> Brony Recon: To Live and Love in Equestria
>  by Freescript the Bard
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue: The Mission and Other Complications
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Markus’ POV

To be entirely honest, it wasn't my idea, getting thrown into Equestria. Albeit, it will make a great story for when I'm human. My name is Markus, or Skyblaze, and I am a writer for the Herd. Not much of a writer, if I may add, but a good one if I am any judge of my peers.

But alas, I was chosen at random, along with five others from different pony-themed sites, to take part in the 'Exodus: Equestria' scouting party. Evidently, Sethisto and Cereal Velocity have more time on their hands than I thought. The six of us entered the warehouse, expecting something out of Stargate. Really, the portal was just a platform with four quartz pillars surrounding it. The ponyfier, though, was more like what we pictured; a glass chamber with a bunch of consoles sticking out of a raised platform similar to the portal. Besides the portal and the ponyfier, the warehouse was bare except for a few porta-potties and the six chosen bronies.

Well, five plus one pegasister. Chloe was a bit of a tomboy, sporty and always had some sorta baseball hat or bandana. Today, it was a crimson bandana with Rainbow Dash's cutie mark off to the left side. Her auburn hair was in a ponytail, which was comically fitting. In Equestria, she picked the name Rainchaser

Next to her was Ben, or Kind Greetings. I kinda like Ben, he's not the type to do anything stupid or something he'll regret. He's calm, polite, and most suited for the role of ambassador to Equestria, Majoring in some public relations course and doing a few other classes. He wasn't too bad on the eyes and often had a girl or two try to ask him out when doing a brony meet-up.

Sam (Storm) took Pinkie Pie's happiness to heart and was often the one to cheer anyone up if they feel down. He did this often with magic tricks or just talking to them. It was near uncanny the way he could be cheery, even after a half-mile walk through the St. Louis pier in the rain.

Jon (Shift) looked kinda goth at first glance, with an ever-present black leather jacket and medium length black-dyed hair. But he was a really nice guy, when you got to know him. If Fluttershy was male and human, she would be Jon. He was antisocial in person, but a well known artist in the Herd. His drawings were posted on Equestria Daily nearly every Drawfriend post, and most were cute depictions of animals in the show, often around a filly, colt, or other cute pony like Applebloom.

Nick (Aegis) is what you would get when you crossed a high school and college football star with a bookworm and a brony. He was tough, and very occasionally got in fights at school. But on the flip side of the coin, he contradicted himself with a love of books and stories, and was a fan of my own stories. I thought he would nearly give a fanboy squee when he found out that I was the writer of one of his favorite stories.

At the end of the horizontal line was me. Really, the only way to describe me is that I'm an author. I'm creative but rational, with a bit of a comical-impulsive personality. I should mention that I have a moderate case of ADHD, but I'm SURE that it won't have repercussions, right?

As we were marvelling at the machinery, we heard a rather odd sound. Hoofsteps. Out of the handicapped stall came a thing we thought we weren't going to see for at least half an hour yet. The grey unicorn had a blue mane and a sideways horseshoe cutie mark, and stood about three feet high. Jon, being the fan art expert, recognized him instantly. "Cereal Velocity?"

Cereal smiled, looking down the line of bronies. "Somepony had to test the ponyfier, and Seth was too chicken."

"I was not!" A yellow unicorn poked his head out from behind the machine in question. "I was worried that it would be irreversible!"

"… and I told you that we had everything perfect and nothing would go wrong. Now, please stop being wrong and prep that thing for these six pioneers." He turned to the bronies. "I suppose we can do ladies first and go down the line."

"Alright! Let's do this!" Chloe cheered and walked up the ramp to the platform. "So, what do I do, just stand here and--?" she was cut off by Seth throwing a switch and the entire platform glowing like the sun. There were a few worrying bolts of lightning that struck strategically placed lightning rods around the room. The whole thing lasted five seconds before the light faded and Seth put the switch back into its place.

Where Chloe once stood, proud and mighty, a grey pegasus pony with a pink mane in a ponytail and a crimson bandana wobbled around, unused to moving on four hooves. Cereal caught her as she stumbled down the ramp.

"Don't try to think about how you walk, just do it by instinct, Rainchaser." he said, using her Equestrian name. She beamed at this and strode over to the portal to wait, her new wings fluttering. "Next!"

Ben walked up the ramp and stood, his posture looking a bit like Celestia; dignified, but not overly proud or condescending. There was another light show, and the regal figure had become a forest green earth pony with a white mane and a scroll cutie mark. Rainchaser looked at Ben's flank, then at her own, which was blank. "Um, why does he have a cutie mark and I don't?"

Seth smiled at her. "I didn't have one either, when I went through." He turned, showing a blank flank. "My guess is that Kind Greetings already found his place in life, ergo the scroll, representing an agreement, I think." The grey pegasus frowned, not saying much else.

Sam's ponyfication went without event, Storm being a purple unicorn with a neon yellow mane. His flank, like Rainchaser's, was blank. But the excitable brony was hopping around like Pinkie Pie yelling his exuberance to the world. Then I noticed something different about his voice. "Um… I hate to be the harbinger of worry, but why is Storm a mare?" At my observation, Storm looked down and a strange look came across his -or her - face.

Sethisto opened a hatch under the control console and began digging through the mass of wires. Honestly, I wasn't the most enthusiastic person in the world when he reappeared with a snapped wire in his teeth. "Ok, um… I'm pretty sure that was it. Next?" Jon stepped up the ramp, looking nervously at Seth. When he reached the platform, the light started and faded like every other ponyfication. But when the light faded, everyone jumped back. "Ok, definitely the wrong wire."

Shift looked up. He had a jet black carapace and insect-like wings. His blue eyes swivelled in confusion at everyone's fear. Shift was a Changeling, one of the most hated creatures in Equestria and, let's admit it, half of the Herd. Particularly the Solar Empire, being ticked at a certain Changeling queen who floored Celestia. There wasn't a pony in the room, aside from Storm, that wasn't shell-shocked. We were all surprised when he smiled. "I kinda… like it," he said as he walked over to the portal, "I always liked Changelings

"Well," said Cereal, "That leaves you two. Seth, stop trying to fix it. You're gonna break it again." Sethisto poked his head up again, a tangle of wires in his teeth. Still, despite the unfortunate results of the last two ponyfications, Nick walked bravely up the ramp and Seth threw the switch.

Storm's POV

It wasn't all that bad being a mare. To be honest, the one thing that I regret is the hormones. With the sudden lack of testosterone, it felt like someone took the world and put it in a new perspective. Especially when it came to colts. Kind Greetings looked… different to me, like I was summing him up. I would have never done that as a dude. His white mane kinda got my attention, but apart from that, he looked rather moderate. I couldn't really judge Shift; I don't know how Changelings rank their males. See? I keep having thoughts like that.

Anyway, my new mind was interrupted by a flash from the ponyfier. Aegis stepped down from the platform. We all breathed a sigh of relief as we saw that the ponyfier had turned him into a normal earth pony stallion. I mean, sure he was as big and red as Big Mac, though a more darker red, but he looked as normal as a pony could be as he flipped his orange mane out of his eyes. His cutie mark was a shield; an aegis. I know, how appropriate, right?

I looked him up and down, then I had a strange thought. He was brawny and tall, but he didn't seem… my type. At this point, my happy-go-lucky attitude was failing as my thoughts turned on me. I can only assume it's the hormones. Dear Celestia, I thought, what is happening to me? "Gah! Make it stop!" Everypony looked at me as a covered my head with my hooves.

Rainchaser giggled. "Let me guess; your new mare mind is making things a bit… weird for you." I nodded. "Well, I used to have that problem, but I just think about something less… girly." I gave a smile, my energy revitalized by her support. I tried to think about dodgeball, and the oddities faded slightly. I was never good at throwing in that game, but I could always dodge every ball coming for me with a variety of break dancing moves.

I beamed at the pegasus. "Thanks, Rain."

"Us mares gotta stick together," she said, smirking. I turned away just in time to see Markus step onto the ponyfier. He gave a thumbs-up at Seth and Cereal, and the unicorns threw the lever.

Something went wrong. I don't know what, but something went wrong. Instead of a bright light, we saw bolts of electricity enter the writer's body. Markus writhed in pain, screaming at a volume that shouldn't have been possible. Seth and Cereal were flying along the console, but whatever they were doing wasn't doing much.

The figure on the platform was forced to his knees, the pain too much, it seemed. I watched in horror as two bulges formed on his back and erupted into navy-blue wings. Still screaming, Markus' body began to shift even more, the lightning turning his hands and feet into hooves, his head becoming more equine, and his hair changed colors while shifting to a new style. A tail had sprouted at one point. When the agonizing light show ended, a blue pegasus with grey and teal hair knelt cringing.

"Ow… am I dead yet?" he said, some of his humor making it through the pain.

"Hey, Skyblaze? You're okay, right?" I asked.

"Yeah… yeah, I'm fine. It only hurt in the process. Thanks, Storm," he said, then turned to the two frightened unicorns at the controls, "you two geniuses wanna tell me what the buck happened?"

Seth looked around nervously. "I… I didn't touch anything after Aegis' ponyfication, so the circuitry should be fine…"

"That's what you told me!" I shouted.

"Right, sorry Storm."

Skyblaze, who I now noticed had a book and quill as a cutie mark, fluttered his wings and trotted over to the portal. I smiled at him as he took his place at Aegis' side.

Cereal left Seth to checking the ponyfier's wiring and cantered to the portal controls. "Now, we have no idea what will happen when you go through, but it does work, rest assured. Oh, Shift, before I throw this switch, try disguising yourself; I don't want anypony flipping out when they see you."

Shift thought for a moment, then became wrapped in a green light. I gotta admit, it looked so much more bad-flank than the show. As the glow faded, I saw a sort of colt-form of me. He was a lighter purple, and had a blond mane, but it did resemble me. Oh, and he was just a little dreamy. "Oh, I… erm… tried to copy Storm, but put it in a male form. I can change again… if you don't like it."

Cereal nodded. "It will have to do. Oh, and when you go to Equestria, one of you will be wearing a necklace that will be able to send items back through, and yourselves of you do wish. Also, try not to breath when you're hurtling through space." It was the most anticlimactic farewell speech ever. I didn't even get to ask him what he meant, because the next moment, I was launched into a red tube-thing that was reminiscent of the Doctor Who opening. The last thing I remember was landing on the ground, hard.

> Don't Breathe
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shift's POV

Well, the trip to Equestria wasn't exactly what I expected. To be honest, I was hoping to be put safely on the ground, but the universe had other plans. After crash-landing, I had passed out. I blinked my eyes open. Everything had turned the slightest shade of blue, I assume because I am a Changeling.

I was lying on my side when I woke up. Luckily, my disguise was still intact. I tried to move and get up, but a pain racked my body. I looked at my exposed side to see that I had a large gash on my ribcage. "Nnnuuuggghhh…" was all I could muster. I heard hoofbeats near me.

"Excuse me? Sir? Do you need help?" I flicked my eyes over to the familiar voice and started as I looked into the eyes of a lavender unicorn. Twilight was looking at me with concern.

"Yes… if that's okay…" I mumbled.

"Alright. My house is just over the hill, but I'm going to have to move you."

"Okay."

"This may hurt a bit." I was enveloped in a lavender light, and slowly my body was lifted. I gave a grunt as the movement sent a bolt of pain through my false body.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?"

"I'm okay, don't worry. You warned me it would hurt."

She continued to levitate my otherwise limp body over the hill. I was suddenly given a look at Ponyville. The town of a brony's dreams was magnificent in person- er, pony. Given depth, the pastel town was even more lively than ever. It almost looked unreal to me. Twilight kept floating me down the slope to the library. She magicked the door open and levitated me inside. A shiver of pain went through my pseudo form as she placed me on the couch. Apparently, when you breathe in a time-space tunnel, you get a gash in your side. Promising.

"Do you need anything?" I opened my eyes to see Twilight still looking at me.

"Um, some medical attention would be good… if that's okay."

"Oh. Right, the gash… Spike!"

There was the sound of stumbling as the purple baby dragon made his way down the stairs. "Twilight, what's up? Who's that? Why is he bleeding?"

"No time Spike! Go get the first-aid kit, quickly!" she ordered, turning back to me, "What's your name?"

"Uh… Shift," I said, "You're Twilight Sparkle, right?"

"Yeah… oh, Spike! Thank you!" I looked on as she opened a white box with a red cross on it and levitated a roll of gauze and disinfectant from it. It stung as she applied the gooey substance to my side, but it cooled into a soothing feeling. The sting resumed as the unicorn shifted my body with magic to wrap my torso in a bandage. "You're lucky that the cut didn't need stitches, but you shouldn't move for the rest of the day," she said, "Wait a second, what did you do to get that horrible wound?"

I sighed and looked into her eyes. Then I felt something, like a strange… vibe… emanating from the unicorn. I hadn't realized how hungry I was until then, but I soon felt satisfied, like her concern was feeding me. Oh wait, I thought, I'm a Changeling. Really, concern tastes a bit like fruit-flavored gum. Then the taste became a little bitter, my stare turning the concern into awkwardness. "Um… I don't know," I lied, "I can't remember."

I was lucky Twilight wasn't a living polygraph like Applejack, or I would be screwed. "Oh, alright then." She continued her check of me, the awkwardness becoming an undefinable taste of curiosity. To be honest, awkwardness and curiosity aren't exactly emotions, so all I could do was sense them, not feed off them. "Why don't you have a cutie mark?"

In hindsight, I should have copied Skyblaze or Aegis. "I really don't know." My brain was telling me to fake amnesia, but I still had to find the other bronies, so I avoided the question. "Have you seen my friends? There's five others." It was a legit inquiry, but she gave off the taste of perplexity.

"No… you were laying in the field on your own. I couldn't just leave you there," she said, "are you hungry?"

I remember somewhere that Changelings can eat normal food and have a separate digestive tract for solids, but gained no sustenance from it. Her concern was feeding into me again, but I could not blow my cover. "Yeah… if that's okay with you."

"Hey Spike? Can you get us some sandwiches please?"

"Sure thing Twilight!" the assistant said eagerly as he scampered to the kitchen.

"Okay," she mumbled, turning to me, "what do your friends look like?"

I thought a moment. "Um… there are two pegasi, a grey mare and a blue stallion, two earth ponies, a large maroon stallion and a green one, and there's…" I paused, trying to figure out how to explain my similarities with Storm, "my… sister, looks a lot like me, except with pink eyes." It felt weird to think of Storm as my sister when she was a guy a day ago.

"Okay, after you get better, I will help you find your friends," she promised, "oh, Spike, thanks!" She insisted on feeding me by hoof, instead of tiring myself by using magic. Which was fine, but I realized an important detail; Storm and I don't know how to do magic.

Aegis' POV

"Ow…" I woke to the sound of pain to my left, opening my eyes to see Storm laying against a tree and Rainchaser hanging limp, yet conscious, in the branches above. "Where am I? Discord must have escaped, 'cause the world is spinning."

Suddenly aware of my surroundings, I rose. We had landed in an apple orchard, or rather, on the edge of it. I leaned on the fence, still trying to regain my balance on my unfamiliar hooves. "You mares okay?"

Rainchaser groaned. "Nothing broken, still in one piece," she reported.

"This is worse than the last time Discord broke free!" Storm's pink eyes were still spinning as she hopped to her feet. After shaking her head, her spiraling irises focused and she glanced around. "Hey, we're at Sweet Apple Acres! This is so cool! I get to finally meet Applebloom! She looked so cute in yesterday's Drawfriend!"

"Yeah, hey guys? Flightless pegasister in need of assistance." At her complaint I trotted up to the tree and reared, putting my left hoof on the bark and using my right to grasp the low-lying branch. Yanking the limb, I bent it so the grey pegasus could slide down. "Thanks, big guy."

"Eeyup!" I said, mimicking Big Mac so well that I could practically be an extra on the show for him.

"Macintosh! I heard ya back there! Granny says it's time for…" Applejack rounded the grove of apple trees and stared at us. To be honest, I may have looked too much like the large red pony for my own good; she must have seen my red coat through the trees and heard my expert imitation of her brother. "…lunch."

We would have stared at each other for minutes if it weren't for Storm's boundless energy. "Hi! I'm Storm. It's nice to meet you! I like your hat, very fitting."

"Uh huh, Ah guess y'all are new 'round Ponyville. What are y'all doin' in mah orchard?" She gave us a suspicious look, and something told me it was directed toward either me or the energetic purple unicorn. Her face brightened for a moment, but not much. "Mah name's Applejack. I work the orchard with mah family."

I could kinda figure that she thought we were stealing apples, considering that I was letting go of the branch when she appeared. "My name's Aegis. The pegasus I had to help out of the tree is Rainchaser here, but we call her Rain," I said, motioning to Rain, "the poor mare had a head injury recently and forgot how to fly. She was trying to glide and crashed in your tree." To be honest, I impressed myself. In one swath, I not only prevented a beat-down from Applejack, but also gave an excuse for Rain's ignorance of flight. Rain gave me a glare, but said nothing.

"Okay, then. So what brings ya to Ponyville?"

"We… uh, we're travelers," said Rain, only half lying, "we travel around Equestria, looking for excitement… and the occasional employment." She looked slightly proud of her story, but then her face dropped. "Oh crap! Where are the others?"

Storm gave a dramatic gasp. "Holy crud! What if they didn't make it? What if somepony finds Shift? We gotta find them, Aegis!" she shouted shaking me with her hooves, "Who knows where they could be?!"

Skyblaze's POV

I was in pain, a lot of pain. Not as much pain as the mishap with the ponyfier, but it lasted longer. My whole body ached, to agonizing to move, or even open my eyes. Something was on top of me, but I was too weak to try moving it. I must look pretty pathetic, I thought, I wonder what happened. I groaned. Yeah, just groaned. Loudly. Pathetic.

"Try not to move, stranger." I heard a regal voice above my head. In great pain, I opened my eyes. There was a dark blue face hanging above my head. Her mane flowed around her in an ethereal wind. I tried to respond, but her eyes enraptured me. The figure above me had an otherworldly air around her, and her mane sparkled with stars that matched the moon-lit night above. In her eyes, I saw my reflection, surrounded by a void of space. It was so…

"Beautiful…" was all I could manage as my good samaritan peered at me. "Are you an angel? Wait, that means I'm dead. Am I dead?" She looked at me confused. "So pretty…"

"Sir, please be still. I will attempt to lift Discord off thou, but I beg you remain motionless."

"Discord-?" I looked to my left to see the petrified face of the draconequus. I jumped, but it sent pain through me.

"Stay thy movement, stranger, I will assist you."

"Whatever you say, beautiful." Okay, yeah, I was hysterical from the pain. I do weird things to cope, like hitting on the chick trying to save my life. I've done stranger things. Maybe.

It took her no effort at all to raise the statue, her horn glowing as the stone Spirit of Chaos was lifted off me. She put her face closer to me. "Thou are covered in burns, I must see you to a hos--"

I kissed her. In hindsight, she probably shouldn't have came so close to my face. It hurt a lot, but it was worth it. I expected her to pull away, but my savior half-closed her eyes in surprising bliss. The last thing I heard before passing out from the pain was a rustling noise off to my right.

> Surviving the First Night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luna's POV

I had always walked through the gardens after sunset, when I raised the moon. It seemed that my dear sister had every inch of the garden in the old castle remade in Canterlot, and it provided a nostalgia from before the time of Nightmare Moon. It seemed like a routine night, my walk being as uneventful as ever. That is, until I heard the crash from the center of the hedge maze.

For a split moment, I contemplated navigating the small labyrinth, but foalishly recalled the avian appendages on my back. Spreading my wings, I took off, flying low above the maze. As I neared the center, I heard an audible groan of agony. I peered down to see an admittedly comical sight. The statue of Discord had tipped over. Beneath it, a blue pegasus pony covered in black marks lay unmoving. I landed near the stallion's head so I could attempt to free him.

I could see his injuries would cause him pain. "Try not to move, stranger."

His eyes opened, golden irises meeting mine. He just stared. "Beautiful…" he whispered, "Are you an angel? Wait, that means I'm dead. Am I dead?" I backed off, thinking him hysterical from pain. "So pretty…"

"Sir, please be still. I will attempt to lift Discord off thou, but I beg you remain motionless."

"Discord-?" He flicked his gaze to the statue's head and gave a start, causing him to cringe in pain.

"Stay thy movement, stranger, I will assist you."

"Whatever you say, beautiful…" Most definitely hysterical.

I levitated the statue off his body with care and moved it back to the podium from which it fell. Glancing back down at the damaged pony, I moved my head closer to examine his injuries. "Thou are covered in burns, I must see you to a hos-"

He kissed me. Despite his obvious pain he leaned up and planted his lips upon mine. It was unexpected… yet I held. This display was pure, out of affection for me. I do not know why I kept, but I remained until he had passed out, leaving me wondering what had driven this stallion to do such a thing.

My thoughts were interrupted by a rustling at the exit to the labyrinth. A green earth pony appeared from the maze and stopped when he saw the unconscious pegasus and I. At first I thought he was a gardener, but he had no vest to signify him as such. He then rushed over to my side, staring at the injured stallion. "Oh crap, Skyblaze!" he despaired before turning to me, "Your Magesty, what happened?"

"Uh…" I stuttered, "He was trapped under the statue of Discord, how, I do not know. Neither do I know how he was burned otherwise." I gripped the limp body with magic and turned to the green pony. "We must make haste for the castle physician, or I fear his life may be forfeit." The pony followed me as I made my way out of the maze, the hedges parting as I neared. It took seven minutes to burst through the doors to the medical office within the castle.

Within five minutes, the royal blue stallion was laying on a cot, a salve applied to his burns. I stayed near, standing by the green earth pony who claimed he was the pegasus' friend. "What is thine name, sir?" I asked him.

"Kind Greetings, Your Highness. But for brevity, you may call me Ben."

"And… his?"

"Skyblaze," he said. Kind Greetings trotted to the other side of the cot, looking at Skyblaze with concern. I stood where I was, near the door, feeling rather… confused. This stallion had shown me an affection, true and undoubting. Trust in me, after millennia of suitors, I know if a stallion means true. Skyblaze had not kissed me out of madness born of pain, but of love. Can one fall in love in the mere seconds he was awake to see me?

Skyblaze's POV

Evidently, when you faint of pain, the last few moments of your waking memory play over and over in your mind. Unlike my normal thought process, my subconscious has a clarity that isn't affected by the agony my body felt.

I saw whose lips I locked with in the clear sight of a pegasus. Her face was torture beyond belief, not in the pain that I experienced, but from recognition. Luna was always one of my favorite characters in the show, but now I felt something more for her. A deep emotion, but one I was all too familiar with. And it scared me to hell.

Kind Greetings' POV

"C'mon, Skyblaze, wake up. Markus, please," I sighed and looked at Luna, "I hate to impose, Princess, but why did you choose to stay?"

The Princess looked at me. "I want to be sure he is well," she answered, "what is it you were attempting moments ago?"

"I studied a bit of psychology back home. There are three ways that I remember to wake somepony from a comatose state induced by pain," I said, "the first is asking them by their preferred name to awaken. The second is splashing them with cold water, but that can be… dangerous. The only other way I can think of is…" I stopped, knowing quite well that the last option couldn't work.

"Yes?" Luna asked.

"If you must know, it is for somepony the patient cares for or feels compassion toward to… erm… hug or kiss them. But there isn't anypony like that for Sky."

I looked back at Luna, but she was staring at Skyblaze. It was a long minute before she moved. Suddenly, the moon goddess leaned over the comatose pegasus and kissed him on the forehead. My rational and logical mind broke down, and I was reduced to a blubbering idiot. She pulled back, and for a second nothing happened.

Sky's eyes shot open and he grabbed the nearest pony he could. Gripping my head between his hooves, he looked into my eyes with an extremely panicked look, his irises near pinpricks.

"I am in love with LUNA!" he said with complete terror, "Ben, you gotta help me! Nopony can EVER find o--" he stopped. "She's behind me, isn't she?"

I nodded, and he was once again unconscious.

Shift's POV

I have this recurring nightmare. It's not all scary, but it does kinda explain why I hate the cold. Like always, it starts with a normal dream. I was at a party with Pinkie Pie and the rest of my friends, along with the mane six and the princesses. For some odd reason, Skyblaze asked Luna to dance during a slower song. While they were swaying in an odd spectacle, Luna being twice as tall, the nightmare began.

I fell, like all my nightmares, through the floor. I only tumbled twenty yards to a snowy ground, but if I looked up, I would only see a starless, moonless night. But none of that occurred to me as my Changeling body began to freeze. Being more insect than mammal now didn't help. All I could do was shiver and feel my organs shut down.

But this time, I felt something different. I felt a heat emanating from some thirty feet away. By instinct, I moved involuntarily toward it. I crested a snow bank and was blasted by comforting warmth. In the bottom of the copse, there was an inferno, burning brightly in midair. I moved closer, welcoming the searing heat. Now only a yard away from the blaze, I could see the heart of the flame.

A literal heart, mind you. It was no larger than my holed hoof, and was a shade of lavender. The fire burned around it, but it did not consume. From the small heart, I felt love, and it was feeding the fire keeping me alive.

>>><<<

I woke up, nearly jolting. It was still midnight, the moonlight filtering in through the library's windows. I was laying in the guest bed Twilight had set up on the second floor, moving me with magic up to it the previous evening. There was something wrapped around my shoulders and pressed against my torso. I couldn't see what it was until the taste of comfort or bliss (they taste the same, trust me) hit my metaphysical tongue.

Opening my eyes, I almost jumped at the sight of Twilight cuddled up against me. This was almost as weird as my ex-girlfriend trying to do that when we were together. That relationship ended like many others; me confessing my love for My Little Pony. But since I couldn't admit that I loved a show that the one I'm… okay this is getting over-complicated. The immediate matter is that Twilight was in my bed.

As much as I would like to let her sleep, the situation was getting kinda awkward for me. Suddenly, for the briefest moment, there was the sweetest taste I've ever known. There is no comparison, the emotion not lasting long enough to identify. It was concerning enough to nudge the sleeping unicorn. "Huh… Wha…?"

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Huh? What am I… oh!" she started out of her tired trance, "Oh my Celestia! Um… I…"

"You were cuddling me," I said matter-of-factly.

She sighed. "You were shivering, so I tried to put more covering on you. But even after four extra blankets, you were still cold to the touch," she stammered, "so I… tried to share my body heat with you, and you started to warm up."

Holy Luna, I thought, SHE was the lavender heart in the fire. She saved me from a frigid fate in the dreamland. Twilight saved me from myself. There was no words to express my gratitude, so as she moved to leave the bed, I hugged her tight. "Thank you Twilight," I said, "you saved me from my nightmare."

I tasted confusion, Twilight looking at me with inquisitive eyes. The perplexed vibe turned to relief. "You're welcome, Shift," she said, "I'm always there for a friend." She snuggled against my chest, making me want to 'D'aww'. I closed my eyes as well, feeling her emotions.

"Um… Twilight?"

"Yes?"

"Can you… erm… can I stay here tomorrow? And can I sleep by you again?" It sounded almost foalish, like a small child asking her mother if they could sleep by them because of a monster in the closet.

She shifted a little in my grasp. "Of course."

> Apple Coffee
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rain's POV

"Rain!"

"Gah!" At Storm's calling, I bolted awake, falling out of the guest bed. But like every morning, I was groggy, so the fall took a whole three seconds. "Nugh… Storm, can you be more subtle next time?"

"Oops, sorry Rain," she apologized, "but breakfast is ready! It's pancakes!"

"Okay," I groaned, "just let me get cleaned up." She watched as I crossed the room we shared to the dresser. Storm was hesitant sharing a room with another mare, seeing as she wasn't one until yesterday, but everypony knew that she couldn't share with Aegis or another stallion. Looking in the mirror, I tried picking up the brush, but found it difficult with my hooves.

Suddenly, the brush was enveloped in a purple aura and floated to my mane, the magicked brush moving down the knotted locks. I looked at Storm, her horn glowing the same color as the brush. "Since when could you use magic?" I asked.

She smiled. "I figured it out. It was like walking with hooves; instictive," she said, "I guess levitation is natural for unicorns."

"And the sudden knowledge of mane-care?"

"Um… mare brain, remember?" Storm said dejectedly as she put my pink mane into a ponytail and tied on my favorite bandana, "it keeps getting weirder, Rain. Before I went to sleep, I caught myself trying to position my mane so I wouldn't get bed-head."

"That's a bad thing… how?"

"I don't know!"

Groaning, I pushed past the mare and made my way downstairs. The Apple family was already up, along with Aegis, who looked cheery as ever. I gave a 'humph'. I don't like morning people, and at that point I was surrounded by them. "Please tell me I can get a decent cup of coffee," I grumbled as I sat at the table.

Granny Smith smiled. "Applebloom? Be a polite hostess an' git this mare some coffee. An' fill my mug as well, I need mah jump-start."

The cute filly nodded, moving to carry out her elder's orders. "Would ya like it with apple juice or plain, Miss Rainchaser?" she asked.

I gave a blank stare. "Huh?"

"Granny says coffee tastes better with apple juice instead of sugar, but ah ain't allowed t' have it,"

No sugar huh? Great… "Yeah, I'll take it with the juice," I said, "Can't hurt to try." Applebloom balanced the mug on her head and brought it to me. I grabbed it with both hooves and nodded my thanks. I sipped it like any other coffee, then nearly dropped the cup.

"This. Is. HEAVENLY!" I exclaimed, "It's so sweet, but it has that unmistakable apple-y flavor! I do declare that this is the greatest cup of coffee I have ever had!"

Applejack smiled. "We make a special kind of juice just fer the sake of coffee," Applejack said, sipping her own cup, "It has natural sugar an' keeps ya from crashin' later on."

I let my jaw hang in surprise. "No crashing? Oh man, if you sold this where we come from, you'd make a fortune!" I said.

The farm mare smiled. "Glad ah could find somepony that shares a liking' fer coffee," she said, taking another sip, "hey- Aegis, is it?- do ya mind helpin' me with cartin' apples down to the market? It'd normally take me an' mah brother two trips to get three carts to the stall."

Aegis nodded. "I'd be glad to help. It's the least I can do for your hospitality," he responded with a galant tone.

"Aw, shucks, it ain't nothin'. We're just lettin' ya stay 'til ya find yer friends."

They spoke a bit more, but I was enthralled only breakfast of pancakes. I didn't know apple tree sap can be used for syrup, the gooey substance flowing down my pancake-tower. Pancakes in Equestria tasted a bit different from the ones on Earth, but that didn't mean it was any worse. I hoped wherever Skyblaze is, he didn't ask if they served bacon.

>>><<<

Storm and I walked along the three earth ponies pulling carts loaded with buckets of Sweet Apple Acres apples, Storm levitating an apple and munching on it, and me flexing my wings, the muscles new and unfamiliar to me. I knew I had to find somepony to teach me to fly, probably Fluttershy, or Rainbow Dash if I was lucky. Maybe it was a pegasus thing, but I could practically hear the sky calling my name and begging me to enter it. It was frustrating beyond comprehension.

The market square looked just like the one in the show, with the same vendors and stands. It was still early, but a few ponies milled around, occasionally stopping at a stall to browse or purchase something. The Sweet Apple Acres stand was next to other produce vendors, like the carrot stand run by Golden Harvest (or Carrot Top, whichever). Applejack and the two stallions dropped the carts and we all helped to unload the baskets of fruit. It wasn't long before customers lined up to buy the renowned apples.

So after a half hour of this, I look at Applejack, who was running the stand. She looked kinda frustrated. "I told ya he'd be late," she said, "it's his day to run the stand."

Sure enough, a tan stallion came at a hastened trot around the corner, looking frantic. "I'm sorry I'm late, Applejack," he said, giving a shamed look, "I forgot to set the alarm today."

"Well at least ya bothered to show up today, Caramel," she said, "Oh, but where are mah manners? Caramel, this here is Aegis, Rainchaser, an' Storm. Ya three, this is Caramel. He's a farmhand who sometimes helps us 'round the orchard."

I took a glance at Storm, who had frozen when she saw the stallion. "Hey, Storm? You okay?"

"AAAAAAAAA!" She jumped and left a dust trail as the hyped unicorn made like Tom Cruise for the nearest alley.

Everypony who was within earshot turned as she fled. Caramel looked anxious. "Um, what's up with your friend? The only non-pegasus I've seen move that fast is Pinkie Pie."

I sighed at my friend's odd antics. "I'll go see what's up," I said. I followed the fading dust trail to the side-street. There, I saw Storm curled up next to a dumpster, holding her head. "Storm? What happened?"

"Why did this happen? Why me?" she asked rhetorically, "my own mind is betraying me, Rain. My thoughts are not my own."

"What?"

"Rain, please help me… this is getting too weird."

"Huh?"

She clasped my head with magic and pulled me close. "Rainchaser, I have a crush on a STALLION!"

"Erm…" I stammered, then I realized the severity of Storm's situation, "oh."

"Uh huh."

"That's weird in, like, four different ways," I observed. Storm nodded and resumed he fetal position. "But I could see it."

"Huh?"

"Oh c'mon, Caramel is forgetful and distracted, and you're energetic… and distracted," I said. It made sense, and since nopony knew, other than the bronies, of Storm's predicament, I would have even called it legit.

"But what about…?"

"Okay, one; you're a mare now. Get used to it," I said, "two, I think it's kinda sweet the way you're blushing when you're thinking about him." The red hue on her purple mane deepened, making me chuckle. "C'mon, just be polite and… make small talk."

She nodded reluctantly and rose, following me back to the stand, where Applejack was handing the stall over to Caramel.

Skyblaze's POV

I hate mornings. Sure my usual wake up time is five AM, but that's 'cause of necessity and habit. But mostly my cat. I was too groggy to be surprised when the appendages rubbing my eyes were hooves.

Oh yeah, I thought, I'm in Equestria. Still not awake enough to care about why I was in a bed, I opened my eyes a crack. Somepony had put a midnight-blue blanket over my head during the night. I smiled at the generosity of my unknown caretaker, then rolled over, my left arm not being the one I usually sleep on. There was pain as I moved, my burns still not fully healed. My tired stirring was blocked by a soft pillow that was the same color of the blanket. Involuntarily I touched the spot where the blanket overlapped the pillow…

…and was greeted by a small giggle. A goofy grin of tired mischievousness crossed my face. The pillow was ticklish, I thought, this is gonna be fun. I proceeded to rub the area with my hoof, causing the pillow to giggle and snort. Finally, it rolled to escape and fell off the bed.

There is a point in the morning where my brain just starts up, usually two or three minutes after waking. What I thought was a blanket was a large wing, and the pillow was a certain alicorn who I thought would have banished me to the moon by now. As Luna crashed to the floor, I heard hoofsteps outside my ward room door.

Ben looked in, his white mane showing signs of bed-head. "I heard something crash; is everything all…" he stopped as he saw Luna her back, looking around frantically, and me just staring at him, "…right?"

"Um, e-everything is well, sir Ben," the moon goddess recovered faster than I did, "I merely, um, slipped."

The skeptical college grad looked at me. "What just happened, Markus?"

"Um, I-I don't know," I lied, "I woke up when Luna slipped." I kinda wanted him out of the room before my blue face turned purple.

Ben raised an eyebrow. "Your wings speak otherwise," he said, "save your stories for the fan-fics, writer."

So it was true; pegasus wings go rigid when aroused. I facehoofed as I saw my treasonous appendages, completely extended and displaying my misfortune. "You know, if I had become a unicorn, my life would be so much easier," I said, "we still have to tell them you know."

Luna looked at us, perplexed. "To whom art thou referring?"

I sighed. "Ben, you're the designated ambassador," I chided the green pony.

He looked at Luna, his face going to 'diplomat' mode. "It would be best if we had your sister here as well, your majesty," he stated, "oh, Sky, before I forget, I have the necklace."

It took me a moment to realize that Ben was wearing a necklace, with a technological-looking quartz pendant. "Well it's good to know we have a way home," I said.

"Pardon me, but what art thou speaking of?" Luna asked, rising from the floor, "why would my sister be needed?"

"Let's just say that I am representing another nation," Ben said with a smile.

>>><<<

"So… why were you in my bed?"

Ben had gone with an escort to bring Celestia to my ward room, as I was still unfit to move. With attention deficit, it's complete torture.

Luna tilted her head. "You were… shivering in your dreams. I attempted to cover you, but you did not stop," she said, "The sole other way I could try was to distribute my body heat to you."

Uh huh. My ex-girlfriend used that same excuse. That was a rare time where me being a brony didn't end the relationship. "Yeah, and I'm a squirrel."

Luna shuffled her hooves. "You were resting very serenely--"

"Wait, that's an actual word? Storm owes me five bits." Attention deficit, remember?

"It's just… what you said last night… did you mean it?"

"Did you just drop the archaic idiosyncrasy?" Oh for the love of Celestia, make it stop! "But, yes, I did. I used to see you as my favorite princess, and since then held my adoration for you. Then, when I came to Equestria and saw your face in pony, my feelings for you were finally revealed to myself."

"What do you mean, 'came to Equestria'?"

Mental facehoof. Well, we were gonna tell them anyways, right? "We'll tell you when Ben comes back with Celestia."

We waited another ten minutes. I managed to force my wings closed and get my mane in presentable order. Me and Luna made small talk, about what coffee shops had the better brew, the weather, and somehow even turned to how the mane six were doing. Soon the door opened and in came Ben, followed by Celestia. In pony, the sun goddess was a very regal figure (but not as pretty as I thought Luna was), and seemed to grace the very room with her presence.

"My greetings, Skyblaze. I do hope you begin to feel better," she said in a friendly tone, but then raised a brow at Luna, "and what are you doing here, dear sister?"

"Erm… I am simply seeing how the stallion I rescued is faring." And on comes the Shakespeare thing again.

"Very well. It is convenient you are here, Luna, as Ben and Skyblaze say they have a great matter of importance to talk about."

Ben put on his 'pony ambassador' face and bowed lightly to the two princesses. "It is an important matter indeed. For it involves your world as well as ours," he said in a deadpan, "before you ask, let me put it frankly; we are not from Equestria, and nor were we originally ponies."

> Reunion
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luna's POV

It was quite a story. It seemed a bit strange to know that I had slept next to an extra-dimensional creature, but they had said their DNA was transformed to that of a pony, so it seemed less… awkward. Not to say it WASN'T, as this morning was still enough to make me blush when I think about it. Besides, Kind Greetings had said that they were to live here if their superiors allowed it. For Skyblaze's and my sakes, I hope they do.

I could not help but take an occasional glance at the stallion, sometimes finding him doing the same, causing us both to blush mildly. "So, you said there were six of you? Where are the others?" I asked after Ben had finished

Ben put a thoughtful hoof to his chin. "Well, the portal was supposed to bring us to Ponyville or Canterlot. Skyblaze and I were sent to Canterlot, so the other four must be in Ponyville."

My sister smiled warmly. "I can arrange a carriage to take you both to Ponyville. If you would like help in your search."

"I could accompany them to the town, sister, and assist them in the search for their friends." Wait, what? Where did that come from?

"Of course, Luna. You can leave two hours before noon, so you will arrive in Ponyville for lunch. Oh, and when you get there, contact my faithful student. She will be more than happy to assist."

"Of course, sister. Come Skyblaze, Sir Ben, and we shall break our fast."

Ben moved for the doorway, while Skyblaze rolled out of bed, giving me the cutest embarrassed smi-- wait, what? To dispel the awkward moment, I chuckled at his misfortune. He stood and followed me out the doors. The walk to the dining hall was a short one, the palace ward being close to the large room. When we entered, the staff had just finished their meal and were cleaning off their places, save four plates on the end of the table.

"Oh sweet Celestia, are those… pancakes?" Skyblaze looked at the display with delight.

"Do you have something against flapjacks and apple syrup?" I teased.

"Apple… syrup?" His face had the look of absolute ecstasy. I had no time to answer as he bolted for the table, sitting down and looking to me for permission to turn the plate of syrupy goodness into a war zone. I nodded slightly, and he immediately grabbed the fork. Or tried to. "Aw, schist. I forgot I don't have hands anymore."

"Schist?" Ben gave Skyblaze a skeptical look, lifting a forkful of pancakes to his mouth.

"Yeah, it's what I say instead of-- Hey! Where did you get that?" he exclaimed, pointing at the magnetic bracelet Ben wore around his wrist. The bracelets were designed so earth ponies and pegasi could eat with as much civility as unicorns.

"You have one as well, Skyblaze," I laughed.

He looked down at his own set of utensils and blushed. "Oh, I knew that." He started on his pancakes as I brought my first bite to my mouth. After just three bites, I looked over in surprise as Skyblaze had finished his flapjacks well ahead of any of us and was wiping his face of syrup. "Ah… that was satisfying. Now, if you will pardon me, I need to find some coffee."

"But you have no bits," I pointed out, "Please wait one moment, and I shall escort you to a favorite coffee shop of mine." I heard the snort of a restrained laugh and looked over at Ben, who was smiling in amusement.

Shift's POV

There was an impressive collection of books in the library. Being mostly indoors-confined because of my injury, I had all the time in the world. As it turns out, Daring Do is a relatively quick read, taking only an hour and a half to read the first book. Afterward, Twilight and I had a sort of book discussion. Evidently, the first book doesn't give a good preview of Daring's past, simply jumping to the action.

All morning, I fed off Spike and Twilight's positive emotions that were directed toward me. Twilight's general giddiness from the book discussion, Spike's caring feeling as he changed my bandages, and both of their general friendliness toward me. It felt a bit wrong, but I wasn't doing it by choice.

Being a Changeling also allowed me to detect emotions around me, albeit not being able to taste or feed off them. Spike had a dutiful vibe for his, well, duty, and Twilight had a deep appreciation of books and magic. The two of them had this brother-sister relationship. "You two feel like brother and sister," I said, almost immediately regretting it.

"How can you tell?" Twilight asked curious.

"Oh, I… um," I stuttered, fumbling for an excuse or half-lie, "I can sense emotions." There. I wasn't lying, and the whole truth was spared, making my conscience give me a metaphysical pat on the back.

Twilight visibly blushed. "So then… last night you…" she stammered.

I nodded. "Don't worry, I mostly like to keep it behind closed doors."

"Thanks, Shift," she said, sagging in relief.

"Um, am I missing something here? What happened last night?" Spike asked, oblivious to the events.

"I… er… had a nightmare," I explained, "I would have froze to death in my subconscious if Twilight didn't share her body heat."

Spike raised an eyebrow.

"Spike, I just put myself near him," Twilight said, "he was shivering, and extra blankets didn't help."

Rolling his eyes, the baby dragon went back to re-shelving a stack of books. "Uh huh."

"Actually, Shift, it's getting close to lunchtime and I need to pick up some produce. You can come along and get some fresh air."

"That sounds great! Maybe my friends will be in town."

"Just let me change your bandages, and we'll be on our way."

After Twilight and Spike removed the old bandages and wrapped my still-healing gash in a new layer of gauze, Twilight and I ventured out to the market. Our first stop was the Sweet Apple Acres stand, being manned by a stallion I recognized as Caramel. "Hello Caramel," Twilight greeted, "Two bushels of apples, please."

"Coming right up Miss Sparkle," he said, fishing two buckets of apples from being the counter. He accepted the bits, but then turned to me, a curious look on his face. "Hey, you look like that one mare… what's her name, um…"

I perked up at the mention of my friend. "Storm?!"

"Yeah, she kinda had a crush on me, so I asked her to lunch. She should be here in--"

"Twilight, that's my sister! She's around here! We need to find her. She may know where Aegis, Sky, and R--"

"Shift?!" I stopped my excited tirade at the familiar voice. I turned to see Storm, Rainchaser, and Aegis running toward me. I laughed, abandoning Twilight to run into the group hug.

"Hey, sis. Taking care of these two?" I said, Storm giving me a brief look of confusion, quickly turning into realization. She was radiating a sisterly love, which was understandable, considering that we were both strangers to this world and fellow bronies in our own.

"I'm so glad we found you! I was worried you ended up in the Everfree or somewhere horrible."

"Don't worry, Storm. I'm alright."

She gave me a skeptical look. "Then how did you get that bandage?"

D'oh. "I, er… breathed in the time-stream," I whispered, then regained volume, "Twilight found me outside the library and took me in. I don't know what I would do without her." I looked a the librarian just in time to see her blush.

Storm did a double take. "Heh, I guess there is an advantage to having a mare's mind; being more sensitive to… certain things," she said quietly, but loud enough for me to hear, "Shift and Twilight sitting in a tree…" She sung, then paused. "Hey, isn't the library a giant tree? Wow I'm good."

Aegis interrupted my rebuttal. "Speaking of the library, we were just on our way there to get some books," he pointed out, "I need to read SOMETHING before I go mad."

Skyblaze's POV

I hate long car-rides. Or carriage-rides, whichever. One, I get motion sickness if I'm reading or working on a fic. Two, I get bored EXTREMELY easily. Three, I end up falling asleep half the time.

High altitude and low air pressure has nothing on my pegasus body, but the peace of the sky and the gentle rocking of the airborne vehicle was enough to put me in a dreamless nap. The ride to Ponyville is about an hour, so my catnap started twenty minutes in and ended ten minutes before landing.

But when I woke, it wasn't the amount of time I slept that came to mind. In fact, I don't think anything could outshine waking up leaning against an alicorn. I was lucky Luna was asleep as well, the interior of the carriage having conveniently placed padding for Luna or Celestia to rest their heads against. At this point, the Tenth Doctor would call it 'brilliant' and say something complementing and degrading at the same time.

Blushing furiously, I sat bolt upright in the seat, only to find Ben looking at me from the shotgun seat with an amused look. "Have a gneiss nap, Markus?"

"Can it, Greeny." Ben had been bugging me about my use of geological terms as replacements for profanity, mainly 'schist'. It was funny, really. My brother had been the one obsessed with crystals and minerals, and I was the one using it as a derogatory censor.

"We're about eight minutes out," he reported, "why don't you wake your fillyfriend and get your mane in presentable order."

I scowled at him, turning away to nudge Luna awake. She stirred slightly before opening her eyes, giving a tired smile that made me want to 'd'aww'. "Hey, sleepyhead," I greeted the midnight alicorn, "we're almost in Ponyville, Luna. Oh, and your ethereal wind is a bit out of sorts."

She stole a glance at her mane. Unlike it's usual smooth motion, the strands of starlight were in waving out of sync, some even falling limp at Luna's side. All it took was a blink and her mane fused together into the starry sea I had come to know and love.

Wait, what?

"I still can't believe they have a Starbucks in Equestria," I said, trying to dispel my own tension. The familiar coffee shop looked almost the same, except the logo was an earth pony bucking a cocoa-bean tree. "Although, the coffee is way better and the price is much more agreeable."

"Yes, it is. Yet your order seemed… odd. What in the name of the Fausticorn is a 'cappuccino'?"

"I still can't believe the concept is so hard to grasp for you ponies. It's coffee with tons of cream and at least a spoonful of sugar per cup!" I explained, "or at least, that's what it tastes like. I usually brew my own coffee."

"Hm… I must allow you to brew a cup so I may try some."

"Hey, lovebirds, final approach on Ponyville," Ben said from the front, "Sky, you might wanna see this."

I looked upon Ponyville in awe. It was so vivid, the pastel village I saw in my dreams even more beautiful in the depth of reality. "Wow, the city of a brony's dreams. And we're riding into it in the royal carriage," I said.

"If this ain't paradise, I don't know what is," Ben remarked.

In a fluid motion, the two larger pegasi stallions landed in front of the library. I was just about to leap off to see if the star of my favorite show was in the large home-tree, when I heard a familiar set of voices coming over a rise in the street leading deeper into town.

"Storm? Shift?!" I yelled as they crested the rise, Twilight on one side of Shift and an earth pony I recognized as Caramel next to Storm on the other. The four stared at the carriage.

"Sky?" Storm gasped, "Oh my Celestia, Sky! Ben!"

We ran for each other, meeting in a group hug. Laughing, we were soon joined by Aegis and Rain, both joining the large embrace and Aegis nearly knocking the whole assortment over. Our happiness released itself as we did, Luna, Twilight, and Caramel all standing outside our small circle as we began to gossip about everything that happened.

"We're staying with the Apple family!"

"They have a Starbucks in Equestria!"

"We still haven't seen Pinkie Pie yet."

"Have you tried apple syrup?"

"I figured out magic!"

"Storm's crushing on Caramel/Shift likes Twilight/Skyblaze is in love with Luna!" the three accusations all came out simultaneously, followed by stunned silence. I could almost hear the song:

Five ponies blushing
Two ponies staring
One stallion laughing
And a pegasus hiding under his wings!

Well, I can say that most of the surprise was either directed toward me or Storm. I think it was me considering that Storm herself was looking at me. Thanks, Ben. You traitorous son of a horse. "I, er… um…"

"Well, I find it quite cute when you are flustered," the familiar voice of a midnight blue alicorn came from directly to my right. I seem to do a lot of fainting lately.

> Shifting Feelings
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shift's POV

We all kind of stopped when Sky dropped. There were too many emotions around me to tell who felt what toward whom. The one emotion I could determine was from Twilight; absolute confusion toward me.

I snapped back to reality as Ben began waving his hoof in front of Sky's face. "Skyblaze, c'mon, get up. Wakey-wakey, Markus," he said and gave a sigh, "well, I'm all out of options." Princess Luna suddenly gained an evil look. "Oh god, no. Princess, I know what you're thinking, and--"

She kissed Skyblaze on the forehead. All other emotion stopped, as there was a crushing sense of compassion between the unconscious stallion and Luna. The Princess of the Moon withdrew. A moment later, Skyblaze's eyes shot open, swiveling in a confused panic. His gaze came to rest on the alicorn hanging above him.

"I did it again, didn't I?" Luna nodded, "I… erm… I can…" He looked extremely awkward, a spectrum of feelings radiating from him.

"Aw, screw it." He leaned up and planted his lips on Luna's, and if there was a single bystander who had tried to ignore the Princess or the situation, their cause was lost.

"Um… I don't want to be a bother, but ponies are staring," I said. They immediately broke contact, blushing furiously.

Aegis had recovered from his bout of laughter and looked at us all. "Well, Rain and I have to get to the orchard to help Applejack with a few things; something about fixing the fences," he said, "perhaps it would be best if we all went our separate ways. It's good to see you Sky, Ben."

As the small reunion broke up, I turned and nearly ran into Twilight. "Um… is it true that you, er… like me?"

"Well you did save my life, both physically and subconsciously," I said, "besides, you have the cutest smile when you're reading." The taste of embarrassment was so heavy at that point, I felt my tongue (Changlings have emotion-tongues?) begin to burn.

"Alright, but if you're staying at the library with Spike and I, you gotta stop with that emotion thing. It's kinda hard to suppress them as it is."

"Um, you can't suppress emotion."

She raised an eyebrow. "Come again?"

"Emotions are how your mind reacts to a situation, not how you physically display them," I explained. Being exposed to other's emotions constantly probably made me the best psychiatrist ever. I don't have to ask 'how does that make you feel?'. "In any case, I can't control it, so I tend to be quiet about most of what I sense."

"Okay…" she traced a pattern on the ground, "what am I feeling now?"

I analyzed the emotions flowing into and around me, all emanating from Twilight. "Well, there's a ton of emotions one can feel at one time. As for you, you're mostly giving off curiousity, confusion, and a myriad of other, less powerful emotions. One of which is a stronger feeling usually, but in you, it's laced with uncertainty, which is a suppressant."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "How do you detect them? I mean, how can you tell what emotion is what?"

Don't say taste don't say taste don't say taste whatever you do don't say taste, said my mind. My rational side and my truthful side were warring with each other, so I satisfied them both by shrugging. It was vague and not an actual answer, but Twilight seemed content.

"Interesting… I should write a report on it someday," she said, "it would make a captivating research topic. I don't think anypony else has that talent."

Oh no, it's just us Changelings. You know, the strange creatures that seduced your brother and threatened to take over all of Equestria. "Nope, just me… although I think every mare I met has it too. They just seem to know what I'm feeling… especially Storm."

Twilight chuckled. "No, you're just an open book, and Storm is your sister," she said, turning for the library, "let's go home, Spike should be done organizing the books on the 'Magical Theory' shelf."

Kind Greetings' POV

"Sky!" I called, "Sky, come on! We need to go back to Canterlot!" Skyblaze and had wandered off after the whole Luna fiasco. It was frustrating really; we were supposed to be on a diplomatic reconnaissance mission, and all the royal blue pegasus could do was drool over the Princess. Of course, an interspecies relationship with the ruling class is a sure-fire way to gain their favor, but only when the suitor is actually focused on their duty. And Skyblaze was the epitome of inattentive. "Markus!"

Then I heard a weird sound. Snoring. From the sky. I looked up to see a cloud that was sagging slightly, a rainbow-colored mane hanging off the side. Who was the one pegasus I know with a  rainbow mane?

"Excuse me? Miss Rainbow Dash?" I yelled at the cloud. There was a groan and Rainbow Dash's head popped over the side of fluffy bed.

She looked at me in annoyance. "What's so important that you have to interrupt my nap? Who are you, anyways?"

"Kind Greetings, or Ben if that's a mouthful," I said, "I'm looking for a friend of mine; blue pegasus stallion, grey-and-teal mane, and a book and quill for a cutie mark."

"What of it?"

"Well, I thought, since you're at such a high vantage point, you could do a quick area scan for him?"

She sighed and stood, looking over at a nearby cloud. "Hey, buddy. Your friend is looking for you."

Skyblaze's head came into view, surprising me. "What do ya want, Ben?" he said irritatedly, "you interrupted my nap, as well as Dash's."

"Um… how did you get up there?" As far as I knew, Skyblaze had not had any flight instruction, so how he was able to get to a high altitude was beyond me.

"Pegasus, remember?" he said, then looked over at Rainbow Dash, "gotta run, Canterlot business and whatnot." He jumped off the cloud, spreading his wings and gliding down without fault. I stared at him questioningly as he landed. "Where's Luna?"

"At the carriage already," I said with a disbelieving sigh, "how did you figure out how to fly?"

"It was like walking; I just followed my instinct," he said beaming, "that's how Storm learned magic, so I gave it a try with my wings." He half-spread his avian appendages for emphasis. "Having gone to an aviation summer camp helped."

I just rolled my eyes and led the foalish pegasus to the carriage, where Luna waited patiently. "Hello again, Skyblaze, Ben," she greeted as we climbed into our respective seats, "Skyblaze, when we return to Canterlot, please go to your dormitory and preen your feathers; they're rather unsightly."

Skyblaze lifted his wings. Some of the primaries were crooked and out of alignment. "Pegasi have to preen?"

"Of course," Luna chuckled, "their wings are like any other avian and must be taken care of as such. I could… teach you, if you like." The Princess blushed lightly.

"Um… sure, that'd be great."

Oh, great. As far as I saw, preening seemed like a private sanitary activity. This brony was making my job a lot harder. I groaned and slumped in my seat, rubbing my face with a hoof.

Storm's POV

To be honest, I don't care if I'm dating a stallion. I don't care if my friends think it's weird, and I certainly don't care that I was ever a guy. I suppose you could say I reached a point of acceptance that I'm a mare and nothing is going to change that. I am gonna be living in Equestria anyhow, so I may as well get used to it.

Besides, I don't think I could ever do without Caramel. He's just so… I don't know! Again, I may have accepted my marehood, but my new mind still does weird things. Like crush on a stallion. Caramel can be a klutz, but whenever he blunders he gets this cute blush. Like when he entirely forgot about his cousin's birthday party! It took a pass by Sugarcube Corner to remind him, but he looked so adorable when he ducked his head in shame. I was able to cheer him back up with a hug and a simple daffodil-out-of-nowhere trick. I hope Roseluck wouldn't mind me borrowing one.

The party went without event, and Caramel and I ended up leaving early anyway. We just walked around town, and he showed me the sights and lights. We talked, mostly about our favorite foods or the weather or some other small topic. I almost gave myself away when I nearly said 'bacon and eggs', but it went smoothly otherwise. He didn't mention anything about my lack of a cutie mark, which gave me relief.

"Hey, um… Storm?" he asked.

"Yeah?"

"I know you're staying at Sweet Apple Acres, but I was wondering, since you don't have a place to stay… you could… I dunno, maybe…"

"Uh huh?"

He took a large inhale. "Would you like to stay the night with me?"

The question took me off-guard, but I smiled none the less. "Thanks Caramel. That would be great." I leaned on him as we made our way home in the light of the sunset. It was a romantic scene, really; the sun dipping slowly ahead of us, bathing the street in an orange glow, the long shadows from the numerous objects making the avenue that much larger.

His house was at the very end of the street, at the bottom of a decline, so as to not block the sun from the street. It was a simple two-story house, looking like any other Ponyville structure, albeit noticeably smaller. Caramel took a key from under the mat and opened the door, leading me into the abode.

"It's not much; one bedroom, two bathrooms, a kitchen and a living room," he said, looking slightly shamed at the humbleness of his home, "but there is one thing that I love about it. Come on." I gave him a curious look and followed him upstairs.

The bedroom didn't have much to say about, being occupied only by a master bed and a wardrobe. Caramel directed me to a door at the back of the room. He was giving a smirk, increasing my impatient curiosity. I rushed to the door gripping the handle with my magic before glancing hopefully at the stallion. He nodded and smiled. I closed my eyes in anticipation and turned the handle, shoving open the door and cantering in. I opened my eyes…

…and they widened in awe. I was out on a balcony jutting out from the second story, overlooking the wonderful sunset. The view was unobstructed, only a few rolling hills separating us from the setting sun. At one point Caramel had sat next to me and was staring at the same sight. "Beautiful, isn't it?" he said, "I come out here every sunset."

"I…" I was speechless as a looked over at him, only to find him doing the same. We both blushed and chuckled nervously. "Every sunset?"

"You'd need a charm spell to get me to not come out here."

"I might put you up to that."

"If it's your spell, I wouldn't mind," wait, huh? "I… m-mean I wouldn't mind you using your magic on me." He facehoofed.

Did I mention he had a cute blush? He just has this… blush-able face. Seriously mare-mind? Blush-able? Maybe it was the sunset. Or the closeness of him. Or even just the moment in a whole. I felt like I belonged right there, with Caramel on that balcony. Looking into his eyes, his perfect, blue eyes…

"Aw, buck it."

I pulled him close with my magic and planted my lips on his. He was caught off-guard, but didn't pull away. And so we stood there, lip-locked in the last seconds of the day. As the sun set and the day came to an end, so did our moment of passion, and we both agreed silently that it was bedtime.

> Preening
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

This chapter is short, but quickly advances shipping between my OC and Luna. Longer chapter is coming, guys, I'm just getting it edited. Thanks!
-MarkusBrony (Skyblaze)

>>><<<


Skyblaze's POV

Preening with Luna was… awkward, to say the least. She showed me how my primaries on my wings were out of alignment, probably from my cloud-nap earlier, and how to use my nose to nudge the misplaced feathers back in order. The whole thing seemed like a sanitary thing that pegasi did when nopony else was around. Judging by the way it just felt wrong in my pegasus mind when I preened in front of Luna, my assumption was likely correct.

"Ugh… there, I'm done," I complained, "can I go fly now? I just learned how and now I'm itching for more."

"One moment, hold out your left wing," she ordered, and I complied hesitantly, "one of your primaries is slightly out of alignment."

I inspected the wing. "Where?"

"Here," she bent and shifted the feather with her nose, making me jump back. Something about having some other pony touch my wings felt… wrong. But to have myself preened, let's say I was not exactly the happiest pegasus at that moment. The only phrase my pony-mind could come up with to describe it was 'wing-rape'.

"Whoa… let's just calm things down a bit," I pleaded.

"Not until I have revenge for this morning!" she grinned evilly.

"Uh-oh."

I made a break for the window flapping my wings desperately. But alas, no pegasus is fast enough to outfly magic. A sparkling midnight aura surrounded me, dragging me back in. I was at the mercy of the Moon Goddess, for whatever eternal punishment she would inflict upon me.

"Oh, would you look at that," she said with malice, "your senseless flapping threw your feathers out of order again…"

I looked at her, horrified. "You wouldn't."

When Luna wants to do an evil laugh, she doesn't kid around. The maniacal laughter seemed to carry and echo, making it even more frightening. I felt Luna's magic grip and extend my wings and pin them to the ground, leaving me helpless. Luna drew her nose closer to my right wing.

"FOR THE LOVE OF CELESTIA, SOMEPONY HELP ME!"

She began preening my wings. It was terrible! I felt completely violated and tortured. No wonder pegasi are sensitive about their wings; the wings themselves are very sensitive. So there I was, unable to do anything but scream as Luna probably broke pegasus rule number one.

Eventually, my feathers were straight again and Luna stopped to admire her hoofwork. I was shivering from the absolute shock of the assault on my pride as a pegasus by the Princess. "Please…" I begged, "no more…"

"Oh, don't worry," she mused, "your wings look extravagant." Coming from anypony else at that point, I would have accepted the compliment.

"Just… let me go," I persisted, "I want to fly, Luna."

I didn't mean for that to sound like an invitation. "Of course, we'll go flying after I see to it that your quarters are properly organized," she said, peering around at the destruction that was my room and opening the door slightly with magic, "guards? Fetch a maid for this mess; Skyblaze and I are going for a flight."

"Wait, what?"

>>><<<

Okay, flying with Luna wasn't all bad. I really can't stay mad while flying. The sky is too peaceful, the wind in my mane too surreal. This was, to be honest, my first flight just for the sake of flying. I discovered that my aerodynamic body and basic knowledge of aviation allowed me to reach speeds that Wonderbolts would be proud of. Luna herself was having fun, as she too had a love for flight.

As it turns out, alicorns are not born with both wings and a horn, the extra appendages growing in when they were three or four years old. Luna was originally a pegasus filly before her alicornification. Celestia, on the other hoof, was a unicorn at birth. However, Luna still had the sky call to her, as it did with my first flight. Pegasi apparently have a natural calling to the sky, and may go insane if that call can't be answered. Lovely. I wonder how Rain was doing.

In any case, the night had fallen, Luna taking a short break in order to raise the moon. Canterlot Valley wasn't as grand as one may think, the entire extent being between Ponyville at one end and a bit past Canterlot was the other. I would put the entire distance of the Valley at maybe fifteen to twenty kilometers. I wondered how slow the royal carriage must go to take an hour to get to Ponyville, when it would take Luna or I a quarter of that time.

"Do we have time to stop down in Ponyville?" I asked the Princess.

"No, I'm afraid not," she replied, "it is late and I have a lot of paperwork to catch up on due to my… recess from duty."

"Oh, so now I'm a recess?"

"Well, when you put it in that context…"

I chuckled, unable to do any more harm in the peace of the night. Then I thought about something. "Hey, do you mind if I help with said paperwork?"

She raised a brow. "Do you have experience running a kingdom?"

"IRL? No. But I have played Civilization, and how different is that, really?"

>>><<<

"Oh, that's how."

"Yes, how are you doing on that proposal for the Griffon Empire?"

We were in Luna's study, going through a mound of papers half a meter thick. They were mostly diplomatic proposals, domestic petitions, and anything else with the initials DP. "Well, the griffons want a mountain that is on our side of the border, but has been identified recently as an ancient roosting ground."

"Is said mountain any use to us?"

"Um… the archeology team that discovered the roost is there. All they want is the mountain and the immediate foothills."

Luna put a hoof to her chin. "Sign the agreement in my name; we can't risk any quarrel with the Griffon Empire, as our relations with them are already tense"

I nodded, picking up the quill with a magnetic bracelet and signing Luna's name on the line, sending the notice into a mail bag. "Well, I'm not an alicorn, so sleep is pretty much mandatory for me. I'll be in bed. G'night Luna!" Not my most noble action, but it got me out of doing more dull work. Almost…

"Oh, I require sleep as well; usually during the day…"

"You've been staying up just for me? D'aww, that's sweet," I said, "but if your health is forfeit, then I won't let you. Gimme that petition!" I snatched another sheet off the pile. "If you stayed up for me, then I'm staying up for you."

She smiled at me, blushing. "That will… hardly be necessary--"

"Nope. Don't even try to get rid of me, 'cause if we're gonna make this work, I'm gonna match your sleep schedule."

"Make what work?"

Facehoof. "Um… me and you?" My answer was in the form of a blank stare. "This is awkward."

"Yes, yes it is," she replied, then surprised me by giggling, "You look cute when you're bashful. But thank you for allowing me to keep my normal sleep. I was worried you wouldn't adjust."

"Wait, so… are we… dating?"

"I would think a first date would be necessary," she said nonchalantly.

"Oh, then maybe at midnight we can go grab some coffee?" I asked, the blush on my face turning it violet, "I think Starbucks stays open twenty-four hours."

"That would be great."

"Sure! Now, what do you wanna do about this cult in Manehattan?" I said, looking at the paper I just grabbed.

> Through the Edge of Night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shift's POV

"Ugh… my head…" I looked around the top floor of the library, eventually resting on Twilight, who was snuggled up next to me. I nudged her awake, even though the sun hadn't risen yet over the horizon.

"Nuh… huh? Wha…?"

"You wanna tell me why my head hurts?" I asked. She shook her head and lay down , burying her face in my chest. "Twilight, c'mon, you know I can't resist…" Oh sweet Celestia she looked so cute when she was sleeping. "Ugh… fine." I wrapped my hooves around her and put my chin over her head.

"Pushover," she whispered, kissing my neck.

"Hey, um, Twi?" She looked up at me, "you, er… you missed." She craned her neck and I bent mine to lock lips with her. In that moment, I felt the emotion, that sweet, sultry, incomparable taste. I realized that it was the most delicious thing in the world to a Changeling; love. But not only did it feed me, but I felt like Storm after a cup of apple coffee, energetic and powerful. I felt guilty about it, but what can I say; fish gotta swim, Changelings gotta eat.

Suddenly, I remembered why my head hurt. Before going to sleep, Twilight was levitating multiple books around the room, picked for a certain study topic which was lost on me. I made the mistake of lightly kissing her on the cheek, breaking her concentration and resulting in a particularly large tome hitting my head. After that I had no idea what happened.

"Um, sorry for breaking your concentration yesterday…"

"It's me who should apologize for dropping some light reading on your head," she said with a giggle.

"That was LIGHT?" This prompted more giggles from the lavender mare in my arms. "Well, Miss Egghead, how about I get Spike up and we can have some breakfast?"

She nodded, getting out of bed to descend the stairs to the library. I got up and trotted up to Twilight's room, where Spike was asleep in his basket. I nudged the baby dragon a few times before he woke, blinking. "Ugh… Shift? What do you want?"

"C'mon, time for breakfast, Spike. You don't want to be late."

"Gee, you're almost as bad as Twi--"

"Spike!" the call came from downstairs.

"Almost," he amended.

Twilight appeared in the threshold. "Spike, do you know where 'A Reference Guide to Celestial Bodies' is?"

"Isn't that the book you dropped on Shift's head?" Twilight and I blushed at the memory.

"Right, thanks Spike. Oh, and sorry, Shift."

"It's fine, Twi," I replied, "besides, it's my fault I distracted you…"

She smiled warmly. Suddenly, black smoke rose from the first floor. "The eggs!" Twilight screamed, dashing down the stairs to both mine and Spike's amusement.

After a meager breakfast of cereal, we went down to the library. Using the magical instinct I learned from Storm, I levitated a few books of Twilight's choice down to the floor. Together, we studied the nature of magical plants found in the Everfree Forest.

We read together a lot in the days to come.

Kind Greetings' POV

I was a morning pony, and I loved it. I got to wake up and not feel groggy or grumpy like most ponies. I stood on the balcony to the room I shared with Sky, overlooking a beautiful sunrise. The hills in Canterlot Valley made the sight even more mystifying, adding shadows to the brightening land.

Just as I was about to mentally compose poetry, a tired-looking Skyblaze walked in and trotted past me. "Have a good sleep Sky?"

He stared blankly before his brows rose slightly. "I'm just getting to bed now, Ben. I'll probably see you in the evening at dinner, or should I say breakfast?"

I was surprised at his words. "Wait, you stayed up all night? And what's this about breakfast?"

The pegasus gazed at me before sliding into his bed across from mine. "I was helping Luna with some…" he yawned, "…paperwork. I'm adjusting to her sleep schedule, so she doesn't have to stay awake during the day."

"Wait what?!" My words fell upon deaf ears as the stallion in question was snoring loudly. I sighed and made for the door, closing the blinds before I exited. Giving the guard a respectful nod, I trotted my way to the throne room. The Princesses wanted to speak with me more on our presence in Equestria, me being the official ambassador to Equestria from the Herd.

Celestia was sitting on her throne, enjoying a plate of eggs, while Luna was eating a moderate salad. "Good morning, Kind Greetings. You seem more lively than most of the castle," Celestia greeted.

"I've always been a morning pony; I need to be in order to get to my early classes back home."

Luna looked up from what I assumed was her dinner. "Have you seen Skyblaze? He wandered off after he finished his salad."

I sighed again. "He's in bed, your highness," I said, "something about conforming to your sleep schedule."

"Pity, he was a great help last night…" she stopped as she caught looks from Celestia and I. "With paperwork! Sister, why do ponies jump to conclusions quicker in this age?" she said, facehoofing.

"Perhaps the day and age, my sister, has changed more than you realized," the sun goddess said, "but may I direct our attention to the matter at hand. Ben?" I sat up as she mentioned my name. "We would like to know if you would like to keep the origin of the 'bronies' a secret from the general public."

"Of course, Princess. I can't imagine the public response to six creatures from another dimension living among them. Especially when one has taken a liking to the Princess."

Luna was taking a drink of orange juice at the time, but whatever was in her mouth was ejected, covering me and some of the floor in the citrus juice. Celestia gave her sister a look. "Whatever does he mean, Luna?" she inquired.

Luna gave me a 'your flank is going to end up on the moon' look and turned to Celestia. "It is true, sister. I have found myself a suitor. Just last night we went out for coffee."

I jumped at this. "Um… did I just hear you say that you and Sky went on a date?!" I said, breaking formality.

Celestia did not look overly betrayed, but had a curious portrayal. "If I am to guess that this is the same stallion you rescued from the gardens the previous night?" Luna nodded. "I must meet him in pony. Can you arrange a meeting when he wakes?"

I gave the Princess a stare. "You're serious? You want to meet Skyblaze personally?"

"Yes, it is only fitting, as he is courting my sister," she replied, "he is the first one to do so since Luna's return from the moon."

"Oh, I… um," I stuttered, wondering how the situation degraded so quickly, "if you may pardon me, Princesses, I think I hear breakfast calling." As I left, I gave a slight chuckle as Luna asked her sister how breakfast could vocalize such an order. But my mirth left me as I facehoofed about the current situation multiple times.

There were many more facehooves in the days to come.

Aegis' POV

There was a large thump as I rolled unceremoniously off the bed, eliciting shouts from Granny Smith downstairs. I groaned as the door opened to the perplexed faces of Rainchaser and Applejack. "C'mon, Aegis, where's that morning pony I saw yesterday?" Rain said, giggling.

Dear Celestia I love that giggle. "Apparently you stole him," I replied, "give him back."

"Sorry, big guy, but I gotta get up early," she beamed, "Applejack helped me get flight lessons!"

I tilted my head, intrigued. "From who?"

"Rainbow… Dash." Rain sat on her haunches and clapped her hooves together, all while giving the cutest squeal. Glancing at the clock on the wall, she jumped. "Oh my Celestia! I'm almost late!" and ran down the stairs. I heard the door open and slam behind her.

I gave a look to Applejack. "Please tell me she ate breakfast?"

"Eeyup. Yer the last one up, pardner," she said, "we saved some flapjacks fer ya."

Smiling, I got to my hooves and followed the orange mare to the dining room, where a single plate of pancakes was left for me. "Is this all you eat at breakfast?" I asked.

"Oh, nah. We just love 'em! Ya gotta problem with that?" Applebloom still struck me as cute, even when she's giving me the 'don't dis my flapjacks' look.

"Nnope!"

"Now stop that, ya sound jus' like Macintosh!"

"Eeyup!" said Big Mac, "Ah have no problem with it. Ah'm actually a mite flattered."

"Yeah, but it's already hard to tell y'all apart an' ah don't take well to bein' confused." Applebloom hoofed me the syrup and hopped down from her stool. "Ah'm goin' to school now, bye!" she said, rushing out the door.

I masticated my flapjacks and chugged my apple juice. Applejack came down, Stetson on her head, and made for the door. "Ya don't have to help today, I reckon," she said, "Y'all helped a bunch yesterday, so there ain't anythin' to do fer today. Ah'm headin' over to Twilight's, so enjoy yer day off."

"Thanks, I think I'm gonna look for Storm or Rain," I said, "Storm didn't come back last night and I would like to see Rain's flight."

The work-pony nodded and exited. I cleaned off my spot, washing the dishes before I followed suit. It was a clear morning, not a cloud in the sky and dewdrops still hanging in the long grass. I walked down the path into town, enjoying the warmth of Celestia's sun on my maroon shoulders. The serenity was shattered as a pink blur popped up directly in my path with a gasp.

"Oh my Celestia! I'm gone for two days to a bakery convention and already you're the third new pony I've met! This is going to be the best party EVER! Come to the barn at seven okay? Okay! Bye! Oh, wait! My name's Pinkie Pie what's your name?!"

"Um… Aegis."

"Nice to meet you Aegis! Okay bye!" and she disappeared from view. Oh Pinkie Pie, I thought, you're so random.

I trotted into town, my experience with the energetic pink mare behind me. As I cantered through the market square, I spotted Storm and Caramel staring at the sky. I was about to greet them, but they didn't even notice my approach, enraptured with some point in the air. Sitting next to them, I tried to follow their gaze. The sky was all but blank, making me wonder what had caught their interest. It wasn't until a minute later, when the pair began giggling profusely that I realized that I had been pranked.

"Very funny, Storm," I glared.

"Yes, yes it was," she continued to giggle, "you shoulda seen your face! Priceless!"

"Yeah, yeah. Hey, do you know where Rain is?" I asked.

"We saw her in the park," Caramel said, "she was talking to Rainbow Dash."

"Thanks, you two." As I turned toward the the park, I glimpsed the couple kissing in my peripheral vision. It took all my willpower not to burst out laughing.

Rain was exactly where Storm said, flapping her wings as Rainbow Dash cheered her on. As I looked on, Rain's front hooves lifted off the ground, followed by her back hooves. She hovered for a full five seconds before dropping back to the ground on top of Rainbow Dash, the pegasi landing in a heap and laughing.

"Having fun, you two?" The mares looked up and blushed, extracting themselves from each other.

"Hey, you're Aegis, right?" Rainbow Dash said, "I'm Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in Equestria!"

"Yeah, I remember you from the Sonic Rainboom you did at that Canterlot wedding." She was actually quite pretty in pony, especially her rainbow mane and tail. In the technicolor show, the colors in her mane were separate, but I saw that the colors had more fluency, one color blending with the next, while still remaining definitive from the rest.

"So, you gonna stare at me all day or did you want something?"

"Oh, sorry. I came to talk to Rain, actually."

She gave me a nod. "Okay, Rain, take five." 

Rain, sweating, trotted over to me. "So, what's up?" Even covered in perspiration, her pink mane was still in it's familiar ponytail.

"You, evidently," I remarked, "you stayed up for a few moments."

"Well, it's not so great…"

"Are you kidding? You just started today, and you're getting really good."

"Hey, newbie! You wanna fly or what?" Rainbow Dash called from the top of a hill.

"Yeah, I'll be right there!" answered Rain, "sorry, but I gotta fly!" She dashed off toward the rainbow-maned mare.

I sighed to myself. "Yeah… go do that…" When I met Chloe a month before the mission, I've been trying to get her attention ever since. In fact, I admitted over video chat to Markus at one point that I had a crush on Chloe, to which the writer chuckled, but Pinkie-Pie-Promised not to tell anyone or anypony else. Now that Rainchaser was in Equestria, it was harder than ever. Especially since she found her favorite pony, who was now teaching her how to take to the air.

I would make many other attempts in the days to come.

Skyblaze's POV

If a dream is powerful enough, no matter how good it is, it can still keep you up. I was kept from sleep all day, partly from the new sleep schedule and partly from my dreams. Luna was haunting me in every moment, her laugh, her smile, and her accursed eyes. Sleep was impossible.

Sighing after another attempt at slumber, I hopped out of my bed and left the room. I turned to the guard at my door. "Hey, can you point me to Luna's bed chambers?" I asked. He pulled out a map from a pocket in his armor and showed me the most direct route to her tower. "Thanks mister… um…"

"Sure Hoof," he said amiably.

I smiled at the guard. "You're more lively than the rest of these statues that get sent our way."

Sure Hoof shrugged. "I'm new, just got out of the academy."

I gave him my best 'you don't say' look, not the sarcastic kind though. "Thanks, Sure Hoof, I hope we meet again."

"Same here," he said with a smile.

I trudged down the route the guard pointed out, still tired as hay. The tower was one of the tallest structures, dwarfed only by the observatory. Luna still had a love for the sky, I guessed, but that's gonna make reaching her room a few hundred steps worse. But anything is worth Luna, I argued with myself. I began to climb the steps.

By the time I reached the top, I was aching as well as sleepy; not the best combination. I pushed open the ornate doors and stepped inside. All I thought was, wow. All over the room, stars simmered upon the walls and ceiling, making the whole room a perfect replica of the night sky. At the very apex of the conical ceiling, a moon hung glowing, casting the current moon phase through the room, a waxing moon at the time.

I broke my reverie and trotted over to the bed, in which Luna slept soundly. Silently, I slipped into the covers next to her. Not silently enough, I suppose.

"…huh? Wha…" she mumbled, stirring, "Skyblaze? What are you…"

"I couldn't sleep," I told her, "every time I closed my eyes, I saw you."

"Aww… how sweet. But really, why…" I gave her my best deadpan face. "Oh, alright, but if you wake before me, don't even think about tickling."

I gave her a devious smile. "Now why would I do that?" We shared a small kiss before snuggling into the sheets, falling deep into slumber in each other's arms.

We would do that a a lot in the days to come.

>>><<<

Here you are, a major checkpoint in the story! I may even surprise benjamin4126 when I say that I am not taking a break on this story yet! In fact, it's probably his fault for giving me such good ideas to roll on. Thanks, Ben! (No, Kind Greetings wasn't originally based off him)

Thank you all for reading and for everypony who suggested I ship a certain wall-eyed mare, DON'T WORRY!
-MarkusBrony (Skyblaze)

> The Days to Come
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

THREE DAYS LATER

Shift's POV

Help…

I shot up at the voice. It seemed to come from nowhere, like it was in my head. I slid out of Twilight's bed, leaving the lavender mare slumbering peacefully. Looking back at my fillyfriend, I gave her sleeping form a smile before trotting downstairs. The sun was just peeking over the horizon in the window as I searched the library. I saw nopony.

Must be in my head, I thought.

Somepony… help…

Okay, I definitely heard that, but where the hay was it coming from? Suddenly, a burst of emotions went through me. Pain, agony, hopelessness… all coming from a specific direction. I grabbed a pair of socks Rarity had made me for helping around her boutique. Just as I was about to leave, hoofsteps behind me bid me stop.

"Shift?" a sleepy Twilight asked, "where are you going?" I felt love radiating from her, feeding me and giving me strength. It was delicious, I could--

Please…

Another set of emotions rammed into me. "Did you hear that?" I asked Twilight.

"Hear what?"

Okay, it was definitely in my head. But that didn't mean it wasn't real. I opened the door and trotted toward the source of the miserable emotions with Twilight in tow. "There was a… a voice. In my head," I explained, "whatever it is, it's using emotions to make itself found."

"But how is that possible?" she said, "I thought only you had that talent."

Oh sweet Celestia. I had an idea of what was drawing me in, and I did not like it. Contrary to what Twilight said, there were others who had my ability. Only, those 'others' weren't even ponies. My suspicions were horribly confirmed when we created one of the hills surrounding Ponyville.

Help…

In the copse below, a black creature lay on the ground, shivering. It had blue-tinted insect wings, a black carapace, and a fanged mouth. The blue eyes were half-closed in pain. The Changeling looked up at the two of us and gave another shiver. On it's side was a scar that looked infected, similar to the one I sustained when I breathed in the time-vortex.

Please, brother… it begged, help… me.

Of course! Changelings have a hive-mind, and that's how this one was talking to me! I walked over to the black thing while Twilight hung back in fear. I inspected the Changeling, knowing that the infected scar couldn't be the source of it's pain. Then the Changeling showed another emotion; hunger. It was hungry, and needed positive emotions.

"Shift, get away from that thing!" Twilight yelled, "it's a--!"

"Changeling, I know," I interrupted, looking down at the pitiful form, "we have to help it, Twi."

"WHAT?! Are you crazy?" she shouted angrily, "do you know what those things did to my brother?"

"Twi, just look at her," the unicorn stared at the creature. I saw her eyes change from hatred to pity, matching the feelings she was giving off. "She needs help, Twi."

Who… are you? the Changeling, who for some reason I could tell was female, called out to me.

"My name is Shift, and this is Twilight," I answered, "you're hungry, aren't you?"

Yes… I need… emotion, she said, please… help me, brother…

"Don't call me that."

Twilight looked with confusion at us. "Is it… talking to you?"

I turned to her. "She needs emotions, Twilight," I said, "or she will die of hunger."

"She…?"

"Twilight, I don't know how…" yes I do, I'm a Changeling too, "but I think my talent allows me to talk to them."

You are… the Changeling said, confused, …not one of the… She passed out.

"Twilight, we need to do something!" I panicked.

"I…" she hesitated, "I don't know…"

And so, all we could do was watch helplessly as the female Changeling starved. It began to wither, it's exoskeleton becoming shriveled. It took an agonizing half hour before the Changeling's stream of sad feelings stopped. Twilight held me as I mourned the loss of my kin, my tears dripping down on to the wrinkled carapace.

Skyblaze's POV

"Ugh… not even seven in the morning and I'm already tired of paperwork."

"At least you're here to help; it goes nearly twice as fast. We already have only ten more to go," Luna said cheerily.

"Make that nine," I said, putting another paper into the mail bag and picking up the next one, "I still don't understand why irrigation in Fillydelphia is a royal matter."

"I was wondering the same when I… Skyblaze, are you okay?"

I was staring at the notice in my hand, unable to believe what my eyes were reading. "Hey Luna, you know that cult in Manehatten?"

"Yes, the Alyiess, I believe we sent an emissary…"

"There's been an incident," I said, "a group of cultists was discovered in a warehouse performing some odd ritual. It involved the sacrifice of a Disciple of the Sun."

"Oh my…" Luna said, too shocked for anything else, "who… who sent the notice?"

"The mayor, and he sent a logo of sorts," I answered, turning the paper towards Luna to reveal a symbol depicting sunrise over a pentagram. Mood-killing thought: why does every demonic cult have a pentagram somewhere? "Apparently, the whole cult brainwashes their members, making them believe that something other than Celestia moves the sun…"

"We have to send somepony to investigate… negotiations are now off…" the moon goddess said, "it would have to be somepony fast enough to get in, look into things and get out."

We thought for a moment, and in the next instant, we came to the same conclusion. "Rainbow Dash!" D'aww, we think alike.

Rainchaser's POV

"Woo-Hoo!" I screamed, pulling out of a dive, Rainbow Dash at my side.

"Aw yeah, you got it down!" Dash complimented me while we pulled into an upward spiral to the cloud layer. We landed on a particularly fluffy cloud and lay down, panting. High-speed, high-g-force maneuvers take a lot out of a pegasus.

"Whew, I feel great!" Dash exclaimed, sidling in next to me.

I scooted closer and put a foreleg around her shoulders. "So do I," I agreed, "that was quite a workout."

"Oh just you wait," she said, "doing this at high-altitude is even tougher!"

I took my bandana, now soaked in perspiration, and tossed it on the cloud. Strangely, it didn't fall through. "Man, I feel warm…" I breathed.

"Well, you'll cool off quicker without that…" Dash began to pull the band out of my ponytail, letting the candy-pink locks down. "Whoa, you look good with straight hair…"

"Oh aren't you the flatterer Miss Dash," I said seductively. We took the moment to stare into each other's magenta eyes. It felt odd having the same eye-color as my favorite pony, but I guess that means we're more connected than most couples. Yeah, I said couple, deal with it.

"Hey, isn't that your friend, Aegis?" Dash said, pointing toward Sweet Apple Acres. I followed her hoof until I saw a familiar red form. "I kinda noticed him watching us yesterday, too."

"Aegis… is watching us?" I whispered to myself. Aegis is one of those stranger-shy ponies, only feeling comfortable around the bronies and the mane six. But lately, he has been less talkative, especially to me. As I watched with pegasus-enhanced eyes, the large brony sagged slightly and trotted back to the orchard.

"Yeah, come to think of it, he's been doing it ever since we got together," she stated, nuzzling me and breaking my thoughts. I nuzzled back, returning the affection.

"Ahem," said a familiar voice behind us. We both spun to see Skyblaze, saddlebags on his back. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Um, hey Sky," I greeted awkwardly, "I thought you were in Canterlot."

"Royal business, actually," he explained. I expected him to be chuckling at Dash and I, but instead he looked at us with a regretful face that made me wonder. "Besides, it's only a fifteen minute flight from there to Ponyville," the brony said, digging in his saddlebags and removing a roll of scrolls, "Miss Dash, you are being dispatched, under the order of Princess Luna, to investigate cultist activity in Manehatten."

"Wait what?" Dash exclaimed, "why me?"

The writer smiled slightly. "Luna and I wanted the fastest we could find, and your name came up immediately," he said, hoofing Dash the roll of papyrus, "everything you need to know is in there. Luna requests that you leave as soon as possible."

I sagged at the prospect of Dash leaving. "Can… I go too?" I asked giving my best sad-puppy-eyes.

Skyblaze's expression returned to regret. "Sorry, Rain, but Dash is the experienced flier we need, and I don't want my hypothetical sister getting hurt." He yawned loudly. "I gotta get going; it's past my bedtime."

"But it's nine-thirty in the morning!" I argued.

"Oh, I'm trying to adjust to Luna's sleep habits so she doesn't have to stay up for me."

Rainbow and I looked at each other in surprise. "Why would Princess Luna stay up for you?" she asked.

"We're dating," he said nonchalantly and flew off, heading for Canterlot, leaving us with our mouths open and our eyes wide.

"Um, that was almost as random as Pinkie Pie," said Dash.

"Uh huh," I agreed sadly, "too bad I can't go with you, Dashie."

Rainbow looked at me with crossed forelegs. "Hey, he said they needed fast, experienced fliers," she said, "you're almost as fast as me, Rain! And you learned how to do more advanced moves faster than anypony with your practice time."

I smiled slyly. "What are you getting at, Dash?"

"What Princess Luna don't know won't hurt her," she said mischievously. We took off, flying for Rainbow's house to gather whatever we would need for the trip.

> Aspiring and Flying
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Storm's POV

"Are you sure I can't--"

"Nnope!"

"Maybe just a little--"

"Nnope!"

"Not even a teensy, eensy--"

"Fer the twentieth time, Storm, ya can't use yer magic to harvest faster!" Applejack exclaimed. I sighed and continued bucking the trees. Caramel had twisted his hoof yesterday, so I volunteered to fill in for him that day. Unfortunately, applebucking had a long history and many earth pony traditions, so I was naturally discouraged from using magic. I felt like Twilight at Winter Wrap Up.

So I continued down the line of trees, often taking at least two bucks each to knock every apple off the tree. Not being an earth pony didn't help, as the work was even harder without the strength and durability of the nature-blessed race. But as long as it was for Caramel, then I would pull through this.

It wasn't long until I saw my love slightly limping down the hill with a plate of food in his teeth. "Hey, Storm," he greeted, kissing my sweaty forehead, "I, um, thought I should bring you lunch." D'aww.

"Thanks, Caramel," I said, taking the plate with my magic and chowing down on a DLT (daisy-lettuce-tomato) sandwich, "this is great! Did you make this?"

He nodded, making me d'aww out loud. "I grew the daisies myself," he said, blushing.

"Don't try to hide your blush," I said, "it makes you look cute."

He smiled and blushed deeper. "Really?"

"Yeah, that's part of who you are, and it's part of the reason I love you," I replied, giving him a light kiss.

"Storm, I love you too, for your laugh, your magic tricks, and most of all, for you." Despite my perspiration-covered body and the fact we were in the open, he hugged me close and we shared a passionate kiss among the sweet scent of apples.

"Ahem," a voice said, bidding us turn to see Applejack smirking at us, "if y'all are done snoggin', ya can help move the carts up to the cellar."

Caramel and I gave a nervous chuckle and pulled away. "I'll see YOU at home," I said in a seductive voice, trotting over to the basket-laden carts.

"I look forward to it."

Kind Greetings' POV

My favorite food in Equestria had to be a DLT. The daisies were a far better replacement for bacon, my equine mouth savoring every bit. So there I was, sitting on the balcony, eating a sandwich. For the first time in days, I didn't worry about Sky or Luna, or even the mission.

I gasped, a clump of food still in my mouth. "The report!" I rushed to the desk that had been moved into the room, taking out some parchment and slipping on a magnetic bracelet. I was supposed to report back to Cereal and Seth on the fifth day of the mission using my ever-present necklace.

I scribbled down the name of each brony and where they ended up, putting Storm, Shift, Rainchaser, and Aegis in Ponyville, and Skyblaze and I in Canterlot. Continuing my report, I wrote a synopsis of the last five days and how negotiations were going with the Princesses. I hesitated, deciding it would be best not to mention the relationship between Skyblaze and Luna.

Facehoof. And here I thought I would have a day without thinking about it. I had enough experience from college to know that the public tends to freak out when exposed to something they don't understand. Like an extra-dimensional creature being a suitor to the Princess. So I kept it off-record.

Finalizing the report, I rolled up the papyrus and tapped it to the necklace. The crystal and the scroll flashed a white light, the report completely disappearing. Satisfied, I trotted back to my sandwich. I was about to take another bit when the crystal flashed again, spitting out a folded piece of printing paper. I unfolded the reply.

Brony Recon,

Thank you for the report. This proves that the portal is, in fact, functional. We await another report next week and every week after, similar to Twilight's friendship letters.

Thanks again
-Cereal Velocity

Leave it to Cereal to come up with the most pony way to do things. I guess it would make doing this more relatable to a brony correspondent. In any case, I stowed the letter in a drawer in my desk. Finally, I was able to finish my lunch in peace.

Aegis' POV

I bucked the tree causing a cascade of apples to come falling down, two landing on my head. Too down to care, I moved on to the next tree. On a normal day, Rain and Rainbow would occasionally fly overhead, doing some aerial maneuver. But they had all but disappeared, Rain giving some excuse of 'royal business'.

Ever since Rain learned how to fly, she had been hanging around Rainbow Dash, the two being inseparable. My hopes dropped when I witnessed the two curled up next to each other on the barn roof, sleeping off the day's practice.

I never saw Rain being one to swing that way, but in any case, my chances of being with her were next to nothing. Seeing those two together put a heaviness in my hooves. I decided to help the Apple family in the early fall harvest to pass the time and the feeling, but even then my heart still weighed down my mood. It was two days since then, but I still thought about the two mares on the roof. To aspire for either of them would be a literal statement, the two being pegasi.

I wasn't jealous of Rainbow, as that is something I don't really respect in anypony, especially myself. Instead, I found myself wishing I could be up on that roof, napping with the two pegasi mares. Wishing I could join them in the sky when they practice. Wishing I could just be near them, and they would notice. It's not that I regretted being an earth pony, but it would help if I were a pegasus.

"Y'all alright there, Aegis?" I turned to see Applejack, looking at me with concern. "Yer saggin' a mite. Is somethin' wrong, Sugarcube?"

I sighed. "I've been kinda… down, lately."

"Depressed is what ah think," she said, "it's about yer friend, Rain, ain't it?" I nodded. "Ah've seen ya lookin' at her. Rainbow too."

"I just don't know, Applejack. I tried to tell Rain about how I feel before we came to Ponyville, but I never worked up the courage," I told the farm mare, "Besides, now she's too involved with Rainbow Dash to notice me."

"And what do ya feel about Dash?"

The question caught me off guard. "I… I don't know. She's kinda pretty and a lot like Rain. But I feel shy when talking to her. It's like I'm…"

"Crushin' on her too?" Applejack accused, taking me aback.

"Um, kinda… but she doesn't seem the type that would like me."

"That's true," she said, "listen, Aegis, Ah want ya to tell Rain how ya feel 'bout her, 'cause Ah think she feels the same way. Ah seen her looking at ya the same way ya look at her."

"But… I've been trying to get her attention for a month now," I said, "and plus, she's with Rainbow Dash. How can she love me and be with her at the same time?"

"It seems to me yer taking this out o' context," she said with a sly smile.

"I don't follow."

"Well, the way Ah see it, yer a rather lucky stallion," she exclaimed, "not only do ya have a mare crushin' on ya, but there's another mare who would tag along jus' fer the former. You'd have two mares at yer side who'll love ya just the same."

I raised my brow at her. "So you're saying that by being with Rain, Dash would stay for her?" I reviewed, to which she nodded, "but isn't that…" I trailed off, looking for the word.

"Polygamy?" she said, surprising me with her vocabulary, "well, Ah ain't gonna say everypony agrees with it, but it ain't illegal." Oh, right. Equestrian law is different.

"But… do you really think Rainbow Dash will be okay with it?"

"Let me tell ya a little secret," she said, dropping her voice, "Dash will go fer either, if ya get mah drift. Even dated mah brother fer a bit. Ah don't see the problem with somepony who resembles him." It was true, even though I was a darker red.

"Thanks, AJ."

"No problem, pardner," she said turning away, but stopped, "oh, an' if it comes down to it, Dash prefers top." She trotted quickly away, leaving me dumbfounded.

Skyblaze's POV

I woke, blinking. Looking at the time, I saw it was only two in the afternoon. I had no idea why I was awake, but I could tell I wasn't going to sleep any time soon. I tried to slide out of bed, but Luna had subconsciously wrapped her hooves around me in the night, and she pulled me closer when I attempted to escape. So there I was, in Luna's death grip, racking my head for a way to get outside for a flight.

"Oh, Luna. I love you, but sometimes you hold me down," I whispered to my love.

"I am a Princess. It is impossible to hold down that which is not excelling past in the first place," she whispered back, surprising me in her alertness, "would you like to go for a flight, Sky?" I nodded feverishly, "oh, alright. But I am coming with you, now that neither of us will be able to fall asleep again."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," I said, rolling out of bed. We stretched our wings and I cricked my neck, Luna opening the window. As soon as the opening was wide enough, I shot past Luna and out into the open sky, traveling at a speed most pegasi would be jealous of.

Hmm, why not put my amazing speed to the test, I thought. I began to spiral upward, past the cloud layer and on for another minute before coming to a hover. I sighted a pond and decided that, if something went wrong, it would be best to have a softer landing than the ground.

I began my dive. Really, the way that Dash did a Sonic Rainboom was kinda the wrong way. I pulled my forelegs close to my chest, leveled my head, and drew my wings half in, reducing my drag and speeding up beyond terminal velocity. The cone of force began to form and close in around me far earlier than I expected. Mach one in Equestria must be lower than earth, because if I was going this speed back home, a single-engine plane could go faster.

I neared the breaking point of the cone, the wind putting tears in my eyes as I concentrated on the rapidly growing blue spot. I felt my body lengthen in the shear force. The sides of the cone closed in. Almost there. The force brushed my wingtips. Almost there. There was one final push and then…

"Sky!"

I collided with Luna. To be honest, I completely forgot she had come out with me. Sometime during my high-speed dive, my target switched to another point of dark blue. Midnight blue, to be exact. Resistance took over, our speed reduced by it, with the help of a few clouds. We both flapped our wings furiously, trying to get control of our fall. Just as the ground loomed inevitably close, we both flared our wings and glided shakily to a tumbling landing.

I got up, shaking my head and looking over at Luna. "Well that was fun."

She raised a brow. "Yes, but next time, let us not include mortal peril in such activities."

"Ditto," I remarked. Luna giggled and sat down next to me, kissing my nose. "I guess I'm not the only one with bad aim."

"What do you--" I kissed her lips, swallowing the oncoming words, "you are rather deviant."

"Oh, I'm just getting started," I said, grinning evilly, "oh look, your feathers are all put of sorts."

"Don't you dare…"

"REVENGE!" I yelled, tackling her and sitting on her chest, "and now, feel my pain…"

Her eyes widened in horror. "No, for the love of the Faustic-AAAAAAA!" she screamed as I preened her wings. It took a longer time than mine, her wings being twice as large. Still, the longer I preened, the longer she was tortured. Finally, as I adjusted the last feather, a starry aura surrounded me, throwing me off her and pinning me on the ground.

"Now it's your turn, my love," she said in a dark voice.

I shrugged and willingly opened my wings. "Go ahead, beautiful."

She frowned. "You're… okay with me preening you?"

I smiled. "Meh, I've actually come to welcome it," I said, "after all, it feels great when you do it."

"You have grown too comfortable with other ponies conducting your sanitary activities."

I shook my head. "You are the only one that I would let near my wings," I answered lovingly, "now help a brony out." I waved a wing at her.

> Correspondence and the End of Time
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

WARNING, MAY CONTAIN SHIPPING

>>><<<

Shift's POV

The incident with the Changeling passed, and Twilight and I tried to act like it never happened. It was a beautiful late afternoon, and I wasn't gonna let anything get I the way of my fillyfriend and I. And so, using the rest of the day, we walked through Ponyville, looking for things to do.

Really, Ponyville is a small town and not much of a tourist attraction past the Elements and the place where Discord was defeated, a plaque put up in honor of the day chaos was conquered. So naturally, finding anything to do was a hassle, but it passed the time nonetheless. As long as I was with Twilight, the love flowing not only from her, but between us, I was content.

We eventually ended up stopping at the library for a few books, Twi asking Spike to help. Spike had become more distant and snappy at me, making me wonder if a repeat of Owloysius was about to unfold. Even Peewee the baby pheonix was giving me that 'shitstorm coming' look. Nevertheless, Spike retrieved the books, which we packed into a pair of saddlebags and headed for the park.

Celestia was setting the sun at that point, only an hour away from dark. There was still ample light for a picnic and some reading. We took out a couple of DLT's and some astronomy books, laying next to each other and getting wrapped up in our respective texts.

Eventually, Twilight fell asleep, using her book as a pillow. Carefully, I wrapped us in a green aura, taking the books out from under our heads and replacing them with two cushions from my saddlebags. I set us down, folding the picnic blanket over us. Taking care not to wake the lavender mare, I lay my neck on top of hers, and we slept together under the stars.

Storm's POV

Just like every other day, Caramel and I were out on that balcony, watching Celestia's setting sun. Caramel was right; this never got old. Especially with him at my side. The whole thing felt complete with him there, his foreleg wrapped around my shoulder. As the last rays of sun died, I nuzzled him. "Caramel, I love you."

He missed me lightly and led me inside. "Storm?"

"Yeah, Caramel?"

"I… I love you too," he said, "and I want to ask you something." He hesitated. "I noticed you trying to make an advance, Storm. But you always hesitate at the last second. Why?"

I shied away. "I didn't want to do anything before you thought you were ready, Caramel," I said, "I don't want to scare you off. I don't want to lose you."

He drew me into a very passionate kiss. "Storm, I love you more than anypony else that I've ever met," he said, "and I am ready to do anything to prove it." Caramel, still embracing me, brought me to the bed. "I am ready, Storm." He gave me his signature blush.

Seriously, who can resist that blush? We slipped under the covers, pulling each other close. We kissed again. "I love you Caramel, to the ends of Terra."

"I love you, Storm, to the end of Time…"

Skyblaze's POV

"But seriously, does time HAVE an end?"

"It had a beginning, didn't it?" Luna argued, looking up from her desk, "so by all logic, time has an end, because it can't be timeless."

"While I admire your play on words, my love, you forget that I am from another dimension," I rebuked, "so if there are different dimensions being created at different times, then those newer realities would be continuing when this one is long gone!"

"Yes, but time will still have ended in this dimension."

"Touché." If this is what physicists make millions doing, sign me up.

Kind Greetings POV

"So, I can use this to send letters to anypony, like Spike's fire?" I asked Celestia, staring at an emerald candle with a yellowed wick.

"Yes, and the added bonus is that the flame will never consume or go out until somepony snuffs it with a hoof," she answered, demonstrating by tapping the candle and causing a green flame to appear, "it will not burn you, nor will it spread to anything if it is knocked over."

"What if one of the Ponyville bronies wants to send a letter to Sky or I?"

"I will send a letter to Spike and my faithful student explaining that Spike will send any correspondence from the bronies to you," she said, "I believe that one of your friends is staying with her at the library."

I sighed. "That would be Shift," I answered, "thank you, Princess Celestia, if I am needed further, I will be either in my quarters or around the castle or city." I turned for the door.

"You disapprove of the relationship between my sister and Skyblaze, don't you?" The question caught me off guard, and I spun as fast as courtesy would allow. "I want you to know that I welcome it, for it has made my sister extremely happy."

I sighed. "No, not really. Skyblaze is supposed to be helping in matters here in Equestria, not flirting with royalty. No offense."

"Ben, it may surprise you that, since the appearance of Skyblaze and the bronies, her work ethic has increased greatly," she smiled, "not only that, but your friend helps her every night in order for her to spend more time with each other. I think it's sweet."

I was silenced. I had no idea Skyblaze was actually helping run the kingdom. The thought of Sky doing paperwork or anything else dull and repetitive was completely alien to me.

"But there is something you said that I am curious about," Celestia broke me from my stunned silence, "you said 'my quarters'. Do you not share a room with Skyblaze?"

"Well, he said he sleeps during the day like Luna, but he never sleeps in…" I facehoofed, "oh buck."

Celestia must have had the same thought, as there was a flash of light as she teleported us up to Luna's tower. I didn't have time to marvel at the artistry of the room. The first thing I saw was Skyblaze and Luna, curled up in slumbering embrace in the master bed. Evidently, I must not have noticed that teleportation makes a sound, for the two ponies stirred awake at our entrance.

Skyblaze blinked his eyes open and looked around the room, his gaze coming to a rest on us. He shot upright, using his hoof to prod Luna. "Um, Luna… wake up, please…" he redoubled his efforts, causing Luna to giggle when he poked a ticklish spot.

"Sky, don't make me preen you again." The blue stallion facehoofed. Luna cracked her eyes open and leaned up to kiss his cheek before following his gaze.

She froze when she saw her sister. "Um, escape plan five on Mexicolt?"

Sky, still frozen, muttered, "uh huh."

Luna began to chant, "daisy… ice cream… cracker… TACO!" On that cue, they bolted for the window, their near-sonic escape cut off by a simmering wall of Celestia's magic.

A golden aura surrounded Sky's tail-tip and the blue pegasus being dragged through the air to hang upside-down in front of us. "Um… hi," he chuckled nervously.

> Alyiess
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shorter chapters today and yesterday, guys, sorry. Three reasons for this. One, poor planning; I didn't really measure out the section length to my usual standards. Two, plot device; there is a major timeframe jump here, perfect for leave-off point. Three, completed content; my chapter updates are slowly catching up with my writing, so I am allowing a little slack on the line (I still wanted to update this daily, so there's that)

Please enjoy this action-packed, super-short, all-around good chapter!
-MarkusBrony (Skyblaze)

>>><<<


Shift's POV

"Twi, I think Spike is getting jealous of me."

"Why would Spike get jealous of you?" she giggled, but then saw my deadpan, "oh, right, you can sense emotion."

I smiled and kissed her. "I'm glad that you can overlook that," I said, "let me talk to him when he's done with helping Colgate." I trotted over to the stairs and descended to the atrium, where a blue unicorn was just leaving. The purple assistant was reorganizing the shelf he had taken the book from. "Hey Spike? Can I talk to you?"

The dragon climbed down from the ladder and sat on the couch. "What do you want?" he asked, his tone sour. I tried not to let his scowl get to me.

"Spike, I'm not trying to take Twilight away from you," I consoled, "we're just… developing our relationship is all." My words had little effect on the small reptilian on the couch. "How about this; after lunch, you, Twilight, and I can go over to that ice cream parlor you love so much. My treat."

His expression softened noticeably, and all resentment disappeared when Owloysius landed next to him, sleepily proving a point. "Okay, Shift. I'm sorry I was being so protective," he said apologetically, "it's just that Twilight is my big sister, ya know?"

"Yeah, I do. Storm can be quite a handful at times, though," I admitted, then pulled close and whispered, "and if everything goes smoothly, I may count you as a brother as well."

"You WHA--!" he began before a shoved a hoof in his mouth.

"I love Twilight, Spike," I said, "and that's where love often leads when it's true."

The dragon nodded rapidly, then chuckled nervously. "You know, I was actually starting to plan out my scheme for getting rid of you by accusing you of being a Changeling," he said, his chuckle turning into a hearty laugh, "you know, 'cause you can read emotions and stuff?" I laughed along, but with less spirit.

Twilight appeared from upstairs, smiling as she saw our mirth. "Hey, you two. You seem to be getting along," she said cheerily. I trotted over to her and discussed my after-lunch plans, to which she gladly agreed.

Our talk broke as a knock sounded at the door. I opened it with magic to reveal a tired-looking blue pegasus. "Hey, Shift…"

"Skyblaze?" I said, surprised at his arrival, "why do you look so tired?"

"Three reasons; one, I'm usually asleep by now. Two, I just flew from bucking Canterlot. Three, I'd like to see anypony that can withstand the Royal Canterlot Voice."

Twilight looked at him in pity. "What did you do to make Luna mad?"

"I never said Luna was the one that was mad," he answered, "evidently, Luna regretted to tell me that sleeping next to a Princess is a capitol offense, punishable by banishment to the moon."

"Wait, what?" asked Twilight and I simultaneously.

"Oh yeah, Luna and I are dating by the way," he said, as if it were the most normal thing in the world, "but I came on royal business. And also as part of my punishment. I am to hoof-deliver this letter to a 'Shift, Spike, and/or Miss Sparkle', and since you're all here…" he tossed a scroll on the ground, "…here. Enjoy your day. I'm going to bed." With that, Sky flew off, leaving us in a stunned silence.

"Um, how about we all go to the park before lunch?"

"Yep" I said.

"Im in," said Spike.

Before leaving, Twilight picked up the scroll and opened it, reading out loud.

To the inhabitants of Ponyville Library,

Hello, I am writing this as a notice that instant correspondence it now possible through sending-fire, even though this particular scroll was hoof delivered. If I have any need to contact the bronies, I shall send a letter and they will receive it instantly. If the bronies have any need to contact either Skyblaze or I, the Princesses have assured me that the dragon known as Spike is able to send letters directly to me.

Hoping your day is good,
-Kind Greetings (Ben)

"Well, I guess it's good we can stay in touch with our friends in Canterlot," I remarked, "but Ben sounds kinda formal in that letter. He only does that when somepony is trolling him or when he is working."

"Maybe he was working when he sent that letter," suggested Spike. I didn't have any other theories, so I gave a nod and the three of us left the library for the park.

Rainchaser's POV

"Run, Dash! They're closing!"

"This would be easier if we could fly!" she shouted back along the narrow corridor, panting in effort, "buck these underground hallways!"

The cultists were getting closer, the earth ponies heading the line as they pursued the pair of us down the Manehattan maintenance tunnels. Rainbow Dash and I had discovered the Alyiess' lair, located deep in the city underground, connecting with a huge cavern that was set up as a temple.

While we were there, the leader, known as Deep Nectar, began a rant, the robed unicorn mare rambling about something called the True Energy, that moved the sun instead of Celestia. What really freaked me out was that they called the thing that brought misery to non-Alyiess ' the Darkness'.

Major satanic stuff. In any case, our ruse as sanitary mares was quickly blown by our lack of knowledge in the subject. And so, here we were, escaping down the underground labyrinth with armored cultists after us. "Do you think the Princess got our message?" I yelled at Dash. We had sent for reinforcements for the mass arrest the day before, once we discovered the malice behind the Alyiess.

My answer was in the form of the tunnel in front of us exploding, covering the passage in dust. From the cloud, a line of ebon-armored ponies from the Lunar Guard, Princess Luna's personal host, led by a familiar blue pegasus with a blade attached to his arm by a metal band. "Here comes the cavalry!" screamed Sky as he rushed for Dash and I, ushering us past the charge of guards. Occasionally, he had to dispatch an Alyiess with his blade, only dealing wounding blows.

Once we reached the breach in the tunnel, he signaled to rise through it, to which we gladly obliged. We were out on the street, panting and heaving, Sky looking us over for any trauma. I looked at him. "Where did you get that?" I asked, pointing to the sword on his blue wrist.

"Oh, Luna gave it to me," he said, then tapped the tip against the ground. The blade glowed, then seemed to fold up into a wristwatch. "Pretty sweet, right?" Then he glared at me angrily. "I thought I told you to stay."

"Well, I lived, didn't I?" I argued, "besides, I couldn't let Dash do it alone!"

"It's not about you, Rain," he said, his voice softening, "you're like a sister to all of us, Chloe, and even more than that to Aegis--" He stopped. "Oh sweet Celestia… I just broke a Pinkie Promise."

His last line was lost on me. What was it he said about Aegis? "What did…" I started, but I was at a loss.

"Chloe?" Dash asked, interrupting my thoughts, "why did he call you Chloe?"

He chuckled. "We have these weird nicknames for each other. I'm Markus, when we're just hangin' out," said Sky, "we call Kind Greetings 'Ben' all the time because his full name is a mouthful." Okay, he had that explanation planned; there was no way he came up with that on the spot.

"So… am I in trouble?" I asked, giving him my innocent face.

He shook his head. "No, but…" he hesitated, "I stopped in Ponyville on the way here. Aegis is worried about both of you." He looked down sadly before continuing, "I have never seen Nick in such a state."

Dash tilted her head. "Both of us?" Sky nodded.

I was in a state of shock. Aegis always talked to me, somehow knowing exactly how to make me smile. Sky was right, he was more than a fellow brony to me. "Dash, come on," I said, planting my hooves on the ground and flaring my grey wings, "we got a stallion waiting for us back home!" I took off at a record speed for me, followed closely by my fraternal brother and my best friend. Suddenly, Sky gasped in horror behind me. "What?" I asked worriedly.

"Luna and I just pulled off one of the biggest mass arrests in Equestria history, and we never said anything to Celestia!"

> Mail Mare Mishap
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Have a longer chapter! This episode of Brony Recon, Aegis gets trolled and trolls back, and Ben has a shipment drop out of the sky. Stay tuned!

Feeling like a trailer narrator,
-MarkusBrony (Skyblaze)

>>><<<

THE NEXT DAY

Aegis' POV

I came into the house to see the Apple family just sitting down to a waffle breakfast. Applejack looked over at me. "Um, Aegis, why are ya dotted in white paint?" she asked.

I looked down at my coat, now peppered with white dots of paint. I smiled half-heartedly at them. "I overheard you needed the fence painted, so I took the liberty," I replied, "although a shower would be nice right about now." Nopony tried to stop me as I made my way to the bathroom.

However, when I tried to leave the home again, I was stopped by an orange mare. "Sugarcube, ya need to stop this," she ordered.

"Stop what?"

"Don't ya gimme that hay," she said threateningly, "yer doin' work to justify yer depression, and that AIN'T right."

"I don't know what you're talking abou--"

"Hush up! Now you are gonna go find Storm or Shift and have some fun, or Ah'm gonna buck yer flank halfway to Appleoosa."

I took the threat seriously and nodded rapidly. She seemed contented and made room for me to pass. But I was not stirred by Applejack's suggestion. Instead, I dragged my hooves. I couldn't help but think about the two mares on the barn roof. Having found out about their 'royal duty' from Skyblaze, all I can do is worry, and hope they make it home safely.

Sky had told told get to stay! Why didn't she listen? Dash could have done it alone. Don't get me wrong, I was just as worried about her too. But I don't want to lose them both! I couldn't take it. It would be as traumatic as losing both my parents. I missed them, so much I can almost hear Rain's voice yelling through the air…

"INCOMING!" Suddenly, I was on my back, wondering how an insubstantial voice could blast me flat. That is, until I opened my eyes to see a pair of magenta eyes.

"Chloe!," I sprang up, hugging the mare tightly, "Oh, thank Celestia you're safe! So told me about the mission and how he told you not to go but here you are and you're safe and you're--!"

"--over here."

My eyes popped open to meet the eyes of the mare I hugged. Dash's face was a deeper blue than usual, my constricting hug cutting off her circulation. "…Choking… not… breathing…!"

Rain huffed. "After that rant, Rainbow is the one getting the hug?" she said in an exaggerated sadness.

I grinned ear to ear. "I suppose it doesn't matter," I said slyly, "since she was about to get the same rant." Her brows shot up and her jaw became slightly ajar. "Oh, come here!" I released the gasping Rainbow Dash and tackled Rain, pulling her into a tight hug.

We hugged for a while, then Rain surprised me with a kiss on the cheek. "I can't believe I had to go to Equestria to realize that you were into me," she whispered.

Dash, regaining her breath, looked at the two of us. "I think somepony feels left out, Rain," I said.

She gave me a look. "How can you be into two mares at once?"

I grinned. "Easy, like this," and out of elation, I dragged Rain over to Rainbow and encircled the rainbow pegasus with a foreleg. The embrace that resulted was able to be passed as loving and then some.

"D'aww, how cute," I looked up to see Skyblaze hanging from the branch of a nearby apple tree, "um, I don't want to be a downer, but is what you're doing okay here?" I nodded and he gave me an eyebrow. "Hmm, you're still a player." I glared at him. "Well, I best be off, I slacked enough today, and Luna probably wants me back before I get polygamist with AJ." With that, he flew off, leaving the three of us looking on with blank stares.

Storm's POV

I woke like I did the last six days. Caramel and I must have this synchronized sleep schedule, 'cause everyday, we opened our eyes within seconds of each other. "Morning, Storm…"

"Hey, it was my turn to say it first," I playfully pouted, "but yeah, good morning, Caramel."

"I've gotta work today, so why don't you take the day for yourself," he said, getting out of bed, "Go find Shift or Aegis, hang out with them… if you want to that is."

I nodded. "Yeah, I haven't talked to Shift lately," I agreed, "he and Twilight are always cooped up in that library."

After a shower and a muffin, I stepped out into the morning light. The air was still crips and the dew hung on the grass. It was getting colder, Autumn still beginning its creep into the world. As much as I love poetry, I was tired of it from every day I sat on that balcony with Caramel. Not that it wasn't enjoyable. While I was smiling at my own thoughts, I all but ran into Shift and Twilight.

"Oh, hey Storm," Shift greeted, "how are you and Caramel?"

"Great!" I said cheerily, "but he has to work today, and he said I should take some time to hang with my friends."

Shift smiled at me and turned to Twilight. "Hey Twi, can Storm come with us to Sugarcube corner?"

The unicorn shrugged. "Sure, I don't see why not."

So we headed down to the gingerbread-house style bakery. As soon as I opened the door, I was plowed over by three excited fillies. The Cutie Mark Crusaders and I looked at each other, then proceeded to burst into laughter. "Hiya, Miss Storm," Applebloom said, "sorry 'bout that, but Scootaloo had a great idea fer gettin' our cutie marks, an' we was too jumpy to notice ya."

"Yeah, but now that I think about it, Cutie Mark Crusader Whitewater Rafters would need actual whitewater," pondered the orange filly.

Sweetie Bell stood up, shaking her head clear before looking at Shift and I in turn. "Miss Storm, why don't you or Shift have cutie marks yet?"

I looked back at my own blank flank, and realized that Sweetie Bell was right. "I guess Shift and I haven't found our special talents yet," I said dejectedly, seeing Shift sag noticeably, "I always thought my talent was using my magic to cheer other ponies up, and Shift's was sensing emotion, but I guess we'll have to keep looking."

Applebloom looked confused. "But I thought gettin' a cutie mark was a sign of a pony gettin' to be older," she said, "Y'all look too old to not have one."

Shift stepped in for the save, as I had no idea how to answer that. "Theoretically, a pony will get their cutie mark when they discover that thing that makes them special," he said, looking down at his own flank, "so if a filly or colt that doesn't find that something, they could be a blank flank until they do, hypothetically."

"So it's possible to be a blank flank… FOREVER?!" fretted Scootaloo.

"Well, Storm and I weren't really worried about it at your age," Shift said, trying to calm the near-panicky fillies, "to be honest, you three have an infinitely better chance at finding your special talent than us."

"Ya mean it?" Applebloom smiled.

"Yeah, I mean, if we haven't found our talents yet," I added, "what are the odds that we will?"

"Alright! C'mon, Crusaders," yelled Scootaloo, "let's go find our special talent!" The three fillies galloped off to whatever trouble they were inevitably going to get in.

"Hey Storm? You gonna get up?" asked Shift. I giggled and turned over, then the three of us entered Sugarcube Corner.

Suddenly, "Twitcha-twitch, twitcha-twitch!" and then the tiny pony in my head threw the big switch that says, 'only pull in dire situations', but everypony pulls it anyway. In any case, something hit my head, and I blacked out.

Kind Greetings' POV

It was a nice mid-morning. I wasn't expecting anything to happen. Dear Luna, I was wrong. I began the day with the usual breakfast of flapjacks with Sky and Luna chatting it up over their dinner. I don't know why, but Celestia looked particularly cross with her sister.

After I finished the last bit of breakfast, I went for a walk through the garden. I could see why Luna liked to do so; it was rather peaceful. A few nobles passed through, their posh noses in the air. Ha! As if I was a commoner. It's not like I live in the castle or anything… oh, wait, I believe I do. Plus, my friend is a very likely suitor for the Lunar Princess. That has to count for something.

Anyhow, I let the nobility about their business. Nothing and nopony could possibly--

CRACK! "Aaauuuggh!"

Let's face it; the pegasus weather team sometimes slacks a bit, leaving behind puffs of storm clouds. A grey pegasus mare had gotten too close to such a cloud, lightning jumping from it and striking her. She fell, her saddlebags dumping a load of letters into the air. I ran toward her supposed point of impact, which was just outside the hedge maze that Skyblaze landed in on the first day in Equestria.

When I reached her, the mare was in bad shape. The lack of burns told me that she hadn't been injured by the initial strike, but the lightning put her into shock, causing her to plummet. Upon impact with several tree branches and the ground, however, put a lot of trauma on her body. A grey wing was bent at an odd angle, there was a trickle of blood running down the side of her head, and she was altogether unconscious.

I stooped and, careful not to move the broken wing, slid under her, lifting the pegasus. Slowly, but at a rushed pace, I moved the mare to the medical ward that Luna had brought Skyblaze to on the first night. She was immediately taken from my back by a unicorn nurse, levitating the body to a cot without a word. I watched as the attendants moved around her, wrapping her wing in a cast, cleaning and bandaging her blonde head. The whole spectacle lasted five minutes before a single nurse was left to do the paperwork.

"Excuse me," asked the nurse, "are you acquainted with this mare? I need her name." She frowned when I shook my head. Suddenly, the pegasus stirred.

"Ooo… everything hurts," she groaned, "where am I?"

The nurse looked at her. "You're in the Canterlot Castle medical ward," she said with a smile, "can I get your name?"

But the grey mare was still in shock, her eyes screwed tight. "Gotta get to Ponyville…" she mumbled, "Dinky is home alone."

I trotted up to her bedside, looking her over. "I can bring Dinky here," I offered, "if that's okay with you."

The mare smiled lightly. "Yes, please… I want to see my little filly…" she said, drifting off to sleep.

I trotted out of the castle at a hurried pace, heading for the train depot. Driven by a sense of duty, I bought an express ticket with grant money Celestia was giving Skyblaze and I. The train ride was an hour and fifteen minutes long, but I couldn't put myself to rest. There was something familiar about that mare, but I couldn't put my hoof on it.

I arrived at Ponyville station, but realized that I had no idea where I was going. I looked around, and spotted Sweetie Bell trotting toward Carousel Boutique. I cantered after her and stopped her with a hoof. "Excuse me… Sweetie Bell, right?" I greeted, "do you know where I can find a filly named Dinky?"

The white filly put a hoof to her chin. "I think Dinky Hooves and her mom live in a duplex, just down that street," she pointed, "and take a right, and it's the third duplex on the left."

"Thanks," I said before making haste along the directions she gave me. The duplex wasn't hard to find. I trotted up to the door and knocked, whereas a dandelion mate with an orange mane answered the door. "Hi, I'm looking for Dinky."

"My name's Golden Harvest, her caretaker, but most ponies call me Carrot Top," she said, "why do you want Dinky?"

"There's been an accident," I explained, "her mother is in Canterlot Castle's medical ward, and she asked if I could bring her daughter."

"Mommy's in a hospital?" asked a small voice behind Carrot Top. The orange mare turned to reveal a small grey unicorn filly. Had I not been in a serious mood, I would have given a 'd'aww'.

"Yes, she asked to see you," I said, "I live in Canterlot, so I came down here to bring you to see your mom."

She looked up at Carrot Top. "Can I go, Carrot Top?" she asked giving the foalsitter her innocent filly face. I actually had to resist the 'd'aww'.

The carrot-maned caretaker nodded. "You don't have to make that face, Dinky. I would let you go either way."

I smiled as the filly gave a jump of excitement. "C'mon, Dinky," I said, lowering myself, "hop on, I can run faster and the train's about to leave." Dinky jumped up in my back and held fast to my neck. I took off galloping, hearing the train give a last-call whistle. For the millionth time, I was thankful I took track in high school. While my pony body was not as conditioned as my human one, I still applied my knowledge of balancing speed and endurance to match the distance. I figured I had about one hundred fifty meters between me and the depot.

I galloped through the streets, leaping crates and dodging pedestrians. At one point, I had to use my high-jump experience to clear an entire produce cart. All the while, Dinky was laughing excitedly. I soon joined her as we jumped the caboose just as the train was leaving the station. So we sat on the flat, laughing from exhilaration until the conductor appeared, demanding tickets. I had not bought any, so I hoofed over the allotted amount for two express tickets, plus a tip. The uniformed pony seemed satisfied.

We took our seats in the next car. "I'm sorry, I didn't tell you my name," I apologized, "I'm Kind Greetings, but everypony calls me Ben."

"I'm Dinky," the grey filly said, "but everypony calls me Dinky." We shared another laugh. This filly was clever, and very cute.

We talked the whole way to Canterlot, passing the time with jokes and road games. She was an adorable little thing, and she admired her mother greatly. The pegasus was apparently a mail mare, which explained the saddlebags full of envelopes. I made a mental note to go back and collect them.

When we arrived at the depot in Canterlot, Dinky was on my back and I was dashing through the streets, knocking into the occasional poshness. I made with all haste to the medical ward, almost knocking down the door. Managing to enter at an acceptable speed, we made our way to the mare's room.

"Mommy!" exclaimed Dinky, jumping from my back onto the cot. She landed in such a way as not to bounce the mattress too much. The filly curled up next to her mother and looked at her as the pegasus stirred.

The injured mare opened her eyes. They were a beautiful gold color, staring at the filly lovingly. Suddenly, one eye went off to stare at something else, and I realized why she was so familiar. I had rescued Derpy. Derpy Hooves. A symbol for all bronies of acceptance and tolerance. "Hi, muffin," she said, stroking her daughter's mane, "how did you get here?"

"Ben helped me," Dinky said, pointing to me, "I got to ride on the train!"

Derpy focused her wall-eyed gaze on me. "Thank you, Mister Ben," she said.

Suddenly, Dinky's and my own stomach growled simultaneously. I chuckled. "C'mon, Dinky," I said, "let's get some lunch and let your mother rest."

"Okay," she said, hopping down from the bed, "bye, mommy."

"Bye, muffin," replied Derpy as the filly trotted out the door. As I followed, Derpy spoke, "thank you, mister. You made me and her really happy."

I smiled warmly. "It was my pleasure," I said, "she's really bright, you know."

Derpy smiled. "Yes, she is." With that, the wall-eyed mare pulled up the covers and began to slumber.

> Compatibility Issues
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As promised, MOAR STOREH! Now with even more Trollestia! That is all, enjoy.

-MarkusBrony (Skyblaze)

>>><<<


Rainchaser's POV

I munched on a veggie taco while I sat in the hospital with Pinkie Pie, Shift, and Twilight at Storm's bedside. She had been knocked out pretty good by a potted plant that seemingly fell out of nowhere. Note to self: don't trust physics when around Pinkie. Especially when her tail was twitching.

"So, how are things with you and Dash?" asked Twilight, catching me off my guard.

"Oh, we're fine. It's her and Aegis I'm worried about," I admitted, "those two are more incompatible than Skyblaze and sitting still… no wait, I take it back, Sky and idle are still worse."

"Yeah, remember when he had an extra cup of coffee that one morning?" Shift said, avoiding the idea of 'video chat', "he was more ramble-y than Pinkie Pie!"

"Hey! I don't ramble! I may go off on a tangent but that's completely different but I gotta admit I do go on sometimes especially if it's about parties baked goods smiles hugs laughing and jokes HEY does anypony know any good jokes they could tell I have this one about a pegasus who can't fly but I've been told it's not really funny because--" She was stopped by Twilight magically shoving a cupcake in the pink mare's mouth, much to our relief.

After Pinkie's rant, the door flew open to reveal a worried-looking Caramel. "Where is she? Is she alright? What happened?"

Pinkie took the liberty of answering all three questions. "Right there. Doc says she's fine. Random flowerpot."

Caramel looked at her. "Random… huh?"

I rolled my eyes. "Dude, it's Pinkie Pie," I reminded him, "don't try to make sense of it."

My words were lost on him as he trotted over to his fillyfriend. "I came as fast as I could, but I had to finish my work; Applejack said not to worry," he recounted, "when will she wake up?"

I shrugged. "It's hard to tell with this stuff. Could be a few hours, or even tomorrow…" I trailed off, remembering something with a sly smile, "hey, Shift, do you remember what Luna did to revive Skyblaze when he fainted?"

Caramel seemed to get the drift, which was unusually bright for him; most jokes and subtle hints going right over his head. The tan earth pony leaned above Storm and kissed her lightly on the forehead. A few moments lapsed without anything happening.

Storm's eyes flew oped, her gaze zooming around the room before resting on Caramel. "Hiya, handsome," she said, holding her head, "how many did I have last night?"

I snickered. "Heh, I don't know about last night, but you had a pint of daisies and soil earlier today."

"Wow, a mixed drink in the morning? No wonder my head hurts," she said, making me giggle even more, "but seriously, what happened?"

"You got hit on the head by a pot of daisies, silly!" said Pinkie, the party pony bouncing around, "I was about to tell you when you came in that my tail was twitching, but then that pot came from out of nowhere and knocked you clean out!"

"Um, what?" came Storm's reply, "how did a--?"

"Before you ask that question," Twilight interrupted, "remember who you're talking about." She pointed a hoof at Pinkie, who was intently watching the heart rate monitor of the pony next to Storm, an unfortunate unicorn who was wrapped entirely in bandages.

"Riiiiight…" Storm replied, "so when are they letting me out?"

I smiled at my friend. "Whenever you're ready," I told her, "the doc said you're free when you're up and awake."

She returned the smile and slid out of bed, accompanying Caramel out the door. I yawned, the lack of activity causing me to intake more oxygen than I was used to. Not wanting to walk through the clinic, I went to the window and pushed it open, flying out and leaving Pinkie Pie, who was still staring at the heart rate monitor. Oh Pinkie Pie, I thought, you're so random.

I flew out, scanning the partly cloudy sky for Dash, who I assumed would be napping at this time. But none of the clouds sported that rainbow mane I loved. Growling, I flew circles around Ponyville, looking for that familiar prismatic coloring. I eventually found it in the park, sitting next to a blot of maroon. As I landed, I saw that they weren't actually talking, but giving each other awkward stares.

"Ahem," I coughed, making them both turn and chuckle nervously, "so, did you guys have fun while Storm was comatose?"

Aegis looked at me awkwardly. "Well… not exactly," he said, "I don't have wings, so I can't go flying. She doesn't read so we can't talk about that. And we almost no common interest to talk about, and small talk gets boring after a while."

I was worried about this. "Oh, come on, you guys," I chided, "you do have a common interest; me!"

Dash snickered. "No offense, Rain, but you aren't exactly a conversation starter."

"…and that's another thing we can agree on, Dash," Aegis said, nodding.

"Wow, you two sure know how to make a mare feel special," I teased them, "oh come here, you lugs!" I rushed forward, gripping them both in a hug. Aegis and Rainbow looked at each other, shrugged, and they both kissed either side of my cheeks. "There we go. All better, everypony?" I said as I released them.

"Eeyup!" came Aegis' impression if his look-alike.

Skyblaze's POV

This is it, I thought, the day Tia wrecks her punishment upon us. I didn't dare open my eyes to see what horror would become of Luna and I for executing a mass arrest without the sun goddess' consent. Celestia had told us that our punishment was a surprise for when we woke.

Okay, just take it like a man- er, stallion, I thought to myself. I will open my eyes and go through whatever horror Trollestia hath wrought upon us. Okay, eyelids, commence operation in three… two…

My gaze was met by the familiar midnight-colored irises I had come to love. "Well, Luna?" I asked her, "you ready to face the terror of the Banana Queen?"

She gave me a questioning look. "What?"

I chuckled. "Nothin', just kidding." I pulled myself out of the bed, walking over to the mirror in her room. There was surprisingly nothing wrong with my reflection. I still had wings, mane, hooves, and even my grey-and-teal tail. "Huh, I do believe your sister went easy on us, Luna. I don't see any--"

"Why is everything so much taller?" Facehoof. I knew Tia couldn't let us off.

Slowly I turned, and was shocked at what I saw. Standing in the middle of the room was a midnight-blue pegasus with a shorter light-blue mane. Her eyes, instead of slanted, reminded me of a filly's, rounded with large pupils. Celestia had turned Luna into an average-height, completely normal pegasus, with no horn to be spoken of. But her filly eyes! They looked so wide, so innocently curious, I had to… to…

"D'AAAAAAAAWWWWWWW!" I vocalized loudly, making Luna look at me in confusion, "Luna, you look sooooooo cute!" When she gave me a perplexed look, I turned the mirror toward her.

She gasped, looking at the pegasus in the mirror. "TIA!" she yelled in the Royal Canterlot Voice, blasting me to my haunches.

Promptly, the sun goddess appeared. "Yes, Lulu?" she asked playfully.

"YOU SHALL RETURN MY HORN SO THAT I MAY RAISE THE MOON!" I need to learn how to do that voice. Luna didn't have a horn, so it couldn't be magical.

"Oh, little sister," Tia chided, "this is your punishment for performing a mass arrest without my permission. Thus, I have taken your magic away for the night, and have also taken the burden of the moon for the duration."

"But Tiiiiaaaaaa…" D'aww, she's so cute with her younger voice!

"I'm sorry, Luna, but this is what I have decided," said Tia with a smile, "enjoy your day as a pegasus." And with that, the troll left the room in a flash.

I trotted over to the former goddess. "Aw, c'mon, Luna," I said, giving her a hug, "at least you're small enough to do this," I kissed her passionately, "without having to stretch."

She gave me a thankful smile. "Shall we walk to the gardens? I hear they are beautiful this time of year," she said in her noticeably higher voice. It was like she was a full-on filly again, with the altered voice and the round eyes. Dear Celestia, those eyes were cute!

"Yes, let's." We glided down the tower stairwell and trotted through the halls, some of the attendants giving Luna a look. Luna, all the while, was pinned against my side, looking anxious. She was nervous, I realized. Having been used to standing over her subjects with an air of power, she must have looked like an absolute foal in comparison.

As if things couldn't get worse, we ran into Ben, who was toting a grey filly on his back. He stared at the pegasus at my side. "Um, Skyblaze? Is that…?"

"Yeah, this is our punishment for conducting the biggest mass arrest of the century without Tia's consent," I explained, "now, you gonna tell me who that is?" I asked, pointing at the filly on his shoulders.

"Oh, this is Dinky," he said, "Dinky, I want you to meet my friend Skyblaze, and his fillyfriend, Princess Luna… or rather, pegasus Luna anyways."

The filly smiled at us. "Hi! I'm from Ponyville. I'm visiting my mommy in the hospital."

Luna looked concerned. "Your mother is in the castle medical ward?"

"She had a mishap with a stray storm cloud," Ben explained, "I was going to the gardens to pick up the contents of her saddlebags."

I smiled. "We were just going there. Walk with us?"

And so, we began our trot to the gardens. We had crossed the threshold into the regal greenery when I had a revelation. Dinky. From Ponyville. Dinky Hooves. Her mother was Derpy. Derpy Hooves is in the castle! Luna looked back at me when I stopped. "Are you coming, Sky?" she said, her cuteness breaking my reverie.

"Um, yeah. I just realized the very symbol of love and tolerance for bronies is in Canterlot Castle at this moment."

> Changeling
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is gonna be a sadder chapter, as this is not only the beginning of the end, but I had a hard time doing this to a character that I loved developing and writing about. To balance it, I wrote in a happier ending for the Ben/Derpy ship, as well as doing a little intimate part for my OC. It may be longer than other chapters but there's a continuity here that cannot be denied. Enjoy!

Not without regret,
-MarkusBrony (Skyblaze)

>>><<<


Shift's POV

"What 'cha doin' Twi?" I asked as Twilight shifted furniture around the library in preparation for testing a spell.

"Testing the spell that we studied, Shift," she said, "remember, we were studying detection spells and disguising magic?"

"Oh, right," I said as she finalized the room for the spell, "and what would this spell do, exactly?"

"Well, since the wedding, Changelings have been spread across Equestria, that one we found is an example," she explained, "this spell is designed to detect Changelings and dispel their disguises."

Uh oh. "Um… really, you don't say," I said nervously, "hey, um, if the spell were to hit a Changeling, what would happen?"

"Hopefully disrupt their disguise," she said, looking over her notes again, "it not, it will still knock the wind out of them."

I'm in trouble. She's gonna cast the spell, and I'm gonna lose her. Nopony loves Changelings. She will run away from me when she sees that I'm one of those monsters. "Okay, Twilight, I don't wanna bother you so… I'll be downstairs," I quickly said, then fled down the stairs. On the ground floor, Spike was busy dusting. "Spike, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, Shift," he said, setting down the duster and leaning on the shelf, "what's up?"

"Can you not tell Twilight about what you're about to see?" I pleaded, "I don't want to lose her."

"Um, what are you doing?"

"Spike, you will feel betrayed, lied to, and above all, freaked out. All I ask, is that you don't tell Twilight."

He gave me a raised eyebrow. "What do you--"

"Here we go!" came the call from upstairs. Through my horn, I could sense the magic building. It was an impressive amassing of power. Suddenly, there was shockwave of lavender, and I was thrown back into the bookshelves. It didn't hurt much, but my vision was hazed with green. I looked around, and saw I was on the other side of the room.

Spike was staring at me with a fearful taste coming from him. "You're… you're a…" he stuttered over his forked tongue, "…Change…"

I heard hoofsteps, alerting me to Twilight's approach. I quickly flashed my disguise back on, but the baby dragon was still staring at me. Luckily, I didn't knock any books off the shelves, or Twilight would get suspicious. But I still had to deal with Spike. And no, I don't mean kill him, I'm not that dark.

"Hey, Twi," I said, "I think your shockwave paralyzed Spike." The dragon was still staring stock-still at where I was thrown.

She giggled. "He'll be fine in a few minutes," she said, "it's happened a couple times before. Hey, you wanna go to the park?"

"Sure." So I left the library, hoping Spike would hold to his word.

>>><<<

"Ow… what in the…" I grumbled. The last thing I remember was walking out the door with Twilight. Then… nothing. "Ugh… my head."

"Well, look who's finally up an' at 'em," said a familiar voice, "how're ya doin' this fine evenin'?"

"Well, Applejack, maybe you tell me…" then I realized my hooves were roped to my sides, and I was tied to a chair, "why am I tied to a chair?"

"Ugh… Shift? Where are we? Why am I tied up?"

"Twi? What happened?" Everything was dark, so I couldn't see anything, but there were plenty of emotions floating around, coming from different ponies. "Pinkie? Rarity? Fluttershy? What the hay is going on?"

Suddenly there was a bright flash as a lamp was turned on over my head. There was a dominance of hatred and suspicion in the room that made me wonder. On the other side of the table was Twilight, tied up in the same way. "Okay… this is a prank, right Pinkie?" asked Twilight. Silence. "Pinkie Pie?"

Rarity appeared before anypony could answer. "Shift, thou hath been witnessed with these charges," she said regally, pulling out a roll of parchment, "suspicion and confirmation of false witness, suspicion and confirmation of being a shape-shifting creature known as a Changeling, and lying to Twilight." She adjusted her reading glasses. "Your defense shall be… trial by Applejack!"

Oh… schist. "Um, what is going on here?" Twilight asked. Oh crap. That's why they had Twilight. How did they know…

"Twi, I'm sorry," I whispered. She got a confused look.

Pinkie Pie and Applejack stepped into the light. Applejack stood near Rarity, facing Pinkie Pie, who dragged Fluttershy into the light as well. "Pinkie, in by witness of Applejack, do you testify that you and Fluttershy, whilst passing the home of Twilight Sparkle," Rarity continued, using the false accent, "witnessed the unicorn known as Shift drop his disguise as such, and appeared as a Changeling?" Oh dear Celestia have mercy on my soul.

Twilight looked around. "Wha--?"

"I do," Pinkie said said, giving me a glare.

Applejack nodded. "She ain't lyin'," she declared, then turned her gaze on me. Oh sweet Luna help me. "Shift are ya or ain't ya a--

"Changeling."

Everypony looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "Come again?" asked Rarity. Every emotion in the room had turned to confusion.

"Twilight, please, promise me you won't run."

She looked concerned, her feelings matching. "What are you talking about, Shift? I would never--"

"No, Twi. This is huge. I have lied to everypony. I hate it, every moment. But then I met you, and I didn't want that to go away, Twi. I don't want you to leave. I love you." I sighed, "But… there is a reason I can taste emotions, a reason I'm better at magic when you're around, a reason that the Changeling could speak to me."

Twilight had a scared look on her face, as did the rest of them. But it hurt, and there was no way out. I had to do this. I concentrated, a green light emanating from my body. I tried to make the change as gradual as possible, but there was no stopping it. In seconds, I felt fangs in my mouth, insect-like wings on my back, and a carapace around my body. I looked up, Twilight's face now one of horror as she looked upon my true form.

"Twi…" in a lavender flash, she was gone.

Applejack smiled. "Ha, we did it, y'all," she said triumphantly, "how's it feel to--" She stopped as she turned to look at me.

I sobbed like I never had. Twilight was gone. She wasn't coming back. I'm a monster. An emotion-stealing monster. Tears flowed from my eyes as I wished my life to be over. I would never again read with her, feel her love, sleep next to her to dispel my nightmare. No more picnics, books, or kisses. I felt my body drain of the energy I had gained from Twilight's love, but it did not matter. Yet what did matter was the taste that disappeared along with it. The love, Twi's love, was gone, leaving me nothing but the shell I was trapped in. And so I continued crying until I blacked out from the wooziness.

Storm's POV

"C'mon, I saw them bring him into the barn!" Dash said, Aegis, Rain, and I in tow. Earlier, Pinkie had knocked out Shift and Twilight and began dragging them, with the help of Fluttershy, into the Apple family's barn. We ran up the dirt pathway, right up to the doors, and Aegis burst in.

Everypony stopped as they saw what was tied up in the center of the room. Shift was in his Changeling form, unconscious. Tears ran down his carapace. I glared at the four other ponies. "What… did… you… DO TO HIM?!"

"We…" Rarity began, but I rushed to Shift's side, cradling his head. He was cold, too cold.

"Shift… my brother…" I stammered angrily, "what did you do?"

Applejack looked scared "He's a--"

"I BUCKING KNOW WHAT HE IS!" I yelled at her, making Fluttershy cringe. Then I realized why he was cold, why he was crying. "You made him show Twilight, didn't you?" Nopony moved, confirming my suspicions. "You… monsters…"

"But he was…" Pinkie started, her hair deflated slightly.

"Did you honestly believe that he was feeding off of Twilight?" I accused, "don't you get it?! SHE was feeding him WILLINGLY! Whatever love she felt, it was for nopony else. And he loved her back."

Rarity gave a slight glare. "Changelings don't feel--"

"Then how 'come he's crying, Rarity?" I glared back, "tell me he how he's crying if he can't feel emotion." No answer.

"We was just trying' to protect our friend…" Applejack countered weakly.

I gave her a glare that not even Nightmare Moon could pull off. "Then protect her from yourselves. You monsters… Fluttershy?" I noticed her pull away from the group.

"I tried to tell them, but they wouldn't listen," she said quietly, "I saw that Shift was a Changeling, but I also saw how happy he made Twilight, and how happy she made him." She glared at the three culprits. "You should feel ashamed of yourselves, especially you, Applejack. You out of any one of us can tell when a pony means true, just like Shift." Wow, Fluttershy just went Iron Will.

Applejack drooped, along with Rarity, and Pinkie's hair was now fully deflated. "Ah… ah feel right horrid fer this," the farm pony said, "ain't there any way we can make it up to ya?"

I thought for a moment, then had an idea that trumped all ideas before. "Yes, actually, but it's gonna take all of us to pull it off!" I exclaimed, "Applejack, we're gonna need catering for a large get-together, including drinks. Rarity, I want you to take Shift to your place. When he wakes up, fit him for a military-style formal dress suit, Changeling style. Pinkie Pie, you get the most important job of all." The party pony's hair inflated slightly. "In the park, on that hill where Twilight and Shift had picnics, I want a party tomorrow night. A big one. And invite all our friends, including Ben and Skyblaze in Canterlot. Oh, and get DJ Pon-3, if you can."

Skyblaze's POV

Luna may have had the eyes and voice of a filly, but she still could fly just as well. I flew alongside her, and we laughed from the exhilaration of flight. Being smaller, we could perform more… intimate… paired maneuvers. For example, hugging in midair and not getting thrown off-balance by Luna's usual extra weight. And so, through the night, we danced in the air.

At a point, we climbed to a high altitude and went into a dive when facing each other. We fell at the same speed, staring into the other's eyes as the wind whipped through our manes. When we reached the cloud layer, I pulled Luna close and we shared a kiss at near-sonic speeds. But the ground was fast approaching, and we were forced to separate and glide in a spiral to a stop next to a lake. There, I pulled the midnight pegasus to my side and we stared up at the stars. They were hardly as beautiful as usual, Celestia not possessing Luna's artistic talent. "It's too bad about the night sky," I remarked to my love.

"Yes, I feel disappointed in her effort," she huffed, sounding adorable, "she could at least change the brightness of… wipe that grin off your face."

I realized that I was giving a toothy smile at her cuteness and chuckled. "But you're so cute," I said making her glare, "and I don't just mean when you're a pegasus."

She raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah, but there is one advantage to you being so much smaller," I said playfully, "I can do this." I hugged her with my wings, a sign of the deepest trust and affection toward somepony. Especially when that other pony is of the other gender. Because of Luna's smaller pegasus form, my wings met on her back, fully enveloping the mare I loved.

I felt pressure against my feathers as she pressed her midnight primaries into mine. Preening was one thing, the activity being sanitary and insecure. But the feeling of her wings against mine was intimate, giving the feeling of compassion and pleasure, of trust and affection, but most of all, love.

There, in the moonlight, we shared one of the most passionate kisses yet. In Luna's time, they must not have been as intimate as nowadays, as she gave a slight start when I showed her the finer points of tongue dexterity. But she did not pull away, instead returning the favor, writing her name with skill in my mouth.

Our wings unfurled to full draw, extending to the point of rigidness. However, I managed to keep Luna in a wing-embrace. Luna leaned into me, causing us to topple, the midnight pegasus landing on my chest, still lip-locked. Had she been an alicorn, she would have crushed me. But as a pegasus, her weight on my body felt… right. Like she and only she belonged there. And so we lay there, falling asleep and napping until midnight, then agreeing that it was time for night-lunch.

Kind Greetings' POV

"Wow, you know the Princesses personally?!"

I chuckled at Dinky's excitement. "Yeah, I'm kinda an important pony, so I stay here at the castle."

Derpy, still bedridden, smiled at her happy child. "So what do you do Mister Ben?" the wall-eyed mare asked.

"Oh, I'm a… foreign correspondent," I said, and she gave me a confused stare, focusing on me with one eye, "I'm sort of a pony that officially makes choices for a group of other ponies."

"Really?" wondered the grey filly at her mother's side, "who are they?"

"My five friends. You met Skyblaze, but the four others, Aegis, Rainchaser, Shift, and Storm, are in Ponyville right now."

"Oh, I've seen them!" Dinky said excitedly, "Aegis is the one that looks like Big Mac, right? Only darker."

I nodded. "I should introduce you guys to them, they would love to meet you."

"Great! I love meeting new ponies!" Derpy said, almost as excited as her daughter.

Just then, a tan pegasus stallion with an Equestrian Postal Service bag stepped into the room. "Um, I have a letter for a Kind…" he trailed off, facehoofing as he saw Derpy, "not again, Derpy…"

"Oops, my bad…" Derpy ducked her head in embarrassment, which I found extremely cute, "I just don't know what went wrong…" I was about ready to give a fanboy squeal.

I managed to hide my mirth and turn to the stallion. "I'm Kind Greetings, sir." He hoofed me a letter and, with one last glance at Derpy, went off to his business. I opened the pink envelope, only to have confetti blast out of it, which was strange because the original envelope was too flat to have concealed any sort of confetti-blower… thing. I took out the decorated hot-pink card and read it.

Kind Greetings, you have been invited to a party to be held in Ponyville at sunset this evening. Catering will be provided by Sweet Apple Acres. The event will take place in the park, on the most westerly hill. You are encouraged two guests of your choice.

Hoping to see you there,
-Pinkie Pie, Lead Organizer

"Wow, it must be some party for a decorated card like that," said Derpy, "Pinkie Pie is the best at throwing parties!"

"It says I can bring two guests…" I wondered to myself, "hey, would you guys wanna come with me?"

"Yeah!" came the simultaneous reply.

"Okay, then. Derpy, the nurse told me you're good to go in an hour or so," I told the wall-eyed mare, "I have some paperwork to take care of, so I'll pick you up for the train ride home in two hours." I looked back to see that Dinky had spontaneously fallen asleep at her mother's side. D'aww.

As I was trotting out the door, Derpy made a noise, to which I turned. "Why didn't you say anything about my eyes yet?" she said, surprising me, "most ponies will feel sorry for me, or even make fun of me, but you didn't. Why?"

I looked at the mare. She stared at me with one of the straightest gazes I've seen her manage. "Because I can look past that, Derpy," I said, "Part of friendship is accepting everypony, regardless of how they look or act. What matters is what's on the inside."

She smiled at me. "Thank you, Ben. That means a lot to me." Her gaze focused for a moment, fixing me with that golden gaze. It was a magical moment where I had a realization, and it confused me beyond belief.

As I left the room, I tried to wrap my mind around my revelation. I was in love with that gaze, that filly, and the mare that was on the cot, her wing in a cast. I had fallen in love with Derpy.

> Bard
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainchaser's POV

The morning after Storm's freak-out in the barn, I had to struggle awake again. Just like every morning before. Yet when I opened my magenta eyes, I found a matching pair staring back. I gave a start, but there was something in my way on the other side. I turned over to see a pair of green irises looking back. I shot out of bed, or what I thought was a bed. The three of us had fallen asleep in the barn on a pile of hay, laying next to each other.

"Um, morning…" Dash said, grinning awkwardly. Great, another morning pony to make me feel jealous.

Aegis rose to his hooves. "Did we really just sleep in a pile of hay?"

"Question is, were we rolling in it? Anypony else remember last night?" Aegis and I raised our hooves. "Ugh… buncha abstainers, aren't you?"

"Eeyup," mimicked Aegis, "and don't worry, nothing happened."

"Who said I was worried?" Dash challenged. She fluttered to her hooves, shaking the hay out of her rainbow mane. "So… what now?"

"Breakfast, that's what," I grumbled, "with a strong cup of apple coffee."

"Aw… is somepony grump- oomf!" I hoofed Aegis in the side as he trotted past. "Ow, alright, yeesh…"

"Hey, Aegis, lay off our fillyfriend, okay?" Dash said in a mocking tone, "she doesn't need help being a downer in the morning."

Our fillyfriend. It kinda caught me off-guard, making me trip over my hooves to fall face-first in the dirt pathway with a 'piff'. I suppose I would have to get used to having both a fillyfriend and a coltfriend. Wait, isn't that what Storm is? "Wow, Dash. I think you threw off Miss Grumpy's balance."

"If you know what's good for you, Nick," I mumbled through the dirt, "you are gonna shut your bucking trap."

Fearing for his well being, he helped me up and even opened the door for me, much to Dash's amusement. Applejack greeted us on the way in. "Howdy, ah see y'all are up," she greeted, "well, almost all of ya."

"Just hoof me the coffee so I don't have to suffer these two any more." She happily obliged, handing me pre-made mug of the black liquid. "Thanks," I said to the farm mare, sipping the sweet caffeinated beverage.

"Do you think Shift is up yet?" Aegis asked to the assembly, which now included Applebloom and Big Mac.

"I don't know how you come out of something he's been through," I said, "it could be a few hours yet before he--"

"INCOMING!" CRASH! "Ow… oh, hey guys. What's up?"

We all looked up to see Skyblaze's head sticking out of the slanted ceiling. "Skyblaze, why are ya in our roof?" asked Applebloom.

"Well, there I was, flying along when SOMEPONY decided it would be hilarious to throw a bit of thunder cloud at my face."

The front door opened, revealing a midnight blue pegasus with round eyes. "I said I was sorry…" she said innocently.

"Luna, I swear you give me those eyes on purpose."

"LUNA?!" came the collective gasp.

Skyblaze sighed. "Luna, be a dear and help me out?"

"Oh, I don't know, Sky," she said, "you have a very nice bust…"

"Ha ha. Hilarious, can you…" He was silenced by Luna flying up and kissing his trapped head. "No fair, I'm stuck!" he complained when she broke away.

"Alright, you big foal… give me a moment," she said, trotting back outside. Soon after, Skyblaze's head was yanked from the roof, Luna's face peering in. "Normally I would fix this with magic, be seeing as I am incapacitated by a certain sun goddess, all I can give you is an apology for causing my stallion to crash clumsily into your roof. Good day, my subjects."

We all stared blankly for a a whole five minutes at the hole I the ceiling. "Was it just me, or did we just get trolled by Luna?" Dash said pointedly, "usually that would be Celestia…"

"But if Celestia is the reason for Luna's condition, doesn't that mean the we were trolled by Celestia?" said Aegis pointedly. Dash facehoofed.

Storm's POV

"Hello Rarity, how's it going?" I said, cantering into the boutique.

She looked at me and sighed. "Oh, I appreciate the challenge of designing a suit for a Changeling but…" the dressmaker hesitated, "to say he's depressed would be an understatement."

"Can I… talk to him?" I asked, "I am basically his sister after all."

She shook her head. "I'm sorry, darling, but I don't think he wants company at the moment," she said, bringing me down, "but if it's any consolation, I shall have a word with him. I have yet to apologize for our… rash behavior."

I drooped my head, but nodded my thanks. Caramel stepped in for me. "How's the suit coming?"

"Oh, it's coming along FABULOUSLY!" she said, waving a hoof, "he's very cooperative, even given his state. I say that Shift shall be the most well dressed Changeling in all Equestria- no, on all Terra!"

I giggled at her excitement. "Now don't go too overboard," I warned, "you know how Twilight hates excessive things."

"Oh, I know, and don't worry, I shall be finished by tonight!"

With a goodbye, we left Rarity to her designs. "Hey, Caramel?" I said, turning to my lover.

"Yes, Storm?"

"If it comes down to it… would you mind having a Changeling for a brother?"

He gave a start. "You're…thinking about that already…?"

"Well, hypothetically at least…" I said, trying to lessen the blush on our faces.

"To be honest, I don't think I care," he said, giving me a forehead kiss, "as long as I'm with you."

I kissed him on the cheek in return. "Have I told you I love you?"

"Every day." We trotted on to stop at the Gilded Griffon, a café at the center of town, for lunch. Honestly, DLTs are the best food in Equestria. Who knew that daisies were better than bacon? Or at least, to a pony. I still liked them a lot, as did the other bronies. Even Skyblaze and Rainchaser, who claimed to hate tomatoes on Earth.

"So, everything seems to be going alright," I said to Caramel, "even though it took some convincing for Twilight to agree to coming to the party."

"Yep, although…" he frowned, "I still don't have anything to wear to it."

"Oh, come on, it's not the Grand Galloping Gala. I'm sure as hay not gonna wear anything. But you can bet your bits that Rarity will, and maybe Luna, but she's a princess."

He stopped chewing. "Princess Luna is coming?"

"I do believe I am," came a voice from above. We looked up to see a midnight-blue pegasus hovering above us. "And I actually wasn't planning on wearing anything, even my crown. But I suppose I have to sport a badge of office."

"Princess Luna?! You're a…" Caramel stammered.

"Pegasus, and don't you forget it," Skyblaze came appeared next to Luna, "come on, love, I wanna get some shut-eye before the party. I hear Pinkie's throwing it, and if our welcome party is any consolation, it's gonna be awesome!"

"Yes, I do believe I should tell my sister to return my form before then. While being a pegasus is enjoyable, I do have an image to upkeep."

"Aw, but you look so cute…" Luna shot Sky a look, "oh, right, immortal princess of the night…"

"I'm glad you can overlook that. Now let's head home."

As they flew off, Caramel and I gave each other a look. To the confusion of the other ponies sitting on the outside deck, we broke into laughter.

Skyblaze's POV

"…and besides, what compelled you to throw a piece of thunder cloud at my face?" I berated Luna.

"How could I resist?" she giggled.

"D'aww, you know I can't stay mad at you when you do that," then I thought for a minute, "wait, pegasi can throw pieces of cloud?"

"It's not a well-known fact, but yes."

"Huh." We flew on for a few more minutes in silence. "Can you teach me the Royal Canterlot voice?"

"What?" she gave me a raised eyebrow.

"At first I thought it was magic, but you could do it when you're a pegasus, so I doubt that's the case."

"Well, to learn the Empowered Voice, you must be either an alicorn or a bard."

I tilted my head. "What's a bard?"

"A bard is a pony that travels around Equestria, spinning fantasies and singing songs. However, they have the power to manipulate magic with their voice, singing or in the Archaic Tongue. It is not a skill that one can teach, as a bard is born with their power."

I was silent for a moment. "Well, my talent is making stories, and I'm a good singer."

She nodded. "It is possible that you are a bard, then, considering your traits. But there is one way to test it," she said rubbing her chin, "focus your mind on your voice. Will it to project and become louder, while also focusing on the feeling of authority."

"Why authority?"

"The Empowered Voice was constructed for leaders. As such, it relies on authoritative thoughts as a power source."

"Alright, here goes…" I concentrated, focusing on my voice, injecting it with authoritative power, and took a deep inhale… "I LIKE PIE!" Luna cringed as my voice echoed throughout the Valley, a hundred times louder than normal.

"'I like pie'? You couldn't come up with anything better to shout at the world?" Luna questioned.

"Well, it's the first thing that popped into my head. They have really good pie at Sugarcube Corner," I countered, "at least I did it."

Luna's eyes widened. "Well, congratulations," she said, "you are now Skyblaze the Bard."

Blinking, I stared off into the distance. "I don't feel any different."

Luna giggled. "Don't ever change, Sky," she said, "and don't let this go to your head."

I laughed, "I've seen what happens when power goes to one's head, and you can count me out."

>>><<<

We landed on the balcony to Luna's tower. Stepping into the room, we were welcomed by Celestia. "Good day, sister. You're up late."

"Hello, sister, we were just--"

"HI TIA!" my voice boomed off the walls.

Luna facehoofed. "I regret ever teaching you that," she complained, "could I have my form back, Tia?"

"Of course. I trust you have learned your lesson?" Luna nodded. "Then you are allowed your horn back." Celestia's horn glowed a golden light. There was a blinding flash, and the midnight pegasus was replaced with the alicorn I loved.

When the spell was complete, I jumped on Luna in as massive of a hug I could muster. We toppled as we came into a kiss. "Now come on, lovely, let's get to bed," I chided, as a blushing Tia teleported out of the room, "we don't wanna be drowsy for the party."

"Of course not," she said, her adolescent voice replaced by the regal intonation. She sidled into the bed next to me. Wrapping me in her now-large wings, we both fell into a slumber.

> Road Games and Charades
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aegis' POV

"POV means 'point of view'," I explained to Dash.

"Oh," she said, looking at a novel of short stories made by fans of Daring Do, "this story is confusing. It keeps switching views, like the plot rotates between characters!"

"Hey, you two…" Rain trailed off as she entered the house, "Dash, are you… reading?"

"Yeah, what of it?" she narrowed her eyes.

"Ah, Daring Do?" Rain asked.

"Fan compilation, yeah."

"That explains it then," said Rain as she sat herself in her seat, "hey, Aegis, sorry for this morning. I get kinda moody…"

"Hey, it's my fault for egging you on," I said, "I should be the one apologizing. Nopony can help if they're a morning pony or not."

She sighed and looked away. Everything was silent as I enjoyed an apple for lunch. "Why are you so humble?" her question surprised me as I was tossing the apple core into the garbage.

"What?"

"You always go out of your way to put blame on yourself, or to short-size yourself so other ponies feel better."

"That's my talent," I said blatantly.

She tilted her head. "Huh?"

"My talent. I take the fault so other ponies don't have to suffer."

She pondered this for a moment. Meanwhile, Dash was absorbed in her book. "What do you think is my talent?" she asked.

"You have to figure that out for yourself, Chloe. You'll get your cutie mark eventually…"

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask you guys about that," Dash said, looking up from her book, "why the hay do three grown ponies not have their cutie marks?"

Rain shrugged. "We never found our talent, I guess. And remember that Shift is a Changeling who fabricated his original disguise."

"I guess that makes sense…" she sat back and flipped a page. It was a moment before she spoke again, "Shift is different from other Changelings."

"Well of course he is. He can--" Dash stopped me with a hoof.

"I don't mean that, I mean he looks different."

"Explain," said Rain.

"Well, for one he doesn't have those two extra antler… horn… thingies, and his shell is much smoother. Also, his horn is shaped like Chrysalis', and he doesn't have blue wing-shells."

"So, he's different on the outside as well as the inside?" asked Rain.

"Yeah, he looks a lot less threatening," she smiled, "and doesn't look like as much of a parasite as the rest of them."

"Huh, I never thought about it," I said. Maybe Shift did have a chance if Storm's plan goes well.

Kind Greetings' POV

"Yay! We get to ride the train again!"

"Yeah, and this time, your mom gets to ride with us." I said to the filly on my back.

"Yeah, it'll be super-extra fun with mommy!" she exclaimed excitedly, "we can tell jokes, play road games, and tell stories!"

"Stories?" I asked plaintively.

Derpy nodded. "Yeah! I go lots of places when I deliver mail," she replied, "so I see a lot of things. I always tell them to Dinky when I get home."

"Uh huh! Mommy has lots of neat stories," said the small unicorn on my back, "Ooh, ooh! Can you tell Ben the one about the toothless baby alligator in Fillydelphia?"

"Sure," she replied to her daughter, then faced me, "it's one of Dinky's favorites! You'll really like it."

"Well, we have plenty of time on the train," I said as we reached the station and boarded, "okay, let's hear this story…" We sat in our booth and Derpy began her tale.

>>><<<

"Wow, so you brought the gator home and gave it to Pinkie Pie? So that's where Gummy came from."

"Yep, I didn't know how to take care of an alligator, but Pinkie Pie said she had a book about it, so she took it in as her pet," Derpy said as she finished her story, "I visit with Dinky sometimes when I don't have work."

"Huh, I should stop down in Ponyville to do that with you sometime," I said to the grey mare, "now, I think Dinky wants to play road games, right?"

"Yay! Let's play I Spy!" the filly jumped up and down in excitement, looking out the window, "I spy with my little eye… something… red!"

Derpy and I looked out the window, searching for the red object. Derpy had the advantage of pegasus sight, even with her condition. "That cardinal!" Wait, what cardinal? "In the tree half a mile down!" 

"You're right, mommy!" Whoa, how did Dinky see that? Maybe the unicorn had inherited some of her mother's eyesight.

"Wow, you guys are amazing," I said, "I don't think I could've ever seen that until you pointed it out."

"My turn!" Derpy exclaimed excitedly, "I spy with my little eye… something white."

Her description was tough, as there were a lot of white things. A birch tree, a swan in a passing pond, the clouds… "The mountain-tops!" I was dumbfounded at Dinky's observance. Indeed, some of the mountains surrounding Canterlot Valley were high enough to have white-capped peaks. They hadn't even crossed my mind.

"Nope!" Derpy said, surprising me that Dinky guessed wrong.

"Um, that birch tree?" I guessed. It was a pretty obvious tree, there was no way that she…

"You're right, Ben!" Okay, maybe she did.

"Okay, my turn," I said, looking out the window, "I spy with my little eye something--"

"I LIKE PIE!" The echo was so loud, it transcended the few open windows in the train. Whatever it was, it effectively stopped my search for something to spy.

"What in Equestria was that?" Derpy wondered out loud.

"It was too loud… and random… for a normal pony," observed Dinky, "the only pony I know that could do that was Princess Luna on Nightmare Night."

I facehoofed as I realized who the culprit was. Skyblaze certainly had his own unique way of embarrassing himself, from fainting to absurd confessions blasted out in the Royal Canterlot Voice. "Sky… why do you do these things?" I wondered to myself.

Derpy giggled. "Silly, the sky can't talk!" she said, making Dinky and I laugh uncontrollably, soon joined by Derpy.

Storm's POV

I anxiously awaited Ben at the train depot. He had said that he was bringing two guests, which surprised me. Ben was a bit of a workaholic back home, often missing chat sessions for various jobs or mission-related things.

It was funny, I didn't really think of this whole thing as a mission anymore. Not since I met Caramel. But Equestria was feeling more and more like my home. I know I still had my parents back home, and that I would miss them, but my stallion was worth it. Besides, I don't think I'll ever live down that one night, when we showed just how deep our love went.

My thoughts were interrupted by the train pulling into the depot. The locomotive hissed and the doors slid open, the passengers piling out. I waited to spot the familiar green coat. Finally, Ben stepped out of the car, with a grey filly on his back and being followed by a grey pegasus mare. They were laughing.

Wondering what could fill the usually impassive Ben with such mirth, I trotted over to greet them. Then I saw the pegasus mare's eyes. They were golden, but were looking off in different directions. It was Derpy. The rallying symbol for bronies. Toleration incarnate. The great grey mare herself. And she was laughing with Ben.

Ben, on the other hoof, was looking Derpy on the eyes, meeting her wall-eyed gaze. There was something familiar about that stare. It should have been, 'cause Caramel gave me it all the time. Ben had fallen in love with Derpy. I didn't need Shift's Changeling tongue to know that. How it happened, I have no idea.

"Hey, Storm," he greeted, cheerily out-of-character, "I'd like you to meet Derpy and Dinky Hooves. They're my guests for the party tonight."

"Pleased to meet you," I said, breaking out of my reverie, "I'm Storm, one of Ben's friends."

"I know you!" exclaimed the small unicorn on Ben's back, "you're dating Caramel, right?"

Ben gave me a raised eyebrow as I nodded. "Yeah, that's me," I answered, "he's working at the farm right now, so I thought I'd come meet you all at the station."

"So how are the others, Storm?" Ben asked.

"Oh, the usual. But…" I hesitated.

Derpy frowned. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Shift is in a bit of a depression…"

Ben's face turned to one of concern. "Did something happen, Storm?"

I sagged and looked him in the eye. "They found out, Ben. They saw him and they showed Twilight," I told him, "she ran away from him. He's in bad shape, Ben."

He looked shocked, but then dipped his head in thought. Then, looking at Derpy and Dinky, his ears perked up. "I have an idea, Storm. Where is he?"

"At Rarity's getting a suit for tonight," I explained, earning me a raised brow, "I'll explain later."

We trotted down the short route to Rarity's place, Ben and Derpy following closely. I couldn't help but notice the cast on the grey mare's wing. "So, what happened to your wing, Derpy?"

"Zapped by lightning, crashed into the royal plum tree… you know…" she said nonchalantly. Actually, I didn't know, but I decided to let it rest for now.

Ben trotted ahead of me to the front door of the boutique, knocking on it with a hoof. The door cracked open to reveal Rarity's prying eye. "I'm sorry, no customers for… oh, my aren't YOU a handsome one?" she said, her lone eye staring at Ben, "I'm terribly sorry, but I can't be bothered--"

"Rarity, my name is Kind Greetings, or Ben for brevity," he said, silencing the stricken mare, "I'm one of Shift's friends, and I have somepony I want him to meet." Wrapping a foreleg around Derpy's shoulders he brought her into Rarity's line of sight.

She sighed. "I hardly think replacing Twilight is going to--"

"No, it's not like that!" Ben exclaimed, "I just want to talk to him. We can break him out of his depression."

The fashionista looked at the trio, if you include Dinky, up and down. "Alright, but be… gentle." She opened the door to let us in.

The main floor of the room was covered in papers and fabric. In the center of the room, Shift stood in his Changeling form, facing away from us, wearing the basics of a tuxedo. "Rarity, I'm getting a cramp…" the Changeling complained.

Ben trotted up to the black model and put a hoof on his shoulder. "At ease, brony," he said, making Shift jump back, "Hey, Shift. I want you to meet somepony. Derpy?"

"Hello, Mister Shift, I'm Derpy Hooves!" Derpy said, ignoring the fact she was holding a hoof out to an emotion-parasite.

Shift looked at her in confusion. "You're not… afraid of me?"

"Oh, wow! A Changeling!" exclaimed Dinky, "can you really mimic other ponies? Ooh, do Pinkie Pie!"

Shift looked uneasy, but complied, changing into a perfect copy of the party pony. "Ta-da?"

"Cool! Oh, can you do… um… oh! Do mommy!" she asked.

Shift glowed green again, turning into Derpy. Suddenly, he jumped back from Ben. "Are you serious?!" Shift exclaimed at the green stallion in Derpy's voice, apparently flabbergasted, "you're in love with Derpy?!"

Ben blushed, as did the grey pegasus. "I… don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, don't even try, Ben!" Shift said accusingly, "I'm feeding off your love as we speak!"

Derpy looked at Ben. "You… like me?" she asked shyly, "even with my eyes?"

"Remember what I told you, Derpy?" he said, "part of friendship is accepting everypony, not for who… or what," he turned to Shift, "…they are on the outside. What matters is what's on the inside."

Shift smiled at Ben, returning to Changeling form. "Thanks, Ben. I needed that," he said, "but watching your face when I told you that you were in love? Priceless!" He burst into laughter, joined by me, and soon Dinky.

"Do you really love mommy?" the filly asked Ben after she recovered from her fit of giggles.

"Yes, I do," Ben admitted, "I love her for who she is, a kind and loving mare. And I love you too, Dinky, because you're smart, funny, and downright adorable." He nuzzled Dinky's nose. D'aww, the workaholic has a weak spot for fillies.

I sniffed a bit by the emotional scene, and even Rarity had brought out a handkerchief… or is it a hoof-kerchief? "Aww… you guys are so cute!" I said as Ben drew two into a hug, "although, I think we should get out of Rarity's hair and let her get back to work."

"Yes, of course, darling… um, Shift, could you… stand where you were?" the dressmaker waved a hoof, making the Changeling sigh.

Shift gave us one last look. "Thanks guys, now I'm ready for tonight…" then he drooped slightly, "I just hope Twilight is, too."

"Don't worry, Shift. Luna already agreed to inhibit her magic so she can't teleport away." I said confidently, making Ben and Dinky look at me with confusion.

Shift frowned. "That's not what I meant," he said dejectedly, then brightened up a little, "thanks for stopping by, Ben. I haven't seen you in a week."

"It was good to see you again, Shift. Take care."

The Changeling smiled. "You too," he said as we turned for the door, "alright Rarity, do your thing!" His voice was filled with a confidence that inundated my heart with sisterly pride.

> Finale: To Live and Love in Equestria
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainchaser's POV

Dash and Aegis were on either side of me, heading for the park when we saw Ben and Storm. "Oh my Celestia, Aegis, it's Ben!"

"Really?" he looked ahead, "holy crap, Ben!"

When we met in the middle, I noticed a small grey unicorn on his back and a blonde pegasus mare leaning on his side. "Hey, Ben," I greeted, "who're they?"

Before Ben could get a word in edgewise, Storm jumped in. "Rain, Aegis, I want you to meet Ben's new fillyfriend, Derpy Hooves, and her daughter, Dinky," she announced royally, "Derpy, meet Rain and her coltfriend and fillyfriend, Aegis and Dash, respectively."

Four jaws hung open. The two unicorns were laughing. Derpy smiled sweetly. I snapped my jaws shut. "You have a fillyfriend?"

"You're polygamist?"

"She has a filly?"

"You're dating another mare?"

"Why are we all asking questions we already know the answers to?" Derpy added innocently. We all stopped for a moment, even the two giggling unicorns. Then all six of us burst into laughter. Even Ben.

"Okay, given how much crap I gave Skyblaze about dating Luna, I think I'll let this slide," said Ben.

"Oh, come on, what we're doing is much more controversial," said Aegis, making me facehoof.

"Nick, there's a time and place to be humble, and right now is probably one of the worst," I grumbled.

"So…" interrupted Storm, "Ben and I checked in with Shift just now. He's doing much better, thanks to Derpy."

"Yeah! Shift turned into mommy, then he said that Ben was in love with mommy," she said, "then Ben gave him a few inspiring words and he was better!"

Dash chuckled. "You're bright for your age, kid," she said, "plus, you're kinda cute."

"That she is," agreed Ben, lowering himself so Dinky could climb on his back again, "you like it up there, don't you?"

"Yeah, you're nice and comfy, Ben." D'aww, she looked so cute when she nuzzled Ben's neck.

"We were just about to go check on Pinkie Pie to see how she's doing with the party," Storm said, "Wanna come along?"

I shook my head. "Nah, I'm taking these two on a date," I said, Ben giving me a look, "see ya at seven!"

Skyblaze's POV

I woke sleepily, only getting a five hour sleep. "Luna…" I nudged my fillyfriend, "Luna we gotta get up…"

The midnight alicorn blinked open her eyes, looking at my wristwatch/sword. "It's only four-thirty, Sky, let me sleep."

"Luna, we promised Storm we'd be there early," I said, beginning to slide out of the covers.

I was stopped as Luna grabbed me with her hooves. "Please, just… lay with me longer?"

I sighed. "Alright, but only a while--" I was nearly constricted as she pulled me close, her lips brushing mine. "Aw, what the hell." I kissed her.

We lay there, holding each other and keeping our lips locked as we shared a moment that was almost on par with last night. The only thing that was missing at the moment was her in my wings.

I shrugged lightly to myself and tried to make the most of it, wrapping my wings around her neck. She returned the favor by enshrouding me with her own wing-hug. Suddenly, I felt what Luna felt the night when we were both pegasi. A feeling of security, of warmth and comfort, and the burning love I felt for her everyday. In her wings, I felt that nothing could break our love. But, like all dreams, this one had to end. "Come now, Sky," Luna whispered, "we must not be late."

"Aw… can't we--?"

"Don't you start now," she gave me a warning glare as she slid out of bed, "get up."

"Let's at least get coffee together before we go, or I'm never gonna be awake for the rave," I mumbled.

"Starbucks again?" she asked with a smile.

"I swear you can read my mind sometimes."

She chuckled. "Maybe I can…"

I gave her a scared look, only to see her chuckling. "You are such a troll sometimes, ya know?"

"Hello, you two," I turned to see Celestia standing in front of us. "Care for a banana?" She levitated a banana out of a single-pack saddlebag.

"AAAAAHHH!" I jumped behind Luna in fear of the fruit.

My love looked at me, cowering behind her. "Do you have something against bananas Skyblaze?"

I nodded. "Once when I was thirteen, I was at my little brother's baseball game and I was eating a banana. Then it exploded."*

Tia gave me a look. "It… exploded?"

"Well, a baseball landed on it, but instead of flattening it, the banana splattered. To this day, physics cannot solve what happened at that ballpark."

The Royal Sisters gave me blank stares. Then Luna leaned rotated to kiss my forehead. "I love it when you do irrational things."

"It's not irrational! …is it?"

They nodded. "Verily, it is time for us to depart and leave my sister to the accursed exploding fruit," Luna said, guiding me to the front gates of the castle, where I groaned as I beheld a midnight carriage, drawn by four bat-winged pegasi. The wings were enchanted to look like that, and was actually an illusion.

"Ugh… really?" I asked, "can't we just, I don't know, fly down there?

"Unfortunately, we must use these when attending events outside Canterlot," she said, "it's a matter of formality, but I don't understand it either, but Tia says we must to preserve a regal appearance."

"…and ponies wonder why I fear authoritative power," I wondered to myself, "the only use for me is the Empowered Voice."

"Don't make a habit of it," she said with a dangerous tone. We boarded the carriage and Luna ordered the driver to take off. About fifteen minutes out, Luna and I were asleep, leaning against each other with sleepy smiles on our faces.

Aegis' POV

"Hey guys, I see a carriage."

"No schist, Sherlock," answered Rain, using Sky's favorite derogative.

"Buck you, Watson."

Speak of the devil. The carriage, pulled by bat-winged pegasi, landed outside the library. Skyblaze hopped out of the side, yawning and scratching his ear with his back hoof like a dog. I think I remember Pinkie Pie doing something similar in the show. He and Luna trotted over to where we stood. On cue, we were also joined by Ben, Dinky, and Derpy.

Ben was shooting Sky a glare. "So you discover how the Royal Canterlot Voice works, and your first thought is 'I like pie'?" he said shooting daggers at him, then breaking into chuckles, "you are something else, you know that?"

"See, I told you that the sky can't talk!" exclaimed Derpy.

"Mommy, Sky is Mister Skyblaze's nickname," laughed Dinky pointedly, "you're so silly sometimes, mommy!"

"Oops, my bad." D'aww… no wonder Ben loves her.

"Hey, Derpy, how's the job?" asked Rainbow, "it any better than weather patrol?"

"Yeah! I get to go tons of places!" the grey pegasus said excitedly.

"Like where?" I asked.

"Well, yesterday I was in Canterlot. The day before, I went to Las Pegasus. And before that, I just did a Ponyville route."

"Las Pegasus? Really?" Dash jumped at the name, "wow, that's one of the coolest pegasus cities ever!"

Skyblaze looked indifferent. "I was never into casinos, or gambling for that matter."

"Oh, I don't know, they have some of the most romantic views in the Pegasus Desert," Luna told him, "I went there only a few weeks ago to address a dispute between to competing casinos, and the canyon was truly amazing."

"Romantic views, eh?" he thought for a minute, "we should go there sometime."

I facehoofed at the love-struck pegasus. "You are hopeless, Sky."

"Yes, he is. That is why I love him," Luna said, stooping to give Sky a kiss on the nose.

"Well, I hate to break up the romantic mood," Storm appeared out of nowhere, standing next to Rain, "but it's half an hour till party-time!"

"Gah! Storm!" Rain shouted, jumping back at her sudden appearance.

"What?" Sometimes, I swear Storm is just as random as Pinkie Pie. "C'mon, everypony! Oh, hi, Skyblaze!"

We followed the bouncing mare to the park, where we found Pinkie Pie standing next to an oversize version of the party cannon. "Hey, everypony! What's up?" she chirped.

"Pinkie, what is that?" Ben asked, backing away from the large weapon of massive fun.

"This? Oh, Storm said she wanted a huge party, so I hauled this baby out of the basement," she said, patting it with a hoof, "let me introduce you to the 'party battery, mark two'."

"What happened to mark one?" I asked.

"Somepony tried to load it with cupcakes, silly!" Yes, of course, silly me. One day we should try to find some way to translate what Pinkie Pie says into sensical English- er, Equestrian.

"Oh I see," said Storm, surprising us all, "the initial explosion from the cannon would decimate the frosting on the cupcakes, making it drip into the combustion chamber and render it useless!" Wait, when did Storm have such an in-depth understanding of party-technics? Well, Pinkie was Sam's favorite before the mission, so I guess she would know more about it than most of us.

"That makes sense," Sky said, "to have everything stay intact when you launch it, you would need a low-speed explosive. The frosting would dampen the shockwave rendering it unable to even get most of the stuff out." Okay, I knew Sky was a bit pyro, but this is starting to get weird.

"Right! But it was too expensive to fix it, so I made a new one!" Pinkie said, rubbing the barrel, "but this one is better because I can pack more confetti in the compartments, while still keeping the same volume."

"Somepony, make it stop!" I looked back to see Dash clutching her head, "I feel like a party cannon is going off in my head!"

Pinkie giggled. "Silly Dashie! A party cannon can't fit in your head!"

"Then how do you manage to pull one out of nowhere when it's convenient?" I asked.

"Null-space," said Pinkie, Sky, and Storm simultaneously.

"I give up." Sighing exasperatedly along with Dash, we made our way over to the hill where the party battery was aiming. Pinkie had already fired the large artillery, leaving a large setup, complete with decorations, a buffet table, and a stage, where Vinyl Scratch was putting up her turntable and speakers.

"Hey, Storm," the DJ greeted, "you got the tunes you need for this plan of yours?"

"Yep! Right here," Storm hoofed the unicorn a record, "you know, it's kinda cool how you can load songs on there from your memory."

"That's how I designed 'em," Vinyl said with pride.

"Thanks Vinyl," Storm said to the DJ, then turned to Skyblaze, "hey, Sky? Can I talk to you and Luna for a sec?"

"Of course."

"Sure thing."

As the Princess and the pegasus followed the neon-maned unicorn, I turned away, along with the rest of us. We walked into town a bit, talking about the last few days. Apparently, Ben had been next to bored, having not much work to do, so the appearance of Derpy was a welcome distraction. Him, Derpy, and Dinky soon went to the Hooves' house to check on Carrot Top.

We made our way to the Carousel Boutique to pick up Rarity and Storm. As the dress shop came into view, I spotted Rarity and Fluttershy cantering from the building. "Hey, Rarity, hi, Fluttershy," Dash glided ahead and greeted them, "where's Shift?"

"Here," said Fluttershy quietly.

Dash looked around confused. "Where?"

"No, I'm Shift," Fluttershy stated, "Fluttershy is coming late to the party, so I changed into her."

"Oh," Dash blinked, "coulda had me fooled."

"Why, that's the idea, Rainbow Dash," explained Rarity, "would you imagine the drama of a Changeling walking around town?"

"I see your point," Dash replied, "but why not use your old disguise?"

"In case Twilight sees him," Rain figured, "that would cause even more commotion than his Changeling form."

Dash facehoofed. "Why does everypony have the answer to everything?!"

"I'm with you on this, Dash," I admitted, "in any case, we're here to bring you to the party."

"Of course, darling," Rarity said, moving to follow us, "come along, Fluttershy."

"Oh… okay," Shift replied, perfectly imitating Fluttershy's timidness. Or, at least, I thought he was imitating. I'm not sure if Changelings match their cover's personality or not.

Shift's POV

Ok, keep cool. I can do this. I have to, for Twilight. I walked through the streets in Fluttershy's form. Honestly, I could fly if I wanted to, as apparently mimicking a pegasus gives one the natural instinct to do so. But Fluttershy was never one to do much flying. So I kept with the trotting as we made our way to the party.

Almost everypony was there already. I saw Skyblaze and Luna talking with Ben and Derpy. The Apple siblings were there, as well as the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Storm and Caramel were making idle chat with Pinkie Pie. There was a large white earth pony stallion with orange eyes that I didn't recognize talking with Sky, who looked like one of the palace guards without armor. Twilight and the real Fluttershy had yet to arrive, as did Ben, Derpy, and Dinky.

As I thought about Ben and the Hooves, they appeared from another side street and joined the party. It was weird how ponies sometimes did that. The emotions floating around the air were to be expected. The excitement of the party, the togetherness (it's a legitimate emotion) of a get-together, and the overall mirth of the event.

But then I felt something else. It was an emotion given off by a single pony, but the signature of it I could pick out from a crowd ten times this size. Twilight was giving off reluctance as she made her way over to the congregation.

Wanting to avoid further confrontation, I made my way over to Skyblaze, who was chatting with the orange eyed guard. "Hey, Fluttershy," Sky greeted, "meet Sure Hoof, he's a new guard at the palace, and one of my good friends."

"Um, hi," I said in the yellow pegasus' weak voice, "pleasure to meet you."

"Why, the pleasure is all mine, Miss Fluttershy," he said, "may I say you look absolutely beautiful tonight."

Oh sweet Celestia, this stallion has a crush on me-- well, Fluttershy, but at the moment I bore a distinct resemblance to the timid pegasus. Fortunately, Skyblaze saw the predicament. Unfortunately, he didn't know I wasn't Fluttershy. "I'll just leave you two to get acquainted," he said, fluttering off to stand next to Luna.

"Would you care for some punch, Fluttershy?" he asked, motioning to the adjacent punchbowl.

Okay, Fluttershy may hate me for this, but I was trapped at the moment. "Thank you," I said in my soft voice, accepting the glass, "you're very nice." I could taste the infatuation rolling off him. The poor colt was stricken.

"Well, I try to be nice to everypony," he said, "but they don't like it when you talk to ponies in the guard."

"Then why did you join?"

"Being on the Royal Guard has always been my dream, even if I have to be a statue," he said with a chuckle, "say, don't I know your face from somewhere?"

I racked my brain for Fluttershy trivia. "Um… I was a model for a little while," I said shyly, "but I didn't like it. My friend Rarity was jealous of me and thought we weren't going to be friends anymore."

"Oh, I think you were on a bottle of shampoo…" he admitted, blushing, "you do have a natural beauty."

I blushed, for what, I couldn't tell. I almost facehoofed at my cover. "Thank you." In any case, the situation was growing awkward. I was saved by Skyblaze signaling from behind the stage, the real Fluttershy standing next to him. "Excuse me, I think Skyblaze wants to talk to me."

Sure Hoof smiled. "Go ahead."

"So, Shift," Sky said as I left Sure Hoof to stand next to him, "gotten over Twilight so quickly?" I gave him a death glare, which must have looked pretty frightening coming from Fluttershy. "Okay, I'm done, but now the real Fluttershy has to deal him, so…"

He motioned toward the yellow pegasus. "Oh, he's, um… nice," Sky facehoofed. "I mean, he's very polite and is really into you. You should talk to him."

"Really?" came the weak reply.

"Oh, yes," I nodded. Fluttershy blushed and fluttered over to the white stallion. "Okay, now what? I asked Sky.

"Just change into me and hang out near Luna," he said, "I have to go… prepare for your reunion. In the meantime, just chill… and don't even think about kissing my fillyfriend." His eyes narrowed as I flashed green and altered my form to match his. Sky's wings were much stronger than Fluttershy's, and his mane was less in-the-way. Shrugging, Sky trotted behind stage, muttering something about 'disastrous plans'.

As Fluttershy resumed my conversation with Sure Hoof, I trotted over to Luna, who was swaying to the heavy bass of Vinyl's music. "Oh, greetings, um…" she looked at me, an uncertainty taste in my mouth, "are you Skyblaze or his Changeling friend."

"If it pleases your majesty, call me Shift… just not right now."

She frowned. "Very well then, Skyb-- Shift," she corrected, "would Sky care if I gave you a light peck… for the sake of appearances?"

"Um, yes, he would care," I replied, feeding off of the mass of love toward my form, "he's actually kinda protective of you. Wow," I said as I tasted her love, "let me just say that you have strong-tasting love. Like black coffee compared to tea."

She raised an eyebrow. "I take it that is a complement…"

"Well, considering I am more powerful than when I copied Derpy and fed off Ben's love, yes I would call it a complement."

"…and what of Twilight Sparkle?"

I grew somber as I stared at the lavender mare from afar. Even at such a distance I could sense her feelings of hesitant mirth. "Her love," I said, "is more powerful, even, than the love Chrysalis drained off Shining Armor."

"How is that possible?" she exclaimed, "that power was enough to best my sister!"

"That love was purely for me," I said, "it was true, pure even, and it was the most glorious taste imaginable." We sat in silence for a few moments.

"I have just realized that your cutie mark is off."

"Huh?"

"Sky's cutie mark… altered… when he discovered his power as a bard," she explained, "it became clearer, and not made up of tiny squares."

I looked back at my flank to see that my cutie mark was indeed pixelated. "How…"

"Usually, a bard cannot know who they are until they realize their power," Luna explained, "Sky must have found his calling, but did not know his potential." She chuckled at my confused look, then saw Storm take the stage next to Vinyl. "That is your cue, Shift."

This is it. I trotted through the crowd, eventually standing next to Twilight. She looked at me as I approached. "Um, hi Skyblaze…" she greeted awkwardly, "what's up?"

"Just… wanted to stand here for the next song," I replied.

"Oh." She didn't say anything else, looking deep in thought. She didn't notice as the rest of the mane six and the bronies positioned themselves around us, forming the planned barrier. Luna was already casting her magical inhibitor on Twi's horn. I know it was all for me to get Twilight back, but I still don't know if she'll come back.

Then I had an idea. It was a long shot, but I think that I could pull it off. Everypony saw Changelings as monsters, parasites that felt no emotion. I needed to show Twilight another side of me. Something that I have done on Earth that I was best at. I looked at her, envisioning how her and I would look. But not in the literal sense. Representations of what our love meant popped into my head, my artist's mind on high-command.

Finally, when a heavy dubstep song of Vinyl's ended, the DJ picked up the mic on the turntable and put on another record. "Hey, everypony we're gonna take a slow moment right now, but first, we have a guest tonight who will be singing this next pick," she pointed offstage, "Skyblaze, come on up!"

Twilight looked at me expectantly, but jumped as the real Sky took the stage and trotted to the standing mic. "Hey, everypony, tonight I'm gonna be singing a personal favorite of mine," he announced as the music started, "so pull that special somepony close and give them a little love." With that, he began to sing 'You'll be in My Heart' by Phil Collins.

"How…" Twilight stuttered as she saw the second Skyblaze.

"Twilight," I said in my own voice, "please, don't run."

In a green flash, I was a Changeling. But the song continued uninterrupted, Skyblaze closing his eyes in musical harmony. It was then Twilight noticed her friends as well as my own around us in a circle. She attempted to teleport, but was stopped by Luna's spell. She began to panic, then froze as she saw me.

Rarity had done an excellent job on the suit. It was a white tuxedo with a light blue undershirt. A sash went across my chest, it's color a similar blue with a golden highlight. It fit my Changeling body well, being rather comfortable. "Twilight, I know you see me as a monster, or even a parasite, but the only thing that could hurt me is if you think of me as a lier," I said, taking in the taste of fear, "I want to show you that I am more than an insect. More than just this. Twi, I don't think I told you, but where I came from… I was an artist."

With that, I focused on the mental picture of our love. I gave it form, color, and depth. Soon, the air around us was filled with lights, forming together to make constellations. Roses danced in the air, starbursts twinkled above our heads. The ponies around us looked up in awe as I filled the night sky with flowers, doves, and stars. Finally, the air simmered between us, and green lines sprouted from the ground, every so often spliting of into a rose. The vines of magical light circled around, forming a loop. Within the circlet of roses, I painted a picture with my mind.

Twilight gasped as she saw herself with a Changeling, laying under a picnic blanket and gazing at the sunset. I remembered from that night. It seemed like an age had passed. But now, Twilight was staring at the simmering picture, and a familiar feeling returned to me. Twilight burst through the lights, dispersing them into the night, and hugged me close.

"Shift… you…" she trailed off, "you have a cutie mark!"

"Huh?!" Changelings didn't have cutie marks. I looked back at my flank. I teared up at what I saw. On my flank was a swirl of starbursts, varying from green, white, and lavender. It was impossible; Changelings couldn't have cutie marks. They aren't individual, part of a hive…

"I'm not part of the hive…" I whispered, "I'm an individual, with my own emotions.

"…and I love Twilight."

Skyblaze kept singing as Twilight and I entwined our necks and danced on into the night. Her love flowed between us, reducing all other emotion to a minuscule particle of perception. The lights around us continued, fueled by our love and magic. However, they lacked form, and existed only to make the air around us sparkle…

"Well, that went better than I expected!" came the voice from the stage. Skyblaze had stopped singing and was staring at the two of us. The congregation that was unaware of our plan let out a gasp at me. But instead of fleeing, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, backed by Big Mac and Sure Hoof charged at me.

"Aw, schist." I screwed my eyes tight and waited for the inevitable. It never came. I opened my eyes to see that the force of fillies and stallions were stopped by a lavender wall. "Thanks, Twi."

"Oh that was nothing," she said, a plume of worry exhumed from her, "I'm worried how Spike will respond. Not to mention my brother."

"I'm sure he won't hold a…" I looked at Twilight's deadpan, "okay, yeah that may be an issue." I paused for a moment. "Maybe we could… keep this on the down-low?" 

"How?" I changed into my original disguise. "Oh, right."

I kissed her lightly. "I'm glad you can overlook that."

The heavy bass of Vinyl's preferred music kicked in again, much to our chagrin. "How 'bout we go home and read?" Twilight suggested.

"Sounds good." We cantered away from the party, going the short distance to the library. "Five bits says I get hit with a dictionary when I go in."

"Oh, come on, Spike doesn't react like that…" she assured nervously.

Overall, I was wrong. It was a thesaurus.

> Epilogue: New Life
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

EPILOGUE, ONE MONTH LATER

Rainchaser's POV

"Oooooooh…"

"Hang in there, Storm," I assured, "Twilight's coming."

"I feel like crap…"

"You look like crap," remarked Aegis, "I told you that you shouldn't snack so much."

"Hey, I eat when I'm hungry, alright?"

"…and you've been hungry a lot lately," added Ben. He was on break and came down to Ponyville to stay with Derpy for the week.

The door slammed open and Shift, in disguise, rushed in. "Is she alright?" he asked Caramel. The nervous stallion could only shrug. Twilight followed Shift into the room.

"Shift, can you examine her body while I see if there's a mental anomaly?" the lavender unicorn said, trotting up to the mare on the bed.

"Got it." As Twilight stood at Storm's head, Shift began to move his glowing horn slowly down the purple unicorn's form. It was a long few minutes before something happened. Suddenly, Shift jerked back, as if something bit him. He placed his horn over Storm's midsection. A goofy smile went across his face. "I think I know the problem."

Caramel perked up, worried. "What is it?"

Shift smirked as everypony looked at him intently. "Well, I can't tell you right now. It's far too early to determine the gender."

Everypony fixed Storm with a dead stare. Her jaw was hanging open, but her cheeks still grew pink. "I'm…"

"I wonder what being an uncle's gonna be like," Shift wondered out loud.

"Storm is…" I stuttered.

"Congratulations, sis," Shift said in an excited tone, "you're pregnant!" She immediately fainted.

"Dibs on godfather!" Aegis called.

"I have to write to Sky!" Ben said plainly, "he'll be ecstatic!" He produced a parchment and a magnetic scroll and scribbled down the news, quickly whipping out a sending-fire candle and burning it.

A moment later, a huge bang was heard. Over Canterlot, a golden halo spread across the late-fall sky. "Did Sky just do a sonic boom?" wondered Aegis.

"Yes, he should be here in three… tw--" A golden streak fell from the sky, bouncing off the balcony and into the room. "It would seem my count is off."

Sky removed himself from the wall and shook his head to clear it. "Dibs on godfather!"

"Too late."

"Buck!"

"Wow, Sky," I exclaimed, "your first sonic boom! How did it feel?"

"It's not his first," said Ben matter-of-factly.

I tilted my head. "Then what…"

Sky chuckled. "Let's just say that, as of two days ago, Storm and Caramel--" he glanced at the tan stallion, who had also passed out, "Storm and Caramel's foal will have a Princess for an aunt."

"No way…" Aegis and I whispered.

"Yep, break out the layered cake, 'cause Luna and I are getting married!" Aegis and I both fainted.

Skyblaze's POV

"…and to think I was reluctant to come here," I told Ben as we stood on Caramel's balcony, "but now, this place is our home, Ben."

"Well, you and Storm have ties to this place now, as does Shift…"

"Shift and Twilight are engaged?!"

"No!" came the shout from inside.

Ben coughed. We sat for a few moments. "Isn't it kinda late for you to be out?"

"Luna hasn't yelled at me yet for coming home late," I said, "although, she can't sleep without me there."

"…and your engagement?"

"Still as strong as the diamond in her ring. What about you?"

"Huh?"

"How are you and Derpy?"

He shuffled his hooves. "Dinky's been dropping hints that she wants me to propose."

"Seriously? Wow dude, that's big."

"Yeah, but I still want to know what happened to Dinky's father."

I frowned at him. "You're still worried about that?" He nodded. "Remember that you have friends in high places who can help you…"

"No, Sky. I just… I feel like this is something I have to do."

I draped a wing over his shoulder. "Then you go do that, Ben."

We stood for a while longer, reflecting on recent memories. Everything that happened in the last month and a week was beyond what any of us expected. "Is it what you expected?" asked Ben, seemingly reading my thoughts.

"Not at all, Ben. But I suppose none of us guessed what it would be like; to live and love in Equestria." We watched the horizon, pondering deep thoughts of life and romance in silence…

"That's cheesy."
> To Be Continued…
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

For anypony who was unaware there was a sequel to this: have a link!
Brony Recon 2: Ascension