(ALERT: Diapers, regression, and related. Do not click if you are not into this.) Ponies who visit a strange but kind pegasus's home vanish, and put into a game. Losers are slowly turned into foals. The SIU is sent to investigate the vanished.
Alert, contains diapers, regression, and all the related stuff. You have been warned. If you are not into this, please leave now.
Does not contain clop or gore.
Ponies who visit a reclusive white pegasus pony always seem to go missing.
DustStorm and his investigative partner, FlashRain are sent to investigate. Little do they know what they are getting into.
The ponies who go missing are put into a competetive game. The losers are slowly regressed back to foalhood.
Please note that this story is unrelated to any other stories. It follows a story arc is is if the other stories never happened.
Name: DustStorm Race: Unicorn Age: 21 Gender: Male Talent: Combat Magic Ability: Intuitive Insight Years in Investigation Team: 8 Unit: Special Investigations Unit (SIU) Rank: Alpha Detective Other Occupations: Royal Guard, Magical Researcher Looks: Gray Body, Dark Gray and Black Mane, Light Blue Eyes Hometown: Ponyville Canterlot Notes: Also currently employed in the Royal Guard. Has an ability that he calls Intuitive Insight. With proper concentration, he can “forsee” an image that is usually related to the current situation or investigation. Very careful and precise when it comes to investigation, not so much when it comes to combat. Odd contrast. Highly intelligent, but quiet. Won’t share opinions or ideas until asked. Seems to work very well with FlashRain, a Pegasus also in the Special Investigations Unit. Does not work very well with others in the Unit. Their abilities together can cause great progress in an investigation. Born in Ponyville, raised in Canterlot, as a magical researcher. Any further past records have been sealed by the Royal Seal.
Name: FlashRain Race: Pegasus Age: 20 Gender: Male Talent: Storm Control Ability: Assembled Logic Years in Investigation Team: 3 Unit: Missing Pony Unit (MPU) Special Investigations Unit (SIU) Rank: Clue Sleuth Other Occupations: Cloudsdale Weather Patrol, Canterlot Weather Pony Looks: Pale blue body, light blue mane, deep blue eyes Hometown: Cloudsdale Notes: One of the Canterlot weather ponies, he specializes in creating and controlling storms. His ability is Assembled Logic. When thinking over all the clues in an investigation, he can have an epiphany, where he can see something significant to the current investigation. Excellent flier, high levels of intellect. Very quick to share his opinions. Works best with DustStorm, and well with other ponies. They appear to be close friends, and their abilities used together can usually cause a breakthrough in the investigation. Recommended by DustStorm for the Unit, and accepted. Transferred from the Missing Pony Unit (MPU).
Special Investigations Unit
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) investigates abnormalities in what are originally normal cases. Wild Magic, unusual patterns of disappearances, high-profile cases, and other investigations that have hit dead ends are among the usual types of cases that are brought to the SIU. Their work is highly confidential, and investigation teams are usually kept to less than five ponies, to keep their visibility low. For a job to be assigned to a team, orders must come from the top, the Canterlot Royal Family. When a case is completed, records are sealed. Every pony in the unit must have an ability that gives them a significant edge for investigations when compared to normal ponies.
The morning was quiet. A few ponies walked around the Special Investigations Unit office, barely saying a word or glancing at each other. I was preparing to start my day, when my boss walked in, tossing a set of files onto my desk. His brown Earth Pony body was dimly illuminated in the sunlight that shone through the cracks in my curtains. “I need you to investigate this, DustStorm. FlashRain.”
Taking a sip of my hot chai, I opened the folder, to see many clippings of missing pony reports, complete with photos and personal records. “In the past month, fourteen ponies have been missing. The Missing Ponies Unit has asked for our assistance in this matter. They’ve investigated, and hit a total dead end.”
My partner, FlashRain, walked up behind me, browsing the papers in the folder. I nodded at my superior. “We’ve got this handled.” He nodded back, and left the room. I turned back to my partner. “Anything?”
“Shh.” I knew better than to bother him when he was in this state. I let him read through the documents in silence, for almost an hour. He then stacked the papers again, frowning. “There’s something here.” He closed his eyes, and fell into a state of deep concentration. His eyes suddenly snapped open. “I’ve got something!” He roughly slid out the papers again, spreading them across the desk. “Look here!” He grabbed a red pen in his mouth and circled something on each paper. “Every one of these ponies had met a certain pony. Her name is… Corona? She’s a Pegasus pony in Ponyville who offers life advice and aid for ponies… ‘who have lost their path in life’, in her words. I’ve heard a lot about her, she’s pretty well known in Ponyville. I know where she lives.”
“Then let’s take a look.” I pulled on my traveler’s cloak, grabbed my badge, bags, and magical, bladeless sword. “When a pony disappears, the last pony to have seen them is usually the culprit, or knows something that he or she is not revealing. I honestly don’t see how the MPU wasn’t able to see this before.”
“Hey, hey, that’s my old unit you’re talking about.” Flash gathered his belongings, too, slipping his collapsible halberd into his utility belt. His tone was light and joking.
We left the office quickly and silently. The light of the sun shone down brightly, causing me to squint in the morning sun. Flash flapped his wings and flew up into the sky. “I’ll meet you by Town Hall. I fly, you teleport? Once we get there, I’ll bring you to where she resides.”
I nodded. “Fair enough. See you soon.”
*** “This is the place?” I looked up at the huge and ornate mansion, the entrance pillars towering over me. “How does one Pegasus get a place like this to live?”
“I dunno. I’ve just heard of her, that’s all.”
I walked up to the door, and rapped my hoof against the door three times sharply. I heard hoofsteps, and the door swung open. A white Pegasus with golden eyes stood at the doorway. Her cutie mark was a shining ray of light. She had a friendly smile on her face, and kind eyes. “May I help you?” she asked sweetly.
I pulled out my badge and showed it to her, FlashRain following suit. “Special Investigations Unit. Are you Corona?”
“That’s my name, yes. Is something wrong?”
“We’re running an investigation on some ponies who’ve gone missing in the past month. We feel that you may have information that may be of use to us. May we come in?” FlashRain asked.
Corona seemed to think about it for a while, then smiled again. “Of course.” She stepped aside, allowing us entry. The entrance hall was even more magnificent than the front doors. Fancy tapestries hung down from the walls, and fine china on mahogany stands lined the hallway. She led us to what seemed to be her living room, the ceiling having a very detailed painting of Cloudsdale on it. Corona motioned to one of the couches, and we sat down. She took a seat across from us, and folded her hooves. “Now, how may I help you?”
I took the folder out of my bag, and spread the portraits of the missing ponies across her coffee table. “Do you know these ponies?” For a moment, I thought I saw something in her eyes, but it was gone so quickly, I thought I imagined it. She was silent for a short time, then nodded. “Yes, I know them. They were my patients.”
“Well, can you explain why you were the last pony to see them? They vanished shortly after meeting you.” Flash asked, narrowing his eyes.
Her smile stayed on her lips. “No.” she answered curtly.
There was an awkward silence, during which my eyes fell on a picture of a younger Corona with a Yellow Pegasus around her age, and two foals, one gray, one white. “Is this your husband and children?” I asked, motioning to the picture. “They look like good ponies.” Her smile flickered, then fell.
“They were.”
I processed the words, and then hung my head, with FlashRain. “We’re very sorry for your loss, Miss Corona.” I said quietly. Her smile came up again.
“Do not worry. It was a long time ago.”
"May I ask how they came to pass?" I questioned tentatively.
She tilted her head, considering. "It was a stormy night." She started. "My husband, children, and I were headed back from a sporting event. Each of us had one of our children on our backs. The weather was horrendous. The winds were powerful, the rain and lightning unrelenting. But we had to get home. I was tiring quickly, and my husband noticed. He offered to take them both. I was so exhausted at that point that I allowed him to do so. Then.... there was a bright flash of lightning. The sound of an electrical shock. When my vision cleared, my husband and my children were.... I tried flying down to save them, but the wind buffeted me too much. I never found their..." she broke off and looked away.
"We're very sorry." I repeated.
She nodded. "I appreciate your concern."
While Flash took a closer look at the photograph, another awkward silence fell over the group.
Something flashed in the back of my mind. I closed my eyes, and allowed my vision to accumulate. Shards like glass were swirling in my mind, slowly drawing together. I then saw the silhouettes of a group of ponies, in a strange white room. The vision was gone almost as soon as it came.
My partner noticed my actions, and moved away from the photo. FlashRain walked over to me and whispered in my ear. “Anything wrong?” he muttered.
I lowered my voice and answered. “Something isn’t right. My intuition tells me that there’s something wrong.” I turned back to Corona.
“Miss Corona, is there anypony else in this house?” I asked, standing up.
“No, it’s just me. It’s been just me for quite some time, aside from when my patients come into the house.”
“Do you mind if I take a look around?” I asked.
She seemed to hesitate again, smile twitching. “Go ahead.” She nodded at me.
“Stay with her.” I ordered Flash. “I’ll do a quick sweep of the house.”
He nodded, and engaged Corona in conversation.
I followed the hallway to a set of stairs. As I slowly walked up, something tugged at my mind again. I closed my eyes and concentrated. Image shards pieced themselves together, and a painting flashed up into my mind. As I opened them, I saw the painting from my intuition, a huge one, hanging at the top of the stairs. Looking behind me, to make sure nopony was watching, I reached out and touched the painting. It seemed normal, but I still had a nagging feeling. “Oh, no, don’t be so cliché.” I muttered, as I examined area between the wall and the painting. I used my magic, swinging the painting away to reveal a hidden door, slightly ajar. I drew my sword with my magic, the twisted blade forming itself out of my arcane energy. I considered calling for FlashRain, but I didn’t want Corona to know I was onto her. I would just look quickly, and see if there was enough there to arrest the oddly friendly Pegasus.
Taking a deep breath, I cautiously approached the door, listening at it. I heard nothing but silence. I counted to three in my head, and burst into the room, ramming the door open with my shoulder. Something fell down from the top of the doorway, spilling all over me. A cloud of white dust rose up around me, and I started coughing. The smell was familiar. Something I haven’t smelled in a long time. Foal powder? My senses started swimming, and exhaustion racked my body. I opened my mouth to try to call for FlashRain, but only a short groan came out. I sunk to the floor, my magical hold on my weapon falling away, and the blade crumbling into the air. I could hear a struggling coming from the Living Room. My partner was in danger. “Help…” I managed to moan weakly, before sleep enveloped my mind and body.
I was submerged deep in the ocean of sleep. It felt so peaceful, dreamless, and quiet. I heard somepony calling my name, but I didn’t want to wake up. The voice became louder and more insistent. Annoyed, I tried to sink deeper into my sleep, but was snapped back with a sharp slap of a wing across the face. Blinking, I opened my eyes. Everything was blurry at first, but then my eyes focused on my partner, FlashRain. “Dust? Are you awake now?”
“There was no need to hit that hard.” I muttered, rubbing my cheek where he hit me.
“Well, I tried shouting your name, but you wouldn’t wake up.” He said, helping me to my hooves.
I took a look around. We were in a white room- the one from my vision- with white furniture around, including beds, tables, and chairs. The missing ponies were scattered around, either talking to others or hanging out alone. “Where are we?” I asked. “What happened?”
“Well, shortly after you went upstairs, I heard a loud thump. The moment I looked away, Corona attacked me. She struck me on the back of the head. I tried to struggle, but she knocked me out pretty quickly. That pony can sure fight. What happened up there?” I recanted the incident to him, and he frowned slightly. “Well, while you were unconscious, I went around, gathering what information I could. It turns out that Corona wants us for some sort of ‘game’. She needed sixteen ponies, and we just happened to be the other two. From what I’ve heard, everyone here is taken well care of. No shortage of food, water, or anything like that. She’s also sworn not to hurt anypony.” He rubbed the back of his head. “Tell that to my bruise.” He added, muttering.
“Did you find any way out?” I asked, looking around some more.
“Nope. And none of the other ponies have, either.”
I sighed. “We’ll find a way. We always do.” I suddenly noticed something on my horn that other unicorns there also had. I recognized it as a Magic Restriction Ring, something placed on Unicorn criminals’ horns to block their magic. “Great.” I muttered, trying a simple spark spell, with no results.
A hidden door suddenly opened, and Corona walked in, with a tough-looking pony on her left, and a large Griffon on her right. Both had an odd-looking baton strapped to belts, with an assortment of other items.
“Hello there, my little ponies.” Corona smiled at us. “How are you all today?” Silence greeted her words, but she continued her strange smile. “I suppose it’s time to start, yes?” Another hidden door slid open. “Go on, go through it.”
I considered resisting, but my eye met one of her guards. He stared me down, and I knew it would be useless to try. I decided it was best to go along with what she told us to do, and strike when I saw an opening. We filed through the narrow doorway in silence, along a dimly lit and long hallway. It was a while until we saw the light of the exit, and left the dark hall. This room was colorful and foalish. The walls were bright, with decorations such as a smiling sun, and sets of rainbows. Another vision brushed against my conscious, and I closed my eyes. The pieces of the image brought themselves together, and I saw, just for a flash, the hallways of a maze. When I opened my eyes again, I studied the room we were in once more. There were sixteen platforms, leading to sixteen openings in the wall. I assumed they all were leading into the maze. I was about to announce my vision, when Corona and her guards stepped in behind us.
“Everypony to a platform. Then I’ll explain how this works.” We followed her orders, and stepped up onto the numbered platforms. “Everypony loves a good race, right? Well this will be a fun race through a maze. But it’s not just any maze. I call this the Maze of Foals.”
Something wasn’t right. For some reason, despite the situation we were in, I sensed no hostility from her. I leaned over to whisper to Flash, but the Griffon spoke sharply to me. “No talking!” I felt a twinge of fear in his words and tone, and quieted down. She continued her explanation. “It’s a shame to see ponies grow up so fast, and have to suffer in the world of adults, when it’s so easy to be young. That’s why I made this. The first eight ponies to the end of the maze will be unaffected. The other eight will lose some of their adulthood. That’s a good thing, isn’t it? Don’t you want to be a foal again? You don’t have to worry about anything but fun.”
The silence that met her words was all she needed.
“Well, aren’t you all grouchy little ponies. If you lose, you will not become a foal instantly. I’d say that it would take about three total losses. But I promise, when you are a foal, I will make sure you are taken care of very well.” Her tone was gentle, and her eyes soft. She cleared her throat and raised her voice again. “Now, of course, if it was that simple, that would be boring. You can find… some fun items… throughout the maze that’ll help you reach the goal, the center. I won’t clarify farther than that, or that would take away the fun. Now, I want to make sure none of you get hurt, or cheat, so we’ll be watching everything.”
While she talked, my eyes were still roving over everything for an opportunity, but I saw nothing. I turned back to Corona and listened to her continue.
“I’m sure you’ll all make cute little foals. Of course, if you want to volunteer as one of my little foals, I’d be happy to oblige.”
Yet another silence met her words.
“Well then, I’m taking that as a no. Everypony ready? On three.”
Deciding to go with it for now, I nodded at FlashRain. He understood and also got ready to gallop into the maze.
“One. Two. Three! Let the Foal Games begin!”
There was a flurry of movement as everypony dashed into the maze, the entrances sealing behind us.
My mind whirled with worry for the other ponies and my partner. But I knew I had to win if I were to find a way for us to escape. I took a deep breath, and galloped on.
I moved quickly through the twists and turns, taking mental notes of paths I already took, but I still found myself lost. I gave a short ‘tch!’ of annoyance at the sixth dead end I hit, and took another path down. My intuition flashed across my mind again, and I allowed the image to form. It was the silhouette of a pony, with the outline of a path to take. If it was another captive, I could team up with them. I also thought about Corona mentioning special items in the maze. I quickly headed to the location my intuition mapped out, and almost crashed into Corona herself.
“Oh, hello there. DustStorm, was it?” she spoke in a soft voice. “Congratulations. You’ve found a clue item. You’re the first pony to receive a clue. Well, an opportunity to get one, anyway.”
“What do you mean by ‘opportunity’?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.
“Oh, well, you can choose to continue going on your own, or do a little something for a hint.” She went into her saddlebag and pulled out a foal bottle, full of milk. She rolled it across to me. “If you want the hint, drink all of that.”
I stopped the bottle with my hoof, looking from it to her. “Why are you doing this to us?”
“I told you. Ponies grow up too quickly. They don’t get a chance to enjoy life once they’re grown up. That’s why I make them not have to worry about anything anymore.” She nodded at the bottle. “You’re wasting time. Make your choice, the longer you take, the more progress the others make.”
I looked at the bottle, and shook my head. “As if I would do something like this.” I turned to go, then thought about it. I had made no known progress so far. I was lost, and needed help of some sort, or I would squander more time with pointless wandering. I turned back and forth, trying to decide what to do. Finally, I sighed, gritted my teeth, and attempted to pick up the bottle with my hooves. Corona watched me struggle for a while, and then stepped up.
“Here.” She adjusted the ring on my horn gently. “I’ve given you minimum control of your magic. You should be able to use levitation spells now.” She smiled sweetly at me and stepped back.
I picked the bottle up with my magic, and lifted it to my mouth. “I cannot believe I am doing this.” I muttered, as I placed my mouth over it. I sucked on the bottle, drawing out the liquid slowly and awkwardly, until finally, it was empty. I tossed the bottle down, wiping my mouth with one of my hooves. “There. Now what’s my clue?”
Corona gave a soft laugh. “First, let me apologize for the door trap when you first started investigating. I synthesized a special kind of foal powder that makes anypony that breathes it in fall into a relaxed state, just like a sleepy foal. You looked adorable.” She laughed again. “All right, here.” She passed an odd-looking compass to me. “This will point to where the center is if you press the center part. You can only use it three times. It will not point to the path you take, rather, it points directly to the center of the maze.”
I took it, and tapped the center. The needle spun before pointing behind me. I headed down the direction I thought I should take.
Corona called after me. “Good luck, little pony!”
I continued my navigation of the maze, when I heard hoofsteps behind me. I turned around, and saw one of the missing ponies, a purple unicorn. “You’re- you’re one of the investigators, right?” she asked shakily. “I’m Dawn. Please tell me you found a way to escape.”
I sighed. “If I told you that, I would be lying.”
“Then- then at least somepony… anypony will know you’re missing, right? They’ll send help, right?” she questioned eagerly.
I shook my head. “The SIU doesn’t work that way. We are completely classified. Due to the risk of transmissions being intercepted, we don’t communicate outside of the office. We don’t report in daily. Ponies investigating a case can go silent for months, or even years.” She looked crestfallen, and I decided to change the subject. “Have you found anything?”
“Oh…” she shifted uncomfortably. “I met… that Griffon that was with her… He said that if I wanted a clue, I would have to eat a jar of foal food…” She looked away. “And… well… I couldn’t.”
I nodded. “Understandable. Have you met any of the others?”
“No, you’re the only other pony that I’ve come across.” She answered.
“We’re wasting time.” I said. “We should get moving. I have something here.” I pulled out the compass and showed it to her, explaining how it worked. “Two uses left. I’ll use it again now.” I tapped the center, watching the needle point to our left. “Let’s move.”
Perhaps it was just dumb luck, or the compass being of more use than I thought, but we soon saw a different looking pathway, with a pacifier and bottle pattern on the walls. We followed it, and reached a large room, that looked like a giant nursery. Four other ponies, including FlashRain, were already there. “Flash!” I ran up to him and gave him a quick hoof bump. “I’m glad to see that you’re all right.”
“Same to you, partner.” He returned the hoof bump. “So that leaves two remaining for safe spots. What happened in the maze? I expected you to be one of the first.”
I summarized my experience in the maze, and he broke out laughing. “Really? You drank from a foal bottle? Really?”
I brushed a bit of my mane away in a dignified manner. “It’s not that funny. Have you found anything useful?”
He stopped laughing and shook his head. “As far as I know, they’ve got this place locked down really well. Maybe- ” He broke off as another two ponies walked in, a beige Pegasus and a blue unicorn walked in.
A door slid open, and Corona with her two guards stepped into the room. “Congratulations, all winners. It’s a bit sad that you don’t want to go back to your young, innocent lives, but well-played, all of you. I shall summarize the clues in the maze. DustStorm was the first pony to get offered a clue. I offered it to him, in exchange for him drinking out of a foal bottle. He accepted the tradeoff. Dawn was the second pony, who met TalonFeather here.” She motioned to the Griffon. “She was told that if she wanted the clue, she would have to eat a jar of foal food. She refused, and moved on without any clues. Oceana…” she pointed to the blue unicorn that had walked in recently. “Met with Torrent…” she motioned to her buff turquoise unicorn. “She was told that she had to suck on a pacifier for thirty seconds for her clue, and did so. The first pony to arrive at the center was FlashRain. The last pony, was the group of Oceana and Clay.” The beige Pegasus looked down at his hooves. It probably occurred to him that by winning, he made the other ponies who didn’t make it lose. “Let’s round up the rest. Wait here, in the winner’s circle.”
Corona and her guards shifted a few blocks around, to form a rather chunky circle. The seven others and I moved silently into the area. They left, and silence fell over the room. Several times, one of us would start to talk, then fall silent again. After what seemed like forever, the hidden door opened again, and escorted by Corona and her guards again, the losing eight ponies walked out.
“You know the rules.” She said, smiling. “You’ll look so much cuter after this! I promise this won't hurt a bit. I would never hurt little ponies like you all.”
The other ponies looked terrified, as she pulled out a jar of foal powder. She scattered some over each of them, and before our eyes, they started to shrink. They went from being in their teens, to only about nine or ten years old. She gave them each a quick kiss on the head, which seemed to calm them down somewhat.
“Well, that’s it for now!” She called out. Yet another hidden door opened. “Back to your rooms, I’ve prepared one for each of you. You’ll find the room suitable to your needs and current age.”
One by one, we got up, and exited the room in silence.
I walked down the hallway, until I got to the room with my nametag. By the time I got to my room, most of the other ponies had reached their room, other than FlashRain and a brown Earth Pony. “Well, see you later.” I muttered. FlashRain nodded, and we parted ways. I touched my hoof to the door, and a tingling sensation spread across where I touched it. The door’s lock clicked and swung open. I walked inside, and took a look around. The decoration, thankfully, was not foalish. Bookcases lined the walls, and a comfortable-looking bed was in the corner. A desk with a candle was by the window. I checked the window, and to no surprise, found a barrier spell over it. There was also a mirror along another wall, and soft blue carpeting on the ground. The walls were solid blue, aside from a large family crest in the center of one of the walls. I jumped as a magically enhanced voice sounded.
“Hello? Can you hear me, my little ponies? Ah, good. You are now in what I call ‘Free Time’. You’re free to wander around this floor, we have a common area in the center of the dorms, a cafeteria to prepare food, with three of our best cooks there, a recreation room, and an assortment of other rooms to keep you entertained and happy. If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to ask!” Corona gave a bright laugh, and the broadcast stopped.
I decided to try and gather the other ponies in the common area, to discuss a game plan. I exited my room, and went to each door, knocking, and engaging in conversation with the pony there. I waited in the common area, and soon, a few ponies filed in. I roved my eyes over the assembled group. Seven. Eight, including myself. The ponies who lost had not come, and I did not blame them for that.
FlashRain took a place at my side, and we waited for the chatter to die down.
“All right, everypony. As you can see, they’re not going to let us out of here this easily. Each and every one of us needs to play a role. Look for something, anything, that can help. Cracks in the wall, faults in the magic, anything. I’m sure none of you want to be a foal again.” FlashRain spoke loudly.
“Right. With our movements being restricted and monitored, it’ll be difficult to do much, but the longer we take, the more time they have to turn us back into foals. We don’t know what exactly comes next, but we have to be cautious. Eight ponies have already gotten their first age loss. Corona said three times is enough to turn them into a very young foal, right? So it’s three strikes, you’re out.” I said.
“But what can we do? They’re probably watching us right now!” A pink Pegasus flapped her wings in worry.
“That would be correct.” came a deep voice from the doorway. We all turned to see the buffed unicorn standing there. “You know, Miss Corona won’t be happy if she hears about your escape plans. As faulted as they are.”
“Who asked you?” snarled the brown earth pony from before. He got to his hooves, and started towards Torrent.
“Stop!” I said sharply.
He ignored me, putting his face up against Torrent’s. “What’s to stop me from beating you up right now and escaping, huh?”
“Stop it!” I repeated, in an even sharper tone.
“I won’t approve of you treating me this way. That also applies for TalonFeather and Miss Corona. Especially Miss Corona.” He narrowed his eyes.
“STOP!” I rose my voice to a shout. This seemed to finally get his attention. He looked over at me, then back at Torrent. He huffed, and backed down.
“At least you have common sense of some sort.” Torrent said to me. “Next time that happens, no matter who it is, don’t expect me to be so lenient. And you’re free to attempt to escape all you want, but you will not be successful. And by the way, Miss Corona wants to see you and your partner.”
I frowned. “Us? Why?”
“She didn’t say. All she said was that she wanted to talk to you, then FlashRain. Of course, she said you’re free to go talk to her together.”
I looked over at Flash, and he shrugged. “Might as well see what she wants.”
***
“Tea?” Corona poured out a cup of hot tea for each of us. I looked down suspiciously at mine, and she sighed. “Look, I didn’t do anything to it.” She took my cup, and drank a sip. “There, see?” she passed the cup back, and I took a cautious drink. I didn’t taste anything abnormal, and the tea seemed to be just tea.
“What did you want to talk to us about?” Flash asked.
“Well… I want to know a bit more about your… Special Investigations Unit. Will ponies go looking for you?” she swirled her tea and looked at us.
“No.” I answered. I repeated to her what I told Dawn.
She looked at me directly in the eye. I felt like her gaze was piercing, and I flinched a little. Her gaze then softened, and she smiled. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you. It’s okay. I trust your words. It’s just that if there were others, I would have to deal with them accordingly.”
“You wouldn’t… hurt them, would you?” I asked worriedly.
Surprise crossed her face. “Hurt? Never! I told you, I would never hurt anypony. Don’t you believe me?”
I looked into her eyes and saw the truth in them. FlashRain, however, wasn’t convinced, and simply crossed his hooves in silence. “Miss Corona?” I questioned tentatively.
She tilted her head at my formal addressing, a gentle look in her eyes. “You can just call me Corona.”
I nodded. “Corona, you’re not a bad pony. I can tell that you don’t want to hurt others. But you’re doing something that someponies don’t want to do. Well, I don’t think anypony here wants to do this. So why?”
She smiled at me. “Some ponies just need to be reminded of it, that’s all. They think they don’t want to, because they’re afraid. But as a foal, they don’t have to be afraid of anything anymore. They don’t have to worry about anything. Don’t tell me that’s not something you thought of. Not having to worry about anything. All your problems being taken care of for you.”
I looked down at my cup. FlashRain huffed and stood up. “I’m out of here, I’ve heard enough.” He stormed out, the door slamming shut behind him.
Corona turned back to me. “I can see it, you know.” She said to me. “You try to hide it, but I can see it.”
I looked up again. “See what?”
“Tell me about your family.” She asked quietly. “Please?”
I was caught off guard by her request, and nearly dropped my tea. I placed it carefully on the table. “I don’t feel comfortable answering that.”
I looked back at her, and saw a knowing glint in her eyes. “I see. Nevermind then. Forgive me for asking." She gathered the teacups on a tray. "You should all get some sleep, the next round of Foal Games starts tomorrow.” She stood up, carrying the tray with her. “I trust you enough to show yourself back to the rooms.” Her eyes flicked to a window. I looked over at it. I could see the courtyard, the sky, and sensed no magic around the window. She smiled at me again, and left the room. I glanced at the window, then back at the door. I bit my lip, trying to decide. I stood up, and with one last look back at the window, left the room through the door, and headed back to the dorms.
“Welcome to Round Two of my Foal Games!” Corona spoke loudly and happily.
“You look awful.” FlashRain said to me, as Corona started some morning announcements. “You okay?”
“Just didn’t get much sleep.” I answered, rubbing my eyes with one of my hooves. “I’m fine.”
“Nightmares again?”
“Yeah, but I told you, I’m fine.” I brushed him off.
“Hey!” Torrent shouted at us. “Miss Corona is talking!”
We turned our attention back to the white Pegasus. “Now, I hope you all had a good sleep, because you’ll need it for such an exciting day! Today, we’re playing Tag! Now I’m sure you’ve all played it before, so I doubt I have to explain the fundamentals. However, this is a little different. You can tag each other with these.” She held up a sack of toy bean bags. “If you tag a pony with it, they lose. That simple. Each pony will have plenty of bean bags, so no need to worry about running out. Even if you do run out, you’re free to pick up the bean bag again. However, this round will run differently. Only the final four ponies will make it out of this without their ages being affected. I’ve provided you each with a magical paper that will update automatically depending on the condition of the other competitors. And to make it fair, all unicorns have had their restrictors adjusted to allow for basic levitation spells. Now take a look of your papers.” As she said this, a sheet of paper floated down in front of each of us. I picked up mine and looked it over. Every pony’s name had information and a small picture next to it.
I slipped the paper away, and turned back to Corona.
“Now the arena will have its fair mix of cover. Half walls, sandbags, you name it. This is to make sure the game stays interesting, and isn’t too short. Each competitor will start in a different part of the arena. Remember, get tagged by a bean bag, and it’ll be a strike!”
The two guards passed out sets of the pouches to each of us. I looked down at them. Could I do this? By trying to win, I would put other ponies one step closer to foalhood. As I was turning the thought over in my head, Corona spoke up again.
“Each of you will be teleported randomly to a part of the arena, thanks to Torrent here.” She nodded at the unicorn. “He’ll be sure not to teleport somepony too close to another. Please hold still for him, it’ll make the teleportation for both of you easier.”
One by one, we warped into the arena. When I was transported in, I found myself behind a wall of sandbags. I did a quick peeking over the sandbags, and saw a few of the other ponies. I ducked down again, as Corona’s magically enhanced voice sounded. “Everypony in the arena? Good. Now, before I forget, Pegasi, no flying! We don’t want an unfair advantage. As for everypony else, remember to tag with bean bags only. Any other sort of contact is not allowed. Some of you will not want to compete. You don’t want to turn others back into foals. But everypony might not be thinking the same way. After all, if you lose, that’s a strike! If you don’t want to become a foal again, all you must do is win! Good luck! Let round two of the Foal Games begin now!”
I heard a flurry of movement. “What a foalish competition.” I muttered to myself.
“Hey.” A voice came up by my side, and I nearly struck my partner with a bean bag. FlashRain had no bean bags out, and crouched down next to me. “I’ve noticed something. I asked TalonFeather for a hint about the next competition. Corona allowed him to do so. He said the next game involves toy wooden blocks. Each competition is going to get more and more foalish, it seems.”
I looked up over the top of the sandbags, and ducked as a bean bag went flying over my head. “It seems some of the ponies here are taking this competition seriously.”
“Well, obviously.” FlashRain pulled out a bean bag. “Nopony wants to be a foal again.”
I looked over at him. “Are you seriously planning to do this? You’re going to make somepony lose? That’s the same as if you regressed them yourself.”
FlashRain seemed to notice this, and hesitated. He dropped back down. “Maybe we can just let the other ponies take care of each other. There can be four winners, right? So if we stay low, we can still make it through, and not play a part.”
“Then it’s best if we split up. We’d be a bigger target if we stayed together.” I nodded. I consulted the paper again. “It appears that three ponies have already been tagged. Two of them have gotten their second strike.” I put the paper away again, as FlashRain got ready to gallop away.
“We’ll meet each other at the end, right?” FlashRain asked.
“Of course. Keep your head down.” I replied as Flash dashed away.
*** “Just one more pony needs to get tagged.” I muttered to myself, studying the paper. “Just one more.” My eyes fell on Flash’s name. He still had zero strikes. Breathing out a sigh of relief, I looked around. Nopony appeared to be near. Knowing it would be too dangerous to stay in one place for too long, I placed the paper away, and got to my hooves. I carefully crept along the wall, peeking my head around the edge. I heard movement behind me, and whipped around, readying a bean bag. A pink unicorn, who I recognized as Mentira started fumbling a bean bag out of her sack. She was unprepared, and completely open for the strike. It was a wonder how she made it this far in the round.
I knew I had to do it, if I were to make it into the next round unaffected. But looking at her, and seeing the panic in her, I tossed my bean bag down. “Let’s act like we never met. Okay?” I asked her quietly. “We can both walk away.”
“O-okay.” She stammered. I gave her a quick, respective bow, and turned to leave. That was my mistake. I let my guard down. Despite my many years in the Royal Guard and SIU, I turned my back on a pony that I had not confirmed as an ally. I felt a bean bag strike me in the back of the head, and saw it fall to the floor. I turned back slowly. “I’m- I’m sorry. But I had to end it. To be safe. I don’t want to be turned back any more. I’m sorry.” She ran off, leaving me in confusion and shock with my situation. I heard Corona’s voice again.
“That ends this round! Everypony, please check your papers for the updated listings! We’ll be collecting the winners and losers shortly!”
I whipped out my paper and looked down at it once more.
I jumped as Torrent teleported behind me. “Sorry to startle you. Let’s go.” he spoke in his gruff voice.
***
Congratulations to our four winners, who did not gain a strike or additional strike. FlashRain, Mentira, Clay, and Dawn.” Corona’s voice was soft again. “I’m still a little sad that you’re trying so hard. What’s wrong with being young and innocent?”
The four ponies that made it through the round were standing on the other side of the room across from the ponies that lost that round. FlashRain was looking at me in disbelief. I averted my gaze from him, and turned to the white Pegasus. Corona pulled out the glittering jar of foal powder again. “Now hold still, everypony.” She scattered the magical powder over each of us. When she got to me, my nerves were highly tensed. But I realized something. It was not fear. I wasn’t worried. So why was I feeling nervous? Corona smiled. “It’ll be okay. Please don’t move.” She threw some of it over me, and a strange feeling washed over me. It was calming, comforting. It felt that I was in the warm embrace of somepony, and I felt my nerves cool down. When I opened my eyes again, I looked around at the group. The ponies who had gotten a second strike were even younger, no older than five. All of them now had a diaper on them, and they seemed to be confused. They looked around, not seeming to fully comprehend the situation. I found that my own mind was clouded. I shook my head, but was unable to clear the fog that was hanging over my mind.
“I suppose everypony should head back to their rooms, or spend some time with others. Free time starts directly after we leave the room. Have a great day, everypony.”
FlashRain ran up to me as soon as we exited. “What? How?” he asked, worry in his eyes.
“It was my mistake. I let my guard down.” I shook my head at my higher pitched voice. “There’s a haze over my thoughts. I’m sorry, can we talk later? I’m going to see if sleep clears it up.”
“It won’t.” A tiny voice sounded behind us. I saw one of the ponies with two strikes, Leaf, gazing at us. “When you get tuwned back…. It’s mind… and body.” She looked away. “I… can’t thiwnk wike a gwon-up anymowe.” Tears formed in her eyes, and before we could stop her, she ran into her room. We heard the door lock click behind her.
“That means…” FlashRain started.
I finished his thought. “The more we lose, the lower our chances of escaping. Even a second strike... would make escape for that pony... nearly impossible.”
After a short conversation with Flash regarding my current situation, I headed back to my room. The room was now foalish, with a smaller desk, bed, and lower-level books. The sun and moon were painted on the ceiling, and now, a toy box sat against one of the walls, where the mirror used to be.
“I don’t even know how they managed to do this so quickly…” I muttered as I poked through the colorful books. I looked around the room again. Deciding that there was nothing that I could do in here, I headed back out, and bumped into the Griffon, TalonFeather. Considering that he was significantly larger than me now, I was knocked over. “Sorry.” I muttered quickly.
“There’s no need to apologize.” He helped me back to my hooves. “You’re DustStorm, right? I’m headed down to the kitchen to get something to eat. Why don’t you join me?”
I felt nervous again. “I- I don’t know.” I had not felt this kind of shyness for quite some time.
“I promise I won’t do anything bad to you. I made a promise to Miss Corona about that.”
I looked back at him. “Okay then.”
***
“The food here isn’t as good as the Griffon Kingdom’s.” Talon chuckled as we dined on vegetables with rice.
“Still beats the food we get as Royal Guards.” I responded.
“I suppose it does. How is your job as a Royal Guard?” he asked me.
“Well, it’s quite boring most of the time. Our day involve patrolling around Canterlot and Ponyville, keeping a lookout for suspicious activity. It’s almost always overly quiet.” I set down my utensils. “Now that you’ve asked me a question, may I ask you one?” He nodded, and I continued. “How did you meet Corona?”
“Oh, that’s an interesting story.” He cleaned his beak with a napkin and leaned back in the chair. “I was working as a mail carrier. I transported mail across long distances, such as from Ponyville to the Griffon Empire. Once, I was sent to deliver mail to Miss Corona. It was a rather large set of packages, I nearly broke my back carrying them. I rang the doorbell, but nopony answered. But I heard movements inside. I decided that she was busy, and waited. But she took so long, I got impatient. What would a rich pony like her need so much packages for? And plus, why did she order the cheapest service we offer? There were many expensive, yet magical and instant deliveries that a wealthy pony like her could easily afford. I was so impatient at that time, and so curious, I decided to take a look inside. Every single package had arcane items. What would a Pegasus need so many arcane items for? Of course, this is when she decided to open the door. Imagine how I looked, poking through her personal mail. But she didn’t seem angry at all. I decided to ask her about it.”
“Just like that?” I raised an eyebrow. “And how did she react to such a direct question?”
“Well… She told me what she said to you guys. She just wants ponies to be young and innocent again. And she also said that she needed help. That she couldn’t do it alone. She offered me a job, and well, it certainly beat my old, boring job. So I accepted, and well, here I am.”
“You talk a lot.” Torrent walked up to our table. “Is it really okay to be telling him that much?”
Talon folded his arms. “Nothing wrong with it. Corona said that it was okay. She trusts the ponies here. Besides, what harm will it do, telling them about us? I mean, they can’t use it against us in any way.”
“I suppose so.” Torrent took a seat next to Talon, across from me. “So, I am predicting that you want to know about my story?” “If you wouldn’t mind telling me.” I looked away again as his eyes met mine.
Torrent took a deep breath. “I was born and raised in Canterlot. It was always my dream to become a Royal Guard. Every day, I would go running. Lift weights. Practice my magic. Eventually, when I was of age, I went to the recruitment office and applied. I was so nervous throughout the entire exam, and at the end, nothing more was on my mind but the results. Finally, a week later, I got a letter in the mail from the recruitment office. I had made it. After a few days, I was called in with another few guards to investigate a domestic disturbance. When we got there…” he shook his head. “Those parents… no… they don’t deserve to be called that… they had beaten their son so badly, his wing broke. We arrested those two adults on the spot, and brought the poor little Pegasus to Canterlot General Hospital. The doctors did their best, but they said he would never be able to fly again. From that day forth, I made a vow to protect others from any kind of suffering. I joined as many violence prevention programs as I could. That attracted quite some attention, and it seemed to get Corona’s attention, too. She approached me one time when I was headed home, and told me all about herself, and what she wanted to do. And I saw her point. Foals who grow up with love don’t have to suffer. But once they grow up, there’s the real, cruel world out there. Nopony should have to go through that. So I joined her, and a pony of her wealth and stature… well, she was able to pull a few strings and get me honorably discharged. I’ve been working for her ever since.”
“That’s nice and all, but can I have a moment of privacy with my partner?” I gave a start as I heard Flash’s voice. He was standing at the cafeteria entrance. How long had he been there?
“Let’s let them talk.” Talon stood up and left the table, Torrent following suit. FlashRain took the now empty seat across from me. “You’re getting awfully friendly with the enemies.” FlashRain said. “Why?”
“The closer I get to them, the more I can know about them, this place, and possible ways to escape. If I get close enough, maybe they’ll even let us go.”
FlashRain looked thoughtful for a while. “I see. That makes sense. Sorry for doubting you. You’re my partner.” He settled back. “How are you dealing with… well, you know.”
“It’s a bit odd, but I feel like I have more energy than before.” I nodded. “It’s not a bad feeling, overall, to be honest.” I stopped talking as something started forming in my head again. I closed my eyes, and concentrated on the image assembling itself. It was Corona. Why? I opened my eyes again.
“You had a flash of your Intuition Insight just now, right? What did you see?” FlashRain asked eagerly. “A way out? Some way to turn the game around?”
“No…” I considered telling him what I saw, but I knew that it would make me look bad. He already had given me a hard time just for being friendly with the guards. “Sorry… I lost my concentration. The image broke before it was able to fully form.”
“Oh.” He seemed disappointed, and got up from the table. “Try not to get another strike. From what I heard, the ponies with two strikes had to have several… changes today, and they really are acting their age. Playing with foalish toys, crying a lot, not being able to read or understand certain words…” He sighed. “Just be careful, okay?”
“You too, Flash.” We did a quick hoof bump, and he left for his room. I confirmed that he would stay in his room, then headed to find Corona.
Chapter VII- Free Time 2, Part 2: Corona’s Family Crest
“Miss Corona? She’s in her room. Is this important?” Talon asked me, frowning.
“It’s very important. Please, let me talk to her.” I wasn’t sure what my insight meant, but it always would show something vital to the current situation. I knew I had to talk to her.
“All right. Wait here, I’ll get her for you.” He left the room, leaving me alone in the hallway. Minutes that stretched to feel like eternity passed, before I finally heard hoofsteps. Corona stepped through the doorway, shutting it behind her.
“DustStorm? Talon said you had something ‘very important’ to tell me?” She asked, curiosity and confusion on her face.
It was at this moment that I realized that I did not have a way to explain it, without it sounding strange. “I… just had a feeling.” I muttered, poking at the ground with a hoof. “I can’t really explain it. I just felt that there was something… I- I don’t know.”
“You just had a feeling?” she gave me an odd look. “You know, it seems like you’re hiding something. You can tell me about it.”
I shifted uncomfortably. “Then… please let me finish before you think that I’m crazy.”
“I wouldn’t think that.” She laughed. “Go on.”
“I have an ability that I call Intuitive Insight. I randomly get a flash of an image in my head, that is always linked to the current situation. It always points out something critical to me. It’s how I was able to find that hidden room. It also allowed me to find the clue in that maze. It’s helped me so many times in my investigations.”
“So it’s like being a psychic?” She questioned, tilting her head.
“You… believe me?” I asked in surprise.
“Of course I do. There are many unexplainable things in this world. In addition, there wouldn’t be much point in you telling a lie about this.”
“I appreciate you trusting me.” I gave her a respectful bow. “And to answer your question, no. Psychics get visions of the future, and what is to come. My visions are of the present. They just guide me to see things I couldn’t see before.”
“That’s more than useful.” She said, smiling. “It’s very interesting that you have a skill like that. Does your partner have an ability, too?”
“Yeah… but you’ll have to ask him. I don’t think he’ll be happy if I told you. He’s already going to give me a hard time if I told him that we talked like this.. Just keep this between us.”
“I can do that.” She promised. “Now, we still don’t know why you had that vision of me, right? Is there a way to find out?”
“Well… this has never happened before. Every time before, when I had an Intuitive Insight, I always was able to find what was so important about it right after I had the vision.”
“Then walk with me. I have a few things to do, and maybe we’ll find out what was so dire about your vision on the way.” She walked to another door and inserted a key, turning it. The door swung open as she pushed.
I followed her through, and we walked up a long stairwell. We finally reached the top, which led into a massive room filled with arcane instruments and devices. “This is amazing.” I said eagerly. “I haven’t seen so many magical artifacts since I broke into that storeroom back in Canterlot.”
“You broke in? Didn’t you get in trouble?” she chuckled as she browsed the room.
“Well… it wasn’t entirely breaking in. they just left the door unlocked, and I took that as an invitation. It was eventually marked down as an investigation on my part. I found an unlocked room that was supposed to be high-security, and decided to check it out, to look for possible criminal activity. Or that’s what the official record said, anyway. I still got a five day suspension from the Royal Guard, though.” I examined a set of scales, moving on their own. “Where did you get all this? No, not just that. How?”
“My family name is huge back at my homeland. We have… influence, for a lack of a better way to put it. Both by title and monetary means, we can pull some strings.”
“I noticed the crest. I haven’t seen it in any of my history books of Equestria. You come from pretty far away, don’t you?”
“Right. My family started outside of the country of Equestria. It was a country called Natura. My ancestors started a living in the town named Waterfall Valley. They started as nothing more than simple farmers. Then there was that time the king and queen decided to come down to the village, to see how the other ponies were living. Unfortunately, they didn’t know that Sand Sharks were very common around the village.”
“Sand Sharks?” I asked. “Are they literally what their name says?”
“Yes. Sharks that lived in sand. They were made of some kind of enchanted mud, sort of like how Timberwolves are made of magical sticks, branches, and bark. It wasn’t good that the two monarchs only brought three guards. They chose to land in an area outside the village. Unfortunately, that was right in the middle of a Sand Shark nesting area. The Sharks caused the cart and the guards to sink down through the sand. The king and queen tried to take flight, but they soon found themselves stuck in the sand, too. The other villagers were frightened for their own safety, afraid to help. But not my ancestors. SearingFlame and Comet were their names. They were very agile Pegasi. They flew in, and tried to help the guards and royalty escape. Obviously, the Sand Sharks were not happy about that. They leapt out of the sand, attacking my ancestors. However, being agile, they managed to dodge the attacks, and strike back when they could, with the only weapons they had- farming tools. It was difficult for them, but eventually, they managed to help everypony back to safety. It was then the King and Queen decreed them as part of the Royal Army, as thanks for saving their lives. They gathered supporters quickly. Ponies thought ‘If two farmers can do it, why can’t we?’ The family name grew quickly. They had children, and trained them , too. Some became soldiers in the Royal Army, others went to become famous scholars. Ponies were adopted into the family, too, allowing us to expand even more. It was a great life there, our family was treated like royalty.”
“So what made you decide to come here?” I asked. “If your life back at your home country was so great, why did you leave?” “I was always curious about everything. I was a huge bookworm, reading about anything I could get my hooves on. Eventually, with hundreds of books read, I wanted to know more. I wanted to know what the rest of the world was like. I had heard of a country called Equestria many times. After a short talk with my mother and father, they gave me the funds to travel to here. I first stopped in Canterlot, and it reminded of my home in the royal city. Ponyville was like Waterfall Valley. I felt like I was still at home. I felt happy to be in Equestria. I felt so happy that a country so far away could be so much like home. Thus, I decided to settle down. My family still has influence back home, so if I need something done, I just have to send a message back home, and we have a few gears turned for us.” Her face suddenly grew sad. “I had planned to expand the family line here. I met my husband, StarRise, when I attended a sporting event at Cloudsdale. He was so sweet, caring, and humorous. We fell deeply in love, and soon, we had children. I was so glad. My family name was going to grow, here in Equestria. Or that’s what I had hoped for, anyway. But that didn’t happen…” she trailed off. “But I’m happy with what I am doing now. The grown world is harsh. I simply don’t want any more ponies to go through it.” She slung a bag full of the magical items across her back. “You understand, don’t you?”
I nodded. “I understand why you’re doing this. But it doesn’t mean I support you doing it.”
She smiled. “I can live with that.” She motioned for me to exit, and I tailed her out of the room.
"One thing." We had started our descent when I spoke up. "I still don't know what the vision was about." Then it occured to me.The family crest. I had seen it before. Deep within my mind, an obscure memory stirred. What was that memory? Why did I have it? Most importantly, why had my vision shown it as so important?
“It’s simple, really. All you have to do is pull out a block, and stack it on top. However, this is a competition of luck, too. Each block will have a certain effect on either you or other ponies.” Corona explained. We had already entered the new room.
As she talked, I noticed a group of other ponies looking on edge. Their eyes darted around nervously. My partner tapped me on the shoulder, and whispered into my ear. “Listen. A few of us have a plan. Once they let their guard down, even for a flash of a moment, we strike.”
“That’s not much of a plan.” I muttered back. “Just… charge at them? And even so, I doubt that it’ll be so simple.”
“You have a better idea?” he responded, with a note of annoyance. “We’re doing it. Are you in or not?”
“Hold on. How did you manage to plan this without anypony overhearing?”
“It was quite simple. I found out that they don’t monitor the bedrooms. They respect our privacy enough, or something like that. There were no rules stating that we couldn’t enter another pony’s room, so we gathered together in my room and planned this out. I was going to involve you, but I couldn’t find you anywhere. One pony has already agreed to be a distraction. Once he makes his move, the guards should turn their attention to him. We can attack from behind.”
“I’ve got a really bad feeling about this.” I shook my head. “Maybe you shouldn’t.”
“Oh come on. There’s eight of us in on the plan, and two guards. If we get a step up on them, we can do it. We should have done this sooner, but most ponies were too afraid to do it. Now we finally have ponies with the will to try for an escape.”
I was going to continue protesting, but Talon called out to us. “Hey! You two! Keep quiet! We’re starting soon!”
As soon as he said this, a pony I recognized as Crayg from the magic paper knocked over a nearby set of boxes. Wooden blocks spilled out, and he grabbed them, starting to hurl them at the guards. Talon blocked off most with his wing, while Torrent used a barrier spell. Corona took a step back, and started reaching into her saddlebags.
“Now! Now!” FlashRain charged with a number of other ponies. Two went for Corona, three for each guard. It seemed they would win at first, the guards started to be forced to their knees by the captives, but it quickly went bad.
Talon spun around rapidly, throwing the ponies on him off. Torrent started forming a barrier close to his body, then expanded it, sending the ponies on him a short distance into the air. They then rushed to Corona and pulled the two ponies pinning her down off. Torrent’s horn glowed as he cast binding spells over the ponies in the escape attempt.
“First you get in my face during free time, then you attack me directly. That’s not very polite.” Torrent narrowed his eyes. “Miss Corona, what do we do with them?”
“Don’t you dare-“ FlashRain was cut off as Talon cast a silence spell on the bound group.
“Well…” Corona thought about it for a while. “Our rules should be enforced. Everypony who tried to escape will get a strike.”
“But that makes a third strike for some of them, right?” I asked her.
“Correct.” She answered. “While we deal with this, the game will be postponed.” Talon and Torrent started to move the ponies out of the room.
“Hold on, please. I would very much like it if they were excused for their actions.” I stepped up.
Corona shook her head. “I’m sorry, DustStorm, but I cannot do such a thing. If we let them off, then others will think it’s okay to just do as they please.”
They started to walk off, and I moved to block the doorway. “Then… please. Let me take the strike for my partner. Let me at least protect him.”
Corona gave me a soft gaze. “Take the others to the nursery.” She ordered her guards. “Let his friend free.”
Torrent released his spells on FlashRain, and he stumbled up.
“Wait! Dust!” he said. “I know you’re trying to help me, but-“ I cut him by shaking my head.
“You can’t change my decision, Flash. You’re one of my closest friends, and I just want to do what’s best for you. I’ll be fine.” I gave him a short smile. “I’ll be fine.”
Corona nodded to her guards. “I’ll be there shortly.” She then faced me. “Come with me. I want to talk about something.”
***
Corona made sure the door was locked, then turned around and looked me over. “You know…” her words were quiet. “You’re the only pony here who seems to understand me.” She walked over to me, and gently stroked my head with a wing. I flinched at first from the touch, but allowed her to continue. “Do you think… the other ponies hate me?”
I sighed. “No. I think they’re more afraid of you than anything.”
Corona looked saddened at this. “That is not my intention. I just want to see ponies happy. I thought that making this a game would be more enjoyable, but it doesn’t seem that way.” She sighed softly and sat down on a couch. “I would take care of them like they were my own family. If they were happy foals, then I would have a family again.”
“You’re privileged to have had a happy family.” I whispered, glancing down awkwardly. “Family is supposed to make you feel safe and secure. I’ve felt safer here than I ever did back at my old home.” I shook my head. “I’ve said too much.”
“I thought it was something like that.” Corona gazed at me with her gentle eyes. “Didn’t you have anypony to support you as you grew up?”
I shook my head again. “No. I only had myself.” When I looked up again, I saw Corona looked even sadder than before. “But it’s all right.” I said quickly, trying to cheer her up. “Really. I have friends now. I’m all right. I’m okay.” I turned away from her again, knowing that tears would form if I continued.
Corona suddenly embraced me in a gentle hug, wrapping her hooves around me and spreading her wings to shelter me. “You don’t have to stay so strong all the time. It’s okay to cry. I promise that I will take care of you and every other pony here.” I stayed under her wings for a while. It was so calming. I felt secure and at peace. It felt oddly familiar. But I had never been hugged before. Why did I feel like I had felt this before?
“Now… you said you wanted to take the strike for your partner, right?” Corona whispered to me.
I pulled away gingerly from her hug. “That reminds me…” I took out the magical paper and scanned it quickly.
“Four ponies will be moved to the main nursery for care.” She said. “After all that’s happened today, we should probably hold the game tomorrow.” She pulled out the bottle of enchanted foal powder. “Ready?”
I nodded, bracing myself slightly as she threw some of it over me. I felt myself shrink down further, and my mind feel more hazy. I felt tired, and stumbled a little. Corona caught me as I fell into a deep sleep.
“Hey.” A voice came through the cloudy layers of my sleep. “Time to get up.” I drowsily opened my eyes, and saw Talon standing over me. “You’ve slept through Free Time. Round three is starting soon.” He gently lifted me out of bed- no, it was a crib. My room was colorful and very foalish, a changing table replacing where a bookcase was, and now more toy chests were scattered around. I judged my age to be around two or three, and noted a bulky diaper around my waist. Thankfully, it was still dry and clean. “Normally at this point, we remove the magical restrictors from the Unicorns and the wing bands from the Pegasi, but I know that you have copious amounts of magic in you. Just call it a precaution.”
It took me a while longer to process his words. Accessing my adult memories was getting very difficult. Talon guided me to the same room as yesterday, where all the other ponies already were. There was already three block towers set up. “We have twelve ponies left. Four ponies to a tower, go on, please.” After the events of yesterday, everypony seemed to be more compliant, and did as she asked.
I trotted clumsily over to a tower where three other ponies were. Dawn, FlashRain, and Mentira. “I don’t want to heaw about it.” I said as Flash opened his mouth. Mentira giggled.
“Sorry.” She said as we all looked at her. “You just sound cute, that’s all.”
“Wet’s just get stawted.” I carefully removed a block, the tower swaying slightly as I did so. I read the writing on the block. “Make the next pony take two bwocks.” Gingerly, I placed the block on top of the tower.
“I’ve played this game all the time with my siblings.” Dawn stated. “Let me go next.” She extracted one block, then another. She cleared her throat and began to speak. “Block one says that the next pony must take a block from the bottom half of the tower. The second one says that my next turn is automatically safe. It’ll skip my next turn.”
Mentira sighed. “Just my luck. I’m one of the clumsiest ponies you’ll ever meet.” She carefully poked a block with her nose, and walked to the other side, gripping it in her mouth. The block slid out safely, and she let out a sigh of relief. She looked down at the block. “Oh no. It says that next time, I have to use my hooves.”
“Then it’s my move.” Flash tapped a block with his muzzle, and it moved freely. “So this block is safe.” He removed the block easily. “Uh. It says that the next player should take a block from the top and replace it inside the tower. But they can’t place this block back where it was.”
I obeyed, taking another block from the top and successfully sliding it back into the tower, which swayed dangerously. Dawn nodded. “My turn is skipped. Your move, Mentira.”
The pink Pegasus bit her lip. “Oh, this doesn’t look good.” She awkwardly poked at a block with a hoof until enough was poking out the other end. She grabbed on with both her hooves, clamping it between them. To our amazement, she extracted the block safely. “No effect, free block.” She said, and set it on top of the tower.
“There’s something I want to tell you.” FlashRain muttered in my ear, on the pretense of examining the tower. “I think Corona has a pony on the inside. There’s a mole in the captives.”
“Awe you suwe?” I whisper back. We were temporarily distracted by the sound of a tower toppling. We saw a bright blue Unicorn, Luster, with her mouth hanging open. FlashRain shook his head at her, then turned back to me.
“Yes, I’m sure. That pony is there probably to either bend the results of a game and to spy on our talk.” He stretched out a wing and tapped a block. The block wiggled a little, but the tower still shook. Taking a deep breath, he attempted to remove the block. The entire tower collapsed as soon as the block left it. There was silence in the group for a moment, then without warning, we heard a loud noise from upstairs.
“Stay with Miss Corona, Talon!” Torrent shouted. With a burst of magic, he teleported out of the room. We could hear voices from upstairs.
“Royal Guard! Stop where you are! Hey! I said freeze!”
Corona looked up at the ceiling, then at us. Some of us looked worried, others hopeful. “I’ve instructed him not to hurt them.” She said. “He’ll just be using sleep spells.”
“There’s no way the Royal Guard would lose to somepony like him!” FlashRain snapped. He was right. Two Royal Guards burst into the room, pointing their spears at Talon and Corona.
“We’re here to rescue the SIU agents and missing ponies. We know what’s going on here.” One growled.
Corona was still very calm, as Talon went for his bag. She stretched out a wing and gently touched his claw, stopping him. “How did you know?” She asked.
“DustStorm here developed a prototype magical artifact. It would send everything he saw to a memory crystal. He usually replaces the memory crystal every few days with a new one, but when he didn’t, we knew something was wrong. He always does it, even if he’s on an investigation. Breaking his normal patterns made us know something was up. So we looked into the crystal and saw it all.”
Mentira stood up. “Please help us!” she ran to the guards. They quickly moved in front of her.
“We’ve got you, miss.”
She smirked, and her horn glowed brightly.
“Look out!” FlashRain shouted. The guards turned around, and had spectacular reflexes. One leapt out of the way, the other whipped out a magical restrictor and slipped it onto her horn.
“She was the spy! I knew there had to be one! Corona would want to control the game at an internal level too!” Flash snarled angrily.
“You’re turning these ponies back, and letting them go.” The Royal Guard enunciated clearly.
Corona spoke quietly. “If you so wish it. I don’t want anypony getting hurt.”
***
“Fifteen ponies, is that right?” The guards had gathered the ponies together. “Sixteen, if we include her spy.” Everypony was back to normal, the enchantments of the magical aging foal powder removed.
FlashRain seemed to be thinking. “They should get a taste of their own medicine.” He said, narrowing his eyes. The other ponies seemed to agree, and turned to the Royal Guards.
“Well, we suppose we could look the other way…” one muttered.
“Wait!” I placed myself between the group and Corona. “You aren’t honestly considering this? Yes, what they did was wrong, but they harbored no ill will! You can’t blame them!”
“Why are you protecting her?” FlashRain stepped up. “This isn’t like you at all!”
“No, Flash. This isn’t like you. This isn’t how we operate. We protect those who need to be shielded, right? Tell me. What has she done wrong? Has anypony ever gotten hurt by her?”
“Well…” FlashRain reluctantly stated his next word. “No.”
“Then let her go. She’s not a bad pony.” I turned to Corona. “Promise you won’t foalnap any more ponies.”
She nodded. “I will not take ponies against their will anymore.” She said, smiling.
“Can we trust her words?” one of the guards asked.
“Yes. We can. Let her go. There’s no reason to bring such trouble to a pony who never hurt anypony. I order this, as a superior rank in both Royal Guard and Unit.”
The two guards glanced at each other then sighed. “Very well, sir.”
We left in silence, but I took a look back at Corona. Even with her two guards and Mentira, she seemed so sad and alone. I remembered her words. She wanted nothing more than a happy family. A foal to care for. I walked back to her.
“Dust? What is it?” FlashRain gave me an odd look.
“I have something to discuss with her. Go on. I’ll be back in Canterlot as soon as I can.”
He nodded, and the group trotted away.
“Corona…” I spoke slowly. “I don’t want you to be alone. Is there any way I can help? You can check the orphanage. I’m sure there will be foals there.”
“I can’t.” She said. “I’m not a citizen of Equestria. And there’s too much red tape involved. It wouldn’t work out for me, a mother who lost her two children and husband. They would never allow me to adopt.”
“There’s got to be something.” I gave her a sad look. “Seeing other sad ponies… makes me sad.”
She eyed me with a very gentle and soft gaze.
“There is one way.” She embraced me again, drawing me close to her. I knew what she meant, and I hugged her back.
“Hey.” A voice came through the cloudy layers of my sleep. “Time to get up.” I drowsily opened my eyes, and saw Talon standing over me. “You’ve slept through Free Time. Round three is starting soon.” He gently lifted me out of bed- no, it was a crib. My room was colorful and very foalish, a changing table replacing where a bookcase was, and now more toy chests were scattered around. I judged my age to be around two or three, and noted a bulky diaper around my waist. Thankfully, it was still dry and clean. “Normally at this point, we remove the magical restrictors from the Unicorns and the wing bands from the Pegasi, but I know that you have copious amounts of magic in you. Just call it a precaution.”
It took me a while longer to process his words. Accessing my adult memories was getting very difficult. Talon guided me to the same room as yesterday, where all the other ponies already were. There was already three block towers set up. Each tower was three blocks by three blocks. “We have twelve ponies left. Four ponies to a tower, go on, please.” After the events of yesterday, everypony seemed to be more compliant, and did as she asked.
“There’s something I want to tell you.” FlashRain muttered in my ear, on the pretense of walking past me. “I think Corona has a pony on the inside. There’s a mole in the captives.”
“Awe you suwe?” I whisper back.
“Yes, I’m sure. That pony is there probably to either bend the results of a game and to spy on our talk.” He stopped talking as Torrent gave a suspicious glare in our direction. Flash gave me a short nod and wink, then trotted off.
I took a tower with Vine, Oceana, and Crayg. They nodded wordlessly as I sat down in the empty spot. I didn't have time to think about what Flash said, as Corona started talking again.
“Begin when you’re ready. Be sure to remove a block and put it on top of the tower. Oh, and each block has a certain effect on the game, read that off it, too. Have fun, and good luck, my little ponies!”
“I’ll go fiwst.” I announced, trying to ignore my lisp. I jiggled a block out of its place, and read the text imprinted on it out loud. “Next pony cannot take the center bwock of a level.” I set the block gingerly on top of the tower.
“Ugh.” Vine nosed an edge block carefully, and was in luck. The block was loose, and clattered to the floor. She spoke clearly as she went through the text. “Next pony must take two blocks, and choose one effect of the blocks taken.” She picked the wooden prism up with her teeth and slid it on top of the tower.
“I’ve pwayed this game all the time with family. I’ll have you know I’m the best among them.” Oceana boasted. His magic glowed as he skillfully picked a block and removed it without the tower moving at all. “And fow the second…” Again, the wooden block slid out gracefully. He examined both blocks, then placed one on top, reading the other. “You awe immune to any bwocks that would nowmally affect you until your next tuwn.” He smirked and stacked the block.
Crayg let out a sigh, and examined the tower. He nosed an edge block out, but the tower swayed precariously. We held our breaths until it stopped moving. He then told us the text on his block. “Evewypony, until your next tuwn, must use only hooves to move a bwock.” He muttered something unintelligible darkly under his breath. Something told me it wasn’t something a foal should say. Oceana chuckled. “I’m safe then!” He smirked arrogantly at us.
Starting to feel a bit of annoyance towards him, I tentatively poked at a block with my hoof. It started to slide out, and I poked it again, finally going on the other side with both hooves and removing it safely. I breathed out a sigh, and examined it. “Cancel any active bwock.” I looked at Oceana, along with everypony else. “I cancel youw immunity.” I jabbed at him as I added to the tower. He gave me a dirty look as Vine easily removed her block. “Blank block. Nothing happens this turn.”
Oceana gave me another glare as he tried to remove his block. However, it was evident that he was not used to not having his magic help him move things, as his hooves were shaking uncontrollably. The tower came toppling down, as we heard another tower fall. “No way…” he muttered. He then turned to me, anger glittering in his eyes. “This is youw fault! If you hadn’t used that block on me-“ He made as if to tackle me, but Talon noticed immediately and pinned him down.
“We won’t have such violence around here. Not fitting behavior, even for a foal.” He stated. Talon then faced me. “Are you all right?” I nodded. “Thawnks, Talon.”
He smiled and nodded. “No problem, little guy.” He turned back to the remaining players, and my eyes followed, just in time to see the third tower fall.
I tucked the paper away, giving a sigh of relief. FlashRain still had no strikes. But there were only half the number of ponies left. I noticed something else. My diaper was warm and wet, sagging slightly. “Oh, fow the sake of-“ I moaned. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
***
“That… was humiliating.” I muttered as Talon carried me out of the nursery.
“Well now, you’re clean now, aren’t you?” He asked. He looked around to make sure nopony was around. He set me down carefully on the carpet. “Can I talk to you about something?” He laid down, and bent his head until he was eye level with me.
“Um… suwe…” I answered, uneasily.
“Miss Corona has taken a liking to you. You’ve been the best behaved pony here, and possibly the only pony that doesn’t have negative feelings to her.” He scratched at the ground a little. “You promise not to do anything bad to her?”
“I would nevew! She’s a good pony!” I said in surprise. “Cowona is nice, gentwle, and would make a great mommy fow anypony.” I clapped a hoof over my mouth at my last words.
Talon smiled at me gently. “That’s good.” He said, tickling me with a wing. Despite myself, I giggled at the contact. “I don’t even know why I asked. I just wanted to make sure, I guess.” He picked me up, placing me on his back. “Let’s get back to the other ponies.”
Chapter XI- Free Time 3: That Pony is a Spy! The Mole is revealed!
I was in the common area, with all the remaining ponies. FlashRain and Dawn, being the only two unscathed ponies, were doing most of the talking.
“The magic they use to monitor us isn’t strong enough to pick up whispers.” Flash spoke in a soft rasp. “I tested it. When I acted like there was an escape route, I told Dawn here in a whisper, just as quiet as this. Something like that, if they heard it, the guards would come running. But they didn’t. That means that they can’t detect voices at this volume.”
“Speaking of escape routes… Corona left the North door at the end of the hallway unlocked.” Dawn muttered. “I peeked through. There’s a way out, I saw an open window. It didn’t have the shimmer of a barrier spell. We can escape.”
“What about the other ponies?” I answered, in a quiet voice.
“We can break free, then get help.” FlashRain replied. “I mean, they can’t chase all of us at once. We just need one pony to escape, then the rest will be taken care of.” FlashRain took me aside. “Listen. I think Dawn’s the spy.”
“What makes you think that? Got pwoof?” I asked him.
“Look, just think about it. She’s the only pony who hasn’t gotten a strike yet, other than me.” He insisted. “Unless you think I’m the spy.” He added with a note of humor.
“Well then, we have to keep a close eye on her. Do you think what she said about the door was a twap?”
“It has to be. I’m pretty sure that door is locked, and once we try to go through, they’ll catch us. But we will be expecting that, and possibly evade them.” He turned to the rest of the ponies and gathered them close again. “ So, is everypony in?” he whispered. The other ponies nodded in agreement, and we departed, after deciding to regroup in ten minutes.
***
“So, everypony is here. Good.” FlashRain’s eyes darted to Dawn for a moment. We were still speaking in hushed tones. “Dawn, how was the door?”
“Still unlocked. We should be good to go.” Dawn replied calmly. Suspiciously calmly, in my mind.
“Then let’s move.” We got up and moved as a group to the door. As Dawn stated, it was open. FlashRain narrowed his eyes at this.
“Let me scout ahead.” Mentira offered. She walked through the door, and there was quiet for a moment. Then her voice came in a raspy whisper. “It’s good! I can see outside!”
As Dawn attempted to go forward, FlashRain struck her with a wing, temporarily stunning her. “You’re not coming with us.” He snarled. “I know you’re the spy!”
“Wh-What?” she stuttered.
“Give it up Dawn. All the logical evidence points to you.” I say. “Just… pwease… stay hewe.”
She had a look of confusion and shock on her face, which I attributed to her still trying to play innocent. We turned on her, and reached the doorway. My instincts started up again, and I closed my eyes. The pony that formed… was Mentira.
“No! It’s not Dawn!” I shouted, but it was too late. The others had already gone through the door. Almost instantly, a hidden door banged open, and there stood Corona, Torrent, and Talon. Mentira smiled and walked up to them.
“No way! But Dawn had no strikes!” FlashRain groaned. “How?”
“You think it was just that simple?” Mentira asked. “I deliberately got a strike, just to divert suspicion. And it worked.”
“Then Dawn-“
“She was innocent. Poor thing, you all abandoned her. But most of you won’t have to worry about that. Since all of you tried to escape, all of you will have to be punished with a strike.” Mentira shook her head. “I’m sorry for deceiving you all. Truly, I am. But I had to make sure Miss Corona did not fail in taking away all your pains and worries. I had to protect her and let her succeed in her pure quest.”
Dawn stumbled in, eyes filled with tears. “I told you it wasn’t me!” She cried.
FlashRain looked down guiltily. “I’m… I’m sorry, Dawn.”
Corona stepped up. “A few of you will have your worries erased soon. Do not worry. I will do what I have always done so far- take good care of you.”
Talon and Torrent moved to guard the door. “Please don’t resist, we don’t want to waste the knockout powder.” Talon warned. I took a step back. A third strike would mean… Corona noticed my worry, and smiled at me, giving Talon an order. “Take him to my room, I’ll deal with him later.” Talon bowed, and gave me a gentle nudge. “Let’s go. You need a change anyway.”
“But evewypony else-“
“You know Miss Corona won’t hurt them. You’ll be able to see them later.” He gave me another nudge, and I allowed him to guide me out.
“Dust?” I slid the paper back as Corona walked into the room.
“Miss Cowona?” I asked. “What happens now? Can the games weally continue?”
She shook her head sadly. “I don’t think so, Dust. Not after everything that just happened.”
“Then what will you do?” I asked her.
“Well… it wouldn’t be nice to turn everypony remaining into a foal. That would be breaking my own rules. I need more time to decide what to do.”
“What abouwt me?”
She turned around and sat down in front of me. “Well… everypony gets a strike. That’s the rule.” She pulled out a jar of the magic foal powder. “I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to be sowwy.” I said. “It’s okay, Miss Cowona. I know you’ll be twue to youw word.”
She hugged me tightly, and I felt warm and safe in her embrace. She nuzzled me softly and I nuzzled back. “Good night, Dusty.” As she shook the powder around me one last time, I felt all my worries melt away. My eyes grew heavy, and I focused my sight on Corona. One last word came out of my mouth before sleep overcame me.
FlashRain was quick to get out of bed, and to the common area. Last night, Corona had promised that he could see DustStorm in the early morning. With only five competitors left, and three of them at two strikes, it seemed the Endgame was nearing. He paced around restlessly, and quickly whipped around when the door opened. But it was Dawn who stood there, not Corona. She froze as she saw him, and both stood in an awkward silence.
“Morning.” Dawn eventually muttered.
FlashRain returned the greeting, and she sat down on one of the couches. FlashRain struggled internally for a while, and then spoke. “Sorry about yesterday, Dawn.”
“I don’t blame you.” She said. “You did what you thought was right to protect the others. If I were you, I would have thought the same thing.”
They both looked up as Corona entered the room. “Flash? You wanted to see Dust?” She asked. “Come on, then.”
Dawn gave a short wave of goodbye, which Flash returned. Flash and Corona trotted wordlessly through the halls, only their hoofsteps making any noise. They finally reached the nursery room door, and Corona pushed it open. Inside were a number of cribs, each with a number and name. Five were empty, for the five remaining players. She walked over to the one labeled ‘015- DustStorm’ and waited for FlashRain to approach. “When you’re done, come back downstairs.” She said, giving him a pat on the back before leaving.
FlashRain looked in the crib. Inside, deep in sleep, was DustStorm. His cutie mark was gone, and in addition to his diaper, he had a pacifier. He rolled over slightly in his sleep. It seemed to be a peaceful dream, he had a calm look on his face, unlike most dreams he had in the past.
“I will find a way out of this.” FlashRain whispered. “I’ll get us all out of here.” He gently patted Dust’s head before walking out, carefully shutting the door behind him.
***
“This is the final round.” Corona spoke in an even more quiet voice than normal. “I had not originally planned to keep going, but I will do one final round. Anypony without three strikes at the end is free to go.” She rubbed an eye tiredly with a hoof. “It’s simple. I want you to feel how I feel, as a parent. Show me that you can be properly caring. The challenge, take care of a foal for a day. Torrent and Talon will be monitoring you, and taking notes. Every positive action will gain you points, negative actions will make you lose points. The pony with the most points at the end wins.”
“Either way, win or lose, I am getting out of this, Corona.” FlashRain narrowed his eyes at her. “And when I do, I’m reporting you to the Royal Guard.”
“Go ahead.” Corona answered. “I understand why you want to do it, and I won’t stop you.”
A little taken aback by her response, FlashRain fell silent, allowing Corona to continue.
“Go to the nursery. Talon and Torrent will show you the way. Pick a foal, and start from there. Good luck, my little ponies.” She slowly exited the room, Talon, Torrent, then the rest of the ponies following her out.
***
“Isn’t this challenge a little unfair for the ones with two strikes?” Dawn asked. “I mean, they’re basically foals, how are they going to care for others?”
“All they need to do is show that they can provide the same amount of care and love that Miss Corona can.” Talon replied. “If you ponies can do that, then that’s good enough.”
Flash looked around, every other player with a foal already. He headed to Dust’s crib, and pulled down the side, carefully moving Dust out. Dust’s eyes opened slowly.
“Hey there, little guy.” Flash spoke in a gentle whisper, brushing his wing across Dust’s face. Dust gave a small, happy smile, and Flash sighed. “Time to get you cleaned up and fed.”
Aware of Talon’s eyes on him the entire time, Flash lifted Dust up, and placed him down on the changing table. Having never done this before, he looked around, and tried to learn from observation. His eyes fell on Dawn, who seemed to be doing it very well. Her foal, Oceana, was giggling happily while Dawn changed him. He followed her actions, and managed to finish the job. Using his wing as a ramp, he slid Dust onto his back, before heading to the kitchens.
A group of highchairs were already set up, and Flash lowered Dust into one. He grabbed a bowl of hot foal food, a spoon, and brought it back. Dust was unsurprisingly well-behaved, and allowed Flash to feed him without incident. As he glanced around, he noticed that others weren’t doing as well. Dawn was half-covered in the food, as well as Oceana. Vine was trying to pry the spoon out of her foal, Luster’s magical grip. He turned back to Dust, and cleaned his mouth off with a napkin.
“All right, little guy, let’s see what we can do for fun.” Carrying Dust out of the kitchen to the playroom, he examined the many assorted toys, finally going for a simple, colorful ball. He rolled it over to Dust, who batted it back at him. They played together for a while, and after some time, the other players came in with their foals. Turning his attention back to Dust, he could see Dust was in need of another change. Scooping Dust up with his wing and transferring Dust into his back, he headed back to the nursery. Having done it once, he was quick this time to clean Dust up and get a new diaper on him. Dust smiled happily and gave Flash a small hug. Flash gently nuzzled him back as Dust yawned. “Tired already, huh buddy? What happened to sleep being a waste of time?” He smiled at Dust and carried him back to his crib.
***
It was far past noon when Dust finally woke up. Flash lifted him out of the crib, and offered him a bottle, helping Dust hold it. Dust drank the bottle quickly, and Flash set it aside. “Woke up thirsty, did you, sleepy-head?” Flash ticked Dust with a wing, and he giggled happily. It was at this moment, Flash realized something. This was the first time since he had known Dust, that he heard him laugh. He looked into Dust’s eyes, and no longer saw the pain in the back that Dust always tried to hide and force a smile through. There was just the bright, innocent, and happy eyes of a foal.
***
“We have the results.” Talon pulled out a clipboard. “Miss Corona, if you will?”
She took the clipboard from him and announced the results.
“FlashRain is the winner of today’s competition!” she seemed happy again. “I doubted that you ponies could take care of the foals, but even those of you who didn’t win, you still did very well. I’m happy to see that.”
“That means only Dawn and I are leaving.” FlashRain said to himself. His magic paper confirmed this.
Dawn had the magic powder scattered over her, and she shrunk down to a very small pony. Torrent took her aside to have her diapered, while Corona trotted over to Flash. “Congratulations. You and Dawn will be able to leave.”
“Corona, I’m sorry for what I’m going to do. But I can’t just leave the ponies like this. I’m still a member of the SIU, and I have to finish my job.” FlashRain told her quietly.
“I told you, I understand.” Corona walked off. “Do what you must. The East door is open now. It will lead outside.”
“Wait!” Flash called after her. She turned around. “Corona… just as a hypothetical question… I won’t actually do this, but… if I keep quiet, can I still visit?”
She smiled at him. “Of course. You’re always welcome here.”
Flash waited for Dawn to return. It did not take long. She stumbled in with her new garment around her waist. “I don’t want to tawk about it.” She muttered. “Wet’s just go.”
They walked together in silence, and reached the East doorway. Flash took a deep breath, and pushed the door open to the outside. The moon shone down brightly, and a gentle breeze stirred the air. Flash could see Canterlot in the distance, and making sure Dawn could keep up, headed straight for the SIU office.
***
“So what’s your report?” The SIU head agent asked. Dawn had been sent to the Canterlot General Hospital, where a team of magic technicians were finding a way to reverse her transformation. Standard age spells had not worked. Dawn’s mind had been wiped faster, and she did not even remember coming to the hospital. She was acting the age her body said she was. Flash inferred that there was a direct correlation between the pony’s rate of mental regression and their IQ.
Flash was about to spill everything, then he thought back. All those foals. They were living so peacefully, with no pain or worries. They had a good mother and skilled caretakers. Corona had a family again. Everypony was happy. He couldn't tear them apart. It would be wrong to destroy that harmony. Flash was brought back to his senses by his superior's voice again.
“Agent FlashRain! Your report?”
“We were unable to find the suspect.” Flash answered. “It was not Corona, life advisor. We think that the suspect resides somewhere in the Crystal Empire. Agent DustStorm has already gone there to investigate.”
“Very well. But this sort of contact breaks normal protocol. Next time, do not report until the investigation is complete. Good luck, FlashRain.” He saluted, and Flash returned the gesture.
“Thank you sir.”
He quickly left the office as Torrent's illusion spell fell away. He sighed in relief. If the spell that made him look like his old age had worn off before he finished the conversation, there would be quite some explaining to do. It was a good thing that Torrent had caught up with him shortly after he had left Corona's house. Flash took one last look back at the office, before heading back home.
***
“What is it, Miss Corona?” Talon asked. “Are they here?”
Corona had just looked up and out the window. “No.” She answered. “They won’t be coming. I’ve got a feeling that somepony is watching out for us.” She smiled knowingly. “Thank you, FlashRain.” Corona said in a whisper only she could hear. “You truly have won the game.”