ago on Earth, a man called Fridtjof Nansen came up with a document for refugees of one country’s civil war. It became an internationally recognised form of identification, in fifty two countries. Why not give the changelings a Nansen Passport?”

“Dude… think of a better name for it first, yeah?” Instead of listening to Gray, Celestia mulled this over for a few moments as the two men made small talk, too deep in her reverie to even know what they were saying. An identity document for the refugees? It would be an easier way to track them. We would know of their home addresses… their ‘disguises’... anything we would ask of them, if they wished to stay, they would give it. “...’Breezy Passport’? That works.”

“Yeah, you’re right. After that little chat, I don’t think saying ‘Mirage’ around her is such a good idea.”

“From what I understand about your race,” both men gave Celestia the utmost attention when she rejoined to conversation, and she press on with a quiet sigh. “That solution is unexpected to hear from you, Dean. I mean no offense, but it is something that I would believe a pony to come up with, such an idea full of compassion.”

"Well, humans have a lot of experience with interacting with other nations. And with wars…” Dean’s voice had a sad undertone to it, surprising the mare once more. A quick glance a Gray and she came to her decision.

“Dean, why are you still here?” He frowned at her, causing Celestia to giggle quietly. “It is the weekend, you have no recruits to train. Go home.” He made to protest, but her glare cut him off. “I shall make it an order if I must. Maybe even get Nurse Openheart to declare you medically unfit for work?” Gray burst out with laughter as his fellow human all but sprinted from the throne room, the doors slamming shut in a golden aura behind him. “And as for you…”

He turned around to see Celestia smirking at him, and with a flash of her horn they were in her bedroom. He gave a small chuckle as he went to remove his armour, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. “Today has been quite stressful. Tell me, have you ever given a mare a massage?” Gray just grinned as he motioned for her to lie on the bed.







        Metamorphosis sat at the head of the table, looking at the other changelings on the outside. Each one was either in charge of or representing a hive, but all in total five had come. But it was five of the strongest. The two on his left were already sorted, having sent them their support when they heard he had taken the throne from Chrysalis. The two to his right… they’d need working on, as they were undecided.

It was the one at sat opposite Metamorphosis, however, that presented the threat to his summit. Having lived far longer than most living changelings not of her hive, Queen Foedus was the strongest amongst them. The younger changeling didn’t know how, but for some reason Foedus’ magic was much stronger, and she was more than capable of defending herself against the others… even if they attacked all at once. “So… King Metamorphosis, you still plan to go through with your mother’s idea?”

The distaste of having to say that was clear on her face, but the young leader just sat confidently in his throne. “Yes, Foedus, I do. Once the Princess of Love is dead, we can finally take over this nation! The ponies will be our livestock, and we will breed them to survive.”

“And how exactly do you plan on taking the Crystal Empire? Are you just going to march hundreds of miles across open ground?” She was sharp. that was for sure. He’d have to reveal everything in order for her to agree, he realised.

“No, the Northern Express is going to take us. After all, what pony will refuse Princess Celestia herself?”

“You’re crazy. You think that she will just stand for an imposter to use her kind’s travel system?”

“It won’t matter if she’s dead, will it? Think about it; eliminate her and take her place. If done with no other witnesses, we can pose as her for as long as needed. Of course, Luna would have to be removed as well. Not to mention the Element Bearers.”

“And you have a way to do this?”

“I do.” His horn flashed once and part of the wall shimmered, revealing a group of diamond dogs. The other leaders’ eyes went wide, with the exception of Foedus’, who just remained impassive as usual. “As you can see, I have made an alliance with my friends here. We have an agreement; whilst we breed the ponies for food, they can use them as a work force. We have successfully stolen ponies from within their own cities with this little spell, and with it we can take their capital long before they even know what is going on!”

The two who had supported him began to applaud, whilst the other two had a hushed conversation. Once the noise died down, it was replaced by a slow clap, Foedus standing from her seat and moving to the door. “Inspired, Meta, truly inspired. Go ahead, attack Canterlot. It worked so well last time." She snarled at the guards, who parted ways for her, and Metamorphosis just let her go.

Once his plans came into fruition, she would pay. She may have the strongest hive right now, but once the princesses were removed and nopony could stop them, and he would march in to her hive… and burn it to the ground with her subjects still inside. With a low chuckle at his revenge idea, he turned to the other two changelings, who had hives on the outskirts of Equestria and had formed an alliance, the stronger of the two standing. “In a way, we have to agree with Foedus. But… if you can take Canterlot, you will have our support.”

“Excellent. Now, how about some entertainment?” The door on the opposite side of the chamber swung open, a pony in chains slowly entering. She had been a unicorn, but her horn had been broken in half. Her clothes were in tatters, her body was thin and ruined. It was amazing she could even stand in such a condition. She was followed by another two mares and a stallion.“Not bad, eh?”

“And who are they?”

“Some of the dog’s workers. These are the most healthy we could get at short notice. Think of them as a gift in joining our alliance.” The ponies just stood still, their gazes unblinking as the changelings circled them like wolves would do a deer. One by one the short chains around their necks were taken hold of and they were dragged towards the guest rooms Meta had supplied for the other leaders.

He smirked as Dido made her way over, leaning her head on his shoulder. “They like present, yes?”

“Yes… yes, they do. Soon we shall have a force more than sufficient, but it can’t hurt to be careful. Two moons, two moons and we will have the crown jewel of Equestria within our grasp.” 
> Chapter 19
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Fair Heart looked up with a frown as Breezy Mint’s head fell to her desk, the changeling letting out a loud groan. She could understand as, even with the team of fifteen ponies working under them, the past week had been nothing more than a headache. Six hundred and fifty six changelings, that’s how many had registered in the city so far, and there was still a long queue in the corridor outside. “When can we shut up for the day?”

“Um, Ms Mint? I can run the place for the rest of the afternoon if you and Ms Heart wish to leave...” The changeling’s head rolled back, looking towards the desk in the corner and the pony sat there… only it wasn’t a ‘full’ pony. At first, Breezy had thought that Mantis Gold was one of the few traitors allowed to live, but not escaping without a stigma. Instead, his mother was a changeling and his father was a pony, giving him a rather unique look.

His body was the same black chitinous material that Breezy Mint herself had, but unlike either her reptilian eyes or the pupiless orbs other drones had, he was blessed with ‘normal’ pony eyes. This was true for his bleach blonde mane and tail as well, making it seem like he had black fur from a distance, and she thought he was a traitor as he had no wings. He had accompanied his mother and father on the first day, and now worked for the Changeling Relations Department. By the end of the first week, Breezy Mint and Fair Heart’s ‘workforce’ had almost doubled… and none of them were ponies. “Thank you, Manty. We’ll see you Monday morning.”

The changeling and mare smiled at each other and stood up, leaving their office. In the corridor was a long line of changelings, some with ponies next to them, each one waiting to be processed by the administrative aids. They all turned to look at Breezy with a smile, word having spread that it was thanks to her they no longer needed to hide.

Knowing that she didn’t want that level of attention, Fair Heart took her partner’s hand and chose one of the side corridors, her former colleagues not even caring as they walked past. Breezy knew that this route took them out past the training grounds, and it made her smile as she’d get to see Gray’s, and mostly Dean’s, unique way of training the recruits.

Out in the gardens the noise of spell gunfire made their ears twitch, followed by a booming voice. “IF YOU PISS LIKE YOU SHOOT, YOU’RE CLEANING THE DAMN LATRINE! SORT YOUR SHIT OUT!” More high pitched whines filled the gardens, the two mares giggling as they walked towards a small bank. The other side was in the safe zone, but afforded them a good view of the range. They sat down at the top, where Gray was sitting just below them, sharing a picnic with Celestia and watching Dean’s squad. “ENOUGH WITH THE LIMP WRISTS, LADIES; YOU’RE NOT BEATING OFF YOUR BUNKMATES!”

The alicorn mare nudged Gray, giving him a playful smile “Is your squad this bad, Gray?” The man slid an arm over Celestia’s shoulder, motioning further down the bank with the other. Breezy and Fair Heart looked over, seeing Gray’s squad having a rest from training.

“Nope, they all passed pretty well. Had a few issues, but some… ‘positive’ reinforcement, and they got it squared away. I gave them the rest of the day off, as it was scheduled for gun training, on the condition they stay within the castle walls.”  Gray turned back to Celestia, their lips meeting in a soft kiss. The sound of somepony going ‘awww’ behind them caused them to break apart, smirking when they saw their extra guests.

Breezy pouted at them when she realised she wouldn’t get any love energy from them this afternoon, but the sound of some recruits giggling caused her to look back over. Whilst most were happy to train on their own, do research, or just lay in the sun’s warm rays, some seemed to be enjoying themselves a bit more.

She spotted at least two couples, both mares pressed to the side of a stallion, and decided to have some fun. Gray watched her with a slight frown as she had a whispered conversation with Fair Heart, then stood up and walked towards one of the pair, green flames silently swirling around her.

He looked to Celestia to see how she would react, but she had just had a smirk on her face as the changeling became a perfect likeness of one of the mares. The unicorn noticed, giving a gasp when she saw herself approaching. The earth pony stallion she was resting against was still dozing, so Breezy knelt down and whispered into her ear.

Gray heard the mare giggle, before she nodded her head, moving closer to the stallion, Breezy lying down against his other side in a mirror image. Looking behind him Gray saw Fair Heart biting her lip, her legs pressed tightly together, and briefly wondered if perhaps Breezy and the mare had done something similar in private.

A nudge from Celestia showed she knew what he was thinking, nodding towards the changeling as the stallion woke up. He suddenly jumped to his feet, staring down at the two mares. Gray laughed when the stallion slapped himself, before blinking a few times in order to see if he was dreaming.

Breezy then smiled sweetly at him and teleported away, landing next to the giggling Fair Heart and returning to her natural form. “WITH AIM LIKE THAT, YOU MIGHT MISS THE FRONT LINES AND HIT THEIR SUPPORT! GUNS DOWN, TIME FOR LUNCH!” Dean’s squad did as asked, pulling out the meals they had collected from the mess in the morning. Their tough leader had been kind enough to provide them with extra water to combat the heat.

“Sir?” Gray pulled away from the kiss he was sharing with Celestia, frowning as he saw his squad at the base of the small rise. The current senior recruit stepped forward with a nervous swallow, glancing round at the others. “We were wondering… could you tell us some more about your world?” The man smiled, motioning for them to sit down, Breezy and Fair Heart scooting closer to hear.







        Dean walked along the line of sixteen targets, marking down each good and bad shot. The majority of them were getting it, but there were three or four that would need some extra training. So much for going to Las Pegasus with Joy for the weekend, and he’d have to make it up to her.

As he returned to his squad, he noticed Gray’s sat around him and Celestia along with Breezy and Fair Heart, all listening intently. With a scowl he entered the room where his recruits were eating, chatting quietly with one another at the tables. “Lanes seven, nine, twelve, and fifteen - stand up!” The four selected ponies did as instructed, turning towards the man. “Any of you been to Los Pegasus?”

“Sir, I have, sir!” He glared at the proud looking unicron, slowly walking forward. One part of him was happy when he saw sweat beading at the mare’s forehead as he stepped close, narrowing his eyes. “S-sir?”

“Because of you four, I will not be going this weekend. That gun doesn’t miss; you’re the ones fucking up! Get it sorted!” He didn’t even give her a chance to respond, moving to a corner where his own lunch awaited, away from the ponies as he had meat today. He noticed them stealing glances his way, then averting their eyes when he met their gazes. “Okay, what?”

“Sir… what are you afraid of?” The question made him do a double take at the pegasus that asked him, being the youngest of the squad. He was almost a colt. Leaning his back against the wall, Dean gave a chuckle when he noticed the entire squad’s attention on him.

“Me? Nothing, ain’t got time to be afraid.” Looking around at the recruits, Dean gave a small sigh as he saw none of them believed him. “Fine… Camel spiders, those fuckers are evil! What they do is make an area of the body go numb, and when you can’t feel it, starting eati... something interesting outside, recruit?” The white furred mare’s cheeks went bright red, Dean following her gaze out of the window. He fought down a grin as he saw Joy out there, waving to Gray’s group and then looking around. The man got a wicked thought in his head. “Oh, like the nurses, do you? Checking out her flank, huh?”

“N-no, sir!”

“Really? NURSE OPENHEART, IN HERE!” The mare’s cheeks blushed brighter as the earth pony walked towards the room, having not seen them due to the fact the windows only allowed vision out, not in. She smiled when she entered, having seen quite a few recruits at the infirmary during their training. “I think you should know the pegasus over there seems to have the hots for you.”

“Really now? Well, she is pretty cute.” The recruit’s face was as red as a strawberry, which got even brighter as the nurse walked over, swaying her hips seductively. She leant in close, smirking as the recruit swallowed nervously. “Sorry to disappoint, hun, but I’ve got my special somepony already.” 

Joy then stood up and walked over to Dean, sitting in his lap and shocking the squad by passionately kissing the man. Even he was surprised by her open display of affection in front of the recruits, his arms wrapped around and holding her close even when their lips broke. “Joy, I may not be able to make it this weekend, four of these balky foals couldn’t hit a barn door. I bet the ponies from my world shoot better than them. And they don't even have hands!”

She turned around and pouted at the squad, leaning against Dean’s side. “You don’t want to be here this weekend, do you? I want my stallion to come away with me, for a weekend of fun.” Each of them shook their heads in silence, causing the mare to give a small giggle, kissing Dean’s cheek before she stood up. “Well, I’ll see you at home. I’ll start dinner later than usual just in case.”

Dean, along with most of the stallions and a few mares, watched her go with her swaying hips and flicking tail, before they looked at the widely grinning man. “Yeah, yeah. I also like long moonlit walks on the beach, reading a good book, and hanging out with my friends. Now, you all done eating?” The recruits nodded, Dean standing up and stretching. “THEN STOP PUSSYFOOTING AROUND AND GET BACK OUT THERE!”







        “...so yeah, that’s how we get around our world.” The pegasi of Gray’s squad glanced at their wings, slightly jealous that a race who couldn’t fly naturally could traverse the air almost ten times the average speed of a winged pony. “As you might have guessed, we don’t have magic, but there are myths and stories about people having it.” This made the unicorns of the group grin smugly, but their condescending expressions were soon wiped away as the man continued, Celestia dozing as she rested her head on his shoulder. “What we lack in magic, we make up for in technology. We may not have fancy spell guns, but, as far as I know, we’ve began space exploration and no one else has.”        

Several of the recruits looked up to the sky, trying to imagine what their world would look like from high above, knowing of only one mare that had been unfortunate enough to experience such a view. It was still hard to believe the astounding number of humans living in their cities, more than a few having a population greater than that of Equestria as a whole, and still growing. 

“What about you, sir? Friends, family?” Gray cast his gaze to the floor as something he hadn’t been trying to think about entered his mind. His father wasn’t an issue, having passed away several years ago, but his mother and small group of friends… even after a month and a half, they’d still be looking for him, most likely believing he had taken a job on short notice. Then there were his colleagues; once they confirmed he wasn’t working for them, and hadn’t been for a while, then panic would start to set in. “Sir, did I say something wrong?”

“No… no, you didn’t. It’s just something I was trying to ignore.” The man smiled weakly as Celestia placed a hand on his arm, and he leaned against her, taking comfort in her presence. it was a few moments before he returned his attention to the recruits, who were all staring at him with worry; after all, since the month and a half in which he had become their instructor, they had never seen him looking so dejected. “During the attack, a changeling struck Princess Sparkle on the back of her head. At the time she was creating a portal for both myself and Sergeant Hollis to go home, but because of the strike, the link between our worlds was destroyed. I can never go home, and will be here until the end of my life.”

Each one of the Phoenix squad recruits averted their gazes from the man seated before them, knowing neither what to say nor how they’d feel to lose everything they ever had, until one of the younger recruits stepped forward. Gray looked at her with a raised eyebrow as her eyes flicked everywhere but to his face, and she suddenly dropped to her knees, throwing her arms around his neck. “It may not seem like much, but you’re part of our family now, Sergeant.” That statement brought a genuine smile to his face, the mare stepping away with a bright blush on her cheeks, Celestia giving her an appreciative smile. Gray was about to reply when a shout came up the hill.

“SGT HEARTBELLE!” Turning from the group clustered in front of him, Gray saw Dean standing at the fence running around the firing range, his squad behind him and all bearing large grins. “Seeing as your squad is slacking off, how about a friendly competition?”

“Sure, what did you have in mind?”







        “So, do you know what they are doing, sir?” The unicorn glanced at the pegasus to his side, then shook his head and returned his gaze to the training area below, where two pillars had been set up in the sand pit. Two groups of ponies stood below, tossing jeers back and forth, before the current leaders of Phoenix and Barghest squads stepped forward, accepting the strange looking sticks from the two men in the centre, then climbed onto the pillars. “They’re not gonna…”

“Yes, Lieutenant Sentry, they are,” the unicorn replied, as the Barghest squad leader was sent sprawling to the sand, the earth pony that was his opposite number stood on his pillar triumphantly whilst Phoenix squad cheered him on. The two officers watched as a small pegasus mare took the empty pillar, then folded her wings against her back. Quick as a flash the Phoenix squad leader was sent flying. “I think it’s just some steam blowing off, the past couple of weeks have been rather hard on them. And next week… I’m giving them Deadeye’s Run.”

“What? They’re not ready for that! Half of them can’t even shoot straight, sir!”

“Most of them can’t when we give it to them. You were exactly the same, if I recall the events correctly.” The pegasus went to protest, but closed his mouth instead, not wanting any embarrassing stories from his training to come to light. “Take the rest of the day for yourself, Flash.”

“Thank you, sir. See you in the morning.” 

The unicorn just nodded, keeping his eye on the competition below, leaning against the balcony with a smirk. Several minutes later his ear flicked, and he turned to his office, seeing a small pony slip in through the door. Lighting his horn, he quietly closed the door to the hall and stepped in, seeing it was a little filly, her back currently to him. Judging by the white fur and two tone pink and purple mane, he easily recognised her from the description he was given. He should let her know where her sister was, but he decided to have some fun first.

“You know, even for a filly,” she jumped around with a shriek, eyeing him and the door warily as he moved towards the couch in the centre of the room. “It’s a criminal offence to enter military installations without an escort. Who are you and what are you doing here?”

“Um… my name is Sw-Sweetie B-Belle. I’m looking for m-m-my sister.” The stallion pointed at the chair opposite him, the filly taking the seat as he floated over a spell gun, her eyes going wide. She relaxed a little when he began to dismantle it, pulling out a cleaning kit from under the table as his gaze leveled at her once more. “Um…”

“So what made you think your sister was in a section reserved for the Royal Guard, and only the Guard?”

“Well, she’s seeing somepony in the Guard. She says he’s really dreamy.”

“Is he now? Sounds like he’s a very lucky stallion. Why not tell me about your sister?”

“Rarity? Oh… she’s really pretty, a unicorn like me… um, us. She’s out of place in Ponyville, and belongs somewhere like Canterlot. She’s a fashion designer, and actually has some contacts here where she sells her stuff.”

“Oh, Miss Rarity is your sister? I should have know such a cute filly would share her looks.” He gave her a small smirk as he continued to clean his weapon, the filly looking anywhere but at him as she tried to hide her blush. “As a guard, I am expected to know who our national heroes are. Now then, how did you get past the security check points?”

“Well, I, uh… just walked through. In fact, the last one sent me here. Was a rather helpful orange pegasus.” Of course it was. Huh? Oh, the shower has shut off. Let’s see how far I can push it. He chose to ignore the door at the side as it swung open, even as the filly gasped as the pony walked out, a deep red towel wrapped around her body. She moved to the balcony, glancing down at the training area and giving a small giggle.

“Oh, Bluey… do you know what your recruits are doing?” He kept his eyes locked with Sweetie Belle’s as he smirked at her, answering the mare.

“Yes, my diamond, I do. I’m sure the sergeants know what they are doing. Now, we have a young guest.” Making her way back into the room, the mare stopped when she saw the gawping filly, quickly levitating a robe from the other room and slipping it on, before taking a seat next to the stallion. “Miss Rarity, I do believe you know young Miss Belle here?”

“I most certainly do!” Sweetie Belle turned away from her sister’s slightly angry tone, her eyes pleading with the stallion to help her. “Do mother and father know you are here?” A small nod. “I see. So they sent you to come get me?” Another nod. “Very well. Blueblood, darling, it seems that I shall be dining out with my family this evening. Would you mind joining us?”

“And pass up a chance for little miss adorable over here to tell me some embarrassing stories about you? I think not!” He threw a wink at Sweetie Belle, who gave a small giggle whilst Rarity stood, moving back towards the side room.

“That may be, but once my father meets you, you are going to wish you had your spell gun at hand.” Blueblood glanced at Sweetie Belle with a raised eyebrow, and the filly just gave him a solemn nod. He then began to regret agreeing to go, and for a brief second considered joining the army to get away from the obligation, before he realize he already did that once few years ago. Then again, the competition outside promised a good chance of getting injured. He swallowed his fear though and left Sweetie Belle in the chair as he entered the same room as Rarity, ignoring the mare as he began to get out his dress uniform. First impressions counted, and he wouldn’t get a second chance at making one this time around, he was sure of it.







        With his two allies and one of the undecided changeling kings walking along behind him, Metamorphosis entered the mine shaft, descending steeply into the ground. Every now and then they passed a group of ponies resting, under the watchful eyes of several diamond dog guards, whilst they could hear others working away down below. “It seems the rocks in this part of Equestria are softer than I believed. At this rate, we should…” A shout from the side hit their ears, and they slowed down.

“BUCK OFF! I’M NOT MINING FOR YOU!” Meta stopped walking, turning towards a group of dogs. Among them stood a tall and strong earth pony, wrists and ankles shackled. He was still doing a good job of fighting the dogs off, the changeling king watching with some slight amusement as the stallion floored one of the guards. “I will not help you dig into Canterlot! You’ll have to kill me first!”

Meta decided to intervene then, spotting some other ponies in the mines slowing down and looking over. The stallion stared at him defiantly as he approached, a smug grin on his chitinous muzzle. “If you dig, you go free at the end of it.” The pony reared his head back and spat in the changeling’s face, who just sighed and wiped his face. “Very well, you shall be an example of what happens to those that don’t dig.”

With a flash of his horn, the chains broke in half. The stallion was confused, which Meta used to his advantage as he pulled his limbs against the rocky surface with magic. The diamond dogs instantly knew what he was doing, grabbing the ends of the broken chains and stretching the stallion out. “You there, come here!”

A young mare, also shackled, approached with her gaze to the floor, and Meta inspected her supplies. He picked out a hammer and a large metal spike, holding them to the mare and pointing at the wall. She gave a gasp and stared at him, then dropped her head and nodded in submission.

The stallion kept glaring at Metamorphosis as she approached, driving the spike through a chain and embedding it into the wall, followed by the other three. She looked to him with sympathy, but gasped when a dog dragged her away and back to the work queue, past the chuckling changeling king. “It is said that you earth ponies can survive without food for three months, as long as you have water at least once every two days. I think now is a good time to test that, don’t you?”

“I hope Celestia rips out your heart and feeds it to you!” Metamorphosis just started to laugh loudly, turning from the stallion and heading back to the three other kings there to see what was going on. He stopped near the rocky corner, glancing over his shoulder.

“It’s funny, you’re not the only stallion that wants that to happen to me. Do not worry, he will meet with a fate worse than yours.” The group of changeling leaders then resumed their descent, the path opening to the a rather impressive cavern. The majority of the digging was being done by dogs, but one small section was being worked by pony prisoners, under the watch of both diamond dogs and changelings. “As you can see, we’re making progress. The tunnels are opening faster than we planned.”

“Meta, you’re doing well. I shall let my ally know, and we shall discuss it.” He nodded to the other drones, who turned and left the mine. The other two remained, Meta letting them inspect the procedures going on. He’d need to keep them appraised if he still wanted their support.

None of them noticed the mare slipping back to the stallion, a bread roll in her hand.

> Chapter 20
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Gray sat with his back against a rock, breathing heavily as he glanced around. Lieutenant Sentry was scowling as he scanned the tree line, spell gun raised and ready. It was his turn on watch as the other instructors were taking a rest. The man didn’t know what had happened to Dean, their squad having been separated when ambushed by all of their recruits, the thick forest releasing the whine of a magic-generated blast occasionally.

“Damn goat-suckers, how are we going to beat them now?”

Gray looked to one of the other ponies sat near him, a young looking unicorn whose skin around his right eye was a nice purple colour and showing through his white fur, courtesy of a ‘captured’ recruit.

Indeed, they got it bad during the surprise ambush, almost everyone wearing some bandage, but now they managed to regroup and would do their best to take out the recruits before they would get taken out instead.

“Alright everypony, on your feet! Enough sitting around, we’ve got some foals to deal with!”

Blueblood stepped in front of Gray, offering him help with standing up. The man took the offered hand and rose to his feet, the other instructors following suit and spreading along the treeline. With a nod from Blueblood they ventured under the foliage.

Gray could understand it, by doing that they covered a lot of ground, and there was no way that they could all be taken out at the same time. In the first hour things were too quiet, but as they reached the end of the second, word came down the line that one section had hit a clearing, meaning they had swept through the exercise area and were at the other side.

Blueblood quickly made the decision to surround the clearing, secure it, and pause for further planning. Slowly, the ponies began to work their way into a large circle, which then started to shrink as they approached the clearing. They were only a few meters away when Gray’s foot hit something that moved, and he raised his hand, the group halting.

Crouching down, the man pulled up some of the loose brush, his eyes going wide when he found a boot. He put his gun down and pulled more of the forest floor up, revealing the unconscious form of Dean, his spell gun nowhere in sight. Blueblood made his way over and opened his mouth, but no words came.

High pitched whines and beams of light rained down from above them, those that escaped the first volley returning fire into the trees. The unicorn standing next to Gray fell under the fusilade of fire, falling to the ground with a grunt. Gray reached for his gun, but couldn’t pull it up, as it was kept firmly in place by a pony's heavy boot.

Both Phoenix and Barghest squad leaders were grinning down at him, their woodland camouflage making them difficult to spot in the dusk of forest from more than few meters.Gray shook his head in disdain, but there was a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “You teamed up on us. Clever fuckers.”

“Just so you know sir, no hard feelings.” They both fired at his head, the man falling into unconsciousness next to his fellow human, the two ponies looking around as the rest of the trainers fell. Phoenix squad leader stretched out his wings with a groan. “So then, Glimmer Night… we sticking to the deal, or is everything going to break down into chaos?”

The mare to his side idly scratched an itch on her horn, then gave a shrug. “What do you think, Storm Drummer?” She knelt down over Blueblood and rolled him onto his back, breaking the crystal hanging out of his armour. It started pulsing, so she stood back up and began moving off. “Barghest squad, regroup and move out! Two hours rest, then we engage Phoenix!”

Storm Drummer stood perfectly still as fifteen ponies dropped from the branches and gathered around Glimmer Night, then they all moved off, leaving Phoenix squad to gather around him. His comrades chose to sit down where they were, whilst Storm pulled out his map. “Okay, there’s a canyon about twenty minutes away. We’ll rest there and get some lunch, then the fight is back on.”






        Hiding in plain sight, especially during the day, was a rather hard thing to pull off. Unless one was well versed in illusion magic, and able to bend light around them, they might as well been walking around with a big target painted on their chest. But when the others were doing the same, the suspicion would significantly lessen.

That was the case with her current stay in Canterlot. She was walking the streets freely, not hiding her true nature at all, mimicking others of her kind. At first she was awestruck by the sheer number of changelings moving around the city without disguise and even though she had heard the rumors before she left her hive, she stopped dead in her tracks once or twice when she saw open signs of affection in mixed pony/changeling pairs.

Her previous attempts at infiltrating Canterlot castle ended in failure and few times almost led to her capture, but this time she hoped for a different outcome as she finally adjusted her plan to the current conditions. If other changelings went there as changelings without trouble, she could do that as well.

Of course she had no idea what the message she carried contained. It could have been a declaration of war or an unconditional surrender and thousand other things. But whatever the result, she felt unease just from the city itself. The attack her old queen performed was a too fresh memory, and the drone was lucky to escape Canterlot alive after Chrysalis’ plan failed. Despite her uneasiness she wouldn’t relent in her effort until the scroll would make it into the hands of the Solar princess as her orders stated.

Approaching the main gates to the castle, she saw a checkpoint set up. The guards were selecting ponies and changelings at random, checking documentation. Taking a deep breath, she joined the flow of ponies heading towards the line, doing her best to fit in. She kept her glances around to a minimum, but more than once caught the gaze of a guard. She shrugged it off, but as she drew nearer the end of the line, a hand was placed on her shoulder and she turned around to face one of the guards.

“Excuse me, miss, but can I see your personal ID and reason for visiting the castle today? It is merely a routine check due to heightened security standards” She tried to pull away, and his hand loosened a little, but he didn’t let up his grip as his features hardened a little. “Are you here for your ID today?”

A bead of sweat trickled down the back of the drone’s neck as two of the armed guards approached, and she panicked. Summoning her magic, she called forth a spell with which she could ward off animals that she didn’t want to fight, one that affected unprepared ponies as well.

The castle’s guards and visitors cried out in protest as a stinging liquid burst outwards from the changeling, temporarily blinding them. Taking her chance, the drone ran from the small crowd and into an alleyway, where she quickly took the form of a pony she had passed on her way into the city; now it was just another random unicorn stallion that stepped from the alley and began walking down the street.

The disguised drone had barely gotten any distance between herself and the gate when a sudden shudder swept through her, leaving a feeling that she knew too well; there was a changeling detection spell at work, and it had just centred on her. Walking to the nearest building, she breathed a sigh of relief to find the door unlocked, charging in and taking cover behind a counter; the place looked like a disused shop. There was a slight creaking that caused her ears to twitch, and she chanced a peak around the corner, watching as the door slowly closed itself… but was then pushed open by a unicorn in golden armour, a grim look on his face.

“Check upstairs, I’ll take this floor. If the drone has found it, we’ll need to capture or destroy it.”

“Yes, corporal!” Two more ponies entered, a pegasus and earth pony, followed by the heavy footfalls of boots on stairs, whilst the one in charge turned to look over the room. It was then the drone noticed the blazing yellow sun with a few purple flames on his pauldron, and she did her best to stop herself from panicking. Even one on one, she was no match for an earth pony of the Solar Guards, let alone a unicorn. His horn began to glow, and a scroll appeared before him with a flash, which he opened to read as the other two came back. “Nopony’s here.”

“We weren’t looking for a pony. But you’re right. Let’s move out.” The trio walked out of the building, the unicorn stopping to close the door behind him. The drone froze as his eyes locked directly with hers and his horn glowed again, but there was just the sound of a mechanical click as the door shut. Standing from her hiding place, the drone noticed part of the wall seemed to be loose, so she pulled it open to reveal a dimly lit passageway.

She wasn’t sure why the pony had chosen to do let her know about this, unless he was one of the changeling sympathisers she had heard about, but she took the chance anyway. Keeping her invisibility spell up, she slowly made her way along the passage, which looked like it had been hewn straight from the rock, with alcoves every now and then to let ponies pass. She stopped dead as her foot hit something, sending the sound of glass hitting glass echoing around her. Looking down, she saw several cider bottles strewn around, but nopony looking for the cause of the sudden noise.

Taking a deep breath, she continued along, finally reaching a door at the end. Pushing through, she found herself in a kitchen, and a glance out of the window revealed Canterlot Castle’s gardens, meaning she had somehow managed to get past the checkpoints and shield. Remembering where she was, she closed the door and left the room, creeping along the deserted corridors, which should have been full of ponies leaving for the day. Emerging into a lobby, she noticed two other drones, along with a rare hybrid, carrying several official looking documents each.

Even though not a part of her mission, she decided to follow them and see what was going on, blinking a few times at the sign stating what department she had just entered. The three she was tailing had moved into a room filled with filing cabinets. Whilst she was an infiltration specialist, she wasn’t big on committing intel to memory, and there was a lot contained in this room. “Mantis Gold, are you still here?”

The drone felt her blood freeze upon hearing the voice, desperately wanting the moment to be a nightmare as she slowly moved out of the doorway, just in time tpo. Walking past her with an aura of calm, followed by six guards, three of whom the drone recognised from a short while ago in the empty building, was Princess Celestia herself, stopping just in the room and smiling at the small group. 

“Ah, your majesty. We were just finishing the proposal work. I think you’ll be very pleased.”

“I’m sure I will. Now, it is time for you all to go home. Besides, I have a meeting with a messenger, who shall be along shortly.” With a bright glow of her horn, Celestia sent a powerful wave of magic out, which made the hidden drone close her eyes and hope it was just a dream. It was not to be, as the sound of weapons being drawn made her drop her muzzle towards the floor, cracking open an eye to see the barrels of six spell guns pointed at her. She turned around when she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she found herself staring into the smiling face of Celestia. “They won’t be necessary, corporal, this is the guest I told you was coming. Now then, I believe you have a message for me, young changeling? Also, you do know you could have just informed the guards as to why you were here?”

The drone wordlessly pulled out the scroll and passed it to the waiting princess, her cheeks heating up in her embarrassed state. Celestia unrolled the scroll and read it over a couple of times, before turning to the guards behind the drone.

“Send word through the guards, we are having a visit from a friendly changeling Queen tomorrow. And if you see Raven, get her to have the castle staff prepare several guest suites.” The guard bowed and turned to his squad, the six of them splitting off in seemingly random directions, leaving the drone alone with the alicorn. “Now then, what I am going to do with you, my little troublemaker?”







        Gray and Dean trudged along the corridor exhausted, both wishing for some time to rest, but Celestia had summoned them. They didn’t even have time to get changed from their muddy uniforms, a messenger with a note from Celestia appearing as soon as the Gehenna had drifted into the airdock. They paused just outside the throne room to at least straighten their clothes out when Dean gave a thoughtful hum. “So, what do we tell her if she asks?”

“That fifty guards, including us, got our asses handed to us by a bunch of kids?”

“Yeah, that. There’s something else that’s bothering me. Why is it called ‘Deadeye’s Run’?”

Gray paused as he reached for the door handle, looking at the Marine with a frown, who just shrugged as he continued.  “I don’t know, but I would like to find out. Maybe we can ask him when he’s done his time?” He pushed the doors open, blinking at the meeting going on inside and understanding why Celestia had told them to leave their weapons behind. “And it might not be a good idea to mention him during this meeting.” 

They fell silent as they approached the table at the foot of the dais, where all three alicorn princesses sat, but it was the two who were sat opposite them that caused the men to be wary.

“Ah, they have arrived. I was wondering if the rumours were true, Tia.” This caused them both to relax a little, as no hostile changeling would ever call Princess Celestia that. The drone stood from her chair and turned around, bowing to the humans. “Sergeant Heartbelle, Sergeant Hollis, a pleasure to meet you. I am Queen Foedus, of Hoofington.”

The men glanced at each other briefly and nodded, Dean snapping off a crisp salute whilst Gray bowed slightly. Moving to the empty seat next to Celestia, Gray gently picked up Celestia’s hand and kissed, and Dean remained standing, his gaze on the changeling leader. 

“Isn’t that a pony town?”

“City, actually. But they know of us, and none are under any spells.”

“Dean, please be seated, we have much to discuss, and Foedus has brought us some startling news.” He did as Celestia asked, about to question why several seats remained empty when a side door opened, Breezy Mint and Fair Heart entering quickly, followed by several staff from the Changeling Relations Department, filling the spaces around the table. Celestia’s horn glowed and all doors around the room shut, then had a golden aura placed over them. “Now we can begin properly. Foedus, what is it you wish to tell us?”

“There was a meeting a couple of weeks ago between changeling leaders, called for by Metamorphosis.” She noted with a grim satisfaction that not only the two humans but the other queen in the room bristled at that name, clearly ready for action against him. “Myself and four others attended, and whilst I agreed to no part of his plan, I cannot say the same for the others. Make no mistake, he is coming, and he is coming for blood.”

“Good, I hope he’s looking forward to drowning in his own.” All eyes turned to Breezy Mint as Fair Heart placed a hand on her shoulder. “I was part of his plans during the last attack, and now I am doing what I can for any changeling that just wants to live. With him gone, we can come out of hiding without any fear.”

“Tell me, whelp, from what hive do you hail?” Breezy met Foedus’ questioning and calm gaze with a glare, giving the queen a snarl.

“I don’t know, I was raised on common ground, so do not know from where I hail, but as long as it isn’t one of their filthy hives, I do not care.”

“And you, pony? You are her partner, yes?” Fair Heart pulled Breezy close, feeling the changeling shuddering with anger, giving the queen a nod. “Mirage, it is nice to see you found somepony.” What happened next nopony expected as Breezy broke free from Fair Heart and leapt across the table, slamming into Foedus and knocking her to the floor, pinning her limbs.

“THAT IS NOT MY NAME! REMEMBER THAT!” To her surprise, Foedus did not struggle or retaliate, she merely started laughing happily, causing Breezy Mint to stand up confused. The queen followed a moment later, wrapping her fellow changeling in a tight embrace.

“Oh my dear daughter, it has been far too long.” The group watching the exchange glanced at each other, Dean giving a shrug and then tabling the question that had been on his mind since the mention of the ‘king’.

“So what do we do about Metamorphosis? Just find his hive and take it down?” The hugger and the huggee broke apart and returned to their seats, Breezy confused and Foedus with happy tears down her cheeks. “If that’s the case, give me and Gray several squads, and we’ll go deal with him.”

“It won’t be that easy, Chrysalis controlled many hives, and even as her most trusted infiltration specialist, I didn’t know all of them. Meta would be operating out of one none of us know about.” Dean deflated at Breezy’s words, and Celestia leant forward to add her opinion.

“It seems we can do nothing but wait for him to act. Foedus, there was something else you wished to ask?”

“Yes, Tia, if you don’t mind.” She glanced over at Breezy and Fair Heart, giving a soft smile. “I was going to enquire about having some members of your Changeling Relations Department visit my hive. I want what the changelings living in Canterlot have for my drones, but a new idea has come to me. As the head of the department, I would be very grateful if Mir…” A growl from the other side of the table made Foedus give a small giggle, shooting her daughter a sheepish smile. “If Breezy Mint would come for the visit as well, and see her true home.”

Celestia sat back and locked eyes with Breezy, who seemed to be too stunned to respond, her gaze unfocused towards the other side of the room. “If she wishes to go, then yes, I will allow it. Before this meeting ends, is there anything else you can tell us about Metamorphosis? Strength of numbers, spies, that sort of thing.”

“His numbers, depending on allies, can go from hundreds to thousands, but if I know those that were at the meeting properly, you are looking at a force of around seven hundred changelings, but… he has other allies. Metamorphosis has gained a Diamond Dog pack.”

“Diamond Dogs? Bipedal creatures that try to take ponies?” Foedus locked eyes with Dean and nodded, causing the man to shudder. “Well, things just got worse. Princess Celestia, I’m going to need every bit of research you have on these creatures. I lucked out last time, so if you’ve got something, especially about any tactics they might have, it would be appreciated.”

“And you shall have it. I call this meeting to a close. Foedus, if any of your drones wishes to visit the capital, tell them they do not have to hide. Abide by our laws and no harm will come to them. Now, I believe you three need some privacy? Please, use my study.” Breezy Mint, Fair Heart, and Foedus rose from the table, giving a bow to the alicorns and then headed off to the side room. Celestia couldn’t help but grin as she noticed the changeling queen was nervous. “Dean, Gray, you are dismissed for rest, but first, how did it go out there?”

“We got our asses handed to us. I don’t know where they got clothing like that, but damn, their plan worked.” Celestia and Luna giggled as the two men walked away, the princesses glancing at each other with smirks. Oh, we know where the idea came from, and we’re not sure if you’d like it…







        Gray was roughly brought out of his sleep as the train he was on jolted to a stop. He did, thankfully, have something to stop him from falling to the floor, and that was Celestia’s arms wrapped tightly around him. He reached up to remove his blindfold, but the mare forced his hand back down with a giggle.

“I told you, no peeking!”

He just grumbled under his breath as she helped him stand, a knock on the door given as a warning that it was about to be opened. Taking his hand, Celestia guided the man from the private compartment, along the carriage and onto the platform, where the man started to shiver from the sudden cold.

A thick coat was set over his shoulders and he quickly slipped his arms in, then zipped it up. Feeling his hand taken once more, Gray followed, frowning as his footfalls made a strangely familiar crunch on the ground, but he wouldn’t betray the mare’s trust by taking a sneak peek.

He could hear whispered conversations, sounds of mirth, and felt a lot of eyes upon him whilst they were walking along, but soon it was all gone and he felt the warmth of indoors once more.

“Careful, we’re going up some stairs now.”

Some stairs turned into lots of stairs, the amount of levels the pair climbed unknown to Gray as he had lost count. Eventually the stairs ended and after several more metres of walking he was left to stand still, a door closing behind him a moment later.

“You can look now.”

Gray reached up and removed the blindfold, blinking slowly to let his eyes get used to the light. Once he did, they went wide in surprise as he took in the room where he now stood. It looked like one of Canterlot Castle’s private suites, but the view coming from the window was vastly different.

He walked forward, glancing to where Celestia sat with a smirk on a couch for a moment, then approached the glass, his eyes growing wider. Unlike the view from Canterlot which showed rolling fields as far as the eye could see, here they were in the mountains, every surface outside covered in snow with the odd outcropping of rock. He felt the mare wrap her arms around him from behind, laying her head across his shoulders.

“Tell me Gray, can you ski?”

“No, I’ve never been.”

“Then a long weekend in Coltarado Springs should suffice to teach you the basics. Tomorrow we shall go to my private chalet, but for now,” Celestia pulled away, grabbing Gray’s arm and tugging him towards one of the side rooms, where a roaring log fire was going.

Gray looked around, smirking as his eyes landed on the queen sized bed, but the alicorn took him nearer the fire. Letting go of his hand, she slowly stripped down to just her underwear, then she helped him from his clothing.

Sitting down on the thick rug that lay in front of the crackling flames, Celestia patted the spot next to her, Gray taking the invitation. She shifted closer, and he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her against his side as her horn flashed, a bottle of wine and two glasses appearing.

They spent the rest of the evening sitting there, and when the guards finally came to check if everything was alright, as they hadn’t seen their princess for several hours, they found her in the man’s arms, a serene smile on her face, and covered the pair with a blanket.

Two remaining inside at the entrance just to be on the safe side, the others heading towards the two suites set aside for them.

> Chapter 21
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Metamorphosis looked at the group of twenty ponies outside the cave system, the shackles on their legs fed through large iron rings deeply rooted into the ground, the glimmering light from a huge bonfire deepening the shadows around their sunken eyes and giving their scrawny faces an unliving visage. And this is why slaves should not be left to carry out jobs that require care without supervision, such as stabilizing tunnels. Each and every one of them had a medical dressing on them of some sort. Growling to himself, the changeling king stalked over to where an uninjured pony was packing some items into a box.

“How long will it take them to heal?”

The pony turned around to glare at him, but he just shrugged it off. After all, there wasn’t much a unicorn mare with a crack through her horn could do to him. Not letting her expression go away, the mare sighed and turned back to the supplies. “They’ll all be out of working conditions for months.”

“I see. Go, tend to others that need you.” Whilst he didn’t care for those he was forcing to dig, Meta needed them in good-ish health. The ones present were in no condition to do anything though. Turning away with a huff, he eyed a few of the off duty diamond dog guards, who were gazing longingly at the ponies. “Yes, you need to keep your strength up. Take your fill.”

The small pack let out a few howls, then charged forward, Meta looking over to where Dido stood with her own guards, a smug grin on her face as the blood curdling screams filled the night; she ignored the clear look of disgust upon the changeling’s face. Along with the screams came growling, the sounds of flesh being torn, and the last noises the dying ponies would ever make.

As the slaughter was going on, one mare walked briskly through the deep mines, watching out for any signs of being discovered. She made it to where one of the abandoned side tunnels started, finding it empty with the exception of a single occupant.

The noises from outside echoed down the tunnels, and tears came to her eyes as she used their pain for her own gain. Approaching the stallion that was chained to the tunnel wall, she picked up an abandoned pickaxe and began to hit the rock. It took her several minutes in her weakened state, but eventually she had one of his arms free.

Once his other one was also able to move, he took the tool from her and struck at the shackles on his ankles. Thanks to the metal being old and rusty, they broke in no time at all. Slumping to his knees, the stallion pulled the mare down with him into a tight embrace. Now wasn’t the time for tearful reunions though, the mare helping him stand, and together they left the tunnel, taking the pickaxe with them..

The main shaft was clear, all the way to the cavern where most of the other ponies were kept in pens when not working was located, but they weren’t going that far. Ducking into another side tunnel just as a group of diamond dogs began to head their way, the mare led the stallion deeper, a strange sound getting louder and louder.

They passed a sign informing them to turn back, but she ignored it and pulled a small wooden crate from behind it. Lifting the lid made the stallion give a low whistle, for across the top lay several of the explosives that the unicorns who were lucky enough to keep their horns had been forced to make.

Cries of alarm came echoing down the cave, followed by a group of guards running up the main shaft. Turning around, the stallion saw that the mare had already grabbed some explosives and was heading back to the tunnel entrance. He did the same, placing the little glass vials into any and all cracks he could find.

Once it was done, they retreated down the tunnel to the sign, where the mare picked up one last vial. She shook it well, then gasped when she looked up the tunnel, the stallion turning to see several diamond dogs staring at them, drool and blood dripping from their mouths.

The glass vial the mare was holding flew past him, seemingly in slow motion, flipping end over end. Not bothering to wait and see what would happen, he turned and ran to the mare, grabbed her and the crate, then carried on down the tunnel to where it turned.

A tremendous explosion followed a moment later and he dropped to the floor, using his body to cover the mare, gritting his teeth as hot shards of rock hit his back. Once the noise and heat died down, he got up and crept back to the corner.

He panicked when he spotted the paw of a diamond dog on the floor, but as he rounded the edge he saw that it ended halfway up the forearm. Looking back up he found the tunnel entrance was now sealed, and their pursuers were crushed under the rubble. He turned and walked back to the mare, helping her stand and then looking around.

“So… what now? We’re trapped in here.”

“No, we’re not. There’s a way out down here, I think.” A small light flared in the darkness, the mare using a match from a box she had managed to take from the supplies to light a torch she had stashed beforehand. She went to pick up the crate, but the stallion lifted it instead, and together they moved deeper down the tunnel. They walked for a good ten minutes before she stopped where several planks had been nailed to the wall. “Come on, help me here.”

After several solid hits the wood was out of the way, revealing where an earlier team had dug into an underground river. The water flow was fast and there was no way to tell what the rocks under it would look like, but now that there was no other way to go, they had no choice.

The crate went first, then the stallion grabbed the mare and held her to his chest, keeping her tight against him for any extra protection he could offer her.

“Take a deep breath, sis, because here we go.”

With that he jumped into the river. Whether it would lead to their freedom or their deaths did not matter, either way, they’d now die free, not as prisoner.

Back in the cave system, Metamorphosis turned from the now blocked tunnel and shrugged. It wouldn’t be long now for him to have his revenge… and he also gained a small appreciation for those who removed some of the dogs for him.






        
“So what does it say?”

“No, go away.” Alec returned to the section of the wall he had been told to work, trying to ignore the strange pony that had been following him around for a few days. The creature moved around on all fours, as if it had forgotten how to walk properly. “Get back to work, or the guards will...”

“We'll what?” The pegasus glanced over his shoulder, seeing several guards standing behind him, before turning around and setting his pickaxe on the floor. “Oh, continue, I'm curious as to what's going to happen.”

“I merely meant...” He was silenced by the guard punching him on the muzzle, and he worked his jaw a few times, then spat out some blood. His eye flicked across the other three guards, who were all rolling their shoulders. They moved to surround him, but stopped as a mare shouted from behind them.

“STAY THY HANDS!” The group parted to reveal Princess Luna and three of her guards. She stepped forward with a glare on her face. “Leave us, now.” The four prison guards quickly vacated the area. As soon as they were gone, her features softened as she jumped forward and wrapped her arms around the pegasus stallion's neck. “I've missed you.”

To her surprise, he pushed her away, picking his tool back up and turning back to the grey rock. “What are you doing here?”

“I... came to see you...”

“Thanks, but you shouldn't be here.” She let her horn glow and took the pick from him, causing him to sigh and turn around once more. “It's only been a few weeks. You can't be missing me that much.”

“Alec... it's been three months.” She stepped closer and wrapped her arms around him once more, the stallion slowly returning the embrace, the guards ensuring nopony would approach them. At length she pulled away, looking him over. “Alec, you look... terrible!”

“What did you expect? I've been working for hours a day, hardly any sleep. You try this and remain as good looking.” His ear twitched as the sound of digging drifted down the tunnels, and he turned his head. “Hmm, thought they were finished down that end for now...”

“Never mind that, what were those guards doing?”

“Their job. It's just the way things work down here, and if they didn't treat me the same, it'd be worse. Which you have now made it just by visiting. I'm going to have to be alert for attacks from the other inmates now.”

“We can helps you, if yous wishes it.” Luna looked to the side, seeing the strange pony in the corner. “What's this? Horn and wing, female, so not a king. It want to see my gem?”

“Alec...”

“Just ignore Sméagol in the corner.”

“Who?” Luna asked in confusion, getting a chuckle from the stallion. He gave her a brief squeeze, then pulled away and kissed the tip of her muzzle, taking his pick axe back and stepping away.

“Never mind, a human reference. Anyway, I need to get back to work.” She held his muzzle still and kissed his cheek, giving him a nod and stepping away. “I'll see you in three months.” Luna gave a heavy sigh, then turned and began to walk away, her guards following after giving the imprisoned guardspony a sympathetic glance.

“She your mate, yes? We swap?” Alec just ignored his little shadow, striking the large vein of ore, the crystals inside being used for magic cores in spell guns. His ear twitched as the sounds of digging came down the tunnel once more, but the wrong direction. His grip tightened on the pick axe as he left his work station.







        “We through now, Meta.” The changeling king smiled over to Dido, the female diamond dog standing proud in front of her gathered pack. Just over fifty of them stood ready to burst through the mines, and he turned to his last loyal subjects. All thirty of them. They each closed their eyes and lit their horns, the cavern glowing bright green.

Metamorphosis let their magic flow into him, his power being greatly augmented, and he focused his onto the diamond dogs. After a few moments there was a bright flash. Thanks to being the ones to summon the spell, they could still see the diamond dogs, but... 

“METAMORPHOSIS!”

The pegasus stallion that charged forward didn't see what struck him on the back of his head, knocking him to the ground and dazing him. Although the changeling king had anticipated the possibility of encountering the stallion, he was still shocked to actually see him. Meta’s first instinct was to kill the pegasus, but he quenched that idea as he stuck to the plan he had formed when he considered this opportunity presenting itself. Turning around with a smirk, he nodded to a single drone.

The changeling knew what his king wanted, bathing itself in green flames, emerging a few moments later as a pegasus filly, her coat the same sandy brown as the stallion, with a long magenta mane. She walked forward to where Alec was slowly sitting up. “Daddy, I've missed you.”

“Dawn? But... you're dead! This is a trick!”

“But... it's really me, daddy.” Three diamond dogs approached, but did nothing as the 'filly' wrapped her arms around the stallion's neck, lifting his muzzle and whispering into his ear. “I know what you saw, but it was just a trick by Celestia. She wanted you to think we were dead.” She was on his left side, so he didn't see a horn on her head flash green, his eye doing the same a moment later.

She pulled away as the dogs backed off a little, and he looked up from the floor at her. “Dawn? I... I've... missed you.” She was suddenly swept into his arms, the stallion beginning to sob as he held her tightly. Metamorphosis smiled wickedly, his horn glowing and surrounding him with green flame. When it dropped he was replaced by a pegasus mare with white fur and a mane the same shade as the filly.

Alec looked up as 'she' walked over, his eye going wide. He then let go of the filly, pulling the mare close, his tears falling to her shoulder as he held her tightly. “Alec... we need to stop Celestia. Or everypony will be in trouble.” He pulled away and frowned at her. “It's her plans... train the Guards using those... hooman things, make them emotionless drones, and then she can be the tyrant she has always wanted to be.”

“Well then... I guess it's up to us to stop them. You and me together, Sonata.” She stepped away and took a spell gun from one of the drones, passing it to the stallion. He then placed himself in front of her and aimed it at the drones. “First... we need to get out of here.” The mare walked in front of him and pushed the barrel towards the floor.

“They're here to help. Them, and the dogs.” A green flash revealed the snarling bipedal canines, but only for a second. Then they disappeared once more, Alec ignoring the fact that the flashes had come from Sonata's head. She pushed closer and wrapped her arms around his head, pulling him into a passionate kiss, ignoring the growling from one of the dogs.

'Dawn' came over and pulled him away, leading him over to the other drones. Metamorphosis let his disguise drop, wiping his mouth on the back of his sleeve with a sputter, glaring at the few changelings that had started to chuckle at him. Dido came over and pulled him to the side, glaring at him. “What you playing at?”

“With his help, we can take the castle with little incident. And the love you and your pack has given us... we will finally accomplished what my mother could not, and you will have what was promised; pony slaves to dig for you. Start your tunnelling to the surface, and we'll hide you when my number two gives us the signal you are almost through.” The diamond dog bitch nipped at his neck with a slight growl, then strutted back over to her pack with a smile and her tail swishing from side to side, beginning to issue out orders.

“We're ready... mommy.” Metamorphosis looked behind him to see the changeling disguised as the pegasus filly smiling up at him innocently. He resisted the urge to strike the drone, instead re-applying his disguise as the pegasus stallion walked back over, taking Dawn's hand in his and holding on tightly. “Daddy's going to show us the castle!”

“Really? And just how is daddy going to get us in?” Alec just smirked at 'her' comment, slipping the gun's sling over his shoulder and placing his arm around the mare's back, walking towards the main cavern of the mines.

“You forget, I know all of the tunnels. We're heading straight for the throne room.” He kissed her cheek and then moved them off, the majority of the drones following. Because she was to his side, the pegasus stallion didn't notice the evil satisfied smirk upon her muzzle, her eyes flashing green every so often, Metamorphosis draining more of Alec's willpower as they walked.







        “And this one?”

“Recruit Platinum Dagger, your majesty. She's pretty good with her magic.” With a smile Celestia looked over the mare's uniform. She was stood to attention on one side of the carpet running through the throne room, in a line with fifteen of the recruits, the other sixteen stood opposite. Dean couldn't help but let a prideful smile cross his features as he continued. “She also has the highest scores on all of her academics... out of the entire intake.”

“Really? In that case I think she will do well.” The man smirked over his shoulder at his glaring opposite, the Solar Diarch having already inspected Gray’s half of the recuits. Blueblood and Flash Sentry stood at the bottom of the dais as Celestia inspected the last few recruits, all of whom were graduating to the trainee phase, which meant they would no longer be under the humans’ command. Celestia reached the end of the row and moved to the lowest step of the dais. “I am very impressed with all of you. Continue along this path, and you will make excellent additions to the Royal Guards. Please, enjoy your weekend once you are dismissed for the day.”

There was a murmur of approval, quickly silenced by the glares the ponies received from the two humans. With a nod from Blueblood, the two rows turned left and right respectively, then began marching out of the throne room. He had a short conversation with Celestia before he and Flash left the room, motioning for the humans to follow, nodding to Luna as she entered. The younger alicorn gave them a weak smiled as she walked past them and up to Celestia, pulling her sister into a tight hug, who returned it with confusion. “Luna... where were you? You know we had a inspection of the recruits scheduled.”

She pulled away, averting her gaze from her older sister with a sheepish smile. “Um... a royal visit to the mines was due anyway, right?”

“Luna...”

“I couldn't help it, I was missing him too much.” Celestia just shook her head with a giggle, understanding where Luna was coming from. “Oh, and sister?” Luna asked, causing Celestia to pull back from her a little. “I know they are the worst kinds of ponies in the mines, but they still deserve some dignity. We need to look at who we employ there. As it is, i have already dismissed several guards for gross misconduct.”

She turned and walked up the steps, her younger sister following as they went for their evening meal. She spun around in shock as Luna screamed, seeing her fall to the floor with her back smoking. She looked over to one of the secret tunnel entrances and met the assailant's gaze. 

Celestia didn't have time to summon a shield as he fired once more, and she felt a dull impact to her chest, her vision growing darker as she fell to the floor. Three blurry figures made their way over, and she recognised the two others. To her horror, the mare that resembled Sonata was bathed in green flames, Alec ignoring the changeling as it bent down to Celestia’s eye level. The last thing she saw before the blackness won out was his one eye, full of hatred.







        Gray struggled to hold in a chuckle, but managed it as he inspected the clearly nervous recruit’s bedspace. The young mare was the last of his squad to inspect, but they didn't know what his decision would be. Opposite the line of Phoenix squad was Barghest squad, Dean having gotten them to remove their left boots only and show him the underside.

Standing from the foot locker he had been kneeling in front of, Gray walked to the entrance to the barracks, Dean following. The two men stepped out into the corridor without a word, leaving all thirty two recruits wondering what the decision would be. "How long do you think we should give them," Dean asked, checking his watch.

"I'm not sure," Gray replied, entering the small office the two had requisitioned when they were on duty to be closer to their squads. Picking up a folder, Gray cracked it open and looked at the blank paper, giving a sigh. "Still nothing. You got anything, Dean?"

"It's supposed to be unique," the other human said, pulling out another folder, this one stacked with report after report. "We've put them through every final exercise from the last twenty years in the past month. We need to make something up."

As the pair sat in silence, their thoughts were interrupted by a klaxon going off. They stared at each other in confusion, for they had been taught all of the different alarm sounds, but this was one neither of them recognised. They got out of their chairs and went into the corridor. Looking around, Gray spotted a guardspony running down the corridor towards him. "Hey, what's going on?"

“We’re under attack in the gardens! Get to your squad and get them outside.” Gray nodded to the guard, who continued to his duty, the humans sharing a look before running into the recruits' room.

"Recruits, you will ndt be going home tonight!" Dean said, ignoring the chorus of groans. "There is an unknown enemy of unknown strength attacking right now! You know the drill!" The recruits didn't need to be told twice, quickly slipping into their armour and grabbing their spell guns; it was something the two men had been getting them to do several times a day every day, until they could do it blindfolded. Which Dean had made sure they could.

Just as Gray was about to give the order to move out, the door opened, Blueblood and Flash Sentry entering. The unicorn looked around the room, meeting the gaze of every recruit, then gave a nod and slipped his helmet on. "Unicorns, gather magical energy for mass teleport," he ordered, all horns in the room glowing for several moments. Blueblood’s horn flared brighter, and in a flash the room’s occupants disappeared from it.

As soon as the minor disorientation had passed, Gray looked up to see what the problem was. A force of around fifty large, bipedal creatures that resembled dogs were running amok over the castle grounds, trampling upon the bodies of the guards that had already been killed.

"Phoenix and Barghest squad!" Blueblood's voice rose over the sounds of fighting, drawing thirty four sets of eyes to him briefly. "Welcome to your final exercise! You are to defend this castle AT ALL COSTS! RECRUITS...ENGAGE!"

As one, the thirty two recruits, two humans, and two guardspony officers raised their rifles, unleashing a torrent of magical fire upon their opponents. Nearly all of the beams of highly concentrated energy found their targets, but when the smoke cleared none had fallen.

"RECRUITS!" Dean's voice, much louder than Blueblood's, got the recruits attention, all of them watching as he dropped his rifle and pulled a knife from his belt. "I'M NOT GONNA ORDER YOU TO FOLLOW ME!" Gray wondered if Dean had lost his mind, but he didn't get the chance to ask as the Marine charged forward.

But what surprised Gray the most was that, without any hesitation, the recruits all copied Dean and sprinted forward as well. Gray looked to Blueblood and Flash, but the two stallions just shrugged and rushed to join the fray. I must be crazy... Not wanting to leave them all to it, Gray too dropped his rifle and charged in, pulling out his knife.

Going by the descriptions from Dean and the information dug up, Gray assumed these creatures were 'diamond dogs', which meant that Metamorphosis had made his move. Unable to search for the changeling king right then, Gray focused on the immediate threat.

For such large creatures, the diamond dogs stood no chance against the hand to hand skills Dean had taught the recruits, and they were aided when more guardsponies joined in the melee. The diamond dog numbers began to fall rapidly, until there was only one left, Gray noting it was female.

The diamond dog looked around as she was surrounded and began to laugh. “Ha... Metamorphosis will save me, he wins," she said, giving a chuckle. "You all outsi...”

She was cut off when a knife lodged itself right between her eyes, sinking in deep. Gray turned to find one of the recruits with her arm still outstretched, then he looked towards Dean as the man began to laugh. "Looks like we have our own 'deadeye'."

Before anything else could be said, there were two bright flashes of light from the throne room windows, which could have only come from a spell gun. The two men and their squads retrieved their weapons, then ran inside, not stopping until they reached the main staircase. To their surprise, Celestia was stood waiting outside the throne room, wearing her own golden armour. She turned her attention away from the recruit squad as several dozen more ponies ran over.“About time you got here! What was all that ruckus? Captain?”

The pony in question stepped forward and bowed. “Your majesty, it was a diamond dog attack. We lost about twen...”

“I do not care for our losses! Has the attack been repelled?

“Yes, your majesty. All enemies fell and we are invetis...”

“Fetch me Flash Sentry! All these problems started when he arrived, so he must be part of this conspiracy! Go, now!”

“Uh, your majesty... do you really mean that?” The mare's eyes glowed with the intensity of the sun, staring down at the captain.

“YOU DARE DEFY ME?” The stallion's chest erupted with flame and he began to scream as it started to burn him, the ponies nearby jumping to his aid, patting the fire out. “Go get yourselves healed, and then return here for further orders!” The group managed to stand and walk away, the ones who helped holding their burned hands. Gray stepped up to Celestia, looking her in the eyes.

“Celestia, what is this madness?”

“THAT IS PRINCESS CELESTIA TO YOU, HOOMAN! GUARDS, THESE TWO ARE NO LONGER WELCOME HERE. WHEN I LEAVE, DO WHAT YOU MUST!” The mare turned and walked through the throne room doors, slamming them shut with her magic. Gray turned around to see the ponies gripping their guns tighter, Dean glancing around as their recruits watched one in confusion. The gaurdsponies walked up the steps and behind Gray, taking aim at the door.

“Stand aside, this is going to be a bad idea.” He barely had any time to dive to one of the smaller staircases heading up to the balconies as the guards opened fire as one, the large, ornate golden doors exploding with defence wards. There was a loud rumble and a bright flash as the doors split open inwards. Gray stood back up and noted the ponies that had fired were sprawled over the floor. Movement below drew his gaze, where the rest of the guards and Dean charged, spell guns at the ready. He joined them as they entered, taking the room at a glance.

They then opened fire on the shocked changelings inside, keeping up the blasts of magical energy until nothing moved. They all aimed to the side when something slipped around a pillar, but lowered their weapons when a pegasus filly stepped forward. “Thank you! Oh, thank you! Have you seen my dadd....” Her speech was cut off from a spell gun blast, Dean turning to the man next to him with horror.

“What the fuck did you just do?”

“That wasn't Dawn," Gray stated flatly. They all looked back as the pegasus filly lying prone on the floor was surrounded by green flames, which died down to reveal a changeling drone. They started to search around the room, where they found Celestia and Luna inside green, viscous fluid filled pods.

“No! You will not win, not this time!” Dean and Gray looked over to the base of a stairwell, where a pegasus mare was staring at them. Gray once more fired, but his blast was just absorbed by a green shield, and the mare ran up the stairs. They immediately gave chase, leaving the other guards to get the alicorns out.

They emerged onto the large balcony above the throne room, where the pegasus mare was standing near a low wall. They slowly spread apart and stepped closer, their guns aimed at her as she watched them. “Give up, changeling. There's two of us and one of you.”

“Wrong.” There was a flash and a scream from Gray's side, Dean falling to the floor with his armour smouldering. Gray turned around, his eyes going wide with shock as hand wrapped around his throat, raising him into the air.

There was a flash of lightning followed by thunder rolling from the dark clouds overhead, rain starting to fall. Alec closed his eye with a deep breath as he began to squeeze tighter, Dean's body convulsing as pulses of electricity arced around it. Gray stopped his attempts at loosening the hand around his neck, bringing his arms above the pegasus stallion's arm.

The man struggled for breath as Alec held him off the ground, hand around his throat. Gray punched him in the face three times, Alec's head simply turning each time. He was then dropped to the ground, the pegasus stallion walking across the balcony and easing his right wing out, covering the pegasus mare behind him. Dean stirred, pushing himself up with a growl. “What the fuck are you playing at?”

“You're not taking Sonata from me. I know what Celestia is now, and what part you two played. You're not leaving this balcony... alive.” The two men looked at each other and nodded, bending down and picking up their spell guns, aiming them at the stallion. Gray gave him one last pleading look, noting the green sheen over his once blue eye. “That is a bad idea.”

“Alec, Sonata is dead. That's not her!”

“YOU LIE! I know who you are, what that mare is planning! You can either join me... or die here.”

“Very well...and we're sorry.” The three opened fire at the same time, Alec's shot knocking Dean from his feet again, whilst theirs just hit a green shield in front of him. The pegasus shifted his aim and fired again, but Gray jumped to the left then dove forward, swiping his leg in an arc that knocked Alec's feet out from under him.

The first thing Gray did was grab the spell gun and throw it away, but that left him unarmed as well, which Alec used as an advantage. A fist slammed into Gray's chest, winding him, as Alec stood back up. The man barely had time to dodge as a large knife slashed at where his neck was, rolling away to safety.

Gray reached around to the back of his belt, drawing his own knife once more, Dean having come alongside him and doing the same, but the stallion just started to chuckle. “Can you feel it? Twilight lied to you, Gray. That storm… it’s your way home. I can feel it in my bones. All you have to do is leave and let the lightning strike near you, and you will return to where you belong.”

“Bullshit.” Gray felt inclined to agree with Dean’s assessment of the situation, Alec glaring at them once more as he readied his knife. The Marine rushed forward first, he and Alec slashing and dodging with each other. Gray then charged into the fray, the pegasus forced on the defensive from the double attack.

A flash of green from the pegasus mare made Alec's eye flash brightly, and his speed seemed to increase immensely. He snarled at the pair as he grabbed Gray's right wrist in his left hand, slashing down and sinking his knife into Dean's thigh, the man falling to the floor with a pained groan.

Gray stabbed his own knife into the stallion's arm, but he just growled and swapped arms. There was a loud bang, the sound of a gunshot, and Alec stepped away, dropping Gray to the floor. He lifted a hand up and wiped it across his chest, raising it to his face and seeing blood. Alec looked past Gray, the man turning as well, mouth dropping open in shock. 

Stood in the doorway to the castle was Luna, Dean's M9 in her hands. There was a snarl from behind him and she pulled the trigger a few more times, the bullets flying true, Gray turning back to see multiple trails of blood coming from the right side of Alec's chest. The pegasus then fell to the floor, slumped in a heap. 'Sonata's' eyes flashed green, the pegasus stallion's chest doing the same for a few moments before the glow disappeared, but he remained on the floor.

“NO!!! I may not have him, but I will still beat you all!” The pegasus mare was surrounded by green flames, which died down to reveal the changeling king. Metamorphosis’ hands started to glow with green energy, which he flung at Luna, knocking her back down the stairwell, the pistol falling towards the ground. Gray barely had time to dodge as another wave of green magic was sent his way.

The man then found himself using the whole soaking wet balcony as a sort of assault course, jumping, rolling and anything else to avoid the attacks. He couldn't get anywhere near his gun, but he still had his knife, so all he had to do was get close enough. It was easier said than done, but there was a quiet grunt just as the last blast of magic passed dangerously close to Gray’s head.

Gray quickly glanced over to see Dean flung against the castle wall, having crawled his way over and sunk his knife into the changeling's leg. That was his chance, and he took it. With a full on sprint, the man charged straight for Metamorphosis, plunging his knife as hard as possible into his chest. The changeling's eyes shot open from the pain, but the man's momentum hadn't stopped.

Gray tried to regain his balance, but the pair toppled over the low wall, falling towards the thundering waterfall on that side of the castle. Metamorphosis flailed around in the air, trying to get his wings to work, gasping as he tried to pull the knife out. Gray, even though he had no parachute, spread his limbs into the spread eagle position, slowing his descent.

He suddenly felt himself hauled backwards, his gaze meeting the steely blue eye of Alec as he dropped past. And then his momentum stopped, two pegasi guards having taken a hold of him. “No, go get him!”

“He is doing what must be done.” Gray turned his gaze downwards, watching as Alec caught up to Metamorphosis, wrapping his arms around the changeling and forcing his wings closed. With one single flap of his good wing, he sent them closer to the cascading flow... and the copious amounts of jagged rocks hidden there. Their combined silhouette mixed with the water for a moment and then disappeared.

The two pegasi guards flew back up to the balcony, where Celestia held Luna in a tight embrace, the blue alicorn sobbing loudly. Dean was propped up against the low wall as Joy bandaged his leg, his eyes rolling as the mare fussed over him. Gray's foot nudged something as he moved, and he bent down to pick up Alec's gun. He walked over to the alicorns, offering it to them with his head bowed.

Luna took it from him with a whispered thanks, turning back into the castle. Gray turned back around and helped Dean to stand, supporting him as the pair followed Joy towards the infirmary.







        “ANYTHING?”

“NO, NOT YET! MOVE TO THE NEXT LEDGE.” Gray slipped down the rope, already prepared by some of the newly appointed guardspony trainees. The unicorns were using their magic to divert the water flow, leaving the jagged rocky outcroppings accessible. They had started roughly where Alec had entered, and moved down a good three hundred meters. The man's feet touched down on the next flat, and he signalled his squad to spread out.

He caught the sound of grunting and looked over to the next outcropping, watching as Dean landed with a wince. Joy would go ballistic when she found out he had joined the search just a few days after he got a knife in his leg. Shaking his head, Gray turned back to survey his section. So far nothing caught his gaze, which drifted over to the cliff face... and settled on a patch of dark which contrasted sharply with the light rocks.

He ran over, his squad following, where they all came to a stop upon finding the body. Gray unslung his rifle and took aim at the head, the ponies turning away. They didn't want to believe that Celestia gave this order, but it had to be done. There was a flash of light accompanied by a high pitched whine, and Gray walked over to the ledge with a grim look on his face. 

“Who was that?” Dean called over.

“Metamorphosis. Keep looking.” Gray nodded to his squad, who started setting up the next stage of the descent, Dean continuing to search his area. After six hours of further searching, they finally returned to the castle. Joy was waiting at the castle entrance, slapping Dean and dragging him home.

Gray just shook his head, trudging through the castle to the chambers he had been given. The first thing he did was strip out of his uniform and head for the shower. He stood with his head resting on his arm, which was pressed against the tiles as the heavy flow of hot water massaged his sore muscles.

At length he stepped out, feeling somewhat refreshed. As he sat on the bed, the past couple of days caught up to him, undoing all of the shower's hard work. Lying down, Gray turned to the black uniform hanging behind his door, only adorned by sergeant stripes on the upper arms and a blazing phoenix on each shoulder.

Tomorrow would be the official ceremony of his recruits being accepted into the Royal Guards, and he was looking forward to having a few days off. Maybe go back to Celestia's private lodge... and take her with him of course. Heaving a yawn, Gray lay his head upon the pillows, letting his eyes close.

His journey into slumber was momentarily disturbed as another entered his room, sliding in behind him and wrapping their arms around his chest. Rolling over onto his back, Gray let the mare settle into his side, lifting his hand to run it through the multi coloured mane, which had lost its ethereal breeze just like any other time Celestia rested.

Gray said nothing, knowing Celestia was just as if not more exhausted than him, having to deal with all of the politics and other things that went with restructuring a country, something that was desperately needed now that several other hives had come forward and asked to join as citizens of Equestria.

Lowering his head, Gray kissed Celestia’s cheek, getting a sigh from the mare, then lay his head back once more, finally drifting off into slumber.



        

> Chapter 22: Deadeye's End.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Thrashing about, Metamorphosis tried to break free of the stallion’s grip, but he didn’t have the strength to do so. When they merged with the downpour from high above their speed increased, the first of many jagged rocks slicing into Meta’s back.

Eventually they both landed, each grunting in pain as their bodies slammed into the hard stone. Meta took the brunt of the impact, but it was only minor discomfort due to his body slowly healing itself thanks to the love magic he’d managed to harvest in the short few hours from the very stallion who rolled off of him with a groan.

Meta took the chance to put some distance between them, using his arms to drag himself over to the cliff face and sat up, appraising his situation. With the thunderous downpour coming from above they were safe from anypony who might follow, and well below the city’s lowest level.

A quiet chuckle caught his attention, causing him to look towards the edge of the outcropping he was on, where Deadeye was crouched down, smirking at the changeling. 

“Well, here we are. You and me. Been waiting for this a long time.” Deadeye stood and slowly walked forward, reaching into the small part of his armour that had stayed on during their descent. From it he pulled a old looking knife, too blunt to have been issued by the guard. “Recognise this? I’ve kept it on me since that day...”

Metamorphosis tried to crawl away, but Deadeye grabbed his ankle and dragged him back, away from the wall and rolled him onto his front. “Let’s see if I remember... I was where you are now, and you were in front of me.” Meta felt a hand on the back of his left knee, followed by a sharp point starting to dig into his thigh. “I watched... as your cohort pushed a spear into Sonata’s leg...” The changeling king hissed in pain as the blade sliced in, betraying its supposed uselessness. “And when I tried to reach for her...” The knife was pulled out and rammed deep into the other leg. “...you just kept going!”

“We both know what happened then... but that wasn’t the end of it.” Deadeye knelt down, grinding his knee into Metamorphosis’ back, then grabbed his horn and titled his head back, the knife being placed across his throat. “I was forced... to watch as you cut my filly’s throat like opening a sack of grains!”

“Do it!” Metamorphosis hissed, squirming under the stallion. With his horn being gripped, he couldn’t use his magic to break free, and he just didn’t have the strength to do it physically. “Take your revenge, but know this will not end anything!” His one eye went wide as the knife clattered to the stone, and the stallion stood from his back.

“You’re wrong... I just finished it,” Deadeye said as he walked towards the edge of the outcropping, looking up towards the castle. “Your last allies will have seen the folly of your plans, and the diamond dogs... well, if they’re aren’t all dead will have retreated.”

Feeling his magical reserves beginning to deplete rapidly, Meta knew he’d only survive if a changeling loyal to him found him before anything else did, and he couldn’t resist getting one last little snide remark in. “Weak, that’s what you are! A strong pony would have taken my life for the hurt I caused you! And why look up? After what you did to help me, they’ll never accept you back into their fold!”

“Weak? Sometimes,” Deadeye said as he turned around, a hand placed over his chest, a strangely serene smile on his face. “But I have friends... family, who helped me be strong. The only reason I didn’t kill you for what you did... is she wouldn’t want me to.” Turning away, Deadeye took a step forward, but fell to his knee as he began coughing, a splatter of red spraying from his mouth to the rocks. “And I’m not going back... I’m going somewhere else.”

From his position, Meta watched as the stallion moved his hand, showing blood flowing once more from the wounds Luna had inflicted using the human’s weapon. He allowed himself a small smirk of satisfaction, knowing that one of his enemies would be dead soon.

“Hey, bug,” Deadeye turned to look at Meta, and the changeling could see the tiredness in his eye. “When they find you, give them a message from me.”

“...fine, I will grant you this. What is the message?”

“Heh... ‘fuck you pale skin.’” With that last utterance, Deadeye’s body gave out and the stallion fell, over the edge of the rock, joining the waterfall once more.







        It had been two days since Metamorphosis had tried his invasion, two days since he last saw another living creature, and, as much as hated to admit, would even have had Deadeye back just to stop the boredom. He couldn’t move, his harvested love energy used up just keeping him alive, and there was no chance of healing.

A weary eye turned as his ear caught the faded sounds of impact, and a few black shapes approached. Even though he was barely alive, Meta could easily distinguish the single human from the eight Guardsponies with him, and he let out a chuckle. “I... have a message for you,” he said as the human aimed his weapon. “...'fuck you pale skin.’”

There was a moment’s pause, then a bright beam of light was the last thing Metamorphosis, first born of Chrysalis and High King of the Changeling race, saw.

> Epilogue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        It had taken several months of tracking and studying, but Twilight's team was confident they could at least manipulate the storm that had brought the humans to Equestria. The alicorn herself had arrived to oversee the test, and had brought one of the best weather workers she knew with her. With a nod from Twilight, Rainbow Dash flew up to the dark grey clouds, slowly reaching a hand towards them.

As soon as she made contact, the storm began to brew, high winds forming from nowhere and giving Dash trouble. She quickly returned to the ground as the clouds began to swirl, with a clear patch right in the middle. 

"We're in the eye," Twilight said, waving her associates and her guards closer to her. "We should be fine here, as long as we...." She trailed off when she saw a vortex form, dropping the centre towards them. Lightning began to arc, the lack of thunder giving Twilight cause for concern.

A sudden thick, bright beam of lightning came from the centre of the supposed clear sky,scorching the ground right next to Twilight. The flash blinded them all temporarily, a strange and sudden force making them all drop to the ground. Once the weird sensations faded, Twilight was the first to recover, and she immediately knew they had been transported somewhere, due to the sand that was now underneath her.

Deciding the best course of action would be to first check on her colleagues, Twilight forced herself to stand up, looking at the ponies around her, and that's when she saw them. Humans, hundreds of them, in varying states of dress; a look behind her revealed an ocean. Twilight went to take a step towards the nearest human, a female, but she let out a scream and that's when all hell broke lose.

The majority of humans turned and fled from the location, but there were some who remained. Most of those that did so were of no immediate concern to Twilight, it was the ones who had pulled out what she knew to be weapons of various sizes and pointed them at her. There was sudden movement as several of her guards moved in front of her and raise their spellguns, taking aim but holding fire.

"Princess, what are your orders?" Flash Sentry asked, eyes wandering from one target to the next.

"...I... I don't know..."